A New Power
On the first day I arrived in this other world, my skill window held a total of four skills.
There was the Basic Dagger Technique I’d had from the start, Acceleration that appeared when I ran to save Aera, Poison Coating that I discovered that same night… and this one, locked behind a padlock.
It had shown no sign of ever opening, so at some point I’d simply stopped paying attention to it.
The moment I picked up that key, a notification appeared telling me the lock could finally be released.
“This one’s definitely something special too, isn’t it?”
At least it clearly wasn’t a power from the demon side. The skill had been there even before the contract.
With a trembling heart, I clicked the glittering skill icon.
A single prompt appeared.
Would you like to unlock this skill?
⚠ Caution: Pressing ‘Yes’ will consume the key.
[Yes][No]
I checked the key in my right hand one more time.
Was it valuable?
The golden dust that had poured out when the key appeared had already scattered and vanished completely.
If it was expensive… wouldn’t selling it for mana stones be the smarter move?
The thought crossed my mind, but the hesitation lasted only a moment.
I was curious.
Before I knew it, my finger was already moving toward the ‘Yes’ button.
“Screw it! Better not regret it later. Yes!!”
I pressed the button on the screen hard.
The key in my hand crumbled into dust and vanished. Kwa-gak! Drrrk. The padlock on the screen opened, and the chains wrapping the icon fell away.
The instant the skill unlocked, a deafening roar tore through my eardrums.
Piiiiing!
At the same time, everything around me flooded with brilliant light, and every blood vessel in my body began to boil.
Udeudeuk.
With a grotesque cracking sound, my muscles twisted and swelled. Unable to withstand the pressure, my chain armor tore apart in pathetic shreds.
As my muscles ripped and reknit over and over across my entire body, I screamed and rolled across the ground.
“Uwaaaaagh!!!!”
Pain on a dimension I had never experienced before. In the end I couldn’t endure it—I blacked out right there.
How much time had passed?
The sticky humidity of the jungle made me shift uncomfortably.
“Ow!”
Something stabbed into my skin. The sudden pain snapped my eyes wide open.
Meem~ meem~
Cicadas were singing all around me.
“Holy shit, did I actually fall asleep?!”
I sat up at once and looked around.
Right in the middle of the jungle. Charred giant trees lay toppled nearby, and shattered stone statues were scattered everywhere.
Right. This was the boss room.
Since I’d already taken the boss down, nothing had attacked me while I was out cold. But why the hell had I fallen asleep in a place like this…?
As the thought formed, my eyes fell on the shredded chain armor lying in front of me.
“This is… what I was wearing?”
Memories flashed past like film reels. I’d used the key, my entire body’s muscles had twisted, and the pain had knocked me out.
“Ah, crap… was it a dud?”
I pressed a hand to my head—then froze.
“Huh?”
My raised arm filled my vision.
“What the… why is it so thick?”
My arm had suddenly bulked up. It wasn’t just swelling. Thick veins stood out clearly, and solid muscle packed every inch.
Startled, I looked down.
Thick chest muscles. A six-pack carved sharply into my abdomen. Thighs and calves so thick they looked ready to burst.
I bolted in shock all the way to the lake I’d fallen into before.
No way… no way?!
Even while running I could feel an overwhelming vitality. My speed and the force of every step against the ground were completely different.
Moments later the lake appeared before me. I approached the water’s surface slowly.
“……No way?”
I leaned over and looked.
Reflected on the water was the perfect body of my eighteen-year-old self—the one that had made a name for itself as a track-and-field athlete.
*
I stood there staring blankly at the surface for a long time.
Was this a dream or reality?
The body I might or might not have rebuilt even after years of training had returned to me.
I stood up. Then—
Slap!
I opened both hands and smacked my own cheeks.
Not a dream.
That left only one explanation: the skill I had unlocked.
I hurriedly opened the skill window and checked the contents, framed in purple.
Open State Stage 1: Peak Physique[Passive]
Description: Restores the user’s body to its prime. The stronger the prime physique, the greater the effect.
Effect: Pure stat increase
“What…?”
The moment I saw it, I opened my status window in a rush.
What appeared before my eyes made my pupils shake.
It was a skill that completely defied common sense—an outright broken cheat.
I was still basking in the glow of that dazzling status window when a system warning alarm blared.
WARNING
WARNING
The current floor will close soon. Hurry and move.
“What? The floor’s closing?!”
Right then the ground suddenly shook.
Kugung!!
With a deafening crack the earth split open, and the Tower’s walls began closing in from both sides.
“Oh, shit!!”
Panicking, I scrambled for the exit.
“Fuck, was I out that long?”
I had been. The time I’d spent unconscious had been longer than I thought. Boss rooms closed a good while after being cleared and then reopened later. I’d completely forgotten that.
“Th-that one?!”
I sprinted even harder in the direction I’d come from. Below the cliff, a stone door came into view—but it was already closing.
“No way I’m getting crushed to death in a boss room!!”
I shouted the skill name.
“Super Acceleration!!”
Super Acceleration
The scenery around me shot backward as I rocketed toward the door at incredible speed.
I’d used Super Acceleration before, but never like this. The power of Agility +30 was beyond imagination.
Please!! Please!!!
The stone door kept closing. You couldn’t break a Tower door!!
10 meters.
3 meters.
1 meter…!
When only two handspans of gap remained, I sucked in a breath, twisted my body, and forced myself through that narrow crack!
“Haa… haah.”
I-I’m alive.
One second later and my body would have been a fossil embedded in the Tower wall.
I lay there catching my breath and let out a hollow laugh.
“This world really is fun! Talk about a thrill?!”
How many times had I almost died just opening boss-room doors by now?
After cooling the sweat on the cold floor for a moment, I got up and looked around.
It was dark inside, but not so dark I couldn’t see. Luminous stones that gave off light were studded sparsely across the ceiling.
There was only one path: a staircase that climbed endlessly upward.
“Damn, that’s high.”
Stairs perfect for wrecking your knees…
Ah well. No choice.
Nearly naked, I opened my inventory, put on spare clothes, and started climbing.
Like some endless Chinese mountain staircase, I climbed and climbed until a single door finally appeared. Beside it jutted a stone that looked like a button.
Looks like it’s not a gate this time.
Going from the 5th to the 6th floor had been a black gate. Well… maybe not always.
I pressed the stone button without much thought.
With a heavy drrrk, the stone door slid sideways—and I was hit by fierce sunlight.
“Ugh…”
I shielded my eyes with a hand and stepped forward.
Once my eyes adjusted to the light, the first sight of the 11th floor was…
“A-a grassland?!”
A vast grassland full of rolling hills. Cool wind carried the scent of grass and scattering flower petals.
“So refreshing~”
A comfortable humidity completely different from the jungle. I started walking ahead.
Small streams appeared here and there, along with scattered trees and birds.
This place looks pretty good to live in too.
Of course, unlike the jungle where you could live off nature itself, you’d probably need to combine livestock farming and agriculture.
After walking for a while I found a high hill with two large boulders. From up there I should be able to see the surroundings.
I ran up the hill and climbed onto one of the rocks.
The view inside the Tower unfolded at a glance.
“Th-this is…”
An endless, wide-open panorama. A beautiful winding river, sheep and horses grazing peacefully, and far off a thriving village where people lived.
“Is this really inside a Tower?”
I’d been surprised when I first saw the jungle, but unlike the view from the cliff at the edge of a floor, the scenery stretching in every direction made me feel like I had truly become the protagonist of a fantasy. A thrill ran through me.
For the first time, I thought: I’m really glad I came to this world.
Lost in that feeling, I closed my eyes at the highest point, spread my arms, and let the wind wash over me—when the rock under my feet suddenly trembled slightly and a strange sound rose.
It was the sound of something activating.
Wiiiiing!
The rock began to heave…
“Uh-oh??!”
The boulder beside me also rose abruptly, lifting into the air.
“Holy shit, this is?!!”
They weren’t ordinary rocks.
The one I was standing on and the one rising next to me were giant monsters armored head to toe in solid stone—mindless golems.