The world ending was already only a matter of time.
Carbon emissions, greenhouse gases, deforestation, and the resulting abnormal weather patterns,
global crop failures and food crises caused by that,
the energy crisis,
waste problems, nuclear waste problems,
security crises from wars breaking out everywhere,
massive inflation caused by a combination of factors,
and declining birth rates and an aging population falling in step with all that...
It was utter chaos both domestically and abroad.
It really felt like everything was almost ruined.
But none of it felt as real as this next issue.
‘The elimination of jobs due to AI. And the youth unemployment problem.’
Around 2030,
that damned AI caused millions of jobs to evaporate.
Not replacement with new jobs, but literal evaporation, annihilation, deletion.
It wasn't even a recent development. It had been ongoing for years already.
In these times, Jeong Suho, who had been preparing for employment here and there, was lost and wandering;
his younger brother right below him, and his youngest sister, were in the same boat.
Pushed out by the circumstances, their father had also taken early retirement,
and the three siblings Jeong Suho, Jeong Jiho, and Jeong Suji, who had long since become adults, were unemployed or working part-time jobs, still mooching off their parents.
It was a miserable situation where a family of five clung to survival on the father's measly pension.
Their mother had gone out as a care worker to help with the household finances, but after overworking herself and ruining her back and knees, even that income had dried up.
The second child, his brother, had gone from one field job to another, only to have even those snatched away by foreign workers, and had been cooped up at home for quite a while now.
Now he was wasting his time on nonsense, saying he would do WTube, which had become so saturated it wasn't just a red ocean but a blackish-red blood ocean,
and the immature youngest was putting on airs about doing an indie band with her friends... Haa, it was maddening.
The household, and Suho's life itself, were nothing less than comprehensive crises.
Then, in 2033,
the Towers that appeared, tearing through the world, evoked a strange feeling.
Whether they fell from the sky or sprouted from the earth, no one knew their origin, their source, or their true nature—the Towers appeared simultaneously all over the world.
As if they were spacecraft invading from another world, the Towers brimmed with monsters that did not exist on Earth.
If one failed to climb to the top of a Tower and conquer it within a set time, those monsters would pour out into reality, onto Earth;
a very dynamic and astounding system took root across the world without warning.
The Towers couldn't be destroyed from the outside. No, physical interference was impossible altogether.
They were like holograms—visible, yet possessing no physical substance.
The Towers truly came in all sizes.
Some small ones were only about five stories,
while large ones were fifty or sixty stories,
and rarely, truly massive ones reached one hundred stories.
Their conquest time limits varied as well.
Nearly three days were given per floor,
so while a five-story tower had to be conquered within a fortnight,
a hundred-story tower was allowed almost a year.
The entry capacity also differed.
A five-story tower had to be cleared solo,
while around ten people could enter a fifty-story tower,
and a whopping twenty could enter a hundred-story tower.
Amidst these tiresome restrictions, one had to clear each floor and somehow reach the top to destroy the altar's core; only then would the Tower vanish and spit out rewards.
Faced with this cataclysm, some screamed that this was the real end, the apocalypse, Armageddon, the end times—but those were the words of people who had enough to eat.
The world was already ruined anyway; would adding one more thing make it collapse any faster? Who knows.
At least for Suho, it was interesting—a fresh stimulus in a reality that was hopeless, arduous, and boring.
In fact, this also became a turning point and an opportunity for humanity.
Why? Because the humans who climbed those Towers began to Awaken.
Perhaps there was no such thing as trials without gifts; along with the emergence of the Towers, a small number of people began to possess supernatural powers.
The Awakened humans received something like an 'entry permit' allowing them into the Towers.
Naturally, they became the only privileged group capable of entering the Towers, and irreplaceable essential personnel.
The Awakened also gained supernatural powers usable inside the Towers,
but their astonishing strength operated at one hundred percent only within the Towers; outside, they could only manifest ten to fifteen percent of their Awakened power.
Even so, that surpassed the strength of ordinary people, and especially the power of B-rank or higher Awakeners could not be ignored even at ten to fifteen percent.
In the world, they were called 'those qualified to enter,' or 'Admittees.'
Of course, those who obtained this qualification were rare; in terms of population ratio, there was roughly one Admittee for every ten thousand people.
The Admittees were not all at the same level either; there were ranks, ranging from E-rank to S-rank.
This revealed differences in ability and power, but also served as the standard for defining the scope of entry permissions.
Normally, E-rank Admittees were limited to climbing up to the 5th floor,
D-rank to the 15th, C-rank to the 30th, B-rank to the 50th, A-rank to the 75th,
and S-rank could go up to the 100th, and so on.
Those who could climb higher possessed strength befitting those floors and received better treatment for conquering more difficult Towers,
while those handling lower floors received strength and treatment appropriate to their level.
That didn't mean higher ranks were all good.
The higher the Tower and the floor, the stronger the monsters that appeared.
Whether it was an Admittee conquering lower floors with weak power,
or one conquering higher floors with strong power,
they both had to stake their lives.
It was now 2038, five years since the Towers had taken root.
Humanity had adapted fairly well to this supernatural system.
In the early days, cities had disappeared here and there and things had been a bit shaky,
but gradually, they learned and adapted to how to conquer the Towers and how to manage the Admittees.
Forced control over the Admittees had backfired instead,
and countries that tried to introduce such methods were nearly annihilated.
Because the Admittees, who transcended norms, were not beings who could be handled with carrots and sticks.
And since they were the ones risking their lives to conquer the Towers, supporting them with the best treatment and courtesy was the most effective approach.
Moreover, if the Admittees failed to conquer the Towers, the monsters pouring out from them would reduce the surrounding area to scorched earth.
Modern firearms weren't completely ineffective against the monsters,
but when responding to a failed conquest—a Tower Break—with modern weaponry, the area truly became a wasteland.
The monsters that could be taken down with small arms were almost exclusively those from the 5th floor and below; monsters appearing from the 10th floor and above were difficult to damage effectively with weapons that did not contain ether.
Even pouring out high firepower with modern weapons couldn't handle them, so naturally the area became a fierce battleground among war zones and was reduced to ashes.
It was turned to cinders until none of civilization's infrastructure remained.
Since not just one or two but countless such Towers appeared in every city, district, and county within a single nation, Tower Breaks had to be avoided at all costs.
Naturally, the best outcome was for the Admittees to kill all the monsters inside and successfully conquer the Tower, causing it to vanish.
They had shouldered the new problems of the Towers and the demonic beasts, but
the various riches that came out of the Towers had changed the world greatly. Since the Towers were dimensions entirely different from Earth, astonishing resources poured out.
Mysterious minerals, medicinal herbs, and wood that did not exist on Earth; unique leather and bones obtained from the corpses of monsters.
Special reward items obtained when a Tower was completely conquered and destroyed.
Especially Etherium, the mysterious core ore—an energy source stone also known by the alias 'magic core stone,' a versatile material obtainable only from the Towers.
The Towers were truly a treasure trove of resources, a vault of treasures for new possibilities and human development.
As the Admittees brought these things outside, Earth's civilization and infrastructure underwent a cataclysmic change.
Businesses and markets related to them spread rapidly,
and countless corporations, as well as the government, jumped in.
In short, it had become a complicated world,
but to put it simply, this was how things stood.
Somehow, the Towers were being conquered well,
and within that appropriate balance, humanity was maintaining daily life. As well as before—no, perhaps even better than before.
And this world became an incredible opportunity for Jeong Suho as well.
Had he Awakened? Become an Admittee? No. No such miracle had happened.
The opportunity that came to Suho was none other than a chance to 'pass a job interview.'
As the Towers appeared and the Admittees conquering them became active,
businesses supporting those precious Admittees became commonplace all over the world.
It was an era where Admittees were respected, popular, and treated better than any politician, tycoon, scholar, or celebrity.
They were basically managed under the National Security Bureau,
and at the same time, according to their own choices, they affiliated with various clans to receive strategic support,
separate from these two, the management business of supporting the Admittees' lives and trivial daily affairs was booming.
These Management firms quickly established themselves and grew in power, and as they expanded, agencies subcontracting their work emerged beneath them.
So, in other words...
The precious Admittees who conquer the Towers.
The Management firms that support the Admittees in their daily lives.
The agencies that take on subcontracted work from the Management firms.
For now, Suho's employment goal was getting hired at an agency.
He hadn't even dreamed of such lofty goals as joining a Management firm.
The agency Suho was targeting was
a small-scale agency that received separate subcontracting work from mid-sized Management firms that mainly took charge of supporting C to D-rank Awakeners.
Famous agencies had too fierce a competition rate, so he had applied to a small agency, but even that was fiercely competitive.
Still, he had prepared diligently, and fortune had smiled upon him.
Suho had finally passed the first document screening and the second written exam!
Now, if he just passed the interview, which was practically a formality, he would proudly become a working adult employed at an agency.
Upon receiving the notice that he had passed the second written exam, Suho's entire body trembled.
‘Father, Mother, siblings. Now this son, this older brother, this oppa will earn a lot of money and lift this fallen household back up!’
Pathetically enough, tears welled up.
* * *
Suho went out to buy a suit for the interview in a few days.
He looked around several places and nearly lost his mind.
How could suits be this expensive! It was absurd. No matter what, they were too expensive.
So he went to a suit rental shop, but good heavens! Even that was too expensive.
Damn it,
so he met up with a friend of similar build to borrow clothes.
Fortunately, he had one such guy among his closest friends.
He contacted his closest friend, Seongsik, and went to meet him in a rush.
“Hey, bastard, keep it clean.”
“Yeah, yeah. Don't worry. I'll even get it all dry-cleaned before giving it back. No, just wait until I get my first paycheck. Huh? I'll buy you a brand-new suit like this one!”
“You rascal, talking big. Anyway, I hope it goes well.”
“Ah, they say passing is basically a done deal anyway, right?”
Talk big all he wanted, Suho returned home wearing the borrowed suit properly.
As it happened, the youngest, Suji, was lounging around with a headset on.
“Hey, how do I look?”
“Oh—what's the occasion. Not bad.”
The youngest opened her eyes wide and gave a thumbs-up.
He had received a passing mark from Suji. After all, she possessed the sensibilities of the newest generation, and who knew style better than a younger sister!
His confidence soared along with it.
After showing off his form in front of the mirror for a while, he was suddenly struck by the emotion that 'right now is the opportunity.'
It was an incredible premonition unlike anything he had ever felt before.
You know those moments. It felt like the entire universe revolved around him, like all the timing in the world was converging on him alone.
At least once in your life, such a day comes. If you haven't tasted such a day yet, it's just that the opportunity hasn't come, not that it doesn't exist. Surely, such a day comes at least once.
Suho believed that, and he was certain that today was that day. If so, then he absolutely couldn't delay any longer.
The timing for nothing other than a confession.
“Ah, right... Finally escaping unemployment, a proper office worker, and to top it off, I’ve even rented a suit, so I look sharp right now. Good heavens, could there be a more perfect timing...?”
Suho called her immediately—the woman he had always only watched from afar.
“Hey, Yangwon. Hi. It’s me, Suho. Jeong Suho.”
- Who is it... Ah, it’s Suho.
“Yeah, Yangwon, this is sudden, but... are you free today?”
- Hmm... nothing special, really. I’ve got some time, I suppose. Why?
“I was thinking of treating you to something really delicious. Do you think you could come out?”
- Sure. Why not. Where should we go?
“Wow, really? Then, uh, in front of the intercity bus terminal...”
The moment Suho hung up, he cried out in triumph. He was so elated he nearly bounced up and down in his seat.
Nice!
He had made a date with Yangwon.
It was miraculous. For some reason, everything was going his way.
Yangwon usually always turned him down saying she was busy; who’d have thought she’d say she was free today of all days.
Could she have heard the rumors about him getting hired?
Eheheheh... His shoulders rose and fell on their own.
Cheon Yangwon.
She particularly hated that name.
She said it sounded like a welfare organization, and apparently she had been teased with “nursing home” ever since elementary school.
But because her tiger-like grandparents had given it to her, she couldn’t change it and had lived with it to this day.
But Suho didn’t mind at all.
No, rather, he had liked that name he had known for so long.
Cheon Yangwon—just thinking of her made him happy, after all.
Pretty face, clear eyes, fair skin, a cheerful and spirited personality.
She was a shining presence, one that didn’t suit a crumpled man like himself.
She was Suho’s ideal type, exactly.
Ever since he had ended up in the same class as Yangwon in his second year of high school, Suho had fallen in love at first sight and kept that heart for over ten years—a man of pure devotion.
All this time, he had persistently followed Yangwon around, showered her with countless gifts, granted every request if it was her asking, and poured all his passion and sincerity into supporting her.
He believed that such sincerity and effort would reach her someday.
In fact, he thought the reason they weren’t together yet was because he hadn’t mustered the courage to confess properly.
There hadn’t been any special progress in his relationship with her, but because she never strongly pushed him away, he took it as nothing but a good sign.
He believed that the fact Yangwon never rejected him so harshly or showed open disgust meant she had some feelings for him to some extent,
and he thought it was because she was shy and being ambiguous with him.
*Yeah, if Yangwon hated me, she would’ve rejected me long ago and never let me near her. Such a shy girl. Cute.*
He had always been confident that receiving this much favorable treatment from Yangwon—pretty and popular everywhere—meant he was doing quite well.
“Hehe... But I can’t put it off forever. In the end, winning the fair maiden is the one who invests long, puts in the long effort, and finally musters courage—a man like me.”
A build-up of over ten years to be with Yangwon.
He had a feeling that today was finally the day he would reap the fruits.
Today, the entire universe was pouring luck upon him.
It was akin to some kind of premonition. He was seized by a vivid certainty.
Things aligned so perfectly that his heart felt slightly uneasy.
Whether it was his own situation or Yangwon agreeing to the meet-up.
Everything was perfect.
His first confession to his first love.
Because it was such an important confession, Suho scraped together every penny he didn’t have, even pleading with his younger siblings to borrow money, and bought a bouquet.
And he bought couple rings too.
They were cheap, but still, since today might become Day One, he had to prepare at least this much.
His heart felt like it would burst.