Tower Realm – Floor 3
The silence before the trial was sharp, like the moment between lightning and thunder.
Ha-Joon stood at the edge of a vast colosseum. Black stone walls circled the arena like jagged fangs, and at the center burned a floating red core, pulsing with heat and menace.
> [Trial of the Beast Forge]
Objective: Survive Three Beast Waves
Optional: Destroy the Core to skip the final wave
Rewards: Physical Upgrade, Combat Skill, Enhancement Item
Warning: Trial begins immediately
The moment he stepped forward, the gate slammed shut behind him.
Dust lifted. The trial had begun.
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Round 1: Ironfang Boars – Quantity: 10
The ground split open and from it burst metallic boars, each the size of a motorcycle. Their skin was armored in jagged steel plates, their tusks glowing faintly red.
Ha-Joon tightened his grip on his spear and shifted his stance.
"Let's go."
The first boar charged.
He dashed to the side and drove the spear under its neck, twisting with all his strength. Blood sprayed. Before it hit the ground, two more came from his flank.
He rolled, gritted his teeth, and countered mid-motion.
Slam. Dodge. Stab.
Again. And again. His muscles moved like they remembered battles before his brain did.
He wasn't the same boy anymore.
He was becoming… something else.
> [Round 1 Complete]
[Status: Slightly Wounded – No Critical Injuries]
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Round 2: Twinsteel Apes – Quantity: 4
The second gate roared open.
Towering ape-like creatures stepped out—their skin blackened with burn marks, their limbs wrapped in steel chains. One slammed its fists on the ground, cracking the stone. Another picked up a massive iron block and hurled it like a cannonball.
Ha-Joon ducked under the flying debris and sprinted forward.
He couldn't fight them head-on.
He had to move fast—faster than fear.
He leapt onto a broken pillar, then flipped off it, twisting in midair. The first ape reached for him, but he landed behind it and drove his weapon into its spine.
It screamed, swinging wildly.
But he was already gone—jumping to the next one.
He fought like water. Adapting. Bending. Slipping through gaps.
Each movement became sharper. Each strike deadlier.
> [Round 2 Complete]
[Status: Wounded – Moderate Bruising, Muscle Fatigue]
[Stat Progress: Strength +1, Agility +1]
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Round 3: Forgebeast – Quantity: 1
The colosseum shook.
Then the final beast walked out.
Nine feet tall. Body made of stone and molten metal. A single, massive sword melted the ground wherever it touched. Its eyes were glowing coals. It didn't roar.
It just walked.
Slow. Confident.
Ha-Joon exhaled, blood dripping from his lip. His arms ached. His legs trembled.
But his eyes… were clear.
> "One mistake, and I die."
He gripped his spear tighter and sprinted.
The monster raised its sword—and the force of the swing alone broke stone pillars in its path.
Ha-Joon ducked under it, ran up its knee, and leapt into the air.
He wasn't aiming at the beast.
He was aiming at the core.
That floating red orb in the sky—shimmering with unstable power.
He hurled his spear mid-flight, twisting his entire body behind it.
The core shattered.
A shockwave exploded outward.
The Forgebeast screamed as molten cracks split across its body—and it collapsed, crumbling into slag.
---
> [Trial Cleared – Core Objective Achieved]
Reward Bonus: Trial Skipped
Reward:
• Skill Gained – Reflex Counter Lv.1
• +2 Strength, +1 Constitution
• Item: Beastblood Token (One-time Physical Stat Boost)
• Passive: Pain Reduction (Minor)
---
Ha-Joon knelt on the floor, breathing hard.
He looked down at his blood-stained hands.
At the faint reflection of himself in a shard of metal.
No longer the shy, quiet boy who avoided eye contact at convenience stores.
Something else was forming inside him.
Stronger.
Sharper.
Unbreakable.
---
He stood up again.
---
There was no audience to applaud.
No allies to celebrate with.
Just the wind. The quiet. And the next staircase, leading deeper into the unknown.
Ha-Joon walked forward.
He didn't know how many trials were left.
He didn't care.
All he knew was that he had to survive.
---
Meanwhile – Earth, Suwon City
Ha-Rin stood by the convenience store, a shopping bag in her hands.
She paused under the streetlight.
It was late. The same time her brother had vanished nearly a year ago.
Everyone else had given up.
The police stopped calling.
Posters were gone.
People had quietly moved on.
But not her.
She closed her eyes and whispered, like she did every night.
"Ha-Joon... please be alive."
---
In a world beyond reach, a boy climbed into darkness with a steel heart and blood-soaked hands.
He would not die.
He would not fail.
Not until he had the strength to destroy the world that trapped him—
and return home.
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