Chapter 5
Chapter 5
Before he could even check the three rewards, South Korea's national achievement status had updated.
[Projected point shortfall decreases from 150,000 to 30,000.]
[Projected large-scale rift occurrence zone: exited.]
Sang-hyeok's gaze stopped on the second notification.
20,000 points from destroying the Adamant Dummy.
100,000 points from defeating the Indestructible Guardian.
Combined, that was 120,000 points.
If the shortfall exceeded 100,000 points when the quarterly settlement ended, a large-scale rift could occur.
Immediately after his regression, Korea had been short by 150,000 points—far beyond that threshold.
That number had now dropped to 30,000.
The small and mid-sized rifts scheduled to open this quarter had not all disappeared.
Still, the possibility of a large-scale rift that could endanger an entire city had been erased.
His first day back.
He had only cleared a single tutorial.
"Whew."
Sang-hyeok let out a long breath.
The corners of his lips, now lifted, refused to come back down.
The future had changed.
This was not vague hope.
The numbers displayed by the system had actually moved.
If he could fill the remaining 30,000 points, then for the first time, no rift would open in Korea this quarter.
He would repeat the same thing next quarter.
The differences accumulated that way would save Korea's players and its cities.
Sang-hyeok closed the notifications that had appeared.
Fwoosh.
The light scattered in the air gathered above his palm.
A black stone tablet the size of his hand and an old, dark-red key revealed themselves.
Sang-hyeok picked up the black stone tablet first.
Its surface was engraved with a pattern resembling a closed eye.
[Item Information]
[Name] <Demonic Eye Record Stone>
[Grade] Heroic
[Bound to] Kim Sang-hyeok
[Description]
- Can record structural information observed with <Demonic Dragon’s Eye>.
- Recorded information cannot be viewed without the user's permission.
"Heroic grade?"
Sang-hyeok's eyes gleamed.
In the Infinite Tower, items were divided into six standard grades.
Common. Elite. Rare. Heroic. Legendary. Mythic.
Separate from those, there were two special classifications that did not fit on the standard grade table.
<Throne> and <Forbidden>.
<Throne> was the power of a Throne given physical form.
<Forbidden> was something even the tower itself sealed away and monitored.
Neither was simply a measure of strength or weakness.
In any case, eight out of every ten items that came from the tower were <Common>.
Even obtaining an <Elite> item made for excellent primary equipment for an early-stage player.
From Rare grade upward, guilds and corporations fought over items at auction.
A single Heroic-grade piece of equipment could change a guild's reputation.
Even among rankers, there were plenty who had never obtained a Heroic-grade item.
And he had gotten his hands on such an object in the tutorial.
Sang-hyeok channeled mana into the record stone, recalling the Indestructible Guardian from moments before.
Shhk.
The closed-eye pattern opened.
Above the black stone tablet, the Indestructible Guardian appeared.
'How much does it show me?'
Sang-hyeok activated his newly opened Authority.
'<Demonic Dragon’s Eye: Structural Analysis>.'
The moment he used the Authority, both of Sang-hyeok's eyes grew hot.
At the same time, the guardian's left ankle and forehead inside the tablet glowed red.
They were the two weak points he had located with <Demonic Dragon’s Eye> during the battle moments ago.
Then the function of each weak point was displayed in short phrases.
[Left ankle: balance maintenance]
[Forehead: outer-layer regeneration and full-body control]
During the battle, they had only appeared as red weak points.
Now he could see what role each weak point served.
'So this is Structural Analysis.'
When Sang-hyeok sent his intent, the area he wanted enlarged.
Within the observed range, he could also rewind the target's changes to any moment he chose.
Even after withdrawing the Authority, the record did not disappear.
As long as he granted viewing permission, others could examine the same record again and again.
'I can take what I saw and hand it over as is.'
Before the regression, Ilseong had money and factories.
But it lacked the data to accurately study the monsters and devices inside the tower.
Player memories and combat footage alone had their limits, and as those gaps accumulated, the company had fallen behind in the equipment industry as well.
But now, with the record stone, he could fill in the missing data one piece at a time.
Ilseong had found a way to compete in the equipment industry again.
Of course, this single record would not immediately become a blueprint for equipment.
Still, Kim Seo-yun and the research team could begin their work with far more accurate data than before.
'I bring the data, and Sis finds the answers in it.'
The first record was the Indestructible Guardian.
For now, it was closer to strategy material, but Sang-hyeok had confirmed what the record stone was capable of.
From here on, every time he climbed the tower and encountered new equipment, materials, and devices, the records would keep accumulating.
That meant Ilseong's research could begin from a very different starting point than before.
Sang-hyeok sent his intent and finalized the first record.
[Observation record of <Indestructible Guardian> saved.]
Sang-hyeok added the newly confirmed mana-flow sequence to the record stone as well.
The red lines flared once more, then sank into the tablet.
Next was the dark-red key.
The moment he held it, a cold metallic sensation reached his hand.
Sang-hyeok opened the key's information.
[Item Information]
[Name] <Seal Key of the Demonic Dragon Treasury>
[Grade] Pending
[Status] Sealed
[Bound to] Kim Sang-hyeok
[Usage conditions not met.]
Sang-hyeok spun the key once between his fingers.
Grade: pending.
It meant that with his current qualifications, he could not even confirm this object's grade.
'The Demonic Dragon Treasury.'
Treasury.
A storehouse where treasure was kept.
And the name attached to it was Demonic Dragon.
Sang-hyeok's Trait was <Heart of the Apocalypse Demonic Dragon>.
This was not a combination he could dismiss as coincidence.
For now, he could not even tell where the door was.
The conditions for using the key were locked as well.
Still, now that it was in his hands, he would be able to confirm it someday.
"A treasure vault, huh."
Sang-hyeok laughed quietly.
His first Authority was not the only thing he had gained from the tutorial.
He had reduced Korea's point shortfall and obtained a research asset to build up Ilseong.
And at the end of it all, the Demonic Dragon Treasury—whose very nature was still unknown—was waiting.
Sang-hyeok stored the record stone and the key in his inventory.
And at that moment.
PlayerNet's Eastern and Western channels came to a halt at the same time, as if by agreement.
[All-Channel Notice — East and West]
[Impossible Achievement Attained]
[A player affiliated with South Korea has defeated an entity that was not designated for defeat.]
[The Indestructible Guardian has been annihilated.]
[South Korea Achievement Points +100,000]
No messages appeared beneath the notice.
One second.
Two seconds.
Three seconds.
The first to break the silence was an American player.
[USA/Lv.52] Raven : Wait. Annihilated?
[Germany/Lv.61] Eisen : The Indestructible Guardian is an entity that can't be defeated... isn't it?
[UK/Lv.58] Gray : The notice literally says it wasn't a defeat target. What is this? Did the notice glitch?
[Japan/Lv.64] Tsubaki : I have never once heard of the system glitching. More importantly, is this the same Korean player who broke the Adamant Dummy?
[China/Lv.63] Unryu : Given the affiliated nation and the time of occurrence, it's highly likely the same person.
[USA/Lv.56] Johnny : You're telling me someone broke the Adamant Dummy in the tutorial and then took down the Indestructible Guardian too?
Only then did the channel explode.
New messages instantly shoved aside the old ones.
Dozens of languages flooded a single screen.
The Indestructible Guardian.
Even the current Sixteen Celestial Seats had passed it by without fighting during their own tutorials.
The objective had never been to defeat it—only to survive for ten minutes.
And now, for the first time, that entity had been brought down.
[USA/Lv.52] Raven : Hold on. At this point, isn't this seriously a 10th-tier Trait?
[China/Lv.63] Unryu : It is a record that's hard to explain with the existing tiers, that's true.
[USA/Lv.56] Johnny : So you're saying a 10th-tier player just appeared in Korea???
[Germany/Lv.61] Eisen : Too early to conclude. But now that the Indestructible Guardian has been annihilated, we have to keep the possibility open.
Just then, a message from a Korean player appeared.
[Korea/Lv.48] Baekho : National status updated. Projected shortfall is 30,000. We're out of the large-scale rift zone.
The rapidly scrolling messages slowed once more.
A 10th-tier Trait.
An impossible achievement.
A record that not even the Sixteen Celestial Seats had set.
For Korean players, the number 30,000 hit home before any of those words did.
[Korea/Lv.41] Cheolgeom : Wait... that new player filled 120,000 points alone? Am I reading this right?
[Korea/Lv.48] Baekho : That's right! Thanks to that person, the large-scale rift threat is gone for this quarter!
[Korea/Lv.41] Cheolgeom : Aaaah! One tutorial and they stopped a large-scale rift in our country? I don't know who you are, but thank you! T_T
Starting with Cheolgeom's last message, posts tagged [Korea] poured out all at once.
Some checked the number 30,000 over and over, while others thanked a player whose name they did not even know.
What mattered most to Korea's players was the fact that this quarter, a large-scale rift that could threaten a city had disappeared.
Once the cheers and thanks had passed, new questions rose in their place.
Which guild were they from?
Was this a player the Korean association had been secretly developing?
Could they keep earning National Achievement Points going forward?
No one had the answers.
Only two pieces of information were public.
Affiliated nation.
South Korea.
Public name.
Undisclosed.
[USA/Lv.52] Raven : By the way, aren't we forgetting something? There were people who bet something on the guardian being unbeatable.
[USA/Lv.56] Johnny : Ah, Paegeom?
[USA/Lv.52] Raven : Yeah. Said he'd bet his entire fortune.
[China/Lv.69] Paegeom : Shut up.
[USA/Lv.56] Johnny : And Haru said they'd bet one of their two precious things.
[Japan/Lv.51] Haru : That wasn't me.
[UK/Lv.58] Gray : The record is still there.
[Japan/Lv.51] Haru : My account got hacked.
[USA/Lv.56] Johnny : LOL
Messages teasing Paegeom and Haru continued for a while.
But no one managed to figure out who the anonymous Korean player was.
* * *
At the same time.
When the all-channel notice ended, a separate notification appeared before the eyes of the Sixteen Celestial Seats.
[A 10th-tier compatibility reaction outside the Throne path has been detected.]
[Not a registered candidate for the Sixteen Celestial Seats.]
[Classification: Non-Seat Candidate / Irregular]
[Forwarding results to higher adjudication system.]
A white-haired man seated in a high-backed chair opened his eyes.
The metal ornament resting atop his head reflected a faint golden light.
The man's finger stopped in front of the third notification.
Non-Seat candidate.
Only a very small number of people could obtain the power of the 10th tier.
The Sixteen Celestial Seats had spent their time keeping each other in check, each trying to seize one of those few opportunities.
Even a single new official candidate was enough to alter everyone's plans.
The one who had appeared this time was not even on the candidate list.
The tower had classified this unidentified player as a non-Seat candidate and an Irregular.
The white-haired man read the achievement record that followed beneath the notification.
[Achievement Name: One Who Achieved the Impossible]
[Achiever: Undisclosed]
[Affiliated Nation: South Korea]
"They defeated the Indestructible Guardian?"
The man's gaze lingered on the last two lines.
Undisclosed.
South Korea.
An attendant who had been waiting behind the chair stepped forward.
The white-haired man pointed at the line that read South Korea.
"Find out who this player is."
* * *
[All reward confirmations complete.]
[The tutorial is ending.]
[Returning player Kim Sang-hyeok to reality coordinates.]
White light surged up from beneath Sang-hyeok's feet.
The gray space and the system notifications vanished into the light.
Vrrr. Vrrr.
When the light cleared, he heard his phone vibrating.
Sang-hyeok was standing in the same room as before he had entered the tower.
The phone on the desk shifted slightly with each vibration.
The screen was stacked with unread breaking-news alerts.
[Breaking] Anonymous player affiliated with South Korea achieves impossible achievement
[Breaking] Indestructible Guardian defeated...... first time in tutorial history
[Breaking] South Korea's projected point shortfall drops to 30,000
[Breaking] Korea Players Association begins efforts to identify the anonymous player
Sang-hyeok skimmed the articles quickly from the top.
Speculation about the impossible achievement and a 10th-tier Trait.
Statements from association and government officials saying the anonymous player must be found.
Even analysis that Korea had escaped the large-scale rift zone for this quarter.
The results he had just confirmed inside the tower were spreading into the real world.
The association and the government had started looking for him, but for now, he had no intention of revealing his name.
To protect his family and block the advances of foreign powers, he needed to become stronger than he was now.
Korea, too, needed to become a country capable of protecting its own players.
The 120,000 points he had earned this time were the start of that.
The remaining shortfall was 30,000 points.
There was still time to earn more before the quarterly settlement.
'I just need to climb higher in the tower.'
He would find out for himself how many points he could earn.
Sang-hyeok moved his finger to clear the breaking-news alerts.
[Ilseong Group Standard-Issue Mana Defense Equipment: One Day Until First Delivery Inspection]
[Related article] 'Defect allegations' ahead of association Field Suitability Verification
[Industry insider: "A major variable in Ilseong's return to the player equipment market"]
Sang-hyeok's finger stopped.
The article photo showed Ilseong Group's headquarters alongside a wrist-guard-shaped prototype.
In the photo, the Ilseong emblem at the top of the headquarters was still shining brightly.
Seeing that light brought back a memory from before the regression—the test building with its lights off.
Prototypes had been tossed carelessly onto the floor, and every crate had been marked with red seal stickers.
On the wall screen, the final test result had been displayed.
[First Field Suitability Verification: Unfit]
Before the regression, Ilseong had failed this very verification the next day.
Standard inspections had shown no problems at all.
But the moment a monster's mana touched it, the barrier had shaken violently, and the equipment had heated up before shutting down.
That single failure had cost them their qualification for the second-round comparative performance evaluation.
The follow-up inspections and contract opportunities had gone to their competitors.
Ilseong's equipment business had begun to collapse from that point on.
That defect had not been an accidental malfunction.
Someone had planted a trap inside the prototype.
It was a device that caused no problems under normal conditions, but the instant monster mana entered, it shut off the barrier.
Taeseong Group had been behind it.
Before the regression, rumors suspecting Taeseong's involvement had only circulated after Ilseong had already failed.
By then, the verification and all follow-up opportunities were already over.
But now, there was one day left until the verification.
This time, there was time to act.
That said, Sang-hyeok did not know exactly where in the equipment the trap was hidden, or precisely how it disabled the barrier.
Still, there was a way to find out.
Sang-hyeok took the <Demonic Eye Record Stone> out of his inventory.
The black stone tablet engraved with the closed-eye pattern appeared above his palm.
Sang-hyeok looked down at the tablet and organized what he needed to do.
First, locate the trap with <Demonic Dragon’s Eye>.
Record the moment it activates on the record stone and show it to Kim Seo-yun.
With that record, she would be able to find a way to repair it.
Sang-hyeok put the record stone back into his inventory and pocketed his phone.
After grabbing his coat, he opened the door.
Sang-hyeok headed for Ilseong Group's underground research building to find the trap Taeseong had planted.