Side Story Chapter 147: Tower of Creation (5)
[D-Due to unforeseen circumstances, the tutorial will be restarted without Climber Oh Kang-Woo.]
Ritty’s confused voice echoed throughout the island. It was only natural that the tutorial would begin again without Kang-Woo since he had killed every beast that made survival the main objective of the tutorial in the first place.
[As for Climber oh Kang-Woo… you may enter the tower.]
Whoooom.
A translucent Gate appeared once Ritty finished talking.
“Yeah, this is more like it.”
Kang-Woo smiled as he entered the Gate in front of him. He once again felt the floating feeling as he was transported somewhere.
Mumble, mumble.
“Wow, there are a lot more people than I expected.”
Kang-Woo was met with buildings that resembled those from the Middle Ages once his blurred vision became clear. He did not expect many people to be on the first floor but the streets were bustling with hundreds of people.‘First…’
He was planning on climbing the tower immediately but changed his mind after finding out about the sponsor system.
‘I need more information. Those who know more earn more.’
This principle was the same on his Earth as the outer world Earth. Kang-Woo smiled as he licked his lips.
***
Kang-Woo spent three days gathering general information about the Tower of Creation before climbing. He sometimes asked people on the streets and even subdued a cocky apostle who claimed to be from the upper floors to get information that way.
Some conflicts arose since he was just a fledgling tower climber digging for information but he couldn’t care less since none of the apostles in the tower were threats to his life.
“Right, then.”
Kang-Woo opened the Notes app on his smartphone and skimmed through it. There was a lot including useless information but he took the unnecessary ones out.
‘The Constellations raise their apostles or bribe those who they want as their apostles through sponsors.’
He already learned this from Ritty but learned in greater detail after three days of information gathering.
“The Constellations can be ranked based on how much they sponsor.”
Putting it simply, the more Nebula a Constellation possessed, the more powerful and influential they were.
‘In that sense, the God of Rupture is a dud.’
His name was rather flashy but considering the amount he sponsored was always less than that of the God of Games and how he seemed desperate to make Kang-Woo his apostle, he was likely low in ranking as a Constellation.
‘I’m not sure about the God of Compassion yet.’
He was likely sending him only one Nebula not because he was low in ranking but because he found Kang-Woo’s actions disagreeable.
‘Well, I guess you could say he’s also a dud just from that.’
Kang-Woo might be able to gain the God of Compassion’s favor if he acted more compassionately as the god’s name suggested but his plans had no compassion in them whatsoever.
‘For now, the God of Games has supported me the most.’
Kang-Woo had asked around and it seemed he was a rather famous god.
“But it’s not enough.”
He was nowhere near his goal. According to Eve, Kang-Woo needed 100,000 Nebula to pull for one Trait. Kang-Woo had received a total of around 2,000 Nebula so far. To get more Nebula, he needed to grab the attention of higher-ranking Constellations— the big shots.
‘Though none of them have shown interest in me so far.’
There was a reason for that. Based on the information Kang-Woo had gathered in the past three days, Constellations could change the apostle they chose as long as they paid the corresponding price. But, of course, the more Nebula the Constellation sponsored that apostle, the higher the price they needed to pay.
‘But that doesn’t impact the big shots that much.’
In other words, they would rather pay the contract termination fee than be stuck with a talent they didn’t want.
‘The big shots would rather try for an apostle with tons of experience than a newbie who just finished the tutorial.’
If an employer were to choose an employee purely based on work experience, they would naturally choose one with more experience. Hence, powerful and wealthy Constellations did not even bother to watch the tutorial.
“Let’s… the current highest-ranking Constellations of the Tower of Creation are…”
It was rather easy to find out since their forces in the tower matched their rank. Kang-Woo checked the names of the Constellations on his notes.
God of Heaven
God of Adventure
God of Depravity
They were whom the apostles referred to as zeroth-tier Constellations.
‘I need to get their attention.’n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om
There was only one way to do such a thing.
“Stimulation.”
He needed to provide enough stimulation and entertainment that would shock even the God of Games and get rumors of him spread throughout the tower via the apostles. He would make it so that they would be losing out if they didn’t come to see him.
[The ‘God of Games’ yawns.]
[The ‘God of Malevolence’ stretches in boredom.]
The Constellations’ attention seemed to have died down because Kang-Woo had been gathering information for three days straight.
‘I should get moving soon.’
Most Constellations sponsored people to make them their apostles, but others such as the God of Games sponsored simply because they wanted to see something fun. Kang-Woo couldn’t let go of either of them.
“Stimulation, huh?”
Kang-Woo smirked and lightly stretched. It was simple to provide stimulation to the Constellations.
‘Show them something they’ve never seen before.’
He just needed to show them things they never thought were possible.
“Fuuu—”
Kang-Woo took a deep breath. He had also spent the past three days planning how to stimulate the Constellations so that his name would be engraved in their minds.
‘I’ll show you… how much of an attention grabber I can be.’
“WRYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!” Kang-Woo screamed his lungs out.
Rumble—!!!
“Wh-What the hell?!”
“Arrgghhh!! M-My ears—!!!!”
The thunderous roar filled the streets, making everyone walking through the streets cover their ears and collapse. Blood was coming out of some people’s ears.
He got into a crouch start, lifted his butt, and shouted, “HERE I GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!”
Rumble—!!!
Kang-Woo charged forward with all his might. The Middle Ages buildings collapsed as if a tornado had swept them. The streets were destroyed with each step Kang-Woo took, leaving giant craters.
‘My goal is… the top.’
“I WILL NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW! START CLIMBIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING!! THE TOWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEER!!!”
Kang-Woo sprinted to the translucent Gate that headed to the next floor and jumped in without hesitation.
Riiing!
[Moving to the ‘Trial Zone’ that leads to the second floor.]
[The second floor has already been conquered, hence you can give up on the trial any time you like as long as the failure conditions are not fulfilled.]
Message windows appeared in front of Kang-Woo but he paid its contents no mind.
“I do not know failure.”
[The ‘God of Games’ stares at you with great interest!]
[The ‘God of Games’ sponsors you with 100 Nebulas!]
[The ‘God of Rupture’ stares at you intently!]
[The ‘God of Malevolence’ prepares snacks!]
[The ‘God of Compassion’ sponsors you with 1 Nebula!]
The Constellations who had been quiet until now sent reactions.
[Welcome to the ‘Trial Zone’ that leads to the second floor.]
[To head to the second floor, you must hunt at least five of the two-star animal-type beasts in the ‘Ice Mountain’ field within three d—]
“I DON’T GIVE A SHIT—!!!”
Kang-Woo did not have time to waste reading explanations.
“Skybreaker.”
Rumble!!! BOOM—!!!
Kang-Woo destroyed the snow-covered ice mountain itself as soon as he arrived. An avalanche occurred and wiped out all the beasts.
“NEXT!!!”
Kang-Woo sprinted at full speed again once he arrived at the second floor after not even a minute in the Trial Zone.
Rumble—!!
“Wh-What? What’s going on?”
“Aaaaaahhh!! H-Help me!!!”
Kang-Woo bulldozed through buildings and streets as he headed to the Gate that led to the next floor.
[Welcome to the Trial Zone that leads to the third fl—]
“NEEEEEEEEXT!!!”
[Welcome to the Trial Zone that leads—]
“NEEEEEEEEEEEEEXT!!!”
[Welcome to—]
“NEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEXT!!!”
Kang-Woo sprinted from the first to the fifth floor without stopping.
[The ‘God of Rupture’ opens his mouth in shock!!]
[The ‘God of Thunder’ shows interest in you!]
[The ‘God of the Sun’ examines you after hearing the news!]
[The ‘God of Games’ claps as he jumps in excitement!]
[The ‘God of Malevolence’ takes a mouthful of meat as he laughs heartily!]
The Constellations were going wild with excitement. However…
“It’s not enough.”
Kang-Woo couldn’t be satisfied with that; he would reach his goal like this. Anyone could climb the tower quickly if they were strong enough. He was sure there had been at least a few people in the hundreds of years that the Tower of Creation had existed who managed to climb from the first to the fifth floor without stopping.
“More, more, more!!!”
He needed to do something impactful no one had ever attempted.
“In that case.”
He tumbled forward and got into a handstand.
[The ‘God of Games’ wonders what you are doing!]
‘If conquering the tower quickly isn’t good enough…’
“I’ll do it in a handstand.”
Shuffle—!!!
Kang-Woo sprinted forward on his hands. It naturally wasn’t as fast as when he was sprinting on his feet but its impact was incomparably greater.
[Welcome to the Trial Zone that leads to the sixth fl—]
“WRYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!”
Kang-Woo smashed his foot down on the monsters’ heads like a scorpion’s stinger.
[The ‘God of Games’ raises his arms as he cheers!]
[The ‘God of Malevolence’ stares at you, completely forgetting about his meat!]
Kang-Woo moved to the next floor, having gotten used to the floating feeling. He was met with a group of people with weapons in their hands, blocking his way.
“Hehehe! We are apostles of the great Ishvalda!!”
“Anyone who climbs to this floor must obey our commands… huh?”
“What the hell’s up with this guy?”
The apostles of Ishvalda were left confused by Kang-Woo who appeared in a handstand.
“Obey you? Laughable. I obey no one,” Kang-Woo declared.
“Bro, saying something like that in that kind of stance is a bit—”
“GYEEEEEEEEEEEEEHHH!!”
He twisted his body with his arms as the fulcrum, performing a technique of the martial art capoeira. His legs, spinning like a windmill, smashed into the apostles.
Crack—!!
“Arghhh!!!”
The apostles’ bodies were broken just from getting grazed by the kicks.
“Wh-What the fuck?!!”
“WRYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!”
“Th-This motherfucker is out of his mind!!!”
“RUUUUUUUUUUN!!!”
The apostles ran away from the lunatic spinning on his hands so fast that he created a dust storm. Kang-Woo did not bother chasing them nor did he have a reason to. He only had one goal at the moment— to climb the tower.
“I am the man… who will reach the top… NEEEEEEEEEXT!!!”
He continued in a handstand to reach the tenth floor in an instant.
[Welcome to the ‘Trial Zone’ that leads to the eleventh floor. A boss monster-type beast will appear every ten fl—]
“I don’t give a fuck.”
A boss on the lower floors was no match for him.
“GRRRRRRRRR!!!”
“Please be quiet!!!”
Kang-Woo smashed his heel down to destroy the boss monster’s head and headed to the next floor.
[The ‘God of Malevolence’ drops what he is eating!]
[The ‘God of Rupture’ trembles in fear!]
[The ‘God of Games’ cheers in satisfaction from your journey!!!]
[The ‘God of Games’ sponsors you with 3,000 Nebulas!]
[The ‘God of Compassion’ sponsors you with 1 Nebula!]
“No…”
It was still not enough.
“Not this…”
‘More, more, more!!! More attention!!! More stimulation!!!’
Wham.
Kang-Woo spread his arms wide, the crown of his head falling to the ground. He grabbed the ground with his widely spread arms… and spun.
“Heavenly Dragon Sword Technique, Ultimate Move— [Stormbreaker].”
Whoosh—!!!
Kang-Woo spun faster and faster as his limbs created a vortex.
“AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!”
“H-HELP MEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!”
“WHAT THE HELL IS THAAAAAAAAAAAAT?!!”
A tornado hundreds of meters tall destroyed buildings and leveled the earth. At this very moment, Kang-Woo himself was the storm.
“LESGOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!”
‘LET IT RIP—!!!’
Kang-Woo, who had become one with the storm, spun toward the next floor.
Riiing!
[The ‘God of Games’ stares at you in confusion!]