The white light faded, and Sang-hyeok’s feet touched solid ground.
The bottomless pit was gone. A pure white space filled his surroundings instead.
The stabbing pain in his left shoulder and back had vanished as well. It seemed all the injuries he had suffered on the battlefield had been restored.
「Settling the 1st Floor clear results.」
A new notification appeared before Sang-hyeok.
[<Heart of Collapse> completely annihilated]
[Battlefield ended with more than 25 minutes remaining]
「Complete-clear conditions for Hidden Battlefield <Battlefield of Collapse> fulfilled.」
[Clear Evaluation: SSS]
「Level increased.」
[Lv.1 → Lv.2]
Warm energy spread through his entire body from the tips of his toes.
His stiff muscles loosened, and the mana he had exhausted rapidly filled again.
[Physical output increases.]
[Mana capacity increases.]
[Mana recovery speed increases.]
[Authority maintenance time increases.]
After checking the messages before him, Sang-hyeok raised his right hand and moved his will.
‘<Extinction Devouring>.’
Black energy bloomed between his fingers.
It was denser than before, and less mana was needed to maintain the same size.
‘It’s definitely improved.’
It was the result of using <Extinction Devouring> over and over on the battlefield, combined with his level increase.
Then it happened.
THUD.
A heavy pulse sounded from deep within his chest.
For an instant, the white settlement space vanished from his sight.
A black land with neither stars nor moon.
At the far end of the horizon, an enormous black dragon lay prone like a mountain range.
It was the same scene Sang-hyeok had seen just before entering the 1st Floor.
This time, however, he was much closer.
He could make out every scale covering the gigantic face.
At its center, a red eye had been staring directly at Sang-hyeok from the beginning.
A moment later, the Apocalyptic Demon Dragon slowly moved aside the foreleg covering its chest.
RUMBLE.
The enormous limb scraped across the ground and shifted away, exposing the chest hidden beneath it.
The black scales there were deeply sunken, as if something had been torn out.
At the center remained only a huge empty hole where a heart should have been.
The Apocalyptic Demon Dragon’s red gaze lowered toward Sang-hyeok’s chest.
THUD!
Sang-hyeok’s heart beat hard.
At that instant, the black land and the gigantic dragon disappeared together.
The white settlement space spread before him once more.
Sang-hyeok placed a hand over his chest. His heartbeat felt no different from normal.
Yet no notification appeared regarding what he had just seen.
The empty space left in the Apocalyptic Demon Dragon’s chest.
‘Did it give me its own heart?’
Or.
‘Was its heart taken by someone, and somehow came to me?’
He still did not know how that heart had entered him or why the Apocalyptic Demon Dragon had chosen him.
Still, after his level increased, the dragon’s form had appeared much closer and clearer than before.
If the heart awakened further, he might eventually see what came next.
As Sang-hyeok lowered his hand from his chest, the settlement continued as though it had been waiting.
「Hidden Battlefield core reward granted.」
FLASH!
White light gathered beneath his feet and transformed into a pair of black boots.
Sang-hyeok immediately opened their information.
[Item Information]
[Name] <Collapse Walker’s Boots>
[Grade] Hero
[Effects]
- Corrects balance on unstable terrain.
- Assists with sudden changes in direction.
- Absorbs a portion of landing impact.
“Another Hero Grade.”
Even rankers found it difficult to obtain a single Hero Grade item.
<Extinction Devouring> was strongest at direct contact. Even if Sang-hyeok could identify an enemy’s weakness, that knowledge was useless if he could not reach it.
On the Battlefield of Collapse, he had only been able to finish things after crossing falling debris and the ruined tower to cling directly to the heart.
For Sang-hyeok, these boots were far more suitable than equipment that simply increased movement speed.
If he could keep his balance even on unstable footing, he would gain that many more opportunities to reach an enemy.
Sang-hyeok immediately put the boots on.
The inside tightened to fit his feet.
He took a few steps and abruptly changed direction, but the boots firmly supported his ankles and his balance did not waver at all.
‘Nice.’
Even that brief test was enough to feel their performance.
But the rewards were not finished yet.
「Additional complete-clear reward granted.」
This time, light gathered above Sang-hyeok’s palm.
FLASH.
A dark-red fragment about two finger joints long appeared.
A faint red glow slowly flickered inside it.
[Item Information]
[Name] <Collapse Core Fragment>
[Grade] Rare
[Classification] Material
[Effects]
- Possesses a property that weakens barriers and wards.
- Can be used as material for crafting related equipment.
It was a material item.
‘This……’
Sang-hyeok’s eyes gleamed.
If he handed it to Kim Seo-yoon and Ilseong’s researchers, they might be able to find a way to create equipment that weakened barriers or wards.
‘I’ll show it to Noona once she’s had some rest.’
When Sang-hyeok placed the fragment into his inventory, the national achievement settlement began.
「Checking current achievement status of affiliated nation.」
[Republic of Korea estimated deficit points this quarter: 29,720]
Before entering the 1st Floor, it had been 30,000.
While Sang-hyeok was inside the Tower, Korean players must have earned 280 points through their own clears and reduced the deficit slightly.
Then Sang-hyeok’s 1st Floor clear record began to settle as well.
「A new record will be entered into the 1st Floor Hall of Fame.」
The Hall of Fame.
It permanently preserved the records of players who were the first to completely clear Hidden Battlefields and Hidden Trials.
Once an entry was confirmed, achievement points were also granted to the player’s affiliated nation according to the value of the record.
[Battlefield: <Battlefield of Collapse>]
[Basic Objective: Survive for 30 minutes]
[Achieved Record: <Heart of Collapse> completely annihilated]
[Record Name: First Early Termination]
[Achiever Public Name: Private]
[Affiliated Nation: Republic of Korea]
Sang-hyeok had completely erased the <Heart of Collapse> from a battlefield designed to be endured for thirty minutes.
He was the first player to end the battlefield itself with more than twenty-five minutes still remaining.
It was unlikely, but even if someone later finished the same battlefield faster, the record of being the first to terminate it early would remain Sang-hyeok’s.
Once the record was confirmed, the national achievement reward followed.
「Hall of Fame record reward reflected for affiliated nation.」
[Republic of Korea achievement points +300]
[Estimated deficit points decrease from 29,720 to 29,420.]
The points Sang-hyeok had earned from a single floor were greater than what countless Korean players had reduced together during that same period.
[Republic of Korea estimated deficit points this quarter: 29,420]
Sang-hyeok fixed the newly changed number in his eyes.
There was still a large deficit left to fill.
But he had only just completed the 1st Floor.
From now on, he only had to keep stacking records that no one else could establish.
‘I’ll make sure not a single Rift opens this quarter.’
It was the first goal Sang-hyeok had set after regressing.
「All settlements complete.」
「Returning to reality.」
White light wrapped around Sang-hyeok’s body.
***
At the same time.
An update notification for the 1st Floor Hall of Fame appeared in PlayerNet’s public records channel.
[Korea/Lv.17] Pumpkin : A new record just appeared in the 1st Floor Hall of Fame. The battlefield is called <Battlefield of Collapse>?
[Japan/Lv.29] Ken : There was still a Hidden Battlefield on the 1st Floor that nobody had cleared?
[United States/Lv.36] Jack : Never seen that battlefield name either. Upload the record screen.
Pumpkin captured the Hall of Fame screen and posted it.
[Basic Objective: Survive for 30 minutes]
[Achieved Record: <Heart of Collapse> completely annihilated]
[Record Name: First Early Termination]
[Achiever Public Name: Private]
[Affiliated Nation: Republic of Korea]
The chat went quiet for a moment.
[Japan/Lv.29] Ken : They ended a thirty-minute survival battlefield in under five minutes?
[United States/Lv.36] Jack : Looks like they destroyed the battlefield itself. Crazy! What kind of lunatic does that?
[China/Lv.33] Lin : Feels like I keep seeing absurd records lately.
[Korea/Lv.24] Minji : The 300 points that just went to Korea are the reward for this record too.
[Korea/Lv.17] Pumpkin : That’s more than the 280 points all our domestic players earned in the meantime. Damn.
The players who saw the record began guessing the achiever’s identity.
[China/Lv.33] Lin : Public name Private. Affiliated nation Republic of Korea…… Isn’t this the player who achieved those Impossible Achievements in the tutorial?
[United States/Lv.36] Jack : Seems like it. The timing fits, too. Adamantine Scarecrow, Unbreakable Guardian, and now a Hidden Battlefield. It’s natural to assume the same person.
[Japan/Lv.29] Ken : Looks like a monster rookie just appeared.
[Korea/Lv.17] Pumpkin : Is it even possible to end a Hidden Battlefield in less than five minutes? Who the hell are they?!
[Korea/Lv.17] Pumpkin : Their name is private anyway, so let’s just call them the Impossible One from now on.
[Korea/Lv.24] Minji : The Impossible One. Yeah, that fits best.
At first, it was only a nickname thrown out as a joke.
But no one could come up with anything more fitting.
Each time the Hall of Fame image spread to other PlayerNet channels, the same name followed it.
The Impossible One.
For the first time, the anonymous Korean player had been given a name.
For the next three days, Sang-hyeok climbed one floor per day.
The 2nd Floor was a hunting trial against Predatory Beasts hidden in a forest.
They charged from every direction, but Sang-hyeok slipped past their attacks with the <Collapse Walker’s Boots>, then placed a hand on their necks and brought them down with <Extinction Devouring>.
「2nd Floor of the Infinite Tower cleared.」
[Clear Evaluation: SSS]
[Lv.2 → Lv.3]
[Republic of Korea achievement points +20]
On the 3rd Floor, he had to find mana crystals inside a cliff within the time limit.
When he opened <Demon Dragon’s Eye>, only the locations containing crystals glowed red.
Sang-hyeok used <Extinction Devouring> only on the rock surrounding them.
RATTLE, RATTLE, RATTLE.
Mana crystals without a single scratch poured out of the cliff.
「3rd Floor of the Infinite Tower cleared.」
[Clear Evaluation: SSS]
[Lv.3 → Lv.4]
[Republic of Korea achievement points +25]
The record marked [Private] appeared on Korea’s daily achievement rankings for two days in a row.
The records from both floors were also posted side by side on PlayerNet.
[2nd Floor / Clear Evaluation: SSS / Republic of Korea +20]
[3rd Floor / Clear Evaluation: SSS / Republic of Korea +25]
[Korea/Lv.24] Minji : The player believed to be the Impossible One got SSS on both the 2nd and 3rd Floors in a row.
[United States/Lv.36] Jack : Hall of Fame on the 1st Floor, then the highest evaluation on two consecutive floors.
[Japan/Lv.29] Ken : At this rate, aren’t they going to break <Mugeuk>’s record?
[China/Lv.33] Lin : The publicly known record for consecutive SSS clears is Second Seat <Mugeuk>’s twenty floors. It’s still too early to compare them.
[Korea/Lv.17] Pumpkin : Their starting pace is the same, though. We just have to keep watching the next floors.
[Korea/Lv.24] Minji : Now I have a reason to check the record board every day. Haha.
Naturally, people’s attention turned toward the next record of the private player now being called the Impossible One.
More and more people began waiting to see how long the Impossible One could maintain a pace of one floor per day and how many floors the SSS streak would continue.
And on the third day.
ROOOOOAR!
A huge magical beast at the edge of the 4th Floor’s circular battlefield roared.
Its entire body was covered in a dark-red carapace.
[Pack Mother]
[Lv.7]
At the center of the battlefield sat an enormous magical-beast nest covered in dark-red flesh.
Each time the nest writhed, small magical beasts crawled endlessly from openings in its surface.
They rushed at Sang-hyeok from all directions.
Sang-hyeok placed his palm on the head of the first beast to reach him.
HISSSS!
Its body turned into black sand and scattered through the air.
The nest convulsed violently and spat out two new beasts.
One beast fell, and two more appeared.
No matter how many Sang-hyeok erased, their numbers did not decrease.
Ten.
Twenty.
Before long, black sand had piled high around him.
He could kill the small beasts easily with <Extinction Devouring>, but his mana rapidly decreased as he fought the endless swarm.
Eventually, even the black energy wrapped around his hand grew visibly faint.
At that exact moment, a new notification appeared.
「Hidden complete-clear conditions discovered.」
[Destroy the magical-beast nest.]
[Kill the Pack Mother.]
Sang-hyeok quickly checked both conditions.
If he killed the Pack Mother, he could pass the 4th Floor.
To obtain the complete clear and its additional reward, however, he had to destroy the nest as well.
The problem was his remaining mana.
He did not have enough leeway to fight the two separately.
‘Then I’ll finish both at once.’
Sang-hyeok passed beside the nest and moved between it and the Pack Mother.
With his back to the nest, he turned and faced the beast head-on.
“GUWOOOOOO!”
The Pack Mother roared and lowered her head.
Her thick horns pointed straight at Sang-hyeok.
She kicked hard against the ground with her forelegs.
BOOM!
Her enormous body charged at him in a straight line.
The instant the horns came within reach, Sang-hyeok planted his right foot and twisted his body.
FLASH!
Even with the abrupt motion, his foot did not slip.
The <Collapse Walker’s Boots> had done their job.
Sang-hyeok slipped cleanly past the Pack Mother’s side.
CRUNCH!
Unable to stop her momentum, the Pack Mother crashed directly into the magical-beast nest.
Her thick horns pierced deep into its center.
CRAAACK!
Dark-red flesh split around the point where the horns had entered.
The fissure rapidly widened, and the entire nest swelled.
BOOM!
The magical-beast nest burst apart.
The Pack Mother staggered violently in the explosion.
The carapace covering her chest shattered as well, exposing the red heart beneath it.
THUD!
The moment the nest collapsed, every small magical beast remaining on the battlefield dropped at once.
Sang-hyeok kicked off the scattered remains of the nest and leaped to the height of the Pack Mother’s chest.
Before she could regain her balance, Sang-hyeok’s right hand touched the exposed heart.
‘<Extinction Devouring>.’
HISSSS!
Starting from the place beneath his palm, the red heart turned into black sand.
In moments, the entire heart lost its shape and scattered.
THOOM!
The Pack Mother shuddered once before collapsing helplessly onto her side.
「Hidden complete-clear conditions fulfilled.」
[Magical-beast nest destroyed]
[Pack Mother killed]
「4th Floor of the Infinite Tower completely cleared.」
[Clear Evaluation: SSS]
「Level increased.」
[Lv.4 → Lv.5]
[Republic of Korea achievement points +30]
「Additional complete-clear reward granted to inventory.」
As his level rose, the mana he had exhausted filled completely again.
Sang-hyeok opened and closed his right hand while feeling the returning power.
It was the first battle since becoming a player in which he had truly felt the limit of his mana.
This time, he had solved the battlefield by cleverly making the Pack Mother crash into the nest.
There was no guarantee he would be able to do the same thing in the next battlefield.
Next time, he might discover the complete-clear condition and still be forced to give it up.
‘I need to solve the mana problem first.’
***
After returning to reality, Sang-hyeok immediately began searching for a way to replenish his mana.
The most readily available option was mana recovery potions.
But a single bottle was expensive, and it was a consumable that only restored mana when drunk.
Its recovery amount was fixed as well, which meant its efficiency would fall the higher he climbed.
It could not be a fundamental solution.
What Sang-hyeok needed most right now was an artifact that assisted mana recovery or increased his total mana capacity.
The problem was availability.
Mana-related artifacts were bought up by large guilds and player superpowers the moment they appeared on the market.
Once an item reached Hero Grade, even money could not easily secure it.
‘Is there anything whose value hasn’t been discovered yet?’
Sang-hyeok searched his memories from before his regression.
Artifacts that had not yet been discovered, or whose true value had not yet been recognized and were being neglected.
Then one item came to mind.
‘Ah. There was that.’
<Spirit Vein Ring>.
A Hero Grade mana-recovery artifact.
At this point in time, however, the <Spirit Vein Ring> lay sealed in a Taeseong warehouse because of the powerful curse afflicting it.
The curse absorbed every bit of mana from whoever wore it.
For years, Taeseong had brought in famous purification-type players, yet not one of them had managed to remove the curse.
Eventually, the artifact had been declared unusable and sealed deep inside a warehouse.
But Sang-hyeok knew its future.
After Korea collapsed before his regression, the <Spirit Vein Ring> had passed into Japan.
There, a high-level player removed the curse, revealing the original function hidden beneath it.
It rapidly restored its wearer’s mana and even grew by using the mana it absorbed as nourishment.
After that, the <Spirit Vein Ring> became famous as one of the foremost mana-recovery artifacts.
Sang-hyeok did not know how the Japanese player had removed the curse.
But he had a method he could try.
‘Find the curse with <Demon Dragon’s Eye>, then erase the whole thing with <Extinction Devouring>.’
Whether it would work was something he would have to test himself.
Still, it was more than worth trying.
The problem was getting the <Spirit Vein Ring> into his hands.
Its current owner was Taeseong Group.
It was a sealed asset that had never even been listed on the market, so he could not simply buy it with money.
BZZZZ.
At that moment, the mobile phone on the table vibrated.
[Yoon Chae-rin: Let’s have that meal we talked about this Saturday at lunch!]
[Yoon Chae-rin: I’ll choose the place and send it to you.]
Sang-hyeok read the message, then thought of the <Spirit Vein Ring> again.
If money could not buy it, he would take it in exchange for something else.
As it happened, there was something he meant to collect from Taeseong anyway.
‘I’ll take the <Spirit Vein Ring> as compensation for breaking off the engagement.’