The Unprecedented Player (2)

Choi Junseok cleared the 5th floor.

Approximately two minutes later.

The player community, Player Inside, erupted once more.

Most players naturally had no idea which floors even had hidden rewards.

The floors containing hidden rewards were secret information shared only among rankers, not the general public.

Even if you knew about them, the information was meaningless unless you achieved a solo clear with a new record. But even on Player Inside, which was only accessible to players, it was never openly shared.

The 5th floor was a prime example.

The 5th floor's hidden reward was the Skill Breakthrough Ticket.

It was an item with an entirely different level of rarity compared to Skill Enhancement Tickets.

Unlike the relatively common "Skill Enhancement Tickets" found throughout the Magic Tower, the Skill Breakthrough Ticket was used to break through to the next stage of a skill.

When a skill's proficiency increased, it forcibly unlocked hidden skills that would otherwise remain sealed.

While Skill Enhancement Tickets merely improved a skill's power or utility, Breakthrough Tickets added entirely new descriptions and abilities, like hidden skills.

This allowed players to perform in ways they never could before.

At the same time, the Skill Breakthrough Ticket had a unique characteristic different from other hidden rewards.

When A achieved a new record on the 5th floor and used the Breakthrough Ticket,

and then B achieved a new record afterward and used their own Breakthrough Ticket,

A's broken-through skill remained unchanged.

In other words,

it meant the nation managed this floor with extreme care for the sake of clearing the 100th floor.

The Player Management Agency meticulously tracked the 5th floor's hidden reward down to the second to promote the growth of as many players as possible.

They would deploy the fastest record holders later.

By allowing as many rankers as possible to claim it, they aimed to accelerate progress on the upper floors.

Thus, the Player Management Agency had set the 5th floor's hidden reward clear time at 1 minute and 14 seconds.

The next candidate was the rank 65 player.

Rank 65. Player Oh Minsu.

His simulated 5th floor clear time was in the early 1 minute 10 second range.

But what?

'6 seconds?'

This wasn't just breaking the record—it was telling everyone else not to even try.

It was as if one entire Skill Breakthrough Ticket farming floor had vanished.

The Player Management Agency's plans lay in ruins before Choi Junseok's unprecedented 6-second record.

From the Agency's perspective, they had taken a massive blow.

Of course, everyone has plausible plans.

Until Function appeared.

The Sejong Player Management Agency headquarters.

As expected, it had been in emergency mode since dawn.

In a soundproof, highly secure executive conference room.

Two men were engaged in an intense conversation in a place on the top floor that felt more like an underground bunker or interrogation room. To be precise, only one of them was heated.

Mun Gwon-su, Commissioner of the Player Management Agency.

His face was flushed red, veins bulging on his neck and forehead.

"Kang Jinsu! You bastard! What the hell happened?! Didn't you say Function ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was under our control?!"

Despite the Commissioner's outburst, Team Leader Kang didn't even blink.

"That's correct."

"Then... what? Why did he clear the 5th floor alone in 6 seconds?! Huh?!"

Even as the shouting and berating continued, Team Leader Kang's expression remained unchanged.

The Commissioner's anger was understandable.

"How are the Five Great Guilds and the rankers going to see us now? Like complete idiots!"

"I apologize."

The 5th floor's hidden reward, the Skill Breakthrough Ticket.

How many rankers had been lining up to receive it?

Honestly, if they wanted to, they could have all rushed into the 5th floor alone and snatched the hidden reward for themselves.

Yet they didn't. They calmly took numbers and waited because of the Player Management Agency's promises and management.

Under the shared (surface-level) goal of clearing the Suseo Magic Tower,

they had each given up on becoming stronger immediately and agreed to let as many players as possible obtain the Skill Breakthrough Ticket.

But Choi Junseok had slashed that time down to 6 seconds.

No.

It wasn't just shortened.

'He completely blocked any additional Skill Breakthrough Tickets from appearing.'

Now, who could possibly clear the 5th floor in under 6 seconds?

It was impossible.

The 5th floor clear condition was to annihilate the goblin legion. The hill was filled with at least a hundred goblin soldiers.

Mixed among them were goblin centurions—overpowered mid-boss monsters with a level of 23 despite being on the lower floors.

That was why it had earned the moniker "E-rank Butcher."

It was a nickname players gave after countless E-rank melee-class players died to it.

The difficulty was on an entirely different level from the 4th floor.

It was "impossible" for a player surpassing Choi Junseok to appear and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠solo-clear in 5 seconds.

"Did you tell him there was a hidden reward on the 5th floor or not?!"

"I did not."

"Why?!"

"It was my mistake."

"No! I'm asking why you made such an absurd mistake in the first place! Right now!"

The windows trembled slightly from the roar.

"I didn't think there was any reason to tell him. I never expected him to challenge the 5th floor alone, let alone clear it in under a minute."

"Even after hearing his records on the 1st and 2nd floors?"

"I thought he only cleared the 3rd and 4th floors with new records by luck from the 1st and 2nd floors."

Commissioner Mun Gwon-su let out a sigh.

"Hey, you saw the summons, didn't you? Huh? You said you passed out after seeing that impressive display! We even tortured the assassin-class player and cross-verified it! You said another person passed out too, right?"

"...Yes."

"Doesn't this not add up? Who the hell are you?! A foreign spy?!"

"...I apologize."

Commissioner Mun Gwon-su panted, downed some cold water, and sighed.

"Is that really all? You just didn't tell him because you didn't believe Function and thought it was unnecessary information?"

"Yes. Because he was F-rank."

"Great. Just great. Huh?"

He continued, sounding somewhat wronged.

"Lee Jiyu, the Supersonic Bunny, is an S-rank player with summons, yet she wasn't faster than Choi Junseok."

"In my judgment, it was a reasonable suspicion. I didn't think evaluating him that highly was a rational decision."

"You didn't?"

A record that even the existing S-rank + summon combination couldn't break.

On the other hand, Choi Junseok was F-rank + summons.

Naturally, judging the latter as having lower potential was an entirely normal conclusion.

"Did I tell you to handle things like that when I had those eight people who saw Choi Junseok's face dealt with? Aigoo. Forget it. Listen, Kang Jinsu."

"...Yes."

"If things go any more wrong... you'll be the one following those eight into the Magic Tower, Team Leader Kang. You know that, right?"

"I understand."

Those eight people. The eight who had seen Choi Junseok's face.

They had likely died several hours ago. Though they had never entered the Magic Tower, they would officially be listed as missing inside it.

The reason was, of course, to maintain confidentiality regarding Choi Junseok.

Choi Junseok's face and identity information had been classified, unknown even to the Commissioner.

Of course, if the President, the Player Management Agency Commissioner, or the Defense Minister wished to view it, they could.

The moment they did, the access record would be permanently stored on the server.

Regardless,

the Player Management Agency had strictly limited knowledge of Function's true identity to Team Leader Kang Jinsu alone.

From the higher-ups' perspective, it didn't matter whether Function was Choi Junseok, the neighbor's Cheolsu, or Nakamura Jun.

As long as he was under official surveillance, his identity was known, and he cleared the Suseo Magic Tower.

They just had to monitor the goose that laid golden eggs.

But Function had struck at that very point.

'Being under surveillance doesn't mean he's someone we can control.'

"It was my mistake. I'll handle it immediately so there are no further issues."

"Handle it, my ass. Enough. Rest. From the moment the sun rises, we'll be fielding calls from player guilds all day."

"I'll handle the calls."

"If a team leader making calls could solve this, would I be this angry right now? Huh?"

The Commissioner, sighing, looked as though he had aged decades in just a few hours.

"Get out."

Team Leader Kang Jinsu bowed his head and walked out into the hallway.

At the same time, a strange question crossed Kang Jinsu's mind.

What if he had told Choi Junseok about the 5th floor's hidden reward?

'If I had asked Choi Junseok to adjust his 5th floor clear time, would he have done it?'

Team Leader Kang asked himself, but he couldn't find a definitive answer.

One thing was certain, though.

From now on, he had to treat him with genuine sincerity. He wasn't someone to engage in power struggles or test.

That morning.

After a busy dawn as newspapers and media outlets prepared their major headlines,

the front pages of various morning news and daily papers were dominated by news about Function.

They highlighted Function's activities based on the 5th floor's hidden clear conditions and rewards.

At a similar time,

Choi Junseok, who had unintentionally thrown a massive question at the government's system regarding the Magic Tower,

"Kuh-heo-eo-eo-eok!"

was now rising from a state of being half-buried alive.

Panting heavily, he pushed himself up from the pile of dirt.

'I almost died.'

His clothes seemed to prove that desperation.

He had entered wearing long sleeves,

but now they were short sleeves, and both ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠his top and bottom were soaked in blood.

"Honestly, if I had to do it again, I couldn't."

He thought he should change clothes before returning to his family.

Recalling the previous moment, Choi Junseok shuddered.

He already knew the 5th floor's clear conditions and terrain.

'I really almost died.'

Shaking his head and catching his breath, Choi Junseok recalled the previous moment.

Summoning the sword with the image of driving it straight into the ground,

in the few seconds before the Holy Sword touched the surface,

Choi Junseok threw his entire body toward the nearest, largest tree.

At the same time, he flattened himself against the ground, bracing for the direction the storm would come from.

The preparation was simple: gulping down a mouthful of the Transcendent-grade "Perfect Healing Potion."

He was impressed with himself for accomplishing all this in 5 seconds,

but what truly impressed him was swallowing the potion still held in his mouth despite the pain that followed.

Soon after,

responding to the image of summoning the Holy Sword as if slashing downward,

the Holy Sword, driven vertically into the ground, flipped the earth over entirely.

KABOOOOOM!!

With a massive shockwave that threatened to overturn the entire 5th floor of the Magic Tower,

a deafening roar and blinding white light covered everything, making it impossible to open his ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠eyes.

He could feel the ground he lay on undulating like waves.

At the same time, intense heat and wind felt as though they would burn his body away.

With the great roar, the Holy Sword embedded in the ground,

the overturned earth, carrying a massive cloud of dust, swallowed Choi Junseok like a tsunami.

Even Lee Nayeon, who had been shielding him from the aftershock as much as possible, vanished moments later.

The aftershock nearly tore off both of Choi Junseok's arms.

His vision cut off amid the mind-numbing pain and the dirt piles crashing from both sides.

A moment later,

Choi Junseok, barely regaining consciousness thanks to the potion's effect, urgently lifted his head.

That was how he obtained the Skill Breakthrough Ticket.

The moment he pressed Yes,

a new line was added to Choi Junseok's skill description.

Ding!

Multiple Summon?

"What the hell am I supposed to use this for?"

The moment he thought the Multiple Summon perk was pretty good,

an image flashed through Choi Junseok's mind.

At the same time, the sword spirit inside also slapped his knee and shouted.

"Finally! I've grasped one stage of the Flying Sword Technique!"

The image Choi Junseok envisioned was similar.

The skill used by the character Gilgamesh in a famous animation.

That very skill where dozens, hundreds of weapons burst from another dimension and rush toward the enemy.

Gate of Babylon.

This seemed to be evolving not into an inventory ability, but into a dimensional storage ability.

"No."

There was something he needed to check.

Another way to utilize his skill to break past level 5.