Chapter 17

Chapter 17

17. Contribution Points

Tower of Fate, 20th Floor.

Kobold Spearman’s Hut.

“Hyung, are we really doing this right?”

Three rookie hunters were sweating bullets against a pack of kobolds.

It had only been a month since they’d awakened as E-Ranks and formed a party.

Just reaching the 20th floor was already a remarkable achievement.

“Of course! Look, we’re already on the 20th floor.”

“But why is this so freaking scary?”

“Don’t chicken out, punk. More importantly, you properly prepared the 20th-floor strategy, right? Let’s clear just the 20th floor today and pull out. No overdoing it.”

“Of course!”

“I memorized ‘Heavenly Demon’s’ 20th-floor guide word for word!”

The three encouraged one another and coordinated their movements.

Kim Junsu, leader of the three-man Tower party, spoke to boost morale.

“Once we break through this 20th floor, you guys might be wearing gear worth hundreds of millions like me too.”

Kim Junsu puffed out his chest boastfully, making his teammates’ eyes gleam with envy and jealousy.

“The 20th-floor boss has a sharp spear, so I’ll take point. Everyone be careful!”

And so Kim Junsu’s party boldly set out to conquer the 20th floor.

The other two were E-Rank.

But leader Kim Junsu had awakened a C-Rank ability, so the 20th floor should be no problem.

The reason he’d been able to afford nearly hundred-million-won gear was because he awakened as a C-Rank hunter and took out loans!

‘I took out hunter loans and even put my mortgage into buying equipment... but it’s fine. I can recover it all by climbing the Tower.’

From what he’d heard, if you somehow made it to the 50th floor and just hunted there, you could make serious money in no time.

“Hyung, what’s that over your head? It says ‘Low-Rank Soldier.’”

“You’ve got it too.”

“So do I.”

The three tilted their heads.

That hadn’t existed yesterday.

Looking around, they saw ‘Low-Rank Soldier’ floating above everyone else’s heads too.

“Maybe it’s some kind of consideration for newbie hunters?”

“Ah.”

They didn’t think much of the letters above their heads.

With high spirits, Kim Junsu’s party finally fought their way to the kobold hut.

-Kraaaaah!

At last, they encountered the 20th-floor boss, the Kobold Spearman.

But then?

Pewpewpewpewpew!

“Hm? What’s that sound...?”

An ear-splitting, razor-sharp burst.

A vision that instantly painted the surroundings crimson.

“No, this isn’t some illusion!”

The red beams pouring from behind the boss monster swept through the Kobold Spearman and the entire hut, reducing everything to ash in an instant.

Still brimming with energy, the beams continued straight through Kim Junsu’s party.

“R-Run...!”

Fwoosh.

“Aaagh!”

“Kyaaah!”

The two party members standing near Kim Junsu followed right after him.

Fssss...

The instant the red beams touched them, all that remained was white ash.

But!

“Gasp!”

Kim Junsu’s eyes snapped open in his tiny room.

“I-I’m alive.”

He felt his body and pinched his cheek.

A moment ago, he had been climbing the Tower, gotten hit by some beam, and died.

‘Was it a dream?’

If so, thank god.

‘Then my gear—the gear I bought with hunter loans and even my mortgage—should still be there, right?’

To check, Kim Junsu opened his hunter ‘Inventory.’

“Huh? It’s gone?”

He looked around.

Rubbed his eyes and checked again.

Nothing.

Bzzzt.

His smartphone vibrated, and he answered the call.

-Junsu hyung! My equipment disappeared!

“You dreamed it too?”

-Dreamed...?

“The dream where we got hit by lasers and died!”

-No way, then that dream was...

“It must’ve been real!”

-W-What do we do?! I even put my mortgage into my gear!

“You too?”

-W-Wait, then your life too, Junsu hyung...?

It was the moment both their lives sank peacefully beneath the surface.

To complain about the injustice, Kim Junsu immediately logged onto the Hunven board.

And then.

[Title: My Equipment Suddenly Disappeared!]

[Author: TowerClimbingNewbie]

-Content: I went to the 20th floor, then suddenly everything turned red, and when I woke up I was at home. I checked my inventory and all my equipment was gone. What happened? Give my gear back!

[Comments: 24]

-Huh? Me too!

-I had the exact same thing happen. Please restore our equipment.

-? Are you guys stupid? You died and the Tower revived you, and now you’re demanding your gear too

┗You’re saying we died and the Tower brought us back? Bullshit

It wasn’t just one post like this.

[Title: Guys What The Hell Was That Just Now???]

-Content: I seriously thought I died, then I came to and I was home. This is insane.

[Title: Me Too. I Just Revived Too]

-Content: Seriously, there isn’t a single wound on my body. Is this that safe PvP system? But we weren’t doing PvP?

Comments poured in in real time.

-Huh? I just had the same thing happen on the 20th floor

-Me too me too!! What is this? Lasers?

-Are you guys all on the 20th floor? I was too

-What if some ranker passed by and fired by accident?

-Wait, then were we treated like monsters???

┗Damn, if that’s true, that’s way too unfair

-At least we’re alive, but holy shit I nearly had a heart attack

“PvP...!”

Kim Junsu roughly understood what had happened.

Using what they had just experienced and the Hunven posts as a starting point, people began fiercely debating the PvP system.

But there was one thing everyone understood without needing to say it.

From now on, ‘climbing the Tower’ would clearly be different from before.

* * *

My house.

“Hm? Contribution Points?”

I checked the system message again.

[You have slain a Low-Rank Soldier.]

[You have obtained Contribution Points (x100).]

‘A Low-Rank Soldier? Wasn’t that a kobold?’

A kobold low-ranking soldier?

I wasn’t sure exactly what I’d killed.

But I figured it must’ve been a monster.

‘Come to think of it?’

I remembered something about getting Contribution Points for PvP.

‘But I didn’t do any PvP.’

Kill people just to earn points?

That’s the kind of thing psychopaths do.

It doesn’t suit a kind, exemplary citizen like me.

I was curious what was going on, but decided not to worry about it.

I got the points for free anyway.

‘Guess monsters give them too.’

More importantly, there was something else I needed to know.

“So what can I do with Contribution Points?”

When I logged into Hunven, a new tab had appeared.

[Contribution Point Shop]

My heart started pounding as I opened it.

[Contribution Point Shop]

-Current Rank: Low-Rank Soldier

-Current Contribution Points: 8,900

-Accumulated Contribution Points: 8,900

Rank?

‘What the hell is this now.’

I’m already sick of anything related to the military.

‘Not that I’ve ever been.’

Even now, remembering how close I’d come to actual enlistment during the Pyongyang incident made me shudder.

‘Of course!’

Not because I hate the military, but because I hate seeing something terrible happen to my country.

Anyway.

“So what can I buy with 8,900 Contribution Points?”

[Displaying ‘Tower Knights Squad Leader’ equipment list.]

-Tower Knights Squad Leader Badge: 150,000 (Insufficient Contribution Points)

-Tower Knights Squad Leader Top: 80,000

-Tower Knights Squad Leader Ring: 25,000

-Tower Knights Squad Leader...

...

They were products fitting for an ‘equipment list.’

“Accessories are the cheapest.”

Rings and earrings cost 25,000 Contribution Points each.

Let’s check the information.

[Tower Knights Squad Leader Ring]

-Rank: D

-Damage dealt to your own kind increases by 2.5%.

-Damage received from your own kind decreases by 2.5%.

“More damage dealt to my own kind, less damage taken.”

That made it extremely powerful equipment specifically for PvP—in other words, fighting other ‘hunters.’

I could guarantee that as an MMORPG expert.

“But it’s only D-Rank.”

[EX-Rank equipment is planned for future addition.]

That was unreleased information.

“EX-Rank...!”

A rank perfectly suited to an EX-Rank hunter like me!

More importantly.

[Tower Knights Knight Commander Ring]

-Rank: S

-Damage dealt to your own kind increases by 10%.

-Damage received from your own kind decreases by 10%.

-Equip Restriction: One-Star General or higher [Insufficient Rank] (Promotion Required)

‘There are rank requirements.’

By simple calculation alone, Tower Knights ‘Knight Commander’ gear was four times better than ‘Squad Leader’ gear.

‘And if you include rank scaling?’

The difference would be enormous.

Even more.

‘Four pieces at 2.5% makes 10%. Add necklace, earrings, bracelet, armor—all of it?’

And if there were set bonuses too?

At the very least, I wouldn’t have to worry about getting randomly killed by another hunter while passing through the Tower.

‘Systems like this usually use lower-tier gear as material for higher-tier gear.’

So if I wanted the EX-Rank equipment they’d add later?

That meant I’d eventually need to start from the D-Rank Squad Leader equipment!

And systems like this?

‘If you don’t start now, you fall behind!’

But.

‘I will not fall behind.’

I’m going to become a dragon.

But how?

“How do I get promoted?”

[Promotion occurs automatically according to accumulated Contribution Points.]

[Current Accumulated Contribution Points: 8,900]

[1,100 points remaining until promotion to Mid-Rank Soldier.]

“Huh? That’s not much.”

Even the 8,900 points I’d just gotten seemed like way too much for killing only a handful of kobolds.

‘Maybe the boss gives a lot? That’s generous.’

Feeling pleased, I fiddled with my smartphone, thinking I’d open the 21st-floor gate and kill a few more monsters.

Ding!

[You have been promoted to ‘Mid-Rank Soldier.’]

[You have been promoted to ‘High-Rank Soldier.’]

“...Huh?”

Promotion messages suddenly appeared.

And it was a double promotion.

I hadn’t even entered the 21st floor yet.

“What was I doing just now?”

I’d been looking at the Hunven shop window.

No way.

[You have obtained Contribution Points (x54,000).]

“Why am I getting Contribution Points? What did I even do?”

At that moment.

“Ah, hot!”

Sssss!

The barrel of ‘Choi Hyunwoo’s Gatling Laser,’ otherwise known as ‘Laser No. 1,’ was glowing bright red.

‘Did I seriously never take my finger off the trigger?’

The Gatling Laser’s barrels weren’t spinning anymore.

“Gasp.”

I panicked, but it wasn’t broken. Looks like the top-grade mana stone fuel had run out.

“Whew.”

A top-grade mana stone.

That thing costs 200 million won in cash.

Come to think of it, I got so absorbed looking through the Contribution Point Shop.

I may have kept holding down the trigger with the muzzle still stuck through the 20th-floor gate.

Then what about the people on the 20th floor?

‘Nah, no way.’

I decided to erase the thought from my mind.

After thinking for a moment, I nodded.

“Should I start with the rings?”

From the cheapest things, one by one.

Why?

‘In an MMORPG!’

With a system like this, the guy who starts now wins in the end.

‘I can’t hesitate.’

[You have obtained ‘Tower Knights Squad Leader Ring (x2).’]

* * *

Hunter Association.

Special Situation Room.

“President! We’ve received reports of additional damage inside the Tower!”

Urgent voices echoed through the special situation room.

“No deaths... Everyone has been confirmed to have returned safely. However, losses of equipment and assets are severe.”

The Association President, whose face had gone pale, breathed a sigh of relief when he heard the victims were unharmed.

But as a government agency, they couldn’t ignore citizens suffering property losses.

“The cause?”

“Yes. We believe a small number of rankers have already begun PvP in order to obtain the newly added ‘Tower Knights Equipment.’”

Heavy silence descended over the room.

The Association President rubbed his forehead.

“The rankers... already?”

“Yes. Some are deliberately targeting rookie parties and killing them like prey. The efficiency for earning Contribution Points is overwhelmingly higher that way.”

“This is practically a massacre.”

“The problem is, we have no way to stop it.”

“What do you mean no way? We have laws. The solemn laws of the Republic of Korea!”

“Yes, but...”

“What?”

The Association employee’s expression darkened.