Chapter 20 - Return (4) (2/2)
I had a feeling that I’d find out more about what happened to the world as I climbed the tower…
Above all, it was because I knew that whoever adapted the fastest was the one who survived the calamity.
Of course—
‘There are also other things to be earned from here.’
One merit was that I could get infinitely stronger here.
No matter what it was, the tower gave me a chance to grow stronger and I was going to take it.
Even if it meant crushing others to do so…
And from the 8th floor, I wouldn’t be hesitant to climb up anymore.
Because everyone who remained would have done so of their own volition.
So first, I decided to absorb all of the souls in the tower.
「 You have absorbed the soul of the goblin king. 」
「 You have absorbed the soul of the player ‘Lee Jinhoo.’ 」
「 You have absorbed the soul of the player ‘Lee Sieon.’ 」
「 You have absorbed the soul of the player ‘Im Sangyoon.’ 」
Shaaa…!
All of the fog spiraled into my palm to be absorbed.
I wouldn’t kill just to get stronger, but I would if the situation forced me to.
It was too late to have any qualms about that anyway.
‘I can digest these souls later.’
Once I absorbed all the souls, I headed to the portal.
「 Moving to the waiting room. 」
I could always check the rewards later.
It was time to heal up first.
***
「 You have entered the 5th floor waiting room. 」
「 Healing all injuries and status ailments. 」
「 The healing effect is constantly applied in the waiting room. 」
The familiar messages greeted me again.
But the following messages weren’t something I’ve seen yet.
「 More than a thousand people have cleared the 5th trial. 」
「 The system expansion is starting. 」
「 A system that ranks trial clears, ‘Trial Evaluation’ is being created. 」
「 New categories are being added to the marketplace. 」
「 More items are now available in the marketplace. 」
「 You are now able to change your nickname. 」
“A system expansion.”
Like we figured out previously, the expansion was finally starting.
I knew it was going to happen, but it still felt surprising.
It felt like it was only yesterday when I was putting my life at risk to kill the sand golem…
‘I guess I got stronger pretty quickly.’
Slightly nostalgic, I checked out the newly expanded system.
“Trial Evaluation.”
Upon the command, a decorated hologram appeared in front of me.
「 4th Trial Evaluations 」
…
…
“Fairly intuitive.”
Clicking the name at the top of the board expanded the details.
“…”
Is this record humanly possible?
‘I mean, what? How did he clear the trial in 34 minutes?’
It was a name I recognized from the community, and he was stronger than I had imagined.
There was too much coincidence for it to be someone with the same name.
‘I guess this is the power of actual hunters.’
An existence that C and D-rank hunters couldn’t even fathom.
I knew he was a high rank from the way he spoke, but…
‘I didn’t know this was his level.’
As I continued down the leaderboard, something caught my eye.
Originally, you could only use your real name in the tower.
So it was obviously unexpected to see a name like that.
‘Oh yeah, it did say…!’
The system had mentioned something about the nickname.
I pushed away the leaderboard and connected to the community to see some new text.
「 Name Change 」
A popup window opened as I clicked on the text.
「 Please write your preferred nickname. 」
If I was able to change my name, I had to do it now.
In trials like the 4th one where leaked information could be vital, revealing your name could put you at a disadvantage.
‘And people like Lee Sunghoon can try to track me down.’
That could prove to be annoying.
I contemplated for a bit and just wrote the first thing that came into my mind.
「 Your nickname is now ‘Hunter.’ 」
I didn’t put much thought into it, but I was satisfied with it.
There wasn’t any information they could deduce from that.
Well, it was perfect for laying low.
“Phew.”
It was time to look at the leaderboard again.
‘I wonder if I’m also there?’
Slowly, I made my way down the board to not miss anything.
And I soon found what I was looking for.
It was higher than I thought, but what surprised me was the next message.
「 All challengers in the top 50 are designated as ‘Pioneers.’ 」
「 Challengers who continue to be in the top 50 until the 8th floor receive a chance to acquire a radiance. 」
“Radiance?”
I think that means some sort of light?
It was very unorthodox compared to all the direct wording the tower usually used.
‘Is it going to be some sort of skill or…’
Or is it something that would make me stand out more?
That was the only way I could interpret it.
‘Hm, I’ll figure it out later.’
It was now time to look at the expanded marketplace.
There was only one thing I was looking for.
The return stone.
I had to know how much it would cost to return to Earth.
It was easy to find once I used the search bar.
“…”
I couldn’t help but flinch after seeing the price.
「 Return Stone (F) 」
「 Price – 500 points 」
「 Explanation – An item that allows you to escape the Tower of Trials and return to Earth for 3 days. 」
‘…Isn’t this a little too cheap?’
Even if the effects were only temporary, the price still flabbergasted me.
“I shouldn’t even have to think about this.”
If it let me return for 3 days, there was no reason to not buy it.
I had so many things to take care of since I’d been gone.
「 You have purchased a Return Stone (F). 」
My trip home was faster than I expected.
____