Chapter 2 An invitation from a pocket watch (2) (1/2)

The message ended there.

“…!”

Yeon-woo quickly examined the pocket watch again, just in case he could find another trace of his brother, or another message hidden inside.

But he couldn’t find anything.

*Flop*

Yeon-woo sat down heavily on the sofa.

He continued handling the pocket watch without saying a word.

It had scratches in several places and was missing its minute hand. He felt like the experiences that his brother had gone through on ‘that side’ were being portrayed right in front of his eyes.

Then Yeon-woo slowly rewound the knob.

*Click*

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To my older brother who will listen to this sometime in the future. By the time you hear this….

His brother’s recorded voice started speaking again from the beginning.

After that, Yeon-woo once again rewound the knob.

By the time you hear this….

In the same place, Yeon-woo rewound the watch over and over again.

And every time, he could hear his brother’s voice inside his head.

The same voice, the same tone, the same diary.

[Starting the succession process]

At that moment, a small screen popped up under his retina.

Interface system.

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This meant he was successfully connected to The Tower.

And then, his body began to change.

*Swoosh*

Something was wriggling inside his lower abdomen. He felt as if there was a snake curled up in his stomach and it was raising its head up.

It was a refreshing feeling, and yet, at the same time, it felt as if a weird seed was sprouting inside him.

It was mana. The basic element that constitutes the foundation of the world. It is also the power that people from other worlds and The Tower dealt with.

*Bang*

A cluster of mana exploded inside him. Through an unknown path, it spread out in all directions throughout his body.

He felt something was changing on the inside.

And then,

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*Crackle* *Crunch*

His body started to twist and convulse, followed by a fierce pain as if he were being torn apart.

He felt like his body was being disassembled and pierced by countless needles.

During military school, his tolerance against torture had been trained, but this was completely different.

Even so, Yeon-woo held tight onto his sanity. Not even a groan came out from his mouth.

He was sitting in place as he kept rewinding the pocket watch and listened to his brother’s voice again and again.

By the time you….

His skeletal frame was being altered. The joints in his body were readjusting, and his muscles turned soft and then hard again. A black substance was secreted out from his torn skin, which gave off a bad odor.

All the impurities in his body had been eliminated, and his muscles and skeleton had been refined.

*Crack* *Crack*

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He was in such a terrible pain, but this was nothing compared to what his brother had gone through.

And then, what seemed like an endless process finally came to its end.

[Awakening finished]

[Your awakening process is incomplete. Current progress: 5%]

[Your current body is insufficient to complete the succession process. Refine your body to complete the succession process. As your body improves, the succession progress will also advance.]

[Your current status is ‘Incomplete Dragon Body(龍體)’]

[Your physical abilities have been partially improved]

[Your traits have been confirmed]

[Your skills have been registered]

[You have acquired the qualifications of a player. You can only register once inside Obelisk.]

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Yeon-woo was in no condition to concentrate on what the strange voice was saying.

After that abominable pain, some strong feelings lingered in his mind.

“….”

But Yeon-woo still couldn’t take his eyes off of the pocket watch.

To my older brother who will listen to this sometime in the future….

* * *

As Yeon-woo rewinded the watch several times, he assimilated his brother’s memories left inside the diary.

Five years worth of memories.

The memories of when he met his teammates and founded Arthia. The memories of when they were so happy after successfully clearing one of the hardest floors. The memories of when they stood back to back, fighting their war.

The memories of himself drenched in blood, feeling worn out. The memories of when he kissed his love for the first time…. The memories of when he wept aloud because of her betrayal. And the memories of when he walked alone towards his enemies that were flooding in like water.

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As the memories were being embedded into his head, Yeon-woo could the feel happiness, sadness and all the other emotions his brother had felt.

Inside, Yeon-woo had become his brother.

And at that moment, when everything had ended,

“….”

[Player: Yeon-woo Cha]

Trait: Cold-blooded

Strength: 10 Dexterity: 15 Health: 12 Magic Power: 21

Skills: Draconic Eyes, Sense Strengthening, Foresight

Yeon-woo awoke from the overflowing thoughts. As he opened his eyes, a transparent panel popped up right in front of his eyes.

‘It was true. Everything.”

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He was hoping for it to be a lie. He would have prefered everything to be a dream or an illusion, but it wasn’t.

It was reality.

Yeon-woo’s expression sunk.

Now he knew about everything his brother had gone through. Who put his brother to death, and the reason why his brother had to return like that after five years.

The Tower was a place that could turn someone into a god.

But to Yeon-woo, it was nothing more than a lawless area where everyone bites at each other’s throat.

And his brother was bitten by the starving demons inside that place.

If that’s the case,

“I will pay you back.”

Following their rules,

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“Equally to you all.”

Yeon-woo was given his brother’s abilities as they were.

A player. He had acquired the minimum requirement to climb the tower.

And now it was time for him to come forward.

Sadness disappeared from his eyes.

“….”

Only cold fury remained.

* * *

Yeon-woo silently stared at the transparent panel that was in front of his eyes.

“So this is the ‘Status window’?”

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The status window was further classified into three tabs: Traits, Attributes, Skills.

Traits showed the player’s personality or talents.

The first trait his brother had obtained was ‘Psychometry’, the ability to communicate with his surroundings.

His brother was able to overcome many dangers by the using his Psychometry to communicate with objects or skills.

In addition to that, Attributes showed a quantification of a player’s capabilities, and Skills showed the standardized skills that players could use inside the tower.

‘It’s just like a game’

When talking about Obelisk, his brother had said “it may look like a game, but it’s not. It’s reality”.