Shaking the World: Will the True Ancestor Climb the Tower Today?
That was one of the biggest topics on people's minds around the globe right now.
News outlets, communities, and forums were abuzz nonstop with debates about the True Ancestor's next move.
Especially in Korea, where the True Ancestor's nationality had been revealed, tons of people were hyped for a third world record. Of course, not everyone was on board.
Some folks distrusted the freakish records on Floors 1 and 2, insisting Floor 3 would be the real test to expose the True Ancestor's limits.
And then...
Not long after, a post went up on the Hunter Gallery.
ㄴ Kinda makes sense.
ㄴ Still, 3 secs is insane lmao.
ㄴ Wtf is this guy's deal lmao
ㄴ Vampire fetish ain't easy. Another overwhelming feat that shuts up the doubters instantly.
It was the moment the world shook once more under the True Ancestor's name.
At the same time.
"Hunter Eunseol Baek. Have you seen the record that just went up?"
President Taesung Kim's voice trembled ever so slightly over the phone.
"Yes. I saw it a bit ago."
Eunseol responded calmly, but inside, she was just as shocked.
"This... it's even more staggering than Floors 1 and 2."
Eunseol agreed with Taesung. This True Ancestor Floor 3 record.
On the surface, the clear time had jumped from 1 second to 3. But that wasn't an issue at all.
Taking down a single-target boss versus wiping 200 monsters plus a boss? Totally different leagues.
And they did it in 3 seconds? If anything, it was more overwhelming than before.
"The experts were wrong. True Ancestor isn't just packing single-target nukes. Looks like they've got AoE that vaporizes hordes in one go too."
"...The deeper we dig, the more mysterious they get."
She and the president chatted a bit more, but beyond generic stuff like "shocking" or "we gotta figure out who they are and ally with them," there wasn't much to say. The call ended soon after.
"Haa."
Eunseol set down her smartphone with a sigh. Her head hurt even more than yesterday.
The sender was Chris.
America's S-rank hunter and none other than world level ranking Top 10 "Ranker."
A guy infamous for his flighty, slippery personality.
Just checking—got any dirt on True Ancestor? You're Korean, so you must've heard something.
Like, a 1-on-1 dinner with me. Sound good? ;)
She read the auto-translated message with a blank face, then closed it without a second thought.
Read and ignored.
Ranker or not, strong or whatever—this flirty type held zero interest for her.
Besides, she had no way to contact True Ancestor anyway.
Not even the Hunter Association or global bigshots could get a reply.
True Ancestor was the epitome of mysterious, rejecting all contact.
In truth, Eunseol hadn't even messaged them.
No reason to expect a reply, and honestly, she had no desire to tangle with someone like that.
More than that...
She opened her usual game chat app.
A carefully crafted message, deleted and rewritten many times to keep it casual. But the pre-sent chat showed no read receipt.
'...Still unread.'
Her friend hadn't logged in today.
Probably busy with real life or something, but still... a twinge of worry.
'Said they'd hit Floor 3 today. Hope nothing went wrong.'
A monster like True Ancestor sweeps Nightmare in 3 seconds easy, but... for a fresh newbie, Floor 3 could be risky.
There was a reason she cared this much about an online acquaintance.
Eunseol had awakened as the S-rank Ice Emperor class at a very young age.
Overwhelming talent plus stunning looks—she rocketed to national stardom, grabbing fame and fortune overnight.
But that crown was heavy.
No one treated her as just "Eunseol," a person.
Everyone eyed the S-rank hunter or Ice Emperor title, approaching with agendas.
Politicians, corporate tycoons, hunters from rival guilds...
Endless fake niceties.
And those slimy, leering gazes at her face and body.
Raised in that suffocating world of phony relationships, she'd naturally grown cold, drawing lines with her words and demeanor.
Isolating herself, treating everyone purely professionally. No private bonds.
Then, during a break, she started a game on a whim and met one person.
That was her friend with the username "JinYu."
No real name, not even gender—total anonymous.
They didn't know each other's real-life info.
She'd only vaguely mentioned working in hunting after they got close.
A friend who approached without seeing Ice Emperor or her looks. Just pure gaming fun, dumb jokes, great chats. A normal buddy.
Her first real friend since awakening, with zero strings attached.
'Please be okay...'
That's why her absence bugged Eunseol so much.
Center of the graveyard. I stared at the system message.
'Yeah, the sheer numbers took a whole 3 seconds.'
Guess Floor 3 is tougher. Took 1 second for 1 and 2, but triple that here.
Still, my familiars are the best. 3 seconds is crazy fast anyway!
I grinned, checking the rest of the system alerts.
Nightmare Floor 3 clear rewards granted.
Rewards: 3x Low-Grade HP Potions, 100,000 Gold, Zombie Rotten Flesh, Zombie Fang...
Nice haul of gold, EXP, and junk mats as usual. But wait—
Sub-1-minute clear: Bonus rewards granted!
'Oh?'
New item in inventory. Leather-bound book stitched with some sketchy thread.
'Eww, gives me the creeps...'
What kinda book looks this gross? Not human skin or anything, right?
I hit it with Appraisal.
A grimoire for those who defy death's laws.
Using the item temporarily boosts all stats of Undead-type summons by 30%.
Cooldown: 10 minutes
'S-rank item?!'
Whoa, total gem! Suddenly the design feels kinda cool and philosophical...?
S-rank gear on Floor 3? Must be the Nightmare sub-1-min clear condition.
Grinning, I checked the details.
Grimoire for those who defy death's laws.
On use: All stats of Undead-type summons +30% temporarily.
Cooldown: 10 min
'Hmm.'
Reading the tooltip... kinda meh.
'Necromancer exclusive, huh.'
Figured—S-rank from Floor 3 means job-locked.
OP 30% stat balloon for undead summons, but my class is Blood Lord, not necro.
So I can't use it? Tsk. Ugly again.
'...Wait a sec.'
One thought flashed.
'Vampires are undead too, right?'
Games think zombies/skeletons/ghouls first, sure.
But technically, vamps die once, revive, live forever undead.
'Does this apply to my familiars?'
Katarina and Siyeon look too gorgeous for "corpse," but racially vampires—might count as undead.
If so...
Already broken stats get another 30% pump? 'Whoa, that'd be insane!!'
I had to test now.
'Tome of the Departed, use!'
But the result...
'Huh?'
It went in a direction I never expected.