Park Jin-seong watched the scene unfolding before him, half in a daze.
‘Just... what in the world is going on?’
Only moments ago, he had been surrounded by a horde of Goblins and on the verge of death.
He had somehow managed to take down two as the battle dragged on, but after that, he had been hard-pressed just to fend them off, let alone attack.
‘Min-ju is out of Mana too.’
His companion, Kim Min-ju, had steadily cast healing magic on him throughout the battle, but she had also run out of Mana, leaving them in a hopeless situation.
They had been right on death’s doorstep.
‘That was when it happened.’
A mysterious young man had suddenly emerged from the undergrowth.
He was carrying an injured man too, so there was no telling how much help he would be. Still, any reinforcement was a welcome sight when they desperately needed another person.
But before helping them, the young man proposed a deal.
‘I couldn’t trust him at all up to that point....’
Naturally, Park Jin-seong had readily accepted.
This was no time to fuss over whether the water was hot or cold. He had been desperate enough to grasp at even a straw.
But then the tide of battle changed.
Drastically. No, destructively.
His movements held no hesitation, and every sword strike pierced a vital point with precision.
Each time the young man’s sword flashed, another Goblin collapsed helplessly.
Park Jin-seong simply couldn’t understand his movements.
‘He doesn’t seem especially fast or strong... but his movements are clean. Is he a Climber who got caught in the kidnapping event by chance? How high has he climbed? Floor 10? No, he must have reached at least Floor 15.’
The public divided the Awakened into two categories.
The ‘salarymen’ who chose safety and wandered the lower floors.
And the ‘Climbers’ who risked their lives to ascend the Tower.
As a salaryman himself, Park Jin-seong felt that the young man before him was fundamentally different.
‘So this is a Climber? How can someone so young...?’
Young man was almost too generous a term for that youthful face. He looked as though he had barely turned twenty.
But the point of his sword was neither youthful nor inexperienced.
‘We can live...! We can make it out alive. If we’re with him.’
Park Jin-seong wasn’t the only one who felt that way.
His companion, the Healer Kim Min-ju, was just as astonished.
It had been a year since she Awakened, a year spent repeatedly clearing only Floors 1 through 3.
She had seen countless Awakened during that time, but this was a first.
‘I thought we were going to die here... but he’s doing it this easily?’
The monsters used poison and even formed groups of seven. This could no longer be called Floor 1 difficulty.
‘This must be... at least Floor 10 difficulty.’
With Floor 3 as her highest record, she found it difficult even to estimate the current floor’s difficulty.
Yet he was dispatching the creatures they had struggled so desperately against with such ease.
‘He already killed three?’
By the time she came to her senses, the five Goblins had already been reduced to two.
It was one shock after another.
If this was how the ‘humans’ receiving his help reacted, how much worse must it have been for the Goblins dropping dead one after another?
“Keruk! Kereruk!”
The two remaining Goblins seemed to exchange a few words, then turned tail and began to flee.
Even without understanding their language, everyone could guess what they had said to each other.
Of course, the two would soon share the fate of the three friends who had gone before them.
“Oppa! One’s coming this way!”
“I’m already set!”
Park Jin-seong and Kim Min-ju handled one, while the young man took the other.
‘Flash Cleave!’
The blade flashed once more.
Not every one of the young man’s attacks severed a Goblin’s neck in a single stroke.
Sometimes he knocked aside the weapon of a Goblin attacking him, and at other times, his blade only grazed an enemy.
But whenever the blade flashed, a Goblin’s head invariably dropped to the ground.
The result was the same this time.
Thud.
The tough green hide, flesh, and bone did nothing to help.
Once the flash passed, only a neatly severed head remained rolling on the ground.
That was the end.
The young man flicked the blood from his sword and turned his gaze toward Park Jin-seong and Kim Min-ju.
“This side is clear.”
Park Jin-seong, who had dispatched the fleeing Goblin without much difficulty, stammered as he spoke.
“Th-thank you. You saved our lives.”
“Thank you. You really are... incredible.”
Even in their daze, the two did not forget to express their gratitude.
The young man merely dipped his head, showing no particular emotion.
“There is no need to thank me. It was a deal. More importantly, this man needs treatment urgently.”
The young man, Si-hyeon, spoke in a low voice.
“I have done my part. Now it is your turn.”
***
My demand was clear.
I had done my part, and now it was their turn.
The Healer swallowed dryly, then approached Kim hyung and extended a hand over his wound.
HUMMM─.
A faint light began to gather at her fingertips....
‘It’s done.’
Just as I was about to sigh in relief, the light faded away feebly.
“...?”
“Ah...!”
The Healer lowered her hand in alarm.
A cold voice slipped from me before I realized it.
“What are you doing?”
“I-I’m out of Mana. I used it all fighting the Goblins. Don’t worry! It’ll recover soon. Five minutes... no, ten minutes... should be enough.”
The Healer desperately rattled off excuses, looking ready to cry.
I struggled to suppress the anger surging at her absurd words and asked again.
“Ten minutes? Do you think we have that much time?”
“It’s not that I won’t help. Just give me a little time. If I rest for just a bit, I’ll have enough Mana for one heal....”
Even at that very moment, Kim hyung’s condition was steadily worsening.
No, to be precise, he seemed to be getting better on the surface.
But I could feel it instinctively.
It wasn’t because he was improving. It was because he was dying.
“Hyung. You can’t fall asleep.”
The commotion of the battle seemed to have roused him briefly, but Kim hyung’s eyes were already half-closed again. I hurried to wake him.
“Uh... Si-hyeon. What am I going to do? I’m so sleepy.”
“Hyung. Stay alert. If you close your eyes now, you might never wake up again.”
“That can’t happen... I have to see my wife and kids....”
This wasn’t drowsiness. It was the result of life draining out of him.
It wasn’t something he could endure through sheer force of will.
I needed to come up with some kind of trick immediately.
‘Wait, my Skill!’
That gave me a lead. I immediately summoned my Status Window to check my ability first. No, I only thought about doing so, and the Status Window appeared before my eyes on its own.
[Awakened Information]
Name: Kim Si-hyeon
Highest Floor Reached: Floor 0
Skills: Shadow Mimic (Unique)
▶ Shadow Imprint: Flash Cleave (D-)
“...?”
Wondering if the System responded to thought alone, I tried thinking of my next question.
‘To record... no, to change the imprinted shadow, what do I have to do?’
[Ability Activation Condition: Contact with the target’s shadow.]
※ You must step precisely on the shadow of the target you wish to imprint.
So that was why it was called Shadow Mimic.
‘When did I step on Kim hyung’s shadow...? Was it when I stepped forward to borrow his fallen sword?’
That was probably it.
I had all the information I needed for now.
“I think I have a way.”
“What? How?”
“I’m afraid I can’t tell you that.”
I had no desire to announce my Skill’s activation condition to them.
Even I could tell.
My Skill was rather unusual.
‘At least, I’ve never heard of anyone with an ability like this.’
In my long experience, people had become aggressive enough when I merely watched their techniques a few times and produced a rough imitation.
If they reacted that way to imitation, what would they do about copying?
This was absolutely not something I could carelessly spread around.
“Excuse me, Healer.”
“Yes?”
Of course, I couldn’t hide everything.
Saving Kim hyung came first.
Instead, I mixed in a little deception.
“I apologize, but may I borrow your hand for a moment?”
“My hand? Well... that isn’t difficult. You’re not going to do anything strange, are you?”
Wariness flickered in her eyes.
“I am going to do something. I am going to save my companion. It will not harm you or cause you any loss.”
My ability was closer to copying another person’s power than stealing it, so it shouldn’t harm her. Probably.
‘I fulfilled my part of this deal. These people are the ones failing to fulfill theirs. I can ask for this much.’
Apparently, they knew that too. The Healer glanced at Kim hyung, then cautiously held out both hands.
“All right. If that’s all... here.”
“Then excuse me for a moment.”
Pretending to approach so I could take her hands, I secretly stepped on her shadow.
A translucent message window immediately appeared before my eyes.
[New Shadow Contact detected.]
[Target: Awakened ‘Kim Min-ju’]
[Unique Ability ‘Shadow Mimic’ activated.]
A subtle sensation came over me, as though an invisible thread were connecting my shadow to hers.
‘...Oh, so this is what it feels like?’
[Analyzing information...]
[Another shadow is already imprinted in the Shadow Imprint slot.]
[To imprint a new shadow, the existing shadow must be removed. Continue?]
‘So I have to discard one to gain another....’
There was no other choice.
What I needed right now was medicine, not a sword.
‘Yes, imprint it.’
[Removing existing shadow and imprinting new shadow.]
[Target possesses only one Skill.]
[Skipping selection and attempting Shadow Imprint.]
I soon felt a fragment of her power flow into me.
[Shadow Imprint complete.]
[Shadow Imprint: Healing Touch (Grade: C- / Source: Kim Min-ju)]
I understood the ‘Healing Touch’ Skill as naturally as if I had known it for years.
At the same time, the sensation of ‘Flash Cleave,’ which had been so vivid until then, gradually faded.
‘It worked.’
At this point, I was already halfway to success.
Feeling much more at ease, I calmly continued the treatment.
“Hyung, you said earlier that you’d endure it like Guan Yu, right?”
“Uh-huh....”
“That still stands, doesn’t it?”
“Huh?”
Kim hyung was half out of his mind with sleep.
His last answer hadn’t seemed affirmative, but I wasn’t asking for consent. I was notifying him.
“Then I’m pulling out the arrow.”
“W-wait...!”
CRUNCH!
“Urk!”
As the saying went, pull an ox’s horn while it was still hot. I yanked the arrow out in one motion.
As expected, a gush of black, putrid blood spilled out.
“Healing Touch.”
I immediately brought both hands close over the wound and cast the healing Skill.
I felt Mana slip out of me, and a warm light soon gathered at my fingertips.
The wound rapidly closed wherever the light touched.
Pale new flesh grew even over the blackened, necrotic tissue.
“H-how did you...?! You were a Healer? Then why didn’t you do it yourself... No, that can’t be. How could a Healer have that much combat power....”
Kim Min-ju was considerably shocked by what she saw.
It was understandable.
Only moments earlier, I had demanded that she treat my companion immediately, as promised. Now I had treated him with my own hands.
Of course, I had nothing to tell her.
“Trade secret.”
I cut off any further questions with the brief answer.
Why should I explain anything more to someone who had nearly sent Kim hyung to the next world after I trusted her and helped them?
Kim hyung was my priority now.
“Hyung, how do you feel?”
“Uh... I feel a little more awake. How in the world did you do that? A moment ago, my....”
“Come on, I told you it’s a trade secret. You people keep asking.”
Why was everyone so curious?
I deliberately waved my hands in an exaggerated manner to divert their attention.
“We can talk about that once we’re out.”
“Oh, right. Sorry. It was so incredible... I wasn’t thinking straight.”
From the look in Kim hyung’s eyes and the sudden increase in how much he spoke, the Skill seemed to have taken effect immediately.
That put out the most urgent fire.
“At this rate, it looks like he’ll be able to move soon. My companion and the two of you seem to need rest, so why don’t we relocate and take a short break? A place littered with Goblin corpses isn’t ideal, is it? Something might come after smelling the blood.”
“Oh, good idea. We were actually about to suggest the same thing. Let’s rest somewhere safe for a while and discuss what to do next.”
The two immediately agreed that we should leave the area and rest.
“Then stay on my back a little longer.”
Just as I was about to carry Kim hyung again, a message abruptly appeared before my eyes.
[You displayed the most outstanding performance in ‘Tower’s Guidance’.]
[The Tower’s ‘Gaze’ has turned toward you. A new trial or opportunity may be granted.]
Gaze? Was it secretly peeping at me?
The thought was so unpleasant that my brow furrowed on its own.
“And what is this Gaze supposed to be...?”
Before the unpleasant feeling had even faded—
GROOOOOOAR—!
An enormous roar shook the entire swamp!
Startled birds fled all at once, frantically beating their wings as though screaming.
“...!”
It was on an entirely different level from the Goblins’ shrill cries I had heard until now.
Every cell in my body sent me a warning.
‘That’s it.’
It was undoubtedly the creature that ruled this swamp.
Before I could even calm my startled heart, another message appeared.
But this one was a little different from all the others.
[Warning: ‘Ruler of the Swamp’ has become aware of your presence.]
The message was red, unlike any I had seen before.
Its vivid, bloodred letters were packed tight with unmistakable murderous intent.
A chill ran down my spine.
‘First it mentions trials and opportunities... Is this a trial? This is one vicious trial.’
If it was going to act like this, I had no other choice.
‘Then I’ll make sure I’m handsomely compensated for this too—with that opportunity of yours.’
***
As we relocated after the commotion, I used the idle time to check carefully whether I had overlooked anything.
‘Tell me about my Unique Ability, Shadow Mimic.’
[Condition unmet. Only limited information will be provided.]
[Unique Ability ‘Shadow Mimic’ can currently extract and imprint only one Skill per day.]
※ A Skill automatically imprinted upon initial Awakening does not count toward this limit.
※ Once a Skill has been extracted from a target, that target’s shadow will no longer respond to ‘Shadow Mimic’.
‘...What?’
It was a bolt from the blue.
In other words, no matter how many times I stepped on Kim hyung’s shadow, I could never get Flash Cleave back from him.
‘Damn it, this just got complicated.’
The healing Skill I had gained by giving up Flash Cleave wasn’t bad in itself.
The painful part was that I no longer had an attack Skill.
Just as I had that thought, we came upon a small clearing suitable for a rest.
“This looks like a decent place to take a short break.”
“Oh, yes... then let’s rest here for a while.”
As soon as everyone found a spot and sat down, the other side spoke first.
“Let’s introduce ourselves properly. I’m Kim Min-ju. As you saw, I’m a Healer—a Healer. The highest I’ve climbed is Floor 3.”
“I’m Park Jin-seong. In terms of position, you can think of me as a Warrior or a Tank... something along those lines. I’ve climbed as high as Floor 4.”
“I’m Kim Si-hyeon.”
That was the end of my introduction.
I had only Awakened today, so unlike the other two, I had no highest climbing record or anything else worth mentioning.
And admitting that I had Awakened today seemed more likely to hurt than help me, so I left it out.
“I’m Kim Jin-cheol. I may be in this state right now... but I’ve made it as far as Floor 5. You can think of me as a Warrior.”
Once everyone had finished their introductions, the most important matter came up.
“I’ll get straight to the point. Si-hyeon, Jin-cheol, we would like to travel with you until we defeat the boss. Would that be all right?”
Park Jin-seong cautiously requested our cooperation.
Kim Min-ju soon added a word of her own.
“We failed to keep our promise earlier and made a poor showing... but we’ll be helpful if we work together. I’m certain of it!”
Would they really be helpful?
I had effectively killed almost all the Goblins by myself in the previous battle. Those two had only taken care of one that fled, so I couldn’t gauge their combat strength.
‘Although I was the one who asked them to protect Kim hyung rather than fight....’
In any case, it wasn’t a decision I should make alone, so I asked Kim hyung, my senior when it came to Tower raids, for his opinion.
“What do you think, hyung?”
Kim hyung carefully rolled his shoulder where he sat, apparently beginning to recover from the paralysis, then answered.
“Hmm. I think we should go together.”
It was the answer I expected.
In truth, I had only been weighing the decision. My own thoughts weren’t much different.
‘Well, if defeating the boss is our highest priority, cooperation is more beneficial than competition.’
They didn’t have to be a great help, as long as they didn’t hold us back.
Either way, I thought four would be better than two.
“All right. Then let’s go together.”
The two immediately brightened at my words.
Of course, now that we had agreed to work together, I made one thing clear.
“But before that, there is something we need to address.”
“Oh, yes. Please feel free to speak.”
“In the battles ahead, my combat power will not be what it was when I fought the Goblins earlier. I can heal instead. This concerns my Awakening ability, so it would be difficult to explain the details... but if that is still acceptable, I will accompany you.”
My days of slicing through Goblins one after another ended here.
It was a tactful way of saying that if they couldn’t accept this or continued questioning my ability, it would be difficult for us to work together.
“But....”
Kim Min-ju still seemed curious and tried to say something.
However, Park Jin-seong slowly shook his head and stopped her.
“No, Min-ju. Let’s just trust them. If those two hadn’t helped us, we wouldn’t even be alive right now.”
Kim Min-ju reluctantly closed her mouth.
Park Jin-seong gave me a friendly smile and offered his hand.
“Then I look forward to working with you until we leave this place, Si-hyeon.”
I reached out and clasped his hand.
“Likewise. I look forward to working with both of you.”
And so, a four-person party was formed on the spot.
All that remained was to find and defeat the boss, then escape this place safely.
“All right, we’ve rested enough. Let’s get moving.”
Kim hyung could move without difficulty now, and everyone else was ready.
It was time to go.
“Oh, Si-hyeon. Before we leave, why don’t we first think about where the boss might be?”
“There’s no need.”
“Pardon?”
My confident answer left not only Park Jin-seong, who had asked the question, but the other two looking puzzled.
A faint smile spread across my lips as I looked at their faces.
“Because I can see where the boss is right now.”
The warning message from earlier had said the boss had become aware of my existence.
But I had become aware of it too.
‘First it mentioned a trial and an opportunity. It turns out it did give me an opportunity too.’
[‘Ruler of the Swamp’]
A crimson message window floated in the air far away.
It was telling me.
The creature was over there.