— Members of Essence of the Strait, Desolate Moon, Frost Sanctuary, and other top guilds have entered the Tower of Wish. The Hero Association is worried the tower campaign will become a free-for-all, but they acknowledged that what happens is out of their control.

“…”

Jin Sahyuk stared at the TV with sunken eyes inside Pandemonium Arena’s demon rank waiting room.

— Entrance tickets will transform into portals on the specified dates. This mechanism, which cannot be explained, has shocked researchers all over the world.

On TV, heroes walked into the portals that spawned from the entrance tickets. Seeing this, Jin Sahyuk’s eyes filled with regret and rage.

“That son of a bitch…”

She gritted her teeth and spat out resentment. She should’ve already been inside the Tower of Wish instead of sitting in this empty room and watching TV.

“I’ll kill him. I’ll tear his limbs apart and grind them into bits!”

Her anger drove her insane. She had obtained a ticket (given to her by a fan) and leisurely waited for July. She even bragged about it to Bell and others who couldn’t find any. She thought she would be the one having fun while they sat at home, bored.

Yesterday, she noticed her entrance ticket had disappeared while excitedly packing her stuff. She ransacked the room, but couldn’t find it anywhere. After about 6 hours, she suddenly thought of Bell and noticed she hadn’t heard from that son of a bitch in a while. As she expected, he didn’t pick up when she called with trembling hands. Clearly, he had run off with her ticket.

— The public is now focused on the first wave of challengers…

“Just wait 2 months, you motherfucker…”

Jin Sahyuk mumbled in blood-boiling rage.

***

Tower of Wish, tutorial waiting room.

[Please put on the tutorial uniform after taking off all your clothes and equipment.]

“Got it.”

I followed the instructions and changed into the tutorial uniform. The leather armor looked rather shabby, but felt tightly woven.

“Done.”

[Confirmed. Please place all your belongings inside the storage. Items from outside cannot be taken into the tower.]

A black storage box appeared in front of me. I placed everything inside. Of course, I hid my smartwatch, the Desert Eagle, and aether inside stigma.

“Done.”

[Please place all your belongings inside the storage. Items from outside cannot be taken into the tower.]

“I did.”

[Please place all your belongings inside the storage. Items from outside cannot be taken into the tower.]

“…”

It seemed I couldn’t avoid the eyes of that existence. I took out the items inside stigma and placed them in the storage.

“Will they be given back?”

[The black entrance ticket has been confirmed. You may retrieve some of them after the tutorial.]

“That’s good.”

The Desert Eagle was one thing, but I definitely needed aether.

[Player scanning will now commence.]

A handprint scanner appeared in front of me and I placed my hand on top.

[Scanning in progress… 33%]

I felt a strange sensation of magic power running through my body.

“Auu.”

[66%… 99%… completed.] [Player Kim Hajin has been confirmed.]

[Kim Hajin]

▷Variable Stats… ▷Invariable Stats… ▷Traits [Master Sharpshooter] [Intermediate rank] [Spirit attribute] [Evolving] [Grade 4 – Proficiency EXP: 89%] [Random Consolidation System] [Low-intermediate rank] [Spirit attribute] [3 stage consolidation] [Dexterity] [Low-intermediate rank] [Null attribute] [Evolving] [Grade 5 – Proficiency EXP: 55%] [Magic Dysfunction Physique] [Medicinal Memory Physique]

[During the tutorial, your variable stats will decrease by 65%.] [5 traits have been detected.] [All traits have been sealed inside the tower. As a player, you may choose 1 trait to use.] [Please choose.]

“Huu.”

I finally experienced the balance patch. In this tower, traits included both gifts and physiques. I could only choose 1 of my 5 traits (excluding arts, which were considered acquired abilities). However, I didn’t find this too disadvantageous. The same restrictions also applied to every other challenger and I knew a secret no one else did.

“I’ll go with Master Sharpshooter.”

This secret would allow me to acquire a second trait later. I didn’t need to think about what to select since Master Sharpshooter was practically my identity.

[Will you choose the trait, Master Sharpshooter?]

“Yes.”

[Master Sharpshooter has decreased to grade 7 for the sake of balance.]

“Understood.”

I didn’t feel happy about it, but I should treat the system politely.

[The black entrance ticket has been confirmed.] [You have been assigned the highest difficulty.] [In exchange, you will receive a bonus skill.]

“Thank you very much.”

This bonus was practically a cheat code. The number of skills you could acquire from the tower was limited to 1 unique skill, 3 normal skills, 2 special skills, and 1 ultimate skill. Players could only learn 7 skills in total. An extra skill would give a huge advantage.

[You may choose one bonus skill from this catalog.]

“Thank you.”

Players who performed well could return to the outside world with half the skills they acquired. However, I had a grander goal to keep all 8 skills. Recently, my stats had stopped rising and I planned to use this tower to forcefully grow.

▷Vitality Recovery: Instantly recover 30% of your lost vitality. One charge is restored every 24 hours. Can be used twice a day. ▷Rage Gauge: Rage builds up as you strike and destroy. This rage…

I scrolled through the list with nothing catching my eye. Then I found one.

▷Blink: Teleport to a point within a 15 meter radius. One charge is restored every 8 hours. Can be used 3 times a day.

Kim Suho would choose this skill in 2 months when he entered the Tower of Wish with a black ticket. It seemed like an excellent skill, but didn’t suit me.

“Pass.”

After scrolling some more…

▷Random Dice: Obtain 1 dice every 9 hours. Random dice will transform into raw material or a completed item once rolled. The chance of obtaining a completed item is much lower. You may select a category as you roll the dice.

“This is it. Um, I’ll take this.”

A bonus skill that utilized my luck and synergized with Dexterity. I chose it without hesitation.

[Random Dice has been chosen as a bonus skill.] [You may view your status by saying, status window.] [The tutorial will begin in 1 minute.] [You will enter the highest difficulty.]

***

One minute later. I teleported to an unknown place after a burst of light and found myself in an open field dyed in sunset. Dirt, rocks, leaves, and weeds filled the area.

[This tutorial will allow you to estimate your basic battle prowess.]

Like most tutorials, you simply had to defeat monsters.

“Damn.”

However, these goblins didn’t seem like ordinary ones.

“How am I supposed to kill them without a weapon?”

— Kerrek.

— Krrrrk.

The goblin shaman sat on the goblin warrior’s shoulder.

“Sigh.”

I felt confident before coming in, but my future seemed bleak now that I couldn’t use my Desert Eagle.

[You have spotted a goblin warrior and a goblin shaman.] [Their information has been recorded in the player encyclopedia.]

The player encyclopedia served as one of the Tower of Wish’s support systems and stored all information discovered or experienced by players.

“Open player encyclopedia.”

Information could be vital in situations like these. I decided to read up on the 2 goblins.

Monster Encyclopedia [Goblin Warrior] [Intermediate rank Grade 7] [Goblin Shaman] [Intermediate rank Grade 8]

“That’s it?”

Well, it’s true the encyclopedia only held cursory information. At least I found out they were weaker than the ones I fought in Incheon.

“Hmm…”

For now, I should recall how Kim Suho got through this situation in the original story.

Right, he simply slaughtered them with the metal attribute of a Sword Saint. Being able to bring one gift was enough for Kim Suho.

Let’s think again since I’m different from Kim Suho.

— Krrk.

Thankfully, the goblins spoke among themselves and hadn’t noticed me yet.

“…”

In that case, I should probably search for the stage’s hidden secret first. I narrowed my eyes and used stigma’s magic power.

[Warning! The activation of an unnatural power has been detected. This power may not be used in the tutorial!] [Ignoring this warning may result in grave consequences!]

Seems like I would have to search for it directly.

I lowered my body and silently sneaked around. Sneaking became natural thanks to my mercenary work over the past 3 years. I reached the closest boulder and flipped it over. Thud. It had nothing under it and only felt like bait. I began to walk again. Crack.

“Huup.”

I accidentally stepped on a branch and anxiously turned around.

— Krrrk.

— Guoooo.

Thankfully, they seemed busy arguing about something.

“Whew.”

I sighed in relief and continued onward. Searching half the length of a soccer field took about 1-2 hours because of how carefully I moved.

“…!”

Then I found a leaf on the ground. Of course, the ground had other leaves, but this one glowed and practically shouted special. A window popped up as soon as I picked it up.

[Yggdrasil leaf]

I found it! I held my breath to prevent my excitement from leaking.

[The Yggdrasil leaf has blessed you with calmness and adventurous courage.] [Hidden Secret — You may select 1 of the following 3 blessings.]

— Acquire an additional trait. — Restore 10% of lost stats. — Cradle of Wisdom.

I had to choose the first option. The second option was only for stat monsters like Boss and Kim Suho. The Cradle of Wisdom was useless. I created the Tower of Wish in detail, so I knew exactly what to pick.

— You may acquire an additional trait.

I hesitated to choose between my Medicinal Memory Physique or Dexterity. The tower should have all sorts of precious medicine I’d never seen before. My future would become much easier if Medicinal Memory Physique remembered just one of them.

“Medicinal… no.”

However, choosing the Medicinal Memory Physique involved too much risk. I didn’t know how much medicine I would have to consume to remember it.

“Dexterity, I’ll go with Dexterity.”

With Dexterity, I could make items without having to buy them. Since I knew another way to acquire an additional trait (it would be a lot more difficult), going with Dexterity seemed to be the right choice.

[Yggdrasil’s blessing has unsealed your trait, Dexterity.]

“Whew.”

Now, I could finally fight. I turned to the goblin warrior and shaman. Then I suddenly received a system message.

[You may store the Yggdrasil leaf inside your inventory.]

I almost forgot.

“Ah, thank you. Inventory!”

Players could access the highest quality extradimensional space inside the tower. I stored the Yggdrasil leaf inside and took out the random dice.

“Huuu.”

I held the dice, which had a question mark on each side. An unbelievable nervousness filled me. I needed these dice to turn into a weapon or I wouldn’t be able to defeat these goblins.

“Blade. Give me something with a blade, please.”

I rolled the dice as I prayed. Drrr— The dice transformed into a primitive dagger.

“YES!”

I thought of my next move while holding the precious dagger. This dagger seemed too dull to kill the goblin warrior. However, it should be possible to kill the goblin shaman as long as I struck it in the head.

“Wait a minute.”

I suddenly thought of a different plan. A method to kill both of them at the same time.

“…”

I began to dig a hole with the dagger. It had to be deep enough to trap the 2.5 meter goblin warrior. I quietly dug the trap like a mole.

[Warning! You have 2 hours remaining.]

I was covered in sweat after digging for dozens of minutes. The goblin shaman and warrior had separated.

“Done.”

I finished digging a huge hole large enough for the goblin warrior to have no way out. I covered it with leaves and branches before getting up with my dagger.

— Kieeek!

Immediately, I caught their attention. Then I threw my dagger at the shaman, instantly piercing its head and killing it.

— Kieek…

The shaman staggered for a moment before collapsing. Its defense couldn’t even compare to a low rank monster.

— …

Now I only had to deal with the goblin warrior. It only blankly stared at the shaman’s corpse.

“You’re not gonna move?”

— Kuooo!

Suddenly, it roared and angrily charged. I simply stood without moving. The clever shaman would’ve noticed something, but the warrior only threw a fit.

— Kerek?

Soon, the goblin warrior stepped on the trap and fell into the hole.

— Guooo!

I quickly ran to retrieve my dagger as it struggled inside the hole. Then I stabbed down at it stuck in the hole. Die, please just die. An alert finally popped up after about 2 hours.

[You have cleared the first stage, Basic Battle Prowess Assessment.] [You will be transferred to your private waiting room.] [After 12 hours of rest, you will be sent to the second stage, Way of Survival.]

“Argh, I’m exhausted.”

[Rest well.]

“Thank you.”

I told myself to treat the system politely no matter the difficulties. Only I knew about this ironclad rule in the Tower of Wish. Honestly, I had designed it with Kim Suho’s righteous personality in mind. After all, who else other than Kim Suho would talk to a system so politely?

***

Every player in the Tower of Wish possessed a private waiting room.

[Player Extra7’s waiting room]

Waiting rooms could be modified or decorated however their owner wished. Once the tutorial ended, players could invite others to their waiting room as well. Using points, they could expand the size of their room and also purchase furniture.

“It’s so empty.”

Of course, it only contained a single wooden board for now. I didn’t think the waiting room mattered all that much in the past, but it felt quite important now. Players could return to their waiting room once every 4 days to escape enemies or even death.

“Let’s sleep for now.”

I felt too tired to properly think and decided to rest until I gained another random dice.

“Huuu.”

I lay on the hard wooden board. Just like that, 7 hours went by.

“Argh, my back.”

My body felt sore after sleeping on such a hard surface. I hadn’t felt such a sensation for a long time due to my high stats. I frowned and checked my inventory.

[Random Dice] [Yggdrasil leaf]

“Haa.”

I took out the dice and immediately rolled it. Ore, ore, give me an ore so I can make a fishing rod and a weapon.

Plop!

The dice stopped and transformed into an ore.

“Oh?”

I became speechless at the translucent, red ore.

“This is…”

[Red Crystal] A crystal formed from compressed fire magic. A crystal specialized for crafting equipment.

This low-intermediate to intermediate rank crystal sold for a hefty price in the real world and was worth even more in a situation like this.

“Ooh…”

Raising my luck to 9.1 was one of the best things I ever did after being sent to this world.

“Ah, I should get to work now.”

Private waiting rooms didn’t count as part of the tutorial, so I should be able to use stigma’s magic power to craft items.

“Huhu.”

Even the tower’s system couldn’t have known I would craft items in the waiting room.

[An administrator has detected the activation of unnatural power.]

Unfortunately, the administrators’ eyes were better than I expected. One of them, most likely the mythical divinity in charge of the third floor that could see everything, Heimdall.

“I’ll just use a little bit.”

I tried to bargain. After all, the waiting room wasn’t the tutorial.

“Hello?”

The system didn’t reply, but I didn’t receive any more messages to stop.

I used a bit of stigma’s magic power to form crafting tools. Ssk, ssk. Then I began to handle the red crystal like eggshells.