Origin

I'd never even considered which server Kim Jin-ah was from. Hell, I'd never thought about anywhere outside my own Tower at all. What the fuck made me think the Tower of Trials wasn't some lawless survival-of-the-fittest hellhole?

All I knew about Tower society came from outside news articles or stuff I'd picked up skimming the community forums after entering. The news was worthless—communication between the Tower world and the outside was slow and full of bullshit anyway. And the open community? Full real-name policy. Your real name and server affiliation were right there for everyone to see.

Think about it: that setup was perfect for real-life threats. If someone shit-talking me was from the same Tower, I could hunt them down and kill them myself. Even if they weren't, if they had ties to a big guild, I could make their life hell indirectly. No wonder it was so damn hard to find dirt on specific rankers or groups there.

Only challengers from the same server as Choi Gil-hyun would know exactly what he'd done on 1554 Server or what he was capable of next. As a low-floor ranker, he wasn't someone you could underestimate in a fight, and if he had a crew built on connections... yeah, it wasn't impossible for him to rule 1554 like an untouchable tyrant.

For Kim Jin-ah, stuck on the same server as that asshole, there were no choices. Calling it betrayal was almost laughable. We'd never been close enough for her to risk her life showing loyalty.

"Getting the picture now? Shouldn't have fucked with the wrong guy, you little shit..."

Choi Gil-hyun smirked, tapping my shoulder with his spear tip.

"You're that bastard, right? The solo player whining on the community about his mom dying."

He was dead certain the paralyzing poison in the tea had me completely neutralized. Fair enough. As a ranker hanging out on Floor 25, he could access high-level poisons I could never touch on the low floors. My tongue had been going numb since earlier, so it was some potent paralysis toxin, no doubt.

If it weren't for my double-digit resistances fighting off the paralysis toxin, I'd have been fucked, totally immobilized. Meanwhile, Choi Gil-hyun kept yapping, digging into community posts about me and even bringing up my mom's name.

To the overconfident prick exposing himself right behind me, I answered by swinging the hand axe from my belt.

-Crack!

The casual swing from my seated position buried the axehead right into Choi Gil-hyun's crotch.

"Guhk!"

He couldn't even scream properly from the surprise hit. But that was just him being a pussy. After taking repeated whacks from a mithril wand to the face without dying, his defense had to be sky-high. The HP protection common to all Tower challengers meant he probably barely felt it. HP's safeguard against fatal wounds varied by defense and damage, after all.

-Crash!

I kicked over a cafeteria chair to stand, then drove my foot into the gut of his armored little brother. Leaving the two sprawled out, I leisurely opened ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠my inventory and swapped gear.

How much faith did Choi Gil-hyun have in that poison? Maybe he figured partial debilitation was enough, without fully neutralizing me. Otherwise, why come geared for combat?

"Fucking retard."

I unequipped my durability-only trash armor and weapons, slotting in my full gear set I'd benched for a while.

He hadn't even considered I'd been holding back. The skill gap was so wide I could've crushed him even in junk gear. In full kit with specs maxed, he didn't even graze me once—total one-sided beatdown.

"Guh... urk..."

Choi Gil-hyun lay face-down, right arm and left leg severed. His brother was similarly mangled, slammed into the wall. The whole thing took less than five minutes. Me going all-out, no holds barred.

"H-how... how are you this strong..."

Kim Jin-ah, frozen in place from our chat spot, just trembled.

I shook the blood off my sword and walked over slowly.

"P-please... spare me."

Sensing the price of betrayal, she clasped her hands, begging. She'd do anything, just let her live.

But I'd never planned to kill her. Or Choi Gil-hyun and his brother, for that matter.

I got her position. No choice in the matter. Expecting loyalty from her was idiotic.

Yeah, I knew. It was just one day. She had no option but to betray. But it still pissed me off.

"Why?"

I asked myself. Why the bad mood?

Being with Kim Jin-ah had felt... stable. Like tasting serotonin I'd forgotten existed. I'd sworn never to stop, yet I got swept up in the festival vibe, wasting time leisurely.

But I'd fallen into that mood right after stepping into the event map. Had nothing to do with her.

The conclusion hit quick: I just wanted a break. To connect with people, build some bonds. Party up like normal challengers, chill.

And I'd found that first with the person who approached me—Kim Jin-ah.

"P-please, Jin-hyeok... spare me, please, please."

But this was the result. She had to betray me. I had to get betrayed.

The root cause? Me fighting Choi Gil-hyun? Her being on his server? His backup?

Nah. It was all because I was a solo player.

Solo, so ignorant of other servers' drama. Solo, so bound to clash eventually.

Even without partying with her or bumping into him, it'd happen someday.

What's weird about ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a solo ending up alone? It's just natural.

I sheathed my sword, opened the system, deleted the three from my friends list, and blocked Kim Jin-ah and the brothers.

Now I had zero ties to them.

Leaving the near-dead trio, I walked out of the cafeteria alone.

Top-grade potions could reattach severed limbs. With his solid ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠backup, Choi Gil-hyun would survive fine, no disability. Then he'd probably kill Kim Jin-ah.

But she could probably take him solo in his crippled state. One would die for sure, but blocked in the system, I'd ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠never know.

What did I care about other challengers' fates? As a solo, one death on my conscience was enough.

Exiting the Festival Map, Floor 6's gloomy vibe welcomed me back. Total opposite of the street food aromas wafting everywhere there.

The stench of blood, corpses, and poison felt refreshing. Like returning to where I belonged—home, almost.

I swapped gear again and pushed toward the labyrinth.

Floor 6 was already cleared except the boss pre-event.

-Screeech!

The heavy iron door swung open, revealing the boss room. In the darkness, a rotting skeleton sat on a throne.

Black energy overflowed around the skeleton as empathetic system messages popped up.

-Grrrumble!

Skeleton soldiers rose from the floor at the Lich's gesture, charging me en masse. I smashed them all with sword and shield.

While I cleaned up, the Lich chanted shrouded in dark aura. I knew what that spell birthed.

Finishing uninterrupted amid the skeleton swarm, it summoned a pitch-black knight.

Floor 6's strongest elite: Death Knight.

The death knight burst through the skeleton wall, greatsword clashing against my straight sword.

"Yeah, this is it."

My face, faintly reflected on the colliding blades, no longer felt foreign.