Two years ago, in 2022.
A message appeared to people all around the world without any warning.
[This world has been chosen as a subject of trial.]
[Prepare for awakening and brace yourselves for the impending 'Trial of the Gods.']
[The 'Eyes of the Stars' are watching this world…]
A message warning people to prepare for something called the Trial of the Gods.
And then, for those who awakened, a special power manifested—powers only seen in games, like status windows, levels, classes, and skills.
These powers were meant to help resist the trials.
But there was no time to enjoy this new power.
[The first trial is beginning.]
[Monsters will appear around the world. Fight them or avoid them and survive for a set period of time.]
[Rewards will be given based on your performance.]
With that, countless monsters began appearing around the world, and humanity realized—
The world they once knew had changed completely.
They had to use the powers they were given in order to survive.
"Innate Abilities are the most special of all powers."
Most players start at the same starting line.
But a rare few—the chosen ones—start off with something called an "Innate Ability."
A unique power that only that person can possess, with extraordinary effects.
Han Yuseong's innate ability was no exception.
[War God (EX)]
· A new stat, "Fighting Spirit," is created.
· A special buff is activated when fighting strong opponents. This buff becomes stronger the higher the Fighting Spirit stat is and the stronger the opponent is.
· Additional stats are granted upon leveling up.
· Extra rewards are given when defeating an exceptional opponent or overcoming a trial that would be nearly impossible at the current level.
· This innate ability holds tremendous potential.
Innate Ability: War God.
Its core effects were clear:
A unique buff activates when battling strong enemies, and extra rewards can be earned.
The latter effect drove Han Yuseong into peril.
To become stronger, he had no choice but to throw himself into fights with powerful opponents.
"And the rewards matched the risk."
That was how Han Yuseong became the strongest player.
He wasn't born with an innate ability from the start.
Some players awaken an innate ability through special turning points—and Han Yuseong was one of them.
"For something that's ranked up, not much seems to have changed."
His ability was upgraded from "Warrior Spirit" to War God, raising its rank.
However, the original effects remained the same—only one thing was added:
This innate ability holds tremendous potential.
"So that means... I can grow even further?"
Han Yuseong touched his lips in thought, falling into deep contemplation.
For now, that was the only way to interpret it.
Even as it stood, the ability was already absurd. If it could grow even further, who knew what kind of effects might be added?
"Whatever it is, it's an insane advantage."
If someone had started out with War God from the beginning, how powerful could they become?
Even Han Yuseong himself probably couldn't imagine it.
Perhaps...
"Strong enough to defeat a Star Watcher like Akiros."
Even if it seemed impossible, he had to make it so.
In his previous life, people like Lee Suho led the world to ruin.
But even they were ultimately just puppets of the Star Watchers.
To truly fix things, he would have to defeat Akiros—the true root of it all.
"No matter the means, I have to make it happen."
But first, there was something he had to do right away—
The very first trial that all newly awakened people face.
[You will be transported to the Tower of Trials in 30 seconds.]
[Prove that you are worthy to live as a player within the tower.]
The Tower of Trials.
It was a kind of tutorial.
Han Yuseong closed his eyes.
And exactly 30 seconds later—
Flash!
Han Yuseong's body turned to light and disappeared.
When he opened his eyes again, he was inside a tower.
A lobby with nothing in it except a monument standing at the center.
"The tutorial. I didn't think I'd ever see this again."
Han Yuseong walked toward the monument, feeling a strange sense of nostalgia.
As he approached, a massive window appeared.
[Welcome to the Tower of Trials.]
[Here, you will learn how to survive as a player. Living as a player is incredibly simple.]
[Fight, and survive.]
[Win the upcoming battle.]
[Select your difficulty level.]
Players experience real combat here.
Death in the Tower doesn't result in actual death—it's a system designed to prepare players for real-world combat while minimizing risk.
The Tower of Trials offers five difficulty levels:
[Easy, Normal, Hard, Extreme, Hell.]
[Each difficulty grants different rewards.]
Naturally, the further down the list, the harder it gets.
The Hell difficulty was so brutal that no one had cleared it—
At least, not until much later in his previous life.
And the rewards for clearing it were said to be overwhelming.
"Most players choose Normal or Easy. I picked Hard."
There are no retries in the tutorial.
If you fail, you lose the chance to earn the rewards for success.
That's why most choose a difficulty they can clear with high probability—
a kind of safe investment, so to speak.
Those confident in their skills picked Hard, and among them, players with innate abilities sometimes chose Extreme.
"Has anyone cleared Extreme difficulty?"
[Number of players who have cleared Extreme difficulty: 5.]
Only five people had ever done it.
Han Yuseong had a good idea who they were.
Lee Suho… that guy was probably among them.
Han Yuseong stared at the monument for a moment, then made his decision.
"I'll start with Hell difficulty."
[This difficulty has been attempted by many, but no one has ever cleared it. Are you sure you want to proceed?]
"Yes," Han Yuseong nodded.
"I've come back with great effort. I have to make sure I start off right."
Immediately, a wide array of weapons appeared before him—it was time to choose one.
He had fought through countless battlefields, so it didn't matter what he picked.
But without a moment's hesitation, he shook his head.
"I won't choose a weapon. Instead…"
In his current state, fighting barehanded was more comfortable—and there was something he wanted.
"I want to hide my appearance from the Eyes of the Stars."
[The Tower of Trials accepts your request. To the Eyes of the Stars, your appearance will be seen only as a faint shadow.]
The Star Watchers observing the Tower of Trials—
Most of them were low-ranking beings. He had no intention of forming a contract with a monarch yet, and certainly didn't want to make deals with the lesser ones.
There was no need to reveal his identity.
[Hell difficulty will now begin.]
His surroundings shifted.
The wide, empty space that had only the monument now turned into a barren wasteland.
And from all directions, the roars of beasts echoed.
[Hunt the appearing monsters.]
[First wave: Lv.10 Orc Workers × 4]
The monsters emerged on the grasslands.
Green skin, bodies easily over 2 meters tall, hardened from labor,
and crude farming tools gripped in their hands—
They were Orc Workers.
—Screeeech!
"Starting off strong, huh?"
Four level-10 orcs against a freshly awakened player.
On their own, no normal player could possibly handle this.
But Han Yuseong was far from normal.
He felt an intense fighting spirit welling up from within.
— Chwik?
The orc workers who had been glaring at Han Yu-seong tilted their heads in confusion.
A red aura was emanating from the human who had seemed so ordinary just moments ago.
At the same time, an indescribable sense of pressure filled the air.
[This opponent is too strong to defeat at your current level.]
[Due to the effect of "Warrior Spirit," the buff "Giant Killing" has been activated.]
[+5 to all stats, +20% to fist damage, +10% to speed.]
It was the effect of Warrior Spirit.
A buff that activates when facing a powerful opponent — Giant Killing.
It granted the minimum strength needed to challenge a superior foe.
From that point on, it was up to the user to determine how to fight.
Whatever the outcome.
"Chwiik! Strange intruder! Kill him!"
"Don't panic! We outnumber him! Chwiik! Kill him in one go!"
It was enough to take on the orcs.
Their eyes glinted as they revealed open hostility.
Clutching farming tools, the orcs charged at Han Yu-seong all at once.
Han Yu-seong took a deep breath.
There are too many enemies. In times like this...
A melee is more advantageous.
Han Yu-seong kicked off the ground and charged straight toward the orcs.
The orcs were momentarily startled by the intruder's inexplicable behavior—but only for a moment.
"The intruder is coming to die!"
"Chwiik! Smash his head in!"
The lead orc raised his pickaxe high and swung it down.
His target: Han Yu-seong's head.
He intended to crush it in a single blow.
But to Han Yu-seong, the movement was far too exaggerated and clumsy.
In other words—
"Ch–Chwiik?!"
—it was easy to dodge.
Han Yu-seong lightly shifted his body, effortlessly evading the charging pickaxe.
A move that couldn't be performed without precisely reading the speed and trajectory of the weapon.
The orc who had swung and missed stumbled forward, unable to recover from the momentum.
Orcs don't have the same body structure as humans.
But their weak points were similar.
In other words, even a strong orc couldn't withstand a blow to a vital spot.
Han Yu-seong focused all his strength into his fist.
And then—
Thwack!
"Ch–Chwik...!"
His fist struck the orc's jaw dead on.
Crunch! The feeling of bone shattering traveled up his fist,
and the powerful impact reverberated through the orc's jaw and rattled his brain.
The orc, unable to withstand the shock, collapsed with his eyes rolled back.
Han Yu-seong immediately kicked the falling orc hard.
"Here's a gift."
"Y-You human! Chwiik!"
"Uuoooorgh!"
The unconscious orc's body crashed into the orcs following behind.
As they staggered under the weight of their fallen comrade,
Han Yu-seong charged through the gap.
He grabbed the arm of the nearest orc — and twisted it violently.
Crunch!
"Gyaaaaargh!"
"Chwik! Kill himmm!"
As the orc screamed in agony, another one rushed in, snarling,
swinging a sickle with force.
Han Yu-seong yanked the screaming orc by the arm and
threw him straight into the path of the incoming blade.
Thud!
"Kk–Kegh...!"
"Chwiik?! M-My comrade! I killed my comrade!"
The sickle had pierced through the orc's head.
The attacker froze, shocked at having slain his own ally.
Without a second of hesitation, Han Yu-seong closed the distance
and drove his fist like a spike into the orc's chest.
"Kegh...!"
The orc opened his mouth wide.
The powerful blow to his chest had knocked the wind out of him, leaving him unable to breathe for a moment.
Immediately after—
Crack!
A massive follow-up strike smashed into his face, crushing it completely.
"Ch–Chwiik... M-My comrades... all taken down by one guy..."
His comrades had died in an instant.
The only orc left standing trembled with fear.
Even seeing it with his own eyes, he couldn't believe it.
A human who didn't even seem particularly strong was slaughtering them with impossible movements.
What made it even more terrifying—
"H-He's smiling…"
The human who had carried out such ruthless slaughter...
Han Yu-seong was grinning savagely.
As if he was enjoying this one-sided massacre more than anyone else,
his eyes glowed with joy as they locked onto the last orc.
"Are you going to come at me?"
The moment their eyes met, the orc's body froze stiff.
The incomprehensible situation had paralyzed him with fear.
"Then I'll come to you."
"Chwik, Chwiik?!"
Han Yu-seong kicked off the ground.
The last remaining orc had already lost the will to fight.
There was nothing more to see after that.
Dump!
The orc with the broken neck collapsed in vain.
That was the end of it.
"Didn't think I'd be fighting orcs this soon."
Han Yu-seong muttered as he wiped the blood from his face.
The fight had taken more effort than he expected.
His weakened body was likely the reason, but the fact that he had a fairly intense battle even with orc workers wasn't necessarily a bad thing.
"If my physical condition is at this level, it's not as bad as I thought."
That was Han Yu-seong's assessment of his own body.
Slow and weak.
It was only level 1, so that was to be expected.
Even so, if he fully utilized the Warrior Spirit buff, then even Hell difficulty was a challenge he could take on.
Because he had built up a wealth of real combat experience in his previous life.
"If an additional reward drops here, that'd be even better."
His unique ability, Warrior Spirit, grants extra rewards when overcoming especially powerful foes or enduring trials that would normally be overwhelming at his current level.
One of the so-called "special powerful foes" is a boss monster.
"These orc workers probably aren't boss monsters, but..."
There was no reason to expect an additional reward.
Han Yu-seong glanced over the fallen orc workers scattered around him, then turned away.
It was time to prepare for the next battle.
And that's when it happened.
[You have successfully defeated powerful foes.]
[The activation conditions for the unique ability "Warrior Spirit" have been met.]
[An additional reward will be granted.]
"Huh?"
A message appeared before Han Yu-seong's eyes.
A message stating he would receive an additional reward—something he hadn't expected at all.