There’s no point in engaging in a battle of wits with the administrator.
‘…No matter how much causality is supposed to protect the players… if a Celestial being decides to overturn the ga, there’s no escape for the players.’
I’ve learned sothing while climbing the Tower of Struggle. Naly, that the administrator can’t just kill players at will. The administrator can only affect players who have stepped onto the stage they’ve set.
‘It doesn’t seem like they particularly like , but am I crazy enough to go up again?’
A player who doesn’t know anything might challenge the next stage multiple tis. They haven’t received a reward yet, after all. They might believe the Swordmaster’s words, asking to double down and move to the next stage.
But not .
I know the structure roughly. I know that the administrator is not always favorable toward the players. That they can only favor players from their own dinsion.
‘Guess I should go up.’
I’ve gained 25 points. There’s no reason to stay on the 6th floor any longer.
The administrator’s eyelids twitched. Even a worn-out Celestial being from the Tower of Struggle didn’t seem to have expected a player to take advantage like this.
The portal to the 7th floor opened. If a player wanted to go, they had no choice but to send them.
Each floor has a different atmosphere. On so floors, missions start imdiately, while on others, there’s a brief chance to rest.
‘The forr ends quickly, and the latter drags on.’
Honestly, I wanted a floor like the first one right now. I wanted to move up quickly.
It makes sense. I’ve spent too much ti on the lower floors. I’ve already earned the right to move on, but I’ve been doing other things.
‘If I raise my stats by 25, the missions should be easier.’
There’s no reason to waste ti idling on the 7th floor. Well, I’m not planning to skip bonus missions, but I’m not just going to stay here either.
I passed through the portal and was greeted by a new world.
Among the people going around the streets, I noticed there were particularly many East Asians. And the buildings around had a sowhat familiar architectural style.
‘East Asian?’
There are many East Asians summoned to the Tower of Struggle. From Earthlings nearby to...
‘Martial artists.’
A ssage popped up.
[7th floor, participate in the Yongbong Guild.]
Yongbong Guild. I didn’t know what this was about.
But I did know it was in Chinese characters. Civilizations that use Chinese characters are either Chinese or, more broadly, martial artists.
‘Is the owner of the 7th floor a martial artist?’
It’s easy to deduce.
I looked around. First, I needed to figure out where I was standing.
I spotted a place that looked like a restaurant. The whole area seed like a zone for such places.
There were delicious slls everywhere. Greasy Chinese food was the main offering.
“......”
My stomach growled. I had just co from a fight and was very hungry.
But I couldn’t go into a shop since I had no money.
‘Did Alice and Yuki not make it up here?’
They had followed close behind, but I didn’t see them around. Maybe they were dropped in a different location.
‘It’s unlikely that players who ca up at almost the sa ti would be placed together.’
It depends on the quirks of the floor. It’s futile to expect otherwise.
When you move up a floor, it’s like starting from scratch. That’s the mindset that made things easier for .
I imdiately started looking for soone. Soone who could tell about this floor.
“Hey.”
I grabbed one of the East Asians wearing martial clothes and asked.
“Where do I go to participate in the Yongbong Guild?”
I kept my tone casual. When dealing with martial artists, it’s better to speak informally. If you show respect, they’ll look down on you.
‘It’s better to use informal speech to avoid drawing a sword.’
The martial artist frowned. It seed he didn’t like the way I spoke so casually.
His gaze scanned from top to bottom, filled with hostility.
“…Seeing that you’re asking about , you’re not a martial artist, are you? A player?”
“Yeah.”
“Heh. Even if you’re a player, it doesn’t make sense for you not to recognize .”
The martial artist puffed out his chest.
‘Is he famous?’
Martial artists tend to inflate their reputation. Like a local thug yelling his nickna, it’s an example of how they act.
‘I t guys like that on the 1st floor.’
They just had to show off, and yet they looked down on . Simply because I’m from Earth.
That irked , which led to use my Strike skill.
“Are you from a prestigious family?”
Whether in Middle-earth or the martial world, nobles exist. Even in capitalist modern tis, invisible classes still exist, and how much more so in other dinsions?
“Are you from the Gu Paibang? The Five Great Families?”
I recalled so martial arts knowledge I had heard from Kim Min-seong. It was a bit shallow, but enough to pretend I knew sothing when talking to soone who didn’t know.
But I couldn’t recognize soone’s sect just by their clothes.
‘The Tang Sect had green as their main color. Blue?’
A cloud pattern was embroidered on the front of his chest.
“Are you from the Namgung Family?”
There were many shops selling martial clothes on the lower floors. Most of the custors were Earthlings or powerless superhumans.
It’s like the survival thod of East Asians. They all wear martial robes and pretend to be martial artists. This naturally makes the martial clothing shops popular.
── This outfit is from the Namgung Family, featuring the dragon and cloud patterns symbolizing the grand sky.
I had visited one of the shops. The shopkeeper told about it.
Now, it ca back to .
── But I wouldn’t recomnd the Namgung Family. Unlike the Tang Sect, they’re at the center of the Five Great Families, so impersonating them might cause serious trouble.
When I ntioned the Namgung Family, the man’s lips twitched. I had guessed right.
He stared at and spoke.
“So, don’t you have sothing to say?”
“Sothing to say?”
Looking at his expression, I could tell what he wanted.
“I asked where to go to participate in the Yongbong Guild. I asked first.”
“…You know I’m Namgung Hyuk, and yet you’ve been rude to without even apologizing?”
It looked like he was about to draw his sword.
This was ridiculous.
‘It’s because of these martial artists that I spoke so casually… and yet, this guy from a famous family isn’t intimidated by my informality and is challenging .’
A lot of people were passing by.
If I killed Namgung Hyuk here, the situation would escalate uncontrollably.
“Do you know the Poison King?”
“…Poison King?”
Namgung Hyuk’s eyes glead.
He seed to rember soone.
I didn’t miss the chance.
“You don’t know who I am? I’m the one who goes to saunas and eats als with Elder Tang. We’re on close terms.”
“…Sauna? If you’re talking about the sauna…”
“The bathhouse on the 5th floor.”
This is the 7th floor.
Even martial artists would know about it.
“We went to the bathhouse together and even scrubbed each other’s backs. We’re that close.”
“......”
“So... did my tone bother you? Our Namgung So-hyeop is quite touchy.”
I activated my skill.
The ominous poison flowed from the tips of my fingers.
“Poison Art!”
Namgung Hyuk recoiled and covered his mouth.
“Don’t be so scared. Do you think I beca close with Elder Tang for no reason? This little bit of poison is nothing.”
“......”
His expression softened. It seed he was partially convinced by my words.
“…If you don’t know about the Yongbong Guild, then I understand. But there’s no need for such a tone.”
“Oh, really?”
The na of the Poison King was certainly effective.
As soon as I ntioned the Poison King, Namgung Hyuk’s attitude turned friendly.
‘Every ti I et a martial artist, I should sell that na.’
He’s already dead, so it doesn’t matter.
“Where do I go to join the Yongbong Guild?”
“…I’ll show you the location to register. Follow .”
The surroundings changed.
And along with it, all the anities disappeared.
‘Is this how I have to get directions? If I had a smartphone, I could just look it up.’
Especially the smartphone.
I missed the one from the 5th floor.
Namgung Hyuk silently led the way.
Given the atmosphere on the floor, many people seed to recognize him.
Most of them were young martial artists.
‘You shouldn’t trust appearances in the Tower of Struggle.’
They may look young, but they could be old inside.
They might be hiding their power.
‘Namgung Hyuk...’
When I ntioned the Poison King and showed my poison technique, the emotion Namgung Hyuk displayed was fear.
‘That ans he doesn’t have the strength to deal with the Poison King.’
I followed him, and soon we reached our destination.
“This is it.”
A walled estate.
Inside was the registration office.
Thankfully, the registration office was empty.
I didn’t need to wait.
“I want to join the Yongbong Guild.”
“…You an this session of the Yongbong Guild?”
The staff mber, who was organizing the list, looked at in surprise.
“Why?”
I glanced at Namgung Hyuk.
What kind of response was this? I wanted an explanation.
“…As you know, it’s quite important who you compete against when climbing the Tower of Struggle.”
“In that case, joining this session of the Yongbong Guild would be a disadvantage?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because of Jeomchang Gwanggyeon, no, Seomgwang Geomhui.”
“......”
Seomgwang Geomhui? I’ve heard that nickna sowhere.
“The Yongbong Guild... isn’t this sothing like the World Martial Arts Tournant?”
“Sort of, yes.”
“There’s also an option to forfeit, right? So, there’s no need to hold back.”
Seomgwang Geomhui or whatever, there’s no player that can stop . I imdiately signed up.
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