Chapter 32
Chapter 32
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 32
Chapter Title: Savior of Seoul (10)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
One of the Strongest 7, Kang Mu-hyuk—the human chosen by the 6th Hierarchy Constellation Edge of the Sword—dropped to his knees.
Huff! Huff! Heave!
But he didn't fall. It was exhaustion, nothing more.
Gr... Uh... Uhh...
Countless orc warriors lay scattered as corpses behind Kang Mu-hyuk's back.
The sturdy armors and shields they prided themselves on were shattered beyond recognition, some even cleaved clean through.
'Just... just this much...! I can't... fall. I have to stand! No matter how many times...!'
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Kang Mu-hyuk steadied his ragged breaths and forced his body upright with sheer grit.
Tremble!
His legs shook so badly he could barely hold himself steady, while cold sweat poured down like a waterfall.
Throb! Throb!
He bore wounds from the orc warriors as well—nasty cuts that bled freely.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Yet Kang Mu-hyuk stood. He rose from the cold floor, gripped his sword, and refused to yield.
"I'm... going up."
With his will ablaze, Kang Mu-hyuk ascended to the second floor of the white tower. Edge of the Sword watched his retreating figure and smiled.
Ryu O-shin, chosen by the 6th Hierarchy Constellation Great Sage Equal to Heaven, swept through the first floor of the white tower.
"...Filthy vermin."
True to his Heavenly Horse nature, Ryu O-shin was overwhelming. Black goblins weren't even worthy opponents, and even hobgoblins crumbled under his fists.
Ryu O-shin's Heavenly Demon Divine Art was raw, unadulterated might.
But even as he stormed through the tower with unstoppable momentum, Ryu O-shin was forced to halt.
"...Annoying."
Because his Heavenly Demon Divine Art was only at 1 Star.
1 Star out of 9.
He could no longer draw on it. His inner energy had run dry, leaving him no choice but to stop.
"...If only it were 2 Stars."
He had reached the pinnacle of 1 Star, but not 2. That tiny yet vast gap brought Ryu O-shin to a standstill.
"...I'll endure for now."
Ferocity burned in Ryu O-shin's eyes like never before. Yet, unbelievably, he possessed patience.
Arhim, chosen by the 6th Hierarchy Constellation Ark of Death, slowly but surely painted the white tower with death.
"Kill and keep killing."
Arhim's undead legion multiplied—one to two, two to four, four to eight—devouring the orc horde whole.
Roooar...!
Not even mighty trolls were spared. Dozens of skeleton warriors shattered, but they eventually brought them down.
And resurrected them. As thick-skinned skeleton warriors. As undead soldiers.
Clatter. Rattle.
"Die, every last one."
Arhim thoroughly annihilated the first floor of the white tower. Not a single lifeform was left breathing.
"You're not even worth sparing."
p>He showed no interest in being the first to conquer the tower. Death itself consumed him far more than any such triviality.
"All of you, die."
Kaguya, chosen by the 6th Hierarchy Constellation Yamata no Orochi, devoured the white tower's monsters using her two tails.
Crunch. Grind! Gulp.
The monsters made fine fodder. They sated her hunger and quenched her thirst.
But they tasted awful.
Foul.
"...Humans would probably taste better."
No one could tell if it was a slip of the tongue or her true thoughts.
Kaguya grimaced and spat out a glob of monster blood with a ptui. Then she wiped her lips clean.
Kaguya knelt and bowed her head to heed the words of her noble existence.
"Noble One. I have carried out your words. Now, tell me what I must do next."
In response to Kaguya's question, her constellation Yamata no Orochi spoke.
"Calmly." "Wait." "You are still." "Lacking much." "To enact my will."
⟨ Yamata no Orochi ⟩
Yamata no Orochi's voice didn't come from the heavens—it resonated from within Kaguya's own body.
Was that why? It felt sacred yet faintly eerie.
To Kaguya, however, it was utterly divine and holy, filling her with an overwhelming exaltation beyond compare.
"Yes, I shall wait, Noble One. All as you will."
Per Yamata no Orochi's command, Kaguya waited before the stairs to the second floor.
She didn't ask what she was waiting for. She dared not question it.
She simply waited, silent as a serpent.
Vladimir, chosen by the 6th Hierarchy Constellation Akasha, pushed past the second floor of the white tower to reach the third.
But he stopped there, for the most ridiculous reason.
"Hmm. What a hassle this body is."
Vladimir halted because the sun had risen over Moscow, Russia, where the white tower stood.
The sunlight, poison to a vampire, had sapped his strength dramatically.
It was absurd, but considering the absurd power of a Crimson Vampire, it was a fitting restraint.
If a Crimson Vampire could operate freely day and night, even a Hero would struggle to win.
"Yawn..."
Vladimir abandoned the tower climb, carved out a coffin in the wall, crawled inside, and closed his eyes.
Aria, chosen by the 6th Hierarchy Constellation Maria, purified the suffering skeleton warriors on the white tower's first floor.
"Rest well in a better place!"
Viiiing!!
As a Holy Maiden, a unique class, skeletons were just bones to her—nothing more, nothing less.
Her wish for them to rest well was 100% sincere, of course.
"Time for you to rest too!"
Not even ferocious evil spirits escaped Aria's grasp; they were purified.
Grr... Ahh... Graaah...
Zombies carrying deadly plagues were powerless before her.
Aria cleared the first floor in one go and ascended to the second. With near-infinite stamina and holy power, the second floor seemed no great challenge.
But her opponents were a poor match. Of all things, golems.
Thud! Boom! Thud!
"Oh dear? This is a problem."
Golems, being near-lifeless constructs, were the perfect counter to Aria, who crushed evil monsters with her vast stamina and holy power.
And there were multiple.
"I thought it was too easy."
Aria looked troubled but didn't lose her smile.
Fear had no place in her heart from the start. Only holiness and truth did.
"This must be another trial!"
Jack Roar, the Hero chosen by the 6th Hierarchy Constellation Eve and humanity's strongest, barely broke through the white tower's first floor.
Huff...! Huff...!
His breath rose to his throat, sweat drenched his body, and his heart felt ready to burst.
Battles against formidable foes had been grueling. He'd been cornered countless times.
His title as humanity's strongest rang hollow; he was thoroughly outmatched, dancing on the edge of death repeatedly.
Yet Jack Roar didn't fall.
"Raaagh...!!"
Thud! Boom!
He felled ogres, two-headed trolls, orc great warriors, lizardmen warriors, centaurs, golems, and more.
And that experience...
Thump...!
Considering Heroes had the hardest growth curve of any class, this was an outrageous pace.
"Not easy, as expected."
His voice dripped with exhaustion.
Yet Jack Roar's face held the leisure only a Hero could muster.
"Gotta aim for first place anyway."
True to form, Jack Roar straightened his bent back and challenged the white tower's second floor.
"Because I'm the Hero."
In truth, Lee Sang-hyun hadn't unleashed his full power until now. His body had evolved rapidly, but everything else lagged behind.
His body had grown, but his mind, experience, and skills all fell short.
4th Grade? Only on paper. His actual output hadn't reached 4th Grade, let alone 3rd.
Flashy exterior, hollow inside.
But battling Steno had filled many of those gaps far more than expected.
Especially experience—equivalent to a thousand battles.
Thump...! Thump...!
No, more than that. For a Berserker who grew stronger with every drop of blood shed, crossing death's threshold hundreds of times was unparalleled.
Just jumping from 4th to 5th Grade showed the magnitude.
His skills and mental growth weren't as dramatic, so gaps remained...
But they were closing.
Through the Ilbern Swordsmanship inherited from the Hero of a fallen world, which he hadn't truly understood.
It was a contingency. The Hero's plan for whoever grasped the bloodstained chains cursing the Demon.
The Hero hadn't truly believed it would happen. Impossible, after all.
Unthinkable.
Yet the Hero left it behind anyway.
Someday...
After eons...
For the faint hope that might arrive.
'Please... let this reach someone.'
The Demons mocked, ridiculed, and jeered at such a foolish Hero. They even cheered the "pathetic comedy."
"Ahh! What a fool! Well, give it a shot! Though it'll be pointless folly, of course."
To Demons, scorning hope was exquisite joy.
But it reached Lee Sang-hyun.
The impossible miracle occurred, fulfilling the foolish Hero's wish.
And now.
Lee Sang-hyun learned the true Ilbern Swordsmanship through the Hero's contingency—his 'memories.'
'This is...'
It was 'motions' and 'mana flow.' But not as an observer. He moved 'himself.'
Swish! Slash!
Lee Sang-hyun realized these were the 'Hero's' memories. And that he had become the 'Hero.'
"......"
The 'Hero's' movements flowed like water—perfect enough to call art.
Lee Sang-hyun felt each one, enlightenment dawning naturally.
No need to force memorization. It completed itself, like moving his own limbs.
Swish!
It was Ilbern Swordsmanship—identical yet utterly transformed from the fragmented version he'd merely inherited.
"......"
And that wasn't all.
For the hope that might one day come, the 'Hero' had torn out part of his soul to forge an illusion.
Lee Sang-hyun, both 'Hero' and not, raised his sword toward this other 'Hero.'
......
......
No words were needed between them.
Without precedence, they swung at each other.
Clang! Claaang!
Both wielded Ilbern Swordsmanship.
Kaaang!!
Strength, motion, even breathing—mirror images. Nothing differed.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Perhaps that's why neither gained the upper hand. They circled endlessly, like treading water.
"......"
Their exchange dragged on. Over ten minutes, by the clock, fiercely intent on deciding victory.
But neither pulled ahead.
Because they were perfectly identical.
Identical Ilbern Swordsmanship.
How could one surpass that?
Impossible.
But to Lee Sang-hyun, it felt different.
Slightly...
Ever so slightly...
The 'Hero' held a subtle edge.
An illusion, perhaps. He was a novice who'd never properly swung a sword, let alone learned one.
Yet he felt it.
Clang! Claaang...!
That the 'Hero' was ahead.
'How...?'
Lee Sang-hyun never solved that riddle.
But as the Hero was bisected, he mastered perfect Ilbern Swordsmanship.
The Ilbern Swordsmanship that could fell Demons.
Shiiiing!!