The beast let out a high-pitched, mechanical screech that vibrated in Min's teeth.
[Chat Box]
* ProGamer: THERE IT IS. The Newbie Wall.
* DeathWish: That thing has killed more rookies than the Hyena Squad ever did.
* TankMain: Look at those armor plates. You need a dedicated Breaker for this.
* Viewer404: Is he really going to punch a steam engine?
Min didn't move.
For a fleeting second, the neon-lit slums of the modern Tower vanished.
He was back in the Old World.
『FLASHBACK: THE YEAR ZERO』
「Min, age 15. His clothes were rags soaked in blood. He was hiding behind a pile of scrap, his hands shaking so hard he couldn't hold his rusted iron pipe. He watched as the Scrap-Mind tore through his ragtag group of desperate people.
He remembered the sound of the beast's legs grinding bone. He remembered the feeling of being small. Pathetic. A zero-talent burden who only survived because the centipede got bored of the taste of iron-depleted blood.」
Min blinked.
The memory dissolved.
He was back in the present, wearing a black mask and standing before the same nightmare.
"You haven't changed at all..."
Min whispered.
"Still just a pile of junk."
The Scrap-Mind lunged. It moved with terrifying, jerky speed, its segmented body coiling like a spring before snapping forward.
Min reached down and grabbed a jagged piece of high-carbon steel from the floor; a shard shaped roughly like a short sword.
『SKILL ACTIVATED: EXCHANGE (Lv.1)』
The T1 drone zoomed in, its lenses whirring to capture the moment.
Min tossed the metal shard high into the air, over the head of the lunging centipede.
As the beast's massive, grinding maw was inches from his face-
-Vwoom!
In a flash of blue light, Min disappeared.
In his place was the falling shard of metal.
Min reappeared instantly in mid-air, exactly where the shard had been; directly above the Scrap-Mind's exposed neck joint.
[Chat Box]
* WTH: DID HE JUST TELEPORT?!
* SkillHunter: Is that a place swapping skill? I'm sure I've seen it before...
* BigCaster: HE TOSSED THE ITEM AND SWAPPED WITH IT!
* NoobWatcher: GOD TIER MOVEMENT!
* FastHands: LOOK AT THE COMBO!
Holding the shard in his palm, he drove it downward, not with physical strength alone, but by activating [Focus] to multiply the gravitational weight of the shard at the moment of impact.
-K-BOOM!
The shard pierced the reinforced plating of the centipede like a needle through paper.
The beast shrieked, its segments thrashing wildly.
Min didn't let go and ran along the creature's back as it bucked, his sneakers sparking against the rusted metal.
Every time the centipede tried to throw him off or lash out with its tail, Min would toss a small bolt or a piece of scrap and [Exchange] his position.
He was flickering in and out of existence, appearing only to deliver a bone-shattering strike before vanishing again.
"Too slow!"
He stood on the creature's head.
He grabbed the two massive exhaust pipes that served as its horns.
"Let's see how much pressure you can take."
He poured his mana into [Focus], creating a localized gravity well inside the Scrap-Mind's central engine core.
「GRAVITATIONAL COLLAPSE INITIATED」
The centipede's midsection began to cave in.
The metal groaned and shrieked as it was crushed by an invisible force.
Then, Min swapped the air inside the engine with a massive block of scrap metal from across the room using [Exchange].
-INTERNAL EXPLOSION.
The Scrap-Mind's segments flew apart.
Oil and steam sprayed across the arena as the massive mechanical heart of the beast stopped beating.
『SYSTEM: BOSS DEFEATED!』
『CLEAR TIME: 01:42』
『NEW RECORD: SINGULARITY (FLOOR 1)』
The chat went absolutely, undeniably ballistic.
The screen was a solid wall of scrolling text.
[Chat Box - HYPER-DRIVE MODE]
> * OMGGGGG!!
> * SUBBING RIGHT NOW!
> * RECORD BROKEN BY 10 MINUTES?!
> * THE SWAP GOD!
> * Look at the steam! This is cinema!
> * 1:42?! Is he even human?!
> * BEST. DEBUT. EVER.
> * T1 Drone mvp for that slow-mo.
> * HE DID IT SOLO.
> * BRONZE GATE UNION IS GONNA BE MAD.
> * Who is this guy?!
> * Singularity! Singularity!
> * That finish was brutal.
> * He's an S-rank in disguise, calling it now.
> * I'm shaking.
> * Donate! Donate!
> * 20k Coins from GoldKing!
> * The physics manipulation is insane.
> * Follow follow follow!
> * Is he going to Floor 2 now?!
Min stood in the center of the wreckage, his chest rising and falling slowly.
He wiped a smudge of oil from his mask.
Suddenly, a golden window erupted in the center of his vision, glowing with a divine radiance that eclipsed all other notifications.
『CONSTELLATION STREAM: ADDITIONAL REWARDS』
「Based on your EX-Rank evaluation in the Tutorial and your Record Clear of Floor 1, the Stars have granted you a 'Destiny Draw'.」
[ITEM ROULETTE WHEEL: UNLOCKED]
「Grades available: B to SSS」
「Status: Pending...」
Min stared at the wheel.
It was a massive, shimmering gold interface that began to spin slowly, icons of legendary swords, cloaks, and artifacts flickering past like a blur of light.
"A Roulette Wheel, huh?"
The chat was screaming for him to roll.
[Chat Box]
> * RollIt: DO IT NOW!
> * LuckCheck: SSS-GRADE? Is that even possible?!
> * Gambler: ROLL ROLL ROLL!
> * HypeTrain: I won't sleep until I see the loot!
Min looked at the drone.
He knew how to play the game now.
The "Hook."
"Sorry, everyone."
Kang Min said, a hint of a tease in his voice.
"I've had a long day, and my mana is running low.
We're going to save the Destiny Draw for the next stream.
Think of it as a special Unboxing Stream."
The chat's "Nooooo!" and "You teaser!" messages were accompanied by another flood of donations.
"Thanks for watching the debut of Singularity,"
Min said, giving a small, sharp nod to the camera.
"Keep the notifications on. I'll see you for the roll."
『BROADCAST ENDED』
The white light of the Floor 1 exit gate deposited Min back into the Tutorial Lobby.
He expected the usual quiet, but the moment his boots hit the stone floor, the atmosphere shifted.
It was like a wave of electricity hit the room.
"That's him!"
"Singularity! Look at the mask!"
"He just broke the Floor 1 record!"
In seconds, Min was surrounded.
Dozens of rookies; some who had been too afraid to enter the slums, and others who had just watched his stream crowded around him.
"How did you do that movement?!"
"Are you really a newbie?!"
"Can you carry me to Floor 2? I'll pay!"
"Thank you for beating the Hyena Squad! I can finally go home!"
"What's your real Rank?!"
The questions were a deafening roar.
Ten people were trying to touch his sleeve at once.
"Move," Min said, his voice dropping an octave.
The crowd flinched, but they didn't scatter.
The thirst for a "Super Rookie" was too high.
Min sighed.
He pushed through the crowd toward the public facilities.
"I need to wash up."
He ducked into a bathroom, locked the main door behind him, and immediately looked at the window above the stalls.
It was small, but for someone with 35 Agility, it was a wide-open door.
Min jumped, grabbed the ledge, and pulled himself through with effortless grace.
He scrambled up the side of the building, his fingers finding grips in the architectural carvings of the lobby's exterior.
Within seconds, he was on the roof of the Tutorial complex.
He walked to the edge and sat down, his legs dangling over the side.
"I think I'll be heading home this way..."
"Will I get chargee for not swiping my player card at the desk after leaving the tower?"
"I hope not...either way I'll be taking off my mask before leaving the tower."
"Or should I wait a bit before exiting when the New Record Announcement is broadcasted..."
Down below, he could see the crowd still gathered at the bathroom door, waiting for him.
"That was... exhausting."
He reached up and unbuckled the straps of his mask.
He pulled it off, feeling the cool, high-altitude night air against his skin.
He took a deep, shaky breath.
From the top of the Tutorial building, the view was breathtaking.
Far in the distance, the city of Seoul was a carpet of lights, but right in front of him was the Tower itself.
From here, it didn't look like a building; it looked like a pillar of heaven, disappearing into the dark clouds.
It felt much more imposing, much more real than it did from his apartment window.
Min held the black mask tightly in his hand, his knuckles turning white.
"I know it's taking a while..."
Min whispered to the empty air, his eyes reflecting the glow of the Tower.
"But I promise... I'm coming back."