A lush, green field stretched out beneath a vibrant sky.
The grass swayed gently, interspersed with clusters of colorful wildflowers that danced in the breeze.
In the middle of this peaceful scenery, a girl sat alone.
Her black hair was tied into two neat buns on the top of her head, one on each side, with a few stubborn strands poking out and swaying as she moved.
She wasn't looking at the scenery.
Her focus was entirely on the glass-like device in her hand—a thin, translucent phone that shimmered under the sunlight.
She scrolled through the screen, her thumb moving swiftly, then stopping before proceeding again.
Finally, she let out a long, heavy groan.
"Sigh... how much further?"
Her body went limp as she let herself fall backward, sinking into the soft bed of flowers.
She lay there, staring blankly at the glass screen reflecting the blue vastness above.
"How much longer do I have to stay in a place like this?"
She spread her arms wide, feeling the cool grass against her skin.
The sky was an endless, clear blue, devoid of the jagged red scars that usually haunted the upper floors.
Boing!
A small, pink blob, a slime jumped onto her chest.
It wobbled slightly, its translucent body vibrating as it looked down at her.
"What is it?"
She asked, her voice lacking any energy.
The pink slime didn't stay.
It jumped off her chest and began hopping away with strange urgency.
It didn't go toward the path but instead headed straight into a dense thicket of bushes.
"W-wait... what's with you all of a sudden?"
The girl sighed but stood up, dusting off her clothes.
She followed the slime, shoving her way through the thick leaves and branches.
Beyond the bushes lay even more greenery, a hidden pocket of the field filled with even taller flowers.
She saw the pink slime turn a corner past a massive oak tree.
She followed. And then she froze.
The pink slime was sitting on top of a man.
He was lying flat on his back, looking as though he had passed out or perhaps died where he fell.
"AAHH! Why is he—"
She stopped herself, covering her mouth.
She looked at the slime, which continued to wobble happily on the man's chest.
"How did you find him...?"
The slime didn't respond and just sat there.
'Could he be a player who failed the tutorial?'
She whispered to herself.
She stepped closer, her eyes scanning the stranger.
"I mean... he looks fine. No cuts or bruises.
He doesn't even look like he's been in a fight."
The man had black hair that fell over his eyes in messy bangs.
He looked peaceful, but there was something about his presence that felt heavy.
The slime started jumping on the man again, treating him like a trampoline.
Snap.
In a split second, a hand shot out.
The man's left arm snatched the pink slime mid-air.
His grip was like a vice, squeezing the translucent monster until it began to deform.
"KYAAAAA! Stop! Stop it! You're going to pop him!"
The girl began to freak out, her arms flailing in the air.
"Let go! He's just a baby! My baby!"
She lunged forward, grabbing the man's left arm with both of her hands.
She pulled with everything she had, her face turning red from the effort. Her feet skidded in the grass, but the arm didn't move a single inch.
"What is this guy made of?!"
She screamed, her voice cracking.
"Is he a statue?!
Hey! Wake up! You're killing it!"
Suddenly, the man's eyes snapped open.
The eyes were cold and terrifying like that of a predator.
He glared at the slime in his hand with a deathly look; a gaze so sharp and filled with pure, unfiltered killing intent that the pink slime simply went limp.
The slime passed out.
'A slime monster?' the man thought inwardly.
He sensed no threat from the creature.
He let go of the limp pink blob and sat up, his movements fluid despite the grogginess.
He raised a hand to his head, rubbing his temples as if trying to shake off a lingering migraine.
"What's a slime doing in the 600—"
He stopped and looked down at his own body.
His eyes widened.
He looked at his right hand. He flexed his fingers, watching the skin pull over his knuckles.
The arm he had lost on Floor 301.
The limb he had lived without for years while climbing another 300 floors into the abyss. It was back.
It felt heavy, warm, and entirely foreign to him.
He went to speak, but the words died in his throat as he finally looked around.
There was no red sky. There were no rivers of corruption or obsidian pillars.
There was only greenery, flowers and the smell of fresh earth.
Then, his gaze landed on the girl.
She was currently huddled on the ground, cradling the unconscious pink slime in her arms like it was a lost family member.
Kang Min stared at her.
He hadn't seen another human face in over a decade.
For the last 300 floors, he had been the only living thing that wasn't trying to eat his soul.
Seeing a girl...a real, breathing human felt more hallucinogenic than any monster's illusion.
"What floor is this?" he asked.
His voice was gravelly, unused to the vibration of human speech.
The girl flinched, pulling the slime closer.
"Floor...? This is the Tutorial Lobby."
For a moment, Kang Min just sat there.
Then, a heat began to rise from the pit of his stomach.
It was a boiling, volcanic rage.
The air around him began to shimmer and distort.
A thick, suffocating bloodlust radiated from his body.
The girl turned pale, her breath hitching.
The pink slime, which had just begun to wake up, felt the pressure and immediately passed out again.
"Tutorial Lobby?" Min repeated.
His hands shook.
'After all that time... all those years spent trying to get to the top... trying to end this nightmare...'
His thoughts were a chaotic roar.
'I'm back in the tutorial lobby?'
He wanted to scream.
He wanted to demand to know why the Tower was playing this sick joke on him.
He had questions, hundreds of them, but he forced himself to swallow the rage.
He couldn't trust this. Not yet.
In the Tower there were beings that could manipulate reality, creatures that could reconstruct their own genes to look like anything.
Shapeshifters, Mimics, High-level illusions.
For all he knew, this girl could be a monster.
Even if this was the Tutorial Lobby, it didn't make sense.
In his memory, the tutorial was a grim, grey place where people died in the first ten minutes.
And he was certain that no more awakened players were allowed into the Tower.
'So how does this girl exist? Who is she?'
Kang Min reached out.
His hand found a fallen branch; a sturdy, sharp stick.
In a blur of motion that the girl's eyes couldn't even follow, he was on his feet.
The sharp tip of the stick was pressed firmly against the side of her neck.
"Tell me who you are and how you are here," he said, his voice cold and flat.
"Don't even think of lying or trying to flee."
His eyes locked onto hers.
They were the eyes of a man who had seen the end of the world.
"I'm able to sever your head from your neck before you can even lift a finger."
The girl froze.
She stared into his eyes, her pupils shaking.
'I can tell...'
She thought, her heart hammering against her ribs.
'He means every word. One move and I'm dead.
This isn't a bluff...he really will kill me.'
Slowly, she raised her hands into the air, her fingers trembling.
"P-Park Woonhee," she stammered.
"My name is Park Woonhee. I'm a player... who just like everyone entered the tower.
I have my reasons for being here, but I... I can't say them.
But I've been in this tutorial lobby for a long time and I haven't been able to advance."
Kang Min looked at the top of her head.
The pink slime was clutching her hair bun, its tiny body shaking.
'She's not lying,' he realized.
'She doesn't have the capacity for it.'
His grip on the stick loosened slightly.
'Then this really is the tutorial lobby.
But how the hell did I fall back so far? To the very start?'
Memory flashed through his mind.
'Ah... that's right. I died. The floor 666 Boss pulled a suicidal move.
Tsk. Such a pain in the ass.'
He lowered the stick.
If he was back at the start, it meant he had to climb again. 666 floors.
The thought was exhausting, but at least he knew the way.
Or he thought he did.
"The tutorial lobby didn't look like this back then," he muttered.
Then, he realized something else.
He looked down.
"Why am I bare-back, booty-naked in the middle of a flower field...
Where the hell is my gear?"
Still holding the stick, he willed his mind to connect with the System.
"Open Inventory."
[Welcome back, Player Kang Min!]
"Open inventory!" he commanded internally.
[Inventory access denied.]
'What??'
"OPEN INVENTORY!"
[Syncing...]
[Initializing...]
[Inventory Access Granted.]
[Inventory - ]
[ - ]
[ - ]
"Eh?"
Min stared at the empty blue screen.
Everything he had scavenged over decades of solo play was gone.
"What the... My entire inventory is gone!"
"Umm... Mr... I realized you didn't have anything on..."
Park Woonhee spoke up timidly.
In her hands, a bundle of clothes appeared.
They manifested from glowing pixels that stitched themselves together into fabric.
'Why is she being nice?'
Min wondered, watching her.
'I just threatened to behead her.'
He looked at her, then turned his head back to the system screen, scrolling frantically.
"I'll leave the clothes here in case you change your mind..."
Woonhee said.
She looked away, her eyes darting toward the trees.
It was incredibly awkward standing in front of a completely naked man who looked like he could kill her with a glance.
"Can you tell me the way out of here?"
Kang Min asked, ignoring the awkwardness.
Woonhee blinked.
'Is he a newbie? He must be.
He probably just awakened and charged in here without a plan. Alone, too.
Though solo players are common these days, this guy is...'
"If you came for the tutorial, you must have your Player ID with you."
"Player ID?"
"Yes... the ID issued to every climber who ventures into the tower?"
'What the hell is a Player ID?'
Min thought.
'Is that like a National ID? How would I have that? It's been years since I was even in a city.'
***
[Minutes Later]
The peaceful field was gone, replaced by the sterile, high-tech interior of the Registration Hub.
It looked like the lobby of a major corporation. It was sleek, modern, and busy.
Kang Min sat at a polished desk, feeling completely out of place.
He was now wearing the clothes Woonhee had given him: a simple black T-shirt and black trousers.
A man in a crisp uniform sat behind the desk, tapping on a holographic interface.
"Purpose of entry?" the man asked without looking up.
"Climbing," Min said shortly.
"Party affiliation?"
"None."
The man finally looked up, his brow furrowed.
"Solo? Bold. ID, please."
Woonhee, who was standing beside Min, stepped forward and slapped her own card onto the desk.
"Here is mine. And he's with me.
He's my... porter."
"I am not your porter," Min said flatly.
"Ahahaha!"
Woonhee laughed nervously, waving her hands at the clerk.
"He's just shy! He's a new hire!
A porter! He carries the bags!"
The clerk raised an eyebrow.
"Even so, porters must have their own porterage identification. We can't have unregistered personnel in the lobby."
"Well... his wasn't issued yet!"
Woonhee blurted out.
"A system error! You know how these things are, right?"
The clerk sighed, clearly not wanting to deal with paperwork.
"Fine. Just get it sorted at the next station.
Move along."
Woonhee grabbed Min's arm and dragged him away before the clerk could change his mind.
As they walked through the terminal, Min's eyes were glued to a massive digital screen hanging from the ceiling.
[JANUARY 03, 2045]
Min stopped dead in his tracks.
'2045?'
He felt the world tilt.
'Th-that's 13 years in the future.'
He stared at the date until his eyes burned.
13 years.
He had died, and the world had moved on for over a decade.
They walked through a set of heavy automatic doors that led to the main lobby.
The place was teeming with people.
It wasn't the desperate, starving crowd of his era. These were people in high-end armor, carrying glowing weapons, and scrolling through their glass phones.
"I'm telling you, the Floor 15 stream had the best production value last night..."
"Did you see the donation from the 'Golden Lion' constellation? 50,000 coins just for a crit hit!"
'These... they're all players,' Min realized.
The lobby was loud, filled with the chatter of people discussing things Kang Min wasn't quite sure what they were.
A nudge on his back brought him back to reality.
He turned to see Park Woonhee.
"Umm... so, I hope I was of help to you."
She said, looking a bit relieved to be parting ways.
"From here, I'm sure you know your way around the lobby.
If not, the exit doors are that way."
She pointed to a pair of massive glass doors to the right.
People were walking through them—both in and out.
Woonhee gave a small wave.
"I have to get back to my spot. Good luck, Mr. No-ID."
She disappeared into the crowd.
Min stood still, watching the doors.
"What is happening?"
"I'm back at the start.
The year is different. And..."
He watched a group of players walk out of the Tower, laughing and talking about what they were going to eat for dinner in the city.
"The No-Exit rule doesn't exist."
His mind flashed back to his first year in the Tower.
He remembered a man who had tried to run back through the entrance.
The moment he stepped past the threshold, the System had identified him as a 'Deserter.'
Red lightning had descended from the ceiling, turning the man into a pile of ash.
Back then, entering the Tower was a death sentence or a life of climbing.
There was no middle ground.
***
[Outside the Tower]
Park Woonhee walked down the steps of the Tower plaza, her glass phone in her hand.
Her thoughts kept drifting back to the man she had found in the field.
"How did he even get into the tutorial grounds without an ID?"
"It's impossible to bypass the gate sensors."
"He looked lost, like a complete first-timer.
But at the same time..."
She remembered the stick at her throat and the cold way he had threatened to kill her.
There was no hesitation in his eyes.
She touched her neck, a lingering chill remaining there.
She massaged the spot and looked up at the sky, letting out a long breath.
"Well, the reason I helped him was to stay on his good side.
Someone like that... if I ever run into him again, it's better to have him indebted to me."
She paused, her brow furrowing.
"But how strange...
...I couldn't feel any mana presence from him at all."