Just Breathe to Clear

Climbers had invaded. At the entrance of the 1st floor of Naejibtap (My House Tower), five armed climbers began entering the tower one by one.

"Chunsik Kim, vanguard team leader of the Glory Guild, has entered the 1st floor of the tower." Chunsik Kim, the vanguard team leader of the Soldier class—a man who looked like a soldier in every sense of the word—stepped in first.

"Ooh-hyo! I wonder what's gonna pop out of this tower~?" The next to enter was Huiyeol Ban, a shirtless, fully tanned muscleman of the Fighter class.

"Hmm, it's cleaner inside than I expected." Next came a glasses-wearing, samurai-style guy of the Swordsman class named Otaku... Yes, his actual, legal name was Otaku.

"...Leader, I think we have a troll in our party?" Chunja Park, a cold and realistic female climber of the Healer class, entered next.

"Fufu, whenever five climbers gather, there's bound to be at least one piece of trash." The last to enter was Elizabeth—a codename, not her real name—a blonde woman in full-body tights wearing a white mask, representing the Thief class.

As these five highly capable members of the Glory Guild stepped into the tower, a small system window materialized before them.

"...The tower's name is weird."

"Naejibtap? What does that even mean?"

"Doesn't it literally mean 'My House Tower'?"

"How could that possibly be?"

"Quiet, everyone! The trial zone has already been activated. We don't know what might jump out, so stay on high alert!"

While everyone questioned the tower's name and shared their thoughts, vanguard team leader Chunsik Kim professionally brought them to order and quickly assumed a defensive stance—

"?"

A silence that stretched for a whopping ten seconds! The members of the Glory Guild's vanguard team stared in dumbfounded shock, unable to close their mouths. A tower that you could clear just by breathing?! No matter how easy a tower's difficulty was, the first floor usually threw at least a horned squirrel or a two-headed wolf at you. A trial cleared by such an absurdly simple condition had never existed in history!

But that wasn't the only shocking thing.

"...Is this for real?"

The effects of the Grace of the Angel (Minor) buff they received as a reward were so incredible their eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. They could understand the damage reduction effect; skills or buff potions from other towers already offered similar benefits. But the value wasn't 5% or 10%—it was a staggering 25%! On top of that, it cured minor illnesses. This was a miraculous effect that completely wiped away minor ailments that standard health potions couldn't touch, like seasonal colds, long COVID symptoms, or chronic muscle pain! As if that weren't mind-blowing enough, the final effect actually resurrected you if you died!

Naturally, whether you were an ordinary human or a climber, death was the absolute end. Even the highest-tier recovery magic could only heal severe injuries; resurrecting the dead was utterly impossible! There were only rumors that a massive guild in the United States possessed a legendary-grade item capable of a single resurrection, and there had never been a single documented case of someone dying and coming back to life in South Korea. Yet, at this very moment, everyone here had just received a resurrection buff...!

"Whoa... this tower is insanely generous."

"This is crazy... they're giving out a resurrection buff basically for free..."

A trial as easy as breathing... no, they had literally just breathed to clear it, and they were rewarded with an extra life? Of course, the one-day duration was a drawback, but it meant they had an incredibly powerful insurance policy that guaranteed they would survive at least one fatal mistake today. After celebrating for over three minutes, the vanguard team finally calmed down under Chunsik Kim's orders. They began to thoroughly investigate the first floor to fulfill their original mission of scouting the tower.

The portal to the second floor appearing upon clearing the first floor was similar to other towers. However, the structure bore an uncanny resemblance to modern architecture. Yet, there was absolutely no sign of human presence, making the entire scene feel incredibly bizarre.

"Hmm... this tower is definitely strange. There's no one else but us here on the first floor."

"Well, since it's a floor you clear just by breathing, there's no real reason for monsters to spawn."

"But still... the first floor of this tower is decorated exactly like a hotel lobby, yet there's no receptionist, and we're the only ones here... It kind of feels like we walked into an unmanned motel."

"I agree with that."

"Even though it's ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠clearly constructed with materials and styles from another world, the interior design feels strangely familiar."

The Glory Guild's vanguard team shared their opinions and compiled their findings. They continued their investigation, deeply puzzled by the bizarre scenery of the first floor, which looked like a blend of an otherworldly civilization and Earth's.

"Huiyeol, did you find a warp point?"

"Doesn't look like there are any warp points like the ones in hunting-type or dungeon-type towers. I think this is a trial-type tower where you have to climb from the very beginning every time you enter."

"A trial-type tower, huh... Then we can climb for a bit, assess the situation, and escape. Everyone brought enough Tower Coins for the Exit Tower skill, right?"

"I spent all my Tower Coins upgrading my weapon yesterday. Can someone lend me some?"

"..."

Without a word, team leader Chunsik Kim handed Otaku ten Tower Coins.

"But now that I think about it, wouldn't it be better to just die and resurrect instead of wasting Tower Coins to exit? We have the resurrection buff, after all."

"You want to try dying here as a test run, then?"

"Now that you mention it, leaving alive does sound a lot better."

Huiyeol received a sharp scolding from Chunja for talking nonsense.

"Alright, it seems we've thoroughly checked the first floor. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠We'll head up to the second floor immediately. We don't know what's waiting for us, so stay alert at all times."

"Roger!"

"Understood."

With that, the Glory Guild's vanguard team tightened their relaxed posture and headed toward the second floor.

On the 95th-floor terrace ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of Naejibtap. Monitoring the trial on the first floor in real-time through a crystal ball, Tricia sighed and shook her head.

"Trial-type tower, my foot... This is just my house, you idiots..."

Having been busy issuing a tower-wide announcement to evacuate everyone from the 1st to the 10th floors up to the 11th floor due to the sudden invasion of climbers, while simultaneously setting up the trials and rewards, Tricia felt deeply aggrieved that her house had been turned into a tower. But since the system had already designated it as a "Tower," no matter how much Tricia denied it, a tower it was!

'By the way, looking at those familiar outfits and listening to their conversation... has my house been transported from the Eriel dimension to Earth?'

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

Earth was the home where Tricia had lived as a human before reincarnating as an angel. Memories of the distant past bubbled up, and she was almost swept away by nostalgia, but this was no time for leisure. She quickly operated the system to check the status of the climbers.

This "System" was incredibly convenient. Not only could she manage the overall tower system through voice commands or by manipulating the interface with her fingers, but she could also check the basic profiles of the climbers who entered.

It seemed she received one Tower Coin for each person who entered, and the system awarded additional Tower Coins based on the difficulty of the trials the climbers cleared. In other words, it was a system where she had to assign appropriate trials based on this comprehensive data, helping the climbers grow to earn Tower Coins.

"But at this rate, can I even gather 100 Tower Coins...?"

Pondering how she could earn enough Tower Coins to protect her precious home, Tricia opened the Tower Administrator Menu.

"Hmm... Structure configuration, rule configuration... I can even create monsters? What are NPCs? This one is locked."

As Tricia reviewed the Tower Administrator Menu options one by one, she noticed a warning window flashing at the bottom of the system screen.

"No way, back off. I'm doing it myself."

"Hey!!!!!"

Because of the system's rebellion (?), Tricia had almost lost control of the entire tower structure configuration to automation. Fearing the system might act up again, Tricia quickly set the trial and reward for the second floor and slammed the complete button.

"I don't really know what's what yet... but for the sake of my companions, I can't let any more dangerous climbers break into my house today."

The climbers stepped through the portal and arrived on the second floor. Before their eyes stretched a vast sky and a sprawling grassland... where hundreds of adorable rabbits were peacefully nibbling on the grass.

"...Rabbits?"

And then.

The second trial had begun.