Chapter 2

002. Tower of Trials (2)

"Resetting abilities, skills, and unique characteristics to the initial awakening point."

"The abilities of the corresponding challenger will be the same as at the initial awakening."

"Stopping the reset."

At first, I just stared blankly at the hologram that appeared.

However.

"Starting the tutorial trial."

The message about starting the 'tutorial trial' without any context or explanation.

The moment I saw it, I felt the blood in my body rapidly turn cold.

'What's going on here?'

Starting with the most basic questions.

'Tower of Trials? Could it be that the Second Great Cataclysm has arrived?'

Up to the most plausible guess about the current situation.

All sorts of thoughts swirled in my head, intensifying the confusion.

But that was only for a moment.

"Weapons are being issued."

Thud.

A message about issuing weapons appeared out of nowhere, and a long sword fell in front of me.

It wasn't a wooden sword like the ones I saw in the player-only gym, but a real, well-polished sword.

The blade was at least 80 cm long, a genuine long sword.

"What the hell is this...?"

There's no way I'm seeing this kind of hallucination just from a single can of beer.

Even if I'm a light drinker, my body has resistance to alcohol because I've awakened as a player.

But.

'It doesn't make sense to be dreaming this vividly.'

I quickly scanned my surroundings.

The space I was standing in wasn't a park bench in the middle of winter, but some kind of desert.

Or, can this even be called a desert?

A sandy ground with cacti scattered here and there.

At first glance, it might seem normal, but the walls and ceiling blocking the sky beyond it were not.

It was clearly an artificially created space, despite its vastness.

If it were a dungeon, I should have moved through a gate, but there were no such signs, making it all the more bizarre.

Just as my mind was about to get tangled up.

"Sand Golem appears."

Rumble...!

"Damn...!"

The sandy ground shook violently, and sand shot up from the front.

Then, the sand clumped together, turning into sandstone and taking on the form of a golem.

"..."

A massive golem, at least 6 meters tall.

Its body was oozing sand, and it had a blood-red glow in its eyes, which made my face stiffen.

At the same time, a holographic message appeared again.

"Survive the Sand Golem."

"Remaining time – 9 minutes 59 seconds"

"Grrrr..."

The tutorial trial and the message to survive.

And all the other messages that appeared.

Everything seemed to connect as soon as I faced the Sand Golem.

There was no way I could remain ignorant after seeing this.

"Damn it!"

I quickly picked up the long sword that had fallen on the ground and fled.

Battle?

There's no way I could fight a creature of such a massive size.

A single touch from the Sand Golem's stone fist would kill an adult male.

As a player with the lowest abilities, I wouldn't be much different.

That's the reality.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

"Raaaaaah...!"

The roar of the Sand Golem behind me sent shivers down my spine.

I wanted to run faster, but I couldn't.

Squish, squish.

With each step, my feet sank into the sand.

"Damn it!"

This desert was holding me back.

Meanwhile, the thudding sound from behind was closing in faster than I could run.

Even if I tried to escape, the end would be a wall touching the ceiling.

Whether the chase continued to the end or not, I would either die or be caught and killed.

There might not even be an exit.

The only hope, if any, was the 'remaining time' ticking away in the corner of my vision...

But even that wasn't a very hopeful perspective.

"Remaining time – 9 minutes 11 seconds"

With my stamina, it's impossible to run for 9 more minutes in the desert.

Even if I had higher abilities, I'm the weakest among players.

'I can't keep running until the time runs out...!'

The intention behind giving me a sword and telling me to run was obvious.

Either die running pointlessly or fight.

While running, I glanced back at the Sand Golem following me.

Crazy, how am I supposed to beat that thing?

But if I run, I'll die for sure, so there's nothing I can do.

The sword won't even make a dent in the golem.

But.

'I have to fight, no matter what.'

If running won't save me, I have to find a way to survive here.

While running, I recalled the information I knew about Sand Golems.

After 7 years of studying to become a Hunter, I could confidently say I knew the theory better than any active Hunter.

And the theory I learned over 7 years would apply in this situation.

A monster like a golem stops moving if you break the stone that serves as its core.

Even a Sand Golem doesn't keep its core inside its body.

It's classified as an E-rank monster because its core is on the surface.

I could see a red gem embedded in the body of that Sand Golem.

But I didn't have the confidence to dig into the monster's body.

A strike with this sword would only cause a crack in the core stone at best.

Or, would it even crack with a sword strike?

Still.

'I have no choice...!'

Estimating the distance between me and the pursuing golem, it seemed to be about 15 meters.

If I charge at the golem, can I dodge its attack?

No, that's not it.

Thinking about it too much would only narrow my options.

'I have to dodge no matter what!'

Crash!

The moment I made up my mind, I turned and charged at the Sand Golem.

15 meters, 12 meters, 10 meters, 7 meters, 5 meters.

The closer I got, the more the difference between the golem and me became clear.

The massive E-rank monster made my heart shrink just by its gaze.

I clenched my teeth and ran despite the overwhelming pressure.

A Sand Golem, when I've only ever faced goblins in the Hunter exam.

But I have to survive.

With that determination, I kept my eyes wide open and watched the Sand Golem's movements.

Whoosh...!

The heavy arm made of sandstone tore through the air.

A strike that would definitely deal a fatal blow to me, the weakest player.

But I looked straight at the attack and charged forward.

And the moment the massive arm reached just in front of me.

Swish-!

I slid under the arm as it swung down, narrowly avoiding the punch.

Boom!

Sand flew in all directions, and a loud noise came from behind.

But thanks to its massive size, the Sand Golem's movements were delayed.

The moment I realized this, I was running like a madman.

My body understood before my mind.

I had to stab this sword into the Sand Golem's core to survive.

I quickly got up and charged at the Sand Golem, which was slowly regaining its composure.

Crack-!

The blade met the core of the golem's heart, making a screeching sound.

Of course.

The golem's core didn't break with just that much force.

Crack.

The core stone of the Sand Golem only had a slight crack...

Whoosh!

"Raaaaaah-!"

In the meantime, the Sand Golem launched a follow-up attack.

Seeing this, I threw myself in any direction without even controlling the sword's recoil.

Swish-!

And.

Whoosh...!

The follow-up attack whistled past my head.

A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

I immediately got up in that situation.

Even though my skin was scraped raw by the sand, I didn't hesitate and ran forward.

Please, break this time!

Wishing that, I struck the golem's heart with the sword again.

Crack!

"Core stone of the Sand Golem destroyed."

The system message blocked my vision, and the Sand Golem's eyes went dark.

The menacing red glow disappeared, and the body made of sand quickly collapsed.

Rumble...!

"Remaining time – 7 minutes 8 seconds"

"Ending the tutorial trial."

Only after seeing that message did I collapse, throwing away the sword.

"Huff, huff...!"

The skin scraped by the sand still burned, and my hands trembled.

My lungs felt like they were being torn apart, and blood flowed from the skin scraped by the sand.

But a sense of elation, something I hadn't felt in 7 years, welled up in my chest.

The joy of victory I hadn't experienced in 7 years.

Only after catching my breath did I fully grasp what had happened.

"Did I... kill the Sand Golem? Me?"

Despite never having properly defeated even an F-rank monster like a goblin in my life.

To think I could take down an E-rank monster, a Sand Golem, in a life-or-death situation.

But soon, I became somber as I realized the reality.

'...But I barely won.'

If it had been another E-rank monster, I would have been dead in 3 minutes.

The Sand Golem's movements were slow, and its weakness was obvious.

If it had been a slightly stronger player, it would have been a tough tutorial opponent.

Still.

"I survived."

That much was certain.

Relieved to have survived, I was about to take a short break when...

"Congratulations, you have cleared the first floor of the Tower of Trials."

"..."

Suddenly, congratulating me on clearing the trial, a series of messages appeared.

"Reward for clearing the trial: 'Unique characteristic unlock' special benefit."

"Reward for clearing the trial: '1,000 points' obtained."

"Additional reward for clearing the trial: 'High-speed regeneration (E+)' skill obtained."

"Additional reward for clearing the trial: '500 points' obtained."

"..."

Only then did I recall the message I saw when I first arrived in the desert.

'Now that I think about it...'

"Reward for clearing the trial: Unique characteristic unlock"

I didn't notice it properly at the time due to the shock, but there was definitely a reward.

And.

"Unique characteristic...?"

That was the unique characteristic I had always longed for over 7 years.

Even the skill I had never been able to obtain was included as an additional reward.

Things that seemed impossible to achieve happened.

'Even after 7 years of training, I couldn't even raise my abilities...'

I was even more bewildered than when I first entered the tower.

"Unique characteristic unlocked."

"Unique characteristic 'Necromancy (F)' is imprinted on the player."

The subsequent message seemed to confirm that this was real.

For the first time in my life, I had defeated a monster and progressed in my growth, which had been stagnant for 7 years.

An indescribable emotion welled up, but it was only for a moment.

Without giving me time to think, a sudden change occurred.

"Move to the waiting room."

Whoosh!

Without any warning, a blue portal appeared behind where the Sand Golem had collapsed.

It was clear that I was supposed to ride this portal to the 'waiting room.'

That alone told me a lot.

"Is this really a tutorial...?"

In a dungeon, it ends when you clear it, but it seems the 'Tower of Trials' is different.

Even if I wanted to deny the reality, I couldn't at this point.

What I just experienced was a tutorial, a mere preparation process.

In other words, I would face more trials, and there was no telling how long it would continue.

"..."

I was speechless, but it didn't last long.

Catching my breath, I groaned and got up.

'Damn, it hurts so much.'

I was quite injured, with hardly any part of my body left unscathed.

I must have rolled around too much on the sandy ground to avoid the Sand Golem's punches.

But I was just glad to be alive, so I had no major complaints.

Just as I was about to pass by where the Sand Golem had collapsed.

"..."

I stopped and turned my head to the right.

...What is that?

"Really, what's going on here?"

A scene so overwhelming that it made me forget the pain in my body.

Black mist was rising from where the Sand Golem had turned back into sand.

A phenomenon that couldn't be considered normal.

Hesitating for a moment, I reached out to the black mist.

Then.

"Activating unique characteristic 'Necromancy (F).'"

"Do you want to absorb the Sand Golem's spirit?"

"Y/N"

"..."

A message different from the ones I had seen before appeared.