Chapter 31: War, Peace, and Thieves (2)

“

Phew

...”

Climbers weren’t meant to be enemies. Sure, we competed while ascending the tower, but fundamentally, our goal was the same. We all had to clear the tower.

Alexei Braham, ranked 3rd on the Climber Leaderboard, now stood stubbornly before me. She was a talented and promising climber who could become a reliable ally or even a member of my party. I was confident she could be a driving force in allowing Earth’s climbers to conquer this tower.

Honestly, I was only planning to use a bit of intimidation...

My original strategy was simple: make it clear to Alexei that the gap in our strength was immense, then tell her I would be choosing theft no matter what.

If she valued her life, she would naturally choose retention. Once she selected retention, I would observe her reaction through her expression and eyes, then decide what to do based on my instincts.

My Sixth Sense skill hadn’t failed me yet. If she seemed trustworthy, I would be willing to choose retention too. But if something felt off, I would go with theft.

In the best-case scenario, we would both choose retention and share the benefits. If she showed any signs of untrustworthiness and I chose theft, I wouldn’t lose anything as long as she chose retention.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like she’s someone I can reason with...

Alexei’s demeanor left no doubt that she had no intention of choosing retention. Left with no other choice, I had to select theft and risk losing two skills.

[Kwon Su-Hyeok (Earthling, C-66432)]

Title: Seeker of the Crossroads

Affiliation: None

Patron Deity: First class, Omniscient Thunder Axe (Share percentage: 1.09% (-?.??%) / 100.00%)

Strength: 77.2 (-18)

Agility: 71.2 (-16)

Stamina: 73.7 (-17)

Mana: 42.8 (-11)

Skills: Lightning Essence lvl 5, Sixth Sense lvl 9, Indomitability lvl 14 (+5), Combat Focus lvl 15 (+5) ...

Looking at my skills, Indomitability and Combat Focus had the highest levels.

Something critical that I needed to consider was whether the level bonus from Paraktus’s Determination Necklace counted. If it did, then Combat Focus and Indomitability would be my highest-level skills. If not, then it would be a tie for second place between Indomitability and Sixth Sense.

If we both chose theft and ended up fighting, I would lose two skills no matter what. Either way, it would be a significant loss. If I had to choose the lesser of two evils...

I would rather lose Combat Focus and Indomitability.

Even if I lost those skills, Paraktus’s Determination Necklace would still give me five levels in both skills. However, losing Sixth Sense would be a bitter blow. It had saved my life countless times, especially during the hidden missions.

Damn, did I miscalculate?

I had assumed selecting theft would be the straightforward choice, but Alexei’s reckless behavior had knocked my plan off course. To be honest, I hadn’t expected her to choose theft after recognizing me. Losing a skill hadn’t been something I seriously considered.

Alright, I need to calm down and think this through again.

I needed to think carefully.

What if I choose retention and she chooses theft? If that happens I will lose a random skill.

The biggest issue with choosing that option was the cursed “random” factor. It wouldn’t be that big of a deal if I lost a lower-level skill like Flame Resistance or Poison Resistance since they could easily be regained.

But what if I get unlucky? What if, by some chance, I lose Lightning Essence?

That skill cost 45,000 achievement points and had limitless potential. Not only was it a unique item, but it had cost only slightly fewer points than I had right now. It would consume most of my 46,798 points even if I could buy it again. Losing Lightning Essence was simply not an option.

While the probability of losing it was low...

I can’t trust the tower.

That was the biggest issue. Even though it claimed to be random, based on how the tower had operated so far, it seemed more likely it would steal my best skill.

Fuck, I underestimated the tower again.

The eighth floor wasn’t automatically advantageous for strong climbers. If a weaker climber was truly willing to risk their life, even a much stronger climber would find themselves in a complicated situation.

Wait a minute.

I thought back to Alexei’s resolute expression. She was a promising climber, ranked 3rd on the Leaderboard.

Why is she so determined to choose theft, especially against someone as strong as me? Does Alexei have such a compelling reason that she is genuinely prepared to die? Or... does she have the same plan I do?

I wondered if she was just bluffing about choosing theft, attempting to gauge my reaction before potentially switching to retention. Regardless, relying on speculation would get me nowhere. The only way to find out was to ask directly.

“Why are you so determined to choose theft?”

“...”

“Are you planning to switch to retention after seeing how I react to your threat?”

“No.”

With that, Alexei fell silent. She clamped her mouth shut as if she had said too much already. Frustration crept into my voice, my irritation evident as I pressed further.

“Then what’s your reason? If we fight, you’ll die. There’s no doubt.”

“I know. You’re different from the others. I can tell by the aura you give off.”

“Then why? Why choose to die?”

“I don’t like being robbed. We Russians don’t back down from a fight. We prefer to be the ones taking rather than the ones being taken from.”

It was impossible to have a proper conversation with her.

Does she think this is some kind of medieval duel?

The situation was spiraling into absurdity. Logic had been thrown out the window, and there was no room for negotiation. I wondered if she was stubborn, or if Russians just hated losing.

I was on the verge of developing a serious bias against Russians, but I didn’t have time for that now.

I need to focus.

I couldn’t afford to lose Lightning Essence. However, Combat Focus, Indomitability, and Sixth Sense were far less vital skills. Though it would be tough, I could regain those skills. Each of those skills had been unlocked naturally after all.

Moreover, Combat Focus and Indomitability were battle-related skills; I could quickly level them up again.

Should I just choose theft and sacrifice two skills? Or should I gamble and choose retention, hoping for the best?

Ugh, I need to stop guessing.

I normally didn’t hesitate this much. I didn’t like being led around in circles. Even though I was trying to manage my image, there was a limit.

I don’t need to play nice with a maniac.

While I couldn’t afford to lose Lightning Essence, the other skills could be regained. That was the only thing I was sure of.

Theft it is. I will choose theft.

“Alright, fine. I’m going to—”

Suddenly, my Sixth Sense kicked in, stopping me mid-sentence. The words “choose theft” hovered on the tip of my tongue, refusing to leave my mouth. Alarm bells were ringing in my head.

Did I miss something?

My mind was a tangled mess of half-formed thoughts, clouded by the weight of my earlier considerations. I needed to rethink everything from the start.

Wait, from the start?

I recalled the notification that had greeted me upon entering the eighth floor.

[Welcome to the eighth floor of the Tower of Ordeal: The Room of Thieves, Theft and Retention.]

[On the eighth floor, climbers can choose between theft and retention.]

Hmm... Why is it called the Room of Thieves? Why not just call it the Room of Theft and Retention?

I could have easily dismissed this, but I knew better than to take the tower’s messages at face value. The tower was notorious for planting subtle traps. Suddenly, a strange sense of unease washed over me.

Alexei was still staring at me stubbornly.

Alexei must have worked with others on the sixth and seventh floors, right?

If she always acted this recklessly, the Community would have been abuzz about it by now. Given her rank, it would have been even more of a hot topic.

I had been too fixated on the rules laid out by the notification windows. But now, my Sixth Sense was warning me that something wasn’t right. We were in the room of thieves... thieves...

There’s a thief in this room.

I was almost certain of it now. I quickly scanned the arena. It looked exactly the same as it had before. There was nothing unusual to the naked eye.

Could there be some kind of invisibility magic at play? Wait... Something is off with Alexei, is she an illusion?

The easiest way to confirm this was...

Lightning Essence.

I pushed the skill to its limits. Lightning crackled along my arms, blindingly bright. I aimed a volley of lightning bolts toward the center of the arena.

The bolts tore through the air and eventually dissipated, except for one spot. Near the center of the arena, a bolt struck something invisible, lingering. The lightning outlined a bipedal creature which was about the size of Doppy.

Of course. This was the Tower of Ordeal. I should have been suspicious the moment I saw “Room of Thieves” in the notification.

Without hesitation, I lunged toward the spot where the lightning had lingered. I reached my target in less than two seconds.

“Gaaaah!”

I grabbed what seemed to be its neck.

This must be the thief, right?

I squeezed the creature’s neck, feeling its pulse under my hand.

“Grrrk! Grrrrk!”

I channeled more lightning through my hand and poured it into the creature. The smell of burning flesh filled the air, accompanied by a sizzle. The creature convulsed before going limp.

At that moment, the illusion shattered. The arena fragmented around me as Alexei’s image disintegrated.

“No way! Why would you choose that... If we both chose retention, we could have just moved on! I thought you were a good guy based on the Community posts...? Wait... what the fuck?”

The real Alexei appeared before me as soon as the illusion shattered. I heard the tail end of her heated rant with what I assumed to be an illusion of me. She stood stock-still, completely stunned, her face flushed with confusion.

[Challenger Kwon Su-Hyeok has completed the eighth floor’s hidden mission by eliminating the Skill Thief Gremlin. As a result, the challenge on the eighth floor has been nullified.]

[Time remaining: 42 minutes and 17 seconds. Congratulations. Challenger Kwon Su-Hyeok has conquered the eighth floor of the Tower of Ordeal: The Room of Thieves. Achievement points will be calculated.]

“What... what just happened?” Alexei stammered, clearly struggling to process the situation.

It took her a moment to realize what had happened.

Then, as if a light bulb had gone off in her head, she exclaimed, “Oh! So that’s what happened. No wonder... I was thinking there’s no way a top climber could be that crazy.”

“Ah! Fucking damn it! I was so close to figuring it out!” Alexei cursed, frustrated that the Skill Thief Gremlin had deceived her.

Though, judging by her reaction, it didn’t seem like she would have ever discovered it.

“You probably would have figured it out if you had more time. Anyway, see you next time.”

You have to maintain a positive image, Kwon Su-Hyeok. Keep your face straight.

I tried to flash a charming smile after I bid her farewell. Alexei responded in kind, her voice tinged with a mix of gratitude and exasperation.

“... Well, thanks anyway! I did earn some extra achievement points because of you. Yeah, let’s meet again and laugh about this.”

As her words trailed off, I felt that familiar sensation of weightlessness. It was time to go back to the waiting room.

[Hidden mission ‘Skill Thief Gremlin’ completed. Challenger Kwon Su-Hyeok has been awarded 5,000 achievement points. Additionally, he will be rewarded a random skill level up.]

[Total Achievement Points: 51,796. Challenger Kwon Su-Hyeok will now enter the waiting room.]

***

「Invisible Message: Exceptional Sixth Sense! Challenger Kwon Su-Hyeok’s skills have leveled up. Sixth Sense is now lvl 10. Lightning Essence is now lvl 6.」

「Invisible Message: Random skill selection in progress. Challenger Kwon Su-Hyeok has gained the skill Mimicry lvl 1.」

「Invisible Message: Challenger Kwon Su-Hyeok has conquered the eighth floor. Stats limited by the sponsor’s share percentage have been restored by 5.2%. Current stat limitation: 14.8%」