How Many Have Made It?
‘How many of them have arrived by now?’
The thought crossed Seong Yujin’s mind as he suddenly recalled the 5th Floor.
Around this point, the half-decent idiots should have been reaching Pine Breeze.
‘Who was the fastest in the first timeline?’
He dug through his memories. Himself excluded, of course. Even back then he had reached the 5th Floor at an overwhelming pace—until that goddamn Backrooms on the 6th Floor had flipped everything on its head and let others overtake him.
‘Second place was probably…’
A few names flickered past. The Sword Empress. The Fighting Demon. And the other bastards whose reputations had thundered through the Tower alongside them.
Flame Emperor. Blade Sovereign. Cryomancer. Blood Lord. And—
‘Eliyah Ventrick.’
Also known as Zygote. The one who, Yujin aside, could be called the strongest among all who had ever challenged the Tower of Light. Yujin even remembered the bastard’s full real name. That was how exceptional he had been—and how thoroughly repulsive.
“Yeah. That fucker.”
Zygote, precisely. Along with the livestock he called his companions. None of them had ever climbed higher; they had all ended up in Zygote’s stomach.
“Disgusting piece of shit, no matter how you look at it.”
Just picturing the face made him want to gag. Yujin cleared his head in a hurry.
“And after him… Chiwoo, right?”
Korea’s next named player after the Sword Empress and the Fighting Demon. Yujin had seen him before. Strong, bold, and monstrous enough to be called a War God. The story of him taking down the boss of the 30th Floor—the Infinite Dragon—with nothing but a worn-out E-grade spear was legendary. Unfortunately, one of the Ten Evils had murdered him around the 50th Floor, and he never climbed higher.
“I always wanted to meet him once.”
If he hadn’t found the Sword Empress and the Fighting Demon first, he might have chosen Chiwoo instead. The man had been a half-decent idiot, after all.
“Not that I need him now.”
The 3 No system was complete. There was no reason to force another dealer into the party. It would only waste more time and resources. Better to pour that attention into the three he already had.
“Still… I should take a look later. I’m curious.”
Curious how great a man had to be to earn the name Chiwoo. And if he liked what he saw?
“I’ll keep him alive.”
The Ten Evils. He would not leave the bastard to die at the hands of those goddamn pieces of shit. He had no intention of dragging Chiwoo around with him, but strong players helped clear the Tower. The more of them still breathing, the better.
“That’s about all I can remember.”
In a few more days, more named players would reach the 5th Floor—every last one of them someone who had carved out legendary feats or fought as the final suicide squad of humanity.
“The outside world’s going to go completely insane.”
The 5th Floor. Its meaning was massive—for players and for the world beyond the Tower alike.
Yujin smirked and kept walking. No one was around him. Not Lee Sia, not Park Ji-hoo, not Vivian. He was alone.
Thud—
The moment he took another step, something shot out from both sides. Monsters that had been hiding in the shadows, their presence razor-sharp, launching a surprise attack.
“Noctivars.”
Creatures that walked the shadows of night. On the 12th Floor, where darkness reigned absolute, they were nothing short of lethal.
But—
Thwip—!
The impossibly thin threads drifting through the air around Yujin snapped taut and, in an instant, carved the monsters to pieces. With soft thuds, the shredded corpses of the Noctivars scattered across the black floor.
“This thing is actually ridiculous.”
Yujin lifted a finger and brushed the Heavenly Silk Thread [C]. His skin, protected by the trait God-Touched Body [S], remained unharmed, yet a stinging killing intent still prickled against it. With this, he could probably mince every monster up through the 50th Floor.
“Defense with the Heavenly Silk Thread [C]. Offense with the Solar Blade [D] and Dawn [C]. Perfect.”
He nodded, satisfied.
“And on top of that…”
He drew up his mana and poured it into the black greatcoat that resembled the night sky itself. A soft hiss of power whispered through the fabric. Yujin’s form grew faint—then vanished completely, merging into the darkness.
“Black Divine Robe of the Moonlit Night [C].”
The greatcoat he had obtained together with Dawn [C] delivered extreme efficiency in the dark. In other words, on this 13th Floor, Yujin was practically invincible. Stealth more perfect than even the shadow-walking Noctivars. Threads that shredded anything that came within three meters. A sword and a spear.
Smiling, he continued walking.
“Let’s see how much further until the next level.”
■ Name:Seong Yujin
■ Level:39
■ Alignment:Neutral·Chaos
■ Title:None
■ Traits:King of All Arms [S], God-Touched Body [S], Pioneer [D], Cold Clarity [E], Insight [C], Dexterous Hands [E]
■ Skills:Chronos’s Hourglass [EX], Life Flashing Before Your Eyes [S], Unchanging Front and Back [D], Power Strike [E], Hidden Sword [E], Iron Mountain Stance [E], Slash [D], Heavenly Slash, Ten Thousand Cuts [C]
■ Summon:Gluttonous Maw [A]
■ Notes:【Akasha System】 Version Up
Already level 39. Considering how growth slowed the higher the floors climbed, it was an absurd pace.
“Well, half of it’s thanks to those brats.”
Experience sharing through the party system had been huge. And Lee Sia—thanks to that girl’s choice, he had jumped three levels in one go. He didn’t particularly want to admit it, but she had been genuinely useful.
“In exchange I raised them a ton, so we’re even.”
Yujin clicked his tongue inwardly and scratched his head.
“Anyway. One more level to go.”
Level 39. One more and the tens digit would finally change. Not that it made him dramatically stronger or anything—just a little more power and a slightly better mood.
“I’ll hit 50 before the 14th Floor.”
From the 11th through the 14th Floor—this stretch was excellent for grinding levels. Monsters poured out without rest. Most of them were formless types: Wraiths, Grim Reapers, Noctivars. Tricky to fight, but the experience was fat. The perfect place to grow as much as possible before moving on to the 16th Floor.
Yujin slipped behind a Noctivar lurking in the shadows and casually drove Dawn [C] through it.
Shunk—
The creature died without even realizing how, the back of its skull punched clean through.
‘Ah, this is easy. So damn easy.’
For any other player it would have been hell. For Yujin, it was different. Was there an easier leveling zone than this? Right now he was the perfect predator, and the monsters were nothing but prey. In the darkness he hunted without pause, finding every hidden monster and butchering it.
“Those brats are doing fine, right?”
He pictured the three slaves still grinding away on the 11th Floor.
“Nuna, left!”
Park Ji-hoo shouted and stomped the ground. A heavy boom rolled out; the earth trembled lightly. Power that began in his ankle surged up through his leg—knee, hip, waist, shoulder, arm, and finally his fist.
Overwhelming mana. The very fist technique Yujin had once taught him—the one he had said Ji-hoo would not even be able to imitate yet.
KRAAAAAAANG—!
With a colossal impact, the Specter that had been angling for Lee Sia’s flank exploded into nothing.
“Thanks!”
Sia yelled her gratitude and immediately swung Black Wing [C]. A rapid series of cuts tore through the air. A Shadow that had been waiting for its chance in the gloom was sliced cleanly in half.
Specters and Shadows—both formless monsters. Creatures with no physical body, composed purely of mana. Naturally they possessed high resistance to physical attacks, making them a genuine headache for ordinary players.
Not for these two. Levels and experience that didn’t belong on this floor were more than enough to hurt formless monsters.
“Thunderbolt [D].”
CRACK-BOOM—!
Vivian was no different. Pure lightning wrought from mana incinerated the creatures wholesale.
“Whew—roughly cleaned up. Let’s rest a bit.”
The last fight had wiped out nearly twenty monsters. They were starting to feel it. Lee Sia simply sat down on the floor, then flopped flat onto her back.
“Aaaah, I’m exhausted.”
“Still, this much is doable, right?”
Park Ji-hoo sat down beside her.
“Yeah, it is. Compared to those zombie bastards, this is nothing…”
Her teeth chattered—not figuratively. They actually clacked together. Back then she had genuinely almost died. If Seong Yujin hadn’t helped them, she and Ji-hoo would have left their bones in that place. Of course the memory still made her shudder.
“Was it that rough?”
Vivian suddenly asked. She usually stared blankly, thoughts completely unreadable; it had been a long time since she initiated conversation.
“Unnie! It was seriously hell. The zombies charged like maniacs, the timer never went down, stamina and mana hit rock bottom. If someone told me to do it again I don’t think I could.”
Sia shivered dramatically. Vivian tilted her head.
“I was fine.”
“Huh? You weren’t tired?”
“It was easy. I just stood there and spent money.”
“Ah…”
The image formed in Sia’s mind: Seong Yujin massacring zombies while Vivian, behind him, flung dollars like a madwoman.
“So that crazy bastard held the zombies off alone for twenty-four hours?”
“Yeah.”
Sia couldn’t find anything else to say. Her own hardships suddenly felt pathetic. At the same time, she was impressed—though not by Seong Yujin. By Vivian. By the skill and the sheer wealth she possessed.
“S-so what rewards did you get?”
“Just this and that.”
Vivian already looked bored. Sia, however, had no intention of letting the conversation die.
‘This is my chance!’
A golden opportunity to get closer to Vivian!
“I got two items and one skill! So…”
No one had asked, yet Sia began chattering as if possessed.
“A skill called Sanctuary Declaration [C], plus the items Embers of Twilight [C] and White Oath [C].”
All of them C-grade.
Sanctuary Declaration [C]
Creates a sacred domain for 10 minutes. All skill effects inside it are slightly enhanced. Domain size scales with the user’s level.
Embers of Twilight [C]
A faded silver ring. When the wearer’s stamina and mana are completely exhausted, a minor recovery skill activates. After one use it sleeps for a week.
White Oath [C]
Armor imbued with pure-white conviction. Normally fused into the body; it reveals itself when facing an enemy too great to handle. Defense strengthens the more people the wearer protects.
Every single one was outstanding—nothing that should have appeared on floors this low, nowhere near the 30th.
“Well? Pretty damn sick, right?”
Sia asked, pride in her voice. Vivian nodded, then turned her gaze to Park Ji-hoo.
“You?”
“Ah—I got two. Armor called Dragon-Fighter Plate [C] and a skill called Flash Fist [C].”
Ji-hoo didn’t elaborate further. Vivian still felt a little awkward to him.
“I got a skill. Credit Defaulter [C].”