I'm the Only Wizard Climbing the Tower - Chapter 12

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Hydrogen B.

Chapter 12: 012

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After my sister ended her call, I shared what had been on my mind.

"So... you need a reliable porter? Someone discreet and trustworthy? And you're considering Hyeji, my friend?"

"Yeah. If she's someone you already know, we can trust her to some extent, right? And it's not like you're bad at judging people."

"Hmm... Hyeji as a porter..."

"Anyway, what do you think? Would she work as a porter?"

My sister thought for a moment before answering with a complicated expression.

"It's hard to say."

"Hard to say? Why? Is there something wrong with her personality or abilities?"

"No. She's a good person. Kind, diligent, and hardworking... She's smart too. Back in university, she was the top student in her department and had a full scholarship."

"Did she go to the same university as you?"

"Yeah. We were classmates. We're pretty close."

"Oh..."

For the record, my sister graduated from the economics department at Korea University.

She was an elite from one of the best universities in the country. There was a reason she had once worked at a major corporation.

If Hyeji had been my sister's classmate, then she was also from Korea University.

And she had been the top student, no less.

She was the very definition of the perfect daughter everyone compared you to.

In other words, she was one of the smartest and most diligent people in the country.

Since she had studied so diligently, there was a good chance she'd be diligent at other work too.

And since she'd be working with her friend's family, bonding with her wouldn't be a problem.

My sister continued.

"She's discreet too. As far as I know, she's never gossiped about someone or shared another person's secrets... She doesn't like getting caught up in trouble or drama. She's the type who quietly does her own work."

She didn't go around blabbing other people's secrets, either.

That was an especially appealing trait for someone like me, who needed secrecy above all else.

"She's also cleared up to Floor 4 as a Hunter. If she accepts the porter offer, you could form a party right away."

"When did she become a Hunter?"

"Five years ago, right after graduating university. She somehow made it through Floor 4, but she said Floor 5 was too daunting. So she quit being a Hunter and got a normal job. She worked at a securities firm... Then the Hunter General Mobilization Order came down, and she got dragged into this."

"If she was on Floor 4, why did she work at a company? That's a great floor for cash farming."

"Securities firms pay well. If her performance was good, she probably made far more than a Floor 4 Hunter."

"Whoa..."

As expected of an elite who had graduated top of her class from Korea University.

She must have been capable enough to earn a huge salary without doing dangerous work like being a Hunter.

Anyway, she had already cleared up to Floor 4, so she could join me immediately.

Not having to wait was a major advantage when I needed to climb the Tower as soon as possible.

I was Korean, after all. Patience wasn't exactly our strong suit.

We were the people of hurry, hurry.

In the end, this was what Hyeji was like according to my sister.

Kind, diligent, smart, discreet, available to join quickly, and someone we already knew.

She sounded perfect.

"Then why is it hard to say?"

She sounded like the ideal porter candidate.

At my question, my sister hesitantly opened her mouth.

"Well... I feel bad saying this as her friend, but... she's a little weird."

"Weird? You just said she was kind and diligent."

"It's more of a certain disposition she has... No, it's hard to explain with words. You'll understand what I mean if you meet her and talk to her. She's definitely not a bad person, though..."

What was that supposed to mean? That made me nervous.

Still, I decided to keep her as my porter candidate.

I'd ask my sister to contact her later.

Oh, right.

"Come to think of it, I forgot the most important question."

"The most important question? What is it?"

There was no way I could skip this.

I asked with a serious expression.

"Is she pretty?"

"..."

My sister looked at me like I was pathetic.

* * *

The next morning, I headed to the Climber Branch in my sister's car again.

I placed my hand on the familiar crystal ball and checked in.

[Please specify the amount of Points to transfer to the ‘Republic of Korea’.]

"All of them."

[Transferring 121 Points to the ‘Republic of Korea’.]

"Hunter Baek Jiho, we have confirmed 121 Points. We will deposit 1.21 million won into your designated account. The Republic of Korea will remember your dedication."

After I transferred the Points, the familiar civil servant gave the same familiar farewell.

I asked them a question.

"Excuse me, I have something I'm curious about."

"Yes, Hunter."

"I want to form a party with a reserve Hunter who's currently being detained. What do I need to do in that case?"

Na Hyeji, my sister's friend.

My porter candidate and an inactive Hunter.

The Hunter General Mobilization Order had been issued, so she was currently being forced to climb.

If I wanted to form a party with her and take her on as a porter, the government's detention order had to be lifted.

The civil servant handed me several documents.

"You'll need to fill these out."

"What are they?"

"These documents state that you will take responsibility for the Point acquisition activities of the reserve Hunter joining your party."

"Could you explain that in simpler terms?"

"Simply put... if the purpose is party climbing, the detention order will be temporarily lifted. But if we confirm that they fled or refused to climb, every party member, including the applicant, will be placed under mandatory detention."

"..."

They would let her out if it was for climbing the Tower.

But if she slacked off instead of climbing, they would take every member of the party and force them to climb.

It was basically guilt by association.

'They're thorough about this, at least.'

Well, if someone took a person out by claiming they wanted to form a party, then didn't climb the Tower, there would have been no point in releasing them.

They had to keep hostages of some sort.

"Give me the documents."

"Here they are. Fill them out and submit them, and the detention order should be lifted within twenty-four hours."

I took the documents and left the Climber Branch.

Then I handed them to my sister, who was waiting in the car.

"Sis, take this."

"What is this? An application for the temporary release of a summoned reserve Hunter...? A guarantor for mandatory Point acquisition activities...?"

"If I take your friend out to form a party, then she doesn't climb, they'll detain me too."

"Hmm... Do you really need to go this far just to get a porter? Hyeji isn't irresponsible enough to do something like that, but you never know. Wouldn't it be better to climb without a porter...?"

Climbing without a porter.

I could do it.

Honestly, even without a porter, the valuable loot alone would be worth a considerable amount.

The higher the floor, the better the quality of the loot, so my profits would gradually rise even if I climbed alone.

But.

"That'd be such a waste. If I clear a floor but can't bring back all the loot because I don't have enough hands, do you know how much money I'd lose?"

"You can make a lot of money and buy a Spatial Bag later. From what I've seen, all the famous Hunters carry one."

"Those cost at least ten billion won."

"...Spatial Bags cost ten billion won?"

"I saw on Hunter Gallery that even the lowest-grade Spatial Bag costs around ten billion won. Depending on the auction, they can go for up to twenty billion. You were a manager, and you don't know how much Spatial Bags cost?"

"How would I know the price of Spatial Bags? The team I managed was only on Floor 8."

There were items called Spatial Bags.

But they were artifacts that only occasionally appeared on the upper floors of the Tower, so their prices had gone insane.

The lowest-grade Spatial Bag cost around ten billion won.

The large-capacity Spatial Bags used by high-floor Hunters supposedly cost hundreds of billions, even trillions of won.

There was no way I had that kind of money.

Which meant the answer was a porter.

Only a porter's large, beautiful backpack could make it possible to clean out every last piece of loot!

'And it'll make things easier for me too!'

Wanting a porter wasn't just about collecting loot.

More than that, it was about preserving my own sanity.

'I don't want to keep rummaging through corpses for loot...!'

If I could wipe out monsters with a simple tap of magic,

then leave collecting the loot on auto,

my stomach would stay settled, I'd collect more loot, and life would be sweet.

There was a reason auto-loot pets were essential in games.

"Anyway, I absolutely need a porter. Call your friend when you have time and ask whether she'd be interested."

"Sigh... Fine. If you're set on it, there's nothing I can do. As your manager, I have no choice but to follow your decision."

"Oh, right. You were my manager, Sis?"

"...Who do you think has been handling the loot you bring home by the mountainful, along with all the taxes?"

We chatted as we headed home.

Anyway.

I hoped I'd get a porter soon.

* * *

After returning home, I prepared to climb.

This time, I was going to Floor 4.

It was a fairly well-known floor for several reasons.

I searched Hunter Gallery for "Floor 4."

[This Hunter finally reached Floor 4]

[Can I start cash farming now too???]

[Ah, this is so sweet. Why go to Floor 5 when Floor 4 is this cozy lol]

[I've reached the cash-farming floor. Time to put it in park]

Floor 4.

It was commonly called the cash-farming floor, or the parking floor.

It was where most Easy-rank Hunters settled down.

'Going up to Floor 5 is too dangerous, and the income from Floor 4 is satisfying enough... Most Easy-rank Hunters stay on Floor 4.'

Floor 4 was a Goblin Village map.

There was a Goblin Village inside a massive cave, and the floor was cleared by reaching the Escape Portal beyond the village.

There was an established strategy, so it was very easy to clear.

It was also a floor with stable income.

Apparently, entering Floor 4 just once a day guaranteed at least ten million won a month after taxes.

That came to 120 million won a year.

It was an absurdly high income for entering the Tower once a day and working for about an hour.

'120 million after taxes is an incredible income... Most people would be satisfied with that much.'

Was it the law of diminishing marginal utility?

The more money you had, the better, but past a certain point, each increase brought less satisfaction.

You stopped wanting to risk your life for more money.

Floor 5 was also where Goblin Warriors appeared.

The difficulty jumped sharply.

So rather than risk their lives on Floor 5, plenty of Hunters repeatedly cleared safe Floor 4 instead.

We called them cash-farming bugs.

I dug through old pinned posts on Hunter Gallery and read a guide for Floor 4.

[Title: (Pinned) Tower Floor 4 Guide]

You've all done well making it to Floor 4.

Until now, you've been risking your lives to make a few tens of thousands of won a day, maybe a hundred thousand at most, right?

On Floor 3, you probably didn't make a single won.

Those hard days are over now lol.

Floor 4 is a famous low-risk, high-efficiency farming zone, so you'll be making plenty of money from now on.

Here's the guide.

When you start, you'll be in a huge cave chamber, and you'll see a Goblin Village right in front of you.

You know, the place with crude fences and watchtowers, plus clusters of huts made from grass and hide.

The Escape Portal is beyond that village, and you need to reach it.

So here's the problem.

How do you get through the Goblin Village?

Should you charge straight through the village like you did on Floor 3?

You'll die immediately.

The moment the Goblins on the watchtowers spot you, they'll start ringing bells, and hundreds of Goblins will pour in from every direction.

There are even archers, so dozens of arrows will rain down on you. You'll seriously have no choice but to die.

Never go in from the front.

Then how do you reach the Escape Portal?

The answer is going around.

First, be careful not to get spotted by the Goblins on the watchtowers, then make a wide turn to the left.

There are traps here and there, so be careful if it's your first time...

After you've gone through a few times, you'll memorize where the traps are and get used to it, but watch your step if it's your first time. You could get caught by one.

For the record, those vicious little Goblin bastards smear poison and shit on their traps. Fucking filthy, underhanded bastards.

Anyway, keep going left, and you'll find a small side path in a dark corner.

Go in there.

As you go deeper down the side path, there'll be a small storage hut on the outskirts.

There are four Goblins guarding it,

so kill all four as fast as you can and loot the storage hut.

There are about ten kilograms of leather inside.

At current prices, that's worth around one million won.

Anyway, take all the leather, then keep following the left wall.

Eventually, you'll reach an area where the Goblin watchtowers are bound to spot you.

The bells will start ringing.

That's when you run like hell.

By the time the watchtowers spot you, the Escape Portal will already be close.

If you can run well enough to clear Floor 3, escaping will be easy.

To sum it up.

1. Don't go straight ahead, take the left side path.

2. Kill the Goblins in front of the storage hut and loot it.

3. Sneak out, then sprint at full speed once the bells ring.

If you do a leather run once a day like this, you'll easily make thirty million a month.

Either cash farm and enjoy it, or save money, boost your specs, and go to Floor 5 lol.

└So killing four Goblins and taking the leather just duplicates a million won every time? That's amazing.

└└Leather prices have dropped to seven hundred thousand per ten kilograms lately, and taxes have gone way up, so not quite.

└└But in the early days of the Tower, it was a total gold mine. There were no taxes and leather was expensive, so people made thirty million a month...

└└These days, taxes take half and leather prices crashed, so I barely make ten million a month. Fuck, I miss the old days.

└Come to think of it, doesn't Floor 4 require you to apply everything you learned on Floors 1 through 3? You have to sneak around quietly like on Floor 1, navigate and identify traps while fighting multiple enemies like on Floor 2, then sprint like on Floor 3 at the end... It feels like deliberate map design.

└└Yeah, since it's the last solo section, it feels like it makes you review all the previous strategies. Probably so you can pull your weight when you reach the party floor on Floor 5. But who cares? The leather cash farming is sweet, so I'm parking on Floor 4 forever. Never going to Floor 5, later lol.

└What happens if you go toward the village instead of the side path?

└└Death.

└└There are three hundred Goblins in the village... Fifty of them are archers. It's a death trap, so don't even look toward the village.

└└A high-floor Hunter cleared out the Floor 4 village once, and said the only worthwhile loot was crude metal ingots. There's seriously no reason to go there, and it's just dangerous. Never go.

...

The comments went on and on.

Every one of them said never to go to the village.

The official strategy was to find the side path and avoid the village as much as possible.

An ordinary Hunter would never head toward the village.

But.

"Typical pathetic coward. So scared of a few Goblins that they go looking for side paths."

I had no intention of following the standard strategy.

"Typical extreme lunatic hell-level real man. Wipes out hundreds of Goblins and charges through the front with his head held high."

When I could tear through all of them from the front, there was no reason to crawl down some back route.

I muttered quietly.

"Enter the Tower."