Chapter 77

Translator: Penny

Chapter 77

Han Yoo-seong took a breath as soon as he entered the cave.

He could see the enemies inside the sixth Root.

A total of eight slowly approaching.

Han Yoo-seong let his Energy Sense flow forward.

It was to grasp the enemies' Ranks.

'Only eight at the 6th Rank….'

Eight The Most Vile closing the distance, surrounding him.

They were all confirmed to be at the 6th Rank by Energy Sense.

Unlike the previous fifth Root, there were no individuals in charge of healing, no tank roles.

There were no obstacles blocking the path.

But the pressure from the numbers was clear.

"This time it's a bit simple."

Ban Ineoreu's voice continued to flow into Han Yoo-seong's ear.

"We can each take on four."

Han Yoo-seong looked at Ban, who was standing next to him, and smiled.

"Yeah, let's do that."

"Why, is it too much? Should I take on two more?"

"No. Four each, cleanly. Sounds good."

The longer they dragged it out, the more disadvantageous it would be for them.

Crack!

Han Yoo-seong injected the remaining Dragon Blood Serum into his side.

Soon after, he also took the Breath of the Extreme.

"Hoo…."

Ban Ineoreu also exhaled and injected the Breath of the Extreme.

White light gathered on Han Yoo-seong's sword.

Pure white particles scattered in the air.

There was a change in Han Yoo-seong's left eye as he strongly stomped on the ground and moved forward.

Artificial Eye.

A wearable lens artifact that could be seen as a type of Artificial Eye was in place in Han Yoo-seong's left eye.

Tyrail Oculus.

It was said to be an artifact that ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠marked the opponent's weaknesses with cyan lines.

It was said to be an artifact that could identify the unique points of not only Monsters, but also objects and other living things.

An item received from the Pioneer senior through Interdimensional Trade.

It was a surprising fact for Han Yoo-seong that the Pioneer senior, who was the ender of Hard Difficulty, had lived a life completely unrelated to combat.

Han Yoo-seong poured Magic Power into the Artificial Eye as the Pioneer senior had said.

The weaknesses of the enemies, The Most Vile, were visible.

The senses of his body were racing towards their limit due to the doping effect.

Han Yoo-seong's left foot strongly pressed down on The Most Vile's right foot.

The body of The Most Vile, which had lost the power to control its body, leaned forward.

Han Yoo-seong, who shot out like lightning, cut The Most Vile's waist with his sword and, with that momentum, blew off its head.

Blood droplets poured down like rain.

Ban Ineoreu, like Han Yoo-seong, aimed for the enemy's neck after injecting the Breath of the Extreme.

Swish!

The two butchered the enemies at almost the same speed.

Tss tss tss…!

Ban pressed his temple firmly with a finger wrapped in Magic Power in a spiral.

Body Blood Flow Acceleration.

CardioFury.

Stage 3 of 3.

Crunch!

His body screamed.

Blood vessels stood out in Ban's blue eyes.

Using the 3rd stage of CardioFury was the final stage that was extremely discouraged from being used even within the family.

This was because there were frequent cases of entering a state of 'exhaustion' without any warning signs during combat.

A state of stillness where one couldn't even move a finger.

In particular, it often happened in situations where the battle became very heated and prolonged.

So, if one used the 3rd stage while fighting alone, there was a risk of dying to an enemy that wasn't even a threat before entering the blood flow acceleration state, which was contradictory.

The reason he was entering the 3rd stage now was because he was sure that Han Yoo-seong, who was next to him, would help him even if he reached a state of exhaustion.

Thwack!

A sound of flesh tearing arose.

Han Yoo-seong and Ban moved endlessly.

There was no need to hesitate this time. Unlike the previous fifth Root, there were no The Most Vile that could recover in the middle.

If they cut off their breath, they died as they were.

His level rose when he killed three of them. From 52 to 53.

Stab!

Han Yoo-seong executed the Sword Path according to the location of the weakness that the Tyrail Oculus was telling him.

Before he knew it, there were only two The Most Vile left.

The reason why they couldn't aim for the sixth Root in one go even though there was no wall-like obstacle was because of those two The Most Vile who were guarding the front of the Root like an impregnable Gatekeeper.

Amidst the chaotic mess where The Most Vile were crushed.

Han Yoo-seong and Ban Ineoreu stopped walking at the same time.

Han Yoo-seong twisted his lips.

'As expected.'

The fact that there were no The Most Vile among The Most Vile in front of the sixth Root who could use a Domain was something that Han Yoo-seong was already wondering about.

A wide circle spread out under the feet of the remaining two The Most Vile.

The violent momentum spreading out from that circle.

Crackle- Crackle!

And the already huge and muscular bodies of The Most Vile swelled up even more.

Han Yoo-seong, looking at The Most Vile, a bizarre bipedal monster that seemed to be a mix of a powerful beast and an insect, once again gathered white Sword Qi on his sword.

It would be a lie to say that he didn't feel any fear at all.

But the fighting spirit completely suppressed that fear.

He had to defeat those two guys in order to defeat the Root.

Ban opened his mouth.

"Looks like a typical enhancement-type Domain. An area focused on physical enhancement and Magic Power amplification."

Han Yoo-seong agreed.

"It seems so."

Han Yoo-seong confirmed that the weaknesses visible through the 'Tyrail Oculus' did not change even after the two The Most Vile deployed their Domains.

The fatal weakness was still the back of the neck.

It was the core deeply embedded inside that neck.

"A core deep in the neck? Got it."

Ban, after hearing Han Yoo-seong's explanation, nodded and then strongly stepped forward with his right foot.

Ban's body disappeared.

Swish!

The disappeared figure soon reappeared.

On top of a huge arm.

Cutting through the hard shell and flesh of the arm with his sword and climbing up the upper body. Before he knew it, he had climbed up to the back.

Han Yoo-seong widened his eyes.

He had heard the explanation in advance.

That he would use the 3rd stage of CardioFury.

A technique that headed beyond the limit where his body wouldn't be strange even if it was crushed.

But he didn't know it would become so fast and sharp to that extent.

His breath was coming up to his chin.

However, Ban had no intention of stopping. Ban, who had thrust his sword under The Most Vile's neck, lifted his arm and cut off half of The Most Vile's neck.

And he slammed his sword down towards the back of the neck.

A blue lightning bolt pierced through the neck and shattered the core.

The problem was right after that. Ban Ineoreu, who had killed one of the two Gatekeepers, failed to land properly on the ground and plummeted.

Bang!

Han Yoo-seong urgently kicked off the ground and jumped out to catch the falling Ban.

Kwaaaang!!

And he immediately backed away to avoid the gray iron club that the remaining one had slammed down.

His whole body was soaked in blood and sweat.

"Haa…."

A faint breath.

And blurred pupils.

'Exhaustion.'

Han Yoo-seong realized that this was the state of exhaustion that Ban had mentioned could be experienced during the 3rd stage of CardioFury.

Unlike the name, it was not a state of exhaustion due to physical exhaustion. It was said to be something that happened because the blood flow was twisted.

The way to escape the state of exhaustion was to press the opposite side of the left temple, which was the starting point of CardioFury, with a finger lightly wrapped in Magic Power on the right temple.

Han Yoo-seong pressed his finger, delicately wrapped in Magic Power, on Ban's right temple.

Han Yoo-seong carefully laid Ban Ineoreu's body on the ground and said.

"I'll be back."

He could see Ban nodding slightly and smiling faintly.

Han Yoo-seong ran forward as he was.

Ban had done his part this time as well.

The remaining one was his share.

He struck all of the last The Most Vile's vulnerable weaknesses visible with the ability of the artifact, Tyrail Oculus.

Of course, The ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Most Vile didn't just stand still. He had to avoid The Most Vile's attacks while landing attacks on The Most Vile.

Swish!

He blew away an arm.

Crack!

He bent ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a leg, completely kneeling it. And he slammed down a white Sword Qi towards the back of the neck.

Kraak! Keereuk! Bang! Kwaang! Kwaaaang!!

Until The Most Vile's cries and struggles stopped.

Han Yoo-seong confirmed that The Most Vile was no longer moving and pressed the Divine Stone onto the sixth Root.

[You have cleared the 13th Stage.]

[Your level has increased!]

[Lv.53 → Lv.56]

"Yo."

He could see Ban Ineoreu, who was sitting down and holding up his hand with a friendly face.

"Good job."

The moment Han Yoo-seong also raised his right hand to respond to that.

Hwaaaak─

Pure white light covered Han Yoo-seong's vision.

No, it covered the entire cave.

"……."

The light that had filled his vision completely disappeared.

Han Yoo-seong quickly looked around to grasp the situation.

What was in front of him was a transparent wall.

And a bizarre being that he had never encountered on the 13th Stage was standing there.

"What, who are you?"

The head of the being, whose size was far from that of a normal person, was covered with a strange cloth that looked as if it had been sewn together with dozens of stitches.

Beyond that, there was another transparent wall. And Ban Ineoreu was standing inside it.

The unidentified being stood in front of the opaque wall in front of Han Yoo-seong and opened its mouth.

"Ah, nice to meet you. I am Plesheke, a 2nd class administrator of the Tower."

"Administrator…?"

Plesheke nodded at Han Yoo-seong's question.

"That's right. I will explain the duel that you, Player, will have to fight in 2 minutes."

2 minutes.

Han Yoo-seong frowned.

He didn't even have a clue what this Plesheke being was talking about.

"Our administrators receive orders for [Renewal] from the highest floors every term."

Renewal.

"To explain it in a way that Player Han Yoo-seong can easily understand, when some floors need a [Balance Patch] or a new [Content Supply], that's what Renewal is for."

The explanation continued at length.

"But occasionally there are floors with such [Errors]."

"Floors with errors that cannot be [Renewed] unless they are [Cleared] even once."

"But the current difficulty of the [13th floor] far exceeds the level of difficulty that can be cleared alone, as you have experienced. We have determined that even if a player suitable for Pandemonium difficulty reaches the 13th floor, they will never be able to clear it alone."

"So, we took [Ban Ineoreu], who had set the highest record in the last quarter. We used our abilities to make her, who died in the last term, into a [being alive only on the 13th floor] of the current floor."

"Of course, the activation of the being is limited to when another Climber enters the 13th floor, just like now."

"Anyway, we had to make two players proceed through the 13th Stage. Because we desperately wanted this floor to be conquered."

Han Yoo-seong was now able to understand the outline of what Plesheke was babbling about.

And the question that arose was a natural one.

"…Did you think it was okay to conquer it alone at any point?"

As far as he had personally experienced, there was no floor in this Pandemonium that he could proceed through smoothly alone.

Not a single floor.

Plesheke scratched the back of his head.

"Well, you're right about that. To tell you the truth-."

Plesheke's words were added after a moment of pause.

"The [Pandemonium Tower] itself made the decision to order this 13th floor Renewal. And to conditionally revive Ban Ineoreu, a player from the last term, in order to increase the probability of a successful conquest needed to fix that error."

Plesheke began to spout incomprehensible words again.

"We were also surprised. It's extremely rare for the Tower to express its active intentions."

The fact that Plesheke was saying it as if it were natural was not well understood in Han Yoo-seong's mind.

"How could a mere administrator like me refuse the Tower's own decision, which even the highest floors are struggling with?"

Immediately after that, Plesheke suddenly bowed his head.

"Returning to the main point, the two of you have done a great job of conquering it."

"So, our administrators express our sincere respect to Ban Ineoreu and Han Yoo-seong, who have cleared this troublesome 13th floor."

"I would like to make it possible for the two of you to climb Pandemonium together, but that is impossible."

Han Yoo-seong felt like he knew what the next words that would come out of Plesheke's mouth were.

"In order for Ban Ineoreu to be completely revived as a player and go up to the 14th floor, Han Yoo-seong must die. Absolutely."

It was as expected.

"In order to repay as much as possible for the rudeness of reviving Ban Ineoreu, whose body we revived without her consent, we informed her of this fact a few days ago."

"You have to kill Player Han Yoo-seong on the Stage immediately after finishing it, or here in this duel arena."

Han Yoo-seong looked at Ban Ineoreu, who was standing behind another transparent wall behind the empty space beyond the transparent wall.

"I recommended that Ban kill Han Yoo-seong on the Stage immediately after finishing it, when he wouldn't have expected anything. But she didn't."

Ban Ineoreu, facing Han Yoo-seong, was smiling faintly.

"Well, there's 1 minute left now. In 1 ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠minute, both transparent walls will be removed. And the one who puts out the candle on the left side of each side first wins. Of course, the other person's candle."

Han Yoo-seong looked to the left.

A candle was inside a square that looked similar to the transparent wall in front of him.

With a fire lit.

"Is there really no way for both of us to go up…?"

Plesheke shook his head at Han Yoo-seong's words.

"It's inevitable. One of you two must die in this place."

Han Yoo-seong hated those words.

He reached out his fist to Plesheke.

Thwack!

He was blocked by the transparent wall.

"If a winner is not decided within 10 minutes after the duel begins, we will decide the winner based on the degree of scars, the number of successful hits, and so on."

With those words, Plesheke walked to the center of the space and sat still in a formal posture.

Han Yoo-seong looked at Ban Ineoreu, who was beyond the wall.

"Ban─!"

Han Yoo-seong shouted.

He kept calling Ban Ineoreu's name.

But that sound could not cross the transparent wall.

Even if he struck the transparent wall with a sword that had gathered white Sword Qi, there wasn't even a scratch on the wall.

Plesheke's voice could be heard outside the wall.

"You need to raise your Rank further to break that wall. As you can hear now, my voice can ignore the laws of the wall, but I can't break the wall either."

Bang! Kwaaaang!

"That's the law of this Divine Duel Arena."

Only loud noises echoed inside the wall.

Ban Ineoreu looked at Han Yoo-seong.

Unlike Han Yoo-seong, who had just learned about this,

She had known this fact for several days.

Duel.

She listened to Plesheke's words and continued to ponder.

She worried while shooting her bow.

She worried even while playing catch with Han Yoo-seong.

The worry was long.

Because she wanted to live too.

But as time disappeared, the conclusion of the deepened worry was easily reached.

'It might be quite a selfish choice from your point of view.'

She had no intention of listening to Han Yoo-seong's opinion.

That's why it was selfish.

There's no answer even if they talk.

This place, the Tower, is such a place.

If they face each other and talk, the desire for life will only grow.

The thought of wanting to go up with that friend will only become stronger.

Ban Ineoreu was so sure of that.

'I want to live too, but.'

That being said, she couldn't kill Han Yoo-seong in order to live.

That's why she could be resolute.

When Plesheke, who had told him about this duel and disappeared, appeared in front of him once more,

he attached one condition.

Ban's right hand penetrated the barrier surrounding the candle.

Ban Ineoreu, holding the candle in his right hand, held it in front of him.

Han Yoo-seong was pointing at the seated Plesheke and shouting something.

Because of the Transparent barrier, no sound could be heard, but it was easy to guess.

Probably something like, let's combine our strength and kill that bastard first. Something like that.

Because he himself had drawn his sword to kill Plesheke when he first appeared before him.

But it wasn't something that could be resolved in that way.

'It's selfish, but I hope you understand.'

In the end, there's no way both of us can go up alive.

'I have no regrets. Unlike you, I've been agonizing over this for a really long time.'

Thud-

Ban Ineoreu reached the Transparent barrier in front of him.

Before the barrier rises,

before the battle begins,

he had to do as he decided.

Han Yoo-seong faced Ban Ineoreu, who was looking at him while holding the candle.

Han Yoo-seong shouted Ban's name.

Ban's reaction to the outcry was. A shy gesture of putting a finger to his lips, telling him to be quiet.

Ban Ineoreu's lips could be seen moving slowly.

To the point where you could guess what he was saying just from the shape of his mouth.

Ban was smiling the whole time he was talking.

Very brightly.

His smile deepened a little more.

With those words, Ban took a few steps back.

The wind blew.

From Ban Ineoreu's mouth.

The candle went out.

[Forfeit occurred.]

Han Yoo-seong blankly stared at Ban Ineoreu, who was collapsing slowly as if crumbling.

['Player' Ban Ineoreu has forfeited the duel.]

['Player' Ban Ineoreu, deceased.]

['Player' Han Yoo-seong will automatically move to the 14th floor Stairway waiting room in 5 seconds.]