Because of Park Ji-hoon, Error-in didn’t go through the tutorial properly, but I’m not sure if he realized that.

Most players receive tips and similar information from the administrators.
You could call it basic training.

Among those, players tend to focus on the existence of other races.
They pay particular attention to dimensions where races other than humans do not exist.

“Earth?”
“The weakest race. They’re humans like you, but their body structure is a bit different.”
“I don’t quite understand. What do you mean by body structure being different?”
“They don’t have a dantian. They cannot build internal energy. Of course, they can learn ascending martial skills with the aid of the soul system.”

Intermediate beings, martial artists, humans, psychics…

There are many races that can be classified as humans.
In essence, they are merely different dimensions.
They, too, and Error-in, are just the same humans.

However, there are no humans as weak as those from Earth.

The humans from other dimensions have mana roads, circles, dantians, and true forms, among other things.
Earthlings possess unique organs that those like Error-in cannot even imagine.

“Are you saying that Earthlings cannot form a dantian?”
“Yes.”

There are races that are weaker than Earthlings.
However, Earthlings are the only race where the entire race, every individual, is weak.

“Suddenly want to kill someone? Then look for an Earthling! Suddenly want to curse someone? Go up to an Earthling and spit on them!”
“……”

Even the savage warriors would shake their heads at such garbage thoughts.

“…Aren’t they players too?”
“They are players, but their potential is incredibly low. You can safely ignore them.”

Among the administrators supervising the tutorial, there were many who discriminated against Earthlings.

“If you get caught a time or two, you’ll end up like me.”

The Tower of Struggle doesn’t strictly enforce solo play.
There are sections where teamwork is absolutely necessary.

“Don’t be deceived by the convincing words. Even with the power of the soul system, an Earthling is still an Earthling.”

It could be considered a warning.

Players proceeded through the tutorial while hearing such words, including those who were expelled from teams for various reasons.

SLURP—.
[Absorbing the soul of Goru (Goblin).]
[Agility increases by 0.01.]

An intermediate being named Rood, who was in the tutorial, killed a goblin and licked his lips.

During the tutorial exam, he realized one thing about the Tower of Struggle system.
That players gain stats by killing.

─ Hey! You there! Have you ever killed a person?!

The tutorial.
A practice stage.

You just need to defeat one with six people.
Honestly, it was an embarrassing level of difficulty to say was hard.

The problem was the words left by the opponent.

Before the calm lake even rippled, Rood’s judgment was swift.
He stabbed his teammate in the back.

He killed five.
As a reward, he gained stats.

‘Is that bonus exclusive to the tutorial?’

In the tutorial, it was 1 point for each kill.
But it wasn’t the same on the first floor.

─ You’ve killed all your teammates? Since you have no team, it seems there’s no way to avoid crew-making.
─ Crew-making?

Rood, who had killed all the members of his tutorial team, received a bonus of 5 points.
Based on that bonus, he went around killing players in crew-making as well.

Although it only increased by 0.01.
Rood became interested in something other than stats.

In murder itself.

“Hahaha. I feel powerful!”

He poured it all into strength.
Rood’s strength reached 18.

At this point, he felt he could defeat an orc all on his own.

‘If I hadn’t been summoned to the Tower of Struggle!’

He would have gone to take revenge on the orc who had taken one of his eyes.

‘I’m liking this more and more!’

Rood was satisfied with the Tower of Struggle system.

Weak trash gets eliminated, and strong ones like him rise to the top.
He consumes weak trash, and his strength grows even stronger.

How wonderful.

His eyes rolled around.
He scanned the field, looking for trash that deserved to die.

“Kekekek.”

If you don’t have the relevant skills, there’s only one way to distinguish between humans from each dimension.

Their attire.
The human that appeared in Rood’s sight was dressed like an Earthling.

“Die!”

Without hesitation, Rood charged at him.

He never once thought he would lose.
After all, he was up against an Earthling.

[Absorbing the soul of Rood (Intermediate Being).]
[Strength increases by 0.01.]
“What is this?”

The fighting was getting out of hand.

“Die!”

It wasn’t just any conflict.
It was a deadly knife fight.

Had I ever faced such conflict in my life?
This was the first time.

So it felt ridiculous.

‘What kind of treatment are Earthlings receiving?’

Player-versus-player combat, PK, is a duel where lives are on the line.
Landing the first blow doesn’t guarantee a win.
Both I and the opponent would die the moment one of us lost.

Yet, they had no hesitation.
They drew their blades as soon as our eyes met.

‘They must be so sure they will win that they can act this way.’

Those who charged at me, I killed them all.
I spared not a single one.

I learned a lot in the process.

‘Skills from the soul system are not just simple attacks.’

Attack power, durability, spell power, resistance, etc.
The way stats functioned was entirely different from common sense.

What is gravity?
It’s the force that attracts objects to a planet.

That’s how I understood it.
But now, I can’t afford to believe that common sense anymore.

‘If I had to put it metaphorically, that’s what I mean.’

In reality, gravity hasn’t disappeared.
There might be changes, but that’s all.

What I want to say is about the laws of physics in the soul system.
Should I express it as a damage formula?

‘Even if you block a skill, your HP decreases.’

It’s less than being stabbed, but it’s not an amount you can ignore.
Didn’t they say a drizzle can wet your clothes?

‘The way to block damage from skills is to use defensive skills.’
BAM—!

The opponent raised their shield.
As always, I swung with Strong Strike.

But he didn’t die.
Looking closely, a faint light shimmered around the shield.
It was a skill.

“What kind of damage is this?”

I wasn’t the only one surprised.
The opponent was taken aback as well.

“A-Are you not an Earthling?”
The dwarf asked with a trembling voice.

“I am an Earthling.”
I answered firmly as I delivered a second Strong Strike.
The opponent raised their shield in time, but they couldn’t endure the damage.

“Gah…!”
[Absorbing the soul of Grimnir (Dwarf).]
[Stamina increases by 0.01.]

If you can’t protect your life force, you die.
No matter how fine your body may be, once your life force hits zero, that’s the end.

That’s why there are relatively intact corpses around me.

‘While the others are bleeding and going wild.’

I left the dwarf's corpse and moved again.
Staying in one spot for too long was a bad move; it’s not a good choice.

‘I’m not invulnerable either. I have to keep moving.’

Even with my exceptional Strong Strike skill, that doesn’t make me invincible.

‘If I had obtained a defensive skill other than Hatchling Breath, it would be a different story.’

I can’t let my guard down just because things seem to be going well.
I must keep reminding myself that, without Strong Strike, I’m no different from other Earthlings.

‘150 life force Earthling. I’m just a 150 life force Earthling.’

Someone is approaching again, aiming for me.

“Hey there. Your face is to my liking.”

Confidently, she clicked her heels.
Holding a whip stained with flesh.

“I will….”
“I’ll take it easy on you. This place is too exposed.”
“I’m just a 150 life force.”
“Hmm?”
“……”

The confidence of thinking I’ve already won before we even began is frustrating.

‘She doesn’t see me as a threat.’

I infused my longsword with Strong Strike.

“Trying to resist?”
The woman swung her whip.

SWISH—! SLASH—!

The whip struck the dirt ground, and a sharp cracking sound echoed.
Goosebumps rose all over my body.

‘That would hurt if it hit me!’

But it’s fine.

[Absorbing the soul of Gracie (Intermediate Being).]
[Agility increases by 0.01.]

The soul system smiled upon me.

“……”

Still, it’s annoying.
I couldn’t feel good with players rushing towards me, ignoring me.

What should I do?

‘What if I show a really strong side?’

I looked back at the players I had taken down.
It was closer to being bizarre than showing strength.

‘They don’t look like they’ll be scared.’

Most of the players currently doing team-making on the first floor can be considered problematic.
They were abandoned by their teammates for some reason during the tutorial.

To reshape those guys' perceptions, I needed to show them something shocking.

They must never underestimate an Earthling again.
…Though that wasn’t the main point.

‘At the very least, I shouldn’t let them look down on me.’

The method.
The weapon I possess.

【Hatchling Breath (C)】
‘If I could just use this.’

The cooldown doesn’t matter.
I just need to unleash it once and wait 24 hours.

The problem is the mana consumption.

‘It’s 1,000. 1,000. To use it once, I’d need to raise my wisdom to 100.’

Right now, my mana is at 200.
That’s not enough.

At that moment, a message appeared.

[The Illusory Old Book detects the activation of ‘Dragon Eye (A)’.]
[‘Block Lv.1’ is activated.]
[20 seconds until it is dispelled.]

“What the…?”

Someone is watching me.
By the time I realized it, it was already too late.

FLAP—!

A chilling sensation constricted my body.

“You. What the hell are you?”

A girl with crimson hair elegantly landed, as if flying was second nature to her.

‘She’s small.’

One fist would be enough.
But that wasn’t the case.

The massive wings sprouting from her back captivated my attention.

‘A d-dragon…?!’

I couldn’t muster the courage to move.
I felt paralyzed.

She was different from all the mid-tier beings I had encountered before.
A true powerhouse.

My breath caught in my throat.

“Are you a dragon hunter?”
The reptilian pupils fixed their gaze on me.

‘If I’m not careful, I could die.’

Nothing else mattered in front of someone truly powerful.
Even Strong Strike would mean nothing.

“I won’t ask again.”
[‘Block Lv.1’ is dispelled by ‘Dragon Eye (A)’.]
“Are you a dragon hunter?”
[‘Illusion Lv.1’ is activated.]
[The Illusory Old Book edits the owner’s information.]

The girl frowned.
Muttering in disbelief that something had changed.

“…What? Why is your soul suddenly…?”

I hastily checked my status window.
I needed to see what the Illusory Old Book had done.

【Race – Black Dragon】
‘Does it even matter to change my status window?’

Surprisingly, it did matter.

“If you think you can hide in that form, you’re mistaken.”

The girl’s attitude, which had been ready to kill me at any moment, softened.
However, the situation didn’t improve.

‘She’s still hostile.’

The probability of a fight dropped from 100% to about 90%.
But the chance of avoiding it was virtually nonexistent.

“You betrayed our dragon clan, so you must pay the price. Abyss Spell.”
“……”

It’s a setup.

‘Didn’t she just ask if I’m a dragon hunter?’

If I claimed to be human, I might be mistaken for a dragon hunter and killed.
If I claimed to be a dragon, I’d likely be killed for the Abyss Spell.

A deadlock.

‘Should I just use Strong Strike to resist?’

As I contemplated this, a sudden question popped into my mind.

‘Why did the Illusory Old Book manipulate me into being a Black Dragon?’

A growth-type artifact.
Something akin to an ego sword.

Although it can’t speak, it has a will of its own.

‘Why exactly?’

In a very short time.
Out of caution, I checked my skills.

[Hatchling Breath (C)]
The breath of a newly born Black Dragon. It exhales a breath forward, dealing 『51,003%』 dark attribute damage.
Cooldown: 3 hours
Mana Cost: 200
《Race Specialization - Black Dragon》
Attribute conversion, 80% reduction in mana cost, 80% reduction in cooldown.

It felt like a thunderbolt struck my mind.

‘Is it only the skill tooltip that’s messed up?!’

The contemplation didn’t last long.
I threw the first strike at the red dragon in front of me.

FWOOSH!

A black darkness surged fiercely from my mouth.