Chapter 17
Chapter 17
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 17
Chapter Title: A New Identity
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Indeed.
Ding!
►[Special] New Profile Added (???)
"Huh? Is this it?"
I selected 'New Profile Added.'
[New Profile Added (???)]
Category: Special
Description: Adds a new identity that can be used alongside your current one. The details of the identity can be customized as desired.
Price: 10,000
This was it!
Add a new identity of my choosing.
With this, I could even create an adult identity and work as a pro wizard.
Ten thousand points was pricey, but when I considered the extra gains it would bring, it didn't feel wasteful at all.
[Purchased New Profile Added (???).]
[Setting new profile.]
[Configuring profile details.]
[Please set the name.]
"Alright."
Time to set it up.
Saturday morning. I woke up early. With a lot to do today, I headed down to the dorm cafeteria quickly.
With no money on hand, I had to eat breakfast at school.
The dorm cafeteria was quiet and peaceful on the weekend, unlike on weekdays. The few other students I saw were wearing casual clothes instead of uniforms, since it was their day off.
This scenery felt fresh because it had been so long since I'd last seen it.
I loaded my tray with food and sat at an empty table. I could feel eyes glancing my way from nearby.
"Isn't that guy hot right now?"
"Yeah. I heard he turned down an offer to join the support class yesterday because of his special talent status."
With only 450 students in the whole school, even small rumors spread fast. No, unusually fast. I had no idea why these kids were so nosy about everyone else.
I was just about to start eating at the empty table when I sensed someone approaching from the front.
I looked up to see Yoo Ah-ra sitting down in front of me, wearing a white cap backward. Actually, she sat in the seat right next to the one directly in front, so diagonally across from me.
Why not just sit straight in front? What was that spot?
"Hi."
"Uh, hi."
I returned her greeting.
Like the other students, she was in casual clothes instead of her uniform.
She wore a gray hoodie, and with the cap on backward, it looked like she'd just washed her face and come down.
Even covered up like that, her beauty shone through.
No, rather than her usual somewhat stiff demeanor, she looked more natural now, which made her even more appealing.
Yoo Ah-ra glanced at me and spoke.
"You're not changing your main specialty?"
"Yeah."
So that's why she sat here—she was curious about that.
Well, among the second-years, only Lee Seo-jun and Yoo Ah-ra received the special talent scholarship.
Including all grades, that made four people total: first-year Choi Seo-yoon and third-year Kim Chang-hyun.
Now rumors said a fifth recipient might be added—me—so it made sense she'd pay attention.
"The special talent scholarship isn't just about the money, even if you don't know that. There are a ton of other perks."
She said that, then put a small bite of food in her mouth.
Her mouth closed as she chewed quietly—not a single sound escaped, which was impressive.
I stared blankly, fascinated by the sight, until she noticed and stopped, looking at me.
". . .What are you looking at?"
"Nothing, just. Your eating is kinda fascinating."
"What's fascinating about it?"
Yoo Ah-ra narrowed her eyes.
"I didn't think you could eat without making any noise."
"You find the weirdest things interesting. I hate smacking sounds, so I eat quietly. But that's a compliment, right?"
"Of course it is."
Yoo Ah-ra let out a small chuckle.
"Anyway, think it over. I don't know why they scouted you for support all of a sudden, but being picked as a special talent means you do have aptitude for it."
The girl who'd barely talk to me before was actually giving advice.
It was a bit touching, but suddenly I felt like teasing her.
"But is that okay with you?"
My out-of-left-field question made Yoo Ah-ra look puzzled.
"What do you mean?"
"If I have support talent, you could drop to third place."
"What?"
Yoo Ah-ra stared at me in disbelief.
Then she burst out laughing and said,
"You're funny."
"Why? Changed your mind?"
"No. Go ahead and try if you think you can. It's kinda fun having my competitive side poked."
She smiled confidently.
Yeah, that's the Yoo Ah-ra I know.
I took the bus into downtown Seoul.
I could've used a gate, but with no money, I went for the cheaper bus option.
In the heart of Seoul stood a massive tower called the Equilibrium Tower.
In this world, besides the Proof Tower, several mysterious towers had been erected in cities.
"Still looks huge no matter how many times I see it."
I stared up at the tower in a daze. Its peak vanished into the clouds, and countless pro wizards stood ready at its base, geared up to climb.
At the entrance, staff guarded the way in. They were wizards from the Wizard Association, tasked with checking licenses for those attempting the climb.
Yesterday, I'd used the point shop to create a new profile, complete with a new ID and wizard license.
Right now, I wasn't Kim Sun-woo the magic academy student—I was Kim Jin-woo, age 25.
Disguising this face was risky, so I'd prepared round glasses and a fake mustache. I'd also slicked my hair back neatly.
"Good morning. Thanks for working the holiday."
I approached with a deepened, altered voice, and the staffer nodded.
"Nice to meet you. Here to climb the tower?"
"Yes, that's right."
I chuckled heartily, and he smiled back.
"Then I'll check your wizard license."
I pulled out the prepared license—the one I'd gotten from the point shop yesterday.
The staffer examined it and scanned it with some device.
[25 years old, C-Rank Wizard Kim Jin-woo confirmed.]
Phew.
Luckily, the forgery check passed.
Since it was made with points, Kim Jin-woo had probably been added to the Wizard Association's real registry.
The staffer compared the photo to my face.
Checking for identity theft.
A tense moment.
I swallowed dryly and kept my composure.
The license photo showed me with glasses and mustache too.
No way they'd peg me as a student. Probably.
The staffer peered closely at the license and said,
"Kim Jin-woo? Nice mustache."
"Oh, thank you. I don't really like it, but it grows fast. Gets like this quick as I age. Haha."
I was so nervous I started rambling.
"You look really young. Without the mustache, I'd believe you were a teen student."
". . .Really? Haha."
The chuckling staffer checked the license again.
"You do look super young. How do you pull that off?"
". . .Ahem. I get told I'm baby-faced a lot."
Anxious, I deepened my voice even more.
The staffer's gaze fixed on me. Staring right through—did he see through me?
No way I'd been made, right?
"You really are baby-faced. The mustache is cool, but you could shave and look fine without it. Might even look younger."
With a friendly smile, he handed back the license.
I smiled as I took it.
Good thing he thinks I look older with it.
"Thanks for that. I'll consider it. Uh, can I head in now?"
"Yes! All clear. Wizard Kim Jin-woo, please enter."
"Haha. Thanks for your hard work."
I smiled and stepped inside the tower.
"Phew."
Relief washed over me the moment I entered.
I'd worried for nothing that I'd get caught.
Inside the tower was a small space with a glowing blue circular portal.
Portals like this were in every tower—a quick travel system.
Using it let you zip to any floor you wanted.
I stepped slowly into the portal.
My body floated as I entered. The tower's mysterious magic enveloped me.
A voice echoed in my mind.
[Using portal.]
[Which floor?]
[Up to floor 27 accessible.]
An androgynous voice.
In this world, it's called the 'Will of the Tower.'
"Floor 10."
[Floor 10 of the Equilibrium Tower has already been cleared by 'Jung Yoon-seul.' Rewards for reclears are reduced.]
[Proceed anyway?]
A familiar name.
Jung Yoon-seul.
She was one of the fewer than five S-Rank support wizards in the world.
She also happened to be Kim Yun-jin's mentor, the support class teacher at the magic academy.
As far as I remembered, she'd been attempting Equilibrium Tower floor 27 for over a year without success.
But whatever, that wasn't important now.
Let's just go in.
"Enter."
Towers in this world come in many varieties.
Each has its own settings, difficulty, and backstory.
For example, the 'Tower of Ruinous Flames' that appears mid-novel is notoriously brutal.
Not just the strong monsters inside, but the traps, debuffs on players—everything makes it hell even for S-Rank wizards.
On the flip side, some towers are relatively easy.
Like the 'Tower of Trials' and 'Tower of Survival,' both set to be fully cleared next month.
Their monsters aren't that tough, so at this point, the Three Great Guilds had already conquered nearly every floor.
Simple patterns, no tricky traps.
Strong wizards could brute-force them, making them the Three Great Guilds' favorite type.
[Entered floor 10 of the Equilibrium Tower.]
[The Equilibrium Tower remembers you.]
". . .Whew."
So what kind of tower was the Proof Tower?
The Equilibrium Tower's difficulty wasn't easy to sum up like the 'Tower of Ruinous Flames,' 'Tower of Trials,' or 'Tower of Survival.'
Its monsters weren't that strong overall. F- and D-Rank ones appeared often, and even boss monsters rarely topped B-Rank.
But even the Three Great Guilds hesitated to tackle the Proof Tower.
Why?
Simple: it was packed with traps, hidden monster patterns, and intricate barrier formulas made of complex mana equations. Clearing took forever.
Puzzles scattered throughout also fueled its infamous rep.
That's why I'd chosen to challenge the Proof Tower.
Weak monsters, tons of traps and barriers.
Perfect for me, with my low mana reserves and poor sustain in fights.
And above all, I knew about its 'hidden floors' from the novel's side stories.
"Man, it's creepy in here."
I scanned my surroundings slowly. The marble floor felt clean, unlike a dungeon.
But with almost no light, visibility was pitch black, like a dungeon.
Towers worked like dungeons: clear rooms one by one to progress.
Keeping tense, I moved forward.
- Grroooowl.
A distant howl. I gathered my mana, peering into the darkness ahead.
Soon, a massive wolf shape emerged from it.
Red eyes glowed in the shadows. It looked like a wolf, but it was just a monster mimicking one—not real. Proof: it had four eyes.
I cast a spell right away. A glowing orb lit up the dark from my hand, and the wolf lunged with a snarl.
—Graaawr!
I fired the orb. It shot toward the wolf, which charged head-on without dodging. The orb pierced its skull cleanly.
—Greeee!
The wolf screamed in agony and collapsed.
A message popped up.
[Achievement 'First Hunt' unlocked.]
[Reward: 1,000 points acquired.]
A victory notice.
But no time to relax.
—Graaawr!
Another wolf bared its fangs and closed in.
I poured mana into my legs and leaped back fast. But it stuck to me relentlessly.
Close combat made casting tricky.
"Tch!"
I gathered mana throughout my body. I'd trained basic reinforcement martial arts, so I had some confidence up close.
I sidestepped the wolf's attack and smashed my fist into its head.
—Grah!
It bounced off the floor from the impact.
Seizing the opening, I cast and fired at its head.
_Boom!
Skull pierced, it went limp and fell.
All in less than two seconds.
". . .Phew."
That was close. I hadn't expected two.
The wolf dissolved into dust, soon leaving a small glowing red stone.
I approached the remains and picked it up.
A mana stone—special rock that powered magitech.
I pocketed it to sell later at the mana stone exchange for pocket money.
This size? Probably worth about 10,000 won.