After the Tower appeared, the value of the Hunters who could conquer it skyrocketed. In particular, the fact that items brought back from the Tower by Hunters were also effective in the real world brought about immense changes. A prime example was the potion.
In games or novels, it was a cure-all ointment you could sprinkle or apply to a wound, a common item that created a sense of plausibility, as in, 'Does it make sense to get cut by a sword in a medieval-level civilization and not die of tetanus? Ah, you have a potion? Then I guess it makes sense.'
But when it became a reality, the story was different. Scientists immediately began to think.
“It restores the body to its original healthy state, right? So what would happen if we resected all the cancerous parts of a liver cancer patient’s liver and sprinkled a potion on it? Would the liver regenerate?”
“If the liver can regenerate, can’t the heart be regenerated too? And in a vigorous state at that?”
“Could it even revive the hair follicles of a bald man? Ah, on second thought, that seems a bit unlikely.”
With the potion alone, humanity could handle various diseases that were once thought incurable. And that prediction soon became reality. In any case, with just the potion, an enormous revenue stream had already opened up for the Hunters conquering the Tower.
However, among the items obtainable from the Tower, there was an abundance of mysterious items that surpassed even the potion. Naturally, the value of the Hunters who could bring back these items soared to indescribable heights.
So much so that, based on the year 2027 when the Tower appeared, it made companies like Tesla or Nvidia look like a joke, prompting questions like, 'Does this growth rate even make sense? Isn't this a scam?'
Nevertheless, if you asked 100 people on the street if they would become a Hunter upon awakening, 23 would say no. The reason was simple.
"A Hunter? Why would I be crazy enough to become a Hunter? Twenty percent die on their first entry!"
The Tower was extremely dangerous. In the minds of the people, conquering the Tower was like entering a lion’s den to tap dance—something you should never do if you valued your life. That was why.
Bang!
The 10 gathered prisoners. They were the ones who had gladly answered the call to the sweet proposal of reducing their sentences if they conquered the Tower. Their sentences were not short, and having committed violent crimes, they had nothing to lose.
Even in the face of a threat backed by a gunshot, they did not easily open their Inventories and tear the Tickets inside. 'Fuck, you can actually die in there!' Entering the Tower was more frightening than being shot.
There was only one exception.
Tap!
"Oh!"
Park Jin-soo, the moment he tapped his left chest, wore a surprised expression at the holographic window that appeared before his eyes.
"Whoa, it really showed up. How strange."
Then, he touched the ticket-shaped icon occupying one of the 3x3, nine slots.
"Huh? It's not activating?"
However, there was no noticeable change, so Park Jin-soo turned his head and spoke, looking behind him.
"Excuse me, how do I take this out?"
There was no reply. Of course not, for there was no one where Park Jin-soo was looking. It wasn't even the direction the gunshot had come from just a moment ago.
"Ah, should I be asking someone else? Sorry for talking to you."
But Park Jin-soo apologized again in that direction.
Chhjk!
At that moment, a voice came from a speaker. ·Reach into your Inventory and pull it out.
"Oh!"
At that answer, Park Jin-soo did exactly as he was told. Then, a single red ticket, like one for a concert, was in Park Jin-soo's hand.
"I just have to tear this, right?"
And then, without any hesitation, he tore the ticket on the spot. With that, Park Jin-soo's figure vanished from the world in an instant. As if he had never existed.
At the sight that unfolded in a flash, the remaining nine prisoners stared blankly in the direction where Park Jin-soo had disappeared. They weren't the only ones. The snipers positioned throughout the abandoned factory also showed their bewilderment at the situation.
'How?'
In particular, the sniper hidden in the spot where Park Jin-soo had turned to look just a moment ago was more shocked than anyone. It was then.
Bang!
Another gunshot rang out, and the speaker spoke. Tear your tickets if you don't all want to die.
"D-damn it!"
At that moment, the prisoners began to tear their tickets one by one. And so, the ten prisoners entered the Tower.
[You have entered the 1st floor of the Tower.]
The scenery Hunters saw the moment they tore their Tickets and entered the Tower was different from the view from outside. From the outside, the Tower was massive, but the space inside seemed to be, at most, the size of about ten soccer fields combined.
However, the size of the space that Hunters actually encountered upon entering the Tower was so vast it could not be fathomed by human senses.
No, it defied physical laws to the point where one might say, 'From the outside, it looks like only 10 soccer fields, but does it make sense for there to be a space the size of a province inside?' Of course, no one posed such a question.
Because in the face of the retort, 'Then does it make more sense for a Tower to suddenly appear and say, Oh, I'm bored, shall I kill off some humans and play some colorful games?' any question was futile. And that vast space was one of the biggest reasons for the Hunters' low survival rate.
In this vast place, just surviving was not easy from the start. The biggest problem, above all, was that while entry into the Tower was voluntary, leaving was not.
[A Return Mission has been issued.]
To leave, one had to clear the missions presented by the Tower to be issued a Return Ticket.
[Kill 66 goblins!]
And for those entering the Tower for the first time, this mission was not an easy one. That was why, usually, when a Hunter first entered the Tower, they would be accompanied by a fairly skilled Hunter. Besides that, they would also receive various forms of support, such as items.
Hunters were a precious resource, and a Hunter willing to enter the Tower was an even more precious one. In other words, without any of these conditions met, the survival rate was bound to drop exponentially.
"Fuck."
That was the case for the ten prisoners right now. First of all, their situation was wretched. They had no items whatsoever.
"To give us this kind of basic gear!"
The clothes they were wearing were of even poorer quality than their prison uniforms. Rather than clothes, they were shorts and a short-sleeved shirt made by patching together old rags into the shape of clothing. That was all.
They had nothing else in their possession. The Tower never tolerated things achieved in the real world.
"Uh, huh? Hey, my gold tooth is gone!"
Gold teeth were, of course, removed.
"My nose!"
The implant stuffed in his nose was also removed. In a situation of pure chaos, the prisoners began to glare at each other. Extreme tension, despair, and confusion complicated their minds.
"Attention!"
The one who sorted out the situation was the burliest man among the prisoners gathered here.
"We all have to work together here."
His muscular build, decent bulk, cauliflower ears, and the calluses on his fists clearly showed that the man wasn't in a prison uniform for fraud or financial crimes. In any case, the situation didn't explode at the man's shout.
"I don't know what kind of deals you were all offered, but first, we have to get out of here alive."
At the man's continued words, everyone's eyes began to dart around. They scouted each other out and simultaneously started calculating. Only one person did not.
"You there."
"Huh?"
"What are you doing?"
"L?"
Park Jin-soo, at the burly man's question, showed him a moderately sized rock he had just picked up from the ground and said.
"Picking up a rock?"
"A rock?"
It was incomprehensible.
"What's your intention?"
At the question that followed, Park Jin-soo retorted with an expression that said he was the one who couldn't understand.
"They said monsters show up here, right? So were you planning to catch them with your bare hands? Well, I won't stop you if you want to, but I don't really recommend it. Punching a human body with your bare fist hurts your fist. Especially if you hit the head, it hurts a lot because of the skull. Even if you're going to hit, it's best to hit somewhere without bones, like the abdomen."
'Ah!'
Only then did the other prisoners understand. Just as Park Jin-soo said, what they had to face were monsters, and to fight such monsters, they needed something, anything. From that perspective, a rock was a pretty useful object.
You could grab the rock and bash with it, or if needed, throwing it to hit the target was also effective. Under the laws of South Korea, hitting a person with a bare fist was simple assault, punishable by up to two years in prison, but hitting them with a rock was special assault, punishable by up to five years.
The country had basically put a seal of approval on it, saying, 'Rocks are an effective method of attack.' That wasn't all.
"Ah, I'll give you poking an eyeball with a finger. That's very effective. But you have to poke it right when you do. Eyes are harder than you think. So, you know these tree branches, the hard ones. It's better to poke with something like this."
Even if not a rock, a sharp-ended branch or fine sand could also be effective in battle. And the most important thing was that through these preparations, one showed their resolve to fight. In many ways, it was an exemplary display.
Of course, the thoughts of the prisoners gathered here were different. 'That bastard is dangerous.' A person who thinks like that in this kind of situation couldn't possibly be sane.
At that point, the burly man spoke.
"You, what's your name?"
At that question, Park Jin-soo raised his head to look at the man and said.
"Is there really a need for self-introductions when we're just going to be bickering with monsters?"
Very seriously.
"What did you say?"
"I'm not saying there's a problem with you. No, wait, there probably is. Since you're all criminals. Anyway, I have some mental issues, and hearing your name might make me snap. Ignorance is bliss, so how about we just call each other by convenient terms? You know, useful expressions like Big Guy, Son of a Bitch, Asshole, stuff like that?"
At those words, the burly man's eyes narrowed. It went without saying, but the man had no intention of letting some guy who was sticking out like a sore thumb and running his mouth go unchecked at this important moment. It was then.
"Th-th-that bastard!"
One of the prisoners exclaimed in surprise.
"It's P-Park Jin-soo! The psychopath Park Jin-soo! The one who killed 17 people!"
The moment that name was mentioned, everyone else stared at Park Jin-soo with shocked eyes. Meanwhile, Park Jin-soo met their gazes without any change in expression and replied.
"Not 17, 24. I killed 7 more in prison. Don't misunderstand. It was self-defense."
Of course, his inner thoughts were different. Park Jin-soo began to calculate. 'What should I do if they come at me to kill me?'
Park Jin-soo was famous as a serial killer, but ordinary people weren't particularly afraid of him. That was because Park Jin-soo was a beloved villain who only chose sons of bitches who deserved to be beaten to death and finished them off for good.
The problem was that the people in front of him right now were exactly those kinds of sons of bitches.
'Ah.'
But fortunately, Park Jin-soo didn't have to ponder for long.
'Perfect timing.'
Because he heard it. 'The goblins are coming.'
Kieeeeeeek!
The sound of about sixty goblins, coming to greet the new visitors of the Tower.