'Status Window.'
A familiar blue holographic screen flickered into existence and the content made him grit his teeth.
---
[PLAYER STATUS]
Name: Kang Min
Level: 1
Title: Player
[STATS]
Strength: 20 [MAX]
Agility: 20 [MAX]
Stamina: 20 [MAX]
Intelligence: 20 [MAX]
Sense: 20 [MAX]
Mana: 20 [MAX]
---
Kang Min talked inwardly to himself, his brow furrowing as he stared at the numbers.
'My stats have all been reduced and the max is only 20 on each stat.
To add on...'
Another window opened beside the first one.
This one flickered violently, like a dying lightbulb.
It was his abilities tab, but it was barely readable.
---
[Skill / Ability Tab]
[Error: #######]
[Error: #######]
[Error: #######]
---
The screen glitched out.
The window closed entirely before reopening with a sharp pinging sound.
[System Message]
[Awaiting final verdict...]
[Analysis Complete.]
[Notice: You are a 'Story' that is currently incompatible with the 'Current World's Probability.' As a result, your abilities and power level have been Locked and Sealed.]
[Current Limitation: You can only utilize 5% of your original power level and stats until further synchronization is achieved.]
"I'm getting so mad right now."
He felt a vein throb in his temple.
He had spent decades forging his body into a weapon that could kill gods, and now the system was telling him he was essentially a toddler with a plastic sword.
"But... the only reason I'm not tilting is because I'll just be a porter for now.
Not much is expected of me, and seeing as it's just the tutorial floor and first floor only... everything will be good."
"At least I have this skill," Min muttered.
He scrolled down to the very bottom of the skills tab.
There was one icon that wasn't greyed out or showing an error.
[Unique Skill: Exchange - Lv. 2]r.
(Current Level too low to access high-tier exchange options.)
"Only problem is that it's at level 2.
I'll be sure to level it up when I officially start climbing the tower as a player again."
He closed the windows.
The weight of his "Sealed" status felt heavy, but he had lived through worse.
"Hu... it's getting really chilly out here," Kang Min said, rubbing his arms.
It was night time.
Kang Min stood near the designated meeting point, a rusted steel pillar marked with a glowing '4'.
He was still wearing the simple black clothes Park Woonhee had given him.
Compared to the other five Potters who were strapped into heavy exoskeleton frames and industrial-grade rucksacks, Min looked like he had wandered onto the wrong set.
He carried nothing but his own hands.
"Are you the applicant for the temporary slot?"
A woman with a clipboard and a sharp, no-nonsense bob cut approached him.
She looked him up and down, her eyes lingering on his lack of equipment.
"I am."
Min replied.
"Where's your frame? Your load-bearing gear?"
She tapped her pen against the board.
"The contract requires you to carry a minimum of 100kg.
If you're planning on doing that with just your back, you'll be dead or paralyzed before we hit the first floor."
Min didn't blink.
"I don't need a frame...I'm actually stronger than I look."
The woman snorted, but she was too busy to argue.
The expedition was scheduled to depart in ten minutes, and she was short one body.
"Fine. It's your funeral.
Name?"
"Kang Min."
"ID?"
"I'm in the process of a re-issue.
I was told this was a 'discreet' hire?"
The woman paused, then nodded slowly.
'Discreet' was code for 'unregistered' or 'black market.'
In the new era of the Tower, guilds often hired off-the-books Potters to carry sensitive items they didn't want logged in the official System records.
"Sign here."
She said, shoving a digital tablet at him.
"The pay is 1 million Won now, 5 million later.
If you drop the luggage, you get nothing.
If you die, we aren't liable.
Understood?"
"Understood."
Min signed.
A few seconds later, his phone; a cheap, burner device he'd picked up near the internet cafe vibrated.
[Deposit Confirmed: 5,000,000 KRW]
Min felt a strange sensation in his chest.
It was enough to get him halfway to his Player ID.
"Get in line. The team is arriving."
A hush fell over the station as a group of five people emerged from the transport lane.
A group of five stepped out, and they all had the basic clothes and hunting gear any other average player had.
'I thought they would be an official recognized group.'
Min thought as he looked at the five players.
'But judging from what I'm seeing and the fact that it's discreet, I can tell they aren't even a guild.'
He scanned their movements.
Their formation was loose and they didn't have the unified aura of a team that had bled together.
'That one and that one are the only ones who know each other... the other 3 must be meeting each other for the first time.
A sudden arranged raid?'
Two men walked at the front.
One had long, shoulder-length black hair and the other had a brown dyed mullet, a crazy smile, and a lit cigarette dangling from his lips.
The guy with the mullet noticed Min staring.
He narrowed his eyes, his smile widening.
He walked straight over to where Kang Min was standing.
They both locked eyes for a moment, staring at each other.
*WHOOO.
The mullet guy blew a thick cloud of smoke directly into Kang Min's face.
"Oiii... who's this asshole?"
The woman with the clipboard hurried over.
"Oh.. ah... he's the new potter."
"Why the hell is a potter not carrying anything?"
The mullet guy looked at Min's empty hands, then looked at the other potters who were struggling under their heavy gear.
"You two there..."
The mullet guy pointed at two of the other potters who were already equipped with large bags.
He reached out, unclipped their bags with a rough jerk, and dropped them into the dirt in front of Kang Min.
"I didn't like the way you were staring... it pissed me off."
The mullet guy said, leaning in close to Min.
"So, you're going to carry both of these bags."
He turned to the two potters he had just stripped.
"You two can go home. You'll be hired in the next raid."
The two potters looked at Kang Min.
Their faces were twisted with anger.
They spat on the ground near Min's feet before walking away.
'Making me look bad and the one at fault...now it looks like I just made their chances of earning quick money go just like that.'
Min's gaze bored even harder into the mullet guy's eyes.
The tension was like a stretched wire.
"Mr. No ID?"
A voice called out from behind the Mullet.
Kang Min looked past the man's shoulder.
It was the girl from the tutorial floor.
She was wearing light leather armor.
"You know this punk?"
The mullet guy asked, not looking back.
"Well... kinda..."
Park Woonhee replied, her voice small.
"Then put a leash on him or something!"
The mullet guy said, finally breaking eye contact.
"Those eyes of his can bring him trouble.
If he glares at me again, I'll take them out of his skull."
The players started moving, heading toward the shimmering portal that led into the Tower.
The remaining potters followed.
Kang Min reached down and grabbed the two massive bags and slung one over each shoulder, the straps straining against his frame.
He followed behind the clipboard woman.
Park Woonhee walked last, casting worried glances at Min's back as they all stepped into the light.
Inside the lobby, the group didn't slow down.
The long-haired man and the mullet guy started laughing like maniacs, talking loudly about how much they were going to make.
They drew stares from everyone in the lobby.
They reached the registration desk.
One by one, they swiped their IDs.
When it was the mullet guy's turn, he stopped.
"ID, sir."
"Just let us through. We have a permit for a private raid."
"I still need to verify your Player status, sir. It's regulation."
The mullet guy slammed his hand on the desk, startling the clerk.
He looked like he was about to throw a full-blown fit.
"Listen here, you little pencil-pusher..."
The clerk's face went pale, but he held his ground.
"Sir... further interruptions will lead to your Player status being revoked."
The mullet guy laughed mockingly.
"Revoked? And who will do that? The Walker Org? Tell them they can kiss my ass."
He finally slapped his ID on the scanner with a curse.
Kang Min watched this from the back of the line, his fingers clutching the straps of his bags tighter.
They went through the final gate.
It started as a blinding white light that felt like it was scrubbing their retinas, then it died down.
When the light faded, they were standing in a large field of flowers and lush green grass.
'This is where I woke up...'
Kang Min thought, his eyes scanning the horizon.
***
After a while of walking across the plains, they reached a dark opening of a cave dungeon.
As they entered, the clipboard woman turned to the potters.
"As we go further into the dungeon, you potters can pick up any mana shards and monster cores we leave behind.
That's your job.
Aside from that, you carry the weapons, the water, and the supplies.
Don't get in the way of the hunt."
One of the other potters, a kid who looked about eighteen, bowed slightly.
"Affirmative!"
The mullet guy smiled, looking back at the group.
He leaned over to the long-haired man and Park Woonhee, whispering something that Min couldn't hear.
'So she really is a player.'
Kang Min thought, looking at Woonhee.
'But why choose to be with such asshole members?'
The group moved deeper and the air became damp and smelled of wet earth and rot.
Suddenly, a series of high-pitched screeches echoed from the dark.
"Goblins!"
About six green-skinned creatures scrambled out from behind the rocks.
They were small, ugly, and armed with crude bone knives.
The fight was over almost before it started.
The long-haired man moved with practiced efficiency, but the mullet guy was different.
He killed and tore tore the goblins apart.
He used a jagged dagger to slice their throats and then continued to hack at the bodies even after they were dead.
"Pick them up!"
The mullet guy barked.
Kang Min and the other two potters stepped forward.
Min reached down and grabbed a goblin's monster core.
'I wonder how much these go for in the outside world now...'
'Now that the Tower and the world have direct contact, these are probably like currency.'
He wiped the dark goblin blood onto his pants and tossed the core into one of the bags.
They continued through the cave for another hour until they reached a glowing dungeon gate nestled deep in the rock.
Above the gate, a sign shimmered.
[Kobold Nest - Rank: E].
They entered.
Inside, the tunnel split into two branching paths.
The long-haired guy stopped at the junction.
"Listen up.
The path on the right leads to the mana shards.
The bags you potters are carrying include the tools to mine them.
Monsters don't spawn on that side; it's just a resource vein."
He pointed to the left path, which was darker and smelled of musk.
"The nest is on the left.
That's where we'll be going.
Once we clear the boss, we'll meet back here where the paths connect to the exit."
He paused, his eyes landing on the youngest potter in the group.
"Wait, you there," the long-haired man said, pointing at the 18 year old.
"You come with us to the left.
We'll need someone to collect the monster cores as we kill them.
Don't worry, your safety is guaranteed with us."
He then looked at Kang Min and the man who looked to be in his late sixties, his face lined with deep wrinkles.
"You two head to the mines."
Kang Min walked down the right-hand path. The walls were embedded with glowing blue crystals.
He pulled a pickaxe from one of the bags and began to work.
'Mana shards...'
'Back then, these could be sold for items in the Player System shop.
But seeing as how the world is right now... they could probably go for real money.
Maybe ten of these for a month's worth of rent.'
He looked over at the old man who was mining beside him.
The old guy was sweating, his breath coming in ragged gasps.
"Hey..." Min said.
"Take it easy. The wall isn't going anywhere."
The old man smiled at Kang Min and continued.
***
Enough time had passed that his bags were nearly full of heavy, glowing crystals.
'The economy must be truly terrible if they're having an old man work like this just to survive.'
He finished his pile and looked toward the tunnel entrance.
"Let's go back...I think we have enough and alot of time has passed."
Min said to the old man.
They walked back toward the junction.
As the old man tried to carry the bag on his back he ended up staggering as it was too heavy for his frame.
The old man's legs gave out and he fell forward with a cry.
The massive bag tumbled with him, landing squarely on his foot with a sickening crunch.
"Argh!"
The old man groaned, clutching his leg.
Kang Min stepped forward.
He reached down and picked up the old man's bag.
He slung it over his shoulder along with his other two massive bags.
He reached out his free hand and helped the old man up, draping the man's arm over his shoulder.
"Can you walk?"
"I... I think so.
Thank you, young man."
They began to walk toward the exit junction where the paths connected.
But as they got closer, the smell hit Kang Min first.
He stopped.
'Wait... this smells like huma—'
He turned the corner and froze.
Laying on the floor of the junction were three corpses.
They were the three players from the raid that Min had identified as new to the group.
Getting up from over the bodies was the woman with the clipboard who had signed Kang Min.
In her hand was a short, serrated blade.
She turned around.
Her face was completely covered in blood.
It was dripping from her chin and soaking into her clothes.
She stared at Kang Min and the old man and raised the blade, pointing it at them.
Her eyes were filled with tears, but as she wiped them with her sleeve, she only smeared more blood across her forehead.
"I...I-I'm sorry..."
She said as she trembled, the bloody knife shaking in her hand.