This is [Ariel], an otherworldly realm!
And within this very [Ariel], on the 78th floor of a colossal 100-story tower, the day begins!
“KIIIIIIYAAAAAH-!!!!!!!!”
“Your voice is as booming as ever today!”
From dawn, the Darkness Requiem Dragon unleashed a thunderous roar!
Yet, not a single soul in the vicinity fled in terror.
On the contrary, the cheerful laughter echoing around suggested it was merely another peaceful morning, a common occurrence.
Beyond this, countless other vignettes of everyday life unfolded.
Adorable rabbits nibbling on weeds in the verdant fields of the tower’s second floor.
The soft chatter of spectral librarians drifting between the bookshelves of the magical library on the 84th floor.
Residents peacefully bathing together in the carbonated hot springs of the 37th floor.
And finally, on the 95th-floor terrace, the tower’s proprietor—an outsider from Earth who had ushered in an era of peace to the world of [Ariel]—observed all these sights through a crystal orb.
“Dragons chirp… weeds flourish… how wonderful it would be if such an ordinary day could simply stretch on forever…”
“I wholeheartedly agree. For your afternoon tea, would you prefer barley tea or black tea?”
“A refreshing barley tea, please; a glass with ice would be perfect.”
The girl, with her striking snow-white hair, heterochromatic eyes—one red, one blue—and magnificent angel wings that attested to her celestial nature, was Ariel Tricia, the .
Ariel Tricia took a contemplative sip of the barley tea, personally prepared by the demon bartender, and silently wished for this peace to endure.
In her past life, she had been an ordinary schoolteacher on Earth, yet she had suddenly found herself reincarnated as an angel in this otherworldly realm.
Consequently, the inhabitants of this world mistook her for a deity descended from the heavens.
She inadvertently brought an end to the war against the malevolent demon race and, in the newly tranquilized world, adopted a derelict tower as her home, embracing a relaxed, slow-paced existence.
This tower, meticulously repaired and restored by her with every ounce of her being, had become a haven for all.
Humans, other races, and even demons and monsters could coexist here peacefully, referring to each other as ‘comrades’ rather than foes.
Thus, the residents of [Ariel] had christened this place the ‘Tower of Peace’.
…Though, to Tricia herself, it was simply ‘a home where she could find solace and security’.
“Haa~ The tea is wonderfully cool and delicious, and this profound peace… it’s truly delightful~”
This was the peace she had forged through decades of tireless effort within [Ariel].
She believed this tranquility would endure eternally.
However!
Life, however, rarely unfolds according to one’s desires!
[ARIEL DIMENSIONAL TOWER TRANSFER SYSTEM ACTIVATION…]
[※WARNING! – ANOMALOUS STRUCTURE OF UNMEASURABLE DIFFICULTY DETECTED!]
[DIMENSIONAL SYNCHRONIZATION COMPLETE – ANOMALOUS STRUCTURE WITHIN THE [ARIEL] DIMENSION IDENTIFIED AS A TOWER.]
[TOWER EXISTENCE CONFIRMED – DIMENSIONAL RECONSTRUCTION DEEMED UNNECESSARY.]
[DIMENSIONAL SEPARATION PROCESS OMITTED.]
[RECONSTRUCTING TOWER STRUCTURE TO ALIGN WITH THE EXISTING INTERNAL ENVIRONMENT.]
[SEARCHING FOR SUITABLE ADMINISTRATOR… CONFIRMATION COMPLETE.]
[GRANTING ADMINISTRATOR AUTHORITY OF THIS TOWER TO ENTITY AND TRANSFERRING TO THE [EARTH] DIMENSION.]
With a deafening rending sound, spacetime itself tore open, and the heavens parted.
Concurrently, an overwhelming torrent of light cascaded down upon the tower─
[TOWER ADMINISTRATOR AUTHORITY ACQUIRED.]
“?”
Tricia’s vision was engulfed by a blinding white.
****
Earth, in the heart of downtown Seoul, just a short distance from its vibrant commercial district.
-KWOOOOOOH!
In that very spot, a colossal tower materialized!
The residents nearby were, of course, startled, but it wasn’t long before they began to adapt with surprising speed.
“What is this, another tower has appeared?”
“And this time, it’s right near downtown Seoul.”
This casual acceptance stemmed from the fact that, for the past five years, similar towers had been materializing across the globe.
To the populace, these towers were no longer objects of dread, but rather veritable paradises of opportunity, offering a chance at immense wealth for those who dared to ascend them, growing stronger with each floor and claiming valuable rewards.
It wasn’t long before the newly manifested tower became the top story on TV news and a buzzing topic across YouTube.
[EMERGENCY BREAKING NEWS: A ‘NEWBORN TOWER’ OF UNPRECEDENTED SCALE HAS APPEARED NEAR THE CITY CENTER.]
[THE TOWER’S ASCENSION DIFFICULTY HAS YET TO BE CLEARLY ASCERTAINED—]
[BREAKING NEWS: REPORTS INDICATE THE [GLORY] GUILD IS CURRENTLY SELECTING AN ADVANCE TEAM TO ENTER THE TOWER—]
Unsurprisingly, the online forums dedicated to tower discussions erupted into a frenzy.
[AUTHOR: HEARTY KOREAN SOUP]
[TITLE: WHAT’S WITH THE TOWER THAT JUST APPEARED?]
I, a tower-aficionado, was just enjoying my gukbap (TL Note: A Korean soup dish with rice.) at a restaurant when, out of nowhere, a tower materialized right outside.
Part of me yearns to rush inside immediately, but I’m holding back; if I charge in recklessly and it turns out to be some brutally difficult trial-type tower, I’m as good as dead.
So, I’m playing it safe for now.
That’s why the [Glory] Guild is reportedly assembling an advance team.
But that’s not even the real issue.
This gukbap joint was my secret, hidden gem, but now a tower’s popped up right next to it, and everything’s ruined.
Now hordes of people are going to flock here, damn it all.
—Ah, lolol.
—The gukbap place just got a massive boost, becoming a ‘Tower-zone’ hotspot, lolol.
—Whoa, lolol! That restaurant just had a complete life reversal, lololol.
—If you think the gukbap owner’s probably grinning ear to ear right now, hit that upvote button, lolol.
[└(Upvote emoji)]
[└(Cabbage emoji)]
[└This rascal is talking about upvotes.]
[└(Femboy emoji)]
[└What was that last one, dammit.]
Thus, the enigmatic tower had become a sensational new topic across the online forums.
But what exactly was transpiring within the tower’s interior?
“Ugh, my head… But more pressingly, what exactly just happened?”
Struggling to her feet, she found the demon bartender beside her still unconscious.
Only Tricia was awake, rubbing her eyes as she began to assess the bewildering situation.
‘Surely… an Administrator? I recall a window about granting authority popping up.’
[TOWER ADMINISTRATOR REGISTRATION COMPLETE.]
‘Yes, precisely this…’
“…Eh?”
Tricia stared at the system window declaring her the tower’s administrator, her composure utterly shattered.
In that moment, a series of new windows materialized before Tricia’s gaze.
[YOU CAN ACQUIRE TOWER COINS BASED ON THE ACHIEVEMENTS MADE BY CLIMBERS WHO ENTER THIS TOWER.]
[TOWER COINS: 0]
[TOWER MAINTENANCE COST: 100 COINS/DAY]
[NO TOWER CLIMBERS. TIME REMAINING UNTIL TOWER COLLAPSE: 72 HOURS.]
“…Tower coins? Maintenance costs? Wait… Is my home—could it actually have become *that* kind of tower, the ones from those tower-climbing novels?”
Her head spun as the windows continued to flicker rapidly before her eyes.
Before she could even draw a proper breath, yet another window materialized before her.
[ADMINISTRATOR PRIVILEGE: PLEASE NAME THE TOWER!]
[1. (STRONGLY RECOMMENDED)]
[2. CELESTIAL LIGHT TOWER OF THE OF THE ARIEL DIMENSION]
[3. CUSTOM INPUT]
“No, never mind the name! This is ‘my home’!”
[CONFIRMED. HENCEFORTH, THE NAME OF THIS TOWER SHALL BE ‘MYHOMETOWER’.]
“HEY!!!!!”
Furious that her beloved home had been inadvertently christened ‘MyHomeTower’, Tricia lashed out with a punch at the system window.
Yet, lacking any physical form, her fist merely sliced through empty air.
Realizing that aimlessly punching a non-existent system window would change nothing, Tricia instead focused on checking the state of the unconscious demon bartender beside her.
‘She merely fainted from the shock… What a relief.’
There were no apparent injuries to her body.
Part of her yearned to let the perpetually diligent bartender enjoy a deep, uninterrupted sleep, perhaps even granting her a much-deserved vacation, but…
Given the dire emergency at hand, Tricia swiftly administered a few light taps to her cheeks, rousing her from unconsciousness.
“Gasp?! Lady Tricia!!! Is your esteemed self unharmed?! And what, pray tell, was that blinding light from moments ago??”
“I’m not entirely sure myself… But this is an emergency.
Please inform all our comrades living here to prepare for immediate evacuation, and make sure the butler is notified as well!”
“An emergency?! Understood!”
Upon receiving her command, the bartender unfurled the wings on her back and swiftly took flight.
Her immediate priority was to have the bartender and butler disseminate the emergency alert to all the tower’s residents.
Following this, she resolved to venture outside without delay to properly ascertain the tower’s current state.
There was no need to descend all the way to the first floor; simply opening a window on the 95th floor should offer a clear view of the outside…
“…Where has the window gone?”
No, wait… Upon closer inspection, the entire surrounding structure had been utterly transformed.
This spot had undeniably been a small terrace, adorned with cosmic-themed wallpaper and ceiling, bathed in an artificial, luminous glow.
Yet, as if the space had dramatically expanded, a boundless starry sky now stretched across the heavens…
And at its very heart, the terrace where she had been seated moments ago now rested, an idyllic, picturesque island in the cosmic expanse.
“It’s expanded… immensely!”
Under these circumstances, an exit was impossible.
Did this mean all other floors had similarly expanded?
With this thought, Tricia swiftly turned her gaze to the crystal orb on the terrace.
The second floor’s grassy expanse had transformed into a colossal meadow beneath an open sky.
The carbonated hot springs of the 37th floor now nestled on the mid-slopes of a towering mountain.
And the magical library on the 84th floor had become a vast, intricate labyrinth.
“Everything… has changed…?”
As she slowly reviewed each floor, one by one…
[REPORT – A [CLIMBER] IS ATTEMPTING TO ENTER THE TOWER.]
[THE TRIAL AND REWARD FOR THE TOWER’S FIRST LAYER HAVE NOT BEEN SET!]
[IF THE TRIAL AND REWARD ARE NOT SET WITHIN 30 SECONDS, THEY WILL BE AUTOMATICALLY CONFIGURED BY THE SYSTEM.]
[TIME REMAINING: 29 SECONDS]
“Oh, come on, please just a moment! 30 seconds is far too short!”
[28… 27… 26…]
Tricia pleaded desperately, but the system remained unyielding.
“You gotta be ki—”
The sheer unreasonableness of the situation almost made an expletive slip out, but she managed to hold it back.
She quickly scanned the system, discovering that she could designate her diverse comrades residing in her home (the tower) as to fight.
She also learned that by expending Tower Coins, she could modify the environment of a layer or install traps, among various other settings.
It was, in essence, a growth-oriented cultivation system, designed to impose suitable trials upon [Climbers] ascending the tower and grant them appropriate rewards.
…Did this mean the system intended to arbitrarily force her precious comrades, who had finally found peace and solace after a long war, to endure that dreadful ‘war’ once more?
“I will absolutely not allow that to happen.”
[10… 9… 8…]
“Damn, time is flying by!”
With barely ten seconds remaining, Tricia hastily configured the trial details and rewards, then pressed the complete button.
[TRIAL AND REWARD SETTING COMPLETE.]
[A [CLIMBER] IS ENTERING THE TOWER.]
The first [Climber]—the tower’s inaugural guest, yet to Tricia, nothing more than an uninvited intruder suddenly barging into her home—entered the tower’s interior.
