In the year 2027, pure white towers appeared all over the world. The towers were one kilometer high! A total of 999 towers appeared, with at least one in every country, and some were even positioned precisely on the borders between nations.
In many ways, they were wondrous towers that also held a clear intent. At the appearance of these towers, the world began to cry out, each in its own way. Doomsayers claimed the end had come, and that if you wanted to avoid it, you had to offer them all your wealth.
Religious believers said that divine judgment was coming, and that if you wanted to survive the judgment, you had to offer all your wealth. Politicians said that a grave threat had arrived, and to stop that threat, people had to vote for them and provide them with support. But that bullshit didn't last long.
Soon, he appeared.
“I am an Awakened who has been permitted to ascend the Tower.”
The first Awakened, Ron Toffler, revealed to the public the guide he had received along with his awakening. The contents were simple.
“Only the Awakened can climb the Tower.”
“Only items obtained from the Tower can be brought into the Tower.”
“Items obtained from the Tower can be brought outside, and their effects are valid outside the Tower as well.”
“The Tower gives new missions every month. Failure to clear a mission will result in a corresponding penalty.”
“So, everyone, please work hard to conquer the Tower. Ah, this isn't me saying this. It was really written this way in the guide.”
It wasn't much different from the contents of a tower-climbing web novel popular in a certain Eastern country. - This is insane. ㄴ What’s insane? Isn't this exactly like some web novel? It's not insane, it's fucking stupid, isn't it? ㄴ You dumbass!
And so, the world was gripped by terror. - Just think about it! A transcendent being that built 999 towers in the blink of an eye, something even modern architectural technology can't do, supposedly made this after reading a web novel! Do you think such a being would be sane?
They're a crazy son of a bitch! It was clear that this incident was caused not just by a transcendent being, but a completely unhinged one. In any case, the governments of each nation treated this unprecedented event not as some "Ah, it was all a dream!" joke, but as a national disaster, and they responded accordingly.
They gathered the Awakened and began various preparations to investigate and conquer the Tower. Countries that were functioning as proper nations managed to solve the given missions with fewer problems than expected. The problem was the countries that were not.
Nations that failed to function properly for various reasons, such as civil war or dictatorship, personally demonstrated the penalties. First, the penalty was revealed through the color of the Tower. From the lowest Red Grade to the highest Purple Grade, penalties were given according to the colors of the rainbow.
In the case of a Red Grade, monsters from the Tower appeared in reality. In the case of a Yellow Grade, a volcano erupted. In the case of a Blue Grade, a magnitude 8.0 earthquake occurred. - Hey, did you hear the news?
The Somalian government says they're going to fire missiles at the Tower.
L ????
And the moment they tried to eliminate the Tower directly, the Tower turned indigo. At that moment, hundreds of thousands of lightning bolts rained down from the Tower, instantly killing 550,000 Somali citizens. From then on, the world realized. - Shit, we're so screwed.
From now on, throw all the common sense humanity has built up into the trash can, and from now on, you have to conquer the Tower with everything you've got. Fortunately, conquering the missions provided by the Tower was not that difficult.
There was just one problem. - The Tower must be conquered by at least one floor every 30 days. You had to conquer at least one floor every month.
Furthermore, the penalty for failing to do so was a Green Grade, where a volcanic eruption or a magnitude 8.0 or higher earthquake would randomly occur somewhere in the country where the Tower was located.
Literally random!
If you were unlucky, a magnitude 8.0 earthquake could occur under a nuclear power plant, and if you were even unluckier, the Yellowstone volcano could erupt. At this point, all nations thought the same thing.
"As long as it's not me, it's fine, right?"
Conquering the Tower ultimately required the Awakened, also known as Hunters, and the only way to survive was to recruit as many of them as possible. Needless to say, the value of a skilled Hunter skyrocketed to an insane degree.
From the Hunters' perspective as well, they hoped to become a Hunter for a nation with strong national power, like the United States, rather than some ambiguous country. Moreover, the Tower was not a stage that could be cleared just by having a few powerful Hunters.
Among the missions given by the Tower, there were ones for the 1st floor, the 2nd floor, and the 3rd floor. This meant that a steady supply of Hunters was essential!
“It’s truly a chaotic world.”
That was why.
“To think they’d need even a death row inmate like me and take me outside the prison.”
Park Jin-soo.
The man who had committed a series of murders that would go down in the history of South Korea was now not in prison, but in a car, speeding down a highway outside the prison. Moreover, the car he was in was no ordinary car.
“This is the first time I'm riding in a comfortable sedan like this instead of a prison transport. Is this a Benz by any chance?”
“Yes, it’s a Maybach.”
A Benz, and among them, a Maybach, considered the finest sedan. Even with a blindfold on and handcuffs on his wrists, it was a luxury that could never be afforded to a death row inmate.
"Wow."
At that fact, Park Jin-soo let out a sound of admiration.
“It’s been seven years since I’ve been in a Maybach.”
“Seven years?”
"Yes."
He then explained.
“Do you remember the case where I caught that gangster involved in illegal gambling, the one who killed an unlucky university student while driving a Rolls-Royce high on drugs, and turned him into a limbless corpse?”
“Yes, I am aware of it.”
“He was driving a Maybach after he got out of jail. Said the Rolls-Royce was bad luck. Anyway, when I kidnapped him then, I drove the Maybach he was in to an abandoned factory. I was surprised when I drove it. To think a car like this existed in the world. I thought to myself, I should be riding in the back of a car like this one day! But I never imagined it would be like this.”
As he said that, a deep smile formed on Park Jin-soo's lips. Those around him who saw that smile tensed up. Just then, the large man in the passenger seat spoke.
“Don’t try any funny business.”
At those words, Park Jin-soo nodded his head.
“Of course, what kind of funny business would I try? You’re the ones who are taking me because you need me. If it weren't for you all, I’d have to just eat three delicious meals a day made with the citizens' taxes in a solitary prison cell.”
And then he added.
“It’s a truly difficult thing. When you fill your belly with the nation’s taxes, you should rightly do some work, but the warden wouldn't allow me to take care of the trash that came into the prison.”
At those words, the man in the passenger seat who had given the warning turned pale and shook his head.
He knew.
That Park Jin-soo had killed seven more people after entering prison. That the 27-year-old young man smiling and talking right now was a monster wearing a human mask. However, the person sitting in the seat next to Park Jin-soo was different.
He spoke with a calm expression.
“Yes, we also sincerely hope that you will produce good results, Mr. Park Jin-soo. In that sense, we plan to have a meal when we arrive. Is there any food you would like to have?”
"Wow."
At that question, Park Jin-soo was surprised and said.
“Can I really choose the menu?”
“Yes. We will prepare any menu you desire.”
“For you to go this far, it seems these Hunters are quite valuable indeed.”
“That is correct. They are worthy of receiving special treatment. So, what menu will you decide on?”
"Hmm."
At that question, Park Jin-soo began to think seriously.
“Is a somewhat excessive request possible? It’s been a really long time since I’ve eaten food from the outside.”
“Anything you want.”
“Really?”
“Yes. We will prepare everything.”
“If you say it like that, it just fires up my competitive spirit. Are you sure you'll be okay? My request might be outside the realm of common sense.”
“As long as you give us enough time, we will do anything for you.”
At the man's repeated confidence, Park Jin-soo finally spoke with a more serious expression than ever before.
“Then please get me one fried chicken drumstick from every single chicken restaurant in the country.”
The moment he heard those words, the man smiled and said. "Mr. Park Jin-soo, you are a very clever person.”
“Clever?”
Park Jin-soo tilted his head.
"Me?"
“I knew from the profiling, but you are truly meticulous and clever, Mr. Park Jin-soo. It’s the same now. Ordering all kinds of chicken. It’s a rather interesting method to figure out your current location. If you quickly get chicken that’s popular in a specific region, you could pinpoint the area, or you could memorize the taste and identify the location later. Of course, it’s a useless act, but making an effort to gather location information in a situation like this is not something just anyone can do.”
At the man’s words, the expressions of those sitting in the driver’s and passenger’s seats hardened. To think that playful request was actually a scheme to figure out his location? Only then did the two in the front seats realize.
That the man they were escorting, who was 170 centimeters tall with a slender build and an utterly ordinary appearance, someone you would expect to see in a university library, was the serial killer who had shaken South Korea. And that this was the monster who had brutally murdered burly gangsters and criminals in prison with that same body.
“Oh.”
At the man’s words, Park Jin-soo hesitated for a moment and then said.
“I’m grateful that you think well of me, but honestly, I didn’t think that far.”
Then, still wearing the blindfold, he turned his head to look at the blacked-out window and said. "To be honest, even without doing something like that, I can tell we just passed the Anseong Service Area on the Gyeongbu Expressway.” At those words, everyone, including the man in the seat next to him, froze solid.
At the change in atmosphere, Park Jin-soo spoke.
“I have a ghostly talent for finding my way. If you really intended to hide it from me, you should have used an anesthetic to knock me out or used drugs to mess with my mind. Or you should have hit my eardrums hard enough with the palm of your hand to damage my sense of balance.”
As Park Jin-soo spoke, a smile hung on his lips. It wasn't a sneer. It was a smile that said, "It would have been better that way," conveying a piece of advice that came from the heart.
At that chilling smile, the man in the next seat finally relaxed his expression.
“You are amazing.”
“A man with no education needs to have at least this much of a knack for something. Though it's not a particularly useful talent in life.”
“Not anymore.”
"Pardon?"
“That talent will be used in a very valuable way. You might even be able to save the world, Mr. Park Jin-soo.”
Save the world. At those words, Park Jin-soo shook his head.
“Save the world, you say. I can't do something so grand. As I've said time and again, I am a patient with a mild anger-control disorder who can't stand it when something bothers me. I add 'mild' because it’s not like I kill everyone the moment I see them. I still assess the situation and look for the right moment. It's dangerous, but not to the point where you'd say, 'It's just better to kill him.' So please watch me carefully. I don't want to spend my entire life in solitary confinement in prison either.”
At those heartfelt words, the man in the next seat said.
"I am Kim Jeong-bin.” "Pardon?" “It seems we will be spending a lot of time together, Mr. Park Jin-soo, so I thought we should at least exchange names.” “Ah! I’m Park Jin-soo. It’s a pleasure to meet you. But are you really giving me chicken?” At the following question, Kim Jeong-bin smiled and said. “Yes, the meal you desire will be provided when we arrive at our destination. And after the meal is finished, you will have to take a test, Mr. Park Jin-soo."
“A test?”
“It is a test to see if you are valuable enough for us to take the risk of bringing a death row inmate to use in conquering the Tower.”
At those words, Park Jin-soo nodded his head. "So you're saying you'll give me the chicken. Then that’s fine.”
At that, Kim Jeong-bin smiled faintly. After that conversation, there was no more talk.
Vrooom!
The car drove on and soon arrived at its destination. The moment they arrived, Park Jin-soo got out of the car and was dragged somewhere. To him, Kim Jeong-bin offered his last words.
"I hope to see you for a long time, Mr. Park Jin-soo.”
“Me too. I couldn’t see your face because of the blindfold, but you seem like a good person. I hope we can have a chicken together.”
“Yes, let’s have one. So please, make sure you survive.”
With that conversation over, Park Jin-soo was dragged into an abandoned factory, and the moment he entered, shackles were immediately fastened to both of his legs. Only after that were the bandages that had been covering half of Park Jin-soo’s face since the prison finally removed. And Park Jin-soo could see.
Inside the abandoned factory, ten other prisoners were wearing shackles just like him.
“What the? What is this bullshit?”
“Damn it! This isn't what you promised!”
“You bastards! I'll kill every last one of you when I get out of here!”
Among them, who were screaming with rage, Park Jin-soo let out a long sigh. 'Ah, so the chicken was a lie.' It was at that moment.
Screech!
A speaker located somewhere in the abandoned factory let out a harsh noise a couple of times, like a cough. Soon, a voice came out. - - We will now begin the test. Activate your Inventory, then tear the Ticket.
And clear the given Return Mission. At those words, nine of the ten immediately showed the same reaction.
“Fuck, you're telling us to enter the Tower now? Just like this? You want us to die?”
“You sons of bitches! Come out! Come out! Come out before I fucking kill you all!”
A violent reaction. But that reaction soon disappeared.
Bang!
A single gunshot brought silence, and in that silence, the speaker said in a low voice. - You have one minute. Tap your left chest to activate your Inventory, then enter the Tower.