The Tenth Team Ignites the Forums
Baekho eyed Mu-hyuk.
"Just like before, you've brought some truly remarkable items today."
Mu-hyuk simply smiled in response instead of answering.
"Ahem, alright. How many of these do you have?"
"Around 400."
He mentioned the full remainder since he planned to keep about 100 for himself. Baekho nodded.
"400, huh. By any chance..."
"Yes."
"Can you make more of these regularly from now on?"
"Not too often, but it's possible."
"I see. I'll have to set the price again this time, then?"
"I'd appreciate that."
Mu-hyuk had been thinking around 10 gold each. It wasn't an elixir like a mana orb, so he knew he couldn't price it too high. But at least 10 gold—that was the minimum for the deal to make sense.
"If you make more in the future..."
"Yes."
"...and sell them to us, we'll buy them steadily at 20 gold apiece."
"20 gold?"
"That's right."
It was double what he'd expected.
Hmm.
Even recalling his past memories, 20 gold was a hefty sum.
400 would mean a whopping 8,000 gold.
But since it was twice his estimate, Mu-hyuk couldn't help doubting if his memory was off.
"To be honest with you."
"Go ahead."
"I have no basis for comparison, so I don't know what to say."
"That makes sense. Then go check around elsewhere. I guarantee no one will offer more than me."
"Is that alright?"
"Of course."
"Then I'll look around a few more places."
"Do that."
Mu-hyuk headed to another major city, making for the castle.
"Halt!"
"I'm a noble from the Forma Continent."
Pulling out two plaques, the soldier tilted his head.
"This is..."
"Duke Amur's mark."
"Ah, Duke Amur...!"
Duke Amur's reputation was quite high even on the Kairon Continent.
"Ahem, what brings you here?"
"I've acquired an item with excellent wound-healing effects and wanted to show it to nobles on the Kairon Continent. I suspect they'll take great interest..."
The soldier pondered, then nodded.
"Please wait a moment."
"Sure."
The soldier returned from inside, bringing someone along.
A baron from the Kairon Continent.
"From the Forma Continent?"
"Yes."
"Ahem, come on in for now."
"Thank you."
Once inside, he showed the baron's blood and explained. The noble's eyes sparkled.
"If it truly works as described, it's incredible..."
He even called a soldier to verify.
Inflicting a wound and using the baron's blood.
"Amazing."
After a brief chat, they dove straight into price negotiations.
"Around 10 gold seems fair. What do you think?"
"10 gold..."
It was his initial estimate, but a far cry from Baekho's offer.
"Sorry."
Mu-hyuk met other nobles and negotiated similarly.
A total of five.
All offered around 10 gold. It confirmed that the early user who monopolized the baron's blood had sold at that price too.
My memory wasn't wrong.
That meant Baekho desperately wanted the baron's blood.
"How about 12 gold? That's quite generous..."
"Sorry."
The last noble offered only 12 gold.
No point checking further.
He left the castle and returned to Mauring town. Heading to the Baekho estate, they ushered him straight to the reception room as if waiting. Baekho appeared soon after, looking quite relaxed.
"How'd it go?"
"Most offered low."
"See? I was right."
"Yes."
"Ready to sell now?"
"Of course."
Mu-hyuk handed over all 400.
A total of 8,000 gold.
80 million won in hand.
"Thanks."
"I'll come back if I make more."
"Do that."
Leaving the Baekho estate, Mu-hyuk finally logged out.
Time to sleep.
Fatigue hit him all at once.
*
The assault on the 40th floor resumed.
A full three days.
Hunting sword poison eagles for experience and steadily gathering gems. Satisfied, he approached the massive door to the 41st floor. Reaching out, a huge chest appeared before him.
"I'll go first."
"Oh? What's this?"
"Feeling good."
"Ooh!"
Mu-hyuk stepped up and inserted coins into the slot.
3 rubies, 4 diamonds.
"That's a lot. Putting in more doesn't guarantee better results, though."
"Still."
Mu-hyuk smiled and pulled the lever.
Junk items dropped.
Casually stowing the useless junk in his inventory, he inserted more coins.
2 rubies, 4 diamonds, 1 topaz.
This was the gem ratio proven to boost key odds.
"Topaz too?"
"Yeah."
"Wasteful. Those are rare."
"It's fine."
He pulled the lever again.
A round something tumbled out.
"Huh...?"
An unexpected item.
A skull.
Attributes: knowledge and wisdom.
"A skull?"
"Yeah."
"What? Well, skulls are junk too, I guess?"
"Who knows?"
Anyway, for Mu-hyuk, it was a solid mid-tier hit.
Then Yerin approached.
"Oppa, let's evolve it first. Yeah?"
"Huh? Why?"
"Evolutions are so cool. It's amazing every time I see one."
"You think? Alright then."
Mu-hyuk approached a basic mage and removed its skull. Fitting the new one into his hand, the evolution process began immediately. Its bones thickened, taking on a more defined form.
Crunch.
Its size grew substantially, of course.
Enhanced Mage Transformation
HP per level: 5 → 10
MP per level: 5 → 10
Magic Attack (60) increased.
Defense (20) increased.
Magic Defense (30) increased.
Knowledge (5) increased.
It evolved straight from enhanced mage to armor mage.
Armor Mage
HP per level: 10 → 15
MP per level: 10 → 15
HP (200) increased.
MP (500) increased.
Knowledge (25), Wisdom (20) increased.
Magic Attack increased.
Just seeing the boosted stats was satisfying.
"So cool...!"
"Never gets old."
"Wow..."
Yerin and Sung Min-woo had seen it a few times, but Kim Ji-yeon gaped at the new sight, like a kid unwrapping a favorite toy.
"Whoa, incredible."
"Yeah?"
"Yes...!"
"You can watch more next time."
Kim Ji-yeon nodded vigorously.
"Anyway, evolution's done..."
Time to resume gacha.
2 rubies, 4 diamonds, 1 topaz.
Mu-hyuk loaded the key-optimized ratio again.
"Ah, topaz again...!"
Ignoring Sung Min-woo's words, Mu-hyuk pulled the lever.
The desired item appeared.
"Gasp..."
"Jackpot!"
A brilliantly glowing golden key dropped into Mu-hyuk's hand.
"Let's go?"
No hesitation.
Straight to the 41st floor.
The whole party, Mu-hyuk included, climbed the stairs.
You have entered the Death Tower 41st Floor.
Clears: 0 teams
The hologram froze them momentarily.
*
The chat room fell into stunned silence.
As the viewers predicted, the news became a hot issue.
In a slightly different way.
*
A post on the North American Illusion homepage.
Hey. Remember me? Let's talk Death Tower. Right now, joint 1st place has 10 teams total. I've been tracking religiously. No one hit 41 after the 9th for a while, so I stopped posting. But today? The 10th team shows up! Curious? Before them, quick recap on the other nine—asked in old posts, but for the newbies:
The first to 40 was...
Most skimmed the content.
They already knew.
First to 40th, up to the 9th.
Only the 10th mattered.
...So, who's the 10th? Dying to know? Not who you think—spoiler. But just telling ya feels lame. Why? It's HUGE. Epic big! I found out by chance! God-tier info, not easy to get! Who? Getting annoyed? Fine: Players from the Forma Continent! Surprised? Inter-continent paths opened just 4 months ago (maybe a bit more). And they hit 41st floor! Who are they? What monsters? Luck to the heavens, that's for sure... Oh, the player's name? Mu-hyuk. Yep, that Mu-hyuk. The one always in the top ranks you see checking leaderboards!
Readers' eyes widened.
North American users.
All wore disbelieving expressions.
Comments poured in at breakneck speed.
Views skyrocketed.
It hit best rankings instantly, Mu-hyuk talk dominating the North American homepage. It spread wider, even hitting South American sites.