The Destiny of Slaughter
One month in.
It felt like nothing had really changed.
At most, maybe my posture had improved a bit?
I wasn't getting used to hand-to-hand combat at all. I had never even stepped foot in a Taekwondo dojo as a kid.
Swordsmanship was the same story. My grip was so weak that I kept dropping the blade.
So, I decided to focus on memorizing monsters' vital spots. You only see what you know.
Studying them helped wash away my vague fears. The fact that even the strongest-looking monsters had clear "weaknesses" brought me comfort.
Maybe it was because of my background in drawing, but understanding the movement of bones and muscles came easily. Thanks to that, I became an expert at targeting vitals.
Two months in.
Finally, noticeable changes began to appear. I could feel my stamina improving significantly.
It wasn't just the training; the structured lifestyle and steady nutrition seemed to play a huge role.
According to the instructors, I didn't have the type of body that built muscle easily, yet I was keeping up remarkably well.
Unlike the others, I trained without a single complaint, which earned me the instructors' favor. One of them even started joking, telling me not to go and die.
And finally, the third month.
I had grown quite accustomed to hand-to-hand combat, and dropping my sword was a thing of the past. I had gotten stronger in my own way.
Of course, this was still strictly by civilian standards. By Hunter standards, I was still a hopeless case.
The evaluation I received was that if I faced a goblin, I might win if I got lucky.
"Tomorrow is finally the day you enter the tutorial."
After our final session, the combat instructor looked at me with a bittersweet smile.
"Thank you for everything."
"I only did my job. If anything, I should be thanking you. It's been a long time since I've seen someone train so diligently..."
"You were all doing this to help me, so of course I had to work hard."
I bowed my head politely.
"Make sure you come back safe. Let's grab some pork belly and soju."
"Yes, sir!"
Pork belly and soju. Maybe it was because I hadn't touched a drop of alcohol since coming here, but the thought actually sounded quite tempting.
But that was a story for after a safe return.
That night, I ate only a single portion of dinner, took a light walk, and went to bed.
The cook looked disappointed that I didn't ask for seconds, but I chose to keep my body light.
No matter what, surviving came first.
The day of the tutorial arrived.
Since the entry date was set based on registration, there were five of us entering the tutorial today, including myself.
Two of them were people I had never spoken to.
One was a guy who picked a fight with me every time we crossed paths in the cafeteria.
And the last one was the "Back in my day" middle-aged man, who always swaggered around acting like he knew how to handle a sword.
We headed to the area designated for the tutorial entry.
At the end of the training center hallway, the door that had always been tightly shut finally opened.
Finally...
A sterile, white room resembling a laboratory welcomed us.
Plush chairs were arranged in the center, facing a wall made entirely of mirrors.
Behind that one-way mirror, the staff of the Babel Tower Climber Administration Bureau would be watching us.
They would be coldly evaluating us alongside our training data, guessing who would make it back alive.
Gulp.
The atmosphere was tense enough to make anyone nervous, no matter how hard they tried to stay calm.
"Welcome, Babel Tower climber candidates."
"Please take a seat in the chair labeled with your name."
I sat in the middle chair, which had my name on it.
Then—clack.
Restraints locked around my wrists and ankles.
"We are securing your bodies to prevent any accidents."
At the same time, holograms of various news articles popped up on the mirror.
When exiting a dungeon, the sudden sensation of being ejected could make you lose your balance.
If you were unlucky, you could fall backward upon returning from the tutorial and die of a concussion.
These chairs, resembling massage chairs, were heavily padded to prevent such accidents—even if they did lock down your hands and feet.
"Damn it, this is uncomfortable..." someone grumbled from my left.
It was the cafeteria whiner.
"It's not like I committed a crime. Why do I have to sit in a chair like this..."
The one muttering curses on my right was the "Back in my day" guy.
Of all the people to be stuck next to.
"Your entry into the tutorial will now begin."
"Please say 'Enter Babel Tower' aloud, and then answer 'Yes'."
"We wish you the best of luck."
The dry mechanical voice abruptly cut off.
"Enter Babel Tower."
As soon as I spoke the words, a flash of light filled my vision, and a semi-transparent window popped up.
Would you like to enter the tutorial?
The moment you say "Enter Babel Tower," you are supposed to be transported inside. But just this once, for the tutorial, it asks for confirmation.
It was like a final chance to back out.
Just as I was about to say yes...
"I-I can't do this...!"
"Cancel! I want to cancel! I really can't do this!"
Terrified voices cried out from both sides.
"Refusing the climb is not permitted."
Refusal was impossible. That was obvious. We were here because we signed a contract.
There was no way they would waive minor criminal records and clear debts for free.
"You are all talented individuals who have already completed the training to enter the tutorial."
This time, it wasn't a mechanical voice, but a human one that sounded just as dry. It was likely someone speaking from behind the mirror.
They called us "talented," but their voice held absolutely zero expectation. It sounded like they had dealt with this situation many times before.
"Therefore, please face this challenge with courage."
"Courage my ass!"
"You do it, you son of a bitch!"
"...I will repeat this once more."
"The restraints will not be released until you enter the tutorial."
"Please think carefully about what that means."
There was nothing to think carefully about.
It was either enter the tutorial, or piss and shit yourself while strapped to this chair.
Even if they resisted now, they would be begging to say "Yes" in two or three days.
I wanted to get out of here before things got that ugly.
"Yes," I answered, short and firm.
Instantly, I felt as if I were passing through a massive wall.
If I had to describe it, it felt like walking through an air curtain at an entrance. Or riding an elevator in a supertall skyscraper. Or maybe being strapped into a plunging roller coaster.
"Huff!"
When I came to, my surroundings had completely changed.
The sterile white room, the mirrored wall, and the chair that bound me were all gone.
It was pitch black. I couldn't even see my own feet when I looked down.
Out of all the tutorials, five required extra caution due to darkness: numbers 5, 9, 13, 20, and 21.
And this place was...
"Damn it," I muttered under my breath, spotting a faint light-green glow flickering in the distance.
The source of the green light was none other than Night Moss, commonly known as glowing moss.
Which meant this was Tutorial 9.
Tutorial 9: Underground Cave Survival.
A tutorial where one had to survive until the designated time inside a labyrinthine cave system with countless branching paths.
They called it a survival match, but the maze-like interior made it exponentially harder to stay alive.
Consequently, the survival rate of Tutorial 9 was a mere 0.5%.
Extreme. Hellish.
In short, I was as good as dead.
I had never considered myself lucky in life.
But still, couldn't I have just gotten Tutorial 1 for once?
Just as I was tearing my hair out in encroaching despair...
Climber: Lee Taepyeong
Babel Tower Entries: 1
Granting entry commemorative trait.
Right. Traits.
They said we would receive a trait as soon as we entered the tutorial.
I still had a chance. If only a decent trait popped up...!
Trait: Heavenly Slaughter Star
Huh? Heavenly Slaughter Star?
Granting skill based on trait.
Skill: Talent for Killing
Thanks to my diligent studying during training, I already knew that entering the tutorial granted a trait and a skill. I also knew they were interconnected.
But what on earth was this...?
Heavenly Slaughter Star. Cheon-sal-seong.
Heaven. Kill. Star.
A killer descended from the heavens. An entity chosen by heaven to wash the world in blood.
Isn't this that thing that always pops up in wuxia novels...? A wuxia-style psychopath?
Setting aside all the "heaven-sent" and "chosen by heaven" fluff, isn't it just a fancy word for a mass murderer?
And what the hell was Talent for Killing? What kind of chuunibyou skill was this...? It was incredibly vague.
Since all my training had prepared me for standard, predictable talents and skills, I was utterly bewildered.
Screeech!
Just then, a sharp shriek pierced the air. It wasn't a sound a human or any normal animal could make.
"...!"
I whipped my head around. Standing there was a bipedal rat, roughly a meter tall. It was even holding a knife.
A Ratman!
It was one of the monster species that spawned in Tutorial 9. They were practically blind, but possessed incredibly sharp senses of smell and hearing, and they moved extremely fast.
A Ratman's front teeth were so powerful that if you got bitten, you might as well accept that whatever body part they clamped onto was gone.
What should I do?
The answer was already decided. Tutorial 9 was strictly a "survival match." Unlike an extermination match where you had to kill every monster, you only needed to stay alive until the timer ran out.
In that case, I should run for now.
That was the safest bet. Even the instructors had said that fighting wasn't always the answer.
The Ratman had terrible eyesight. On top of that, there was a decent distance between us. If I just moved quietly...
Crack!
Right. I was currently suffering from a vision debuff as well. I had only taken a single step, but something snapped beneath my foot.
Screeech!
The Ratman lunged at me. The overgrown rodent charged directly toward the source of the sound, wildly slashing its knife.
If I got hit by even one of those slashes, I was dead. I had to dodge!
Crack!
Yet, my body moved in the exact opposite direction of my thoughts. Instead of running for my life, my fist shot out in a flash, dodging the blade and smashing directly into the Ratman's jaw.
"Scree, ch..."
The Ratman staggered from the sudden counterattack. I didn't miss the opening.
Thud!
I kicked its furry stomach. The Ratman collapsed to the ground, unable to even squeeze out a shriek.
Splat!
The moment the Ratman's body hit the damp cave floor, I stomped down. Crack! I crushed its neck. Instant death. The Ratman's life was extinguished in a split second.
"..."
What the hell just happened? I was dumbfounded.
Thump. Thump.
My heart was pounding like crazy. Was it out of fear? No... If anything, I felt excited.
Excited?
Am I insane? Why the hell would I be excited in this situation?
Could it be... Because of the Heavenly Slaughter Star?
Still dazed, I pried the knife from the dead Ratman's grip. It was incredibly rusty, but... it was better than nothing.
The moment I gripped the knife, my heart beat even faster. It felt like I could kill anything and everything. Was this confidence? No. It was different. It felt as natural as breathing...
Screeech!
Screee!
Before I could even define this sensation, I heard the sound of more Ratmen rushing toward me from the darkness.