Chapter 1
Chapter 1
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 1
Chapter Title: The Ordinary Guy's Tower Conquest Strategy
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Ordinary Guy's Tower Conquest Strategy /// Kkujji Kkujji
Caution first, safety first, an ordinary guy, a simple citizen climbs the Tower.
#ModernFantasy #System #SupernaturalAbility #Awakening
[Ordinary Guy's Tower Conquest Strategy 1]
2004.
Giant black towers, appeared all over the Earth.
Simultaneously, the awakening of humanity began.
Because of that, we vaguely came to know.
Why those towers appeared, and how we should deal with them.
Awakened humans are called 'Players'.
It was a very appropriate name.
And even in 2024, 20 years later, the black towers still existed, and an extreme minority of humanity were still undergoing the process of awakening.
Bong Joo-hyuk, 25 years old this year, had awakened.
Even though he never wanted to.
"...Ugh, fuck, you scared me!"
It was a Sunday evening, the moment he was about to put a chopstick-full of freshly cooked ramen into his mouth in his studio apartment.
"A-awakening?"
Good god!
"What the hell?"
Maybe he misheard.
He desperately hoped so.
He sat there blankly for a long time.
Why me?
Awakening is sometimes called a blessing.
Because it's luckier than winning the lottery, and if you do well, you can hit the jackpot and turn your life around.
That is, if you survive.
But not for Bong Joo-hyuk.
He never even dreamed of becoming a Player and entering the Tower.
Even if life was a bit tough, he just wanted to live normally, without big ambitions.
Bong Joo-hyuk was an ordinary guy and a simple citizen.
Even if he saw injustice, he'd avoid it if possible.
He tried his best not to create dangerous situations.
Entering the Tower was an extremely dangerous thing.
How many Players died every day from mission failures wasn't even made public.
You could be torn apart by monsters, freeze to death or burn to death in extreme environments, die from poison, be crushed in a trap, or starve to death unable to escape.
"Ugh! Gives me the chills."
Was it really an awakening?
The method to check was simple.
Just look at the status window.
This could be called up even outside the Tower.
"S-status window!"
Then,
Whoosh!
"Haa."
It was definitely an awakening.
Tower Entry was exactly as it sounded.
Tower Exclusive Inventory could only store and retrieve items obtained inside the Tower.
But the trait...
'It's Summoning.'
When you awaken, a trait is bestowed.
There were many kinds.
[Fire Magic] [Ice Magic] [Lightning Magic] [Martial Arts] [Superhuman Strength] [Summoning] [Swordsmanship] [Spearmanship] [Archery] [Healing] etc.
The Summoning trait was fairly well-known.
Spirit Summoner, Phantom Beast Summoner, Golem Summoner, Demon Beast Summoner, etc.
What kind of summoner was he?
Should I try using a skill?
"Random... Summon."
Why isn't anything happening?
"Ah!"
I completely forgot.
There's no way a skill would activate outside the Tower.
A Player's level, traits, and skills were only valid online, inside the Tower.
Offline, outside, they were no different from ordinary people.
On the other hand, the system status window and messages could be seen anytime, anywhere.
It was like a game, which is why those who awakened were called Players.
Just like how you could be over level 100 in the game but still a weak human in reality.
Right now, no matter what skill I used, it wouldn't execute...
Right then!
"Huh?"
Whoosh! Fizz!
It seems to be working?
'Wh-why is this working?'
A skill was being cast outside the Tower.
And something appeared with a flash of white light.
Blinking his eyes, he looked at the source.
"A, a person?"
Is this for real?
It was a western man with reddish-brown hair who looked young and had an ordinary appearance.
"Yes, sir. I am a person, sir."
"What...?"
To succeed in summoning.
A human, outside the Tower where skill manifestation was supposed to be impossible.
"Sniff sniff, what's this smell... Oh! Ramen? Can I have just one bite, sir?"
And a moocher at that.
Bong Joo-hyuk's mind was complicated.
Even looking again, it was a person.
Appearance, actions and all.
Seeing him inhaling the ramen like a man possessed even now.
"Slurp, shit, slurp! Hah, it's been a while, it's spicy, sir."
Fried udon is spicy?
"Do you usually eat it spicy? I prefer mild,"
A moocher, a spice wimp,
Slurp, slurp!
And yet he eats well.
Bizarre.
I have no idea.
Why did the summoning skill succeed outside the Tower?
And a human at that?
Joo-hyuk checked his status window.
First, the trait.
Then a message popped up.
From Rare to Legend Special Super Rare.
This isn't some gacha game character pull.
And that wasn't all.
'Hmm.'
If that's the case, then that human holding the pot and chugging the broth, what is the identity of this Summoned Being?
Instantly!
Ding!
Another status window opened.
A status window for the Summoned Being, not himself.
Cruel Assassins Guild's Mad Assassin
Name: John Kosak
Grade: SR (Super Rare)
Type: Assassin (Human)
Manifestation Duration: 6 hours
Satisfaction Rating: None.
Re-summon Cooldown: 3 hours (Applied after Summon Release)
As he stared quietly, the background story also appeared.
- John Kosak was a guild member considered a nuisance within the Cruel Assassins Guild. In a word, he was insane. However, his mission success rate was 99%, and he even achieved the remarkable feat of assassinating a 5th Circle Dark Mage. His end was a single failure. He died miserably while trying to assassinate the Empire's strongest Sword Master.
Simultaneously, scenes flashed through his mind.
As if his past was playing like a movie.
Brief but vivid.
John Kosak hiding his body with stealth, ambushing from behind and severing the target's head.
'Crazy!'
He was definitely an assassin.
He had no hesitation in killing people.
He cut and slashed necks without restraint.
But.
'...'
I think I understand why they said he was insane.
The sight of him tying a ribbon-like thing into a bow on the head of the person he had just decapitated.
'Is it like a gift?'
He decorated the severed head he had cut off with a pretty butterfly ribbon.
'...Or maybe he made it easier to carry.'
And his end.
The sight of his upper and lower body being severed by the sword of a white-haired, aged knight.
In the end, John Kosak died.
'So I summoned a ghost?'
His appearance was unmistakably human.
First, let's have a conversation.
"Mr. Kosak?"
"Yessir!"
"Where are you from?"
"I don't know, sir. ...Anyway, it was a place with a lot of people, sir."
Probably not people, but a place with a lot of ghosts.
Heaven? Or hell?
"Could you get up for a moment?"
"Got it, sir."
The assassin John Kosak sprang to his feet.
He listened well.
Was it really absolute obedience?
"If you're done with the ramen, please clean up the pot and bowl. Wipe the table too."
"Yes sir!"
Not a single complaint.
I wonder what the limit is?
"Mr. Kosak."
"Speak, sir."
"Are you really obeying my words?"
"Unconditionally, sir!"
"Th-that... if I told you to pull down your pants?"
John Kosak, who had been wiping the table with a tissue while sitting, sprang up.
"I will lower them, sir."
He just took off his pants.
Flop flop.
As expected of a Westerner.
Quite large.
"...Please put them back on."
"Yes sir!"
It seemed the Summoner's command took priority over shame.
"Uh, Mr. Kosak, do you know about the Tower?"
"Of course I know, sir! Are you thinking of starting the Tower climb, sir?"
"I haven't decided yet."
"Just give the order anytime, sir. I will do my best to assist you, sir."
This is crazy.
Why is this happening?
Right then!
BANG BANG BANG BANG!
The sound of someone banging on the studio apartment door.
"Bong Joo-hyuk! You're in there, right? Open the door quickly."
Damn!
Someone's here.
And I know who it is.
Debt collectors.
Come to think of it, I forgot about the interest payment date.
Coming on a Sunday, how diligent.
Yeah, I borrowed some money.
10 million won, at that.
For my father's surgery after he slipped on ice and fractured his hip, my younger brother's university tuition, and the deposit for this studio apartment I'm living in.
Since regular financial institutions wouldn't lend me money, I went to a loan shark company that was easier to access.
I thought if I worked hard and paid it back quickly, it would be fine.
But I've already paid over 5 million won in interest.
The principal is still the same.
I know it was a stupid thing to do, honestly.
But what could I do.
Even if I went back in time, I would have made the same choice.
"Joo-hyuk! Let me see your face. I just need to check if you're okay, alright?"
There was no choice.
"Mr. Kosak."
"Just give the order, sir. I'll go cut that bastard's head off, sir."
This guy is going to cause a big problem.
"That's not it. Hide somewhere out of sight and don't move a muscle. Keep your mouth shut tight too, and don't make a sound."
"...C-can I still breathe, sir?"
"Yes."
"Whew, that's a relief, sir."
Joo-hyuk opened the door.
Then, three loan shark company employees entered the entrance.
"Bong Joo-hyuk, you look fine? I thought you were sick somewhere since the interest didn't come in."
"I'm not sick. I just forgot. Sorry. I'll transfer it right now."
Joo-hyuk sent the money using his smartphone banking app.
"Good. Anyway, you can't get sick without my permission. You need to work hard and earn money, you hear?"
"Yeah, yeah."
"If you're desperate, sell off an organ or something. How about a kidney? Want me to connect you with a broker?"
Haa, fuck!
Just go all out?
And on top of the awakening situation.
"What's with that look? You want to do something?"
"..."
"Be careful. Unless you want to disappear without a trace."
Even if you're a Player, outside you're just a regular person.
"...I'll do my best to repay it. The principal too."
"Hehe, you can pay back the principal slowly. Let's get along, okay?"
The loan shark debt collectors closed the door with satisfied smiles and left.
"Haa,"
Life is hard.
That aside.
"You really hid quietly."
"You ordered me to, sir."
"..."
Absolute obedience was real, huh.
Still, if they had posed a real threat, he would have helped, right?
Suddenly, fatigue rushed over him intensely.
The awakening, the human summon, the debt collector visit.
His head was a mess.
With so many things happening all at once, he didn't have the capacity to handle it.
He also had to make a decision.
Whether to climb the Tower, or live quietly as if nothing happened.
The ordinary guy Joo-hyuk would choose the latter...
But it wasn't a decision to make right now.
He had to go to work tomorrow too.
"So what should I do now, sir?"
What should I do?
Should I send him back with Summon Release?
"Well. What do you want to do? If you want to go back, I can send you..."
"Then, can I watch some TV, sir? It's been a while for me too, sir,"
He seemed to know what TV was, and ramen too.
Did these things exist during Kosak's lifetime?
Anyway, there's no reason not to.
"Yes, go ahead."
Joo-hyuk turned on the TV with the remote.
"Thank you, sir! I'll watch a few dramas, sir."
He plopped down on the mattress.
I'm tired, so tired.
His eyes closed on their own.
Anyway, the awakening was a clear fact.
Other curiosities could be answered by trying the summon skill again.
Right now, even thinking itself was difficult.
Bong Joo-hyuk fell asleep immediately.
How much time had passed?
A sound heard in his sleep.
He's gone.
Let's just keep sleeping.
Bong Joo-hyuk woke up on the mattress to the sound of his alarm.
It was early morning.
'Did Mr. Kosak get released from summoning?'
He wasn't visible anywhere.
The TV was still on.
Should wash up and brush my teeth.
Right then!
The morning news flowing from the TV.
- Last night, a bizarre murder occurred at the office of the illegal loan shark company Smile Cash. There were three victims, all found with their necks severed. The shocking fact is that the victims' severed heads were decorated with a red ribbon tied in a butterfly bow shape...
Halt!
Stopping his toothbrushing, Joo-hyuk hurriedly approached the TV.
Smile Cash was the loan shark company he borrowed money from.
But a murder?
'What's this? Did I hear wrong?'
Ribbon.
And a butterfly bow.
'No way?'