The Guardian of the Tutorial Tower encountered on the tenth floor was said to take a different form for each person.
Some encountered a Guardian in the form of a Goblin, while others encountered one in the form of a Kobold.
The reason was simple.
The Guardian of the Tutorial Tower was a being whose appearance changed according to the trauma buried within the subconscious of the person facing it.
That trauma usually took the form of a monster they had encountered inside the Tutorial Tower.
That was only natural. It was rare for a person living in the twenty-first century to possess a trauma more severe than encountering an actual monster during the tutorial.
And now, the creature before me had taken the form of a serpent.
Was this because dragons were reptiles too?
I had not even recovered from my previous encounter, yet facing this enormous serpent made my body tremble reflexively.
This was far too cruel.
It was driving me insane.
At that moment, the enormous serpent slowly began to open its eyes.
Two pairs of eyes stared directly at me.
Its face was so vicious that, for a moment, I found myself wondering whether it could truly be called a serpent.
The creature stared at me before opening its jaws wide. Scorching flames began swirling around its neck.
“…….”
Hot.
It was unbearably hot.
Could I even get close to it?
The heat radiating from the serpent was intense enough to make that question arise naturally.
Letting out a hollow laugh, I immediately focused and willed my skill to activate.
[Black Dragon]
Black scales formed across my right arm.
After successfully activating Black Dragon, I clenched my fist tightly.
‘In the end, it is still only a monster from the Tutorial Tower.’
I could handle it.
The enormous serpent opened its mouth toward me.
A vast torrent of flame erupted from within.
Despite its appearance, it could not be particularly powerful. It was only a monster from the Tutorial Tower.
Drawing in a deep breath, I threw my fist with all my strength to deflect the flames.
“…….”
My entire body was burned pitch-black, leaving only my right hand intact.
[Synchronization Rate: 0.2%]
***
So this was what truly dying felt like.
It was utterly horrible.
Still, I should probably focus on the fact that resurrection had restored my body to perfect condition.
I sat cross-legged in a space far away from the enormous serpent and released a long sigh.
“Perhaps because Black Dragon damaged the system, I resurrected on the tenth floor instead of the first…….”
The serpent remained firmly coiled behind the throne.
Ultimately, I had to defeat that creature if I wanted to leave the tower.
“Is that even possible?”
The Guardian of the Tutorial Tower changed according to a person’s trauma.
That was right.
Trauma.
I had approached this incorrectly.
The trauma that creature had consumed was the Black Dragon.
It had taken the form of a being whose mere presence had rendered me incapable of breathing.
There was no possibility that such a creature would be weak.
Naturally, it would be absurdly powerful.
I rubbed my chin and considered the matter seriously.
How was I supposed to defeat that creature?
After contemplating it for some time, I arrived at an answer.
“There is no way.”
There was none.
How could I possibly defeat it?
Merely touching its flames had reduced me to ashes.
I could not see even the slightest possibility of victory.
I would probably never defeat that enormous serpent through conventional means.
Yes.
Through conventional means.
“Hello, Mr. Serpent.”
STEP, STEP.
With my left hand tucked into my pocket, I walked toward the enormous serpent.
The instant I approached, it uncoiled itself and raised its body.
The flames it had used moments ago were still flickering around its neck.
Without hesitation, I activated Black Dragon and charged toward it.
As expected, the creature breathed fire at me.
And I burned.
[Synchronization Rate: 0.4%]
***
“We meet again, Mr. Serpent.”
STEP, STEP.
With my left hand tucked into my pocket, I walked toward the enormous serpent.
The instant I approached, its eyes flared with rage.
The flames it had used long ago were still flickering around its neck.
Once again, I activated Black Dragon and charged toward it.
As expected, the creature breathed fire at me.
And I burned.
[Synchronization Rate: 0.5%]
***
“You are growing tired of this too, are you not?”
STEP, STEP.
With my left hand tucked into my pocket, I walked toward the enormous serpent.
The instant I approached, it opened its mouth.
The flames it had used several hours ago were still flickering around its neck.
This time, I charged toward it without activating Black Dragon.
As expected, the creature breathed fire at me.
And I burned.
[Synchronization Rate: 0.6%]
***
“…….”
STEP, STEP.
With my left hand tucked into my pocket, I walked toward the enormous serpent.
There was no longer any need for greetings.
It knew.
I knew.
We both already understood what was about to happen.
As expected, the enormous serpent opened its mouth toward me.
The flames it had first used several days ago flickered weakly around its neck.
I activated Black Dragon with all my strength and charged toward it.
As expected, the creature breathed fire at me.
And I erased the flames.
“You have grown weaker.”
As I had thought, this was the answer.
Monster or not, the creature was still alive.
Every living creature eventually became exhausted.
There had to be a limit to the flames it could produce.
That was why I had charged at it without rest.
Once, twice.
Dozens, hundreds, thousands of times…….
I had tried so many times that I could no longer remember how often I had died.
After a battle that had seemed endless, the enormous serpent’s flames had finally weakened.
Had Black Dragon not damaged the system—
Had I resurrected on the first floor instead of the tenth every time I died—
I would never have been able to attempt this strategy.
The corners of my mouth rose as I erased the weakened flames with my right hand and kicked off the ground.
For the first time, the enormous serpent bared its sharp fangs at me.
“KRAAAH!”
THUD!
Its massive head crashed toward the ground.
I lightly evaded the attack by springing backward, then drove my fist toward its exposed head.
[Synchronization Rate: 0.7%]
BOOM!
The serpent’s enormous head was knocked violently backward with a tremendous explosion.
It truly was powerful.
My Synchronization Rate had been 0.2% when I first encountered it, yet even at 0.7%, I could barely inflict any meaningful damage.
Drawing in another deep breath, I reached my right hand toward the creature’s recoiling head.
Before I could strike, however, the serpent’s tail whipped around and smashed into my abdomen.
“Ghk…….”
WHOOSH!
My body flew into the air.
It hurt.
Had I failed to react and block it with my right hand, my body might have been torn in half.
‘That cannot happen.’
I had struggled too much to gain this opportunity.
Biting into the flesh inside my mouth to suppress the pain, I brought my fist down on the tail that had struck my abdomen and was now directly before me.
[Synchronization Rate: 0.8%]
A wet, pulpy sensation spread through my hand.
Perhaps its tail was more fragile than its head.
I reduced the tail to pulp with a single strike, seized the mangled remains, and slammed the serpent against the ground on the opposite side.
“KIEEEEEK!”
THUD!
The enormous serpent thrashed violently as the impact shook the ruins.
Its body bounced upward from the force, and it opened its jaws with a cry of agony.
I drove my fist toward its abdomen.
At that moment—
“Ugh!?”
SWISH!
Despite its enormous size, the creature moved with startling agility and wrapped its body around my arm.
A moment later, it hurled me toward the ground just as I had done to it.
“Guhk…….”
For a brief moment, stars flashed across my vision.
But I could not remain down.
Gritting my teeth, I forced myself upright, took a fighting stance, and spat the blood pooled in my mouth onto the ground.
“Huff, huff.”
“HSSS, HSSS.”
Both of us had reached the limits of our endurance.
The difference was that I had become mentally exhausted after dying hundreds of times.
Meanwhile, the serpent had become physically exhausted from killing me hundreds of times as I repeatedly charged at it.
I could do this.
I took a step toward the creature.
As though preparing its final attack, it remained perfectly still and gathered every last trace of its strength into the flames.
“KIEEEEEEEEK!”
FWOOSH!
The dark ruins became as bright as daylight.
The heat seemed to pierce directly through my skin.
As my body began to burn, I calmly raised my right hand.
“See you shortly.”
SHNK.
My right hand pierced my chest.
At that moment, the enormous serpent froze as though a question mark had appeared above its head.
I coughed up a mouthful of blood and smiled faintly at the sight.
[Synchronization Rate: 0.9%]
My vision faded.
My body collapsed.
And then—
***
My body was whole again.
The instant I resurrected, all traces of pain vanished. I clenched my fist and turned toward the serpent.
The creature was standing precisely where I resurrected.
How foolish.
It had probably never imagined that I had deliberately thrown it toward that spot.
Because it occupied the resurrection point, I had revived in midair.
I plummeted rapidly toward it, my eyes fixed on its head.
[Synchronization Rate: 1%]
I had already struck its head once and learned that it was outrageously hard.
If I failed to kill it this time, I might have to repeat this entire ordeal again.
I needed to scrape together even more power.
[Synchronization Rate: 1.0% achieved]
[The Master of the Twisted Netherworld is satisfied by your madness]
[The dormant power of the Black Dragon, ‘Haze,’ has been unlocked]
Harder than before.
Stronger than before.
I unleashed every ounce of power I possessed and clenched my fist even more tightly.
[Haze]
[Manifests the black mist of the netherworld contained within the Black Dragon’s scales]
CRACKLE.
Dense black mist began seeping from between my scales.
The slowly emerging mist steadily increased in volume.
[Haze]
Soon, it spread thickly enough to engulf my entire right arm.
My right hand was wreathed in black mist.
The instant the mist gathered around it, the power coursing through my right arm doubled.
I could do it now.
The enormous serpent turned its gaze upward, its pupils widening dramatically.
Reflected within those black pupils, I saw myself wearing a bright and innocent smile unlike any I had ever shown before.
“Peekaboo, you bastard.”
THUD.
My fist struck the creature’s head.
I felt something solid shatter beneath my knuckles.
CRUNCH!
Its head crashed into the ground.
A sound that should never have come from the earth echoed through the ruins.
CRACK—
The vibrations split the ruins apart.
A moment later, the pillars began collapsing.
THUMP.
Immediately after striking its head, all strength left my body. I rolled down the serpent’s back and fell onto the floor.
Sprawled flat on my back, I drew in ragged breaths.
I had won.
The sensation of being alive buried itself deep within my bones.
Ah.
Was this what it meant to live?
It felt unbelievably good.
I tilted my head back and looked at the dead Guardian of the Tutorial Tower—
‘……It is still alive?’
Impossible.
I had definitely shattered its head.
Despite the deep crater in the top of its skull, the serpent was staring at me and blinking.
I immediately tried to rise and face it again.
However, my creaking body refused to obey even the simple command to stand.
I was going to die.
But that was fine.
I could resurrect and fight again.
I was approaching my mental limit, but I could endure it if I gritted my teeth.
So—
[The Guardian of the ■■■ ■■ acknowledges you]
[You have cleared the tutorial]
[World-first achievement!]
[You have received the acknowledgment of the Guardian of the ■■■ ■■, something no one has ever achieved before]
[An additional reward will be granted]
[Generating additional reward…….]
[Returning you to your original location]
A brilliant light surged from beneath my feet.
At the same time, the now-familiar sensation of weightlessness enveloped my body.
Before I could do anything, the radiant light swallowed me.
When I regained my senses—
“……Where am I?”
I opened my eyes inside a building I had never seen before.
***
I cautiously opened the door and stepped outside.
The building’s structure seemed strangely familiar.
Looking around, I followed the corridor.
For some reason, I felt as though I would find a staircase if I continued in this direction……
“Why is there actually one here?”
There really was a staircase.
What was this sense of déjà vu?
Frowning at the familiarity prickling across my skin, I descended the stairs.
After going down about half a floor, I glanced through a small window beside me.
My jaw dropped.
“……This is the construction site.”
The scenery outside the window perfectly matched the view I had seen from the construction site immediately before entering the Tutorial Tower.
No way.
My expression stiffened as I hurried down the stairs to the first floor.
I flung open the unlocked glass door and rushed outside.
Then I stared at the ground, which had been dyed completely white, and muttered.
“What in the world?”
I had only been inside for about a week.
Then why—
“Why is it winter?”
WHOOOOSH—
The wind cutting across me was as cold as a blade.
Shivering, I released a cloud of white breath and turned my gaze.
A familiar translucent window floated before me.
[Time spent in the Tutorial Tower: 4,444.4 hours]
Even if someone had deliberately tried to reach such an exact number, it would have been difficult.
I released a long sigh as I stared at the infuriating system window.
4,444.4 hours.
‘The cause must have been that moment.’
When I encountered Black Dragon.
There was no other event that could have caused such a strange phenomenon.
A minute had felt like a second.
A second had felt like ten minutes.
Far more time than I realized must have passed during that moment.
I let out a hollow laugh, crouched on the ground, and scratched the back of my head.
I had climbed without taking a single proper rest because I wanted to break Kim Taeseong’s record.
That was why I had gritted my teeth and endured despite dying hundreds of times.
Yet the moment I emerged, all of it had become meaningless.
Overcome by a strange sense of emptiness, I quietly closed my eyes on the snow-covered street.
It was winter.