「Warning. Tutorial structure damaged.」
When Sang-hyeok removed his hand from the stone gate, the remaining black sand trickled down.
A palm-sized groove had been left in the gate.
Vmmmm.
White light swept across the stone gate.
A moment later, new stone filled the gouged section and restored the missing part.
The stone gate returned to its original appearance, but the black sand on the floor did not disappear.
‘My God. I really broke a door no one had ever managed to scratch?’
Sang-hyeok’s eyes changed.
The Authority was far stronger than he had expected.
He immediately opened its information.
[Authority Name] <Extinction Devouring>
[Authority Stage] Stage 1
[Current State] <Seed of Extinction Devouring>
[Effect] Erodes the essence that maintains an existence’s form.
[Completely eroded parts cannot be restored.]
[At the current stage, the caliber and range of targets that can be eroded are limited.]
[The higher the target’s caliber, the greater the mana and stamina consumption.]
Sang-hyeok focused on the final two lines.
Authorities grew from Stage 1 to Stage 10.
Above those was a stage beyond normal standards known as Transcendence.
The current <Extinction Devouring> was only a seed that had not even completed its first stage.
Yet that power had erased part of a Tower structure.
THUD!
Something dropped behind Sang-hyeok.
The white floor shook, scattering particles of light in every direction.
When Sang-hyeok turned around, a golden scarecrow shaped like a human was standing there.
It was nearly three meters tall, with thick arms and a torso as smooth as though they had been carved from a single mass of metal.
[Adamantine Scarecrow]
[Attribute: Indestructible]
「First Authority opening confirmed.」
「Training entity summoned.」
「Use your Authority freely and adapt to your body.」
It was the adaptation training of the Initial Tutorial.
The Adamantine Scarecrow did not attack the player. Instead, it was a target made so newly awakened players could test their first Authority as much as they wished.
Back when Sang-hyeok had repeatedly visited the Awakening Research Institute, he had read records about this scarecrow many times.
Over the past four years, countless players had cut it with swords, burned it, and frozen it, but the result had always been the same.
[No damage recorded.]
‘If the stone gate broke, maybe I can break this thing too.’
Sang-hyeok approached the scarecrow and placed his black-energy-wreathed palm against its right shoulder.
HISSSS.
Starting from where his palm touched, the golden shoulder turned into black sand.
Thump.
The right arm fell to the floor.
A notification appeared one beat late.
「The Adamantine Scarecrow’s right arm has been…… damaged.」
Sang-hyeok stared at the unusually long ellipsis.
‘Looks like even the Tower didn’t expect this thing to break.’
His eyes shone.
This time, he stepped three paces back and stretched out his hand toward the opposite shoulder.
FLASH!
Black energy shot from his fingertips.
When the energy traveling through the air touched the shoulder, the golden surface was shallowly gouged.
Hiss……!
The erosion was clearly slower than when he had made direct contact.
Sang-hyeok increased the distance.
From five steps away, he aimed at the torso.
The black energy drifted through the air like smoke.
It did not take long to reach the torso, but it moved slowly enough that a moving enemy could easily dodge it.
Hiss……!!
A black mark formed in the center of the chest.
The surface crumbled slightly, but the erosion did not penetrate inside.
Sang-hyeok stepped even farther back.
Then he used <Extinction Devouring> on the scarecrow again.
This time, however, the black energy lost its strength and scattered into the air before it could reach the target.
‘Its range is about five meters.’
The limits were clear.
The farther away the target was, the shallower the erosion became.
Its projection speed was not fast either.
Most importantly, it consumed a great deal of mana.
He had only tested it a few times, yet the inside of his chest was already emptying rapidly.
‘This is about what I can do right now.’
The current Sang-hyeok was Lv.1.
Separate from the caliber of the Authority itself, he had nowhere near enough mana to wield it freely.
Sang-hyeok examined the severed arm and the black mark on the torso in turn.
At range, it was only useful for harassment.
To erase a target for certain, he had to touch it directly.
Having reached that conclusion, Sang-hyeok walked back up to the scarecrow.
[Indestructible]
The phrase remained even above the ownerless right arm on the floor.
Sang-hyeok gave a faint laugh and placed his hand on the scarecrow’s chest.
This time, he intended to erase the entire torso.
The black energy of <Extinction Devouring> gathered around his hand.
HISSSS.
At the same time, the scarecrow’s chest began turning black.
Starting from the place his palm touched, the golden surface crumbled into black sand.
Sang-hyeok did not remove his hand.
As the blackness spread across the chest, his mana drained rapidly and his right arm grew heavier and heavier.
‘Just a little more.’
Sang-hyeok pushed in his remaining mana.
Crack.
A fissure formed across the blackened chest.
The crack ran through the neck and waist before spreading to the remaining left arm and both legs.
Craaaack!
The golden body split apart along the fissures.
CRASH!
The Adamantine Scarecrow’s torso, head, remaining left arm, and both legs all collapsed onto the floor at once.
Every fragment turned into black sand and scattered the moment it fell.
Sang-hyeok lowered his hand.
The black energy lingering at his fingertips quickly faded.
With Lv.1 mana, even erasing a single scarecrow was not easy.
But its destructive power was unquestionably real.
Then he noticed one phrase still remaining on the floor.
[Indestructible]
It was the right arm that had fallen first.
Even with the torso gone, the golden arm was still maintaining its form.
‘Looks like I have to erase this too.’
Sang-hyeok crouched in front of the right arm.
He placed his palm over it and gathered what little mana he had left.
Black energy faintly bloomed from his fingertips.
HISSSS.
The erosion was slower than before.
Sang-hyeok’s mana was almost completely exhausted.
Even so, it did not stop.
The blackness spread across the entire arm.
The wrist crumbled, followed by the fingers, each turning into black sand one after another.
The moment the final finger disappeared.
[Indestructible]
The phrase floating in midair vanished.
“Whew.”
Sang-hyeok pushed against the floor and stood.
His body swayed slightly, but he quickly regained his balance.
Only black sand remained in the white space.
The system stayed silent for a while.
「……」
Only dots appeared instead of words.
Even those soon vanished.
A moment later, a new notification appeared.
「An achievement subject to announcement has occurred.」
「Please set the public name to be displayed in the achievement announcement.」
‘A public name, huh.’
Sang-hyeok remembered the promising Korean players who had revealed their names too early before his return and become targets.
At the time, Korea’s national power had been badly weakened by repeated Rifts.
As talent continued to leave the country, even the player-support systems run by the government and domestic guilds became little more than names on paper.
Player superpowers such as China and Russia exploited that weakness.
Large guilds and brokers backed by their governments offered promising prospects enormous signing bonuses and citizenship.
If the player refused, persuasion turned into threats.
They monitored every move, dug up personal information on families, and did not even hesitate to use kidnapping.
Korea ranked 64th out of the 64 officially incorporated nations.
It was also last among the 32 countries in the Eastern Channel.
Even when the Association and government protested, the other countries simply claimed ignorance, and Korea had no choice but to watch its prospects disappear.
Of course, some players left voluntarily in search of better conditions.
But many others changed nationality after their families were threatened, or after realizing they could not protect themselves if they remained in Korea.
The official records called it voluntary emigration, but in truth, their choice had been forced.
The current Sang-hyeok was only Lv.1.
He did not yet have enough power to protect even his family from the great powers that might target him.
More than anything, he never wanted to lose Kim Do-hyun, Kim Sang-jun, and Kim Seo-yoon again.
There was no reason to paint a target on their backs.
Until Korea became a country capable of protecting its own players.
Or until Sang-hyeok himself became strong enough to face player superpowers like China and Russia alone.
It was better for his name to remain hidden.
‘Private.’
「Public name set to Private.」
「Only the achiever’s affiliated nation will be displayed in the achievement announcement.」
The next moment.
A notification large enough to fill Sang-hyeok’s vision appeared.
[World Achievement Accomplished]
[For the first time in the Infinite Tower, a tutorial entity with the <Indestructible> attribute has been destroyed.]
[Achievement Name: Cracking the Impossible]
[Achiever’s name will be kept private.]
[Achievement points will be reflected for the achiever’s affiliated nation.]
[Republic of Korea achievement points +20,000]
Sang-hyeok’s gaze stopped on the final number.
The estimated deficit for this quarter was around 150,000 points.
Subtracting what he had just earned left 130,000.
Korea had not yet escaped the Large Rift occurrence zone.
Even so, the future had clearly changed.
It had barely been any time since he entered the tutorial.
In that short span, he had filled 20,000 points of the deficit the country had to bear.
At first, Sang-hyeok had not known how someone who had only just returned could possibly solve the achievement-point problem.
But now.
Seeing the achievement window before his eyes, he could see a path.
‘I just have to make more impossible records.’
He would repeat the same kind of accomplishment.
He would take even the points no one else could obtain.
If he filled all 130,000 points that way, he could stop this quarter’s Rifts.
That would become the first step toward restoring the Republic of Korea to normal.
It could keep promising players from emigrating because they believed the country was doomed.
And once that snowball began rolling, the points Korea could earn by itself would gradually increase again.
On top of that, if Sang-hyeok grew stronger than he was now, the number of points he could bring in would likely increase even more.
The achievement reward soon followed.
「World Achievement reward granted.」
「Trait <Heart of the Apocalyptic Demon Dragon> and reward are reacting.」
「Partial Authority of <Demon Dragon’s Eye> opens.」
Heat spread through the inside of Sang-hyeok’s eyes.
Black energy flowed thinly along his optic nerves, then vanished.
[Authority Opened]
[Authority Name] <Demon Dragon’s Eye: Weakness Insight>
[Current State] Partial Eye Opening
[Effect] Borrows part of the Demon Dragon’s sight.
[You can see the target’s structural weaknesses, cracks, and gaps in mana flow.]
Sang-hyeok slowly read through the Authority information.
<Extinction Devouring> was the power to erase existence.
Now he had gained eyes that could show him where he needed to erase.
Vmmmm.
The reconstructed black stone gate split open to both sides.
From beyond the gate came the sound of metal scraping across the floor.
Scrape, scrape, scrape.
Sang-hyeok looked through the open stone gate.
The next target on which to test his newly acquired eyes was waiting.
***
At the same time.
A World Achievement announcement was displayed at the top of PlayerNet’s global channel.
[For the first time in the Infinite Tower, a tutorial entity with the <Indestructible> attribute has been destroyed.]
[Achiever: Private]
[Affiliated Nation: Republic of Korea]
The channel, which had frozen for a moment, exploded.
[United States/Lv.52] Raven : If it’s an indestructible tutorial entity, that means the thing I’m thinking of, right?
[Japan/Lv.64] Tsubaki : There is no entity it could refer to except the Adamantine Scarecrow.
[United Kingdom/Lv.58] Gray : Hah, they destroyed that? That makes no sense. There isn’t even a case like this in the tutorial records of the Sixteen Heavenly Seats, is there?
[China/Lv.63] Yunliu : Name private. Affiliated nation, Republic of Korea…… That Republic of Korea, last among the 64 countries incorporated into the national rankings?
[Korea/Lv.41] Iron Sword : That’s our country! It really says Korea!
[Korea/Lv.48] White Tiger : The national achievement points really went up by +20,000. Not an error. Damn.
[United States/Lv.52] Raven : Wait. If they broke the Adamantine Scarecrow, they should be in front of the Unbreakable Guardian by now, right? Surely they aren’t going to break that too?
[Germany/Lv.61] Eisen : Those are different. That is not an entity that can be broken.
[China/Lv.69] Tyrant Sword : Impossible. Unless you start with a Tier 10 Trait, you absolutely cannot kill it in the early stages.
[Korea/Lv.41] Iron Sword : You never know. The accepted wisdom was that the Adamantine Scarecrow could never be broken either.
[China/Lv.69] Tyrant Sword : I bet my entire fortune they can’t kill it.
[Japan/Lv.51] Haru : I’ll bet one of my two precious things they can’t kill it either.
[Korea/Lv.41] Iron Sword : Everyone bet everything. Don’t change your tune later.
The shock of the Adamantine Scarecrow’s destruction did not last long.
The topic soon shifted to the tutorial’s final gate.
The Unbreakable Guardian.
Even the current Sixteen Heavenly Seats had passed it during their tutorials without considering fighting it.
Its level, defense, and regeneration were all far beyond what a newly awakened player could overcome.
The same conclusion piled up in the PlayerNet channel.
Perhaps the Adamantine Scarecrow had happened to meet a special compatibility.
But the Unbreakable Guardian was different.
That was impossible—they said.
***
While the betting began on PlayerNet.
Sang-hyeok stepped through the open stone gate.
The air itself changed the moment he entered.
Unlike the warm white space outside, the interior was cold and heavy.
It was a gray space with no visible ceiling.
Broken swords and crushed armor lay scattered across the floor.
Scrape, scrape, scrape.
The sound of metal dragging across the floor came again.
Something enormous crouched in the center of the space.
Its back, covered in black steel, was taller than Sang-hyeok.
A system notification appeared.
「You have entered the tutorial’s final gate.」
「The final gate will begin shortly.」
[Objective: Survive for 10 minutes against the Unbreakable Guardian.]
[Caution: This entity is not a target for defeat.]
Information appeared above the crouching being’s head.
[Unbreakable Guardian]
[Lv.25]
Sang-hyeok looked up at the number.
He was Lv.1.
His opponent was Lv.25.
Before his return, not a single player had ever defeated the Unbreakable Guardian.
No strategy for doing so existed either.
It had never been placed there to be killed in the first place.
Running away and surviving for ten minutes was the only standard method.
「Tutorial Adjustment applied.」
[Health recovery speed greatly increased.]
[Mana recovery speed greatly increased.]
[Movement speed increased.]
Whoosh.
Warm energy rushed into his body.
The mana he had exhausted while destroying the Adamantine Scarecrow rapidly filled back up.
Strength returned to his heavy arm.
Even his toes felt lighter than before.
Sang-hyeok looked over the adjustment effects once more.
Health and mana recovery.
Increased movement speed.
Every one of them was a power meant to help him flee from the guardian.
THUD.
The Unbreakable Guardian planted a hand against the floor.
Its crouched upper body slowly began to rise.
Its steel-covered legs straightened, and its enormous head lifted.
Red fire lit in both eyes.
RUMBLE!
When the guardian stood fully upright, the gray floor shook.
One of its feet was larger than Sang-hyeok’s torso.
Sang-hyeok activated his newly acquired Authority.
‘<Demon Dragon’s Eye>.’
The inside of both eyes grew hot.
The colors of the gray space faded.
Beyond the guardian’s steel shell, red mana became visible.
The mana ran from its torso into its limbs, gathering especially densely around the knees and ankles.
An even stronger red light was lodged inside its forehead.
The moment Sang-hyeok tried to focus on that light.
「Final gate begins.」
[Time Remaining 10:00]
Rumble.
The guardian’s right foot slowly rose.
Its enormous sole covered the space above Sang-hyeok’s head.
But.
Sang-hyeok did not step back.
For <Extinction Devouring> to work with certainty, he needed direct contact.
So instead.
Tap!
Sang-hyeok charged beneath the guardian’s foot.