Chapter 122: 23rd Floor. World of Faith (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 122: 23rd Floor. World of Faith (1)
[Topic: It feels like there are so many different ways to clear the 23rd floor.]
[How did everyone else clear it? I played the role of a peddler, buying and selling goods, and managed to clear it that way.]
[Choi Do-yoon (26th Floor): I just slaughtered everyone. After I killed a few of the bastards who came at me, the clear message popped up.]
[Jung Ji-hoo (27th Floor): Damn, that’s brutal. I played the role of a king’s vassal. Doing that did the trick for me.]
* * *
Having returned to Earth, Kang Jun-hyeok began organizing his rewards.
[Slime Worm Head]
• Type: Shield
• Rank: Mid-Rank
• Defense: +30
• Equipment Ability: Absorbs a moderate amount of physical impact and energy. Cannot absorb attacks that exceed its limit.
• Description: A shield made from the head of a Slime Worm. It retains the characteristic of staining all things.
[Slime Worm Bracers]
• Type: Wrist
• Rank: Mid-Rank
• Strength: +2
• Speed: +2
• Defense: +7
• Equipment Ability: Absorbs a small amount of physical impact and energy. Cannot absorb attacks that exceed its limit.
• Description: Bracers made from the body of a Slime Worm. They retain the characteristic of staining all things.
“Oho.”
Both pieces of equipment possessed the ability to absorb attacks and energy.
With a typical shield, the impact is still transmitted to the user even if the attack is blocked. Because of this, one usually needs to use skills to brace their posture and maintain balance.
However, this new shield could completely absorb that impact.
The bracers possessed the same ability. This meant he could now block an opponent's strike even without drawing his shield.
As the Master of All Weapons, Kang Jun-hyeok could swap equipment in and out at will, but that process still cost him precious timing. Even with Omni-Weapon Control, a slight loss of momentum was unavoidable.
In that sense, both items were incredibly useful. Kang Jun-hyeok was satisfied, while Eldiria muttered as if she found the situation absurd.
[A Slime Worm... To think a creature that defiles entire planets is being handed out as equipment. Truly bizarre.]
“This is just how the Tower is. Whether we like it or not.”
Next, Kang Jun-hyeok summoned Pixie. Having received the shared memories, she also muttered with a look of distaste.
[...The Master of the Universe has granted you a truly strange power. Here, take this.]
[200 Starlight.]
His total Starlight now amounted to 930. He would be able to use it once he gathered just a little more. After Pixie departed, Kang Jun-hyeok lightly warmed up his body.
The 22nd Floor.
His ascent of the Tower up to this point had been without any major issues.
Using the power he had gained, the knowledge he possessed, and the abilities he had built up, he had been achieving Perfect Clears. Though there were occasional crises, he had resolved them all. Far from having problems, he was producing nothing but results.
And the Master of All Weapons expressed its dissatisfaction with that very fact.
[Things are going too smoothly.]
“Isn’t that a good thing?”
[It is good for you, but it is hardly satisfying for me.]
The Master of All Weapons spoke as if grumbling.
[You are not properly utilizing my martial arts.]
“Really? I thought I was using them well enough.”
Kang Jun-hyeok had resolved various crises using the techniques of the Master of All Weapons. However, the spirit was not satisfied with just that.
[What you handle are 'Turning Adversity into Strength' and 'Absorb Force to Break Momentum.' That is merely the first principle. You have yet to master the other principles. Reaching the level of the Forms is still a distant dream.]
“Ah.”
Kang Jun-hyeok realized what the Master of All Weapons was unhappy about.
He had learned the Divine Art of the Master of All Weapons.
However, his proficiency with it was not much different from when he started. Despite the time that had passed, he was still stuck on the first principle, so it was understandable that the Master of All Weapons found it frustrating. Kang Jun-hyeok made an awkward expression.
“Even if you say that, the problem is that the difficulty of your martial arts is just too high.”
Ultimately, he lacked innate talent for martial arts.
In the first place, he had only been able to learn the techniques because the Master of All Weapons had intervened directly. Although his proficiency was slowly rising with the System's assistance, the sheer grade of the martial arts was simply too high.
To be honest, it’s beyond my expectations.
He hadn't expected to still be stuck on the first principle. Even including his past life, skills of this caliber were few and far between.
[It seems I am more useful to him than you are,] Eldiria remarked.
[Silence.]
The Master of All Weapons grumbled at her jab. Kang Jun-hyeok stroked his chin.
“It’s difficult with just my individual ability. I need a teacher.”
[You have me, yet you say you need a teacher?]
“You can’t teach me directly, can you? I need an opponent I can actually trade blows with using martial arts.”
He needed an opponent against whom he could fight using only the Master of All Weapons' techniques—someone who would allow him to focus purely on martial arts.
[A reasonable point. However, I do not see anyone suitable.]
“That’s the problem.”
Kang Jun-hyeok had become too strong. Even if he only used martial arts, there was no one on Earth who could match him.
But it didn't matter.
He just had to find an opponent somewhere other than Earth.
The Tower provided various environments. Among them, there were worlds related to martial arts.
The 27th Floor.
He could train his martial arts there. Having finished his preparations, Kang Jun-hyeok spoke.
“Just wait for now. An opportunity will come later.”
[Hmph.]
The Master of All Weapons made a dissatisfied sound but didn't press the matter further.
He had cleared the 22nd floor. Now, the 23rd floor was next.
What was there?
As he searched his memories, Kang Jun-hyeok let out a soft sound.
“...Ah.”
[What is it?]
“It’s nothing.”
Kang Jun-hyeok shook his head.
I’ve finally made it this far.
In his past life, the floors that had been Perfect Cleared only went up to around the 20th. And he had been the one to Perfect Clear about half of those.
The 23rd Floor.
This floor held great significance for him.
Because this was the very first floor he had ever Perfect Cleared in his past life.
It was at the end of this floor that he had obtained a very special skill and realized the true value of a Perfect Clear.
A Unique Skill.
The Glory of the Lost God.
I need to get ready.
Kang Jun-hyeok continued to train. He also visited Kim Tae-yeon to receive additional gems. They were low-rank gems, but he used the Orb to enhance their purity.
And finally, he entered the 23rd floor.
What greeted him was a vast world.
A sun hanging high in the sky, and lush, thick vegetation. Mountains could be seen in the distance. A breeze brushed against his cheek, and the chirping of insects echoed through the air.
[23rd Floor Quest]
• Leave your mark upon the world.
* * *
Leave your mark upon the world.
That was the 23rd-floor quest. It was an incredibly broad objective.
Kang Jun-hyeok began to walk at a leisurely pace.
[There doesn't seem to be anything special. Is this a backwater planet?]
“Probably.”
I remember it being this way.
Kang Jun-hyeok retraced his memories as he walked. As he crossed the plains, a road finally came into view. And from that road, the sound of clashing metal echoed.
Found it. With a nostalgic expression, Kang Jun-hyeok walked toward the road.
“Uwaaaa!”
“Waaaa!”
A battle was taking place there.
Soldiers wearing armor emblazoned with a red cross were fighting soldiers wearing armor emblazoned with a blue angel.
The two groups were entangled, slaughtering one another. Amidst the chaos, they shouted.
“For the Great God, Luktosan!”
“Shut your mouth! There is only one Great God! It is Lord Hareta!”
The soldiers were killing each other while screaming the names of the gods they served. Eldiria muttered in confusion.
[Luktosan and Hareta? Those are names of gods I have never heard of. Do you know them?]
[I do not know them either. Are they low-ranking gods from the fringes?]
Both Transcendents were hearing these names for the first time. And there was one more strange thing.
[They claim to serve gods, yet they do not use Divine Power.]
The soldiers were not using Divine Power—the typical ability of those who serve a deity—at all. Instead, they were killing each other using nothing but physical violence.
Kang Jun-hyeok watched without intervening. Eventually, the soldiers of the red cross emerged victorious. After finishing off every single one of the wounded, they raised their swords and cheered.
“Lord Luktosan! We have triumphed!”
“Waaaaaaa!”
Worshiping a god atop a pile of corpses. It was a scene of pure fanaticism.
Belatedly, they noticed Kang Jun-hyeok’s presence.
“Who are you!”
“Just a traveler,” Kang Jun-hyeok replied casually. “I have something to ask. May I?”
“...He doesn't have Lord Luktosan’s mark!”
“He serves another god!”
“Die!”
Instead of answering, the soldiers drew their weapons. A chilling bloodlust surged toward Kang Jun-hyeok.
Of course.
Fanatics who couldn't be reasoned with. Even after returning to the past, they hadn't changed one bit. With a sense of nostalgia, Kang Jun-hyeok drew his sword. The red cross soldiers charged all at once.
“For Lord Luktosan!”
A blade aimed for Kang Jun-hyeok’s neck. He reached out and caught the blade barehanded.
Clang!
As he applied pressure with his fingers, the blade snapped with a sharp crack.
The soldier’s eyes widened in shock. Kang Jun-hyeok swung his sword lightly. Blood sprayed from the man's throat as he collapsed.
“You bastard!”
“How dare you oppose a soldier of God!”
“You’re the ones who attacked first. Why are you saying that to me?”
Kang Jun-hyeok let out a short laugh. The soldiers, their eyes bloodshot, lunged at him.
They were wearing chainmail.
The meticulously forged links of chainmail were incredibly sturdy. It possessed strong resistance against most slashing attacks, so the correct way to defeat it was to use a powerful thrust.
However, Kang Jun-hyeok simply drew a diagonal line with his sword as if it were a chore.
Riiip!
“Gah!”
“Aaaargh!”
The soldiers were cut down, chainmail and all. To a Player like him, ordinary armor meant nothing. In an instant, the soldiers fell in heaps.
The survivors were struck with horror.
“To dare harm us, who serve God!”
“W-who the hell are you!”
“I told you, I’m a traveler.”
Kang Jun-hyeok lightly flicked the blood off his sword.
“Since you attacked first, you have no right to complain about dying.”
“You... you!”
“Didn't you say you were servants of a god? Are you not going to use Divine Power?”
“Shut up!”
The soldiers grit their teeth and rushed him.
Kang Jun-hyeok moved his body nimbly. He thrust his bracer toward a downward-swinging sword.
Vroom.
“W-what?!”
The soldier was terrified. Something bizarre had happened. The sword he had swung down stuck to the bracer. There was no physical recoil at all. It felt as if he had touched the same pole of a magnet.
“Urgh! Hnnngh!”
He strained with all his might, but nothing happened. Kang Jun-hyeok muttered as if he understood.
“So this is how it feels.”
He didn't feel any impact either. It felt as if the force had been absorbed into another dimension. This was the power of the Slime Worm.
Having finished his test, Kang Jun-hyeok kicked out. The soldier coughed up a mouthful of blood and was sent flying into a tree.
Crash!
It took less than a minute for the soldiers to be wiped out. They died screaming the name of their god. Now, only one man remained. He was backing away, his face pale with terror.
“Please spare me! Spare me! I was wrong!”
The soldier cried out, tears and snot streaming down his face. Kang Jun-hyeok lightly struck him on the neck. The soldier collapsed instantly.
[Are you not killing him?]
“I planned to keep at least one alive.”
This was where it truly began. Kang Jun-hyeok hummed to himself as he dragged the unconscious soldier away.