The Story is Told to the Protagonist.

Sierra’s mouth gaped, muttering in a small voice inaudible to others.

“J-just now, surely… Noah, could it be…!”

Shit. What excuse should I make?

‘But can this even be covered with an excuse?’

What plausibility could there be for an alien to naturally know the word ‘New Yorker’?

It’s our hometown food? A famous person’s name? No matter how I think about it, nothing comes to mind.

“H-how… Huh? Then how about the superpower of healing…? Why am I…”

The team leader, walking ahead, turned his head and asked.

“Hm? Sierra, what did you say?”

No.
If I’m not going to immediately shut Sierra’s mouth, I should at least divert the team’s attention.

While desperately racking my brain, I saw a suitable target in front of me.

“We-we’re here! It’s the portal!”

“Oh!?”

In the distance, a large tree is visible. It is so thick that it could fit two houses.

The portal is inside that.
The team members’ attention focused on the tree.

“Finally, we can escape this godforsaken place…!”

“Hahaha! Good! Now, let’s pick up the pace!”

Everyone excitedly moves quickly towards the tree.

But my heart was beating rapidly.

I glanced at Sierra. She seemed still in shock, unable to organize her thoughts. As the team rushed forward, she followed along, trudging.

My mind was in chaos, too.

‘Quickly. I need to think of an excuse quickly… Huh?’

But the anomaly in front of me made me momentarily forget what just happened.

‘The entrance bushes are short.’

The entrance to the giant tree differed from the original work’s description.

As we get closer, it becomes more clear.
The bushes covering the entrance looked as if they had been cut by something sharp.

‘That can’t be.’

Is there a team that secured the point faster than us?

‘What kind of monster could it be?’

Did someone extraordinary like Seol Ga-ram enter this trial?

Alertness fills my chaotic mind.
For now, I alerted the team.

“…Prepare for battle.”

“Hmm? Battle? Archers, is there anyone around?”

Sierra, lost in thought, shook her head in surprise. Ein did the same. Their eyes couldn’t see any enemies.

“Noah, why suddenly talk about battle…”

But about 10m away from the tree, Ein stopped the team.

“Wait.”

She takes a breath, then closes her eyes and concentrates on something.

“…There are several presences inside. It’s another team.”

Only then did the team members’ faces harden with alertness.

Surprised glances from the team leader and Ein passed over me for a moment, but the situation in front of us took precedence.

“Battle preparations. Enter slowly while watching out for ambushes. Ein, any more information about the enemy?”

“A strange smell. An alien smell of trees and people mixed together.”

“What… some kind of tree people?”

“They say various races gather in the Tower. How interesting.”

An unfamiliar enemy wasn’t good news.

‘Should we abandon this portal?’

It’s not an easy decision. Staying longer on the second level would likely result in damage.

‘For now… let’s at least do some reconnaissance.’

If it seems too dangerous, we’ll run. They probably won’t abandon the portal to chase us, either.

A thousand thoughts crossed my mind in just walking those 10 meters.

Only the sound of grass being stepped on spreads in the silence.

Rustle, rustle.

After confirming there was no ambush at the entrance in front of us, we rushed in following the team leader’s hand signals.

Ding!

[500 points are needed to pass through the portal.]
[670 points confirmed. Clear the second level trial by passing through the portal.]

As the welcome message appeared before my eyes, the previous guests turned to look at us and shared their impressions.

“…Well, the Teacher’s plan has fallen through.”

“We don’t know that yet.”

Then, they form a formation.

‘The team is…’

Four in total. One less than us.
But something unusual caught my eye.

‘A tree person?’

Surprisingly, there was a tree in human form. No, half?

‘I’ll have to see how they fight.’

We don’t know if we’ll fight, but for now, our goal is behind them.

Beyond the four, a hole emitting blue light rippled in the air.

“Teacher. What’s the next plan?”

“We fight.”

The tree person called ‘Teacher’ answered. As he opened his mouth, bark fell from his dry face.
It wasn’t a very welcome answer.

‘We have one more person, and our composition is good too. Surprisingly, we might be able to handle this?’

What’s this? They don’t seem to have a healer. How did such a team gather points so quickly? Did a team member die along the way?

As I organized my thoughts, the twin female archers on the other side provided some information.

“Boss… do we really have to fight? Let’s gather more points and find another portal… huh?”

“Y-yeah! Or maybe they don’t have enough points either. If we quickly gather more and come back…”

“No. Their expressions brightened after hearing our conversation just now. They have enough points.”

I glanced at Sierra. Her previously bright expression suddenly darkened.

This is trouble.

“Boss… still…”

“Enough.”

The swordsman called ‘boss’ taught the archers in a clear voice as if making a speech.

“How do we know if we’ll be lucky enough to find another portal? The trial gets more difficult with time. We might end up fighting more teams in the process. This is the surest and easiest way.”

Having made up his mind, he raises his longsword at an angle.

“Don’t presume the trial difficulty and do your best. If you’ve entered the Tower, be prepared to stake your life.”

Yet his tone was strangely confident. What’s this? Anyone could see their side is at a disadvantage, right?

The team leader must have felt the same as me as he quietly whispered.

“Noah. Can you sense any other portals?”

“… It’s a bit far. I can’t be sure it hasn’t been taken already.”

“T-team leader, Noah. Shouldn’t we just avoid fighting and go somewhere else…”

While we were deliberating, the other side moved first.

“Teacher. Clear those things and secure the points.”

“As the boss wishes.”

The tree person plunged both arms into the ground.

“Be careful!”

We hurriedly watched the ground, but the wooden arms sprouted not from below us but from behind.

Crack!

“Team leader! The entrance!”

“…We were a step too late.”

The entrance we came through was blocked by crimson tree roots.

Ein tapped the vines to check, then sighed and loaded her crossbow.

Click.

“It’ll take a while to break through.”

“I see.”

The team leader didn’t utter his usual curses like “damn it” or such.

Instead, he raised the team’s morale with calm words.

“Then we’ll have to use that portal. Prepare for battle.”

The battle started immediately with sniping from both sides.

The arrows happen to aim at me.

Whoosh-

Clang, clang!

Before I could react, the team leader deflected two arrows with his shield. At the same time, the enemy swordsman blocked Ein’s arrow.

“Two low-level short bows! Dodge them by sight!”

“It’s a skilled archer! I can’t block the next one! Predict by the holder’s position!”

The two leaders who exchanged words clashed in the center.

Clang!

“Hah!”

However, the team leader was visibly pushed back from the first clash and quickly injured.

[Skill ‘Tears of Gems’ is being cast.]

“Noah, nice!”

The enemy swordsman was surprised by the team leader’s regenerating flesh.

“What the…! There’s a healer! Focus fire on them!”

Two arrows immediately flew towards me, and I rolled in panic. Luckily, I dodged this time, but arrows started to aim only at me constantly.

‘Ugh, like this, forget about finding time to heal. My head will first… Ah!’

I immediately shouted internally.

‘Modify content! [Grasp] to [Keen Eyes]!’

[Sufficient plausibility.]
[Content will be modified.]
[ is modified to .]

My vision expands.
Beyond simple high or low vision, more things are caught in my sight.

For instance, I could even sense the minute aiming point of the shortbow targeting me.

Whoosh-

I dodged. It wasn’t even difficult.

‘It worked!’

The moment the enemies’ arrows were shot, I was already not there.

This is the overpowered nature of skill swapping.

Ein, who was trying to cover me, paused as if not understanding my sudden change.

“Noah? Your movements suddenly… never mind.”

But with remarkable concentration, she immediately restored her attention to the battlefield. Her hands quickly reloaded the crossbow.

Right, I should explain later too. First, we need to survive.

‘At this level, I could dodge even without looking.’

As I focused on healing, the fight gradually stabilized.

Clang!

“Quickly kill the healer! Hurry!”

The swordsman started to get impatient.

The difference between having a healer and not is extremely large. Moreover, I boast endless stability as the top-tier mana user in this section.

‘But, that guy’s skills are no joke…?’

Even though I was ignorant of martial arts, it was clear that this was what it looked like.

“Arghhhh! Noah! Heal! Heal! It hurts!!”

But as the team leader rushed forward recklessly, trusting in the healing, the other side couldn’t easily settle things either.

The swordsman was cut once, while the team leader was cut twice, but in the end, the swordsman became covered in blood. This was the importance of a healer.

‘We’re winning.’

But the relief was short-lived, as my body suddenly stopped while trying to dodge an arrow.

“…!”

Something caught my ankle.

I quickly covered my head with my arm, and an arrow pierced my wrist.

Thunk!

“Ugh!”

I tried to heal immediately, but the emerald I was holding fell.

“Argh…”

I curled up, clutching my arm. It hurts. It feels like my arm is burning from fingertip to elbow.

“Noah!”

I rolled on the ground at someone’s shout, not knowing whose it was. As I applied force, my foot came free from whatever was binding my ankle.

Whoosh-

I knew I had dodged the arrow by its sound.

The enemies lamented.

“Damn it!”

“Hit him, hurry!”

I hurriedly got up and watched out for arrows.

‘What was that?’

I see tree roots sprouting where I was. It seems those fixed my ankle.

I immediately healed and shouted.

“Be careful of the ground! The trees restrict movement!”

As soon as I said it, the team leader’s body suddenly stopped. It’s his ankle.

The swordsman didn’t miss the opportunity. He immediately swung his sword and, grazing past the shield that came up late, cut the team leader’s right eye.

“Aaaaargh! Damn it!”

I healed right away, but it was already after his posture had crumbled. The team leader was pushed to the defensive, desperately defending, and significant wounds piled up as quickly as they healed.

“Heal! Heal! Noah, heeeeal!”

“I’m doing it!”

It’s still okay. My mana is at a level where it’s practically endless.

But the situation took a strange turn.

“…Shit!”

My ankle was bound again, and arrows flew in succession.
It’s a well-connected combo. The timing is new and fatal every time.

“Argh-! Sis, that bastard keeps dodging!”

“Shoot in sync with me!”

I dodged again. I still hadn’t allowed a fatal hit from the sniping.

But I couldn’t constantly pay attention to healing.

‘If I let my guard down, I’ll really die in one shot.’

The situation only worsened after the tree person stepped in.

“Ein! Do something about that bastard, please-!!”

Ein clenched her jaw and aimed but couldn’t shoot. The tree person was now behind a suddenly sprouted wooden defensive wall.

The skill binding the ankles is clearly the F-rank skill [Restraint].

‘How can such a trivial technique be so threatening…?’

It was even shocking that such a minor thing could turn the tide of battle.

Simple actions like [Grasp] that are almost embarrassing to call skills saved my life several times.

Skills that don’t even show, like [Sharp Eyes], gave a free pass through one trial.

Not to mention [Tears of Gems].

All of these are F-rank skills, the lowest grade. Skills in this world have that much power.

I had created and known the setting well, but when it became reality rather than just a setting, I was dumbfounded.

Driven by frustration, the team leader and I shouted simultaneously.

“Hey, Jilduk, you bastard! Do something!”
“Jilduk, you bastard, do something!!”

Jilduk, who had been staring intently at the enemy’s bow, was startled.

“M-me?”

“Yeah!”

“Oh, okay, wait a moment!”

Just as I was about to shout what the hell he meant by wait, he started to concentrate, frowning.

“…!”

Sensing danger from that sight, the swordsman shouted.

“It’s a mana user-!”

In that instant, all eyes on the enemy team were fixed on Jilduk.

A mana sphere the size of a human head was floating above his palm.

“Be careful!!”

The enemy rear guard hid behind the defensive wall, and the swordsman hurriedly retreated to gain distance.

At the same time, Jilduk flicked the mana sphere with his finger…

‘A flick?’

What is he doing?

Thwack-

He launched the sphere at the enemy by flicking it with his middle finger.