Entering the Tower

Failure was simply not an option. Not this time.

If I botched this concoction, the only thing waiting for me would be another tower of instant cup ramen boxes accumulating in the corner of my workshop. Not that I had any intention of failing.

I pictured his face—Lee Minseok. A surge of white-hot rage slammed into the base of my neck, immediately cooling into a razor-sharp, chilling clarity. My concentration was through the roof. Channeling that fury into an alchemical brew might not have been standard practice, but my success was the only route to vengeance.

"So, my sweet little Ice Flame Poison," I murmured, leaning over the counter. "Be a darling and come out perfect, won't you?"

Following the recipe step by step, I ground down the dried Fire Bear's Bear Gallbladder into a fine powder. According to the instructions, this meticulous grinding process was crucial for raising the concoction's Mana Conductivity.

Just as dictated, I brought measured portions of Freezing Herb to a boil in purified water. A biting chill rolled off the beaker, dropping the ambient temperature of the laboratory several degrees, but a draft of cold was the least of my concerns. When the azure leaves of the herb turned chalk-white, I filtered out the plant impurities, leaving behind a luminous blue base, and stirred in the crimson gallbladder powder.

That was all it took.

After a few moments of settling, a curious, mesmerizing liquid took shape—ruby-red embers suspended like stardust drifting through a sea of sapphire.

"Yes!"

I pumped my fist and immediately checked the item's properties.

"So this is Ice Flame Poison..."

Hypothermia was par for the course with Freezing Herb, but a poison that increased elemental resistance? Unheard of. And on top of that, a chance at a permanent resistance buff? Even if the trigger rate was razor-thin, acquiring elemental resistance was one of the rarest feats in the entire awakened world.

Elemental dungeons were practically suicide marches without dedicated resistance gear, and even middling elemental defensive equipment commanded prices starting in the tens of millions of won. Fire resistance in ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠particular was the rarest and most inflated of them all. If this worked, the profit margins would be astronomical.

And to think this came out of bottom-shelf, bargain-bin ingredients.

"Whew... I need to hit the bathroom." The adrenaline had hit my bladder so hard I'd nearly wet myself right there, saved only by raw willpower.

After taking care of business and washing my hands, I stared down at the single vial sitting on my drying rack. What was the best move here? My bank account was empty, and I had exactly one dose. Before trying to hawk it, I needed empirical proof of its real-world efficacy.

Of course, before heading out into mortal danger, a little online bragging was mandatory.

"Please... let this work," I muttered under my breath. It might not look like much to a high-ranking hunter, but that single vial held literally every last cent to my name.

After a short while, my preparations for tackling Floor 1 were complete. I strapped on the standard starter armor kit rented from ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the Hunter Association, then drew my beginner-grade steel longsword. Taking a small rag, I carefully coated the sharpened edge with Homemade Paralysis Poison brewed from Thorn Bee venom. With that, my offensive loadout was set. It would be more than enough to handle low-tier goblins and gnolls.

As for the trial's physical stamina test, all those grueling morning runs I had forced myself through would carry me across the finish line. The sole wild card was the fire trial.

The Ice Flame Poison has to hold, I thought. If it negates the heat, I'm golden.

Then Floor 1 would be clear as day.

The shimmering blue prompt brought cold sweat to my palms. I took a deep, steadying breath. "Whew..."

Maximum caution at all times. Use the safe zones wisely, and if things look hairy, hit the return stone instantly.

"Let's do this."

With a firm nod, I selected Yes. Pillars of dazzling radiance materialized around my boots, swallowing my vision in a soft, roaring vortex of light.

Rewind the clock slightly, and head over to the White Tiger Guild Headquarters—one of South Korea's undisputed apex hunter syndicates.

Within its opulent corridors resided a very particular, very troublesome young princess. Right at this moment, she was slumped across an imported leather sofa inside the executive suite: Baek Juyeong, the sheltered youngest daughter of Guild Leader Baek Dogwang.

"Manager Oh," Baek Dogwang said, his voice deep and rumbling like tectonic plates. "Make sure Juyeong is fully prepared to conquer the First Floor."

"Guild Leader, regarding that... the situation is rather—"

"You do understand why I keep you around, don't you?"

Oh Taesu swallowed his protest, bowing his head in submission. "...Yes, sir."

"Finding solutions is your job. I believe I have afforded you more than enough time. Have a viable method for Juyeong to clear Floor 1 on my desk by the end of today."

"Understood, sir."

"You may leave."

The heavy mahogany door clicked shut behind Taesu. A solution... If one existed, he would have secured it long ago. Outfitting the pampered princess of the White Tiger Guild with top-tier gear was child's play for an organization of their wealth.

"Of all the luck... why did she have to draw the fire trial?" Taesu cursed silently, pressing a palm to his throbbing temples. Fire-resistance equipment was virtually nonexistent on the open market. Every single piece that popped up on the auction houses was snapped up instantly at ridiculous markups by desperate raid teams.

Taesu knocked gently on the door to Juyeong's private lounge. "Lady Juyeong. It's Manager Oh."

"Yeah... come in," came a limp, sullen whine.

Opening the door, Taesu stepped inside and took in the scene. "Are you feeling all right...?"

"Manager Oh! Please talk some sense into my father!" Juyeong bolted upright, her eyes flashing with indignant outrage. "Has he completely lost his mind?! How on earth am I supposed to throw myself into an active inferno?!"

Taesu kept his mouth firmly shut, letting the wave break over him.

"It's fire! Actual fire! People die in there! Who cares if I awakened as a B-rank?! What's the point of having high rank if it just gets me roasted alive?!"

Her pent-up frustration toward her father poured out in an unfiltered torrent. Taesu waited until she ran out of breath before offering a gentle, practiced bow.

"Lady Juyeong. I will personally find a way."

"Ugh... I'm sorry, Uncle Taesu. And... thank you..." Juyeong deflated back into the plush cushions. Taesu had watched her grow up from infancy. She had been sheltered, adored, and spoiled rotten by her family. But Guild Leader Baek Dogwang had decided that her awakening marked the end of childhood tantrums, and had ordered her to scale the Black Tower without delay.

"I never even asked to awaken," she sniveled into a silk pillow, tears welling in her eyes. "Sob..."

Yet blood was blood. Born into the ruling house of the White Tiger Guild, one enjoyed immense privilege—and bore commensurate responsibility.

"...I will take my leave now, milady."

Sympathy wouldn't solve her dilemma; only practical utility would. Taesu returned to his desk and began trawling through hunter community boards. He scanned Blacksmith forums, Pet Trainer boards, and craft-class hunter galleries, reading everything from sticky notices to the freshest threads.

"Nothing... not a single lead..."

Diving deeper through the web of subforums, he eventually found himself scraping the bottom of the internet barrel. Among hundreds of obscure hubs, a very peculiar board surfaced from his boolean search parameters.

There's actually a community for this?

Poison Minor Gallery.

It was so utterly dead that the total post count barely scraped past a thousand. Taesu had practically forgotten that poison-type awakeners even existed in South Korea.

The sticky notice sat alone at the top, flanked by a modest trail of diary-like entries written by the head moderator. It was practically a ghost town. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Just as Taesu was about to click away and mark the lead as a dead end, the page refreshed with a brand-new post.

[General] Successfully brewed Ice Flame Poison!

"Ice Flame Poison...?" Taesu murmured. He clicked through out of sheer habit, skimming the novice's notes. Then, his eyes locked onto a single bullet point.

3. Fire Resistance Boost.

In all his years managing White Tiger's logistical acquisitions, Taesu had vetted thousands of artifacts, potions, and scrolls. He pridefully considered himself an encyclopedia on emergent Tower consumables.

A poison... that raises elemental resistance?

It defied conventional alchemical theory. But with his back against the wall, Taesu had nothing to lose. Rather than waiting for forum replies, confirming it face-to-face would be infinitely faster. Finding the creator's real-world workshop took only a few clicks of association database lookup.

"Poison Laboratory..." Taesu muttered, grabbing his coat off the rack.

The teleportation radiance dissolved, rushing past my eyes in a swirl of shimmering motes to reveal a scorched, alien landscape.

As expected of the Red theme, scarlet hues painted every inch of the horizon. And then hit the heat.

"Damn it... of course it's fire."

The suffocating thermal wash was staggering. Even enclosed within the shimmering boundary of the floor's entrance safe zone, my skin felt baked dry. If it felt this scorching inside a protected ward, stepping outside meant instant heatstroke or worse.

Fewer than one in ten awakeners ever managed to breach the elemental trial of Floor 1. But having prepared for the absolute worst-case scenario, I kept my nerve. If it fails, I just pop back home.

Directly past the boundary lay a yawning chasm of bubbling magma. Above the molten lake hovered a chain of Floating Stones, levitating stepping stones suspended in midair. Each slab was barely wide enough to plant a single boot. Navigating the crossing required intense balance and focus, though for an awakened body, that wasn't insurmountable. The true nightmare lay underneath.

Intermittent geysers of roaring flame erupted from the molten gorge without warning. The moment a climber was grazed by the blistering heat, they lost their balance and plummeted into the lava. I didn't need a guidebook to tell me that; the death tolls of climbers who never returned spoke for themselves.

No matter how lucrative the First Floor clear rewards were, you only had one life.

"If I can just withstand the heat, the crossing is completely doable."

Which brought me to the trump card nestled against my chest: Ice Flame Poison.

"Do your thing, buddy... please!"

Pop!

The rubber stopper came off with a crisp, cheerful sound that felt absurdly out of place amid the roar of volcanic magma. Without hesitating, I tipped the glass back and drained the shimmering blue liquid, crimson specks and all.

Gulp.

An icy, refreshing wave slid down my throat, punctuated by pleasant bursts of warmth radiating outward into my chest. The contrast was surprisingly invigorating.

"Wait... what the hell is this?"

A status log like this had never appeared for me before. In fact, I had never heard of anyone witnessing a readout that broke down the biochemical reaction of an ingested toxin in real time. But thanks to this new interface, every subtle effect of the poison laid itself bare before my eyes.

And more importantly...

"It actually progged the permanent stat...?"

A wide, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠predatory grin split across my face as the sweltering air of the cavern suddenly felt cool against my skin. A whole new realm of possibilities had just kicked down the door.