Chapter 102 43. Entering the Tower
Entering the Tower
Chapter 103
As the light faded, my vision returned.
『As a reward for surviving the tutorial, you have obtained the 「Climber's Qualification.』
The light that had carried my senses eventually vanished completely.
In its place, a radiant wind blew in.
『Entering the Tower.』
『Welcome to the Tower, Climber Park Si-hyun.』
Before me stretched a pure white space.
All of Earth's survivors had gathered in this place.
And at its very center, a structure rose high like a tower.
At the summit of the tower, fifteen thrones gleamed brilliantly.
Each throne floated at a different height, radiating its own light.
This was an event to honor the most accomplished.
I sat quietly, gazing down below.
Murmurs—
The sterile white ground was packed with people.
They stretched all the way to the horizon.
The survivors' eyes climbed upward, tracing the small tower where we stood.
Everyone saw the tower's summit.
And there, of course—
『The tutorial achievements of the climbers have been calculated.』
『Rankings within Earth have been determined.』
—sat the fifteen most outstanding individuals from Earth.
Whoosh!
Each throne was enveloped in light, obscuring the faces of those seated.
「Read」
But to me, their interiors were perfectly visible.
Not even this transcendent light could blind my eyes.
『15th Place. Vizkes — 2,700 points』
"What?!"
A Black man appeared on the lowest and most modest throne.
His bewildered expression was unmistakable as he looked up.
『14th Place. Brown — 2,900 points』
A man who looked Mexican sat with a furrowed brow.
『13th Place. Oscar — 3,500 points』
A handsome white man appeared on the thirteenth throne, splendid and high.
He, too, seemed surprised by his current rank as he glanced upward.
『12th Place. Claire — 5,000 points』
A blonde beauty sat on the twelfth throne, equally splendid and elevated.
She looked visibly flustered at having manifested while already seated.
Her emerald eyes flicked downward before rising again.
『11th Place. Tirpe — 81,000 points』
Tirpe, wearing a mask, sat calmly on the tenth throne. Her tranquil gaze stared straight ahead, as if she had no interest in looking anywhere else.
Tirpe had contributed by controlling the Seoul zombies using the power of the Lord of Corpses, saving many lives.
『10th Place. Yu Yeon — 113,000 points』
Yu Yeon, who had provided minor assistance in the battle against the Incomplete Zombie with 「Depiction」.
『9th Place. Federica — 170,000 points』
A red-haired woman I had never seen in the game, dressed in a women's suit pants.
Her curly hair was tightly pulled back, revealing the fierce beauty of her sharp eyes.
She shot a dissatisfied glance upward.
『8th Place. Jang Hye-jeong — 310,000 points』
Professor Jang Hye-jeong, who had played a decisive role in the battle against the Incomplete Zombie with 「Tune」.
In her office wear, she was so startled that her glasses slid down to the tip of her nose.
『7th Place. Liu Yen — 390,000 points』
Another black-haired beauty I didn't recognize.
Dressed in a modified Chinese dress with stockings, she looked up.
But what followed was a series of unbelievable achievement scores—
Records she could never hope to reach.
『6th Place. Park Se-eun — 3,210,000 points』
On the sixth throne sat Park Se-eun, who had contributed alongside me to defeating the Incomplete Zombie.
She crossed her legs haughtily before glancing upward.
『5th Place. Kim Seon-hwa — 7,890,000 points』
On the fifth throne, Kim Seon-hwa sat with an unreadable expression.
『4th Place. Hayase — 12,100,000 points』
On the fourth-highest throne sat a bewildered Hayase.
『3rd Place. Kang So-eun — 12,230,000 points』
Kang So-eun, who had steadily eliminated zombies and created 「Fragment of Sanctuary」, drastically weakening the Incomplete Zombie.
She crossed her arms in displeasure.
Finally—
"...."
Park Ha-rin, who had always taken first place in the game's tutorial.
『2nd Place. Park Ha-rin — 40,320,000 points』
She sat arrogantly on the second throne, legs crossed.
Her entire body, save for her eyes and lips, was pure white as she glanced upward.
The highest and most resplendent throne she gazed upon—
『1st Place. Park Si-hyun — 69,700,000 points』
—was unshakably mine.
I rested my elbow on the ornate armrest and propped my chin on my hand.
My eyes met those of Park Ha-rin, seated on the throne just below.
I, Park Si-hyun, had never once seized this top position before.
But at last, today—
I had stolen first place from Park Ha-rin.
Everyone looked up at me, the highest among them.
But I had no intention of being satisfied with merely this position.
I tore my gaze away from Ha-rin below.
Then, I looked up at the white sky above.
What I aimed for was a height even the Tower—perhaps even these people—could not fathom.
『These records are disproportionate to the civilization's level relative to the tutorial's difficulty.』
『Numerous unprecedented records have appeared.』
『Rankings will now be recalculated based on the standards of civilizations across the universe.』
Normally, even first place in Earth's tutorial rarely exceeded 500,000 points.
But now, sixth place alone had 3,210,000.
Because the Incomplete Zombie had been that monstrous of an existence.
These were records that shouldn't have been possible even by universal standards.
When we entered the Tower, the climbers there would talk about this topic endlessly.
They would call us—
'The <Golden Generation>.'
Then, a message appeared in the white sky.
『15th Place. Vizkes — 2,700 points — <Excluded>』
『14th Place. Brown — 2,900 points — <Excluded>』
『13th Place. Oscar — 3,500 points — <Excluded>』
『12th Place. Claire — 5,000 points — <Excluded>』
『11th Place. Tirpe — 11,000 points — <Excluded>』
『10th Place. Yu Yeon — 13,000 points — <Excluded>』
『9th Place. Federica — 80,000 points
— All-Time Climber Ranking — 14,689,213th』
『8th Place. Jang Hye-jeong — 210,000 points
— All-Time Climber Ranking — 7,302,138th』
『7th Place. Liu Yen — 390,000 points
— All-Time Climber Ranking — 883,022nd』
The messages continued rising endlessly into the sky.
Soon, the heights they reached began to take on color.
The multicolored background transformed in an instant into the cosmos.
An infinitely vast nebula unfolded before my eyes.
『6th Place. Park Se-eun - 3.21 million
『5th Place. Kim Seon-hwa - 7.89 million
『4th Place. Hayase - 12.10 million
『3rd Place. Kang So-eun - 12.23 million - <All-Time Climber Ranking - 10th> 』
『2nd Place. Park Ha-rin - 40.32 million - <All-Time Climber Ranking - 2nd>』
Then, from the trembling center of the cosmos, my record emerged.
『1st Place. Park Si-hyun - 69.70 million - <All-Time Climber Ranking - 1st>』
It was the moment when light bathed everyone's faces.
My throne radiated a brilliance so dazzling it engulfed the universe.
"!"
This ranking was merely the throne of Earth, nothing more.
Yet it was an achievement no one else could have attained under these circumstances.
A miracle born from the existence of a regressor and the favor of the Lord of Corpses.
GRRRRRRUMBLE!
The Tower, wrapped in light, began to tremble.
"Kyaaaaah!"
"Uwaaaah!"
People lost their balance and collapsed from the tremors.
But the quake that swept through the entire Tower soon subsided.
A record the Tower itself couldn't help but acknowledge.
After a long silence, the Tower finally proclaimed:
『The greatest record in history has been inscribed upon the Tower.』
『A sacred record that none shall surpass has been born.』
『The Tower's history has reached a new turning point.』
FWOOSH!
A blinding white light surged before my eyes.
『2 Open-Ended Wish Vouchers have been awarded to the Eternal 1st Place.』
『1 Open-Ended Wish Voucher has been awarded to the All-Time 2nd Place.』
『1 Limited Wish Voucher has been awarded to the All-Time 5th Place.』
I never expected the rewards to be this generous.
Even I was surprised by the outcome.
Everyone looking up at me couldn't hide their astonishment.
Though I was inwardly exhilarated, I kept my composure, not letting it show on my face.
I simply observed everything with calm detachment.
Suddenly, stars twinkled in the night sky. Traces of meteors streaked across the firmament.
Five shooting stars descended from above.
Approaching me, Park Ha-rin, and Kang So-eun.
I reached out and grasped the luminous trails of the meteors.
Between my fingers, two cards materialized.
Starlight flowed from the cards, containing infinite universes within them.
『2 Open-Ended Wish Vouchers』
Though I lacked an inventory, the cards were absorbed into me like wisps of nebula.
Park Ha-rin and Kang So-eun each held their own cards before absorbing them as well.
The grand cosmos faded into the distance.
The colorless space soon returned to pure white.
The dazzling lights that had overwhelmed everyone dissipated.
The long tutorial had finally concluded.
Originally, it should have only awarded "Points"—the currency of the Tower.
But our achievements were simply too monumental.
『Due to unforeseen anomalies, the opening of the "Gate" has been delayed.』
『Please wait a moment.』
The commotion from the crowd below the Tower reached even our heights.
Yet the summit where we stood remained eerily silent.
Those who didn't know me watched me cautiously without exception.
The thrones were arranged in a circle like a round table, but their heights varied as if to emphasize the hierarchy of rankings.
This brief interlude we were granted created an uncomfortable tension.
Normally, we would have proceeded straight to "Job Selection" by now. Strange.
Then.
BANG!
A Chinese woman slammed her armrest. Her seething eyes glared at me with venom.
"What kind of trick did you pull, you bastard! This is fraud! Fraud! How can you Koreans monopolize the top ranks with scores like these!?"
I lowered my gaze.
The woman standing in protest from the 7th highest and most imposing throne was none other than Liu Yen.
The youthful beauty shooting daggers at us with her fiery gaze wore a striking modified qipao that revealed a glimpse of her ample cleavage. The high slits blatantly exposed her stocking bands. Her hair was coiled into dumpling-like buns on either side, cascading into twin tails—an eccentric style rarely seen in reality.
A quick scan revealed she was the daughter of the infamous Chinese crime syndicate, the "Black Society."
'How absurd.'
But her status window was anything but absurd.
She had every right to be indignant.
『Status Window』
---------------------
Name: Liu Yen
Level: 41
Height: 161.2cm, 49kg
Titles: None
Occupation: None
Gender: Female (22)
Origin: China
Sexual Experience: Virgin (0)
Status: Enraged, Dumbfounded
+Stats
[Strength 301][Agility 421][Stamina 432][Mana 229]
+Abilities
[Grow Stronger]
+Skills
[Army-Breaking Star (Mythic Grade)]
[Aura of the Fist King (Heroic Grade)]
[Fierce Dragon Tiger Fist (Rare Grade)]
[Fist Pressure (Common Grade)]
---------------------
"[Grow Stronger]."
Because she possessed an utterly ridiculous ability.
I subtly glanced at Tirpe, who caught my gaze and shook her head.
She didn't recognize this woman either.
"I slaughtered zombies nonstop in our homeland! And yet I'm not first place? Where else could have more zombies than our homeland!?"
Just as I was about to speak—
"Shut the hell up and sit down."
A cold voice cut through from the throne below and beside mine.
Park Ha-rin, seated regally on the 2nd place throne with her legs crossed, exuded lethality.
"The results speak for themselves, don't they? So why don't you sit tight? Or do you want to die nicely?"
Though the barrier of light prevented us from seeing each other,
『2nd Place. Park Ha-rin - 40.32 million - <All-Time Climber Ranking - 2nd>』
『7th Place. Liu Yen - 390,000 - <All-Time Climber Ranking - 883,022nd>』
The difference was undeniable.
The fiery Liu Yen, who had been brimming with outrage, turned deathly pale upon comparing the messages.
—...I thought my ability was already insane. Just how broken are theirs?
Liu Yen's lips turned deathly pale as she clenched them tightly between her teeth. Her plump buttocks dropped back onto the seat with a frustrated thud.