The First Floor

"......"

He couldn't believe it. Had he really awakened?

A hologram hung in the empty air. He passed a hand through it—swipe, swipe—and his fingers went straight through. So it really was the System.

Looks like the genuine article.

He had awakened. That much was certain, and at EX-rank, no less. But what was this skill?

The name meant exactly what it said. A rain of fire? Across an eight-kilometer radius? Everything in there would burn to death.

The mana cost is brutal, though.

Of course there was a drawback. The mana cost was monstrous—enough that he could cast it once and be ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠finished. High risk, high return. No other phrase fit so cleanly.

If I've awakened, I should be able to make a crafting station too.

The whole point of entering the Tower was materials. You needed materials to make items, and items to grow stronger. The crafting station was what turned the one into the other.

A crafting station needed materials of its own. He didn't have any yet, naturally. So what would it take to make one?

Let's see. Something that looks simple...

He looked over the list of crafting stations floating before him like another hologram. The most approachable of the lot was the Alchemy Crafting Station.

Branches and empty bottles. That was all it took, apparently. The quantities, though, were a little much.

"Hm."

Anyway, he'd confirmed everything he needed to. All that remained was entering the Tower. The trouble was that the Tower was anything but gentle.

He logged onto Hunternet and scrolled.

The wild, plain and simple. Still, he had to go in at least once.

"Enter."

Nothing catastrophic would happen. Die inside, and you were simply thrown out of the Tower. He was about to step through right then—

A message, popping up before entry, asking whether he wanted to use a nickname.

This one I should definitely set.

The Tower was a place where anything could happen. People went in swearing revenge, and the incidents piled up. A nickname was practically mandatory because of it, though there were still those who stated their real names without a shred of shame.

Now, what would be a good one?

June. June.

A calendar lay on the desk. June. Perfect. Nothing to tie it back to him.

He was inside the Tower. The first floor opened into an enormous jungle, grass grown thick and giant trees standing in crowded ranks. A longsword filled his hand, and a bag rode his back—the basic supplies.

Kieeeek. Kiiiik.

Monster cries rang from every side. All kinds of people were in here. All kinds of monsters, too.

They said I have to find whatever I can in here.

So this was the start. He had to gather materials of every sort. Only then could he craft. The place was hardly small, though—someone had said it was the size of ten soccer fields put together, hadn't they? Either way, the first thing he needed to do was this.

"Escape."

Vwooom—

He marked the exit at once. Getting out was the single most important thing in the Tower, so he confirmed the location before anything else. Maybe he was in luck. Not far off, a pillar of light rose into the air to mark the way out.

Good. The skill's radius was eight kilometers, wasn't it? An area skill, by the look of it.

He ran through the plan once more. As things stood, a single spell would spend him completely, so he had to be careful with it.

Cast it around here and the area should reach all the way to the exit. If anything happens, I use it immediately and head straight there.

He didn't know how strong it actually was. Still, it had to outclass an ordinary skill by a wide margin. It wouldn't be EX-rank for nothing.

Step by step, he walked and took in his surroundings. Nothing had shown itself yet—only grass and trees.

"Huh?"

What was that? Why was there light coming off a branch?

The message appeared the moment he picked it up. Ah. So this was how materials announced themselves. But this was a problem.

...I have to pick up more than a hundred of these just to make a crafting station?

So that was why everyone ran the floors over and over. Failing to escape was the least of it.

Figures. Even after awakening, this isn't easy.

For an instant the kids flickered through his mind, and with them the knife-edge atmosphere at the company. Get it together. A hundred times, if that was what it took.

Rustle—

Kiiik?

That was when it happened. Something appeared—a goblin. Short, a dagger clutched in its hand, level 1.

Might as well deal with it.

This worked out, actually. He needed to see what the skill could do, and he was just about to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠cast it—

Shwiik—! Thwack!

Ki—kieeeeek.

The goblin collapsed. An arrow had buried itself dead-center in the back of its head, and a moment later someone stepped into view.

"Don't attack! Don't shoot!"

Black hair. A typical East Asian woman. Korean? Or Japanese? Chinese?

Ah. Japanese.

A name floated above her head. He couldn't tell what it meant, but the letters were Japanese. A Japanese woman.

"D-did you come alone? I am alone too!"

Her speech is definitely stiff.

The Tower was shared by the whole world, and language was translated automatically. The translation came out awkward, though—like a foreigner forcing her way through clumsy Korean. Exactly like this woman.

"It was dangerous. But I saved you!"

"......"

Hands raised, she crept toward the goblin she had just brought down, then started hastily snatching things up. Even now, she was grabbing everything worth grabbing.

"Shall we... travel together?"

The woman made her offer.

The Japanese woman, Hanako, was three months into climbing the first floor. Bow in hand, she roamed it.

Fwoosh.

That was when it happened. A person spawned near her. Judging by his clothes, he didn't have a single item.

What? A first-timer?

A smile rose on its own. To think he'd entered right in front of her. No items—definitely a newbie.

They said the reward for getting off the first floor changes with your kill count.

In other words, good prey. So what should she do? Watch, for now.

She followed at a distance, matching his steps. Then ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a goblin appeared.

Perfect.

An ideal moment to close in. Save him herself, then suggest they travel together. And after that?

Shoot him in the back. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠That's all.

She could have done it from here, of course. But her accuracy was nothing to boast about, so she needed to get as close as she could. Miss once, and he'd only be harder to catch.

Shwiik. Thwack!

"Don't attack!"

She closed in, insisting she meant no harm. Right—the goblin's materials first.

"Shall we... travel together?"

She offered it lightly. He'd go for it, surely? A newbie would be scared. Then the rest was easy: use that lowered guard to get close, wait for an opening, and—smack—from behind.

But.

"No. I'm all right."

"?"

What? He said no? She had shown him a kindness, and this bastard—

"Ah, is that so? It cannot be helped. Please die."

If that was truly what he wanted. Hanako drew her bow on the man, who had frozen as if caught off guard.

Should've taken the offer when it was given.

This is the Tower of Trials. Think of it as a learning experience.

Snap!

"Huh?"

That was when it happened. The man flicked his fingers. What had he just done?

Rumble.

The sky darkened all at once, then gradually bled red.

Pat. Pat.

Rain began to fall. Except—

Hissss.

"Kya!"

Something was wrong with that rain.

Hissss. Whoosh—whoooosh!

It wasn't rain at all.

"F-fire?"

A rain of fire was pouring down.

Patter-patter-patter! Patter-patter-patter!

The downpour only grew fiercer.

"Kya—kyaaaaa!"

Hanako's whole body went up in flames.

Eliminated on the spot. But Hanako was not the only one.

The messages went on without end. They numbered in the hundreds.

Every bag they had gathered was handed over. They stacked high in his inventory, then stacked again. And even that was not the end of it.