The real trial was about to begin.
I stood beneath the dark volcanic sky, watching the enormous mountain in the distance.
Magma continued flowing through the cracks in the ground.
The heat pressed against my body.
Yet—
I remained still.
I wanted to understand this place before moving.
The Tower had brought me here.
That alone meant the environment wasn't ordinary.
My eyes swept across the volcanic domain.
Mountains.
Magma rivers.
Black stone.
Ash drifting through the air.
Everything seemed designed around one element.
Heat.
Destruction.
Endurance.
Perhaps that was the purpose of this floor.
To survive in an environment that constantly tried to destroy me.
A faint smile appeared.
If that was the case—
It wasn't particularly difficult.
At least—
Not yet.
Then the red screen in front of me changed.
The previous notification disappeared.
A new message appeared.
> [Welcome, Challenger, to the Tower of Trial.]
I stared at it.
So the Tower was finally introducing itself properly.
The words felt different from my blue System.
The blue System was familiar.
It was something that had accompanied me for a long time.
This red interface…
Wasn't.
It felt ancient.
Not alive.
Not exactly.
But there was an undeniable authority behind it.
I continued reading.
> [Congratulations on Completing the First Stage.]
My eyes narrowed slightly.
First stage.
So the first floor had been considered a stage.
That made sense.
I had already completed it.
The Tower wasn't asking me to repeat what I had already done.
Instead—
It had brought me here.
The next stage.
The red screen flickered.
> [Calculating Completion Rewards...]
I waited.
A few seconds passed.
Then—
DING.
> [Reward Calculation Complete.]
Another notification appeared.
> [You Have Been Awarded: 1,000,000 Tower Points.]
My eyes narrowed.
One million.
I stared at the number for a moment.
Not bad.
But points were meaningless without knowing their value.
I looked at the red screen.
"What can I use them for?"
The Tower didn't answer immediately.
Instead—
The interface changed.
A new section appeared.
[Tower Store]
My eyes moved across the display.
The screen expanded.
Then expanded again.
Rows of items appeared.
Weapons.
Armor.
Techniques.
Consumables.
Materials.
Artifacts.
And countless other things I couldn't immediately categorize.
I began scanning.
Quickly.
A weapon appeared.
Then another.
A defensive artifact.
A body-tempering resource.
A technique.
A strange crystal.
An unknown material.
Each had a price attached.
I continued.
The farther I went—
The more ridiculous the prices became.
Thousands.
Hundreds of thousands.
Millions.
Tens of millions.
And eventually—
Numbers I didn't even bother calculating.
I stopped.
My expression became thoughtful.
One million points sounded like a lot.
But looking at the Tower Store—
It wasn't.
Not even close.
The truly valuable resources were far beyond what I could currently purchase.
Some items were locked completely.
I focused on one of them.
> [Requirement: Floor 5 Access.]
Another.
> [Requirement: Floor 10 Access.]
Another.
> [Requirement: Unknown.]
My eyes narrowed.
Interesting.
The Tower wasn't simply a place for trials.
It was also a massive resource system.
The higher I climbed—
The more resources would become available.
That meant the Tower itself could become an important part of my growth.
I closed the store.
There was no reason to obsess over things I couldn't obtain yet.
The conclusion was simple.
Climb higher.
Get stronger.
Unlock more.
Simple.
I looked toward the volcanic mountain.
Then—
DING.
The red screen changed again.
> [First Stage Completion Reward Distributed.]
I expected another Tower notification.
Instead—
My blue interface appeared.
The familiar blue light spread across my vision.
I blinked.
The Tower's red interface remained in front of me.
My System appeared beside it.
Two separate interfaces.
Two completely different presences.
The contrast was obvious.
The Tower—
Ancient.
Massive.
Mysterious.
My System—
Precise.
Controlled.
Familiar.
I stared at them.
The Tower had given me one million Tower Points.
That much was clear.
But the next notification wasn't from the Tower.
It came from my System.
> [Additional Reward Granted.]
My eyebrows lifted.
Additional?
The blue screen continued.
> [Reward: Tiger God Physique.]
I went silent.
Tiger God Physique.
The name alone caught my attention.
Before I could ask for more information—
Pain exploded through my body.
BOOM—!!!
My entire body locked.
My knees buckled.
I dropped to one knee.
"…Tch—!"
Pain erupted from inside me.
Not outside.
Inside.
Every muscle tightened simultaneously.
My bones trembled.
My heart slammed against my chest.
THUD!
One beat.
THUD!
Another.
Then—
THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD!!!
My heartbeat accelerated violently.
Heat surged through my veins.
My teeth clenched.
"What the—"
Another wave struck.
BOOM!!!
My body shook.
The heat wasn't coming from the volcanic environment.
It was coming from within.
Something was moving through my body.
Reaching every muscle.
Every bone.
Every organ.
Every cell.
I could feel it.
My body was changing.
Not growing larger.
Not becoming heavier in appearance.
Something much deeper was happening.
My muscles tightened.
Then compressed.
Their structure became denser.
More refined.
My bones followed.
The sensation was almost unbearable.
Yet—
I didn't scream.
I endured it.
Pain was nothing new.
What mattered was understanding the process.
This wasn't an increase in energy.
It wasn't a temporary enhancement.
The Tiger God Physique was changing the foundation of my body.
My physical limits were being rewritten.
My muscles became stronger.
My bones became harder.
My organs became more resilient.
Even my blood seemed to flow differently.
More efficiently.
Faster.
Cleaner.
My senses suddenly expanded.
I could hear the magma moving through the distant mountains.
I could feel the subtle vibrations beneath the stone.
The movement of the air became clearer.
Even the heat around me seemed more defined.
My vision sharpened.
The world that had previously appeared distorted by the volcanic heat—
Became clearer.
I lowered my head.
My hands were trembling.
Not from weakness.
From the transformation.
Another pulse erupted through my body.
BOOM!!!
The surrounding air distorted.
A wave of pressure spread outward.
Dust and small fragments of volcanic stone were pushed away from me.
I stared at my hands.
Something was fundamentally different.
I could feel it.
The transformation continued.
My muscles weren't becoming larger.
They were becoming—
Perfectly integrated.
Every part of my body seemed to fit together better.
My movements.
My balance.
My strength.
My reaction speed.
Everything was being refined.
The pain slowly began to fade.
The violent heat in my veins cooled.
My heartbeat stabilized.
THUD.
One final heavy beat.
Then silence.
I remained on one knee for several seconds.
Breathing slowly.
Then—
I stood.
My body felt strangely light.
I looked at my hands.
Clenched one fist.
Then released it.
No pain.
No instability.
No resistance.
I took a step.
The movement was effortless.
Another.
Still effortless.
I slowly raised my arm.
The air around my hand distorted.
Not because I released energy.
Because of the physical pressure produced by my body.
My eyes narrowed.
"…So this is…"
I looked at my fist.
"…Tiger God Physique."
A faint smile appeared.
The reward hadn't simply made me stronger.
It had changed the foundation upon which my strength would continue to grow.
My body felt—
Different.
Better.
Stronger.
More complete.
I inhaled deeply.
The volcanic air entered my lungs.
The heat that had previously pressed against me now felt considerably less threatening.
Interesting.
I looked toward the massive mountain again.
Before—
I had been observing it.
Now—
I wanted to test myself against this environment.
My body was ready.
Or at least—
It felt ready.
I slowly clenched my fist.
A quiet pressure gathered around my body.
The Tiger God Physique had finished its transformation.
But I had a feeling—
This was only the beginning.
The Tower had given me one million points.
My System had given me a new physique.
And both had brought me here for a reason.
I just hadn't discovered it yet.
I looked across the volcanic domain.
The massive mountain remained silent.
Waiting.
My smile deepened.
Whatever this floor intended to throw at me—
I would find out soon enough.
— End of Part II —