Wave Difficulty Management
I understood the goal itself.

‘...Isn't there really no need to just let them die?’

If I leave about three mid-tier monsters and manage the aggro appropriately, no one should die, and we can just kill time.
But why are they being left to die?

As I voiced my doubts, the goblin next to me spoke.

“They have no reason to help them. Kek.”

I had forgotten for a moment.
I had been too focused on defeating the clearly evil pirate bastards to remember what the Tower of Struggle actually was.

“You’re saying they’re intentionally leaving them to die?”
“…I guess you could think of it that way.”

The goblin didn’t seem particularly interested in helping them either.

When it comes to fighting mid-tier monsters with a goblin’s body, it’s a life-or-death situation, so it wasn’t easy for them to take action.

‘There must be some trouble I don’t know about.’

I had just climbed to the 4th floor.
Even with my eyes, I could clearly see that the groups were split.

We may be in the same village, but not everyone was in the same team.

‘Leaving other goblins from another group to die at the hands of mid-tier monsters…’

Isn’t that a bit troublesome?

‘I don’t think the players who’ve made it this far would hesitate to kill.’

Wouldn’t it be quicker to just kill them directly?

“I can’t kill them. Kek. The administrator has prohibited combat between our kind.”
“Ah. So…”

PK is prohibited, but attacking with monsters is allowed?

‘Ridiculous.’

I must have shown my thoughts on my face, as the goblin beside me chuckled softly.

“Keke!”

The mid-tier monsters did their best to kill the goblins.
It was typical for goblins to not be able to beat mid-tier monsters on their own, so the goblin that became the target didn’t last long and died quickly.

‘Players who don’t belong to a group have no way to survive.’

After about a dozen goblins had died, the wave finally ended.
The mid-tier monsters turned to dust and vanished.

「Everyone did a great job. Kek.」

At just the right moment, the administrator appeared.
It was a goblin.

「I’ll calculate the results of the 4th wave. Kek. The floor’s owner will reward any player who has shown bravery as a warrior.」

This goblin looked weaker than the others.

But, one shouldn’t disregard appearances.
That goblin administrator must have been an ascendant, someone who reached the 50th floor of the Tower of Struggle.

[4th Wave Results]
Killed Unknown Mid-tier Monsters × 13
Contribution Rank 5th

[You have earned the ‘Goblin Warrior’s Stone Axe’ as a reward.]

A stone axe…

‘Is this why they blocked the inventory?’

I couldn’t bring out my golden dagger or secutor helmet.
The raft I made on the 3rd floor was, of course, gone.

A player dropped without any equipment.
The floor says it will provide equipment according to contribution.

It’s just a stone axe, but the difference between those who have it and those who don’t will be immense.

‘Whether it’s on the 2nd floor or the 4th floor, fighting for your life is the same.’

In the Colosseum, too, to gain something, you had to bet your life.
In terms of being able to control the opponent, it’s much better than the 4th floor…

But I don’t know if everyone thinks like me.

“St, stone axe!”

The goblin next to me was surprised.

Now that I think about it, it seems like it’s been beside me the whole time.
It seems like we’ve formed a group.

I had no intention of pushing it away.
It would be more convenient if there was another player who had been on the 4th floor longer than me.

“Did you get the stone axe? Kek?”
“Yeah. They just gave it to me.”
“This is something you can only get if you’re in the top 5 in contribution. How did…?”

Thirteen mid-tier monsters killed.
I had only killed thirteen, but somehow I ended up in the top 5 among all these goblins.

‘Taking them out one by one, slowly.’

It seems like only the player who dealt the final blow gets credit for the kill.
So, it seems that I earned 5th place with only 13 kills.

[Goblin Warrior’s Stone Axe (Purple) [F]]
Type: One-handed axe
Stats▼
【Attack Power: +4】
【Durability: 10/10】
Options▼
【Bleeding Lv.2】

The equipment itself isn’t special.
It’s something you’d expect to use in a tutorial, a cheap item.

‘Better than nothing.’

Especially on the 4th floor, where I can’t use my previous equipment, it will be an overwhelming advantage.

“Kek. The player who ranked 1st in this wave will receive bonus points.”

Warrior promotions were 3 points.
I wonder how many points the 1st place in contribution will receive.

‘I don’t think it’ll be that many.’

The administrator pointed to one of the goblins.
It was a goblin that was part of a group.

“Congratulations!”
“Thanks. Kek.”
“The 5th wave will take place tomorrow. The difficulty will remain the same, so don’t worry too much. Kek.”

Once a day.
The waves must be stopped.

“I heard that after the 5th wave, we’ll attack. Kek.”
“Attack?”
“The roles will switch.”

The goblins who were defending will start attacking.
Against the mid-tier monsters’ villages or cities.

‘The Tower of Struggle’s trials are ultimately shaped by the floor’s owner. If they want, it’s perfectly possible to reverse the invasion and attack human cities.’

While I was thinking about that, the goblins approached.
My stone axe had drawn quite a bit of attention.

“Kek. First time seeing that, huh?”

As soon as they saw me, they seemed to realize I had just climbed up.
They all looked like goblins, but how did they figure it out?

“It’s because of your outfit.”

Only then did I look at my own status.
Everyone else’s clothes were slightly different.

‘…They figured out I was a newbie just because of the clothes?’

So, if you’re dressed like a barbarian, it means you’ve stayed longer on the 4th floor.
Ridiculous.

“You climbed up and got promoted to warrior and received a stone axe, huh. Kek.”

A goblin warrior stepped forward.
It seemed like he was the leader of the group.

‘A goblin looks manly?’

Upon closer inspection, each goblin seemed to have a slightly different face.
It wasn’t easy to distinguish, but there were subtle differences.

“Yeah.”
“…Seems like you’re a pretty strong player.”

I didn’t deny it.
What’s the point?

‘In this situation, it’s actually fine.’

I thought about the goblin warrior’s stats.

His health was only 15.
If he had distributed his promotion bonus points, his max health would be 18, with vitality of 180.

With that much health, he wouldn’t be able to endure my crushing blow with the stone axe.

Maybe against mid-tier monsters, but not against goblins.

It was the conclusion that I could fight more confidently.

“To put it bluntly, Kek. Join us.”

Behind him, there were more than twenty goblins, about 30% of them were warriors.

‘Definitely safer.’

The more warriors in the group, the better, considering the difference between regular goblins and goblin warriors.

‘Especially with the upcoming invasion after the 5th wave…’

At that moment, another group approached.
They didn’t seem to be on the best terms, as they started glaring at each other as soon as they met.

“Isn’t it our turn to bring up a player?”
“Huh? What do you mean? You’re recruiting a newbie? Kek. Why are you talking like there’s a specific order?”
“You guys took a flying telekinetic yesterday. But are you pretending you don’t remember?”

A goblin, visibly angry, had a stone axe in hand.

‘That goblin?’

It looked like the same goblin who had yelled at me earlier about not stealing monsters.

“Shit. Don’t you have any conscience?”
“Coming up to the 4th floor and still looking for conscience? Kek. Ridiculous.”

A slightly manly goblin urged me.

“Make up your mind. Which group are you joining?”

The 4th floor trial is divided into two stages.
The first stage is to stop the human invasion, and the second stage is to invade the human village.

Players who finish the second stage can choose one of two options.

One is to climb to the 5th floor.
The other is to attempt the 4th floor trial again from the beginning.

‘…I don’t need to go up until I’ve received all the rewards from the 4th floor. Only the scum would go up first.’

It’s not just Earthlings who crave rewards.
All players who have adapted to the Tower of Struggle want rewards.

Especially those with ordinary talents.
Their potential isn’t as dramatic as they think.
They’re almost no different from Earthlings.

The emotions that 0 feels when it looks at 1.
The emotions 1 feels when it looks at 100.
Honestly, they’re quite similar.

A talent of 1 can never reach 100, no matter how much sweat and blood is poured into it.
But it’s completely possible to reach 10 with a bonus point.

The ordinary men who realize their talents are nothing special can’t leave the 4th floor.
How could they leave when all the rewards they haven’t received are right in front of them?

Harkin was a mid-tier monster who realized the cruel reality.

Narrow mana pathways, poor mana sensitivity.
No matter how hard he tried, he would never become a mana expert.
That was the reality for Harkin.

Harkin stayed on the 4th floor for a month.
The reason was simple.
To collect all the remaining rewards.

But it wasn’t easy.
There were limits to his power.

The opportunity Harkin found was to recruit strong players to his team.

He looked at the goblin in front of him.
Sending an intense gaze, he displayed the strength of his group.

‘If only you come…!’

While the wave was ongoing, Harkin’s eyes were directed not at the monsters, but at the newly ascended players.

It was easy to distinguish.
The goblins who had just turned into monsters didn’t have tattoos.

They were average.
They had various skills, but they weren’t impressive.

Then, he discovered it.

A goblin—or rather, a player—who killed mid-tier monsters in a single blow!

‘Pretending to be strong.’

Harkin pretended to be strong.
Since we were all goblins, no one would call him out.

‘Even if they do find out, who do they think I am?’

He didn’t know what Error was thinking at all.
Unfazed, Error spoke nonchalantly.

“Why do I have to join your team?”
“…!”

The kind of courage that could never be mimicked by weaklings like Harkin…!

‘He’s real.’

A real tough guy appeared.

Harkin swallowed hard, contemplating how to capture him.