Chapter 17
Chapter 17
The next day.
PlayerNet had been buzzing since the previous day's Hall of Fame record for the Floor 5 hidden trial appeared.
With the added announcement that only 36 days remained until the end of the Channel League season, people began calculating whether Impossible One could enter the Iron Rookie League within this season.
Impossible One was currently on Floor 5.
If he kept climbing one floor per day as he had been, he could meet the participation requirements with 22 days left before the season ended.
Every Channel League match was public, and the points earned from wins and losses were added to the affiliated nation's season score.
When the season ended, the amount of National Achievement Points and support resources awarded depended on the final ranking.
[South Korea Channel League National Season Ranking: 64th / 64 Nations]
[South Korea Iron Rookie Fixed Team: None]
[National Season Reward Bracket: 1st–16th]
With South Korea at the very bottom, people's attention naturally turned to Impossible One.
[Korea/Lv.33] Newbie Protection Squad : At this pace, couldn't they meet the participation requirements this season and play more than 20 matches?
[China/Lv.68] Beijing Swordsman : That's assuming they clear Floors 6 through 19 without taking a single day off. It won't get any easier as they climb.
[Korea/Lv.42] Soju in Rice Soup : Still, they've climbed exactly one floor every day so far. Do they look like they're about to stop now?
[Japan/Lv.55] Tsukikage : Even if they do make it up in time, solo clearing and team matches will be different. Korea doesn't even have a fixed team that's already worked together.
[Korea/Lv.51] Gangnam Iron Fist : The fact that there's no fixed team is exactly why Impossible One is needed. Even with a team thrown together on the spot, if that person takes the lead, it's worth trying.
[USA/Lv.61] IronJack : Before skill, isn't the first question whether they actually compete? The Channel League makes combat footage and registered equipment public. Would a player who's hidden their abilities and equipment until now take that risk?
[China/Lv.68] Beijing Swordsman : Even if Impossible One competes, they are the only strong player. Can a hastily assembled team beat the fixed teams of strong nations?
[Korea/Lv.42] Soju in Rice Soup : That one person has pulled off things everyone said were impossible over and over. Why couldn't they do it in a team match too?
[Japan/Lv.55] Tsukikage : But even if Impossible One makes it there, they'll only be in the Iron tier of the Rookie Channel. Can South Korea really get out of 64th just because they perform well?
They had a point.
The national season score earned from a single Iron Rookie win was only 3 points.
The higher the tier, the more points a single match was worth.
Strong nations with deep upper-tier rosters from Diamond to Legend had been piling up large scores since the start of the season.
South Korea, on the other hand, lacked the upper-tier strength to face them.
Now, with the roughly 90-day season well past its halfway point, even the gap with 63rd place was difficult to close with the results of a single rookie.
[USA/Lv.61] IronJack : At Lv.31, you automatically graduate from Iron Rookie. The maximum number of matches you can play in Iron Rookie is 11. Even with a perfect record, that's only 33 points.
[Japan/Lv.55] Tsukikage : Right. Even after moving to the Regular Channel, they'll start in a lower tier. Even if they keep winning from there, it'll be hard to close the gap created in the upper tiers.
[China/Lv.68] Beijing Swordsman : Season rewards go up to 16th place. At this rate, escaping last place will be difficult, let alone getting rewards.
[Korea/Lv.42] Soju in Rice Soup : That calculation assumes Impossible One is competing alone. Once they start a winning streak, Korean players who've just been watching might move too.
[China/Lv.68] Beijing Swordsman : Players who've been sitting on the sidelines for more than half the season suddenly step up because of one rookie? That's not a calculation, it's wishful thinking.
Even if Impossible One won every match, they couldn't close the existing gap alone.
To change the rankings, Korean players spurred by his winning streak would have to earn points together across multiple tiers.
No one could guarantee whether they would actually step up.
Even so, people were already waiting for the day Impossible One, still on the 5th floor, would appear in the Channel League.
* * *
At the same time.
Sang-hyeok stepped onto the 6th floor of the Infinite Tower.
Rumble.
At that moment, a violent tremor split the gray floor into three paths.
From the cracks, three enormous stone gates rose one after another.
Thud.
Thud.
Boom!
When the last stone gate settled into place, the floor's shaking stopped.
In front of each stone gate sat a waist-high circular control console.
「You have entered the 6th floor of the Infinite Tower.」
「The 6th-floor trial begins.」
[Trial Name: <Triple Mana Floodgate>]
[Time Limit: 15 minutes]
[Objective]
- Open all 3 mana floodgates.
- Supplying mana to the control console opens the floodgate.
- If contact is broken, that floodgate's opening progress resets.
[Evaluation Criteria]
- Clear time
- Number of mana supply interruptions
- Mana consumption efficiency
Sang-hyeok approached the nearest control console.
In the center of the console was a palm-shaped groove.
To open the floodgate, he had to place his hand in that groove and supply mana until it fully opened.
If he removed his hand midway, the opening progress would return to 0.
What he had to do was simple.
The problem was the six circles carved into the floor.
In the center of each, stone hands and weapons were buried.
According to the known strategy, while the floodgate was opening, stone defense soldiers would awaken from those circles.
Sang-hyeok scanned the circles on the floor one by one, then pulled up the league notice.
[Time Until Current Channel Season Ends: D-35]
To earn the right to enter the 20th floor, he had to climb to the 19th floor.
Including the 6th floor, 14 floors remained until the 19th.
If he climbed one floor per day as planned, there was plenty of time to enter within the season.
But if he delayed even one day on a single floor, the number of matches he could play this season dropped by one.
That didn't mean he intended to chase speed at the cost of lower Conquest Ratings.
The more SSS and special records he accumulated, the faster he could grow stronger through additional rewards, and the more he could reduce South Korea's point deficit.
So he had to climb quickly while earning the highest evaluation every time.
The reason Sang-hyeok was hurrying to enter the Channel League wasn't simply to play more matches, either.
A few wins by Sang-hyeok alone wouldn't immediately flip the national season ranking.
But if he kept stringing together overwhelming victories, he could draw inactive Korean players back into competition.
What had brought down South Korea before the regression wasn't only a lack of strength.
As defeats piled up, the belief spread that trying was pointless, and the more people gave up on competing, the wider the gap grew.
Even now, many Korean players were ignoring the Channel League while leaving their participation rights unused.
'This time, I'll break that vicious cycle.'
If he showed he could bring down even the fixed teams of powerhouse nations, he could restore hope that South Korea still had a chance.
If even one more person returned to the battlefield after seeing that, the national ranking would begin to move as well.
Sang-hyeok's goal lay far beyond the national season ranking.
He would stop the coming invasion of otherworldly beings and change the future in which humanity was destroyed.
He would protect his beloved family and make the country they would live in—South Korea—the strongest in the world.
To create that future, the first thing he had to do was keep his promise of one floor a day.
The first public stage toward that goal was the Rookie League.
The prospects directly sponsored by the Sixteen Celestial Seats were gathered there too.
To overwhelm them from the moment he faced them, he had to become stronger than he was now.
Sang-hyeok closed the notice and looked down at the groove in the control console.
For now, it was time to clear Floor 6 with an SSS rating.
"Let's begin."
He placed his left hand into the groove of the control console.
Clack.
Stone locks rose from both sides of the console and pressed down on the back of his hand.
The moment his left hand was fixed in the groove, a notification appeared.
[Mana supply begins.]
Sang-hyeok channeled mana into his left hand.
Vmmmm.
Blue light spread across the console and ran along the floor to the first stone gate.
[Floodgate 1 Opening Progress: 1%]
[Floodgate 1 Opening Progress: 2%]
The blue pattern engraved on the <Spirit Vein Bracelet: Budding> on his left wrist brightened and drew in the surrounding mana.
Thanks to that, even while continuously channeling mana into the console, his mana reserves drained far more slowly than expected.
'At this rate, I can fight while opening the floodgate.'
As the floodgate opened little by little, the six circles carved into the floor trembled along with it.
Crunch.
The stone hands buried in the circles pressed against the floor.
Soon, six defense soldiers clad in stone armor pulled their bodies up from the ground.
[Floodgate Defense Soldier]
[Lv.6]
The defense soldiers raised their weapons in unison and rushed toward the control console.
Keeping his left hand in the groove, Sang-hyeok swept his right hand broadly to the side.
'<Erasure>.'
Fwoosh!
The black energy spread in a fan-shaped arc and swept through the defenders all at once.
The weapons, armor, and bodies touched by the black energy turned to black sand and poured down, one after another.
Ssssss!
They all vanished before even reaching the control console.
After that, all Sang-hyeok had to do was wait for the floodgate to fully open.
His mana had dropped sharply from spreading <Erasure> wide.
But as the <Spirit Vein Bracelet: Budding> drew in the surrounding mana, the mana he had just spent quickly returned.
'At this level, there's no need to bother conserving it.'
[Floodgate 1 Opening Progress: 100%]
Rumble!
As the first stone gate rose upward, blue mana poured out from beneath it like a wave.
It was the mana left over from opening the floodgate.
As the <Spirit Vein Bracelet: Budding> drew in even the mana that was about to disperse, his mana reserves replenished even faster.
Clack.
The lock pressing on his left hand released.
Sang-hyeok immediately pulled his hand out and ran through the opened floodgate.
Arriving at the second control console, he put his left hand into the groove without hesitation.
Clack.
[Floodgate 2 opening begins.]
Crunch.
This time, soldiers holding long stone crossbows rose from both sides of the stone gate.
[Floodgate Crossbowman]
[Lv.7]
Clack.
Six crossbows aimed at Sang-hyeok simultaneously.
Thwip!
Sang-hyeok extended his right hand toward the incoming stone arrows.
'<Erasure>.'
Whoosh!
Black energy spread out like a curtain.
The stone arrows scattered into sand the moment they touched the curtain, and the crossbowmen behind them were swept up in the black energy as well.
Ssssss!
Even after eliminating all the crossbowmen, the floodgate was still in the middle of opening.
Feeling his mana refilling again, Sang-hyeok thought back to the 4th floor.
Back then, he'd had to use the enemies' charges just to conserve even a little mana.
Now, even after spreading <Erasure> wide twice, his mana was still ample.
While he waited, the opening progress climbed all the way.
[Floodgate 2 Opening Progress: 100%]
Boom!
The second stone gate rose upward.
The moment the lock released, Sang-hyeok pulled out his left hand and ran toward the last floodgate.
The third control console was much larger than the previous ones.
Around the palm-shaped groove, three blue patterns spread out in a circle.
When Sang-hyeok put his left hand in, a thick lock pressed down on the back of his hand.
Clack!
[Floodgate 3 opening begins.]
[Required mana supply increases.]
VMMMM!
Mana drained through his left hand in greater volume than at the previous floodgates.
While the <Spirit Vein Bracelet: Budding> kept drawing in mana, the floor in front of the stone gate split wide open.
Rumble.
A stone hand the size of Sang-hyeok's torso shot out of the gap.
Soon, a giant equipped with thick armor and a greatsword as tall as a person pushed against the floor and rose.
Red eyes flashed inside the helmet.
[Triple Floodgate Warden]
[Lv.8]
The third floodgate was the section where 6th-floor challengers got stuck most often.
The Triple Floodgate Warden moved slowly, but its armor was so hard that it was practically impossible for low-floor players to bring it down.
The standard approach was to keep the left hand fixed in the groove and endure by dodging and blocking attacks until the opening progress reached 100%.
Even players who came in with thorough preparation mostly failed their first attempt because they couldn't get past this floodgate.
The warden first looked at Sang-hyeok's left hand, held fast to the control console.
"Intruder!"
A voice like grinding stone rang out from inside the helmet.
"Stop the mana supply at once!"
The warden lowered its greatsword to its side and charged straight at him.
Instead of answering, Sang-hyeok kept his left hand fixed in the groove and raised his right hand.
The warden brought its greatsword down toward Sang-hyeok's left arm.
Instead of dodging, Sang-hyeok reached his right hand toward the falling blade.
'<Erasure>.'
Hsssss!
Before the greatsword could even touch his hand, it began turning to black sand from the tip inward.
As the blade and hilt vanished one after another, the warden's empty hand only sliced through the air.
The red glow in the helmet's eyes flickered wildly.
"What......"
Sang-hyeok pushed his right hand straight forward.
The energy of <Erasure> that had erased the sword climbed the warden's arm and spread to its chest.
The armor that had deflected low-floor players' attacks began turning to black sand at the point of contact and scattered away.
As Sang-hyeok pushed <Erasure> harder, the <Spirit Vein Bracelet: Budding> drew in ambient mana to replenish what he was consuming.
Thump!
The Heart of the Apocalypse Demonic Dragon beat powerfully as it absorbed the newly drawn-in mana.
The mana that passed through the heart surged into his right arm and swelled the energy of <Erasure> even further.
Whoosh!
The black energy wrapping his right hand shot up and covered the warden's entire body.
The red eyes inside the helmet wavered with fear for the first time.
"This power...... it's absurd......!"
Sssssss!
Even the helmet that had remained until the end scattered into black sand.
Where the warden had vanished, only black sand piled up thickly.
Sang-hyeok withdrew his right hand and straightened up beside the control console.
Even after erasing the warden entirely, his mana showed no sign of running out.
It was thanks to the <Spirit Vein Bracelet: Budding> replenishing the spent mana without pause.
[Floodgate 3 Opening Progress: 100%]
Rumble!
As the last stone gate rose upward, blue light raced between the three floodgates.
[All 3 mana floodgates have been opened.]
[Mana Supply Interruptions: 0]
[Time Remaining: 08:41]
「The 6th-floor trial has been completed.」
「Calculating clear results.」
[Conquest Rating: SSS]
Clack.
The lock pressing on his left hand released.
As Sang-hyeok pulled his hand from the control console, the brightly glowing blue pattern of the <Spirit Vein Bracelet: Budding> gradually faded.
But even after withdrawing <Erasure>, the power that had surged through his heart into his right arm remained.
Thump.
Each time his heart beat, a dark-red current spread beneath his skin and surged all the way to his fingertips.
Just as Sang-hyeok was about to examine the changed sensation, a new notification appeared.
[<Heart of the Apocalypse Demonic Dragon> begins physical adaptation.]
[Adaptation Target: Bloodflow]