The Swordsman's Arrival
11th Floor.
Jin-ho Lee emerged from the 10th floor looking immaculate. Upon arriving in Marin, one of the villages on the 11th floor, he glanced around.
"Impressive."
He had expected nothing more than a simple rest stop, but the village was remarkably well-equipped. Bakeries displayed fresh loaves, and the clang of hammers rang out from forges where smoke curled into the air. Conquerors in various gear walked the streets, and among them were beings whose forms differed from humans.
"So this is what the Tower truly looks like once the Tutorial ends."
Reaching the 11th floor had granted him the class Sword Dragon. The sword techniques passed down in his family had become skills, and he had received a new blade as a reward.
Jin-ho drew the sword and allowed a faint smile to cross his lips.
"Not bad. Rare grade means it's better than normal, at least."
The sword he had used since the 1st floor had never felt right—its balance was off in every way. This new one was still inferior to the blade he kept at home, but it was far more usable than the Tutorial weapon he had been forced to wield.
He stored the broken sword from his boss fight in his inventory and fastened the new one at his waist. Only then did he notice the stares directed at him from every direction.
What now?
"Who's that guy?"
"He just popped up in the square. Newbie?"
"About time new people started showing up. But isn't he way too early? The timing's off."
"Then what the hell is he?"
"That's..."
The Conquerors gathered in the square all turned their gazes toward Jin-ho at once. After the Tower's remake, everyone who had fallen to the 1st floor had returned to the 11th. They had confirmed it through the message carved into the sky: all who cleared the Tutorial must now push toward the 12th floor.
Which meant the man before them was a newcomer.
"Wait... does that mean this guy just entered this cycle and he's already...?"
"Insane..."
They had seen plenty of new arrivals and knew exactly when they were supposed to appear. By their calculations, Jin-ho was an unprecedented talent. Among those who had cleared the Tutorial since the remake, only those who had already reached the 20th floor surpassed him. Excluding them, he was without question number one.
A monster in human skin.
Yet none of their whispers interested him.
Am I the only one who just arrived? Or maybe, like they said, I really was the first to clear the Tutorial.
Jin-ho pieced the situation together from their conversation. Given how quickly he had cleared the Tutorial, reaching this village in five days should have been impossible. Pride in his family, who had prepared for this moment for generations, swelled within him.
At that moment, he sensed someone approaching from behind.
Who—?!
Jin-ho flinched and spun around, his senses still razor-sharp from recent battles. Even so, he had failed to detect the man until he was right there. His eyes swept over the stranger, assessing him in an instant.
The armor was excessive, and the sword was chipped, but for someone protecting a single life, it was understandable.
Not a swordsman, it seems.
"Whew... that was a pain in the ass."
The man looked around, ignored Jin-ho completely, and dropped to the ground with a heavy thud. Only then did their eyes meet.
The moment their gazes locked, Jin-ho felt an inexplicable hostility rise within him. His hand instinctively moved toward his sword.
What the hell is this feeling?
He had never experienced anything like it. The man sitting on the ground smirked, and even that smile looked twisted to Jin-ho.
"Hey. Why are you glaring at me like that? And you even grabbed your sword? Are you threatening me right now?"
The future's strongest swordsman, Jin-ho Lee, and the man who had once killed him, Yoo Ji-sung, had finally met.
"My apologies earlier. I was on edge and acted rudely."
"Ah, I get it. Still, half-drawing your sword was a bit much. We fight monsters to the death in this Tower, but we don't have to fight each other, right?"
Yoo Ji-sung replied with a sly grin. The two of them were now seated in a nearby inn, eating. After exchanging their mana stones for currency, they had both sought a place to rest and ended up together.
Jin-ho picked at his food with clear distaste.
I understand. I was the same at first.
This wasn't foreign cuisine—it was food from another world entirely. Some Conquerors never adapted to the Tower's meals.
Watching Jin-ho finally set down his utensils, Yoo Ji-sung chuckled.
"Food not to your liking?"
"It will take time to adjust."
"Yeah... same here. I was starving, so I didn't have much choice."
Still as handsome as ever. Total protagonist material.
Yoo Ji-sung glanced at Jin-ho's face. He remembered how many women had followed him in the future. Feeling oddly irritated, he deliberately shoveled food into his mouth with exaggerated gusto, savoring the envious look that flickered across Jin-ho's eyes before turning his gaze outside.
"You said your name was Jin-ho Lee, right?"
"Yes. Yoo Ji-sung."
"You mentioned you just entered the Tower like me. From the way you carry that sword, I assume it's your main weapon. Your build suggests speed over raw power. You look pretty strong. Have you been training with the blade for a long time?"
Jin-ho's eyes lit up at the question. Guessing someone's main weapon from the sword at their waist was simple enough, but reading their fighting style from physique alone was not.
"Have you studied martial arts?"
"Not really. My family is... unusual. I picked it up whether I wanted to or not. Because of that, I've met a lot of strange people. It lets me size someone up pretty accurately just by looking."
Jin-ho fell into thought. An unusual family. Meeting strange people because of it. The words struck something deep inside him.
"Perhaps... No, never mind."
He had almost asked if Jin-ho's family was similar to his own, but something held him back. If they were connected to the same circles, he would have known.
Maybe his family has no ties to ours. No visible scars, yet he clearly trained his body. No obvious traits... perhaps some kind of spellcaster?
When Yoo Ji-sung appeared in the square, his reward had been a pair of black leather gloves embedded with gems—not a weapon. They didn't look like armor either. Jin-ho guessed they were meant to channel some ability gained from clearing the Tutorial.
His sword was far too damaged for someone who supposedly uses one. He must have picked it up just to survive. His real power lies elsewhere.
Yoo Ji-sung smiled inwardly at Jin-ho's contemplative expression.
Head hurting yet, kid? You must be dying to know who I am. Too bad. I'm not telling you a damn thing. Not after you kicked away my gift.
Through Kairas, he had learned the general details of Jin-ho's family and confirmed there were no connections between them. A man from an unusual bloodline who had cleared the Tutorial around the same time as him—perfect material to build rapport and draw him in.
"You know how in games, veterans always try to rip off newbies the moment they show up? Doesn't seem like that happens here. The way everyone's staring and sticking to their own groups... they look like a bunch of stuck-up cliques."
"It does seem that way. They probably have no time to spare. The prophecy spoke of an impending disaster."
"Tsk... I really wanted to believe the old man just misread the heavens."
The voice was quiet, but not so quiet that it went unheard. Jin-ho's body twitched. Yoo Ji-sung merely shrugged as if he had said nothing at all.
"Since things turned out like this, how about we form a party? We can share information and figure out how to climb together. The Tutorial just kept feeding us quests and then gave us rewards once we finished, so..."
"No. Let's put that off for now. I'd rather stay solo for the time being."
"What?"
A crack appeared in Yoo Ji-sung's smile. Jin-ho, head lowered in apology, didn't see it. The inexplicable hostility he felt toward Yoo Ji-sung made him want distance. He also wanted to test his own limits in this Tower.
Yoo Ji-sung couldn't understand.
"Even if you prefer being alone, two people would be better."
"It would. But since I don't know how far this Tower goes, I'd like to challenge it alone as much as possible."
"If that's what you want, then fine."
"I'll be going ahead, then."
Feeling guilty for refusing, Jin-ho no longer felt comfortable staying. He stood and left the inn.
Once he confirmed no one was around, Yoo Ji-sung ground his teeth.
"That little shit. He actually turned me down?"
He had prepared everything to form a party with Jin-ho. With Kairas's help, he had adjusted his stats to hide his true power and even researched Jin-ho's background to create common ground. Jin-ho's speed through the Tutorial had been so absurd that Yoo Ji-sung had nearly screamed.
And this was the result.
"Hey."
Yoo Ji-sung waved over the trembling clerk. She was one of the villagers who had been forced into the role after the Tower's inhabitants struck a deal with him. She knew exactly who his enemy was, and because she knew he was the Tower's master, she could only tremble in fear. Her cat ears quivered atop her head.
"Y-Yes?"
"From now on, serve the food here in the style of the Purkos Continent. That bastard seemed to like it. Get rid of everything else."
"U-Understood."
Yoo Ji-sung left the inn. His plan to turn Jin-ho into an ally had failed from the very start. He decided to settle for petty revenge while waiting for the next opportunity.
Thud!
Slash!
Jin-ho's sword flashed. From low to high, then diagonally downward—his blade left the 11th floor's monsters with no chance to dodge. He twisted his waist to avoid the swinging paw of a Blood Wolf the size of a fully grown boar, then drove his sword through its tough hide like paper.
"Krrraaagh!"
The wolf collapsed with a dying scream. Jin-ho exhaled heavily, sweat dripping down his face. He had acquired new protective gear and wiped the sweat away.
Monster corpses lay scattered in every direction. The body of a Hobgoblin—something that shouldn't appear until beyond the 12th floor—was among them. Most had died in a single strike. It was the kind of power only those who had cleared at least the 15th floor could display.
"Is this the tenth time?"
Jin-ho frowned. Time had passed since he arrived in the village, and he had completed ten subjugation quests. He had searched for a way to reach the 12th floor but found nothing. For two weeks now, he had been surviving on rations because the local food didn't suit him. Both physically and mentally, he was exhausted.
He sat on a rock he found while walking through the forest and let out a frustrated sigh.
"Most of the other newcomers have probably reached the villages by now. What exactly does this Tower want from us?"
He spread out his map and marked his current location with an X. He had ventured quite deep into the forest. After ten subjugation quests, he had been pushed farther in. As a result, he rarely encountered other Conquerors anymore. The place he stood was too dangerous for even a full party to approach casually.
After preparing to head back, Jin-ho began walking. The red moon hanging in the sky cast an eerie light.
At the sight of that moon, his steps came to an abrupt halt.