The Ninth Floor Test, Part 11
"A specter!"
Kaelion raised her two swords and muttered.
"That bastard actually...!"
"This is no ordinary matter."
Watching the energy flowing from the creature's black body, Lee Jin-hyuk also felt a rare wave of tension.
'That's no Wailing Ghost.'
He swallowed hard.
'It's an Ice-Sinking Ghost. To think that bastard Jang Man-hong would turn into an Ice-Sinking Ghost.'
What happens to players or creatures who die in the Tower?
The Tower was simple.
They turn into corpses and disappear.
But there was a difference from the 'outside' where Lee Jin-hyuk used to live.
The soul.
Every player or creature possessed a soul.
Of course, ordinary people couldn't see them.
Unless it was a special case like now.
"The surroundings are freezing."
"It's because of him."
When souls die, they naturally flow to the Underworld.
But among them, those with deep grudges from when they were alive—souls that cannot accept their death—become corrupted.
The first stage is the Wailing Ghost.
They shriek constantly, neutralizing and biting the living.
But dealing with them wasn't hard.
Their terror lay in their numbers; individually, they could be dispelled with simple holy skills.
The problem starts from the next stage.
Sorrow following wailing.
When a Wailing Ghost regains its living ego and harbors intense sorrow and resentment, it transforms into a frozen specter like that.
Ice-Sinking Ghost.
Though their voices are severed by sorrow, they emit an immense chill born from their deep-seated grudge.
Because they were incomparably stronger than Wailing Ghosts, even Lee Jin-hyuk couldn't help but tense up.
'What's even more terrifying is...'
He swallowed hard.
'...that he can absorb lower-tier ghosts like Wailing Ghosts.'
A skill has been activated.
Sure enough, it was clearly visible to Jin-hyuk's eyes.
The Ice-Sinking Ghost, Jang Man-hong, was swallowing the souls of nearby witches and demonic cultists, specters, and Wailing Ghosts to bloat his size.
—!!!
As if there was nothing more to see, the Ice-Sinking Ghost Jang Man-hong swung his frozen sword.
A Constellation is watching the current situation with interest.
If the sword he used in life was on the longer side, the sword he wielded now was almost the size of a cliff.
Furthermore, the entire blade was composed of frozen specters.
Just grazing it would cause the specters to tear at one's flesh.
Just getting near it would cause one's body to freeze.
"...!"
Without even giving Kaelion a chance to respond, the sword swung down.
She instantly twisted the flow of energy, absorbed it, and unleashed the 3rd form.
It was a sword technique deployed at a speed incomparable to before.
'It's not just fast.'
It was more precise than before, and above all, there was no hesitation.
She possessed the confidence that she could perfectly execute this sword technique no matter how she deployed it.
The demonic energy harbored by Jang Man-hong was instead absorbed by Kaelion, blooming into a giant sunflower.
Screeech!
The Ice-Sinking Ghost Jang Man-hong's sword collided with the sunflower.
Neither yielded an inch, locked in a perfect stalemate.
—!!!!
Perhaps not expecting his sword to be blocked, Jang Man-hong hesitated for a moment.
But that was only temporary.
—!!!!!!
Soon, he absorbed even more specters and Wailing Ghosts, beginning to emit an even greater chill.
Crack! Crack!
The blade covered in glacial energy drew a trajectory, tearing through space.
It was different from when he was alive.
A dance that seemed capable of tearing space apart, performed with two ice swords the size of cliffs.
It was literally a sword dance.
A Constellation is frustrated, asking if a bird instead of a snake really hatched from the 'egg'.
The Constellations who arrived late watched the battle with excitement.
Among them, some were reacting to Elruin, who was perched on Jin-hyuk's shoulder.
A Constellation frowns upon seeing Jang Man-hong, who possesses a power opposite to their own.
A Constellation has sponsored 500 points.
A Constellation chuckles, calling them an absurd cheapskate.
A Constellation expresses disappointment, asking where all the delicious things went.
It was the usual bickering of the Constellations.
However, there was no time to be distracted by this.
'In one go.'
He tightened his grip.
'I'm going to end this in one go.'
—Peep!
Elruin let out a cry, pointing somewhere.
"Is it over there?"
—Peep, peep!
Elruin was a divine beast associated with 'space'.
And the goal of the 9th floor test was [Secure the gate leading to the 10th floor].
Elruin could locate the gate by resonating with her own power.
The gate that was the goal of the test was located high above.
Now, it was time for Jin-hyuk to activate the new sword technique he had acquired.
"Kaelion!"
"Yes!"
At Jin-hyuk's signal, Kaelion's eyes, which had only been blocking or parrying Jang Man-hong's attacks, flashed.
Boom!
—!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Above Jang Man-hong, a massive void form made of flames crashed down.
The abyss of fire added weight, pressing down on Jang Man-hong.
Seeing Jang Man-hong momentarily unable to move, Jin-hyuk's eyes flashed.
'That guy will grow infinitely stronger by absorbing all the specters here.'
His eyes flashed.
'Even if Kaelion can hold out for now, it's better to quickly move to the next floor.'
Instantly, the holy fire flared up.
Holding his sword, Jin-hyuk soared straight toward the sky.
Wings unfurled behind Jin-hyuk's back.
However, they were not wings like those of a bird.
It was a movement of ascension to the heavens, solely to climb.
To reach the stars above.
Thud!
Jin-hyuk's foot kicked off the ground, creating a massive crater.
—Peep!
Elruin, who was on his shoulder, clung tightly to his neck.
Whoosh!
Along with white flames, he began to soar at a speed so fast that the surroundings appeared distorted.
The beings of the stars, the Constellations.
They exist outside the Tower, in a space not permitted to players.
The sword technique, created after gaining enlightenment from seeing the phoenix soar, was designed to reach those stars.
With ordinary energy, ordinary speed, or ordinary determination, one could never reach them.
Indeed.
Jin-hyuk was currently heading toward the gate at maximum speed.
Regardless of what Jang Man-hong, who had turned into an Ice-Sinking Ghost, was doing.
'There it is.'
A movement skill has been activated.
Even while moving, he did not forget to wrap his arm around Kaelion's waist.
"Jin-hyuk!"
"I'm not the type to leave you behind."
Just as he firmly secured his arm around Kaelion's waist.
Overload
All stats are amplified by 5 times.
Agility is amplified by 10 times.
It had been a while since he activated Overload.
—!!!!
All stats increased by five times, but Agility in particular increased by ten times.
As the skills synergized, the surroundings became so distorted that a sense of speed was formed that even the Constellations could not track.
It was as if he were teleporting.
A Constellation is astonished by your speed!
A Constellation's eyes gleam at your speed.
A Constellation, finding the sight of you facing the 'Ice-Sinking Ghost' highly intriguing, picks up their sword.
"...Ugh?"
—Pee-eep?!
Neither Kaelion nor Elruin could adapt to this speed, but it didn't matter.
All he had to do was hold them tightly and pass through the gate.
—!!!
Realizing this, the Ice-Sinking Ghost Jang Man-hong also tried to move.
However, even during this high-speed movement, Kaelion was still maintaining her technique.
With his movements already slowed down...
A Constellation issues a new decree.
A Constellation, claiming this is unfair, leaves a mark with their sword.
Creeeeak—!
An ink-colored sword strike, looking as if drawn by someone with a brush, struck the sky.
Soon, a crack appeared.
'Damn it.'
It was an unexpected variable for Jin-hyuk, who had intended to simply bypass Jang Man-hong.
'Another Constellation is intervening.'
The Constellation of the Sword.
A ghost of the sword who had fought in over ten thousand wars and battles.
'Are you really doing this to a fellow Korean?'
A Constellation's nebula has left a powerful trace!
All energy surrounding the Ice-Sinking Ghost Jang Man-hong is neutralized.
Was it because they were a Constellation who mainly used swords?
A powerful trace was left with just a single sword strike.
—!!!!!!!!
At the same time, the energy surrounding Jang Man-hong vanished.
Cough...!
As an aftermath, Kaelion coughed up blood.
"That bastard..."
Jin-hyuk glared at the sky, gritting his teeth.
Giving him trials was fine.
The harder they were, the greater the rewards would be.
But touching those precious to him—those he considered comrades, or even family—was a different story.
The moment that line was crossed, the light in Jin-hyuk's eyes and his entire aura changed.
A Constellation demands severe punishment, claiming that intervention is worse than their own!
A Constellation strongly agrees with this.
A vast majority of Constellations protest to the 'Administrator' of the Tower regarding this repeated intervention.
'Was that rumor from before my regression true?'
Even as he fed a potion to Kaelion, who was struggling after her sword technique was forcibly canceled, Jin-hyuk kept running.
'That the Administrators of each floor had gone missing for some reason at some point?'
However, the current situation wasn't too bad.
—Peep!
Over three minutes remained on his skill, and just as Elruin had indicated, the gate was right in front of them.
'Why do something so meaningless...'
Now, all he had to do was enter the gate before him.
Thinking it was a pointless endeavor, he was about to pass through the gate when...
A Constellation watches you with expectant eyes.
A Constellation chuckles, saying the situation has become interesting.
A Constellation watches the situation with folded arms this time.
The power of a mighty nebula has gathered.
The Constellations who wielded 'swords' began to gather their strength, finding this amusing.
Even Qin Shi Huang, who was usually favorable, raised his hand in agreement, looking forward to it.
Defeat the Ice-Sinking Ghost
🎯 Objective: Win the battle against the Ice-Sinking Ghost 'Jang Man-hong'. (*Victory conditions are killing the opponent or completely subduing them.)
🎁 Reward: ???
A holy war, unlike a holy word, is activated by setting 'special conditions'.
1️⃣ Player 'Lee Jin-hyuk' cannot use any gate until the Ice-Sinking Ghost 'Jang Man-hong' is destroyed.
2️⃣ Player 'Lee Jin-hyuk' will clear the 9th floor test immediately upon winning. Additionally, the record will be permanently stored in the Hall of Fame.
3️⃣ Players other than 'Lee Jin-hyuk' are permitted to use the gate.
Seeing that Kaelion could be excluded, it seemed Qin Shi Huang had shown some consideration in his own way.
Taking a deep breath, Jin-hyuk spoke to Elruin.
"Elruin."
—Peep?
"I'm counting on you."
Jin-hyuk pushed Kaelion and Elruin straight into the gate.
"J-Jin-hyuk!"
"It'll only take a moment."
All conditions of the proposed quest have been finalized.
—!!!!!!!!!!!
Jang Man-hong's massive slash swept toward Jin-hyuk.
A defensive skill has been activated.
White scales and flames began to wrap around Jin-hyuk as well.
A Constellation laughs, saying they must verify if you possess the qualification.