Life Easy Mode
Life Easy Mode.
That's how I'd describe my life.
I had superpowers.
Not a metaphor, but real superpowers.
"Dad, Dad." "Hmm? Just a moment, Seohyeon. Dad's busy." "Dad, why don't you stop it and think? Then time won't pass." "? Alright, alright, I'll play with you after I finish this round, so go over there for a bit." "Nooo~! Dad, you don't have much time left! I told you to stop it and think!"
When I was little, I remember getting scolded once for bothering my dad while he was playing online Janggi on the computer.
Up until kindergarten, I didn't know.
I thought everyone else could naturally do what I could because I was young.
My parents just brushed it off as the strange ramblings of an imaginative child.
But as I gradually grew older, I realized I was different from others.
Whenever I willed it, the world stopped.
People and objects before my eyes all froze, and time came to a standstill.
The Time Stop Ability.
But it wasn't *that* amazing.
It wasn't the kind of overpowered ability people usually imagine; it was a half-baked version.
I couldn't move in stopped time either.
I could only stand still and think.
Of course, even that was enough to live an easy life.
"Seohyeon, you're here? Did your midterm scores come out?" "Yes. Unfortunately, I got one science question wrong." "Oh? What about the other subjects?" "I got them all right." "Hoho, as expected of our son! You're amazing~."
Studying was the easiest thing.
For me, it really was.
I didn't understand a part while studying?
I'd stop time and think until I understood it.
Lots to memorize?
I'd stop time until I'd memorized it all.
What if I slacked off and a test was right around the corner?
I'd just stop and unstop time and study intensely the night before.
Other people's one second was like an hour of productive time for me.
Of course, during tests, I was the only one without a time limit.
If there were a problem I couldn't solve, I'd just stop time and ponder it.
That's how my grades have always been at the top of my class since elementary school.
Beyond that, there were endless small uses for my ability in daily life.
You could say it was like a game's Pause function.
When you pause a game, the character can't move, but the real-life player can still think, so this is a more accurate analogy.
Perhaps it would be a useful ability in a fight too?
I'd never been in a fight in my life.
I had no interest in physical activity, so I'd never really used my ability in sports either.
I just grew up as an unremarkable model student.
And today was the Suneung.
"Don't be nervous, okay? Just relax."
"Yes, I'll go now."
I arrived at the test center in my parents' car.
I waved to my parents, who seemed more nervous than I was, and entered through the main gate.
As always, I took the test with a light heart and returned home.
I'm home.
After dinner, I downloaded the answer sheet and graded it.
The result was as expected: a perfect score.
Of course, I did work hard.
Even without time pressure, you still need the ability to solve all the problems to get a perfect score.
I hummed a tune and stretched.
Seoul National University Medical School, it's a piece of cake.
Ah, so easy, so easy.
Don't I feel guilty using cheats when everyone else worked so hard?
Well, what can I do?
Life is inherently unfair.
And there's no reason not to use such a great ability when I was born with it, right?
Anyway, now I can just have fun until it's time to prepare for my medical school interview.
My life had always been smooth sailing, and it would continue to be.
I was just about to open the door and share the good news with my family.
Suddenly, a tremor shook the house.
*Kugugugugu*.
I quickly grabbed the edge of my desk to regain my balance.
I could hear my family's urgent voices from outside.
What was happening? An earthquake?
Such a strong earthquake in Korea?
I didn't have time to think further.
Something appeared in the air before my eyes.
The Tower calls to the Climbers.
You have received the Call of the Tower.
[Your assigned difficulty is 'Nightmare'.]
Participants: 100,000
Time Limit: 364 days 23 hours 59 minutes 45 seconds
Floors Reached: 1st Floor
Participants: 100,000
Time Limit: 364 days 23 hours 59 minutes 45 seconds
Floors Reached: 1st Floor
[Hard]
Participants: 100,000
Time Limit: 364 days 23 hours 59 minutes 45 seconds
Floors Reached: 1st Floor
[Nightmare]
Participants: 100,000
Time Limit: 364 days 23 hours 59 minutes 45 seconds
Floors Reached: 1st Floor
If the time limit is exceeded, the Curse of the Tower will descend.
If the Easy difficulty time limit is exceeded, 10% of humanity will die.
If the Normal difficulty time limit is exceeded, 20% of humanity will die.
If the Hard difficulty time limit is exceeded, 50% of humanity will die.
If the Nightmare difficulty time limit is exceeded, 99% of humanity will die.
I just stared at the messages appearing one after another, my eyes trembling uncontrollably.
* * *
November 13, 2025.
The world was transformed.
A powerful earthquake struck globally in a short span of time.
Along with it, a colossal tower-shaped structure rose in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.
A select few received the Call of the Tower.
It was as the messages appearing before their eyes stated.
Easy, Normal, Hard, Nightmare.
100,000 people were chosen for each of the four difficulties.
Those who received the Call of the Tower were called Climbers.
Climbers could enter their assigned difficulty whenever they wished.
The Black Tower appeared in the middle of the Pacific, but it was said to be nothing more than a structure with no entrances and no physical way to enter.
Climbers could enter the Tower from anywhere, anytime they desired.
Adventurous people were the first to climb the Tower.
It was quickly revealed that clearing a floor extended the time limit by one year.
The Tower warned humanity that if the time limit expired, the Curse of the Tower would descend.
10% of humanity is the figure for Easy.
For Normal, 20% of humanity.
For Hard: 50% of humanity.
And for Nightmare, which I was assigned, 99% of humanity would die.
It was a warning that had not yet come to pass, not even a year after the day of upheaval.
Governments around the world moved busily.
They had no choice, facing the sudden end of humanity.
Just watching the news, I found spectacular every day.
The Korean government also urged climbers to voluntarily report themselves to the state as soon as possible.
They said they would enact laws, establish facilities and organizations, and provide full support for climbing the Tower.
I did not report that I had become a climber.
I merely observed the daily progress through the floating text before my eyes.
[Easy] Participants: 95,361 Time Limit: 9 years 237 days 11 hours 52 minutes 06 seconds Floors Reached: 10th Floor
[Normal]
Participants: 94,022
Time Limit: 5 years 237 days 11 hours 52 minutes 06 seconds
Floors Reached: 6th Floor
[Hard] Participants: 96,081 Time Limit: 2 years 237 days 11 hours 52 minutes 06 seconds Floor Reached: 3rd Floor
[Nightmare]
Participants: 97,910
Time Limit: 237 days 11 hours 52 minutes 06 seconds
Floors Reached: 1st Floor
It was said that Climbers grew stronger the higher they climbed the Tower.
Like in a game, they would raise their levels, use skills, and gain power beyond human limits.
Progress was fastest in the Easy difficulty.
On the 1st Floor of Easy difficulty, the enemy encountered was said to be a single goblin.
They had already reached the 10th Floor, accumulating on the Easy time limit over 9 years.
Normal and Hard had also reached the 6th and 3rd Floors, respectively.
Only Nightmare Difficulty hadn't even cleared the 1st Floor.
This was none of my concern.
I had absolutely no intention of climbing the Tower.
Why would I be crazy enough to?
Once you enter the Tower, you can't leave unless you clear the current floor.
In other words, if you fail to clear it, you die.
Just look at the progress of Nightmare Difficulty.
Not a single one of the 2,000 people who have entered so far has succeeded; they all died.
Since no one returned alive, no information was revealed either.
It was simply throwing one's life away.
It's normal for people to value their lives, so the number of participants who had entered Nightmare Difficulty was significantly lower compared to other difficulties.
Still, someone would succeed eventually, right?
There were still over 200 days left on the time limit, weren't there?
With that thought, I focused solely on my daily life.
I entered medical school and continued my university life.
On one side, the world was changing rapidly, but most people still lived normal daily lives.
This wasn't denial.
I was just someone who got unlucky.
Someone else would do it. Someone...
[Nightmare]
Participants: 94,936
Time Limit: 135 days 1 hour 6 minutes 32 seconds
Floors Reached: 1st Floor
[Nightmare]
Participants: 92,571
Time Limit: 56 days 21 hours 18 minutes 56 seconds
Floors Reached: 1st Floor
[Nightmare]
Participants: 87,920
Time Limit: 10 days 3 hours 43 minutes 23 seconds
Floors Reached: 1st Floor
. . .
Time passed.
The collapse deadline was now right around the corner.
Yet, astonishingly, no one had succeeded.
- The time limit for Nightmare Difficulty is approaching within a week. The US government has stated it is considering a direct nuclear strike on the Tower in the Pacific...
- The number of participants unclimbed in Nightmare Difficulty is still over 80,000...
The daily news blared about whether the world would end like this.
Governments worldwide offered all sorts of benefits, urging Nightmare Climbers to challenge the 1st Floor, but it seemed to have little effect.
While Korea remained relatively stable, riots and violent incidents surged overseas almost daily.
- *Wow, are we really going to have Humanity's Extinction?*
- *Not extinction; 1 percent will live.*
- *Seriously, what are the Nightmare Climbers doing?*
- *The world's about to end, and over 80,000 still haven't entered. What selfish bastards.*
- *Would you challenge a difficulty that over ten thousand people have died trying to clear? Lol.*
- *Are you a Nightmare Climber?*
- *Shouldn't the government find them all and force them to challenge it?*
- *Talk sense.*
- *Aside from voluntary reporting, there's no way to find them if they keep quiet.*
The internet comments were filled with nothing but such discussions.
The end is coming! Those without faith will fall into hell...!
Yesterday, I saw strange people walking the streets, shouting through megaphones. It was the end of days.
Not just figuratively, but the actual end of the world was approaching.
[Nightmare]
Participants: 77,105
Time Limit: 3 hours 36 minutes 7 seconds
Floors Reached: 1st Floor
The time limit reached its final day.
The number of surviving participants rapidly decreased.
Even now, it is shrinking in real-time.
I understood how everyone must feel.
It must be a sense of helplessness now.
Yet, the Floors Reached remained unchanged.
Over 20,000 people had challenged it, and not a single one succeeded?
Are you kidding me? Is it even possible to clear?
I kept letting out hollow laughs as I looked at the numbers before my eyes.
Ha...
99% of Humanity's Extinction.
Approximately 8 billion people would die.
Not everyone would die completely.
Still, it was a staggering number that clearly meant the world would be ruined.
If I hadn't been chosen, at least I wouldn't have had to agonize over this.
Other people might just accept death as it is.
But I, at least, had the option to grasp at straws.
I don't want to die either, goddammit...
I don't want to die.
And it's not just dying.
I don't know what kind of horrific, painful death awaits me if I enter the Tower.
I just want to pray and wait for someone, anyone, to succeed within the remaining three hours.
At the very least, I want to pin my hopes on that 1% chance of survival.
But what would that accomplish?
Would my family and I all survive on that slim chance?
...Such a miracle wouldn't happen.
Would 99% of humanity really die if the time limit ran out? Does that even make sense?
I tried to deny reality.
But I knew.
Whether it made sense or not didn't matter.
Since the day the Tower rose, the world's common sense had long been twisted.
I sat at my desk, eyes closed for a long time.
Finally, I opened my eyes and stood up.
I put the will I had written beforehand into my desk drawer and set an alarm on my phone.
When I changed my clothes and left my room, my father, mother, and younger sibling were all gathered in the living room.
...Where are you going?" "I just want to get some fresh air for a bit." "Alright. Don't be back too late."
My mother smiled weakly.
My younger sibling had been sniffling continuously.
On the TV screen, the time [3:15:09] was displayed prominently and ticking down, and a news anchor was chattering busily.
My father said, as if pleading, "You have to come back soon. Let's at least have one last dinner as a family." "Yes. I'll be back soon."
But I probably wouldn't return.
My parents were quick-witted, so I didn't say anything unnecessary.
I had already written everything in a letter. If I didn't return, the alarm would ring on time, and they would find and read it.
What meaning would it have at this point, but still, shouldn't they at least know why their son couldn't return?
I left the house and walked down the deserted street.
I turned into an alley and stared ahead.
Would you like to enter the 1st Floor of Nightmare Difficulty?
It had been exactly one year since that day.
As I resolved to enter, the message appeared.
From now on, I am going to die.
But I had no choice.
...Enter. You son of a bitch.
As I muttered, the scenery before my eyes changed.