This is a story about an adventurer active in the tower.
However, there are no battles or anything like that. It’s an explanation of the current situation in the tower.
Alda is an adventurer who has just managed to break out of the beginner ranks.
He became a D-rank adventurer in the three years since he started.
His speed is neither slow nor fast, but a very general pace.
However, it might be rare for someone to have come this far without forming a party.
Most people take on jobs by forming parties.
There is no particular reason for not forming a party.
He had been invited to form a party several times, but it just happened that there were no individuals who wanted to stay together long-term.
A turning point came for Alda while he was having a meal at a certain inn’s dining hall in Ryusen.
One of the party members he had joined several times before spoke to him.
“Hey, Alda. Did you hear about the tower?”
Ryusen was buzzing with talk about it at that time.
The story was that a place where one could teleport to the tower had been created from a building that was recently constructed very close by.
“Yeah. I heard. They say you can get materials that can’t be found in this vicinity.”
“That’s right. …So, I have a consultation. If your schedule is free, would you like to go together sometime?”
It was an invitation to join a party.
Since he had teamed up with them several times, he had no anxieties about the party members.
If there were any, it was the concern that his combat ability, being lower than the other members, might become a hindrance.
That was the reason he hadn’t joined this party until now.
“That’s… for me, it’s more than I could ask for, but is that okay?”
“Yeah, it’s fine. …Or rather, I’m telling you honestly because it’s you, but our other promising prospects are already unavailable.”
Alda understood the words spoken with a wry smile.
For them, this was probably a trial run.
They intended to add him for now, observe the tower’s conditions, and if it seemed profitable, they would seriously gather allies of the same level to conquer it.
Alda had no complaints about that either.
Rather, he was thrilled to be able to confirm the rumored location with his own eyes.
“I see… Then there’s no problem. I’m available anytime.”
“Oh. In that case, let’s make tomorrow a preparation day, and how about starting the day after tomorrow?”
“Yeah, that’s fine.”
“Understood. Then, let’s meet at our usual spot the day after tomorrow.”
“Alright.”
They casually set their plans and parted ways at that time.
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“…I see, it’s no wonder this became popular.”
Those were Alda’s thoughts after seeing the state of the 5th and 6th floors, known as the tower’s village.
By the way, the reason why the place Ryusen teleports to is such a half-baked location as the 5th floor was still not well understood.
“I agree. Even if we go to the upper floors, if it’s this easy to hunt, it will become a comfortable place for us too.”
These were the words of Zetto, the leader of this party, who had come to invite Alda the other day.
The party members nodded in agreement with their leader.
What they were referring to was the frequency of monster encounters.
It was clearly less frequent than around Ryusen.
This would allow them to conduct their gathering with some leeway.
Many of the medicinal herbs growing and monsters appearing were the same as around Ryusen, but there were also many items that couldn’t be found there.
Naturally, such items would fetch a high price if brought back to Ryusen.
However, with such an abundance of materials, their prices would eventually settle down to a certain level.
Alda figured that even so, it would be enough to make a good profit.
The village that had sprung up on the 5th floor also had shops that bought materials.
Although the prices were lower than selling in Ryusen, considering the toll and hassle of passing through the teleport gate, it was better to sell at the village shop.
The party moved deeper into the tower, contemplating such things.
Incidentally, the party, with its current members, only went as far as the 41st floor, after the 6th floor.
While there were no particular problems with the appearing monsters, they turned back because it would become too difficult to carry back gathered items if they ventured further.
After parting ways with the party members, Alda eventually decided to focus on earning in the tower.
One reason was that he won the lottery for a newly built apartment.
If he hadn’t won, he might have considered living in an inn, but those were also constantly fully booked, making the probability of staying there low.
At any rate, since he was able to rent an apartment, he began his full-scale activities.
Unfortunately, there is no public guild in this village yet, so he cannot rely on requests for income. However, he can make a sufficient living by gathering materials from the surrounding areas of the village.
As expected, the number of adventurers has increased, and it’s no longer as easy to gather materials as before, but this is not a major problem.
If he extends his reach a little, there are still plenty of materials available.
Incidentally, adventurers are generally perceived as rough and violent, but they adhere to a certain rule of not over-harvesting when collecting plants.
If they were to harvest everything, their own source of income would disappear, so this is naturally understood.
It is said that there were those who did so in the past, but they were ostracized not only by their fellow adventurers but also by merchants who would buy the items and even craftsmen who processed them, making it impossible for them to continue their adventurer careers. There are countless such stories.
Naturally, the same rule applies in this tower, and when there are clusters of plants, adjustments are made to ensure a certain number remain.
When expanding the village, it is common to clear out the plant clusters in that area.
In such cases, the income goes to the village (in this case, the tower management) rather than the adventurers.
As the village is expanding rapidly, such requests sometimes come up.
Since there is no guild yet, the requests are posted on the bulletin board of the temple that manages the teleport gate.
The posted requests are on a first-come, first-served basis, treated the same as in other public guilds.
There is currently only one shop within the tower.
However, this is not because the tower management prohibits it, but simply because the construction of buildings has not caught up, and stalls are being set up.
Therefore, there is almost nothing lacking for living in the tower.
Essential items for adventurers can be purchased at the sole shop, and the prices are the same as in Ryusen, so adventurers have no complaints.
Admittedly prices for weapons and armor are higher because there are no craftsmen within the tower, but this is unavoidable.
Recently, rumors suggest that a craftsman exclusively for this shop will be coming, and if that’s true, it might be possible to maintain weapons and armor without going all the way to Ryusen.
If that happens, the number of adventurers who choose to settle in this village will likely increase further.
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As Alda grew accustomed to life in the tower, two rumors swept through the village.
The first was that the tower’s management would be forming an organization called the Crown.
This was said to be an organization even larger than the adventurer’s guild.
It was said to combine the adventurer’s guild, the merchant’s guild, and the crafting guild, making it a considerably large organization.
Up to this point, Alda did not consider this story to be relevant to him and simply listened to it casually.
However, when he heard the second rumor, he could no longer afford to ignore it.
The second rumor was about a teleport gate connecting to cities other than Ryusen.
It seemed that many people were trying to verify the truth of this rumor, and notices were posted in key locations within the village.
Fortunately, Alda could read, so he was able to confirm the content on the spot.
Zetto found Alda, who was reading the notice, and spoke to him.
“Hey, Alda. It’s been a while.”
“Yeah, Zetto. Did you come to check the content too?”
“Of course. …So, what are you going to do?”
Alda, who was asked, immediately replied to Zetto.
“Naturally, I’ll apply.”
“Well, I figured you would.”
The conversation was about whether or not to apply to the Crown. Of course, there were disadvantages to belonging to the Crown.
However, for Alda, the benefits far outweighed the disadvantages.
“What about you guys, Zetto?”
“…I can’t decide this on my own. I’ll discuss it with my companions and decide.”
“That’s true, of course. But you should decide quickly.”
“Yeah, I know.”
The formation of the Crown and the connection to other cities via teleport gates had a set period.
It was better to apply before connections to other cities were established.
Once connected to other cities, the number of applicants would likely increase, so in a sense, it was natural.
And the situation that unfolded was beyond Alda’s expectations. At that time, Alda had not foreseen anything like that.
Fortunately, Alda was able to register with the Crown before the new gates were connected, so he was not caught up in the subsequent chaos.
Incidentally, Zetto’s party decided not to apply within the given period. However, he later told Alda that if they had known there would be three new teleport gate destinations, they would have applied without hesitation.
I considered talking about the Crown Card as well, but decided against it as the explanation would likely be very long.
The sixth chapter will begin next time.
May 24, 2014 – Typo correction
June 9, 2014 – Correction of reached floor
