Chapter 20
Chapter 20
Beneath the notification, a dark-red information window unfolded.
[Loading physical adaptation record.]
[Adaptation area: right arm / right shoulder]
[Adaptation status: in progress]
「A Lv.10 growth Authority candidate is being generated.」
[Candidate Authority: <Demonic Dragon’s Bloodflow>]
Sang-hyeok's gaze lingered on the newly surfaced name.
'Demonic Dragon’s Bloodflow.'
The Authority was still locked.
Below the name, two unlock conditions followed.
[Unlock Condition 1]
[Draw externally absorbed mana into the Heart of the Apocalypse Demonic Dragon and mix it into your bloodflow.]
[Status: fulfilled]
[Unlock Condition 2]
[Endure a powerful status condition while spreading the demonic dragon's power throughout your entire body.]
[Status: unfulfilled]
Vmmmm.
Just then, as <Spirit Vein Bracelet: Budding> drew in ambient mana, the blue pattern on his wrist brightened.
The mana that seeped into his body reached his heart.
Thump.
The mana that passed through his heart turned dark red and flowed along his right shoulder and arm to his fingertips.
The change that had begun on the 6th floor grew clearer the higher he climbed.
On the 8th floor, it had pushed back the suppression of <Silence>, and on the 9th floor, it had let his right arm and shoulder endure intense mana pressure.
But it had not yet reached his left arm or either leg.
Sang-hyeok clenched and unclenched his right hand as he reread the second condition.
'So it's telling me to adapt my entire body to the demonic dragon's power.'
He had clearly found a path to spreading it throughout his entire body.
While enduring the pressure of the 9th floor, the dark-red energy had spread to his chest, back, and waist.
It had not fully settled in yet, but a few more similar bouts of strain should be enough to satisfy the second condition before long.
Just as Sang-hyeok was about to close the information window, a new notification followed.
「You have reached Lv.10.」
「A new growth zone is now unlocked.」
[10th-floor restricted Cooperative Battlefield]
[Entry requirement: Lv.10 or higher]
[Default Match Size: 4 Players]
[Levels do not increase in the Cooperative Battlefield.]
[Merit and special rewards are granted based on battlefield contribution.]
[Restricted Cooperative Battlefields open only on designated floors.]
[Cooperative Battlefield Unlock Points for Floors in the 10s]
[10th floor / 15th floor]
[Entering a Cooperative Battlefield does not consume a Solo Climb challenge pass.]
[Cooperative Battlefields already unlocked can be challenged repeatedly.]
Sang-hyeok slowly read through the newly unlocked information.
Among the floors in the 10s, Cooperative Battlefields unlocked on Floors 10 and 15.
They were stages where four players in the same level bracket worked together toward a shared objective.
They did not grant levels, but players could earn merit and special rewards based on contribution.
They also did not consume a Solo Climb challenge pass, so they would not interfere with his plan of one floor per day.
'What I've been waiting for is finally open.'
He had already confirmed thoroughly how strong <Erasure> was when fighting alone.
Now it was time to see how large a gap he could create when placed on the same battlefield as players in his level bracket.
It was also his first cooperative battle since regressing.
Before reaching Lv.20 and entering the Channel League, he needed to see how well he could work with other players at his current strength.
Of course, he had no intention of merely gaining some experience and leaving.
He fully intended to secure the top contribution spot and the special reward.
Conveniently, in the Floor 10 Cooperative Battlefield <Frozen Gorge>, the farther a player moved beyond the Warmth Core's protection, the faster the status condition <Freeze> accumulated.
If he could endure that pressure while spreading the demonic dragon's power through his entire body, he would be able to satisfy the second condition as well.
'I'll take everything there is to gain.'
Sang-hyeok brought up the entry guide.
[Will you enter the first restricted Cooperative Battlefield?]
[Your public name and appearance can be set before entry.]
[If your appearance is set to private, you may select a protective appearance provided by the system.]
[Protective appearances have no separate equipment effects.]
Sang-hyeok's gaze lingered on the appearance-privacy guide.
Entering a Cooperative Battlefield and revealing his identity were separate matters.
Sang-hyeok set his public name to Undisclosed and hid his appearance.
[Select a protective appearance.]
Several protective appearances appeared one after another.
Mist that covered the face, and a hood pulled down low.
There were also a white mask and an iron half-mask.
Sang-hyeok's gaze stopped on the final figure.
It was a black mask with neither eyes nor mouth carved into it.
[Protective Appearance: Black Mask]
"I'll go with this."
The moment he selected it, the black mask covered Sang-hyeok's face.
He felt no weight.
It did not obstruct his vision either.
After finishing the settings, Sang-hyeok focused his will.
'Enter.'
「Transferring to the waiting area of the 10th-floor restricted Cooperative Battlefield.」
FLASH!
The white settlement space was swallowed by dazzling light.
Within it, Sang-hyeok's figure vanished completely.
* * *
At the same time.
A new entry appeared on the 9th-floor public record board.
[South Korea / Undisclosed Player]
[Floor 9 Conquest Rating: SSS]
[Clear time: 02:39]
[Number of Stops: 0]
[Current level: Lv.10]
The players waiting for the record to update captured the screen first.
The same content spread rapidly across multiple channels.
[Korea/Lv.42] Soju in Rice Soup : Floor 9 is SSS too. Cleared in 2 minutes 39 seconds. Whoa. This record is insane too.
[Korea/Lv.33] Newbie Protection Squad : Wait. So it's SSS on every floor from 1 to 9?
[Korea/Lv.42] Soju in Rice Soup : Yeah. Nine floors in a row.
The flood of messages slowed briefly.
An unbroken streak of SSS ratings from Floor 1 through Floor 9.
Among them, on Floors 1 and 5, he had even achieved complete conquests of a hidden battlefield and a hidden trial.
The trial format had been different every time.
But Impossible One's rating had never changed.
[Korea/Lv.33] Newbie Protection Squad : At this point, isn't Impossible One a genuine next-generation Celestial Seat candidate?
[USA/Lv.61] IronJack : They're still on the 9th floor. There are countless super rookies who flashed through the early floors and then had their streaks cut off.
[Korea/Lv.42] Soju in Rice Soup : Did those super rookies hit two impossible achievements at Lv.1 and achieve two complete conquests of hidden content?
[China/Lv.68] Beijing Swordsman : It's true they have a special talent. Still, to talk about a Celestial Seat, you'd have to at least see them reach the 20th floor.
[Korea/Lv.33] Newbie Protection Squad : So at this rate, aren't they going to match Limitless's 20-streak and break the record on the 21st floor?
The current public record for consecutive SSS ratings in Solo Climb was 20, set by the current Second Seat <Limitless> during his rookie days.
No one had yet managed to carry the highest rating through to the 21st floor.
[Korea/Lv.47] Limitless Record Preservation Society : Now you're comparing a rookie who just hit Floor 9 to Limitless? LOL. That's total bullshit. Nope. Go look at the difficulty of Floor 21 first.
[Korea/Lv.52] Only Watches Limitless Videos : I'll admit Impossible One is impressive. Still, no one has ever broken Limitless's 20-SSS streak.
[Korea/Lv.42] Soju in Rice Soup : How many times has that "no one has ever done it" line been broken against Impossible One?
For now, the majority reaction was that even bringing up Limitless's record was premature.
Still, every time Impossible One extended his record by one floor, Limitless's 20-streak SSS began to be mentioned alongside it.
While the debate continued, the topic shifted to the Cooperative Battlefield that had just opened at Lv.10.
[Japan/Lv.55] Tsukikage : So the 10th-floor Cooperative Battlefield has opened now.
[Korea/Lv.33] Newbie Protection Squad : Are we finally getting someone who saw Impossible One in person?
[Japan/Lv.55] Tsukikage : If they went in today, the first eyewitness account should appear.
[Korea/Lv.33] Newbie Protection Squad : I'm holding out till an eyewitness report drops.
Until now, all people had been able to confirm was the clear time and the rating.
Neither his public name nor his face was known, nor what equipment and Authorities he had used to set those records.
But in a Cooperative Battlefield, he would have to fight in the same space as other players.
Even if he could keep his public name Undisclosed and retain the protective appearance, he could not hide his fighting style.
[China/Lv.68] Beijing Swordsman : Don't get ahead of yourselves based only on Solo Trial records. Cooperative Battlefields and the Channel League aren't content you can clear through solo skill alone.
[Japan/Lv.55] Tsukikage : That's true. Solo Climb and multi-player combat are different.
[Korea/Lv.42] Soju in Rice Soup : That's exactly why I want to see it—whether they dominate a Cooperative Battlefield the same way they dominate solo fights.
[USA/Lv.61] IronJack : If they take the top contribution spot in a Cooperative Battlefield too, expectations for the Iron Rookie League will change as well.
[Korea/Lv.33] Newbie Protection Squad : First, anyone who gets matched into their group today, give us a review.
As soon as Impossible One cleared even the 9th floor with SSS and reached Lv.10, PlayerNet's attention immediately turned to the Cooperative Battlefield.
Would the man who had swept the Solo Trials show an overwhelming performance on a battlefield where he fought alongside other players?
The three people who would confirm that answer before anyone else were already waiting to be matched.
* * *
At the same time.
The waiting area for the Floor 10 restricted Cooperative Battlefield <Frozen Gorge>.
Restricted Cooperative Battlefields were separate growth zones that opened only on Floors 10 and 15 among the floors in the 10s.
They were also designed to let players practice coordinating with others before entering the Channel League at Lv.20.
In a Cooperative Battlefield, levels did not rise, but the same battlefield could be cleared repeatedly.
Since mastering the basic strategy allowed players to gather tower materials and crafting resources relatively reliably, many players remained here even after their first clear.
They could return even after leveling up.
But since matching only occurred among players of the same level, and the battlefield difficulty scaled up to their current level, the efficiency of repeated clears dropped sharply.
Especially for players without guild or corporate support, Lv.10 was the best time to secure equipment and consumables.
That was why thoroughly farming gear and materials before climbing to the next floor had become an unwritten rule among low-floor players.
The three people waiting for their final party member in the circular stone chamber were staying at Lv.10 for the same reason.
[Current match size: 3/4]
"Baren," who wore a gray coat over metal armor, inspected the edge of his round shield.
Including this run, this was already Baren's 16th attempt here.
The flame mage in a red robe, 'Hongryeon,' was on her 12th run.
"BlessingsAreNotFree," wearing a blue shawl over white priest robes, was waiting for his 24th run.
Seeing the clear counts displayed in the matchmaking window, Baren joked.
"Twenty-four runs — haven't you basically set up housekeeping here?"
At Baren's joke, BlessingsAreNotFree smiled wryly.
"I need money to buy mana recovery potions and gear suited for the next floor. I'm hoping some crafting material that fetches a decent price drops this time."
Hongryeon looked at the last remaining matching slot.
"It'd be nice if the last person is a flame mage too."
Baren raised an eyebrow.
"Are you aiming for the <Permafrost Core>?"
"If I get the chance. Leaving with only the basic rewards every time has me thinking about the complete conquest reward."
The complete-conquest condition for <Frozen Gorge> was destroying the <Permafrost Core>.
But so far, not a single party had broken that core.
"Once you leave the Warmth Core's range, <Freeze> keeps accumulating. You can't even get halfway to where the core is before your body freezes over."
BlessingsAreNotFree nodded as well.
"Even with my mitigation ability applied continuously, all it did was slightly slow the rate at which <Freeze> stacked."
Even if one endured <Freeze> and reached the core, destroying it was another problem entirely.
Hongryeon added.
"Last time, there was one more flame mage besides me. The two of us barely made it to the front of the core and poured fire into it, but the surface that melted froze right back over."
It was a core that even ice-melting flame magic could not scratch.
There was a reason no one had recorded a complete conquest even four years after the Infinite Tower appeared.
Hongryeon let out a sigh, then suddenly looked at the matching window.
"Come to think of it, Impossible One hit Lv.10 today, right?"
"That's right."
Baren's eyes lit up.
"If they entered a Cooperative Battlefield right away, they might be in the matchmaking queue now."
"Wouldn't it be amazing if they landed in our group?"
BlessingsAreNotFree, who had been listening to the two of them, tilted his head.
"Who is Impossible One?"
Hongryeon stared at him as if she couldn't believe it.
"You don't know Impossible One? Didn't you see the achievement notice that popped up recently?"
"They're an undisclosed Korean player who destroyed two supposedly indestructible targets in the tutorial and earned SSS on every floor from Floor 1 through Floor 9."
After hearing Baren's explanation, BlessingsAreNotFree let out a late exclamation.
"Ah, that achievement notice. So that person is called Impossible One?"
"Yes. The 9th-floor record went up today, so he might come into his first Cooperative Battlefield."
It was right then.
Ding.
The last empty slot in the matching window floating in the center of the stone chamber lit up.
[South Korea / Lv.10 / Public Name: Undisclosed]
"Huh?"
[4-player matching complete.]
A white pillar of light descended on one side of the stone chamber.
When the light faded, Sang-hyeok appeared, wearing a black mask with neither eyes nor mouth.
The three of them looked back and forth between Sang-hyeok and the Undisclosed marker in the matchmaking window.
After a brief silence.
Hongryeon cautiously spoke.
"Are you...... Impossible One?"