Dongha University was one of the top three prestigious universities in Korea. Soohyun had been attending this university until the day before he became an adult in his previous life. But…

“This isn’t the right place, is it?”

“How many times do I have to tell you?” A man, who seemed to be a teaching assistant, responded anxiously. Soohyun recognized him. He was the same assistant from when he used to study here. It was the same school, but…

“I’m Kim Seongin, student number 201413109. This student does not belong to our university. You might have come to the wrong place. It would be faster to check again.” Even as the assistant replied, it was clear he was holding back his frustration. Probably because he felt it was a waste of time dealing with such a matter. Left with no choice, Soohyun had to trudge out of the administration office.

As classes ended, students poured out of the classrooms. This sight sparked a plausible thought in Soohyun’s mind. However, even though he remembered the face and name of a student called Kim Seongin, nobody seemed to know him.

That’s impossible…

Suddenly struck by a thought, Soohyun took out his smartphone. He opened the bank’s website, entered his name and social security number, and was redirected to the verification page.

Result: The name and social security number do not match.

No matter how many times he tried, the result was the same. Could that person have remembered wrong? No, that couldn’t be. Soohyun wouldn’t have been able to enroll at Dongha University if he couldn’t even remember his own social security number. Have I… vanished?

It was hard to believe. As Soohyun’s heart grew numb and cold, his steps took him in one direction. He immediately headed to his former home.

Soohyun rang the doorbell of his old house in Anyang, Pyeongchon. Ding-dong. The bell rang. Soohyun’s heart began racing, and as soon as the door opened, his mind was flooded with complex thoughts. “Who is it?”

It was his mother. Not Soohyun’s mother, but Kim Seongin’s mother. Why was she here? She was usually away most of the time, except for one or two days a month. Should he consider himself lucky? But Soohyun couldn’t bring himself to speak in front of his mother. “Who is it?”

“I am…” Soohyun managed a forced smile and asked, “Is there someone named Kim Seongin here?”

“Kim Seongin? No, I live here alone. Maybe you’ve got the wrong place?” As expected, the answer was no different. It was his mother, not someone else. Soohyun had half expected that he might not be remembered. Now, he was certain that his life as Kim Seongin did not exist in this world.

“Sigh…” It had come to this. It didn’t take long for him to accept this reality. It was one of the possibilities he had considered.

It’s true. I am here. Thinking that there shouldn’t be another me made it easier.

Then, my mother too… wouldn’t remember Soohyun. It was an awkward feeling. The woman standing before him was no longer his mother. But why? She didn’t seem perturbed. The one confused was him. Then….

As expected, I can’t get any closer.

Soohyun bowed his head and apologized. “It seems I’ve come to the wrong place. I’m sorry.” With a heavy heart, Soohyun left the property and headed into the town. Walking through the bustling streets, he gradually calmed his mind.

I am Kim Soohyun. For the past month, he had repeatedly asked himself one question. Am I Soohyun or Seongin? And finally, he had his answer. Now… I am Soohyun.

To stay unshaken, to avoid confusion, he repeated this to himself innumerably. Somewhere, the voice of Shin Sooyoung was heard. “I won’t ask why you want to change. Just don’t get lost, and don’t stray too far from home.”

Why did she say that? Now he seemed to understand. Shin Sooyoung was anxious. Soohyun realized that he shared the same worries. That he could leave for a distant place and might never return.

He slapped his cheeks hard. That woke him up. He no longer clung to his past life. There was no one to remember him, no one to leave behind, no regrets.

No, just one thing. Soohyun’s gaze hardened. Fafnir.

It’s about the future, not the past. No, more precisely, what he would face in the future. If it’s 2018 now, Fafnir will appear someday, and this world will face destruction. If Kim Seongin doesn’t exist in this world, it won’t get better; instead, it could only get worse. In essence, it would be as if he had done nothing at all.

On his way home, Soohyun walked through the bustling streets, taking in his surroundings. The sky was blue. Being in the midst of this busy and lively scene seemed to stir a strange excitement within him. Up until now, he couldn’t have imagined missing out on this moment, this landscape, this environment. He wanted to protect the future he would live.

To do that, first… Soohyun turned his head to look at the distant horizon and muttered to himself, “Looks like I’ve got some tough times ahead.”

Soohyun arrived home by bus. Finding his way back wasn’t difficult. He had written down his home address in preparation for his discharge. It was a two-room basement apartment. Entering the house felt awkward. Click—

As soon as Soohyun unlocked and opened the door, he could see the small living room and two rooms simultaneously. It wasn’t too small for two people, but being a basement, it clearly wasn’t luxurious.

She hasn’t returned yet. It was early evening. Even though it was time for office workers to return home, Shin Sooyoung hadn’t come back yet. She usually came home late.

It seems I can have dinner late… There’s still some time. Soohyun walked into what appeared to be their two rooms. In a small room of about 10 square meters, Soohyun sat on the bed, which took up half of the space.

Even though it was his first time here, it didn’t feel unfamiliar. An odd sense of relief and comfort different from when he was hospitalized washed over him. His body seemed to remember this place.

Drawn by it. Influenced by Shin Sooyoung. It wasn’t the wrong way. Instead, he liked the different sense of comfort, relief, and warmth. But from now on, these feelings would become poison to him.

Heroin—

Soohyun slapped his cheeks hard. Pulling himself together, he muttered to himself several times.

From now on… I’ll return to being Seongin. I have lived as Soohyun for the past month and will continue to do so. But besides that, as a magical awakener, no one will be able to catch up to Kim Seongin.

Now… Soohyun kept murmuring to himself like casting a spell. Seongin. Finally, the spell seemed to take control of Soohyun. Shh—

Soohyun stretched out his hand and clenched it firmly as if grabbing something wide open in the air. Tear it apart! Tears formed in Soohyun’s eyes as space began to warp, creating a ‘gateway’ only visible to him.

Step by step—

Soohyun walked towards the gate. And after taking the first step through, the landscape in front of Soohyun changed.

Soohyun opened his eyes. A sense of emptiness returned to him. A familiar place, somewhere he had seen before. The warm feeling he had just felt quickly faded. Soohyun’s gaze shifted back to the eyes of his past life.

[Welcome to the Tower of Ordeal.]

[Kim Soohyun, shall we start the trial now?]

It began.

The Tower of Ordeal. A place commonly referred to by outsiders as the Abyss. Those who pass the first floor gain abilities, becoming ‘Magical Awakeners.’ Though just the first step, its effectiveness was comparable to the awakening level of a Magical Awakener. Then, how could one enter the Tower of Ordeal?

The exact requirements hadn’t been specified yet. And it was the same for Soohyun, living in the future as an adult. He was aware of when this moment would come. Upon waking up in this life, Soohyun realized how to enter the tower. No, more precisely, he seemed to remember the way in. His past life had a positive impact. However, Soohyun had been delaying the start of the trial.

And the only reason. To be in the best condition.

For the past month, Soohyun had been hospitalized. He waited for his broken bones to heal and for his health to fully recover. Now, his body was completely healed. He even did his rehabilitation training while hospitalized. He was confident this was sufficient.

“Let’s start.”

[Kim Soohyun, the trial will now begin.]

[Choose the difficulty level.]

[Levels 1~10]

[The higher the level, the more difficult it becomes, and the rewards for clearing each level improve.]

Descriptions of the trial appeared before Soohyun’s eyes. The test was divided into a total of 10 stages. The easiest level started at level 1, and the difficulty peaked at level 10.

It was a tough question. There was no right or wrong answer because whether he chose to clear level 1 perfectly or attempted a higher level, it was going to be challenging.

The choice was up to him. And then…

“Level 10.” Soohyun’s choice was already made.

[You have selected Level 10.]

In his past life, Soohyun had chosen level 8. It was quite difficult, and the rewards were significantly satisfying for the effort.

The trial did not start off easy. But… this alone was not enough.

The Tower of Ordeal was endless. No one knew how many floors it contained. It was known to be a place without an end. However, ascending to higher floors did not necessarily mean that one was stronger. There were cases where a Magical Awakener who had cleared only a few levels was stronger than one who had cleared dozens. This was the difference when clearing levels and difficulties in the Tower of Ordeal.

High risk, high return. As the world started to crumble around him, Soohyun thought. What would happen if he chose a higher difficulty? What if he had chosen a more challenging path? Soon, Soohyun began to regret his choice for the first time.

At this moment… he made his decision.

[The trial of the Tower of Ordeal from the 1st to the 10th floor begins now.]