FWOOSH-
The musty smell peculiar to the tower stung his nose.
Unlike the previous towers, it was less a rank animal stench than something danker and wetter.
Just as Kim Tae-seong frowned slightly, an irritable voice came from right behind him.
"Bullshit. This damned tower has not changed a bit."
The owner of the voice.
It was Sama Pung, First Elder of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.
His gray hair hung long and loose, and his eyebrows and beard were thick enough that "grown out" was the fitting description.
Sama Pung covered his nose as though at a foul smell and looked at Kim Tae-seong.
"Oi, you there."
"......What is it?"
"As was pledged, you must keep your word."
"Understood."
Kim Tae-seong wore a look of disbelief.
A little while ago.
Right after summoning Sama Pung and Paeng Dal, Kim Tae-seong had expected the same picture as before to unfold.
They ought to have naturally accepted a request from the one who had saved the E-031 dimension, yet Sama Pung had boldly proposed that if it was a request, they should make it give and take. Only then did he understand. Why Summon and Conscription were different. The reason commands were specified in Conscription was that, in fact, the targets of Summon could not be compelled.
Not that there was any particular problem.
Sama Pung's proposal.
It was that he get him 'mana cigarettes'.
Similar to tobacco but harmless, they were a popular indulgence packed with mana.
'......Should I have just waited for Conscription's cooldown? Unlike Namgung Cheol, he doesn't seem trustworthy at all.'
He had already opened the tower's gate.
A card once laid down cannot be taken back.
Kim Tae-seong checked his surroundings.
Unlike the previous climbs where he had simply put the Namgung Clan's people up front, this Floor 10 needed his own strength.
Whatever the case, Sama Pung spoke in an indifferent tone.
"Paeng Dal."
"Yes."
"Cigarette."
"To the great 'First Elder of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult', Lord Sama Pung, I present a cigarette."
The man called Paeng Dal.
Paeng Dal, lanky, with dark circles sagging under his eyes and looking to be in his early thirties, scurried over and presented a cigarette.
Sama Pung did not even lift a hand.
When it was placed in his mouth for him, he raised his index finger.
WHOOMPH.
"Hup, haaah."
The flame that rose from his finger burned the cigarette with a crackle.
As Sama Pung drew deeply on the mana cigarette, considerable satisfaction rose on his face.
"I was saving my last smoke, the lone mast left in the pack, for right before I croaked, so what a happy moment this is. Paeng Dal."
"Yes."
"Do you want a drag too?"
"If you would permit it, I would not refuse."
"Mm. In that case, I do not permit it."
Sama Pung grinned.
As if he had ears on the back of his head, Kim Tae-seong could not help but be drawn to their conversation.
'Poor guy.'
The Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.
Their structure was peculiar.
By Namgung Cheol's explanation, five of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult had survived.
The Cult Leader of the Divine Cult, the Heavenly Demon.
Three of the Twelve Elders who symbolized the Divine Cult.
And Paeng Dal, a lowly martial artist of the Black Wind Corps, the Divine Cult's lowest-ranking armed force.
In a power structure where the ranks effectively did not match, he had heard that Paeng Dal handled all of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult's menial chores.
'Paeng Dal may be a martial artist, but he's weaker than even a member of the Azure Sky Corps. In the end, this Floor 10 climb has to rely on Sama Pung alone. So let's not rush. If breaking records meant a lot on the earlier floors, on Floor 10 just succeeding at a solo climb will bring a considerable reward.'
A first-ever climb.
There were privileges to it.
Kim Tae-seong moved forward.
Apart from the initial space called the [Waiting Room], it was a pitch-dark space without a single torch.
This itself was the dark zone that sharply raised Floor 10's difficulty, but as an expected variable, there was nothing to be flustered about.
He lowered his stance.
Gazing into the pitch-black darkness.
"Search."
Kim Tae-seong's eyes gleamed.
The strategy guide for Floor 10 says.
1. Debuff
2. Scouting
3. Area skill
4. A reliable tank.
That these four conditions are essential.
But in fact, the details of the guide dealt with somewhat more complex content.
For example, it would be ideal if, for 1, the debuff, there were a member who not only offset debuffs but held an advantage against dark-attribute monsters, and if, for 2, the scout, one who secured the path also doubled as a lamp to light the darkness.
The reason Kim Tae-seong was confident in a solo climb was that he could leave conditions 3 and 4 to Sama Pung while resolving the first two himself.
FLASH.
His eyes were dyed blue.
In an instant, the tower's structure was drawn into his eyes.
'......What is this?'
Hup, he drew in a breath.
The Search skill had originally been level 3.
He had used Search to fill the scout's role all along, but Master-level Search was an entirely new world.
Before his eyes.
The tower's structure spread out.
Pitch-dark though it was, it laid out the maze-like tangle of the structure, and it included detailed information such as where traps were set. Honestly, it was beyond his expectations. The reason he had taken Search to Master level was that he had calculated for the Floor 10 climb. Though it was a choice made for this very situation, the performance was considerable for a Bronze skill.
In fact, it was only natural not to have expected it.
Normally, there was no such thing as taking a Bronze skill to Master.
Think about it.
Even a Bronze Skill Box was a hundred million won.
Mastering Search meant burning at least a billion won, and what crazy bastard would spend that kind of money?
Of course, wealthy upper-tier hunters had the means, but bluntly put, at that point the right choice was to acquire a higher skill beyond it rather than a Bronze-level Search skill.
Kim Tae-seong rose from his spot.
"Ten meters directly ahead, there's a pack of ghouls. Once they're dealt with, if you go straight on there's a fork in the road, and if you take the right, you can avoid a dead end. For now, just keep that much in mind, and I'll explain more as we move."
"Oh, so you were a scout?"
"......"
He ignored it.
He took a small orb out of his Inventory and threw it at the ceiling.
At the same time.
"Throw."
WHIRL.
THWACK-
SHATTER.
The orb broke.
Then the surroundings brightened.
"What is that?"
"It's a 'holy power orb' for lighting up the dark zone. By bursting condensed holy power, it not only secures vision of the surroundings for a while but can conversely put a debuff on dark-attribute monsters. I've stocked plenty, so you don't need to worry about vision."
That was not all.
Kim Tae-seong handed Sama Pung something.
"It's nightglow herb ground fine and mixed with holy water into a paste. If you coat your sword with this, you can inflict damage even on 'formless' monsters that physical attacks don't work on."
A D-Grade hunter.
It was Kim Tae-seong's way of survival.
[Search][Throw][Herbalism]
He combined skills that looked useless at a glance in all sorts of ways.
In that instant, Sama Pung burst out laughing.
"Ha ha ha. What an entertaining fellow you are."
Preparations were done.
The way had been opened, so.
"From here on, is it my turn? Paeng Dal."
"Yes."
"Sword."
"To the great 'First Elder of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult', Lord Sama Pung, I present the Death Spirit Sword."
CLACK.
He took the sword.
Sama Pung walked in the lead.
Kim Tae-seong and Paeng Dal followed behind him.
Before long.
KYAAAAAK!
Just as Kim Tae-seong had predicted, a pack of ghouls appeared before them.
Ghouls were E-Grade monsters.
He had never thought Sama Pung would have trouble with the likes of those.
As expected.
WHIRRL.
SHK-SHK-SHK-SHK-SHAK!
A dozen-odd ghouls.
He tore them apart in one go.
He moved along the path Kim Tae-seong guided him on, and whatever monster appeared, he butchered it in an instant.
'He's definitely different.'
Namgung Su-ho and Namgung Cheol.
Sharp and aggressive, yet they had never strayed from the roots of the orthodox sects.
If they pursued their strength within a set frame, the sword technique of Sama Pung, who used the Death Spirit Sword that was a little longer than an ordinary sword, was different.
It was not set in any mold.
When it looked like a thrust, he cut, when it looked like a cut, he twisted, and when it looked like a twist, he thrust.
Through the single system that ran through his irregularly swung sword technique, Sama Pung's overwhelming presence swelled.
He opened the way quickly.
Kim Tae-seong secured the passages through Search as well.
"Right."
"Left."
"Straight."
It was fast.
Smoother going than he had thought.
Kim Tae-seong read the path, lit the way, and supplied the nightglow herb as well.
With Sama Pung added to that it looked smooth, but Kim Tae-seong knew this would never end like this.
'The reason Floor 10 plunged humanity into despair was a difficulty that couldn't be handled even when it was fully understood through the strategy. People called it.......'
JINGLE JINGLE.
'......the Endless Death Struggle.'
"Get ready!"
Kim Tae-seong shouted.
The sound of a bell.
It was the signal.
Immediately, skeletons crowded densely before their eyes.
There were so many that no gap could be seen in the not-so-large passage, and the problem arose right behind them as well.
GRRK.
GRRRRRK.
The ghouls that had been butchered.
They rose again, limbs dangling.
As the retreat was cut off front and back, monsters like dullahans that had not been seen until a moment ago revealed themselves as well.
The dullahan's face, held in its grip, flashed red light from its eyes and spewed out a grotesque voice.
[Kill.]
[Kill every living thing.]
A death struggle without end.
It was the trial of Floor 10.
At Kim Tae-seong's warning, Sama Pung finally looked as though his interest had stirred.
"Very well, now I shall finally be worth my cigarettes."
KYAAK!
KYAAAAAAAK!
Monsters closing in from every side.
The trial of Floor 10, which had driven humanity to the edge of a cliff, began in earnest.
At that time.
A world summit was underway.
The leaders of the nations, seated around an enormous round table, began to speak with grave faces.
"......After running ten million simulations through Miracle, the probability of passing the twentieth floor with the strength of the expeditions currently assembled does not even exceed 10%."
"Good heavens."
"Ten percent?"
The President of the United States.
At William Taylor's words, the leaders reacted with despair.
What the media poured out was not baseless.
Grim news from the inside had leaked out and warned people of a very real problem.
"Spain's expedition, and Britain's, have failed their climbs. This is a very serious matter. For towers at the nineteenth floor and below, we secure at least an 80% probability of success through simulation before attempting a climb. Even the 'Trial of Floor 10', judged humanity's worst moment, was in the end successfully calculated at a 50% probability of success. But this is 10%. At this absurd difficulty where we fail nine times out of ten, the problem is that we cannot field our strongest force identically ten times."
"So what do you propose? Even so, is it not right to attempt it?"
"Yes. Unless we intend to stand by and watch this world fall, we must stake our lives even on a 10% chance. However."
Taylor paused.
He slowly met the eyes of the leaders.
"America proposes that we instead select the elite of each nation. How about forming the strongest possible 'One Team'?"
It was the Avengers Project, already raised several times.
It was worth discussing.
Each nation's expeditions.
Whether individuals or national units.
They had summoned the best of their nations.
The problem was that this did not mean the best in the world.
They might be each nation's best, but by the standard of the world's best, it came to one or two per nation at most.
If national interests were set aside, it was clear they could assemble humanity's very finest.
But.
"In that case, which nation reaps the privilege?"
The Chairman of China.
Haoran said.
The privilege was the location where the tower was cleared.
That is, it meant the privilege concerning the Monster Wave that occurred right after the trial.
"As you know, the Monster Wave causes considerable loss of life. In the case of the last tenth floor especially, everyone remembers that it delivered a calamity to every nation more powerful than at any other time. If so, the twentieth floor too may reduce this world to a mugwort-choked wasteland with 'something' at a level we have never experienced before. Mr. President of the United States. If America gives up its right to the privilege, our China is willing to consider carefully the matter you raised."
"......That is a difficult matter. If the best are put forward, at least one or more from America would be included."
"That is why it misfires every time, Mr. President."
It was the same conversation repeated every time.
America, China, Britain, Russia, Germany.
Suppose, for example, elites were drafted from these five nations. Which nation on earth would claim the privilege?
It was not a matter that could be conceded through some deal.
That was how important the Monster Wave was, a matter that could destroy a nation.
Already the third summit.
The content was going nowhere.
Just as voices on each side were gradually rising.
"By the way."
From one side of the conference room.
The Chancellor of Germany, Richard Hoffmann, spoke.
"Has anyone found any information about that Unknown who is said to be smashing the solo climb records?"
In that instant, everyone stopped talking.
The Unknown.
The moves of that being were a topic more than enough to draw everyone's attention.