Chapter 2 - Tower of Trials (1/2)

Chapter 2: Tower of Trials (2)

「 All stats, skills, and innate ability have been reset to initial values. 」

「 The following challenger’s stats are already equal to the initial values. 」

「 Halting the reset process. 」

At first, I just stared blankly at the holographic message.

But…

「 Starting the tutorial trial. 」

A message about a ‘tutorial trial’ came out of nowhere.

As soon as I saw that message, I felt a wave of heat escape my body.

‘What’s going on? What is this?’

Starting with the most basic questions about my current state of affairs.

‘Tower of Trials? Is this the second coming of the Great Calamity?’

I even stipulated what the current situation could be about.

The influx of thoughts ricocheted around my throbbing head.

But even that was temporary.

「 Providing a weapon. 」

Clack.

Following the message about a weapon, a sword fell before me.

One with a sharpened edge, unlike the wooden ones I used to use at the training center.

The knife spanned about 30 inches.

“What is…?”

There’s no way a single can of beer could get me this drunk.

Although it’s almost nonexistent, my alcohol tolerance was heightened when I awakened as a player.

But…

‘There’s no way that’s making me dream like this.’

I quickly looked around and analyzed my surroundings.

The place I was standing was no longer a bench in a winter park, but rather a random desert.

No, could you even call this a desert?

The place was covered in sand and an occasional row of cacti.

Although it seemed normal at first glance, the boundary where the sky met the horizon said otherwise.

It was vast and spacious, but clearly synthetic.

If this was a dungeon, I would have needed to pass through a gate, so that isn’t a possibility.

As I was about to fall into a state of confusion—

「 Sand golem is appearing. 」

Kooom…!

“What the……!”

The sandy floors quaked, and pillars of sand rose from the ground.

Then the pillars started to come together to form a humanoid shape.

“…”

The towering golem must have been at least 20 feet tall.

My heart stopped when the golem laid its sand-dripping scarlet eyes upon me.

At the same time, another holographic message appeared.

「 Survive the sand golem. 」

「 Time left – 9min 59sec 」

“Grrrr…”

A trial telling me to survive.

And all the unanswered questions in my head.

Everything seemed to connect as soon as I came face to face with the sand golem.

I couldn’t feign ignorance even if I tried.

“Damn it!”

I quickly picked up the sword from the floor and ran as fast as I could.

A battle?

Impossible considering our size difference.

Even a graze from a sand golem is enough to kill a grown man in an instant.

A low-tier player like me wouldn’t fare much better.

That’s reality.

Stomp! Stomp! Stomp!

“Kraaaaa…!”

Every hair on my back stood on end as its roar vibrated through my body.

I wanted to run faster but I couldn’t.

Stomp! Stomp!

My feet got buried under a pile of sand every time I took a step forward.

“Fuck fuck FUCK!”

The desert was holding me captive.

At the same time, the stomping sound was approaching faster than my legs could move.

Even if I did manage to run, the only thing waiting for me was a wall that reached up to the sky.

I’d either be killed by being caught up to or by reaching the end of this field.

There might not even be an escape from this place.

My only hope was the time limit that I could glance at from the corner of my eyes—

「 Time left – 9min 12sec 」

It’s not possible to keep running for 9 more minutes with my stamina.

I may have stood a chance if I had slightly higher stats but…

‘I can’t keep running until the timer runs out either…!’

I should have known what they wanted as soon as they provided a sword.

Die running or turn around and fight.

I kept peeking back to the golem as I ran.

‘Fuck, how am I supposed to beat that?’

But I didn’t have another choice.

There’s no way this sword would do anything to the golem.

But…

‘I have to fight.’

If running away wasn’t the answer, there had to be another breakthrough.

I drew on all possible knowledge I had on sand golems.

One thing I gained from the last 7 years of training is an abundance of theory matched by even the most experienced of hunters.

There had to be at least one method that would apply to this situation.

Monsters like golems stop moving when you break their cores.

And low-tier monsters like sand golems don’t even hide their cores within their bodies.

They are evaluated to be E-rank monsters because they keep their core on the outer layer of their body.

I could see a scarlet core bulging from its body.

But I didn’t have the confidence to be able to get that close to it.

Even if I was able to get close, it was obvious what level of damage this sword would do to that core.

No, I didn’t know if this sword would be able to leave even a crack on it.

Even so.

‘I have to go…!’

Looking back, it seemed that the golem was about 50ft away from me.

Would I be able to run at the golem and dodge its attacks?

No, I couldn’t think like that.

Contemplating more wouldn’t alleviate this situation.

‘I have to dodge it!’

Whoosh!

I ran toward the golem after I made my decision.

50 feet… 40 feet… 30 feet… 20 feet…

The closer I got, the more strongly I could feel the physical difference between us.

The gigantic E-rank beast made my heart shrink with a glance.

I felt like throwing up, but I kept running.

The only other monster I had ever faced was a small goblin in the hunter exam.

I had no choice but to succeed now.

I kept my eyes on the golem as I approached the base of its foot.

Voom……!