# Chapter 1
2007.
Massive black towers connecting to dungeons—Black Towers—appeared all over the world.
At the same time, Humanity's Awakening began.
Through this event, people came to understand.
Although uncertain.
Why those towers had suddenly appeared, and how to best deal with them.
Those who had undergone Awakening were called "Players".
A very fitting name.
Even in 2026, twenty years later, Black Towers still existed, and a tiny portion of humanity continued to undergo the Awakening process.
※ ※ ※
Moon Ji-han, twenty-five years old this year, awakened.
Completely within expectations.
He had solemnly prayed every day to get this chance.
[Moon Ji-han-nim has awakened.]
"Hell yeah! Wait! N-no, I mean... good lord!"
It was early Sunday morning, the moment he lit some incense and picked up his overused bronze singing bowl that he had just cleaned, still pristine even though it had been with him for over 10 years, and was about to hit it with a metal rod.
"Awakening! Thank you RNG-esus!"
He had done it!
All those years of praying finally bore fruit.
He's not dreaming. Right?
"Youch!"
With red cheeks, he jumped and threw punches.
"Yippie! It's not a dream, I really awakened!"
The odds of awakening after twenty years from the start of the Black Towers' appearance.
Downright horrendous.
It's literally luckier than winning the lottery, and if you were extra lucky or pretty skillful, you could chance upon a jackpot that could turn your life around.
The odds remained the same even in the early days.
And yet the number of awakeners never spiked.
Because with each Player awakening, another one bites the dust.
You awakened. Congrats!
Endless wealth and worldwide fame awaits.
Of course, only if you survived!
However, the risk did not deter Moon Ji-han.
He had dreamed of this for years.
He was more than ready to claim what was rightfully his.
According to the laws of Main Character selection, he had fully ticked all requirements.
Regardless of the dangers.
Despite the news covering death footages of Players, be it from freezing to death or burning to death from the harsh environment, facing a fate of being savagely torn apart by monsters, dying of poison, getting impaled in traps, or starving to death unable to escape.
"Ugh! I'm getting chills."
Moon Ji-han's excitement shot up through the ceiling.
He was different.
He was the Main Character after all.
And there was only one way to confirm his new identity as a Player.
The method to check was simple.
He just had to open his Status Window.
This could be accessed even outside the towers.
"I am the bone of my sword. Steel is my body and... and the fire in my heart?"
Moon Ji-han scratched his head.
His memories were messed up.
"How does it go again? Ahh, forget it. Status Window!"
Almost immediately,
-Whoosh!
-Ding!
[Name]: Moon Ji-han
[Affiliation]: Black Tower (Korea)
[Level]: LV. 1
[Trait]: Pending
[Trait Skills]: Pending
[Universal Skills]: Enter Tower (Once per day) / Tower-Exclusive Inventory
[Combat Skills]: Pending
"Hehe... hehehe—HAHAHAHA!"
The Awakening was certain.
Enter Tower worked exactly how it sounded like.
Tower-Exclusive Inventory could only store and retrieve items obtained from the Black Towers.
Earth-made items wouldn't go in.
Naturally, materials that came from Earth wouldn't be accepted.
Everything had indicated that he was a full-fledged awakener.
But the trait though...
'Pending? What does that mean?'
Moon Ji-han appeared confused.
Upon Awakening, one would be granted a trait.
What trait you'd get was entirely up to chance.
It's random.
There were many types.
[Fire Manipulation] [Water Manipulation] [Superhuman Strength] [Sword Mastery] [Spear Mastery] [Superhuman Speed] [Healing Word] [Allied Barrier] [Golem Summoning] and so on.
There was one thing in common with traits.
They always consisted of a two-word combination.
'Pending huh...'
But Moon Ji-han's trait only had one.
'Wait!'
Suddenly, a ridiculous thought crept inside his head.
So ridiculous that it might just be true!
"Could this be a time-related ability!?"
It totally made sense.
What other meaning did "Pending" have except "to wait"?
None!
It meant that he could, potentially, stop time.
And there were lots of things one could do with time-stop.
"Hehe... hehehe—HAHAHAHA!"
However.
He hadn't heard of anyone owning a one-word trait or anything else other than a two-word trait for that matter.
It shouldn't exist.
And therefore, it reinforced the fact that he was the Main Character.
But first!
Understanding his trait took priority.
'O Pending, Pending, wherefore art thou Pending?'
'Deny thy understanding and refuse thy explain.'
What kind of trait had he acquired?
Should he try using a Skill?
"Um... Pending."
Nothing happened.
Why was nothing happening?
"Hm... Tsk, damn it!"
He had understood.
Because there was no way a skill would activate outside of the Tower.
A Player's level, trait, and skills were only valid if they login online—that meant, they had to go inside the Black Tower.
Offline, outside the Tower, they were no different from the normal populace.
Much like how one would think of a game, you could be the strongest swordsman or the greatest mage even reaching the highest level possible.
But you'd still be powerless in reality.
That was why the name "Players" fitted those who had undergone Awakening so well.
Moon Ji-han knew that using skills outside the Tower wouldn't work.
Why me?
Why was he included and not an exemption?
"I'm the Main Character. I have passed all the requirements to be one!"
Why couldn't he use skills outside the Tower?
Moon Ji-han stared blankly.
-Korureuk!
He held his grumbling stomach, and went to the bathroom.
※ ※ ※
Moon residence, 1st Floor Bathroom.
-Prrt! Prrt!
-Splash!
Moon Ji-han had an illness.
The bane of any man's existence.
Chronic Diarrhea.
If he was inside a novel then the rules dictated that he had a terminal illness.
Even though it wasn't life threatening.
The term got convoluted so much he didn't care what it was anymore.
"Pending my ass!"
Moon Ji-han trembled and pushed.
Breathe in twice and breathe out once.
Hoo, Hoo, Haaa.
-Prrt! Prrt!
-Splash!
Delivering a bomb proved to be incredibly difficult.
He might as well get shot with a bullet.
[Detecting malicious activity towards the system.]
"What do you mean "malicious"? It's natural, completely natural."
Items come from corpses of fallen monsters or people.
Designated as loot.
But in the literal sense, they were nothing more than a body part, byproduct, or equipment ready to be taken under new management.
"That's right, swallow it all up. It's good for you."
He had a plan.
A plan to test his skills in a relatively safe area.
A plan just in case his skills didn't work exactly as he envisioned.
Not a single clue what trait his awakening had given him.
But he was certain.
It will be extremely powerful.
"Enter Tower."
After wiping and cleaning himself.
He entered the tower.
One might ask.
Why, oh why, did he not flush the toilet?
Simple!
[Moon Ji-han-nim has violated the Inventory.]
[A small portion of your trait solidifies.]
"Hush little baby, don't be scared. It's just a pile of shit!"
That's right, he had done the most malicious act known to system-kind.
He had gathered everything.
Every single drop inside his Tower-Exclusive Inventory.
Since he awakened.
That meant he was a visitor of the Black Tower.
And therefore, even his shit belonged to the tower.
He could take it inside!
"Hehe... hehehe—HAHAHAHA!"
He vanished into a spectral display of light.
Next thing he knew.
A refreshing breeze swept his hair.
Grass beneath his indoor slippers.
He should've changed outfits beforehand.
"It's a plains biome."
It was a grassland stretching endlessly.
Rolling around were a mass of green blobs.
Slimes.
No intelligence.
No instinct.
Just a body that consumed everything it touched.
They crawled in a straight line.
A cute smile being their only redeeming feature.
Easy to kill.
[Welcome to the Black Tower (Korea).]
[Floor 1 Quest - Eliminate 10 Happy Slimes in 3 hours.]
[Upon completion x1 Lowest Grade Magic Stone will be acquired.]
"Alright, let's get started!"
Moon Ji-han stretched his arm out.
Since he was inside the Tower, that meant his skills could be freely used.
And since the enemies this time were mindless slimes.
"Pending!"
He shouted.
With all his heart.
In an instant, the world turned silent.
A whistling breeze flew by.
The slimes glomped around eating grass.
Wriggling happily.
He had casted his skill perfectly!
It worked—not!
Fuck!
The skill didn't work as he thought it would.
He was wrong.
Oh, he was so wrong.
"D-description... Let me see the skill description."
He called his Status Window.
Focused on his Trait Skill.
[Pending]
[Entry undergoing evaluation. Please wait.]
"Ugh!"
500 points of damage.
Straight to his heart.
Moon Ji-han's face burned in embarrassment and despair.
He had seriously thought his powers were related to time.
And he was right.
It was related to time.
But he wasn't commanding the world to stop and wait.
The world was telling him to stop and wait.
"This can't be..."
And he foolishly went inside the tower.
Wearing pajamas and indoor slippers.
Not a single weapon.
Only his body.
But he did have a weapon.
Hoo, Hoo, Haaa.
Breathe in twice, and breathe out.
Hoo, Hoo, Haaa.
"Alright, plan B it is."
He had a weapon so strong.
It would kill any living thing in disgust.
That's right.
He still had an inventory full of shit!
"Let's see those happy faces turn inside out."
"Hehe... hehehe—HAHAHAHA!"