Chapter 2

“Is this the first floor of the Tutorial Tower?”

Wonderful.

Just moments ago, I was in a pure white space, and now suddenly a forest.

I quickly scanned my surroundings and looked up at the system window floating in the air.

I'd seen this on the internet plenty of times.

The mission to take down 50 goblins.

Clear it, and you move to the next floor. Fail or die, and you drop back to the first floor.

The same conditions applied to every other floor, so in the Tutorial Tower, you didn't have to worry about death.

Just climb back up from floor one if you kicked the bucket.

Maybe that's why I wasn't scared at all.

Well, I was never one to get spooked easily anyway.

I rolled my neck lightly and clenched my fist.

My unique skill, Black Dragon.

I'd wanted to test it out in the safe zone before coming here, but I hadn't gotten the chance.

So now was as good a time as any.

I focused my mind, desperately wishing for Black Dragon to activate, just like I'd read online.

A ticklish sensation started in my right hand.

Scales began sprouting from the back of my right hand.

One by one at first, then in an instant, they covered my entire right hand.

The matte scales that didn't even reflect light enveloped my hand completely. I widened my eyes in shock.

“So this is a skill.”

It felt surreal.

My right hand no longer looked human—it was like a monster's.

I raised my left hand and lightly tapped the scales on my right.

“Whoa. Solid as hell?”

It felt like striking steel plating.

And my nails seemed a bit sharper too.

As I inspected my transformed right hand, I sensed movement ahead and looked up.

There stood a green dwarf, clutching a club as big as its torso, flicking its tongue at me.

“Kirik! Kiririk!”

The thing slammed its club into the ground in excitement.

Then it bared its yellowed teeth, caked with flesh, and charged at me.

Its beastly yellow eyes gleamed with sharp killing intent.

...So that's what killing intent feels like.

Separate from how gross the goblin looked, this was my first time sensing real killing intent, and it wasn't pleasant at all.

It pissed me off.

I grimaced and thrust my right hand toward the charging goblin.

“Kieek!”

Whoosh!

The goblin swung its club right as I punched.

The long wooden club and my scaled fist drew closer.

The moment they met—

“Hm?”

The club shattered into splinters like it was nothing.

“Kik—.”

The goblin behind it let out a short death rattle as its head turned to bloody mush.

Its headless body staggered, then collapsed into a massive hunk of meat on the grassy ground.

I blinked at the goblin's corpse, dead in one hit.

“They said goblins are weak, but this weak?”

Goblins were supposed to be gross but easy once you got used to them.

So I'd just gone at it head-on, but I hadn't expected it to die so easily.

Well, if I'd been in my normal body, I probably couldn't have handled it like that.

Maybe Black Dragon was a better skill than I'd thought.

“...Doesn't feel like anything.”

This was my first time killing something.

Monsters were alive too, after all.

But it didn't faze me at all.

Maybe because I hadn't felt fear even when I was falling earlier.

Or maybe... did I have a screw loose?

I pondered seriously while shaking the blood off my hand, then glanced ahead.

“Kik, kiik...”

Another goblin, growling low as it backed away unsteadily.

Whatever. Screw loose or not, it didn't matter.

This was a sight I'd have to get used to anyway.

So I needed to catch that one quick and fill the quota.

It'd take a while to hit 50.

I took a step toward the retreating goblin.

“Huh? What the—?”

Monsters were supposed to be hostile to humans.

But the goblin suddenly turned tail and bolted.

“Where do you think ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠you're going?”

Black Dragon was a growth-type skill, so clearing the Tutorial Tower would take time.

Better to blast through floor one quick, but now the goblin was running.

I frowned and kicked off the ground, chasing after it.

Maybe that goblin was a golden goblin or something.

That thought crossed my mind as I hid behind a rock.

“Kiik! Kiiik!”

“Kik?”

“Kiiiik!”

A nonstop chorus of goblin cackles.

Some had what looked like huts, so this must be their village.

“One, two...”

Chasing the runaway had led me to even more goblins.

Rough count: at least 50.

No need to hunt around.

“One punch per goblin, huh...”

Just 50 punches.

I smirked and stepped out from behind the rock.

“This can't be harder than hauling cement in 35-degree heat.”

Five years of manual labor—I was confident in my stamina.

I flexed my right hand repeatedly as I advanced.

“Kiik?”

“Kaaak!”

They roared the moment they spotted me.

All of them looked hideous.

And they were radiating hostility from every direction without me doing a thing.

Tear it to shreds. Devour it as prey.

I muttered softly after reading the intent mixed in their malice.

“Guess the only good goblin is a dead goblin, huh.”

Couldn't be helped.

Time to make them good the hard way.

I grinned and faced the lead goblin ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠charging at me.

“Hup!”

I poured way more power into this punch than the last one.

I threw the punch.

“...!”

Boom—KABOOM!

A deafening explosion echoed.

My ears rang as I frowned and staggered back.

Thick dust billowed up.

I covered my mouth with my sleeve amid the haze and couldn't hold back the words.

“Holy shit...”

Something was wrong.

No, seriously.

What kind of growth skill did this on the first swing?

It hadn't even grown yet, and one punch did this?

Just one full-power swing, and the goblin village was wiped off the map.

And this was only 0.2% power.

I swallowed dryly and stared at my scaled right arm.

Black Dragon.

No ordinary skill.

I clenched my scaled fist tight and closed my eyes.

Bright light was already rising from the ground to send me to the next floor.

I reached the fifth floor in the blink of an eye.

Floors two through four had the same monster-slaying missions as the first—like "Defeat 50 kobolds"—so that made sense.

Climbing to five, I felt it deep in my bones.

“My right hand is too strong.”

Way too strong.

One punch solved everything.

I couldn't figure out why a skill that shouldn't be strong was strong.

It left me flustered.

At this rate, I'd be the fastest to clear the Tutorial Tower ever.

Anyway.

“They say hunters get better stamina. That it?”

I'd been swinging nonstop to reach five.

Yet I wasn't tired at all. Weirdly so.

But good was good, so I didn't dwell.

“And this.”

I glanced sideways from my right hand.

Synchronization Rate.

If I wasn't seeing things, it had ticked up to 0.2% when I punched the goblin village.

But nothing since.

Other parts unlock as it rises, but how the hell do I raise it?

“Eh, I'll figure it out later.”

I could sort the rest after topping the Tutorial Tower.

Right now, one thing: escape this place.

That meant clearing floor five.

Floor five changed things up.

Previous floors were simple kill quests, but this was a maze escape.

No strategy guides from here.

Maze layouts were unique per person.

Walls were indestructible, and even cracks repaired instantly, or so the net said.

Lose your way, and you'd suffer for a month.

“Hmm...”

But.

“Do I really need the straight path?”

A shortcut gleamed in my eyes.

I cautiously stroked a towering wall with my scaled right hand.

Solid?

Can't break it?

Something's off.

“How'd they know cracks heal if no one tried breaking it?”

Someone must've tried—and stopped at "cracks form."

So it could be broken.

Just no one strong enough.

I pulled my right arm back.

And—

“Hup!”

—slammed it full force.

Boom—CRASH!

A massive boom echoed.

Dust rose thick.

As it settled, revealing the result, I grinned in satisfaction.

“There we go.”

I'd smashed the "unbreakable" maze wall on floor five—something no one else could.

Effortlessly.

Smirking, I hopped over the rubble.

“Whoa.”

Rumble!

The wall regenerated instantly behind me.

I glanced at it, now restored, then looked ahead.

No time to dawdle—keep moving.

I unleashed another full-power punch forward.

I kept smashing walls, pushing forward.

Three hours straight now, maybe.

How long?

Excitement for what lay ahead had long faded.

Now I wondered if I'd taken a wrong turn.

I smashed another wall and raised my fist for the next.

Then—

“...!?”

The ground vanished beneath me.

Like a switch flipped, the scenery winked out.

No ground anywhere.

No walls.

Pure darkness everywhere.

And I plummeted straight down.

“Ugh...”

Penalty for not taking the proper route?

This was bullshit.

I flailed my right hand for anything to grab.

Nothing there.

Air...

An unknown pressure choked my throat.

Oxygen thinned; my neck tightened.

I grimaced, mouth gaping for air that wouldn't come.

Consciousness blurred.

Only stubborn grit kept me aware.

Passing out any second.

Suffocating.

Damn it.

Finally reached five, just to drop back to one?

I clawed at my throat, face twisting.

I'm dying.

Vision swam.

In that moment—

—I locked eyes with something in the dark.

All-consuming black void.

A pair of eyes stared at me from within.

Orange eyes met mine—my fading mind sharpened.

Now I saw the silhouette clearly and realized.

It wasn't lack of oxygen.

I was simply—

—overwhelmed by the presence before me.

Silent, a single Black Dragon regarded me.

Overpowered, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I couldn't even breathe.

“...”

Words failed me.

Mouth wouldn't move.

Terror.

Fear.

Cold sweat poured from every pore.

So this was what "gazes upon you" meant.

My mind blanked white—no thoughts.

Thus.

After staring at my frozen form for ages, the Black Dragon—

—slowly closed its eyes and vanished.

Gasp!

I bolted up, sucking in ragged breaths, frantically looking around.

“It's... gone.”

Only then did I clutch my chest, exhaling roughly, swallowing hard.

My whole body was soaked in cold sweat like I'd been caught in a downpour.

“What the hell was that?”

No.

Muttering was pointless.

I already knew.

What I'd faced.

It was definitely my skill, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Black Dragon.

“Master of the Twisted Underworld...”

Seize my body if unsatisfied?

Damn it.

Thought this growth skill was OP from the start—now some weird constraint.

Just recalling it made me shudder.

So I covered my mouth with my right hand.

“...Fine. Bring it.”

I grinned.

Take my body?

In your dreams.

This power I earned? No way I'm handing it over.

Whatever it takes, I'll keep it, succeed as a hunter.

“Satisfaction, huh. Probably means the Synchronization Rate.”

Raising it.

Nothing else fit "satisfying" the Black Dragon.

Raise Synchronization Rate to avoid losing my body.

Weird, but what could I do?

Only idea I had.

Exhale.

I shook my head, stood.

Floor ten.

After the black dragon encounter, I woke here.

Clear this, and I'm out—perfect.

But whatever the dragon did glitched the system.

I tapped the distorted window like it was buggy code.

“Eh, doesn't matter. I know anyway.”

Floor ten.

I already knew the clear condition.

“Defeat the Tutorial Tower's guardian.”

I slowly turned.

Atop ruined rubble sat an empty throne.

Behind it, a massive serpent coiled, eyes closed.