Drunk Streamers Enter the Real Tower
I'm a professional game streamer, specializing in broadcasts.
Calling myself a streamer might sound impressive, but it's really not that big a deal.
Average viewers hover around 100 to 200.
I mainly upload game strategy videos to YouTube, and every now and then, one hits 100K views.
The income's just shaky enough that I moonlight at a café job on the side.
Truth be told, even this is thanks to the unique nature of the game I stream.
Tower Escape.
It's commonly called Tower Escape.
Players become hunters, aiming to escape the tower with valuable loot.
It's modeled after those actual towers and hunters that appeared worldwide a few years back.
The problem? Its realism is way too spot-on.
In Tower Escape, players are absolute underdogs.
No matter how much you level up or grind skills, one stray bullet from a random mob on the street can end you.
And when you die, you lose everything you were carrying.
The game's polish isn't even that great.
It's been out for years now.
At least it gets consistent updates.
This game is unforgiving, brutal, and downright dirty.
But is it boring? Nah, not even close.
That's the problem.
One thing sets it apart, no question.
The overwhelming joy of farming.
There are countless items, and every single one has a use.
Combine that with the permadeath rule where one slip-up wipes your entire inventory...
And it drives people absolutely insane—in a good way.
The game isn't shallow just because it's harsh.
It simulates eating, drinking, sleeping, everything.
Overencumbered? Good luck not slowing to a crawl.
That's why Tower Escape became the ultimate streaming game.
It's too nasty and cheap to play yourself.
But watching streamers suffer? Pure entertainment.
Real hunter tower raids are too gruesome and hard to watch anyway.
A fake knockoff game's just right.
Still, this gig's getting risky.
Tower Escape is the classic time-sink life-ruiner.
It's so hardcore that streaming growth has a hard ceiling.
Only masochists play it; only sadists watch.
High floor, low ceiling, you know?
I tried branching into other games on the side, since who knows how long this one's got left...
But the response was meh.
It was a rare off-streaming day, so I was mulling over future content ideas.
Then a message from a streamer buddy—not super close, but friendly enough.
Escape Life.
One of the top Tower Escape streamers out there.
Average viewers pushing 1K, easy.
Guy probably doesn't need a side hustle.
We keep minimal contact for collabs and such...
But honestly? Not my favorite type.
He's competition slicing the same tiny pie, and our streams even overlap.
I wasn't keen on boozing with him, so I was about to bail.
Then the follow-up flipped my decision.
Escape Life was famous for his hot, sweet girlfriend...
Finally dumped, huh?
Can't miss this show.
No snacks needed tonight.
I rushed to the spot, and there was Escape Life, already chugging beers and venting.
One look, and it was clear: messy breakup.
Made it even juicier.
He spotted me and looked shocked.
"What? You invited Kang Hyun too?"
"He lives nearby. Remember that streamer showdown we did?"
"Ugh, why bring that up..."
Streamer Showdown.
I won.
No brag, but my Tower Escape skills are top-tier.
If there were pro leagues, I'd be in 'em.
Surprisingly, Escape Life seemed glad to see me.
Anyone would do—he just needed to unload.
"Anyway, glad you made it."
"Spill already. How bad did she wreck you?"
"I told you, I dumped her!"
Nobody bought it, not even the staff.
The story was a trainwreck.
"Weren't you guys solid? What happened?"
"...She knew I was a Tower Escape streamer, but then she fell for a real hunter."
Us basement-dwelling game nerds... aka fakes.
Versus actual hunters risking life for loot in the real towers.
"A real hunter? What rank?"
"Dunno. E or D maybe..."
"Bottom of the barrel."
The tower has seven floors total...
Clear 1F and return? E-rank.
2F? D-rank. And so on.
Survive 7F? EX-rank.
No EX-rank hunters in Korea. Hell, I've never even seen an S-rank.
Oh, and it only counts for first clears.
Repeat 7F later? You're just a vet, not EX-rank.
"Probably a fashion hunter. Bet he came out empty-handed."
"Sub-D-rank? Barely considered hunters."
No special quals needed—anyone can enter.
Lots try for kicks.
Most don't come back.
We ripped into his ex and her hunter boyfriend till we pivoted to games and streams.
"Any good content ideas?"
"Pistol runs are dead. Knife-only's popular now."
Tower Escape's dirty, sure, but it's made for humans.
Streamers like us, living on snacks and screens? We've mastered it.
No-prep 7F runs? Done a few. Decent views, but too grindy.
"Big update soon?"
"Gotta wait for new real-tower loot."
The devs are maniacs—updates mirror real tower progress.
They'll stomach "game sucks," but not "lore wrong."
That obsession birthed this gem.
"Tower's capped at 7F? No hidden floors?"
"Hunters can't even clear 7F properly."
"Wanna collab on 7F military base?"
"Nah, need some shot at winning. That's suicide."
Chatting Tower Escape, the shop owner comped us drinks.
We were loud, huh.
"Hunters, right? On the house."
"Aigoo, thanks!"
Too late to say "gamers"—we took 'em.
Escape Life's face twisted.
"Fuck hunters... What if I actually enter a real tower?"
"Eh, 3F should be doable."
Boozed up, no one stopped him—egged him on.
Streaming cash cow wants to play hunter? Lmao.
Talk looped back to the ex and her boyfriend.
"If I clear 3F, will she come back?"
"You said no regrets like ten times..."
We kept drinking, hopping to round 2, then 3.
"3F's feasible."
"Where's the gear?"
"Hunter Association loans it all—tax-funded."
"Our taxes? Gimme a refund!"
We yapped excitedly for who-knows-how-long...
You have entered the Tower 7th Floor. Successful escape will grant a basic skill up to EX-rank based on clear progress.
I woke to an unfamiliar voice and a dull ache.
Blackout at some point.
"Ugh... how much did I drink?"
Muttering to myself—streamer's occupational hazard.
Even solo, you narrate for the audience.
One issue, though.
"Urk..."
Hungover nausea hit with a foul stench.
Seoul air's bad, but not this bad.
Looking around: bombed-out city ruins.
"...What the hell?"
Escape Life was passed out beside me.
Shook him awake; he blinked blearily at me.
"Huh, Kang Hyun?"
"Get up. Where are we?"
"Where... fuck?!"
He clocked it too.
Not firsthand, but we'd seen this scenery a million times in Tower Escape.
Ruined city, corpses and trash everywhere.
We were in a real tower.
Tower 7th Floor—infamous hell difficulty.
"We entered last night?"
"..."
Unlike me, he had spotty memories.
Drunken impulse, probably.
But 7F? Not 1F or 3F?
Then—heavy footsteps nearby.
We dove into an alley without a word.
"Keeek..."
"Gruk."
Orcs and goblins with guns marched past.
Insane. Just like the game.
Why guns? Lore says they scavenge or copy human ones.
Tower Escape's lore-obsessed, so probably real here too.
How do we get out?
3F? Manageable maybe.
7F? No shot.
Not bragging, but I've never been physical.
The culprit who dragged me here, Escape Life, was frozen solid—pathetic.
Time's not on our side.
Move or die.
Alley trash heaps: lost hunter gear, tower-spawned junk.
7F's hell for everything but loot quality.
"Urk."
Hungover, stumbling, body screaming for water.
Found corpses in military uniforms nearby.
Freshly dead, rotting.
Stench be damned—I rifled their packs quick.
Always adapted fast to shit situations.
Jackpot!
Water and rations, plenty left.
Hunters raid for loot to escape.
7F start means they began here.
Usually sequential floors.
So supplies were stocked.
Others ditch bulky, low-value stuff like food/water.
Escape Life watched, sighing.
"Damn, you're good at this..."
"Your turn—move."
Technically his fault we're here.
(Mine too, overdrinking.)
Seeing him loaf? Wanted to snap his neck.
He finally rummaged a corpse, nose wrinkling.
Guess rotting smell doesn't numb quick.
Then he found something decent.
"Huh?"
A pistol, miraculously tucked in the corpse's clothes.
One bullet loaded.
Trash in normal runs, but we entered naked.
"Whoa, lucky."
"We're saved."
As a Tower Escape pro, he knew its value.
Too well.
Knew 7F escape odds too.
Click.
No hesitation—he jammed it to his temple.
"Whoa."
No words needed; his face said it: regret, sorrow, faint guilt toward me.
Bang!
Escape Life delivered a pro-level, efficient escape.
"You... fucking bastard!"
Alone now, I swallowed curses and bolted to evade any pursuit.