NoveLight ™
“Don’t tell me.”
A horrifying thought filled my mind.
At that moment, the message pointed at me.
[Player Error-In. What you are currently thinking is exactly correct.]
“…Error-In?”
People looked at me.
Lee Minji awkwardly smiled, while the middle-aged man burst into blatant laughter.
“Hey, you. There was a reason you didn’t want to share your name. Error-In? How can a person’s name be Error-In? Hahaha!”
“……”
I had no words to say.
‘At least it feels familiar.’
I had encountered similar reactions every time I revealed my name.
Maybe that’s why.
Hearing the mockery didn’t faze me at all.
In fact, I could remain calm.
I was fully aware that the other party was a surreal existence.
It seemed others felt the same way and kept their mouths shut.
[Player Error-In will be informed of the correct answer. As he predicted, you have all already died.]
The middle-aged man, who had been laughing heartily, suddenly stopped.
“…What?”
[This means that the moment you chose to enter the Tower of Struggle, you became unable to return.]
“……”
[Don’t worry. It’s okay. As long as you ascend the Tower of Struggle, you won’t face elimination.]
No one could retort the assistant’s words.
The shocking footage on the television seemed to have made everyone forget how to speak.
Kugugugung—.
With a loud noise, the stone gate began to open.
The people awkwardly turned their heads.
Tension was evident on their faces as they glanced at each other.
[This is the 0th floor of the Tower of Struggle. To put it simply, this is a tutorial. It’s where you learn how to use the “Soul System.”]
Something came to mind.
【Name – Error-In】
【Race – Human】
【Health 100】【Mana 100】
【Strength 10】 【Agility 10】 【Stamina 10】
【Intelligence 10】 【Wisdom 10】 【Luck 10】
【Skills Owned - (0/1)】
【Attack Power 10】【Durability 10】
【Spell Power 10】【Resistance 10】
【Nature Power 10】【Regeneration 10】
Someone murmured.
“…A game?”
[Since it’s a familiar format, you should be able to adapt easily, right?]
“……”
The message continued.
[Players from Earth start with all attributes fixed at 10. Regardless of gender or age, it’s always 10. The attributes of the “Soul System” are absolute, meaning the same value will produce the same output.]
“…What does that mean?”
Lee Minji asked.
[It means that if Player Error-In and Player Lee Minji fight, it’ll be evenly matched. Normally, the male Player Error-In should win.]
“…Reset?”
[That’s correct. Reset. As expected, Player Error-In has exceptional understanding.]
“……”
[Though “reset” would be more accurately called “equalization,” let’s overlook that since the meaning is understood.]
“……”
[So why does this equalization happen? It’s because your dimension is quite weak and unimpressive.]
“Weak, therefore equalization?”
[It’s so meaningless to differentiate that the attributes have been unified to 10.]
Someone raised their hand.
[Player Park Ji-hoon seems to have a question. Since we have some leisure time, we will accept questions now.]
“…Are there aliens?”
[They’re different from what Player Park Ji-hoon thinks, but yes, aliens do exist.]
“……”
[They have also entered the Tower of Struggle like you and are either climbing or preparing to climb.]
I had sensed it roughly.
‘The race being shown below my information indicates that there can’t only be humans here.’
If only humans existed, there would be no need for such a category.
There must be other races, hence the need for a separate designation.
[You belong to the weaker faction of humans. Therefore, the equalization is meant to raise the overall level.]
“……”
At that moment, the middle-aged man spoke up.
“…If equalization happens, does that mean some people will get weaker?”
The middle-aged man continued as if feeling wronged.
“If a man like me becomes equal to that girl… in the end, I lose out. She benefits.”
[That’s right. A structure where a minority of players suffer losses. Still, it cannot be helped. You’d do well to think of it as the sacrifice of the few for the many.]
“……”
[That said, there’s no need to feel too aggrieved. They’ve simply had their stats decreased. They can quickly grow again.]
The assistant pinpointed the middle-aged man with the message.
[Player Jin Cheol-hwan seems to feel quite wronged.]
“Of course, I feel wronged. I could have started at an advantage, but because of this…”
[We can do as Player Jin Cheol-hwan wishes. Shall we do that?]
“Is that possible? Then why are we equalizing in the first place….”
He grumbled but did not refuse the privilege.
“Oh. This is real.”
Jin Cheol-hwan stared into the air.
He was intently examining his information.
“No. What is this?”
Suddenly, he gasped in shock.
“Why did my stats drop? Strength, Agility, and Stamina are all at 8… and why did my Attack Power drop to 8?”
[Player Jin Cheol-hwan’s physical abilities are lower than 10. It’s only natural that they drop upon normalization.]
“That doesn’t make sense! Give it back right now. Make my stats 10!”
[What do the others think?]
Everyone exchanged glances.
The young man, Park Ji-hoon, who had asked the alien question, requested normalization of stats from the assistant.
[That’s not possible.]
The assistant firmly rejected his request.
‘…It seems they have no intention of listening to those with stats over 10 from the start.’
It looked like they decided to use Jin Cheol-hwan, who had stats below 10, as a lesson by normalizing his stats.
[Now, let’s move on to acquiring skills. This is actually the most important time.]
With that message, an enormous amount of text began to flow out.
It was a list of skills available for acquisition.
The number of F-rank skills was as many as 10,000.
It was practically impossible to examine them all and make a selection.
“…Do I have to choose one here?”
Park Ji-hoon, seemingly thinking the same, asked in disbelief.
“Yes.”
“Ah….”
[But there’s no need to think too much. For now, you can acquire one skill, but later, as you grow, you can expand your slots. Higher-ranked skills also exist. So don’t get too hung up on just F-rank skills.]
Is it really as easy as it sounds?
‘In a situation where my life is on the line…’
I would be trying my best to find and acquire the most efficient skill.
[Of course, that’s only if there’s time to think.]
The message felt cunning in some way.
Tick-tock—.
Eventually, a large clock appeared in the center of the white room.
The hour hand, the minute hand, and the second hand.
Unlike an ordinary clock with three hands, this clock had only one.
[If you do not acquire a skill within the time limit, that player will be considered to have forfeited skill acquisition.]
I fixed my gaze on the skill list and quickly skimmed through the options.
I concentrated so hard that when I finally lifted my head to look around, my eyes and neck felt extremely stiff.
“Is there a function for searching for skills?”
Park Ji-hoon, unable to endure, asked the assistant.
[Yes.]
“Then why didn’t you tell me…?”
[Because you didn’t ask.]
The answer made my head spin.
‘There’s no time to deal with that.’
I actively utilized the search function to find the skills I needed.
“Hm.”
“What should I choose?”
Whether it was picking a meal or deciding on a game nickname, it was always difficult to make a choice.
How much more so would it be for a skill that could mean life or death?
The assistant had said it was just an F-rank skill, but from the perspective of someone who had just become a player, it was hard to think of it as just anything.
“Strong Blow…. Deliver a powerful strike dealing 150% physical damage…”
“What about this? Shield Mastery, it’s a passive skill that applies permanently…”
Lee Minji, who seemed to hint for help, was now asking questions next to Park Ji-hoon, having lost her earlier confidence.
‘Hmm…?’
Something about Lee Minji’s words felt off.
“Rough Paralysis Poison. 50% additional physical damage with 10 poison attribute damage, and it can inflict paralysis…”
Wasn’t she stating all the skill damages at much lower values than mine?
‘Maybe I’m just reading it wrong.’
I thought and brushed it off.
But soon, I realized the issue.
‘…Why is it just me that’s different?’
Park Ji-hoon, Jin Cheol-hwan, Lee Minji.
And the middle-aged woman, Im Su-jin.
‘Why are they all the same?’
All four of them had identical damage coefficients.
Aside from the man who had been forcibly eliminated, among the remaining five, only my values were bouncing around.
So, out of curiosity, I asked.
“…What’s the option for Strong Blow?”
“Strong Blow? Wait a minute. Let me check again.”
Lee Minji replied.
“It says here that it delivers a powerful strike for 150% physical damage.”
I had nearly 1,500%, not 150%.
“What about Emergency Treatment?”
I asked about other skills as well.
“…It says that by wrapping a bandage, you can recover 50 health. But how much is 50?”
The result was the same.
‘Is this a bug?’
A chill ran down my spine.
‘If I get found out, it’ll be a big deal.’
I must not let the assistant discover my thoughts.
I might be able to hide my thoughts, but…
‘…Have I already been found out?’
The assistant hadn’t shown any reaction since earlier.
‘Perhaps the mind-reading shown earlier was just an observation that hit the mark.’
I needed to confirm.
Mind control.
I composed my emotions and called out to the assistant.
I only thought of him inwardly.
There was no response.
“…I have a question.”
[Player Error-In? What are you curious about?]
“I’m curious about the health recovery. Exactly how much is that?”
[Health is an absolute value. If your fingertip is cut, or your arm is completely severed, if you take 100 physical damage, you lose 100 health.]
“Thanks for letting me know.”
[What’s that? It’s my job.]
It was a thank you for something else, but the assistant misunderstood my words.