The Lone Vanguard of Floor 42
A post that went up on a North American site, along with its comments.
Forma Continent—no, more precisely, Korea's Mu-hyuk, Steel Fist, Yerin, and Kim Ji-yeon. That's just four people! Isn't it amazing? A mere four Forma Continent users crossed over to the Kairon Continent and are conquering the Tower of Death in the blink of an eye!
This post was directly translated and uploaded to the Korean Illusion homepage.
(Same content as above, translated)
Not long after, the North American site descended into chaos.
Keyboard warriors had truly appeared.
Why can't you accept reality? Mu-hyuk is the undisputed #1. No way North American users reached 42. Right?
It was pure bait.
But humans couldn't help reacting, even knowing it.
The user who said "stay tuned" actually showed up on the Korean Illusion homepage.
The translation was a bit awkward in places, but easy enough to understand.
Honestly, with so many users typos and sloppy typing anyway, it didn't stand out.
Kairon Continent is the best, you ignorant Forma Continent—no, Korean punks!
The post shot straight to hot issues.
Comments flew with harsh words.
It had turned into a battlefield in no time.
But the fight ended quicker than expected.
Thanks to someone showing up.
*
Moseck Guild, mid-tier in the Kairon Continent rankings. Its leader, the user Moseck, clenched his fist tightly.
"I-it's out...!"
The guild members leaning exhausted against the wall whipped their heads around.
"What'd you say?"
"I didn't hear wrong, did I?"
"Guild master...?"
"Hey, guild leader! Speak clearly!"
Best slowly turned his head.
His face beamed with raw emotion.
And it wasn't just him.
The guild members awaiting his words were buzzing with excitement too.
"It's out—the key!"
A single golden key in his hand.
It captured everyone's gaze.
"F-f-finally...!"
"Haa... damn...!"
They could finally end the grueling battle on floor 40.
"Now to 41?"
"Yeah!"
"Hell yeah, but thinking about the floors left makes me wanna lose it again."
Everyone's faces hardened at that.
Nine floors remained.
Clear nine more to conquer the Tower of Death.
"Still leading, can't quit now."
"Obviously!"
"Quitting after coming this far? Might as well kill me."
"If you ignore the hardship, no better hunting ground. Items drop occasionally too."
"Right. Let's rally."
They all stood up.
"Alright, let's head to 41 first? Just being here makes me nauseous now."
"Sounds good."
With eager expressions, they opened the door.
Kiririk.
They ascended the stairs one by one to floor 41.
"Ah, wait."
"What?"
"Wanna record for the memories."
"Good idea."
Guild leader Best gestured in the air.
"Done. Let's go."
They stepped onto floor 41 once more.
You have entered the 41st floor of the Tower of Death.
The "Clears: 1 Team" number hit them first.
"Whoa, my Jesus...!"
"This is nuts...!"
No way a team had already cleared 41.
Best mumbled blankly.
"No one... knew?"
"How could we?"
"Haa, right. What was I expecting from you lot? But with all these guild members, not one knew?"
"..."
"Impressive, really."
"What about you?"
"Me? After hunting, too tired—just crashed."
"Same here!"
"..."
He had no comeback.
Everyone was exhausted.
"Hah, thought we'd tie for first."
"Kinda disappointing, but whatever?"
"Yeah, just one floor behind."
"We'll catch up quick. New monsters, new setup—fresh mindset, let's go! Who knows? Key might drop first try."
"First try?"
"Not impossible."
They reignited their resolve.
They hunted all day, gathered gems, tried gacha—but no key, no good items. Just junk, junk, junk.
"See ya tomorrow..."
"Night."
Drained goodbyes.
Haa, logout.
Best logged out of Illusion, flopped blankly on his bed.
A fleeting thought: Floor 41 clear. Who the hell?
Curiosity overpowered fatigue.
"Ugh."
He dragged himself up, grabbed his phone, hit the Illusion homepage boards.
"Huh...?"
No need to search. It was all over it.
Skimming, he chuckled.
"Heh, wait—so only me and the guild know this huge info?"
A spark hit him.
Hey, wait...!
Maybe he could leverage this.
Yeah, this scoop would rack views, promote his blog naturally, boost guild fame...!
His mind sharpened. He checked the recording.
Perfect.
He uploaded the video to his guild-promo blog, then drafted a homepage post.
Hello. I'm Best, leader of Moseck Guild. Our guild has a total of...
(Guild promo first.)
...So today afternoon, we finally cleared Tower of Death floor 40. Entered 41! As you know, the hologram shows clear count. Recorded video for proof. Video link: ...
The link, of course, to his promo blog.
Natural advertising.
"Please boost our fame...!"
Hoping as he checked the vibe, eyelids drooped.
'Sleep's...'
He couldn't fight the drowsiness. As he sank into deep sleep, his blog traffic exploded.
Comments poured on the video post nonstop. Phone buzzed endlessly, but didn't wake him.
Sun rose; Best finally opened his eyes.
"Mm..."
Checked phone half-asleep.
"Huh...?"
Tens of thousands of comments. He shook his head.
Dream?
Set phone down, washed face.
Clear-headed, checked blog again—comments piled sky-high. Phone still vibrating nonstop.
Drdr. Drdrdr.
Notifications popping: [New blog comment.] [New blog...]
He frantically checked comments.
Mostly Mu-hyuk talk, but some guild questions too.
Some showed interest in joining.
That's a ranker!
Then it hit him.
"Ah...!"
The jackpot had exploded.
T-thank you!
He bowed inwardly nonstop.
To Mu-hyuk, for the perfect promo chance.
At the same time.
Mu-hyuk, moving fiercely, suddenly retreated.
Ah, what...?
Helmet off, he scratched his ear.
"Oppa, you okay?"
"Huh? Nah, ear just itched like crazy."
"Someone must be talking about you."
"Maybe."
Thankfully, the itch faded fast.
"Phew, good now."
"Glad. Since you're back, take a breather."
"Yeah...?"
Up front, Sung Min-woo was panting solo.
"He's fighting well."
"Right? I see it all from back here."
"Oh, gotcha."
Mu-hyuk marveled nonstop at Sung Min-woo's moves.
"Ooh, nice. Whoa, back off there."
Sung Min-woo turned then.
"..."
Late realization—he yelled.
"What're you doing, man!"
"Sorry."
"I'm dying here!"
"Slipped my mind."
Mu-hyuk advanced, grinning.
Thanks to Moseck Guild leader Best's user reveal, the undisputed #1 status settled the quarrels.
But interest burned on.
Illusion TV audience comments showed the vibe, yet Mu-hyuk stayed unshaken. Just kept hunting.
*
Mastered cooking on 42, hit early summer on 43.
By 46, friends, lover, family enjoyed beach heat.
Late summer at 47, Chuseok countdown at 49.
And today.
"Let's wrap this up!"
"Roger!"
Skills poured on the monster.
Kwagwagwang!
As it fell.
You have acquired experience points.
He'd reached level 200.