Chapter 2:

What Is the Tower?

That was the question every human on Earth asked themselves.

The Tower had appeared months ago—rising from the ground across every nation simultaneously, immediately following the global earthquake that reshaped the world.

No one knew where it came from.

Some believed it was a divine construct—a trial sent down by the gods to judge humanity. Others dismissed it as something ripped straight from fiction, the kind of fantasy people used to read or play through on a screen.

But despite the arguments and fear, one truth gradually became undeniable.

The Tower was not merely a disaster.

It was an opportunity.

An opportunity for humanity to change.To evolve.

On a popular video-sharing platform, a relatively new streamer had been gaining explosive attention.

Lee Kwon.

At this very moment, he was broadcasting live—from inside the Tower.

The title of the stream read:

[LIVE] First Floor of the Tower of Trial – REAL FOOTAGE

"Alright, alright—your favorite streamer is finally here," Lee Kwon announced cheerfully as the chat flooded in.

[Yo yo unc]

[5555 show us more of the tower]

[Hurry up, I came to see the tower, not your face]

Lee Kwon's eye twitched.

He let out a slow sigh. "You guys are brutal, you know that?"

Still, he turned the camera outward and began walking.

"Okay, okay—look properly."

The stream revealed a vast plaza, paved with pale stone that shimmered faintly under a sky far too blue to be artificial. Towering spires and elegant buildings stretched endlessly into the distance.

The chat exploded.

[Whoa—this is really inside the tower?]

[It's like you got teleported to another world]

[What the hell, that place is HUGE]

[Bro—is that a maid NPC?]

Lee Kwon laughed. "Dear viewers, what you're seeing right now is the First Floor of the Tower of Trial."

He spread his arms dramatically.

"And let me tell you—it's not just big. It's absurdly big."

He continued walking as he spoke. "This place? It's only one kingdom."

The chat paused.

Then—

[One kingdom?]

[Wait, there are more??]

[You lying again, aren't you?]

[Stop clickbaiting us!!]

"I'm not lying!" Lee Kwon protested. "We're currently standing in the Kingdom of Aurora—the first kingdom that adventurers like us appear in when we enter the Tower."

He adjusted the camera slightly, capturing bustling streets, vendors calling out, guards patrolling in polished armor.

"So how do I know there are other kingdoms on this floor?" he continued. "Simple."

"I asked."

[Ohhhhh]

[Wait—you asked NPCs?]

[Why are you calling them NPCs?]

[This isn't a game, dude]

[If they're alive, aren't they just… people?]

Lee Kwon fell silent.

For a moment, he didn't respond to the chat.

Instead, he slowly panned the camera across the plaza.

Children were laughing as they chased each other near a fountain. A couple argued over prices at a stall. A knight knelt to speak gently to an elderly woman.

They weren't looping animations.They weren't repeating scripted lines.

They felt… real.

[Look at that—those kids are playing]

[That doesn't look like "background data"]

[Yeah… they don't feel fake]

[…Damn, this is weird]

Lee Kwon swallowed.

"…Yeah," he admitted quietly. "You're probably right."

After a pause, he forced a grin back onto his face.

"Anyway! If you're asking how I got in—simple."

He puffed out his chest. "The Tower recognized my talent."

[Shameless]

[Cancel this streamer]

[Let's goooo]

[I'm reporting you]

"WAIT—WAIT—I'M JOKING!" Lee Kwon shouted in panic, nearly dropping the camera.

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Inside the Royal Castle of the Kingdom of Aurora

Queen Aeloria let out a long, exhausted sigh as she lowered the report onto her desk.

Another one.

The parchment was filled with the same words she had been reading for weeks now.

Adventurers of unknown origin have appeared throughout the kingdom.

On paper, it sounded like good news. The God bringing new adventurers into Aurora meant growth, protection, and opportunity. Under normal circumstances, she would have welcomed them with open arms.

Unfortunately…

"These people are insane," Aeloria muttered.

Some adventurers would suddenly begin dancing in the middle of the streets, shouting about "hidden treasure" and "secret mechanics." Others spoke to thin air, mumbling about quests that didn't exist.

And then there were the really problematic ones.

One report described a man sprinting through the marketplace half-naked, a bird mask strapped to his head, screaming incomprehensibly while terrifying the civilians.

Her citizens had begun filing complaints daily.

Not because the adventurers were hostile—but because they were too strange.

Because of them, her workload had doubled, then tripled. Reports, complaints, negotiations, damage control—it never ended.

Aeloria's eye twitched.

"…I can't take this anymore."

With a sharp motion, she stood—and flipped the table.

Paper scattered everywhere.

"I need a vacation!" she declared, deadly serious.

She grabbed the sword resting beside her throne and drew it with a clean, practiced motion.

A maid shrieked in panic. "S-Someone! Her Majesty has lost her mind!"

The doors burst open as knights rushed in one after another, hands raised cautiously.

"Move," Aeloria warned, sword humming through the air. "Or I start swinging."

"Y-Your Majesty, please calm down!" one knight pleaded.

At that moment, the minister burst into the room, breathless. "Your Majesty—please! We can discuss this rationally!"

"No!" Aeloria snapped. "I demand a vacation. From this hellish workload!"

The minister swallowed. "L-Let us calm down first. We can… discuss the possibility of leave."

"Really?" Aeloria asked, fixing him with a sharp, piercing gaze.

The minister's eyes shifted away.

"…Liar."

With that single word, Aeloria turned, leapt toward the open window, and vanished.

"Y-Your Majesty?!"

The maid and knights rushed to the window just in time to see Queen Aeloria land gracefully in the courtyard below, barely bending her knees before sprinting toward the castle gates at terrifying speed.

The minister's face drained of color.

He turned to the stunned knights. "What are you all waiting for?! Go after her! Escort Her Majesty back immediately!"

The knights snapped out of their shock and bolted from the room.

Left behind, the minister slumped and rubbed his temples.

"Ever since those unknown adventurers arrived…" he muttered.

If word of today's events reached neighboring kingdoms, it would be a diplomatic nightmare.

The queen's personal maid stepped quietly beside him.

"Minister," she said gently, "since Her Majesty is unavailable at the moment, the kingdom will temporarily be under your care."

"…Huh?"

He pointed at himself. Then at the table—now buried under towering piles of unfinished paperwork.

"M-Me?"

The maid simply smiled.

The minister's smile twitched.

Please… come back, Your Majesty.

The moment Aeloria passed through the castle gates, she didn't slow down.

She slipped toward a quiet corner near the outer wall, retrieved a carefully hidden cloak, and fastened it around her shoulders. As she pulled the hood up, she glanced back.

Dozens of knights were already pouring out of the castle, scanning the streets.

"Too slow," she muttered.

With a practiced step, she blended into the crowd, slipping between stalls and pedestrians until the sounds of armored boots faded behind her. To be safe, she ducked into a narrow alley and pressed herself against the wall.

Moments later, the knights rushed past the alley entrance without noticing her.

Aeloria exhaled deeply.

"…Finally. I'm free."

She turned and walked deeper into the alley, her footsteps light.

Three weeks, she decided. At most.

Surely her minister could survive three weeks without her.Right?

"Hah," she scoffed. "I'm on vacation now. No work. No paperwork. No meetings."

With a flick of her fingers, magic shimmered around her head. Her once-blue hair darkened into an ordinary brown, and the gold of her pupils faded into an unremarkable black.

She studied her reflection in a nearby window.

If someone didn't look closely, they would mistake her for nothing more than a city resident—or perhaps a minor noble. Certainly not the Queen of Aurora.

Satisfied, she nodded.

Her curiosity soon turned toward a familiar thought.

The Adventurer Guild…

Those strange individuals of unknown origin were all accepted through the guild. If anyone understood the chaos she had been dealing with, it would be the guild master.

And besides…

She smiled faintly.

She had always wondered what it was like to live as an adventurer—after listening to Elaina's stories long before she became her personal maid.

After asking a few passersby for directions, Aeloria finally arrived.

She pushed the door open.

Noise flooded out instantly.

The guild hall was bustling—packed with adventurers laughing, arguing, boasting. Some were familiar citizens of Aurora. Others… clearly were not.

It was obvious who the "unknown-origin adventurers" were.

One man stood in the corner, muttering to himself while staring intensely at a strange glowing object in his hand.

Aeloria sighed inwardly.

They're not dangerous… just broken in the head.

She approached the counter.

"Good evening. Welcome to the Adventurer Guild," the receptionist greeted her politely. "How may I help you, miss?"

"I'd like to register as an adventurer," Aeloria said.

"Very well. Please fill out this form and submit three copper coins for registration."

She quietly filled in the paperwork while the receptionist explained the basics of adventuring.

When she finished and paid, the receptionist paused.

"Miss…?"

"Erica," Aeloria replied smoothly.

"I see. Miss Erica, what is your specialty?"

"Sword."

"Then you'll be registered as a swordsman. I recommend starting with simple quests. Certain missions require higher ranks, so I advise beginning with gathering tasks until you advance from F-rank to E-rank."

Aeloria nodded. "Understood."

"Good luck on your journey, adventurer."

She stepped away, exhaling softly.

That took longer than expected…

She scanned the quest board. Ideally, she wanted to slay something—test her blade properly—but most monster-hunting quests were locked above F-rank.

"Tch…"

She clenched her fist. I still have three weeks. It's fine.

Her eyes landed on one posting.

Slay Slimes — F-Rank

"Oh?" she murmured.

Just as she reached out—

Another hand snatched the quest paper first.

Aeloria froze.

She turned.

Standing beside her was a middle-aged man with a scar running across his left eye. His expression was calm, but something about him felt… unsettling.

"Miss," the man said, glancing at her, "you just registered, didn't you? Isn't it a bit reckless to jump straight into monster-slaying?"

Aeloria stiffened.

He's creepy…

"…Am I?" the man asked, lips twitching into an awkward smile.

"Y-You heard that?" Aeloria blurted out.

"No," he replied honestly. "It's just written all over your face."

"I see…" she said awkwardly.

He sighed. "I wouldn't recommend this quest for new adventurers—unless you're one of those people who appeared out of nowhere."

"I'm not," Aeloria replied firmly. "But I'm not weak either."

The man studied her attire. "You look like a runaway noble. Just because you've read about adventurers doesn't mean the real world is forgiving."

Before Aeloria could respond—

"Hey, old man! Are you her father or something?" a teenage boy—around sixteen—grabbed the man's arm. "Stop nagging her, you're embarrassing!"

"I'm not that old!" the man snapped. "And it's better to be embarrassed than dead!"

The boy sighed and turned to Aeloria. "Sorry about him."

"It's fine," Aeloria said gently. "I understand his concern."

"I'M NOT OLD," the man insisted.

"Are you his son?" Aeloria asked.

"Nope," the boy replied cheerfully. "I just stick close so he doesn't get lost."

"…Rude."

The boy grinned. "By the way, sister—what's your name?"

"Erica," Aeloria answered.

"Nice! Then I'm Leo," he said proudly. "And this grumpy old man is Aetherium."

The scarred man's face twitched.

Aetherium.

His real identity was Ryan.

He clenched his jaw.

When I met this brat a month ago, he didn't call me old…

He lifted a hand to his face.

Do I really look that old?

Late twenties.

That's it.

…Right?

---------divide-----------