Chapter 5
Chapter 5
Mad Black Mage's Tower Strategy
Chapter 5
CHOMP-
The sight of Behemoth opening its massive maw and swallowing Seo-jin whole.
As the creature's mouth closed, Seo-jin's figure disappeared beyond the darkness.
Seeing this, Min-young unconsciously screamed.
"N-no!"
Min-young, who had snapped back to her senses, frantically searched for the stop button.
But there was no stop button anywhere.
This was because the tutorial room had changed to a completely different form from before due to the administrator's power.
Then the familiar administrator appeared beside her.
[What are you looking for?]
"D-didn't you see someone get eaten? Please stop it! Hurry!"
Min-young shouted urgently, but the administrator only shrugged his shoulders.
[Well. From what I can see, it doesn't look like he was eaten, but rather jumped in on his own.]
"......"
[And the test doesn't end until the tower entry candidate himself stops it or dies. Surely, you don't think the challenger will fail to pass the test?]
"Of course! There's no way anyone could survive being eaten by such a monster!"
She had never seen such a gigantic beast even in the videos of the frontline strategy teams.
Even the strategy teams called rankers would have difficulty dealing with that beast, so how could Seo-jin, who is an unawakened, possibly survive from inside that monster's belly?
[Ordinarily, that would be true. However.]
The administrator looked at Behemoth with a calm face, arms crossed.
[He's not dead yet.]
"What?"
[He's alive. Still.]
The life response felt from within Behemoth's stomach.
This was a curious situation even for Nimrod.
'A strange situation where a battle between an unawakened who isn't even level 1 and a boss-level monster reaching level 50 has come to pass.'
However, this isn't a test selection with his personal emotions involved.
The administrator is merely a proxy who directly carries out the tower's will.
It was entirely the tower's will that gave him this test.
Nimrod quietly looked at Behemoth while thinking about why the tower had given him such a test.
'Originally, the unawakened are no different from ordinary people.'
But he definitely used magic with an unawakened body.
This was an application of the peculiarity that black magic possesses.
It's truly remarkable talent to handle black magic with only one's own power without contracting with any higher being.
However, that's not all he possesses.
'Cool judgment. And fragments of madness hidden beyond that.'
The decision to jump into the enemy's mouth without hesitation couldn't even be attempted without both coldness and madness.
That would be the true talent that the challenger possesses.
The tower must have recognized that talent and prepared such a perilous test.
But that talent will sleep here. He won't be able to pass the test.
'No matter how much of a tiger's cub one is, one cannot bite a wolf to death.'
Running into that creature's mouth was certainly a witty decision.
But that alone cannot narrow the overwhelming gap in power.
'There's no way for an unawakened whose mana is sealed and who doesn't possess any artifacts to survive from inside Behemoth's belly.'
......Unless he had something like [Leviathan's Fang].
That alone is the only possible scenario where an ordinary man's physical strength could cut through Behemoth's belly and emerge.
But there's no way someone who just took the tutorial test would have such an artifact.
Leviathan's Fang is a rare artifact that can only be obtained on the 90th floor or above, and currently the tower has only been conquered up to the 30th floor.
Nimrod looked at Behemoth silently with his arms crossed.
'It's regrettable when someone with talent disappears in vain. But this too is the tower's will.'
It's not something for Nimrod to interfere with.
Just as the administrator and Min-young, who had half given up, were looking at Behemoth.
GROOOOAR!
Behemoth suddenly raised its head and began to howl in pain.
Behemoth shaking its massive body the size of a small hill back and forth in agony.
GROOOOOK-
After stamping its feet and raging for a while, the creature soon collapsed to the ground with a thud and opened its mouth to vomit thick gastric fluid.
And from the thick gastric fluid covered in blood.
SPLASH-
A man staggered to his feet.
***
"Huff. Huff."
Seo-jin, breathing heavily, stood up while pushing through the thick gastric fluid.
His clothes had melted in the gastric acid and become rags, and his entire body's skin was stained red and stinging.
Perhaps because he had drawn too much blood, his head was dizzy and he felt like he might faint at any moment.
'I won.'
The creature was dead and collapsed, and he was alive and standing proudly.
Whether it's level 50 or a mythical beast, he doesn't care.
It's not the strong who win, but those who survive who are strong.
Seo-jin, savoring the afterglow of victory, turned his head to look at Behemoth's corpse.
'This crazy monster bastard.'
Even though he had stabbed it hundreds of times with a weapon of perfect compatibility that targeted its legendary weakness, its health was so high that it took quite a while to kill it and come out.
He almost got dissolved in the gastric acid or eaten by the giant parasites living inside its body.
Seo-jin stomped on the dead Behemoth's corpse with his feet in frustration, then quickly came to his senses.
Every hair and piece of flesh from this thing is precious research material and money.
Coming to his senses, Seo-jin put down the Leviathan's Fang he was holding.
SIZZLE-
Having served its purpose, Leviathan's Fang soon turned into bloody water and flowed to the ground.
And Nimrod didn't miss that moment.
'Leviathan's Fang...... how on earth did he get that?'
Even if he manifested it through blood magic, how could an unawakened know about the existence of that artifact?
'Indeed.'
Nimrod looked at the spot where Leviathan's Fang had disappeared, his eyebrows twitching for a moment, then completely changed his expression and approached Seo-jin to offer congratulations.
[Congratulations. Tower climber Lee Seo-jin. This is an achievement that will be recorded in the tower's history for ages.]
"It'll be a vicious test recorded in history for ages."
Nimrod pretended not to hear and extended his hand toward Seo-jin.
[You have successfully passed the administrator's test. I shall bestow upon you the right to climb the tower.]
FLASH-
With a bright light, the mark of a tower climber was engraved on Seo-jin.
At the same time, guidance messages appeared one after another in front of Seo-jin's eyes along with holograms.
[You have awakened]
[You have cleared the tutorial room.]
[You have set a new record in the tutorial room. You will receive additional stats and achievement points according to your record.]
[The tutorial room's new record will be registered on the leaderboard. You can choose between anonymous and your real name.]
[You have cleared the administrator's test. You will receive additional stats and achievement points.]
[You are the first to be awakened by an administrator. You will receive achievement points. You will receive special privileges.]
[You have achieved the 'Overkill' achievement.]
[You have achieved the 'High-level Slayer' achievement.]
[You have achieved the 'First Strike' achievement.]
[You have achieved the 'David and Goliath' achievement.]
[You have achieved the 'Monster Slayer' achievement.]
.
.
.
Endless guidance messages floating before Seo-jin's eyes.
This is a special system given only to the awakened, commonly called the 'status window.'
Unlike his previous life when it appeared suddenly one day, since he was awakened by the administrator, it seemed he was given additional points and privileges.
Seo-jin closed the status window and clenched and unclenched his hands to check his body's condition.
Perhaps due to awakening, his tired body felt energized. Rather, his body felt lighter than before.
The blood he had drawn for blood magic hadn't regenerated, but still, this was something.
After checking his body's condition, Seo-jin kicked the Behemoth's corpse beside him and looked at Nimrod.
"Put this in my inventory."
[You mean Behemoth's corpse?]
"Yeah."
Behemoth's corpse is a top-grade synthesis material that holds tremendous value even if it's a degraded powder.
Since he passed such an absurd test, they should provide at least this much service.
[......Well, fine. I hope you use it well. As a service, I'll also expand your inventory to S-grade.]
When Nimrod flicked his finger, Behemoth's massive corpse was soon wrapped in blue mana and transferred into Seo-jin's inventory.
Seo-jin confirmed that Behemoth's corpse had entered his inventory and immediately extended his hand to Nimrod.
"Good. But there's more to give, right?"
The administrator's special privilege that he said he had prepared what Seo-jin needed. He had to check how amazing it was.
At minimum, it had to have overwhelming performance that considered the tutorial clear privileges he had given up earlier and the difficulty level of this administrator's test.
[Very well. Please take a look.]
TING-
When Nimrod flicked his finger, particles of mana gathered in the air.
The gathered particles soon transformed into an artifact about the size of a small marble that resembled the shape of an eyeball.
As he looked at it for a moment, information about that artifact appeared in his status window.
[Eye of Insight (魔眼)]
Grade: EX
Classification: Implant Item
The 72 demons that govern each floor of the tower. An artifact that conceptualized the eyes of those demons. It promises infinite power and responsibility to those who contract with it.
The area and duration that can be 'Insight' increases according to the Eye's level.
As Seo-jin stared blankly at that information, Nimrod added an explanation.
[This is a 'demonic' Eye that belongs to the highest grade among those precious Eyes. You will be pleased with it.]
"......"
As Nimrod said, the Eye is an artifact that boasts tremendous value by its very existence.
Only one entity exists for each ability, and this 'Eye of Insight' is an Eye that sees through things with sharp observation.
Usually, most artifacts with such vague and broad abilities are trash that can't fulfill their role, but if it's an 'Eye,' the story is different.
Seo-jin looked at the Eye and gulped.
'The demonic incarnations that roamed the earth after the tower's collapse. The power they used was the strength that originated from the 'Eye.''
Seo-jin, who had directly faced them, knew better than anyone the true might that the Eye possessed.
'With this, I might be able to read not only the flow of mana but also the target's status, skills, and perhaps even memories and thoughts.'
The value of this Eye would be much higher than the sum of all the tutorial clear privileges that Seo-jin had given up earlier.
It's truly worthy of the privilege the administrator promised.
Nimrod said to Seo-jin, who couldn't take his eyes off the Eye.
[If you wish, I can implant the Eye right now. I'll guarantee safety as well. However, it might hurt a little, just a little bit.]
Nimrod smiled brightly while moving his fingers gracefully like playing piano keys.
To this, Seo-jin stored the Eye in his inventory and said.
"No thanks. I'll handle the implantation myself."
Considering that bastard's personality, he absolutely couldn't entrust it to him. He would definitely implant it as painfully as possible.
[Tsk.]
Nimrod clicked his tongue briefly as if disappointed, then completely changed his expression and opened his mouth again.
[Very well. Then both the tutorial and the administrator's test are finished with this. The achievements you accomplished today will be praised for ages. However.]
He raised his finger upward and said.
[Great achievements are simultaneously great threats to someone. From today, you will become a celebrity of the tower. Whether in a good sense or a bad sense.]
"I'm already prepared for that much."
Following surpassing the highest tutorial record set by Sword Star Ju Won-jae, he's the first person to pass the administrator's test.
The administrator's test is a special test so it won't be recorded on the leaderboard, but just breaking the previous tutorial record is a tremendous achievement.
Even if he registered the record anonymously, safety cannot be guaranteed. Not only the association but countless guilds will search desperately to find out who the record holder is.
It'll be somewhat troublesome from now on, but this too is a weight he must bear.
Seo-jin let out a deep sigh and opened his mouth.
"Nimrod, there's something I want to ask lastly."
[Please speak.]
Nimrod nodded readily.
With his permission, Seo-jin let out another deep sigh, closed his eyes, then quietly asked him.
"The tower, what exactly does it exist for?"