Chapter 3: Tutorial (3)

“The storage on the first floor? Oh, there’s not really anything special in there.”

There was something a sniper once said—he had an AI jammed into one eye and ran off his body’s bioelectricity like a battery.

“I checked it out once. Just a bunch of guns, prosthetic arms and legs, fake eyes… that kind of stuff. The only things I bothered grabbing were a ‘vibro-knife’ and a ‘threat detection alert chip.’ Everything else was lower spec than my gear, so I ditched it.”

“Huh? I saw a bunch of magic wands and magical tools crammed in there. I didn’t see a single prosthetic or gun.”

Before she came to the Tower, the mage had been a nobleman’s daughter.

She countered the sniper’s words like that.

Two people seeing different items in the same place.

And when other guild members who had visited the same storage chimed in, each claiming they had seen completely different things, we reached one conclusion after much discussion:

The items in the first-floor storage, where the tutorial takes place, change depending on the visitor’s background.

So, in the next round, I went looking for it again, found the location based on everyone’s testimonies, killed the gatekeeper, and stepped inside. What I found was incredibly varied.

Across countless regressions, there’s not a single class I haven’t tried.

I’ve been a meat shield tank standing on the frontlines taking all the hits, I’ve wielded swords and spears, made a name for myself as a mage, gone all in as a scholar, or devoted myself to alchemy or mechanical engineering.

And inside the storage, it was like all those experiences were reflected—there were countless items lined up, ranging from shields, magic swords and spears, grimoires, staves, AIs you jam into your head, rare alchemy catalysts, to bio-recognition sniper rifles.

Basically, a whole parade of every kind of gear my guildmates had ever described.

That’s why, with each new regression, I always made a point of visiting the first-floor storage.

That didn’t change in this round either, the big 100th run.

[Welcome to the First-Floor Storage.]

The moment I opened the door, a holographic screen popped up in front of me. I was used to it by now, so I skimmed over it—but Yuhana flinched, clutched at my clothes, and looked around wildly.

I mean, anyone would be spooked if glowing words just started floating midair.

“Si, Siyoon… What is that…?”

“Don’t panic. It’s like… an info panel or something.”

Not “like”—it is an info panel.

People who get transported to the Tower don’t have status windows.

I confirmed this by shouting every command word I could think of—status, stats, inventory—and nothing ever showed up. Same for everyone else in the Tower.

It’s absolute bullshit.

You get pulled into this place, and they don’t even give you a status window to climb with?

For a 21st-century Korean, that’s torture.

Thankfully, though, there’s a consolation prize: a watered-down version of the status window, the “info panel,” which does function properly inside the Tower.

It’s not something you summon yourself—it appears as a hologram when triggered by certain conditions. This one, at least, was consistent for everyone regardless of origin.

For example, when you enter a dungeon, it’ll pop up something like this:

[You have entered the Extreme Difficulty Dungeon: “The Eye of the Old God Buried Beneath the Lake.”]

[Party Members]

[1. Baek Siyoon]

[2. Yuhana]

[3. Rita]

[4. Ryuyeon]

…

…

It’ll show you the dungeon name and a list of everyone in the party. Simple enough.

There’s a story that goes with this, too.

On my 67th run, after dying 66 times, I had a party with someone I considered a comrade.

His name was Damond.

A fantasy-world native who fought with a spear, and one of the main forces in our guild.

Everyone liked him—nobody hated him. He was charismatic, practically a saint, and his spear skills were top-tier.

One day, years into our friendship, three of us original guild members entered a dungeon together. I still remember the info panel that popped up.

[1. Baek Siyoon]

[2. Rita]

[3. ???]

The panel showed that whatever was with us wasn’t Damond. It was something wearing his skin.

The moment I turned to him, he split his mouth into a grin that reached his ears and muttered,

“Ah, you caught me.”

Then, without hesitation, he stabbed himself in the heart with his own spear.

Nobody told him to pull some “lancer-style self-sacrifice” crap—he just did it on his own.

Rita and I just stood there, staring in silence at the corpse of whatever had impaled itself.

To this day, I still don’t know what that thing was, or where the real Damond went.

Just one of many Tower horror stories I’ve racked up over the regressions. At this point, I’m more curious than afraid.

[The First-Floor Storage is very open to visitors. However, please note: You may only take three items. If you attempt to take more, the Curse of the Desert will fall upon you. Also, you cannot return once you leave.]

The info panel brought me back to the present.

“The Curse… of the Desert…?”

Yuhana murmured, pressing even closer to me.

The Curse of the Desert turns a person into a living mummy.

It drains all the moisture from your body, crushes your organs and brain so they can’t rot—and you stay conscious and in pain through all of it. For a hundred years.

How do I know that?

…I really didn’t want to.

That was the day I learned the true meaning of “curiosity killed the cat.”

“Let’s just pick what we need and get out of here. Since you seem to have a knack for magic, Yuhana, try grabbing things related to that.”

“M-Me? I get to take stuff too?”

Yuhana’s voice trembled in shock.

Same old WWE reaction. I nodded like it was nothing worth asking.

“You came in too. Of course you get to take something.”

“But I didn’t do anything… I was just shaking in fear the whole time… Is it really okay for a scaredy-cat like me to be rewarded just for tagging along with you?”

Her words were filled with guilt and hesitation.

And once again in this round, I felt that same pure admiration.

The Tower could turn someone this kind and innocent into a hardened killer.

That’s… honestly impressive.

“Hana.”

I did my best to hide the admiration in my tone, offering only a faint smile as I met her eyes.

“I get how you’re feeling. You hate being helpless. You don’t like relying on others. You’re stuck in this insane place and don’t even have time to figure out what’s going on. It’s overwhelming.”

Everything I said cut straight through her mindset.

She’d already told me exactly how she’d felt at this point in previous runs.

And see? She’s already tearing up.

“U-Uuh…”

“It’s okay. That’s a natural reaction. I just happen to be quicker at adapting—doesn’t mean you’re slow. We haven’t even been here a full day. Of course it’s still chaos in your head. You’re probably thinking about the friends and family you left behind, right?”

Basically, I was telling her in a long-winded way: If you want to be helpful, grab a wand and start learning magic.

“It’s fine. I’ll wait. I’ll stay with you until you’re ready—until you can accept this place and adjust. We have to stick together, right? Us fellow Earthlings. Don’t rush.”

“Siyoon…”

“If you don’t feel up for it now, you don’t have to grab a wand. There’ll be other chances. But… I’d like it if you did. That way we can face this together. Though… maybe that’s selfish of me. Sorry. Didn’t mean to pressure you.”

“No, sniff, it’s okay!”

Yuhana wiped her tears and looked up with swollen eyes, now filled with resolve.

“I-I’ll do it! I’ll help! I want to leave this place with you, Siyoon! I’ll learn magic!”

“No need to push yourself. If this was a heat-of-the-moment decision, you can still—”

“No!”

Before I could finish, she grabbed a long wooden staff nearby and yelled:

“This is my decision!”

[Storage Item: “Blessing of the World Tree” has been bound to Yuhana.]

[1/3]

A bright info panel appeared in front of her.

Hugging her new staff tightly, Yuhana looked up at me with tears and determination.

“Let’s get out of here together, Siyoon.”

“…Thanks.”

I gave a wry smile and gently ruffled her hair.

Once she said, “To hell with it, let’s do this”—today’s mission was complete.

Now all that was left was to pick my items.

[Storage Item: “Tear of the Milky Way” has been bound to Yuhana.]

[Storage Item: “Beginner’s Guide to Elemental Magic” has been bound to Yuhana.]

[3/3]

[Storage Item: “Elixir of Lightning” has been bound to Baek Siyoon.]

[Storage Item: “Subspace Pouch” has been bound to Baek Siyoon.]

[Storage Item: “Black Sword” has been bound to Baek Siyoon.]

[3/3]

Once we picked our gear, we left the storage.

The wide-open doors slammed shut with a grinding noise and vanished without a trace.

Only the bodies of the soldiers we’d killed remained to prove the storage had ever been there.

Nothing left to do here.

As I headed toward our resting place, I glanced back at Yuhana trailing behind.

Strapped to her back was the wooden staff, Blessing of the World Tree, which boosted her magic power—a simple yet formidable artifact.

The blue ring on her finger, Tear of the Milky Way, held a spell that could nullify any attack once per day.

“Huh… so this is how it works…”

The book she was reading was just a basic beginner’s manual for magic. Nothing fancy.

Still, we picked solid upper-tier magical items from the storage. She’s on the fast track to becoming a mage.

As for me, I chose simpler stuff.

The Elixir of Lightning infuses my mana with lightning attributes—a rare and powerful buff.

It’s the kind of item that might not even drop after clearing dozens of floors.

And since I planned to use the sword techniques I learned from Ryuyeon, I needed lightning attributes anyway. With this, I’m set.

The Subspace Pouch is exactly what it sounds like—a bag with infinite storage space. Incredibly useful.

The Black Sword is just a sharp, lightweight blade—but it never breaks or dulls.

That’s no small deal. Most magic swords can’t even handle my mana before breaking. This one’s built different.

This run, I’m going back to basics—time to be a swordsman again.

Now that I’d chosen my sword, there was no point considering any other path.

I gave the hilt of the Black Sword hanging at my waist a light tap, smiling in satisfaction.

Before I knew it, we had arrived at the resting area.

Thankfully, no monsters crossed our path. Probably because the battles between factions were still raging.

Avoiding unnecessary fights was always the smart move.

I stepped inside the resting area, chewing on some roasted ant meat I had prepared earlier, thinking just that.

“…Ugh. How do you even eat that?”

Yoo Hana once again refused to touch the ant meat.

Time passed.

[Tutorial Notification. You have entered Day 2 of the 1st Floor.]

Day 2 had begun.