The First-Floor Record Shatters
New record set on Floor 1 of the Tower.
Clear Time: 18 hours, 27 minutes, 32 seconds.
Undiscovered area discovered.
Hidden realm found — Garden of Beginning.
Floor 1: PERFECT CLEAR.
"What the—?!"
Everyone who saw the announcement froze in disbelief.
A tower clear time was the duration measured from the moment a gamer entered the dungeon until that floor was cleared. The clock started upon entering a floor and stopped when the boss fell. Even if a gamer left the tower midway, the timer didn't reset — it simply resumed the moment they set foot inside again. Because the dedicated raid item known as the Transfer Platform allowed them to restart from their last location, floors were typically conquered one at a time over long stretches of time.
Floor 1 was essentially the tower's tutorial, but clearing it properly still took a considerable amount of time.
"Eighteen hours?! EIGHTEEN hours?!"
Pokryeol Daedo's voice cracked as he gaped at the announcement.
The fastest record to date had been seventy-two hours — and even that had been set by a next-generation ace from a major guild, armed with a fully memorized strategy and backed by exhaustive guild support. Now someone had slashed that time by more than half.
Nobody bothered tracking Floor 1 clear times anymore, but a record cut this drastically was enough to rattle anyone.
"An u-undiscovered area? On Floor 1? And it's a hidden realm?"
Noir was less stunned by the clear time than by the fact that a hidden realm still existed on Floor 1 at all.
A hidden realm, of all things!
Countless hidden realms had been discovered over the years, but one lurking on the first floor of the tower? That was unheard of.
"Who the hell is it?!"
Bisque rushed to check who had rewritten the Floor 1 record. The instant she confirmed the name, her eyes went wide and her breath caught in her throat.
She wasn't alone.
Every gamer gathered in Tower City was struggling to process what they were seeing.
And no wonder.
Ryu Hwi.
The character name of Ryu7017 stood proudly on the board.
"Ryu Hwi?! Ryu Hwi? You mean Ryu7017?!"
"How is this even possible?!"
"Why is that bastard's name up there?!"
The gamers descended into collective confusion. It made no sense. What on earth was going on? There'd been no sign of him entering the central city — so how?
Bisque checked the time.
7:49 PM.
"Don't tell me — he walked into the city the second the date flipped over and went straight into the tower?!"
Gamers everywhere sucked in their breath at her guess. They had all expected Ryu7017 to make a grand appearance during peak hours, when the crowds were thickest.
"So he sneaks in at night, clears Floor 1, and then plans to flaunt it in front of everyone?"
"Is that what Ryu7017's announcement date actually meant?!"
"No wait, that doesn't add up. You're saying he was confident he could clear Floor 1 in a single day from the very start?"
"What's so strange about that? He beat Linpel Darius, didn't he? That means he's leveled that high."
"True. And Floor 1 records were only ever set by rookies fresh off the boat anyway."
The gamers exchanged theories back and forth. Listening to the chatter around her, Pokryeol Daedo shot Bisque a sidelong glance.
"Hey, shorty. If you took a run at Floor 1 right now, could you beat that record?"
"Probably."
A Phantasma active in the tower's upper floors — Bisque included — could easily shave the time down. They had the strategies, they had the skill.
"Though there'd be no point in doing it again."
World of Phantasm's design meant that resetting a floor's clear data wiped the records of every floor above it. No Phantasma working the upper floors had any reason to retry Floor 1 at this stage.
"A rookie sets a record like that on his first visit, digs up a hidden realm nobody knew existed... we're looking like a real joke here, aren't we."
Pokryeol Daedo spoke lightly, jokingly even — but his eyes never left the name Ryu Hwi glowing on the screen.
Neither did Bisque's.
"When he was ranting about breaking World of Phantasm, I thought he was all bark. But he really is an insufferable bastard, isn't he."
Cold sweat beaded on Noir's brow as she listened to the two of them. This was nothing like their earlier talk of a mere game.
They had begun to see Ryu7017 not as a passing curiosity, but as prey — a target worth hunting with their full strength.
And it wasn't just the two of them. Scattered among the gamers gathered here, several pairs of eyes had gone sharp and glinting. They read Ryu7017's actions as a provocation.
Why would he deliberately go around making enemies like this?
Noir couldn't understand it.
One thing, however, was certain.
I'm starting to see why Gabriel is so wary of him.
Ryu7017 was, without exaggeration, a dangerously unpredictable individual.
[You're two hours behind schedule.]
The mocking voice rang in Ryu Hwi's ears as he lay sprawled on the ground, utterly spent.
"That's what you say to someone who just hit their goal and collapsed from exhaustion?"
Ryu Hwi grumbled, glaring at YggON.
Strategy information for Floor 1 was abundant — more than they could possibly use. Armed with it, Ryu Hwi had drawn up a plan to break through the first floor within twenty-four hours.
And then YggON had... interjected.
[Twenty-four hours? What a leisurely, indulgent target. Let's aim for sixteen. Fully achievable at Master's current level, I assure you.]
Eight hours shaved off, just like that. Ryu Hwi had naturally pushed back, but YggON was immovable.
[I proposed a realistic goal. Whining over something this trivial — are you planning to introduce yourself as incompetent, perhaps?]
Stung by the provocation, Ryu Hwi had thrown himself into a sixteen-hour clear attempt. In the end, he'd missed the mark and slipped past the eighteen-hour line.
"How was I supposed to know a hidden realm would pop up? Why is there still an undiscovered area left on Floor 1 in the first place?"
The main culprit behind his failed sixteen-hour run was that undiscovered zone. He'd never dreamed such a thing still existed on the first floor.
[You have Intuition to thank for that.]
While following the standard route, Ryu Hwi's Intuition skill had flagged a passage of unknown origin. A path recorded in no strategy guide anywhere. Half-hoping it might be a shortcut, he had boldly plunged into it.
Instead of saving time, he'd wandered down an entirely unexpected route and ended up two hours late.
But that detour was how he'd discovered the hidden realm — the Garden of Beginning.
"Well, net result's a win, so I'll call the whole thing fine."
Ryu Hwi pushed himself up to a sitting position.
Alerts announcing his achievements kept ringing out, but right now he lacked even the strength to check them.
He looked around. He was on a high vantage point leading down to the stairs of the second floor, giving him a full view of Floor 1 spread out below.
Everything so far was just the opening act.
The opening act of toppling Linzea — of shattering World of Phantasm itself.
From here on, Ryu Hwi's blade would carve through Linzea and World of Phantasm without mercy. To reclaim everything that had been stolen from him. To climb higher still.
Logout. Character Conversion.
Ryu Hwi — once mere data inside a game labyrinth — converted back into a human being in the real world.
Alone in his tiny one-room unit, he checked himself over. He wanted to make sure the conversion hadn't left anything wrong with his body. Rewriting his entire physical form was no small operation; something could easily have gone awry.
[To still doubt the power of this YggON's system — how remarkably foolish. I am disappointed. Disillusioned. I would like a new Master.]
"Shut it. It's just in case."
[There is no 'in case' with the system.]
Ignoring YggON, Ryu Hwi stepped out of the unit. After spending so long inside the game labyrinth, the world felt faintly off, subtly strange against his skin.
Several messages from Wolya were waiting on his SEED. He had told her not to contact him directly during the tower climb unless it was urgent, and she'd honored that, leaving messages instead of calling.
The most recent one congratulated him on clearing Floor 1 — a brief 'Congrats on Floor 1!'
The next was a short update on her situation, along with a request that he get in touch.
And the one after that...
"Lots of people have been sniffing around the Entertainment District looking for me lately..."
Ryu Hwi had been lying low in the secret base Wolya had prepared for him. For errands outside, he'd used the cube robot, but there had been times he'd simply had to go out in person. He'd been as careful as he could — yet apparently, someone had spotted him.
"I'd really like things to stay quiet until I've done what I came to do."
Either way, he'd have to be more careful than ever.
There was plenty of other trivial clutter in his inbox too — including a pointless note about how an upcoming alien movie looked like it would be really fun. Is she bored or something?
Ryu Hwi called Wolya. A few rings later, the line connected.
«Ah, good evening.»
Inside the game labyrinth she was '5555'; out here, she was Wolya. Keeping the two straight was a hassle, but by now he'd mostly gotten used to it.
«First off — congratulations on clearing Floor 1. You never fail to astonish me, do you.»
"Skip the pleasantries. Get to the point."
«My, aren't we cold? Aren't we partners working toward the same goal?»
"We're partners who use each other. That's all."
«You do have a way with words.»
He and Wolya were collaborators, yes — but they weren't friends who'd bared their hearts to each other. Ryu Hwi trusted no one, period. He stayed perpetually on guard so he could respond the instant she betrayed him. She surely knew it, too.
«Is now a good time? There are various reports I ought to deliver. In person, if you please!»
"Do we really need to meet?"
«It's an important report. And I want to show off my new prosthetic body.»
"I'll pass."
What kind of body Wolya wore was none of his concern.
«I'm heading over now, so wait up. Understood?»
And she hung up.
He was dead tired, and Wolya showed not the slightest hint of caring. What an utterly self-centered human being, Ryu Hwi grumbled to himself.
[Just like you, Master.]
"What?"
[Selfish. Self-aggrandizing. Utterly indifferent to the welfare of others. The similarities are striking. YggON's diagnosis is precise.]
"Shut up."
He wanted to fire back, but he didn't even have the energy. Gritting his teeth, Ryu Hwi resigned himself to waiting for Wolya.
...
...
An hour passed, and Wolya hadn't shown.
Ryu Hwi, who had been waiting in silence, checked the time and frowned. No matter how you sliced it, this was too late.
[Something urgent must have come up. Why not use the time to rest properly?]
"If something urgent came up, she'd have contacted me. She's not the type to break an appointment without a word."
[Weren't you the one who doesn't trust her?]
"That's a separate issue."
Ryu Hwi tried calling Wolya.
The UI of his call app shimmered into view. He selected 'Wolya' — the only contact registered in the list — and dialed immediately.
Beep. Beep. Several tones rang out before an automated message played: The party you are calling is currently unavailable.
"Tch."
Clicking his tongue, he seized control of the cube robot at once.
[You intend to search for her?]
"She might be caught up in something bad."
[Isn't she the one who might betray you? It could well be a trap.]
YggON seemed to feel there was no particular obligation to help whether Wolya was in trouble or not.
"I don't trust her. But that doesn't mean I get to be the one who betrays her first."
Betrayal was a poison he knew all too well. So once he took someone's hand, he would never be the first to let go. It was one of the few laws Ryu Hwi had set for himself.
"Visual sync. Manual control — authorized."
At his command, the cube-shaped robot unfolded and reshaped itself into the form of a dog.
Wolya had several private safehouses scattered across the Entertainment District. First, Ryu Hwi steered the robot toward Jucheongwang.
The instant Jucheongwang appeared in the robot's field of vision, Ryu Hwi's breath caught in his throat.
Jucheongwang was burning.
Brilliant, searing flames danced against the darkened night sky, bright enough to turn midnight into day.
Malice is closing in.
It crept toward him as if to declare that this time, it would take everything from him all over again.