Lee Han barely had time to process the message when a figure suddenly appeared in front of him.

  "Ah…hello."

  Fuck! That scared me to death.

  "W-Who are you? And…what the hell?!"

  The figure was grotesque—a humanoid body with the head of a goat. A horrifying sight.

  Lee Han quickly grabbed his sword and pointed it at the figure’s neck.

  "It is our first meeting, right? My name is Hugh. Nice to meet you."

  "..."

  "I am the administrator of the Tower. If you have any questions about the Tower, feel free to ask."

  Lee Han hesitated for a moment, then lowered his sword and placed it back in his inventory.

  "What is the purpose of this Tower? Are there any other human survivors like me?"

  Hugh smirked and gave a slight bow.

  "As expected from an irregular. You are different from the others."

  He adjusted his posture and continued.

  "For your first question, the answer is simple—the Tower exists to nurture talent. Humans are the weakest race, and if they cannot adapt…"

  "They will die. That is the law of this world."

  Tch, a crazy bastard. They wouldn’t care if someone died.

  "For your second question, it seems someone made a mistake and left you on Earth. Normally, when the Tower appears, humans are invited to join to increase their chances of survival, but you were left behind."

  Left behind? That’s the stupid reason why I almost died twice?

  "So, what is your purpose for coming here? Are you here to kill me?" he asked coldly.

  Hugh grinned and shook his head slightly.

  "Kekekeke! You are quite the interesting human. It has been a long time since someone made me laugh."

  "Do not worry, Player Lee Han. I am not here to kill you. I have come to invite you to the Tower."

  "As an administrator, I cannot interfere with such matters—unless, of course, it is a special case like yours."

  "You said something about being an irregular, right? What does that mean?" Lee Han asked.

  Hugh snapped his fingers, and a screen appeared in the air.

  The image displayed a human climbing the Tower—or at least that’s what it seemed. But they were not ordinary humans.

  One was killing an ancient dragon with their bare hands.

  The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

  Another cast a calamity-class spell like it was nothing, destroying an entire city.

  Someone else summoned an undead skeleton army and single-handedly conquered an entire floor.

  "Kekekekeke! Irregulars are a few chosen individuals by the Tower. They are not bound by the rules of the system and grow incredibly faster than normal players. If I use a single word to describe them, it would be a genius."

  Hugh’s face twisted into an ecstatic grin, sending a chill down Lee Han’s spine.

  Lee Han did not speak, but his expression revealed his excitement. Stronger than me? Heh… I cannot wait to fight them.

  Hugh smiled and gave a slight bow. With a snap of his fingers, everything went black.

  Lee Han felt his consciousness fading, his body growing heavier. The last thing he heard was Hugh’s calm yet unsettling voice.

  "It was nice meeting you, Lee Han. I hope you do not disappoint me next time we meet."

  "W-Wait!"

  [You have completed the tutorial.]

  [System error! System error! System error! System error!... ]

  [You have been summoned to the 1st Floor. Your level has been reset to 1. All players' skills and stats have been retained.]

  [The tutorial has begun.]

  Lee Han slowly opened his eyes and found himself standing in the middle of a wide, grassy plain, surrounded by hundreds—no, thousands—of players, all with bewildered expressions.

  "Wh-What is this place?"

  "Don’t ask me, I don’t know either."

  "Fuck! Is this real? I don’t have time for this nonsense!"

  "Mama…where are you?"

  "I-Is anyone else here? Where is this place? And what are all these weapons for?"

  "Excuse me! Is anyone there? Excuse me?"

  Everyone started talking and acting in their own way. One person was standing still, calling for help, while another muttered to themselves, denying that any of this was real.

  "Status," Lee Han said.

  [Lee Han]

  [Level: 1]

  [Title: None]

  [Profession: Swordsman]

  [Str: 98]

  [Agi: 92]

  [Vit: 90]

  [Sense: 97]

  [Magic Power: 99]

  [Mana Resistance: 91]

  [Possessed Traits]

  [Thread Manipulation (S)]

  [Instant Regeneration (AA+)]

  [Shadow Clone (B)]

  “Fuck! My level was reset to level 1.” He clicked his tongue in frustration and continued, “At least my stats remain the same… except for my level and title.”

  [Players, you have been invited to the Tower. Invitations were sent, and you accepted. You have been chosen as Earth's representatives.]

  "Huh? Are you serious? You want me to risk my life fighting those monsters?!"

  "Kyaaaaaa!"

  "I don’t want to die… please, no…"

  "Stop messing around and show yourselves!"

  "I-I’m calling the police! I swear I will…"

  "Is this some hidden camera prank? You’re going to get sued!"

  [Whether you live or die is up to you. Only a few individuals will survive and return to Earth.]

  "W-What the hell are you talking about?!"

  "You think we’ll just accept this bullshit?!"

  "Yeah, we won’t!"

  [Please listen carefully. What I’m about to say is directly related to your survival.]

  At the word "survival," Lee Han focused intently on the woman in front of him.

  [Before the tutorial begins, you will need the most basic necessities—food, drink, and most importantly, weapons. You can find them in the wilderness. Weapons are divided into ranks—Normal, Rare, Epic, Unique, Heroic, Legendary, and Mythic. The weapon in your hands right now is the lowest rank. Remember, weapons have durability limits and will eventually break if overused.]

  Lee Han picked up the sword and placed it in his inventory.

  "It’s better than nothing," Lee Han said nonchalantly.

  "Damn it! Give me that spear!"

  "This is mine…"

  "What am I supposed to do with this bow?"

  "That sword is mine! Don’t even think about it."

  At first, everyone hesitated, but seeing others pick their weapons, they changed their minds.

  [Now that you’ve chosen your weapon, here’s what you need to know. You can become stronger than the average human. The average human’s strength is 1.0, but with the runes dropped by monsters, you can increase that strength—from 1.0 to 1.5, or even higher. Runes are divided into ranks—Colorless, White, Yellow, Green, Blue, Red, Violet, Black, and Dark Gold. The higher the rank, the greater the effect. If you say the phrase ‘status window,’ you’ll understand what I mean.]

  A man in military uniform reluctantly muttered the words, "Status window."

  The moment he spoke, a holographic screen appeared in front of him.

  "It’s real!"

  "Kyaah!"

  "…What the hell?"

  "Seriously?"

  "Wait, is this for real?"

  "This is insane… What the hell is going on?"

  "I can’t believe it…"

  "Is this a dream? It has to be!"

  [A status window is a display that shows a character’s key information, such as their name, level, stats, skills, and equipment. The rest is up to you.]

  A hologram-like screen appeared in front of everyone.

  [Mission: Kill one or more living beings.]

  [Time Limit: 24 hours.]

  [Rewards: Rune.]

  [Penalty: Death.]

  Everyone stared at the message in shock.

  “Kill something? What does that mean?”

  “Are they serious?!”

  “What happens if we don’t do it…?”

  No one dared to answer. Fear spread quickly, and everyone began to look at each other with suspicion. Lee Han glanced at them for a moment before turning away. He calmly walked toward the forest.

  “Wait, where are you going?” someone called out, but he didn’t respond.

  Suddenly, a loud cracking sound shook the ground. The invisible wall that had kept monsters at bay shattered without warning.

  “W-What’s happening?!”

  “Ahhh! Monsters!”

  Lesser goblins, grotesque and humanoid in shape, rushed out of the forest with bloodlust in their glowing red eyes.

  “Help! Someone help me!”

  “Stay away! Don’t come near me!”

  “Ahhhhhh!”

  Chaos erupted as the goblins attacked. People screamed and scattered in all directions. One by one, they were cut down by the monsters. The grass was soon stained with blood.

  Lee Han didn’t flinch. He unsheathed his katana from his inventory, gripping it tightly. A goblin lunged at him with a rusted dagger.

  Swoosh!

  With a swift, precise strike, Lee Han sliced through the goblin’s neck. Its head rolled to the ground as its body collapsed.

  [You have killed a Lesser Goblin.]

  [You have acquired a Rune of Strength.]

  He stared at the message before picking up the rune that had dropped. More lesser goblins were running towards him, their footsteps heavy as they closed in.

  Lee Han sheathed his katana and adjusted his stance. In a split second, he unsheathed his katana again, his movements a blur. He severed the limbs of five lesser goblins, swiftly cutting off their heads in one clean motion.