The Nameless Number One

Paaaat!

Golden ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠light gathered before my eyes.

When the glow faded, a golden tablet no larger than my palm was resting in my hand.

"So this is a Heavenly Dragon's tablet?"

Etched across its surface were clouds and a dragon, interwoven with strange geometric patterns that seemed to shift whenever I looked away.

A Heavenly Dragon, huh.

I had heard of them in passing. The tower wasn't home to monsters alone — its native inhabitants included intelligent races, and among them were beings you could only catch a glimpse of, if at all, by climbing to the upper floors.

The so-called nobility of the Sky Tower. That was what the Heavenly Dragons were.

"What am I supposed to use this for?"

"It is a tablet that grants you an audience with the Heavenly Dragons, the highest bloodline in the Sky Tower. Through it, you must strike a bargain with them."

"A bargain?"

"Indeed. They possess the Sage's Staff. You must reclaim it."

Huh?

Now what was that supposed to mean?

The Sage's Staff was a weapon, which meant I'd assumed it was the most important of the Three Sacred Treasures. So why on earth was it in their hands?

"Ah, well, that is a tale that cannot be spoken of.... Hm. In any case, you must reclaim it from them."

Ellaon trailed off awkwardly.

So there was something in his past too embarrassing or awkward to talk about, apparently. Whatever. The point was that I just had to make a deal with the Dragons, right?

Good. When it comes to negotiation, there's only one genius for the job — me, Kim Hajun.

Let's go meet them right now.

If I could reclaim the Sage's Staff, I wouldn't have to worry about weapons for the entire climb up the tower.

My blood was heating up. The moment I left this space, I intended to hunt down the Heavenly Dragons immediately.

Except... my plan wasn't going to happen.

"I understand your eagerness, but that will not be possible just yet."

"What? Why not?"

"The lowest floor where you may meet them is the fifth. Climb swiftly, level up, and make your way there."

Ha.

Seriously? Way to kill the mood.

If I had to reach Floor 5 anyway, why did I need to earn the highest grade in the tutorial? It's not like I could get the staff right this second.

"Not so. Think for a moment. Do you believe a Heavenly Dragon's tablet could be so easily obtained elsewhere? It is a seal of sorts, granted only to those who achieve remarkable results in their sacred rites. Had you failed to earn it here, you would not have stood any chance of acquiring one until you'd passed at least the seventh floor."

Hmm.

Put that way, I suppose it really was something I had to earn in the tutorial.

Fine, then.

I've got a Mythic-grade skill in my left hand and the Sage's Aura in my right. You think a little leveling up is going to be a problem?

I'd show them what a frenzy of leveling looked like.

With a smirk, I pictured my dazzling future — storming into Floor 5 at a record-breaking pace. Just imagining it sent a thrill down my spine.

Then the Sky Tower's message chimed in again.

Oh, right.

I still had to decide whether to reveal my name on the tutorial's plaque of honor.

After a long moment of deliberation, I reached a conclusion.

Reluctantly... anonymous it is, for now.

Honestly, I wavered for a second there.

The floor-ascension trials kept their own historical rankings, sure, but nothing hit harder than the plaque at the God Tree itself.

What kind of expression would Yeon-hee make if she heard my name had been pinned at the very top of the God Tree's plaque?

That impulse nearly won. I almost blurted out my name right then and there —

But I managed to swallow the words.

"I'll register anonymously."

There we go.

Good call, Kim Hajun. I can go public later, once I'm strong enough to protect myself. For now, anonymous — I could always flip the switch down the line.

"A wise decision. For now, growing your strength matters more than exposing yourself to the world."

Yes, sir, teach.

You said it. That's exactly what I was thinking.

"Hm? Strange. You seem far more docile than before."

I couldn't help but grin at that.

"Well, that's because I've confirmed that listening to you actually gets me treats."

Really — look at the evidence. A historic record smashed in the sacred rite. That only happened because I did what Ellaon told me to.

I'd proven his value. From now on, I follow the money.

Ellaon, you are officially my growth GPS from here on out!!

That vast ocean of knowledge of yours! I'm going to boil you down to the bone, simmer you into a rich broth, and suck every last drop out of it until there's a hole worn clean through!

"...Something about that just now felt rather disrespectful."

"Ahem. Impossible. You're imagining things."

I averted my eyes, hiding a flinch. As expected of a Sage — those instincts of his were sharp as a blade.

Vmmm!

Then, in the distance, motes of light gathered, and a portal took shape. The exit out of here.

"Let's get out there and see how the plaque's changed."

Even though I'd registered anonymously, the thought of watching the rankings reshuffle got my heart pounding all over again.

But then—

Right at that moment.

"Huh?"

"No... that's impossible."

At the messages that had appeared out of nowhere, Ellaon and I both cried out at the same time.

The crowd gathered before the God Tree witnessed something astonishing.

Vmmmmmm!

A brilliant light had suddenly surged up from the God Tree's plaque of honor — a board that hadn't moved in years.

"Ah!"

"Wh-what is that?"

"The Hall of Fame rankings... they changed?"

"Good heavens!"

"EXCLUSIVE!!"

Unknown.

In other words — anonymous.

Someone had refreshed the rankings without ever revealing their identity. The first time in ten years.

All hell breaking loose among the Ascenders was only natural.

"It came out of Korea!"

"No way. A Korean?"

"Has to be, right?"

"Whoa! Are we finally getting an Ascender with the power of a national asset?"

When you register anonymously, your country gets appended after your name.

Does it mean nationality? Not quite.

The record shows which nation's portal that Ascender most recently passed through on their way into the Sky Tower.

Even so, people assumed a Korean — because the odds that a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠freshly awakened Ascender had entered through a foreign portal were vanishingly small.

"Code red! All scouts on Floor 1, get to the God Tree, NOW!"

"Find them! Whoever it is! They registered anonymous, so they've got no clan. We ARE signing them to Poseidon Clan, no exceptions!"

"Team 1 holds this position! Team 2 heads to Korea and preps the recruitment!"

The scouts of every clan under the sun went into emergency mode as well.

They turned feral trying to identify the Ascender who'd conquered the tutorial, and overseas clans were even prepping dispatch teams to Korea in a desperate bid to sign them first.

That was how enormous the shockwave was — someone had torn the number one spot on the God Tree's Hall of Fame out of frozen history after ten full years.

Staring up at that unidentifiable rank one, everyone's teeth began to grind with anxiety.

And Shin Myeong-jun, an executive of Tiamut, was no exception.

"Find them. NOW!!"

He screamed at his subordinates, his voice frayed with urgency.

Whoever had just shattered the record had to be the one his master had spoken of. It couldn't be anyone else.

I should have tracked them down before the sacred rite.

At this rate, everyone in the world would learn of the very existence his master had prophesied.

The plan to abduct them quietly was dissolving into foam before his eyes.

It's not too late yet. No one here possesses a detection trait of a higher grade than mine.

He tipped back a premium-grade mana potion — the kind worth tens of millions of won a bottle — and rapidly replenished his flagging mana.

They're nearby. I have to find them fast.

The sacred rite was over. They'd be leaving this place any minute now, and once they did, they'd be a hundred times harder to find.

Is it this guy?

A rookie Ascender ahead of him, grinning at nothing in particular for some reason.

Tsssht!

He activated the Eye of Exploration at once.

Not him. Why is he peeling a chestnut of all things?

Some nobody with a measly 2-Star trait. He'd been fooled by a smug little grin.

Wasted precious mana, too.

Shin Myeong-jun's face twisted into a scowl as he pushed on, scanning the other Ascenders.

Not this one either. Not that one either.

Damn it.

Nothing. He couldn't find them anywhere.

Had they already left?

No — slipping out wouldn't have been easy.

Even now, crowds were surging toward the God Tree as word spread, a tidal wave of bodies. Cutting straight out of that flood was nearly impossible.

Of course, that meant even more people were piling in — but most of the newcomers were clearly veterans, easily distinguished from the rookie Ascenders by their bearing.

Thud!

Then a man bumped shoulder-first into him.

What now?

He turned his head — and his face screwed up in fury.

"Ah! I'm so sorry!"

That guy. Third time they'd crossed paths now.

Some Ascender saddled with a trash trait like Breath-Holding (1-Star ★).

"Tch."

He was busy beyond belief, and this fly of a man kept buzzing around him.

He whipped his head away.

Forget the losers with garbage traits. He had to find Unknown — presumed to have awakened a trait in the 9-Star class.

Gritting his lip between his teeth, he burrowed deeper into the crowd.

I WILL find you, Unknown!

Ugh.

I clicked my tongue at the toad-faced guy who'd bumped into me — yet again — right after the sacred rite ended.

Did we share some fated bond in a past life or something? Why did we keep running into each other?

He looked deeply suspicious, and I had zero desire to get close to him. And look at that — scowling at me again.

Excuse me, but this time YOU were the one not watching where you were going!

That was the last straw. Time to give him a piece of my mind.

I was the man who'd claimed first place in the sacred rite, after all. No more cowering before this toad's filthy glare — it was time for the dignified wrath of the one and only None-of-Your-Business Man—

Hold on. Level 71?

Holy—!

I clapped a hand over my mouth and bowed my head fast.

"Ah! I'm so sorry!"

Phew.

That was a close ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠one.

That guy was completely high-level! Level 71? That put him at the rank of an executive in a world-famous clan, easily.

So why was a man like that wandering around here?

Now that I knew his level, he looked even sketchier.

Still... Sage's Sense is pretty handy, I'll ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠give it that.

The reason I'd just been able to see the toad's level: with the embodiment of Sage's Sight, the passive skill Sage's Sense had bloomed.

What is Sage's Sense, you ask? It was an ability that let me view any target's level simply by focusing my attention on them.

"Ha... I still can scarcely believe it. How were you able to embody Sage's Sight after a single use? Perhaps you are..."

Ellaon had been staring into space like a man who'd seen a ghost ever since it happened.

Was embodying Sage's Sight in one try really that shocking?

Honestly, I had no idea how I'd done it either. All I did was use it once.

Anyway, leaving the shell-shocked Ellaon behind, I looked up at the Hall of Fame plaque floating in the middle of the God Tree.

A laugh escaped me before I could stop it.

Rank one!!

I had actually claimed first place!

They say the world is full of things you never see coming. Who could have guessed my name would be raised above the names of these legendary stars?

Come to think of it... was getting dumped by Yeon-hee a blessing in disguise?

Heh heh.

Thank you, Yeon-hee. Thanks to you, I've awakened as a super rookie.

Just you wait!

You're about to find out that the man you threw away was the true None-of-Your-Business Man of this era!

That night, I dreamed a sweet dream.

A dream of myself, soaring past the Seven Ascenders to become the mightiest Ascender of the Sky Tower —

And of Yeon-hee, watching me with a face full of regret, whispering that she'd been wrong.

"Haaah! Slept like a log."

I woke to a refreshing morning.

How long had it been since I'd slept that well?

Feeling light and limber, I did a quick stretch — then grabbed my smartphone and immediately searched for articles about myself.

How many more articles had piled up overnight?

Heart fluttering with anticipation, I typed "Unknown rank 1" into the search bar.

"...Huh?"

What on earth was all this?

My identity had been revealed?