Chapter 1

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Translator: penny

Chapter: 001

Chapter Title: Mysterious Towers Appear Worldwide

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One day, enormous towers of unknown origin suddenly appeared all over the world.

The world went into an uproar.

People had just started getting used to the existence of bizarre creatures and superhumans,

only for humanity to face an even greater ordeal.

The towers were massive.

Thicker than several times the size of Yeouido,

they stretched a staggering 1,000 km into the sky—right up to the edge of the atmosphere.

The towers were visible from anywhere on Earth.

Even from my house, I could see a colossal structure that reminded me of the Leaning Tower of Pisa, though on a far grander scale.

Approximately 80 such towers had been confirmed worldwide.

Scattered across the globe,

our country had one in Seoul.

Japan had one as well,

while China saw as many as 14.

North Korea? Zero.

An elderly scholar appeared on TV, vaguely hypothesizing that they seemed to appear at a rate of one per 100 million people based on regional populations.

With the combined population of the Korean Peninsula at roughly 80 million,

rounded up to 100 million—that explained the one in Seoul, or so he said.

'What bullshit. I could say that much myself.

Every word from these paid experts is either vague nonsense or stuff already all over the internet.'

The TV also covered the characteristics and common traits of the towers that had appeared worldwide.

1. The towers are clearly visible but impossible to touch.

2. They phase through all matter, waves, and light, making any demolition or attack utterly ineffective, of course.

3. They cast no shadows.

4. They resemble illusions or mirages.

5. Citizens should remain calm and carry on with their daily lives.

6. Any groups causing national disorder or attempting to subvert society under the pretext of the towers will face severe punishment.

Points 5 and 6 were probably the key messages;

the programs mostly emphasized and hammered those home.

'Carry on with daily life...? Hmm... Does that mean I can just keep playing games like usual...?

Ah, fuck. In that zombie apocalypse game I was just playing, I wanna fuck the female NPC for real...'

A few days passed like that,

and people grew accustomed to the sudden appearance of these unidentified towers.

They were just massive, inert structures standing there.

Harmless, nothing more.

But after a few more days, the atmosphere shifted.

Life seemed to continue as normal,

but online, a single hot topic began to heat up the world.

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The 'Tower' topic briefly died down, only to surge back as the hot issue.

Within a single day, Tower stories flooded internet boards nonstop.

But the content was drastically different from before.

'The Tower teleports people inside...? Die if you don't clear...? For real...?'

It was hard to believe,

and not just one or two people saying it—it was chaos.

'...News hasn't said shit yet. Are these assholes all pranking in sync?'

Something felt off,

but since most internet posts were bullshit anyway,

I just kept playing my zombie apocalypse game like usual.

Two days later.

World leaders, as if by agreement, began issuing warnings about the Tower.

Why the silence until now? To prevent social chaos, they'd controlled info while heads of state brainstormed solutions worldwide.

And did they find a solution?

Who knows.

-You fucking idiots, shoulda told us sooner!

-Think headbutting each other solves shit?!

-Told ya old geezers suck at politics. Brains too stiff.

'Fucking hell with these mom-fuckers. Shoulda spilled it quick. Buncha retards.

What, balding old farts huddling to ponder? Just fucking tell us already.'

I nodded along reading the top comments on news articles.

Other articles' top comments criticized delayed announcement over approval ratings worries.

That rang true too.

People always called me a flip-flopper swayed by public opinion,

but this wasn't sway—this was my genuine take.

Our president addressed the nation directly.

And the content matched the online buzz exactly.

-“......(omitted), fellow citizens. Let me say it again. If a translucent window appears before you, always select Easy difficulty. The world faces an unprecedented crisis......(omitted)”-

After the president's address,

all domestic TV news replayed it nonstop, practically brainwashing viewers through endless rebroadcasts.

The Tower kidnaps people.

Method unknown.

Something like teleportation or warp from fantasy novels—they drag you in.

Then it makes you pick a difficulty first.

Officially, it's selecting the climbing trial's difficulty for the Tower.

Known difficulties: five total.

Easy,

Normal,

Hard,

Very Hard,

Hell.

Even Easy has under 20% survival.

Normal? Under 1%.

Hard? Korea has exactly one survivor—the only one domestically.

A few in the US, Japan, China, etc., but worldwide, you can count 'em on one hand.

Very Hard and Hell? No confirmed survivors globally.