The Holy Sword's Descent
“What?”
“It’s likely… my former summoner from Japan was involved….”
A clear terror lingered on Song Hana’s face.
When she began trembling, Lee Nayeon stepped forward and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. Song Hana’s shaking eased slightly.
“If it’s Japan….”
“Matsumoto Hi, Hirobumi. His player name is Susanoo… Japan’s S-grade ranker.”
“A single ranker can organize terrorism against Korean players?”
“Matsumoto… that man is no ordinary ranker.”
“Then?”
“He is a descendant of a powerful military-political family and currently serves as Japan’s Minister of Defense.”
Far more influential than imagined. Though, being an S-grade player already marked him as one of his nation’s elite.
“Minister of Defense means… the equivalent of our Minister of National Defense?”
“…Yes. Of course, other forces were likely involved behind the scenes. North Korea, for example.”
Song Hana’s tone was unlike her usual self; her face had gone pale with fear.
“I’m certain he supported this… I… I have to go to Japan… Otherwise… otherwise…!”
She shook violently, terrified.
Leaving Song Hana in this state made entering the Magic Tower difficult. Choi Junseok gently gripped her shoulders and calmed her.
“Even if I die, you will never return to Japan.”
The country would never stand by and watch, and neither would Choi Junseok or Lee Nayeon.
“Please… summon Kkamdori. I think that will help.”
Choi Junseok summoned Kkamdori. The little dragon let out a soft cry, then laughed, and Song Hana seemed to regain her composure faster than expected.
The black baby dragon blinked several times at the unusual sight of Song Hana before tilting its head. Without a word, it hopped into her arms and nuzzled her face.
Choi Junseok looked down at the street through the curtains. No additional terrorism or provocations appeared to be occurring. The city was wrapped in an eerie silence. He organized the situation.
“We can’t be certain whether Japan is involved right now. It’s possible they disguised the captives’ memories to make it look like Japan’s doing.”
“….”
After all, these were people capable of manipulating the system window enough to change affiliations to Korea. When identity checks were run, it had already been cross-verified through the National Intelligence Service and Team Leader Kang that the player was not of Korean birth.
“But two things are certain. No, three.”
“…?”
“One, I have to climb the Magic Tower. Two, you will never go to Japan.”
Lee Nayeon smiled and nodded.
“The last is that I’ve decided to destroy North Korea’s Kaesong Magic Tower.”
It was something Yu Junhyeok had already confirmed inside him.
With a Transcendent-grade Holy Sword, cutting through the Kaesong Magic Tower is nothing. Research shows that while materials outside the tower cannot even scratch it, materials inside the tower can damage it.
“We’ll drive the Holy Sword horizontally into the Kaesong Magic Tower. At the same time, Lee Nayeon, you’ll grip that sword and slice the tower apart. That will be our retaliation.”
Choi Junseok entered the Magic Tower alone. He felt the need to vent this anger somewhere, and the tower was the perfect place.
As if sensing his intent to enter, Lee Nayeon carefully rose from Song Hana’s side. Song Hana, still hugging Kkamdori, steeled her resolve.
“Please summon me inside the Magic Tower. I want to smash everything to pieces!”
Choi Junseok nodded at Song Hana’s words and entered the tower.
Would you like to enter the 14th floor? (Y/N)
You have entered the 14th floor.
Time Limit: 1 hour 10 minutes.
11th Floor Clear Condition: Defeat the 20 Death Knights guarding the castle.
At the same time, twenty knights in heavy armor guarding the castle appeared before him. Each rode a skeletal horse exhaling blue chill. Thankfully, they approached in a triangular assault formation.
“I’ll leave them to you.”
Lee Nayeon equipped the Lionheart’s Gauntlet while Song Hana drew back the string of a bow made of light.
Click. Click.
The castle he had seen when climbing the 11th floor with Park Suho was already drawing near—close enough to be within summoning range of the Holy Sword. There was something he wanted to test.
Choi Junseok imagined the angle at which the Holy Sword would plunge diagonally from the sky near the castle toward the structure. He aimed the laser pointer at the target point. Of course, no red dot appeared on the wall, but it clarified the summoning angle and the point the sword would strike.
Then he shouted.
“Summon!”
Whoosh—
Ripples spread through the air. The dark clouds in the sky parted in all directions at once, and the Holy Sword appeared. Following Choi Junseok’s intent to grant it maximum acceleration, the sword hurtled toward the castle at top speed.
Lee Nayeon and Song Hana stared blankly at the sight. What was surprising were the undead knights—they all changed the direction of their skeletal horses at once.
‘What?’
Soon the Holy Sword struck the castle, destroying the outer watchtower and embedding itself deep inside.
BOOOOOOM—!
The ground shook with a tremendous explosion. Stones from the shattered walls burst outward in all directions as if swelling. Knights struck by the rubble had their heads explode, and skeletal horses shattered. Song Hana had to use the arrow she had aimed at a knight to intercept the flying debris instead.
When the aftershock subsided, not a single knight remained alongside the collapsed castle. She had sensed it the moment she intercepted the rubble—the 14th floor clear notification had appeared.
Congratulations!
You have cleared the 14th floor.
Clear Time: 12 seconds.
Would you like to register anonymously on the Hall of Fame? (Y/N)
“Register anonymously.”
Registered anonymously.
Clear rewards have been granted.
The Recovery Fairy Dragon’s additional effect has activated.
Just as he wondered why the return prompt had not appeared, an unexpected notification popped up.
Congratulations!
You have met the 15th floor hidden clear condition!
Hidden Clear Condition: Destroy the fortress on the 14th floor.
You have cleared the 15th floor.
Clear Time: 12 seconds.
Hidden Reward Condition: Achieved the fastest solo clear time.
Hidden clear rewards have been granted.
Hidden rewards and hidden clear rewards have been granted.
Would you like to return? (Y/N) You will return automatically after 30 minutes.
He had somehow cleared up to the 15th floor at the same time.
“…Return.”
Back at the hotel, Choi Junseok felt somewhat dazed.
“The name is complicated.”
Hidden “clear” reward and hidden reward. The former was probably a bonus for clearing the 15th floor via the hidden condition. The latter was likely compensation for achieving the hidden conditions of first entry and fastest solo record.
The hidden reward was, as always, a box. But the hidden clear reward was different.
“What is that paper?”
“…It says it’s the hidden clear reward.”
“Correct! It’s a supermarket flyer!”
Song Hana spoke in her usual manner, as if her energy had returned, but it wasn’t quite the same. Still, it did look like a supermarket flyer, with items listed in a row.
“It says it’s a reward selection ticket.”
Indeed. It seemed he could choose one of every possible reward type that could appear on the 15th floor. Like a supermarket flyer, nothing particularly caught his eye. However, there was something he was looking for—the item Haetaesik had requested.
‘Did he ask for the 15th floor boss’s head…?’
But wasn’t that something he had to go cut off himself? As expected, the only item close to the “Undead King’s head” was the Undead King’s Crown. It was probably meant to utilize the Undead King’s cooling effect in the forge, but taking the crown would be pointless. While he was pondering whether to treat it as a free reward and go back to the 15th floor to extract the head…
One item caught Choi Junseok’s eye.
“Undead King Summon Ticket….”
Summon the Undead King and… get heads… infinite refill? Setting aside whether it was possible, the thought itself raised ethical questions. But there was no choice. This was the closest thing to the “cooling function” the 15th floor boss’s head would possess.
— Will this work?
He asked Yu Junhyeok, but the sword spirit only clicked his tongue and said he didn’t know. Still, what could he do? If it didn’t work, he would have to spend the high-pass ticket charged by the record to climb the 15th floor again. Choi Junseok immediately selected the Undead King Summon Ticket.
◈ Summons the LV. 64 monster ‘Undead King’.
A single ticket was placed in Choi Junseok’s hand.
Would you like to use the ‘Undead King Summon Ticket’? (Y/N)
“Use it.”
The skill was registered immediately. What was disconcerting was that although it was a summoning skill, it was not a universal skill. It felt strange that it had registered as a Magic Tower-exclusive skill.
The sensation he felt was also different. Unlike Song Hana and Lee Nayeon, this one could only be summoned inside the Magic Tower.
“I feel gross, so I’ll wash up first.”
Lee Nayeon headed straight for the bathroom, and Song Hana followed behind her with a giggle. Both seemed uncomfortable having walked on undead-infested ground. Meanwhile, Choi Junseok entered Haetaesik’s forge.
—
Clang! Clang!
Haetaesik had been hammering, flattening, and quenching the materials Choi Junseok had given him all day. Choi Junseok felt a twinge of guilt. But what could he do? The country was on the verge of war surrounding the Magic Tower.
“Haetaesik! I got what you wanted, but…”
Clang—!
After one final crisp hammer strike, Haetaesik turned around.
“Oh… you brought it? Perfect timing!”
“But it’s… a bit different.”
“Different?”
Choi Junseok summoned the Undead King without further explanation. A white mist spread widely, and from within emerged a naked skeleton with blue bones throughout its body. Without any equipment, the Undead King looked far smaller and more pitiful than Choi Junseok remembered.
“You… called me… Aaaagh!”
It seemed hot. Probably because it was an opposing element. He recalled the raid party enchanting their weapons with fire-attribute magic when they had followed as porters. ‘Back then it looked terrifying and massive…’ Now, transformed into a summon, it had shrunk to human size. Without the greatsword, crown, and robe it had wielded, it simply looked like a skeleton soldier.
Yet Haetaesik clapped his hands in surprise.
“Excellent! I asked for just the head, but you brought the whole body!”
He seemed extremely satisfied.
“You! Get into this quenching tub right now!”
It was about the size of an ordinary bathtub.
“I… only obey my summoner’s words…”
“Get in.”
The Undead King slid smoothly through the air and plopped straight into the quenching tub.
“Krrgh… I’m saved.”
It seemed somewhat less hot. Watching the tub cool rapidly, Haetaesik nodded with certainty.
“You brought a fine one. If it were just the head, we wouldn’t need to put it in and take it out repeatedly. Will it listen when spoken to?”
“…I only obey my summoner…”
“Undead King. From now on, you will absolutely obey Haetaesik’s words.”
“…I will follow the command.”
“Good. With this, we can shorten the time even more.”
“Glad you’re satisfied.”
“Satisfied? This is beyond satisfaction. With this coolant… my art can advance another level.”
“…Nice.”
Haetaesik demonstratively dropped a heated sword into the tub—well, the quenching tub.
Hiss—
Just from dipping it briefly and pulling it out, a strange wavy pattern appeared on the once-red blade.
“Insane. Absolutely insane!”
Looking at the summon’s condition, the Undead King also seemed quite satisfied. It had both arms resting on the edge of the tub, leaning back with its neck tilted, letting out a “Krrgh…” as if it were in a real bathtub.
“Well… as long as everyone’s happy.”
It was time to go claim the remaining reward—along with climbing the 16th floor.