Chapter 1
Chapter 1
Isn’t There Supposed to Be No Guns in This World?
I suddenly jumped up and shouted.
Everyone, I did it! I reincarnated!
“This can’t be!”
It had already been twenty years since I was born into this world.
And now, I remembered my past life.
I had originally been an ordinary man in South Korea.
But I died young for some reason. I don’t remember exactly why.
My past life’s Korea was complete chaos.
One day, towers suddenly appeared all over the world.
If they weren’t cleared within a certain time, monsters would pour out from them.
That’s when hunters appeared.
Hunters climbed the towers and prevented them from collapsing.
Something that felt like it came straight out of a web novel had become reality, and back then, it shocked me to no end.
But just because I regained my memories didn’t mean anything special.
Because this world is the same.
“They say the Hero cleared the 72nd floor this time!”
“As expected of the Hero!”
The place where my second life unfolds is a medieval fantasy world.
A world of swords and magic, set in a medieval backdrop but made somewhat convenient thanks to the development of magic.
There are also “towers” all over this world.
Their system is almost identical to the modern ones.
You clear each floor by defeating monsters or completing conditions.
As you climb, you gain rewards and opportunities to grow stronger.
But if the top floor isn’t updated within a time limit, the tower collapses and monsters spill out.
The only difference lies in the people who climb them.
Here, they’re called climbers.
And they’re quite different from the hunters of my past life.
This world already had swords and magic.
Even before the towers appeared, there were many powerful individuals who wielded mysterious abilities.
For example, heroes born in small kingdoms and their parties.
Or the emperor of the Golden Empire and his knights.
There are people from magic towers, wandering mages, and even non-human races like elves, beastfolk, and dwarves.
In short, compared to soft modern humans, this world already had strong individuals from the start.
Because of that, climbers seemed to clear towers quickly.
Even without tower rewards, they advanced steadily.
But the towers weren’t so easy.
Around the 50th floor, news began spreading of powerful individuals failing their climbs.
After that, the difficulty increased exponentially.
By the 60th floors, people were dying or giving up entirely.
Now, the pace of progress has slowed.
The highest cleared floor is currently 72.
And even that update took months.
The entire world is now focused on conquering the towers.
“But what does that matter…”
I lay flat in the garden and sighed deeply.
Calling it a garden was generous—it was just a patch of grass.
Our family had nearly fallen into ruin, so even the gardener had been dismissed.
My father, the head of the family, used to tend it occasionally, but recently his back had worsened, so even that stopped.
My name is Ian Haiger. The eldest son of the Haiger baron family.
“Even my name is Ian? That’s such a common name.”
Now that I remembered my past life, even my name felt funny.
In most web novels, the protagonist is named Ian.
There was even a novel from some magic forum where the protagonist was also Ian.
At least I’m a noble—
but that doesn’t mean much anymore.
Our Haiger family originally belonged to a country called the Euroho Federation.
It was a weak alliance formed by lords, but that’s not important.
What matters is how they responded to the towers.
When the towers first appeared, countries debated how to handle them.
Their responses split into two groups.
The first said, “Send some people in and climb.”
Empires, northern duchies, magic towers, and beastfolk alliances—groups with strong combat power.
The second said, “It’s a trick of evil demons,” or “We’re too busy surviving, just ignore it.”
Smaller nations like the Euroho Federation chose this option.
And the correct answer was the first.
Those who climbed prevented collapse.
Those who ignored them—
faced disaster.
The first collapse happened in the Euroho Federation.
Even smaller nations allowed individuals to climb.
Climbers are chosen by the tower, after all.
But the Euroho Federation made the worst decision possible.
They banned climbing entirely.
Knights and soldiers, often chosen as climbers, were forbidden.
They feared losing military strength.
“What tower? Go guard the front lines!”
And so—
they were wiped out.
The towers collapsed, and the nation disappeared.
Neighboring countries sealed their borders.
So how did my family survive?
Pure luck.
Our territory bordered the Empire.
When collapse began, we begged.
“Take everything, just accept us!”
The Empire, being a melting pot of conquered lands, accepted us.
They included our territory within their borders.
But in exchange—
we gave everything.
90% of taxes go to the Empire.
We provide goods and manpower.
If they lift their protection—
we die.
Still, we can’t complain.
Defending against tower disasters costs far more.
“Nothing to do out here… when was the last time I ate meat…”
We’re nobles in name only.
We were originally counts—but got downgraded.
Even with past life memories—
what can I do?
I don’t even remember much.
Just that I was modern.
“Maybe I can invent food… or make a game with illusion magic…”
No.
I shouldn’t give up yet.
There must be something useful.
At least I could write a novel—
Isn’t cultural domination the standard for reincarnators?
“I’m screwed.”
Nothing came to mind.
Novels? Terrible.
Food? I don’t know how to make cola.
Magic games? I can’t even use magic.
No cheats.
No system.
Starting from scratch is impossible.
“Wait… not yet.”
I steeled myself.
Others must have done it too.
But reality—
was harsh.
And then—
text appeared before my eyes.
[You have been selected as a new climber of the Tower of Trials (Brillord Empire).]
[Climbing is now available.]
[Climber’s Plaza unlocked.]
[Awakening trait…]
“No way! Everyone, I did it! I awakened!”
At the brink—
I awakened.
A climber.
That meant someone else died—
but the chance came to me.
“I can do this!”
Like hunters in Korea—
this was a chance to change my life.
Even low difficulty runs could earn money.
But low difficulty has limits.
Higher risk means greater rewards.
Otherwise—
growth stagnates.
“Well, that’s for top climbers.”
Even farming low floors makes money.
“But I’m not that kind of guy.”
Our family needs more.
I want to restore its glory.
So—
I’ll aim higher.
“First, my trait.”
This was the most important.
Traits define strength.
Even ordinary people can become strong.
Heroes are best—
but even I might reach them.
With time.
“Please be something good!”
I prayed.
[Trait determined.]
I took a deep breath.
Opened my status window.
And saw—
[Gunman]
“…This world doesn’t even have guns?”