Chapter 58
Chapter 58
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 58
Chapter Title: Fifth Trial Tower Ascent
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"Clearing the 24th floor is dicey, but making it through the 25th guarantees perfect survival."
Lee Sang was talking about the survival criteria for the fifth Trials' Arena.
Hae-jin nodded to Lee Sang, who had understood perfectly.
"Yeah, that's right."
"Climbing past the 25th without dying clears the hidden trial too, and ensures survival... Thanks for the info, Leader!"
"No problem."
After that, Hae-jin shared a meal with his party members, told them to gather at his house the day before the fifth Trials' Arena opened, and they all went their separate ways.
Then Manager Kim asked Hae-jin a question.
"Um, Leader. Mind if I ask one thing?"
"Sure, go ahead."
"Could I bring my daughter along, by any chance?"
"Manager Kim's daughter?"
"Yeah, I hate leaving her alone while we're in the Trials' Arena..."
With everyone heading to the Trials' Arena together from there, Manager Kim was asking if his daughter could stay at Hae-jin's house.
Hae-jin had a pretty good idea why he was bringing it up.
"You'd rather leave her at our secure house, right?"
"Exactly. But if it's a burden..."
If the homeowner said no, there was nothing to be done, so Manager Kim trailed off.
Hae-jin just shrugged it off nonchalantly.
"Go ahead. That way, you can focus in the Trials' Arena without worrying, right?"
"Thank you, Leader!"
"Don't mention it."
With all business settled, Hae-jin and the group waited.
For the fifth Trials' Arena.
*
April 31, 2030.
The day had finally arrived.
The day after midnight when all Players would transfer to the fifth Trials' Arena.
Hae-jin was in the living room, just like last time.
But he wasn't alone.
Kwon Na-ye, Lee Sang, Anna, and Raffaello were there.
Manager Kim and his daughter had arrived too.
Since they'd soon pass midnight and transfer to their respective zones to tackle the fifth Trials' Arena, the youngest, Raffaello, piped up.
"Alright then, big bro, big sis—fighting for this Trials' Arena too!"
Amid the cheers, Manager Kim's daughter grabbed her dad's hand and said,
"Dad, you have to come back safe this time too, okay?"
"Of course. See you later, sweetie."
"Yeah!"
After chatting with her father like that, Manager Kim's daughter approached Hae-jin.
"Big bro, take good care of my dad, please."
"Our zones are different anyway, and this time everyone's on their own."
"Still. You're our dad's Leader now, right? So you'll be sticking with him from here on out?"
"Yeah, pretty much."
"Then please take care of him, big bro."
"Got it."
"Hee-hee!"
Manager Kim's daughter was acting awfully chummy with Hae-jin.
Naturally, Hae-jin had zero thoughts about her.
But two people were different.
Anna and Kwon Na-ye watched Manager Kim's daughter and thought,
'Since when is he "big bro"?'
The two women were flabbergasted, but they couldn't say anything about it.
They just inwardly labeled Manager Kim's daughter a total vixen whenever they saw her.
Just then, midnight passed, and the date flipped to May 1, 2030.
The moment it did, everyone's vision in Hae-jin's living room—except Manager Kim's daughter—changed.
They all saw the same thing, but couldn't see each other.
However, beyond the scene, all five could see one more thing.
No, it was a message any Player had no choice but to see.
[The Fifth Trial Begins.]
The message announcing the start of the fifth trial.
Hae-jin's vision showed a brick-walled space.
No one was around.
As he had explained to his party, the fifth Trials' Arena was a solo climb up the Trial Tower.
Soon, a system window appeared.
Content: Climb the Trial Tower.
- Zone 33,333 Participants: 1,239
Seeing the system window, Hae-jin murmured,
"So in the meantime, 21 Players died in the real world worldwide?"
Looking at that, Hae-jin thought,
'This one's another where only about half survive.'
Survival numbers varied each trial.
There were full survivals, half survivals, and sometimes ones where more than half died.
This Trials' Arena fell into the second category.
One designed to let only half survive.
Even so, the system didn't deduct real-world deaths; it always aimed to let half of the previous trial's survivors make it through this one.
Meaning, about '625' could survive this Trials' Arena.
Seeing that, Hae-jin said,
"Hmm, I wonder how far I can climb this time?"
In the original timeline, even with his abilities, the highest Hae-jin had reached in the fifth Trials' Arena was the 49th floor.
Boss-grade monsters appeared every 5 floors in the Trial Tower, and lord-grade every 10.
That's why even after regressing and getting Joo-hyuk's info, he could never break the 50th.
But what about Hae-jin now?
He had fully inherited Joo-hyuk's abilities.
So he was curious.
Just how far could he climb in this state?
Joo-hyuk hadn't known the limit either.
Naturally.
Joo-hyuk had only gotten stronger than others via regression; he'd never regressed with his peak-state powers intact.
So Hae-jin was curious.
Of course, Joo-hyuk—being stronger than most—had solo-climbed to the 69th floor in the fifth Trials' Arena.
But Hae-jin with peak Joo-hyuk's powers?
'Maybe all the way?'
Thinking that, Hae-jin began the climb.
Floors 1 to 10 were goblins.
1st: one goblin.
2nd: two goblins.
3rd: three goblins.
4th: five goblins.
5th: one hobgoblin and three goblins.
6th: one hobgoblin and five goblins.
7th: one hobgoblin and two goblin warriors.
8th: one hobgoblin, two goblin warriors, and three goblins.
9th: one hobgoblin, two goblin warriors, and two goblin shamans.
10th: one goblin lord, two hobgoblins, five goblin warriors, and three goblin shamans.
Naturally, Hae-jin slashed them down effortlessly as they appeared, clearing quickly.
From the 11th floor, kobolds appeared.
Same setup as floors 1-10, just goblins swapped for kobolds.
Orcs from 20, trolls from 30, ogres from 40.
Hae-jin blasted through to the 49th in no time and said,
"This? I could clear the 50th easy too."
Even after regressing and gaining info and growth, he'd failed to break the 50th originally.
The ogre lord was that powerful.
But.
Slash-.
Hae-jin, stepping onto the 50th, cleaved the ogre lord in one stroke.
Stunned, he stared.
"This one too? One-shot?"
Even going berserk as a Berserker, he'd only scratched it—never downed it.
Yet he'd sliced it so easily.
No skills used.
Just dashed in and swung.
And it was bisected clean.
Clearing the 50th like that, Hae-jin said,
"Alright, shall we check out the 50s I've only heard about?"
The 50s.
Monsters stronger than ogres awaited.
Namely.
Stepping onto the 51st, Hae-jin saw a yellow-brown skinned beast bigger than an ogre.
A massive club-wielding monster with a single horn and eye on its face.
A 'Cyclops'.
The Cyclops turned its head as Hae-jin entered the 51st.
It sensed his presence.
Hae-jin thought,
'At least its senses beat the ogre's.'
Ogres weren't that perceptive.
Nicknamed 'Kings of the Forest', few besides dragons could handle them there.
So they weren't overly cautious.
But Cyclopes were, unlike ogres.
Individually stronger than ogres, but desert zones had worse threats.
Thus, even mighty, Cyclopes stayed vigilant.
Anyway, it detected Hae-jin with that wariness.
But.
Slash-.
It got cleaved anyway.
Hae-jin, who one-shot the Cyclops too, said,
"This spec is insane."
No better word for it.
Specs where he didn't even need skills against ogres and Cyclopes.
Impossible in the fifth Trials' Arena.
Saying that, Hae-jin kept climbing.
Finishing the 50s and reaching the 60th, cockatrices and basilisks appeared together.
"What, mixed from here? Chickens and snakes?"
Chickens and snakes.
Cockatrices and basilisks.
Cockatrices really looked like monstrous chickens; basilisks like two-armed snakes.
Hence Hae-jin's nicknames.
Physically weaker than Cyclopes.
But they'd make one tense in a fight.
Both had 'petrification' abilities.
Petrification.
Turned you to stone, literally.
That trump card let them beat physically superior foes like Cyclops.
Now those monsters targeted Hae-jin.
He saw it.
Flash-!
The glinting eyes of the cockatrice and basilisk.
Hae-jin knew what it meant.
'They're trying to petrify me.'
Dodging by ducking his head quick.
Lock eyes with that glow for seconds, and you're stone.
Avoiding their gaze, Hae-jin charged their position, swinging his dual blades.
Shwick-!
Slicing the cockatrice and basilisk clean, one by one.
He pushed through the 60s after that.
At 65, cockatrice king and basilisk king.
Seeing them, Hae-jin thought,
'Wonder what's on 70?'
Climbing on, he spotted it.
The 70th floor boss monster.
"Sandworm, huh?"
Sandworm.
Always mentioned among the desert's biggest monsters.
Worm-types were giant earthworms adapted to environments; desert meant sandworm.
Hae-jin thought,
'Hmm, this one's tough...'
Worm-types had dragon-grade hides.
Even so, he charged the sandworm to test.
Surely Joo-hyuk's specs could one-shot it too?
Swipe-!
Splurtch-!
The sandworm screamed under Hae-jin's slash.
But it didn't die.
Unlike the prior one-shots, it was only half-severed.
First time since regressing anything tanked his strike, for Hae-jin.
Unfelled, the pained sandworm's split flesh began regenerating.
"Tough as expected."
Saying that, Hae-jin climbed onto the regenerating sandworm's body.
He knew exactly where to cut for a one-shot.
'Aim for the ring.'