True Flash

True Flash.

That was the name Hyun Si-woon had given the technique while practicing it.

When Ha-wol first heard it, she laughed right in his face.

"True? Puhahaha! Oh, my sides!"

She clapped her hands and roared with laughter so hard it was almost embarrassing.

"You brat! Have you lost your mind? The Moon Spirit Flash this lady taught you is the genuine article—the original! And you go and slap the name 'True' on some rootless hodgepodge technique you cooked up?!"

Her voice was thick with a Sword God's pride and the sheer absurdity of looking at such a shameless disciple.

Hyun Si-woon only shrugged.

Isn't the stronger one the real thing, anyway?

His instincts told him that if he could just mix the power of all four elements together, something would be born that far surpassed the existing Moon Spirit Swordsmanship.

It was common sense even at a low level of martial theory.

The problem was—

"You really think that's possible?"

Ha-wol crossed her arms, the corner of her mouth curling up.

"Fine. You're right. Stronger is real. Martial arts have always advanced with the times, and the old gets discarded… If you create a stronger martial art, that could become the real thing. But?"

Her eyes narrowed.

"Look at the mess you're making. You're a greenhorn who just walked into a forge, claiming you'll craft the greatest sword under heaven, and you've thrown in black iron, mid-grade iron, even the legendary Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron—then you're just working the bellows. What do you think happens? Forget the greatest sword; the whole furnace is going to blow, you idiot!"

That had been only a few months ago.

And now.

Ha-wol was watching a true flash unfold right before her eyes.

Insane.

She swallowed without meaning to.

She could see it—everything Hyun Si-woon had done in that brief span, and exactly how it had worked on Rex.

…Even if it was only yin, he achieved the harmony of yin and yang?

A realm even the founding lord of the Moon Spirit Sect had failed to reach.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

He hadn't forced opposing powers together until they self-destructed. He had transformed the chaos itself into the purest form of destructive force.

The furnace had blown, all right.

But not in the forge—inside Rex's body.

And even standing at the heart of that explosion, Hyun Si-woon was still whole.

"Heh… heheheh."

This was not a martial art someone standing only at the Form Refining stage should have been able to perform.

Ssssshhhhh—

Rex was gone.

He had turned to dust as if he had never stood there in the first place.

Originally, Rex would break all his remaining chains in Phase Three.

But?

There was no Phase Three.

Every anomaly that had blanketed the altar went still.

The sonic patterns staining the ceiling and floor crimson slowly lost their light.

Fsssshhh…!

The platforms Noim had created lost their power and crumbled into dust.

Thud.

The members who landed on the ground still couldn't quite grasp what had just happened.

Sure, they had cleared it… but what in the world had that last attack been?

"Khahk!"

Blood burst from Hyun Si-woon's mouth.

"Hah… hahh!"

His entire body was drenched in sweat, and the energy in his dantian was completely empty.

He had wrung out every last drop of internal power for a single strike.

"Hyeong-nim!"

"Si-woon!"

Only then did the others snap back to reality and scramble toward him.

"Are you okay?"

"Healing! Noona! Use Saint's Prayer or something!"

"I'm fine."

Hyun Si-woon shook his head.

He had taken internal damage. His qi and blood were twisted, and every muscle in his body was screaming.

But it wasn't life-threatening.

Having died countless times, Hyun Si-woon knew that boundary better than anyone.

If anything, his chest felt clear.

I did it.

Normally, he would have regressed. For a more perfect clear. To reach a higher realm.

He might even have poked around the tenth floor looking for another hidden element.

But he hadn't.

He had struggled to the bitter end—feeling the weight of life, fighting desperately so he wouldn't miss this one and only chance.

And as a result—

Stats that hadn't budged no matter how hard he pushed for the past half-year had finally risen.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

It's always been like this.

Stats only broke through when you overcame your own limits.

Creak. Creak!

He could feel it now—something fundamental shifting from within his body.

Every cell reconstructing. Meridians widening and hardening. The dantian itself expanding to a size that couldn't even be compared to before.

"…!"

Hyun Si-woon closed his eyes and simply let the rapture wash over him.

"Haa… haa!"

"Hahahaha!"

The tension broken, the members collapsed to the floor one by one.

"I really thought we were dead."

"But it's over… it's over."

"Ugh, I don't think I'll even look at the Tower for a while."

Everyone was in terrible shape.

Blue bruises and blood showed through the gaps in Baek Yeon-ho's armor, and Jang Cha-yul's body was covered in wounds as well.

"Is Dae-un okay?"

Hwang Dae-un was pouring potions over his stomach while Baek Do-hee kept healing him.

"Okay? No way. It hurts. It hurts so bad I could die, for real."

He was whining now, as if wondering how he had held it in this long.

Hyun Si-woon smirked at the sight.

The relief of survival.

The achievement of breaking past his limits.

And more than anything, the fullness of having won together with the comrades who mattered most.

If this was the weight of life Ha-wol had spoken of, he thought he could bear it just fine.

The rewards arrived right after.

Every stat rose by another point.

That's right.

Hyun Si-woon trembled.

In the Tower of Despair, stats were limited resources you could only obtain within the rules the Tower itself had set.

You either consumed hidden spiritual medicines scattered throughout the floors, or you received them as Tower rewards.

In other words?

The value of a single stat point rose exponentially the further you climbed.

If Si-woon's prediction was correct, once they finished their ascent and became Rankers, the gap in stats would widen beyond imagination.

And the rewards weren't finished.

Yes!

Hyun Si-woon cheered inwardly.

At last!

Class change time had come.

One of the Tower of Despair systems that, across the entire world, only Hyun Si-woon had ever experienced!

From here, the path branched into multiple classes based on the weapon you had chosen so far.

And classes?

Meant skills.

Only now could climbers learn and use the powerful unique skills the system granted.

It was a true turning point—an awakening that fundamentally changed the shape of combat.

The sub-class matters too.

Blacksmith, Alchemist, Chef, Tailor…

All sorts of lifestyle classes unrelated to combat.

Fields with the potential to craft items yourself, brew potions, cook buff food.

That was why Si-woon had invested so many TC buying up materials.

Back in his EndSeeker days, Hyun Si-woon had completely abandoned the sub-class path.

The reason was simple.

It wasn't efficient.

Raising sub-class proficiency high enough to make even one proper item demanded soul-crushing grind.

From material gathering to the probabilities in the crafting process, everything was nightmarishly difficult.

Spending that time climbing even one more floor was far more profitable.

But now it's different.

In the past he had been a lone player.

He had to gather every material himself, and whatever he produced could only be used for himself.

Failure meant pure loss, and even success had limited value.

Now materials were plentiful, and there were plenty of climbers to consume them.

Tens of thousands of climbers who trusted and followed the absolute brand of the ★Wandering Merchant★ would be ready to open their wallets no matter what he made.

An economic cycle becomes possible.

Material supply → crafting → sales → profit → buying better materials!

Inside that perfect virtuous cycle, raising sub-class proficiency would no longer be lonely work.

Proficiency will probably raise stats too.

As he had said before, stats would become an enormous asset the further they went.

The sub-class was now something they absolutely had to do—and something they had to monopolize first.

The moment they left the Tower, a worldwide announcement dropped.

Content only Hyun Si-woon—who had lived previous loops—knew.

Korea was third.

The community exploded.

Up to this point, it was similar to previous loops.

The first emotion the climbers felt was pure fear.

Anyone who wasn't a complete fool could sense it.

Everything that had happened before was only the prelude to a far greater judgment.

While the community boiled over, Hyun Si-woon's party rode Pungjo straight to Eden.

Even Jang Cha-yul, who was practically a homebody spirit of the forums, didn't check the boards.

What they needed right now?

Nothing but rest.

Kuuuung!

As Pungjo set its massive body down in the clearing, the members jumped off one after another without waiting.

Hyun Si-woon's entire body was still screaming.

Baek Do-hee had treated the external wounds, but he still needed to settle his twisted qi and blood.

"Everyone worked hard."

Hyun Si-woon spoke quietly.

"First of all—don't touch the class or sub-class selection tickets. Leave them alone."

"Yes, sir."

"Obviously."

The members nodded.

Classes would be decided after Si-woon carefully considered them.

Through saves in the Tower of Despair days, he had played every branching class path.

No one alive understood better which skills would suit the climbing party.

"Just rest hard for one week. No training, no climbing, don't think about anything. Just eat, sleep, and play."

Hyun Si-woon desperately needed rest himself.

He had to re-examine what he had realized, and calmly map out the road ahead.

Fortunately the others seemed to feel the same—color returned to their faces.