Chapter 1: Entry
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 1: Entry
Life on Easy Mode.
That was the best way to describe my existence.
It was all thanks to my superpower. Not a metaphorical talent, but a real, honest-to-goodness supernatural ability.
"Daddy, Daddy!"
"Hmm? Just a second, Seohyun. Daddy’s busy right now."
"Why don't you just stop time and think? Then the clock won't run out."
"...? There, there. I'll play with you as soon as I finish this round, so go play over there for a bit."
"Nooo! Daddy, you don't have much time left! I told you, stop time and think!"
I remember getting scolded once when I was a kid for pestering my father while he was playing online Janggi on the computer.
Until I was about kindergarten age, I didn't know any better. I thought everyone could do what I did. I was just a child, after all. My parents simply brushed it off as the strange ramblings of a kid with a vivid imagination.
But as I grew older, I realized I was different.
Whenever I willed it in my heart, the world stopped.
The people in front of me, the objects—everything froze. Time stood still.
A Time-Stop Ability.
However, it wasn't quite as grand as it sounded. It wasn't the broken, overpowered ability people usually imagine; it was more of a half-measure.
I couldn't move while time was frozen, either.
I could only stay still and think.
Of course, that alone was more than enough to live life on easy mode.
"Are you home, Seohyun? Did you get your midterm results?"
"Yes. Unfortunately, I got one wrong in Science."
"Really? What about the other subjects?"
"Perfect scores."
"Hoho, that's my son! I'm so proud of you!"
Studying was the easiest thing in the world.
For me, it truly was.
A part I didn't understand while reading? I’d just stop time and think until I grasped it.
Too much to memorize? I’d keep time frozen until every word was burned into my brain.
What if I spent all my time slacking off and the exam was right around the corner? I’d just spend the night before stopping and starting time repeatedly, pulling an impossibly intense cram session.
I could make every second of everyone else's time as productive as an hour.
Naturally, I was the only one who never faced a time limit during exams. If I ran into a problem that was hard to solve, I just had to stop time and deliberate.
Because of that, my grades were always at the top of the school from elementary onwards.
Beyond that, the minor applications of the ability in daily life were endless. You could call it a "Pause" function in a game.
When you pause a game, the character can't move, but the player in reality can keep thinking. If you think about it, that's a more accurate comparison.
It would probably be a useful ability in a fight, too. Not that I’d ever been in a fight in my life.
I had zero interest in physical activities, so I never really used my ability for sports. I simply grew up as a well-behaved, model student.
And then came the day of the CSAT.
"Don't be nervous, okay? Just keep a relaxed mind."
"I will. I'm heading in."
I arrived at the testing center in my parents' car. I waved to them—they seemed more nervous than I was—and walked through the main gates.
As always, I took the exam with a light heart and returned home.
"I'm home."
After dinner, I downloaded the answer key and graded my paper. The result was exactly as expected. A perfect score.
Of course, I had worked hard, too. Even without time pressure, you still need the knowledge to solve the problems to get a perfect score.
I hummed a tune and stretched my arms.
"SNU Medicine, you're a joke."
Ah, easy. So easy.
Did my conscience prick me for using a cheat while everyone else worked their hearts out?
Well, what can you do? Life is inherently unfair. Besides, there’s no reason not to use a great ability you were born with.
Anyway, now I just had to have some fun and prepare for the medical school interviews. My life had been smooth sailing so far, and it would continue to be.
I was about to open my door to share the good news with my family.
Suddenly, a vibration rumbled.
Rumbleeeee!
I hurriedly grabbed the edge of my desk to regain my balance. I could hear my family's urgent voices from the living room.
What's going on? An earthquake? An earthquake this strong in Korea?
I didn't even have time to process the thought. Something appeared in the empty air before my eyes.
[The Tower summons the Climbers.]
[You have received the Tower's summons.]
[The difficulty assigned to you is 'Nightmare.']
[Easy]
Participants: 100,000
Time Limit: 364 days, 23 hours, 59 minutes, 46 seconds
Floor Reached: 1st Floor
[Normal]
Participants: 100,000
Time Limit: 364 days, 23 hours, 59 minutes, 46 seconds
Floor Reached: 1st Floor
[Hard]
Participants: 100,000
Time Limit: 364 days, 23 hours, 59 minutes, 46 seconds
Floor Reached: 1st Floor
[Nightmare]
Participants: 100,000
Time Limit: 364 days, 23 hours, 59 minutes, 46 seconds
Floor Reached: 1st Floor
[If the time limit is exceeded, the Tower's Curse will be unleashed.]
[If the time limit for Easy difficulty is exceeded, 10% of humanity will perish.]
[If the time limit for Normal difficulty is exceeded, 20% of humanity will perish.]
[If the time limit for Hard difficulty is exceeded, 50% of humanity will perish.]
[If the time limit for Nightmare difficulty is exceeded, 99% of humanity will perish.]
[Would you like to enter the 1st Floor of Nightmare difficulty?]
I simply stared at the messages popping up one after another, my eyes trembling uncontrollably.
* * *
November 13, 2025.
The world changed drastically.
A massive earthquake struck the entire globe for a brief moment. Along with it, a colossal tower-like structure rose in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.
A small number of people received the Tower's summons. At least, that was how the messages appearing before their eyes phrased it.
Easy, Normal, Hard, Nightmare.
One hundred thousand people were chosen for each of the four difficulties. Those who received the Tower's summons were called "Climbers."
Climbers could enter the difficulty they were assigned to. Although the black tower had appeared in the middle of the Pacific, it was merely a structure with no entrance, impossible to access physically.
Climbers, however, could enter the Tower from anywhere, at any time, if they wished.
The adventurous were the first to climb. It was soon discovered that clearing a floor extended the time limit by one year.
The Tower warned humanity that a curse would fall if the time limit expired.
Easy: 10% of humanity.
Normal: 20% of humanity.
Hard: 50% of humanity.
...And the Nightmare difficulty I was assigned to would result in the death of 99% of humanity.
Since a year hadn't passed since the Day of Upheaval, the warning had yet to be realized.
Governments around the world moved frantically. They had no choice; they were suddenly facing the end of the world. Every day was a spectacle just watching the news.
The Korean government also urged Climbers to voluntarily report themselves as soon as possible. They promised to enact laws, establish facilities and organizations, and provide full support for climbing the Tower.
I did not report that I had become a Climber. I simply watched the daily progress through the text floating before my eyes.
[Easy]
Participants: 95,362
Time Limit: 9 years, 237 days, 11 hours, 52 minutes, 05 seconds
Floor Reached: 10th Floor
[Normal]
Participants: 94,023
Time Limit: 5 years, 237 days, 11 hours, 52 minutes, 05 seconds
Floor Reached: 6th Floor
[Hard]
Participants: 96,080
Time Limit: 2 years, 237 days, 11 hours, 52 minutes, 05 seconds
Floor Reached: 3rd Floor
[Nightmare]
Participants: 97,911
Time Limit: 237 days, 11 hours, 52 minutes, 05 seconds
Floor Reached: 1st Floor
They said Climbers grew stronger as they climbed the Tower. Like a game, they leveled up, used skills, and gained power beyond human limits.
Progress was fastest on Easy difficulty. It was said that the enemy encountered on the 1st Floor of Easy was a single Goblin. Having already reached the 10th Floor, the time limit for Easy had accumulated to over nine years.
Normal and Hard had reached the 6th and 3rd Floors, respectively.
The only one that hadn't even cleared the 1st Floor was Nightmare difficulty.
It had nothing to do with me. I had absolutely no intention of climbing the Tower.
Why would I? Am I crazy?
Once you enter the Tower, you cannot leave unless you clear that floor. In other words, if you fail to clear it, you die.
Just look at the progress of Nightmare difficulty. Out of the two thousand people who had entered so far, not a single one had succeeded; they were all dead. Since no one had returned alive, there was zero information available. It was simply throwing your life away.
It's only natural for a human to value their life, so compared to the other difficulties, the number of people who had entered Nightmare was significantly lower.
Still, someone will succeed eventually, right? There are still over 200 days left on the clock.
With that thought, I focused only on my daily life. I entered medical school and continued my university life. While the world was changing rapidly on one side, the majority of people still led normal lives.
This wasn't avoidance. I was just someone who got unlucky. Someone will do it. Someone...
[Nightmare]
Participants: 94,935
Time Limit: 135 days, 1 hour, 6 minutes, 32 seconds
Floor Reached: 1st Floor
[Nightmare]
Participants: 92,572
Time Limit: 56 days, 21 hours, 18 minutes, 56 seconds
Floor Reached: 1st Floor
[Nightmare]
Participants: 87,923
Time Limit: 10 days, 3 hours, 43 minutes, 24 seconds
Floor Reached: 1st Floor
.
.
.
Time passed.
The collapse deadline was suddenly right in front of us.
Yet, surprisingly, no one had succeeded.
- The deadline for Nightmare difficulty is less than a week away. The US government stated it is considering a direct nuclear strike on the Pacific Tower...
- The number of non-climbing participants for Nightmare difficulty is still over 80,000...
Every day, the news debated whether the world was about to end. Governments offered all sorts of benefits, urging Nightmare Climbers to attempt the 1st Floor, but it seemed to have little effect.
While Korea was relatively stable, riots and violence were surging daily overseas.
The internet comments were filled with nothing but such talk.
"The end is coming! The faithless will fall into hell...!"
Yesterday, while walking down the street, I saw strange people shouting through megaphones. It was the end of days. Not just a figure of speech—the world was truly coming to an end.
[Nightmare]
Participants: 77,104
Time Limit: 3 hours, 36 minutes, 8 seconds
Floor Reached: 1st Floor
The deadline arrived.
The number of survivors dropped sharply. It was decreasing in real-time even now.
I understood how they felt. They probably felt like there was no other choice now.
Even so, the floor reached remained unchanged. Over 20,000 people had challenged it, and not a single one succeeded? Are you kidding me? Is it even possible to clear?
I couldn't help but let out a hollow laugh as I watched the numbers.
"Sigh..."
99% of humanity perishing. Approximately 8 billion people dying. Not everyone would die, but it was a staggering figure that would surely mean the end of the world as we knew it.
If I hadn't been chosen, at least I wouldn't have to agonize like this. Others would simply accept death, but I had the option to at least grasp at a straw.
"I don't want to die either, fuck..."
I didn't want to die. And it wasn't just dying. I had no idea what kind of gruesome, painful death awaited me inside the Tower.
I just wanted to wait and pray that someone, anyone, would succeed in the remaining three hours. I wanted to pin my hopes on that 1% chance of survival.
But then what? Could my family and I all survive on that slim probability?
...Such a miracle wouldn't happen.
Would 99% of humanity really die when the time ran out? Does that even make sense?
I tried to deny reality. But I knew. Whether it made sense or not didn't matter. From the day the Tower rose, the world's common sense had long since been twisted.
I sat at my desk with my eyes closed for a long time. Eventually, I opened them and stood up.
I put the suicide note I had written in advance into my desk drawer and set an alarm on my phone.
After changing my clothes and leaving my room, I saw my father, mother, and younger sibling all gathered in the living room.
"...Where are you going?"
"I just want to get some fresh air."
"Alright. Make sure you come back soon."
My mother smiled weakly. My sibling had been sobbing for a while now.
On the TV screen, the time [3:15:09] was displayed in large letters, ticking away while the news anchor spoke rapidly.
My father spoke as if to remind me.
"You have to come back quickly. Let's at least have one last dinner as a family."
"Yes. I'll be back soon."
But I probably wouldn't be able to return.
They were quick-witted, so they didn't say anything unnecessary. I had already written everything in the letter. If I didn't return, the alarm would go off at the right time, and they would find and read it.
What meaning would it have in this situation? Still, they should at least know why their son couldn't come back.
Leaving the house, I walked through the deserted, quiet streets. I stepped into an alleyway and stared straight ahead.
[Would you like to enter the 1st Floor of Nightmare difficulty?]
It had been a year since that day. The message appeared the moment I made up my mind to enter.
From now on, I was going to my death.
But I had no choice.
"...Enter. You son of a bitch."
As I muttered those words, the scenery before my eyes shifted.