Chapter 04
The first floor of the Tower is a place for climbers to adapt.
The monsters are not very strong, and above all, there are no tricky enemies.
Most of them have simple behavior patterns, and there are no monsters that use poison.
‘Another advantage is that there’s no need to compete with other climbers.’
Since monsters are periodically summoned in the wide hunting grounds, there is no need to fight other climbers over them.
The same goes for the boss monster.
The boss of the first floor can be challenged by anyone at any time, and instead of bringing poison or subordinates like a coward, it fights proudly alone.
—This seems like a suitable location.
I took out a horn from my pocket.
< Horn of Advance >
[Summons the first-floor boss monster .]
The effect of this expensive item, which costs 10,000 points, is only one thing.
It summons the boss monster.
‘They’re selling boss monsters for money.’
When I asked the shop owner, he said it had two meanings.
First, to prevent climbers from fighting over the boss.
Second, to prove the minimum qualification to challenge the boss.
—You’re going to summon it right away, right?
“Yeah.”
The horn looked extremely wild.
For someone like me, who has barely even played a recorder, it looked quite fierce.
‘Do I just blow into it like this?’
I placed my lips on the narrow end and blew hard.
—Bwoooooo!
A massive sound echoed around me, enough to make my heart jump.
[ responds to the challenger’s call.]
—Executing sniper support protocol.
—Click.
I immediately shouldered the rifle and took my stance.
When I aimed, my field of vision narrowed, but it was fine.
—Turn slightly to the left.
I had the best supporter.
Following Lucy’s words, I shifted my gaze and saw a giant red wolf running toward me at high speed.
[1.5 km]
The distance between us was displayed in the lower left corner.
‘It’s so far away, yet it looks like it’s right in front of me.’
My eyesight hadn’t improved. It was Lucy’s assistance.
—It will enter effective range in about five seconds.
A normal rifle’s effective range is less than 600 meters, but that did not apply to me with Lucy’s support.
As long as the bullet could maintain proper power, it could deal effective damage no matter the distance.
“Hu…”
I held my breath and focused on the crosshair.
The slightly trembling aim finally settled on the Red Wolf’s right eye.
—Bang!
The bullet, absorbing my mana in an instant, flew far beyond the speed of sound and pierced the Red Wolf’s right eye.
—No error. Direct hit.
The most expensive firearm available on the first floor, combined with the breathing technique given by the Sword Demon, had enough power to deal significant damage even to a boss monster.
‘It’s not over yet.’
I calmed my breathing and aimed again.
Despite losing one eye, the Red Wolf continued charging at me with fierce aggression.
As expected of a boss monster, it had learning ability.
This time, it moved in a zigzag pattern as it approached.
—As expected.
A red dot appeared in midair.
A circle formed around it and slowly began to shrink.
This was Lucy’s simplified calculation of the Red Wolf’s movement.
When the circle aligned with the dot, if I pulled the trigger, it would hit the left eye.
—Bang!
I pulled the trigger at the perfect moment, and the other eye was pierced.
—Perfect. As expected of you, Master.
“Lucy, it was your calculation that made it possible.”
—I cannot deny my contribution was significant, but your shooting skill is also excellent. Almost no shaking, and perfect timing.
No matter how strong a boss monster is, once it loses both eyes, it is no longer frightening.
Even if left alone, it would not last long. Continuing to snipe from a distance would only speed up that process.
—From an efficiency standpoint, it’s better not to fire additional shots. Your attack cannot penetrate its hide.
There was a reason guns were considered unpopular weapons.
Even with weak mana, using the strongest first-floor weapon and still not being able to pierce a boss monster’s hide was ridiculous.
If I hadn’t targeted its eyes, I might never have cleared the first floor.
—Estimated time of death: approximately three minutes.
Once you successfully hunt the boss monster, you are immediately moved to the second floor.
There is no time to collect loot, so there was no need to approach the Red Wolf.
‘I’m finally going to the second floor.’
Talented otherworlders take a week to reach the second floor.
It took me three years.
‘But that’s fine.’
Obtaining the breathing technique was thanks to my fortunate encounter with the Sword Demon, but my unique trait — three years of constant learning — had now fully bloomed.
Counting from the moment Lucy began using her full capabilities, it had only taken one week to reach the second floor.
Perhaps the tenth floor was within reach.
[You have defeated the boss monster.]
The simple notification shook my heart.
—You’re finally going to the second floor.
[You have cleared the first floor.]
The window confirmed my achievement.
—What kind of place will the second floor be?
“It’ll probably be similar to the first.”
Rumor has it that up to the fifth floor, the missions are simple.
Clear the boss monster and move to the next floor.
“But it’ll definitely be harder than the first.”
On the first floor, there is almost no conflict with other climbers.
There are plenty of monsters, and most people are still confused after just arriving at the Tower.
—According to the data collected over the past week, starting from the second floor, the Tower seems to encourage indirect competition among climbers.
Although spreading upper-floor information to lower floors is forbidden by the Tower, the general atmosphere can still be conveyed indirectly.
[Would you like to move to the second floor now?]
The answer was obvious.
“Of course.”
[The theme of floors 2 through 5 is Challenge and Survival.]
[All challengers who remain alive after 100 hours will move to the third floor.]
[Players who die will be demoted to the first floor and cannot challenge again for one month.]
—Even if you die, you revive. That’s considerate.
“Seems the tutorial until the fifth floor was true.”
Just ten seconds ago, I was in a grassland. Now I was in a forest.
[Waiting until all participants have gathered. Please wait.]
Since this floor proceeds in groups of 100, waiting time was required.
There had to be 100 people who cleared the first floor at this moment.
[All participants have gathered.]
—It took exactly one minute.
“Really? That’s interesting.”
—It’s more likely they made us wait meaninglessly. Otherwise, one could estimate the total number of climbers based on how long it takes to gather 100 people.
[Ah, can you see this?]
Though the structure of the notification window hadn’t changed, it was clear someone else was speaking.
[I am the guardian in charge of the second floor. To explain briefly, survive for 100 hours in this forest where monsters appear, and you will move to the third floor. That is Survival. There are several rare-grade monsters in the forest. If you hunt them, you will receive additional bonuses when clearing the second floor. That is Challenge. For those who previously failed on the second floor, the bonus will be reduced by half.]
It was concise, yet long.
[I advise you to refrain from attacking other climbers. There is no penalty, but there are no benefits either. Making enemies from the lower floors is not recommended.]
—If you’re going to kill, you should kill properly. Killing in a place where they revive is inefficient.
Strange.
Lucy can’t talk to anyone but me.
Who did she learn that from to become so psychopathic?
[You can check the remaining time at any time. By hunting monsters, you can earn points and purchase consumables from the temporary shop. Food is sold, but weapons are not. This concludes the announcement. The second floor will now begin.]
[Remaining Time: 100:00:00]
Small text appeared in the upper right corner.
Thinking it would interfere with communicating with Lucy, it soon disappeared.
‘They sell bullets.’
I checked the temporary shop. Thankfully, ammunition was available.
‘Without data, Lucy won’t be much help for now.’
Since reaching the singularity, Lucy had been growing day by day.
But she was not omnipotent.
Without sufficient data, she was just a companion to talk to.
—For data analysis, could you fire several shots in a random direction?
“Sure.”
I fired a few rounds into the air, and Lucy immediately began calculating.
—I have corrected possible errors in the sniper support protocol. I will adjust further if additional variables are detected.
“Don’t you have something like a survival support protocol?”
—I’m sorry. The environment is too different from the first floor. I’ll try to create one as soon as possible.
“It’s fine. I can’t leave everything to you.”
I began moving, looking for a place to hide.
It wasn’t just a day or two — I had to survive for 100 hours.
At the very least, I needed a shelter to sleep.
—How many rare monsters are you planning to hunt?
“How many? None.”
I barely had enough damage to defeat the first-floor boss by targeting its eyes.
Rare monsters? No thanks.
—That’s not acceptable. According to my analysis, you can definitely defeat rare monsters. It would be a loss not to hunt them.
“How can you analyze without information?”
The information that floors 2 to 5 were easy had already proven false.
I couldn’t blindly trust other rumors from the first floor.
—You don’t need other information. You defeated the first-floor boss in just two attacks. With those specs, you can certainly defeat rare monsters.
“Let’s deal with other monsters on the second floor first.”
—Rustle!
Suddenly, the bushes shook, and a monkey leapt toward me.
—Click.
The aiming line appeared instantly.
—Swish.
I quickly moved the crosshair to the monkey’s eye and pulled the trigger.
—Bang!
It happened in a split second, but the mana-filled bullet pierced the monkey’s eye and eliminated it in a single shot.
