The next day.
He overslept.
He woke up around noon with the sun already high overhead, and the moment his eyes opened he washed up and headed to the Association.
“Those without an Awakened card are not permitted entry.”
He was hovering in the lobby when someone came out from behind the front desk to inform him.
“I’m here to register as an Awakened.”
Recovery potions — the kind widely used for medical purposes — could be purchased by anyone through the general Association shop.
But buying anything else, or exchanging TC for cash, required Awakened registration first.
That was why he’d come here to take care of it.
“Please take the elevator to basement level 1.”
The test was simple.
He stood in front of a machine that looked like an X-ray scanner, demonstrated putting items into his inventory and taking them back out, and that was it.
The machine read the movement of Tower energy, apparently.
Either way, he walked out with an Awakened registration card and was able to set foot inside the Association properly.
He headed straight for the Association shop.
For reference, the Association shop ran more like a collection of private storefronts.
The space was divided into sections from A to Z, with twenty-six Enchanters each running one section.
If a customer needed something a particular Enchanter didn’t carry, they’d usually refer them to another — though Enchanters who didn’t get along were known to skip that courtesy, which made getting a good one something of a coin toss.
Either way, he ended up in Section V.
“Hello.”
There was already a customer inside.
A built, imposing frame. Bronze skin with a healthy sheen. Long hair past the shoulders.
Obviously a combat-type Awakened.
He’d come to look at weapons, and he’d locked eyes with someone who looked like they knew how to use them.
“Oh? I don’t think we’ve met — are you new?”
The obviously-combat-type Awakened spoke to him politely.
“Yes. I was hoping to speak with the Enchanter — do you know where they are?”
He looked around as he asked.
“I’m the Enchanter.”
The man raised a hand and indicated himself, composed and courteous.
“Really? I thought Association staff all wore formal attire.”
That was how they’d always looked in the news and papers.
Which made this feel off. He was starting to suspect the combat-type Awakened was just messing with the newbie.
“Haha. That’s only when it’s cold. Even government buildings can’t keep the temperature below 28 degrees in summer here. So short sleeves are permitted in summer only.”
It was a sleeveless shirt, not a short sleeve, but he’d let that slide.
Still — it was a reasonable explanation.
“Hmm……”
He was still wavering, unsure how to respond, when the man smoothly steered back to the point.
“So. What can I help our Awakened find today?”
“Weapons.”
“May I ask what your trait is?”
“It’s……”
He caught himself.
The trait Intrude — the only person in the world who had it was him.
Say it carelessly and word could spread.
That could make the NPC act impossible to maintain. Worse, it could blow his cover as a Hidden Party Member and shut down his whole contribution-farming operation.
Absolutely not.
He’d tasted the rewards of Intrude just yesterday at Seo I-an’s Floor 40. He was not going to let anything threaten that.
“It’s——”
The man waited for him to finish.
He had the feeling he’d seen someone do this recently.
“Do I have to say?”
“It helps me narrow down what to show you. That said — if you’d rather not, you’re under no obligation. Quite a few Awakened are hesitant to share their trait.”
He smiled as he said it. His eyes were long and narrow to begin with — when he smiled they genuinely disappeared, curving into closed crescents.
Like a deceptively powerful hidden mastermind doing an impression of a harmless person.
“Is there anything that works regardless of Strength or Intelligence? Something versatile? I haven’t been Awakened long, so I’m looking for something a beginner can just pick up and use.”
“What stat did you put your points into?”
“My……”
All into Agility.
Oh! Then you must have the Featherweight skill!
Why yes I do!
Ha! How absolutely scrappy of you!
Laughter, paired with a pitying look.
That entire exchange flashed through his head like lightning.
“My……?”
“I spread them out evenly.”
Tower Merchants don’t lie, but wandering merchants do.
The more honest answer — that he’d dumped everything into Agility — was simply beyond him.
“Spreading stats evenly is rare…. Understood! Is there a particular weapon type you have in mind? A sword, perhaps, or a bow, a spear?”
The man had paused, hand resting on his chin in thought, then smiled broadly again as he posed the question.
What weapon type did he want.
“Anything that doesn’t look like a pickaxe.”
He’d bought one on Ragcho’s strong recommendation, but even Ragcho had admitted it was more for gathering than combat.
“Haha — a Tower pickaxe? None of the Enchanters here would carry that.”
He spoke as if he knew exactly what it was.
Which was strange — Woo-joo had one and he barely knew anything about it.
And hang on — not just a pickaxe, but specifically a Tower pickaxe?
“Is it good?”
“For regular Awakened, it’s not much use. For Enchanters, though — essential. It dramatically cuts down the time spent collecting material items.”
Good thing he’d listened to Ragcho.
“It appears at an extremely rare rate from Tower Merchants, at the surprisingly cheap price of 10,000 TC — if you ever come across one, please, sell it to me!”
He seemed to genuinely mean it; he made the request with a warm smile.
“Sure.”
Though he’d try it out for himself first.
He was curious what could make someone talk it up that much.
If it turned out to be nothing special, he’d sell it.
Actually — confirmed buyer, locked in. Good deal.
But wait. He’d just said 10,000 TC at the cheap price.
That was cheap?
More surprising than that, though——
Ragcho sold it to me for 5,000 TC.
He’d have to ask about that next time he intruded and ran into her.
“By the way — may I ask when you Awakened?”
“Yesterday.”
He didn’t see a reason to hide that particular detail, so he told the truth.
At that——
“In that case, have you entered Floor 1 yet?”
He caught the implication immediately.
An Awakened’s usable skills only reveal themselves the first time they enter a Tower after Awakening.
Looking at those skills and then choosing a main weapon was one reasonable approach.
But.
“No.”
Gather and Synthesize.
Not combat skills. And no way to tell whether Strength or Intelligence would serve him better.
Skills generate based on trait.
Everyone knew this. Repeated until it was engraved in the brain.
So. Think it through for a moment.
If he told this Enchanter what skills he had, could the man actually recommend the right weapon?
He didn’t think so.
Intrude was a trait only he possessed in the entire world.
Gather and Synthesize were skills derived from it.
“But you mentioned you spread your stats evenly earlier……”
“Oh, I bought some TC and put it in ahead of time. I was nervous.”
The Enchanter tilted his head.
A lie, obviously.
Where would he have gotten that kind of money.
He needed a weapon — a weapon!
The man’s expression said something like: Floor 1 and you already bought TC for that? But it didn’t matter.
“……In that case, it might be easier for me to recommend something once you’ve gone in and found out what skills you have.”
As he’d expected. The Enchanter brought up skills.
He was doing it pleasantly, with a kind smile, but was also very clearly trying to politely turn him away.
He wasn’t leaving empty-handed today, though.
The reason he’d wanted to come in with a weapon was precisely because — as he’d suspected — no combat skills had appeared for him.
He wanted a fallback. Something to rely on.
Safety first, always.
The tutorial floor, Floor 1, he might survive. From Floor 2 onward, a wrong step could actually kill him.
“I scare easily.”
“Are you aware, Awakened-nim, that the Association shop only accepts TC as payment?”
Translation: Do you actually have the money to be here, newbie who hasn’t even touched Floor 1?
“I know. I came prepared.”
“……Are you looking for high-end gear, or 1-Star?”
For reference, the current top-tier equipment grade in Korea was 4-Star — a function of the national record sitting at Floor 41.
“1-Star.”
“Something usable regardless of trait and stats — that would be a ranged weapon, like a gun or a crossbow. Shall I show you?”
“Please.”
The cheapest price started at 30,000 TC.
He briefly thought about whether he could just buy a real-world weapon and bring it in, then remembered that real-world weapons had their damage capped at 1 inside Towers.
No way around it. Expensive as it was, he’d have to buy an Association weapon.
Though that didn’t necessarily have to happen today.
“Yeah. Let’s come back to that another time.”
He backed away from the price tag.
Coming here with a grand total of 5,000 TC expecting a happy shopping trip — that was on him.
“If purchasing is difficult, we also offer a rental option.”
“Rental?”
“Yes — you rent for a set period. Most Awakened end up buying outright, but those who aren’t flush at the moment do make use of rentals quite a bit.”
That was interesting.
“How much is the rental?”
“Which item did you have in mind?”
“A gun or a crossbow.”
No melee options — a sword or gauntlets required close contact, which was out with no skills.
No magic skills either, so staves and wands were out.
He wasn’t about to wrestle with something finicky like a whip or slingshot — he’d never had good hand coordination.
And bows required base Strength he didn’t have.
That left guns and crossbows.
“Is your trait something like Fire or Lightning-type?”
“No.”
“Do you have any skills related to magic bullets or enchanted rounds?”
“No?”
His answer produced a complicated expression.
“……Then you’ll need a crossbow. Without any of those qualifications, gun-type weapons literally can’t be fired inside a Tower.”
“Oh! Okay, crossbow it is.”
“A 1-Star crossbow rental is 1,000 TC per week.”
1,000 TC a week.
Given that a single day could net him 10,000 TC, that didn’t seem particularly hard.
He’d just have to grind hard starting today.
His own Tower and other people’s Towers both.
“Would you like to try it out at the test range first? Better to make sure it fits before you take it.”
No reason to say no, so he agreed.
And before long, he found himself enthusiastically praising the version of himself from a few minutes ago who had said yes.
“Excuse me! I can’t pull this back!”
He spun around to face the Enchanter.
Was this thing defective?!
At this point, just clubbing something with the crossbow seemed more efficient than trying to fire it.
“……Crossbows do require a certain baseline Strength, yes. Would you like to try this instead?”
He’d had a feeling, from the look on his face. He handed over a different weapon.
Similar shape to the crossbow but noticeably more compact.
“What’s this?”
“It’s called a light bowgun.”
“A light bowgun?”
“Lower base attack than a crossbow, but faster and very beginner-friendly.”
He took it, moved to the corner of the test range, and aimed at a training dummy.
Drew it back.
Oh! It actually pulls!
— Thwack.
Clean hit.
Good enough.
What he appreciated most was that he wouldn’t have to get in close and physically beat a monster with it.
“I’ll take this one.”
“This one is 2,000 TC per week.”
“……I’ll still rent it.”
He was going to put his faith in his future self.
Or more accurately — in his trait.
Intrude was, however he looked at it, a growth-specialist trait.
Take the income, run.
“Thank you, Awakened Kim Woo-joo! Oh — one important note: drawing a weapon from your inventory outside the Awakened Association is illegal. Please keep that in mind!”
He made a point of it.
An incident in the past had prompted the law.
“Understood!”
“Please do come back again! I’m Park Si-woo!”
A smile.
He signed the rental contract, and walked out of the shop with a small Bronze Hammer in hand — a complimentary gift for first-time customers.
This place knew how to run a business.
He’d have to copy this for his wandering merchant act later.
Walking the Association corridor, he took the Bronze Hammer back out and turned it over in his hands.
Compact enough to fit in one hand.
It didn’t look like a weapon by any stretch.
He checked the item description out of curiosity.
[Can be used to repair the durability of items!]
So this was what people called a “hammer.”
Posts showed up on the Awakened Community sometimes — Ugh, was right before a clear and had to leave because I ran out of hammers.
When a weapon or piece of gear dropped below 10% durability, its stats cut in half.
Hit zero, it unequipped itself and went into inventory — showing up greyed out — and had to be restored with a hammer before it could be worn again.
The reason Awakened were so bad at managing durability was apparently that the rate it dropped varied wildly depending on what skills were used and the user’s current condition.
Source: Awakened Community, as always.
“Still, he gave a newbie exactly what they’d actually need. Must figure early on, managing weapon condition is rough.”
He was a little touched by the thoughtfulness.
Next time he cleared past Floor 10, he’d make a point of coming back to this shop first.
Anyway — one more stop before heading home.
The Association exchange.
The place where TC was converted to cash.
He’d briefly considered just holding onto the TC — it wasn’t like keeping it would hurt anything.
Intrude has no usage limit, after all.
He decided to be bold.
Besides, the TC he currently had couldn’t buy skills or weapons anyway.
Meanwhile.
At the moment Woo-joo was making his way to the Association exchange——
“Hey! Park Si-woo! Why did that take so long?”
Seo I-an walked into the Association shop, clearly irritated.
“A new Awakened came by.”
“A new Awakened? They’re obviously going to stagnate and never make it past the low floors — why’d you waste so much time on them.”
The truth was, Seo I-an wanted more than almost anything for as many Awakened as possible to grow and be able to support one another.
But complacency had spread through society like a sickness.
Most Awakened started out fired up, throwing themselves at the Tower — and the moment they hit a wall, quietly rerouted to farming the same floor below it, over and over.
Safe. Profitable. Comfortable.
She couldn’t stand it.
“Who knows — maybe they’ll push straight through and threaten your spot. And Hong Je-hun’s.”
“Ha. As if.”
She scoffed.
“Hey, what was their name?”
“Kim Woo-joo.”
“I’ll eat my swords if Kim Woo-joo ever clears Floor 25.”
Floor 25. Known as the cursed threshold.
Not just in Korea — worldwide, the majority of Awakened stopped climbing at Floor 25.
“You use swords with both hands and you’re putting them on the line like that?”
“Not my problem.”
“It is your problem — I’m saying this because it is your problem.”
“……Just get out all the Golden Hammers you have.”
— Thud.
She stated her reason for being here and pulled TC from her inventory, dropping it on the counter.
— Roll, clink. Tap tap.
The top of the pile shifted and some of it rolled off onto the floor.
“You already used up all your Golden Hammers?”
Park Si-woo asked, visibly confused.
“No, I still have some left — but I’m going for Floor 41 next, so I don’t know what condition my gear will be in. More is better.”
She lifted her chin with a self-satisfied look.
He was reassured, somehow, by how very her that expression was. He started pulling all the Golden Hammers he’d made onto the counter.
The Association pegged him as a fresh Awakened and offered a 1:7,000 ratio.
No right to refuse, so he accepted.
Just like that — 21,000,000 won materialized in his hand.
……Wow. I made a lot yesterday.
His money had duplicated in a single day.
He had to admit — today had been exhausting. He’d been outside way too long in the blazing midsummer heat.
Body temperature spiking, skin sticky from the humidity, head swimming. Not even being inside the Association at 28 degrees had helped at all.
For a moment he’d genuinely considered: It’s a shame, but maybe rest today and get back at it tomorrow.
That thought evaporated without a trace.
This is what they mean by fighting fire with fire!
Back home, he immediately cranked the air conditioner to full blast.
If you’d made over ten million won in a single day, surely you were allowed to run the AC all day.
This was, in fact, one item on a list of things he’d always wanted to do.
Run the air conditioner all day in the middle of summer and lie under a blanket.
The blanket part would wait until evening, obviously.
Anyway — after that, he washed off the sweat, changed into a comfortable short-sleeve shirt and shorts, and was ready.
“Alright. Back to work!”
By which he meant: back to Tower intruding.
Tower entering could come later.
Floor 1 was the tutorial floor, after all.
Was he confident he could clear it? Yes, actually.
Did he have a weapon now? He’d rented one — yes.
He had breathing room.
And the thing about a common resource was: whoever got there first came out ahead.
Eating the fries first and saving your burger — that was the winning move.
Eating the sweet and sour pork first and saving your jajangmyeon for last — same principle.
For him, Tower intrusion was the common resource. Tower entry was his own portion.
So: intrude first, enter later.
Mind made up, he called out——
“Tower intrude.”
The list of floors available to intrude on appeared.
[Floor 18] Hwang Gyu-beom
……
Floor 18 was at the top.
The rankers were probably resting today.
Only Floor 18, but it didn’t matter.
He wasn’t the one doing the climbing.
“Hwang Gyu-beom. Let me look them up first.”
Korean hospitality.
If they didn’t need anything, so be it — but if they did, he could pick it up on the way.
He pulled up the intrude screen and picked up his phone.
Worth checking, maybe — like Seo I-an, they might have posted something they needed.
Author search: Hwang Gyu-beom.
A post from thirty minutes ago.
[Title] I’m so hungry……
[Author] Hwang Gyu-beom
— I’m hungry… so hungry… so, so hungry……
Why does this person write like they’re dying……
He supposed he’d have to bring food.
The condition for earning contribution was helping the floor’s owner, after all.
And then — snap — a horrifying realization struck him.
Oh. I have to go back outside. I just showered.