Chapter 159. The First City (1)

[You will now be given 24 hours to rest.]
[Prepare for the final tutorial.]

A warm light enveloped my body, and I closed my eyes. After a brief moment of feeling afloat, my feet touched hard surface once again.

I opened my eyes and saw my waiting room. Seeing the empty white room, I smirked and sat down on the floor.

[First place reward – you obtained a tutorial reward box.]
[You obtained 1000 TP (Tower Point)]

Although all I did was continue to adventure, because the first wave of challengers had no information on how the Tower worked, I obtained first place easily.
The competition would get much harder than now from the third wave onwards, since Kim Suho was destined to get first place in the second wave.

[TP is a currency useable in all floors of the Tower.]
[Try opening the Lv.1 Player Shop.]

“Yes, thank you.”

I thanked the system.
The Player Shop was exactly what it sounded like, a shop useable only by Players. This shop sold special items like the Tower Re-entrance Ticket and the Earth Return Ticket. Of course, neither of them could be used during the tutorial.

“Player Shop.”

As soon as I voiced the phrase, a shop window popped up.

===
[Lv.1 Player Shop]
—Physical Ability
—Magic Power Development
—Faith
—Consumable
—Special Items
[TP: 1000]
===

The Lv.1 here didn’t refer to my level. Players didn’t have levels, but everything else in the Tower did: equipment, technique, skills, NPCs, the Player Shop, and even the ‘system’ that I was talking to so politely.
I clicked on the ‘physical ability’ category.

[Muscle Growth Catalyst]
…
…
[Vitality Boost Pill]

The shop was selling items that increased 0.05~0.10 stat points for 1000 TP. It was the same for the ‘magic power development’ and ‘faith’ categories.
With my 1000 TP, I could only buy a few consumable herbs.

[Blue Herb 30TP]
[Luminescence Herb 50TP]
…
…
[Magic Power Clover 100TP]

“There’s nothing but herbs.”

I remembered putting vitality and magic power recovery potions even in level 1 Player Shops, but it seemed that was modified as well.
In fact, all of the items listed here weren’t cost effective. As TP was a shared currency within the Tower of Wish, it was likely better to buy items from NPCs through NPC shops or from other players through the auction house. Ah, of course, crafting items personally was the cheapest option.

[Earth Return Ticket – 1000TP]

“This got more expensive too.”

Even the return ticket was 1000 TP and that wasn’t even taking into account the 1000 TP needed for the re-entrance ticket.
In total, going back and forth between the Tower and Earth was four times more expensive than in the original story.

“…Looks like I won’t make it back in a month.”

TP was important especially in earlier floors of the Tower. I promised Evandel I’d come back in a month, but it looked like I needed at least two months.
Next, I checked the reward box.

===
[Tutorial Performance Reward Box]
You will obtain three random upgrade scrolls.
(This box will disappear unless opened within 12 hours)
===

My luck probably didn’t apply to this box as it contained similar level scrolls.
I opened the box without hesitation.
Three scrolls immediately popped out.

[Skill Upgrade Scroll]
[Item Upgrade Scroll]
[Upgrade Scroll]
[All scrolls must be used within 12 hours.]

All three scrolls were rare scrolls that were hard to find even after the end of the tutorial.

“…They’re different, huh.”

They were different than the scrolls Kim Suho would obtain. The only common scroll was the skill upgrade scroll.
This scroll obviously had to be used on Random Dice. I wanted to save it if possible, but it would disappear in 12 hours if I didn’t use it.
First, I ripped the skill upgrade scroll in half.

[Would you like to upgrade your bonus skill Random Dice?]

“Yes.”

===
[Choose the direction of the upgrade.]
[Lv.1 Efficiency]
*Decreases Random Dice’s recharge time.
[Lv.1 Limit Increase]
*The rank of the items you can obtain from the Random Dice increases.
[Lv.1 Intelligence]
*Random Dice will recognize your intentions better.
===

Three upgrade directions popped up in front of me.
I clicked on ‘limit increase’ without thinking for too long.
Thunk. The sound of a metallic bar closing rang out.

[Random Dice can now transform into Lv.4 items. In exchange, its recharge time increases by 30 minutes.]

The upgrade was over.
Next was the item upgrade scroll.

“What item do I have anyways…?”

I opened my inventory.

[Random Dice] [Lv.1 Fleshfish’s Skin] [Lv.2 Black Horn Octopus’ Heart] [Lv.1 Red Crystal Spear] [Lv.1 Red Crystal Axe] [Lv.1 Red Crystal Fishing Rod] [Lv.2 Yggdrasil Leaf] [Glossy Seafish’s Tough Skin]

My inventory was full with only eight items. It couldn’t be helped since my inventory was only level 0.

“Hm.”

I pondered. None of the items from the tutorial were worth keeping forever. Upgrading the red crystal spear seemed too… wait.

“Yggdrasil Leaf.”

Was it upgradeable?
I tried rubbing the scroll on the leaf.

[Would you like to use the item upgrade scroll on Lv.2 Yggdrasil Leaf?]

“It works?”

I confirmed it immediately.

[Lv.2 Yggdrasil Leaf becomes Lv. 3]
—The effectiveness of ‘Yggdrasil’s Blessing’ increases.
—Yggdrasil Leaf’s physical ability increase improves.
*Your strength, vitality, stamina, and speed stats increase by an additional 0.1 point.

“Alright, that does it for items….”

Now, it was time for the ‘upgrade scroll’. This scroll didn’t have a prefix as if to say it could be used on anything. I immediately decided how to use the scroll.

“I’d like to upgrade the system.”

With that, I ripped the scroll in half.
One second.
Two seconds.
Three seconds.
The system, which always responded immediately, popped up three seconds later.

[Are you sure you want to upgrade ‘Lv.0 Extra7’s System’?]

The system seemed to be taken aback. Perhaps, it was even happy.

“Of course.”

I smiled and nodded.

[‘Lv.0 Extra7’s System’ becomes ‘Lv.1 Extra7’s System’.]
[Your personal waiting room becomes bigger.]
[Your inventory becomes Lv.1]
[The Community…]

A string of system alerts let me know that my decision was correct.
By upgrading the system, my inventory space increased and with a rumbling noise, my waiting room also got bigger.

“Great.”

I looked around the waiting room.
I would be coming here often from now. I planned to bring my friends here as well.
Of course, the Tower had an incredibly large floor called the ‘Residential Area’, which was almost the size of Korea, but in other floors, this personal waiting room was the only place I could go to rest in peace.

“Now let’s make some furniture.”

This was part of my training as making things should help increase my stats and Dexterity’s proficiency.
First, I needed some material.
I took out a Random Dice from my inventory and threw it on the ground.

[Well-cut Oak Tree]

Not having a level actually meant that it was Lv.0.
In other words, it was a bust, a trash that could only be used for drawers or floor tiles.
So, I rolled another one.

[Lv.3 High-quality Black Wood]

“Sweet.”

A large log popped out. With this, I should be able to make a bed.
I created a tool with Stigma’s magic power and started working.

“Huup.”

…12 hours quickly went by.

[Trait ‘Dexterity’ improves to grade-8.]
[Crafting technique improves to Lv.2]
—Adds finishing touches to handmade equipment.
—Automatic crafting becomes more elaborate.
—You obtain 'Blueprint-seeing Eyes’.
[Your strength increases by 0.1 point.]
[Your stamina increases by 0.1 point.]
[Your vitality increases by 0.1 point.]
…

After falling to grade-9, Dexterity was restored to grade-8, and my physical stats increased by 0.1 points.

===
[Lv.3 Comfy Bed]
○Lv.3 Recovery
*Completely restores vitality in 6 hours.
○Lv.3 Comfiness
*Clears your mind.
===

I built an amazing single-sized bed.
Now, I had 12 hours remaining.
Unfortunately, I didn’t have time to rest.
The reason I was working so hard was to bully that bastard… or I guess that bitch ‘Jin Sahyuk’ as much as possible. I had to get stronger faster than her.

“Argh, I’m sore all over.”

My shoulders felt like they were going to pop off, but I still had many things to do.
Next, I had to make ‘equipment’. I was thinking of a mask and hoodie to hide my face, and I also wanted a simple armor.
I rolled another Random Dice to get more material.

In 9 hours, I crafted three more equipment.

===
[Lv.3 Black Hooded Robe]
○Lv.2 Temperature Control
○Lv.3 Auto-fit
○Lv.1 Sound Muffling
===
[Lv.2 Black Eagle Mask]
○Lv.2 Air Purifier
○Lv.2 Face Protection
===
[Lv.3 Leather Armor]
○Lv.3 Defense
○Lv.3 Durability
○Lv.3 Ease of Movement
===

“Auu, I’m so tired.”

Thankfully, Stigma’s magic power worked well, and they all ended up with effects I wanted. There was little chance that someone else in the tutorial had better equipment than me.

[You acquired the technique, ‘Lv.1 Magic Power Infusion.’]
—The effect of magic power infused into items improves.

[The final tutorial will begin in one hour.]

Looking at the system alert, I pondered.
The final tutorial wasn’t that hard.
The first tutorial’s concept was ‘battle’, the second tutorial’s concept was ‘survival’, and the final tutorial’s concept was ‘society’.
Before the final tutorial began, I entered the Community.

「Public Forum」
[Read this if you are Extra7.]

“Huh?”

While I was scrolling through the public forum, I found a post looking for me. I could tell who created the post before even reading it.

[Read this if you are Extra7.]
「Nayunjajangman」
—Are you still alive? If so, answer me.

He must have thought I died because I suddenly stopped responding last time.
I laughed and typed my reply.

—What, you finished your tutorial?

He seemed to have received an alert as he quickly responded.

ㄴAs expected, you’re still alive, Hyung-nim ㅋㅋI’m waiting for the final tutorial.
ㄴWhat difficulty are you in.
ㄴYou first, Hyung-nim.
ㄴI’m in the highest.
ㄴWow… Hyung-nim must really be someone amazing… so scary.

[Soon, the final tutorial will begin.]

“Ah, I don’t have time to talk.”

I didn’t have enough time. It wasn’t possible to enter the Community during the tutorial.

ㄴHey, I’m starting the final tutorial. Don’t die and follow me properly.
ㄴㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Yes Hyung-nim!

“Hm.”

The long string of ㅋs made it sound like he was looking down on me, but I didn’t bother to reply.

[Final tutorial – Maintaining Profit]
[You will now be moved to ‘Tutorial Town’.]

Light burst out like a thick fog. Feeling the warmth of the light, I closed my eyes.

[You are in the highest difficulty level’s Tutorial Town.]
[For ten days, obtain as much TP as you can in the tutorial’s society.]
[At the end of ten days, you must possess more than 1000 TP to clear the final tutorial.]
[All TP earned by Players will be theirs to keep.]
[Lv.??? Mercenary’s Pub]

When I opened my eyes, I saw a flurry of system alerts along with the status window of the building in front of me.

“…It’s practically a city.”

I looked around.
Behind me were houses built with yellow bricks and medieval-style shops. In front of me was a pub made entirely out of wood. The whole scene looked like it came out of a fantasy novel.

For the first time in my life, I entered a pub.
Kiiik—
After opening the stiff wooden door, I walked on the creaking wooden floor.

“Uhahaha.”
“Hahahaha.”
“Kuhahaha.”

As soon as I entered, rowdy laughter rang out.
First, I took a good look around the place. Many muscular NPCs were talking and having fun.
For the record, it was hard to distinguish between NPCs and Players in the Tower. As such, it was better to pretend to be an NPC as much as possible.
I lifted up the hood on my robe and sat down at the counter.

“What can I get ya?”

The owner asked.
I glanced at the menu in front of me and ordered fluently.

“One gin.”

“That’ll be 50TP.”

[You can take out 50TP from your inventory.]

“It shouldn’t be that expensive.”

“…20TP.”

The owner lowered the price by over 50%. However, 20TP was still too expensive.
I pretended to reach into my pocket and took out five 1TP coins.
The owner poured gin into a glass without saying anything.

===
[Lv.1 Gin]
○Lv.1 Alcohol
===

It seemed the drink wasn’t drugged.
I chugged the glass.
It was then.

Kiik—

The wooden door I just used opened once again.
I turned around instinctively.
Immediately, my eyes widened in shock.
Standing at the door was a man and a woman.

The woman was Caucasian and short.
Her white hair was noticeable even from a distance, and her puppy-like eyes shone like jewels. Anyone looking at her would wonder how such a small face could contain such beauty.

Next to the woman was a well-built Asian man. His appearance was just as praiseworthy as the woman’s.

“Where is this? How mysterious.”

They were Heroes from the honored Temple of Justice, the strongest members the Hero Association had to offer.
‘Aileen the Spirit Speech Master’ and ‘Hellfire Yi Yongha’.

Previous Chapter Next Chapter