The Story is Told to the Protagonist.

While falling off the cliff, I flailed my hands wildly, unable to open my eyes.

‘Grasp! Grasp! Grasp!’

I desperately shouted the skill that I didn’t even know when I had acquired.

How many times did I try to ‘Grasp’ in that elongated moment? Finally, something caught on my fingertips.

[Activating skill ‘Grasping’.]

My hand automatically wrapped around a protruding rock.

As my falling body stopped, the impact dislocated my shoulder.

Pop-

“…!”

I can’t even scream anymore. I’m just terrified, thinking I might still fall.

Although my shoulder is dislocated, surprisingly, the grasp is maintained.

“Ugh….”

I barely opened my eyes. Now that I look, the rock I’m holding onto is the one I had noticed earlier. The rock platform in front of the cave entrance.

I looked down. All I could see was the dizzying abyss, the chain, and the dangling crossbow.

I grabbed the rock with my other hand, too, and writhed desperately, trying to climb up somehow.

“Heuk…. Heuk….”

Having barely climbed up, I sprawled on the ground, catching my breath.
How did I climb up with just one arm? I don’t know. When I came to my senses, I was already up.

You really do anything to survive.

As I catch my breath a bit, something feels like it’s about to burst out of my throat.

“Shit….”

Ah, it was a curse.
This really sucks…

Luring the monster and having it attack the harpoon man went according to plan. However, the monster is programmed to target the stronger ones first, and I was almost incapacitated.

But I didn’t expect the explosion to be that powerful.

Landing on this rock, I don’t know if I should call it unfortunate or fortunate…

‘So this is the tower….’

The world I created was much scarier and more dangerous than I thought.

‘What should I do now….’

The hidden piece is in this cave. But that’s secondary. Treatment is the urgent priority.

I need to find an emerald somehow first.

“Oh…!”

As my vision widened, I saw a green light. It’s from inside the cave.

I quickly raised my head while lying face down.

‘It’s an emerald!’

An emerald crystal the size of a small child was protruding from the cave floor.

I jumped up in joy but immediately sat back down.

“Aagh!”

Ah, right, my leg. I forgot because I was too happy and couldn’t feel it.

The harpoon in my thigh is now red with blood. The attached chain leads to the cliff.

When I pulled up the chain, the damn harpoon guy was gone and only the crossbow came up.

“Phew….”

I suddenly feel alone, and the tension dissipates.
Sensations that had been dulled by adrenaline are coming back to life.

“Ah, aagh….”

It fucking hurts…. I don’t even know where it hurts. At least my numb leg doesn’t hurt, but my whole body feels like it’s on fire.

Is it the burning sensation from the explosion? Or a reaction to the leg injury? I don’t know. It just hurts too much.

‘Emerald, emerald first….’

I crawled, holding the crossbow and dragging the chain. If I can just harvest that, somehow…

Kwakwaboom-!

“…!”

It’s that explosion. From above. On the cliff top, where I was earlier.

The violent sound and vibration of the explosion, seemingly right in front of me, made me instinctively duck.

‘Was the 1st floor monster this strong?’

Unlike when I was writing it, experiencing it in reality leaves me speechless. It’s not just a gimmick I made to avoid unnecessarily.

Or am I feeling the explosion more intensely because I’m sensitized now? As the vibration envelops my whole body, confusion also washes over me.

A moment later, something fell onto the cave entrance rock with a scream, just like I did.

“Huaaagh-!”

Thud!

I flinched at the chilling impact sound. Four stories high was indeed high.

Then, another sound comes from above.

Grrrr…

“…!”

It’s the monster.

Thinking I’d die if caught, I covered my mouth with both hands.

But I wasn’t the only person. The one who fell onto the rock groans.

“Kuuugh….”

Please shut up, if you’re found, I’ll die too!

I kept still even after hearing the thumping footsteps fade away. How much time has passed?

‘I survived.’

Phew… I let out the breath I’d been holding.

Wait…. Looking closely, that’s the harpoon man.

‘Oh, shit….’

I’m not alone again. I’m in danger again. My heart pounds.

His whole body is covered in burn marks. Not scars, but fresh ones. One of his legs is missing, nowhere to be seen.

‘He’s half dead.’

We’re in similar shape. That’s somewhat fortunate.
But still, he’s the man who almost killed me. He’s dangerous.

I crawled forward with all my might, forgetting the pain in my thigh.

As soon as I reached the emerald, I stretched out my hand and the crystal stem snapped off.

Ding!

[Unprocessed Emerald]
A high-quality emerald imbued with natural mana. When using the ‘Tears of Gems’ skill, it heals the target.

[Activating skill ‘Tears of Gems.’]

Ching!

The emerald in my hand shatters and turns into shining powder. The light powder seeps into my body.

The wound areas became intensely itchy and started to twitch. The scratches and burns quickly became comfortable, and I felt I might fall asleep.

“Kuhk…. You, healer…!”

Does it have a painkilling effect too? I was worried the pain might come back as my nerves revived, but that didn’t happen.

With the rapidly incoming relief, my eyes closed while lying face down.

Ding!

[‘Endurance’ increases by 1.]

What’s that sound?

“Gasp! The harpoon!”

I felt my interrupted consciousness return. Did I fall asleep just now?

Realizing this, I hurriedly checked my thigh.

“Phew….”

Fortunately, the bloody harpoon was lying beside my leg. There was no mishap like it healing while still embedded.

‘That’s right, it was like that in the original work too.’

I remember the description of embedded arrows slowly coming out as healing occurred.

I stood up and jumped in place. My thigh was still sore and didn’t move well, but it had healed, so it must be a mental issue.

‘I survived….’

For now, I leaned against the cave wall and caught my breath, which was still panting.

My clothes are all soot, blood from my thigh, and scratches.

A wave of exhaustion hits me. And this is just the start of the 1st floor.

How many near-death experiences did I have in less than 10 minutes?

‘This is hard.’

How do Seol Ga-ram and other novel protagonists overcome such adversities as if it’s nothing…

‘Oh. My ability increased.’

Ah…. At least all that chaos wasn’t for nothing.

It makes me feel a bit better. Knowing the value of ability scores makes it even more welcome.

I cleared the message and looked at my abilities.

[Abilities]
Strength: 0th Realm · 1st Level
Stamina: 0th Realm · 1st Level
Agility: 0th Realm · 1st Level
Endurance: 0th Realm · 3rd Level (1▲)
Mana: 0th Realm · 1st Level

Except for Endurance, everything else is 0th Realm ·1st Level, just at the level of a 1st-floor climber.

In the tower, sections are divided by the first digit of the floor number.

10s floors are 1st Realm, 20s floors are 2nd Realm. 120s floors are 12th Realm.

This naming originated from the system’s ability score display, where 0th Realm in my current status window means 0th Realm. 1st Level means the level of a 1st floor climber.

And my Endurance is 0th Realm · 3rd Level. It’s at the level of a 3rd floor climber.

To put it simply.
In ability scores, the ‘Realm’ is like the tens digit.
The ‘Level’ is like the ones digit.

‘The body really does change according to ability scores. So this is how it feels.’

I rotated my shoulder. How should I put it? My joints feel more natural and sturdier.

I punched the stone wall repeatedly. It doesn’t hurt at all.

If it were normal human skin, even a light bump would have made the bones and skin of the fist ache. At this level, wouldn’t it be comparable to the toughness of a well-trained fighter?

‘If this is the level of ability at just the 3rd floor if I get to the 10th-floor level or higher….’

I probably won’t helplessly hover on the brink of death like just now.

The 1st floor hidden piece is for ability scores. If I get it, my ability scores should reach 1st Realm · 0th Level.

This corresponds to 10th-floor level ability scores.
Although I’m inferior to others in many aspects, like combat techniques, my ability scores will be far higher than theirs.

“Ah!”

I suddenly checked my neck. Fortunately, the necklace was still there despite all that chaos.

‘The wallet….’

It’s there. I took out my wallet and checked my father’s letter. This, too, is fine without any soot.

I gripped the black bead of the necklace, closed my eyes, and took a deep breath. My mind quickly stabilizes.

“Phew….”

Thank goodness.
Afraid of losing them, I hid the necklace inside my clothes and the letter in the inner pocket of my pants.

I didn’t mind losing things like my wallet.

While I was at it, I checked my belongings. But the dagger is gone.

“Aoh.”

Do I have to use a stone tool after removing gems?

As I was feeling at a loss, a blue light softly spread from inside the cave.

“Oh!”

That’s probably it.

‘The first hidden piece!’

I didn’t expect to get here in this manner, but the result is good anyway.

However, I heard a strange sound when I was about to step inside.

“Ugh… Please, don’t go!”

I froze in surprise. It was a familiar voice.

[Kukukuku….]
[Easy, so easy~]
[Wow, such stro~ng power!]

Gulp.

I clenched my fist, feeling a cold sweat. My right thigh stiffened involuntarily.

“You… are a healer, right? Save me… Please save me….”

I turn my head. My joints creaked, but I tried to act as naturally as possible.

“I, I feel weird… I think my organs got messed up when I fell… It’s too painful, please….”

First, a deep breath.

Phew…

“…You want me to heal you? When you tried to kill me?”

“Le-let’s form a team! You saw it too, I’m not bad in skill!”

I thought while talking.

Team? A team is necessary, but not with you.

You tried to kill me, and above all, you’re a villain. The value of an early healer is high. Hence, the possibility of backstabbing is low, but still, I’m reluctant to go around with you.

‘Let’s just take the jade bead.’

I’ll have to kill someone someday, but it’s still a bit uncomfortable now. I don’t know what he might do in his last resistance.

Judging by his condition, he’ll die soon if left alone.

“Your skill was quite good. Okay. I’ll heal you. Stay still.”

Just in case, I broke off a sharp stem from the emerald crystal and hid it behind my back.

Let’s just take the jade bead and move to the next floor right away.

I approached the harpoon man with stiff steps.

“Thank you! Now that we’re a team, I’ll give you a good buff. Here, take this.”

When the distance got close, he reached out his hand to me.

My body stiffened, and my reaction was slow. In that moment of carelessness, his hand brushed against my arm.

“Uh….”

I looked at the contact area. There was a tattoo in the shape of a target.

“…”

“It’s a mark of trust that our tribe possesses. With that, I must absolutely keep the promise I just made. Kuku, with this, there’s no way I’ll betray you! Right?”

For a moment, I just stared blankly at the mark.

I know what this mark is even without being told.

Because you’re a character I wrote.

“Now, hurry and heal….”

“…Why did you do it.”

“Huh? What did you say?”

The harpoon man. A member of a nomadic tribe that lives by hunting humans and human trafficking.

This mark is a secret technique passed down only in his tribe.

The prey dies without knowing the secret of the mark, feeling the constant fear of being chased. And that death becomes nourishment for the owner of the mark.

It was never a mark of trust.

“…”

As I made a decision, my stiffened body relaxed, and my shoulders dropped. I approached him with nonchalant steps.

Did he sense something too? The grin that had been splitting his face disappeared.

“…Hey?”

I stopped my feet right in front of the prostrate harpoon man. He looked up at me, his neck craning.

“Why did you use [Tracking Imprint]?”

“…!”

He gaped in shock.