WA! Status Window!
From time immemorial, what word truly cuts through this cutthroat modern society? Depending on the person, their most important one would naturally come to mind first—and that's perfectly reasonable.
But if the question shifts to, "What's the next most important word that defines society?" well, by then they've already named their top pick. With about a 90% chance, the answer would be "Tower" and "dungeon."
And who could blame them? Those things popped up out of nowhere one day, nearly ending the world... but in the process, Status Windows appeared too, along with "Hunters" who wielded them to prop up the crumbling planet.
Decades have passed since that webnovel-esque scenario went down.
[Korea’s First S-Rank Hunter Kim Harang's Interview!]
[Prepare for Dungeon Breaks: Build a New Bunker in Your Home!]
[Monster Taming Tips: Don't Start with Too High a Grade]
Everyone takes Hunters, Status Windows, dungeons, Towers, and the monsters inside as everyday facts of life. How normalized can it get?
Even I would answer the same way if asked. Of course, that's just talk—Status Windows only awaken in a tiny minority.
Plus, even if you get one, your traits and abilities might be totally useless for Hunter life.
For the average person, Hunters, Towers, and dungeons are—strictly speaking—a whole other world.
I was just another normie who'd never laid eyes on a Status Window. Or so I thought.
But if someone's asking, "So why the hell are you bringing this up now?" my answer would be...
"Kyaaaaack!"
"Kweheeng!"
"Keeik!"
"Huff, huff, huff!"
That's me—Kim Saeron, a total nobody without so much as a Status Window until moments ago—now on the Tower's 1st floor.
I'd just grabbed the "Tower Invitation" that popped up out of nowhere, no prep whatsoever, got yeeted straight inside... and ran smack into a goblin pack. Hence the frantic chase.
Of course, awakening a Status Window comes with traits and abilities bundled in.
So when the goblins showed up right after I got dropped in...
"Chwiik?"
"Kyaek?"
"Kak!"
"Kek!"
"Oh, fuck."
I'd been cocky inside: Time to kneel before my badass powers!
But the moment I checked the Status Window...
All machinery that touches you becomes your power.
Equipment grade limits for all mechanical weapons and gear are lifted.
No machinery or equipment with you can harm you.
"What the actual fuck, Status Window? You give me an equipment slot but no gear? How am I supposed to work with that?!"
Yeah. Incredibly, even a non-Hunter scrub like me had snagged an EX-rank trait that screamed "OP as hell!"
But right now? Zero ways to deal with the goblins in my face.
The result? A desperate, directionless sprint from the chase.
"Keeiiik!"
"Kyaaak!"
"Fuck, seriously, quit screwing around!"
Unlike the classic fantasy green-skinned, big-nosed goblins, these had zero unified cries—just weird, chaotic shrieks.
But no counter? Pathetic flight it is.
And even as 1st-floor trash mobs...
Shiiiik—kwajik!
"Huuuuh?!"
A slingshot stone aimed at me shatters a sturdy tree's bark and exposes the innards. Brutal.
Their crude weapons could lop off normie limbs easy. No joke.
At this rate, despite my shiny EX trait, I'd die doing jack shit. That dread hit hard.
Obviously, no internet in the Tower. And since I got snatched from home? No water, no food...
Thirsty... starving...
The longer this dragged, the more my body and mind screamed at their limits. Fresh revelation.
Worse: Pre-Hunter me? No super-soldier training. Just a healthy Korean dude—mandatory army private, but fewer go than you think. Weird, right?
Post-discharge? Couch potato with part-time gigs. Average Joe.
"Hahk, hahk, damn it... Status Window awakening... should've made me... stronger... or something!"
No tolerance for endless running on empty. I craved collapsing on this dusty ground and passing out.
But pausing like some game? Nah. Best case, goblins smash my skull with a stone axe—merciful. Worst? Limbs hacked off, dragged away, tortured, then live-stewed into goblin chow. Horrific.
Stamina: 45 (100-55)
*Warning!*
If Stamina drops to 0 or below, the climber enters immediate death state!
Lucky break? My body should've collapsed—lungs bursting, heart pounding, limbs jelly.
But those "basic stats" on the Status Window, even chipping away like a debuff... paradoxically kept me fleeing in this madness.
Ding! Ding!
Stamina: 44 (100-56)
Stamina: 43 (100-57)
This fucking shit! Am I really gonna die here like this?!
Sure, the downside was those constant corner-of-vision pings from the Status Window. But in this hell? A twinkly little message box like Tinkerbell? Barely registers.
Shaky legs burning, thirst and hunger scorching... I'd keep running, fighting to survive.