Tree Of Greed

Kang-Joon opened his curtains and saw a view that he would have never expected.

"Holy shit...."

A tower so big that it looked like a giant to Kang-Joon who lived kilometers away from it could be seen with destroyed buildings all around it.

*Knock... Knock...*

Joon turned around and headed towards the door.

"Joon! It's me, Hyung-Jin"

Kang-Joon opened the door and let Jin inside his apartment room.

*Pant..Pant..*

Jin was drenched with sweat as he sat down on a chair.

"Hyung, let me get some water for you."

Jin nodded before Kang-Joon went and grabbed a glass of water.

"Hyung, you gotta tell me what's going on. What the hell is going on right now?"

Jin drank the cup of water and started to feel relaxed.

"A few hours ago, a massive tower appeared out of nowhere and people started saying that a game-like menu appeared infront of them. It had a message regarding the descent of the Grand Tower or something. I'm one-hundred percent sure, Towers Online has become reality."

Kang-Joon took a moment to take in all the information Jin had just given.

"Wait, so this game-like menu... how does it appear?"

Jin took a deep breath before he taught Kang-Joon how the menu appeared.

"Here, just say the words 'System Window' and it should appear right infront of you."

Kang-Joon nodded and tried to open his system window.

"System Window."

A light blue game-like menu appeared right infront of him with game-like text shown on it.

________________________________

STATUS:

Name: Seo Kang Joon

Level: 1

Title: None

HP: 230/230

MP: 100/100

STATS

Strength: 2

Agility: 3

Dexterity: 2

Stamina: 2

Intelligence: 1

Luck: 2

Available Stat Points: 0

SKILLS

Quick Steps[LVL.1]

________________________________

"Oh shoot, this looks insane!"

Kang-Joon turned his head towards Jin as his head was filled with disbelief.

"Hyung, can you see this?"

Jin shook his head slowly.

"No, i'm pretty sure only you yourself can see it."

Kang-Joon closed the system window and sat down on his bed.

"Hyung, if Towers Online has really become reality then we must go now!"

Jin tilted his head with a confused face.

"Huh? Where to?"

Kang-Joon tapped Jin's back and opened his apartment door. He ran down the flight of stairs with Jin following behind.

*Pant..pant*

The red sky dawned over the world as Kang-Joon and Jin ran through the chaos of humans panicking at the sight of the Grand Tower and the monsters that appeared from these so-called 'gates'

"Joon, how much longer are we gonna run for?! You haven't even told me where we're going!"

Kang-Joon took a quick glance at Jin before looking forwards as a smile appeared on his face.

"Don't worry Hyung, you'll see soon."

***

Kang-Joon suddenly stopped, followed by Jin.

"Joon, why are we infront of a subway station entrance..."

Kang-Joon took a second to gaze at the aura that the entrance emitted

*Yeah, this is definetly it.*

"Hyung, let's enter."

Jin's eyes widened, a sense of surprise filled his head. Both of them headed into the subway station as the view of the red sky gets smaller and smaller the further they go.

A few seconds later, Kang-Joon and Jin arrived at the center of the station. As they continued to walk, a lot of people gazed at them sharply.

*This is definetly the location. To think that even event locations in the game would also appear here in real life. Not only that, all these players must have cleared the 15th floor of the Grand Tower.*

Jin looked around as he followed Kang-Joon forwards.

"Joon, where are we."

Kang-Joon stopped before looking at him. 

"Hyung, what floor did you reach in Towers Online before you stopped?"

Jin looked surprised and was confused on why Kang-Joon were to ask that question.

"Oh, uhm... I think I reached the 11th floor before I gave up. Why did you ask?"

A smile appeared on Kang-Joon's face before his gaze turned to a small fountain located at the center of the station.

"Haha, you'll see. Soon, a secret event will occur here."

A few hours later, as Kang-Joon and Jin sat down on the floor waiting for the event to occur, the system window materialized once more, its appearance accompanied by a faint, ethereal glow that drew the attention of everyone present.

[ SECRET EVENT: Tree Of Greed will begin in 5 minutes. ]

Everyone in the subway station stared infront at the announcement and began to prepare for the upcoming event. 

As Kang-Joon and Jin stood up and prepared, a large figure could be seen heading towards them.

"Haha, Kang-Joon is that you?"

Kang-Joon looked towards the figure with curiousity. As the figure went closer and closer, Kang-Joon was able to see who the figure was.

"So it was you Mr. Sung. What business do you have with me?"

Park Ji Sung laughed monstrously to the point where it could be heard by everyone in the station.

"Business? Cut that bullshit. I'm just here to warn you that if you ever interrupt me in getting those fruits, just know that you're dead."

Park Ji Sung walked away and Jin tilted his head in confusion

"Joon, who was he?"

Kang-Joon took a heavy breath and looked towards Jin.

"Oh, he was just an insect I met in the game."

Jin nodded as a sign that he understood what he meant.

Kang-Joon and Jin looked towards the fountain at the center of the station as they await the beginning of the event.

As everyone became focused on their preparation, the fountain at the center began to descend.

Kkrreeeekk.....

The fountain groaned in protest as the ground cracked open, revealing the gnarled roots of a tree. Its branches extended majestically, casting an eerie glow that reflected off the faces of the people around it.

Kang-Joon's eyes widened in awe, mirroring the disbelief etched on Jin's face. The crowd collectively gasped, some stepping back in fear, while others leaned forward, drawn by a sense of anticipation.

"Joon... what the hell is that."

All of a sudden, the system window appeared infront of everybody once again.

[ SECRET EVENT: Tree Of Greed has started... ]