"Hey, if any one of y'all want to go back to the past, lemme know. I'll kill y'all."
-From the records of
Prologue. Carpediem
A sky hidden by the sky-soaring towers.
Various ruined structures. Faint sounds of moans and screams. Explosive smoke everywhere.
And continued silence.
Needless to say, this was the world after the apocalypse.
You all might know of this. I will not go into the details, but you will understand once you read the history.
Year 2018.
Enormous structures, or the
... I just realized it's a ton of work to go through every date. Besides, there are all sorts of similar fantasy novels that consist of similar stories, and that makes me wonder if I even need to explain everything.
But this'll make it simpler, so I'll continue on for a bit.
I should at least explain why mankind reached such an end.
As you might know, the beginning was calm.
In 2018, an enormous structure called the
Then the tower called upon humankind.
The ones who were later referred to as Walkers.
These people were summoned by the tower's 'message' and they had earned the power and right to climb it. This was the message: 'Accept the summon if you want to stop the extinction of mankind.' And thousands of people responded to it.
It was about a ten thousand to one ratio if one considered the entire population, but it was still fortunate.There were that many people who were willing to do what it took to save mankind.
But the information extracted from the Tower of Nightmares showed various rewards for climbing up the tower, which probably had attracted a lot of people too.
Anyway, these people then received the power called the <
People were not so eager to climb, however.There was the possibility of encountering various dangers and the human extinction that the tower mentioned was also very vague.
That was when the First Tower Impact occurred.
The towerlet some monsters loose to kill the inhabitants below, killing one-third of the Earth's population.
Now, you might know what happened afterward.
Those Walkers were given an important task to climb up the tower for the sake of humanity.
But this story full of clichés does not end here.
Year 2023
A revival item, [Returning Stone], was found.
Just like the name said, it worked exactly as indicated.
Now you'll know what this story is about. Yes, it's a story that everyone might know.
Just when the world was about to end, the main character accidentally found the item that would take him back to the past.
With the discovery of the [Returning Stone], there came the truth behind the story that might've only existed in novels.
Time traveling back to the past.
It was a good thing, but there was a problem.
"Damnit! I'll just go back then!"
"Yeah! We're screwed this time!"
"Me too!"
"F*ck it! Me too!"
Too many had gone back to the past.
Jaehwan spoke as he saw a group of people turning into light as they disappeared.
"There they go again..."
"..."
"Is that the last of them?"
"Probably."
Yoonhwan answered as he watched them.They were watching those lights disappearing from the 98th floor of the tower.
Those lights that disappeared through the sky were as beautiful as meteors.
The light that had hope on the new life of the past.
They would now forget every hour they spent in this ruin and start life anew in the peaceful past.
The safe, peaceful life that everyone once knew.
"Good."
"No way."
Jaehwan understood why people would want to go back to the past.
They all probably had their own stories.
Everyone would've wanted to become the 'main character' of the world.
But it made Jaehwan wonder.
Did they even think about it once? The fate of people who would continue to live in the world that they had abandoned?
It had been 10 years since the discovery of the [Returning Stone]. Other than the Walkers who were killed, all the remaining Walkers went back. Thousands of them gave up on the chance to save mankind and returned to the past.
The [Returning Stone] was the reward on the 77th floor.
It was a giant stone that blocked the pathway to the 78th floor.
Everyone later realized that this giant stone was actually an item.
The item had the following properties:
[Item Details]
Name: Returning Stone
Rank: Legendary
Description: Sends the user back to the past when the user was summoned. The user's memory stays intact. The stone is broken into pieces for use.
Nobody believed it at first. Although the items that the tower gave were fascinating, it seemed too good to be true.
But people were tempted.
These Walkers were those who had experienced various supernatural phenomenon in the tower. But most walkers were without skills or the items they sought. These kinds of Walkers were tempted.
Start all over again with every piece of knowledge they'd acquired?
"If we can break it down to pieces... everyone probably can take it!"
The first one who used the stone was Sword Panic, or Hwang Inchan, the leader of the front-line adventure group
"It might be fake so I'll test it beforehand and let you know."
And that was his last words. Jaehwan was there when he said it.
'Everyone was fooled.'It didn't make sense. If it really took him back to the past, then there was no way for him to come back to let everyone else know.
But it was enough to make people panic.
"Is it true? Did he really go to the past?"
Some were skeptical but there were a lot who took the pieces for themselves. Inchan never returned.
Thus, the people were curious.
Why isn't he reappearing in this world? Why is the world still the same?
The answer came from the team's sole Japanese member and the middle-school's science teacher Sakamoto.
"Maybe it's only natural."
He explained the multi-universe theory and the parallel universe theory, going through the possible outcomes.
According to some theories, it seemed that their history probably had parted ways from Inchan's world.
"Inchan must have returned successfully, but the world he returned to had divided into another route where we will never meet him again."
Most of the people were not very science-literate so they couldn't understand much.
But two things were certain.
One was that Inchan did return to the past, and him going to the past did not change the current world.
"Hey, is there a possibility that Inchan was transferred to elsewhere?"
"Look at the description on the stone. As far as I know, item descriptions have displayed any lies to this date."
What Sakamoto said was true.
"I think it will send us all back to the world, but its all theoretical so we can never be sure."
And like that,half of the leading expedition team went back to the past. If they were to fall into the same time period as others, they wanted to be a step ahead and be top of the others who had also gone back to the past.
That was when mankind began yearning for 'time travel to the past.'
Everyone began thinking about what to do if they returned to the past.
There were some who thought it'd be better to go back faster while others thought it was better to try getting to the higher floors beforehand. There were some who even took advantage of the stones and sold it to the Walkers on the lower floors.
Then, the Second Tower Impact occurred.
It was the disaster that unleashed terrible monsters from the towers to the ground. It killed almost all of mankind except Walkers who were on the tower.
The Walkers were left with one of two choices.
Pay whatever it takes to get their hands on the [Returning Stone] to go to the past, or stay and die. But Jaehwan chose neither of the options.
"Damn idiots. Stop going! What will become of this world if you all go?"
Even with the best, front-line team
Then they were stuck on the 85th floor. Most of Jaehwan's friends were killed. There was no going forward.
Jaehwan began persuading and training other Walkers coming from below. He handpicked individuals who might not be tempted by the [Returning Stone].
The final assault team was created.
The final team that stayed behind to protect the world.
Jaehwan led the team and broke through the 85th floor.
They went up and up.
There were some casualties and some went back to the past.
But they persevered.And so, they reached the 98th floor.
Jaehwan blamed the Walkers who returned to the past. If even half of them stayed, the world would not have,
Ended this way. Even after multiple tower impacts, mankind persevered. Many were dead and wounded, but they still somehow managed.
But they were at the limit.
Only two members remained.
Jaehwan did not give up.
"Let's go, Yoonhwan."
As far as he knew, the 100th floor was the tower's last floor.
There were only two more floors.
Two more floors until the end of this hellish age.
The humankind would be freed. The world would be given another chance.
Or that's what Jaehwan thought. Or what he believed.
"Yoonhwan?"
No answer.
"Hey."
One of the final members. Smile Knight, Kim Yoonhwan.
He smiled even during the worst times, and thus the members gave him such a name. But he wasn't smiling now.
"Wait..."
Where did he get the stone? Jaehwan glanced at the small stone that Yoonhwan was holding.
"You... are you going to the past also?"
He couldn't believe it. Yoonhwan lowered his head and Jaehwan tried to jump at him, but he suddenly turned his back on him.
"...Go."
"I'm sorry, Jaehwan."
"Go away. Before I change my mind."
Jaehwan walked toward the gate to the 99th floor while Yoonhwan watched his back.
It had been the back that he followed all the way here.
The gate opened and Jaehwan walked in. As he disappeared, Yoonhwan staggered and set himself up against the pillar of the tower.
His breath began to grow heavy as blood streaked down between his clothes.
There was a small hole around Yoonhwan's chest.
It was the wound from the boss monster, Giltikas.
It wasn't something that a mere potion could heal. Only a rare-ranked Priest would be able to heal it but there were no more Priests left in this world.His best friend would have noticed the stone he was holding wasn't a [Returning Stone] immediately. Yoonhwan tightly held onto the stone. He felt the cold, rough edges. It was something he could only feel in this world.
He had learned this from Jaehwan.
He had learned how to clutch this rough, worthless life and never let it go.
But it was time to let it go.
Yoonhwan walked to the edge of the tower and stood there.
"It was nice to have known you, Jaehwan."
Then his body disappeared off to the clouds and Jaehwan stopped as he opened the gate to the 99th floor. He used his right hand to wipe off his face. He waited until he stopped shivering and started to calmly breathe again. But he did not look back. He walked up toward 99th floor alone.
His world was not yet finished.
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( ˘ω˘ )
Ten years passed by. It had been a long time. Jaehwan had spent all that time alone on the 99th floor.
He had gone through thousands of dangers that almost killed him. He faced many dangerous situations as he climbed from the 1st floor to the 99th floor, but the number of dangers he faced just on the 99th floor easily took the cake.
The boss of 99th floor, Velkisus.
The dragon that came from had a breath attack that Jaehwan could not resist even with his [Frost Resistance] that hit its maximum.
Not only that, the durable dragon scales had crushed swords and armor many times. If it wasnt for the pieces of equipment left behind by the other Walkers, he would have had to give up a long time ago.
The Dragon Sword from 85th floor, the Frost Armor that Yoonhwan left behind, the [Bracelet of the Fire King] that Seoyul gave him before she died had been a huge help.
Han Seoyul.
Jaehwan thought of her. She had died even before she got up to the 77th floor.
Jay, the blacksmith of Atopos asked, Jaehwan, are you going to try again?
The village that formed after killing Monster Dragon Alteminas of the 50th floor, Atopos.
People of the world still had hope when the village was formed. Many Walkers were killed and wounded on the frontlines, but it still gave them hope. Priests formed an emergency team to heal the wounds while blacksmiths worked to provide free repairs to those who fought.
was run by old man Jay and it was one of the best.
But he was now the last blacksmith left in Atopos.
Jaehwan?
Oh, right. Sorry.
Jaehwan came back to his senses.
Yeah. I think I can do it this time.
Are you sure?
Jaehwan smiled. Yeah.
It was a lie. He had no chance. He had no idea when, or if he could kill it. But he had to say it this way.
Jay laughed.
Jay was a foreigner.
As people got up on the tower, their languages were combined into the common language of the tower, but the cultural differences still remained. But Jaehwan considered Jay like a family. Jay hammered the Dragon Sword as he talked to Jaehwan.
There are no more supplies coming from below. It wasnt a lot but there was some coming up until a few months ago.
Jaehwan nodded. Last week, he had checked out every floor starting from the 1st to 99th floor. But there were no survivors. He even had waited a week at the summoning area of the 1st floor but there wasnt even one who was summoned from below.
It probably meant that mankind had been wiped out. But it seemed possible.
Jaehwan did not know what the year was. There had been at least ten Tower Impacts and there probably was no one who could survive. Jaehwan managed to find one clue that was considered as a hidden piece.
The passage that used to be blocked by [Returning Stone] in the past, had some scribbling.
-Tower within the tower. A nightmare within the nightmare.
He couldnt understand it, however.
Oh and ol granny from disappeared the other day.
Hiren...
Hiren, the olgranny from was one of the last supporter Walker remaining at Atopos. The ones who came into the tower did not age. If she disappeared, it was only one of two reasons.
Either the one went to the past, or jumped off.
Jaehwan wanted to ask which option Hiren took. But it probably was the same even if he knew. Then Jaehwan saw something deep within Jays old eyes. It seemed he will not see Jay for much longer also.
Jay, can you teach me the blacksmith skill?
The hammering stopped and both men looked at each for a moment.
Jay nodded silently.
Back to the 99th floor.
The Frost Dragon Velkisus was astonished at the human who had come again.
-You are one of a kind. No humans have come to the 99th floor alone until now.
Jaehwan laughed. It was ironic that his hard work was being recognized by such monsters instead of mankind.
Ill be sorry to kill you.
-Im sorry to say that is impossible, human.
No way. That scale of yours is cracking, didnt you notice?
The dragon roared and Jaehwan charged with his sword in front.
It was a simple attack.
Stab.
Jaehwan had started climbing the tower much later than others. It made him miss out on the chance to get hidden skills or classes so Jaehwan gave up on everything else and concentrated on the Stab skill.
He stabbed, stabbed and stabbed.
After about 50 million stabs, people began calling him Jaehwan the Persistent Stabber. And thats when he felt his [Stab] changing. It became faster and more accurate. It had become stronger.
60 million, 70 million... and 100 million times.
His basic [Stab] skill now had become powerful enough on par with even rarest of hidden skills. Also, it was only a basic move so it did not require him to use his mana, which made him attack endlessly.
But it was not enough to handle the Frost Dragon of the 99th floor. He barely made a scratch when he stabbed one point of the scale hundreds of times. But there were times when he managed to damage the scale with one strike.
There, I see it again.
His sight became blurry and his stabbing changed its power. It was not fast, but not slow. But the stab wasnt avoidable.
KAAAAAA!
The Frost Dragon roared in pain.
He couldnt remember but this occurred rarely. Maybe out of one in hundred thousand times, he saw a faint line on his sight. He followed it without thinking. If he were successful in following the line, his stab managed to inflict an attack that equaled thousands of attacks.
Dammit, its still not enough.
The dragon took a deep breath and released it, filling the tower. It was a critical strike to Jaehwan who was already in bad shape. His health was dropping rapidly toward 0. Jaehwan barely managed to avoid the breath.
-It is unfortunate, human. If there were 10 more like you, you might have defeated me.
Shut up.
-If your foolish race wasnt tempted by the [Stone of Nightmare]... it wouldve changed the fate of your race.
Huh? Stone of Nightmare? What do you mean?
The dragon did not answer, instead, its huge claw swung at him.
...I will come back.
Jaehwan jumped backward to run and Frost Dragon did not go after him.
Five more years had passed by.
[Legend Incarnate: You have succeeded in hunting Frost King Velokisus]
[You have achieved an impossible feat alone.]
[Acquired a new title: Nightmare of the 99th floor]
[Acquired weapon: Frost Dragon Sword]
[Users level has reached the limit.]
[Users HP has reached the limit.]
[Users Strength has reached the limit.]
[Users Dexterity has reached the limit.]
The gigantic dragons body was disappearing.
-You... really are amazing, human.
Speak. What is the [Stone of Nightmare]?
-You know the answer to it.
Jaehwan did not want to believe it. He needed to learn more.
-You will know everything once you reach the final floor.
The Frost Dragon did not speak anymore. As Jaehwan finished while it disappeared completely, he stood up and looked at the gate to the last floor. It had been so hard to even kill the Frost Dragon so he couldnt imagine what might be waiting for him on the final floor.
But he did not stop.
<<100>>
Jaehwan checked on the number at the gate. It was covered with dust, but he reached out to clean it off. Many memories flashed by him as he looked at the number.
Jay would be proud.
Jaehwan opened up the gate.
The 100th floor of the tower looked like an emergency operating room from various horror movies, but on a much larger scale. Thousands of hologram panels showed various places of the tower and some of them were showing Jaehwan.
The Jaehwan in the hologram screen seemed dumbfounded.
Oh, youre here already. I thought you were going to stop by the village first.
Jaehwan grew tense and looked around. But there were no signs of any humans.
Relax, relax. I forgot to send you an important message, stay where you are. These look fancy but theyre really archaic so I have to do some manual work.
After a few moments, a screen popped up in front of Jaehwan.
[Congratulations. You are the first to clear the tutorial game of World 294.]
[Your achievement will be recorded in the Immortal Library of the . Only the lords of the will be granted access to the records.]
Jaehwan grew confused.
What the hell is going on?
(´-ω-`)
Tutorial game?
So everything had been only a tutorial?
Through the various floating hologram panels, a figure walked out.
Whew, there we go.... OH?
The figure looked at Jaehwan.
WOW! We finally meet!
The figure was a man in a suit with the head of a lion. He even had a gentlemans hat on him. The lionhead spoke.
Im surprised! You came all the way here alone! This has never happened before!
...What is the meaning of this nonsense?
Whew what a fearsome man! Still eager to fight, eh? You sure are the Walker who received the attention of all the lords of the !
Who the hell are you?
Right! Gotta mind my manners.
The lionhead then took off his hat and bowed gracefully.
Im the Demon, Beastlain. Im the master of the , which you just completed and Im the master of World 294s tutorial game.
Game. Tutorial game. He had not been mistaken. All of it, which wiped out mankind, had only been a tutorial.
Jaehwan couldnt say anything. He was fighting a cacophony of emotions. Part of him told him to accept reality while part of him wanted to go mad.
After a while, he came back to his senses. No, he came back armed with a colder look in his eyes.
Beastlain seemed impressed.
Oh? You recovered pretty quickly.
Jaehwan expressionlessly looked at Beastlain. If he couldnt withstand the shock, he wouldnt have made it this far alone.
If this is a tutorial, does that mean theres a main game waiting for me?
OH HO! You sure are quick to understand! Most Walkers who manage to finish either tried slashing their sword at me or went mad.
Whats the main game?
Its as you expect.
Beastlain then let out a horrible, eerie laugh and snapped his fingers. Then the hologram panels immediately showed various screens.
<1st Floor>
Jaehwan was standing within a group of many.
What is this? This is just like a game.
It was the first time Jaehwan was summoned.
<7th Floor.>
Three people were forming a party. Someone started speaking.
Im Yoonhwan. She is Seoyul.
It was the first time he met Yoonhwan and Seoyul.
<32nd Floor>
Jaehwan had just managed to survive through the Shadow Cavern Trials for a month.
It was the first time when his [Stab] had become powerful.
<54th Floor>
Jaehwan was standing there and there were people around him.
Im Jaehwan. Im from Seoul and my class is a Swordsman.
Then he joined .
<66th Floor>
While he was fighting the boss monster Succubus, he looked at the woman next to him.
It was first time he fell in love.
<76th Floor>
Among the bones of undead, Jaehwan wailed as he held on the woman.
He felt heartbreaking pain. It was when he lost Seoyul to the Death Knights attack.
<77th Floor>
People disappeared with the lights. Enraged.
It was when the [Returning Stone] was found and had disbanded.
<85th Floor>
Shout of people who just cleared it.
Day of beginning of
<98th Floor>
Monster Giltikas
When he became alone after losing Yoonhwan.
<99th Floor>
When he just killed Frost Dragon while ago.
This...
Jaehwan could not speak. Everything he had done all this time had been recorded.
It was an epic drama that went on for 30 years! I was glad to have you! You know, if you stay here while doing the same thing over and over again, its refreshing to see a story of a man like you!
Im almost certain that the lords of the would have been delighted while they looked at your story.
Beastlain explained eagerly.
Who are those lords and the ?
Jaehwan had lot to ask but he held on to it.
Whats your point?
Its simple. You can now, start the game all over again. Beastlain continued, With all the memory of course. Its the privilege only given to the man who cleared the tutorial game! Isnt it wonderful?
Its something only exists in a novel in your world! The one who starts anew with all the memory! Isnt it great? Isnt it tempting?
How do you like it?
Jaehwan became dumbfounded. He said it was a reward. But wasnt the reward of clearing the tower salvation of mankind? Or what exactly was the reward for reaching the top?
Did the tower speak of it?
It did not.
The tower never said a word about a Final Reward.
It only had been mankinds wish. They automatically thought, just like in other usual games, if they cleared the tower, they would be granted salvation.
The purpose just appeared on top of their heads and only thing mankind was able to do was to try to get to the purpose.
And there it was. The final reward, awaiting in front of Jaehwan. Only given to Jaehwan.
So you want me to do everything I did all over again?
Well, you can say that. But with slight differences, of course.
Jaehwan couldnt understand what was going to happen. He had been fighting only to save this world. To save the world whereas everyone had abandoned it. The purpose that kept him sane as a human being.
But after he was successful in clearing it, the only thing remaining was him wanting to give up on the world.
So... you want to send me back to the past. Jaehwans voice grew cold, If youve been watching me, then you should know. Im not going to the past.
Beastlain became confused.
Past? Are you talking about the past?
Yes.
Then came the maniacal laughter.
Whats so funny?
HAHAHA! RIGHT! You are absolutely right. You are the type that will never go to the past!
Otherwise, you would not have made it this far. HAHAHAHA!
Beastlain laughed maniacally for while longer. He then suddenly stopped abruptly.
I will tell you a truth. One that is very brutal, but very accurate.
He began explaining in a cold, eery voice.
No item within or outside this tower, not even the one at the , can send you back in time.
(｡>﹏<｡)
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