Chapter 1 : A Phoenix Named Bbyak

Rumors spread that humanity would be destroyed on December 21st, 2012.

The last day inscribed on the calendar of the ancient Mayan civilization.

People sprang up everywhere, believing the old world would be cleansed and a new one would begin.

If you hear it now, it sounds absurd, but back then, it caused a huge stir.

There were even quite a few people who actually prepared for the end.

When the hands of the analog clock met at the top, and all the numbers on digital clocks pointed to zero

But what about the world?

Destruction? Not even close, nothing bizarre happened at all.

Except for the sudden appearance of a black Tower in the skies all over the world.

Humanity simply returned to everyday life.

The only real change was the emergence of a new profession: Player.

They started climbing the Tower by instinct, to prevent the end of the world.

More than ten years have passed since then.

The world has changed in many ways.

***

“That’ll be 2,700 won.”

Even convenience store prices are brutal now.

You need nearly three thousand won just to have a triangle kimbap and a cup of ramen.

What can you do?

Prices keep soaring, but the pockets of ordinary people keep shrinking.

Unless you’re a Player who has Awakened an ability, life is no different now than it was back then.

Those with powerful and flashy magic, who wield swords freely like martial arts heroes, who summon and control gigantic golems— not only do they have great power, but also high salaries and plenty of fame.

It’s the kind of job everyone dreams of.

The problem is, not just anyone can become one.

Awakening an ability isn’t easy.

It’s less likely than winning the lottery.

In over ten years, there are only about 5,000 Players in all of Korea.

And if you do Awaken suddenly?

You’re sent to climb the Tower and stop Gate Outbreaks, never knowing when you might die.

That high salary is basically a life insurance payout.

If you think about all the restrictions and conditions, you don’t even want a half-baked Awakening.

Just live quietly.

So what if you don’t have much money? It’s better than not knowing when you’ll die, right?

I sat out on the terrace to enjoy the warm sunlight for the first time in a while, eating a triangle kimbap.

I carefully peeled back the plastic along the line,

“Agh,”

Unluckily, the seaweed came off with it.

It always goes like this.

Because of the paper label on the triangle kimbap, the plastic always peels off weirdly.

Disappointed, I pulled the seaweed out from the wrapping and sucked the salt off my fingers.

Feeling a bit thirsty, I opened the bottle of water I got in a convenience store promo and took a drink.

That’s when it happened.

I heard a bird’s cry from somewhere.

Chirrrrr.

A small, delicate chirp.

Just in case, I searched through the grass nearby.

The weather’s chilly these days.

If it got lost or injured, that’d be a precious life in danger.

If I ignored it, it might even appear in my dreams.

Rather than feel uneasy all day, it’s better to check for myself.

After looking around for quite a while,

I found a trembling red bird, huddled in the deepest corner.

“You hid yourself pretty well.”

Chirrr.

At a glance, it didn’t look seriously hurt, but it seemed exhausted and was panting for breath.

I thought about giving it some water and gently poured some into the cap.

Flap, flap.

It flapped its wings gratefully and drank.

Peck, peck, with its yellow beak.

Then it raised its head high to the sky, shivered its body, and nuzzled its face against my hand affectionately.

“Thankful, huh?”

Bbyak bbyak!

“That’s a relief.”

Feeling a subtle sense of pride, I petted its head, then sat back down.

Then, it flew over to the seat across from me, following me.

It tilted its head, staring at me.

Maybe it’s hungry.

I thought about giving it some ramen, but shook my head.

If I gave it salty food and it got sick, it’d be a problem.

Vet bills aren’t cheap, after all.

“You can’t have this.”

I firmly protected my ramen, but it looked at me with pitiful eyes.

I couldn’t ignore those sparkling, jewel-like eyes.

Even if it can’t have ramen, a few grains of rice should be fine.

I scooped out a few rice grains with the bottle cap and handed them over.

Peck, peck.

It ate well.

It pecked eagerly with its tiny beak.

It must have been really hungry.

If I hadn’t fed it, it would’ve been disappointed.

Now that I look at it, it’s really cute.

Shiny red feathers and a yellow beak.

Its black eyes sparkle—anyone can see it’s got an air of nobility.

It seems to like me. I thought about just raising it myself, but quickly dismissed the idea.

How sad would its owner be if they lost it?

I’ll just let it finish eating and then take it to a nearby animal shelter.

That’s when it happened.

After eating all the rice, the bird spread its wings wide.

Fwoosh—

It soared up into the sky.

It was so fast, it vanished far away before I could even try to catch it.

I could only wave my hand helplessly as I watched its red figure disappear.

“Make sure you get home safe. Take care of yourself.”

I was a bit worried, but it wasn’t an ordinary bird.

Crows and similar birds can always find their way home, right?

No need to worry.

I finished my food and left the convenience store.

Still, seeing it just fly away made me feel a bit lonely.

Is this what a parent feels like?

I flopped down on the floor of my tiny studio apartment.

I have to go to work again tomorrow.

Already dreading it.

Why is the weekend only two days long?

Sometimes I think about raising a pet at times like this.

Weekends alone aren’t so bad, but having a family member who follows you around like a parent wouldn’t be so bad either.

Maybe that’s why, but I kept thinking about that red bird I just sent away.

It was really cute.

It seemed smart, and listened well, too.

Knock, knock.

As I was zoning out, lost in idle thoughts, someone came looking for me as if by fate.

Groaning at the hassle, I twisted my body and got up to open the door.

And then—

Bbyak bbyak—

A familiar flapping greeted me.

As if it was happy to see me, it chirped cheerfully.

“Eh! You’re—”

Bbyak bbyak.

It circled around me and perched on my shoulder.

Then it started preening its feathers with its beak.

Without thinking, I scratched its chin in greeting.

Seeming to enjoy it, it rubbed its face against my finger.

At that moment—

Whoosh.

A warm flame seemed to burn.

Was it just my imagination?

But it was too vivid to be a hallucination.

A massive red blaze flickered before my eyes.

But it wasn’t hot.

If anything, it felt comforting.

And then—

Ding—

A cheerful sound rang out.

[Congratulations. Kim Woo-min, you have Awakened.]

Awakened?

A vivid blue screen appeared before my eyes.

It was the Status Window I’d only heard about in stories.

Could it be real?

Checking is easy.

Just shout it into the air.

“Status Window, confirm.”

[Kim Woo-min] LV: 1

Class: Beast Tamer

Skills: Beast’s Love, Beast’s Attraction, Petting the Head, Beast’s Grace

[Beast’s Love] The Player gains absolute love from Beasts.

[Beast’s Attraction] The Player’s chance of encountering Beasts increases dramatically.

[Petting the Head] Beasts like it.

[Beast’s Grace] A Beast that has grown to the highest rank will grant the Player its grace.

Just like that, my Status Window appeared.

I haven’t climbed the Tower yet, so of course I’m level 1.

But my class is unusual.

Beast Tamer?

Does that mean Beasts from the Tower or Gates?

And the skills?

They’re all related to Beasts, from top to bottom.

But none of them seem particularly useful for climbing the Tower.

Is this supposed to be good?

Did I just Awaken for nothing but trouble?

I glanced to the side, and the red bird was still nuzzling my cheek.

“Are you a Beast too?”

Bbyak bbyak.

Was that a response?

No way.

There’s no way such a cute little thing could be a Beast.

Ding—

[Phoenix]

[Rank] 5-585

[Preferred Food] Slime-type monsters, insect-type monsters

Huh.

When I lightly touched it, a Status Window for the bird appeared.

It really is a Beast?

And a Phoenix at that.

Isn’t that the legendary immortal Beast?

In the pictures, it was way bigger and more magnificent, though.

Bbyak bbyak.

Our red bird is small and cute.

But the System wouldn’t lie.

It really is a Phoenix.

This feels like a big deal.

If anyone else finds out?

Just thinking about it is exhausting.

“Sigh, so you’re saying you’re a Phoenix?”

Bbyak!

No doubt about it.

That was definitely a reply.

The bird I just happened to save is a Phoenix.

This is like something out of a web novel.

But I can’t just ignore it.

Chirrrrr.

It follows me so well.

Even if I try to set it aside, it digs its claws into my collar and clings on.

Can’t be helped.

It doesn’t seem like a bad bird.

Should I just raise it?

Maybe it read my mind, because the red bird flapped its wings in delight.

Fine. I’ll raise you.

You like me so much, how can I pretend not to notice?

“But you should have a name, right?”

There’s just one problem.

I can’t keep calling it ‘red bird’ forever.

I have to give it a name.

What would be good?

This indecisiveness of mine.

Picking a name is always the hardest.

Even in games, it takes me at least an hour to name a character.

What should I do…

“Bbyak?”

Sorry.

I can’t think of a good name, so Bbyak it is.

Bbyak—

Thankfully, Bbyak seemed to like it, nodding its head.

Yeah, as long as you like it.

I gently stroked its chin, and it made a happy sound.

That’s when it happened.

Grrrrgle.

A loud rumble came from its stomach.

Mine? No.

It was Bbyak’s stomach.

Chirrr.

Bbyak wrapped its wings around its belly.

As if to say it was hungry.

Was the triangle kimbap not enough?

I went to the kitchen and gave it a few more grains of rice.

But—

Bbyak!

It shook its head.

You ate it just fine earlier.

Chirrr, bbyak bbyak!

That’s not it?

Bbyak flapped its wings, trying hard to explain something.

Wait, is it pointing at the system window?

Only then did I see Bbyak’s preferred food.

Slime-type monsters and insect-type monsters.

Both things you get from the Tower and Gates.

“You want to eat these?”

Bbyak bbyak!

This is a problem.

Even if I raise Bbyak, I wanted to put off climbing the Tower as long as possible.

After all, the Tower is the kind of place where it’s never strange to die at any moment.

It’s a bit scary.

I have to register with the Awakened Ability Association, and I’m obligated to stop Gate Outbreaks too.

There’s so much to do.

I wanted to take it slow for now,

Bbyak bbyak—Bbyak!

Bbyak urged me on, looking very hungry.

I can’t put it off forever.

“Sigh, fine. Let’s go in.”

Just this once.

Luckily, Slimes appear on the first floor.

I’ll just clear the first floor and think about it.

“Enter Tower.”

As I called out into the air, a blue light enveloped my body.

And soon, the inside of the Tower unfolded before me.

Ding—

[You have entered Tower Floor 1.]

Mission: Defeat 20 Slimes

A mission appeared in the Tower.

A simple extermination quest.

Round Slimes bouncing across a wide meadow.

Those are the targets for Floor 1.

At that moment,

Bbyak, having spotted its prey, flew off from my shoulder.

Flap—

It spread its palm-sized wings.

Then it soared at incredible speed.

Completely different from how it looked before.

Forget the small, cute Bbyak.

Now, a true beast—no, a Beast.

It folded its wings and dove like a shooting star.

And then—

Whap-whap-whap—

In a flash, it took down more than 20 Slimes.

Announcement: You are the first in the world to achieve SSS-Rank on the first floor of the Black Tower.

Reward: Golden Ticket obtained.

Reward: 1kg Monster Core

Reward: 1 Potion of Shabby Recovery

I cleared the Tower at SSS-Rank.