Chapter 131: 26th Floor. Do Not Move
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 131: 26th Floor. Do Not Move
[Title: 26th Floor.]
[Cleared as soon as it started. What is this?]
* * *
[…What are you?]
Eldiria asked, her voice a low, trembling groan.
[Just what are you?]
The despair and fear Kang Jun-hyeok had just displayed were beyond anything they had ever witnessed, even among those who had watched the collapse of the entire universe. Just recalling the intensity of those emotions sent shivers down her spine.
Naturally, the questions followed.
[What on earth have you been through? What could have possibly happened to make you experience such profound despair? And even after all that… how can you keep moving forward?]
“Even if I wanted to tell you, I can’t.”
The Returning Gem was actively preventing him from speaking about his past life. However, he could at least speak in circles.
“One thing I can tell you is that I am a loser.”
He was a loser.
A failure.
“So, I won’t let it happen a second time.”
His voice rang out, filled with an immutable, iron will. The Master of All Weapons and Eldiria both fell silent.
Kang Jun-hyeok called over the shop owner to pass on his memories. While the specific events of his past couldn't be transmitted, the raw emotions were conveyed with vivid clarity. Pixie shuddered.
[Ugh. Uuugh!]
She trembled violently, countless emotions flickering through her eyes in a chaotic blur. It took thirty minutes for her to finally calm down and catch her breath.
[…Ha. Haha. What is this? It’s much thicker and more toxic than anything I’ve ever experienced. A half-baked soul would have been swallowed whole and lost. Just what did you go through?]
“Something similar to you. Failure and defeat.”
[…And yet you’re still moving forward. Incredible. It’s no wonder the God of Jealousy couldn’t affect you.]
A sound of pure admiration escaped her. There was a faint trace of awe in her eyes as she looked at him.
The amount of Starlight he earned through this exchange was 300—a substantial amount.
The effect of the Perfect Player title was +1 to all stats. It was an excellent reward.
Uniquely, the 25th floor offered no gold or other minor rewards. There was only one.
A translucent gray sphere wavered before him, looking as if pure energy had been condensed into a physical form. It had no weight, yet it radiated an intense, heavy presence.
[Will]
• Rank: Unique
• The manifestation of an unwavering, immutable will.
“Whoa.”
Kang Jun-hyeok let out a low exclamation.
It was a Unique-grade material, something he had only managed to obtain a few times even in his past life. And this specific one was a first for him. To think that will itself had been manifested into an item. He didn't even have a clue how to use it.
Kang Jun-hyeok immediately went to the Blacksmith and handed it over. Upon receiving the Will, the Blacksmith’s face contorted into a bizarre expression.
“…What is this?”
“I brought it to you because I don’t know either.”
“Judging by the fact that it’s a material item, it seems like it can be processed in some way… but what is it?”
The Blacksmith examined the Will with a flustered expression, but he clearly didn't have an answer. Kang Jun-hyeok was genuinely surprised by this reaction.
“Even you don’t know?”
The man before him was the Heaven-Endowed Blacksmith. Even the great gods and Transcendents had marveled at his talent. In his past life, no matter what material Jun-hyeok brought, the Blacksmith had always handled it perfectly.
For such a man to be confused and unable to understand a material—it was a first for Kang Jun-hyeok. The Blacksmith let out a frustrated grunt.
“It’s different from any material I’ve ever seen. It looks like the manifestation of an emotion, but for it to be crafted this perfectly… Is it the System’s assistance? If so, how on earth am I supposed to handle this?”
“It seems it’s impossible even for you.”
At Kang Jun-hyeok’s words, the Blacksmith’s eyebrows twitched.
“…Impossible? For me? Don’t talk such rubbish. I am the Heaven-Endowed Blacksmith. There is no material I cannot handle. Leave this to me. I will craft it perfectly.”
“If it’s too difficult, I can just keep it…”
“Go.”
The Blacksmith turned away abruptly. Kang Jun-hyeok struggled to hold back a laugh at the sight of him acting as if the item might be snatched away at any moment.
“Then I’ll leave it in your hands.”
Returning to his room, Kang Jun-hyeok took a thorough rest. As soon as the time came, he entered the 26th floor.
He found himself in a pitch-black space where nothing could be seen. Kang Jun-hyeok stood there, perfectly still.
[26th Floor Quest.]
• Do not move for a certain period.
Do not move.
That was the quest for the 26th floor.
It was a floor that was deceptively simple yet incredibly difficult. The moment one cleared their throat or even flicked a finger, the quest would immediately end in failure.
Most importantly, it didn't tell you how long you had to endure. In a void with nothing to reference, the axis of time became warped and broken. It was designed to push a person’s mind to its absolute limit.
The 24th, 25th, and 26th floors were a series of connected tests.
The 24th floor tested the mental will to endure addiction.
The 25th floor tested the will regarding one’s own emotions.
And the 26th floor tested the will against physical constraints. Many players had broken here.
Of course, it didn't affect Kang Jun-hyeok at all.
The designated time for the 26th floor was one week. He already knew this from his past life. For someone who had been through as much as he had, staying still for a week was easier than snapping a dry twig.
Therefore, he had no intention of just clearing it. He planned to gain something more.
* * *
What can one gain on a floor where you aren't allowed to do anything?
The first thing that came to mind was something related to the mind. But that was meaningless to Kang Jun-hyeok. Since he already possessed the Mental Resistance skill, it would be difficult to gain anything new.
Then what about something physical?
Kang Jun-hyeok blinked slowly. He inhaled and exhaled. He moved his fingertips lightly, perhaps five millimeters.
Movement of this degree did not trigger a failure.
And then, Kang Jun-hyeok slowly moved his Internal Energy. The energy began to circulate within his body. Still, the quest termination window did not appear.
He knew from his past life that things like Internal Energy and Mana could be moved without violating the "stillness" of the body.
Now that he had confirmed that, his goal was set.
‘The martial arts of the Master of All Weapons.’
Turning Adversity into Strength and Absorb Force to Break Momentum.
Turning the opponent's power into one's own.
He was currently barely managing to handle only the first principle. There were still countless principles left to master. And he knew from the transmitted memories that among them was a principle that handled and amplified one's own power.
To master that principle—that was Kang Jun-hyeok’s goal for the 26th floor.
* * *
“Whew.”
Kang Jun-hyeok exhaled. The breath traveled through his lungs and out his nose. Then he inhaled. The opposite force acted.
In that process, he moved his Internal Energy. He began to control and gather the incredibly faint force generated during the simple act of breathing.
[Hmm?]
The Master of All Weapons, who had been watching to see how he would clear the floor this time, realized what was happening. He couldn't help but let out a short laugh.
[Is he trying to practice martial arts right now?]
[What do you mean?]
[This fellow is trying to learn a principle of my martial arts.]
[…In this situation?]
[Yes.]
Eldiria also let out a hollow laugh.
[He really is an extraordinary fellow.]
The condition for the 26th floor was to stay still. If he simply endured for the designated time, he would likely achieve a Perfect Clear. Yet, Kang Jun-hyeok was going out of his way to learn the Master of All Weapons' martial arts—even though a single mistake in the process would blow his chance at a Perfect Clear.
Even to the two Transcendents, it seemed like madness.
Kang Jun-hyeok condensed the force generated through his breathing using his Internal Energy. At that moment, the flow of energy wavered slightly.
Twitch.
[Balancing.]
He activated the skill to forcibly swallow the erupting force. If he had been even a moment later, he would have failed immediately.
But Kang Jun-hyeok continued his training without fear.
He repeated the challenge and failure at least a hundred times. The cooldown for Balancing was one hour. Calculating that, it meant he had invested a hundred hours without sleep, yet he had still failed to perfect the flow.
Nevertheless, Kang Jun-hyeok did not stop. When fatigue built up, he used Divine Power to recover and tried again.
Perhaps as a result of such persistence, at some point, the flow of Internal Energy began to stabilize.
“Whew.”
The act of inhaling and exhaling.
Twitch.
The act of minutely moving a finger.
Blink.
The act of blinking his eyes.
The force generated from all those movements was circulated through his body via Internal Energy. Forces so weak they couldn't even crush an ant were being aggregated and refined.
And finally.
[The designated time has ended.]
• 26th Floor Quest complete.
A week had passed, and the quest was over.
Kang Jun-hyeok finally put strength into his fist. He gathered all the accumulated power and let it explode.
BOOOOM!
A powerful shockwave swept through the space. The forces that couldn't have killed a single ant had piled up and up to create a literal storm.
[Self-Power Unification.]
The Master of All Weapons muttered. Unifying one's own power into one.
[It is my second principle.]
At the same time, system windows appeared.
[26th Floor Quest cleared.]
• The reward will be determined based on your performance.
• Checking achievement rate…
• Check complete.
• Achievement Rate: 100%
• Perfect Clear. Congratulations! Additional rewards will be granted.
• 2,544 Gold has been awarded.
• An effect has been added to the Title: Perfect Player.
[You have obtained the Perfect Clear reward [Active Skill: Immovable Stance].]
• Players who have Perfect Cleared the 26th Floor: 2.
[Universe Announcement.]
• Please congratulate him! Everyone in the universe! A Perfect Player for the 26th floor has appeared.
[Feat +3]
[Not bad. Congratulations. I suppose you could say you’ve taken about half a step forward.]
“It’s damn difficult, though,” Kang Jun-hyeok grumbled.
It had been a long time since he obtained the Master of All Weapons' martial arts, yet he had only just reached the second principle. He wasn't even in a position to dream of increasing its rank yet.
‘As expected, I can’t do it with just my own strength.’
He needed a teacher. A teacher who understood the martial arts of the Master of All Weapons and could help him.
The next floor was the 27th. He should be able to find one there. Kang Jun-hyeok slowly checked his rewards. While doing so, one message caught his eye.
[Players who have Perfect Cleared the 26th Floor: 2.]
The 26th floor—an extreme condition where one must not move without any information. There was one other player who had cleared this.
‘The High Priest Milarepa.’
The high priest who had given him a chance. He was the other Perfect Player of the 26th floor.
‘I miss him.’
Calculating the time, it had been nearly a year since he entered the Tower. If so, it would begin soon.
The third test. The Earth Test.
At that time, he would meet his past connections once again.
‘I’m going to have a lot to do.’
A pleasant, determined expression formed on Kang Jun-hyeok’s face.