"Great Library, Tower Core"
Towering bookshelves coiled endlessly like a spiral staircase of knowledge. Candles levitated, casting long, eerie glows. At the center sat a hunched figure behind a wide desk—The Great Merchant—draped in blue robes stitched with gold runes. His monocle glinted as he sorted through glowing scrolls.
Suddenly—
[FOOTSTEPS APPROACHING]
Echoing slowly, boots clicked against the marble floor...
???: "Ohhh~ what's this? The Cardinal System making visits to little ol' me?"
A woman emerged from the mist—hair black as void, shifting like living smoke. She wore obsidian armor, cracked and carved with glowing red runes. Her eyes burned with malice.
⚔️ Thalia — Corrupted Warrior
Title: Foreign Entity Slayer
"Tch. Still as smug as ever, 'Old Great Merchant'."
She smirked, folding her arms.
Merchant smiling, eyes narrow "Heh. Knowing my place is how I've lived this long. Better to be safety than a corpse, right?"
"Pff—relax. If I wanted to kill you, I'd have turned this place into a crater already."—As if i bother killing an old man"...
Both chuckled dryly, as if they'd shared battle many times before.
"I'm here because of what happened in
Floor 1."
Her voice turned sharp.
"A corrupted entity Overwritten the program and devoured the Local Boss. Then One of the mini-systems ran to me—reported the whole thing. Said a Player did it."
"Hooh... interesting. That one caught your attention?"Merchant replied with an excitement..
"You bet. A player... killing something like that?.,Not anyone can do that."
Her eyes narrowed. "But what really intrigued me was the blue panel. You know the one."
"Hmmm. The unique interface.".Ohhh.. that one System that helps Players.??
Thalia replied~ "It popped up near me while I was guarding the Void Prison. That thing's not normal. It's got will."
The Great merchant was shocked and has something on his mind~ "All players are assigned helper systems, yes. But none are meant to think for themselves... unless—"
Thalia curiously answered~"Unless something's wrong. Or worse... someone's meddling."
"Maybe the player's mindset changed how the system reacted. Or perhaps... something old has awakened."
Thalia clicking tongue "I'll find out. Myself."
She tossed a sack of glowing books onto his desk.
Old man .."Im Returning these. I'll grab a new batch."
Merchant groans 😩 "Please... treat the books with care. Every. Single. Time."
Thalia replied with laugh"No promises."
She vanished into a shadowy portal, laughter fading.
————————————————————
[Back at Earth – Sho's Perspective]
A television blared inside a cozy ramen restaurant.
"...In breaking news, General Arvin Vasquez, a national figure, has officially become a Player. The government confirms the creation of a Guild to spearhead Floor Clearing operations..."
Sho, slurping noodles, glanced at the TV, then looked away.
"Huh... the government's moving fast. I've only been in there two days, but things are already shifting."
He opened the black system app—guilds, clans, invites… it was a storm of activity.
"...Only two days, huh? Feels like I've been grinding for a week straight."
He opened a group chat. Messages from old friends. Memes. Trash talk. No changes.
Sho smiled faintly.
He gazed out the transparent glass wall, eyeing the people walking past.
"Did they become players too...?"'reffering to his friends'..
[DING-A-LING]
Three guys entered the restaurant, scanning the room.
"Sho!"
Sho raised a hand lazily, chewing.
At first, they didn't recognize him—
"The heck, you been exercising? You're getting fit."
Sho blinked. "Huh? It's only been two days."Your imagining things HAHAHA".
HAHA maybe so.. "You soloing the Tower?" asked Daen, his muscular frame in a tight compression shirt.
"Yeah. Just been grinding solo."So… y'all Players?"
"Yeah, grouped up with these two."Heh, I asked them," said Al, tanned with a casual vibe.
Sho curiously asked.."How about the others?"
"No clue. Either busy or found their own team."
"So what's your level, Daen?" teased Mart, tall and slightly smug.
"Why should I tell you?" Daen shot back.
> "We're friends, right? Hahaha!"
They laughed. Sho finally asked:
"You've all entered the Tower already?"
"Yeah," they replied in unison.The tower is not a joke".
"We grouped up," Al added. "Dunno about the others. Maybe already in teams."
"You sure about soloing, Sho?" Daen asked.
Sho leaned back, arms crossed.
"Grinding alone lets me think clearly. Besides, I'm not really alone."
He grinned to himself, recalling a certain blue-panelled companion.
They all shared a hearty laugh—just like old times, chatted a while longer—about builds, equipment drops, rumors bout the guilds
As they parted ways—
Sho stepped into an alley.
"Aggghh… tiring, but good to know they're leveling up too, they're doing well... now, time for some rest."
Later that night, Sho activated Predator's Veil —a passive that cloaked him completely.
His form shimmered, fading into thin air.
————————————————————
[ Next Day – Sho's Apartment]
Sho went through his usual morning routine. Still brushing his teeth, he checked his Player Panel.
"Let's see... Stats looking solid..Hmmm… I need to level up now. Where's a good EXP farm?"
While sho Searching on the system map.
Suddenly—
Something clicked in his mind.
An old memory popped up on his mind~"Forgotten Tomb."
He looked on his map.
This should be~here... "Mist Lake... behind the waterfall."huh.. lets see if its still here..
"The Forgotten Tomb."
———
At the Tower's gate, things had changed. More guards. People collecting data — resources. Sho ignored them, activating Predator's Veil and slipping past undetected
—[WELCOME]—
— Tower Floor 1 – FARMOOR—
Sho landed on town—
"System."
[Ding!] "Good morning! What can I help you with?"
"Plot this path."
Sho pointed on the map.
"Navigation complete~"
"Thanks. You can go now."
"Ehhh? That's all? So boring..."
The panel disappeared in a puff of light.
Sho,, go through the alley where no one can see him—[Predator state]—his body disintegrated into dark particles, all presence nullified. Untraceable.]
[Orange zone – Mist lake]
Sho moved like wind—his veil flickering, his Quick Step silent.
The mist clung to Sho's cloak as he darted through lake, silent and unseen. The sound of cascading water grew louder.
A splash behind him.
Sho (draws blade, slashes mid-spin)—"Show yourself."
Nothing.
Just mist and rippling water.
Ahead, the roaring waterfall.
He narrowed his eyes.
Sho—"...There."
He emerged at the waterfall, mist swirling around him like spirits.
"Alright. Let's get to it."
Suddenly—SPLASH!
A ripple in the mist.
Sho whipped out his blade, slashing instinctively.
The fog parted. Shadows fled.
He walked toward the back of the waterfall, revealing a dark cave mouth.
Inside, the temperature dropped.
He traced a lingering scent—old magic.
At the cave's deepest wall stood a bat-like statue, fangs bared.
Sho sliced his palm.
Drip. Drip. Blood splashed onto the statues mouth.
[Offering Accepted – Gate Unlocked]
The stone wall trembled, splitting open to reveal the tomb, glowing with purple energy.
smirking "Still remember you... What an great exp farm."
He stepped inside. The door sealed shut behind him.
A wave of undead monsters emerged—skeletons, wraiths, twisted beasts.
"Perfect."
Sho, cracked his neck.
"Let's level up."
He lunged into the swarm—
—[Chapter End]—