HRMCT 02

Chapter: 02

The distorted space unfolded wide once more, revealing the interior of the tower that he had seen before.

The distance from floor to ceiling was roughly 100 meters or so?

He wasn’t sure of the exact width either.

Eugene hadn’t explored all of what was called the tutorial floor, after all.

Still, it was undoubtedly vast enough that he couldn’t even begin to guess its scale.

*’Probably about the size of a small city.’*

Recalling his memories from the first run, he figured it was roughly that size.

Or maybe even larger.

Eugene didn’t panic and first checked his surroundings.

He could see others who, like himself, had been forcibly summoned to the tower by the 【Akasha System】.

Every single one wore a bewildered expression.

Faces that showed no understanding whatsoever of what had happened to them.

*’That’s the natural reaction, I suppose.’*

At first, Eugene had been no different from them, hadn’t he?

Of course, that wasn’t the case now.

“What the? Where is this?”

“Wh-Who are you?”

“Who the hell are you people! How did you…!”

“KYAAAAAAAAAAAH!”

It was absolute chaos, beyond any description.

Those who had been blinking for a moment soon fell into confusion, spewing all sorts of screams and curses.

Among those consumed by panic and fear, some even lost it completely and started throwing punches at each other.

It was literally a scene of utter pandemonium.

Well, it wasn’t that he couldn’t understand.

*’As noisy as ever.’*

Eugene frowned but didn’t stop observing his surroundings.

*’Exactly the same as back then.’*

There were exactly 100 people in the same space as him currently.

According to what was later revealed, there were as many as 200 tutorial floors similar to this one in South Korea alone.

By simple calculation, it meant that nearly 20,000 people had been chosen by the 【Akasha System】.

Expanding that to the rest of the world, it was dozens of times that number.

*’But they were all useless idiots.’*

He didn’t know what the selection criteria were, but they didn’t seem very strict.

Even though so many players climbed the tower, Eugene was the only one who ultimately reached the top.

Though a sigh escaped him naturally, he couldn’t dwell on the past forever.

*’Looks like I still have a little time, so let’s check what I need to check first.’*

As he silently muttered 【Status Window】, the 【Akasha System】 brought up Eugene’s information before his eyes.

■ Name: 『Sung Eugene』

■ Level: 『1』

■ Trait: 『King of All Arms [S]』

■ Alignment: 『Neutral』

■ Title: 『None』

■ Skills: 『Chronos’s Hourglass [EX]』, 『Flashback [S]』

*’Hmm.’*

This was definitely different from the first run.

The traits and skills he had obtained by killing the Final Boss and successfully clearing the top of the tower were still retained.

*’I have no idea what’s going on.’*

He had returned to the past, yet the rewards he received during the first run remained.

Instead, the levels, traits, and skills that Eugene had built up himself had all vanished.

*’What exactly is the standard for this?’*

He racked his brain.

Unsurprisingly, no clear answer came to mind.

Besides, Eugene was more about using his body; he wasn’t particularly smart.

*’Yeah, what’s the point of figuring that out anyway. The important thing is that my situation is better than it was in the first run.’*

Scratching the back of his head vigorously, he checked the new things he had been so curious about.

*’Let’s see…’*

■ 『King of All Arms [S]』: Can skillfully handle all weapons.

First, the S-rank trait.

The description was short.

As always, it was so simple it felt almost unfriendly.

Even so, Eugene’s eyes widened.

“Whoa, insane.”

He inadvertently spoke his thoughts out loud, but thankfully, the people in chaos paid him no attention.

*’This is huge.’*

Eugene, glancing around discreetly, curled the corners of his mouth.

He didn’t need to pay much attention to the phrase “all weapons.”

After all, Eugene could handle most things anyway.

What was more important was the description “skillfully.”

The 【Akasha System】 usually wasn’t very generous with its evaluations.

If anything, it was on the stingy side.

Even when he had soloed the 60th-floor boss and succeeded in clearing it, the 【Akasha System】 had only given an evaluation of “clumsy.”

But “skillfully”?

It was a modifier he had never seen once until he killed the Final Boss.

With an evaluation like this, even with a weapon he was holding for the first time, he would be able to wield it at least as well as a player in the late level 100s.

*’As expected, S-rank is different.’*

Over the past 10 years.

The best among the numerous traits Eugene had obtained was A-rank.

And even that, he had only three of.

He had heard stories that S-rank traits and skills existed, but this was the first time he had actually seen them.

*’That’s awesome.’*

Eugene forcibly calmed his heart, pounding with anticipation, and checked his skills next.

■ 『Flashback [S]』: At the moment of facing death, projects all memories of a forgotten life into reality for 15 minutes. Limited to one use.

“Uh…”

Honestly, he didn’t understand it at first glance.

But he had been a player for a whopping 10 years.

Meaning he had become fully accustomed to all sorts of unfriendly explanations from the 【Akasha System】.

He strained his not-so-well-functioning brain to guess its meaning.

“Wait, no way?”

A surprised expression appeared on Eugene’s face.

He seemed even more shocked than when he had checked the S-rank trait.

*’If my guess is right.’*

This was so huge that even the word “jackpot” felt laughable.

*’Doesn’t this mean I can use the power I had in the first run?’*

Only 15 minutes.

And even that was merely a one-use skill.

Nevertheless, its value was indescribably high.

The power Eugene had built up in the first run was so formidable that even the transcendent boss, the Final Boss, couldn’t withstand it and had to retreat.

If he could use that power, even for a short while, it meant he could escape from a life-or-death crisis at least once.

*’Well, I don’t think anything like that will happen anyway.’*

In any case, depending on when and how he used it, the applications were sure to be endless.

He even had a specific idea that came to mind.

“Hmm.”

He finished checking his rewards.

Needless to say about 『Chronos’s Hourglass [EX]』, the other two were also very much to his liking.

It would have been the cherry on top if he had been given one more item, but wishing for that much was probably greedy.

*’This time, I can grow faster and stronger.’*

Meanwhile, he could also pick up a few useful ones and raise them.

“Good.”

Having roughly organized his thoughts, Eugene nodded and looked around.

The chaos still hadn’t subsided.

It would calm down a little only after the tutorial floor’s administrator showed up shortly.

In the meantime, Eugene scanned the people, wondering if there were any familiar faces.

“I wonder if any decent ones got summoned to the same floor as me.”

Several names passed through Eugene’s mind.

Among the countless idiots, the ones that were somewhat decent idiots, so to speak.

*’First, the top tier…’*

Needless to say, it was the Sword Empress [劍后].

Although she had stopped at the 64th floor, giving up her life there, her sword was at a level that even Eugene acknowledged to some extent.

If she hadn’t chosen to sacrifice herself to save other players, she might have reached the 100th floor together with him.

*’And the Fight Demon [鬪鬼].’*

A maniac obsessed with fighting.

Despite his somewhat cheesy nickname, his skills were real.

He had even soloed the 70th-floor boss.

Of course, in the end, it was a mutually destructive outcome.

*’Still, someone like the Fight Demon would be fine.’*

Apart from them, quite a few other faces came to mind.

Zygote from the U.S., the Flame Emperor [炎帝] from China, the Sword Emperor [刀皇] from Japan, and so on.

They were the top-tier players on Eugene’s “recruitment” list.

Unfortunately, he didn’t see their faces here.

“Tch.”

Yeah, it couldn’t be that lucky.

What were the odds of being summoned to the same place as one of them among over 200 tutorial floors?

*’Still, there might be at least a few of those who died on the 80th floor.’*

The alliance of 500 who joined forces to climb the tower.

They might be a bit lacking compared to the ones he thought of earlier, but they were still worth raising.

After all, they were the ones who had somehow managed to drag themselves up to the 80th floor.

The problem was…

*’I don’t recognize a single one.’*

Eugene didn’t remember their faces or names individually.

Back then, he didn’t have the slightest interest in alliances or anything of the sort.

He had just been lucky to find a hidden location on the 79th floor and focused on exploring it.

*’I should have paid more attention.’*

What was the use of regretting it now?

He was only reminded anew of how terrible his social skills were.

*’Can’t be helped. I’ll just have to find out slowly as I go up.’*

After all, he was bound to run into everyone eventually as he climbed.

It seemed there was no other way than to try coaxing them gently when the time came.

Then, suddenly.

“Hm?”

He spotted a face that seemed somewhat familiar.

*’Where have I seen him?’*

He couldn’t remember clearly.

But it was definitely a man he had seen before.

Age roughly mid-to-late 20s?

His hair was neatly slicked back, and he was wearing a well-fitted wine-colored suit.

He looked like the son of a wealthy family, and he was smiling while watching two middle-aged men who were throwing punches at each other in front of him.

*’…Smiling?’*

These were people who had just been chosen by the 【Akasha System】 and forcibly entered the tower.

How many people could smile and enjoy watching a fight in a situation like that?

Unless they had regressed to the past like Eugene.

But that couldn’t be it.

『Chronos’s Hourglass [EX]』 was a reward given only to Eugene, who had cleared the 100th floor.

*’What kind of sociopath is he…’*

Ah, he remembered now.

Most players aimed to clear the tower, but not all of them were like that.

There were occasionally those who focused solely on unleashing their inner desires.

People labeled such bastards as villains, and the ten worst of them were referred to as the Ten Evils [十惡].

“Jin Tae-ho.”

The identity of the man Eugene was looking at was definitely [The Smiling Man], Jin Tae-ho, one of the Ten Evils.

*’That bastard was on the same floor as me.’*

A notorious serial killer who murdered over 270 people while climbing from the 1st to the 40th floor.

The reason for his particularly infamous reputation was that he always targeted only those weaker than himself.

In the end, he was caught by the Sword Empress and had his head cut off, but…

Before that point, far too many players had died by his hand.

“That son of a bitch.”

If that bastard hadn’t killed people, there might have been more survivors to fight the Final Boss together!

Of course, that was a bit of an overreach, but it wasn’t entirely wrong either.

The number of players killed by the Ten Evils, including Jin Tae-ho, reached tens of thousands.

If they had safely climbed the tower and grown stronger, Eugene might not have had to watch the world’s destruction alone.

Thud-.

Eugene moved his feet.

*’Get stronger, pick up kids, and raise them with care.’*

Another task came to mind besides that.

Whether they were called Ten Evils or Ten Bastards.

*’I’ll gather them all and rip their heads off.’*

At a not-so-slow pace, he passed through the chaotic crowd and arrived in front of Jin Tae-ho.

The bastard’s gaze turned to Eugene.

“…Who are you? Do you have business with me?”

His smiling face was gone, replaced by a cautious expression.

Just like a sociopath, the change in his expression was utterly natural.

“Me? I’m Sung Eugene.”

Eugene answered casually and pointed at the bastard with his chin.

“You’re Jin Tae-ho. Right?”

“How do you know my name…”

It was confirmed.

Then there was no need to hesitate any longer.

Because he hasn’t committed the crimes yet?

So he’s innocent now?

Ethics, morality.

*’I don’t know a single thing about that crap.’*

If you want to appeal your injustice, do it in front of the King of Hell after you’re dead.

“Hey.”

His right hand reached out toward Jin Tae-ho.

It was the movement of a body still at level 1.

Even so, the bastard couldn’t dodge it.

Probably because it was an unexpected move.

“Huh?”

Jin Tae-ho, whose neck was grabbed in an instant, let out a bewildered sound, and Eugene put strength into his grip.

Crack-!

Along with the sound of his neck being wrenched, the bastard’s eyes widened.

Eugene could have given him a reason why he was dying right now, but he didn’t.

Honestly, he couldn’t be bothered to explain.

“Just die.”