Three weeks passed quickly, marked by our training.
In the end, no one found the answer to the Grand Master's riddle. He rarely left his office, and it was actually our seniors who trained us most of the time.
I had managed to increase my physical strength and agility, but my Ether level seemed to remain stuck.
The landscape of Seoul changed little except for a strange white stone tower that seemed to disappear into the clouds because of how tall it was. It appeared one morning as if it had always been there. It gave off such an oppressive aura that even the bravest avoided looking at it for too long.
So I was quite surprised on the second day when I ran into Yoon Jiyeon in the dormitory hallways.
We talked briefly. She seemed to have followed the compass to the Spirit Sect because it was the closest.
Over time, we formed a group of three with Taehyun and Jiyeon.
I didn't really know how that was decided, but we were the only people we knew, so we spent most of our time together.
Maybe we decided that one night.
While everyone else was sleeping, the three of us ended up on the dormitory rooftop. We talked about the old days. About what we did before the apocalypse. Taehyun had been a middle schooler from a rich family in a big conglomerate. Jiyeon had become part of a K-pop group because her mother was a fan of other groups.
She talked about how her mother made her dance in front of the TV every Sunday morning. Taehyun remembered his late-night gaming sessions, alone in his luxurious bedroom. I said little. I listened. Maybe I had nothing to say. Or maybe I didn't want my memories to stain the moment.
The conversation gradually shifted.
Taehyun asked.
"Tell me Honja-ssi, why do you think the tower is here?"
I looked up at the pale glow of the moon reflecting off the tower's walls. Many marble columns formed its outer structure. During the day, birds circled it, and at night, eerie howls came from within.
"I don't know."
Jiyeon hugged her knees to her chest.
"Tell me… can we promise never to part ways?"
"Huh?"
She turned to me with red cheeks and waved her hands.
"N-No... It's just that…"
She took a deep breath. "Now that the world is… dead. I think it would be good to have companions we can rely on."
I looked up at the starry sky and muttered.
"That's true."
It was the first time I'd been part of a group. Even though we knew we'd eventually have to fight—maybe even in that terrifying tower that surely hadn't appeared for nothing—they were both rather happy.
In addition to training, we had many theoretical lessons about the system and how to use it.
The first thing the scholar from the 'In' Sect taught us was that to progress, it was better to treat the system like a game rather than something serious.
According to the scholar, the system was more like an artificial intelligence than an algorithm. He said the fact that it reacted so quickly and sensitively to what happened on the path was proof.
By practicing the sect's sword movements, I had unlocked several new skills. These activated so naturally that they barely felt like skills at all.
Ether level was a number indicating how much Ether someone could store in their core. It increased naturally with experience since even the smallest skills consumed it.
Mine, however, hadn't moved since I arrived.
At the end of those three weeks, the Grand Master told us we were ready to climb the Tower and announced we'd leave the next day. Most people protested, terrified at the idea of entering that thing. But they quickly went quiet when the Grand Master's announcement was followed by the arrival of a new stage in the path.
+
[Path]: Climb the 'Tower'
Description: Ascend the 'Tower of the World's Fragments' and reach the top.
Time given: 1 month.
Reward: ???
Failure: Erasure of the 'Path'.
+
For supper, the dining hall was full of dishes more lavish than ever. There was even meat. For us, who had eaten only bland soup for three weeks, the feast felt like pure abundance. Taehyun snatched the last chicken leg while Jiyeon protested.
While we were sharing our last meal and Taehyun was teasing Jiyeon that despite her agility she'd never beat him, one of the Grand Master's advisors tapped me on the shoulder.
"Honja, get up. The Grand Master wants to see you."
I followed the advisor to the Grand Master's office, though it was more like his residence.He knocked at the entrance.
A deep voice echoed from the other side.
"Enter."
The advisor opened the door, let me in, and closed it behind me.
The room was quiet. In front of me, an old bearded man sat behind a wooden desk piled high with dusty scrolls and books.
In the right corner, a window looked out over the training grounds. In the left, a fire crackled in a large stone fireplace.
"Good evening."
Munjoong lifted his head from the scrolls and looked me straight in the eye.
"Do you know why I called you here?"
He liked riddles, apparently. I quickly replied.
"No."
"Your group will leave for the Tower tomorrow."
He turned toward the window, a melancholic look on his face.
The next sentence caught me off guard.
"No one has ever come back."
"What did you say?"
"No one has ever returned after entering the Tower."
That couldn't be. Some must have come back, otherwise...
"And our seniors, the previous generations—they came back, didn't they?"
He looked at me again with sad eyes.
"Do you really think they exist? Think about it—if they had truly spent all this time training, and if the system was the same for them as for you... do you really think they'd be this weak?"
"I-I don't know."
He was right, it didn't make sense. But if they hadn't really been here for decades, then where had they come from?
Munjoong furrowed his brows at me, and his eyes gleamed blue.
"I suspected as much..."
He smiled.
"I'm going to show you."
I recoiled instinctively, but it was too late. In a flash, Munjoong was around the desk, just centimeters from my face. He pushed his palm against my chest, and I felt a deep vibration inside me.
Then, everything went black.
「 Honja, you better keep your promise. 」
「 These ■■■■■■ can surely ■■■ you too. After all, everyone has ■■■ ■■■■■. 」
「 Honja, do not open that door! 」
「 Joonseo, trust me! 」
「 I should've never trusted Honja. 」
My head felt strange, like waking up from a long, restless sleep. I slowly opened my eyes. I was lying on the floor of a room. The fire to my left reminded me I was in Munjoong's office.
He was kneeling beside me and offered me a cup of tea, which I took. The warmth of the liquid slowly brought my senses back
."How do you feel?"
"Strange. Like someone shook up my brain and then put everything back in place."
Munjoong laughed.
"Hahaha. That's pretty much it."
He pointed to my stomach.
"Your Ether core was blocked. So I forced your arcanic circuits to open using my own Ether."
I opened my skill page to verify what he said.
+
[Information]
Name: Kim Honja
Age: 23
Mythos: [unrevealed]
Eidolons: [unmanifested]
[Attributes]
Endurance: 42
Strength: 50
Agility: 4
Ether: 99999999
Intelligence: 4
Charisma: 1
Luck: 2
[Passport]
Status: Active
Affiliation: 'Demonic Kingdom'
Estimated Threat Level: Nonexistent
Class: Unknown (calculating...)
Stellaron: 221,000
+
My heart skipped a beat. 99999999?
Munjoong noticed the shock in my expression and asked.
"Are you okay? You're supposed to have 50 points, like the others. Are you sure you're fine?"
"No no, everything's fine. I got them, it's good."
I blinked. Nine... digits?
The number stayed the same even after I pinched myself.
It wasn't a mistake.
['The Witness Burdened by regrets' thinks you did well to lie.]
"Perfect."
Munjoong sat back behind his desk and I stood up.
"I won't beat around the bush, Kim Honja."
His face turned serious.
"You've made a pact with a demon."
He must've been talking about 'The Witness Burdened by regrets'.
The room was silent. Munjoong seemed to wait for a reaction, but since I said nothing, he continued.
"You know, I've seen very few people in my life who could catch a falling star." I had no idea what he meant, but I let him go on, curious. "Everyone I've ever seen make a pact with a demon lost their mind."
His melancholic gaze turned to the window.
"But for some reason, you seem completely normal."
He turned back to me. "I know there's almost no chance you'll come back alive from the Tower, but ever since I saw that demon behind you... I've had hope again."
"You can see it?"
His eyes turned blue.
"Of course."
A thousand questions ran through my mind, and I blurted out.
"What does it look like?!"
"Like a black cat."
A black cat... You really look like a black cat?
['The Witness Burdened by regrets' shrugs.]
His eyes returned to normal.
He took a serious tone and stared straight at me.
"Now listen to me carefully. I've never told anyone this, because I've always been the only human to return alive from the Tower."
He passed his hand through the air, and the scene changed like ink dissolving in water.
A plain door appeared at the end of a dark hallway. Carved into it was a falling star.
"The Tower isn't a normal tower like you think. It's a labyrinth built across time and space between realities. Time inside no longer exists. Once you're in, I won't be able to do anything for you no matter how powerful I am."
He turned to the old door.
"The 'Tower of the World's Fragments' contains many doors, each leading to a different 'Path'. If you want to become strong enough to escape the tower, you won't be able to do it alone."
He pointed to his head.
"These memories that are coming back to you—now that I've unlocked your arcanic circuits, you must have regained your memory. If you're what we call a 'returner', you won't need my help. But know that your demon is connected to that door. I saw it when I entered your 'core'."
['The Witness Burdened by regrets' trembles violently.]
"If you can guide the others and bring them back alive from the Tower, I'll be forever grateful."
The scene dissolved and I found myself back in the office.
I bowed to Munjoong.
"I'll do everything I can to bring everyone back alive."
He smiled.
"Thank you."
Munjoong walked me back to the dormitory door. It was late, and everyone was already asleep.
"You'd better get to bed. You'll need your strength for tomorrow."
I smiled slightly as I entered the dorm.
That old man really treated us like his own children.