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Chapter 9
The front gate of Garam Guild was packed with people.
Today was the day the talented hunters recruited by Garam would finally challenge the Tower for the first time.
A fleet of luxury buses chartered by Garam arrived, and the rookie raiding party lined up in formation while veteran hunters watched them with all kinds of expressions.
“Relax, kid.”
“Don’t think you can just do what you’ve been doing in training. Give it everything you’ve got. Otherwise, you’ll really die.”
“Yes, sir!”
“Don’t scare them so much. That was only in the early days. These days, how many people actually die before the 10th floor?”
“Well, that’s true. But the Tower is still the Tower. If I die, then my survival rate becomes exactly zero.”
Just then—
“The Guild Master is here.”
The lively atmosphere instantly became solemn.
The rookies straightened up nervously. Even experienced hunters couldn’t help but tense up.
“Did everyone sleep well last night?”
“Yes, sir!”
“This is the day you’ve all been preparing for. Think back on everything you’ve endured.”
The hunters’ expressions stiffened.
Garam’s training was unimaginably harsh. Every individual had to maximize their own abilities while simultaneously mastering coordinated raid tactics. It had been nothing short of hell.
“Don’t forget those memories. They’ll save your lives.”
Dressed in Garam-issued armor and carrying equipment they had purchased with their own money, the hunters stood fully prepared.
The Tower was climbed as a group—
—but in the end, it was also an individual competition.
The first floor only opened on designated days, but as long as a hunter survived, they could challenge it alone as many times as they wished afterward.
In other words, every opening of the Tower became a proving ground where promising rookies rushed in together, competing to see who could climb the fastest and reach the highest floor.
“I wish you all good fortune. Don’t be late.”
At Jung Cheol’s command, the rookies began boarding the buses.
The last one to board was Jung Hyun-ah.
“…Where’s Hyun-soo?”
“Young Master said he’d run there himself to warm up.”
It seemed excessive.
But Jung Cheol was simply pleased by the changes he had seen in his son.
Though, naturally, he didn’t show it.
* * *
Towering over the center of Seoul stood the gigantic Tower.
One hundred floors tall.
If humanity failed to clear each floor within the allotted time, the nation responsible would collapse.
It was a curse placed upon the world—
and the unavoidable destiny of every hunter.
Yet the Tower wasn’t merely a bringer of destruction.
Humanity had also benefited enormously from what came out of it.
Magic stones, monster materials, artifacts, and skills discovered inside the Tower had opened entirely new possibilities.
The same rewards could also be obtained from Gates spawned by the Tower, allowing hunters to grow even stronger before challenging it again.
To the public, hunters represented hope.
They were admired, celebrated, and rewarded with tremendous social status.
Finally…
Looking up at the Tower that had transformed the world, Jung Hyun-ah clenched her fist.
She had been born into Garam’s direct bloodline and devoted her entire life to reaching this place—
To prove her worth inside the Tower.
“Oh! Sis!”
Hyun-ah turned to see a familiar face waiting near the entrance.
“Hyun-ah! It’s been forever! How have you been?”
It was Ji Min-jung.
The only daughter of the Hanul Guild Master.
Hanul was, like Garam, one of Korea’s Ten Great Guilds.
“I’ve barely seen you lately! I’ve missed you!”
“Says the girl who turned off her phone because she was obsessed with becoming the youngest record holder.”
“Hehe. Let’s both do our best.”
Standing together, Jung Hyun-ah and Ji Min-jung looked like a painting.
Hyun-ah possessed sharp, catlike beauty, while Min-jung looked as though the words pure and innocent had been given human form.
Even with the greatest challenge of their lives moments away, quite a few hunters couldn’t stop stealing glances at the two women.
“Long time no see, everyone~”
Someone approached them.
“Oh, Oppa Mu-hyun. Hello.”
It was Chae Mu-hyun,
the youngest brother of Songgwang Guild Master Chae Moo-sik.
Technically he belonged to Ji Min-jung’s senior generation, but because they weren’t far apart in age, they had settled on calling each other comfortably.
“Hello.”
“…Hello.”
Hyun-ah bowed politely, though her expression remained awkward.
She still held unpleasant memories regarding Songgwang.
“I apologize for what happened with Seung-jin. I should have disciplined my nephew better.”
“No… We may have gone a little too far ourselves…”
Mu-hyun smiled gently.
“If someone makes a mistake, they deserve to be punished. Hunters can never afford to let their guard down.”
At the same time, he dismissed Chae Seung-jin’s crushing defeat as nothing more than carelessness.
Hyun-ah found the idea ridiculous.
Carelessness? My foot.
She had witnessed the fight herself.
Seung-jin might have underestimated Hyun-soo at first—
but after that, he had fought with everything he had.
And her brother had utterly crushed him.
More importantly… where is that idiot?
The Tower was about to open, yet Jung Hyun-soo was nowhere to be seen.
She looked around anxiously.
“Oh, hey everyone!”
“Long time no see. How’ve you all been?”
Two young men approached the heirs of Garam, Songgwang, and Hanul.
“Oh! Kim Min-gi! Jo Seung-hyuk! It’s been ages!”
“Haha. Hyung, how have you been?”
“Min-gi, Myeonggeuk’s been making headlines lately. Business booming?”
“Come on. Nothing compared to Songgwang. Didn’t you just secure a Gate with a magic stone mine?”
“Don’t remind me. It’s just more work.”
“Sure, sure. Everyone knows you’re suffering from success.”
“And speaking of magic stone mines, nobody beats Sodam. Seung-hyuk, take it easy, alright? Let us borrow your bloodline ability once in a while. No… actually, just have mercy on us.”
The newcomers were:
Kim Min-gi of Myeonggeuk Guild,
and Jo Seung-hyuk of Sodam Guild.
Myeonggeuk specialized in clearing Gates.
Sodam’s direct descendants possessed hereditary bloodline abilities that allowed them to discover Gates rich in magic stone deposits, making the guild incredibly wealthy.
Everyone laughed together now—
but once the Tower opened, they would become rivals.
Their relationship was one of endless cooperation and competition.
Just then,
someone came walking through the crowd.
Slowly.
Dragging his feet.
“…”
Hyun-ah grabbed her forehead.
“That idiot…”
Jung Hyun-soo’s appearance was unbelievable.
Everyone else had prepared the finest armor and equipment they could afford for the biggest day of their lives.
He showed up…
wearing nothing but a tracksuit.
Walking casually toward them.
“Wow.”
“I heard you beat Chae Seung-jin… Guess you really have changed.”
“But don’t you think you’re too confident, Hyun-soo? No weapon? Seriously? Hahaha.”
Jo Seung-hyuk from Sodam approached him.
Hyun-soo stopped walking.
“What are you doing?”
“Huh?”
“The Tower’s opening. Finish getting ready.”
His eyes were focused solely on Hyun-ah and Garam’s rookies.
“…”
His gaze briefly swept over Ji Min-jung as well,
but without another word, he walked toward the entrance.
“Look at Jung Hyun-soo. He’s gotten awfully arrogant. Before, he couldn’t even look us in the eye.”
Kim Min-gi nodded.
“Looks like someone needs a lesson.”
Standing behind them, Chae Mu-hyun smiled quietly.
“Come on. It probably isn’t like that. He’s just nervous.”
“Nervous? Since when does being nervous excuse bad manners?”
“You really are too nice, Hyung.”
“What choice do we have? What’s done is done. Let’s focus on the Tower. And don’t underestimate Hyun-soo. He might be hiding something.”
At their age,
being told not to do something only made them want to do it more.
“Worry about yourself.”
Jo Seung-hyuk and Kim Min-gi didn’t think much of Chae Mu-hyun either.
After all,
he was merely a discarded member of Songgwang’s direct bloodline—
already in his mid-twenties,
yet still someone who had never climbed the Tower.
Mu-hyun merely continued smiling.
* * *
[The Tower will soon open.]
As the system notification appeared,
Hyun-soo spoke quietly to Hyun-ah beside him.
“Don’t forget the theme of the first floor.”
“Oh, please. Worry about yourself.”
Decades had passed since the Tower first appeared.
The strategies for the lower floors were already common knowledge.
“If anything happens, run west. No matter what.”
“…What?”
“Finding west is simple. It’s to the left of the name carved inside.”
“Why are you suddenly lecturing me?”
“I received a report.”
“A report?”
“I think someone dangerous from the underworld has infiltrated this rookie batch.”
Hyun-ah frowned.
“Dangerous?”
“At least C-Rank.”
A normal C-Rank hunter operated somewhere between the 20th and 30th floors.
Someone at that level was only making their debut now?
“…What kind of nonsense is that?”
Higher rank meant more money.
Especially for wanted criminals.
Everyone knew climbing the Tower was the fastest way to become stronger.
Why would someone capable of reaching C-Rank simply wait until now?
“He has a purpose.”
That purpose…
was the Seed of the Overlord.
“Stay together. Don’t split up.”
“We already trained for that. Why don’t you worry about yourself instead? Seriously… what’s with those cheap rubber slippers?”
There was a reason Hyun-soo had come dressed so casually.
He intended to achieve the perfect clear of Floors 1 through 10.
Not simply by following the methods modern hunters used—
but by using knowledge from the future.
He wasn’t even carrying a weapon because obtaining the Seed of the Overlord required fulfilling the Tower’s hidden condition:
A completely unarmed clear recognized by the system itself.
The clue lay with the C-Rank rookie from the underworld infiltrating the debut challengers.
In the original future,
the notorious black-listed criminal later known as the Tyrant Demon had obtained the Seed.
This time…
Jung Hyun-soo intended to claim it himself.
[The Tower will soon open.]
[All challengers, please assemble before the entrance.]
[Time will be measured individually from the moment you enter. There is no need to rush.]
[The Tower will open when the countdown reaches zero.]
A massive countdown appeared in the sky.
[10… 9… 8… 7…]
As always—
the Tower was a liar.
Before the countdown had even finished,
Jung Hyun-soo walked through the entrance.
“Hey! Jung Hyun-soo! You crazy—!”
Hyun-ah’s shout was cut off.
Fwoooosh!!
An endless sea of blazing fire erupted before him.
It had been a very long time.
[The First Stage is the Flames of Oblivion.]
The flames engulfed Jung Hyun-soo.
[Challenger who seeks to climb the Tower… What is your name?]
The first floor.
The Gate of Oblivion.
Here began the battlefield of identity—
the trial of preserving one’s name—
a trial that would continue all the way through the tenth floor.
