EndSeeker
Wooooong!
His vision flooded with blinding light. The same pillar of radiance that had swallowed his members now wrapped around him.
What kind of space will appear?
In the Tower of Despair, there had been nothing special. Class cards simply appeared on the screen; a click, and it was over. Class and exclusive skill granted in an instant.
Taat!
The sensation of weightlessness vanished. His feet touched solid ground. As the light faded, Hyun Si-woon swallowed without thinking.
“…….”
A vast circular hall. An overwhelming space that called ancient temples to mind.
“Hmm.”
Seven colossal stone statues stood in a ring along the hall’s edge. Their forms were as follows:
1. A knight gripping a greatsword
2. A warrior holding a long spear
3. A guardian bearing a shield
4. A hunter with a bow
5. A fighter wielding a hammer
6. A mage draped in robes
And—
7. A man holding a sword.
“Huh?”
The last man’s features looked faintly familiar. Four small orbs symbolizing fire, water, earth, and wind orbited him like satellites—clearly a Spirit Mage—yet something felt strangely off.
Thud.
His feet carried him toward that statue before he realized it.
“What the hell is this.”
The closer he drew, the more familiar it became. No—not familiar.
“That’s me.”
Hyun Si-woon’s eyes flew wide.
No way.
Were these statues modeled after the pioneers who first opened each path?
Ha-wol.
He called her name softly.
Ha-wol?
No answer. Even when he lifted the Formless Sword, there was no trace of her presence. This space was beyond the reach of even Ha-wol’s spirit body?
Exactly then—
It was not a voice. The entire space resonated, driving the will straight into his mind. Every hair on his body stood on end.
This feeling…
Yes. It was similar to that time—when he had opened that grotesque book. The same sensation as hearing the Library Keeper’s voice. Something fundamentally different from Rankers like Noe-je or Ha-wol… an existence whose very rank of being stood apart from theirs.
The indifferent will resounded once more. Hyun Si-woon held his breath.
I… didn’t choose just one weapon.
Sword, spear, shield, bow, blunt weapon, staff… and even Spirit Mage. Where exactly was he supposed to stand?
"Hmm? How curious."
The unknown existence seemed to have grasped the anomaly as well.
"How could a single Climber select seven weapons at once?"
An emotion of pure question. That emotion swiftly curdled into displeasure.
"An error. The Tower’s laws are absolute. A Climber may choose only one starting weapon, and that choice becomes the Climber’s path. That is the first contract the Tower established—an unalterable fundamental rule."
The existence’s voice was iron.
"Yet somehow you selected six weapons. Worse, you created a path that never existed—Spirit Mage—and set foot upon seven paths at once. This is a clear violation of the laws, a fissure that shakes the Tower’s very foundation."
The temperature of the entire hall plummeted. Crushing killing intent. Hyun Si-woon instinctively clenched the Formless Sword tighter.
"A contradiction that must not exist. By rights it should be deleted, yet in consideration of the pioneer’s achievements and contributions, forced correction shall be applied instead. All of your anomalous qualifications will be reclaimed, and you will be restored to a standard individual."
“Khuhk!”
His breath seized. Immense pressure began to crush down upon him.
Bullshit.
A curse flashed through his mind.
What the hell are you saying? Do you know how many times I died just to choose those six weapons?
Torn apart dozens of times by the first-floor boss, the Gladiator—built with blood and agony. And it meant to snatch everything away with a single word: error?
Don’t make me laugh.
Swaaaaaah!
A silver-white sword aura exploded from Hyun Si-woon’s entire body. The force of Moon Gang shook the whole hall.
Who the hell are you to decide my path?
"Foolish. Do you intend to resist?"
Ssssss…!
A single indifferent thought from the existence swept through space as if waving a hand. That alone was enough. The Moon Gang energy wrapping Hyun Si-woon’s body scattered as helplessly as a candle flame before the wind. Even the inner energy gathered in his dantian unraveled and slipped away. Strength would not come. He could not so much as twitch a finger around the sword hilt.
Crazy.
What the hell was this? Overwhelming powerlessness—the feeling of an ant thrashing before a giant. Hyun Si-woon suddenly considered ending his life here himself. Regress and simply never choose a class at all.
But right then—
"……?!"
A ripple of shock ran through the unknown will. The emotion that reached him was close to pure terror.
"Wh-what is this?!"
Hyun Si-woon had done nothing. Yet the being shuddered as though it had seen something. Of course its form remained invisible; it simply felt as if the hall itself were screaming and contorting.
"My authority of correction does not reach… incomprehensible… a-aah… how dare… ◆⍦⟐⟐… writhing… Chaos… ⍱⍴⍦… the blind… abyss… ⟁⟐⨇⍱"
What the hell is it saying?
Unintelligible words poured forth. Though it was will, it was not something Hyun Si-woon could fully comprehend. Somehow the entire situation struck him as deeply uncanny.
"Aah, forgive… forgive me… I was arrogant. How dare a lowly Weaver… touch His thread… ⟐⟐⟁"
Then it happened. Before Hyun Si-woon’s eyes, something began to take form in empty air. A colossal loom. Between the massive pillars that formed the hall, tens of thousands of luminous threads stretched taut. Something about it felt grotesque yet radiated enormous pressure. Without exaggeration, the sensation dwarfed even what he felt when facing Noe-je.
And at the loom’s heart stood a shadowy figure with countless arms like a spider. Hundreds of arms that had been moving without rest now stood stiffly frozen, as if locked in place.
"Forgive this one’s arrogance in seeking to tailor Your path."
Hyun Si-woon could not understand. Why was such a powerful existence feeling terror toward him?
"As a sign of apology I shall seek out a fine class and offer it up. Please withdraw this body’s presumptuous sin and quell Your wrath."
The existence’s will shook the entire space.
Truk, trrrruk!
At once hundreds of arms began to rummage through the tens of thousands of golden threads strung upon the loom. Their motion was frantic, like a musician desperately searching for a nonexistent melody upon a vast score.
"A fine class… I must find a Hidden Class. Something intense enough to soothe the wrath…!"
Watching the spectacle, Hyun Si-woon dimly realized: each of those threads was a class. The Tower of Despair held countless routes—so many that even his own knowledge was merely the tip of the iceberg.
Even Mage, if you think about it…
He had only met the conditions of learning both Healing and Fire Bolt at the same time, and the path had opened without fanfare.
Padut!
Hundreds of arms moved like lightning. At last a finger snared one golden thread that shone with particular brilliance amid the pitch-black darkness.
"How about this? Sword Saint."
Pure sword energy erupting from the thread shook the entire hall. Yet the existence was not satisfied.
"Ah, aah… no. This alone is insufficient."
Its arms moved again. This time it drew forth a blue thread.
"One who has touched the root of magic—Archmage?"
Two luminous threads: Sword Saint and Archmage. Hyun Si-woon’s eyes gleamed. Obtaining either would make the climb itself dramatically easier. Yet the existence’s frenzy did not stop.
"Still not enough! Stronger, rarer still…!"
Its arms plunged into the deepest recesses of the loom.
"Wanderer of Time?"
"Or… Alchemic Sovereign who creates all things?"
"Dominator who rules the dead?"
Every name was grandiose! Hyun Si-woon prayed inwardly. Couldn’t it just give him all of them? His lives were infinite, after all. He would take each one to its absolute peak.
"No, no. Those classes too are paths already walked by ancients. I cannot dare offer soiled classes to Him. Aah, this lowly Weaver’s thoughts were shortsighted."
Srrruk!
The existence released every thread.
"You are one without a path. Therefore you may become every path. Not one who follows roads already walked, but one who carves his own road and sees the end."
In the moment of realization, the existence’s movements changed. It no longer sought what already was. It began to create what did not exist.
Srrrruk!
Hundreds of arms stretched toward Hyun Si-woon. They did not touch his physical body. The arms of the existence were groping the essence of the being called Hyun Si-woon—the obsession that had claimed six weapons through dozens of deaths at the Gladiator’s hands; the creation that had forced open the unknown path of Spirit Mage; the transcendence beyond death; and the fundamental yearning to witness the end of it all.
"Yes. You are the one who seeks the end—EndSeeker."
As the existence offered a gray thread, the status window appeared.
A new path unrecorded in the Tower’s laws is being created.
Your essence, EndSeeker, becomes your one and only class.
You no longer walk a predetermined path.
This class holds infinite possibility.
What is this…
EndSeeker was merely his nickname in the Tower of Despair. He had never imagined that name would become a class…
Imprint of Experience
Every path you walk becomes your skill. By repeatedly stacking experience and enlightenment through specific acts, you may imprint that essence as your own unique skill.
Up to 10 skills may be registered; deletion and re-registration are possible at any time.
Imprinted skills have their efficacy amplified by 100%.
Existing skills are deleted.
“……!”
Hyun Si-woon sucked in a breath. He could create skills? And 100% amplification? It would not merely double power. Speed, duration, range—everything would be doubled.
Jackpot.
He opened the status window.
Name:Hyun Si-woon
Age:23
Weapons:Sword, Spear, Shield, Bow, Blunt, Staff, Spirit
Floor:10
Class:EndSeeker
Sub-Class:—
Skill:Imprint of Experience — No skills (0/10)
“Huh.”
While Hyun Si-woon was still digesting the information—
"Now… please… leave…"
The existence’s voice was nearly a sob. Desperation not to meet him again dripped from every word. Hyun Si-woon asked out of curiosity:
“Why the hell are you so terrified of me?”
There was no answer. Only—
Srrruk!
The space vanished. When he opened his eyes, he was back in Eden.
What, did it just bolt?
He frowned. Already-arrived members filled his vision, and—
“You rascal, what in the world happened?”
Ha-wol, restored once more, tilted her head.
What happened, she asks?
…I have no idea either.