Chapter 12
The tower had a basement, too.
When news that the 10th floor had been cleared spread throughout Thebes, the city was swept up in a festival atmosphere in an instant.
"This time, it really is...!"
"That mysterious being is going to set us all free!"
Cheers erupted from every street. For people who had lived trapped in despair for so long, it was the moment a shaft of hope finally broke through the dark.
Of course, not everyone was optimistic.
"...And yet it'll still fail in the end. Things will only get harder from here...."
Even so, a few people were still shaking their heads and muttering negative things.
But even they couldn't hide the wild beating of their hearts deep inside their chests.
It wasn't some special holiday, and yet every resident of Thebes had poured out into the streets of their own accord.
They were celebrating this historic day, the day the 10th floor had been cleared in one leap.
Merchants set out richer spreads than usual, and tavern owners handed out liquor for free.
But the real star of the day wasn't there.
"Is that all you've got?"
"Grrr! It's just that you're too strong, hyung!"
Kagagang—!
Park Minsu's shield and Kim Jun's greatsword collided without rest, sending sparks flying.
At this point, Kim Jun could break through every floor on his own, but even that had its limit.
Thud!
"Guhk!"
The massive 190-centimeter Park Minsu took a hit to the hilt of the greatsword and toppled backward.
"Done already?"
"Not even close!"
Clang!
Park Minsu shoved his shield back up, but Kim Jun's assault did not stop.
Like a blacksmith forging a block of iron, Kim Jun hammered into Park Minsu without mercy.
Bang—! Bang—! Bang—!
The blows kept coming, each one as precise and brutal as a hammer strike.
Even when blood ran from Park Minsu's body, even when groans slipped out of him, Kim Jun's hand never slowed.
This wasn't the usual restrained sparring. He was attacking for real, with savage force, and he showed no mercy even when wounds opened and blood spilled.
The comrades watching from one corner of the training hall looked taken aback. They wanted to stop him, but they couldn't bring themselves to step in.
Something utterly different was flowing from Kim Jun now.
Something untouchable. Something no one dared defy.
Kim Jun opened his mouth toward the fallen Park Minsu and said, Dragon Tongue.
"Rise."
Park Minsu collapsed from exhaustion, and Kim Jun used Dragon Tongue to force him back onto his feet.
Park Minsu's body rose on its own. He had been compelled to stand, against his own will.
That happened again and again.
Whenever Park Minsu hit his limit and went down, Kim Jun dragged him up with Dragon Tongue. And when his stamina began to run dry...
"Seoyeon."
"Y-Yes!"
Fwooooosh—
He received Lee Seoyeon's healing and regenerated.
Then the training began again.
You absolutely cannot fall apart.
Kim Jun's gaze cooled.
There was a limit to how far one person could climb alone.
From the 50th floor onward, a party would be mandatory, and certain floors demanded party play without exception.
In those places, Park Minsu's role as a tanker was absolute.
He needed to become far stronger than he had been before the regression.
Not just himself, but every guild member had to grow strong enough to awaken a hidden class.
Only then could they step onto the 100th floor—into that bastard's "garden." And only then would Kim Jun be able to finish him for good.
Kim Jun knew just how limitless the results of human effort and willpower could be.
Human beings were the ones who could break walls they had once believed were final and make impossible things possible.
"U, uaaaaah! Hyung, big bro! Please!"
Park Minsu screamed in agony, but Kim Jun's expression did not change.
"Rise."
The Dragon Tongue rang out again.
Park Minsu still didn't know. He didn't know what kind of existence he could become, or what kind of power he could unleash.
So Kim Jun was teaching him directly.
Bang bang bang bang bang!
The cruel forging continued.
*
How long would it take?
Kim Jun fell into thought as he looked over his guild members.
Every class had a hidden class, and every one of those classes could advance through a fourth awakening.
Among warriors, there was the War Lord, specialized in pure physical offense, and the Dragon Slayer, specialized in fire-attribute attack power.
Dragon Slayer was the class Kim Jun had obtained.
Mages were divided into the Sorceress, which maximized elemental magic, and Arcana, which handled forbidden magic.
Assassins had the Reaper, specialized in stealth kills, and the Blade, specialized in nimble swordplay.
But healers and guardians were a little different.
The hidden class of healers, Bishop, focused purely on healing and buffs, while Valkyrie was a hybrid class that combined healing with offensive support.
Guardians were the same. Bastion was specialized in total tanking and party protection, while Holy Knight was a class that combined tanking power with healing.
The only catch was that Holy Knight could only be advanced to after converting to the tower's religion.
Minsu would never convert.
Either way, the fact remained unchanged: they had to grow powerful enough to achieve their hidden classes.
For now, it was enough for him to break the path open quickly and lead his comrades down it.
And then, when the time was right, awaken them all to their hidden classes.
Suin....
Kim Jun's expression darkened for a moment.
Even before the regression, most of the guild members had obtained hidden classes.
Park Minsu awakened as Bastion, Ryu Jia as Sorceress, and Lee Seoyeon as Bishop.
But Han Suin was different. She lost her life on the 32nd floor and never reached a hidden class.
And the assassin's hidden class was taken by one of those bastards in the Dark Guild.
They're all dead anyway, so it doesn't matter.
Kim Jun brushed off the dust and stood, making a silent vow. He would not repeat the failures of the past.
Right now, all that mattered was focusing on what had to be done.
So this is where the creepy bastards come from.
From the 11th through the 15th floor, all the levels were connected into one enormous world.
And the theme of that world was...
Heaven.
Golden palaces spread above pure-white clouds.
Crystal spires rose into the sky, shedding sacred light as the sound of angels' wings echoed endlessly through the air.
But behind that beauty awaited trials beyond imagination.
"There was somewhere I had to go first."
Kim Jun muttered. If he stepped onto the 11th floor without any preparation, he would find himself enslaved before he even realized what had happened.
To hunters seeing Heaven for the first time, it was a place of beauty beyond anything Thebes could ever compare to.
Great golden cathedrals and an endless sea of clouds created a truly fantastical sight.
But the moment they came face-to-face with the angels, everything changed.
"Do not be afraid."
That was always the angels' first line.
Why would they bother telling people not to be afraid? The reason was simple.
The angels' true forms were too grotesque for human beings to bear.
The seraphim burned from head to toe with six enormous wings, while the cherubim wore four faces at once: lion, eagle, human, and ox.
The most shocking of all was the ophanim. Their bodies were massive wheels covered in thousands of eyes, and every time those eyes blinked together, a chilling sound rang out.
Humans could not possibly look upon such things without fear, which was why the angels always began with those words: Do not be afraid.
Even if one resisted their grotesque forms and their sweet-sounding words, true despair began only then.
Everything in Heaven carried divine power. And divine power was the source of all elements, the absolute force at the root of everything.
All the attributes hunters used—flame, frost, lightning, wind, earth—were derived from that divine power.
In other words, it was the relationship between source and tributary.
The problem was that the angels themselves were wrapped head to toe in divine power.
All attribute damage: -50 percent.
Even a hunter's trump card amounted to little more than a tickle against them.
This was exactly why so many powerful hunters in his previous life had fallen into despair on the 11th floor.
"D-damn it. Nothing works!"
"My ultimate technique...."
They had to face the moment when the skills they'd trained so hard for, the techniques they'd risked their lives to learn, became utterly useless.
Kim Jun had not been an exception.
Even dragon fire had failed to fully display its power before the angels, and only after he lost an arm had he finally found a way through.
If Lee Seoyeon, the S-rank healer, hadn't been there at the time, he would have had to climb the rest of the tower with one arm.
But even the "monsters" of Heaven had weaknesses.
There was the power of darkness, the opposite of light, coming from Hell.
Kim Jun took out a single key from his inventory.
Item Identification
Key of Choice
Grade: ???
Description: A mysterious key that opens hidden paths.
Use Requirement: Minotaur slain.
It was only after clearing the 50th floor, back in his previous life, that he learned the key's true purpose.
After defeating the boss on the 50th floor, a mysterious information broker had appeared.
The shocking information had come from him, as he approached with a mysterious smile beneath a worn cloak.
"Do you think a tower only has a path that goes upward? Young hero, there is also a path that goes downward."
At first, Kim Jun hadn't understood what he meant. But the moment he saw the map the broker handed him, he understood.
The tower contained not only Heaven, but Hell as well.
The tower's basement.
Hell.
The world opposite of Heaven. It held the darkness attribute that could only be obtained there.
This time, I'm going straight there.
Kim Jun clenched the Key of Choice tightly.
He would head underground right now, obtain the darkness attribute, and use that power to break straight through Heaven head-on.
*
Kreeeaaak—
Boooom!
On the first underground floor of the tower, a black river wound its way between cliffs where red lava flowed down in streams.
Where clouds should have been, ash and smoke swirled through the sky, and in the distance the groans of souls rang out like the wind.
In the middle of that despairing landscape sat one being on a simple wooden chair.
One of the Seven Great Devils, Asmodeus, the Lord of Lust.
"Welcome, stranger."
He slowly lifted his head and looked at Kim Jun. His voice was astonishingly gentle.
"What have you come to kill me for? What is it you seek to obtain?"
He wore the perfectly beautiful form of a human.
Long silver hair fell over his shoulders, and his white skin was flawless as a statue.
But deep sorrow lingered in that beautiful face.
As though he had already renounced everything.
Facing Asmodeus, Kim Jun spoke an unexpected line.
"Asmodeus, I'm not here to kill you."
Kim Jun took one step forward, his greatsword still strapped across his back.
"I'm here to talk."
13