NOVEL NEXT chapter 1
0 – My Skill Tooltips Are Strange.
Summoned to a place called the ‘Tower of Struggle’, I introduced myself to the ‘players’ I met for the first time and talked about the ‘system’─.
“…What did you say about the Smite option?”
“Smite? Hold on a second. Let me check again.”
I realized that my status window was different from others.
“It says it deals 150% physical damage by hitting the opponent hard.”
[Smite][F]
[Hits the opponent hard, dealing 『1,521%』 physical damage.]
“What about First Aid?”
“…It says you can recover 50 health by bandaging. But how much is 50?”
[First Aid][F]
[Bandages to recover 『503』 health.]
“…….”
Why are my skill descriptions strange?
Is it a bug?
Chapter 1 – Floor 0, Tutorial.
I spent the day as usual.
[9:21]
“I set the alarm. Why is it off?”
Got up early in the morning and ran to attend a lecture.
[11:03]
“…I’m hungry.”
Had a meal after finishing a class.
[15:22]
“I should at least do something before I go….”
Stopped by the library to prepare for the final exam.
[17:42]
“I was really diligent. If I had done this in high school, I might have gone to Seoul National University?”
Thinking I had spent the day productively, I packed my bag.
“You know today is Friday, right?”
Suddenly, the devil’s whisper is heard.
“No, I have to study for the exam this weekend….”
“Actually, it’s good. Drink moderately, get a good night’s sleep, and wake up tomorrow in full condition to study.”
“…….”
“What kind of studying at a third-rate university anyway.”
“Busan National University isn’t a third-rate university. It’s a national university.”
“Ah, whatever. Let’s just go drink.”
The devil seemed determined to tempt me, spitting out words like a machine gun.
“The seniors said you can study after you come back from the military. They said you should play to your heart’s content in the first year.”
“…….”
“Once everyone starts preparing for the final exams in earnest, you won’t be able to drink even if you want to. So it’s right to drink today.”
“Is that so?”
Rationalizing that there’s no other choice.
“Cheers!”
Ending the day by attending the drinking party.
But I didn’t drink recklessly.
Literally, moderately.
Just enough to gift my liver some work.
“…This isn’t like me.”
I smirk at myself in the bathroom mirror.
The guy says, if you want to knock him out, prepare a crate of soju.
“Yeah, that’s it.”
I washed my hands, shook off the water, and left the bathroom.
“Ryu In-ah.”
Blocking my way was not a crate of soju, but a third-year female senior.
It was Senior Kim Ji-hye.
“You seem quite drunk.”
“…I’m not drunk.”
“Hey, liar.”
I know too.
Most of the guys who say they’re not drunk are already drunk.
But I’m really not drunk.
“Hey kids. Do you want some ice cream?”
“Yes!”
“Ryuin, the kids want ice cream. Let’s go buy some.”
“……”
“A little fresh air will blow away the alcohol.”
I headed to the convenience store, being dragged along by Kim Ji-hye.
“You seem to be a lightweight drinker, huh? You look manly, but your liver is so weak.”
Kim Ji-hye’s chattering voice felt distant.
[You have been invited to the Tower of Struggle.]
[Do you want to enter?]
[Y/N]
My nerves were fixed on the message flickering before my eyes.
‘…Am I drunk?’
How much did I drink?
I picked out some ice cream.
I tried to mix it up, but Kim Ji-hye blocked me.
She unified the types completely.
“Card. Here you go.”
“Please insert it there.”
Kim Ji-hye made the payment.
Since she offered to buy the ice cream, this was right.
“I’ll carry it.”
Instead, I carried the bag.
I had the mindset that I could at least do this much.
“Wait a moment.”
Kim Ji-hye reached into the bag.
She took out two ice creams and handed one to me.
Melona.
“Here.”
“Thank you.”
The moment I reached out to receive it.
[Y(Select)/N]
My hand touched the YES part perfectly.
[You have entered the Tower of Struggle.]
[Welcome.]
* * *
I was definitely holding a bag full of Melona in my hand.
But in the blink of an eye, it disappeared.
Senior Kim Ji-hye, the Melonas, everything.
‘Where am I?’
It was a college town.
A bustling street filled with soaking wet college students.
But it changed.
To a blindingly white room that seemed to drive me crazy.
The ceiling, the walls, the floor, it was hard to find a place that wasn’t white.
My presence, standing there blankly, felt out of place.
[You have entered the Tower of Struggle.]
[Welcome.]
“…Tower of Struggle.”
What the heck is that?
Because of the sudden situation, my head started to throb.
The messages dangling in my sight made my eyes tired.
“Sigh.”
Taking a deep breath, I started to examine the situation one by one from the beginning.
They say if you keep your wits about you, you can survive even in a tiger’s den.
To survive here, I had to keep my wits about me.
Fortunately, there was nothing to worry about.
‘The drunkenness is completely gone.’
It felt like turning back time to before drinking.
My body felt light, as if I had just woken up from a deep sleep.
‘Awakening effect?’
Did my brain, stimulated by extreme stress, bring my body to its optimal state?
‘No way.’
I moved cautiously and looked around.
“…There’s a button?”
I thought it was all walls, but it wasn’t.
One side was not a wall, but a door.
Buzz-.
When I pressed the button, the door opened.
There was not much difference between inside and outside the door.
“Oh!”
“There’s someone over there.”
Instead, there were people.
All four of them seemed to be in the same situation as me.
When I looked at them warily, a middle-aged man gestured as if to say not to worry.
“I understand being scared after being suddenly summoned. But there’s no need for that. We’re in the same situation as you.”
“The same situation?”
A young woman nodded and chimed in.
“We’ve been invited to the Tower of Struggle. Didn’t you see the message?”
“…Yes.”
No way.
“That’s right. As soon as we accepted that invitation message, we ended up here. In the blink of an eye, we were in a white room just like you.”
“Ah….”
A sigh escaped naturally.
I could clearly see what kind of conversation would follow.
Even so, I had to ask.
“…Is there a way back?”
“No idea.”
The middle-aged man spoke curtly, as if questioning why it was being asked.
“We’re in the same situation as you. We were just summoned and know nothing.”
“Is that so?”
“The only thing we know is that we have to wait for that door to open.”
The middle-aged man pointed to the door ahead.
At the tip of his finger was a gray door that didn’t match the pristine white room.
It was a stone door.
“…It says ‘0th floor’.”
“Since it’s called the Tower of Struggle, it must be divided into floors.”
The middle-aged man’s tone was not very pleasant.
While I was contemplating what to point out, the door opened.
Another person popped out from the room I was in.
“Isn’t it amazing?”
A young woman approached and whispered.
“You seem very surprised.”
“…It is surprising. There was no one here a moment ago, and suddenly there’s someone…”
“I felt the same way. Not long after I came out of the room, you appeared. Considering the more amazing things we’ve experienced, though.”
A floating message in my field of vision, an abduction defying the laws of physics…
I was already at the center of a bizarre phenomenon.
If I were to be surprised by each one, my heart wouldn’t last.
“Indeed.”
“I’m Minji. Lee Minji.”
“…I’m Ryuin.”
“Is your last name Ryu? Ryu?”
I shook my head.
“Just call me Ryuin.”
“Why?”
“I was planning to change my name. I even applied for it…”
Though we were in the same situation, we weren’t close enough to share personal matters.
“Ah, I see.”
Noticing that I was uncomfortable speaking, Lee Minji didn’t ask any further.
“So, the name you applied for is Ryuin?”
“No.”
“Your original name is Ryuin…?”
Lee Minji tilted her head.
“Ryuin. It’s a pretty name.”
Lee Minji looked at me as if wondering why I wanted to change such a pretty name.
I awkwardly smiled and avoided her gaze.
“Why are only you two introducing yourselves?”
A middle-aged man approached us.
Behind him was the man who had come out of the room earlier.
“I hate repeating myself, so I was waiting until everyone was summoned.”
The middle-aged man glanced at me and Lee Minji.
“This is why young people are no good. Always trying to stand out alone.”
“What did you say?”
Lee Minji, feeling offended by his gaze, raised her voice.
The middle-aged man didn’t back down either.
“How dare you glare at an elder when he’s speaking. Lower your eyes!”
“An elder should act like one to be treated with respect! You’ve been looking us up and down like an old geezer!”
“What, what? Old geezer? You brat, have you said all you wanted to say?!”
The atmosphere was tense, as if a fight could break out any moment.
[Welcome, players.]
The escalating situation was interrupted by a newly appeared message.
[I am your assistant, here to help with your tutorial.]
Ssshh, ssshh-.
Was everyone reading the message?
The noisy argument subsided, and silence fell.
[The Tower of Struggle is a place where you can prove your worth. Those who prove themselves will ascend the tower, and those who do not will be eliminated here.]
“…Eliminated?”
[Elimination means death.]
Someone’s question was answered by the message.
This means real-time communication is possible.
“Why did you bring us here!”
“Send us back!”
People screamed and shouted.
As if that unknown entity would listen to them.
[Are you saying you won’t climb the Tower of Struggle?]
The tone of the message became ominous.
Everyone sensed something strange, but it was already too late.
The situation had already unfolded.
[If that’s the case─.]
With that message, one person disappeared.
It was the man who had shouted the loudest to be sent back.
[If you refuse to climb the Tower of Struggle, I have no choice. I can only send you back as you wish.]
“Back?”
[You have been sent back to the dimension where you originally lived.]
Suddenly, a television appeared in the white room.
The same video was playing repeatedly on the television.
─ aaah!
“Ugh.”
It was a video of the man who had disappeared earlier, dying.
“No way.”
A dreadful hypothesis flashed through my mind.