Chapter 2
Assistant Manager Lee Ha-min of the Korean Awakeners Association, Awakeners Support Team 2.
She was currently in a very foul mood.
Why am I stuck doing this…
“Those who have just awakened, please come this way!”
After shouting at the top of her lungs, Ha-min let out a long sigh. Guiding newly awakened individuals was originally a task for entry-level staff.
It wasn’t work meant for someone of her rank, but the Tower Guide position required a combat-type Awakener capable of perfectly clearing the 1st Floor of the Tower. With no other option, she had been assigned to it.
“Haah…”
Her shoulders slumped as she exhaled deeply.
I told them we need to hire more rookies.
The Association simply didn’t have enough personnel who were former Awakeners.
Not for any complicated reason—
Capable Awakeners earned far more by climbing the Tower than by working for the Association.
As a result, those who joined the Association were usually Awakeners who had gained abilities too mediocre to make serious progress in the Tower.
Most of the remaining combat-type Awakeners at the Association were people who feared climbing the upper floors or carried trauma from past experiences.
“Disgusting bastards. No shame at all.”
“Should we throw a rock at her?”
“Wanna bet who can hit her?”
And this is why I have nightmares every night!
Under the barrage of hostile stares, she nearly burst out screaming.
From afar, one of the whispering bystanders picked up a stone and hurled it at her with all his strength.
Crunch!
The stone sliced through the air—only to disintegrate into powder just before it touched her.
Thanks to an artifact issued by the Association, she wasn’t in danger of physical harm. But it couldn’t block contemptuous gazes.
Items powered by electricity or gunpowder—such as phones or firearms—were prohibited inside the Tower. However, artifacts crafted from materials obtained within the Tower were allowed.
“Those who have just awakened, please come this way!”
Pretending not to notice, Ha-min shouted again.
There hadn’t been a single new Awakener for days, but that didn’t mean she could slack off.
Awakenings could occur anytime, anywhere, without warning.
“Those who have just awakened—… Hm?”
Mid-shout, her eyes widened.
A man dressed in modern clothing—Park Jong-hyuk—was standing face-to-face with a resident of the Tower.
“Th-this is bad…!”
The Tower resident, glaring as if ready to kill, slowly raised his arm.
In contrast, Jong-hyuk stared back with an indifferent expression.
As if he sensed no danger at all.
It happened sometimes—overconfident Awakeners who thought, How dangerous could Floor 0 residents really be?
Some had awakened especially powerful abilities and grown arrogant. Others naively assumed the residents were reasonable beings who could be talked to.
That mindset was the most dangerous of all.
Residents of the Polaris Kingdom were several times stronger than Awakeners.
Even those clearing unexplored floors were weaker than a formal knight of Polaris. Ordinary citizens were roughly comparable to a Level 10 Awakener who had cleared the 10th Floor.
And that wasn’t all—
To the Tower’s residents, Awakeners were little more than talking goblins.
The Association had widely publicized the dangers of Floor 0 and prohibited entry outside official activity periods, but there were always reckless outliers.
Sometimes a manager would briefly look away and miss a new Awakener. Other times, newly awakened individuals would deliberately slip into the crowd to “explore” the Polaris Kingdom.
Without exception, they were found the next day—cold corpses abandoned along the roadside.
At least, during busy periods on the main road leading to the Tower, residents would threaten but not kill.
…So long as no one spoke to them.
Ha-min dropped her sign and sprinted toward them.
“W-wait…!”
Just as she was about to shout—
“Hahaha!”
Suddenly, the Tower resident burst into hearty laughter and clapped a hand onto Jong-hyuk’s shoulder.
I didn’t expect to test this so soon.
Jong-hyuk scratched his cheek as he looked at the floating window before him.
Name: Carl Lottery
Level: 11
Class: Freelance Blacksmith
Status: Hostile (-10)
Skills: Blacksmithing (Max), Artisan’s Conviction (Lv.1), Hammer Swing (Lv.8)
[Would you like to use Affinity (Lv.1)?]
Not only could he see the target’s information—he could even activate skills.
“Hey. You picking a fight?”
The man in front of him clenched his fist and asked again.
“Is your name Carl Lottery, by any chance?”
Ignoring the hostility, Jong-hyuk calmly asked back.
“What…? How do you know my name—?”
The man hesitated, startled, before his face twisted with rage.
“You damned demon bastards. Now you’re even digging into my background? Fine! I’m Carl! Let’s see one of us die today!”
The moment Carl’s anger flared, Jong-hyuk quickly activated his skill.
[Affinity (Lv.1) has been activated.]
[Target’s status has changed.]
[Skill effect applied to target’s attributes.]
[Target’s attributes are low.]
[Carl Lottery’s favorability has greatly increased!]
[Due to skill influence, level has increased.]
Name: Carl Lottery
Level: 12
Class: Freelance Blacksmith
Status: Friendly (10)
Skills: Blacksmithing (Max), Artisan’s Conviction (Lv.1), Hammer Swing (Lv.8)
So the number next to Status is like favorability.
His level had risen, and his status shifted to Friendly.
[Would you like to register Carl Lottery as a Close Friend?]
Close friend? What now?
After a brief hesitation, Jong-hyuk decided that experimenting was better than doing nothing.
The moment he mentally selected Yes, a clear chime rang out.
Close Friends (1/10)
-
Carl Lottery
[Carl Lottery has been registered as a Close Friend. You may borrow one of Carl Lottery’s skills.]
[Borrow a skill?]
Jong-hyuk decided to hold off.
None of Carl’s skills were particularly useful right now.
Borrowing Blacksmithing wouldn’t help clear the Tower.
Being good at making weapons doesn’t mean the Tower clears itself.
“Huh?”
It wasn’t just the status window that had changed.
Carl, who moments ago looked ready to kill him, was blinking in confusion.
“This feeling… what is it? The unpleasantness just vanished.”
After a moment of bewilderment, Carl burst into laughter.
“Hahahaha! I don’t know what it is, but you don’t seem like a bad human!”
His emotions flip fast.
Jong-hyuk glanced at him.
“Well then—how about coming to my place for a meal?”
Ding.
Another window appeared.
[Congratulations! You have triggered the first-ever Awakener Floor 0 Clear Quest.]
[The first Tower Floor 0 quest has been generated.]
[Epic Quest has begun.]
[Epic Quest: Dinner]
[Have dinner with Carl Lottery.]
[Reward: 500 Achievement Points]
[You have earned the First Awakener Achievement.]
[Reward granted according to achievement.]
[500 Achievement Points acquired.]
“What’s this now?”
“So? Coming or not?!”
Nothing urgent to do. If it’s a quest, might as well take it.
“Sure.”
“Good choice! I’ll set a table fit to break its legs!”
With an arm slung over Jong-hyuk’s shoulders, Carl practically shoved him toward his house.
“Huh?”
Ha-min, who had been rushing over, froze in place.
Two unbelievable things had just happened.
First—the Tower resident who typically loathed Awakeners had treated one kindly. As far as she knew, that had never happened.
Second—the system window that had appeared before her eyes.
[An Awakener has begun clearing Tower Floor 0.]
[The first Epic Quest has been generated.]
A Tower Clear Notification.
A global alert that appeared to all players upon an achievement.
From Floor 1 onward, quests existed. One had to complete them to ascend.
But Floor 0 had no quests. And failing a quest didn’t block progression to the next floor.
Thus, it was considered the lobby—no quests.
At least, until now.
“Why now all of a sudden…? Ah—!”
She snapped her head back toward where Jong-hyuk had been.
He was already gone.
“I—I lost him…”
Her vision went white.
If she lost an Awakener again, she had no idea what she’d hear from her superiors.
“Ugh…”
She stomped anxiously.
If it were just losing a new Awakener, she wouldn’t be this shaken.
But this one was the first Awakener ever to receive favor from a Tower resident.
As Floor 0 guide, the higher-ups’ biggest concern was precisely that—a resident showing interest in an Awakener.
Floor 0 held countless possibilities—yet was untouchable territory.
An Awakener who intrigued its residents was like a unicorn—something everyone wished for, yet believed impossible.
“I-I need to report this to the Association.”
Ha-min hurriedly made a call.
“Grandpa— I mean, sir… are you a blacksmith?”
“What?”
That was Jong-hyuk’s first question upon arriving at Carl’s house.
“Oh ho. How’d you know?”
Because it said so in the skill window.
Jong-hyuk swallowed that answer and instead glanced at Carl’s bulging forearms.
“Those muscles are no joke.”
“Strange. Most people think I’m an adventurer or knight when they see these.”
“Guess I’m unusual.”
Carl laughed heartily as he placed plates of food on the wooden table.
“That’s right. A blacksmith. One of only five master artisans in the Polaris Kingdom.”
His voice brimmed with pride as his gaze drifted to one side of the room.
Jong-hyuk followed it.
There, mounted on a stand, hung a golden hammer.
“…All in the past, though.”
The Golden Hammer—bestowed only upon artisans capable of imbuing weapons with spirit.
Jong-hyuk didn’t know its identity, but even its appearance spoke of greatness.
“Why? You seem perfectly healthy.”
He casually speared a chunk of pork with his fork and chewed.
“I’ve lost my passion.”
Carl stared at his right hand.
“You can’t imagine how miserable a blacksmith without passion is.”
I see.
Jong-hyuk didn’t dwell on it and continued eating.
Ding.
[Quest completed.]
[500 Achievement Points acquired.]
Achievement Points? What are those for?
He shrugged it off for later.
Dinner came first.
Bang! Bang!
“Hm?”
Suddenly, the front door began shaking violently with loud pounding.
