The First Trial and an Unexpected Overkill

At my words, Kim Jin-ho looked visibly flustered. If he couldn’t claim the position of president, there ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was no real point in forming the club in the first place. Besides, up until now he had been the one saying—even though it was a hassle he didn’t want to deal with—that as the senior awakener he would take responsibility and assume the role himself. He couldn’t suddenly step forward now and look like he was coveting the president’s seat. Of course, if this had truly been nothing more than a casual social gathering, there wouldn’t have been much reason to obsess over the position anyway.

Just as I had predicted, he pushed back against my suggestion.

Kim Jin-ho tried to say something more, but the other awakeners seated around us had already taken an interest in my proposal.

“Oh, that sounds fun.”

“Since it’s an awakener club, it does make sense for the strongest one to be president, right?”

“I already cleared the first floor… what a shame.”

Before Kim Jin-ho ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠could even get a word in, my suggestion had already turned into some kind of event. The president’s seat that he had tried to claim by calling it a bothersome position had suddenly become a badge of honor proving who was the strongest awakener here.

Kim Jin-ho glared at me, but the mood had already shifted in favor of my idea. In the end, he had no choice but to agree.

I had wondered why he was agreeing so easily, but it seemed he simply didn’t believe I could clear it with a high rank. Well, to be fair, there weren’t any particularly high-ranking awakeners among the people gathered here. Clearing the fourth floor of the Tower with a B-rank was certainly not a bad record, so his confidence was understandable.

The atmosphere in the bar heated up in an instant. The awakeners prepared to enter the Tower while the others who had already cleared it or weren’t participating cheered them on.

“Senior, please be careful!”

Seol Yu-ra clenched her fist and gave a small, energetic cheer. I nodded at her.

“Alright then, shall we all head in?”

“Don’t get hurt, everyone! Be careful!”

Everyone began fiddling with the status windows floating before their eyes.

One by one, people began disappearing from the bar, leaving behind faint blue afterimages. I pressed Y.

Whoosh—

A sensation of being sucked somewhere swallowed me, and my vision went completely dark.

When I opened my eyes, a wide-open expanse of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠blue meadow stretched before me. It ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠felt like I had been transported to another world, but this was actually inside the Tower. Well, since the inside of the Tower was essentially another dimension, it wasn’t entirely wrong.

The place where I currently stood was the first floor of the Tower—commonly known as the Tutorial Floor. Soon, a notification would appear telling me to choose a weapon, and seven basic weapons would materialize. Then three goblins would show up.

How did I know all this so well? Because the monsters and quests that appeared from the first floor to the tenth floor were identical for everyone. Especially the first floor, being the starting stage, had been攻略ed by so many people that the internet was overflowing with tips and information.

This was exactly why I could propose that bet to Kim Jin-ho. Since I already knew exactly what the first floor was like, I had judged that bringing Aisha along would be more than enough to clear it. And Aisha, having received the message I sent her back at the bar, was already waiting with a rocket launcher at the ready.

Along with the blue notification window, a worn wooden table suddenly appeared, laden with weapons. From left to right they were: longsword, dagger, spear, bow, shield, staff, and gauntlets.

Because most weapons were prohibited from being brought into the first through tenth floors of the Tower, the system provided these basic ones instead. If you could bring a gun inside, anyone could clear it—but the system’s restrictions made that impossible.

Of course, the system hadn’t done this on purpose. When the Tower, awakeners, and gates first appeared, some people claimed that the notification windows managing the Tower and awakeners—that is, the system—were trying to attack Earth. But the system later clarified that it had no intention of harming Earth. Quite the opposite, in fact.

The system had come to ask Earth for help.

According to the system’s messages, every dimension in the universe was currently under attack by mana-based monstrosities—demonic creatures. The system had therefore requested that intelligent beings from each dimension unite to stop them. In other words, we were all going to die from their invasion, so please help carry some logs.

There were still people who remained suspicious, but thanks to my skill Constellation Status, I could clearly sense the system’s true intentions. The skill Constellation Status had turned intelligent beings from worlds strong enough to resist into constellations, allowing them to help Aisha’s world on the brink of destruction. That was why constellations who prioritized fighting each other over stopping the demonic creatures would receive penalties.

It was precisely because of this that the Underworld and the 72 Demons had not escalated their conflict into all-out war last time.

Anyway, the world I lived in was ranked among the highest-tier dimensions when compared to others. At least according to the system’s judgment. Most of the demonic creatures that crawled out of gates died when shot with guns, and those that could withstand bullets died when hit with cannons. The United States had even conducted experiments in the middle of the ocean and discovered that gates—previously thought to be indestructible except by entering and clearing them—could be physically destroyed by dropping nukes on them.

Paradoxically, it was because Earth’s modern weaponry was simply too destructive that the system’s limitations prevented them from being brought into the Tower. Even after clearing the first ten floors and progressing further, the only items that could be brought in were those obtained from within the Tower itself, or items crafted using Mana Stones and materials from demonic creatures. Trying to bring in modern Earth firearms was impossible due to the system’s insufficient capacity.

And here was the crucial point: the incarnations I summoned with Incarnation Summon were treated as skills.

I casually picked up the staff, fitting the concept of the Seeker of Supreme Knowledge. A notification window appeared in the air, accompanied by a timer.

I immediately manipulated the window.

The moment I selected Aisha’s name, a pure white light bloomed before my eyes. When the light faded, what remained was a woman dressed in a pristine white lab coat. My first incarnation after becoming a top-tier constellation—Aisha.

Just as I had instructed, she had come fully loaded with the rocket launcher and ammunition she had personally developed.

I answered in a slightly lower, more solemn voice than usual.

I spoke to Aisha, who was still marveling at the situation. After all, asking for help outright would hardly be fitting behavior for a constellation.

Aisha looked deeply moved that I would pay such attention to her invention. Seeing her like that made my conscience sting just a little. Anyway—

The three goblins each carried a dagger, a bow, and a magic staff. Three goblins might sound laughable, but the problem was that the people facing them were modern humans who had never fought in their lives. In the early days after the Tower opened, there had indeed been quite a few casualties.

The goblins began charging toward us from afar.

The instant the timer hit zero, the transparent barrier surrounding us vanished.

Whoosh— BOOM!

Aisha’s rocket launcher scored a direct hit. The three charging goblins ceased to be goblins. In fact, a massive crater had formed where they had been standing.

A dumbfounded sound slipped from my mouth. It definitely hadn’t been this powerful last time.

At that moment, Aisha, who had been standing beside me, asked,