NoveLight ™
After defeating the golem, I invested my solo clear bonus into agility and stamina.
Agility became 15, and stamina became 12.
The reason I allocated points to stamina instead of strength was that the stamina stat affects both life force and durability.
As a result—
My life force was 120, and my durability was 12.
‘I don’t know how this number applies, but…’
It’s said that as long as you end up in Seoul, it doesn’t matter how you get there.
If increasing my stamina stat has improved my survival rate, then that’s all that matters.
Was that the reason?
“You.”
The opponent, as he collapsed, asked.
“Are you really a new player?”
This time, it wasn’t a pretty knight or a large golem, but a green-skinned creature that often appears in fantasy settings.
An orc.
A species notable for the grotesque tusks jutting from its mouth.
The orc muttered in disbelief.
“There’s no way a freshly summoned human could be this strong…”
I looked down at the orc and asked in return.
“Are there no humans in the dimension you live in?”
“There are no humans dressed like that. Besides those from Earth…”
Everyone seemed to react similarly.
I couldn’t help but draw one conclusion.
“Looks like Earth-born players are treated like garbage.”
“……”
Seeing the orc not denying it gave me confidence.
‘Thank goodness I didn’t go up right away.’
The solo clear bonus.
If I had gone up without this, I would have faced a terrible fate at the hands of this race or that race.
‘It’s like I can see it without even watching.’
Just imagining it sent chills down my spine.
Tsuzutsut-.
The orc's body turned into blue particles and vanished.
“Phew.”
I passed the third trial smoothly.
This time, unlike the previous two trials, I completed it without getting hurt.
If that counts as an achievement.
This meant I had accumulated 10 points.
1 for the first clear bonus and 9 for the solo clear bonus.
‘This feels solid.’
It’s not an enormous amount.
In the grand scheme of the Tower of Struggle, it would put me behind most players from other dimensions.
But think about starting without even this?
It feels suffocating.
In that sense, it was reassuring.
How I would use it was entirely up to me.
I took a deep breath and stepped out of the cavity.
To receive the clear bonus, I had to return to the room.
I immediately allocated the 3 points.
Right now, what mattered to me was stamina.
I needed to raise my life force to increase my chances of survival.
[Floor 0, Choose]
The options the tower suggested came to mind.
Naturally, I chose option 2.
The choice to go up was virtually non-existent in this situation.
‘What about Park Ji-hoon?’
It seemed he was still inside, as one stone door glimmered red.
“You're quite impressive, student.”
Lim Su-jin approached and spoke to me.
Now the gap between her and me had widened as much as heaven and earth.
She probably didn’t realize it.
‘Does she have any idea what she might face if she goes up?’
If she did, she wouldn’t be able to stay like this.
She would be struggling to gain at least 1 point.
I turned my attention away from Lim Su-jin.
I had no obligation to worry about her future.
Instead, I moved toward the stone door to challenge the remaining trial.
‘Let’s finish before Park Ji-hoon comes out.’
There was no need to quarrel with Park Ji-hoon over the last remaining trial.
I could enter first, clear it, and take the rewards.
‘What could he possibly do?’
Is he going to take it away from me?
How?
[What are you doing?]
A message from the assistant.
My brow instinctively furrowed.
The intent to obstruct me was so obvious that it felt quite uncanny.
Honestly, it was unpleasant.
“Am I not allowed to go in?”
[That’s not it, but the player Park Ji-hoon is currently in the trial, so shouldn’t you wait until he comes out?]
“…….”
It was likely to be a pointless wait.
Why?
Neither I nor Park Ji-hoon would give up on the solo clear bonus.
Unless one of us curbed our greed, negotiation was impossible.
The relationship between Park Ji-hoon and me would inevitably sour.
Since it would be bad anyway,
I had no need to consider the other party.
Therefore, my choice was clear.
To ignore the assistant's message and challenge the remaining trial.
‘And get those 3 points.’
Park Ji-hoon could betray me, but stats would not betray me.
I ignored the assistant’s message and stepped beyond the stone door.
I miraculously defeated Kuhul Tan.
“Gasp, huh.”
Park Ji-hoon looked at Kuhul Tan while bleeding profusely.
Kuhul Tan burst out laughing at his appearance.
“I wonder how you plan to deal with the aftermath. Aren’t you afraid of the administrator’s sanctions?”
“There are ways to deal with it.”
Does he think I had plotted this without any plans?
“Humans are different from monsters like you.”
“Of course, we are different. Ugly, disgusting, and weak. If you claim to be the same as us, it’s an insult to our Felino race.”
“No.”
Park Ji-hoon grinned.
“You’re not a race that doesn’t use your brains like those beastly heads.”
“…Tsk tsk.”
A human about to die.
Why would he even care?
Kuhul Tan lost interest in Park Ji-hoon.
The administrator would take care of him without him having to lift a finger.
Kuhul Tan's body turned into particles and vanished.
“Ptooey!”
Park Ji-hoon roughly spat out blood and returned to the room.
‘What about the error?’
I checked the stone doors.
Six were glowing blue, and one was glowing red.
“Damn it!”
I had suspected, but to actually have a player still in the game was unexpected.
‘I’ll have to kill him.’
I never intended to spare him from the beginning.
To obtain the tutorial hidden piece, Park Ji-hoon had to be the only one left alive.
Park Ji-hoon’s determination meant he would kill the error as painfully as possible.
[Park Ji-hoon Player.]
“…Where’s the lady?”
[In the previous room.]
“Send her this way.”
No complacency allowed.
Park Ji-hoon was planning to use every means at his disposal to kill the error.
“Summon my weapon too.”
[Understood.]
“…Do I still need to play dumb?”
Mori didn’t respond separately.
He didn’t want to risk being overheard by the administrator by saying something unnecessary.
Tsuzutsut-.
Mori summoned weapons in the white room.
They were basic armaments provided to new players.
[Longsword (purple)][F]
Classification: Weapon
Stats▼
【Attack Power: ＋2】
【Durability: 10/10】
Options▼
【Bleed Lv.1】
A purple weapon indicating the lowest performance in the Tower of Struggle.
Players on the fifth floor would not even use such a weapon, even if given for free.
‘Even this piece of trash makes a big difference between those who have it and those who don’t.’
An attack power of 2.
It looked like a trivial number.
But this difference is more significant than it seems.
‘You’ll see how one point of attack power can mean the difference between life and death when you experience that precarious situation where someone who should die survives and someone who should live dies.’
As players ascend the tower, they come to appreciate the value of a single stat point.
That’s why they take the risk to infiltrate the tutorial.
‘I’ll show you properly, as a senior.’
Park Ji-hoon grinned.
He saw Lim Su-jin being drawn out by the assistant’s message.
“Ah? Student. Where did that weapon….”
Lim Su-jin, completely unaware and off guard.
Pwoosh-!
Without a moment’s hesitation, Park Ji-hoon stabbed Lim Su-jin.
“W-what…?”
The expression on Lim Su-jin’s face gradually changed.
First, confusion; next, distortion; and just after confirming her state, she started to tremble.
Finally, she screamed in disbelief at her situation.
“Ah, aaah! S-save me. Somebody help…! Aaah!”
She struggled to escape, trying to flee.
But there was no escaping.
Park Ji-hoon twisted the longsword he had stabbed into Lim Su-jin and pulled it out with force.
Blood gushed forth.
“Ahhh! Ah!”
Was the blood pouring out truly her own?
Wasn’t this the way to really die if it kept pouring like this?
In a situation where she was stabbed, ironically, Lim Su-jin felt no pain.
Her brain was denying her condition.
That’s how she died.
Feeling despair.
Her face was smeared with tears and blood.
Though I had just met her today, I couldn’t help but feel a pang of sympathy for her tragic end.
A brutal death.
“Did you come?”
Park Ji-hoon asked, casting a glance at the error.
“…….”
The error stared rigidly at Lim Su-jin and then at Park Ji-hoon.
“Don’t get too scared. It doesn’t hurt as much as you’d think.”
Park Ji-hoon approached the error without bothering to clean the blood from his sword.
Thud, thud.
‘He’s really scared.’
Everyone reacts like this the first time they see a blade.
Park Ji-hoon snickered inwardly and swung the sword at the error.
The error lightly dodged the blade.
“You’ve invested in agility?”
“You're faster than I expected.”
“That doesn’t change anything.”
Park Ji-hoon swung his sword.
He didn’t activate his skills, but the blade was still sharp.
The moment he allowed a single strike, the error's momentum would falter.
The error knew that too.
Thwack!
So, the playtime was over.
“You’ve learned a skill. Strong Strike.”
Park Ji-hoon grinned.
“It’s a simple skill.”
All it does is hit the opponent hard and inflict additional physical damage.
“Is that how you plan to defeat me?”
“I’ve already won.”
“……?”
Park Ji-hoon felt like the error had grown taller.
‘No. This is me.’
Park Ji-hoon’s perspective dropped.
As his body collapsed, his eye level lowered.
“Why!?”
Park Ji-hoon quickly checked his life force.
【Life Force 0】
“……!”
【Unyielding Will, activated】
When life force drops below 5%, this skill allows you to continue fighting.
Thanks to Unyielding Will, he was still holding on to life.
However, even Unyielding Will couldn’t defy the fate of death.
‘Am I dying? Me?’
Park Ji-hoon gritted his teeth.
“Damn it!”
It was a reality he could hardly believe.
“You too! Damn it! Did you come down from the lower floors? You bastard!”
“What are you talking about?”
Park Ji-hoon shouted loudly.
“Damn it! I’m gonna kill this bastard! Mori! Restore my stats!”
“Mori?”
“Quickly! You bastard!”
Mori rejected Park Ji-hoon’s request.
‘If I lift the restriction on his stats, the administrator will notice.’
Then Mori would die too.
‘It can’t be helped. If I just back off and run away now….’
At that moment.
“You're doing something quite interesting.”
A voice that Mori didn’t want to hear rang in his ears.
It was the administrator of the Floor 0 tutorial.