Chapter 01…

“The one who reaches the top of the tower.
Any wish will be granted.”

The system window you encounter the moment you become a player.

Mesmerized by that line, countless people took up the challenge and leapt into the tower. I was one of them, of course.

― Exclusive! Kang Si-woo rises to #1 rank in dimension ‘Earth’!
― ‘Human Disaster’ Kang Si-woo becomes the first to conquer the giant Orte!
― Unending victories! The walking calamity, Kang Si-woo, sweeps through the cursed 500th floor!

As I climbed the tower, honor and power naturally followed. But those things meant nothing to me.

I had only one wish.

“To destroy the tower.”

That was the solution that would grant my mother revenge and my own absolution.

So I ran toward that single goal, and at last it seemed the end was in sight.

Or at least I thought so.

Ugh!

An unbearable nausea hit me; I dropped to my knees and retched. Something hot rose in my throat and burst out.

“Guh—ugh!”

In an instant the ground was soaked with dark red liquid.

A chronic illness I’d picked up while climbing the tower — an unknown, extreme poison.

I’d managed to suppress it until now, but I’d reached the limit.

‘This won’t do…’

Right after defeating the final-floor boss I had been thrown, without rest, into consecutive fights against strong opponents — one-against-many battles back to back.

Fights that would make anyone dizzy if they were in sound shape.

I wiped my mouth with my sleeve and spoke.

“You’re not going to heal me, are you?”

“…….”

“…….”

Seven shadows fell over the pool of blood at my feet.

Silhouettes with different body types.

From those shades alone I could clearly picture them: the color of their clothes, the scars on their bodies, even the expressions they were wearing at that very moment.

They had been comrades who shared life and death for the same goal, the only family in the tower who could truly understand one another.

Of course, right now they were nothing but enemies standing in my path.

“Can’t you at least answer me out of old ties?” I said, gripping my trembling legs and trying to get up.

Behind the seven silhouettes the tower glowed brilliantly.

The last corridor leading up to the highest floor.

How hard we had fought to reach that place.

One of them stepped forward as if reading my eyes.

“Si-woo, stop now. Give up. None of us can take you on.”

The owner of the hard voice had a massive build and his entire body was covered in golden scales.

Delphiero Blotan.

The #1 of the draconid realm, dimension ‘Draconis’, and a battle-chief said to be the strongest in melee combat.

He, too, was covered in wounds from our fight.

“Finally, you deign to speak,” I muttered.

I needed to buy time to make one last struggle.

“Fine. Tell me. Why did you betray me?”

“Si-woo. The wish.”

“My wish? You all agreed to that, too.”

“Back then and now are different.”

Everyone knew: if the tower wasn’t destroyed, the end would come.

The order and timing might differ by dimension, but long-term study had shown it was inevitable.

The problem this time was that it was Earth’s turn.

“What…?” I said.

The man who answered wore Eastern clothes and held a single sword. He was the sovereign of dimension ‘Dosan Swordgrove’, a man called Sword Star, Saja Hyuk.

“Our thought is that the tower’s order must not be broken yet.”

“Not yet? What the hell are you talking about? Earth is already being corroded—”

Kraaaang—!

With a sudden crash something flew in.

“Ugh….”

A gigantic wing sprouted from my back to block it, but the impact still shook me, and I vomited blood again.

“Hey! You two! Is this the first time you’ve seen the leader act like that? It’s obvious you’re stalling. What are you doing!” one of them barked.

“…….”

“……Great warrior, final courtesy.”

“You staged an ambush and call that courtesy? If you’re betraying us, do it properly. One misstep and we’ll be the ones eaten.”

The woman who scolded the two carried a pulse rifle on her shoulder. She pushed up her sunglasses and stared at me.

“We need the tower for our wish. That’s all. So let’s cut this damned tie cleanly.”

“Beltris….”

Yulia Beltris.

#1 of dimension ‘Neon Nova’, a top sniper and genius engineer.

Her eyesight was peerless.

“Considering your chronic illness… you’ve got about thirty percent left, right?” she said.

“Heh heh, aren’t you overconfident? Is that even a disease?” another sneered.

“You worry about the leader’s illness and not me? Do you still think that illness is just bad luck?” Beltris’s words implied they had been planning my betrayal for quite some time — from the moment they’d laughed and chatted like this.

Seeing my sour expression, Beltris shrugged.

“Don’t think too ill of us. To face a ‘calamity’, fairness demands something like this, right?”

Right.

My moniker was the Walking Calamity.

A nickname born of abnormal power.

But that power wasn’t purely mine — I was a beast tamer.

“…Thanks for the heads-up. That really pumped me up,” I said.

At first I thought my only option was to put up some resistance and die.

Maybe they’d felt some twinge of pity.

But I changed my mind.

‘That changes things.’

Using life force as fuel instead of depleted mana, I drew power up.

I was going to die anyway.

So I would make as big a mess as possible before I did.

That would make my death feel less unjust.

I whispered to those beasts I loved and hated — my trump card, my bittersweet allies.

“I’ll give you what you coveted. Lend me your power for the last time.”

― Finally, the time has come.

― Perform the covenant. Then what you desire will be fulfilled.

Stingy, petty creatures.

‘I’ll give all of me to you.’

― The deal is made.

Kugugung—

No sooner had they spoken than a massive pulse spread outward in concentric waves.

“What the—?!”

“Damn, I told you not to give them time!”

“Stop talking and block it!”

Archmage Gobert Merlin shouted and fired lightning, but it hit a translucent barrier and fizzled.

I sneered watching them.

“It’s already too late.”

[The user summons the “Three Calamities” from its nest.]

[The ‘Three Calamities’, having been paid their price, regain their true forms.]

―――――!!

At my whisper, three monsters roared into existence.

Jiz of the sky.
Behemoth of the land.
Leviathan of the sea.

They were called by many names.

The first beasts.
Rulers of all foul beasts.
Harbingers of the end.

The system seemed to recognize that fact as well. Ding!

[Title acquired: ‘Master of Destruction and Calamity’!]
[The constellations turn hostile toward the user!]
[Danger! Detecting an abnormal aura!]

The system immediately rang alarms and began to act.

[The tower restricts the power of the three beasts.]
[They resist.]
[The tower restricts the power of the three beasts.]
[They resist.]
[The tower restricts the three beasts’ power…]
[Resistance…]

……

Despite the heavy pressure, the three beasts loomed with overwhelming might and regarded the seven traitors with disdain.

No matter how high-ranked the betrayers were in their own dimensions, before the incomprehensible they were mere insects.

“What the hell….”

“This is impossible!”

When the betrayers panicked, the saint with a white headscarf, Elga, shouted loudly.

“Everyone, pull yourselves together! His presence is rapidly fading! If we hold on a little, he’ll self-destruct!”

I scoffed at the saint’s words and reached out.

“Our model student Elga. Your words fit like those of a class president. Worthy of a smack.”

At once the three beasts unleashed tremendous energy into the void.

That power shot past the betrayers and toward the rear.

“……!?”

“……?”

“Huh? Looks like his energy’s drained. Where are they aiming—”

“Heh heh, Beltris. Didn’t I tell you? Overconfidence is a disease.”

At Beltris’s scoff I curled my lips.

My last act of defiance was to block any way to salvage those dimensions when their own apocalypses arrived.

Also, it was a struggle for my one final wish.

The three beasts directed their power toward the tower’s entrance.

Kraaaang!! Kugugugu—

The tremendous detonations shook the ground.

“…….”

“……!”

As the dust settled, the seven looked on in horror.

“The entrance to the summit collapsed…?”

In truth, given the tower’s vast size, only a small section was broken.

But the system tower — supposedly indestructible — had been damaged.

Everyone froze at that impossible sight.

‘A bit of a shame,’ I thought.

Blocking the entrance alone was miraculous enough, but I couldn’t help feeling disappointed.

I’d succeeded in my revenge against the betrayers, but I hadn’t fulfilled my final wish.

‘Mother, I couldn’t keep the promise. I will apologize when we meet in the afterlife.’

Relief at revenge and remorse toward my mother crossed through me as my strength began to fail.

“Damn it, this wasn’t in the plan!”

“What will happen to our dimension now! What do we do!”

“Everyone calm down! There must be another way…”

Through my blurring vision I watched the betrayers arguing.

‘Idiots.’

Still, having gotten my revenge, I could close my eyes with a little peace.

From my fingertips my body began to turn to dust.

Legs vanished, arms scattered.

It felt like my mind was being torn apart. Maybe it really was.

Thunk.

I collapsed like a puppet whose string had been cut. Even then the system notifications continued to ring in my head.

[‘Make the impossible possible—!’ Success: Tower destroyed!]
[The system triggers an error!]
[Title acquired: ‘One out of Order’!]

[All watching constellations are aghast at the user’s achievement!]
[Constellation ‘Primal Dragon’ buries its head in shame.]
[Constellation ‘Sword Saint’ drops its sword.]
[Constellation ‘Sea of Knowledge’ heaves.]
[Constellation ‘Embracing Light’…]

‘What good are achievements when you’re dying?’

As my chest turned to ash and faded like a dying candle, the system alarms began to frantically ring.

[Warning! Warning! Warning!]
[□□□ □□ has identified the source of the error!]
[System debugging…]
[□□□ □□ is observing the user!]
[The constellations scatter in alarm!]

Though I was being scattered into less than cosmic dust, a crushing pressure tightened around me.

[□□□ □□ calculates the user’s achievement.]
[□□□ □□ finds a sliver of possibility for the user.]
[□□□ □□ decides to give the user a chance.]
[□□□ □□ strips the user’s fragments from the three calamities.]
[Reconstructing the user’s spirit.]
[Weaving the user’s soul again.]
[Remolding the user’s body.]
[Sending the user back to the past.]

‘What is all this….’

I tried to make sense of the sudden turn of events, but light in my vision quickly dimmed and my consciousness went out.

A pitch-black world.

From within it someone whispered.

“…What are you doing?”

A very familiar, achingly beloved voice.

“Si-woo!”

Like my mother’s voice…

“Hey! What are you doing walking around with your eyes closed?!”

Smack!

“Ugh!”

A sharp pain bit the back of my head. I gasped and snapped my eyes open.

The first thing I saw was a middle-aged woman with a puzzled expression.

Her long hair tied simply at the back. Crow’s feet that showed the passage of years.

My long-missed mother, Park Mi-kyung.

“Mom?”

“Mom? Why are you making my skin crawl like this? Did I hit you too hard? Our Son’s a tough one, so he’ll be fine…”

She worried over my body, checking me with concern.

‘No way…’

I reflexively took in my surroundings. When the unexpected happens, the first order of an elite player is to assess the environment.

I had shopping bags in both hands.

A familiar row of houses lined the alley.

The sun was low in the sky, and a tower pierced the horizon.

‘Back when I’d lost my job and went back to my parents’ house,’ I realized.

A moment I had replayed and regretted countless times.

‘If this is reality, then next…’

Beep—! Beep—! Beep—!

My smartphone in my pocket screamed loudly. Alarms echoed from passersby too.

An emergency disaster alert tone.

I hurriedly checked the message.

「April 3, 2034, 17:26
An unexpected energy storm occurred in Gangdong-gu.
A rift in the magic veil is expected.
Residents, please move to shelters as soon as possible.」

‘…Right. I’m back ten years ago.’

Back to the moment right before losing my mother.

Sure enough, as a storm struck, a rift tore the air vertically. From the gap a huge gray wolf jumped out.

‘A monster….’

[Gate break occurred within a 10m radius.]
[The first wave is coming.]

A system message flashed at the same time, underscoring the urgency.

Aawooo—

The wolf howled; people panicked and the street descended into chaos. Everyone knew one was only the beginning.

“Mon—monster!”
“Eeeek!”
“Mom!”
“I don’t want to die… not yet!”

Even amid the confusion, I kept my composure.

‘This is the transition period when tower-induced rifts were rapidly increasing. Government and guild response are slow. First…’

“Check status window.”

[Status Window]

Name: Kang Si-woo
Level: 1
Class: Undecided (on hold)
Talent: Empathy (C), Beast’s □□ (?)
Skills: ―
Stats:
―Strength: 2
―Agility: 2
―Endurance: 2
―Mana: 2

‘Nothing useful, as expected.’

Pathetically weak.

Level, skills, stats — all gone compared to before my regression.

Still, there was one thing worth noting.

‘Talent.’

I was lucky to be a double-talent awakener.

Yes — as a player I had ‘talents’.

And those talents had once turned me into a so-called ‘human disaster’.

If I remembered correctly, the names were…

‘C-rank talent [Empathy] and A-rank talent [Friend of Beasts]… huh?’

‘Empathy’ partially awakens a beast’s latent potential.

‘Friend of Beasts’ made it easy to build affinity with monsters.

But between those two, the latter had changed.

‘…What is that?’

[Beast’s □□]

―Rank: ?
―Info: ???

Even when I opened the info to investigate, there were no helpful hints. No rank, no description — nothing.

‘Maybe it’s a bug from the regression?’

I guessed, but a hintless hypothesis was just a fantasy.

At that moment my mother grabbed my sleeve and pulled me back to the present.

“Si-woo! Don’t stare blankly — hurry and run to the shelter—”

“…Ah!? It’s okay, Mom.” I snapped back to reality and squeezed her hand to reassure her. Feeling her rough skin, I scolded myself for zoning out with the status window.

‘Get a grip, you idiot. After all that regret, are you going to repeat the same mistake?!’

I bit my cheek hard; the metallic taste of blood flooded my mouth.

I quickly lined up my priorities.

First: Never lose my mother again.

Second: Make those traitors pay back more than they did to me.

Finally: This time, destroy the tower.

No need to rush.

One step at a time.

Those I had to take revenge on would be in their places, and the tower that must fall would stand where it had always stood.

‘This time I’ll truly become the calamity.’
I will swallow my enemies whole.