I Became the 1st Floor Boss of the Tower

Chapter 13: Undermost

“Are you sure, Baek Kang-Woo? Will you be alright?” Cha Yu-Min asked him again with a worried look.

“Yes, I think I’m going to settle down in Korea now. I’ve had enough with the tower.” Unlike his words which sounded determined, his expression was not like that at all.

“Hey! You can be the top ranker eventually! But why are you hesitating all of a sudden? You don’t trust Yu-Min?” Shin Ji-Won argued as if she was frustrated.

Compared to the top rankers Shin Ji-Won and Cha Yu-Min, Baek Kang-Woo, who ranked slightly lower. He could not climb the tower together with them. There was still a considerable number of floors between him and Shin Ji-Won and Cha Yu-Min, and it was hard to consider Kang-Woo as a top ranker yet.

However, due to the nature of the tower, challengers would eventually get to the same floor. The quality and number of achievements they accumulated in the process could differ from challenger to challenger, but their target floor would be the same.

Baek Kang-Woo was one of Korea's most important members. He was talented enough to reach the 80th floor, and Cha Yu-Min and Shin Ji-Won were willing to support him until he reached that point. And they had been doing that so far.

“What the hell is wrong with you, smarty? What’s more important than the tower? If you had graduated from the top Law School but still gave up on everything to climb the tower, shouldn’t you do it all the way?” Shin Ji-Won was frustrated at Baek Kang-Woo’s hesitation.

“Stop it, Ji-Won,” Cha Yu-Min tried to stop her.

“But still!” Shin Ji-Won could not understand.

“Kang-Woo must have had a reason for it, right?” Cha Yu-Min attempted.

“I’m so sorry. You’ve helped me so much,” Baek Kang-Woo replied, dispirited.

Cha Yu-Min was also frustrated and disappointed at Kang-Woo’s decision. It was a huge loss for the team for a promising player like Baek Kang-Woo to leave.

However, Cha Yu-Min himself had to give up on the tower for a year and stay in Korea. It could be a good thing for her too. He thought that Kang-Woo would be a great support for him in the activities he was planning to do on Earth. And later, he could persuade Kang-Woo to climb the tower again.

The Dimension Gate was closing soon. The confusion on Earth had not abated yet. In fact, the confusion had increased much more, thanks to Cha Yu-Min. Still, the confusion was likely to subside to some extent when the Dimension Gate closed and the challengers started entering the tower as usual. However, yet another controversy was to come, when people figured out that Cha Yu-Min had not entered the tower.

“Hey, what are you thinking about?” Shin Ji-Won asked after seeing Cha Yu-Min’s firm expression.

“Nothing, but more importantly, do you still remember what I said before?” Cha Yu-Min asked.

“Yeah, of course. I still remember, but…” Shin Ji-Won thought about what Yu-Min had told her before.

“Remember, never ever challenge the floors beyond the 80th. Do you understand? Also, go spread the word to the guys who didn’t come out of the tower,” Cha Yu-Min reminded her.

“Okay, I will,” Shin Ji-Won replied.

Now all the changes were about to start. Actually, the wind of change had already started a year ago; people would start to feel it, finally.

***

The Dimension Gate was closed and the tower’s challenge began again. The Earth and the challengers on the upper floor were in chaos. However, to the challengers in the first-floor waiting room, it was just another typical month. They were living their peaceful lives as usual.

Whoong— Whoong— Whoong—?

Three streaks of light descended upon the Central Square.

“Hello! My name is Toeing, and I’m the manager of this waiting area on the first floor! You have arrived at the Undermost, the city located on the lowest floor!”

“Wow—” The new challengers looked around the city with amazement.

The city looked just as Cha Yu-Min had described. This place was no longer a vast land. The three people greeted each other and followed Toeing’s guidance. Toeing was more of a guide for the Undermost rather than a manager of the first floor.

When the challengers first entered the Undermost, Toeing showed them around. Under his guidance, the challengers climbed to the first floor.

“This is the entrance to the first floor! If you go past this point, you’ll find the specialty of… I mean, you’ll find the necromancer there!” Toeing introduced them to the next step.

“Is that the boss monster that Cha Yu-Min had lost to?” a challenger asked.

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“Yes! That’s right. How did you know that?” Toeing replied.

When the manager of the waiting area on the first floor confirmed their doubt, they could not argue and had to accept that it was true.

“Can I go there?” a challenger asked.

“Of course! You’ll have to go there every day!” Toeing replied.

The challengers were puzzled at Toeing’s words.

“Why?” they asked.

“Because you have to do some Points work,” Toeing replied.

“Points work? What’s that?” The challengers were full of questions.

“Yes, that’s right! The currency here is in points. So, if you want to earn points, you have to go up to the first floor and earn those points by killing monsters!” Toeing explained.

The challengers nodded as if they understood. They wondered how the city was built, but after hearing Toeing’s introduction, they could infer that the people had purchased all their necessities from the Points Store that Toeing had mentioned just now. They realized that the challengers could go up to the first floor to earn points as they needed.

“Also, if you come over here–” Toeing continued to explain.

“Hey, I saw some streaks of light. You must be newbies!” Kim Kang-Chun, who was passing by, approached them.

“Hello, Kang-Chun!” Toeing greeted.

“Are you guys planning on going up to the first floor?” Kang-Chun asked.

“Yes.” the challengers replied.

“Do you want me to take you there? Toeing can’t go beyond this point anyways.” Kang-Chun offered to give them a tour.

Upon Kang Chun’s words, the challengers looked at Toeing. He responded by nodding and then introduced Kang-Chun to them. After the short introduction, they followed Kang-Chun to the portal that led them to the first floor.

As they approached the first floor, the sight of a huge entrance greeted them. At the back, there was a large door that blocked the exit of the cave. Kang-Chun kindly explained that it led to the outside world, but they would die if they went out. The three challengers followed Kang-Chun, and went inside the cave.

“Wow… All I’ve heard was that it was just a shabby cave, but this is…”

“I feel like I’m in some kind of temple.”

Inside, the cave no longer looked like an ordinary cave. Lee Shin, who did not like the shabby appearance, had changed its appearance bit by bit. He called in Hwang Kang-Woong to redesign the cave starting from its entrance, all the way to its interior.

It was a grand effort, and thanks to that, the first floor could boast of its dignified title as the Temple of the Goddess of Light, the goddess who was located on the upper floor.

The three challengers walked behind Kang-Chun, admiring the patterns carved all over the wall. They were very impressed with the overall ambiance of the cave. An entrance that split into three routes came into view, and Kang-Chun explained what each one led to.

“The far left is a place called a workshop. This is where people do Points work,” Kim Kang-Chun started to explain.

“How do you do the Points work exactly?” a challenger asked.

“There’s really nothing much to it. You just have to kill the monster and get the assigned points,” Kim Kang-Chun explained.

They nodded as if they understood.

“That place on your far right is the training ground. It’s, as its name suggests, a place where people train themselves,” Kim Kang-Chun continued.

“What? Do you get trained on the first floor?” the challengers were shocked.

“Yes, May and Warrie are in charge of training the challengers. Most people are taught and get trained here,” Kim Kang-Chun explained in an excited voice.

They were curious. “Who’s May and Warrie…? They don’t sound like Korean names…”

“Hahaha… You will find out when you get there later,” Kim Kang-Chun laughed.

The three challengers looked a little confused over how the first floor looked, because it was very much different from what they had expected.

“In the middle is the entrance to the boss’s room. But I’m telling you in advance that you cannot go there as and when you wish,” Kim Kang-Chun warned them.

Kim Kang-Chun, who had been smiling and looking friendly all this time, became serious when he started explaining about the boss’s room. The three challengers looked at the entrance to the boss’s room nervously. There was a door at the end of a long corridor, and the door looked simple yet dignified.

“Mr. Necromancer hates it when someone comes into his room without his permission. So please make sure you get his permission before entering,” Kim Kang-Chun emphasized.

“Who should I ask for permission?” a challenger asked.

“You can ask Warrie for that,” Kim Kang-Chun replied.

The challengers were terribly confused. They wondered who May and Warrie were. Also, they could not believe that they had to get the boss's permission to enter the boss’s room. What kind of floor was this? The three muttered among themselves, but soon decided to stay still at the sight of Kim Kang-Chun’s serious face.

“Would you like to go take a look at the workshop?” Kim Kang-Chun asked.

“Yes, please,” they replied.

There was nothing much in the workshop. It was just a large room where the challengers could kill the low-level Skeleton, Gutter Rats, and Dwarf Goblins to earn points. After killing the monsters and increasing their stats, the three entered the training ground on the far right.

Once again, the training ground was divided into several rooms. The three shook their heads after looking at the complexity of the first floor.

“Mr. Necromancer worked hard on this place with the CEO, Mr. Hwang,” A look of confusion remained on the newcomers’ faces as they wondered who this ‘Mr. Hwang’ was.

“Let’s go this way first.” Kim Kang-Chun took them to the room in the middle, where May was located.

The challengers took a deep breath at the sight of May. “What’s that?”

This Skeleton felt different from the other Skeletons they had seen earlier at the workshop. They wondered if he was the boss on the first floor. They knew they could not defeat this guy, May, even if they did not battle.

“Hey May, we got newbies.” Kim Kang-Chun introduced the new challengers to May.

May took a look at them. “Is that so?”

They were shocked. “M-M-May?”

The challengers remembered what Kim Kang-Chun had told them earlier about receiving training from May. They thought it was crazy to be trained under a guy whose existence was fearful enough to make them wet their pants. His red glaring eyes were threatening. All of them, who were just ordinary people until a few hours ago, were terrified by their experience so far.

“So… What brings you here? Are you here to get trained?” At May’s words, they desperately looked at Kang-Chun signaling to him not to say yes.

“No, not yet. I am just giving them a tour. I brought them here to introduce you.” Kim Kang-Chun was a little embarrassed by their reaction, and so he replied to May with an awkward smile.

“Thank goodness! I have a lot to get done. First, I need to organize the research materials that my master gave me, and then I need to organize the mana theories for you guys to learn. And then, I have to train you guys again… Although I don’t get tired physically, my brain gets tired. I really hope you don’t send any more of these new people.” May’s husky voice and shady demeanor seemed calm, but Kang-Chun could sense a lot of fatigue.

“Okay… Take care.” Kim Kang-Chun left the room feeling sorry for May.

Next up was the training ground. The training ground was usually used as a place where May and Warrie would teach other challengers or compete with each other.

The three had entered the training ground with looks of apprehension. There was a Skeleton lying spread-eagled on the ground; but shortly after, the Skeleton got up with a clatter.

Instead of having nothing in hand like the Skeleton they had encountered in the workshop, this one was holding a knife that was made up of bones. However, he did not seem very strong. The three challengers thought that they could easily defeat this guy who was simply lying there helplessly, making rattling sounds and awkward movements.

“Can I try fighting him?” a challenger asked.

“Hahaha, of course. You can give it a try, but if I feel like you’re going to get hurt, I’ll protect you. And as a side note, most of our Undermost residents can easily win the lowest level here.” Kim Kang-Chun explained.

Even if they had just entered the tower, the challengers thought that they could win this game if most of the Undermost residents had easily won too.

“I’ll give it a try.”

“Yeah, me too!”

“Well… If you can protect me, I want to try.”

The three decided to give it a try and was about to decide who should go first.

“Why don’t you try all at once?” Kim Kang-Chun quickly stopped them.

“Huh?” They were curious why Kim Kang-Chun had said that.

Kim Kang-Chun just smiled in response to their curiosity. They realized that it would be better and safer for them to go together anyway, since it was their first attempt.

“Will it hurt if I get stabbed?” Even though they were ready to fight, the challengers were frightened as they imagined themselves being cut by the sharp bone knife.

“Didn’t you prepare for it?” The woman among the trio threw a sharp look at the other two. They felt the pressure, and only then did the two focus on the fight.

“Ha!” She ran toward the Skeleton first and blue energy built up in her fist.

[Mana Attack]

This was an accumulation of mana power used to hit the enemy. It was a simple skill but an effective attack. However, it was useless if one could not aim properly.

The Skeleton easily avoided her attack, blocked the attack from the two men, and followed up with his knife, striking the three challengers’ wrists with the back end.

Tak! Tak! Tak!?

“Argh!”

“Keug!”

“Ughhh!”

‘If that was a knife blade, our wrists would have been cut off…’?All three of them looked at their throbbing wrists and gave up.

Apparently, this level of Skeleton was not particularly difficult to defeat. When Kim Kang-Chun said that most of the Undermost residents could easily win this level, the three challengers were even more discouraged.

“Ha… Is this how it is in the tower?”

“I mean, the workshop on the first floor was literally for Points work, so I didn’t care that much… But I’m embarrassed that I can only do this much at the training center.”

“People probably got stronger because they have been training here consistently, right?”

The three challengers glanced across the training ground once again and returned to the Undermost. Kim Kang-Chun did not go out with them, but remained on the training ground. At that time, the Skeleton that had lightly beat the trio walked out of the training ground.

“How long do we have to do this for?” the Skeleton asked in an annoyed voice.

“Umm… until our master gets out of this place?” Kim Kang-Chun replied.

“Do we really have to do this? Training should be done willingly,” the Skeleton said discontentedly.

“But it’s always nice to have some kind of motivation. And Warrie, you’re the least busy one here,” Kim Kang-Chun made his point.

“I’m not free all the time. I train repeated–” Warrie tried to explain.

“How is your bone matching game a training?” Kim Kang-Chun argued.

“It’s not a game! It’s for perfect body compositi–”

“Who cares. Why don’t we play a game since it’s been a while since we had a battle? I’ve come a long way,” Kim Kang-Chun interrupted.

At Kim Kang-Chun’s suggestion, Warrie moved his bone pieces here and there to get them into the right positions.

“Fine! I’ll show you why this isn’t a game,” Warrie replied in a firm voice.

“In fact, since the bones are set to low-level ones without mana imprints, our skills would be roughly balanced. I’m going to beat you this time,” Kim Kang-Chun said determinedly.

“Bring it on, kiddo. I will never bring shame on my master.”

“Haha! Bring shame? That’s funny. You’re just trying your best because your bones shatter when you lose,” Kim Kang-Chun laughed.

“Ugh! You talk too much. Just get started already!” Warrie said in an annoyed voice.

“Okay, here I go!” Kim Kang-Chun was about to start the attack.

“Wait a minute.” Warrie suddenly placed his bone knife on the ground.

“Why? What’s wrong?” Kim Kang-Chun asked with a puzzled look.

“... Can I actually go change my leg bones before we start?” Warrie asked urgently.

“...” Kim Kang-Chun was speechless.

Warrie was a little worried about fighting Kang-Chun, whose skills had improved significantly these days.