I was reincarnated. And I became a woman.
My lower half felt empty, but my heart was full.
'Earth is still intact...'
Though it's quite different from the Earth I used to live on.
That black tower visible everywhere, for instance.
Or how Gates would open out of nowhere and monsters would pour out.
Or the existence of superhumans who surpassed human limits...
Still, I was grateful that humanity was alive and maintaining civilization.
"Hello, mister."
"Our Yuyeon is here again!"
Civilization. What is the advantage of a world where society continues to exist?
You can actually exchange greetings.
I bowed my head politely as I'd been taught and attempted the miraculous transaction wrought by civilization.
"Three bungeoppang, please."
"I'll give you four, so you gotta keep fighting today, alright?!"
"Our existence, fighting!"
"Uahaha! Where'd you learn to say something like that!"
"I saw it in a book. Was it not good?"
"No! It's great! Fighting for our existence!"
Name, Han Yuyeon.
Trait, flexibility.
Age, 10.
She receives basic education at elementary school to survive on this Earth.
Though it's called elementary education, most of the education was 'how to survive in the Tower.'
To summarize the education repeated ad nauseam:
1.
From age 20, you are forcibly abducted into the Tower and granted a 'Class.'
No one knows who will be taken, when, or what Class they'll receive.
So they teach survival methods as much as possible before you turn 20.
2.
The Tower's trials are divided into four difficulties.
Easy, Normal, Hard, Hell.
You can usually choose the difficulty yourself, but Hell difficulty is different.
Only one person on Earth. Hell is the difficulty forcibly assigned to a random individual.
The problem is that the vast majority abducted into Hell difficulty die before even lasting an hour.
The reason we know the time of death is...
[Hell Difficulty Climber - Hazuki Reika (Swordsman) (21 years old) (1st Floor)]
A broadcast is relayed from the Tower.
It's the broadcast of a sacrificial victim dragged into Hell difficulty, a woman called Hazuki Reika.
Surrounded by ghouls, she swung her sword wildly in fear, and was eventually slaughtered when exhaustion took over.
"...Don't watch that."
The teacher hastily drew the curtains so the children wouldn't be frightened, but this was what Hell difficulty was.
They forcibly drag a person to Hell difficulty and publicly broadcast the trial contents to the entire world.
If they fail to clear the trial and die, even the way they die is broadcast in vivid detail.
Truly malicious.
There were occasional cases of clearing the trial, but it meant little.
25 years since the Tower appeared.
Hell difficulty's 1st floor clear rate couldn't even reach 5%, and the highest record was only the 5th floor.
It's said that the number of people already sacrificed to Hell difficulty has exceeded one million.
About 110 per day. About 40,000 die in Hell difficulty every year.
The pressure of not knowing when you'll be dragged to the Tower, even if you try to ignore it and live your daily life.
And the fear that you yourself might be dragged into Hell difficulty permeated society.
'...Eventually, I'll be dragged into the Tower too.'
The Tower's highest floor is the 100th floor.
There are base camps every 10 floors; if you enter a base camp, you can return to this world.
You can re-enter the Tower if you wish.
Anyway, those who return that way are said to no longer be dragged into Hell difficulty.
They receive a kind of exemption. That's exactly what most people aim for.
If dragged in, choosing Easy difficulty, reaching just the 10th floor, and coming back to live in peace would be the best outcome.
But if most people choose Easy difficulty and come out, who will deal with the strong monsters coming from the Gates?
There aren't enough people to protect the peace so that civilization can remain civilization.
'If I'm dragged in... I should go Hard.'
They say the Tower's trial rewards grow greater with higher difficulty.
To gain the strength to face strong monsters, choosing Hard difficulty is the right judgment.
'Because I don't want to live somewhere all alone again... Let's live diligently.'
I still have 10 years.
Maybe even more time.
Because even after turning 20, you don't know when you'll be taken.
So during this leeway, I had to eat and learn as much as possible.
The sad part was that my stomach was too small.
"...Yuyeon. Are you doing okay these days?"
"I'm always okay."
The teachers take special care of me because I'm an orphan.
They are kind people in a kind society.
Even though orphans have become common in this world, the fact that they care for me proves it.
As always, after finishing personal counseling, I return to the orphanage where children in the same situation gather.
I want to eat chicken tonight.
I still haven't finished the bonus bungeoppang Mister Seongcheol gave me.
Ultimate move: walking while eating.
I walked while nibbling on the bungeoppang I held tight.
"*Munch, munch.*"
Declaration. It is reported that in the battle between bungeoppang and Han Yuyeon, Han Yuyeon was victorious.
Even after barely finishing it, when I look at the bungeoppang shop again, my gluttony stirs.
Is it because I had so little to eat in my previous life?
I lingered in front of the shop, wondering if I should buy just one more.
"Mister Seongcheol..."
He's not here. Did he step out for a moment?
The mister who should have been inside the shop was nowhere to be seen.
Let's sit and wait.
I put my backpack beside me and waited for five minutes.
Looking toward the Tower, a new video was being broadcast.
[Hell Difficulty Climber - Park Seongcheol (Warrior) (40 years old) (1st Floor)]
"...Ah."
It's mister.
I see mister breathing roughly while fighting a horde of ghouls.
Unlike his usual sloppy clothes, the warrior armor stands out.
Of all the many people, it had to be mister who was dragged away.
It seems not being taken until age 40 wasn't luck, but misfortune.
Watching the situation, it didn't look good. Perhaps from excessive tension, his body was too stiff.
At this rate, he'll die soon.
I sent a message in the broadcast's chat window.
- You should stick your back to the tree on the left and fight while clearing them from one side.
- You mustn't be nervous. Stay calm. You can do it, mister.
The chat was silent as the dead, with no reply coming back.
As expected, my message doesn't reach mister.
There's no record of anyone dragged into Hell difficulty seeing the chat and reacting.
This broadcast's chat is merely for viewers to communicate with each other.
It makes you wonder why they even left the chat function open.
Unable to eat the bungeoppang, I stared blankly, but the result was the same as the other victims.
"......"
I guess I can't eat bungeoppang anymore.
I gave a final greeting to the empty shop.
On the way back.
Walking, I saw a chicken restaurant, but I didn't buy chicken.
I felt like my appetite had completely vanished.
It's not like I have to eat it today, so I'll just sleep early.
Walking diligently with small steps for 30 minutes.
Around the time I worried my height wouldn't grow because of my backpack's weight, my shoulders grew light and my vision suddenly changed.
"...Hm."
The Tower is in front of my eyes.
Why. I'm only 10 years old.
I should have eaten chicken before coming.
"Tower-nim. I'm still 10 years old."
I said it just in case, but of course no answer came back.
If you were kind enough to answer something like this, would you forcibly drag people to Hell difficulty to kill them?
Tower-nim is definitely a far more boring entity than I thought.
"Hmm."
In both my previous life and current life, there is something I always think about.
Quick acceptance and flexible thinking are important for survival.
Kidnapped at age 10. Well, I roughly calculated my previous life's age into it and accepted it.
What would I do if I didn't accept it? Nothing would change.
[Welcome to the Tower of Trials.]
"Ah yes. Hello. I'm Han Yuyeon."
[Your Class is 'Maid.']
"Huh?"
If I was getting a Class anyway, I wanted to be a mage, but maid out of nowhere?
But it's fine. A maid is a versatile job, so I accepted it.
When I opened my eyes after closing them, I was somehow wearing a maid uniform.
[The difficulty assigned to you is 'Hell.']
"Huh...?"
[The trial begins in 5 minutes.]
How infuriating. I haven't even eaten 100 chickens in this life yet.
The moment I was about to burst into tears at this unfairness, the stars in the sky twinkled.
They were the Constellations I'd heard about in class.
I should greet them. I bowed my head politely.
"Hello. I'm Han Yuyeon."
[The Sage of the Stellar Archives is astonished.]
"?"
[The Watcher of the Sword Boundary sighs.]
"??"
[The Authority of the Heavens shuts both eyes tight.]
What. Why that reaction when I greeted them. Was my etiquette lacking?
I don't know. I should loosen up my body during the remaining time.
If there's one thing I feel most keenly after reincarnating as a woman, it's that my body has become very flexible.
I did stretches to relieve tension in my body, but though the stars twinkled more, I ignored them.
What I need to see right now isn't the Constellations' messages but my Class's skills.
Staring at the interface floating in the air, the screen I wanted appeared.
[Name: Han Yuyeon]
[Class: Maid]
Should I check the maid's explanation first?
[Maid: Versatile. A word that truly exists for maids. Whether this becomes an advantage or disadvantage depends on the maid's capability.
- Can learn all skills without restriction.
- Maximum grade of all skills except exclusives decreases by 1 level.]
Simple. What's next?
[Unique Skills: Maid's Subspace Pocket (EX) Maid's Dignity (EX)]
[Stats: Strength 1 Agility 1 Stamina 1]
Oh. Two EX grades.
The highest grade I'd heard about in class.
I'd heard the current strongest human possesses an EX-grade skill.
Is this a sort of compensation for Hell difficulty?
But a maid's subspace pocket. If it's subspace, it's just subspace; what's with the maid at the front and pocket at the back?
[Maid's Subspace Pocket (EX): A subspace prepared for the maid.
- Can store items touched in the subspace. Items stored in subspace maintain the quality they had when stored.
- Items taken out from subspace lose their weight while held in hand.
- Can use the subspace shop using Maid Points.
- Maid Points can be acquired if the Master's satisfaction level is raised.
- Current Master: None]
Master. And Maid Points.
There's something terrifying about it, but I accepted it for now.
Focusing on the subspace part, there was something strange.
It only says how to store, not how to take things out? There's nothing to experiment with either.
Let's look at the next skill first.
[Maid's Dignity (EX): A maid's dignity is the master's dignity. Therefore, a maid must maintain dignity always and everywhere.
- Resistance to mental abnormalities increases.
- Resistant to all contamination.
- Purifies the surrounding environment.
- Maintains optimal condition.
- Receives a bonus to most actions.]
This is amazing...? They give out this much?
If Hell difficulty was this kind, not everyone would be dying like that.
I quickly organized the current situation.
The 1st floor enemies are a ghoul horde. But I have no weapon. No attack skills either.
Strength is...
*Pop—!*
The 5 minutes are already up.
The empty space changed into a forest.
It's the familiar forest I saw in the video.
The place where Mister Seongcheol died is over there.
First, I read the message that appeared before my eyes.
[Tower of Trials 1st Floor - Forest Dyed in Blood]
[This forest once flourished green under the blessing of light. But a red moon rose and monsters ran rampant, dyeing it in blood.]
[Main Objective: Survive the threats roaming the forest.]
A three-line description that needs no three-line summary.
Grateful that I wouldn't have to strain my eyes, I first expressed thanks then touched a tree to check my strength.
I'd become much stronger than before entering the Tower.
"Hm."
Is there anything usable as a weapon?
Looking around, I see nothing useful except pebbles.
I decided to try putting the pebbles in the subspace first.
[Pebble (F) has been stored in the subspace.]
"Oh."
When I touched them and thought 'store,' I could feel the pebbles entering the subspace.
So now, how do I take them out?
Take out. Take out the pebbles.
...They won't come out?
"Tower-nim. The explanation is too unfriendly. Please tell me how to use the subspace in detail."
[The Sage of the Stellar Archives sighs.]
Hmm. Is my question sigh-worthy?
Well. The Constellations are incomparably greater than someone like me, so my question might have seemed foolish.
Answers must be found on one's own.
While deeply pondering and shoving pebbles into the subspace, I heard a soft woman's voice.
"Hah... at this rate... I'll... be torn apart too..."
Found her—the priestess with a 99% death rate on the 1st floor.
The black-haired priestess dying with her back against a tree was Rabina.
She was someone whose face I'd seen so often that her name was even written in Hell difficulty info posts.
I approached Rabina, who was touching the longsword embedded in her stomach with labored breath.
"Hello. I'm Han Yuyeon."
"A child...? Why is a child in this forest..."
"I wonder why too."
"Hurry and run...! The ghouls... ugh-!"
As expected of Hell difficulty. Already surrounded.
Is my appearance being broadcast to the whole world right now?
Hmm. If I'm going to be filmed anyway, I should try to look pretty.
I don't know where the camera is, but I made a V with my fingers for now.
Then I suddenly felt sad.
*Drip.* Tears flowed and my body trembled.
I should have eaten chicken before coming.