UTC 11

Chapter 11

Some time ago, while climbing the tower, I had an experience where a card appeared before my eyes just like now.

It happened when I cleared the 5th floor.

One. The card that appeared now was just one.

It was clearly different from the three cards that had appeared before.

The reason is simple.

It was a slightly different skill event from the 5th floor.

It wasn’t a skill offering but an augmentation that strengthens an already possessed skill.

[Special Assembly]

• 5% chance to produce a special unit.

“I forgot about this.”

Basically, for an augmentation, all possessed skills should appear.

But I currently only have one skill.

So only one appeared.

[‘Special Assembly’ has been enhanced.]
[‘Special Assembly’ has changed to ‘Special Assembly II’.]

As expected, the enhanced Special Assembly required no further thought.

I opened the skill window to check the enhanced Special Assembly.

[Special Assembly II]

• 5% chance to produce a special unit.
• 1% chance to produce a hero unit.

I confirmed the enhanced Special Assembly, which had never triggered before.

Unlike before, a new phrase had been added to Special Assembly.

“A hero unit can appear?”

Of course, the probability was low.

Only 1%.

But still, I was secretly excited.

0% and 1% are clearly different.

If I forget about it, maybe it’ll trigger at least once someday.

After a brief small event, I closed the skill window and stared at the message I had just seen.

[Do you want to enter the neutral zone Peronta?]

Strictly speaking, the neutral zone exists but is an unofficial floor of the tower without an assigned number.

Existing every 10 floors, this neutral zone is a major exchange area for players climbing the tower.

And the 10th-floor interval neutral zone was Peronta.

“I’ll enter.”

[If you enter Peronta, you will not be able to replay the floors you have passed.]
[Do you still want to enter?]

My current level had risen to 9 while clearing the 10th floor.

Compared to the level where most players graduate the tutorial, it was low.

So ignoring the recommended level entirely wouldn’t be wise; most would choose to stay here a bit longer.

“Fine. Doesn’t matter.”

I entered without hesitation.

That was because my combat power came not from level or stats but entirely from drones.

As I entered, the scenery in front of me changed instantly.

Soon, a massive blue tower soared high into the sky, with a medieval city sprawled at its center.

“This is Peronta…”

Many people existed in Peronta.

There were plenty of players too.

Distinguishing between the tower’s inhabitants and players was simple.

Players’ unique, expressive outfits were a clear differentiator.

After taking in Peronta’s scenery with my eyes, I moved toward the tower.

“Since I’m here, might as well see what’s up.”

Originally, I had entered just to look around.

But leaving now felt a bit disappointing.

Besides, I had a refraction ring.

No reason to avoid anything, so my steps were light.

As I reached the area around the blue tower, the player density increased.

Players of various races were loudly bustling with their own purposes.

“Looking for someone to tackle floor 13 together.”
“Recruiting party for floor 15 veterans! Beginners, please don’t come, it’s obvious!!”
“Looking for Dawn’s Dew~”

Unlike the tutorial, from floor 11 onward, party raids were possible.

Party raids had many advantages.

Accidents were much less likely during raids.

Also, from floor 11, group missions existed, and players in the same party were assigned to the same team.

Even if individual missions were given, party players were assigned the same task.

Thus, cooperation was easy.

Still, there were disadvantages.

Rewards were reduced.

With individual missions, more enemies needed to be defeated.

Yet, the overwhelming advantages made many players prefer party raids.

Of course, I had no interest in joining a party.

Forming a party while trying to remain unnoticed was itself risky.

“Finally arrived.”

As I reached the tower’s vicinity, a message appeared before my eyes.

[Do you want to enter the 11th floor of the Sky Tower?]

“Alright.”

As always, the scenery changed instantly.

Baek Jinseong.

He was a player from South Korea.

The trait he received upon awakening was ‘Messenger.’

It might sound odd… but it was basically like being a streamer.

“Everyone, today I’m finally tackling floor 11.”

Normally, individual broadcasting inside the tower was impossible.

But not for Baek Jinseong.

Thanks to his trait.

Thus, unlike videos filmed with body cams inside the tower, his broadcasts were qualitatively different.

A raw live broadcast with no editing.

It offered a distinctly different experience from other streamers.

It fully satisfied viewers who preferred a sense of presence.

Because of this, Baek Jinseong had a surprisingly large number of regular viewers.

Upon entering the 11th floor, he shuddered as he surveyed the field.

“This is… the aerial garden…!”

Viewers flooded the chat as they saw the vast garden.

• Wow, this is insane?
• Of all places, it had to be here?
• Should we just give up?

Viewers’ reactions converged on one point.

The aerial garden was an infamously difficult field.

The ambush by the carnivorous plant ‘Death Vine.’

It could appear anywhere, threatening your life, so it was easier to give up.

Not only that.

There was also the ‘Gardener Krim’ guarding floor 15.

The gardener, wielding huge scythe shears, had insane regeneration, quickly healing any damage.

The difficulty was widely regarded as unmatched for floor 15.

So, even if someone unknowingly tackled the garden field on floor 11, it was a problem.

If successful, retreat was impossible.

They’d have to repeatedly clear floor 15’s garden, shedding blood and tears.

Stepping into the garden field without care meant putting in more than double the effort and time than others, without special rewards.

So many players checked the floor on 11th floor and left without taking any missions.

Baek Jinseong also hesitated.

Then he glanced at his viewers.

• Giving up isn’t shameful, Jinseong. Just a little embarrassing.
• True, running is shameful but it helps.
• Haha, classic Jinseong.
  [Viewers: 211]

“No, everyone. Baek Jinseong is a man, alright!”

He tried to act tough.

It was partly his trait and partly to play to his viewers.

His viewers always responded well to this kind of behavior.

‘What could possibly happen?’

Baek Jinseong’s trait was simple.

Based on the current number of viewers, he received additional stat buffs.

For example, with 211 viewers, he got +6 additional stats.

With 100 viewers, three random stats were granted.

He lacked natural physical talent, but this was his driving force for climbing the tower.

Climbing with pure stats.

And to continue doing so, checking regular viewers’ reactions was essential.

‘But there are fewer viewers than usual today…’

Maybe choosing a weekend morning was a mistake.

Or perhaps another popular player was broadcasting at the same time.

He wasn’t the only one with a unique trait.

‘This could be tricky.’

Normally, he’d get 400 viewers, but now it was roughly half.

He boasted, but the situation was putting a burden on the raid.

‘Don’t think weakly. Just act like you’re raiding, then give up.’

With his statement made and the viewers’ opinions considered, his plan was simply to give up halfway.

He never intended to raid.

The gardener was scary.

• Everyone can see Jinseong’s scared face, haha
• It’s not too late, give up now
• What a struggle

“Scared… I’m not scared. I’m not that tiny guy.”

Still, drawing aggro paid off.

After declaring he’d raid, his viewers increased considerably.

[Viewers: 330]

Not as many as usual, but enough to boost his stats a little.

“I, Baek Jinseong, have drawn my sword. Time to chop radishes and leave.”

It wasn’t a lie.

He really intended to swing a few times and leave.

For live broadcasting, pretexts often mattered.

And now was such a moment.

A pretext for giving up without the chat exploding.

Once he had that, he could make a neat excuse and quit.

• Haha, if Jinseong hopes for a group mission now, thumbs up
• His legs trembling are so cute
• This is why I watch Jinseong

Group missions.

Or team missions.

Baek Jinseong secretly hoped for such a mission.

It allowed him to naturally be carried along by someone else.

‘Since I’m giving up anyway, a little inconvenience is fine…’

Anyway, no choice.

He didn’t want to suffer needlessly in the aerial garden field.

Ding—

Just then, a mission was assigned.

[Complete the mission in the aerial garden with your teammates to earn points. 0/100]

• Collect herb Polana +3 points
• Hunt Death Vine +1 point
• Retrieve temple relics and return them +10 points

Baek Jinseong’s expression brightened slightly.

Though it wasn’t a full group mission with all players, just doing the team mission was satisfying.

Ding—

[No party currently joined.]
[Teammates will be assigned automatically.]
[You have been assigned to Team 7.]

A number 7 appeared above a few players’ heads in the safe zone.

Baek Jinseong approached the nearest teammate.

A fairly tall man.

Up close, his attire was unusual.

He looked poorly equipped for reaching floor 11.

Still, Baek Jinseong bowed politely.

“Hello, sir. I’m Baek Jinseong.”

“Hello.”

His expression wasn’t very bright.

Baek Jinseong, being naturally introverted, only acted exaggeratedly for the broadcast.

Just then, the other members with a ‘7’ above their heads began to gather.

One of the four who joined first spoke.

“Are you two experienced?”

The aerial garden was notorious, so beginners typically avoided it.

Most remaining players were veterans.

And the men asked because they were repeating the floor.

Baek Jinseong replied,

“I… am not.”

The man who had coldly responded earlier said,

“Me too, first time.”

The four exchanged looks, then spoke.

“Actually, we’re experienced. We plan to repeat clear, but it’s too much to carry you two along.”

Though unsaid, their meaning was clear.

One of us should back off.

‘Pretext…!’

Pretext arrived sooner than expected.

Baek Jinseong glanced and spoke.

“I…”

He hesitated, then added,

“If it’s a problem, I’ll act separately.”

He turned his head.

The same man as before said,

“No need to…”

Then walked alone to a corner.

Against his intention, Baek Jinseong ended up with the men.

“Then let’s go.”

The experienced group spoke to him and led the way.

Walking behind them with a troubled face, he remembered the broadcast and quickly checked the chat.

• Wow, I remember that face
• Those guys are hunters

‘Hunters’ are players who ambush others in the tower to plunder.

• Wow, chills
• Jinseong, run!
• TTT

Baek Jinseong flinched and manipulated the mission window.

He intended to give up immediately.

But when he tried to leave, a shocking message appeared.

Beep—

[Marked by the Hunt.]
[Exiting is not possible.]

Goosebumps ran all over him.

‘Marked by the Hunt’ is a skill of assassin-class entities.

It helps track targets and deals extra damage if attacks succeed.

But he had never realized it could affect players this way.

‘I didn’t want to know!’

His mind went blank.

What to do?

Would he die like this?

1v1 was impossible; 4v1 seemed hopeless.

While panicking, he spotted a face.

The man who had decided to act alone earlier.

Baek Jinseong quickly ran to the opposite side.

“Hey hey… damn, he’s running!”
“Hey, won’t you stop?”
“What the hell, why is he so fast?”

He ran at full speed.

Worried the assassin might catch him quickly, yet his body felt light.

[Viewers: 1051]

Baek Jinseong saw the number and understood why.

Viewers had increased, having heard about the situation.

His stats temporarily rose.

Thanking the viewers, he ran with all his might.

But soon, the distance closed.

They probably weren’t planning to let him go.

“Ugh…”

As he ran frantically, a blue light glimmer appeared around the corner.

‘Please be that person!’

He ran as fast as possible and turned the corner.

Fortunately, the tall man was there.

He flinched, then calmly asked,

“…What is it?”

“Help me, sir! Those guys earlier were hunters…”

Thud.

Baek Jinseong was kicked and tumbled across the ground.