Chapter 3
Chapter 3
Chapter 3 Promise
"Do you happen to have any traits or skills?"
"Yeah, I do."
She answered as if it were obvious.
I had suspected as much, but it was still surprising.
"Can you tell me... what you have?"
After a moment of hesitation, she finally nodded.
"The angel told me not to say anything... but since it's you, I'll make an exception."
Then, the words flowed from her lips.
"First, my traits are Heavenly Martial Body, Path of Magic, Talent of the High Priest, Blessing of the Spirit King, Soul of the Druid, Re—"
"Wait... hold on a second."
"Why?"
I wanted to hear how far the list went, but it felt like she was a rapper spitting an endless verse.
Every single one was extraordinary.
"You still have more traits, and skills too, right?"
"Yeah."
'...Isn’t this just unfair?'
Some people get labeled as ‘None,’ with no traits or skills at all, while others are drowning in so many they can’t even name them all.
It makes me resent the heavens for creating such an irrational system.
Even though I knew it wasn’t her fault, jealousy began creeping up inside me.
"Hey. I don’t have a single one."
"Huh...?"
Her face turned flustered.
Even though she wasn’t mocking me, my own pettiness made the jealousy worse.
"They said I have 'None' for both traits and skills."
I suppressed my emotions, refusing to let them show.
I wasn’t so pathetic that I’d take my frustration out on a friend who’d done nothing wrong.
"I... I’m sorry. I thought everyone had them..."
She apologized, looking guilty.
She had no reason to.
The only reason she was apologizing was because I was being pathetic.
"Why are you apologizing? You didn’t do anything wrong."
"...Okay."
The atmosphere grew awkward as we resumed training.
They say effort never betrays you, but the world doesn’t work that way.
I swung my fists nonstop until the sun went down.
But I still couldn’t even master the lowest-Grade hand-to-hand martial art skill.
Meanwhile, she mastered a skill in just ten minutes and leveled it up to 5 within hours.
Days passed like this.
She moved beyond low-Grade hand-to-hand martial art skills, learning swordsmanship, magic, and sacred arts—mastering countless abilities.
Meanwhile, I still couldn’t even grasp the lowest-Grade hand-to-hand martial art skill.
Two weeks later, on a certain day—
Finally, the moment came when I could clumsily mimic the hologram’s movements.
[Skill Acquired: Low-Grade Hand-to-Hand martial art]
"...Finally."
But at that very moment, Yoo So-eun was fighting a troll right in front of me.
Blue skin, nearly 3 meters tall, massive tusks, and rock-solid muscles.
She fought the monster using a sword and magic.
She sliced through the troll’s regenerative body with her blade, then burned the wounds with fire magic, systematically dismantling it.
After a few strikes, the troll’s limbs were severed, and finally, its head flew off.
Meanwhile, I had just barely learned the lowest-grade hand-to-hand martial art skill.
She was already a fully-fledged warrior.
Watching her, I finally understood.
I was different from the very start.
But a stubborn refusal to accept it boiled inside me.
'...I can do it too.'
While I was punching at a hologram, she was cutting down trolls with swords and magic.
As she finished the fight and healed her wounds with sacred arts, I silently summoned a tutorial monster.
"Tutorial Monster. Goblin."
The weakest of the summonable monsters.
1.3 meters tall, strength comparable to an adult male.
The weakest of the weak, seen as nothing more than a stepping stone.
'At the very least, I should be able to handle this thing.'
But it was overwhelming.
Just fighting a single goblin was too much.
The same goblin that Yoo So-eun had effortlessly crushed with a few punches on her second day was now a monstrous pressure bearing down on me.
'I can’t find an opening...!'
The goblin closed the distance, swiping with its claws.
I tried to dodge but misstepped, falling flat on my back.
In that instant, the goblin pounced on top of me.
"Ghk—!"
It raised its sharp claws, aiming for my head.
'I’m... I’m gonna die...!'
Crack! Slash!
At that moment, the goblin’s head was severed clean off.
Blood sprayed from its neck, drenching my face.
But the disgusting stench of goblin blood didn’t even register.
"Yeong-min! Are you okay?!"
Yoo So-eun dropped her sword and rushed to me.
She flung the goblin’s corpse aside with one hand, casting healing sacred arts as she checked my body.
Seeing her like that, my self-loathing reached its peak.
"Hey. Yoo So-eun."
"Uh...?"
Her expression changed as my tone shifted.
"Did I ask for your help?"
"I... I was worried you’d get hurt..."
"I don’t care if I get hurt! I don’t care if I die! We just come back to life here anyway! I can handle myself, so why do you keep making me look pathetic?!"
"...I’m sorry... I messed up."
Seeing her tearfully apologize, the emotion that surged inside me was... disgust.
Not disgust toward her but toward myself.
'Ha... Am I really this pathetic?'
Why? Just why?
Because I’m like this.
Because I’m this petty.
Because I’m this miserable.
I’m jealous of my only friend, who cares about me so much, and I’m hurting her.
If this is how I’m going to live, I should’ve never been born.
I’m ashamed.
I’m so disgusted with myself that I feel sick.
I haven’t even given my best, yet I keep blaming traits, skills, talent—anything but myself.
"No, I’m the one who should apologize."
She looked at me, bewildered.
"My emotions got the better of me... Just give me some time alone."
"...Okay."
After she left, I clenched my fists again.
"Tutorial Monster. Goblin."
This time, I won’t run.
Let’s do this.
I’ll let go of everything, train until I drop, and become someone I’m not ashamed of.
From that day on, I reduced my sleep to two hours.
Every other moment was spent training.
At first, I couldn’t even handle a single goblin.
I died over and over.
Again and again.
And with each death, I learned.
Where to strike to take them down fastest.
The perfect timing to dodge.
How to read an enemy’s movements.
I grew, using death as fertilizer.
Two more weeks passed.
****
A month after entering the tutorial.
I was still summoning goblins to fight.
They remained formidable opponents.
Strength matching an adult male, claws that could shred me in seconds, cunning beyond a human’s, and incredible leaping ability.
The weakest monster, but not one I could ever underestimate.
I still couldn’t fully evade their claws.
But this time, my fist connected first—right into its face.
My punch shattered the goblin’s skull.
It's disgusting blood soaked me, but I didn’t care.
"I won...! I won...!"
My first real victory.
Achieved through my own strength, my own effort, my own struggle, my own hands.
Finally, I did it.
I could do it too.
If I tried, I could succeed.
If I didn’t give up, I could make it.
It felt like I’d finally reached the starting line.
My breath was ragged, but my heart pounded. I could move forward now.
Just as the thrill of victory filled me, a sudden light engulfed my body, instantly transporting me back to the tutorial’s starting field.
As everyone looked around in confusion, angels descended.
"The time for entering the Tower has come."
They gathered the people.
"The gate to the Tower will open shortly. Those who wish to enter may proceed. Note that rewards are given based on records, so early entry is advised."
At those words, people rushed toward the entrance.
'Records-based rewards...'
The earlier you entered, the higher your chances of setting a new record.
There was no downside to going in fast.
But I had already made my decision.
'I’m staying in the tutorial.'
I gave up entering the Tower. I still needed to grow.
"Maybe I should stay too? There’s no real reason to rush..."
Yoo So-eun seemed to hesitate.
"I told you yesterday. I’m staying because I’m lacking."
I looked at her firmly.
"You have no reason to stay. What would you even do here?"
She was worried about me. But that worry only made me feel worse.
"...Still."
"Yoo So-eun."
I met her gaze.
"I don’t want to be your burden."
Her expression wavered.
"If I’m holding you back, if I’m standing in your way... It makes me sick to my stomach."
If I hindered her path, I’d never forgive myself.
"...You know how pathetic I am."
She couldn’t respond.
"...No."
She tried to deny it, but I cut her off with a self-deprecating smile.
"No? What part? Me, who only reached Lv5 in the lowest-Grade hand-to-hand martial art after a whole month—you’re saying I’m not pathetic? You’ve seen the others. They take down orcs like it’s nothing."
Everyone had grown.
"And me? I have to fight for my life just to take on a single goblin? A month from now, I’ll probably still be weaker than the people entering today."
Even if I trained to death, I’d barely reach their starting line.
She couldn’t deny it.
What took me a month to achieve, she had done in mere hours.
"...So-eun."
She silently watched me.
"You know what’s really hard for me?"
I bit my lip.
"...Treating you like this is the hardest."
Yelling at you, who genuinely care for me.
Lashing out.
Acting petty.
I hate it so much.
The more I do it, the more it feels like I’m losing myself.
"I’m so disgusted with myself for treating you like this... I can’t stand it."
I closed my eyes, then opened them again.
"...So."
I forced a smile.
"If you really care about me, just go. Get settled in there..."
I strained to lift the corners of my mouth.
"...and help me when I catch up later. Okay?"
I tried to smile as brightly as I could.
But my lips trembled slightly.
Yoo So-eun stared at me without a word.
Then, with great difficulty, she spoke.
"...Okay. I’ll go ahead. See you later."
It wouldn’t take too long.
"Time flows slower there, so we’ll meet again soon."
She tried to smile too... but I could see her fingertips shaking slightly.
'...I see.'
I realized how I must have looked to her.
She met my eyes. Then, with a strained smile, she said:
"Yeah. We’ll meet soon."
That painful smile held so much.
I had so much I wanted to say, but I kept it to one line.
"I’ll catch up soon."
When I’m no longer ashamed of myself.
When I can apologize to you properly.
I will.
And so, we parted with smiles.
They weren’t real smiles, but we understood each other perfectly.
As the others disappeared, new entrants began being summoned from Earth.
I paid them no mind.
"Estelle."
"...You called?"
The angel appeared before me.
"Move me somewhere else."
"...Understood."
Time to train again.
'I have to keep my promise.'
Instead of worrying about others, I need to change myself first.
I’m slow.
So I have to work harder than anyone else.
Without stopping.
Little by little.
Forward.
***
A year passed.
I reduced my sleep even further, devoting every moment to training.
"Status."
Name: Han Yeong-min
Title: None
Age: 24
Constellation: None
[Stats]
Strength: 7 / Stamina: 9 / Mental Power: 20 / Agility: 7 / Intelligence: 3 / Magic: 3
[Traits]
None
[Skills]
Low-Grade Hand-to-Hand martial art (Lv1), Lowest-Grade Weapon Mastery (Lv5), Threefold Heart Technique (Lv4), Lowest-Grade Comprehensive Resistance (Lv2), Martial Arts (Details), Magic (Details), Sacred Arts (Details)
At the very least, my status had improved from a year ago.
Mastering all weapon skills merged them into Lowest-Grade Weapon Mastery, and acquiring all resistance skills consolidated them into Lowest-Grade Comprehensive Resistance.
'And yet, I’m still weaker than Yoo So-eun was a year ago.'
Not just weaker—it’s not even close. Even if a hundred of me attacked her now, I wouldn’t win.
At best, I might stand a chance against the weakest of those who entered the Tower a year ago...
"Hah."
It was ridiculous.
A hollow laugh escaped me.
After a year of grinding, all I had to show was the level of the weakest.
But I didn’t stop. It was too late to give up now.
The me who couldn’t even fight a goblin could now take down orcs.
Unrelenting effort can change a person.
"Still, I think I’m improving faster than before..."
Not just in raw speed, but in growth itself. The more effort I piled on, the more my existence expanded like a rolling snowball.
It wasn’t just about strength. It felt like my ‘soul’—or something fundamental, something beyond words—was changing.
'...Come to think of it, it started back then.'
I remembered that day.
The day my inferiority complex and self-loathing exploded.
The day I parted with So-eun in the worst way possible.
That was when I realized it.
I had been relying on her far more than I thought.
Just her presence was a comfort, and I’d foolishly assumed she’d solve any problem that arose.
The first night after Yoo So-eun left, the space felt unnaturally large.
The usual back-and-forth banter was gone, and the silence weighed heavily.
There’s no one to listen to me now, I’m truly alone,I have to overcome everything by myself.
The emptiness was overwhelming.
Only after she left did I truly become alone.
And only then could I train with everything I had.
'After my parents died, she was practically my only connection...'
I lost my parents in high school, and she stayed by my side, afraid I’d break.
Maybe she acted like an older sister because she wanted to be family to me, who had lost mine.
"...I’ll have to apologize when we meet again."
The day I can face myself with pride.
I vowed to make amends when I saw her again.
'When we meet again, I won’t be so pathetic.'
I’ll become someone who can apologize to you without shame.
I’ll make sure the version of me you last saw is the most pitiful one you’ll ever see.
A silent oath swirled inside me.