The Late Cook Ascends the Tower - Chapter 48



48 – Episode 48. The beginning of existence

I’ve spent days climbing these stairs.

It took a long time.

After reversing the tower twice, and facing new enemies called Flick and Grow.

Finally.

It is only on the second floor.

[2Nd floor peaceful field / entrance]

As soon as I got out of the stairs, my eyes naturally narrowed.

The merciless sunlight pours down from the deep blue sky.

As if it had never been contaminated since the moment of creation.

Now, the damp and humid air of the labyrinth was gone, and it felt like my lungs were being cleansed with every breath.

It’s just clear.

Clear sky, sparsely floating clouds.

In front of my eyes is an endless green field.

Shua….

Whenever the wind blows, waves roar through the knee-high grass.

Wildflowers growing tall between the grass give off a dry scent in the sunlight.

Tilda and Dana, who were following me, exclaimed one after another at the enchanting scenery.

“Wow…! Just like Horut Forest here! “

“Wide! How can you not see the end of the land!? Whoa… I’ve never seen this flower before! What is this!?”

It’s only natural that Tildana, who has spent several days in the labyrinth, and Dana, who has been confined to a small village all her life, are excited.

A tower is a tower no matter how much it looks outdoors.

You can’t instill a habit of being careless from the beginning.

He spoke with dignity in his voice.

“Stop it, Hogu. Judgment comes first before excitement. What’s the first thing you do when you arrive on a new floor?”

“Uh… Smell the trap?”

“Rolling in the field!”

“I just told you, but what if I forget it… I have to figure out the direction to go.”

“Oh right!”

Then Dana opened her mouth as if asking when she had said that.

Tilda looked around her with a gasping expression.

Because each floor of the tower has a different shape, it is the end if you lose your direction.

Battles and rewards and whatnot. Just accumulating the curse of the return soldier and then dying.

The stairs we climbed are placed in the middle of a field.

And the front, back, and left and right of the stairs are all fields.

The only thing special is the thin trail we’re on right now.

Then where should we go?

Tilda answered first.

“The front! Do you think we can just follow the path?”

“Why?”

“Because there are a lot of footprints on the road, and no trace behind the stairs?”

“What do you think of Dana?”

“Of course, isn’t it the front?”

“Why?”

“I just feel like I need to move on!”

“Both are only half correct. The field on the second floor is one area, so there is no retrogression.”

Then Dana pursed her lips, and Tilda bit her lower lip.

“Ah, just let me know. Do you really have to tease me like that?”

“Right. That’s right.”

“If you let it go, you get into the habit of being careless. Tilda rotates cards without being told. Don’t let Dana run around excitedly! Do you remember how many traps we stepped on on the first floor?”

“Uh… I only stepped on it three times…”

“Isn’t that a good number to die for? Without my cooking, your climb would have ended on the first floor.”

“Ooh…”

“Answer.”

“Wrong…”

We still have a long way to go.

I just thought it would be difficult to say let’s go together and the strategy would be easy mode.

Dana Meyer…

He’s too hardcore.

As far as I know, his strength is strong and his kind heart is the strongest among mankind.

As for my impression of breaking through the first floor with her, Dana was not human.

Conceptually as well as common sense.

**

[Do Hyun-ah. Can I really get out of town? I even said goodbye, but what if I can’t leave?]

[In this world, you can go if you want to. Don’t you want to go up?]

[I want to go up…]

[Then walk all the way here.]

I held out my hand to Dana at the entrance of the tower.

Her world, which had been stagnant for hundreds of years, was shattered, and the moment she stepped into her tower.

Dana’s neck glowed, and her beam of light soon became her dog tag.

The ecstatic smile that Dana had at that moment still flickers before her eyes.

How happy he looked.

[Wow… This… Means I’m a climber now…?]

[Congratulations. You’re in the same situation as me Let’s roll like a dog from now on.]

[hehehe… Thank God. Now I can go up…]

It’s good that Dana has been recognized as a climber, but seeing that made me curious.

Everyone who comes into this world starts with a dog tag, but what on earth was Dana without a dog tag?

Is there such a thing as an NPC in this world?

There is no such thing as a player?

So, as soon as she signed the party deal with Dana, she went straight to check her dog tags.

The results were… Shocking.

—-

[Name: Dana Meyer]

[Race: Being in the Beginning]

[Occupation: Fighter (Rank A)]

[Racial Attribute: Unknown Power]

[Job Attribute: Calm Strike]

[Combat power: A rank]

[Survivability: Rank B]

[Potential: Rank B]

[Deck type: Combat type]

Current stats

[Cost: ★★★★]

[HP : 110/110]

[Returner: 0/100]

[Strength: +6]

[Agility: +0]

[Wisdom: +1]

[HP: +2]

[Greed: +0]

The list of cards you currently have is-

—-

I was shocked even before I checked the card.

First of all, race is a problem.

Tilda’s halflings were also bizarre… [Beginning of the Beginning].

I thought you weren’t human at all.

Afterwards, when I checked the racial characteristics of the primordial being, I kept my mouth shut.

[Unknown Power: Gain 1 Wisdom.]

[Cost: ★★★★]

To start the game with a piece of wisdom…

I couldn’t find a job with such an opening skill even after searching through all of my data.

It’s just zero.

**

The effects of each capability level in the TOE are as follows.

– Strength: Adds damage equal to strength per attack.

– Agility: Reduces the delay that occurs after using a card by 8%.

– Wisdom: Gain 1 additional maximum cost.

– Stamina: Adds 5 max Stamina.

– Greed: Increases inventory slots by 4.

In the Tower, all stats are precious, but Wisdom received special treatment.

Since one point increases the cost by 1, comparison with other stats is not allowed.

You have to collect 5 points to directly raise 1 Wisdom.

Since that’s practically impossible, unless you’re lucky and get it through an artifact or event, it’s normal to play with 3 costs until the game is over.

I wonder if I should go up to the 5th floor to get one even for that.

There’s a whopping 6 strength and 2 stamina…

Exceeded Tilda’s overall stats of 7.

Even Tilda filled 5 with Greed, which is the easiest to get, and her fighting power is the same as Hogu…

The sum of Dana’s strength and stamina, directly related to battle, is 7.

I can only imagine.

What if Flick had run into Dana instead of Tilda in the labyrinth?

Maybe she was beaten to death?

From noble mtl dot com

Strength 6 was an overwhelming figure.

As I kept reading the dog tags, I could understand why Dana had such formidable stats.

It was because of the fighter’s job characteristic, [Calm Strike].

This is a trait that is notoriously tricky.

[Calm Strike: Changes a battle card with multi-hit ability into a single hit. Each time you use a combat card, you gain 1 non-destroying shield.]

Silent Strike was an ability that greatly reduced the effect of strength, while enjoying a fairly decent defensive effect.

If a player with strength of 6 hits twice with the [Continuous Attack] Card, originally the strength effect would also be applied twice, resulting in an additional 12 damage.

However, in Dana’s case, it was changed to a single hit, so it only increased by 6.

Still, it’s a scam enough.

Does it make sense to put 12 damage with a basic [Attack] Card…

And in Dana’s deck, there were 4 basic [Attack] And [Defense] Cards, plus two fighter’s job cards.

In addition, I got one more card while breaking through the first floor.

From my point of view, all three cards seem to be usable, but it will depend on getting used to the card system in the future.

After entering the tower, we broke through the first floor at high speed.

[Why are you here now… Shivaaar… I was scared… Huh!?]

And after meeting Tilda in front of the stairs and swearing at her.

[Ah… The way to eat grilled eel more deliciously… Must have been Dana!]

I also heard compliments.

I showed Dana the [Mine Mine] And the [Forgotten Swordsman’s Gauntlet].

[Minequake/Battle Card: Slams the ground, dealing 3 damage to enemies within a circular range and binding them for 2 seconds. The range increases by 50 cm for each strength level. Once the turn ends, it cannot be used in this battle. ★★]

Minequake’s wide-area damage increases and even increases in range whenever strength increases, so if Dana uses it, it seems to exert the power of a natural disaster.

I thought that Dana’s strength would suit her well, but I didn’t expect that she would suit her this well.

And the forgotten Gauntlet of the Sword Master…

[Forgotten Sword Master’s Gauntlet/Rare]

– An abandoned gauntlet found high up in a tower.

– It is broken and cannot be used for its original purpose.

– Changes the attack type to strike.

– When using an offensive combat card, you get 5 shields.

– When the attack hits, the shield disappears.

As soon as I saw the gauntlet, Dana smiled strangely.

Then she casually approaches and strokes the gauntlet.

She said this.

[This… Belongs to my mother.]

[Somehow it seems so.]

[It is very old. Can I use this?]

[I left it for that.]

[hehehe… I feel like we’re getting a little closer already.]

With the gauntlet in his arms like that.

Dana has become the strongest monster on the first floor.

From the beginning of the battle, hit wide-area weapons, tear people apart with basic attacks, and come with a free shield every time you attack.

She reached the second floor as a beast.

“Kyaaagh! Dohyeon-ah, it’s Tilda! It smells so good in here! You guys do too!”

“Uh heh heh heh, let’s go! The weather is nice!”

“…”

She still can’t control the joy of leaving the village, so she steps on all the traps she has, and even now she rolls across the fields like a stray cat.

It will gradually get better.

Especially, the second floor is a space specialized for training…

If you’re deceived by its peaceful appearance, you’ll shed bloody tears.

“Dohyeon! Come fast!”

“Chef, this place is really good!”

“Are you kidding me? I’m not a kid, why are you rolling on the floor! Wake up both of you right now!”

“Ugh… that’s mortifying.”

“Yup! Happened! What shall we do from now on!”

Still…

Beginning is half done.

To commemorate breaking through the 1st floor, you can take a short break.

“I have to eat eels. Find a place to sit.”