The Legendary Regressor Devours the Tower - Chapter 01

Chapter 1

Earth was dying.

To be precise, saying that the environment where humans could live was dying would be the correct expression.

Was that why?

[The lifespan of the dimension has expired.]

[After a lengthy meeting, the Transcendent has decided to grant a new opportunity before deleting the dimension.]

[Climb the tower and claim victory over the elite legion.]

[If you reach the summit, the deletion will be revoked.]

Out of nowhere, a massive tower appeared, and invitations were sent out in bulk.

‘What on earth is that…’

‘An invitation? I awakened?’

Those who received invitations awakened automatically, and before long, they were forcefully dragged into the tower and began their climb.

Climbing was a task where one had to risk their life, and those without power had to forfeit their lives there.

Even so, people did not stop climbing the tower.

‘Wow, this is huge!’

‘With this power, I feel like I can do anything!’

They were able to obtain transcendent power, and as they grew stronger, their authority, wealth, and honor skyrocketed as well.

However, while they were drunk on power, Earth was slowly falling to ruin.

45 years passed like that.

Earth had long since effectively been ruined, and fewer than ten thousand survivors remained.

Jjeoeoeok!

80th floor.

“Keoheok!”

A man fell to his knees in a battered state.

Nothing intact could be found around him as everything was smashed to pieces, and corpses of monsters easily reaching 20 meters in height were piled up like mountains.

The countless sword cuts covering the corpses demonstrated just how incredible the man’s martial prowess was.

However, his body had already reached its limit.

Blind in one eye, his left ear and arm torn off, blood continuously flowed as the bleeding could not be stopped.

His skin was also torn to the point where not a single intact spot could be found, and most of his internal bones were fractured.

His internal organs were also damaged beyond repair, creating a gruesome sight as they leaked out through his abdomen.

Even so, the man was holding on through sheer willpower, leaning on the sword he had driven deep into the ground.

“Kkulleok…”

The man coughed up lumps of blood as he looked at the enemies before his eyes.

Transcendent Giant Soldiers.

Bastards lurking here on the 80th floor.

“Truly persistent.”

“If we had been just a moment later, it would have been a serious matter.”

“To think a mere human would step foot on the 80th floor.”

The Giant Soldiers looked down at the man and marveled in genuine awe.

Earth should surely be a planet inhabited by lower races.

To think it would be breached all the way to the 80th floor.

And by a single human, no less.

Honestly, they could kill him right this instant, but they grew curious about the human who had climbed all the way here.

“Human, we pay tribute to your valor. Do you have any last words?”

The Giant Soldiers were bestowing mercy in their own way.

A human who, despite being an inferior race, erased 20% of their total force single-handedly.

The land they were currently standing on was split in half, and all the surrounding temples were destroyed.

All of it was damage caused by that single human.

“What a shame.”

The human muttered softly.

“A shame?”

The Giant Soldiers tilted their heads.

“If I had climbed the tower properly even a little bit earlier… wiping you bastards out wouldn’t have been a big deal at all.”

He was only able to enter the tower 15 years after it was generated.

At that time, the tower was being climbed up to the 30th floor.

He received the invitation at a later point than others, entered the tower, and began climbing.

The man climbed with monstrous talent, which accelerated even further after he obtained the Immortal Heart on the 48th floor.

Thanks to that, by the time the man reached the 55th floor, he came to be called by the alias Sword God.

Sword God Yoo Sungwoon.

‘My actual realm was far below that.’

It was merely a title given because he handled the sword best among humans.

He knew better than anyone that his skill was far lacking compared to the realm of a true Sword God.

That was why lingering regret always resided in a corner of his heart.

If only he had climbed the tower even a little bit earlier.

If only he had grown by securing rewards properly with high clear scores from the very beginning.

If only he had claimed the hidden encounters that were buried away.

He could have grown strong to a degree that was impossible to even compare with his current self.

Wouldn’t he have been able to reach the realm of a true god, rather than simply being called the Sword God?

“We certainly acknowledge that you are incredible. However, failing to cast aside your arrogance right up to the brink of death is truly ugly.”

Even while saying so, the Giant Soldiers were inwardly agreeing with Sungwoon’s words to some extent.

If that human had swept up and devoured the tower’s rewards without leaving anything behind, not only themselves but even those lords above them would have been in danger.

That was why they had to cut off his breath right here even more.

Furthermore, they had to thoroughly eradicate even his soul so that he couldn’t play any tricks…

“That’s why I’m going to try again.”

Along with those words, Sungwoon pulled out an item with a trembling hand.

It was a pocket watch covered heavily in rust.

“Hmm? What do you plan to do with something that’s already broken?”

Recognizing the watch, the Giant Soldiers tilted their heads.

“What else? I’m going to turn back time.”

“Don’t make me laugh. Turning back past time is impossible for anyone to—”

The words of the scoffing Giant Soldier could not continue.

Because the hands of the rusted pocket watch began spinning backward, and everything around them ground to a halt as if frozen.

God’s Pocket Watch.

It was on the 78th floor that he acquired that watch.

If asked how he got it, he would have to answer that it was by coincidence.

Because while searching around, he happened to discover an abandoned village, and found it while taking a rest there.

The watch was stored in a wooden case along with a note.

[God’s Pocket Watch]

Do you regret the past? Do you believe things will change if you return? If you have such conviction, this watch will grant you a new opportunity.

‘I can return to the past…?’

To think he would discover an item like this on the 78th floor.

However, he had no intention of using it right away.

It would be a lie to say he had no regrets, but 20 years had already passed since he started climbing the tower.

He had devoted a long time to successfully climb up to the 78th floor.

In getting all the way up here, skill was skill, but it was also true that luck played a factor.

There were many times he survived through overlapping coincidences, and gambling strategies that seemed unlikely to work caught the opponent off guard and cut off their breath.

He did not want to erase the 20 years of time it took to climb up to this point.

‘Let’s just keep it for now.’

If the day ever came when he had to use it, that would be when he faced death right before his eyes.

Ultimately, the pocket watch was used.

When he regained consciousness, he was lying in a shabby studio apartment.

His battered body was completely healed, and pain was no longer felt.

“Did I end up coming back to 5 years before entering the tower?”

The studio apartment he started living in when he turned 20.

It was a home he hadn’t even stayed in for a full year, so opening his eyes here right now meant he had returned to being 20 years old.

In other words, Sungwoon’s current age was 20.

He had returned to a point in time 10 years after the tower was created.

As of right now, humanity should be in the middle of conquering the 24th floor.

Sungwoon looked down at the pocket watch in his hand.

The mysterious item that had sent him back to the past was still in his hand, but the hands that had spun backward were gone without a trace.

“5 years, huh…”

His age when he received the invitation was 25.

Back then, humanity was struggling on the 30th floor.

It meant he had brought time forward by a whopping 5 years.

However, there was one problem.

“It means I have to wait 5 years to receive an invitation.”

To climb the tower, one needed an invitation, but Sungwoon was scheduled to receive his invitation 5 years from now.

If that happened, bringing time forward by 5 years would become completely meaningless.

“I can’t just sit still.”

Therefore, he would make his move directly.

Sungwoon looked out the window at the giant tower.

A tower soaring so high that its peak was hidden by clouds and could not be seen.

It was laughable, but that tower was nothing more than a sample model.

The tower that climbers actually climbed upon receiving an invitation was a tower existing somewhere other than Earth.

So then why did that sample model exist?

It could be said that it existed to instil a sense of alert in climbers.

Just like right now.

Kooggooggoogoong—

The ground shook violently as if an earthquake had struck.

Along with that, debris burst out from the tower serving as a sample model and stuck onto buildings everywhere.

The buildings attached with debris quickly turned black and became small Minor Towers.

‘It’s because of that right there.’

The so-called mini-game.

If the giant tower was the main event, those Minor Towers could be called sub-themes.

When climbers were not climbing the main tower, they would climb Minor Towers like those to gain minor rewards.

Furthermore, even setting rewards aside, Minor Towers had to be cleared quickly, because monsters poured out of those Minor Towers.

‘My first goal.’

If they won’t give an invitation, he could just tear it out by force.

Rather than being chosen at random to fill a vacancy, he would climb the tower by having his aptitude recognized by the Transcendent.

To do that, he had to climb a Minor Tower himself and wipe out the boss.

‘Should I say I’m lucky? It’s before that gets discovered.’

A tower where a hidden encounter was buried, no less.

It was something that had happened in the studio apartment complex where Sungwoon lived, and because he had to move out before even finishing a year due to that damn tower, it was still vivid in his memory.

“Aaaah!”

A scream resounded from outside the window.

A green monster with a long nose, slender limbs overall, but a bulging belly.

It was a goblin.

The goblin was swinging a wooden club, threatening a woman.

‘It’s now.’

A smile formed at the corners of Sungwoon’s mouth.

He pulled out a box kept in the drawer.

Stored inside was a black dagger, which could be considered a self-defense item to deal with situations where one encountered monsters roaming the streets.

Since it was crafted by processing magic stones obtained from the tower, sweeping away something like a goblin would be easy enough.

Grabbing the dagger, Sungwoon hurriedly opened the door, stepped out, and headed down to the first floor.

Jumping down the stairs bound by bound, he opened the door on the first floor and came out, making eye contact with a terrified woman.

“P-Please save me…”

She begged to be saved in a voice on the verge of tears.

Fortunately, he wasn’t late.

Sungwoon picked up a small stone nearby with his hand and threw it at the bastard.

The stone struck the bastard’s forehead dead center.

“Hey, come at me.”

“Kereureureuk!”

There was no damage, but the provocation was extremely effective.

Because the bastard tore his gaze away from the woman and rushed over here.

Booong—

The goblin swung his wooden club without hesitation.

Sungwoon pulled his right foot back and bent his waist, and the club sliced through empty air.

It was an attack powerful enough to shatter an ordinary person’s head with ease, but to Sungwoon, who had survived countless battlefields, it looked exceedingly sloppy.

‘Pierce it in a single breath.’

Sungwoon pierced the goblin’s nape with the dagger he had brought.

Pook!

“Ke-ek!”

Its neck pierced, the goblin vomited green blood right then and there while its body trembled violently.

As he pulled the dagger out, the bastard collapsed forward and perished.

[You have achieved a remarkable feat.]

[You hunted a monster despite not having awakened.]

[The system has begun to take notice of your potential.]

[You have satisfied the awakening requirements.]