Chapter 53
Chapter 53
“Blade Wind Falcons.
Their best weapon, the sharp feathers, was heavy, making them ill-suited for flight.
The reason these monsters lived only near the cliffs and not in other areas was exactly this.”
The strong and sharp winds by the cliffs.
Thanks to these winds, they could fly even with their heavy feathers.
But if those feathers got soaked with water?
“Phweeii-!”
The monsters fell clumsily onto the bridge.
Desperately twisting their wings to avoid plunging into the dark abyss below, they managed to land on the bridge.
Of course, some of them let out pitiful screams as they plummeted to their deaths.
The ones who managed to land on the bridge were relieved to have survived, but…
“Now’s our chance!”
“Attack!”
Thud!
Falcons that couldn’t fly could no longer be considered predators.
The monsters once feared as the most dangerous monsters near the cliffs, lost their lives pitifully.
“Oh, these feathers look quite useful! They seem perfect for arrowheads!”
Before long, Go Chang-seok collected materials from the fallen monsters, signaling the end of the battle.
Originally, they would have had to endure attacks from the Blade Wind Falcons until they crossed the bridge.
However, being intelligent, the monsters did not attack at all after witnessing Se-woon’s rain shower spell.
Thus, Se-woon’s group was able to cross the bridge comfortably.
And finally,
“Whoa…”
“Se-woon, what is that…?”
“As you can see, it’s a wall.”
The scenery on the opposite side of the cliff came into view.
A seemingly endless wall stretched out to the horizon.
It wasn’t just a fence like the ones the twin sisters had built before.
This was a fortress wall, reminiscent of the Great Wall of China, built with layers of square stones.
Within it stood a towering structure that reached up to the sky.
The wall seemed to serve as the last line of defense for the tower.
‘In reality, it’s the opposite.’
After all, this place was just a tutorial, meant to filter out players who qualified to enter the tower.
In other words, the wall wasn’t blocking external enemies but players. The ‘tower’ before them, built across various dimensions, exceeded the limits of causality.
The tower being attacked was an implausible event.
‘At least not until the Outers descend.’
Se-woon shook his head, pushing away memories of his past life.
Now, he needed to focus on the tutorial rather than dwell on the Outers.
– ‘Tutorial Chapter Four – Assault’ begins.
– Break through the castle walls and enter the interior.
– If you defeat the castle lord, you will be acknowledged as the owner of the castle until the end of the fifth chapter of the tutorial.
“Ownership of the castle?”
The content of the tutorial was exactly as Se-woon remembered.
It involved waging a siege to take control of the castle and then using it to successfully defend against the fifth wave.
As Yoo Seo-ah looked at the vast castle walls, deep in thought, Se-woon pointed ahead.
It was hard to see clearly from afar, but if one focused, they could spot a castle gate.
“Now that you mention it, there are gates at regular intervals, aren’t there?”
“Yeah, and….”
As Se-woon manipulated something in the system, an information window appeared before everyone.
[ Towering Watchtower ]
Category: Castle
Rank: C
Description: A castle equipped with sturdy walls and a distinctive watchtower, making it an excellent stronghold for archers to unleash their power.
Abilities:
1. Arrow Supply – The number of arrows is automatically replenished at regular intervals, and the reload speed of bows increases by 20%.
2. High Watchtower – The surveillance area and the attack range of arrows increase by 20%.
“This is…!”
“It’s the castle’s information. Each visible gate likely leads to a castle with different characteristics.”
“Then, we need to carefully select which castle to attack.”
“Exactly.”
Yoo Seo-ah’s understanding was spot on.
The castle wasn’t just a simple base. As shown in the information window, each castle had unique abilities.
For instance, the ‘Towering Watchtower’ directly ahead was highly advantageous when many players used bows.
Besides that, there were castles for warriors, mages, and some with extremely high defenses. The fourth chapter had numerous such castles.
“So, which castle should we aim for?”
“Well, we’ll have to scout first.”
A gleaming golden castle flashed through Se-woon’s mind.
‘The Golden Castle.’
The strongest and most challenging castle in the fourth chapter.
Unfortunately, he did not know its location.
Before his regression, Se-woon had barely managed to enter a nearby castle with another clan. He had only heard rumors about the Golden Castle.
So,
“Jung-pil.”
“Yes, hyung!”
“I want you to scout the opposite direction and investigate what castles are there.”
“Yes! Leave it to Park Jung-pil!”
“Yoo Seo-ah.”
“Yes.”
“Take the clan and check out the castles to the right. Since we have more time than others, don’t attack any yet.”
“Got it. But what about you, Se-woon?”
Ideally, Se-woon wanted to capture every visible castle before other players completed their tutorials and arrived.
However, a single clan could claim only one castle.
‘This must be why the administrator issued the pass.’
Being someone who had reached the 92nd floor of the Tower before his regression, Se-woon was aware of the administrators’ existence.
After defeating the Hidden Boss Monster, the reason for granting additional rewards was exactly this.
It was a subtle message: Don’t interfere with others’ tutorials and move on to the next chapter quickly.
Even if they arrived early in the fourth chapter, there was only one castle they could occupy, and after capturing it, they’d have to wait idly for the next wave.
However,
“I will follow slowly. You all go ahead.”
“Are you looking for another hidden piece?”
“No, not exactly.”
Se-woon gazed at the ‘Towering Watchtower’ ahead.
Since he had already captured a castle once before, he had a rough idea of its interior layout.
Among the structures was a reward reserved for the players who captured the castle.
So,
“I’m planning to raid some warehouses.”
He intended to loot some empty castles before other players arrived.
* * *
– Opened the Treasury of Greed.
[ Telepathy ]
– A common spell among mages, allowing them to communicate with others through mana.
Before parting with the clan, Se-woon’s intention to act independently again caused Yoo Seo-ah to show more concern than usual. The others felt the same.
Understandably, their anxiety grew as Se-woon seemed to vanish the moment they arrived in the new environment.
In response, Se-woon pulled out the remaining mana stones and etched a new magic circle.
Communication stones—essentially magical cell phones. Considering their range limitations and usage, they were more akin to walkie-talkies.
Though typically a low-rank artifact rarely used in the Tower due to the impossibility of inter-floor communication, they were perfect for the current situation, where movement was confined around the walls.
-Ah, ah, Hyung! Can you hear me?
“Have you found something already?”
-No, it’s just amazing! This is like a cellphone! Wow, why didn’t you introduce this earlier? I was so bored during solo scouting missions…
Click.
Se-woon manipulated the mana to cut off communication with Park Jung-pil. It made sense now why he’d contacted him so soon after parting ways.
“Yoo Seo-ah, everything okay on your end?”
-Yes. We plan to scout until the sun sets completely and then take a rest.
“Good. Everyone must be exhausted. As long as we don’t attack a castle first, there shouldn’t be any threats. Feel free to rest.”
-Se-woon, you should rest a bit too…
“I’ll just raid a few places and come back. Don’t worry.”
-Understood. Be careful!
“Sure.”
After ending the communication, Se-woon wrapped the wolf cloak around himself.
With the communication stones, it would be much easier to report emergencies or locate each other despite being apart.
Wearing the cloak, Se-woon rolled on the ground a few times and then began to move toward the castle walls.
‘The Towering Watchtower has a wide detection range, but it doesn’t have high detection capability.’
Se-woon wasn’t merely covered in dirt; he was using Kilkergas’ Stealth Technique. The same technique he used to attack the goblin village allowed him to blend in with the ground.
As the sun set, he moved slowly and steadily towards the fortress wall.
If he got caught, hundreds of arrows would rain down on him from the castle wall and watchtower, but he wasn’t worried. Se-woon trusted in Kilkergas’ Stealth Technique and the power of Mammon’s treasures.
“Shift change. It’s time.”
“What’s for dinner?”
“Don’t get your hopes up. It’s just greens again.”
“Ugh! Those greens. We’re not herbivores, you know.”
Thanks to the enhanced hearing provided by Mammon’s treasure, Se-woon could hear voices from atop the castle wall.
The voices were high-pitched and thin, like those of children pre-puberty, and though their speech was abrupt, it sounded fairly natural.
He activated his keen sense of smell, but he didn’t detect the strong stench typical of monsters.
Running through the various monsters in his mind, Se-woon soon deduced the enemy’s identity.
‘Halflings, perhaps.’
Halflings are classified as a small race, about half the size of humans.
They weren’t physically strong, but they were nimble and skilled with their hands, known for their excellent hunting skills using bows and traps.
They were indeed ideal soldiers for the ‘Towering Watchtower.’
But,
‘Then there’s nothing to worry about.’
The detection abilities of halflings were on par with humans.
If it had been a race with heightened senses like gnolls or kobolds, he might have been concerned, but with halflings, he could infiltrate without fear of being detected.
Hop!
Se-woon wedged his fingers into the small crevice between the stones of the wall.
It was a very narrow gap that barely fit the tips of his fingers, but Se-woon had the power of the ‘Bala’tan Cliff’s Mandrill.’
Having climbed rocky mountains with steeper angles than this, scaling a wall was no issue.
The shadows cast by the setting sun concealed him from the halflings’ sight.
Climbing steadily, he soon reached the edge of the wall.
However, the real challenge began here.
Judging by his enhanced sense of smell and hearing, the halflings were spaced about 10 meters apart along the wall.
Killing them would be easy, but if he got caught, it would complicate matters.
Needlessly slaughtering them would result in the ‘Towering Watchtower’ being automatically assigned to his clan.
Moreover, there were many more castles to raid, and he didn’t want to waste his energy here.
So.
-Hey, did you hear? I just heard that tonight’s menu has changed to meat.
“What? Really? Meat?”
“…What are you talking about? Meat?”
“I just heard tonight’s menu has meat!”
“Seriously? Meat?”
“No, you’re…?”
“…?”
As the two halflings tilted their heads in confusion, Se-woon jumped down over the castle walls.
Using telepathy.
While it might not be effective on beings with poor language skills like goblins or orcs, it was a pretty decent trick on linguistically skilled halflings.
– The Constellation, ‘Hungry Prince,’ deeply empathizes with the duped halflings, saying he can’t resist meat either.
Now all Se-woon had to do was locate their warehouse.
