The Rules of the Tower and Broken Skills

After unintentionally flaunting my "snake" to the entire crowd, I finally snapped out of my daze and assessed the situation. I realized that the two hundred or so people gathered here were participants who, like me, had been summoned to this "Gods' Game." They had gathered to listen to a short, rugged man with a long beard standing at the very front—Woran, who had introduced himself as a proud dwarf.

"Ahem. There was a brief commotion, but let us resume the explanation!"

It seemed I had woken up about five minutes later than everyone else, thanks to Loki hijacking the dimensional rift. Everyone was listening to Woran's explanation with a mix of discomfort, awkwardness, and sheer panic—each person harboring their own chaotic emotions.

"...In conclusion, from this moment on, you must risk your lives to descend this Tower!"

Between the lingering shock of the impromptu snake show I had just put on and the brief explanation I had already received from Loki, I couldn't bring myself to focus on Woran's words.

"No, look, I get what you're saying, you little shit! But why the hell do I have to do that?!"

"Exactly! Why should we?!"

As soon as Woran finished speaking, complaints erupted from all sides.

"Ugh... Why is it the exact same reaction every single time? *Tsk*..."

Woran stroked his long beard and clicked his tongue. Annoyed by his dismissive attitude, a man suddenly stepped forward from the crowd.

"Hey, you son of a bitch! Are you fucking kidding me? Our lives are on the line here, and you're acting like this is a joke?!"

"Good grief, my head... There's always at least one human who lets his mouth run wild..."

"What?! What did you just say, you pint-sized midget?!"

At those words, a prominent vein throbbed on Woran's forehead. Hmm... In games and manga, this kind of development usually leads to...

"I am a dwarf. Take back that 'midget' comment."

"*Pah!* Bullshit! Take it back? Then how about you take back this goddamn situation first! You look like you'd go down in one punch anyway!"

The man who had stepped forward spat on the ground and thrust his middle finger right in Woran's face.

"You still don't seem to understand your situation. Fine, do whatever you want!"

Woran glared directly at the man. Seeing this, the man sneered and lunged forward.

"You think I won't?! I'm gonna beat you until you're begging for mercy!!!"

The man threw a massive punch at Woran, but the dwarf stood perfectly still, simply watching the fist approach. At the very split second the man's fist was about to connect with the bridge of Woran's nose—

"AAAAAAARGH!!!!!!"

The man's scream echoed first. Clutching his punching arm with his other hand, he collapsed and rolled around on the ground in agony. His arm was literally crushed.

"AAAAAAARGH!!!!"

"Now, the rest of you humans, watch closely! Keep in mind that Tower Residents are protected by a barrier. If a human tries to attack us, they're the ones who will end up hurt!"

Everyone stared at the man writhing in agony on the ground, then collectively swallowed hard. Myself included, of course.

"If it were up to me, Woran, a proud dwarf, I would have snapped his neck with my bare hands even without this barrier. But I can't lay a hand on humans summoned by the gods first."

Woran snorted, looking down at the rolling man with utter disdain, before scanning the crowd of onlookers once more. Then, he bellowed at the top of his lungs.

"Humans! From now on, you must fight to survive! Use the authority granted to you by the gods to survive and descend the Tower!"

Flinching at the sheer force of his presence, which completely defied his small stature, everyone finally realized their grim reality and fell silent. Sensing their resignation, Woran led us into the village.

The village looked like something straight out of a medieval fantasy setting.

"I'm only going to explain this once, so listen carefully!"

He then showed us the basic lodging, shops, restaurants, and the central plaza where people gathered. When we arrived at the plaza, we saw groups of people already geared up in various weapons and armor, seemingly in the middle of their own trials.

"You'll be undergoing trials just like them starting tomorrow, so you'd better steel yourselves. Though, I suppose this 300th floor isn't particularly difficult."

I stared at the armed climbers gathered in small groups. Seeing weapons and outfits that you'd never find in the real world made me—and everyone else who had arrived today—fully realize the reality of our situation once again.

"Hmm... Well, nothing major should happen, but just in case, avoid wandering around alone for the time being."

Woran looked back at our gloomy group and added:

"Every now and then, some idiot wanders off alone and gets hunted by other humans. Just because it's a safe zone doesn't mean you're completely safe, so stay on your toes."

Hearing Woran's warning, everyone glanced at one another warily and swallowed hard.

"And now, for the most important rule of the Tower."

Woran drew the attention of the distracted crowd. Everyone held their breath, waiting for his next words.

"First! What was it called in human time... a month? Right, once every thirty days, you must offer Points to the god who granted you your authority. The required amount of Points varies by floor."

"Points?"

"Yes! You ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠should have all been given some starting Points. Ah, you can check that later when you go to your personal shelters."

Woran waved his hand dismissively.

"Anyway, if you fail to pay the required Points for that month, you will be expelled from the Tower. In other words, your very existence will be erased. You'll vanish, leaving absolutely nothing behind."

"!!!!!"

At this shocking revelation, all two hundred people flinched, and a wave of panic swept through the crowd. Some looked terrified, some grew furious, while others stared blankly into space as if in complete denial of reality.

"Quiet! Quiet!"

Woran silenced the noisy crowd. Perhaps because of the demonstration the man had provided earlier, everyone shut their mouths instantly.

"So, participate diligently in the trials and earn Points! Do that, and you won't have any problems!"

Woran spoke as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, which left even me a bit dumbfounded. But if you couldn't accept this reality, your death was as good as guaranteed. Everyone knew this, so they could only swallow their dry spit.

"And one more thing."

Everyone held their breath at Woran's next words.

"Each floor has a set time limit to clear its trial. If you exceed that limit, you won't be able to escape erasure either. Here on the 300th floor, you have three months. Plenty of time, right?"

Having already been thoroughly shocked by the previous revelation, the crowd didn't erupt into chaos this time, but the heavy, depressing atmosphere only deepened.

"So keep these two things in mind, survive, and descend the Tower. That is what you must do, and the only way you will survive."

At Woran's final words, everyone seemed lost in their own thoughts. Although I had heard a few things from Loki as if it were all a big joke, the more I listened to the explanation, the more I realized that this game I had been dragged into was absolutely no laughing matter.

"Alright, now that I've told you everything you absolutely need to know, disperse! I'd like to head to the tavern and get a drink myself! Bwahaha!"

With that, Woran turned and vanished. The two hundred people began to move, each sorting through their own thoughts. I immediately headed toward the lodging Woran had pointed out. There, I found something that looked like the dimensional portal Loki had used to transport me.

"So I just go in here..."

According to Woran, the lodging was a personal space. Once inside, entry was restricted to anyone other than the owner, making it the safest place in the Tower. Of course, he had added that you could invite others inside if you chose to. With a tense heart, I stepped through the portal, and a room came into view.

"Hmm... so this is my room..."

The room that met my eyes consisted of a small table, a single chair, a bed, and a bathroom. It was the exact size of a studio apartment.

"Well, beggars can't be choosers, right?"

Come to think of it, my studio apartment back home wasn't much different from this, aside from having a computer. With that thought, I threw myself onto the bed. Staring up at the ceiling of my shelter, I slowly began to organize my thoughts.

"Whew... Let's take a look at my abilities first. Status Window!"

When I spoke the command Woran had taught us, a holographic window materialized in the air.

I slowly scanned the status window floating in the air. A jack-of-all-trades, master of none. Yeah, I was a total trash-tier character.

"Well, it's not like I was anything special back on Earth. I was the ultimate extra."

Right now, my base stats weren't the issue. The real problem lay in the skills Loki had gifted me.

"Let's see... so... wait, what the fuck...?"

To sum it up... I have to fuck women to raise my stats...? And on top of that, I can't grow stronger through any other means? ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠So, me? Sleep with women? Wow, amazing!

"Loki, you crazy bitch."

My blood boiled. A cold sweat broke out on my neck at the thought that Loki might be watching me right now, but she wasn't the type of god to kill me with her own hands anyway. She was just a crazy bitch obsessed with entertainment.

"Ugh... Why did I have to get sponsored by a lunatic like her..."

This wouldn't do. I needed to calm down. I looked down at my new, precious asset that the crazy bitch had gifted me—my "Baby Snake," or "Bes" for short—to soothe my mind. Yep... looking at it again, it really is a snake! Right, Loki is a benevolent god. And if I looked at it positively, the skill itself was actually incredibly broken. It was just that the condition to raise my stats was way too absurd for someone like me.

"Well, there's another skill below this one. Let's read on."

Arming myself with forced optimism, I slowly read the description of the next skill.

After reading the skill to the very end, only one thought remained in my mind: Loki was definitely a dopamine addict whose brain had completely rotted.

"So, this dopamine-addicted lunatic wants me to use this second skill to foresee people's deaths, save them, and then fuck them...?"

I pieced the two skills together in my head.

"YOU ABSOLUTE CRAZY BITCH, LOKI!!!!!!!!!"