Trial Tower
The Han Guild office in Mapo District.
Kim Jun stood by the window, staring toward Yeouido.
Haa.
He let out one sigh after another as he waited.
For the Tower of Trials to appear in Yeouido.
What was the tower?
It was an existence that would overturn the entire hunter system.
Until now, hunters had only been divided by rank—S-class, A-class, and so on. Those ranks were limits set at birth, walls that could not be crossed.
But the tower was different.
A level system. A new possibility, one that let anyone grow stronger if they put in the effort.
An S-class hunter at level 1 and a D-class hunter at level 100 could end up with similar combat power.
That was why hunters of every rank had flocked to the tower.
Their ends had not been good.
The most important thing is the class choice.
At present, hunters had no clear concept of “classes.” If someone had strong mana, they fought something like a mage; if they were nimble, something like an assassin; if they were tough, something like a tank.
But the tower’s system trapped hunters within a clearly defined class structure.
The “class change exam” conducted on the tower’s fifth floor. There, they would choose the job that suited them best.
Warrior, guardian, mage, thief... and special classes.
Of course, there were unique classes beyond those as well.
“This time, I’ll save them all.”
Kim Jun murmured it under his breath.
Before his regression, he had only learned at floor 50 that the class-change exam held hidden classes.
Hidden jobs that were far more powerful than ordinary classes, but could only be obtained by meeting special conditions.
If he had known that from the beginning... his comrades might not have died. No—he would have cleared the tower.
[Notice to Korean Hunters]
[The Tower of Trials has opened.]
[The tower consists of a total of 100 floors and provides a new growth opportunity beyond the existing rank system.]
[Break through your limits through leveling up.]
[Tower location: Yeouido, Seoul, Republic of Korea]
[A massive penalty will be imposed if the tower is not cleared.]
The time had come.
Rumble—
The office shook. A massive tremor rolled in from not far away.
Kim Jun looked out the window. In the direction of Yeouido, a colossal structure rose into the sky like a spear aimed at heaven.
“There was still time left, wasn’t there?”
According to his memories from before the regression, the tower should not appear until three days later.
“Could it be?”
He didn’t know whether it had anything to do with a Red Gate or with the so-called Lost Ruins, but in the end it didn’t matter.
This time would be different. He would make sure of it.
*
The area around the tower was already a madhouse. Hunters, soldiers, and reporters had gathered in such numbers that the place was in complete chaos.
“Did you all check your status windows?”
“They say there are 100 floors.”
“Maybe you can get stronger if you go in.”
The tower was even larger than he had imagined. A black spire rose so high it seemed to have no end, and the pressure it exuded kept people from daring to come near.
Police barricades had been set up ten meters from the entrance.
“Civilians are not allowed to approach!”
“Please show your hunter ID!”
A translucent window floated above the tower entrance.
[Enter the Tower of Trials]
[Current entrants: 0]
[Maximum capacity: Unlimited]
[Would you like to enter?]
“Oh! It’s Hunter Kim Jun!”
“Where?”
“Hunter Kim Jun! Are you planning to enter the tower?”
A murmur spread through the crowd.
“Hunter Kim Jun! Are you really going in?”
“Isn’t it dangerous?”
“Please answer just once!”
The reporters surged toward him, but Kim Jun kept his eyes on nothing but the tower entrance.
He reached out without hesitation.
“Huh? He’s really going in!”
“Roll camera! Hurry!”
*
[You have entered the first floor of the Tower of Trials.]
[A new growth system has been applied.]
Kim Jun opened his eyes. A broad plain stretched out before him, and far in the distance he could see a small village. Small monsters with green skin wandered here and there.
They were goblins.
[Quest 발생]
[Clear the Goblin Den]
[Objective: Kill 15 goblins, eliminate the goblin squad leader]
[Reward: 20 EXP]
Without hesitation, Kim Jun drew his greatsword.
“Kruk?”
“Kruk, kruuaak!”
Having noticed Kim Jun’s presence, the goblins rushed at him in a swarm.
Goblins were crafty monsters.
Individually, they were only D-class, but among low-level monsters they were among the more intelligent.
They loved to use their numerical advantage in encirclement attacks. They also used deception, pretending to lose in order to lure opponents into traps.
That was why so many novice hunters dismissed them as “only D-class” and ended up slaughtered.
Whoosh—
The greatsword cut through the wind.
“Kruoook!”
The head of the goblin charging at the front separated from its body.
The rest of the goblins flinched. Their comrade had died far too easily.
But they quickly collected themselves.
“Kruk! Krukkruk!”
Every last goblin moved at once.
Some charged head-on, while others fanned out to the flanks. It was a textbook goblin encirclement.
But Kim Jun didn’t move. He simply stood within an invisible circle, facing the goblins inside it.
After a brief moment to steady his breathing, he gave the greatsword a light swing.
Slash—
“K, kruaa... .”
The goblins didn’t understand.
That hunter had clearly been standing still. They hadn’t even seen him swing his sword.
And yet, why was the world turning? Why was the sky drifting farther away, and their own feet drawing closer?
Ah. Their necks had been cut.
Only then did the goblins realize it.
Thud—tudududuk.
Kim Jun swung the greatsword wide to fling off the goblin blood.
Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!
The ground trembled as a massive shadow emerged from deep inside the cave.
“Kruuuaaaaaa—!”
The goblin squad leader.
Its body was four times the size of an ordinary goblin’s, and it held a massive iron axe. The final boss of the first floor, and the condition for clearing it.
“It’s been a while.”
A smile appeared at the corner of Kim Jun’s mouth. He had faced this one before, back in his previous life.
And Kim Jun knew something else.
That the first floor had a hidden clear condition.
If you kill it with your bare hands, a hidden reward appears.
Back then, it had been a coincidence. His equipment had been wrecked in a Red Gate, so he had no choice but to fight with his bare fists.
But this time was different. Since he had handled the Red Gate cleanly, his weapon’s durability was intact.
Clink.
But I can’t pass up the hidden reward.
Kim Jun set down his greatsword for a moment, flexed his bare hands, and stared down the goblin squad leader.
“Come.”
“Kruuaa!”
The goblin squad leader roared and raised its axe overhead.
Boom!
The axe smashed into the spot where Kim Jun had been standing, but he had already slipped a step to the side.
Thwack!
His fist slammed into the squad leader’s abdomen. Green blood sprayed from its mouth.
The monster stumbled backward with a scream. But it quickly regained its balance and came at him again.
Whoosh—
The axe came down vertically. Kim Jun rolled aside to evade it.
Thwack! Thwack! Crack—!
He drove consecutive punches into its stomach and flank. He could hear the sound of ribs breaking.
“Kwoaaaaaaak!!”
Enraged, the squad leader swung its axe wildly without restraint. Kim Jun calmly avoided each attack and waited for his opening.
Whoosh!
The savage assault kept coming, but to Kim Jun, everything looked like slow motion.
Pow—!
He struck the jaw with perfect precision. The huge body lurched, and Kim Jun immediately unleashed a flurry of blows.
Thwack, thwack, thwack, thwack!
Stomach, chest, then jaw again. With every strike, blood splashed everywhere.
“K, kuoooh...”
The squad leader’s face was a mass of blood and bruises. Its nose had been completely smashed in, and one eye had burst under his fist, leaving only the white.
Thud—
The giant body toppled backward, shaking the ground as it fell. Blood pouring from its torn wounds pooled across the floor.
“Hoo, hoo.”
Kim Jun’s fists were a mess of goblin flesh and blood.
[Hidden condition fulfilled!]
[Killed the goblin squad leader with bare hands]
[Hidden reward acquired!]
[Hammer of Belleron acquired]
[Rank: S]
[Effect: Doubles item reinforcement success rate]
Kim Jun wiped the blood from his hands and smiled in satisfaction.
The Hammer of Belleron.
He had benefited immensely from that hammer even before his regression.
Normally, item reinforcement had a high failure rate. From +5 onward, in particular, the failure chance shot past 70 percent. If reinforcement failed, the item was destroyed or its enhancement level dropped.
But with the Hammer of Belleron, it was different. It completely prevented an item from being destroyed on failure, and it doubled the success rate besides.
A 70 percent failure rate dropped to 35 percent. A 90 percent failure rate dropped to 45 percent.
The reason Kim Jun had been able to climb all the way to the 100th floor before his regression, and the reason his comrades had been able to hold on for as long as they did, was all thanks to this hammer.
Without it, he probably would not have made it past the 80th floor. Without reinforced gear, he couldn’t have faced the monsters of the upper floors.
Especially from floor 10 onward, gear performance becomes directly tied to survival.
With a satisfied smile, he stored the hammer in his inventory.
Double the reinforcement success rate. What better early reward could there be?
*
He cleared floors 2 through 5 with ease.
Another goblin pack, spiders, wolf packs, even slimes.
Every monster fell helplessly before Kim Jun’s greatsword.
There was no need to waste time on floors without hidden rewards.
[First clear reward achieved for Floor 2]
[First clear reward achieved for Floor 3]
[First clear reward achieved for Floor 4]
[First clear reward achieved for Floor 5]
[Additional EXP acquired: 100]
[Additional EXP acquired: 100]
[Additional EXP acquired: 100]
[Additional EXP acquired: 100]
A huge amount of experience poured into Kim Jun.
It had been only two hours since he entered the tower, and Kim Jun had already broken through to the fifth floor alone.
Whoosh—
At that moment, a breathtaking sight unfolded before him.
A magnificent city surrounded by massive castle walls. Buildings of white marble rose high into the sky, and at the center stood a gigantic temple.
Thebes.
The first city of the Tower of Trials, and the place where the fates of all hunters would be decided.
Once radiant, it had eventually been crushed under the monsters’ merciless assault, becoming the stage for a tragedy in which every resident was slaughtered.
Before his regression, countless hunters had fallen there.
Tap, tap, tap.
He walked toward the city gate.
To rise above the despair of the past and seize the hope of the future.
“Let’s go.”
With the resolve to reclaim his true strength—the hidden class Dragon Slayer—and change everything this time.
The gears of fate began to turn once more.
This time, he would write a different ending.
At the point where the regrets of the past met the determination of the present, Kim Jun walked toward the path only he knew.
“Hoo.”
Toward hope, not despair. Toward victory, not defeat.
[Welcome to Thebes.]
3