Chapter 1: Tower of Trials (1)

“Let me get straight to the point. You don’t have to come to the training center starting tomorrow.“

I stared vacantly at the manager before I could regain my composure. 

“…Why am I being kicked out?

“Han Sungyeun-nim, I think you know exactly why we’re kicking you out.”

“…”

“Keeping you here is becoming too much of a burden for our training center.”

“I’ve never missed a single payment and I’m fulfilling all the prerequisites.”

“Well, of course. Because you’re preparing for the hunter exam. The problem is that it’s already been 7 years since you’ve started preparing.”

The manager narrowed his eyes and scoured my body.

“Even after 7 years of physical training, you weren’t able to learn a single skill or unlock your innate ability. You weren’t even able to raise a single stat point.”

His harsh response felt like a dagger in my heart.

Like he said, I had achieved nothing in the last 7 years of training.

I couldn’t unlock a single skill, let alone even raise a stat point. 

‘Damn it.’

And this happened in a center for professional player training. 

Everyone who awakens as a player must train in one of these centers for a couple of months before they are able to debut as a hunter.

But…

‘I couldn’t get anything done in the years that I’ve been training here.’

Realistically, it wasn’t an exaggeration to say that I would never be able to become a hunter. 

I didn’t have a hint of the fundamental qualifications that even the most basic hunters have.

But I stayed calm and asked in a monotone voice—

“…Is that the reason I’m being kicked out?”

“To be a little more specific, you give us a bad name. A pretty infamous one at that.”

I could finally understand what the manager was trying to say.

“You’re worried about what people would think of a training center that couldn’t get a trainee to debut after 7 years of training.”

The manager stayed quiet but nodded with a smirk. 

Yeah, I knew this would happen one day.

God damn it.

“Let’s be honest, you’re nothing special.”

“…“

“You have no aptitude for this. Do you think you’ll ever pass the hunter exam?”

“…”

“Do you think something will change just from working hard? That’s not how things work. You’re wasting your time.”

“…”

His words filled with contempt pierced my soul.

But I couldn’t dispute his points or even throw a punch.

After all, a slightly athletic average person stood no chance against a former hunter. 

As he said, it wasn’t an exaggeration to call me completely talentless. 

I didn’t want to repress these feelings, but I had to.

Why? 

‘Because I’m weak and I have nothing.’

I’d been enduring this for so long, but it seemed as though there was no need for that anymore. 

Yeah, it was time to end it. I was exhausted.

“Of course, we’re not just going to banish you without compensation. We’ll refund you about 50% of the fees that you’ve…”

Why was he still talking?

All he was doing was trying to convince me to leave. 

“Yeah, I got it. Just give me my 50% refund. Goodbye.”

As his sentence finished, I walked past him toward the exit.

“…!”

I thought he wanted to say something, but he ended up not stopping me.

Well, there was nothing left to say, and I wasn’t the one who had something to lose by getting angry.

Then…

“Woah, he’s been here since way before I was, but now he’s getting kicked out like that.”

Starting with a comment from an onlooker, I was bombarded with stares from all over the room.

“But he came in every morning to train non-stop… It’s too bad, huh?” 

“Fuck feeling bad. He’s an idiot for not knowing his place and stopping sooner.”

“You think so? I guess he is pretty stupid for not giving up.”

“I didn’t know he couldn’t increase a single stat point after training for 7 years.”

Sympathy, scorn, and even ridicule… 

I didn’t know what I did so wrong to have them look down on me for all 7 years of my training.

Whether I heard them or not.

They always jeered at the fact that I was essentially powerless as a player. 

And just like that, my 7 years of training became proof of my foolishness.

But…

“I guess that’s that. Damn it.”

I muttered to myself as I stepped out of the center and stared into the sky.

7 years of non-stop training… 

“Sigh…”

It ended in an absurdly simple way. 

***

I didn’t always want to be a hunter.

It happened during the Great Calamity, when my parents were eaten alive by the hoards of monsters from a dungeon break.

And I wasn’t alone in that experience.

But even from those people, only a few select people were able to awaken as a player.

Even then, I prayed to God to awaken me as a player. 

Is that why?

“I did awaken as a player. Just awakened.”

The problem came afterward.

No matter what I did, my stats wouldn’t increase and my ‘innate ability’ never unlocked. 

But I didn’t lose hope and continued to train. 

Because skills are given to those who are ready…

I trained my heart out for 7 years after that.

I didn’t even hope to unlock my innate ability.

I just wanted to be slightly more capable than an average person.

My only hope was that one day, I would be able to avenge my parents.

But the world didn’t allow me such privilege.

And here is where I ended up.

I sat on a snow-covered bench in a park taking a sip from a can of beer.

“...I guess I was stupid. 7 years…”

Not even the others who lost their families to a dungeon break went this far. 

More accurately, they weren’t able to.

After about 2 years, most people come face-to-face with reality and give up.

Either that… or they realize their potential and climb up to the top.

I wasn’t able to do either of those.

‘I didn’t know nothing would change, even after 7 years....’

Heh.

I couldn’t help but smile at such an obvious result.

“At least I tried.”

No, I did more than just try. 

Most people face reality and find a different path for themselves. But not me.

I didn’t know what to do with my life anymore.

But after 7 years of not giving up, I wasn’t going to start now.

‘I’m not so weak that I would consider giving up on my life.’

Tap…!

I placed the empty beer can down on the bench and looked to the sky.

To commemorate the end of an era, I decided to ramble to my parents.

“…I tried so hard. I wanted to avenge you and kill those monsters but… It’s just not going the way I want it to. I’m so sorry. I’m sorry that someone like me is your child.”

I felt slightly somber but not enough to cry.

7 years was enough to dull my sorrow.

As the years went on, the intense pain was subdued, and now I was completely numb to it.

‘There was a time when I had to train all through the night because the pain and sadness kept me up.’

At age 27, I didn’t even want to train anymore.

Maybe it was obvious now that I knew I would never become a hunter.

That’s one of the reasons I didn’t put up a fight at the training center.

I’d rather end it quickly than hang on pathetically…

At least I was able to end it on my own terms before anyone else could force me to.

After the end of my rambling, I leaned back on the bench and just stared at the drab sky. 

I decided to give up on being a hunter, but I couldn't help feeling a lingering attachment. 

‘If I had even a sliver of talent… or even just an innate ability…”

If…

If I had even a glimmer of hope, I wouldn't give up.

My eyes slowly closed, as did my wishful thinking. 

***

Still dazed, I see something like a holographic message in front of my eyes. 

「 The ‘Tower of Trials’ praises your unbreaking will. 」

The first thing I saw in this dream was someone’s praise.

‘Who is this?’

I had questions, but there wasn’t any time to continue with that train of thought.

「 'Tower of Trials' has selected all suitable candidates from Earth. 」 

「 Please select your difficulty. 」 

「 The chosen difficulty will be directly proportional to your rewards. 」 

Three choices appeared in front of me at the end of the message.

「 Easy 」 「 Medium 」 「 Hard 」 

I didn’t find anything out of place even though I was looking at a holographic message.

A strange feeling of being on a border of consciousness and unconsciousness. 

Rather than questioning the circumstance, I could only think to make a decision.

To make a choice. 

A choice that I wouldn’t regret if I reached my hand out.

Enticed, I reached out as if there was no other choice.

Then… 

「 You have selected the difficulty ‘Hard.’ 」 

「 We wish the challenger a satisfactory ending to their choice. 」 

Woosh…! 

The message blew away like a tiny candlelight, and my consciousness grew clearer. 

I was completely awake.

「 Now entering Tower of Trials floor 1. 」 

“…?”

「 Challengers should now prepare themselves for the incoming trial. 」

I only just realized that something strange was happening, but there was nothing I could do at this point.

「 Entering Tower of Trials floor 1. 」 

My surroundings shifted from a park bench to a desert.

「 The 1st-floor trial is starting now. 」 

「 The following trial is a special trial given as a tutorial. 」

「 The objective of the following trial is ‘survival.’ 」 

「 We wish the challenger a satisfactory ending to their choice. 」 

At this moment I knew…

「 Trial success reward - Unlocking innate ability 」 

「 Trial fail penalty - Death 」 

“…Fuck.”

If my life had a turning point, this would be it.

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