A Peculiar Climber Appears
Seoul Station.
The train ground to a halt, and the doors slid open.
Park Do-yoon stepped onto the platform with a nonchalant stride.
A sea of people flowed through the station, their gazes parting around him the moment they saw him.
This kind of reaction was nothing new to him.
In fact, he was utterly sick of it.
"What's up with that fashion disaster...?"
"His outfit is seriously avant-garde..."
"Whoa... his shoes don't even match..."
Passersby began to whisper as they took in his attire.
Admittedly, his outfit was enough to make anyone stop and stare.
A purple robe draped over his right side, while his left arm was encased in iron armor.
His pants were a bizarre pair of military cargos boasting twelve pockets, and his shoes were completely mismatched.
His hair featured a two-tone dye job on his bangs alone—a chaotic blend of purple and white.
To top it off, he carried a massive shield strapped to his back. He was the very definition of eccentric.
People actively steered clear of him, while a few even tried to sneak photos on their phones.
Park Do-yoon didn't care in the slightest.
Instead, he looked up at the electronic display board and smirked.
As expected of Seoul. There are so many people.
To his eyes, every single person here was nothing more than a piece of information.
A budget hotel near Seoul Station.
One night, breakfast included, decent soundproofing, stable Wi-Fi.
It passed Park Do-yoon's standards.
After checking in, he entered his room, stripped off his gear without even unpacking, and threw himself onto the bed.
"I geared up fully just in case, but I should've just packed it all in my luggage."
Lying on a soft mattress instead of a worn-out cot for the first time in ages, he felt his stiff muscles begin to relax.
Do-yoon pulled out an outdated smartphone and opened a news app.
Before entering the tower tomorrow, he needed to scrape together as much information as possible.
• Tower Coin Market Price Surges. Government Purchase Price Rises 15% Above Market Rate
• Government Plans to Secure Large Quantities of Holy Water and Key Resources Once Tower Coins Are Acquired
• Requests for Holy Water Trade Pour In from Abroad... Official Intergovernmental Routes Under Discussion
It was just as he expected.
The government was moving fast, and the market was already overheating.
The value of Tower Coins was steadily climbing, driven by the demand for holy water.
Do-yoon gathered more data, checking various articles related to My House Tower.
The disparate pieces of information became puzzle pieces, assembling into a coherent structure in his mind.
Right now, analysis took precedence over action.
The next morning.
Do-yoon warmed up with some light stretching, readjusted his gear, and left the hotel.
The path leading to My House Tower was already thick with tension.
Countless security guards, police officers, surveillance drones, and tower-climber control personnel were deployed.
Barricades blocked every entrance, and everyone passing through was undergoing identity verification.
"ID cards before entering, please! Have your climber registration cards ready as well!"
He approached a barricade, quietly pulled out his wallet, and handed over his card.
The moment the electronic terminal flashed and read the data, a security guard's voice spiked in surprise.
"The Explorer Park Do-yoon... World Rank 35?!"
The moment those words left his mouth, the surrounding silence shattered.
Police officers, security guards, and waiting climbers alike—
—all whipped their heads in his direction.
A single ranking had completely flipped the atmosphere.
Because his appearance differed slightly from the plain ID photo on his registration card, the inspectors cross-referenced the data just to be sure.
"Just to confirm... are you truly Mr. Park Do-yoon?"
He gave a quiet nod and replied with a single sentence.
"May I pass?"
"...Yes, of course! You may head right through!"
The sudden shift in tone, the deferential attitude, the inspector scurrying to let him through.
This, too, was a familiar sight to him.
Making such a fuss over a mere Rank 35.
Do-yoon muttered to himself, chuckling at the crowd's overreaction.
Then, as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened, he calmly stepped past the barricade.
The area surrounding My House Tower was already a melting pot of information.
Reporters filming the tower, government agents keeping an eye out for suspicious individuals, and hordes of climbers.
Their conversations drifted through the air in a constant stream.
"Ugh, I've already died and come back to life three times."
"Still, isn't it insane how this tower refills your resurrection buff every single time you enter the 1st floor?"
"Right? And normally in dungeon-type towers, you can only warp to floors you've actually cleared. But here, as long as you've entered a floor once, you can register the warp and teleport straight there."
"That's why I saved the coordinates for the 5th floor and challenge it every day! I'm going for it again today!"
"Speaking of which, I heard the 5th-floor trial got easier starting last night. Is that true?"
Do-yoon listened intently to the climbers' chatter.
He quickly weeded out the bluffers from those with actual experience.
It definitely has a completely different structure from conventional towers.
He systematically organized the information in his mind.
This place was no ordinary tower.
It was a space imbued with a distinct will, a system, and some sort of underlying philosophy.
Deciding it would be best to fill his stomach before officially entering the tower, Do-yoon stopped by a nearby gukbap restaurant.
The name on the sign was striking.
Puck-Puck-Hae-Yo Pork Soup
"That's a bold name."
Despite the slightly aggressive name, the place was packed.
Simply by virtue of being near the tower, it seemed to have become a hot spot among climbers.
The owner's grin was practically split from ear to ear, showing no signs of fading—business was clearly booming.
Do-yoon sat down and ordered a standard bowl of pork soup.
Rich broth, generous portions of meat, accompanied by kkakdugi and seasoned chives—it was a flawless spread.
As he savored the soup, he kept his ears open to the surrounding chatter.
"Did you hear someone reached the 8th floor yesterday?"
"Yeah, I heard the 8th floor is crawling with giant, hairy snakes."
"Hairy giant snakes? How big are they?"
"I heard they're as thick as a human and about eight to nine meters long."
"That's basically an anaconda..."
Do-yoon smiled as he absorbed this new piece of information.
Giant snakes covered in hair, and the tower trials associated with them.
The tower's design hid genuine danger beneath a veneer of playfulness.
He didn't let even a single word of this idle gossip slip by.
To an Explorer, every scrap of information was a clue.
Having finished his meal, he headed back toward the tower entrance.
A bizarrely colossal structure soaring exactly one hundred stories into the sky.
A sensation both foreign and familiar filled his vision.
Do-yoon slowly adjusted his gloves and quietly looked up at the tower.
What kind of unknowns and logic, what incomprehensible rules and variables lay hidden within?
"Well... shall we go in?"
With all preparations complete,
he finally stepped onto the 1st floor of My House Tower.
Instantly, the space shifted.
He arrived in a gleaming, golden lobby.
It was far more ordinary than he had imagined.
No, actually, it was so close to modern design that calling it "ordinary" felt wrong—it was downright uncanny.
The ceiling was high, and the walls were painted gold.
Polished marble tiles lined the floor, and in the distance, he could see an information desk, a warp point, and a portal leading to the 2nd floor.
And a massive screen hung on the central wall.
Promotional videos played on a continuous loop across the screen.
Sometimes showing a sandy beach with rolling waves, sometimes a cozy hot spring resort, and even a restaurant run by a slime-like creature.
He had clearly entered a tower, yet the bizarrely modern advertisements caught his eye.
Having focused too much on the ads, he only belatedly noticed the system window.
[Clear Condition - Breathe]
You have cleared the 1st floor!
As a clear reward, the buff [Grace of the Angel (Minor)] has been granted.
"Ho, so this is the resurrection buff I've heard so much about?"
The buff's effects were exactly as described on the internet.
Damage taken reduced by 25%, cures minor illnesses and grants resistance, and allows one resurrection outside the tower upon death.
Do-yoon wanted to test the resurrection effect immediately, but since committing suicide on the spot felt a bit extreme, he decided to put it on hold.
"Welcome, Climber!"
A gentle voice called out from the desk.
Three maids stood positioned in the center of the lobby.
Though they looked different, they all wore identical uniforms adorned with black-and-white frills.
One was a polite woman with neat red hair.
Another was a beauty with blonde twintails and a cheerful, friendly way of speaking.
The last was a petite, expressionless, robot-like girl with white hair and glasses.
They were busy conversing with climbers without a moment's rest.
"Yes! You can warp to any trial floor at any time! However, if you wish to forfeit midway, please use a nearby warp point!"
"Many climbers are visiting the carbonated hot springs today, so how about heading to the 48th floor to enjoy the ocean?"
"Holy water can be purchased on the 12th floor. Any acts of theft will result in immediate penalties and expulsion from the tower."
One by one, climbers used the warp points or vanished into the portals under the maids' guidance.
Some went to face trials, others to rest.
Everyone's purpose seemed clear.
Do-yoon quietly observed his surroundings.
The movement patterns of the crowd, the types of questions asked, the response times of the maids, even the structure of the lobby and the placement of decorations—
—everything in his sight was an object of 'exploration' and data to be collected.
He slowly walked over to the blonde maid with twintails.
"Welcome, Climber! How can I help you today?"
"A few questions. You only need to answer what you're permitted to."
"Understood. I'll do my best!"
"First, I'd like to know your name, if you don't mind."
"Of course! My name is Lemon Madeleine! The red-haired maid next to me is Red Velvet! And this cute, white-haired friend is Cream Waffle!"
"Easy names to remember."
For some reason, all three had names derived from baked goods.
"Next question. I heard this tower is divided into trial floors and resting floors. For example, what happens if a climber currently undergoing a trial reaches a resting floor like the 11th floor?"
"Ah! Even if you are in the middle of a trial, it will continue in a peaceful manner on the resting floors! Most of them involve satisfying specific conditions rather than combat!"
"In that case, is it possible to converse or negotiate with the monsters or other races that appear on each floor?"
"It depends on the floor, but for the most part, yes! However, some floors are strictly combat-only with no room for negotiation, making a non-combat clear impossible!"
"And those combat-only floors would be?"
"Mainly floors that are multiples of ten, like the 10th, 20th, and 30th floors. Those are the floors where powerful boss monsters appear!"
Lemon Madeleine smiled brightly and lightly gestured with her palm.
"No climber has cleared a boss floor yet! The difficulty is very high, so we highly recommend cooperating with other climbers!"
For reference, the trial on the 95th floor that Crow had previously bypassed also had a 'peaceful option,' so it wasn't classified as a boss floor.
"Is a solo breakthrough possible, then?"
"Of course! However, please keep in mind that the risk is extremely high, and the probability of death is quite significant!"
Do-yoon fell into deep thought.
It seemed to follow a typical 'tower system,' but the fine details were slightly warped.
While some floors could be cleared through non-combat means, others absolutely required combat and cooperation.
This tower was structured to encompass both 'challenge' and 'experience,' rather than just simple combat.
"I assume I can move freely to floors I've already cleared?"
"Yes! You can re-enter any floor you've already visited at any time! Furthermore, because individual clear records are saved, you don't have to repeat the trials!"
"Clear records are saved... That means this tower is logging the climbers' actions?"
"That interpretation... is indeed correct!"
She spoke with a smile, but Do-yoon caught another clue hidden beneath it.
The tower is watching.
It is recording.
Which meant that even his actions at this very moment were being monitored by the tower.
Deciding he had asked and heard enough, he nodded.
"Alright, that's plenty. Thanks for the information."
"Ah, are you heading to a trial floor now?"
"Yes. I plan to go to the 2nd floor."
"Understood! Please use this portal. You will be the seventh person to enter the 2nd floor today!"
She raised her hand and pointed toward the portal.
An entrance swirling with red light.
No other climbers were on the path leading toward it yet.
Do-yoon stood before the portal.
And suddenly—
—he realized that ever since he arrived, everything here felt like a warm 'welcome.'
It was excessively kind, excessively comfortable.
For a tower welcoming climbers, the attitude was far too soft.
Even at this moment, countless climbers were consuming this 'tower' as mere entertainment.
But what this tower possessed was no simple game.
Something was hidden here.
Without a doubt.
"This tower is already getting interesting."
Light completely enveloped his vision.
The time of exploration to unearth the unknown had begun.