Category: Main Difficulty: E Clear Conditions: Make a group with those around you. Time Limit: 30 minutes Reward: 500 coins Failure: ???
After re-reading the window in front of him, Derian couldn't help but wonder, 'Why does it say difficulty E? In every single run without exception, it has been a difficulty of F because in truth it isn't really that hard to clear....'
And it was at this moment that Derian remembered a brief mention in chapter 32 of Salvation Is For The Gods that goes as follows:
『Looking at Hyun Eun-ji laying dead on the ground, a smirk couldn't help form from ear to ear of Kim Min-hwan as they thought back on a time long, long ago that would never return.
'Ahh yes, the first trial was quite difficult thanks to Hyun Eun-ji. Who would have known that Asmodeus could be considered part of your team in the first trial if someone with the trait Vessel Of Purity
Due to the unique trait of Asmodeus to defile the purity of a candidate to be a ''Cleansed One'' and obtain traits from one of the archangels.'』
'Though it was never revealed why Kim Min-hwan smirked, that doesn't matter as of this moment. What does is becoming-'
However, Derian could not finish his thoughts as Kim Min-hwan picked him up like a bag of potatoes—now jacked to all hell—and placed him under their arm as Kim Min-hwan spoke.
''I promised I would show you the ropes of Korea, and given your emo look, you've probably already figured out what's going on; however, i'll be telling you anyway. After all, a regressor needs to keep their word.''
Derian blinked. Then blinked again.
Kim Min-hwan was walking through the train car with the casual confidence of someone who'd done this thousands of times before, Derian tucked under one arm like luggage. Their body, which had been slim and almost fragile-looking before, was now packed with lean muscle that hadn't been there moments ago.
'The white space,' Derian quickly realized. 'Time works differently there. They must have trained while I was shopping.'
That made sense. In the novel, Kim Min-hwan had always used the white space to prepare, to train, to plan their next moves with meticulous precision. It was one of the regressor's core advantages—time that didn't count, time that could be spent however they wanted.
But something just felt off.
Kim Min-hwan had just said something, and Derian had... heard it. Actually heard it. The word "regressor."
That shouldn't be possible as all mentions were filtered to something else.
'Wait,' Derian thought, his mind racing. 'Can I perceive it because of Die Gabe? Because my skill is connected to the regressions somehow?'
That had to be it. The EX-rank skill that existed outside the tower's rules. Of course he could hear it when Kim Min-hwan spoke about regressions—his skill somehow allowed him to perceive what others couldn't.
But that meant Kim Min-hwan had just casually revealed their nature, not caring who might overhear—or rather, knowing that no one else could understand even if they did.
He looked at Kim Min-hwan's face—that expression of detached amusement, like someone watching a play they'd seen too many times to care about the plot anymore.
Kim Min-hwan had always been like this in the novel, hadn't they? After 121 million cycles, after billions of years of existence, they'd long stopped caring about hiding things. They dropped hints about being a regressor constantly, spoke with the certainty of someone who'd seen every possible outcome, moved through scenarios with an efficiency that came from having perfected every step countless times.
Or maybe there wasn't anything special about how they acted. Maybe this was just how Kim Min-hwan always was, and Derian had never noticed it in the text. When people heard them talk about regressions, they'd hear strategic planning instead. Careful preparation. Logical deductions.
''Where are we going?'' Derian asked, deciding not to comment on what he'd heard. If Kim Min-hwan wanted to casually mention being a regressor around him, he'd play along.
''Looking for team members,'' Kim Min-hwan said, weaving between panicking incarnations with practiced ease. ''The first trial is simple—gather a group, survive the time limit. Most people will panic and form groups based on proximity or familiarity. Colleagues, friends, people who look strong.'' They adjusted their grip on Derian, carrying him with the same casual indifference one might show a briefcase. ''But the trial isn't really about survival. It's about showing that your not dumb and will actually form a rounded team.''
Derian already knew that from the novel. The tower ran on narratives—constellations sponsored incarnations who could provide entertainment, drama, tragedy. A boring incarnation was a dead incarnation.
''So you're looking for someone who can blend well with the perfect team you have in mind,'' Derian said.
''Mm.'' Kim Min-hwan's tone was noncommittal. ''There's a woman up ahead. Hyun Eun-ji. In about seven minutes, she'll receive a contract offer from Selaphiel, or another archangel given how tower novels usually goes given her personality, and become moderately powerful.''
The casual way Kim Min-hwan laid out someone's future—as if reading a schedule—made Derian feel kinda weird like he was looking at an all knowing god even though he new Kim Min-hwan wasn't at all.
''It's like those tower novels, you know?'' Kim Min-hwan continued, their voice pleasant. ''The ones where the protagonist gets a second chance, climbs the floors, gets stronger. There's always the kind-hearted healer who contracts with an angel. There's always the ruthless strategist who eliminates anyone who might threaten his position later.'' They gestured vaguely at the train car. ''The story beats are the same. Tutorial scenario, form a team, first real combat, betrayal arc, power-up, floor guardian. You could write a formula for it.''
Derian's felt somewhat strange. Kim Min-hwan was talking about tower novels—the genre he'd read obsessively, including Salvation Is For The Gods. But they were talking about it like... like they'd lived through those clichés.
Like real people were just characters following a script however he understood perhaps he was the only one who could understand why though he didn't like it all to much he still understood.
Kim Min-hwan didn't wait for a response. They just kept walking, weaving through the panicking crowd with that same unsettling efficiency. Derian, still tucked under their arm, could only watch as they approached the young woman.
Hyun Eun-ji. He recognized her from the novel's description—mid-twenties, kind face, gentle demeanor. In the novel, she'd contracted with Selaphiel and become a steady, reliable incarnation. Nothing spectacular, but solid. She'd died in cycle 89,472,103,391, though the novel had never explained why. Just mentioned her corpse on the ground and Kim Min-hwan's inexplicable smirk.
''Technically, yes,'' Kim Min-hwan said to no one in particular, as if continuing a conversation Derian hadn't realized they were having. ''I could grab three random people, wait out the thirty minutes, collect my coins, and move on.''
They set Derian down—finally—though their hand remained on his shoulder. That grip, neither tight nor gentle, just... present. Like a reminder.
Kim Min-hwan glanced around the train car with that same empty pleasantness. ''In about three minutes, that man over there will try to force a woman into his group,'' they said conversationally, as if commenting on the weather. ''She'll comply out of fear. By the third act, she'll have killed him when he least expects it.''
Derian followed their gaze. The man looked ordinary. Middle-aged, business suit, sweating nervously. The woman nearby looked even more terrified than everyone else.
''imagine this the gamer guy from two carriages down thinks this is a game,'' Kim Min-hwan continued. ''He'll try to recruit the strongest-looking people and call himself a guild leader. Classic protagonist syndrome. He'll survive until the paradigm shift, then his own people will turn on him.''
The way they said it—not like predictions, but like reading a TV guide. This show airs at 3 PM. That character dies in episode 47.
Derian's hands felt cold. 'They're not planning anything,' he realized. 'They're just... narrating. Like someone watching a rerun.'
''You survived earlier,'' Kim Min-hwan said suddenly, and there was something in their voice—not quite curiosity, more like mild interest. The way someone might comment on an unexpected plot twist in a show they'd seen before. ''That explosion has a 100% fatality rate in the initial blast radius.''
They looked at Derian, and that smile—that empty, detached smile—widened slightly.
''But that doesn't matter really since you gave me some cigs i'm helping you anyway.''
That single sentence , delivered with such pleasant indifference, made Derian's feel strange in the novel he was far more human maybe that was just a filter caused by the regressions being mentioned or....
However Derian didn't think much more about it as he just looked up at Kim Min-hwan nearly saying 'I know about your regressions are you okay?' or something of the sort but stopping.
As Kim Min-hwan was already moving again, walking toward Hyun Eun-ji with that same casual efficiency. As if their brief moment of interest had passed, filed away for later consideration.
''Hello,'' Kim Min-hwan said to Hyun Eun-ji, and there was something hypnotic about their voice—calm, soothing, utterly devoid of real emotion but not showing at all. ''Would you like to form a group? I can promise you'll learn something valuable.''
Hyun Eun-ji looked up, startled. Her eyes widened as she took in Kim Min-hwan's appearance.
''I... yes?'' she said uncertainly. Something in her expression shifted, like she was trying to figure out if Kim Min-hwan was dangerous or just eccentric. ''Are you both okay?''
''Never better,'' Kim Min-hwan said with that empty smile. ''He's fine too.''
A notification appeared in Derian's vision.
[Incarnation 'Derian Synkler' has formed a preliminary party with Incarnation 'Kim Min-hwan'.] [Incarnation 'Hyun Eun-ji' has been invited to the party.]
Derian blinked. When had that happened? He hadn't even agreed to anything yet.
''See?'' Kim Min-hwan said pleasantly to Hyun Eun-ji. ''Easy. Now we just need one more person and we'll clear the trial with time to spare.''
( A/N: Just saying the reason Hyun Eun-ji accepted is because she has a thing for gentle handsome guys and if you were to put Kim Min-hwan on a scale he would be around a 19/10 but hmm just for someone who might drop this because.
Why can't anyone tell Kim Min-hwa is faking everything in the emotional department the story is written in Derian's pov and he is the only one who even somewhat notices also Kim Min-hwa is loved by the ''world'' so much that the writing style changes in some chapters to make Kim Min-hwa the main character of the story or rather main focus. )