Chapter 135
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 135
Chapter Title: 99th Floor
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[You have entered the 99th floor of the Tower of Trials.]
[If you face the final trial, you will receive rewards unobtainable anywhere else.]
[Upon successfully conquering the 99th floor ▶ ????]
Ryu Min walked forward, barely glancing at the messages.
A wide arena with a diameter of 150 meters and a single tier came into view.
As he descended the stairs and headed to the center, a message appeared.
[Scanning the information of the 99th floor entrant.]
[Player: Black Scythe (Lv89 Reaper)]
[Please wait a moment. Scanning and copying the player's information.]
………………
…………
[Scan and copy complete. The final trial will begin in 10 seconds.]
Exactly 10 seconds later.
Pzzzzzt—
A man clad in black demon armor, wielding a scythe, appeared before Ryu Min's eyes.
[Face the enemy before you.]
The enemy before his eyes.
It was none other than himself.
‘A fight against myself. That’s the final trial of the 99th floor.’
Ryu Min, who already knew this, gripped his scythe without flinching.
The opponent—a guy identical to Black Scythe—approached, holding Death Side.
The top rankers of every zone collided at a single point.
Clang—! Clang!
Their scythes clashed in midair, ringing out with a clear metallic sound.
Kagagak— Kagak—!
Sometimes the blades scraped against each other.
Kikikigik—
When they locked scythes in a contest of strength, a scream-like metallic screech pierced the mind.
After exchanging dozens of blows in a short span, the two leaped back.
‘It’s not just an illusion. It’s a clone perfectly replicated from me.’
Strength, agility, speed—nothing differed from his own.
A perfect copy of himself.
Indistinguishable even from a mirror image.
Tension colored Ryu Min’s eyes.
It was only natural, with the strongest player standing before him.
At that moment, the clone stepped back with one foot, assuming a posture to swing its scythe.
Kiiiiing—
‘Moonlight Slash?’
Ryu Min immediately leaped into the air.
But.
One second later, as if anticipated, a Moonlight Slash flew toward his jump path.
An unavoidable angle.
However, Ryu Min had already shifted his stance midair.
‘Moonlight Slash.’
The moonlit blades collided.
Kwaaaaaaang—!
The massive energies clashed, triggering a chain explosion.
Ryu Min was blown back by the blast wave.
The distance between them widened, and dust filled the gap.
The clone, charging to kill Ryu Min, suddenly halted.
Ryu Min’s presence, detected by aura sensing, had vanished.
Thanks to the Stealth rune enabling perfect invisibility, there was no way to track him.
Soon after.
Thwack—!
Ryu Min burst through the dust, smashing his scythe into the clone’s head.
Though the ambush succeeded, Ryu Min couldn’t smile.
The corpse melted away limply.
‘Afterimage……!’
In that brief moment, the clone using Afterimage appeared behind Ryu Min.
A scythe brimming with killing intent targeted his waist.
Slash—!
Ryu Min’s waist split in two, but that too was an afterimage.
Reversing positions, Ryu Min swung at the clone’s back.
But as if expecting it, the clone dodged by a hair’s breadth and countered with its scythe.
Clang—! Clang—! Clang!
After three rapid exchanges, the clone vanished.
Sssrrk—
Ryu Min activated invisibility as well.
Both figures disappeared.
A silent stillness engulfed the surroundings.
‘Not easy at all.’
Facing himself made it anything but ordinary.
Afterimage rune, invisibility, Moonlight Slash, and more.
Its proficiency was impressive.
It read several moves ahead, blocking every attack.
‘It has no choice. It has the Foresight rune.’
Ryu Min moved while seeing seven seconds into his opponent’s future—why wouldn’t the clone?
‘That’s why it leaped when I used Moonlight Slash. To widen the distance with the blast wave and escape the Foresight rune’s range.’
Ryu Min hadn’t leaped into the air for nothing.
He knew the clashing Moonlight Slashes would send him flying with the wind pressure.
With the distance opened and vision obscured by dust, the Foresight rune could no longer read him.
‘But this plan failed too. I can’t match its brain and reflexes.’
Title, runes, stats, equipped items, inventory items, combat sense—everything was identical.
It was truly like fighting a mirror.
Ryu Min struggling was inevitable.
‘But I can’t back down now.’
With the 99th floor reward on the line, surrender wasn’t an option.
Ryu Min swung his scythe toward where the opponent might be.
* * *
Kwaaaaaaang—!
Kuwaaaaaaang—!
Explosions powerful enough to shake the earth erupted in succession.
Flashes appearing here and there illuminated the darkness.
Death Night, Blood Moon, Moonlight Slash combo unleashed toward the foe.
‘One graze from this, and it’s instant death.’
Ryu Min, who had blocked Moonlight Slash with Moonlight Slash, grinned at his opponent.
“Five times. You’ve used them all?”
“…….”
“Same for me.”
The clone was his own, yet it didn’t speak.
It showed no emotion on its face.
It simply charged with mechanical silence, swinging its scythe relentlessly.
Clang—! Clang—!
As if they knew each other’s moves seven seconds ahead, their attacks and counters flowed in perfect sync.
With identical stats, neither could overpower the other with brute force.
‘An hour in, and not a single scratch on either of us.’
He could tell from the Death Mark showing the opponent’s health bar.
The clone showed no fatigue or injury.
The same went for Ryu Min.
Sssrrk—
Sssrrk—
Both activated invisibility simultaneously, plunging them back into tense silence.
Invisibility hid their positions.
He couldn’t relax, but this was Ryu Min’s only respite.
Time to devise a strategy.
‘Phew, so how do I attack myself now?’
He’d tried every attack pattern, but nothing worked.
The Foresight rune predicted them all.
Kick up dust to obscure prediction, and it slipped away like an eel, already prepared.
Ambushes failed, often handing counterattack chances instead.
Of course, Ryu Min didn’t fall easily and pulled out his next card.
‘This won’t get us anywhere.’
Same stats, same skills, same abilities.
How do you beat a mirror image like that?
Ryu Min, who had conquered the 99th floor dozens of times, already knew the answer.
‘If you can’t win, endure. That’s the only way.’
This fight couldn’t last forever.
Though invisible, there was a time limit.
‘A whopping 24 hours.’
The true way to conquer the 99th floor: survive 24 hours against yourself.
The system only said to face the enemy, not kill it.
‘In other words, the main goal of the 99th floor is testing mental fortitude while fighting yourself.’
Beating yourself is impossible.
He’d attempted it dozens of times, never once winning.
‘Winning would be nice, but based on experience, enduring is the limit.’
If you can’t win, endure.
But losing isn’t an option.
The moment mental focus slips and a gap appears, yourself will kill Ryu Min.
Instant elimination.
The 99th floor reward gone forever.
‘The means to oppose the angel disappears? That can’t happen.’
That’s why Ryu Min gritted his teeth and held on.
Of course, it wasn’t tough yet.
‘Only an hour has passed.’
No timer, but by feel, 23 hours remained.
A long, grueling marathon.
The lack of a visible clock could be mentally taxing, but Ryu Min saw it as a blessing.
‘Seeing time might shake my resolve. Better not to know.’
He’d tracked time so far, but now he’d ignore it.
Treat the remaining 23 hours like a marathon race, trading blows with the clone.
Endure and endure.
‘Time will run out, and I’ll clear the 99th floor.’
He steeled himself again, gripping his scythe.
For the ultimate reward of the 99th floor.
* * *
Clang— Clang—!
Kwaaaaaaang—!
Kagagagak! Kagagagak!
With the clash of blades as his melody, Ryu Min endured.
He held on until the 99th floor clear message appeared.
He didn’t know how much time had passed.
He hadn’t counted since the first hour.
In a state of no-mind, facing only the enemy before him.
‘They say your greatest enemy is yourself?’
It wasn’t a metaphor—it was literal.
His current greatest foe was that guy.
A madman wielding a scythe, mirroring his exact appearance.
‘Ah, cursing just spits in my own face? Whatever. It’s true—he’s insane.’
That madman’s mind held only one thought: kill himself.
It swung wildly, unleashing varied attack patterns each time.
‘If myself appeared as an enemy, that’s what I’d look like.’
Even the level 89 stats matched, so it never tired.
No breaks longer than five minutes.
‘It really feels like fighting a mirror.’
Exhaustion set in.
Was there a reason to keep up this fight?
He wasn’t sure anymore.
He just wanted to let go.
‘Simple. Just take one hit from him, and it’s over.’
Giving up was easy.
Even a normal hit from Black Scythe was lethal.
‘High Luck stat means a critical. Or maybe the black demon armor blocks it.’
67% chance to deflect attacks—maybe luck lets him survive once.
‘Should I just take one hit? Might not die.’
But if he does?
‘Just return to reality.’
Abandon everything and end this endless fight?
Whenever such lax thoughts crept in, Ryu Min recalled his memories.
People dying.
People he couldn’t protect.
Even the one sibling left in reality.
Flash—!
Moonlight Slash loomed before his eyes.
Instinctively prepared, Ryu Min countered with the same skill.
Kuwaaaaaaang—!
The explosion snapped him awake.
‘I must endure. I don’t want to see the world perish again.’
Dying here means forfeiting the 99th floor reward.
Without means to fight the angel, no hope even conquering round 20.
‘I lost focus for a moment.’
Like cold water poured over him, Ryu Min’s mind cleared.
Kagagak—!
He blocked the scythe aimed to split his head, engaging in a tug-of-war.
Neither yielded, locked in equal strength.
Then Ryu Min’s body lurched forward.
Shalaralak—
The clone, moments ago matched in strength, vanished like a mirage.
[You have endured the 24-hour time limit.]
[You have cleared the 99th floor of the Tower of Trials.]
[Confirmed as the first player to clear the 99th floor of the Tower of Trials.]
[You have set an unprecedented record in the history of the Tower of Trials!]
[Your feat has been recorded in the Akashic Records.]
He had finally conquered the 99th floor he so desired.
Only now could he release the tension.
Thud—
Ryu Min collapsed to the ground, as if drained of all strength.
“Hoo, haa.”
As he gasped for breath, too heavily to see messages.
[The Tower of Trials admires the player’s awe-inspiring mental fortitude.]
[Health and mental strength fully restored.]
[Acquired title ‘Undefeated Existence.’]
With health and mental strength restored, the messages came into view.
‘I finally got it. The title to oppose the angel.’
Ryu Min opened the title’s information window.