The First Trial

"What do you want?"

When I approached them, Yang Sora shot me a wary glare and barked in a hostile voice.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

"U-Um, Sora..."

The blue-haired girl beside her looked flustered, grabbing Yang Sora's arm as if trying to hold her back.

"Ugh! Fine, I get it, I get it..."

Yang Sora let out an annoyed sigh at her friend's intervention and muttered in a low, grumbling voice.

With Sora temporarily pacified, the blue-haired girl stepped forward to face me.

"Hello there."

She offered me a gentle, polite smile.

"Uh... Hello..."

I greeted her awkwardly. I couldn't even remember the last time I had spoken to a girl in private back in the real world.

After that brief exchange, a heavy silence descended upon us.

"Hey! Didn't you approach us because you wanted something?!"

It was Yang Sora who broke the silence, her arms crossed and her face twisted into a deep scowl.

"Ah... Well, by any chance, are you looking for a party?"

"Ah, yes! Are you looking for one too?"

At my question, the blue-haired girl beamed, her face lighting up with a welcoming smile.

"Yes. Would you... like to party up together?"

I tentatively extended the offer, acting as timidly and awkwardly as possible.

"Who just walks up and asks to party out of nowhere?!"

"S-Sora!"

Apparently displeased by my meek demeanor, Yang Sora growled at me, leaving her friend busy trying to calm her down once again.

After the blue-haired girl managed to soothe Sora's temper a bit, our conversation resumed.

"In that case, could we know what your skills are? Ours are magic-related and attack-related."

She shared their general roles first. I hesitated for a brief moment, calculating my options, before deciding to lie.

I stepped forward and presented the shield I had purchased yesterday just in case.

I had spent a whopping 300 Points on it—the sturdiest shield available at the blacksmith's shop.

If I lied about having an offensive skill, it would be exposed immediately during combat. A tank, however, didn't have many obvious visual cues for their skills, so I figured I could just body-block the damage and wing it.

Of course, if things got truly dangerous, I fully intended to tuck my tail and run...

"I have... well, tank-related skills..."

"Oh my! Really?"

Hearing my answer, the blue-haired girl's face lit up with genuine delight.

Looking at her bright expression, I felt a slight twinge of guilt, but now was not the time to worry about my conscience.

My survival came first.

"And how are we supposed to believe that?!"

Unlike her companion, Yang Sora stared at me with eyes full of deep suspicion.

"The exact position we need, right on cue? Are you kidding me? Wait... Now that I look at you!"

Yang Sora squinted at me from a closer distance. Suddenly, her eyes widened in shock, and she pointed a finger straight at my face.

I stared back at her in confusion. I was certain I had never met either of them before.

If I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠had, there was no way I would have forgotten. They were easily the most beautiful women I had encountered since entering this Tower.

"Y-You're that guy! From the first day!"

"The first day...?"

What did I do on the first day...?

"The snake! You're that snake bastard!"

"Huh?"

At Sora's sudden shout, the blue-haired girl stared at me again, her face instantly flushing as red as a ripe persimmon.

Wait, a snake? A snake bastard?

"Ah..."

Suddenly, the memory hit me like a truck. Oh, fuck...

Right after being summoned, I had pulled out my massive, monstrous asset in front of everyone and screamed "Snake!" at the top of my lungs...

"You perverted bastard!!! Who do you think you're asking to party with?!"

"S-Sora..."

Fuming with rage, Yang Sora looked ready to lung at me, but her friend desperately held her back, struggling to restrain her.

What do I do... My first impression... Well, my first impression is literally a giant snake...

"P-Please, calm down first and let's talk."

I raised both hands in a placating gesture, trying to soothe Yang Sora, who was still glaring at me while hurling curses and insults. Seeing my submissive posture, the blue-haired girl finally managed to quiet Sora down so we could continue talking.

"I'm incredibly sorry for my bizarre behavior on the first day. Well... I was asleep when I was summoned here, and I had just woken up from a very vivid dream..."

"Ah, ahaha... I-I see..."

I offered the best excuse my panicked brain could conjure, and the blue-haired girl nodded awkwardly.

Yang Sora stood glued to her side, glaring at me as if she wanted to murder me on the spot.

Please stop staring at me like that... I feel like my 'snake' is going to shrivel up into nothingness...

"My name is... Geum Seong-gi. I have tank-related skills, and I'm currently looking for a party."

"Ah, I'm Lee Yoon-seo! And this is..."

"Hmph!"

"This is Yang Sora, haha..."

While Yoon-seo introduced them, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Yang Sora merely snorted, practically exhaling steam from her nose in anger.

After wrapping up our awkward introductions, we moved on to the actual details of forming a party.

"To be honest... because of that incident on the first day, finding a party hasn't been easy..."

Since my dark history had already been laid bare, I decided to use it to make my lie more convincing.

"Ah, I see... That makes sense... I suppose..."

Lee Yoon-seo tried her best to respond sympathetically, while Yang Sora continued to glare.

Avoiding Sora's gaze, I forced myself to keep speaking. I was already nervous enough trying to maintain my lie, but Sora's laser-like glare was making my heart race even faster.

"Yes... I don't know if you've heard, but if we don't form a party quickly..."

"Yes! We heard too. That we'll become targets for others..."

Lee Yoon-seo nodded vigorously, agreeing with my statement.

"They said if you don't have a party of at least three people, you easily become a target!"

Just as Yoon-seo said, a standard party required at least three members to cover the frontline, backline, and support roles. While there were exceptions, that was the general rule of thumb.

And the players who had arrived earlier were undoubtedly watching the plaza, waiting to see who would be left behind.

They were looking for easy prey.

"That's why I was in a hurry to find a party. I saw the two of you standing a bit away from the plaza and decided to take a chance and approach you."

"I see! We were actually looking for a party for the exact same reason!"

"If... if you don't mind, would it be alright ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠if we partied up? Even if it's just for a few days."

I kept a close eye on Yang Sora's reaction as I made the proposal.

Sora clearly hated the idea, but after some quiet persuasion from Yoon-seo and realizing the grim reality of our situation, she reluctantly nodded her head.

"I look forward to working with you!"

Lee Yoon-seo offered her hand with a bright smile.

I gently took her hand, shaking it as I nodded.

"Likewise. I look forward to working with you too."

"Hmph!"

Yang Sora whipped her head away, clearly displeased by the sight.

"By the way... why hadn't the two of you found a party yet?"

"Ah..."

At my question, Lee Yoon-seo froze, and Yang Sora showed a look of sheer embarrassment—an expression she hadn't shown until now.

"We... well, we were in a party on the first day, but... we had a disagreement..."

"Ah... I see..."

That's a lie.

Unlike before, Yoon-seo was avoiding my eyes, and Sora was letting out fake coughs. That was all the proof I needed.

What she just said was a flat-out lie.

"S-Should we share a bit more about our skills then?"

"Pardon?!"

"Since we're partying up, we should at least understand each other's skills!"

I needed to dig a little deeper into their lie.

Up until now, I had been the one on the defensive, but since they were lying too, they couldn't afford to be entirely confident either.

"I can increase my defense even further when holding a shield."

I delivered my lie as naturally as possible. Since I had shared my skill first, they would have no choice but to share theirs.

It was the natural progression of forming a party.

"Um... I have water-related magic skills. I can do both defense and offense."

Lee Yoon-seo explained her skills carefully. It sounded like a perfect support-type role.

"I have... an emission-type skill..."

Yang Sora mumbled in a tiny, uncharacteristically quiet voice.

"Sorry? Emission...?"

I already knew exactly what her skill was, but since she was clearly trying to gloss over it, I decided to push a bit further.

Sora looked troubled by my probing, prompting Yoon-seo to quickly chime in with an explanation.

"U-Um, S-Sora's skill... emits something like electricity forward!"

"Ah... I see..."

I figured it out.

What they were trying to hide was the fact that Sora's skill was a wide-area emission that blasted everything around her!

Of course, their lie didn't work on me since I already knew her real skill.

Still, I simply gave a small nod, pretending to accept their explanation.

"W-Well, now that the introductions are out of the way, shall we head straight to the Trial Zone?"

After a brief, awkward silence, Lee Yoon-seo quickly changed the subject to clear the air.

I nodded in agreement, and Sora quietly followed along. Bound together by our mutual lies, our makeshift party left the plaza and began our march toward the Trial Zone.

An awkward silence hung over the three of us the entire way.

After walking in silence for a few minutes, we finally saw the massive stone wall separating the Residential Area from the Trial Zone, along with the entrance leading inside.

"Have you ever been inside the Trial Zone?"

As we neared the entrance, Lee Yoon-seo broke the silence and spoke to me.

"No, but I've heard enough from various sources to know what the 300th floor's trial entails."

During the three-day cooldown of my skill, I had spent my time gathering as much information as possible.

I had questioned the Tower Residents and even players who had already attempted the trials.

Of course, I had been extremely cautious when approaching others, but I was glad I had managed to gather at least some useful information.

"I heard the 300th floor's trial has three stages. Stage one is basic gathering, stage two is basic hunting, and stage three is a boss battle."

"Oh, you know exactly how it works!"

Lee Yoon-seo clapped her hands in admiration, offering me a bright smile, while Yang Sora walked beside her with her usual grumpy expression.

As we walked a bit further and arrived at the gate of the Trial Zone, we saw a figure standing there.

"Ah! Before we go in, you just need to talk to that Tower Resident over there!"

Yoon-seo pointed toward the figure. I approached the Tower Resident and asked about the trial.

The resident began explaining various things, but I couldn't quite understand everything he was saying.

At that exact moment...

A notification window, looking exactly like a quest log from the games I used to play, materialized before my eyes.

"You got the quest from the resident, right?"

"Ah? Yes! Something did pop up in front of me."

"Then we're good to go! Let's head in!"

Lee Yoon-seo gave me a bright smile and began walking forward, with Yang Sora following close behind her.

Swallowing hard against the sudden wave of tension that came with entering my very first Trial Zone, I took a deep breath and stepped into the passage.

Yoon-seo, who has a beautiful smile~