Ch.1First

# 1. The First

“Floor 3, 9! Clock turn!”

[Saex: d]

[KillItNow: gl]

It’s brutal, absolutely brutal.

As we entered the final phase and approached the 0 line, the raid boss’s patterns became dirtier and more vicious. The chat messages and pings from my raid members and guild mates—who either couldn’t or wouldn’t use voice chat for personal reasons—rapidly appeared and disappeared in response to my orders.

In these tense situations, it could sometimes be frustrating, but what could I do? These people were among the top players in their respective classes, yet they followed my orders with incredible precision, moving as if they were a single entity. While our class rankings might be similar, in terms of game sense and control ability, I’m probably just average.

Anyway, it was sometimes amazing how people of that caliber would follow my orders without question. So I could tolerate their strange IDs and their silence in voice chat.

Above all, after working together for over a year, both my guild members and I had become accustomed to each other. That’s why whenever we tackled competitive content, we always assembled our elite seven-person raid team, including myself.

“Tank ult! Healer AoE shield!”

[KillItNow is preparing ultimate skill ‘Eternal Sacred Light’.]

[PhysicalTherapist: omg]

“3 seconds!”

Finally, the last desperate pattern.

This is our seventh attempt.

We can’t fail again.

If we fail now, there’s no time for another try.

I’ll face the horror of going to work after pulling an all-nighter, and Saex and KillItNow, who are college students, will have to drag themselves like zombies to their 9 AM classes. The other four probably have their own tragic circumstances too.

‘But we can’t miss the first clear.’

“NOW!!!”

Fortunately, our main tank KillItNow successfully avoided the boss’s near-instant kill attack with perfect timing, and our main healer PhysicalTherapist cast an AoE shield skill at just the right moment to protect the entire raid team.

Perfect so far!

Just 3 seconds.

If we can just hold out for 3 seconds…

[Dimensional Lord Mensima has fallen to his knees]

“He’s staggered!!! Maximum DPS!!!!”

At my “Maximum DPS” order, guild members unleashed all the buffs, curses, damage boosts, and attack skills they’d been saving, along with their ultimates. The boss’s remaining HP gauge instantly dropped to zero, and…

“Impressive.”

The enemy who ranked among the top three strongest in the game’s lore muttered as he watched his body gradually disappear.

“Savor this moment…”

Wait, the way he’s talking…?

“No way. Don’t tell me this wasn’t the final phase… it couldn’t be, right?”

[WaterKnowsTheAnswer: STOOOOOP!]

[ProperEtiquette: Shut up!]

[KillItNow: No way, don’t jinx it]

[Saex: trash game lolololol]

[PhysicalTherapist: Please I just want to sleep a little T_T]

[StolidBackdoor: Pleeeease]

[Saex: If this is another phone clear I’m seriously going to terrorize customer service]

Normally, we should be shouting and flooding the chat with excitement, but we’d been burned so many times that even though it seemed like we’d cleared it, none of us dared to feel relieved or happy.

“The end is not truly the end.”

“Ah.”

[Saex: F*CKKKKKKKKK]

[KillItNow: It’s 6 AM! 6 AM!!!]

[PhysicalTherapist: Ah]

“I shall await your despair beyond.”

[You have defeated Dimensional Lord Mensima!]

“…Huh?”

[KillItNow: Eh?]

[Saex: ???????????????????]

[You have acquired the achievement ‘Conqueror of Dimensions’!]

“…………….”

[Raid team ‘Veritas’ has been registered in the Hall of Fame for First Clear.]

[You have acquired the item ‘Mensima’s Dimensional Armor’.]

[You have acquired the item ‘Mensima’s Staff’.]

[Item …]

“YAAAAAAAAAAAAAH————-!!!!!!!!!!!!”

[Saex: YES! YES!! YES!!!]

[Saex: This is it yesssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss]

[PhysicalTherapist: Another first clear success!!!!!!!!!!!]

[PhysicalTherapist: Great job everyone!!!]

[KillItNow: I can sleep! I can sleep! Only two hours but I can sleep!]

[StolidBackdoor: Wow]

[StolidBackdoor: Woow]

[StolidBackdoor: Wooow]

[StolidBackdoor: Great job everyoneee]

[ProperEtiquette: Phew everyone good job]

[WaterKnowsTheAnswer: Good job everyone! And leader, great job with the orders!]

“Wow. Damn, wow. We actually did it. Wow. Everyone, great job, seriously.”

[Saex: How many is this now?]

[Saex: First clears?]

[StolidBackdoor: Hmm]

[StolidBackdoor: Probably 6?]

[ProperEtiquette: 7th including this one]

[PhysicalTherapist: Wow we’ve done more than I thought]

Seven first clears.

It’s a bit embarrassing to say this as the raid leader, but our raid team ‘Veritas’ is truly legendary…

After stretching my stiff body, I checked the time in the bottom right corner of my monitor.

[06:03 AM]

I’m screwed.

“The good news is that we achieved our seventh first clear in just seven attempts. The bad news is that today is Monday.”

[Saex: Ah]

[Saex: Should I skip?]

[KillItNow: Let’s declare a self-holiday for the first clear…]

[ProperEtiquette: Didn’t you say your attendance was already borderline?]

[PhysicalTherapist: And it’s a required major course, right?]

[KillItNow: Ugh]

A moment of silence for the college student with a required major course at 9 AM on Monday… yeah right. I had to go to work.

Skipping class and skipping work. The weight is different.

“Once again, great job everyone. Since we’re all tired, let’s discuss item distribution tomorrow in the guild hall as usual. Sleep well, everyone.”

[WaterKnowsTheAnswer: You too, leader!]

[WaterKnowsTheAnswer: Bye everyone~]

[WaterKnowsTheAnswer has logged out.]

[ProperEtiquette: Leader, good job too]

[ProperEtiquette: Good night everyone]

[ProperEtiquette has logged out.]

[Saex: bb]

[Saex has logged out.]

[KillItNow: Kill me…]

[KillItNow has logged out.]

With PhysicalTherapist being the last to leave, the chat window suddenly went quiet.

“I should check the achievement and log off too.”

Opening the achievements window, I saw numerous achievements listed vertically.

I clicked on the newly acquired achievement at the very top.

[(New) Conqueror of Dimensions: You have brought Dimensional Lord Mensima to his knees.]

It was just a simple kill achievement with no special effects, but at this moment, only seven people in the entire world had achieved it, which made me smile despite my exhaustion. And then I saw the flavor text written below.

[…Perhaps you will come to manipulate dimensions?]

I shall await your despair beyond.

Not understanding why I was hearing Mensima’s final words again…

I fell to the lowest floor of the ‘Tower’ in the game.

Along with the problem that this Tower had never existed in the game before.

**

[This is the lowest floor of the Tower, Floor 0.]

“…”

This wasn’t a lucid dream. I’d already done a reality check. Was it some kind of unexplained hallucination, then? I could confidently say I hadn’t shown any symptoms of mental illness at least ten minutes ago.

I couldn’t understand why I, who had planned to just check my achievements and collapse into bed, was now standing in a ‘strange place’ in my t-shirt and shorts, looking at a message that appeared in my ‘field of vision’.

Maybe. Just maybe.

‘C, no, Character Window.’

[Level 1][Title: -]

[Class: Battle Commander]

[Strength: 10][Agility: 10][Endurance: 10][Magic: 10][Will: 10]

[Remaining Points: 1]

“What is this…?”

They say assumptions can kill you, but what the hell is this nonsense?

How am I supposed to accept that I’ve been dragged into the game with everything except my nickname and class reset, and into a ‘Tower’ that didn’t even exist in the game? I’m so shocked and dumbfounded that I feel strangely calm.

I shall await your despair beyond.

It felt like Mensima’s non-existent laughter was shaking my mind.

‘I, no, Inventory.’

[Owned Items: 0]

[Owned Gold: 0]

As if telling me to abandon false hope, my inventory was completely empty.

‘S, Skills!’

[Skills Owned: 2]

[Common Skills: 1]

[Class Skills: 1]

“Right. Even at level 1, I should have skills. I have a class, so that’s normal. This makes sense!”

[Common Skills: 1]

– Rest (1)

[Class Skills: 1]

– Charisma (1)

“…………”

If you’re going to reset everything, why not go all the way?

Maybe this is an elaborate prank?

Maybe this is some amazing event?

Maybe this is a high-dimensional dream that makes reality checks useless?

If I close my eyes tightly and open them again, wouldn’t I return to my apartment with two hours left before work? I’ll go to that hellish job, so please send me back!

Blink- Blink-

[This is the lowest floor of the Tower, Floor 0.]

“Come on.”

No such luck.

A sudden wave of emptiness made me stagger. My dazed mind and exhausted body rejected reality.

‘Let’s just sleep. Who knows? Maybe I’ll return to normal after waking up. Yeah. This must be a dream. Definitely a dream.’

Just as I was about to lean against the wall and try to sleep, it happened.

[You are the first to enter the Tower.]

[You have acquired the achievement ‘Great First Step’.]

[You have acquired the title ‘First Tower Entrant’.]

“…?”

I reflexively checked the achievement and title acquisition messages that suddenly appeared.

[Achievement 1]

[(New) Great First Step: You reached the Tower first and took the first step.]

[Like footprints on the moon’s surface! Though footprints won’t remain in the Tower!]

[Free Stat Point: 1]

[All stats +1 for the first battlefield of each floor]

[Title 1]

[(New) First Tower Entrant: You were the first to enter the Tower.]

[Why climb the Tower? Because it’s there.]

[Free Stat Point: 1]

[Growth Bonus: 10%]

[Free stat points are granted upon acquisition regardless of whether the title is applied.]

“What the hell, this is overpowered?”

I still don’t know what’s going on, but if I think of it as enjoying Season 2 in person with overpowered bonuses instead of going to work, it might not be so bad?

[Until the day you reach the top of the Tower.]

[I wish you good luck.]

Or not? Am I just accepting this without any sense of dissonance because I’m exhausted and not in my right mind?

[JoanOfArcIsASaint.]

“Ah.”

That woke me right up.