Chapter 31
Chapter 31
The next morning.
A post on the PlayerNet forum shot to the top in an instant.
[Impossible One <Flawless Climb> Tracking]
[Current Record: Solo Climb SSS 19 Consecutive]
[Public Best Record: 2nd Seat <Limitless> / 20 Consecutive]
[To Best Record: 1 More]
[Korea/Lv.24] Set Three Alarms: Today's the day Impossible One challenges the 20th floor, right?
[Korea/Lv.42] Soju in Rice Soup: Impossible One hasn't taken a single day off so far. Probably going in today too.
[Korea/Lv.31] Refreshing the Record Board: The atmosphere's already set for SSS. You know the 20th-floor boss is Lv.22, right?
[Korea/Lv.38] Bathroom Before the Boss Room: Impossible One took down Tokyo Golden Dragon bare-handed yesterday even after that Celestial Seat mark. A Lv.22 ogre's not gonna be a problem lol
[Korea/Lv.55] Cheongwol: A team victory and a Solo Climb SSS are different things. Getting an SSS rating against a boss monster two levels higher isn't as easy as it sounds.
[Korea/Lv.33] Newbie Protection Squad: Still, SSS seems likely. I'm more curious whether Impossible One will break Limitless's 20th-floor record.
Refreshing the Record Board soon posted Limitless's 20th-floor record in a comment.
[Floor 20 <Beast King’s Arena> Public Detailed Record]
[Record Holder: Second Seat <Limitless>]
[Clear Time: 01:21]
[Times Hit: 0]
[Rating: SSS]
[Korea/Lv.31] Refreshing the Record Board: 1 minute 21 seconds! Can Impossible One really break this record too?
[Korea/Lv.38] Bathroom Before the Boss Room: Hmmmm. I think Impossible One will at least tie the 20-streak, but I'm not sure the time can be cut down that much.
[Korea/Lv.42] Soju in Rice Soup: Don't you remember everyone saying the same thing on the 11th floor? lol The result was a 4-second improvement.
[Korea/Lv.27] Recovery Potion After Work: The 11th floor was different. This time Impossible One has to take down a Lv.22 Beast King within 1 minute 21 seconds.
[Korea/Lv.24] Set Three Alarms: It's the Authority that erased even the Golden Dragon entirely, so a Lv.22 Beast King is nothing lol I'll bet my hand on a sub-1-minute clear!
Few people doubted the twentieth SSS.
The attention was focused on whether Sang-hyeok would stop at standing shoulder to shoulder with Limitless, or whether he would also smash the 20th-floor clear time.
Solo Climb attempts couldn't be watched in real time.
People kept the public record board and the tracking post open side by side and waited for the results to appear.
Meanwhile, the post's view count jumped every time it was refreshed.
[Current Post Views: 28,711]
[Current Post Views: 31,204]
At that moment.
Sang-hyeok had already entered the 20th-floor arena.
* * *
Floor 20.
The Beast King’s Arena.
Thick yellowish-brown sand covered the floor of the wide circular arena.
At its center, a massive ogre with black horns glared at Sang-hyeok, gripping a mace.
[Black-Horn Ogre King]
[Lv.22]
[Basic Objective]
- Defeat the Beast King.
[Hidden Objective]
- Force the Beast King to surrender without killing it.
The hidden objective matched exactly with the unlock condition for <Demonic Dragon’s Dominance> that he had confirmed the day before.
If he could bring the ogre king before him to its knees while keeping it alive, he could obtain the twentieth SSS and a new Authority together.
<Demonic Dragon’s Dominance> was still only a candidate.
It wasn't a power he could simply decide to use and pull out immediately.
Still, the sensation from the 15th floor, when the Masterless Legion had bowed their heads to him, remained in his heart.
This time as well, he only needed to draw out the power sleeping in his heart and make the demonic creature before him realize the stature of the <Apocalypse Demonic Dragon>.
'I'll figure it out by trying.'
Ding!
The bell signaling the start of the trial rang out.
"Graaaaaah!"
The Black-Horn Ogre King roared and raised its massive mace high.
Sang-hyeok looked straight into the creature's red eyes and drew up the power from within his chest.
Thump.
The Heart of the Apocalypse Demonic Dragon beat powerfully.
Dark-red mana burst from his body and surged over the ogre king.
"Gruk?"
The roar cut off abruptly.
The arm raising the mace also stopped above its head for a moment.
[The Black-Horn Ogre King senses the stature of the <Apocalypse Demonic Dragon>.]
[The target resists the incomplete authority.]
Fear flickered through the ogre king's red eyes.
But the creature soon shook its head violently and roared even louder.
"Graaaaaah!"
The halted mace came crashing down toward Sang-hyeok's head.
Whooosh!
The moment the mace descended, Sang-hyeok stepped into the ogre king's guard.
With his right hand he seized the wrist gripping the mace, and with his left he pushed the elbow, redirecting the attack to the side.
Boom!
The mace slammed down right beside Sang-hyeok.
Sang-hyeok pulled the captured wrist downward.
As the ogre king lurched forward off balance, he drove his shoulder under the creature's armpit.
"Gruk?"
Sang-hyeok straightened his legs and twisted his hips.
The massive body lifted over his shoulder and flipped through the air.
Whoosh!
Crash!
The Black-Horn Ogre King slammed onto the ground back-first.
The arena shook violently and sand burst outward in all directions.
"Guuurk!"
The ogre king gasped in pain but did not let go of the mace.
It braced against the floor and pushed itself up, glaring savagely at Sang-hyeok.
'It did work.'
The ogre king had stopped its attack, if only for an instant.
It wasn't yet completed as a formal Authority, but the stature of the <Apocalypse Demonic Dragon> had clearly pressed down on the creature's instincts.
However, Sang-hyeok had also expended a considerable amount of mana.
It was because he had forcibly drawn out a power he wasn't yet accustomed to.
Still, the method wasn't wrong.
He just needed to break the creature's will to resist first, then try again.
The Black-Horn Ogre King swung its mace horizontally the moment it stood up.
Whooosh!
Sang-hyeok ducked low to avoid the mace, then slipped into the creature's guard.
The instant the massive mace grazed above his head, his right hand pressed against the side of the iron mass.
'<Erasure>.'
Hssssss!
The massive iron mass crumbled black from the point where his palm touched it.
Before the Black-Horn Ogre King could even pull the mace back, the head had vanished entirely.
"Gruuk?!"
The creature stared down at the remaining handle in its hand as if it couldn't believe it.
It soon hurled the empty handle aside and lowered itself onto all fours.
Its two forward-tilted horns aimed at Sang-hyeok's chest.
"Graaaaaaah!"
Boom!
The Black-Horn Ogre King kicked off the ground and charged.
Sang-hyeok did not retreat, extending both hands forward.
Crash!
Sang-hyeok seized the charging ogre king's two horns with both hands.
Sand sprayed out from beneath his feet.
But Sang-hyeok did not take a single step back.
The ogre king's charge came to a complete stop.
"Gruk?"
The creature's red eyes flew wide open.
Even as its thick neck and shoulders swelled with effort, it could not push Sang-hyeok back.
Holding the two horns, Sang-hyeok recalled the moment on the 15th floor when he had stopped the legion soldiers.
This time, he focused on a single command.
'Submit.'
Thump!
The Heart of the Apocalypse Demonic Dragon beat again.
Dark-red mana poured from Sang-hyeok's body and pressed down on the ogre king.
[The stature of the <Apocalypse Demonic Dragon> presses on the Black-Horn Ogre King's instincts.]
[The target resists the incomplete authority.]
The ogre king's body trembled violently.
The creature bared its teeth and endured, but it could not shake off the pressure as quickly as before.
Crunch.
Sang-hyeok took a step forward.
The ogre king's two feet slid back across the sand.
One step.
Another step.
As Sang-hyeok pressed the horns downward, the massive head slowly lowered.
The right knee, which had held out to the end, finally touched the ground.
Thud!
"Graaagh!"
The ogre king let out a roar full of fury.
But unlike before, it could not swing its fist at Sang-hyeok.
The fear rising from deep within its instincts was greater than the rage burning in its red eyes.
Sang-hyeok released the two horns and stepped back.
Simply forcing the creature down couldn't be called surrender.
Now the choice belonged to the ogre king.
Sang-hyeok gave a short command.
"Kneel."
"Grrrrrr...!"
The ogre king's fists trembled.
The creature tensed its thighs as if to stand again.
But the moment it saw Sang-hyeok's two hands, its red eyes wavered.
It had been those two hands that erased the mace and stopped its charge.
When its eyes met Sang-hyeok's, the mouth that had been baring its teeth slowly closed.
A moment later.
Thud.
The Black-Horn Ogre King finally knelt with its other knee on the sand as well.
Then it placed both large hands on the ground and lowered its head before Sang-hyeok of its own accord.
[The Black-Horn Ogre King has lost its will to fight.]
[The Beast King surrenders.]
[Basic Objective achieved.]
[Beast King defeat acknowledged.]
[Hidden Objective achieved.]
[You forced the Beast King to surrender without killing it.]
Sang-hyeok withdrew the power he had drawn up within his chest.
The Black-Horn Ogre King did not raise its head even after that.
Soon the trial results appeared.
[Floor 20 Solo Trial: <Beast King’s Arena>]
[Clear Time: 00:52]
[Times Hit: 0]
[Beast King Status: Alive / Surrendered]
[Conquest Rating: SSS]
[The Floor 20 public best clear time is updated.]
[Previous Record]
[2nd Seat <Limitless>: 01:21]
[New Record]
[South Korea / Public Name Undisclosed: 00:52]
He had beaten Limitless's record by 29 seconds.
[Solo Climb SSS Rating: 20 Consecutive]
[The special cumulative record <Flawless Climb> is updated.]
[You have reached the public best record.]
[You are now tied for 1st place with 2nd Seat <Limitless>.]
「Your level has increased.」
[Lv.20 → Lv.21]
Then the notification he had been waiting for appeared.
[You have met the unlock condition for the candidate Authority <Demonic Dragon’s Dominance>.]
[Consuming 3 Authority Factors.]
[Authority Factors Held: 0]
[The Authority <Demonic Dragon’s Dominance> is being unlocked.]
Thump.
The Heart of the Apocalypse Demonic Dragon beat again.
This time, there was no need to struggle to draw out the power.
When Sang-hyeok looked at the Black-Horn Ogre King, dark-red mana immediately pressed down on the creature.
The shoulders of the bowing Black-Horn Ogre King trembled violently.
It spread both hands flat against the ground and lowered its body further, until its black horns nearly touched the sand.
Even in its incomplete state, the power had stopped and subdued a Beast King whose level was higher than Sang-hyeok's.
Now that <Demonic Dragon’s Dominance> had become a formal Authority, it would surely display even greater power against large numbers of weaker demonic creatures.
The notifications did not end there.
「A <Flawless Climb> 20-consecutive bonus is being granted.」
[You have obtained 1 <Irregular Battlefield Selection Ticket>.]
「A hidden objective bonus reward is being granted.」
[You have obtained 1 <Authority Enhancement Ticket Fragment>.]
[Current Assembly Progress: 3/3]
[Assembly conditions met.]
[You have obtained 1 <Authority Enhancement Ticket>.]
The completed enhancement ticket could raise one Authority below stage 5 by one stage.
Sang-hyeok decided to test the newly acquired <Demonic Dragon’s Dominance> further in actual combat before choosing which Authority to enhance.
A moment later, white light descended over the arena.
The Black-Horn Ogre King vanished into the light, its head bowed to the very end.
* * *
At the same moment.
The public record board on PlayerNet updated.
[Floor 20 <Beast King’s Arena>]
[Record Holder: South Korea / Public Name Undisclosed]
[Clear Time: 00:52]
[Times Hit: 0]
[Rating: SSS]
[Solo Climb SSS 20 Consecutive]
[Tied for 1st with 2nd Seat <Limitless>]
Below that, one unexpected item was attached.
[Special Clear Record]
[Beast King’s Surrender]
[First Achievement]
For a few seconds after the record appeared, the comments went silent.
The first to break the silence was Set Three Alarms.
[Korea/Lv.24] Set Three Alarms: 52 seconds!!! Did you see that? My hand is safe!!
[Korea/Lv.31] Refreshing the Record Board: 29 seconds faster than Limitless's record. And the 20-streak tie for 1st is confirmed. Whoa...
[Korea/Lv.38] Bathroom Before the Boss Room: Wtf, 52 seconds is crazy enough, but surrender? Impossible One didn't kill the Beast King?
[Korea/Lv.27] Recovery Potion After Work: Not even 52 seconds by killing it—Impossible One got it to surrender while keeping it alive? That makes even less sense;;;;
[Korea/Lv.55] Cheongwol: A first-ever special clear record was added. Looks like Impossible One found the hidden objective.
[Korea/Lv.42] Soju in Rice Soup: We were all just arguing about beating Limitless's time lol and Impossible One went and made the Beast King kneel.
[Korea/Lv.33] Newbie Protection Squad: Whoa!! Everyone else just kills it and ends it, but Impossible One gets a surrender instead. That's Impossible One's style!!!
[Korea/Lv.30] Ordinary Man’s Calculator: An ordinary man's calculations had no option for making the Beast King kneel. My calculator is shattered...
[Korea/Lv.24] Set Three Alarms: A 20-streak tie, 29 seconds faster, and the first surrender all at once? Wow, Impossible One really surprises people in a different way every time.
The post title changed immediately as well.
[Impossible One <Flawless Climb> Tracking]
[2nd Seat <Limitless> Record Tie Achieved]
[Next Goal: Solo Climb SSS 21 Consecutive / All-Time New Record]
Not even a full minute had passed since the twentieth SSS appeared.
People were already waiting for the twenty-first record and starting to search for information on the next floor's strategy.
* * *
At that moment.
Before Sang-hyeok's eyes, back in the settlement space, floated the selection ticket he had just received.
[<Irregular Battlefield Selection Ticket> Held: 1]
[Selectable Candidates: 2]
[Would you like to check the Irregular Battlefield list?]
"Confirm."
[Loading selectable Irregular Battlefields.]