Gangwoo was 180 cm. But Jangbok looked a full head taller.

Jangbok glared down at him, his face scrunched tight. A guy with a chip on his shoulder, maybe. His expression was ugly.

“Meeting you here again. Did you sit comfortably?”

Gangwoo grinned and spoke. Jangbok’s eyebrow twitched at the answer.

“Look at this bastard? Been screwing me over since the entrance, huh??”

“Screwing you over?”

Gangwoo shrugged as he replied. Jangbok grabbed him by the collar.

“This bastard. Keep rubbing me wrong, I’m the type who pays back what I get. You better know you’re dying today.”

“What a coincidence. I’m the type who pays back too.”

“This bastard!!!”

Whoosh—

Jangbok’s fist flew toward Gangwoo’s face.

Gangwoo’s pupils contracted. With the item’s effect, his Agility hit 85. This moment felt slow, frozen in place.

Blue Mana rippled over Jangbok’s fist.

‘Straight Punch…’

The skill he’d learned on Floor 1 — he was driving it into Gangwoo’s face.

‘He’s trying to kill me…’

Hadn’t he seen the destructive power of a Straight Punch? Yet this man swung it around like it was nothing.

Ha Gangwoo watched the fist flying toward him and weighed his options. Block it? Dodge it? Then a question struck him.

*Thud!*

Choi Jangbok’s fist slammed square into Ha Gangwoo’s face.

The corner of Ha Gangwoo’s mouth twitched upward.

*Just as I thought.*

He hadn’t dodged Choi Jangbok’s Straight Punch because he needed to confirm something.

A perfect chance to test the armor from the Starter Pack.

Back when he’d first Awakened, an ordinary person’s knife had pierced his palm. And fighting Goblins—their daggers had scraped his skin, and every hit brought pain.

But not anymore.

*So this is what items can do.*

He’d grasped the armor’s power now, in no uncertain terms.

Choi Jangbok’s full-force punch felt like being tapped with a cotton bat.

And then—

“Hey! Hey! They’re fighting over there. These idiots got energy to burn or what?”

“Huh?! Isn’t that Choi Jangbok? Wasn’t he brawling with someone outside just now? He’s at it again. Total psycho.”

Nearby Players started gathering around.

Choi Jangbok had already lost his mind.

*Thud—thud—thud—*

He hammered punches in wild, haphazard strikes.

*Thud—thud—*

The wet impact sounds kept ringing out, and the onlookers’ faces hardened.

“Shouldn’t we stop him? He’ll kill the guy at this rate.”

“Nah, he’ll handle himself. Stick your nose in and it’s just trouble. You seen how nasty that bastard’s temper is.”

Everyone was just exchanging glances, pretending not to notice—when—

“Hey, you. That’s enough!!!”

A kid who looked about nineteen, decked out in decent armor, stepped forward. Jo Seunghyun.

Choi Jangbok’s fist, mid-swing at Ha Gangwoo’s face, stopped. Then his face twisted into a scowl.

“The hell’s this punk now?! Get lost if you don’t wanna die with him! All you gawkers having a good show?!!! Fuck off!!!”

Choi Jangbok bellowed boldly, shouting even at the spectators.

“I know people say you can’t die in the Tower, but still—take it easy. We’re not Monsters. Fighting Player vs Player gets you nothing, right?”

Jo Seunghyun didn’t back down. He walked slowly toward Choi Jangbok. Either the guy had guts, or he was confident in his own skills.

Ha Gangwoo watched him with a flat expression.

*Can’t die?*

He’d never heard that before. So you couldn’t die in the Tower of Tutorial? Come to think of it, the registration process had been suspiciously simple.

“You’re fucking asking for it.”

*Shink—*

Choi Jangbok released Ha Gangwoo’s throat and thrust his hand into empty air.

His arm disappeared somewhere, as if cut off—sliding smoothly into nothing. He’d opened his Inventory.

Then, slowly, he began pulling out something sharp and gleaming.

A massive greatsword, nearly two meters long.

“Are you insane?!”

“Hey. Let’s just go somewhere else.”

The crowd that had been watching began to give ground, backing away as the greatsword came out.

But Jo Seunghyun didn’t back down.

“I said take it easy.”

*Shiiing—*

Seunghyun pulled his own sword from his Inventory.

A hair-trigger standoff.

Ha Gangwoo stood there with a blank look, watching the scene unfold.

*Well now… This is getting annoying.*

Where had it gone wrong? If he’d just given up his spot at the entrance, would none of this have happened?

*Maybe.*

But he didn’t regret it. Even if the same situation came again, he’d do the same thing.

Gangwoo’s expression chilled.

*You don’t die in the Tower, huh…*

If that was true, beating Choi Jangbok to the brink of death and teaching him a lesson didn’t seem like a bad option.

While Gangwoo was mulling over how to handle the situation—

*Clang!!*

Choi Jangbok’s greatsword met Jo Seunghyun’s blade.

*Tch!*

Seunghyun’s face crumpled.

*What the hell is this strength?! It’s absurdly strong.*

His knee — the one he’d always been confident in — buckled under the force.

Just as Seunghyun was barely holding himself up—

*Whoosh—*

Something flashed, then *SMACK!!!* — it slammed straight into Seunghyun’s face.

“Ghk…”

Choi Jangbok’s knee strike had landed clean. Seunghyun tumbled across the ground.

*He’s way too good at this…*

Seunghyun wiped the blood from his mouth and steadied his breathing.

He’d been through plenty of real fights before climbing the Tower, so he could tell just how skilled the man in front of him was.

*Can’t believe I have to use this against another Player.*

Originally, he’d planned to half-ass it. But the guy in front of him wasn’t weak enough to be handled half-heartedly.

*He crushes you with overwhelming force.*

There was only one way to win without getting hurt, so Seunghyun reached into his Inventory.

[Mid-Grade Power Potion]

Grade: C

Crafter: Misha

Description: A potion made from High-Grade Drake blood. Grants immense strength for a short duration.

Effects:

– Strength +50.

– Agility +30.

– Duration: 10 seconds.

A potion that cost a whopping 5 million won per bottle.

He’d brought it for emergencies — never thought he’d use it like this.

*Gulp— gulp—*

Seunghyun downed the potion in one go, then pushed himself to his feet.

*Thrum—* An immense surge of power erupted through him.

“As expected!! Misha’s potion!! Worth every damn won.”

Seunghyun clenched both fists, marveling at his boosted Strength—

Choi Jangbok was already right in front of him.

“You son of a bitch!! Die!!!”

Choi Jangbok swung his greatsword with everything he had.

It arced straight toward Seunghyun’s neck.

*This guy’s absolutely insane.*

Not about to be outdone, Seunghyun swung his own sword.

*Clang!!*

A loud crack rang out, and at the same time—

*Whir— whir— whir— whir—*

Choi Jangbok’s greatsword went flying through the air. He’d lost his grip under Seunghyun’s force.

*I won.*

Jo Seunghyun grinned, then swung his fist — a blur of motion — straight at Choi Jangbok’s face.

Strength pushing seventy.

One hit should be enough to knock him out!!!

Crack!!!!

The air split with a thunderous slap.

Seunghyun’s fist smashed into Jangbok’s face.

Then — drip. Drip.

Blood pattered onto the floor.

Seunghyun’s grin froze.

“A Trait?!”

It was his own fist that was bleeding.

Choi Jangbok’s face felt like solid rock under the blow.

Jangbok’s features twisted. As his expression changed, flakes of stone dust crumbled from his skin, which had turned hard as granite.

“You little shit!!”

Jangbok’s fist hooked through the air — Thud!!! It slammed into Seunghyun’s face.

“Guhk…”

Whether from the Straight Punch or the force behind it, Seunghyun’s body bent sharply, sending him tumbling across the ground.

‘Got too careless…’

He cursed his own complacency. Drunk on Potions, he’d let arrogance get the better of him.

He’d been so arrogant he hadn’t even used Straight Punch when he’d struck Choi Jangbok’s face. He’d even held back his strength, afraid he might kill the man.

What a fucking idiotic judgment.

Jo Seunghyun was in the middle of cursing himself when—

—Shiiink—

Choi Jangbok picked up the greatsword and closed in on Seunghyun.

‘He’s really insane.’

Choi Jangbok’s eyes had lost all reason, feral with murderous intent. He looked dead set on killing.

‘Even if people don’t die in the Tower…’

Even knowing you couldn’t die, could you really bring yourself to kill someone that easily? It wasn’t easy. But that man was swinging his sword at another human being like it was the most natural thing in the world.

Seunghyun ground his teeth and tried to push himself upright, but it wasn’t easy.

In that very moment, as Seunghyun fought to regain his senses—

Choi Jangbok reached right in front of him.

“Serves you right for sticking your nose in. Goodbye.”

—Whoosh—

Choi Jangbok’s greatsword swept down without a shred of hesitation. It cleaved the air precisely toward Seunghyun’s throat.

Jo Seunghyun watched the blade slicing toward his throat.

‘I really am… pathetic…’

Hadn’t he tried hard enough? Being a Player was the only thing he thought he could do better than his brother, and yet—

‘Retiring on just the third floor…’

He was truly useless, beyond saving. That phrase fit him perfectly.

The moment Jo Seunghyun let out a hollow laugh, sensing his death…

Thud—

Someone caught the blade with a bare hand.

Jo Seunghyun raised his head to look at the shadow.

‘….’

The man he had saved moments ago.

He stood there.

That man looked at him and asked,

“Seriously, do people not die in the Tower?”

‘…’

Was he being serious? Doubt crept in.

If those words were genuine, then that man must have fought for his life from the first floor onward.

Whether it was a joke or not, Jo Seunghyun decided to answer.

“Yeah, you just get bounced out the moment you die.”

A thin smile curled at the corner of the man’s mouth as he heard the answer.

“Is that so.”

No sooner had the man finished speaking than—

Crack—

With a sound of air splitting, Choi Jangbok’s form vanished.