"Senior, senior!"
"What is it? Why do you keep bothering me? Can't you see I'm busy?"
"Won't you explain it?"
"Explain what, exactly?"
"That! You promised to tell me about the Spire!"
"This newbie…"
Simon glanced at the eager young man named Inho.
How long had this person been pestering him about the Dark Spire? Too long, certainly.
With a deep breath, he began to explain:
"Where do I even start…? To begin with, nobody truly knows anything about the Dark Spire. All anyone can say with certainty is that it exists in a dimension far higher than Earth. Experienced Climbers have spun countless theories, but there is nothing beyond speculation."
Inho's eyes widened, and he leaned forward eagerly.
"So… no one has ever reached the peak?"
Simon shook his head.
"Not that I know of. Actually, there are various rumors that the Dark Spire has a total of 77 floors. To reach the peak would mean clearing the 75th floor. So far, only the 74 floors have been cleared by the High Rankers."
"High Rankers? Who are they?"
"Don't tell me you don't know who the High Rankers are?"
"Um… experienced Climbers?"
"They are the strongest Climbers in the Spire, you goofball!"
"…"
Looking at the clueless Inho, Simon felt like he needed to take a deep breath before continuing.
He ran a hand through his hair, letting out a slow sigh.
"Listen carefully, because this is important. The Dark Spire isn't just some tower you can walk into and climb. Each floor is a trial. Some floors bend your body. Some… prey on your mind. Others will kill you outright if you're not careful."
Inho's excitement wavered, replaced by a flicker of fear.
"Then… why do people even try?"
Simon's gaze hardened.
"What a stupid question. Why does anyone enter the Tower of Death? The fact that you're here naturally means you must have been unsatisfied with your way of life, yes? Didn't you receive a message from an unknown number?"
"Yeah. I did."
"Come to think about it, what's your story anyway?"
Inho scratched the back of his head, looking a little embarrassed.
"My story, huh…"
He hesitated for a moment, as if unsure where to begin.
"Well… it's nothing special, really. I was just an ordinary college student. Mechanical engineering major, third year." He laughed awkwardly. "Or at least, I was."
Simon raised an eyebrow but said nothing, letting him continue.
"My grades were decent, but not good enough to stand out. My family kept telling me to study harder, get into a better company, become something respectable. You know… the usual."
Inho shrugged.
"But no matter how hard I tried, it always felt like I was running in place. Everyone else was moving forward while I stayed the same."
His voice grew quieter.
"Friends started getting internships. Some already had job offers lined up before graduation. Meanwhile, I couldn't even pass the second round of interviews."
Simon listened silently.
"One night," Inho continued, "after another rejection email, I just sat in my dorm room staring at the ceiling. I remember thinking… Is this really all there is to life?"
He let out a small laugh.
"That's when my phone rang."
Simon's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Unknown number?"
"Yeah."
Inho nodded.
"It asked me a strange question."
He looked up at Simon.
"Do you wish for a new world?"
The room fell quiet.
As though someone had spoken a forbidden word.
That unholy sentence.
It was a familiar sentence that had already sent thousands of Climbers to their early demise.
Simon crossed his arms.
"And you said yes."
Inho grinned sheepishly.
"Well… yeah. I mean, at that point, what did I have to lose?"
Simon stared at him for a moment before resisting the urge to punch his punchable head.
"You newbies really are all the same. Why didn't you think about it more thoroughly, huh!? Did you think you're super cool or something?"
"W-Well… when you put it like that, it does sound pretty reckless," he admitted with an awkward laugh.
"Reckless is not even the word for it. Do you have any idea how many people hear that question and jump at it without thinking ? Thousands. And most of them don't last a week inside the Spire."
"…That bad?"
"That bad."
Simon leaned back slightly, his gaze drifting toward the distant skyline beyond the window.
"The moment you say yes, you're no longer part of the normal world. The rules change. Your old life? Your family, your friends, your future plans… all of it becomes meaningless."
Inho swallowed.
"But… if people know that, why do they still accept?"
Simon let out a quiet chuckle, though there was no humor in it.
"Because desperation is a powerful thing."
He tapped the table with a finger.
"Some want power. Some want revenge. Some want wealth. Others think they'll become some kind of legendary hero."
His eyes shifted back to Inho.
"And then there are idiots like you who just think, 'Why not?'"
Inho scratched his cheek, looking slightly embarrassed.
"…When you say it like that, I sound really dumb."
"You are."
"…Ouch. Why do you have to target my feelings, dude? Come to think of it, aren't you here in this God forsaken place too? Are you not?"
Simon didn't respond.
"So what about you?" Inho pressed. "Why did you accept the offer?"
For a brief moment, Simon's expression stiffened.
Something cold flickered across his eyes.
"…That is none of your business."
Inho was a bit dumbfounded.
What was with this sudden change in atmosphere?
'I see… so it's like that.'
Realization slowly dawned on him.
The Dark Spire wasn't a place just anyone could enter. Only those who were deeply unsatisfied with their lives or those who had suffered some great tragedy, ever received an invitation.
Judging solely from Simon's reaction, it seemed he belonged to the latter category.
Inho opened his mouth, wanting to say something. But before he could speak, a voice echoed through the air.
It was the Voice of the Tower.
[The 75th Floor has been cleared.]
[Access to the 76th Floor has been unlocked.]
For a brief moment, the world seemed to fall silent.
Then the entire bar erupted.
"What!?"
"Did you hear that!?"
"The seventy–fifth floor… cleared!?"
Dozens of voices overlapped as Climbers all around them shot to their feet. Chairs scraped against the ground, cups toppled over, and conversations dissolved into chaos.
Inho blinked in confusion, looking around at the sudden uproar.
"What's going on…?"
Simon, however, had already stood up.
His expression, which had been calm just moments ago, had turned rigid.
"…So it finally happened," he muttered under his breath.
Inho stared at him.
"Senior… what does that mean? Didn't you say the seventy–fifth floor was the peak?"
"That's what everyone believed."
Simon folded his arms, his gaze fixed somewhere far away as if trying to process what he had just heard.
"For decades, people thought the seventy–fifth floor was the final destination. The point where the Spire ended."
Inho frowned.
"But the announcement said access to the seventy–sixth floor was unlocked…"
"Exactly."
Simon's voice dropped lower.
"That means the Spire… doesn't end at seventy–five floors."
A chill ran down Inho's spine.
"So… there are more?"
Simon didn't answer immediately.
Around them, other Climbers had already begun shouting excitedly, some laughing, others arguing loudly with their companions.
"The peak wasn't the peak!"
"There are more floors!"
"This changes everything!"
Simon clicked his tongue quietly.
"No. It changes nothing. Why is everyone so excited about this?"
Inho looked at him, confused.
"What do you mean?"
"It just means the nightmare continues. Moreover, something isn't right."
Around them, the chaos in the bar only intensified.
"Who cleared it!?"
"Was it the Heavenly Guild!?"
"No way, it had to be the Black Crest alliance!"
"Seventy–six floors… this is insane!"
Amid the noise, Inho scratched his head.
"Ah… come to think of it, there was always a message announcing how many people survived each floor, right? Is there a delay?"
Simon's brows slowly furrowed.
"…No."
"Huh?"
"There's never been a delay before."
Inho blinked.
Before he could ask another question, the Voice of the Tower echoed again.
But this time… something felt different.
The tone was the same calm, mechanical voice as always, yet the words that followed caused the entire bar to fall silent once more.
[75th Floor Trial Complete...]
[Total Amount of Participants: 312]
A pause followed.
A long pause.
Far longer than usual.
Even the most drunken Climbers in the bar had gone quiet.
Then the next line appeared.
[Total Survivors: 1]
A collective gasp swept through the room.
"…What?"
"Did it just say one?"
"Three hundred went in… and only one came out?"
Inho felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up.
He slowly turned toward Simon. However, Simon's face had gone completely pale.
"…That's impossible."
"What do you mean impossible?!"
Simon didn't answer right away. Instead, he clenched his fist tightly.
"Because the seventy–fifth floor… wasn't supposed to be a combat trial."
"Then what was it?"
"…A succession trial."
Inho blinked.
"…Succession?"
Simon's voice dropped to a near whisper.
"A floor where multiple High Rankers compete for a single position."
"Wait… you mean—"
Simon nodded slowly.
"Yes."
His gaze drifted upward, toward the unseen heights of the Dark Spire.
"The one who cleared the seventy–fifth floor…"
His jaw tightened.
"…is no longer human."
Before Inho could process those words, the Voice of the Tower spoke again.
[Climber Designation Confirmed.]
[Title Granted: Sovereign of the 75th Floor.]
[Authority of the Spire has been partially transferred.]