Chapter 4
The Age of New Civilization. Humanity had undergone a great upheaval.
The biggest change was “Isolation.”
The sky routes and sea routes were all cut off, and mysterious barriers — scientifically inexplicable — blocked both airspace and oceans.
Physical exchange between nations became impossible.
At first, the world panicked, thinking, “Are we the only country left?”
But that fear didn’t last long.
Thanks to the byproducts emerging from the “Towers” and “Gates,” each nation became capable of self-sufficiency.
As a result, borders were closed — but civilization itself evolved at breakneck speed.
[A Tower Appears in Busan!]
└ You too? Me too! (Incheon)
└ I heard Daegu got one too?
In Korea, a total of eight towers appeared:
Seoul, Daegu, Daejeon, Busan, Gwangju, Incheon, Ulsan, and Jeju Island.
Cities began forming around their towers, developing into city-states — that was the global trend.
And amid all this, Lee Chaeri, the world’s only L-rank awakened, entered the Seoul Tower.
‘Oh. This is kinda cool!’
She felt slightly dizzy — then in the next moment, the scenery changed.
Just a second ago, it had been night; now it was a bright field under the noon sun.
Sunlight poured down. Flowers swayed in the wind.
A place she’d only seen in books — seeing it for real was… quite pretty.
[Challenge Quest: Defeat 7 Slime Monsters.]
[Clear the quest after defeating 7 monsters.]
“Th-That’s… kinda scary.”
In front of her squirmed jelly-like slime creatures.
They were only the size of soccer balls, but the feeling was… like watching cockroaches crawl.
Chaeri almost jumped into Davith’s arms — then quickly stopped herself.
‘The first challenge determines your clear rank!’
Time determined the grade.
The faster she cleared it, the greater the reward.
“I–I, Lee Chaeri… will stay in the safe zone!”
A space shimmering faintly green — the safest area in the Tower — she ran there with tiny, determined steps.
It was a perfectly logical, rational decision.
But to Davith’s eyes, it looked a little different.
‘She’s terrified.’
She probably wanted to be held.
But instead, she quietly stepped back to sit by herself.
It was as if she’d long been used to not relying on others.
Davith approached her gently.
Standing behind her, he softly patted her back.
“It’s safe here.”
“Go quickly.”
Her voice was trembling, yet firm.
Davith’s heart ached.
‘A child unfamiliar with kindness.’
“How about we count to three together?”
At the word count, she reacted instinctively.
“O-oneee!”
Davith’s previous profession was assassin.
Not quite on Medesa’s level, but more than capable of clearing a 1st floor.
His dagger pierced a slime.
“T-twwooo!”
[Kids’ Safe Filter Enabled.]
Instead of “Splat!” came “Pop!”
Instead of blood, sparkling starlight.
When a monster vanished, white butterflies fluttered up.
The so-called Pop-pop, Sparkle-sparkle, Flitter-flitter effect.
[You have cleared the 1st Floor of the Seoul Tower.]
[Clear Rank: L (Legend)]
The first in the world.
An L-rank clear.
Naturally, the reward was dazzling.
[You have obtained a “Good Job!” sticker.]
[You have obtained 100,000,000 Diamonds.]
After her personal reward, another special message appeared.
[Your clear record will be registered in the 1st Floor “Hall of Fame.”]
[Would you like to register a nickname?]
Davith quickly opened his mouth.
Chaeri — it’s dangerous to register a name now. Tracker-type awakeners could—
“No!”
Too late.
[No nickname registered. Record will appear as “–”]
[Hall of Fame – 1st Floor]
[Republic of Korea]
-
– : Legend (Seoul)
-
Jeon Soyoung : S (Busan)
-
Kang Eunwoo : S (Incheon)
…
And the world went wild.
Not just Korea — the entire planet.
Even though physical connection between countries was gone, digital communication still existed.
Overseas users claimed it was a hoax, insisting the data must be faked.
Hall of Fame:
A ranking system recording tower-clear results.
[Is this L-rank clear even real?]
└ ?
└ ??
└ ???
The world’s first-ever L-rank clear.
[Breaking News: World’s First L-rank Clear!]
[Breaking: 1st Floor Ranking Updated! Seoul Tower #1!]
Korea erupted.
The Tower had become a more valuable resource than oil.
Magic stones now powered the world’s energy, economy, and military.
[Seoul just pulled an L-rank lol]
└ Seoul’s not doomed after all.
└ Wow, Seoul’s actually #1? LOL
└ The whole tower meta’s gonna change now.
Towering — “탑질” — became the new measure of prestige.
How many floors were cleared, what grades achieved, and how many awakeners participated — that determined each region’s towering rank.
And that rank determined resource yields and artifact quality.
In short, a city’s prosperity depended on its tower performance.
[Still just a 1st floor though, lol]
└ Yeah, early-floor heroes are a dime a dozen.
└ You’re unawakened, aren’t you?
└ Even newbies can profit from this — don’t you get it?
└ It’s L-rank 1st floor! No one knows what could drop there.
└ Anyway, praise be to Legend-sama!
Chaeri blushed slightly and smiled.
“They say clearing a tower gives a huge sense of accomplishment…”
Thump, thump.
Her heart beat strangely fast.
Her cheeks felt warm.
“And I’m rich now!”
System currency Diamonds were practically equivalent to Korean won.
Chaeri had just earned 100 million won.
It felt different when the money actually landed in her account — far more real than in a novel.
“Lee Chaeri is… divine.”
“If you’re happy, then I’m happy too, Chaeri.”
[Level Up!]
[Current Level: 2]
A new reward followed.
[You have gained 1 Card Enhancement Point.]
“Chaeri, it might be best to save that enhancement point for later.”
“Huh?”
“I’m only empire-grade. Above me are continent-grade, ocean-grade, and world-grade cards.”
Davith spoke calmly.
It was objectively more efficient to invest in higher-grade cards later.
But Chaeri shook her head.
“No.”
“Hm?”
“Lee Chaeri likes Davith.”
Card grades were determined by direct combat contribution.
Davith, being a support-type, was rated lower for attack power.
But Chaeri was unwavering.
“Davith is the best.”
“….”
[Enhancing Card: Davith +1]
[Advisor of a Fallen Empire +1]
Manifestation time: 4 hours
Cooldown: 23 hours
The duration increased by 1 hour; the cooldown decreased by 1 hour.
Chaeri smiled with satisfaction.
“Now I can see Davith more, and sooner.”
“….”
Her plan was flawless. Chaeri chuckled.
“Lee Chaeri wants to climb again.”
“But it’s already 10 p.m., Chaeri.”
Davith watched her closely.
Though she seemed fine from excitement, her stamina had reached its limit.
He gently laid her on the bed.
Pulled the blanket over her, and softly patted her chest.
With the gentlest touch.
“Let’s meet again tomorrow.”
“Yes.”
Someone saying good night to her — it wasn’t bad.
Even the loud ticking clock seemed quieter.
Pat, pat.
Chaeri’s mind grew fuzzy.
“Sleepy…”
“Lullaby, lullaby.”
And just like that, she drifted off.
Davith glanced at the clock.
Roughly three hours remained.
“First… I should create an identity.”
The Next Morning
Chaeri bowed neatly at the table.
“Thank you for the meal.”
“Sure, Chaeri.”
…Wait.
Chaeri blinked.
Yesterday, her mother had said “Our daughter.”
Today, it was just “Chaeri.”
Yesterday, it was “Eat well.”
Today, only “Sure.”
Something felt subtly off.
On the table, warm toast steamed invitingly — but she had no appetite.
“It’s delicious, Mother.”
“Is it?”
Sweet sugar-dusted toast with cabbage and a fried egg inside.
Kim Ha-seon poured milk into Chaeri’s cup.
Yesterday, it had been warm.
Today, it was cold.
She turned to her husband, Lee Ji-seok.
“You saw it too, right?”
Ji-seok was reading the newspaper.
“This? The L-rank clear?”
“The whole country’s in uproar. They say someone even found a magic stone on the 1st floor.”
Normally, the 1st floor was known for having no magic stone drops.
But now, verified posts were flooding in.
“Who would’ve thought?”
“Well, it’s the world’s first.”
Seoul had the worst towering performance in Korea — fewest clears, fewest floors.
Once the proud capital, now far behind.
Naturally, the average skill of Seoul’s awakeners was also low.
“They still haven’t found out who it was.”
“Lots of rumors.”
“Who could it be?”
“Who knows. The Seoul Guild must be going crazy looking for them.”
Clear rank evaluations only applied to first-time clears.
Which meant this L-rank achiever was a newcomer on their first attempt.
Every guild managed entry records meticulously — so the L-rank awakener would be identified soon enough.
“They’ll find them quickly, right?”
“Yeah, they’re already narrowing down candidates based on entry logs.”
An L-rank achiever — a potential national treasure and strategic asset.
The state would surely step in to protect and manage them.
“With all this commotion, it almost feels like a dream. An L-rank awakener, somewhere here in Seoul?”
Chomp!
Mmm. Delicious.
That’s the nice thing about being a child.
Even when you lose your appetite, delicious food is still delicious.
The milk was a bit cold —
but the toast… was still really, really good.
