Chapter: 03
Descend, Me
He definitely said it.
…He called him “That One.”
That alone proved that the irresistible force I had destroyed along with Earth was a being clearly above Heimdall, the God of Storms.
But that wasn’t the only thing I learned.
‘So it was originally a name that couldn’t be known.’
I only realized it at the very end.
When I saw the words written in the system message.
[You have slain the “Absolute God, Irresistible Force (不可抗力).”]
The Absolute God.
The Irresistible Force.
Up until then, I had only thought of him as the final despair… the final catastrophe.
The one who watched as the world came to an end.
Naturally, no one should have been able to know that name.
Unless they were insane enough to actually do what I did.
And judging by Heimdall’s reaction…
‘…Is he really alive?’
If he was, then I truly had returned to the past.
This wasn’t the attitude someone would have toward an Absolute God who had already been erased.
His composure was gone.
His voice had sunk.
Rather than shouting that I had committed blasphemy, he was watching his words.
It was the kind of attitude one only showed toward someone who still held power.
First, I needed to understand my current situation.
So…
“Is it a name I shouldn’t know?”
I pressed forward with even greater confidence.
Heimdall’s gaze turned toward me.
I answered him with a smile.
Then—
“…You’re a truly fascinating one. A ‘Seed’ that knows His name. If you came to know it instinctively… your talent may be even greater than I imagined.”
The atmosphere around Heimdall softened.
Instead, a trace of desire appeared in the eyes of the god.
Just like a human.
It was familiar.
Without a doubt…
Those were the eyes of someone who coveted something.
“You. What is your name?”
My name?
There was no way I could answer Kim Jeong-seok.
After a brief moment of thought, I replied,
“…Rag.”
Ding!
[Your character’s name has been set to ‘Rag’!]
[Tutorial has begun.]
[Objective: Reach the Tower of God.]
[Warning: Do not let anyone discover that ‘Rag’ is a character.]
[The gaze of every god will be fixed upon ‘Rag.’]
[Reward: Determined by your arrival time.]
[Upon completing the tutorial, your level will increase and ‘Logout’ will become available.]
…What’s this now?
It really does feel like a game.
Anyway, it seemed that once I cleared the tutorial, I’d be able to log out.
In that case…
‘I’ll finish the tutorial as fast as possible.’
No matter what it took, I had to reach this so-called Tower of God.
“Rag. I’ll remember your name. Climb the tower and come find me.”
Looking into Heimdall’s eyes…
I would have to make use of that desire.
“I’ll consider it if you take me there yourself.”
“To where?”
“The Tower of God.”
The problem was…
I had no idea where it was.
I could search for it, but that would undoubtedly take a long time.
And I didn’t have time to waste.
Besides, there was no telling what might happen on the way.
Another god might appear and decide to kill me.
Heimdall’s expression stiffened.
“…You want me to take you there personally? Me, Heimdall?”
It looked like I had wounded his pride.
Shrugging, I continued,
“If you take me directly to the tower…”
I raised one finger.
“…then after climbing it, the very first being I’ll seek out will be the great ruler of all creation—Heimdall.”
“Hah.”
He let out an incredulous laugh.
His expression clearly said he couldn’t believe my audacity.
At the same time…
He didn’t seem to dislike the proposal.
“…Very well. I accept your deal.”
Whew.
That went more smoothly than expected.
But then—
“On one condition.”
“A condition?”
“Climb the tower as the overwhelming Number One among all the divine candidates.”
Heimdall’s eyes flashed.
“If you reach the tower with mediocre results… the moment you stand before me, I will erase you. Wasting my time carries only one price—annihilation.”
So unless I was unquestionably first, I held no value.
Typical divine arrogance.
Apparently, once I reached the Tower of God, I’d be competing against the other Children of the Gods.
I nodded.
“Fine.”
“…What?”
“I’ll climb the tower as the overwhelming Number One.”
At this point, it was all or nothing.
Logging out after clearing the tutorial came first.
The next instant—
“Kuahahahaha! I like you. I really like you!”
Heimdall burst into booming laughter.
At the same time—
Whoooooosh!
A colossal storm enveloped my body.
My vision flipped.
Space folded.
The world twisted.
“Go, you arrogant little Seed.”
The moment those words echoed in my ears—
Thud!
Solid ground met my feet.
When I opened my eyes, an enormous tower pierced through the clouds, standing proudly before me.
‘This isn’t rocket delivery… it’s typhoon delivery.’
The speed was so ridiculous it left me speechless.
Ding!
[You have arrived at the Tower of God.]
[Tutorial complete.]
[No one could have arrived any faster.]
[Your arrival speed is astonishing!]
[You have achieved Rank #1 in tutorial history!]
[‘Rag’ has been recorded in the Hall of Gods.]
[Rewards befitting your record have been granted.]
[Reward (1): Inventory]
[Reward (2): Spirit Wings]
[Reward (3): 5 Fragments of the Broken Golden Law]
[Level Up!]
[‘Logout’ is now available.]
The highest floor of the tower.
A garden of gods stretching endlessly above the clouds.
Countless gods had already gathered there.
Cutting through the wind, Heimdall appeared.
As though waiting for him, someone immediately spoke.
“Heimdall. Why did you personally bring a Seed here?”
A cold voice.
“Finding the tower on one’s own is part of the trial. Why grant such preferential treatment to a mere Seed?”
It sounded like an interrogation.
The gathered gods all fixed their eyes on Heimdall.
Their gazes were anything but friendly.
Understandably so.
The retrieval rate of the Seeds scattered across all of Asgard was a mere 1.8%.
In other words, ninety-eight out of every hundred died before ever reaching the Tower of God.
The surviving 1.8% then fought and killed one another.
And among them, even fewer ultimately became gods.
Heimdall had personally carried one Seed through the very first and harshest hurdle.
He answered indifferently,
“Because he deserved it.”
Utter confidence.
Another god warned him,
“Still as arrogant as ever. If the Seed you brought proves unworthy… you won’t escape punishment either.”
“Do as you please.”
Heimdall merely shrugged.
The anger of the gods meant nothing to him.
Instead…
A strange excitement filled his heart.
Because it was the first time.
Heimdall.
God of Storms.
Ruler of All Things.
Even before his overwhelming divine presence…
That boy hadn’t trembled in the slightest.
A mere Seed.
Instead of crawling on the ground in terror…
He had looked directly into Heimdall’s eyes and shamelessly proposed a bargain.
Even now, Heimdall could still remember it.
Those arrogant eyes.
Throughout countless eons…
He had never seen such a madman.
That was why he had accepted.
No…
To be honest—
‘A Seed that knows the name of the Absolute God…’
It was impossible.
Only the highest-ranking gods, like himself, knew that name.
A Seed should never have been able to utter it.
Occasionally, a Seed awakened while knowing the name of a specific god.
But that only happened when they possessed extraordinary talent inherited from that god.
What if…
By some impossible chance…
Rag possessed the talent of the Irresistible Force?
The Irresistible Force was the Absolute Throne.
Even they had never laid eyes upon that being.
The one and only existence who ruled both Asgard and the Tower of God.
And yet…
That eternal, unchanging order might actually be shaken.
‘Asgard is far too stagnant. It’s unbearably dull and boring.’
Heimdall was the God of Storms.
He wanted a violent tempest to sweep through this place as well.
He wanted those old, absolute beings to be shaken.
The reason was simple.
‘I will never permit anyone to stand above me.’
The desire to ascend.
The ambition to reach an even higher floor.
But once a god’s floor was determined, it almost never changed.
To overturn that system…
Someone had to shake it from below.
If Rag could play that role…
Then this little gamble was more than worth taking.
Just as Heimdall smiled to himself—
“How goes the game on Earth?”
“Didn’t we agree that each of us would create our own character and proceed?”
“The protection period is still active. Refrain from causing catastrophes that are too great.”
“And the humans’ awakening target?”
“For now… let’s make it thirty percent.”
“And the remaining seventy?”
“What a foolish question.”
“Naturally…”
“Extermination.”
Ding!
[You have logged out.]
[Returning to reality.]
[Warning: If either your real body or your body in Asgard dies, both will perish.]
A familiar ceiling.
Mold-covered wallpaper stained black.
A cramped basement apartment filled with a musty odor.
I sat up on the bed and looked around.
“…Ha.”
A bitter laugh escaped me.
…Because this was the semi-basement room I had lived in twenty years ago.
I checked the calendar.
March 14, 2026.
A date I could never forget.
The day peaceful everyday life shattered…
And hell began.
Just then—
Rumbleeeee!
The entire building shook violently.
Dust poured from the ceiling.
The textbooks on my bookshelf crashed onto the floor.
Bzzzt! Bzzzt!
The smartphone beside my bed screamed with emergency alerts.
At the same time, the television screen turned crimson as an emergency broadcast interrupted the program.
-Breaking News! A magnitude 6.2 earthquake has struck downtown Seoul!
-Roads throughout the city are collapsing, and—
The news anchor’s panicked voice echoed through the room.
Steadying my swaying body, I walked to the window.
Beyond the tiny basement window…
The streets had become a living hell.
Craaack!
The asphalt split apart like a cracker.
An enormous sinkhole opened its mouth, swallowing cars and people alike.
“Aaaah!”
“S-Someone save me!”
“The ground is collapsing!”
People screamed.
Car horns blared.
And then—
SKREEEEEECH!
From the cracks in the earth…
From the pitch-black darkness…
Strange creatures crawled out.
Gigantic rats with glowing crimson eyes and razor-sharp fangs.
‘Demonic beasts.’
This was the very first moment they appeared in the world.
If I were my past self…
I would have hidden beneath my blanket in terror.
But not anymore.
Compared to the day Earth was destroyed…
This wasn’t even worthy of being called a disaster.
There was something more important to check first.
“Status Window.”
Ding!
Level: 2
Class: Devourer of Calamities
Strength: 100 (-80)
Vitality: 100 (-80)
Agility: 100 (-80)
Intelligence: 100 (-80)
Mana: 100 (-80)
Titles: Slayer of the Absolute God, Supreme Calamity, Omnipotent One
Calamity Devoured: Storm of Extermination
My mouth fell open.
“…This is insane.”
I had only gained one level…
Yet every stat had doubled from fifty to one hundred.
But there was a problem.
[Warning: Your current body can only utilize 20% of your power.]
[To wield 100% of your original strength, ‘Descend’ is required.]
[A special catalyst is required for Descend.]
[Required Item: Fragment of the Broken Golden Law]
I could only use twenty percent of my strength.
So that was why every stat showed -80.
‘Nothing comes for free after all.’
I immediately reached out into empty space.
“Inventory.”
Swoosh.
Space split open, revealing a translucent storage area.
Inside were the tutorial rewards.
[Spirit Wings]
→ The wings of a spirit. The wearer can fly.
[Fragments of the Broken Golden Law: 5]
→ Allows Descend. Each fragment guarantees one hour of Descend.
So using a Golden Law Fragment would allow Rag’s power to descend into me.
In other words…
I could use Rag’s full power for a total of five hours.
‘That’s more than enough.’
It was plenty of time to clean up those damn rats and restore order.
SKREEEEEECH!
At some point, one of the giant rats had shoved its head through the window.
Disgusting saliva dripped from its yellow teeth.
Our eyes met.
I pulled out one of the fragments from my inventory and gripped it tightly.
“Descend.”
BOOOOOOM!
The entire apartment was engulfed in golden light.
My body twisted and expanded.
A height well over two meters.
Rock-hard muscles.
Even my hair turned into shining gold.
I…
became Rag.
