Chapter 56

Chapter 55. The End of the Third Floor, The Army Without Hearts (1)

"Aa, no... Please, please...!"

Jinhyuk turned away from the screaming Alex and returned to the inside of the circular theater.

There was no reason to watch until the end.

Crack!

Boom!

Debris fell irregularly due to the aftermath of the mana dissolution.

Though not threatening, he didn’t want to be covered in dust.

[Lv2 'Ice Formation' activated.]

Crack!

A circular ice barrier formed around Jinhyuk's body.

The ice shield, adorned with snowflake patterns, deflected the falling rocks.

Jinhyuk's gaze turned to the people lying on the ground.

They were still unconscious.

Due to the severe physical and mental damage they had suffered.

'Thanks to this, I can earn some extra income.'

In the chaotic situation, there would have been no time to collect the auction items.

The treasures from the 175th round, buried under rock fragments, were up for grabs.

Jinhyuk began to leisurely farm them.

'Since I saved their lives, it's only fair to take this much as a reward.'

In fact, it was almost too cheap. He had only asked for a few hundred billion as a life-saving fee.

Of course, there might be someone who, after being saved from drowning, would demand a package.

It doesn’t matter.

'When they come to their senses, I'll be on a plane back to Korea.'

Besides, how could anyone know who the culprit was while they were unconscious?

At best, they could only direct their anger at the main culprits who caused this disaster.

Lalala.

Jinhyuk hummed a tune as he rummaged through the debris.

Many treasures were damaged, but fortunately, the best ones were unharmed.

'It feels like I've entered a real treasure dungeon.'

He obtained the 'Heart of the Sea Dragon,' 'Unknown Iron Ore,' and 'Michelangelo’s Vault,' which were the most popular items in this auction.

He also reclaimed the crown that Ellis had submitted.

Good.

This is enough.

Jinhyuk took out an old piece of paper from his pocket.

It was the 'Subspace Inventory Combination Scroll' obtained in the corridor.

With materials other than those from the Replica or the Tower, it wouldn’t be possible to store several dozen tons of platinum or diamonds, but

'At least it will prevent the inconvenience of carrying things on my body.'

That’s enough.

['Heart of the Sea Dragon (A)', 'Unknown Iron Ore (B)', 'Michelangelo’s Vault (C)' used as materials!]

[Large Subspace Inventory (Gold Grade +5000kg) successfully combined!]

A yellowish subspace inventory appeared with a brilliant light.

Finally, he could stuff away all the cumbersome items.

But right then.

Rustle.

A sound was heard from among the people.

"…!?"

Jinhyuk quickly turned his head.

'Is someone already conscious?'

At that moment.

He met the round, rabbit-like eyes of a young boy.

A boy who was extremely frightened but also filled with admiration and excitement.

'...A child.'

Jinhyuk relaxed his guard.

"I'll pull you out, so stay still for a moment. Don’t move."

"Okay? Okay."

The boy nodded.

At that moment.

Swish!

A dagger, glowing blue, cut through the debris in one swift motion.

The angle of the falling fragments was calculated, so the boy was rescued unharmed.

"Thank you, big brother."

"It’s nothing, really."

Jinhyuk smiled, as if it was no big deal.

"Big brother, did you really defeat those monsters and bad guys?"

"Huh?"

"I saw it before I lost consciousness. It was like a Marvel movie. It was really... really cool."

A Marvel movie.

He probably thought it was like the Avengers fighting Thanos.

Well, to a child, it might have looked that way. Sweeping away dozens of undead could have seemed like a scene from a movie.

"I want to become a strong player like you and climb the tower. So, when bad guys try to kill people, I can appear like a hero and save them... I want to do that."

Hmm. It feels a bit embarrassing to hear it so directly.

Maybe because he’s so pure, he expresses his emotions without any filter.

But it’s not a bad feeling.

His gratitude was genuine, without any ulterior motives or pretense.

'Sometimes, this isn’t bad.'

Jinhyuk smiled and patted the boy’s head.

He needed to leave now, in case anyone else woke up.

Before that, one more thing.

"Um, if people ask who did this, can you keep it a secret?"

Jinhyuk extended his pinky finger.

"I won’t tell anyone. A hero’s identity must be kept secret!"

The boy smiled and extended his pinky finger in return.

***

There are still two places on the third floor of the Tower of Trials that players haven’t reached the end of.

One is the boss room on the third floor, guarding the path to the fourth floor.

The other is right here.

The 'Cathedral of Hatred,' a labyrinth that has brought despair to countless raid parties.

However.

Despite its notorious reputation, this labyrinth was actually cleared long ago.

By the Mains.

"Damn, why are the security systems here so complicated? We might end up getting caught in them too."

A tall, red-haired woman grumbled.

Her tone was filled with frustration.

It was understandable.

The barriers and traps set up to prevent player access, along with the numerous high-level undead monsters, kept even the Mains, who were familiar with the area, on edge.

"Stop your constant whining, Melena. We’re already in a bad mood because of that stupid doctor."

A man of East Asian descent, walking beside Melena, clicked his tongue.

Though not particularly large, the cold aura he exuded was as intimidating as a large monster.

"Ryao. Do I have to care about whether you’re in a good or bad mood?"

"It would be wise to. If you don’t want to die."

"Interesting. It sounds like you think you’re stronger than me?"

Melena met Ryao’s gaze head-on.

A situation where pulling out weapons wouldn’t be strange.

"Both of you, stop there."

A low, heavy voice intervened.

A man in a black hood.

Unlike Melena and Ryao, he had a red inverted cross on his right shoulder, with the Roman numeral Ⅶ added above it.

"...Understood."

"Tch!"

Unable to defy the command, the two reluctantly nodded.

Melena and Ryao had been working together on missions outside the tower for ten years, but they always wanted to eat each other.

Well, it might be a contradiction to expect Mains to get along.

Cult followers, serial killers who became mercenaries for the thrill, and monsters who would abandon their humanity for money.

A group formed by people who despised being bound by law and order.

"Still, even if Alex’s skills have declined, I can’t understand how he lost in a situation with so much treasure."

Ryao spoke.

"Well, Gang Jinhyuk is one of the old-timers. He’s probably on par with the other high-ranking players."

"Don’t be complacent. He might have gone even higher than us."

The two men’s mouths gaped open at the hooded man’s words.

"No way. Even the leaders only went up to the 20th floor of the tower and were treated like lunatics. Higher than that?"

"I also think it’s an exaggerated assumption. We chose the virtual reality world of the [Tower of Trials] to avoid the eyes of Interpol and the CIA, so we know more about the tower than others... but..."

"You’re right. The others don’t have such special reasons. They wouldn’t have any reason to hide in the virtual world to avoid the authorities."

The [Tower of Trials] has been out for 11 years.

But most people stopped playing within three years.

It’s understandable.

Even people who enjoy extreme difficulty can’t waste time on something that goes beyond a certain level.

There needs to be some sense of growth and progress to endure the tedium.

No one would throw their life away for repetitive boredom without a purpose.

But why?

A strange tension lingered on the man’s face.

His intuition and instinct, which had brought him to the position of a Main Association leader, and the fear that surpassed it, kept warning him.

Never underestimate Gang Jinhyuk.

He won’t be complacent.

That’s the most foolish thing to do.

Then...

"You two, go with Cadric."

He needed to crush even the slightest possibility.

***

The final gateway of the third floor of the Tower of Trials.

Jinhyuk stood in front of the only path to the fourth floor.

"Phew..."

He took a deep breath.

'All preparations are complete.'

The items he had requested from Yurin were all stored in the subspace inventory, and his physical condition and mana were at their best.

The only thing left was to set up his own broadcast channel before the boss battle.

'Thinking about the future, I need to collect as many coins as possible.'

Due to the rule that only the first video watched within 24 hours counts for views, this field will soon become a serious red ocean.

Popular players can sweep up coins, but for non-named players, it will be hard to even get 10 views.

So, he needed to secure his position before that.

And kick the ladder away.

To prevent competitors from climbing.

'Let’s just endure for one day.'

He planned to broadcast this boss raid to draw attention, but he didn’t intend to do live streams in the future.

Broadcasting without editing was risky in many ways.

'If I can make a strong impression in the first broadcast, I can replace it with video uploads later.'

A well-polished first impression would make things easier in the future.

But right then, as he was thinking of a channel name, a painful and bitter memory surfaced.

'Timo Colonel is out of the question.'

That was absolutely not an option.

He wanted to finally escape from that nightmare.

Jinhyuk bit his finger.

He prided himself on knowing more about the Tower of Trials than anyone else, but there was one thing.

His naming sense couldn’t improve no matter how hard he tried.

How much time had passed?

A name suddenly flashed through Jinhyuk’s mind.

"...Unknown."

He muttered.

Then,

[Do you want to set the channel name to 'Unknown'?]

A confirmation window appeared.

"Yes. I’ll go with that."

When he cleared the Labyrinth of Rivalintos, the system suggested 'Unknown' as a codename for identity protection.

A word meaning 'the unknown one.'

At the time, he thought it was fine, but now it seemed like a pretty good name.

'Since the main concept is to hide my identity behind a mask.'

[Your personal channel has been created!]

[Channel name 'Unknown'!]

[Streaming function activated.]

[Real-time streaming is only available when fighting the boss monsters on each floor.]

Current BJ level: Normal (90% commission applied)

Viewers: 0/1,000

Subscribers: 0

Thump! Thump! Thump!

Jinhyuk’s heart began to beat rapidly.

"I can’t believe I’m so nervous."

In the past, the concept of live streaming was vague.

Due to the small number of people playing the [Tower of Trials].

This was practically his first live broadcast in life.

It would be a lie to say he wasn’t nervous.

[Tower of Trials 3rd Floor Boss Battle: How an old-timer will tackle this challenge in his first broadcast.]

This title should draw enough attention.

'So, shall we go now?'

Jinhyuk checked one last time to make sure the geometric-patterned mask was properly worn.

Thud.

And he stepped towards the shimmering gate.