Chapter 27

027. Preemption (2)

165 million won.

The amount of money, which a mere aspiring hunter could never have imagined, was deposited into my account.

Even though I had become stronger through all the trials in the Tower of Trials, I am still human.

I forgot to manage my expression and momentarily smiled.

For a moment, my mind was filled with all the things I could do with this money.

‘...But what’s the point, it’s going to be taken away soon.’

I quickly regained my composure and started to calm down.

I didn’t sell the items at such a high price just for the sake of preemption.

There were experiments to be done with the Tower of Trials, and it wasn’t good to be obsessed with money.

Thinking this, my upturned lips quickly flattened.

“I have confirmed the deposit.”

Unlike my excitement, her voice was steady and showed no sign of wavering.

“Then I will take care of the items myself.”

The female employee replied and immediately collected the items on the table.

It’s a bit of a waste, but these items are useless in higher floors.

“Thank you for your visit. Please come again next time.”

“Yes, then I’ll be on my way.”

I left the store, putting aside any lingering thoughts, and began to look around other stores.

I had a question in mind.

The system of the Tower of Trials allowed items purchased inside to be taken out.

Then, what about the opposite—bringing items from outside into the tower?

It’s still just a guess, but it should be possible to bring items in.

Of course, it’s not a baseless guess.

‘If they allowed us to bring equipment in, they would have also allowed us to take it out.’

The only question is whether items bought outside the Tower of Trials would work.

That’s what I’m trying to find out now.

“You have to spend the money you earn.”

Looking at the various stores in the Hunter Market, I smiled wryly.

Now it was time to spend the money I had earned.

***

「Crocken Tower Restoration Box」

「Grade: D+」

「A magical engineering tool developed in the Crocken Tower, once known as the tower of eccentrics.」

「When a C-grade or lower item is placed in the box, it can be restored to its original form.」

「However, the item must fit inside the box, and only one item can be repaired at a time.」

「Additionally, the repair can only be used once.」

「Stone of Cleanliness」

「Grade: E-」

「When infused with magic, it cleans the user’s body and all equipment worn.」

「However, it cannot remove special effects.」

「The cooldown time is 3 hours.」

After returning to my studio apartment,

I looked at the two items I had purchased after carefully selecting them from the Hunter Market.

I thought they were quite good for items bought at around 97 million won.

The Crocken Tower Restoration Box was D+ grade,

and the Stone of Cleanliness, though E- grade, was clearly important in the tower.

‘Especially in the Tower of Trials, where there are no conditions for washing, it would be even more crucial.’

Once I got rid of the stench, I realized how terrible the smell had been.

If I could maintain at least a minimum level of cleanliness, it would be better to do so, even if it cost some money.

“Spending 100 million won on just two items...”

Honestly, it made me want to laugh, but it was a necessary choice.

There were no other practical items I could use in the Tower of Trials.

‘To be precise, these were the only items I could choose within 100 million won.’

It was important to leave some extra money, so I only chose these.

I wasn’t going to stay in the Tower of Trials forever and not return to Earth.

‘Hunters need to hunt at least twice a year to maintain their qualifications.’

A-grade hunters can retire with honor, but not those below.

Unless in special cases like being affiliated with the Hunter Association, failing to continue hunting activities would result in forced retirement.

In any case, a hunter is a profession for dealing with gates and monsters.

Without practical activity records, it’s natural not to receive benefits as a hunter.

‘Of course, there might be other reasons to return...’

For now, it was better to focus on the Tower of Trials.

The Tower of Trials I would soon return to still had trials left.

To reach the 8th floor, I needed to endure three more trials.

With permanent return limited, the Tower of Trials is the most important thing right now.

Having made this judgment, I sat in the chair in front of the computer and stared blankly at the ceiling.

I had done everything I needed to, so the only remaining issue was one.

‘The question is whether I can bring these items into the tower as I thought...’

I’ll find out when I get there.

There’s nothing I can do about it right now, so all I can do is wait to return to the tower.

‘Since I’ll be returning tomorrow, there’s no need to worry.’

I decided to resume information gathering.

With so much time passed, I wondered if there was any new information.

Click, click.

While searching the internet for information related to the Tower of Trials,

“...What’s this?”

「Anyone been to the Tower of Trials?」

I paused at a newly updated post on the hunter community.

What is this crazy guy up to?

‘The one who revealed information about the 4th floor trial and this guy...’

There are quite a few people who seem to have a screw loose.

I’m curious about what they’re thinking by casually writing about the Tower of Trials.

But now wasn’t the time to question that.

Click.

「Author – Former D-grade Hunter」

「Damn, I bought a low-grade return stone and came back. Can you share some information? It’s urgent.」

I could tell it wasn’t a lie as soon as I read the post.

A challenger who knows about return stones and has reached the 5th floor.

The difficulty is unknown, but it’s an interesting post.

‘I’m curious about what made him write this.’

My interest rose sharply, so I quickly scrolled down.

「I managed to survive the 4th and 5th floors, but the 6th floor trial, which is a combined trial, is driving me crazy.」

「I’ve used all my question points and can’t get more information. I’m really in a bind.」

「Especially since it’s a difficult difficulty, it’s even worse.」

Difficult difficulty.

So, this challenger was at the same difficulty level as me.

‘The 6th floor trial is already approaching...’

I wondered how short the 5th floor trial was if he was already on the 6th floor.

Putting that thought aside, I continued to scroll down.

Click, click.

「The damn administrators only give partial answers when asked repeatedly.」

「In the waiting rooms of the 4th and 6th floors, ‘that guy’ leaked some information about the combined trial, and now the community is in a guessing game.」

「Bottom-tier challengers are practically being told to die.」

「Challengers like us need to share information to increase our chances of survival.」

「If any lower-tier challenger is willing to share information, leave a comment.」

“Hmm.”

Now the situation was starting to make sense.

‘It seems information about the combined trial was leaked in the 6th floor waiting room, just like in the 4th floor waiting room.’

The ‘guy’ mentioned in the post is probably the same one I saw on the 4th floor.

I gained quite a bit of information unexpectedly.

‘The guy I saw on the 4th floor is causing trouble, and the 6th floor trial is a combined trial.’

And I learned that the author is a lower-tier challenger who has used all their question points.

Of course, I had no intention of responding to the call for information sharing.

‘I have no information to share, and there’s no need to do so.’

I was designated 16th in the 4th floor trial, so I’m a top-tier challenger.

And since I haven’t used my question points, they are accumulated.

There’s no reason to create unnecessary variables by approaching awkwardly.

That’s when it happened.

「GoblinDance – Are you crazy? What the hell are you talking about?」

Despite being a new post, comments started to pile up.

「ModernOrc – Well, quite a few hunters have retired due to mental illness.」

「SalaryLupang – I’m also a D-grade hunter. Am I going to end up like this guy? It’s a bit scary.」

「StraightHunter – Stop making nonsense about the Tower of Trials and challengers. Go play a game, crazy person.」

Of course, it seemed no one believed the content of the post.

‘Well, no one would take such a post seriously...’

「StormyCool – We’re in a similar situation, damn it. Me too. Can we talk one-on-one? I’m also at the difficult difficulty.」

「DedicatedBung – I really feel for you. Can we talk? I have information too. Let’s team up, fellow difficult difficulty challengers.」

“...There are some.”

The anxiety of being at the edge was evident in the posts.

Still, it was surprising that lower-tier challengers had returned.

‘If they’re this anxious, they could have just trained in the tower and challenged the trials.’

It was hard to understand why they had used so many points to return.

Of course, without knowing the full details, it’s not wise to jump to conclusions.

‘Still, it seems more returnees are starting to appear.’

From the way they talked about finishing the 5th floor trial, it seemed they had just returned.

This means that official information about the Tower of Trials will gradually increase.

“Returning quickly to preempt others was a good move.”

If I hadn’t, I might have faced difficulties later.

Feeling satisfied with my quick return, I continued to search the internet and found more.

「Does anyone know about the Tower of Trials dungeon?」

「Civilians, be careful not to be taken to the ‘Tower of Trials’.」

「Looking for challengers to form a team in the Tower of Trials.」

More information was being released than I expected.

Even warning posts from civilians who had returned were appearing.

‘Well, since there was an easy difficulty, it’s natural that they would start appearing.’

At the same time, more people were starting to take an interest in the Tower of Trials.

「What’s so special about the Tower of Trials that everyone is talking about it?」

「What’s this Tower of Trials dungeon that even civilians are being taken to?」

「Is someone trying to manipulate things, what’s so special about the Tower of Trials?」

It was easy to predict that the Tower of Trials would soon come to public attention.

‘I don’t know what impact this will have...’

One thing was clear.

I needed to return to the Tower of Trials and climb higher to understand the situation better.

‘The 6th floor is a combined trial, and the 5th floor is an individual trial...’

That means another bloodbath is inevitable.

However, the fact was less shocking than expected.

‘If I have to fight, I’ll fight.’

I was even curious about the rewards I would get from winning.

I wasn’t sure if it was because I had killed someone or if I had adapted too much to the tower.

Now I understood what it meant to adapt to the tower.

‘Familiarity with struggle and the rewards that come with it.’

I might have become a bit unhinged, but it wasn’t all bad.

At least until I reach the 8th floor.

“8th floor...”

I planned to use the accumulated question points when the Tower of Trials system expanded.

By then, I would know more about the Tower of Trials.

So,

“I need to thoroughly prepare for the tower’s trials.”

For now, I just need to keep breaking through the trials.