Ahhh—
Xian Nightmare was savoring a peaceful afternoon, taking a spoonful of pudding.
It was an utterly adorable scene, enough to make even an observer feel soothed and smile.
Ariel Tricia, however, was glaring at the system window with an exceedingly peculiar expression.
“…Open tutorial.”
[Tutorial Quest (2)]
[Total of 100+ [Climbers] entered: Achieved]
[30+ [Climbers] clear the trials of the 5th floor: Insufficient (Currently 17 people)]
[Reward: 20,000 Tower Coins + Tower Administrator Authority Rank Up]
[※ This window will automatically close in 30 seconds.]
“Thirty people… to clear the fifth floor…?”
Ariel Tricia clutched her head, letting out a groan.
She racked her memory.
The conversation she’d had with Crow flashed through her mind.
Hunting Towers, Dungeon-type Towers, Trial-type Towers… various others came to mind.
Crow had definitely said something along these lines:
– For reasons unknown, other towers provided trials of exceedingly easy difficulty from the first to the fifth floor.
Most towers on Earth adhered to this same rule.
Even Hunting Towers, once climbers ascended past the fifth floor, invariably demanded a trial or mission at least once.
‘……?’
“…Could it be, this was the reason?!”
Ariel Tricia’s eyes snapped open!
She finally understood! The reason all other towers offered easy trials up to the fifth floor!
It was all because of this tutorial!
To allow climbers to easily meet the tutorial’s clear conditions, other towers had intentionally lowered their difficulty up to the fifth floor!
While Hunting Towers, perhaps due to their different structure, seemed to operate their tutorials in a distinct manner, that wasn’t what mattered now!
“If I had known this beforehand, I wouldn’t have set the trials like this!”
Ariel Tricia protested to the system, but the system felt a bit wronged.
This was because, from the system’s perspective, the very moment Ariel Tricia had been transported to Earth, a large window explicitly stating [Tutorial Start] had appeared!
However, Ariel Tricia had woken up too late, causing the tutorial window to close automatically.
As a result, she hadn’t even known a tutorial existed for this tower!
Thus, the system retorted. (?)
[Notification: The system displayed the tutorial, but the user did not confirm it within the time limit.]
“Then why didn’t you show it to me again when I woke up?!”
[Response: The Administrator did not request the tutorial again.]
“How was I supposed to request it when I didn’t even know it existed! You chose me as the tower’s administrator! Hand over the responsibilities properly!”
Indeed.
When it came down to it, wasn’t it the system that had chosen Ariel Tricia as the tower’s administrator and sent her to Earth?
Upon reflection, it seemed the system was indeed the one at fault first.
“This is my home to begin with! It’s not a tower!!!”
[Entity Name: ‘Ariel Tricia’ is the [Tower Administrator].]
“Why am I the Tower Administrator!!!”
[Cannot respond: Insufficient authority.]
“Hey—!!!!!!!!”
Ariel Tricia was about to unleash ‘that long thing’ (TL Note: A humorous euphemism for a powerful, destructive attack), but forcibly restrained herself, remembering the utterly destroyed state of her home just moments before.
‘This is my home, one I worked so hard to establish…’
Although currently operating as a ‘tower’ due to the system’s coercion, this was, first and foremost, Ariel Tricia’s home.
Of course, the house was astronomically vast, far beyond the typical definition of a home, leading to extensive renovations that allowed for an entire cycle of production and consumption to occur within its confines.
Yet, this didn’t mean a perfectly self-sustaining system had been established.
While Ariel Tricia’s home boasted abundant production and supply, the number of residents available to consume them was woefully inadequate.
During her time in Ariel, she had secured necessary resources by trading surplus goods with external nations, using the acquired resources to maintain internal circulation.
It was a form of external trade, balancing supply and demand.
Now, however, circumstances had changed.
With her entire home having been relocated to Earth, all those external trading partners had vanished.
In this situation, the emergence of ‘climbers’ was, from Ariel Tricia’s perspective, nothing short of the ideal consumers for her surplus goods.
Yet, a new problem arose here.
While currently she received tower coins from transactions with these climbers, in the future, a situation might arise where she would need to purchase necessary supplies for tower operation *from* the climbers.
Operating by simply receiving tower coins and disposing of ‘bad inventory’ (?) was manageable for now, but…
If, in the future, demand for goods produced in [My Home Tower] were to surge and exceed supply—a serious problem would undoubtedly erupt.
Ariel Tricia, standing in a position where she had to resolve all these issues, let out a sigh.
“Haaah… I want to quit being the Tower Administrator…”
[Do you wish to resign from the position of Tower Administrator?]
[If you resign from the position, the system will assume the Tower Administrator’s authority.]
“I’d rather not do that. But what if I refuse even that?”
[If there is no Administrator, a [Tower Collapse] will occur.]
“…What happens if the tower collapses?”
[Climbers will be teleported outside, while the rest will be caught in the [Tower Collapse]. (Survival rate: 0.14%)]
‘……’
Ariel Tricia pondered upon hearing those words.
‘What if I were to bestow top-tier blessings upon everyone living here, enter Rudiel Shephid’s safe subspace, and then trigger a [Tower Collapse]?’
With Ariel Tricia’s transcendent power and the help of her companions, it might be possible to protect everyone even if a [Tower Collapse] occurred.
But was it truly necessary to go to such lengths just to get outside the tower?
This was her home, filled with precious memories shared with her friends.
Of course, if forced to choose between her companions and her home, she would unhesitatingly choose her companions…
‘But for now, perhaps…’
‘I might be able to protect both.’
“…I’ll continue as administrator. I won’t lose my home, nor my companions, ever.”
Ariel Tricia once again resolved to protect both her home and all her beloved companions.
Just then, Xian Nightmare set her spoon down and rose from her seat.
“I’ve finished my pudding. I’m going to bed now.”
“All right, dream of me.”
“May you also have pleasant dreams later, Lady Tricia.”
Xian entered her room, and the remaining dish was promptly cleared away by Jibsa.
“…I wonder when we’ll all be able to go out together again.”
Ariel Tricia’s voice drifted out like a soliloquy in the empty meeting room.
At that moment, a brilliant thought flashed through her mind.
“Wait a minute. We can’t go out right now, but… isn’t it possible to ‘import’ items from Earth into the tower?”
Indeed.
Even if the tower’s residents couldn’t leave, climbers could bring in external items without any issue!
Of course, Crow had mentioned that electronic devices didn’t function properly inside the tower, so there were limitations on import items.
But—if electronics were out, didn’t that imply everything else was fair game?
As her thoughts reached this point, memories from a distant past unfolded like a panorama in Ariel Tricia’s mind.
Chilled cola!
Seasoned fried chicken! Bulgogi pizza!
Jajangmyeon! Tangsuyuk! Dwaeji-gukbap (TL Note: A hearty Korean pork soup)!
…And the god of divisive tastes, mint chocolate ice cream (TL Note: A popular and often debated flavor in Korea)! (???)
While she had already succeeded in recreating dishes similar to chicken and pizza using similar recipes during her time in Ariel, things like jajangmyeon, tangsuyuk, and mint chocolate ice cream had yet to be properly replicated.
This was partly due to not knowing the recipes and partly because achieving the subtle balance of flavors proved difficult.
But what about now?
The authentic! The original! Real Earth cuisine!
With the anticipation of once again enjoying the foods she had eaten in the distant past, Ariel Tricia’s eyes sparkled with life.
“…Soon, I’ll have to recruit a climber to bring in some delivery food…!”
Having regained her energy, she enthusiastically began organizing the list of foods that came to mind, and started planning a party with her beloved friends, featuring Earth cuisine.
Just thinking about it made her mouth water.
Before Ariel Tricia’s eyes, a lavish table laden with perfectly arranged delivery food already appeared.
****
At that very moment.
Somewhere in the city of Gyeongnam, inside a darkened room with even the curtains drawn.
Faded anime posters, tacked up long ago, adorned the walls, and the floor had long been taken over by old books and device components.
Several smartphones with cracked screens hung haphazardly from power outlets, and tangled circuit diagrams and numerical notes were affixed between them like scribbles.
An old laptop, emitting a clamorous fan noise, sat on the desk.
The young man seated before it typed on the keyboard with an expressionless face.
His disheveled hair was a mix of purple and white, his shirt sleeves were crumpled, and faint stains marred the fabric.
Amidst this incongruous blend, he quietly concentrated.
His name was Park Doyoon.
His online community username was—’Mental Victor’.
He had just posted a new entry on an anonymous bulletin board.
[Author: Mental Victor]
[Title: The Effects of World Tree Sap, Brought to You]
Growth acceleration effect / Adults also grow slightly taller.
Enhanced vitality / Excellent for postpartum recovery.
Increased nature affinity / Capable of communicating with spirits.
Originally, communicating with spirits was incredibly difficult unless you were a [Spirit User] or a [Druid],
but with the emergence of [World Tree Sap], an era has arrived where anyone can chat with spirits.
However, don’t mistake it for the spirits liking you.
If you don’t understand why, just look in a mirror.
Having finished the upload, Park Doyoon slowly leaned back in his chair.
A short while later, notifications began popping up on one side of his monitor.
– Wow, this is crazy haha
– I talked to a spirit after eating this, and it ran away
– My height didn’t increase, damn it
Park Doyoon read each comment, a faint smile playing on his lips.
Analyzing reactions, discerning trends, and grasping the flow of refined information was, for him, a type of experiment.
He then quickly scrolled through other community posts.
– Minotaur Milking Tips
– Review of a Winter Coat Made from Sheep Spider Fur
– Went to the 7th-floor trial and got absolutely wrecked trying to collect Cockatrice eggs
“……This new tower that appeared, it’s really interesting, isn’t it?”
The tower he referred to was—[My Home Tower].
A tower that conducts business with climbers.
A tower where bizarre trials are mixed in, yet offers absurdly high rewards.
At first, he too considered it merely a ridiculous rumor, but as authentication videos and reviews steadily emerged, his doubts began to mount.
Everyone was paying attention to this peculiar tower.
“The distance is a bit of a drawback, though…”
He closed the community window and quietly stood up.
Then, he went to the room with the wardrobe and opened his equipment cabinet.
Bulletproof vest, magic robe, dimensional pouch, green goggles, high-grade mana potions, enhanced buff elixirs.
Plasma shoes and flying boots, a curse shield, and even a steel staff of peculiar construction.
Park Doyoon meticulously put on each item in order.
The appearance of a NEET (TL Note: Not in Education, Employment, or Training) lounging in his room vanished, replaced by a singular eccentric.
“Shall I go and see for myself?”
—Unique Class Holder.
World Climber Ranking 35th.
Park Doyoon, the [Seeker], set off for Seoul to investigate the truth.
