A [Climber] refers to those who ascend the Tower.
Initially, they were called by various names like "Awakened" or "Transcendent," but after the System defined them as Climbers, everyone unified under that term.
Only the [System] knows the criteria for their selection.
Those chosen as Climbers transition into a "class" recommended by the System, gaining the power to climb the Tower.
Afterward, they can strengthen their class or undergo <Secondary Class Change> into derivative professions by overcoming the Tower's trials and hunting monsters that inhabit it.
For example, [Healer], [Fire Mage], and [Necromancer] are derivatives of [Mage], while [Magic Swordsman], [Dual Swordsman], and [Holy Swordsman] are derivatives of [Swordsman].
There are also "Rare Classes" like [Soldier], [Ninja], and [Dragon Swordsman] that require specific conditions to be met.
All Climbers must wear equipment suitable for their class, or they'll face various penalties.
For instance, if a [Mage] uses a bow, the arrow's power decreases by 70% or accuracy drops dramatically.
Especially with firearms, power can decrease by up to 95% due to class incompatibility, so most Climbers only use weapons suited to their class.
Additionally, electronic devices are almost impossible to use inside the Tower.
Most devices using electricity don't work inside and can't be used until leaving. The reason isn't clearly known, but according to a [Lightning Mage] Climber, "Inside the Tower, mana interferes with all electricity, causing unstable current and voltage."
Finally, there's the <Unique Class>—the class with the most difficult and complex requirements.
The conditions for Unique Classes aren't well known, and even when revealed, they're nearly impossible for ordinary Climbers to achieve.
As a result, Climbers who transition to Unique Classes are extremely rare.
However, in Korea, there already exists a famous Unique Class holder.
His name—[Gravity Mage] Crow.
------
As Crow casually walked toward the portal, several members of the [Glory] Guild hurriedly blocked his path.
"Wait! This area is currently dangerous—"
"Move."
A short, low utterance.
Though neither a threat nor a shout, the weight of those words held them like gravity itself.
Silence hung in the air, along with tension and an inexplicable fear.
And so Crow easily passed through them...
"What? Who do you think you are to tell us to move!"
Such convenient, dramatic developments didn't particularly occur.(?)
*How annoying...*
In truth, this was the typical response.
Naturally, Crow pulled out a business card from his pocket and showed it.
"World Climber Ranking 9th, Crow. I'm here to investigate this portal. May I pass now?"
"Ranking 9th... Crow?! Oh! Please excuse us!"
Only then did the [Glory] Guild members realize the situation, gasping as they hurriedly cleared the way.
In areas where Crow was active, his face (mask) was already well-known, but this was [Glory] Guild's territory, so many people didn't know what he looked like.
Crow silently passed between them and approached the portal.
Under his crow mask, as he quietly caught his breath while looking at the portal, Crow sensed some unknown attractive force.
"...[Appraisal]."
As he calmly activated his skill, a System window appeared before Crow's eyes.
「This portal leads to the 95th floor of 'My Home Tower'.」
「※Warning: Difficulty immeasurable.」
「Appraisal Result - Upon entering this portal, you cannot return until the trial is completed.」
「Would you like to enter the portal?」
"My Home Tower... What an unusual name."
Crow muttered briefly before nodding.
"Nothing more to see, I'm entering."
Without hesitation, Crow stepped into the portal.
In that moment, his vision distorted and the world went dark.
------
My Home Tower, 99th floor conference room.
Tricia stretched while leaning back in her chair.
"Aaah... Just need to set up the 55th floor and floors 87-89, then we're done?"
"Groooooan..."
"So tired... so sleepy..."
In just one night, most of the trials and rewards had been configured.
Moreover, the warp points were now set so that only tower residents could pass through without clearing the trials of each floor, while some rest floors were improved to allow free movement without requiring clearance.
All this was thanks to the cooperation of each floor's manager.
Floor managers whose trial reward settings were completed left one by one, and now only three remained in the conference room: Tricia, Ju Ji-ye, and Cyan Nightmare.
Only four floors remained for trial and reward settings.
The reason for the delay was... Ju Ji-ye and Cyan Nightmare kept trying to insert strange trials.
Tricia rested her chin on her hands and asked Ji-ye:
"The 55th floor was a greenhouse for growing World Tree saplings, right? How's it looking now?"
"Um... now there's a huge land and sky, so we could just grow the World Tree there?"
"Sounds good. Then let's go with a peaceful trial like 'Gain recognition from the World Tree spirit.'"
"It would be fun to make the trial 'Burn down the World Tree'!"
"Hey."
"...Just kidding, just kidding."
And so the 55th floor's trial was confirmed as [Gain recognition from the World Tree spirit], with the reward being [World Tree Branch] accumulated through pruning.
With that, Ji-ye shouted "Time to go home!!!" and returned to her assigned floor.
Now only Cyan's floors 87-89 remained.
"So Cyan, the 87th floor is..."
"Zzz—"
"......"
Tricia looked at her condition for a moment, then sighed.
Knowing better than anyone that waking her now wouldn't help, Tricia quietly called for the butler.
"Take Cyan to her room and put her to bed."
"I shall obey your command."
Cyan Nightmare was carried to her room by the butler, and Tricia began setting temporary trial plans in her place.
"The 87th floor like this, and the 88th floor like that..."
While she was busy setting up trials:
「A Climber has entered the 95th floor through a portal.」
"?"
Tricia doubted her eyes.
"...?"
So she rubbed her eyes and looked again.
"???"
But rubbing her eyes changed nothing!
"95th floor...? Wait, could someone enter from outside through that portal...?"
With a greatly surprised expression, Tricia hurriedly brought a crystal ball to check the situation on the 95th floor.
"Oh, wait... the 95th floor boss... the space expanded recently so it must be incredibly strong now...?"
Tricia activated the crystal ball, praying the Climber would choose the 'peaceful option.'
------
After crossing the portal, Crow found himself standing on a quiet hill.
A night without a breath of wind.
The night sky was filled with countless stars, but it was strangely quiet.
The stars hung silently as if preserved in time, and even the moon seemed to hold its breath.
"...What kind of trial is this?"
At that moment, a System window appeared.
「Activating trial area...」
「You have entered the 95th floor -《Terrace of Night》.」
「Two choices are given to the Climber.」
① Defeat [The Silence of Deep Night]. (Difficulty: Immeasurable)
② Sit on the terrace and enjoy tea time. (Difficulty: Very Easy)
「Which trial would you like to choose?」
"Huh—"
Crow let out a scoff, seemingly incredulous.
Peaceful proposals always come with a price.
He knew how sweet a poison such choices could be.
"Despair... always begins with the sweetest words."
Without hesitation, he chose ①—
The night sky began to churn.
The stationary stars started to vibrate, then fell one by one.
Their trajectories weren't simple shooting stars.
The stars spun individually, being drawn toward a single center as if sucked in.
Light swirled, forming a stream of the Milky Way.
Then, the System message appeared again.
「—[The Silence of Deep Night] awakens.」
Deep in the night sky,
A giant stellar eye opened.
The night sky itself was a massive 'entity,'
And that entity was now watching Crow.
However—
Crow was not afraid.
Rather, a faint smile spread beneath his mask.
That smile resembled the excitement of a beast before battle.
"[Gravity Reversal]."
In an instant, Crow's body fell upside down.
No.
Rising would be more accurate.
Having reversed gravity, he shot upward toward the sky as if falling.
It was a kind of flight, no—a charge toward prey.
"[Diffusion Gravity Wave]."
Compressed gravity explodes beneath his feet, accelerating him.
Gravity pulsations splitting the air.
And—
Above Crow's right hand, a black sphere silently forms.
"[Micro Gravity Bomb]."
Space distorted at his fingertips.
Tremendous mass converging toward the center of Crow's fingertips.
And that terrifyingly compressed mass flew toward the night sky.
-KWAAAANG—!
Ear-splitting pressure.
In the turbulent flow of light and darkness, [The Silence of Deep Night] greatly convulsed.
Stars twisted, the sky tore, and...
A thunderous sound that shattered the silence echoed throughout.
