The frozen tundra was a graveyard of white and wind—a chilling mess that gnawed at skin and bone. Yggy stood with nothing in his hands. Not the blade they'd issued him. Not even the katana he'd been about to final-loot.
Just a thin white shirt under a tattered long black coat, one sleeve ripped clean off.
Blue jeans are stiff with frost. Rubber shoes soaked through. Every breath steamed ragged from his mouth.
A square holographic panel hovered in the air before him, faint light flickering in the snow haze.
You have a message. Press to open.
His trembling finger tapped.
Main Quest: Defeat the Lycan King at the Top Floor
Reward: CLAIM YOUR DESIRE — "EVERYTHING?"
"Everything…?" Yggy's lips cracked as he muttered it, frost clinging to each syllable.
He scrolled down, teeth chattering. The cold made his hands shake so badly the panel flickered under his touch.
Then—
The cold crawled past his skin, past muscle, down to bone. His fingers wouldn't close, his knees refused to lock. The holographic panel blurred, light smearing into pale streaks.
Then the ground seemed to fall away.
Weightlessness—just for a heartbeat.
A strange tug in his gut, like something inside him was being yanked upward while his body sank.
The cold didn't just bite now—it burned. A flash of heat, then nothing at all.
His hearing went first, the howl of the wind thinning to silence.
Then the light.
Black.
And then—snow under his back. Breath tearing into his lungs as if he'd been drowning. His chest heaved; his arms wrapped tight around himself.
"What… the hell… happened?"
Did I just die…?
The square panel flickered into existence in front of him, hovering in the frozen air, its light dim against the white wasteland.
You have been killed by: Snow Bear – Lv. 20
The text lingered
"Lvl 20? Why is there some kind of information like that? As yggy wondered
a second before dissolving.
In its place, an evil grin bled onto the screen—sharp teeth, eyes like pits. A message crawled up from the bottom:
Careful… every time you die, I take a part of you. Until I take what's all yours.
You have lost your right eye.
Yggy's breath hitched. He clutched at his face, palm pressed over his right eye. It was still there.
But when he shut his left eye—
Blur. Distorted shapes. No focus.
"What… is this?" His voice cracked against the wind.
He tried scanning the tundra, forcing his gaze to sweep across the horizon. Every movement was a fight—the blurred vision making it harder to spot monsters, enemies, anything moving out there.
A short, ragged laugh escaped him. Cold. Hollow.
Then he ran—boots crunching through untouched snow, hands shaking so badly it felt like they'd snap.
Through the whiteout haze, a dark gash in the land appeared: a cave. He slowed, breath catching. The air around it reeked faintly of musk and blood.
No.. Not there that's the floor manager den, then turned away, forcing his legs to keep moving.
The tundra stretched endlessly, and with every step, his mind spun—trying to piece together the rules of a game he understood, like experience brings to thoughts.
Towers…
They were all the same—100 floors, each with its own flora, fauna, and predators. Every level is ruled by what we call the floor manager. To move up, you had to find the elevator to the next floor. Difficulty scales with height—Floor 1 to 10 is what we call the road, above it is a different world as it grows higher and Floor 100 the final boss lair we call it in RPG but in reality we call it the Administrator floor. Tower 27 a familiar feeling, how many times did he enter here everything starts to feel familiar as he traverses the snow despite the visuals being hindered
As he remembered, each floor had one mercy: a safe area.
A place where monsters couldn't cross, unless it's time to pay the dues
Yggy muttered into the wind as he gazed around looking at some familiar sign as he let his experience tell where it was, "Safe area… where monsters can't enter, right?"There his mind acted Fast.
The cold was sinking past skin now, crawling into his bones. His legs burned as he pushed forward until.. A shadow broke the monotony of white. Shapes. Walls.
There is the village, the neutral zone.
He staggered toward it, hope flaring… Then he froze.
Ten shapes moved at the far right. Stocky, blue-skinned. Fangs glinting. Ice goblins.
He counted fast—ten, maybe more.
One stopped. Yellow eyes locked on him.
It jabbed a clawed finger his way and screeched.
The sound cut through the wind like a blade.
Yggy's mind kicked into overdrive.
Distance—maybe eighty meters.
Terrain—open snowfield, no cover between him and them.
Weapons—short spears, curved daggers; all built for close range.
Odds—ten to one. He wasn't holding a damn thing.
Loseable. Absolutely.
He spun on his heel before the rest of the goblins even reacted—
Too late. They were already charging, snow spraying behind them, howls and guttural shouts rolling over the tundra.
Yggy sprinted like his life depended on it—because it did.
Aether surged in his legs, bursting from his calves in short, explosive dashes. Each push burned what little heat he had left, his breath tearing in and out of his chest.
The goblins were fast—too fast—feet slapping across the snow without sinking, perfectly at home in this frozen hell.
The neutral area was close now. He could see the wooden posts and faint glow marking its edge.
One last burst..
He leapt forward just as a goblin's jagged blade sliced for his back. The air hissed with its passing.
He crashed into the snow, rolled, and scrambled to his knees.
As he prays dont let be the due date please dont let it be the due date
The goblins stood at the boundary, snarling, spears twitching in their hands—but not crossing. Their claws scraped the ground, yet some invisible force pinned them in place.
Yggy exhaled, half in relief, half in disbelief. "Yes… not the due date…"
Above their heads, a hovering red tag pulsed faintly:
Ice Goblin (Lvl. 5)
His brow furrowed. "Level five? This wasnt like this before. Why can I see it like I'm in some sort of an RPG? Then… what level am I?"
A square panel blinked into existence before him, but this time it wasn't clean and sterile—it breathed. Frost crept along its glowing edges, the surface shimmering like a frozen lake under moonlight. A low hum reverberated in his chest, and faint wisps of blue Aether curled off its frame.
Name: Yggy Medas
Aether Rank: (F) (Looter System Activated)
Aether Proficiency: Level 1 (new) (Looter System Activated)
Class: Unspecified
STR: 1 (0) (Looter System Activated)
DEX: 1 (0) (Looter System Activated)
VIT: 1 (0) (Looter System Activated)
INT: 1 (0) (Looter System Activated)
Luck: 1 (Level Dependent — Looter System Activated)
"What… level dependent? And the Looter System Activated?" Yggy muttered, blinking at the glowing text.
It felt wrong—surreal. He'd only seen set-ups like this in RPGs or VR sims.
In the real world, he'd heard whispers—rumors that some could see holographic panels like this. But those were the Administrators only. Renowned for conquering towers. S-Rank at the top of the Association's rankings. Not… him.
His gaze slid down the numbers. Every stat read 1.
"Low stats? I know I'm an F… but this low? All stats… one?" The words came out half in disbelief, half in disgust.
Then it hit him—
The message from before he died.
At the top right of the panel, an icon flickered—an envelope.
He tapped it. The panel rippled like the surface of water, reacting as though he was touching a physical screen.
Text bloomed across the frosted display:
Main Quest: Defeat the Lycan King at the Top Floor
Reward: CLAIM YOUR DESIRE — "EVERYTHING?"
Floor Quest:
Defeat Enemies — (0/1000)
Defeat the Floor Manager Snow Bear (Lvl 20) — (0/1)
Reward:
• Entry to 2nd Floor
• Gain the Ability: Dimensional Store