Jin-hyuk stood in front of a large building.
It was an anomaly that defied common sense and the laws of the world.
The gateway to humanity's future.
[Tower of Trials]
The place where all stories would begin—and end.
Even now, before the entrance gate had activated…
'A lot of people gathered.'
Thousands already surrounded the Tower.
"You have to head to the Goblin Cave on the first floor. That's the best hunting spot."
"I know. We need to level up fast."
"This time we're climbing to the top, no matter what."
Some teamed up, some went solo.Every single person had red, bloodshot eyes—full of desperate ambition to climb faster than everyone else.
Ba-dump!
His own heart pulsed with excitement as the time approached.
[19:00]
[Tower of Trials is now open.]
The Towers worldwide opened simultaneously.
"It's open!"
"Hurry!"
"Move!"
Everyone rushed toward the gate at once.Jin-hyuk joined them, stepping into the bright light spilling from within.
Woong!
In an instant, Seoul vanished.
Vast meadows.A clear blue sky.Forests stretching endlessly across the horizon.
This was the first floor of the Tower of Trials—the starting point for Korean players.
"Ohhh!"
"We're finally here!"
Cheers erupted everywhere.
Jin-hyuk also looked around in quiet awe.
What was this feeling?
Like a newbie entering the game for the first time.And strangely enough, his own heart pounded with the same excitement.
'A new feeling.'
He touched the knee-high grass.
The fresh scent, the soft touch of the blades, the warmth of sunlight on his skin—
Familiar… yet different.
It wasn't a VR game anymore.
This was the real world.
'If I die here… that's it.'
No respawns. No save files.
He scanned the area calmly.
'Now it should appear…'
And then—
Tring!
[Welcome to the Tower of Trials.]
A blue system window appeared.
'It's starting.'
Jin-hyuk waited.
[100 coins have been given to commemorate your entry.][Coins are used as currency within the Tower.][Players can upload videos of their achievements. You will earn 100 coins for every 10,000 views.][However, fees vary depending on player level.][Views from non-Tower residents only count once per viewer. Choose what to watch carefully.][Live broadcasting is only available during boss fights to advance floors.][Cheating or manipulating view counts will result in penalties.]
Right.
This was it.
The bridge connecting Tower climbers and the outside world—players uploaded videos, viewers watched, and coins circulated.
'It means the more famous a BJ becomes, the more coins they monopolize.'
Soon, players would flood the system with flashy clips to attract viewers.
But Jin-hyuk had no intention of uploading anything soon.
'If I reveal things too early, it'll only hurt me.'
Even if he decided to upload later, he could edit out the crucial parts and still go viral.
Broadcasting wasn't a concern.
Live streaming, especially, should only be used when absolutely necessary.
'Then I need to move now.'
He looked toward a particular part of the forest.
He already knew what he wanted to do—and it was completely different from everyone else.
A special route.
Three types of hunting grounds existed in the Tower:
Dungeons: small areas with common mobs and a boss
Labyrinths: massive structures, slow to clear
Ruins: extremely dangerous high-tier zones with dragons, giants, spirits, and lethal traps
And among them…
Jin-hyuk chose the labyrinth 'Labarintos' at the center of the first floor.
[Name: LabarintosType: LabyrinthDifficulty: BDescription: A labyrinth of Crete designed by Daedalus. It contains complex mazes and various traps.]
For comparison, an ordinary goblin dungeon was grade F.
A B-rank labyrinth on the first floor was practically suicide.
But Jin-hyuk had good reasons.
About six years ago—
While tackling the early 30th floor, he'd realized something horrifying.
He couldn't go any further.
He searched for hidden pieces across the lower floors.Nothing helped.
Because the start was wrong.
Eventually, he deleted the account he'd spent years nurturing, started anew, and then—he found an ancient book on the 10th floor.
It stated:
[To enter the ruins of the 'Corridor of the Fallen,' you must earn the approval of its owner upon your first arrival at the Tower.]
Meaning—
Reach the boss at level 1.
The labyrinth before him was the training ground to make that possible.
"…Though calling it 'training' is absurd."
Because you couldn't kill any monsters here.
'But to think I'm doing this again.'
He bit his lip, staring at the maze.
Of all places, this was the last place he wanted to revisit.
Still…
'I'm not going alone. It'll be fine.'
He glanced behind him.
Some people had followed him.
They thought they were hiding well behind trees.
Cute.
'But things never go as they want.'
A group of five or six whispered from afar.
"I thought it'd be something special. A labyrinth?"
"I didn't think he'd come here."
"Damn it. I told you we should've just gone goblin hunting."
"How were we supposed to know? He looked like some lone-wolf veteran!"
"Let's just leave. There should still be spots left in the caves—"
"Ssh! Look!"
A woman in front—Park Hana—raised her finger.
"What?"
"He's doing something at the labyrinth entrance."
Everyone turned to look.
Jin-hyuk was drawing something on the stone with his finger—and the letters glowed blue.
Kukuku!
The ground rumbled.The labyrinth opened.
"Is this real?"
"What?!"
"He opened a labyrinth without a key?!"
Their eyes shone brightly.
Normally, you needed a key or activation item for this.
But he did it bare-handed.
Their understanding of the Tower shattered.
"…Let's go. We need to enter before he disappears."
"What?!"
"You want to go in?! It's huge inside!"
"Park Hana, are you insane?"
"Shut up and think."
Park Hana gave her companions a frustrated look.
"The beginning of the Tower of Trials is the most important. You know that."
"...Yeah."
"If he opened a labyrinth without a key, do you think this chance will ever come again?"
Experience, items, hidden pieces—the potential rewards were endless.
"Besides, the difficulty shouldn't be too high if a level 1 walked in."
It was shallow logic.
But they all nodded.
"A labyrinth on the first floor… maybe it's doable."
"He went in alone. Should be safe, right?"
Their only concern now was loot distribution.
"But will he share any items?"
"Of course not."
Park Hana grinned coldly.
"But we don't need him to."
She took out a sharp needle from her inventory.
'Stinger of the Giant Bumblebee.'
One milligram of its venom could kill a person in under a minute.
"Is that…?"
"My brother got it from the National Museum yesterday."
The others gulped.
Her brother, Park Hajin, was a former member of the Black Crow Guild—one of the better-known mid-tier guilds.
"Just trust me."
Her grin widened.
Behind the grass, six people stepped out.
'So they finally came out?'
They'd been hiding so clumsily he almost wanted to applaud.
Still, polite introductions were necessary.
"Who are you all?"
Jin-hyuk forced an awkward expression—he barely used these facial muscles.
Ow. His jaw hurt.
"Ah! We're not bad people!"
Park Hana stepped forward with a bright smile.
"We were just looking for a hunting ground… and we found you by coincidence."
Coincidence, huh?
Even an 80-year-old grandma on life support wouldn't fall for that line.
[Lv1 'Eye of Truth' activated]
[Park Hana's words are false.]
Jin-hyuk's eyes glimmered.
He decided to play along.
'Park Hana…'
The corner of his mouth curled upward.
'This woman… has an interesting ability.'
A unique skill absolutely worth copying had appeared.