NOVEL NEXT chapter 3
3 – 0th Floor, Tutorial.
Tick-tock, tick-tock.
“Hmm.”
“What should I choose…?”
Time passed, and one by one, we chose our skills.
Everyone chose defensive skills.
They didn’t tell me what they chose.
“Why should I tell you?”
Jin Cheol-hwan reacted sharply, creating an awkward atmosphere.
It wasn’t bad for me.
【Skills in possession – (1/1)】
【Smash (F)】
I acquired the Smash skill, which seemed the most practical among the numerous skills.
There were two reasons I chose Smash.
‘If everyone’s stats are the same, defense is always advantageous.’
But what if I could display overwhelming destructive power different from others?
‘…Then offense becomes advantageous.’
The other reason was the skill conditions.
‘Ji-hoon Park said it was like a game. Then it’s likely that skills follow a similar pattern.’
I avoided skills with conditions like applying poison or bandaging.
Just in case.
After eliminating those, Smash was the final candidate.
Smash.
An F-rank cheap skill that inflicts physical damage by hitting the enemy with all your might.
‘It’s a skill that suits me perfectly.’
There are no conditions for a powerful strike.
You just need to swing.
Others might judge this simplicity as a lack, but I was completely different.
It was attractive because it was simple.
‘Because it means you can use it in any situation.’
Finally, Park Ji-hoon completed the skill acquisition.
Beeep-. Beeep-.
The clock rang.
[We will now begin the tutorial. Please move to the next room through the stone door.]
“…….”
No one steps forward.
Rolling their eyes, they just glanced at each other.
They felt burdened by the idea of leading.
Of course.
Who could dare to be brave when they don’t know what might happen?
‘Unless they have a lot of guts….’
At that moment, a message appeared.
[A reward will be given to the player who moves first. This is the Tower of ‘Struggle’.]
As soon as he saw the message, Park Ji-hoon dashed out.
He was like a bullet.
‘Fast!’
His footwork was more agile than expected.
It went beyond the realm of simply ‘running fast’.
Following behind Park Ji-hoon, Jin Cheol-hwan sighed and asked.
“Did he use a skill?”
“Yes. It’s a skill called Light Footsteps.”
“…What was that again? I can’t quite remember.”
There were as many as 10,000 F-rank skills.
It’s normal not to remember what each one does.
No matter how much Jin Cheol-hwan disliked him, it was a bit unreasonable to criticize him for this.
“A skill that increases movement speed by 10% for 10 seconds.”
Park Ji-hoon said.
Hearing it, I remember.
There are no particular conditions, but since the coefficient is fixed at 10%, it was a skill I had skipped.
The most useless type of skill for me.
“It seemed quite significant for 10%.”
“Indeed. I was surprised too.”
Although he had chosen the light footsteps, he didn’t expect it to be this effective.
“So, what reward did you receive?”
Middle-aged woman Lim Soo-jin interrupted and asked.
To her question, Park Ji-hoon looked into the air and answered.
“One attribute point. I received a point that can be distributed freely.”
“…One attribute point?”
“Yes.”
The reaction was even more intense than when the skill effect was confirmed.
“Huh…”
I tried to hide my emotions as much as possible, but I failed.
I couldn’t hide the sincere sigh.
“One point, just because you passed through the stone gate first?”
“Indeed. I didn’t expect the reward to be this much either. I thought at best they would give money or basic equipment usable in the Tower of Struggle. I hit the jackpot.”
Desire overflowed in the eyes of Park Ji-hoon and the others.
[You have learned what kind of place the Tower of Struggle is, right? A place where those who want to prove themselves, and those who have proven themselves, can achieve what they desire, that is the Tower of Struggle.]
“……”
My concentration improved significantly.
[We will start the tutorial.]
Rumble-.
Along with the message, the sound of the stone gate opening was heard.
“…This seems like.”
“It seems like each of us has to handle one.”
There were six stone gates in this room.
Including the man who was forcibly eliminated, there were six players summoned initially.
No one was unaware of what it meant.
Ding-!
[Floor 0, Prove Yourself]
Being invited to the Tower of Struggle does not mean it’s over.
You must prove that you are qualified to challenge the throne.
Park Ji-hoon said,
“This doesn’t seem like a message from the assistant. It feels different.”
[That’s correct. It’s a message from the Tower of Struggle.]
Jin Cheol-hwan abruptly interrupted and asked the assistant,
“What should we do now?”
Park Ji-hoon seemed to be burning up ever since he learned about the reward he received.
[It’s simple. Enter each passage and pass the trials.]
“Trials?”
[They are not difficult trials. They are composed of trials suitable for your level, players.]
“So, is there a reward if we pass quickly this time too?”
For Jin Cheol-hwan, the reward was important.
Having been normalized after being greedy for no reason, he was more impatient than others.
[That, I don’t know.]
“You don’t know?”
[Don’t take the reward for granted. The reward is a bonus.]
“……”
[You must climb the Tower of Struggle to avoid elimination. It’s best to keep that in mind. Otherwise, it will be extremely difficult.]
Elimination.
It meant death.
Jin Cheol-hwan gulped.
And he glanced at Park Ji-hoon.
He seemed envious of the 1 point Park Ji-hoon had earned so easily.
“I think it’s best if we each take a section.”
Park Ji-hoon stepped forward and said.
As his stats increased by one point, his right to speak naturally strengthened.
Jin Cheol-hwan frowned and replied.
“How about you take charge of two zones?”
“Me?”
“Yes. Aren’t you the strongest?”
Jin Cheol-hwan looked at us for agreement.
Im Soo-jin sent a look that seemed to agree to some extent.
Lee Min-ji watched my reaction, and I kept my mouth shut.
Park Ji-hoon, unable to hold back, frowned in displeasure.
“I think we can talk about that later.”
“Park Ji-hoon, you may not know this because you’re still young, but planning is important when doing this kind of work. A lot depends on how you draw the blueprint at the beginning.”
“So, let’s each take charge of one zone for now.”
“Alright. Let’s do that. But make sure the strongest among us also passes through the remaining zone.”
Jin Cheol-hwan did not back down from his opinion.
“It’s not that we don’t want to do it. Someone has to do it, and we’re asking you. Is that difficult?”
“……”
“Then who do you think should handle the remaining zone? Me, with my lowered stats? Or Soo-jin here? A girl your age?”
Jin Cheol-hwan’s gaze fell on me.
Tsk, a small clicking sound of the tongue was heard.
“I heard that guy’s stats aren’t much different from yours. It wouldn’t be bad to decide together. What do you think?”
Jin Cheol-hwan suddenly included me in the task.
‘This changes things.’
I don’t want to suffer losses by staying still.
“Let’s decide later. We don’t even know who will come back alive.”
“What?”
You get what you give.
Maybe it was because of what Jin Cheol-hwan had said so far.
My tone towards him wasn’t very kind.
‘Why should I bow down?’
The strong strike skill gave me courage.
“If you can’t come back, I’ll take care of your share.”
“…Are you telling me I’m going to die here? You little brat!”
Jin Cheol-hwan strode forward, ready to throw a punch.
[Players, please don’t fight among yourselves.]
A short warning.
The effect was immediate.
Jin Cheol-hwan, who seemed unstoppable, stepped back first.
[Although it wasn’t mentioned, cooperation is crucial in the Tower of Struggle. The tutorial is a process to practice that.]
“……”
[So please work together to pass the tutorial.]
The message ended.
“Let’s clear one section at a time.”
Park Ji-hoon suggested the same opinion as before.
There were no objections.
People chose the stone gates they wanted.
They all looked the same on the outside, so it didn’t seem like there would be any difference in the trials.
Jin Cheol-hwan also quietly took his place.
He had been glaring the whole time, but he didn’t refuse his share.
Surprisingly, he seemed to follow the majority.
I stood in one place too.
A dark passage stretched beyond the stone gate.
It exuded a completely different atmosphere from the previous rooms.
My feet wouldn’t move.
“……”
Everyone seemed to feel the same, hesitating to enter and glancing at each other.
Then, Jin Cheol-hwan entered the passage.
His steps were filled with anger.
Sssst-.
The darkness enveloped him.
Jin Cheol-hwan’s figure disappeared in an instant.
The passage ahead seemed to connect to an unknown space.
There was no more time to hesitate.
I was worried that Jin Cheol-hwan, who went in first, might come out with the first clear reward or something.
“Tsk!”
Park Ji-hoon, who seemed to have a similar thought, quickly entered the passage.
A large cavity.
In the center, someone was standing.
It was a blonde female knight.
“…Why did you come alone?”
The female knight muttered something and shook her head.
“Never mind. Whatever choices the new players make, it’s none of my concern.”
“……”
“I ask you. Are you my opponent?”
“Uh….”
It was completely different from what I expected.
‘I thought a monster would appear.’
I never dreamed that a human capable of conversation would be waiting.
So I awkwardly replied.
“…I think so?”
“Hmm.”
Srrng-!
In an instant, the female knight drew her sword and charged at me.