For now, I had made a plan for what to do with the Seed of Calamity.
I did not know whether it was a perfect plan, but at the very least, I was certain it was the best one available under the current circumstances.
‘For today, I should probably climb the Tower as usual.’
There was still quite a bit of time before the Seed of Calamity would fully hatch.
If someone asked me how I knew, I could only say that I somehow felt it instinctively.
Perhaps it was because I was the Seed of Calamity’s owner.
In any case, I could not afford to waste today’s Tower climb, so I intended to finally challenge the 20th floor.
I would have to leave the Seed of Calamity at home while I climbed the Tower, but I had been doing that until now anyway, so it should not cause any major problems.
After observing it closely over the past several days, I had concluded that the Seed of Calamity did not seem to make any progress toward hatching unless I personally kept it close to my body.
In other words, I could make it grow only when I wanted it to.
Thanks to that, there was no danger of the egg suddenly hatching while I was away.
‘I should get information about the 20th floor first.’
My Tower entry cooldown would end soon.
For the past twenty-five years, I had despised delaying my Tower entry time with something approaching obsession, so I needed to gather all the information about the 20th floor before then.
When I logged into the Hunter community to research the 20th floor, people were already busily discussing whether Strongest would clear it.
-He should probably clear the 20th floor without much trouble, right? It is not like the floor has any particularly unusual gimmicks.
-Yeah. If he really does have a fixed-Stats Trait, he will just clear the 20th floor too.
-We will see...
As I browsed the community, I came across something rather interesting.
‘A fixed-Stats Trait? Is that what people think I have?’
Looking more closely, it did not seem to be merely the opinion of a few people. It was gradually becoming the prevailing consensus.
-Are fixed-Stats Traits not seriously overrated? They are useless once the early floors are over.
-Strongest has not even been confirmed to have a fixed-Stats Trait, so why is everyone making such a fuss?
-It is just people with too much interest in other people’s lives hanging around on the community. What did you expect?
‘Fair enough.’
It was not particularly strange.
Even I would probably assume that a Hunter who suddenly appeared and began climbing the Tower at a ridiculous pace like mine possessed a fixed-Stats Trait.
‘Hmm…….’
As I stared at the Hunter community, an idea suddenly crossed my mind.
‘This… might actually be useful if I handle it properly.’
The misunderstanding that had formed around Strongest.
If something happened later, I might be able to make good use of it.
People had a tendency to believe what they wanted to believe.
‘Well, putting that aside…….’
Browsing the Hunter community was entertaining, but there was not much time left before I had to enter the Tower.
As always, I familiarized myself with the strategy for the 20th floor, then immediately prepared to enter.
The Tower’s 20th floor.
This was where the journey through the desert floors that had begun on the 11th floor finally came to an end, and naturally, it surpassed all the previous floors in difficulty and practically every other respect.
Even so, I did not give it much thought.
Unlike the 15th floor, the 20th floor was not a Special Floor, so there were no unusual gimmicks to worry about.
“Enter the Tower.”
[Entering <Tower Floor 20>.]
[20th Floor Mission Overview]
-Defeat Rameses, the Sleeping King of the Desert.
-Completion Condition: Defeat the King of the Desert
-Failure Condition: Death
Both the completion condition and the failure condition were remarkably simple compared to everything up until now.
It meant that the long journey through the desert floors, which had begun on the 11th floor, would finally end here.
‘Shall I go?’
I crossed through pitch-black darkness so deep that I could barely see an inch ahead.
At last, I reached the heart of the pyramid, a place steeped in an eerie atmosphere.
The King’s Tomb.
The King of the Desert slept here.
After what could certainly be called a long journey, I had finally reached the King’s Tomb at the very center of the pyramid.
WOOOOOOOONG───
A strange, ominous sound echoed through the darkness.
At first, there was only a faint blue glow.
Two chilling blue-green flames flickered in the darkness, slowly revealing their source.
Something began rising before me, and soon, a colossal figure tall enough to nearly reach the ceiling emerged in full.
Blackened skin showed through rotting linen bandages.
An ominous crimson light blazed within its hollow eye sockets.
Sharp teeth protruded between torn lips that resembled those of a wild beast.
-CREAK, CREEEAK──
The air suddenly grew heavy.
The strips of bandage wrapped around its body began dancing through the air as though they were alive, while the sand beneath my feet swirled and shifted.
CREEAK, CREEEAK─
What could only be called its claw twisted with a grotesque sound before pointing directly at me.
A pitch-black claw with exposed joints gleamed in the moonlight.
“Who do you think you are pointing at?”
Would you like a taste of my Magic Sword?
“Summon Magic Sword.”
A surge of blue Magic Power rapidly took shape in my grasp, instantly sweeping across the surroundings.
-GRIIIK!
Had it sensed the power within the Magic Sword?
The King of the Desert, which had been arrogantly pointing at me only moments ago, suddenly froze.
Then I swung the Magic Sword.
Despite its grand title of king, the King of the Desert lost its form and scattered apart before the Magic Sword even touched it.
The power released by a Magic Sword born from a Magic Power value of 79 was far beyond anything a mere 20th-floor boss monster could withstand.
[You have defeated the King of the Desert!]
[You have acquired Experience Points.]
.
.
.
[You have completely overwhelmed the existence of the King of the Desert!]
[You have demonstrated dominion surpassing that of the King of the Desert!]
[You have acquired the Trait, ‘Ruler of the Desert’.]
────────────
[Ruler of the Desert]
O king who rules over the desert.
Trait Effect: You can rule over sand and wield the authority of the King of the Desert.
You can freely control desert sandstorms and create soldiers and weapons made of sand.
Restriction: Magic Power consumption increases greatly when used in places without sand.
────────────
“This is…….”
Incredible.
***
Seo-yoon returned to the Guro Branch rental shop early in the morning.
This time, she was determined to rent the Ogre’s Giant Hammer that she had missed out on before.
‘It will be returned today, right? If they say it was rented out again this time, I am definitely going to complain. No matter how you look at it, monopolizing it alone for weeks on end is going too far, is it not?’
However…….
“P-Permanent rental?”
Seo-yoon received shocking news from the employee.
“Yes. I apologize, but the Ogre’s Giant Hammer has been designated as a permanent rental, so it will no longer be available for rent. We ask for your understanding.”
“What do you mean……. The Government Official Rental Shop even has something like permanent rentals?”
“I only learned about it myself this time as well……. In any case, I apologize, Hunter. If you are interested, we do have other equipment available, so we would appreciate it if you considered using those instead.”
“But…….”
Seo-yoon’s vision went dark.