The sound of sirens blurred into the background. Police, paramedics, and Hunter Association officials swarmed the area like ants around spilled sugar. Lin sat beneath a temporary white tent, its canvas walls flapping gently in the wind. His cleaning uniform was stained in blood—most of it not his.
The daggers were no longer in his hands. They rested silently in his inventory, tucked away as if hiding from the weight they carried.
He stared at nothing in particular. His fingers trembled faintly, not from fear, but from something deeper. He hadn't known the boss well—Do-Shik was only a passing presence in this life—but the ache in his chest was real.
(So this is what loss feels like again… even in a new timeline, pain finds a way.)
"Mr. Wei?"
The voice was smooth, practiced. Lin blinked up to see a young man standing before him, impeccably dressed in a fitted black suit. His hair was combed straight back, not a strand out of place. He wore a silver badge on his chest, the insignia of the Hunter Association engraved in sharp lines.
"I'm Cho Geon-woo, secretary to the chairman of the Hunters Association," the man said, offering a curt bow before straightening. "Apologies for approaching you so quickly, but we require a formal statement."
Lin said nothing at first.
Geon-woo continued, his tone clipped and fluent—almost too perfect, like a rehearsed speech.
"This type of gate occurrence—an unranked dungeon triggering a response powerful enough to kill three licensed B-Rank Hunters—is unprecedented. Understand that while B-Ranks are often overshadowed by A-Ranks or S-Ranks, they are not weak. Their strength lies at the heart of the Association's structural stability. Losing even one is rare. Losing three…" He paused, "…is cause for serious investigation."
(Losing three…) Lin exhaled, eyes clouding.
(They're not weak at all. The way Ara moved… it was art—deadly, precise, elegant. Even in my past life, I fought monsters, but not like that. I knew war, but she knew control. If this is what a B-Rank is… then the Hunters of this world are nothing to scoff at.)
"Mr. Wei?"
"Sorry," Lin murmured, refocusing. "I'm here."
Geon-woo gave a thin smile. "We just need clarity. The mana readings inside the gate spiked well past B-Rank. Borderline A-Rank, possibly more. Was the dungeon boss really that powerful?"
Lin looked down, his fingers curling.
"The boss… was already dead when we found it."
Geon-woo's expression stiffened.
"And if I recall correctly," Lin continued, "one of the hunters said, 'Is that a magical beast?' It wasn't the boss that killed them. It was something else. Something intelligent. Something fast. And if you're asking how I made it out… Nam Ara was the one who killed it. She died… saving me."
Geon-woo was quiet. A breeze stirred his coat. "A magical beast… appearing inside a low-tier gate. That shouldn't be possible."
Lin didn't answer that. Instead, he looked Geon-woo in the eyes.
"If the Association is planning to hold any tribute or ceremony for the hunters that died… make sure her family knows," he said, his voice firm. "Nam Ara didn't die running. She died standing. She died protecting someone she didn't even know. She died… a hero."
Geon-woo studied him for a moment—really studied him. And then, with a slow nod, he said, "I'll make sure they know."
He turned to leave but paused halfway.
"For what it's worth," he added over his shoulder, "not many would've remembered to say that."
Then he walked away, his silhouette swallowed by the crowd.
———
The clouds had started to gather, as if the world itself was mourning what had happened inside the gate. Lin sat quietly, still beneath the tent, the hum of voices around him becoming a dull murmur—until a sharp voice broke through.
"Lin!!"
He turned his head quickly.
There she was.
Soo-ah. His sister. Hair hastily tied back, blazer barely buttoned, ID tag from her office still swinging at her chest. Her heels clicked rapidly against the pavement as she ran toward him. Her expression was crumpled with worry and panic, tears welled at the corners of her eyes.
"Lin!" She dropped to her knees in front of him, placing both hands on his shoulders. "Are you okay? Are you hurt? Oh god—please say something."
"I'm okay," he said softly.
"Okay?" Her voice cracked. "They said the gate collapsed. That B-Rank Hunters died in there. Lin, do you know what that means?! People died in there and you—" she grabbed his face gently, turning it side to side, checking for bruises, cuts—anything.
"I'm fine," he repeated. "I promise."
She didn't believe it, not really. Her hands dropped to her lap, her chest rising and falling. "I told you this job wasn't safe. I said it when you applied. 'Cleaning crew' isn't supposed to mean risking your life inside death traps! You're sixteen, Lin. Sixteen. You're just a kid. You're my responsibility. If something happened to you…"
"I've thought about it too," he cut in gently.
She blinked, startled.
"I don't think I'll keep working here," he said. His voice was low, but certain. "I don't belong in this job—not like this."
Soo-ah's eyes shimmered, her shoulders slumping in relief. She reached out, brushing back a lock of hair from his forehead.
"Good," she whispered. "Please, let's go home. I've had enough of this day."
He nodded, standing with her as they turned toward the parked car. His body still ached, not from wounds, but from everything else—the trauma, the loss, the realization that safety in this world was a lie wrapped in uniforms and titles.
As they walked, his gaze drifted… and stopped.
Across the crowd, standing by a dark-colored van, was Jo So-hee.
She wasn't waving. She didn't smile. She only looked at him, her eyes dark with something between concern and recognition. She didn't call out. Just watched.
(Were you in there too?) her gaze seemed to ask. (And are you still the same?)
Lin stared back, silently, until Soo-ah tugged his sleeve gently.
"Come on," she said. "Let's go."
He gave So-hee one last glance.
Then he entered the car, the door shutting softly behind him.
As they drove off into the growing dusk, the silence between him and his sister was comforting—for now.
But inside, something had shifted.
(If this world can take lives so easily… then I need the strength to protect mine.)
———
The apartment was dim when they stepped in. The hum of the refrigerator was the only sound that greeted them. Lin's shoes made a soft thud as he slipped them off by the door.
Soo-ah dropped her keys into the ceramic bowl on the shelf and let out a heavy sigh.
"I'll go lie down for a bit," she said, her voice tired but steady. "Tomorrow's going to be a long day at the station. We have to handle reports from over five district gates. And now this…"
Her eyes flicked to him—still worried, still protective.
"If you need anything," she added, "just knock. Alright?"
"I will," Lin replied softly.
She gave him a faint smile, then walked down the hallway to her room, the door clicking shut behind her.
The quiet returned.
Lin turned, walking into his room, shutting the door gently. The soft hum of the city beyond the walls seemed distant, irrelevant.
He dropped onto his bed without taking off his uniform.
The moment his body touched the mattress, everything came back.
The cries of the crew.
Do-Shik's head falling.
Nam Ara's final stand.
Her daggers glinting under the dungeon light.
The beast's dying roar.
So many gone, and for what?
He didn't know any of them for long—not truly—but their deaths sat on his chest like a weight. A suffocating burden.
His hand moved instinctively.
Ara's daggers appeared in his grip. Cold. Perfectly balanced. Still stained with dried blood.
He held them up to the dim light above.
(These aren't just weapons.)
(They're what's left of her. Of that fight. Of a choice to protect someone else at the cost of your own life.)
(If she could give her life for someone she didn't know… then I can carry her blades. I can bear what's left of her will.)
His grip tightened.
And then it came.
[DING!]
A sharp chime echoed through his mind, as if reality itself had knocked.
[New Quest Acquired: Tower of Ascension]
Type: Mandatory / High-Risk
Objective: Conquer the Tower — 100 Floors of increasing difficulty.
Conditions:
• No checkpoints.
• No time reversal.
• Death results in total erasure.
Description:
A colossal structure has manifested beyond the veil of reality. It calls to you.
Each floor is a trial. Each victory, a step toward godhood.
But beware — a single mistake means annihilation.
Only one rule echoes within its walls: Ascend… or perish.
Do you accept the Tower's Challenge?
[ACCEPT QUEST] — [DECLINE QUEST]
Lin stared at the floating text.
There was no prompt to guide him. No flashy reward listed. Just the truth: a challenge that could end him—or awaken him.
He exhaled slowly.
"…ACCEPT."
But the word wasn't just acceptance. It was a decision. A vow.
(If this world can tear people apart like that…)
(Then I need to stand at the top of it. I can't protect myself, let alone others, like this. I can't just watch from behind the line, trembling.)
(If I have to bleed, suffer, and die to gain that strength—then so be it.)
The air around him trembled.
[Tower Ascension Trial Accepted.]
[Prepare for Player Transportation.]
5…
The light around him began to fracture.
4…
His body started to shimmer, breaking down into fragments of mana.
3…
The daggers hummed in his hands.
2…
Everything began to fade—his room, his thoughts, the world.
1…
And he was gone.
Nothing remained of Lin in that quiet room—only a lingering pulse of faint blue light where he once sat.
The Tower had claimed him.
And the Tower Arc begins.