The King of the First Floor and the Blessing

World Ranking No. 1, emperor of the first floor. In other words, No. 1 on Earth. It was the kind of phrase that made your chest swell with pride. People pretended not to care, but they were always conscious of the rankings. Original pork soup joint, best spot in the alley, cheapest phone shop, No. 1 box office office, top-tier, No. 1 emperor, and so on. Lining things up seemed like an instinct etched into human DNA.

Maybe that's why? I was stunned for a moment, but then I snorted triumphantly at the words "world ranking No. 1." Who am I? The emperor of the first floor. Someone might say it was just bragging about topping the tutorial, but this was hugely significant. Because it meant I'd usurped the throne from The One, the immovable No. 1 in the world rankings.

"Holy shit, for real. I beat The One."

It sucked that I couldn't snap a photo of this moment. I was dying for a proof shot.

The One. Current top tower climber by highest floor. Conqueror of No. 1 on every floor ranking. The influencer with the thickest fanbase worldwide. Idol of teens. Hero of the era. The man called Earth's strongest. And I'd overtaken him. Easily, anonymously, no less.

Nickname: [Un-known]. Maybe because I wasn't an official awakener? I couldn't change my name. An ID is your identity, right? I had so many ideas—BasementGalDegenerate, MilitaryHighSchoolGirl, BuffHidingTetoGuy, and more. What a missed opportunity to shake up the world.

"Tch. Can't be helped."

I'd settle for hitting No. 1. Even if I couldn't prove it, heaven knew, I knew. That should be enough, right? And then there was the blessing.

The effect of the No. 1 ranking reward, Valor’s Blessing, was straightforward. I'd have to test it for exact numbers, but better than nothing.

"So that's why The One held No. 1 unchallenged."

He must've grabbed buffs early and kept surging ahead. A source no one had seen. The One had apparently kept his blessing info secret ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to maintain his top spot. But I'd snatched it.

"Best awakener ever, but such a waste."

I had no idea how devastating this was for some people. All I cared about was not being able to post proof.

Meanwhile, in a massive villa in California, USA, a tanned blond man was fuming.

"God damn fuck!"

His name was Chris. Known to the world as The One.

"Chris. Something wrong?"

The One's manager and strategy consultant, Albus, rushed over and asked.

"Albus, what the hell have you been doing?! My blessing's gone!"

"Calm down ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠first—wait, what? What disappeared?"

"The blessing! The driving force behind my rankings. It's been stolen!"

"No way. Tell me exactly what vanished. Not [Sun]? That's it?"

"Yeah! My radiant glory is gone!"

Chris tore at his hair, howling.

"...Looks like someone reclaimed No. 1 on the low floors."

"You think I don't know wh—"

As he grabbed Albus and raged, someone entered the room.

"Boss. Urgent report—"

"Malik, you worthless shit! I know what you're here to report. But your job is to prevent this crap beforehand!"

Chris hurled objects in fury. Malik, hesitating at the door, took an ashtray to the forehead. Blood dripped, accompanied by a stifled groan. Albus shot Chris a quick glance.

"...Malik. You okay? I lost it for a sec. You'll understand, right?"

"Y-Yes... sir."

Albus handed Malik a handkerchief and subtly waved him off behind Chris's back.

Thud.

"We gotta fire the whole strategy team. Useless."

Chris muttered at the closed door. Albus had plenty to argue but stayed silent, pulling up his phone's browser instead.

"Hmph..."

Just minutes after Chris noticed his blessing was gone, articles tearing him down were flooding in. With his rude, explosive personality, he had as many antis as fans. The No. 1 title had held back their bile, but now the dam had burst.

"Chris. You're sure only Sun—er, precisely Valor’s Blessing—is gone?"

"For now. The rest are still there."

"Good. Floor 11's still far off."

"You call that good?!"

Chris snapped, but Albus continued calmly.

"It's done. Can't undo it."

People didn't know this: Achieving No. 1 ranking granted a blessing, and combining nine floors' blessings created special ones like Sun’s Blessing.

"Lost the first floor's Valor..."

It wasn't just one blessing. Losing the special combo [Sun] was key. Chris's special blessings massively boosted combat power. Estimated drop: at least 15%. Albus's face darkened.

"Chris. How much weaker are you now?"

"Who cares?! The radiance that made me shine is gone. How am I supposed to go to tomorrow's gala?!"

That was his real gripe? Albus hid his surprise.

"Just sub in Moonlight."

"Radiance and Moonlight aren't the same!"

"...I'll figure something out. First, stem the backlash—"

"No need."

Chris cut him off, picking up his phone.

"Because I have a way to reclaim No. 1."

"Chris, you can't mean...?!!"

If final clear floor and stage differed by 10+ floors, scoring properly was tough. Strategy team's hard-won intel. Yet Chris held No. 1 because dead climbers vanished from rankings.

"Oh, Chris, please. We swore never again."

"No. I have to stay the best."

Chris's eyes gleamed with madness.

"Hey, it's me? Yeah. Same as before. Hack the World Association database. Criteria: Awakeners in the last month, B-rank minimum, rising stars or supernovas. Check SNS and chats. Yeah. Hanging up."

Albus tried stopping the rampaging Chris but dropped his hand. How could a normie like him rein in a superhuman who could shatter mountains? He had a daughter too. Albus crossed himself, praying the poor lamb wouldn't be found easily.

And maybe his prayers worked? The emperor of the first floor, hidden master (prospective), rising star of the cultivation world Choi Do-yul had no intention of high ranks from the start. Nations worldwide, including Korea, mandated C-rank+ for "monster subjugation wars."

"Dobby wants to enjoy guilt-free pleasure."

Hell, F-rank got national subsidies for two years! Policy to stem talent drain from self-loathing. Whatever—free money's free money. Subsidy-mooching low-rank vs. superstar high-rank. Winner? Effortless F-rank W.

But the free-loading NEET dreamer Choi Do-yul faced thunderbolt news days later.

Me... C-rank?!

"Guess I'm not fated for free-loading..."

Plan was perfect. Even got F-rank at the Association's test site. Just enjoy 40 million won over two years from subsidies plus Purity Pill sale as a happy NEET. But why the C-rank rejudgment?

Nosy do-gooder bullshit.

"Sigh. Shouldn't have stepped in..."

Tears blurred my eyes seeing real-time trending articles. Should've minded my business, crisis or not. My fault for not.

"Ahh, I really wanted that free ride!"

I wailed in denial, but reality didn't budge. So here's what happened...