Chapter 1

Prologue & The Top of the Tower

Prologue

Attempt count: 79.

297 teams from various guilds wiped out.

315,850 deaths.

All these numbers point to the result of failed attempts to climb the 48th floor of the "Tower of Trials."

[Time Limit: 0h : 58m : 33s]

The status window, which was set to light, flickered.

Time was running out.

-Howl's Moving Oji: Ha... There are no more challengers now.

-Amonzjikda: All the large guilds have given up. Honestly, too many people have died.

-My Lime Awesome Orange Tree: The world will end in an hour. The news has started the countdown. ㅅㄱㅇ.

-Huhu Feeling It: What are you doing here on the last day? There's a party in Hongdae right now. Not spending your Friday night?

-Hyunggung Serif: ㅋㅋㅋYou're just a basement dweller getting excited. You've never even talked to a woman in your life, and you're talking about Friday night.

[Current number of connected users: 87]

The chat window, once connected by millions, now had fewer than 100 users left.

It was only natural.

Due to countless failures, various guilds had already collapsed.

And those who had challenged individually had long since disappeared.

Humanity would end without ever conquering the next floor.

Everyone thought so.

Wooh!

A blue light began to rise in a place where people had long been absent.

This phenomenon occurred for only one reason.

[48th Floor 'Red Dragon Destia' territory: A challenger has appeared.]

Only when a new challenger entered.

A man appeared in the dungeon.

His face was hidden by a facial distortion spell.

In one hand, he held a 30cm-long dagger.

He was undoubtedly a player.

-Howl's Moving Oji: Oh!

-Climber123: There's still someone challenging!

-Hyunggung Serif: Wow, is this real? A challenger in this situation?

-Appearing Before Vanishing: This guy is showing up. Keyboard confiscated for an hour.

The chat window became active with the sudden change.

How long had it been since a new challenger appeared?

The remaining viewers, who had not given up hope, burst into cheers.

[Current number of connected viewers: 7,588]

The news spread quickly through the community and social media.

People who had been waiting for the end of the world came in, just in case.

Soon, all attention was focused on the challenger.

-Disappeared Fresh Mackerel 1: Who is it? Doesn't seem to be a top player.

-My Lime Awesome Orange Tree: All information is set to private, so the status window is not visible.

-Climber123: Surely, it's not a newbie coming in at the last minute?

-Veteran Player Identifier: ㅁㅊ. Shut up and look at that dagger.

-My Lime Awesome Orange Tree: Looks like it's good for picking coconuts. What's the point of showing off a beginner's item?

-Veteran Player Identifier: Look at the color! The color!

At the words of a viewer, everyone's eyes turned to the dagger.

The blade, as black as obsidian.

And the hilt, at the end...

It was 'purple'.

Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet. Seven colors.

Among them, the highest grade, and the ultimate holy relic that no one had ever obtained.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

The hearts of those watching beat wildly.

He's here.

A fossil that had rotted away!

***

“Grrr...”

The red dragon in the nest growled at the intruder's appearance.

A massive body, 30 meters long.

Just standing in front of it made the hair on one's body stand on end.

“You humans know nothing of giving up. After losing so many, you still come again?”

Destia looked down at the intruder.

A haughty gaze.

As if all life was beneath her.

Of course, that haughtiness was backed by overwhelming power.

But.

“To make a dragon steak, I need to prepare a bit. Still, I came in time.”

The man calmly met her gaze.

At the insolent answer, Destia's brow furrowed.

“Human, do you not know that you can die in much more painful ways, even if you die the same?”

“Maybe. Try it if you can. Don't just talk.”

“Fine. A conversation with a mere insect is meaningless anyway.”

Destia drew a line in the air with her claw.

“...!”

The man's body flinched.

A high-level binding spell had been activated.

“A boring conclusion.”

Her raised forelimb aimed at the man's head.

His body was swallowed by the shadow.

And at that moment.

The forelimb fell.

Kwaang!

Cracks appeared in the ground.

Rock fragments flew in all directions.

But.

“Hmm?”

The sensation that should have been felt was absent.

The feeling of bones breaking and flesh being crushed.

“After the binding, a physical attack... Isn't that a bit too obvious?”

Destia heard the man's voice from behind her at that moment.

Unbelievable.

“Before the skill activated... you broke it?”

In that short moment?

“Well, I could tell what you were trying to do just by looking at your hand movements.”

“Stop making dog sounds!”

Destia fully rose.

Her head nearly touched the ceiling of the cave.

“There will be no more coincidences.”

Flames began to rise from her gaping maw.

Kukukuku!

All moisture in the air dried up.

The ultimate power to turn enemies into ashes.

The authority possessed only by dragons.

“Of course, a breath attack.”

The man muttered.

The reason attack teams had failed so far was because they couldn't block that stream of fire.

Kukukuku!

The flames burned more fiercely.

In a moment, when the condensed magic power was released to the extreme...

A human body would not even leave a corpse.

“There is no place to run.”

The entire dungeon was under the domain of the breath attack.

And of course.

“There is no reason to run.”

He didn't come here to run.

He certainly didn't come to die.

He came to win.

To survive and move on to the next floor.

To see the end of this world.

[Reading 'Memory of the World'.]

Behind the man, a brilliant mist poured out.

An infinite archive where all skills were recorded.

A grand library containing the truths of the world.

This was the ability the man possessed.

“I will summon ‘Inferno’ and ‘Black Tears’.”

With a short phrase.

Whoosh!

A ball of fire about 1 meter in diameter appeared in his left hand.

Drip! Drip!

Black liquid dripped from the tip of the dagger in his right hand.

-Howl's Moving Oji: Inferno? It's the exclusive skill of the European top player, Maria!

-Veteran Player Identifier: The liquid dripping from the dagger. That's the skill of the ‘Wailing Witch’ on the 15th floor.

-Climber123: Good grief... There's a player with a copying skill.

-Hyunggung Serif: So what? Even if you spam S-rank skills, they won't do anything.

-Appearing Before Vanishing: I had my doubts. As expected, it's as expected.

-Ex-Student: Ah, what a waste of time.

Viewers who had been connected to the channel quickly left.

Of course, they had to.

Whether it was Inferno or the witch's curse.

Nothing could surpass a dragon's breath.

This had been proven countless times through challenges and failures.

“Foolish human. Did you think you could make a big noise with just those skills?”

Destia clicked her tongue.

Yes.

At this level, it was impossible.

So.

He would create it.

‘The skill manifested in my left hand, and.’

To break the breath attack...

‘The skill manifested in my right hand, fused together.’

To create a skill of a higher dimension, capable of cutting through dragon scales!

The man dropped a black droplet onto the Inferno.

At that moment.

[Skill ‘Inferno (S)’ and skill ‘Black Tears (S)’ are fusing.]

The two heterogeneous skills merged into one, and a dark red spark appeared.

[Fusion successful!]

[You have obtained ‘Breath of the Void Dragon Eterion (SSS)’!]

Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa!

A black flame, different in class from the red dragon's breath, burned.

The quality of the magic power.

The temperature of the flames was different.

“T-That!”

An earthquake occurred in Destia's eyes.

She couldn't not know.

How could she not know?

Eterion, one of the ancient species.

And the strongest breath attack used by that ancient dragon.

“You... How can a mere human possess that power...!”

Destia stuttered.

Beyond curiosity, fear.

That's why she had to ask.

“Who... Who are you! You...!”

In response to Destia's question, the man slowly opened his mouth.

“Jinhyuk Kang.”

I am a veteran.

Worn out and eventually worn down.

“And this isn't the first time I've killed you.”

At the same time, I am the only player who has reached the top of this tower.