Start
A stale smell.
The ear-splitting cries of cicadas.
Heated air.
It was the scent of summer.
‘Hot.’
After reaching exalted heights, Kang Junhyeok had attained a realm where the surrounding temperature no longer affected him at all. Even if he entered a blast furnace naked, he would not have felt any change in temperature.
But now, air that was only a few degrees warmer felt strikingly direct against his skin. It was proof that the transcendent power which had ruled his entire body had vanished without a trace.
“.......”
Kang Junhyeok slowly turned his head. His studio apartment came into view. Then he saw the phone lying on the floor.
He reached out and turned it on. The screen lit up and displayed the date.
July 12, 2030.
“.......”
Kang Junhyeok frowned.
He remembered that date. More precisely, it was impossible for him to forget it.
July 12.
Exactly three days before he was summoned to the Tower.
“I came back to the past?”
His voice echoed quietly through the old room.
***
BUBBLE, BUBBLE.
A spicy aroma wafted through the air along with the sound of boiling. Kang Junhyeok gave the contents of the pot a few stirs, then turned off the heat. He carried the pot to the table.
Then he picked up his chopsticks.
He lifted some noodles from the pot. After letting them cool, he placed them in his mouth.
“Mm.”
Spicy. Sweet. Salty. Ramyeon with all those flavors mixed together.
A smile came to his face before he knew it. It was a taste he had not experienced in centuries.
Kang Junhyeok devoured the ramyeon in an instant. He even brought out some rice, mixed it into the broth, and ate it.
“Phew.”
Only after his stomach was full did his dizzy mind begin working again. His gaze slowly settled.
‘......I came back to the past.’
To three days before he entered the Tower.
How had he returned? He already had an answer to that.
‘Venerable Milarepa.’
At the end, Milarepa had given Kang Junhyeok a jewel.
That jewel was called the Jewel of Reversal.
There was no need to wonder what it did. Its name and the mere fact that he was here made the answer obvious.
“So the Tower even had an item that could send someone back to the past?”
Kang Junhyeok had cleared the 100th Floor. It was a great achievement no one else had accomplished.
But that did not mean he had uncovered everything in the Tower. There was certainly much he did not know.
It was probably an item Venerable Milarepa had acquired while clearing the Tower himself. It seemed he had saved it without using it until the very end.
And he had given such a thing to Kang Junhyeok.
“......Why, Venerable Milarepa?”
No. He already knew the reason.
Milarepa must have believed that returning himself would not change the future of destruction.
He had judged that Kang Junhyeok could change it, and after confirming his resolve at the end, had handed it over. Kang Junhyeok let out a hollow laugh without realizing it.
“How ironic, Venerable Milarepa. I never gave you anything.”
He had bestowed many things upon those around him. But they had always been the weak. He had yielded power only to pathetic weaklings who would have died in no time without his help.
Venerable Milarepa, by contrast, had been strong. He was a mighty man who had no need of Kang Junhyeok's aid, and so he had received nothing from him.
Yet at the very end, it was not one of the weaklings upon whom Kang Junhyeok had bestowed power who gave him another chance, but Milarepa, who had reached his realm through his own strength.
The irony was so absurd that he could not hold back. Kang Junhyeok chuckled as he rose. He went to the bathroom, turned on the cold water, and washed his face.
What did Venerable Milarepa expect of him?
And what did he have to do?
Through the towel drying his face, Kang Junhyeok's endlessly calm eyes could be seen.
***
Ten years ago.
One day, a message had arrived in a world where people were living ordinary lives as always.
[Hello, everyone.]
[After a long, long war, there is a new master of the universe.]
[The new master will abandon the current universe and create a universe of his own.]
[In the process, the current universe will be erased in its entirety.]
[But that would be far too cruel. Therefore, we intend to give all of you a chance.]
[The master of the universe will bestow a Tower upon you. Climb the Tower. Clear its floors and reach the end. Use the power you gain to overcome the trial. Do so, and the master of the universe will not erase your universe.]
[So, everyone living in the current universe. Do your best!]
It was an extremely sudden message that sounded like a joke.
Naturally, people were bewildered and refused to accept it. Most believed it was a malicious prank.
Unfortunately, it took only one day for them to learn it was no prank. Countless people suddenly vanished, and half of them never returned.
The world they had known was completely shattered.
People began entering the Tower, either voluntarily or by force. Countless lives were lost in the process. Death was no longer something that happened on the news. It became part of everyday life.
In exchange, those who survived the Tower gained tremendous power.
Now that ten years had passed, people had adapted to the broken world, and most had forgotten the peaceful past.
And throughout those years, Kang Junhyeok had still been unable to climb the Tower.
The reason was simple.
An invitation to climb the Tower.
Invitations were granted in sequence.
To gain power, one first had to receive an invitation to the Tower.
Kang Junhyeok belonged to one of the very last groups. In percentile terms, it would not be wrong to say he was in the final ten percent.
‘There was a lot of debate about that back then.’
Why were invitations not issued to everyone at once? Why was there a delay between them? Much speculation and many opinions circulated.
‘Well. The reason was simple.’
It came down to limited capacity. And luck.
He had returned to three days before his invitation to the Tower arrived.
Kang Junhyeok spent those three days gathering information. It had happened so long ago that his recollection of this point in time was hazy.
[American player Michael Smith has announced that he will challenge the 33rd Floor. If his challenge succeeds, he will rise to 14th place in the Player Rankings.]
[The conflict between the Baekdusan Guild and the Azure Guild continues. The government has urged both sides to show restraint, but its appeal seems to have had little effect.]
“So this is still when a player on the 33rd Floor counts as a top player? About two months until the First Test. Three months until the Raid, and half a year until Universal Integration.”
Kang Junhyeok organized the information in his mind while changing channels. Familiar faces appeared on the television. Some he had missed, and others he despised. As he continued flipping through the channels, he suddenly stopped.
[Now! Let us welcome Korea's only player among the top 100! The Sword Saint, Yoo Jinha! Everyone, give him a round of applause!]
A tall, handsome man appeared amid thunderous applause.
A handsome face. A confident smile. Confidence in himself radiated from his every movement.
Kang Junhyeok knew that face better than anyone.
The final battle.
He had been the Hero who stood there clutching the Holy Sword and bawling.
“Tsk.”
Kang Junhyeok clicked his tongue and turned off the television as if the sight disgusted him. He stretched lightly and assessed the state of his body.
‘Then.’
It was almost time.
Kang Junhyeok sat quietly on the edge of his bed and waited. A few minutes later, a massive wave reverberated.
HUMMM.
A wave that could not be explained scientifically swept across all of Earth.
At the same moment, a message appeared before Kang Junhyeok.
[Congratulations!]
[You have received an invitation to the Tower!]
[You may now challenge the Tower of your own free will! And enjoy countless benefits as well!]
[But first, we will conduct a simple test to determine whether you are worthy of climbing the Tower.]
At this very moment, tens of thousands of people around the world had probably received the same message.
Most of them would be in despair. Terror at being forced into a horrific place would be consuming them.
The Kang Junhyeok of the past had not been much different. He had not particularly wanted to risk his life in battle either. The fact that his parents had been invited to the Tower on the day the world broke and had never returned was another reason.
But not anymore.
“It’s here.”
Kang Junhyeok murmured as though he had been waiting for it. It was time for everything to begin again. His eyes were infinitely calm.
In his previous life, he had been weak.
The problem had not been his strength, but his mind.
He had pitied the weak and could not abandon them. He went beyond protecting them and even yielded the power that should rightfully have been his.
The reason was extremely simple.
He had been strong enough to yield power to others without suffering for it.
He had believed that the weak had merely lacked an opportunity, and that with enough power they would contribute to the front lines.
But he had been wrong. The enemy was mightier than he had believed, and those who benefited from his generosity did nothing to help the front lines.
In his previous life, his weakness made him repeat the wrong choices.
As a result, they had been destroyed.
Milarepa's final words returned to him.
‘Please, do not make choices you will regret this time.’
“I have no intention of regretting anything.”
Kang Junhyeok twisted his lips.
This time, he would not yield the power that should be his to anyone else. The Holy Sword, the Lemegeton, the Spirit Kings, the Ten-Thousand-Year Fleeceflower Root, and the Empty Azure Stone Milk.
And that was not all. Now he possessed information. Information about the towering, deep Tower, where countless treasures lay buried. He could obtain things he had failed to acquire in his previous life.
He would become strong.
Even stronger than in his previous life.
Then he would stand proudly before it, fully qualified to issue his challenge.
[0th Floor Quest started.]
[Prove yourself.]
With his resolve set, Kang Junhyeok's body was transported to the Tower.