Climbing the Tower with Time-Stop Ability Chapter 23: Decision (2)

“Oh, here, take this.”

I pulled out what I’d brought from my pocket.

A Supre Magic Stone, radiating golden light.

Bilon took the stone, and his expression turned to surprise.

“Oh, is this a Supre Magic Stone?”

“Yeah. You recognize it?”

“I have so idea of what kinds of rewards co from Nightmare difficulty.”

Easy yielded Lowest-grade or Low-grade Magic Stones, Normal yielded Mid-grade, and Hard yielded High-grade.

Supre Magic Stones, on the other hand, were a grade that only appeared at Nightmare difficulty.

The reason I’d brought the stone was partly because I felt awkward just taking things all the ti.

Honestly, I’d originally planned to use it as leverage for a deal.

I’d been aning to bring up the question of whether I could keep receiving Skill Stones going forward, so if Bilon hadn’t spoken first, I would have.

In any case, everything had worked out perfectly. Magic Stones were useless to anyway, so since I’d already brought it, I figured I’d hand it over to Bilon.

“You’re helping , so it’s only right I give sothing back.”

Bilon shook his head at my words.

“That’s really not necessary. I’m not looking to establish a give-and-take relationship.”

“Still, it doesn’t sit right with to just keep receiving things. Magic Stones are useless to anyway. I can’t even sell them anywhere.”

“Ah, is that because you’re an Unregistered Climber?”

I nodded.

Bilon stroked his chin thoughtfully and said, “I think I can help with that.”

“Sorry? How?”

“There are plenty of ways. I could handle proxy sales of your Supre Magic Stones, or I could simply purchase them from you myself.”

Oh, like that?

“The question is how to determine a fair price, though. This isn’t sothing that’s commonly traded on the open market… Ellen, do you have any idea?”

Bilon addressed the man in the driver’s seat.

The man called Ellen answered.

“The supply is so limited that any figure is sowhat aningless, but for a stone that size, I’d estimate at minimum thirty billion won or more.”

…Thirty billion won?

The Supre Magic Stone I’d brought was no bigger than a fist at most. I knew they were rare, but that much?

“It’s really worth that much?”

“As I said, the number is sowhat aningless. With only five Nightmare clearers in the world, there’s an extre gap between supply and demand, so the price is essentially whatever the seller asks at any given mont. And to begin with, in the United States they’re classified as strategic resources, making their sale illegal…”

Sothing didn’t add up as I listened, so I asked.

“Then how would you sell it?”

“There are channels beyond the legal ones.”

“Ah.”

Well, for soone as powerful as Bilon, there’d always be a way.

Still, it didn’t seem worth going that far.

“That’s a bit much. You really don’t have to do all that.”

Co to think of it, even if Bilon offered money, how would I even receive it? What, was I supposed to open a Swiss bank account?

“Then how about this approach? I provide you with lower-grade Magic Stones.”

What was he talking about now?

Bilon explained.

“You’re still an Unregistered Climber who hasn’t filed a report. You register as a Climber of a different difficulty, not Nightmare. The governnt has no way of knowing your real difficulty anyway. I’ll separately supply you with Magic Stones matching that difficulty tier, and you can sell those.”

…Wait, this was actually tempting.

Not just because of the Magic Stone issue; it was a solution that would resolve practically every problem I’d been wrestling with lately.

If I registered as an Easy difficulty Climber, just as he’d described, and continued receiving Low-grade Magic Stones from Bilon to sell through legitimate channels?

I could perfectly maintain the facade of an Easy difficulty Climber.

Magic Stones didn’t co with natags, and if I treated them as rewards from my own Tower clears, there’d be absolutely no issue.

For soone like Bilon, procuring a few lower-grade stones would be trivial. It was entirely doable.

Up until now, I’d been halfheartedly continuing to attend university.

Because sowhere in the back of my mind, I’d held onto the thought that I’d eventually return to a normal life.

But now that I’d firmly decided to climb the Tower with everything I had, I couldn’t keep going to classes anymore.

On top of that, once I finished my second year of pre-d and entered the main program, it would be nothing but studying.

Climb the Tower and keep up with coursework? As if I’d have the ti for that.

Sure, if I pushed the Ti Stop Ability to its absolute limit, it might be possible. But there was no point, and I didn’t want to strain myself like that.

Then again, if I just up and quit the dical school I’d been attending without a hitch, explaining that to my family would be a problem.

But if I told them I’d beco a Climber, I could make a convincing case.

The Tower had handed down new rules, and refusing to climb wasn’t even an option anymore.

Quit university, earn money selling Magic Stones, tell my family I was a Climber so I wouldn’t have to sneak around going in and out of the Tower anymore, and focus solely on clearing.

This thod solved nearly every problem. It was perfect.

“That’s a great idea.”

“Wonderful. If you’re in agreent, let’s proceed that way.”

I listened to Bilon explain the plan going forward and agreed to it.

And I all but forced the Supre Magic Stone onto Bilon, who kept trying to refuse. I told him I just didn’t want to be the only one receiving things.

“Then I’ll accept it gratefully. I’ll put it to good use in our research.”

Sothing else occurred to , so I spoke up.

“Oh, and about the Skill Stones, I don’t mind at all if you find Magic Type skills. I actually prefer Magic Type over Physical Type.”

“Is that so? Understood.”

Not that I wouldn’t be grateful for either kind.

It was ti to part ways.

“Well then, I look forward to working with you.”

I shook Bilon’s hand one last ti, exchanged a nod with Ellen, and reached for the car door.

‘Hmm…’

I paused as I was about to step out and turned back to Bilon.

“My na is Kim Seo-hyeon.”

He was going this far to help . It would be rude to keep everything locked up so tightly.

The least I could do was give him my na.

Bilon’s eyes went wide with surprise before settling into a smile.

“It was a pleasure, Mr. Kim. Let’s et again soon.”

*

Exactly one week later, I t with soone to receive the Magic Stones.

“Ah, thank you.”

At the designated eting spot, a foreign man handed a bag, gave a quick bow, and left.

I opened the bag and checked inside.

It was packed full of Lowest-grade and Low-grade Magic Stones, all giving off a faint blue glow.

Going forward, I’d be receiving stones like this at a fixed location once a month.

Bilon couldn’t very well deliver them himself every ti, so he’d said he would station a courier in Korea. He’d assured the person was trustworthy, so it was probably soone from his inner circle.

With the stones in hand, the next step was Climber Registration.

‘So I’m finally doing this after two years.’

I’d briefly considered just coming clean as a Nightmare clearer and getting national-level support.

But the thought of my family finding out, among other concerns, was too much. I dropped the idea.

I went to the nearest Tower Climbing Special Agency branch and registered as an Easy difficulty Climber.

Proving one’s status as a Climber was simple.

Any Climber who had cleared at least one floor just had to demonstrate that they could enter and exit the Tower.

Even first-floor Climbers who hadn’t entered the Tower yet had a way to prove it.

Since even first-floor Climbers could see progress information for all difficulties, they could answer an inspector’s questions about real-ti data like current participant numbers and ti limits.

In my case, naturally, I used the first thod.

Kim Seo-hyeon, Easy difficulty, currently Floor 2.

Once registration was complete, Climbers at Floor 2 or above could be issued a Climber License.

This license also served as authorization to buy and sell Magic Stones.

At long last, I could sell Magic Stones openly and without sha. Hell yes.

“The total is 20.56 kilograms.”

I took all the stones I’d received and sold them at a governnt-certified Magic Stone Exchange.

The earnings ca to roughly 130 million won.

Now I understood why Sangcheol spent money the way he did. No more scrounging for pocket change.

Now only the biggest hurdle remained.

“So, the thing is… I’ve beco a Climber.”

After dinner, in the evening.

I’d told my parents I had sothing to discuss and sat down with them in the living room.

“What…?”

Seeing the shock on their faces, I quickly added, “It’s Easy difficulty. I’ve already finished clearing Floor 1. So there’s nothing to worry about.”

I explained that I’d actually beco a new Climber recently but hadn’t told them earlier because I didn’t want them to worry, and that I’d cleared Floor 1 without any trouble at all. Only then did the tension in their expressions ease, if only slightly.

“You’re really okay? You’re not hurt anywhere?”

“Easy is just one Goblin. There’s no way to get hurt, and even if you did, all injuries heal after you clear.”

I brought up what I really wanted to say.

“So, about that… I’m thinking of dropping out of school and becoming a full-ti Climber.”

My mother shrieked in alarm.

“Absolutely not! What are you even thinking?!”

“I’m not saying I’ll climb higher floors. I’d just do Repeat Clearings on Floor 1. You really don’t have to worry that much, Mom. Repeat Clearing is completely safe.”

My father spoke up too.

“Why do you want to be a Climber? You worked so hard to get into dical school. What about becoming a doctor?”

I gave them the answer I’d prepared.

“To be honest, we live in a world where nobody knows what tomorrow will look like. I don’t want to just sit in school studying the whole ti. Becoming a doctor ans years and years more of studying.”

“Hmm…”

“Before it’s too late, I want to enjoy my hobbies, travel, try all sorts of things. Working as a Climber, even a little bit of work earns more than enough money.”

I laid out my case at length.

My father listened quietly to everything I had to say, then asked again.

“Have you truly made up your mind? You won’t regret it?”

“Yes. You know I don’t say things like this lightly.”

I’d expected it to take more than one conversation to persuade them, but surprisingly, my father nodded.

“All right. If that’s what you’ve decided, Dad has no objections.”

“What are you saying?! You should be talking him out of it, not…!”

“The boy’s not wrong. We live in a world where you never know what’s going to happen. I want to let him do what he wants to do.”

All right, Father’s approval: check.

“Mom, I keep telling you, it’s not dangerous. Nobody dies or gets hurt doing Repeat Clearings on Easy Floor 1. And if there’s even the slightest bit of danger, I can just exit on the spot.”

“And I have absolutely zero intention of going to Floor 2. Floor 1 I can’t avoid, but there’s no way I’d be crazy enough to keep climbing the Tower looking to get myself killed, right?”

My mother was far more stubborn than my father, as expected.

So I went and grabbed a book, then put on a little demonstration by ripping it apart with my bare grip right in front of them.

“See? Just reaching Level 1 makes you this strong. My body’s incredibly tough now. Against a re Goblin, I couldn’t get hurt even if I tried.”

“Good lord…”

In truth, Level 1 probably didn’t make soone quite that strong, but my parents had no way of knowing that.

In the end, I at least managed to get a reluctant “I’ll think about it.”

I hadn’t wanted to cause them grief, and I felt a twinge of guilt. But there was no way around it.

At any rate, that was roughly half the problem solved.

No more sneaking in and out of the Tower while watching for suspicious eyes at ho.

I picked up the bracelet sitting on my desk and called Bandiul out.

“You’re happy too, right, Diul? From now on, let’s take more late-night walks on Floor 2.”

The feeling I got back was sothing like “Do whatever you want,” but underneath it was a faint sense of contentnt.

What a prickly little thing. It was like raising a cat, despite never having owned one.

Bang!

The door suddenly flew open and I hastily sent Bandiul back into the bracelet.

God, I’ve told her a million tis to knock.

“What? What do you want.”

My younger sister, staring at with an unimpressed look, spoke.

“I heard you beca a Climber.”

“…Yeah.”

“So why didn’t you tell ?”

“Just because. You heard it from Mom and Dad, that’s enough.”

She hesitated for a mont, then asked.

“Is it manageable?”

“What is.”

“Clearing the Tower. You said it’s Easy difficulty.”

“It’s manageable. Why? Worried about ?”

“Oh, shut up! You’re so annoying!”

She yelled and stord out. Good grief.

Making a ntal note to set her straight one of these days, I called Bandiul out again.

“That was my little sister. Even you can tell she’s nuts, right? Treats her older brother like dirt.”

Bandiul didn’t even react.

“Fine, let’s just go for that walk.”

[Would you like to enter Nightmare difficulty Floor 2?]

I threw on a cardigan and entered the Tower.

*

Gangwon Northern Correctional Facility.

Thud, thud, thud…

A repetitive sound reached the ears of a corrections officer making his nightly rounds through the housing block. It sounded like soone knocking on a cell door.

The officer followed the sound to a particular cell and approached.

“What’s going on in there? Who’s banging on the…”

His expression soured as he peered inside, then his face went white, as if he’d seen a ghost.

An inmate had his face pressed right up against the observation window.

“…What do you think you’re doing?! Mr. Seo Dong-woo!”

Seo Dong-woo, Cell 11, Housing Block 3.

Sentenced to life imprisonnt for murder, he had spent the past ten years as a model prisoner, keeping his head down without any major incidents.

His sudden bizarre behavior in the dead of night left the officer thoroughly unnerved.

Seo Dong-woo spoke with a lazy, drawn-out voice, grinning all the while.

“Oh, Officer… it’s nothing really, it’s just that my friends are really hurting…”

“…Hurting? Who’s hurting?”

“Yeah. They’re all in a lot of pain. Hurting so bad they can’t even move a finger.”

“What are you talking about? What on earth…”

A sharp, tallic sll hit him like a wall.

Seo Dong-woo slowly shifted his face to the side, and only then did the interior of the cell co into view.

Dark red blood. Crushed flesh. The corpses of what had once been the other inmates.

The officer’s mind went blank. He stared at the scene in a frozen stupor.

“Uh, wh…”

A hand shot through the observation window and seized him by the head.

“What do we do about them? Think they can be saved, Officer? Maybe so dicine would fix them up?”

“Gkh… hkk…!”

“I’m asking you a question here~ The least you could do is answer. Answer !”

He tightened his grip. The officer’s skull collapsed like an overripe persimmon with a wet crunch.

“Co on, answer a little faster next ti.”

Letting out a low laugh, Seo Dong-woo flicked the ss from his hand and stepped back from the steel door.

Then he charged, slamming into it with his full body.

Crash!

The door shuddered violently. Alarms began shrieking from every direction.

After several more impacts, the thick steel door began to warp, and cracks splintered through the wall where the fra was anchored.

BOOM!

The wall gave way, unable to withstand the force any longer.

The rapid-response team that rushed to the scene stood frozen in horror at what lay before them.

The cell door, ripped from its fra. An inmate standing in the middle of the corridor, hands slathered in blood.

“Man, what’s with how sturdy this thing is? If my Level had been a little lower, I might not have been able to break through.”

Spotting the officers, Seo Dong-woo smirked.

“What are you staring at? Never seen a prison break before?”

“…”

“Then again, I guess you wouldn’t have seen one like this. Heh heh.”

That night, screams and gunfire tangled together and echoed chaotically through the prison.