The Walker's Organization headquarters was a massive building of glass and steel that towered over the surrounding city blocks.
Kang Min stood in the lobby, dressed in a simple hoodie and sweat pants he had bought the day before.
The lobby was buzzing with activity.
Large holographic screens hovered in the air, displaying live leaderboards, stock prices of major guilds, and advertisements for high-end gear.
'Look at them...'
'They're all so clean and polished.'
He saw players walking around in shining armor that looked more like decorative jewelry than actual protection.
They were laughing, talking about their subscribers and view counts.
It felt less like a hub for warriors and more like a convention for celebrities.
He walked up to the reception desk.
A young woman with a bright smile looked up.
"Welcome to the Walker's Org!
Are you here for a new player evaluation?"
"Yes."
"Please provide your basic identification and step into the waiting area.
A guide will be with you shortly."
Min sat on a sleek, white bench.
His gaze drifted to a massive screen on the far wall.
It was showing a live feed of the Tutorial Lobby.
A young man with stylized hair was fighting a group of low-level orcs.
On the side of the screen, a chat box flickered with donations and messages.
'So this is what humanity has become.'
In his time, the Tutorial was a hell you escaped as fast as possible.
It was a place where you learned to kill or be killed.
But now, it had become a business.
'There are two ways to get stronger.
One is the Tutorial trials which are dungeon gates where you can enter, fight, and leave.
The other is climbing the floors.
But the stakes are different.
In the Tutorial, the system has a safety net.
If you "die," you respawn back to the tutorial lobby and just wake up with a headache and a penalty.
But on the upper floors... if you die, you're gone forever.
No respawns.'
He watched the streamer on the screen.
The man was beating a record for the fastest clear of a trial.
'No one wants to climb anymore.
Why risk your life on Floor 20 when you can stay in the Tutorial, stream your fights, and have viewers send you coins?
It's safe and profitable.
But the rewards are trash compared to the higher floors.
You can get money and recognition, but you'll never get the true power of a Constellation's sponsorship in a playground.'
"Mr. Kang Min? Please follow me."
A guide in a grey uniform stood before him.
She led him through a series of heavy, pressurized doors into the evaluation wing.
The guide stopped in front of a long corridor lined with five identical white doors.
"Mr. Kang, these are the evaluation rooms."
"Each room is an isolated space-time pocket.
When you step inside, the environment will change to simulate a dungeon environment.
You will feel pain and also feel fatigue.
And while you won't die in the real world, the system will record your performance to determine your Class and Rank."
She looked at her tablet.
"We use five different examinations to ensure the results are exact.
We want to avoid 'flukes' where a player gets lucky.
So we test Strength, Agility, Mana, Technique, and Mind."
Min nodded.
***
[Room 1: The Test of Prowess (Strength)]
Min stepped into the first room.
The white walls dissolved instantly.
Suddenly, he was standing in a barren wasteland.
In front of him stood a massive, ten-foot-tall stone golem.
[Objective: Destroy the target using raw physical force.]
Min looked at his hands.
His 20-point Strength stat was the limit for a Newbie...but his body density was different.
'I can't go too crazy.'
'If I shatter the simulation, they'll ask too many questions.'
The golem roared and lunged.
Kang Min didn't move and waited until the golem's stone fist was inches from his face.
He shifted his weight, pivoted his hips, and delivered a simple, straight punch to the golem's chest.
*BOOM!
The sound was like a cannon going off.
The golem broke and exploded.
Large chunks of rock flew across the wasteland, and the simulation flickered for a second.
Min pulled his hand back.
'That was about... 2% of my current 5%.
I should pull back more.'
Outside, in the observation room, the guide stared at the monitor.
The Force Gauge had hit the maximum limit for a C-Rank player instantly.
***
[Room 2: The Test of Reaction (Agility)]
The second room transformed into a narrow stone corridor.
[Objective: Reach the end of the corridor. Avoid all projectiles.]
Suddenly, the walls bristled with hidden traps.
Dozens of mechanical arrows and magical bolts hissed through the air.
Min began moving.
'My eyes can still see the trajectories before they even fire.'
'It's like the world is moving through water.'
He dodged and moved his head by an inch to let a bolt pass.
He twisted his torso to let an arrow graze his hoodie.
He reached the end of the corridor without a single drop of sweat on his brow.
'This is too slow...'
He complained inwardly.
'The projectiles on Floor 100 move 10 times faster than this.'
***
[Room 3: The Test of Resonance (Mana)]
The third room was dark.
In the center was a large, transparent crystal.
[Objective: Channel your Mana into the crystal. The color will determine your output and quality.]
Min placed his hand on the cold surface.
He felt the vast, roaring ocean of his mana behind the seal the system had placed on him.
It was like trying to pour the entire Pacific Ocean through a tiny straw.
'If I was able to let ven a drop of my mana without restrictions out, this building would blow up.'
He closed his eyes and visualized a small crack in a dam.
He pushed a tiny sliver of his energy forward.
The crystal began to glow.
First dim grey (F-Rank), then bright white (E-Rank), then deep blue (D-Rank), and finally, a sharp, piercing violet (C-Rank).
The crystal began to vibrate and crack.
Min immediately pulled his hand away.
'That's enough.'
***
[Room 4: The Test of Technicality (Combat Skill)]
The fourth room turned into a dense forest.
[Objective: Defeat 20 Kobold Warriors using only the provided wooden training sword.]
A group of snarling Kobolds emerged from the bushes.
Min picked up the wooden sword.
Ah, I haven't held a blade in so long...this just makes me smile even if its wooden.'
It felt light and flimsy in his hand.
'Just 20 of them?'
The Kobolds rushed him.
With every swing of the wooden sword, a Kobold fell.
He hit them in the gaps of their armor, their joints, and their necks.
It was a masterclass in efficiency.
One move, one kill.
He didn't waste a single inch of movement.
In less than a minute, he was standing in a pile of dissolving digital monsters.
The wooden sword didn't have a single scratch on it.
'Modern players rely too much on skills.'
'They forget that a blade is just an extension of the arm.
If the arm is perfect, the skill doesn't matter.'
***
[Room 5: The Test of Will (Pressure)]
The final room was the most dangerous.
It didn't change the scenery and remained white.
[Objective: Endure the "Killing Intent" of a High-Rank Predator for three minutes.]
The air in the room suddenly became heavy.
A thick, red aura began to fill the space. It felt like a giant invisible hand was crushing Min's lungs.
Most new players would collapse, vomit, or pass out within seconds.
'While it is overwhelming this pressure is about as threatening as a light breeze on a summer day.
Compared to standing at the gates of the Abyss while the universe screamed at me to just take my own life and die...
...this isn't alot.'
'Although I have to admit...it's really annoying. It feels like how someone would blatantly throw insults at you and you're just there taking it.'
He looked up at the observation window.
"Tsk."
'I should pretend to struggle a bit.'
He lowered his head slightly and took a deep, forced breath.
He waited for the timer to tick down.
***
Min walked out of the fifth room.
The guide was waiting for him, her face pale.
She was looking at her tablet as if it were written in an alien language.
"Mr. Kang... your results are... unusual."
"Is there a problem?"
"No! No problem.
It's just... your physical scores are at the absolute peak of the C-Rank.
Your mana quality is incredibly high, though your pool seems... non-existent?
And your combat technique scores are... well, they're off the charts.
The system couldn't even categorize your movement efficiency."
She led him back to the main office.
"Normally, a new player starts at F or E-Rank.
But based on these five tests, the Walker's Organization is officially classifying you as a B-Rank Player."
She handed him a sleek card with his photo on it.
[Player ID: Kang Min]
[Rank: B]
[Class: Fighter (Unspecified)]
[Affiliation: Seoul Abyssal Tower]
'B-Rank?'
Min thought, tucking the card into his pocket.
'It's high enough to get me into a good guild as a porter.'
He walked back out into the lobby.
The streamers were still shouting at their screens and alot of people were still posing for photos.
Min looked up at the giant leaderboard.
[Rank 1: 'Sky Ruler' Choi Sang-Hoon - Floor 20th 3rd Trial.]
'Thirteen years and they've only made it to Floor 20?'
He felt a familiar itch in his palms.
He didn't just want the money anymore....Kang Min wanted to see what was at the top of the tower this time.
'First, I need to get into a guild...'
'While climbing solo is what I prefer...
I need to save my coins.
If he enter as a player, the system might take a tax or entry fee.
If I'm a porter, the Guild pays the overhead, and I get to keep 100% of the rewards I find in my secret hunts.
'...plus I've been gone for 13 years.
If I go solo, I'll have to figure everything out by trial and error.
But if I join a top guild, I get a front-row seat to see how the world has changed.
What the new meta is, and where the secret trials are located without spending my own money.
Climbing the tower is expensive.
Portals, permits, and floor entry fees for high-level areas are likely controlled by the Walker Org or maybe even big Guilds.
As a solo, I can't legally or financially access the 10th or 20th floors yet.
A porter on the other hand gets a free pass to those floors as long as the guild is with them.'
Kang Min then smiles before lifting his Player ID which was in silver and metal as the light hit it glinting a bit.
'But who's to say I won't stream as porter?'