Tower of Despair Floor 1 (2)
Privilege Ability, ‘Regression’, activates.
This is your second regression.
“Hah… hah!”
Hyun Si-woon gasped for air. He had already tasted death once, yet the pain that punched straight through his lungs and the raw, screaming sensations remained every bit as horrific.
Still, there was one mercy.
It’s exactly the same as the first regression.
You have entered Floor 1 of the Tower of Despair.
Please select a weapon.
The weapon rack stood before him. Sword, blunt weapon, spear, staff, bow, shield—the familiar arsenal waited in its usual places. That settled it. Everyone else climbed the tower with a single chance. Hyun Si-woon had been given infinite ones.
“Hup… hah.”
He steadied his breathing.
First thing I need to check.
He sank to the floor and opened his status window.
Name:Hyun Si-woon
Age:20
Weapons:Sword, Spear
Floor:1
Stats:
⚡ Strength:4 💨 Agility:3
❤ Stamina:3 🛡 Endurance:3
👁 Sense:10
Class:None
Skills:None
“……!”
It had changed. Power flooded into his clenched fists. Strength 4, Stamina 3—clear, undeniable stat accumulation. His heart hammered out of control, not with fear but with something far more violent and bright.
This means endless growth is possible.
Repetition was no longer mere repetition. Suffering was no longer meaningless suffering. Could there be a more broken privilege than this?
Hyun Si-woon squeezed his fists tight. The difference was subtle, yet unmistakable.
My strength has definitely increased.
He would need a weapon in hand to measure it properly, but instinct already told him the truth. And something more important:
The hunger is gone too.
Not only that.
My muscles have recovered.
The body that had felt like a thousand pounds of dead weight was gone. He felt lighter; the grinding muscle ache had vanished. In short, regression restored him to his original state—except for the stats, which remained.
“Hah.”
He rose at once and walked straight to the weapon rack. This time he had no intention of wasting hours on exercise.
I go right now.
His stats had risen on the brink of death. That fact held his full attention.
It wasn’t the exercise that raised them.
Even a scrawny body like his could never gain this much from an hour of thrashing around. Muscle grew gradually. Stamina did the same.
I have to raise them in real combat.
When the blade punched through his back. When exhaustion left him unable to move. When he bit into his enemy in pure desperation and shattered his own limits—that was the moment the stats climbed.
I’m certain.
Movement that broke past the limit. That was the condition for growth. And right now a boiling rage toward the gladiator still filled his chest. How furious had he been to sink his teeth into that rotting corpse’s throat?
Hyun Si-woon intended to use that rage.
The more time I waste here, the bigger the fear gets.
Fear of the blade. That sensation still burned vivid in his mind.
He reached out and this time lifted the shield.
You have selected the Shield.
A shield was never ideal for solo play. From Floor 2 of the Tower of Despair onward, party play became possible, and the shield was the tank’s tool. So why take it now?
First, I’m going to pick every single weapon once.
In the game, weapon selection existed only on Floor 1. Once you cleared this floor, the chance never returned. If stacking was possible, better to fill every slot now. Who knew? At the class change on Floor 10 he might obtain multiple jobs.
That would be an absolute jackpot.
Each class granted its own skill, and the stats and bonus effects alone would let him explode in power.
Opening the Gladiator’s Gate.
Kuuung!
The gate opened again, and that bastard appeared.
“Come on.”
His left hand clamped the shield tight; his right drew the short blade hidden on its inner face. Even a shield warrior received a sword. The damage was weak, but that was fine. Everything was already different from before.
Instead of standing there like a fool, he would block the bastard’s blade with the shield and try to push his stats higher. He charged.
Kwaaaang!
Shield slammed into shield. His fingertips went numb. Breath locked in his throat, yet Hyun Si-woon refused to smother the rising fury.
“Hyaaaaaaaah!”
He detonated it instead and fought like a madman. He knew perfectly well that with his current stats, no amount of effort would win. That gladiator demanded at least the solid physique of a trained athlete before anyone could even trade blows.
But this time—
I will drive this short sword into your eye socket no matter what!
Every stab you give me, I’ll pay back in full!
Hyun Si-woon hurled himself forward with the resolve of a man already dead. After a full minute of exchange—
Puk!
Death claimed him once more.
Privilege Ability, ‘Regression’, activates.
This is your third regression.
“Haha.”
Laughter burst from Hyun Si-woon’s lips. He had seen it again at the final moment.
3 → 4
Yes. All he had to do was grow. Get stronger, and that was enough. Poison filled his eyes and every movement. He walked straight to the weapon rack.
You have selected the Bow.
This time, the bow. Of course he had never held one in his life. Grip, weight, balance—everything felt alien. Hyun Si-woon bit his lip and dragged the basic structure of a bow up from memory. Even when he played FPS games, his shooting sense had always been unmatched. While others used guns, he used to casually land headshots with a bow for fun. Once he got used to the arrow’s speed and trajectory, hitting the target shouldn’t be hard.
Let’s practice a little.
He raised the bow at once, nocked an arrow, and drew the string. Grip, stance, aim—everything was clumsy, but it didn’t matter. All he needed was to see how the arrow flew. His target: the tip of a spear on the weapon rack.
Tik!
The arrow flew.
Missed.
The trajectory warped.
Hmm.
Harder than expected. Knowing the speed and arc, possessing superior Sense—none of it mattered if he couldn’t actually fire with that exact speed and arc whenever he wanted. Practice was required.
But?
Time was on Hyun Si-woon’s side. Eyes narrowing, he raised the bow again.
I repeat.
He would keep shooting until the weapon felt like an extension of his hand.
His stomach growled. Hyun Si-woon kept loosing arrows until hunger clawed at him and his fingers were raw, then opened the Gladiator’s Gate without pause. And died again.
Privilege Ability, ‘Regression’, activates.
This is your fourth regression.
He tried the blunt weapon as well.
Privilege Ability, ‘Regression’, activates.
This is your fifth regression.
He tried the staff too.
Privilege Ability, ‘Regression’, activates.
This is your sixth regression.
For the record, choosing the staff unlocked a hidden route on Floor 2. There you could obtain magic skills or healing skills, which was why it was considered ideal for party play alongside a tank. Of course, on Floor 1?
None of that existed. You had to beat the enemy to death with the stick.
“Haaah.”
Hyun Si-woon sprawled on the ground in a star shape and stared blankly at the tedious stone ceiling. Six deaths, and fatigue had finally set in. Should he check the status window again?
Name:Hyun Si-woon
Age:20
Weapons:Sword, Spear, Shield, Bow, Blunt Weapon, Staff
Floor:1
Stats:
⚡ Strength:4 💨 Agility:4
❤ Stamina:4 🛡 Endurance:4
👁 Sense:10
Class:None
Skills:None
Every weapon slot was filled. Agility and Stamina had risen as well, bringing every stat except Sense to 4.
“Heh.”
Want to know the funny part? Four was still garbage. Absolute garbage. The gladiator’s blade was still too fast, still overwhelming; he still tired far too easily. He could feel it.
Average of 5, excluding Sense.
Just push that far and he would be able to beat the gladiator.
The seventh, eighth, and ninth regressions passed. From then on every attempt was with the sword. He used only the sword now. It had been his main weapon back when he was EndSeeker, and a special attachment lingered.
And then—
Privilege Ability, ‘Regression’, activates.
This is your tenth regression.
On the tenth death, he finally filled every stat except Sense to 5. The estimate was clear.
I can clear it.
Just moments earlier he had almost won. His blade had definitely buried itself in the enemy’s neck and cut halfway through… with only a little more strength he could have severed it cleanly. Strength had fallen short by a hair, and the gladiator’s sword punched through his heart instead.
“Hoo.”
Even the bastard’s rank stench felt familiar now. The fear seemed diluted, if only a little.
Thud, thud. The moment his breathing settled he took up the sword.
You have selected the Sword.
A familiar weight settled into his palm. The foreign feeling was gone. The weight felt just right—light enough.
Opening the Gladiator’s Gate.
Kuuung!
The massive gate split the darkness. He had watched this scene more than ten times already.
What had once felt like a wall now looked manageable. He had grown not only in body but in mind. Above all, the terror of death had vanished. That alone made his movements bold.
Swaeek!
The gladiator closed the distance and brought its blade down. Familiar pattern. Familiar timing. This time it would work.
An instant before the gladiator’s sword split his forehead—
Kang!
Hyun Si-woon’s blade struck the exact center of the enemy’s left sword-body.
Got it!
He felt it with pure Sense. First successful parry!
The gladiator’s sword veered right; its center of gravity collapsed. A natural opening appeared. Parrying in the Tower of Despair was an extremely demanding technique. It was not simply blocking; you had to counter the instant before the attack landed. A fraction early or a fraction late meant failure. On top of that, the tower’s monsters always mixed different attack motions and feint patterns, so perfect parries relied purely on instinct.
And even if you succeed—
you still had to exploit the opening that followed without the slightest delay. Hesitate even a heartbeat and the enemy recovered balance and sealed every gap.
Which was why—
“Hup!”
Hyun Si-woon did not hesitate. He drove his sword boldly into the shoulder joint visible through a gap in the shield.
Puk!
The edge sank deep. Rotten flesh split and putrid blood sprayed.
Good. It’s in.
But it wasn’t finished. Without withdrawing the blade he kicked the gladiator’s torso and, with that force, ripped the shoulder open.
Seuk-deuk!
Rotten bone ground and the arm sheared clean off.
Tung!
The shield clattered to the stone floor.
Done!
A gladiator without its shield? Now it was Hyun Si-woon’s meal. All that remained was the finish.
—Kiaaaaak!
The one-armed creature shrieked for the first time and swung its sword again, but—
Kang!
Another parry landed and another opening bloomed. Its empty neck lay exposed.
“……Die.”
Hyun Si-woon’s eyes turned cold. He reset his grip deep on the hilt and lunged in a single breath. A straight thrust aimed at the throat.
Puk!
The blade punched through the gladiator’s neck and out the nape. The tip shattered rotting bone as it buried itself to the hilt. The gladiator’s body convulsed.
—K-keuh…!
Paralysis had set in; the critical hit had landed cleanly.
Puhak!
When he wrenched the sword free, foul blood erupted. He kicked the corpse over and kept stabbing the neck.
Puk, puk, puuk!
And at last—
You have slain the Rotten Gladiator.
You have cleared Floor 1 of the Tower of Despair.
After endless death and regression—finally!
“Haa… haa!”
He had broken the first wall of this damned game.