Chapter 14
The rules of the Tower were absolute.
Even Administrators and Constellations could not go against them.
However, there were a few exceptional beings who were allowed to move between floors beyond those rules.
Climbers.
They possessed talent far beyond normal standards and received limitless protection from the Tower and the Constellations.
Everything they created was dangerous enough to exist on a completely different level.
Almost no one knew anything about the Climbers except for a very small number of people.
It was to prevent them from being influenced by outside powers.
“Kugh, it's been a while since I drank, so I'm starting to feel it. Maybe I'll have just one more cup....”
Compared to the others, Dolkin was a very unusual case.
He did not care much about revealing himself.
“What are you staring at?! Hic, if you wanted some, you should've drunk when I offered it earlier!”
I remembered the first time I met him.
After our disastrous failure to clear the 80th floor, we took some time to reorganize and recover.
Mihyeon, who had fallen into self-blame, eventually pulled herself together and reorganized the raid party.
But it did not take long before we encountered a practical problem.
The members of the raid party gathered in the meeting room.
Their faces were pale because they had barely escaped with their lives.
Mihyeon tightly bit her lip before carefully speaking.
“...Once we've finished preparing, we'll challenge the 80th floor again. For now, we need to prepare for that day.”
The room immediately became restless.
After our previous failure, everyone hesitated to climb to the next floor again.
At a time like this, the person at the center had to remain strong.
“The equipment we have now is useless. I know everyone is struggling mentally right now... but if we don't want the same thing to happen again, we need new equipment, even if it means spending every Coin we have.”
The atmosphere became heavy.
No one could easily give her an answer.
Rustle.
“Sister Mihyeon, I'm sorry to say this, but I don't think that's possible.”
The only person who raised his hand in the silent meeting room was Taesu.
Even his face, which always smiled and encouraged everyone, was covered in gloom.
“As you already know, the merchants have begun restricting their goods. Our failure is probably the biggest reason. More importantly....”
A brief silence passed.
Taesu, who had trailed off, continued speaking.
“There's no guarantee we'll succeed this time either. What I'm saying is, the next attempt could be our last.”
Failing to clear the Tower was a sign that chaos would soon spread among the Players and residents.
The merchants did not miss that opportunity.
With demand rising, the prices of food ingredients and weapons increased exponentially.
Mihyeon already knew all of this.
They were problems she had worried about from the beginning.
“...I know. But if we don't do this, the same thing will only happen again. So this time has to be different.”
A single opening could decide victory or defeat.
If we could not find one, then we had no choice but to create one.
And equipment was ultimately what could create that opening.
With the equipment we had back then, even blocking the boss's attacks was difficult.
We could not even leave a single scratch on the dragon's steel-like scales.
The one who supplied us with weapons was Dolkin.
He had no grand goal or noble cause.
“Ha, do you really think I'd need some grand reason? If you lot are going to climb anyway, wouldn't it be nice if you brought the thing down using my weapons? Kahaha!”
His reason was simple.
If someone was going to clear the Tower, he wanted them to use his weapons.
While we waited for the weapons to be completed, I spent a short time beside him watching him work with metal.
At first, he chased me away, saying I was annoying.
But I did not give up.
I visited him every single day for an entire year.
Only then did he finally allow me to watch.
Even the stubborn Dolkin shook his head and said he had never met such a crazy bastard in his life.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
The hammering was simple yet heavy.
At first glance, he looked no different from any other blacksmith.
And yet, the sound was completely different.
There was a rhythm to it.
“Hooh, you've got pretty sharp eyes. None of those arrogant bastards ever asked me about this before.”
More time passed after that.
The more time we spent together, the closer we became.
“Ah, I told you that's not how you do it! Damn it! You need to hit harder there, idiot!”
“...Dolkin, isn't this because your explanations are terrible? If you'd explained it slowly, I would've learned it already.”
“Like hell you would, you bastard! You've already ruined hundreds of pieces of metal!”
Even though he constantly shouted at me, learning from him was extremely useful.
It gave me insights completely different from those I gained through combat.
Of course, I was not particularly skilled with my hands, so it took me an entire year just to learn how to hammer properly.
If Dolkin hadn't taught me those tricks, I might have spent the rest of my life learning it.
Eventually, time reached its end.
The next day would be the day we challenged the 80th floor again.
“Ahem, I'm not usually the kind of person who makes an offer like this, but... don't you want to learn more?”
Dolkin rubbed his nose as he spoke.
Apparently embarrassed by his own words, he suddenly raised his voice.
“Ah, damn it! I, if you don't want to, then forget it! Do you think an opportunity like this comes more than once in a lifetime? Hah!”
Maybe it was because we had become close.
Even his angry expression now felt like his own way of saying goodbye.
“...I've always been grateful to you. It isn't easy to willingly teach someone your own techniques.”
Even though I was the one who said it, Dolkin became more embarrassed.
