"…Ha."
A hollow laugh escaped his lips.
Seeing the message window made him realize this situation was real.
"A regression."
And right back to the moment he first Awakened.
It was an utterly unbelievable situation.
Taeho calmly retraced his memories and sorted through the facts.
I definitely used the core to charge at Arkanus.
He could still vividly recall his very soul burning away.
Yet beyond that agonizing, endless pain, everything else was a blur.
He had no idea why he had regressed.
No, wait.
Taeho continued to sift through his memories and recalled the final moment.
His vision had been completely swallowed by the dragon's breath, making it impossible to see anything else.
Yet, Taeho was certain he had seen something familiar at the very last second.
Text floating inside a translucent, rectangular box.
As the memory clicked, his eyes widened.
Could it be…?
He stared at the message window hovering before him.
What he had seen back then was identical to the Tower's system.
There was one more suspicious thing.
At that time… surely, even if just for a split second, it shot up to 100%.
The core's capacity hadn't increased by even 1%, despite absorbing countless dragon breaths.
But when he was burning in Arkanus's breath—
He thought he had briefly seen the charge level hit 100%.
The core I made is what sent me back?
Thud!
Leaping to his feet at the sudden realization, Taeho accidentally kicked something, sending it clattering against the wall.
He turned toward the noise, his eyes widening.
"The core…?!"
It was about the size of a pear, just large enough to fit in his palm.
There was no mistaking it—this was the transcendent-grade core he had crafted himself.
Startled, Taeho quickly picked it up.
Out of habit, he tried to inspect its stats—only to hit a sudden, sharp ache.
You do not possess the ability to view item information.
You have not obtained a class yet. Please proceed with the tutorial.
"I can't even check item info without a class, huh?"
Feeling as if static electricity had just surged through his brain, Taeho pressed a hand against his head and winced.
But he wasn't disappointed in the slightest.
No.
Instead, he was smiling.
Even if I can't check it yet, just being able to start with the core is an immense stroke of luck.
The core was a rare treasure that had even blocked a Dragon Lord's breath.
Above all, it was a transcendent-grade core imbued with the essence of magic, magitech, and alchemy that even he didn't fully comprehend.
Even if he couldn't use it right away, it was bound to come in handy eventually.
First, let's get a class. It won't be too late to worry about the rest after that.
Taeho clutched the core to his chest.
Because he didn't have a class, he couldn't use his inventory either.
He could have left it at home, but he knew he would be too anxious about the core to focus on the tutorial.
Would you like to enter the tutorial?
"Enter."
At his answer, the message window updated instantly.
Intent confirmed. Entering the tutorial.
Taeho began to drift upward into the air.
In a flash, he vanished from the room, pulled straight into the tutorial.
* * *
Taeho opened his eyes as he felt his feet touch the ground.
At the center of a void as white as a blank sheet of paper, a colossal Tower loomed.
"It really has been a long time."
The Tutorial Tower.
The place where an Awakener's class was determined—a location everyone was required to pass through, without exception.
And a place no one could cross more than once.
Class.
Taeho's gaze deepened as he looked at the Tower.
In the past, the class he had obtained was Blacksmith.
And as a result of solely focusing on his craft without even climbing the Tower, he had also earned the title of Transcendent Blacksmith.
Taeho already knew more about Blacksmiths than anyone else.
Which was precisely why he couldn't help but agonize over the choice.
Blacksmiths have limits.
Once an Awakener's class was locked in, their growth trajectory was set in stone.
And once a gap in combat power formed, bridging it was nearly impossible.
For example, in a head-to-head fight, a Level 80 Warrior would almost certainly beat a Level 100 Blacksmith.
That was the fundamental problem.
This time, I will climb the Tower myself. In that case… a class other than Blacksmith will be more advantageous.
Of course, it didn't mean the Blacksmith class was useless.
But even with the finest gear he could craft, the class itself lacked the combat specs to unleash full potential.
They said the class is determined by your performance in the tutorial.
Taeho recalled the information he had heard in the past.
The Tower could only be climbed by Awakeners who had obtained a class.
Since humanity's survival rested on them, mankind had never stopped researching Awakeners.
As a result, it had been revealed that classes were determined by innate talent and performance during the tutorial.
Let's not overthink it. I don't choose the class anyway. It manifests.
Even after regressing, his years of crafting knowledge and experience remained completely intact.
In other words, choosing a different class only meant losing access to Blacksmith class skills.
By retaining his underlying expertise, he could obtain a combat-related class and climb the Tower with gear he forged himself.
That was Taeho's plan to change the future with this second chance.
And above all else—
I will absolutely never repeat the same mistake.
Traitors wearing the very armor he had crafted, brandishing the weapons he had forged to slaughter humanity for the Tower's sake.
The Earth, which had become twisted and contaminated by the Tower's Qi.
The entities of the Tower that poured out and marched forward, trampling the world.
Just recalling the memory made his fists clench and veins pop.
Taking a deep breath to calm his mind, Taeho looked around.
By the way, what's going on? It's already past the time they should have appeared.
Taeho furrowed his brow.
The Tutorial Tower was where newly Awakened individuals arrived, completely ignorant of what lay ahead.
Normally, a guide would appear upon arrival to give a brief overview of the Tower before opening the gates.
Yet for some reason, the guide who should have arrived long ago was still nowhere in sight.
Is the system failing because I regressed?
Just as he was debating whether to open the door and walk in himself, an unfamiliar voice drifted down from above him.
"What a peculiar child."
Taeho looked toward the voice coming from above.
A woman hovered in midair, looking down at Taeho.
There was no telling how long she had been there.
He quickly scanned her appearance.
She wore a unique outfit resembling a traditional hanbok, with horns extending from both of her temples.
A thick, long tail swaying behind her caught his eye.
What is this? A race I've never seen before?
Growing tense, Taeho asked.
"Who are you?"
"Demanding my identity out of the blue? What an ill-mannered child."
The woman smirked.
Yet contrary to her words, she didn't seem all that offended.
"However, since you have come here, I suppose I should tell you. I am Ari'mir, the administrator of this place."
An administrator? Not a guide?
Taeho's confusion only grew deeper.
To think there was a being who managed the Tutorial Tower.
He had never even heard of such a thing.
But one thing was certain.
Right now, there was nothing to gain from provoking Ari'mir, who introduced herself as the administrator.
"My apologies. I am Taeho Shin."
"I have little interest in a name destined to fade. Normally, I would have no reason to come all the way down here myself."
Ari'mir shrugged, closing her eyes indifferently.
But when she opened them again, her pupils had narrowed into sharp vertical slits.
"Yet, the object you brought has guided me here."
The surrounding air shifted.
Although she hadn't used any power, it felt as though gravity intensified just from Ari'mir slightly raising her gaze.
Taeho's face hardened.
Did she use Qi? Is it even possible to exude this much pressure just by releasing Qi?
Qi was the energy of the Tower, giving form to supernatural phenomena that defied reality itself.
Awakeners relied on it to fortify their bodies and cast spells.
But to manifest that much pressure in a single instant was practically impossible.
There was only one being in Taeho's memory capable of such a feat.
Dragon Lord Arkanus. It's the same feeling I had when I saw him from afar.
Taeho's throat twitched as he swallowed hard.
A chill ran down his spine as if countless invisible eyes were thoroughly scrutinizing him.
"An object? What are you talking about?"
"Are you pretending to be ignorant? The presence radiating from within your garments is far too conspicuous for that."
"Garments?"
Recalling something at Ari'mir's words, Taeho searched his pockets.
As he pulled out the core, the administrator's eyes gleamed.
"Yes, that is it. Fascinating. Let me see."
The Qi dominating the space around Ari'mir shifted.
With a mere thought, the energy intertwined as effortlessly as breathing, shaping itself into telekinesis.
She merely extended her hand, yet an invisible force snatched the core right out of Taeho's grip.
Taeho's expression contorted.
"What do you think you're doing—"
"Be quiet, insolent child."
Taeho was forced down onto one knee.
The telekinetic Qi pressed down on him with immense weight, choking the air from his lungs.
Thick veins popped on his forehead.
Damn it! Classless or not, to think I can't even withstand unmaterialized Qi!
Taeho glared upward.
He saw Ari'mir curiously examining the core he had crafted.
That sight overlapped with the images of the human traitors who had used his gear as they pleased.
Never again! Once I leave this place, I will never let anyone steal what's mine again! Never ever!
As Taeho chewed on his rage, Ari'mir sensed something strange emanating from the core.
Inspecting the core as if looking for a flaw, Ari'mir suddenly froze in surprise.
How peculiar. Is it trying to absorb my Qi right now?
Since the core was a vessel meant to contain energy, Ari'mir didn't find the act itself unusual.
The problem was that the core was operating on its own, despite having been separated from its master's hands.
And its capacity, along with its power to absorb Qi, far exceeded common sense.
Rumble!
"Ngh?!"
Ari'mir panicked.
The core devoured her Qi like parched earth swallowing a long-awaited rain.
It all happened in an instant.
Ari'mir desperately tried to cut off her Qi, but the core pulled with such force that the absorption wouldn't stop.
Within seconds, it devoured all the Qi powering her telekinesis.
T-this makes no sense! It's holding this much of my Qi and it's perfectly fine?!
And as if that weren't enough, it was now trying to siphon the Qi directly from her actual body.
Ari'mir was horrified to realize she had completely lost control of her own power.
No! Stop!!!
Left with no choice, she hastily severed all of her Qi circuits.
With all her power sealed, her body plummeted straight to the ground.
Plop!
"…?!"
At the loud thump, Taeho's eyes widened at the sight of Ari'mir suddenly sprawled face-first on the ground right in front of him.
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