"S-save me!"
Lee Jong-soo screamed, begging for his life.
Jin-hyuk looked down at him coldly.
"Why should I?"
If he wanted mercy, maybe he should try filing a lawsuit with the fancy law firm backing him.
"W-wait—kuak! Kuaaak!"
Clench!
Crunch!
The tree trunk crushed Lee Jong-soo with brutal force, and the man who did so many vile things died just like that.
Jin-hyuk felt nothing.
"Looks like even trash can be useful sometimes."
Everyone else had already run away.
"Now I can take it slow."
Tak!
Since most of the tree's branches were busy absorbing nutrients, Jin-hyuk took the chance to leap toward the trunk.
Of course—
Swish!
Not all the trunks were occupied. Two of them whipped toward him, slicing the air.
If he got caught, he'd end up exactly like Lee Jong-soo—a crushed sack of bones and blood.
Jin-hyuk tilted his head.
'It's not hard to avoid this.'
The two trunks slammed into each other.
Pap!
The wood cracked.
35 degrees to the right.22 degrees to the left.
Exact angles.
Exact timing.
There wasn't a single deviation from what he had experienced countless times in the game.
With perfect rhythm, Jin-hyuk maneuvered so the branches attacking him struck the mangrove's own body.
He smiled.
'That's right. Finding the exact angles to make it hit itself was always the hardest part.'
"Gooooooo!"
The mangrove tree groaned deeply.
Why was it acting like it felt pain? It barely felt anything to begin with.
Its size was misleading. Anyone could tell—if you just poured oil and set it on fire, it would burn easily.
Jin-hyuk grabbed a sharp piece of wood that had fallen.
"Let's tie you up and pass the time quietly."
This was an event monster. No experience points.
Just a one-day entry in the Hall of Fame.
Getting the reward mattered more than fighting to the death.
"Gooooo!"
It roared again, clearly displeased.
Too bad.
If that was the case, he'd just kill it.
He aimed the sharp wood toward the trunk.
[Mangrove Tree of Greed uses the skill 'Vampire Vine'!]
Woong! Woong!
Dozens of vines whipped out from the branches at once.
Even Jin-hyuk couldn't avoid all of them—
—unless he changed their trajectory.
'It's possible.'
His eyes narrowed.
He moved the piece of wood in perfect sync with the vines.
Kagak!
One vine brushed against the stick lodged in the ground.
That was the start.
Puak!
The real fight began.
Holding a 30cm piece of wood—
Step.
Jin-hyuk walked forward.
Kwakwakwakwang!
The closer he got, the faster the tree attacked.
Puak!
One misstep meant death.But Jin-hyuk countered every strike.
'The rhythm… ride it.'
He synced his breathing with the tree's movement.No fear.
He had done this too many times.
Eventually, he closed the gap to just one meter.
With a single leap, he could reach its core.
Ba-dump! Ba-dump!
Through gaps in the trunk, he saw it—
A human heart beating inside.
Its weakness.
Then—
Woong!
A cloud of butterflies burst into the air.
Thousands of blue butterflies.
A glittering, drifting shower of powder rained down from their wings.
"Huh!"
Jin-hyuk immediately held his breath.
'Sleeping Butterfly.'
A monster that used sleep-inducing powder as a defense.
The effect activated the moment it entered the lungs.He had died many times to these things before.
But as long as he didn't breathe—
He charged straight into the mangrove's body.
A piece of vine whipped toward him—
Puak!
He plunged the wood into the beating heart.
"KAAAAAAA!"
The tree screamed, branches thrashing as Jin-hyuk forced the stake deeper.
Puak! Puak!
After several thrusts, the screaming stopped.
The branches fell limp.
It was dead.
"Phew…"
Jin-hyuk exhaled a long breath.
Sweating, panting, heart pounding—he felt more alive than ever.
'All the pattern memorization paid off…'
He felt strangely grateful.
[The first 'Mangrove Tree of Greed' has been defeated.]
A congratulatory message appeared.
Ah, right.
'I guess I'm the first in the world.'
And then—
[Your achievement will be recorded in the Hall of Fame for one day starting tomorrow.][Please input the player's name.]
This again.
A system begging for personal info just to register the achievement.
"I have no name. Keep everything private."
He answered immediately.
If his identity became known, he'd get unwanted attention.
[Name: Unknown. Player's face will be censored. Voice adjusted.]
Not fully hidden.
But good enough.
'I'll compromise with this much.'
It wasn't like he would stay in first place forever.Early rankings always changed.
'Still better than last time…'
Back in middle school, he once entered the Hall of Fame wearing a barbarian coat and smoking a cigar.
He shuddered at the memory.
Ugh.
"Forget it."
He felt the urge to kick the tree again, but instead—
He searched its cracks.
His fingers touched something.
A small, green pill, about 1 cm.
[You have acquired the Essence of 'Tree Orb.']
'Finally.'
A smile spread across his face.
Each fruit gave +3 to Strength, Agility, Stamina, and Magic.
But the Tree Orb gave +12 total stat points.
Equal to four level-ups.
'Insane.'
Nothing on the first 50 floors matched this value.
Gulp.
He swallowed it.
Warm energy spread through his body.
'Let's check.'
He opened his status window.
Name: Kang Jin-hyukGender: MaleAge: 27Level: 1
Strength: 5Agility: 6Stamina: 7Magic: 5
Unassigned Stat Points: 12
Occupation: NoneUnique Ability: NoneSkill: None
Level 1.
But with 12 free points?
'Strongest level 1 in the world.'
No better way to put it.
About an hour later—
The Hall of Fame updated, announcing the first-ever Mangrove kill.
A video would be uploaded soon.
The Korean server's long-dead bulletin board exploded with activity.
4Dollar: Phew! Did anyone die?Red Hare PC Room: Ridiculous. That tree was impossible! I gave up after 100 tries.Babambam: How did someone kill that thing?Rabbit Pwincess: Must be someone who played for 11 years straight.Rabbit: Total luck. No normal person could do that.Fekk91: Exactly!Lovepack7: 2222222Jaisenberr: 333333
Messages kept pouring in.
Most called it luck or an exploit.
But that changed the moment the video went live.
[The video has been updated.]
The comments flipped instantly.
kdc123: Wow…Jaisenber: HahahahaFekk91: I have no words.Heir to Throne: Is that even human movement?Babamba: Look at that wood. Captain Korea??Rabbit Pwincess: I respect him. Insane. I died 100 times at that part.
Offers began flooding in.
Kingsman: I'm Park Hosik, Director of Ohsung Semiconductors. 1 billion won contract, 100 million per month.J Dragon: Same offer. Contact me.F Blank Sheet is Right: Recruiting a team—please reach out!
Jin-hyuk quietly absorbed it all.
'Was it really that amazing?'
Objectively, beating the Mangrove at level 1 was no joke.
But to him—
'It's not surprising.'
Most players never reached the late-game floors.They lacked information.
He smiled bitterly.
'A hundred million won…'
That amount made him recall his past.
Starving to prepare for mukbangs.Skipping rent.Life scraping by.
If someone had offered him that yesterday…
He would've accepted instantly.
But now—
Even for a billion, he wouldn't share his knowledge.
'Money isn't important.'
Not anymore.
He searched for the National Museum of Korea on his phone.
Located in Yongsan.
According to the game's lore, magical overflow from the Tower transformed historical relics into holy relics in reality.
Not just genuine ones—even museum replicas gained power.
And—
'This is the place with the most replicas.'
The museum was a treasure vault.
But also a battleground.
Unlike the seven Mangrove spawn points in Seoul, the museum was one place.
Everyone would gather there.
And some would die.
"I need to get ready."
He pocketed his phone and slipped into the night once the crowds dispersed.
He stopped at the E-mart in Yongsan Station.
Still open.
'Where is it…? Korean-style paper should work.'
He tossed five 30cm items into his cart.
'This should be enough.'
They weren't ideal as weapons—but useful enough.
A hammer would've been great too.
He rolled the cart to checkout.
The TV showed breaking news.
[The government is actively investigating—][The president has convened all ministers—][Experts from all fields are being assembled—]
Pointless.
Logic meant nothing here.
Jin-hyuk looked outside.
The sun dipped below the mountains.
The day ended.
And the night began.