Chapter 4: Difficulty Selection Zone

I recalled the comment Beetle left in the Mage Gallery.

[With that talent and power, you can chew through the tower’s tutorial. Go to the tower when you have time.]

Even without those words, it was a place I had to go anyway.

The reason I gobbled dirt for 30 days and endured the pain of even changing gender was exactly for this.

A life with days and nights completely reversed, like a total bum.

I woke up from sleep only when it was nearing midnight, when others finish their day.

As soon as I got up, I turned on the computer and checked the gallery posts.

After burning a few hours like that, it was already dawn.

The window outside was still a deep blue without the sun rising, but for me, it was the most familiar time to start activities.

I roughly put on clothes and went outside.

The chilly dawn air seeped through the ill-fitting T-shirt and touched my skin.

The body that was covered with thick muscles and fat just a few days ago was gone.

Moving with thin and fragile limbs felt unfamiliar.

“Later, I need to buy some clothes online. Underwear too….”

I didn’t have the courage to go to a store and buy clothes myself.

Actually, that was the same when I was a guy.

‘Why are clothing store clerks so eager to talk? It burdens people.’

The dawn air was refreshing.

The destination was the black tower standing in the middle of Daejeon.

The tower here was far from places with strict security or control like the one in Seoul.

A massive black tower rising through the city’s buildings.

Its surroundings were empty.

No one was visiting the tower at this time, and no officials or hunters guarding it were visible.

Without any restriction, I casually walked into the tower’s entrance as if strolling in a neighborhood park.

Tower.

A mysterious structure that suddenly rose in major cities worldwide like Seoul, New York, Tokyo, London, etc., 5 years ago.

No one knows why it appeared.

Rumors abound, like it’s a gift from god, or an invasion from another world.

But one thing is certain: if the tower is neglected, a horrific disaster follows.

That fact is clearly proven by the regime up north.

The tower collapses if not cleared at regular intervals.

It’s literally a collapse.

Everyone knows what happens if a building in the middle of the city center collapses.

Moreover, portals form in the rubble.

Portals from which various monsters pour out.

No method has been discovered yet to close a formed portal.

Even now, at this moment, hunters on military duty near the 38th parallel are desperately blocking monsters pushing down from the north.

Posts I saw in the Mage Gallery flashed through my mind.

[Beetle: If you register as a hunter, you’re considered national key power and get called for all sorts of dirty jobs.

Still, A-rank has some power to refuse once. B-rank C-rank get conscripted without mercy.

So register as late as possible. Around when you’re confident it’s definitely A-rank.]

[ㅇㅇ: Until then?]

[Beetle: Live as an unregistered illegal hunter, what else. Obviously.]

Beetle’s advice was extremely reasonable.

I decided to follow it, and here I was at the unmanned tower.

“Can’t see inside at all….”

When I opened the tower’s door, inside was pitch-black darkness.

I heard that when an awakened enters, they can move to the floor matching their level.

I swallowed once more and stepped in.

At that moment, a sensation like my whole body being sucked into a giant vacuum cleaner overwhelmed me.

I screamed and squeezed my eyes shut, then opened them, and I was standing in a completely different space.

A cubic room surrounded by seamless smooth white on all sides.

And a blue system window floating like a hologram in front of me.

[Tutorial field entered.]

[Please select difficulty.]

[EASY] [NORMAL] [HARD]

As expected. The first gate is difficulty selection.

Easy, normal, hard. Three choices.

But I had no need to think.

Because I already heard a clear answer to this in the Mage Gallery.

[Title: What Difficulty to Choose for Tutorial?]

To my question, the mages unanimously gave one answer as if they had coordinated.

ㄴ Beetle: Obviously hard.

ㄴ Magic is Firepower: Hard. Anything less is a disgrace to mages.

ㄴ p Pikachu: Definitely hard lol.

I, who was inwardly anxious, asked back.

ㅇㅇ: What if it’s too hard and I die?

ㄴ Refrigerator: Then it’s unfortunate.

ㄴ Beetle: But with your talent, you absolutely won’t die. Look at us. We’re all fine and gallerying?

ㄴ p Pikachu: Since you broke my super genius record, of course you can lol.

ㄴ Magic is Firepower: Why raise difficulty? Rewards differ. The tower doesn’t betray effort and risk.

Growth speed is incomparable. Honestly, no reason to be a mage if not running hard.

ㄴ Refrigerator: Well, your choice. If you want to earn like a safe salaryman, easy isn’t bad.

Of course, you’d never dream of A-rank hunter.

ㄴ p Pikachu: High risk, high return lol! If you chicken out here, lifelong third-rate lol!

“With them saying that, obviously hard.”

Recalling their words, I reached for the [HARD] button without hesitation.

I endured gobbling dirt for a month, can’t back out at tutorial difficulty.

Right at that moment.

Just before my finger touched the button, the system window flashed and displayed a new message.

[System: User’s total mana far exceeds the standard.]

[Hidden difficulty, EXTREME unlocked.]

With the new message, a ominous red button appeared next to the existing three choices.

[EASY] [NORMAL] [HARD] [EXTREME]

“Huh?”

My finger hesitated in the air. Extreme? Never heard of that.

Not just Mage Gallery. In hunter-related galleries, news, even YouTube, never heard of extreme difficulty.

I fell into deep thought for a moment.

Is this okay?

Hard difficulty was implied only mages can clear, and higher than that.

“Should I go out and ask Beetle bro…?”

But I realized soon I couldn’t.

Once entered, impossible to leave until tutorial ends.

Looking around, no door or other exit visible. Complete sealed room.

“….”

I stared intently at the [EXTREME] button glowing blood-red.

High risk, high return.

Their words echoed in my ears.

If difficulty higher than hard, rewards must be that much greater.

‘But if I die, it’s over.’

My rational self warned.

But immediately from deep inside, the gallery addict’s soul countered the reason.

‘Hey, this is total concept post ticket. Post with ‘Know there’s difficulty after hard?’ Title alone is already concept. How to resist?’

Yeah, this aggro works.

Not just Hunter Gallery.

Definitely uproar in Mage Gallery too.

“F*ck it, let’s try once.”

In the end, the gallery addict spirit inside me completely crushed the cold reason.

I swallowed and pressed the extreme button hard.

[EXTREME difficulty selected.]

[Moving to the location in 60 seconds.]

‘Okay, what will come out now.’

In tension, I immediately started battle preparation.

First, spread my palm. But this place is a room coated with unknown material.

Not a single grain of dirt or sand around to gather.

‘Oops.’

But I didn’t panic. A mage’s body changes to suit the attribute they handle.

Heard it’s a process of becoming a kind of spirit?

I’m still immature, but transforming part of the body is possible.

I focused consciousness on my right pinky finger.

As the sensation of flesh and bone dulled, the fingertip crumbled into fine sand, a strange feeling.

No pain. Just the alien sensation of part of my body converting to another material.

I placed the small amount of sand created on my right palm.

And imagined. A solid, fast, rotating, lethal bullet piercing everything.

Following my image, the sand clumped, soon completing a small bullet.

I spun the completed sand bullet round and round on my palm, waiting for monsters to appear.

In easy, one unarmed goblin, normal one goblin with dagger.

Hard is two goblins.

“Then for me, three goblins?”

Definitely tough to take three at once.

Not sure how much time between making bullet and preparing next.

Not sure if I can run well with this slender body.

During remaining wait time, I experimented if I can make sand bullet on other hand.

This time, sacrifice left pinky to make sand, practice controlling it.

At first, using both hands simultaneously was unfamiliar, concentration scattered, sand dispersed repeatedly.

But on fourth try, succeeded in making same sand bullet on left palm as right.

“This is the limit for now…. Well, good.”

Now one bullet each on both hands.

With this, take two at once, then distance a bit and deal with last one.

Perfect scenario.

[Movement complete.]

Finally, countdown ended and space in front distorted.

Surroundings a cave.

In front, ugly monsters with green skin.

Goblins with crude weapons.

Before accurately counting them, I instinctively fired bullets from both hands.

Whoosh-!

Boom! Boom!

The two bullets hit the heads of the two foremost goblins without error.

Their heads burst like watermelons in a gross sight. Blood and brains splattered everywhere.

“Gross…. Anyway, one left now?”

Leisurely about to sacrifice another finger to make next bullet.

Kieeeek-!

Keruk! Keruk!

Ear-piercing goblin cries filled the cave, bursting from all sides.

And goblins emerging one by one from the dark, definitely not one.

One, two, three… four, five, six, seven, eight.

“F*ck what. Why so many.”

Since I killed two just now, total ten summoned?

Hard difficulty is just two.

But here ten. Simple calculation five times.

But in battle, facing two instead of one isn’t twice, but three-four times harder.

Considering that, actual difficulty of facing ten far exceeds five times.

Extreme difficulty. Hellfire difficulty confirmed.

“Run for now.”

I started running at full speed.