“Haaaa…….”
I cleared it.
The Tower.
It was only the 1st Floor—
but my heart still had not stopped pounding.
“It doesn’t feel real…….”
Until moments ago, I had been inside that unbearably unpleasant cave.
Now that I was back in my cozy, comfortable rooftop room—
it was hard to believe I had really been inside the Tower.
“My clothes…… are still the same, though.”
I had gone in wearing the white clothes I slept in.
Now they were green.
And the disgusting smell was an added bonus.
“……This probably won’t wash out.”
If I had known this would happen, I should have at least changed clothes first.
Regret came rushing in.
At that moment—
[Congratulations! You have cleared the 1st Floor.]
[A historic record! You have acquired the Achievement {All Three at Once}.]
[Your name will be registered on the 1st Floor-Specific Leaderboard.]
[Please set the name you wish to use.]
My vision instantly filled with text.
“A-An Achievement? A name?”
There were all sorts of messages beneath the clear notification.
My head felt numb.
“If it’s the Leaderboard…….”
It was probably something like a board displaying rankings.
I had heard about it from my sister before.
‘She said the 1st Floor Leaderboard changes all the time.’
If even someone like me could get onto it, the rankings probably changed dozens of times a day.
“A name, a name…….”
My real name was out of the question.
But I did not have any particular nickname worth using either……
[The name may be changed later.]
“Oh. I’ll set it later.”
[The user’s name will automatically be registered as Undecided.]
Whew.
Thank goodness.
I was the kind of person who spent more than an hour thinking about a game nickname.
I might not have decided on one even after an entire day.
“That takes care of the name. Next.”
The Achievement.
“……An Achievement?”
I had never even heard about Achievements from my sister.
“‘All Three at Once’…… means.”
Was it because I killed all three ants at once?
They gave Achievements for something like that?
I cautiously selected the Achievement section.
Then—
[You may claim the reward for the Achievement {All Three at Once}.]
‘A reward!’
My trembling hand instantly steadied.
“C-Claim! I’ll take it now!”
I had been wondering what the point of an Achievement was—
but if there was a reward involved, that changed everything.
I frantically tapped the word ‘reward.’
The text flickered with static before changing.
[Reward List]
[1. Strength Elixir]
[2. Giant Ant Exoskeleton]
[3. Tower Medicinal Herb]
Three rewards.
“D-Do I have to choose?”
There was no option to claim them all.
As a test, I selected number one.
[Would you like to select the Strength Elixir?]
“No! Cancel, cancel!”
As expected.
I could choose only one of the three.
“Uuugh…… I really hate things like this.”
I had always been terrible at making choices.
The thought that choosing one meant losing the other two forever—
made my stomach churn.
‘First, let’s think this through carefully.’
The rewards were—
a Strength Elixir.
A Giant Ant Exoskeleton.
And a Tower Medicinal Herb.
If I judged purely by how much cash I could get for them, number two was probably the most valuable.
My sister had told me that Elixirs received as rewards could only be used by the person who obtained them, so that ruled out selling the first one.
The Medicinal Herb was listed only as a Medicinal Herb, without specifying the variety, so I had no idea how much it might be worth.
Above all—
monster materials were always expensive.
Even if they came from the weakest creature in the Tower.
If I sold an entire exoskeleton, wouldn’t I get at least ten million won?
‘Is money still the best choice?’
The second consideration was what would help me personally.
If I took the Strength Elixir, it would definitely help me climb the Tower.
For example, against the boss on the 10th Floor.
I had heard that these kinds of things stopped being very useful once you reached the higher floors above the 30th Floor—
but the 30th Floor still felt like an impossible dream to me.
Stocking one up now would definitely be useful.
Finally, there was the Medicinal Herb……
‘This one is the most uncertain.’
If it were a seed, that would be different.
But an herb?
I had no idea what plant it would be or what effect it might have.
If it increased Mana or enhanced the body, that would be incredible.
But apparently, there had also been useless ones that made your entire body itch for a day—
or left you depressed for a week.
‘Compared to the things I can obtain with certainty, gambling is a little…….’
One of our family mottos was never to touch gambling.
We had dozens of family mottos—
but every one of them was a piece of advice that offered some small help in life.
“All right. I’ve decided.”
Most of the money my sister gave me was still untouched.
And for the foreseeable future, my main goal would probably be climbing the Tower.
“I’ll go with number one…….”
BZZT, BZZZT.
“Huh?”
Just as my finger was about to press number one—
the text began changing again.
[Reward List]
[1. Strength Elixir]
[2. Giant Ant Exoskeleton]
[3. Tower Medicinal Herb ― Due to the effect of the ability Blessing of the World Tree, a seed can be extracted.]
“?”
A seed……
could be extracted?
…
…
…Tap.
[Reward No. 3, Tower Medicinal Herb (Seed), has been acquired.]
I did not even have time to hesitate.
My finger was already pressing number three.
The Community.
A place where all information related to the Tower was shared.
Normally, it was filled with all kinds of miscellaneous knowledge and questions.
But at this very moment—
millions of people were arguing over a single topic.
[So who the hell is Undecided?]
How does a Korean beat Maverick’s record?
Isn’t this a bug?
ㄴ They didn’t beat Maverick. They beat Maverick’s 1st Floor record.
ㄴ Isn’t that basically the same thing? Awakened all over the world said nobody would ever beat Maverick’s 1st Floor record.
ㄴ If it isn’t a bug, they’re definitely a Second Awakening Awakened.
ㄴ You think Second Awakening happens to just anyone? And one just happens to appear in Korea?
ㄴ Why can’t one appear in Korea? Hahaha. Feels good to have something to be proud of for once.
Undecided.
In only an hour—
that name had set communities around the world ablaze.
There were two reasons.
‘Maverick’s record was broken.’
‘They’re Korean.’
The reactions were extreme.
Some refused to believe it, insisting that there had to be some kind of trick.
Others celebrated, saying Korea was finally about to produce a world-ranked Awakened.
[I’m just going to believe it]
I don’t care whether it’s a trick or a bug.
Some of the patriotism I thought had completely evaporated is coming back.
If something feels good, I’m just going to enjoy it.
ㄴ People like you go through life getting taken advantage of.
ㄴ Hahahahaha, look at the traitor showing up.
ㄴ What traitor? Anyone who falls for something like this is just stupid.
ㄴ How is a person supposed to fool the Leaderboard?
ㄴ There must be some method ordinary people like you don’t know about.
“A method ordinary people don’t know about? Hah…….”
Baek Yulheon sighed as he read through the Community posts.
A way to deceive the Leaderboard?
There was no such thing.
If humanity possessed the power to manipulate the System—
the Tower would have been conquered long ago.
“More importantly, there’s nothing useful here.”
He had searched the Community hoping there might be even the slightest information about Undecided.
Instead of information—
he had found an enormous battlefield of pointless arguments.
He had been sitting in front of the monitor since the previous night, searching nonstop.
Reading this endless stream of meaningless bickering was enough to drive him insane.
“Once the Management Bureau starts moving seriously, it’ll only be a matter of time before their identity is exposed.”
Once that happened, White Lotus would no longer have a chance to intervene.
There were already countless guilds in Korea alone with far greater prestige than White Lotus.
And with a record like Undecided’s—
organizations all over the world would search desperately for them.
“……Twenty-three seconds.”
Baek Yulheon stared at the still-unbelievable Leaderboard and muttered in disbelief.
“They have to be a Second Awakening Awakened.”
It had to be a case like Maverick.
An Irregular capable of using a combat skill despite being Level 1.
“……Even with a combat skill, is it actually possible to wipe out three Giant Ants within twenty-three seconds using Level 1 physical stats?”
A faint memory surfaced from the distant past—
when Baek Yulheon himself had still been Level 1.
The first time he saw those ants, his heart had raced.
He had carefully beaten each one to death with his fists and feet.
“Did it take me around five minutes? Hah.”
He decided to stop wasting time reminiscing.
For now—
he needed to focus on finding Undecided before the Management Bureau began moving in earnest.
“Strange things really have been happening nearby lately.”
A guild he thought was finished somehow revived.
He witnessed someone successfully grow a Tower Plant.
A Level 1 Buffer beat down an Awakened terrorist.
“……Wait. Those are all about Sohyeok.”
Jeong Sohyeok.
The source of every strange incident happening around him—
and his greatest benefactor.
“I wonder how many seconds Sohyeok would get if he climbed the Tower.”
A Second Awakening Awakened.
An extraordinary Level 1 who could already use skills from Wind-Thunder Fist Art.
“……Wait.”
‘Second Awakening? A Level 1 who can use skills?’
His mind suddenly went cold.
Someone with a reason to challenge the Tower.
A Second Awakening Awakened capable of using skills at Level 1.
“……No way.”
With trembling hands, Baek Yulheon picked up his phone.
He selected the contact labeled ‘Sohyeok.’
“Gulp…….”
Riiing, riiing.
He could feel cold sweat forming on the hand clutching the phone.
The very act of making the call was already turning his suspicion into certainty.
At least among everyone he knew—
there was only one person capable of doing something this insane.
Then—
Click.
―Hello?
“Ah…… Sohyeok?”
―Oh, Guild Master? What’s wrong at this hour?
“Did anything happen last night?”
―Last night?
“Yeah. Around eleven o’clock, to be precise.”
A brief silence followed.
Baek Yulheon felt his throat drying out with every passing second.
Then he heard Sohyeok laugh through the phone.
―No? Nothing happened.
“Ah…… Is that so?”
―Yeah. I ate, washed up, and even cleaned the house for the first time in a while.
“Haa…… What the hell was I imagining? Sorry for calling you this early, Sohyeok…….”
―Ah, I did try entering the Tower once, like you suggested.
“……What?”
Tap.
The phone slowly slipped from Baek Yulheon’s hand.
―Honestly, I wasn’t confident, but for some reason I went in on impulse. I guess what you said left a pretty strong impression on me.
The speakerphone was not turned on, so Sohyeok’s voice sounded faint from the phone lying on the desk.
But an Awakened’s ears did not miss a single word.
“……What was the result?”
―Haha, well…… I ended up clearing it. I only went in to test things out, so I guess I got lucky.
“……Do you remember roughly how many seconds it took?”
―Uhh……
Another long silence followed.
Baek Yulheon could faintly hear him muttering as though counting numbers.
―About thirty seconds? No, maybe twenty?
He spoke as casually as ever.
Completely unaware of what that record meant.
Baek Yulheon narrowed his eyes as though his thoughts had become hopelessly tangled.
Yet the corners of his mouth—
curled upward in satisfaction.