The Greatest Newcomer Has Arrived!
The legendary rookie has entered the scene!
Cromwell, the neutral city that served as a rest stop for explorers, had known the tower monsters inside and out for as long as it had existed alongside the tower itself. Which monsters lived on which floors and what could be obtained from them. Materials, alchemy, mercenaries, lodging. The entire city’s business revolved around explorers and monster byproducts, so it was only natural. The residents of Cromwell inevitably crossed paths with those who explored the tower. They were the city’s biggest customers and the ones fetching monster materials. The acrid smell of blood, the reek of leather. Of course, the city residents also had their share of those who found the ruthless explorers—who treated death as a friend—disgusting. But over the years of daily knife fights in the streets and the scent of monster blood, one inevitably grew used to it. As days passed, the routine grew more familiar, just as the tower’s monsters and the existence of explorers had. For that reason, the long-time residents of Cromwell were generally bold. They didn’t fear a new explorer with a blade at their waist; in fact, they gave advice. “That big oaf of a newbie, why bother drawing a bow? An axe suits you better. Hah, if you’re going to swing that pathetic gear, you’ll die the moment you step into the tower. I’ll give you a special discount—come buy some junk from our shop, why don’t you.” Mostly kind words, of course. The residents of Cromwell had spent long years with explorers and knew their fate meant only one thing: death in the tower or advancing to the next floor. Every explorer was a warrior with talent, but with a city connected to the lower floors, there were plenty of rookies full of ambition rather than skill. Most of those newbies slammed their heads against the tower and died. A guy who greeted them in the morning one day would disappear without a trace days later. For the Cromwell residents who lived off the pottions and gear they sold, this was an especially poor outcome. Their guts would churn if they sold potions and equipment only for the buyer to die. Still, they would rather part on good terms. Better to see a promising newbie’s name in a newspaper from above the floors than to have him die swinging goblin clubs on the lower levels. That was why the residents of Cromwell liked promising newbies the way people liked famous athletes or celebrities. They didn’t gather in the square every first of the month to cheer on “the prospect of the month.” They simply loved newbies who carved through floors with casual ease, and because the neutral city had no fun to offer at night, they always gathered in the pub to swap tales. Who died, who had already cleared how many floors. It wasn’t always limited to the lower floors; sometimes the tower itself shook with the stories. But recently, news about one new explorer had been especially widespread. “Hey, William, you hear about it?” “What?” “The new monster explorer who just came in. You really haven’t heard?” “He’s rewriting all the previous conquest records and starting a brand-new history! Looks small and delicate from the outside, but this era’s true explorer doesn’t mind getting covered in blood.” Some people cheered the unique character, while others were clearly indifferent. “…Well, what can you do? It’s a newbie. Looks good at first, but they’ll die quick.” “Hmm, that’s usually how it goes.” It was only three days since the new explorer had entered the tower. Day after day, they’d conquer a floor, kill monsters, and keep going smoothly—until they didn’t. That was the rookie life. Even the Cromwell residents knew that shouting “My child is a genius!” just three days in was nothing but noise. “But this newbie’s different, right?” Still, if their kid really was a genius, they wanted to brag. The residents who had heard the news first grinned and said, “He alone cleared five floors in three days.” “……What?” At least four explorers were supposed to tackle a floor together. Even that was the story of a skilled newbie; normally it took six or more to conquer a floor over several days. Even orcs, at least, had skulls you could split open easily with an axe. ……Yet he had cleared five floors in three days? By himself? William stared, black ale pouring straight from his mug onto the table. *** [ Single Entity, Fastest Record: 7 Floors – Forgotten Sanctum cleared! ] [ Achievement completed! ] [ Player, Undertaker, has been recorded in the Hall of Fame. ] “Hmm, I’m starting to get bored.” I said that while smiling, wiping the blood off my face. Anyone who saw my system message would think the Hall of Fame was some kind of joke. I’d already seen it three days in a row. After settling into my room and scouting the area, the thrill of clearing six floors in two days was the only thing that felt real. If this had been a game, I’d have escaped the lower floors in a day. But because it was reality, I couldn’t ignore the blood pile-up on my body. Still, I only had one life, so I just kept hunting the monsters at my leisure. Still, the fact that I could clear floors almost like in a game thanks to my body’s condition was impressive. “Status window.” [ Undertaker ] [ LV. 1 ] [ Strength 21 ] [ Vitality 20 ] [ Agility 24 ] [ Spirit 20 ] [ Title – Pioneer, Prospect ] [ Traits – Immovable Mind, Sword Mastery, Heavenly Slaughter Star ] [ Skills - undefined ] At first I wondered what sin I’d committed to end up in this monster-filled other world, but after a few days of hunting, I started to feel like this was my real calling. Here, swinging a sword really drew blood! Of course, I could hunt with such joy because overwhelming power supported me. I knew from the tutorial. My stats weren’t like a normal newbie’s. I’d expected something unusual after breaking out of the maze and checking my character info, but it was far more than I imagined. My basic stats were already higher than normal, and the traits and titles were ridiculously overpowered. I knew stats grew fast with floors, so they weren’t a big deal, but the traits were. “…Even after seeing this dozens of times, it still gives me chills.” A well-grown character can be content just watching. Especially in reality. Of course, blood-soaked in monster blood, shivering with joy. “I must have gotten a lot.” Sword Mastery corrected my body and sword sense. Immovable Mind gave almost complete immunity to mental attacks. Both were rare traits, but Heavenly Slaughter Star was the most important— [ Combat situation engaged. ] [ Player’s stats have increased. ] [ Strength 21 → 34 ] [ Vitality 20 → 32 ] [ Agility 24 → 37 ] “Cheat.” My stats were already high for the floor, and now they’d gone through the roof. It was obvious cheat mode. Even at low level, rising ten points was insane. I’d been playing for five years and reached world number one, yet I’d never seen a trait that helped combat like this. “Is this the real game?” What had I been doing until now? Was the virtual-reality device I’d been stuck in just a fake game compared to reality? ……Eh? Were all twenty-five years of my life fake? Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!! “Hmm, I guess I should head down.” Thinking too much about it only made me sadder about my life so far, so I stopped. If my current state was good, why not enjoy it? Yeah, I was happier than ever today. Covered in monster blood, I felt the lingering excitement from Heavenly Slaughter Star’s aftereffect fade as I stepped through the portal I’d already prepared. Clearing floors was tedious, but returning was easy. No need to go back to floor one—just step through the glowing portal. “Zzang!” In the blink of an eye, we arrived in the neutral city…! Arms wide open, celebrating a safe return, but right in front of me stood someone. A young man who looked my age stared blankly, eyes blinking. In the middle of my flashy pose, of course our eyes would meet. ……Was I too excited? Maybe the side effects of Heavenly Slaughter Star were still lingering. I was trembling inside at this new black history when the kid suddenly blushed and muttered, “……Pretty.” What? As a former Korean “eonja” (former gangsta), this felt like an insult I couldn’t stomach. ……Ah, I hadn’t planned on earning a living in the city. I fixed my arrogant expression and stroked the NEW Excalibur (a decent iron sword). ‘Shall I kill him, Master?’ Just as I was deciding, city guards came running from far away. Wait, he hadn’t even drawn his sword yet. While I was surprised by their swift response, the guards who came huffing and puffing stopped right in front of me, caught their breath, and gasped, “……Lord, the lord summons you.” Ding! Quest appeared.