After healing my injuries with a Red Elixir, I stood before the fading Immortal gate.

“Well then, I’m off.”

Grizzly gave a silent nod. A few of the Russian hunters shook my hand or bumped my fist, offering words of encouragement.

“My son is two years old,” Grizzly said. “In a world gone mad, children need symbols to look up to. Please, bring back humanity’s hero.”

“Of course. You can count on me.”

After a final farewell to Grizzly, I stepped through the Immortal’s gate alone.

‘Vwoom!’

Space warped for a moment, then a vast, open view unfolded. I found myself standing on a desolate, unknown plain. The first thing I did was check the player message.

[Time remaining until dimensional severance: 00:12:49.]

When a dungeon’s boss—its anchor to this dimension—is defeated, the spatiotemporal connection weakens, and the gate closes. The only ways out are through the gate you entered or a new one that appears where the boss fell.

‘I’ll wait.’

Twelve minutes later, I confirmed that the space had been completely sealed off. I was now trapped in this dungeon forever, just like Hong Yul. The Association would classify me as ‘missing in dungeon’ and declare me officially dead in three months.

From my subspace pocket, I took out the bean infused with the magic of the trial.

A sudden unease washed over me. ‘Can this tiny thing really create a trial?’

For now, I decided to follow the instructions.

I dug a shallow hole, planted a bean inside, and covered it with dirt. Over it, I laid out a trigger magic circle from ‘The Fundamentals of Magic’ and infused it with mana.

‘Vwoom!’

A series of player messages appeared.

[Trial Initiator, Tower Master Kim Yusin, confirmed.]

[Calculating the space and mana volume of the current dungeon.]

[Location confirmed as suitable. No life signs detected nearby. The sixth-floor trial magic can now commence.]

[Do you wish to challenge the trial?]

I had struggled too hard to get this far to have any reservations.

“I accept.”

As if in response, a flower bud the size of a human torso bloomed from the bean I had planted. When it fully opened, it revealed the same black hole that had once blocked my path.

[The trial will now begin.]

The black hole expanded to an immense size, engulfing the world. Before I could react, my body was sucked inside.

* * *

Adrift in a floating consciousness, I slowly recalled Anton’s diary.

‘It took longer than I expected to find a dungeon large enough for the trial. Now that I’m here, I understand why it was necessary to use an external dungeon instead of the tower. The scale is on another level compared to the previous trials. It’s truly, disgustingly vast.’

‘I met the former Tower Masters. Every last one is a shady, eccentric old geezer. Will I become like that when I get old? Nah, no way. I’d rather die than become a hysterical, condescending boomer like them.’

That’s right. According to Anton’s diary, the theme of this trial was ‘time travel,’ a mission to find the previous Tower Masters. I would have to make the magic they passed down my own.

At some point, the sensation of floating gave way to solid ground beneath my feet.

I opened my eyes and surveyed my surroundings. I was in the middle of a dark city.

Thick smog blanketed the sky, and a black rain drizzled down. The buildings were old and rusted, their colors faded, with gaping holes punched through their walls. The entire city was covered in a kind of dank, unidentifiable moss.

‘…Don’t tell me this is Erendel.’

I was already starting to cough, my throat raw and scratchy. Worse, a foul stench—the likes of which I’d never smelled before—assaulted my senses, so acrid it felt like it would sear my nostrils.

‘Ea. Are you there?’

-I am always by the Tower Master’s side.

For some reason, that line made my heart flutter.

‘Where do you think we are?’

-Based on a structural analysis of the buildings, the architectural style differs from Erendel’s. If I had to say, it more closely resembles that of Earth.

She was right. If Erendel had a medieval feel, this place was closer to the modern era, built on a foundation of concrete architecture with tall skyscrapers looming in the distance. But the characters on the signs hanging from the buildings were a language I had never seen before, far removed from anything on Earth.

‘Was there a place like this in Erendel?’

In any case, I had been dropped into a city with nothing. For now, I decided to just walk forward without a plan.

From an alley between two buildings, I heard the sound of someone eating. I turned to see a figure in rags, hunched over and shoving filth from a trash can into their mouth. They weren’t just eating food scraps; plastic bags were going straight into their stomachs as well.

Just then, the man’s eyes met mine. A chill ran down my spine, and I quickened my pace.

-It seems people do live here, Tower Master.

‘Yeah.’

This place sparked all sorts of thoughts. What was the trial’s intention in bringing me here? If humanity lost to the Disasters, would our world become like this? No, they wouldn’t stop until humanity was completely wiped out. This world, I suspected, hadn’t been entirely defeated yet. Someone was likely still resisting.

As if to prove my point, a massive wall came into view beyond the buildings. It was so high I had to crane my neck all the way back just to see the top. The entire city seemed to be encircled by it, a barrier I assumed was meant to protect it from monsters.

‘…Hmm.’

I mulled things over as I walked, but I was at a loss as to how I would find the Tower Master.

‘My head is too cluttered. Let’s just think simply.’

Where does information primarily gather in Erendel? Right, usually in pubs. That’s where the informants were.

Once I had a goal, my vision sharpened. Among the various signs, I spotted one with a picture of liquid dropping into a cup. It had to be alcohol.

Without hesitation, I entered the building.

A rusty bell rang. The moment I stepped inside, the potent scent of alcohol stung my nose. A lone lightbulb hanging from the ceiling flickered, threatening to die. In the dim, near-total darkness, drunkards staggered about or lay passed out on tables.

-Be careful, Tower Master.

‘Right.’

I walked over to the counter. The man behind it, the most neatly dressed person in the establishment, was wiping a cup with a cloth. The cloth itself was so filthy it seemed to be making things worse.

‘Will the core translator work here?’

My translator was only registered with Earth’s languages. Just then, the waiter saw me and spoke.

“Haven’t seen your face around here before.”

Nice. It seemed some form of translation magic was active within the trial. I took the device out of my ear, slipped it into my pocket, and pulled my hood down further as I took a seat.

“What can I get you?” he asked.

“I have a question.” I lowered my voice to match the grim atmosphere. “Where can I find the Tower Master?”

No point in beating around the bush. I wanted to see his reaction.

“An outsider, from beyond the wall? I’d think it’s polite to order before asking questions.”

“I don’t have any of your currency. What can I use for payment?”

“Cigarettes. Ammunition. Protein.”

I had none of the three. Was I going to have to get a job just to get the story moving?

“If not those, then a mana stone. We can even give you change for a mana stone.”

“A mana stone?”

A wave of relief washed over me at the familiar word. It seemed this world shared some concepts with Erendel after all. I looked around, then picked up a dirt-caked stone from the floor.

The waiter’s expression twisted. “Are you kidding me?”

“Hold on.”

The stone was softer than I expected. Using magic, I hollowed out its core and inscribed a compression magic circle within. Then, I infused it with mana.

‘Flash!’

A blue light pulsed from the stone. I poured in as much mana as it could withstand before dropping it on the counter.

“This should be enough for a drink, right?”

The waiter stared at the glowing stone, his face a mask of astonishment. The patrons who had been passed out drunk suddenly shot to their feet.

“Don’t tell me… you can generate mana?” he asked, his voice a strained whisper.

“As you can see.”

He nodded once and turned his back, his hands moving frantically as he rummaged through a drawer for a glass. Then, his hand tightened around the handle of something else.

-Tower Master! It’s dangerous!

At Ea’s warning, I kicked off the bar and launched myself backward from my stool.

A heavy cleaver, like one used in a butcher shop, slammed into the spot where I had just been sitting.

“Hand it over,” the waiter snarled.

He pulled out a rifle. The other patrons closed in, sinister smiles spreading across their faces, each of them brandishing a sharp blade.

“Give us that body!” one of them screamed.

“What the hell is going on?!”

Seeing their sudden hostility, I knew something was terribly wrong. I kicked the door open and bolted down the stairs.

“Stop!”

As they gave chase, their rags fell away, revealing their faces. They were completely hairless—no hair on their heads, no eyebrows, nothing. I couldn’t tell if it was a trait of this world’s race, but it was incredibly unsettling.

“It’s a mana wielder! Get him!” the waiter shrieked, his voice a rattling cough as he leaned out a window.

The eyes of the people loitering on the streets and picking through garbage lit up with greed, and they all charged toward me.

‘Aargh, this is insane!’

In an instant, I was the city’s most wanted. I glanced back to see hundreds of people swarming the street like a horde of zombies. Onlookers, seeing the commotion, joined the chase without even seeming to know why.

“Mana! Mana! Mana! Mana!”

Horrible, craving shouts echoed from behind me. I was now being hunted by the entire city.

To shake them off, I ducked into a narrow alley.

A window shattered, and a hand shot out, flailing wildly. It was like something straight out of a zombie movie. I ducked low and sprinted through the alley at top speed.

“Hahahaha!”

A pot-bellied man blocked my path, swinging a chainsaw. I leaped into the air to dodge the attack, spun, and kicked him hard in the back of the head. His body flew through the air and crashed into a pile of trash.

A single player message appeared.

[Agility has increased by 1.]

“Are you messing with me right now?!”

This was seriously driving me crazy.

Still, a trial was a trial, and the stat bonuses were clearly in effect. More importantly, the fact that I was secretly pleased about my stat increase meant I wasn’t entirely sane either.

I quickly snapped out of it and ran into an empty alley.

‘Is there really a Tower Master in a place like this? Forget finding him, I should just hope he’s still alive.’

* * *

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep