Death of the Smiling Man
“Grrrk… grrrk…”
A wet, bubbling sound of bloody phlegm rose from Jin Taeho’s throat.
“Tsk.”
Seong Yujin clicked his tongue at the sight. He had meant to snap the man’s neck clean in one go, but with this still-undeveloped, frail body, that had apparently been a stretch.
Well, it didn’t really matter.
This bastard was never going to escape death anyway.
Yujin drove his fist straight into Jin Taeho’s face—those eyes still swimming with pain and baffled questions.
Crunch—!
The crisp sensation of nasal bone shattering traveled up through his knuckles. The way the man flopped onto his back was almost funny. Even then Jin Taeho seemed to be trying to form words, but that was impossible. What kind of speech could come out of a throat that had already been ripped open?
Yujin simply lifted his foot and stomped down on the blood-smeared face that was still twitching.
Bang— Crash— Boom—!
Once. Twice. Three times.
Before long the entire space had gone quiet. The middle-aged men who had been trading heated punches and curses, the women who had been sobbing and begging for their lives, even those who had been desperately trying to keep their cool and make sense of the situation—every single one of them fell silent, mouths either clamped shut or hanging open, and simply stared at what Yujin was doing. Every face was painted with raw terror.
Yujin felt every last one of those gazes, yet he never stopped. From the beginning he had never been the sort of man who cared what other people thought. No matter who looked at him with what expression, no matter what they muttered inside their heads, he focused solely on crushing Jin Taeho like a bug.
“Huuu—”
Only after stomping the face more than fifty times did he finally stop. Thick blood poured from the head that had been smashed beyond any recognition, soaking the floor in a dark, wet stain.
One of the Ten Evils, the Smiling Man, Jin Taeho. Without ever understanding why he had to die, without ever leaving the Tutorial Floor, he died right there under Yujin’s foot.
“Ahh, fuck. That really clears me out.”
Confirming that the man’s breathing had completely stopped, Yujin took a step back, a thoroughly refreshed look on his face. It felt exactly like a ten-year-old lump of indigestion had finally dissolved.
“So nine left, huh?”
At those breezy words everyone flinched hard. Yujin had been talking about the Ten Evils, but to their ears it sounded like something else entirely. Terrified that they might be next, they shuffled backward, putting even a little more distance between themselves and him—especially the middle-aged men who had been bonding with their fists a moment ago.
That was when a voice filled the entire Tutorial Floor.
“My, my. This is a first for me.”
Bright, cheerful, utterly unsuited to the atmosphere—a voice that rang out as if the speaker were thoroughly enjoying itself.
Finally here.
Yujin knew exactly who owned that voice. An Administrator. Among the thirteen of them, the one in charge of every Tutorial Floor: Didascalia.
The moment the voice sounded, the gazes of the ninety-nine people—no, now ninety-eight—that had been fixed on Yujin all snapped toward the source.
Still the same filthy, disgusting face.
Pastel sky-blue hair cascading all the way to the waist. A torso wrapped in pure white cloth without a single speck of dirt. A beautiful pair of feathered wings rising from the back. Even a faint halo glowing behind the head. From the description alone one might think an angel had descended. It was nothing of the sort.
“Oh my god, what is that?!”
“It’s a monster!”
“Aaaaaaah!”
Everyone who saw Didascalia’s face reacted the same way. Whatever that face actually looked like, merely looking at it scraped raw the most primitive human fear and turned the stomach. Even though the basic shape was not so different from a human’s.
Grin—.
Didascalia smiled. Sharp teeth peeking between the lips were caked with red blood and scraps of flesh. Looking down on the terrified players as if savoring the view, the entity suddenly turned its eyes to Yujin.
“But you. Killing someone the moment you arrive—just what is this situation? Did you know him beforehand? A parent’s enemy, or maybe a company president who ran off with your money, something like that?”
The look of mock shock on its face was almost funny. Inside it was probably snickering and thoroughly enjoying itself. The Tower Administrators Yujin knew were lunatics packed with a lust for slaughter that rivaled the End itself. Getting to watch an unexpected murder scene had clearly put it in a fine mood.
Look at those wings twitching.
Yujin looked up at Didascalia and gave a casual shrug.
“Eh. Had my reasons.”
An answer that made it sound like nothing particularly important. At that tone the entity finally couldn’t hold back and burst into laughter.
“Puhuhuhu! You’re really something! Thanks to you, things from here on are going to get a lot more fun!”
Watching it clap its hands and laugh made Yujin want to cave its skull in right then and there the same way he had Jin Taeho’s.
But I have to endure.
It was impossible right now. He would need at least the level of someone who had reached the ninetieth floor before he could even attempt it. Until then he had no choice but to grit his teeth and put up with these bastards’ disgusting behavior.
“You there. Uh, that is… Player Seong Yujin?”
It called the name with perfect accuracy. Administrators could view a player’s status window recorded in the Akasha System, so of course it was possible. But its expression was odd.
“Strange. Why can’t I see everything?”
It tilted its head, looking back and forth between Seong Yujin and empty air.
Oh. That’s a relief.
Apparently the Akasha System had hidden part of the information. If it had seen the traits and skills Yujin currently possessed, things might have gotten seriously ugly. Fortunately, even this Administrator seemed unable to fully open Yujin’s data. The reason was unknown, but that hardly mattered.
“Hmm, I’ll have to look into this separately later.”
Didascalia tapped its wrinkled fingers against its cheek, then spread its wings wide.
“Anyway, we can’t waste any more time, so let’s get started right away!”
Get started? On what? Questions rose on every face. Fear of the unknown swallowed the ninety-eight people excluding Yujin.
“The place where all of you are standing is called the Tower of Light.”
Didascalia began explaining in a thoroughly kind, sing-song tone.
“The Tower of Light consists of a total of one hundred floors, and you are the gloriously qualified players who get to climb it.”
Glory my ass.
Yujin cursed inwardly.
“Each time you clear a floor you’ll receive a fitting reward. It might be an item with special abilities, or a kind of power not permitted to ordinary humans.”
“C-can we leave?!”
Someone bravely stepped forward and asked. Items, forbidden power—what mattered to them right now was whether they could escape this unknown space at all.
“But of course. Of course you can!”
Didascalia nodded with exaggerated cheer.
“Once you climb five floors, leaving the Tower becomes possible. Of course, there’s a one-week time limit, though.”
The faces that had brightened at the thought of going home died black again. Looking down as if savoring the sight, the entity continued.
“Don’t be too disappointed. Let’s think about it together. The things you can obtain here are no joke, you know? Just imagining what you could do outside with them is exciting, isn’t it?”
It was true. Items and superhuman power had granted players tremendous wealth and authority—to the point that people who hadn’t been chosen by the Akasha System felt genuine regret. Even if a week was short, there were ways to stay longer.
Didascalia kept talking, covering levels, traits, achievements—everything basic. Yujin already knew all of it. When he decided he had heard enough of what he needed, he raised his hand.
“Yes, Player Seong Yujin. Do you have a question?”
It responded as if it were some kind of teacher.
I should teach everyone.
What this Tower truly meant.
“What happens if we don’t climb the Tower?”
Grin—.
The entity’s mouth stretched long, hooking all the way up to its ears.
“A very, very good question.”
In the first timeline, no one had asked that. Because of that they had realized far too late. Drunk on the Tower’s gifts, lost in pleasure, they had belatedly scrambled to climb together… but how could it have been easy? In the end the only one to reach the hundredth floor was Yujin, and the world was destroyed.
Didascalia’s answer was the same.
“Kwaang! And the world will be destroyed.”
Not a single lie. Naturally the people grew agitated, but Yujin only looked up at the entity.
“Player Seong Yujin. You really are special and unique. Killing someone the moment you arrive, that completely unflustered expression, even the system…”
He could feel the interest Didascalia held toward him growing larger by the second.
“Well, anyway! If you don’t want to see the world destroyed, you’ll all have to climb diligently! Everyone understands, right?”
As if they could understand. The people went past agitation into full panic again, and Didascalia, with a look that said it had expected exactly this, snapped its fingers.
Snap—!
In an instant absolute silence fell. Not a single sound traveled through the air, as if time itself had stopped.
“It seems you still don’t quite feel it, so I should show you properly, hmm?”
Smiling wide enough to bare every sharp tooth, Didascalia spat out an eerie line.
“As a little taste, try surviving for just ten minutes. After that, you’ll understand what I mean.”
Faces filled with horror. Survive? From what? Though sound still could not be heard, terror swam through the sea of silence and spread in every direction.
“Death Dragon of the Radiant Sky. Come forth.”
GROOOOOOOOOOOAR—!
Accompanied by a massive roar that seemed ready to tear heaven and earth apart, a being of pure terror revealed itself.
So you’re here, Heukam.
A wicked magic dragon that ate light—the damned lizard that had been the boss of the ninetieth floor. Naturally there was no one on the current Tutorial Floor who could face Heukam. That thing was a monster through and through. Among the dragonkin Yujin had seen, excluding the End itself, it boasted the most powerful strength. And it had been released into a level-1 starter village. How could anyone stop it? Didascalia simply wanted to watch people get slaughtered.
In the first timeline about a third died, right?
Even that had been going easy on them. If Heukam had gone all out, not ten minutes but ten seconds would have been enough to turn every last one of them into bone dust. Since it couldn’t kill all the players, it had been nerfed that much—but still.
“Run!”
“Kyaaaaaaaaaaah!”
Facing Heukam’s dark, massive form, people began fleeing like mad. There was no one on this floor who could keep their sanity after seeing that. Except for one. Except for Yujin.
Thud—.
Unlike everyone else, he walked straight toward it.
“Huh? Planning to commit suicide? That would be a bit of a problem.”
Seeing that, Didascalia frowned its disgusting face. It had thought Yujin was worth watching with some interest, but it had never expected him to approach instead of running. Instead of answering, Yujin spoke the words he had been turning over in his mind.
“I’ve been thinking about it this whole time, you know?”
While killing Jin Taeho. While listening to Didascalia’s explanation. While watching Heukam get summoned. Thinking, and thinking some more. And the one conclusion he reached.
“Yeah. Using it now seems like the best idea after all.”
Not understanding, Didascalia tilted its head.
“What do you mean by that?”
“I mean this, you piece of shit.”
Revolving Lantern [S]
Accompanied by the notification of the Akasha System, the War God Seong Yujin—who had climbed alone to the hundredth floor and ultimately torn the End itself to death—descended upon the Tutorial Floor.