Lee Seong-ha asked urgently, as if he could not understand.
“Hey, didn’t you clearly say there were still 2 months left before the Tower appeared?”
“……Yeah. I did.”
Go Gyeol gritted his teeth. Before his Regression, the day humanity’s history had changed was definitely 2 months later. But the sight unfolding before his eyes—the violet sky, the rampaging mana, and the lightning tearing through dimensions—was unmistakably the omen of the “Tower’s descent.”
Had his Regression, or the future he had changed, become a butterfly effect and advanced the great wheel of fate?
That was when it happened.
“Uh……? What’s that? There’s something in the sky?”
Everyone’s gaze followed the tip of Kang Hoon’s pointing finger toward the middle of Seoul, beyond the clouds.
Splitting the violet sky vertically, a massive “shadow” so enormous its shape could not even be measured was descending toward the ground. It was not a building. It was the bottom of a grotesque yet majestic metallic structure, as if being forcibly shoved in from beyond dimensions.
A gigantic shadow that seemed ready to cover the entire city fell over them, completely blocking out the sunlight.
“No way… How is that a building…?”
Together with Kwon Do-geun’s stunned murmur, a blinding flash burst from the bottom of the “Tower” that filled the sky above Seoul.
[Notice: The Trial of the Earth Zone begins.]
[Notice: ‘Tower of Truth’ descends.]
A mechanical voice from the System rang in the ears of every person in the world. Humanity’s worst disaster, 2 months ahead of schedule, was beginning.
The entire world sank into silence. In the center of every nation’s capital, the massive pillars floating only a few meters above the ground allowed no physical impact or magical approach. It was the moment all common sense and technology humanity had built became powerless before that enormous iron fortress.
But the true terror was not the Tower’s appearance.
“……There are no monsters?”
Lee Seong-ha refreshed the Hunter community on his smartphone and muttered blankly. The reports rising in real time from around the world all contained unbelievable information. At the same time as the Tower’s appearance, monsters had vanished from every Dungeon on Earth.
Hunters in the middle of clears were bewildered at the empty interiors of Dungeons, and soon after, they had to shudder at the silence that rushed in. It did not feel as though the prey had disappeared. A strange premonition covered the world, as if hunting dogs had gathered in one place to follow a greater master.
Speculation, wild guesses, and apocalyptic theories were sweeping through like a storm when it happened.
Bzzzzzt—!
Seoul’s electronic billboards, household TVs, smartphones in people’s hands, and even old radios that had been turned off. Every video and audio device in the world caused signal interference at once and began displaying a single message.
[Guide to the Trial of the Earth Zone]
A dry mechanical voice struck humanity’s ears.
[The Tower of Truth consists of 100 floors.]
[Accordingly, 100 ‘Pioneers’ will be selected to represent humanity.]
On the screen, red letters were carved onto parchment stained with dried blood.
[The conditions of the Trial are clear.]
[If the 100 Pioneers clear all 100 floors of the Tower, all Dungeons on Earth will disappear, and the planet will be restored to the ‘normalization’ phase.]
A brief silence flowed.
Then the sentence that followed was like a dagger.
[However, if the Trial fails or the clear deadline is exceeded, the Earth Zone will be destroyed according to the ‘disposal’ decision.]
Destruction.
The weight of that word froze the entire world.
[Hunters who wish to participate must gather at the designated Tower entrance in each region by XX:00 on X Month X Day.]
Even after the message vanished, people could not move for a long while. The fate of 7 billion humans rested on the lives of 100 people. This was no longer a raid to earn money, nor a fight for honor.
After the parchment disappeared and the tablet returned to a black screen, Lee Seong-ha jerked his chin at Go Gyeol. His gaze was asking clearly.
“Is it exactly the same as before your Regression, down to the last word?”
Go Gyeol nodded with a heavy expression. At that, Lee Seong-ha roughly scratched the back of his head and sank deep into the sofa. Irritation and disbelief crossed his face.
“Damn it. If it’s the same, that means the people chosen won’t be picked by skill order, but by a popularity vote, right?”
“It’s not a simple popularity vote, but the essence is similar. That’s why I talked to you about the ‘Rebel of the Vatican’ image over the past week. That concept is guaranteed to work in this situation.”
At Go Gyeol’s calm joke, Lee Seong-ha let out a faint laugh as if he found it absurd. Kang Hoon, who had been staring holes through the tablet screen from the side, opened his eyes wide and asked,
“A popularity vote? What does that mean? Don’t tell me the people directly choose who enters the Tower? Not the Tower itself?”
Go Gyeol set down the tablet and looked straight at the party members. The week-long calm before the storm was over.
“To be precise, the reason the Tower gathered people right now is to hold the ‘Preliminaries.’ A total of 100 Hunters will be selected from each nation. The moment you enter the first-floor preliminary area of the Tower to place among those 100, a ‘Channel’ will be forcibly broadcast through every electronic medium in the world.”
“A Channel… like a broadcast?”
Kwon Do-geun, a former actor, asked with interest. Go Gyeol continued his answer.
“That’s right. A 24-hour live broadcast. For only 3 days. The battles and survival stories that take place in the Tower’s preliminary area will be broadcast to all humanity in real time. Viewers will watch every move the Hunters make over those 3 days and cast votes. Based on the vote ranking, only those from 1st to 100th will gain the qualifications of ‘Pioneers’ who will truly climb the Tower.”
When Go Gyeol finished explaining, Kang Ji-hyun spoke with a shocked expression.
“That makes no sense…. Then what, this is some audition program? Humanity’s survival is on the line, and they decide by votes regardless of ability? What do viewers even know!”
“Ji-hyun, viewers aren’t idiots either. Votes will go to those who show overwhelming skill.”
Go Gyeol’s voice sank another degree.
“But this is also a ‘show.’ When the competition is between high-rankers with similar abilities, the story changes. People will look at who is more charming, what kind of personality they have, or what makes them different from others. The public naturally reacts to stimulation. Appearance, personality, narrative. All of it has to become strategy.”
Go Gyeol looked once again at the massive Tower outside the window.
“No matter how strong you are, if viewers don’t choose you, you’ll have to return home from the entrance, let alone reach the 100th floor. And the result will be humanity’s destruction. Now we have to prepare. The cruel reality survival show watched by 7 billion humans has already begun.”
“But, CEO.”
Kwon Do-geun, who had been listening to the explanation, tilted his head as if puzzled and asked,
“How do you know that in such detail? The government and the Hunter Administration are in chaos trying to analyze the message that just appeared. But, CEO, you speak as if you’ve experienced it before.”
It was a sharp point. Kwon Do-geun’s eyes were full of doubt. Go Gyeol fell silent for a moment. He judged that now was the time to tell the party members about his “Regression.” If he wanted them to fully trust and follow him, he needed to reveal the source of this unreal information.
Go Gyeol slowly opened his mouth.
“The truth is, I…….”
That was the moment.
BEEEEEEP—!
A sharp warning sound that seemed to tear his eardrums struck Go Gyeol’s mind. His vision flashed white, and a forced System message filled his sight.
[Warning: Do not disclose information regarding ‘Regression.’]
[Notice: This information is taboo and may disturb causality.]
The System, which had not answered no matter how he called it, popped out at the crucial moment and shut his mouth. Go Gyeol frowned and shouted inwardly.
“What? Why are you blocking me now! I already told Lee Seong-ha everything!”
[Answer: Individual ‘Lee Seong-ha’ is an exception to causality.]
[Warning: Disclosure to any other person will result in revocation of Pioneer qualification and forced System shutdown.]
Even when he asked the reason, the System gave no further answer. The logic that only Lee Seong-ha was an exception made no sense. Go Gyeol ground his teeth inwardly.
“Special treatment only for Lee Seong-ha? This System isn’t sane either.”
As the silence dragged on, Kwon Do-geun’s expression turned even stranger. Just as Go Gyeol was moving his lips while thinking of a plausible excuse, Kwon Do-geun looked at him with shocked eyes and cried out,
“Don’t tell me…… CEO, are you a ‘precognition’ Hunter?”
“……Huh?”
“Ah! So that’s what it was! That’s why you gave instructions in Arcadia as if you were seeing the future, and why you knew in advance that we must not use mana! My god, the precognition Hunters I only heard about in rumors really exist right before my eyes!”
Kwon Do-geun reached a conclusion on his own and began making a fuss.
“They said precognition Hunters are national-secret-level, so the reason you founded a management agency was actually because you foresaw the Tower’s descent and recruited us in advance, wasn’t it? Wow, I’ve got chills!”
Go Gyeol stared at Kwon Do-geun in bewilderment. Beside him, Lee Seong-ha, who knew the entire truth, sent Go Gyeol an absurd look, as if asking, “Do you actually have precognition or something?” Go Gyeol also looked back at Lee Seong-ha with an expression that said, “What the hell is wrong with that bastard’s imagination?”
The gazes of the two men, each looking at the other as pathetic, collided in midair. Go Gyeol no longer wanted to get tangled up in this subject and quickly changed the topic.
“Focus. What matters is the ‘Preliminaries’ that will begin immediately.”