Although my plan to hoard infinite elixirs failed... it's okay.
The elixir hasn't disappeared. It might be a good idea to give it to a Ranker later and win their favor.
Or I could even give it to Ji-won Choi.
I haven't lost anything right now. My elixir is safe, and my strength stat has increased by a whopping 10 points.
Once you start seeing reduced gains as losses, there's no end to it.
"Hmm… What should I experiment with next?"
My initial plan failed, but I had a Plan B.
It's to take advantage of the convenience of the 1st floor.
The 1st floor can, in essence, provide anything and everything.
The only downside is that things created here don't last outside this floor. But what if it's something I don't need to take out?
"Shaolin Temple's Great Elixir."
I imagined the top elixir of the martial arts world, which increases inner energy just by consuming it.
However, no matter how hard I tried to imagine it, nothing appeared in my palm.
I wasn't expecting it to work... but it's a bit disappointing.
What about a book, not an elixir?
"... The secret manual of Sky Horse Qi Gong."
I imagined the most potent martial arts manual I knew. Whenever I read martial arts novels, Sky Horse is always portrayed as the most powerful.
"Oh?!"
Suddenly, an old book appeared in my hand.
This... mastering it would allow one to conquer the world. A martial art technique so powerful it could shatter the Tower itself!
"...What's this?"
However, upon reading, the content was just gibberish.
There was no martial arts content, just profound-sounding gibberish that, upon closer inspection, seemed to be poorly assembled from phrases I had read in online novels.
"... Does this Christian God not deal with martial arts novels?"
Next, I imagined the 'legendary sword technique only the direct descendants of the Huang family can learn', but its contents were as nonsensical as the Sky Horse Qi Gong.
Right, it's impossible to get things this way.
"Hmm… This time, compile the sword technique Ji-won taught me into a book."
When I imagined the 'sword technique of Ji-won', which I know in detail, a proper book popped out.
It neatly summarized all the sword techniques I had learned from Ji-won. It felt like even a layman could understand the basics of the sword by reading it.
It seems that when creating a manual, it's based on what I know.
Of course, since it's content I already know, there's no need to read the manual again, and it's not something I can show to others, so I consider it useless.
"Huh?"
Wait a minute, if it's like this...
"... Warrior's Elixir."
I imagined the elixir in my right hand duplicating.
Then, a second Warrior's Elixir appeared in my left hand.
"... Aha."
It seems that the restriction on consuming unique items in duplicates was probably put in place to guard against the 1st floor's creation feature.
Both items that exist in reality and items from the Tower can be created.
Indeed, it doesn't make sense to restrict regressors. It's not like there are other regressors besides me.
"There are two possibilities..."
First, I can create items I've 'seen' once.
Second, I can create items I possess.
"Warrior's Axe."
However, since the axe that the angel showed me didn't appear... it seems I can only copy items I own.
I'd need to experiment more to be sure, but this is already a significant gain.
If I can get my hands on a doping drug that gives buffs, I can fully dope myself every time I enter a floor.
"Well, that's enough for items..."
The area around me, which looked like a dorm room, started to morph and gradually transformed into a white, lab-like space.
This is the training space I imagined.
Thanks to the 1st floor's characteristic that almost anything conceivable with modern technology can be implemented, it's a space designed for various practical trainings.
What I'll do here is simple.
Practice cutting well, dodging well, and always being cautious.
Initially, I considered seeking help from external experts, but I soon concluded it's pointless.
My fighting style, where I regress even from a minor scratch, has to be different from others. I must aim to take down the opponent without taking a single hit.
Moreover, my strength stat had increased by 10.
I should avoid injuring myself by not controlling my strength.
"... Sigh."
Should I get started?
After training to my satisfaction, I opened the 'Guidebook' after a long time.
I had only read the initial part and hadn't touched the rest.
For the past two months, my life consisted of watching YouTube, playing games, eating chicken, pizza, and black bean noodles while watching the news. So, I didn't pay much attention to the Tower's rules.
But now, I'm about to ascend to the 2nd floor. It's best to thoroughly read the rules.
I flipped through the guidebook to the section titled 'Basic Rules of the Tower.'
3. Are you curious about the basic rules of the Tower?
The Tower is a miraculous creation, a collaboration of various Archangels! We angels believe in the potential of humanity. We sincerely hope that climbers will prove the worth of mankind and gain God's recognition. From now on, climbers will challenge the limits of humanity. Sometimes it might be easy, other times tough. You might doubt, thinking, 'Is this truly a judgment of humans?' For those of you feeling this way, I'll explain the purpose behind the Tower's design in detail! Starting with...
"Really now..."
This section of the guidebook was the longest. Even skimming through it, it seemed endless.
Trimming away the unnecessary chatter and summarizing the essential points:
1. The Tower has a different Archangel in charge every 5 floors, which means each segment has a different atmosphere and stage concept. For example, floors 1-5 have one angel, while floors 6-10 have another.
2. After clearing a floor, you return to the 1st floor. However, if multiple floors are connected, you need to clear all of them to return.
3. Some floors, like the 1st, can be accessed anytime.
4. Since it's floor by floor, adapt as you go.
That was the core information. The rest was just rationalized excuses. It seemed even the writer of the guidebook felt the Tower operated on its whims.
It's clear that God is lazy. He wanted to destroy humanity but dumped the job on the angels.
"... Hmm."
I pressed my brow and reread the guidebook's content.
The critical point here is returning to the 1st floor after clearing each floor.
Why? Because my regression point is the 'moment I enter each floor.'
Even if I clear the 2nd floor and return to the 1st, when I regress, I'll start again from the 2nd floor.
I have to plan my timeline well. Once I enter the 2nd floor, I should design my trajectory until the moment I enter the 3rd floor.
"Well, then..."
I'm pretty much ready.
It's time to enter the 2nd floor.
Gritting my teeth, I bit my cheek hard.
Overcoming the discomfort was challenging, but with repetition, it became bearable.
There might be a time when I need to regress urgently. This is my secret technique for such situations.
[You've been injured.]
[You will regress to the moment you first entered the 1st floor.]
"Let's do this..."
Just before entering the 2nd floor, I withdrew all my money, except for basic living expenses, and invested it in cryptocurrency with a 10x leverage. I invested everything in 'Mighty Coin'. In two months, this coin would skyrocket, simply because the nickname of the American Player Association's chairman was 'Mighty Michael'. The coin surged simply because of the shared adjective. It was a ludicrous reason, but I was told that's how the coin market works, so I accepted it.
The crucial point was that I could increase my money in reality.
There was no immediate need for money, but there was no guarantee it'd always be that way.
Knowing the future and not utilizing it would be a crime.
"My physical condition... is fine. Mental state... is fine. I didn't waste much time."
Perhaps because I quickly bought the cryptocurrency, not much time had passed since my regression. At this rate, it's almost as if I'm entering immediately. After checking my condition, I imagined a portal leading to the 2nd floor.
Woosh.
A portal soon materialized out of thin air.
"... Let's go."
Taking a deep breath, I stepped into the portal.
I've heard that the survival rate is quite high... Let's see for ourselves.