Ah, Tutorial Plebs, I'll Claim the Pinnacle!
Ah, the tutorial plebs. I would claim the throne.
The world's ripples settled, revealing a vast plain.
Objective: Kill as many slimes as possible within the time limit.
Time Limit: 1 hour
Kuwing kuwing. Plump and jiggly.
Whoa! Slimes!
The slime wobbled its jelly-like body. Then it suddenly leaped, lunging straight for my head.
Hah!
I dodged lightly. Despite its harmless, squishy appearance, this thing was vicious.
"Aqua Bullet."
I gathered water on my fingertip and fired at its core.
The bullet pierced the core dead-on, bursting the slime apart.
Just as I'd expected—perfect power. Could others instinctively gauge a spell's potency like this too?
Kururung kururung.
Looking back, dozens of slimes swarmed.
I fired Aqua Bullets one after another, picking them off slime by slime.
But there were too many to handle one at a time.
I needed a way to take out multiple at once.
Would this work?
I condensed water droplets on all ten fingers, forming ten projectiles.
Got it!
Ten burst simultaneously, and I started getting a real feel for magic control.
Mana filled the world—natural mana, right? I could sense it from inside my body to the air around me. The more Aqua Bullets I fired, the deeper my understanding grew.
Plus, the spell optimized itself, sharpening, boosting penetration and range.
Was I always this good at aiming? Back in FPS games, I'd shoot at thin air and quit after five minutes. My aim was trash. But now? Pinpoint accuracy, even casually flicking them off. I could probably reunite with that aim goddess I ghosted.
Now, Aqua Bullets spawned from empty air, no fingers needed. Trickier, though—harder to control, weaker penetration, range, cohesion. Still plenty for slimes.
I unleashed dozens. Slimes popped like balloons. Unmatched focus. This was magic. This was mana. My very existence felt elevated.
I accelerated the natural mana flowing through my body. Figured it'd amp the power. Sure enough, fingertip shots dwarfed the aerial ones in destruction.
No more slimes in sight.
Then, a massive slime erupted from the lakeside.
King-sized mega slime! I fired an Aqua Bullet. It sank into the jelly mass but missed the core.
"You pudgy blob. How about this?"
Dozens more.
Chunks vanished, but no core exposed.
Needed one big, powerful hit.
I accelerated my body's mana harder.
Something clicked in my heart, and the natural mana surged qualitatively.
Water droplets spiraled from the air to my fingertips. I poured nearly all my mana into one shot.
The Aqua Bullet pierced the mega slime's core, sweeping across the plain and exposing bare earth.
F-Rank (2nd Hierarchy) Achieved.
Tutorial Cleared.
Enter nickname for the Tower.
Hmm. Only one choice, right?
Nickname: Water-Rich Youth.
1st: Water-Rich Youth: 1,421 points
2nd: Yeon Woo-min: 823 points
3rd: Cute Bear Cub: 808 points
4th: Baguette Caliber: 772 points
5th: 50 Stars: 730 points
Inventory, Lowest-Grade Mana Stones 1kg
Root of Magic Book
A book and mana stones appeared before me. I picked them up, cooling my battle fervor.
Tower Difficulty Assigned.
Tower - Impossible
Uh...
Impossible?
Something felt seriously wrong...
Exiting Tower.
The world rippled. Back in my studio apartment.
Forced Summon in 7 days.
The message hung before my eyes. Awakeners get forcibly summoned to the Tower. Higher difficulties mean shorter cycles.
But this short? Unheard of.
I knew about Impossible. Difficulties: Easy, Normal, Hard, Lunatic, Impossible.
Impossible hits global news instantly, domestic or abroad.
Why? Insanely hard.
In 15 years since the Tower appeared, 32 climbers worldwide. Currently alive: 0.
100% death rate tomb.
Every week... risking my life weekly? Brutal.
Wahhh.
No! Crying changes nothing. Priority: survival.
Hit the Gallery for intel.
The Gallery was ablaze with rare Impossible bait after ages.
My heart poured rain, but this place was a festival. Then one comment caught my eye.
Some already prayed for my soul, but I fixated on "new record."
Me? New record? Better odds than past Impossible climbers then.
Plus, I crushed Yeon Woo-min, Lunatic climber, soon B-rank, top dog. If I beat him, I can do this. No—I must!
I can! Me!
Gasp!
Sharp eye.
Straight to my identity.
Sensed natural mana and infused attribute power in 10 minutes. Cleared all tutorial slimes, even mega slime. Hit 2nd Hierarchy in tutorial.
That's me.
Plebs.
I wrote arrogantly on purpose, but my heart churned. Still, the Gallery made me chuckle.
Hate comments too, as expected.
I know higher difficulty = shorter cycle,
Summon in 6 days 23 hours.
But this is too much.
Thought most awakeners keep normal jobs?
What about them?
And I got Impossible cuz high score,
Wouldn't slacking in tutorial for Easy and higher survival be better?
Then a kind awakener replied.
Oof.
So tricky.
My fate was twisted from the start, not self-inflicted?
Aw aw aw.
Others vented unfairness too.
Right. News showed China/US dragging Lunatic climbers as "presidential guards" in diplomacy.
Opponents freak: "Power flex!!" Response: "How to guard? Weak awakener assassinated, your fault?" Standard ritual.
Then WWE-style:
"This Lunatic's D-rank, fine right?" Or
"Hard climber but C-rank instead. Not Lunatic, understand?" Same C-rank 7th Hierarchy Lunatic beats equal Hierarchy Hard most times. Big concession!
Then fake ponder, accept, end WWE. Weak nations got UFC threats sans C-rank hunters.
Wait, how'd we derail? I just asked about job-climber balance?
What? Just 2 hours since awakening? Even Chun-sik ears take days to detect.
What the???
Shivering, I opened the front door.
Shiver shiver.
Peeped out—no one.
Down to 1F mailbox—empty.
"Damn, all trolling me."
Back to studio, and mail lay on the floor.
That day, I got three Association notices.