With Explosive Power

The raid on the 10th floor of the Tower of Despair was over.

News that Luo Qin had been knocked off the throne by an absurd, insurmountable margin rippled across the globe. Naturally, South Korean Awakeners witnessed the historic dethroning in real time, plastered directly in front of their eyes.

It arrived as a global emergency alert broadcast to every registered Awakener on the planet. The sheer suddenness of the bulletin left everyone frozen with the exact same thought flashing through their minds.

Right now?

Of course, everyone already knew that EX-jwa had cleared all the way through the 9th floor. At this point, you would have to live under a rock not to know, considering server-wide alerts had been blaring across user interfaces daily. Clearing the 10th floor was entirely within expectations. But did it have to be today?

Wild rumors had already been circulating that the quarterly Special Dungeon was slated to open any minute, throwing the internet into an absolute frenzy.

Precise operational details regarding Special Dungeons were classified at the highest national security level, but secrets had a way of leaking through the cracks. Whispers spread through backchannels and private forums, and the prevailing consensus was that the gate would materialize today. Yet what good was an opening when the event had never been a celebration for Korea?

The vast majority resigned themselves to another Chinese victory, casting a gloomy shadow over every hunter community. That was when the ultimate dopamine bomb detonated across the boards: the 10th-floor leaderboard overhaul. Nobody could possibly stay calm in the face of that.

The public reaction was volcanic. Just like the 5th floor, the 10th-floor blessing had belonged exclusively to Luo Qin—the single most detested foreign ranker in all of South Korea. Snatching away his personal blessing on the 5th floor and repeating the exact same humiliation on the 10th floor, right on the eve of the Special Dungeon? It was an intoxicating rush of catharsis.

Yet a cold bucket of reality quickly followed.

Deep down, everyone knew the odds were microscopic. But human nature was wired to buy lottery tickets on the slimmest glimmer of hope. With an anonymous, god-tier Awakener demonstrating such supernatural performance, people couldn't help wondering: What if?

Yet climbing the tower right before the dungeon opened meant his participation was essentially out of the question. To make matters worse, an even more discouraging leak surfaced.

With that final shred of wishful thinking decisively squashed, the collective sentiment returned to grim resignation. There was nothing else to be done; they would simply have to give up.

Excuse me? I won't even be able to go to the Special Dungeon?

Kim Haun scrolled through his feed, a smirk playing on his lips.

“As if.”

He stretched lazily, feeling the invigorating pulse of strength settle throughout his frame.

“I'm definitely going.”

Having conquered the 10th floor, his level had advanced to 11. He was now a bona fide, full-fledged Awakened. Moreover, scrolling through hunter forums over the past few days had led him to an unexpected revelation.

“Reading people talking about me online is surprisingly addictive.”

Everywhere he looked, threads praised, dissected, and worshipped the mysterious EX-jwa. It was thoroughly entertaining. Perhaps deep down, he enjoyed being the center of attention. Excessive, suffocating fame in the real world was obnoxious, but basking in worldwide acclaim while remaining completely anonymous? That was pure, unfiltered joy.

So this is why people become hunters.

Of course, internet clout was merely a side dish. The true feast lay in the tangible spoils of victory.

Breaking records meant claiming the loot. That was fundamental law. The 10th-floor blessing: With Explosive Power. Haun had looked up its parameters well in advance.

That was how the system originally coded it. But under the divine touch of his Primordial Force, the text warped into something far grander.

“Man... Primordial Force really is the greatest.”

A proc chance to double all outgoing damage, completely uncoupled from tower confines and applied universally to everything he did. Even without extensive field testing, its sheer, broken utility was glaringly obvious.

“I was actually starting to worry a bit, so this couldn't have come at a better time.”

Up through the 10th floor, even elite boss-class monsters had been vaporized in a single blow. However, general wisdom dictated that Floors 1 through 4 were merely introductory tutorials. Floors 6 through 9 were designed so that any reasonably competent Awakener could push through. The real bottleneck began starting at Floor 11.

“People say the difficulty spikes ruthlessly with every single floor.”

That had planted a seed of doubt in his mind. What if upper-floor monsters survived his initial strike? He didn't doubt his ability to clear them, but falling short of an EX-rank evaluation would cost him his most prized bounty: the Mark of Transcendence.

He had already banked ten tokens. Gathering five more would finally unlock the golden mystery chest in the Arcana Market. There was no way he was giving up on that prize. If a single shot wasn't enough to obliterate future targets, the solution was simple.

It's about time I learned a new skill anyway.

Dungeon diving over the past few days had yielded a decent stockpile of low-grade magic stones. A few hundred wasn't an empire of wealth, but his devastating Energy Bolt had only cost a measly hundred stones. A technique worth several hundred had to pack an even more terrifying punch. And now, combined with a blessing that could double its impact?

“Heh, beautiful.”

A sudden thought crossed his mind. How was his generous benefactor, Mr. Luo Qin, looking right about now after handing over such a lovely prize? You should have walked a more righteous path in life, buddy.

“While he's at it, I wouldn't mind if he surrendered the Special Dungeon buff too... Though I doubt he'll be that charitable.”

Beijing, China.

Within the cavernous martial grounds of the Heavenly Martial Alliance, an oppressive hush hung in the air. Just three hours prior, the courtyard had been buzzing with haughty anticipation, but now the silence was so suffocating that not even the sound of swallowing saliva could be heard.

“Fuuuuh...”

The ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠only sound was the heavy, ragged exhale of Luo Qin, the absolute master of the alliance. He said nothing, entirely consumed by the monumental effort required to suppress his berserk rage.

He dares steal another blessing from me?

It was not merely any blessing, either.

With Explosive Power.

On its own, a random proc to double destructive force was already elite. But paired with the 25th-floor blessing that imbued every action within the tower with supreme good fortune, the double-damage effect triggered on virtually every single strike. It had served as the bedrock of his rapid ascent through the higher floors.

That wretched little rat from that petty country...

If the loss of the Seal of Amplification on the 5th floor had struck a blow against China's national supply of magic stones, the loss of this blessing crippled Luo Qin's personal climbing efficiency. To have it ripped from his hands was unforgivable.

“I will tear him to shreds with my bare hands.”

His vow to eliminate the intruder solidified into venomous certainty. First, he would secure the Special Dungeon buff to bolster their national dominance, and then—

A sudden chill crept up the back of his neck.

“Did you confirm that the rat has zero chance of entering Korea's Special Dungeon?”

“Y-Yes, Heavenly Emperor!” a subordinate stammered, dropping to one knee. “South Korea's Awakened Management Bureau has entirely failed to identify his persona or location. They have no means of drafting him into their strike team!”

Logic dictated that was true. Yet a gnawing anxiety refused to dissipate. Why did his gut insist that the unknown ranker would appear? Because if Luo Qin were in that monster's position, that was precisely what he would do.

“A foul premonition clings to me.”

Luo Qin had ascended to the apex of the global hierarchy largely thanks to his innate class, the Heavenly Emperor. However, another factor had preserved his life through countless near-fatal ordeals: his razor-sharp intuition. If, by some impossible twist of fate, that nameless bastard hijacked the Special Dungeon, the overall combat readiness of China's Awakeners would plunge dramatically. And Luo Qin's personal power would stagnate alongside it.

He could not allow even a sliver of that possibility to take root.

“Fetch the Elixir of Extreme Culmination at once.”

“P-Pardon? But Heavenly Emperor, that sacred draft is—”

“Bring it.”

It was a supreme buffing elixir hoarded strictly for challenging the highest floors of the tower. Burning it here was an egregious waste, but when his instincts screamed danger, hesitation was suicide. To eradicate all variables, excessive force was mandatory.

“The rift opens shortly. All support units, prepare your full enhancement array.”

Once the Special Dungeon manifested, vanguard scouts deployed in the sector would pinpoint the entrance within three to four minutes and link the dimensional conduits. From there, sweeping the interior would be child's play. The stacked buffs of top-tier support Awakeners combined with the Elixir of Extreme Culmination represented enough firepower to assault the upper reaches of the Tower of Despair.

Those fools in that small country usually squander tens of minutes just stumbling around trying to locate the entrance.

Luo Qin bared his teeth in a savage grin. He would end the trial before they even laid eyes on the threshold. Whatever grand ambitions the anonymous rat harbored, they would crumble to ash before he even stepped through the door.

“Ah, finally time.”

Haun stood up from his couch and rolled his shoulders, loosening his joints. Fifteen seconds trickled down to zero in the blink of an eye.

“Alright, open up.”

A dimensional tear split the fabric of the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠room with a gentle hum.

Every single time I use this, I'm amazed by how ridiculously convenient it is.

Other countries had to scramble fleets of scout teams across rugged wilderness and urban zones just to locate the gate coordinates. Meanwhile, Haun could stroll directly into a high-stakes international competition straight from his living room.

As the teleportation light cleared, the ancient stone architecture of the sunken temple emerged around him, alongside a rather peculiar penalty.

“Mana usage is restricted?”

That meant Energy Bolt was completely off the table. In the past, he would have wailed in despair, demanding his beloved beginner spell back, since he possessed zero other options without mana. But now? Things were entirely different.

Creak.

He produced his recurve bow from his inventory and notched a heavy alloy arrow onto the string. Far across the temple courtyard, a cluster of imposing stone gargoyles began grinding their joints, eyes igniting with baleful crimson light as they lumbered toward him. Guardians, without a doubt.

Haun drew the string taut, aligned his sights, and released.

KABOOOOOOOM!

The released arrow broke the sound barrier instantly. The sonic shockwave alone pulverized the front lines, detonating stone torsos into powdered dust and sending catastrophic shockwaves cascading through the colonnade.

“Wait, what? Four in one shot?”

Haun blinked in mild disbelief. Everyone had hyped up Special Dungeons as grueling trials where even national elites struggled to stay alive. Had the difficulty scaled down because of his rank? He recalled reading that Special Dungeons dynamically adjusted their parameters based on the entrant's current level. Having just cleared the 10th floor, his official status was Level 11.

“So it adjusted to low-level difficulty because of my stats? Sweet.”

He grinned, already reaching for another arrow.

“How long did China take to clear this last quarter again?”

He seemed to remember a forum post mentioning thirty-seven minutes.

“Thirty-seven minutes, huh...”

Looking at the crumbling statues ahead, Haun shook his head with a chuckle.

“Pretty sure I can wrap this whole thing up in under three.”