In the heart of downtown Seoul.
A group of core members from the [Glory] and [Black Darkness] guilds had gathered in front of the Tower.
This morning, only one person had entered the portal.
Crow had said, "I'll be back before the soup gets cold," before disappearing.
The [Glory] guild members waited for his return, finishing their soup and even ordering additional boiled meat until they were stuffed, but Crow was nowhere to be seen.
The portal itself had vanished about 5 minutes after Crow entered, so they couldn't even be sure if there was a way for him to return.
Despite this, the [Black Darkness] guild members remained calm. Saying "Crow will be fine," as if worrying was a luxury, they too ordered soup and began eating leisurely.
"At times like this, nothing beats a hearty soup."
Yun Seo-jin, the Vice Master of [Glory] guild, was dumbfounded by this scene.
"Weren't you the ones mocking us for eating soup in this situation...?"
"We're human too. We need to eat."
"I heard you've been starving since yesterday? Sorry for the misunderstanding."
While exchanging information about [Glory] and the Tower, one of the [Black Darkness] guild members apologized after learning that Yun Seo-jin hadn't eaten anything all day yesterday.
"Still, you should have been more thorough with the portal investigation. Do you know where we got our information from?"
"I thought you might have used informants, but I guess not."
"Crow just said he saw a post about the portal while web surfing. At first, we thought it was obvious bait, but when we came here, it was really there."
"...Tsk."
Yun Seo-jin quietly clicked his tongue, resolving to conduct another security training for guild members soon.
"Actually, Crow is the strange one. Who would believe some random Gallery post and act on it immediately? The person who posted it probably works somewhere around here."
*Flinch*—
The restaurant owner's son flinched while serving food.
The [Black Darkness] guild members took a spoonful of hot soup and added:
"Anyway, Crow will be fine. I can't imagine him failing."
Everyone nodded in agreement.
Until then, no one had worried about Crow.
But...
Even after the [Black Darkness] guild members finished their soup and lunchtime approached... Crow hadn't returned.
At this point, anxiety began to creep in among the [Black Darkness] guild members.
This wasn't just a simple trial—it meant the difficulty level was frightening enough to challenge even him for hours.
Or... perhaps something had truly happened inside the Tower.
Silence gradually fell over the plaza in front of the Tower.
"...He's still not out."
Someone's low murmur caused anxiety and fear to spread.
The portal had already disappeared, and there was no way to send reinforcements. It was too dangerous to re-enter through the Tower's first floor since they didn't know where the portal led.
One of the [Black Darkness] guild members asked:
"Hey... does anyone know where that portal was connected to?"
"We don't know either. The portal's gone now, so we can't use [Appraisal] on it."
"Then you should have used [Appraisal] earlier! What have you been doing all this time?"
"The Vice Master already attempted [Appraisal] initially. But he said his skill level was too low and the appraisal failed."
For reference, Yun Seo-jin's [Appraisal] is level 8, while Crow's is level 10 (MAX).
A quick bit of information: Climbers can acquire various skills by climbing the Tower.
To increase skill levels, one can hunt monsters to gain skill points, use Tower Coins to strengthen skills, or absorb "essences" containing skills.
"Isn't it strange? If it was a dangerous place, he should have already returned using [Tower Exit]."
"Or maybe, as the Vice Master mentioned, the structure didn't allow [Tower Exit] to work in the first place?"
Ominous speculations circulated.
Then, one of the Black Darkness guild's Climbers clenched his fist and said:
"Crow... isn't someone who would die so easily."
"But there's no guarantee he's alive either."
"You're saying that because you don't know his true power!"
The atmosphere grew tense. Eventually, opinions among the Black Darkness guild members diverged.
Some argued they should enter the Tower immediately to confirm Crow's status, while others questioned how they would escape from a place that even Crow couldn't handle.
Yun Seo-jin also fell into contemplation. Should he deploy the backup team he had prepared, or look for another solution?
At that moment.
"Huh? Wait... I see something in front of the Tower."
The surface of the Tower's exterior first floor rippled.
An invisible seam split open, revealing a faint gap of light.
Everyone's gaze turned toward it at once.
"...!"
Everyone held their breath.
—And then, a man wearing a crow mask, his dark red suit fluttering, quietly walked out.
"...Crow!"
Relief and joy bloomed on the faces of the Black Darkness guild members.
He was fine. No, he had no injuries whatsoever and emanated an even stronger aura than before.
When Crow reached them, questions poured out like a broken dam.
"Mr. Crow! What was inside the portal?"
"Are you alright? How did you return to the Tower's first floor entrance?"
"What happened inside the portal? Are you okay?"
But Crow remained silent. His gaze turned to where the portal had been.
The portal... was already gone.
*The portal to the 95th floor is gone. Perhaps that's for the best.*
Someone must have tampered with it after he entered.
He recalled his battle with the night sky, the silence that appeared within, and the being who easily handled it—his conversation with the [Tower Administrator].
And the shocking information about the Tower revealed by the woman who claimed to be Korean.
Finally, the excessive gifts she had given him.
But... it was too noisy right now.
"Mr. Crow! Please tell us what happened inside!"
*Murmuring*—
"...It's noisy. Move aside."
"..."
When Crow spoke with slight irritation in his voice, the people around him immediately fell silent and cleared a path.
After the situation had somewhat settled, Crow approached Yun Seo-jin with one of the [Black Darkness] guild's information officers.
Yun Seo-jin welcomed Crow.
"Crow... I'm glad you're safe. I have a mountain of questions too, but..."
"There are too many ears here... Just a moment, I'll use a skill."
"What—?"
"[Silent Gravity Field]."
*Snap.*
With a snap of his fingers, a transparent barrier formed.
"It's a soundproof barrier. For five minutes, nothing said inside will be heard outside."
Yun Seo-jin looked at Crow with surprised eyes.
"...What exactly are you going to tell me?"
Crow pondered for a moment.
From what he knew, Yun Seo-jin, the Vice Master of [Glory] guild, was widely praised as a competent, responsible superior who cared for his subordinates.
And meeting him in person, Crow could immediately tell he was indeed a responsible person.
That's why, when Crow first met Yun Seo-jin, he deliberately said, "I'll go in alone, don't interfere."
If he hadn't said that, the [Glory] guild would certainly have assembled a team to accompany Crow, fulfilling their responsibility to the mission.
Perhaps... Yun Seo-jin himself might have come along.
After all, he was also a skilled Climber.
So Crow chose him as the first person to share his information with.
*This information is too big for me to handle alone. I need someone to discuss it with from a fellow 'human' perspective.*
The [Black Darkness] guild master was merely a cooperative partner who provided him with benefits and appropriate compensation for his achievements, not someone he could completely trust.
That's why he chose Yun Seo-jin, known for his intelligence, sense of responsibility, and the trust he received from his subordinates.
He believed that Yun Seo-jin, the [Glory] guild Vice Master with proper values and strong responsibility, would make the right judgment about whether this information should be released to the world.
The reason he brought along the [Black Darkness] guild's information officer was... merely to prevent unnecessary rumors that Crow didn't trust his own guild.
But... was this judgment correct?
Was it truly right to share this information with the [Glory] guild's Vice Master first, rather than reporting to the [Black Darkness] guild?
At that moment, Tricia's sincere voice replayed in Crow's mind.
"I will trust you."
Those words touched the center of Crow's heart.
Yes, it was time to make a choice.
To speak, or to conceal.
After nine seconds of silence that felt like eternity, Crow quietly opened his mouth.
"...I had a conversation with the [Tower Administrator]."
"W-what?"
"...Excuse me?!"
Yun Seo-jin's eyes and mouth opened wide, unable to hide his surprise and excitement.
And the [Black Darkness] guild's information officer beside him doubted whether he had heard correctly.
"The Tower Administrator said that resources are needed to maintain the Tower. And those resources are Tower Coins, which we can also obtain in the Tower."
Yun Seo-jin's eyes sparkled. He quickly analyzed the information as he listened to Crow.
"Tower Coins are generated from Climbers' entry, battles, consumption, growth, and death. The one who operates the Tower with these generated Tower Coins is the Tower Administrator."
In Yun Seo-jin's mind, the massive puzzle pieces that had remained questions until now began to move and fit together one by one.
"The Tower cannot be maintained without Climbers. That's why the Tower was created with a structure that makes Climbers continue their activities through repeated trials and rewards."
As the final puzzle piece fit into place, Yun Seo-jin nodded.
"...So it was true after all."
"...You don't seem very surprised?"
"I had a vague suspicion. One of my hypotheses matched exactly. More importantly, to think that Tower Coins were the resource maintaining the Tower..."
Crow also observed the reaction of the [Black Darkness] guild information officer beside him.
"Uh... um..."
He seemed to have lost his language ability from the shock of what he'd just heard.
When Crow gently shook the [Black Darkness] information officer's shoulder, he finally regained his senses and asked with a trembling voice:
"D-does that mean... we were nothing more than 'fuel' to be used and discarded by the Tower...?"
"...That's essentially correct."
Crow answered calmly.
The information officer fell into a great panic.
Confusion, fear, and denial.
"How... how can I believe that? There's no evidence in the first place...!"
As the information officer began to deny what he had heard, Crow quietly took out a box from his [Wormhole].
From the box, he pulled out a bottle shaped like an angel, containing a brilliantly shining liquid.
"This is a gift from the Tower Administrator. Would this serve as evidence?"
"What...?!"
Yun Seo-jin used his [Appraisal] skill without hesitation.
Fortunately, the [Appraisal] skill activated normally—
"Appraisal Result: Holy Water of the Majestic Angel (High Grade)"
"Effect: 100% HP and MP recovery, cures all diseases and status ailments, treats all mental disorders, heals all injuries, grants [Angel's Protection (Medium)] upon consumption."
"[Angel's Protection (Medium)] - Provides resistance to most diseases and status ailments, reduces damage by 35%, increases physical recovery by 1.5 times, reduces skin wrinkles, revives once immediately upon death then buff is removed, effect duration: 3 days"
Yun Seo-jin momentarily doubted his eyes, remained silent for a while... then uttered one phrase.
"...Impossible."
Yun Seo-jin stared blankly at the holy water.
The effects were so overpowered that they made any recovery item used until now pale in comparison.
It had superior effects that made all the expensive potions Climbers had been using look like garbage.
It was mind-boggling.
And when Yun Seo-jin appraised the holy water, Crow also appraised its effects.
After confirming it had the amazing effects he expected, Crow retrieved the bottle and said to Yun Seo-jin:
"This is just the beginning."
"...What do you mean?"
"The information we know about the Tower, the existence of this potion... I intend to make this information public."
"...!!!"
"But I'll reconsider depending on your judgment. So... what do you think, Yun Seo-jin?"
Crow had just dropped a massive bomb on Yun Seo-jin!