Shin Sooyoung woke up late from her sleep. It was early morning, just as dawn was beginning to break.

“When did I fall asleep?”

She rubbed her bleary eyes and looked around.

There were laundry and floor cleaning to be done… Housework had piled up like a mountain. But—

“Oh?”

The room was clean.

The messy pile of clothes was neatly folded, and the floor was spotlessly cleaned without a single hair left. The trash bin in the living room had also been emptied.

“Are you awake?”

Shin Sooyoung turned around.

Soohyun was holding a change of clothes and a bag. Shin Sooyoung, looking around the recently cleaned room, started a conversation with Soohyun.

“Did you do all this?”

“The cleaning?”

“Yes.”

“I didn’t want to wake you up since you were sleeping. I wasn’t sure where to put the laundry, so I just left it beside you. Please do it later. The bathroom was dirty too, so I cleaned it.”

Shin Sooyoung looked on dumbfounded. She occasionally cleaned the floor and did simple housework, but she never dreamed her son would tidy up the house so neatly while she slept.

“I don’t have much to do.”

It seemed she could get more sleep before heading to work.

“But son, where are you going at this time? Do you have plans?”

“I’m going to the library.”

“The library?”

“Yes. I might stay at a friend’s place tonight. Don’t worry if my phone is off.”

“Are you studying?”

“Yes. I have to get into university.”

It was a lame excuse, but nothing else came to mind.

Soohyun scratched his head and turned around.

“Well, I’ll be back.” Soohyun put on his shoes and left the house.

Shin Sooyoung muttered as she looked up at the dark early morning sky before dawn had fully broken.

“My, what’s happening?”

It might have been too much to go back to sleep immediately.

Trudging along.

5 AM. The streets were dark. Outside was quiet except for the sounds of a few people starting their day early.

“I guess I should start studying too.”

Having used studying as an excuse, he was now forced to study.

“Not that I really need to.”

Anyway, he had studied enough in his past life.

He had gained admission to a fairly prestigious university and still remembered quite a bit from those days. It was a short-term investment while recovering from fatigue.

“Before that…”

Sliding—

Soohyun headed towards a quiet alley. The narrow alley wasn’t hard to find in an area with hardly any residents. He had made up an excuse about going to the library to explain his long absence, but in reality, he had other business to attend to.

“Ha. What am I even doing?”

He wasn’t a criminal, but it was pitiful to be hiding out in such places.

“I had no choice but to hide immediately.”

It had only been a few years since magic awakeners and dungeons appeared. As each magic awakener was precious, all new magic awakeners received a lot of attention.

Therefore, holding the Tower of Ordeal in the middle of the street could only attract more attention.

“I can never go back.”

Soohyun shook his head, reaching out his hand as he thought about where he had been in his previous life.

Rip—

Soohyun’s hand tore through the air, revealing the entrance to the Tower of Ordeal. As he stepped in, the towering structure appeared before him.

Step by step—

He had become accustomed to the path leading to the tower. Now, Soohyun could pass through the door without hesitation.

The scenery before his eyes turned white then recolored, revealing a completely different landscape. Regardless of how many times he had passed through the tower’s entrance, he always found this change fascinating.

[Welcome to the Tower of Ordeal.]

That message floated up in his mind.

In the midst of a vast city, where people walked around a plaza by a lake, Soohyun stood.

“The Tower of Ordeal.”

Known in the outside world as “The Abyss.”

Contrary to its dark and gloomy title, this world was quite a nice place to live. You could live quite well without cleaning the tower’s floors.

“It’s a nice place.”

Compared to the nearly destroyed future, the present world was much better to live in.

“Since today is the day of choice…”

Soohyun shook his head. Even thinking about it now, the future seemed too far away. Instead, now he had to solve problems and prepare for the day of choice.

Step by step—

Soohyun immediately headed to a large department store located outside the plaza. The place, though seemingly devoid of displayed items to the residents, was undoubtedly a shop.

As Soohyun entered, a voice grew louder. “What brings you here?”

A beautiful woman with black hair, soft skin, and a slender jawline captured Soohyun’s attention.

“If you’re here to shop, come this way. Do you have something specific in mind?”

Soohyun looked at her.

She was truly captivating. Soohyun was well aware of who he was dealing with.

Dark Elf Veli. One of the merchants on the second floor of the Tower of Ordeal, specializing in skill books.

Dark Elf was a nickname well-known among magic awakeners. Although Veli wasn’t an elf, her beauty was said to be on par with that of elves.

Soohyun walked towards Veli, who leaned in close to him with her face and body.

“Is this your first time here?”

“How so?”

“You seem like it’s your first time, but your eyes say otherwise. It’s as if you’ve returned to a familiar place.”

“Don’t mind it. Just think of me as a passing customer.”

“How naive. So, what are you looking for? I mainly sell skill books. If you don’t have anything specific in mind, would you like to see the entire catalog?”

Soohyun glanced up and down at her alluring figure. It wouldn’t be strange if someone made an impulsive purchase to gain her favor. Many foolish customers seemed to fall for it.

Those foolish customers wouldn’t last long. Ignoring Veli’s gaze, Soohyun continued.

“Do you sell transformation skills?”

“…What do you mean?”

Veli’s eyes narrowed at Soohyun’s question. The change in her expression confirmed that Soohyun had come to the right place.

“I don’t want to wander around looking for it.”

Soohyun leaned in to meet Veli’s eyes, and she stepped back, putting some distance between them.

“How much? I’m looking for it.”

“I have it… But why do you seek it?”

“Because I need it.”

“And you think you can afford it? Even if it costs 1,000 points?”

1,000 points. That was an astronomical sum for someone who had just cleared the first floor. There was hardly any opportunity to gain stats or achievement points at level 1, especially since it was a formal level to clear.

“Even so, the transformation skill can only be used at magic level 2. You’re just a newbie who has recently cleared the first floor…”

“Stop lecturing and give it to me. I have 1,000 points.”

“What?”

“Just give it to me.”

Veli pondered for a moment before slowly pulling out a book.

“Here. The transformation skill book.”

“Thank you.”

Soohyun took the book from Veli. Simultaneously:

[You have spent 1,000 achievement points.]

His accumulated achievement points were gone. There were still some left, but most were used.

“What are you?”

“What?”

“Are you sure you’ve just cleared the first floor? You were looking for a transformation skill, and you already had that many points…”

“Stop prying. I won’t stay here long.”

“What?”

“Forget it. Give me the leap skill. It’s 150 points, right?”

“…Are you really from the second floor?”

Veli looked at Soohyun with a skeptical gaze. Yet, she handed over the leap skill book to him.

Her expression soon changed back to one of curiosity as when they first met. Soohyun figured Veli knew the value of the transformation skill. She wasn’t an ordinary girl.

How did she come to live here? Every resident of this place had their unique story. Veli must have had hers too.

“I’ll be going now.”

Soohyun entered another shop and bought some basic equipment.

To transport equipment within the Tower of Ordeal, skills and other separate items were necessary. But since those items couldn’t be purchased on the second floor, the equipment Soohyun ended up using was quite makeshift.

“This isn’t too bad.”

A total of 200 achievement points.

Add another 100 points for dried food, bandages, and medications.

The remaining 700 points were spent on purchasing the low-grade mana catalyst.

“Valuation.”

[Transformation skill.]

Magic level: 2

LV: 1

Allows you to mimic the physical abilities of a specific target. The level of imitation improves with the transformation level.

[Leap.]

Magic level: 2

Ability: 0.

Allows you to leap again mid-air. The number of leaps and the height increase with your stats.

These were the two skills Soohyun bought from Veli. They were the most useful skills known to Soohyun on the second floor.

“Buying the transformation skill was an excellent choice.”

A skill worth 1,000 achievement points.

In fact, it was almost impossible to acquire. The only other person Soohyun knew who had acquired this skill appeared ten years later. That person was a magic awakener who had chosen level 9, like Soohyun, and had shown remarkable performance upon clearing the first floor.

Spending 1,000 points all at once didn’t feel like a waste.

“Skills dependent on level.”

Unlike the leap skill, which is determined by stats, the transformation skill depends on the magic level. The required magic level for the skill is both the minimum level needed to learn it and also refers to the skill’s own level.

Indeed, it was a skill that showed outstanding efficiency regardless of the level. It was similar to the leap skill in that it could be used for evasion and deception in various situations.

However, most skills weren’t like this. Thus, this level-dependent skill was something many magic awakeners desired while climbing the Tower.

“Still, it’s of no use right now.”

He had prepared as best as he could. Soohyun used 50 points to buy a small pouch to carry food and a thin armor that wouldn’t hinder his movement.

He had spent all the achievement points he earned on the first floor. It was all for better performance on the next floor.

“But before that…”

Soohyun went to book accommodations. All residents of the Tower used achievement points as currency. The remaining small amount of achievement points was used to rent a place for himself.

Click—

Soohyun entered, placing the sword and spear he carried on one side. He then took out a purple bottle from the small pouch around his waist.

[Low-grade Mana Catalyst.]

Mana catalyst diluted in distilled water. Permanently amplifies the magic level and coefficient depending on the user’s level. A sloppy description for an item that could waste 700 points if used incorrectly.

In fact, many magic awakeners who took the catalyst expecting significant effects often saw little to none. This had led to the catalyst being occasionally described as a lottery among magic awakeners.

“Strictly speaking, it’s not a lottery.”

But now, Soohyun had no such items left.

Pop—

Soohyun sat down and immediately opened the catalyst’s cap.