A Wimp’s Strategy Guide to Conquer the Tower (Novel) - Chapter 143

Chapter 143

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Translated by Jinmu

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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When the Ring of Liberation necklace first appeared,

He had a conversation with Gwangma about it once.

That there are cunning bastards who intentionally released this item to the world.

He asked who they were, but he didn’t give a detailed explanation.

It turns out they were the administrators.

Tiamat’s masterminds, the ones who do all sorts of things for the collapse of the tower.

Just what in the world is their objective?

To commit these kinds of acts, you see?

Could they have perhaps made the tower?

Tiamat couldn’t give an answer to this either.

Merely making remarks that there are beings called administrators, that they ordered her, and that their final objective is the elimination of the summoner player.

‘They’re funny bastards. Why eliminate me? I haven’t done anything other than climb the tower. Making a person feel nervous and all.’

Of course, he trusts the summoned entities, though.

Honestly, he can’t help the anxious feeling.

Anyway, from Lingling, a restaurant employee with a mild-mannered impression in her 30s,

Tiamat, who released her polymorph and returned to her true form as a succubus.

A whopping Queen.

Femme fatale beauty, an enticingly swaying tail, a heavily revealing outfit like a hardcore cosplayer at a Comic-Con event.

When she twisted her body slightly and asked to be spared, he thought his heart sank heavily.

It was a fatal temptation to a beta male.

‘Ayu! Naturally I must spare you.’ Such words almost popped out of his mouth.

She was certainly a dangerous wicked creature.

A beauty that could tilt a nation (傾國之色).

Words that suit Tiamat perfectly.

But she requests defection?

Honestly, it’s baffling.

She’s a tower monster, isn’t she.

Does she think she’s some North Korean spy?

‘…Hmm,’

If you think about it in a certain way, it’s understandable.

Tiamat, when you get down to it, isn’t she a spy of the tower who came out to Earth right after receiving a mission from the administrators and planned maneuvers of disruption and division.

‘So that’s why she’s using the word defection.’

What should I do?

“P, please spare me.”

Honestly, I don’t know why she’s acting like this.

For a tower monster, her will to live is extremely strong.

Isn’t she a soul anyway.

One that is reset and revives again even if she dies.

“If you die outside the tower, your soul is annihilated. You cannot come back to life.”

Ah!

I see.

Meaning that she might be reset if she dies inside the tower, but she isn’t reset outside the tower.

‘She came out bearing a tremendous risk too.’

Though she ended up getting caught ultimately.

“Go-jo, this e-mi-na-i (bitch), a jong-gan-na bastard who betrayed once will betray again! Did you think we were that easy? Not a chance, you hear!”

Cossack, who suddenly got possessed into the Minister of the People’s Armed Forces again.

Tiamat waved her hands and denied it.

“I wa, will absolutely never betray you. No, I cannot. If you just accept my defection.”

“You shouldn’t take in a black-haired beast. Look here! Your hair isn’t completely black!”

It certainly is true that it’s black hair.

“…I too made the decision prepared for the risks.”

What risks?

“Because I broke the contract with the administrators, I receive a penalty. My qualifications as a Lord will be revoked.”

So it seems to mean her stats will decrease.

She will survive even if she has to endure that?

“What are your thoughts, Sir Gwangma?”

“This old man will always support the summoner’s decision anytime. The path you walk is soon the righteous path.”

What about Gyeon Dal-rae?

“It is suspicious, but if the system oversees the defection, I believe it is worth trusting.”

Veronica, Gobang, and Bardin too.

“It is right to accept defector soldiers. Because only then will the enemies’ morale plummet.”

“She looks feeble, but she will be of use.”

“My Lord, she is a repentant lamb.”

Joo-hyuk’s mind leaned too.

Isn’t it the more the merrier?

The more there are, the better.

Moreover, she’s treated as a separate group from the catalog list.

If so, it means he can increase the number however much he wants even without expansion tickets.

‘There might be other defectors besides Tiamat.’

Anyway, if he accepts her defection, Tiamat is liberated from the tower.

If so, what about Cossack’s father, Hartmann?

It keeps bothering his mind.

With the level of Earth players right now, it is difficult to reach the 77th floor ultra-high difficulty mission.

However, what if their skills gradually get better later, or players level 80 and above reach the ultra-high difficulty through repetitive missions?

‘He might be cleared.’

Cossack’s father Hartmann dying by the hands of a player?

An absolutely unacceptable matter.

Could he also be liberated through a method called defection?

So he asked Tiamat, and

“It’s impossible. Hartmann and I are different from the very essence.”

What is?

“There are two types of souls affiliated with the tower. One is a contract relationship, and the other is forced subjugation.”

Hmm.

“I am a contract relationship, but the other souls in the tower are practically subjugated slaves. They probably don’t even know what situation they are in, you know?”

Her explanation continued straight on.

Tiamat, who incarnated on Earth for the purpose of a specific mission.

Disrupting the world, alienating…, it’s quite a high-dimensional task.

For active judgment, free will is necessary.

And she made a contract for that mission and came out.

On the other hand, it means subjugated souls do not have free will.

If you listen briefly, it sounds right, but is that really so?

Then how will you explain Gyeon Dal-rae’s master Hae-ryeong.

When she was aware of her situation and the tower.

“Hae-ryeong was a unique existence. Because she had experienced the transcendental world, she was a soul that had already shed human status. She could escape the tower anytime.”

It appeared in Hae-ryeong’s background explanation too.

That she had reached the edge of ascension.

“The reason she couldn’t leave the tower lied within herself. Regrets remaining in the human realm, lingering attachments, anguish, atonement, repentance, guilt… She brought a punishment down upon herself. Hae-ryeong did not want to be liberated.”

He thinks he understands.

Her beloved disciple Gyeon Dal-rae died, the Heaven Empire fell, and in a weakened state, she was subdued by a fellow nine-tailed fox and was forcibly made to ingest a human liver.

However, after meeting Gyeon Dal-rae, all her lingering attachments disappeared.

Thus, with Gwangma’s help, she stepped on the path she had once experienced again.

Compared to her, what about Hartmann?

Even though he’s the same LSSR grade, he couldn’t transcend human status.

Bound to the tower, he was merely placed on the 77th floor as a mission target.

Therefore, the methods to liberate Hartmann’s soul from the tower are one of two things.

Raise the soul’s status and escape on his own like Hae-ryeong, or the tower releases his subjugation.

Could the administrators do it?

If they could, it would be nice to at least meet and talk with them.

Anyway, he must make a decision now.

Will he accept Tiamat’s defection? Or will he reject it.

[Will you accept the defection request of Lord of Magical Beasts Tiamat?]

Actually, he had already decided.

Just looking at it, he can tell.

‘Why wouldn’t I accept this?’

The angle for an achievement stood sharply.

An achievement reward is right before his eyes.

‘It’s about achievements rather than privileges.’

Now the era of privileges has passed.

Let’s go! To the era of achievements.

Come! To the beta male.

I’ll embrace you all completely.

“Accept defection request.”

[The defection procedure of Lord of Magical Beasts Tiamat begins.]

[The contract between Tiamat and the Tower Administrators has been destroyed.]

[Tiamat’s soul status decreases from Succubus Queen (LSSR) to Low-Grade Succubus (R).]

Eng?

‘Heol…,’

The contract destruction penalty.

This is quite huge.

She plummeted three stages from LSSR grade to R grade.

The queen was demoted to a commoner.

[The 80th floor boss monster has been replaced with the Nightmare Black Horse, Nightmare.]

The 80th floor mission changed as well.

Because the vacated spot must be filled.

[The turncoat defector absolutely obeys the orders of the summoner player and the summoned entities.]

Discriminatory treatment.

It’s saying she must receive the orders of the summoned entities as well.

‘Does she have to obey the Blood Wolf’s words too?’

If she’s below a dog, it will be truly miserable.

[The stigma of a turncoat defector is branded.]

Stigma?

Right then!

Chi-ji-ji-jik!

“A-a-ak!”

A tattoo being engraved on Tiamat’s forehead.

At the same time, it shone brightly, and then soon disappeared as if seeping in.

[Defection has been completed.]

[The Turncoat Defector category has been created in the status window.]

Tti-ring!

And Tiamat’s information came into his eyes.

– Name : Tiamat

– Grade : R (Rare)

– Type : Succubus (Incubus)

– Incarnation Period : 10 hours

– Satisfaction Evaluation : None.

– Re-summoning Cooldown : 3 hours (Applied after unsummoning)

[Turncoat defectors are also subject to the maximum concurrent summmon count.]

[The current maximum concurrent summon count is 10 people, you are in a state of exceeding it by 1 person.]

That was so.

7 people here, 3 people at home.

With a total of 10 people, because Tiamat was even added, there are currently 11 people.

[Turncoat Defector Tiamat is forcibly unsummoned.]

Spot!

Tiamat who disappeared to match the number.

Well, it’s good that one more person was added but…,

‘Where do I use an R grade low-grade succubus?’

Because she’s too weak.

Will she even be able to catch a monster or anything.

Next is?

Tti-ring!

[Achievement : You accepted the defection of a soul affiliated with the tower for the first time.]

“Assa!”

As expected, an achievement popped up.

[Disbursing achievement reward.]

What is it?

[Achievement : A new item has been added to the White Tower 17th floor Basic Menu].

‘Hmm.’

Another White Tower related reward?

Saying a new item.

If it’s the Basic Menu, there were 3 items: Environment, Communication Tower, and Generator.

He had executed them all once each.

‘What’s the one more added thing?’

Well, he’ll probably know if he enters the White Tower.

‘Let’s go home for now.’

He passed another hurdle.

Although there are still unresolved matters as well.

Spot!

Joo-hyuk and the summoned entities came to the penthouse.

Because they suffered hardships, he let them take a rest.

‘I should settle the accounts.’

First starting with the badges.

The accumulated badges until before were 106.

Actual items were 17.

In this climb, he cleared from the 75th floor to the 80th floor of South Korea’s number 2 tower.

Because he didn’t receive badges for the 77th floor among them, excluding it?

116 accumulated badges.

27 actual items.

10 added badges.

He can receive privileges 2 times.

‘Will good things come out?’

Especially things like a catalog expansion ticket.

However, Joo-hyuk shook his head vigorously in denial.

Because he knew of the administrators’ existence.

It is unmistakable that they are keeping him in check.

Will good privileges come out in this situation?

Perhaps he shouldn’t even expect a catalog expansion ticket.

Still, let’s open it.

Who knows?

Whether good things will come out.

[A privilege is disbursed for the accumulation of 110 Platinum Badges.]

[Privilege : 1 ton of High-Grade Mana Stones is disbursed to your inventory.]

‘…’

That’s severe.

1 ton of High-Grade Mana Stones is an amount easily mined by entering and exiting the 76th floor.

Next!

[A privilege is disbursed for the accumulation of 115 Platinum Badges.]

[Privilege : Turncoat Defector Grade Upgrade Rune is disbursed to your inventory.]

‘Oh!’

This is decent.

Like a pear dropping when a crow flies from the branch (It’s a coincidence),

Since I accepted a defection, a perfectly fitting privilege comes out.

‘Unless it’s Trait Enhancement, it finishes in a day or two anyway.’

Let’s give it to Tiamat right away and tell her to go upgrade her grade and come back.

What is R? R!

She should at least be SR.

He also checked the privileges, and

What’s left?

The achievement reward.

A new item added to the Basic Menu.

[You have entered the 17th floor of the White Tower.]

[Calling the Owner Menu.]

Joo-hyuk touched the [Basic] menu floating alone as a hologram in the empty air.

I wonder what was added.

At that, the item popping up,

‘What?’

An elevator?

What in the world is this?

– By installing an elevator, you can move to other floors of the White Tower. The elevator only stops on allowed floors. Installation cost 1,000 tons of High-Grade Mana Stones.

‘Uh-uh-uh…,’

He couldn’t even imagine it.

To think it’s an elevator.

You’re saying you can go to other floors of the White Tower?

What is there if you go? No, who is there?

White Tower floors are granted to players.

He was allotted the 17th floor.

The owners of other floors should also be players.

‘Could it be…,’

There’s no way another Earth player was allotted the White Tower.

If so, it might not be Earth, or it might be a player from another world.

It’s certain that there are other worlds.

The places where Black Towers exist, that is.

It’s a fact that the summoned entities have also always talked about.

‘Could this be dimensional travel?’

It’s impossible to know right now.

He will come to know once he tries installing the elevator.

‘This sounds fun.’

The installation cost is not fun, though,

‘1,000 tons of High-Grade Mana Stones, huh,’

Let’s scrape it together desperately.

The Tower Administrators were in an uproar again.

[Haa!]

[This is driving me crazy.]

[Huu, we are being penetrated in strange parts every time. There is no method to block him.]

[Tiamat, she dares to betray the tower?]

[Granting her free will in the first place was a mistake.]

[That couldn’t be helped. Because it was an impossible mission if free will hadn’t been given to her. The problem is she used that freedom to defect.]

[Stupid thing, to go out and fail to do anything and get caught instead.]

[Who knew Gyeon Dal-rae would have learned something like a Tracking Talisman?]

[Anyway, we’re in big trouble. The achievement reward is an elevator.]

[Leaving aside the elevator being installed, it’s too fast.]

[That is correct. If it was a connection in a state where Earth had almost fallen, it wouldn’t be a problem, but if it is a connection in a well and alive state…,]

[With this happening, he became able to intervene in projects being carried out in other worlds as well.]

[Terrible.]

[The tower administrators of the other worlds will protest. Asking what we were doing until he grew up like that.]

[It would be fortunate if it’s just complaints. They’ll probably sneer and mock us?]

[We must show that we did something too.]

[How?]

[Let’s make the 81st floor an un-clearable floor. So that he cannot pass through.]

[Hmm, …it probably won’t work?]

[Can’t we raise the difficulty level just once as an event character?]

[That’s difficult too. It violates causality.]

[We just have to speak with the person involved. If he accepts from his side, wouldn’t causality be fulfilled?]

[Eng?]

[She has a point. If it’s achieved based on mutual agreement between each other, there is no worry about causality either.]

[Since he already knows our existence anyway? Wouldn’t it be fine to meet him once?]

[Hmm…,]

The administrators’ agony lengthened.

He also handled Tiamat.

He also checked the privileges and achievement reward.

What should I do now?

First, the item received as the 79th floor reward.

He has to send Cossack with the Summoned Entity Grade Breakthrough Rune.

During the 2 weeks Cossack is absent, he plans to dispatch Sergeant Bae, the vampire Geppetto, the Blood Wolf, and others to North Korea instead.

However, not right now.

Joo-hyuk climbed to the 77th floor together with the summoned entities.

They quickly took care of the prisoners, cleaned up the surroundings thoroughly, and then,

Cossack, facing his father Hartmann again.

“…Rian?”

“Father?”

“Is this heaven? Or an illusion?”

“It is neither an illusion nor the afterlife, sir. This is the tower, sir.”

“You mean the tower,”

“Anyway, please take this medicine before we begin, sir.”

Cossack made Hartmann drink the Vigor Recovery Potion he received from Mari.

It doesn’t mean he gets cured after eating this.

Because Hartmann’s damaged nascent energy and vessel of life force were already broken, even if they’re filled, they just leak out continuously.

It’s merely a usage of buying a little time.

The conversation between father and son.

Actually, this is the third time.

However, the situation was the same every time.

When they earnestly explained and made him aware, Hartmann died soon after.

If they re-enter the tower, it resets and they have to start over from the beginning again.

‘It won’t end at this rate.’

Isn’t there some method?