The next day.
The Hall of Fame record for the 5th Floor Hidden Trial had sent PlayerNet into an uproar the day before.
Then the announcement that thirty-six days remained until the end of the Channel League season appeared.
People immediately began calculating whether the Impossible One could reach the Iron Rookie League before the season ended.
At present, the Impossible One had climbed through the 5th Floor.
If they continued at the current pace of one floor per day, they could fulfill the participation requirements with twenty-two days left in the season.
Every Channel League match was public, and the points earned through wins and losses were added to the participating player’s national season score.
When the season ended, the amount of national achievement points and support resources awarded also changed according to the final ranking.
[Republic of Korea Channel League National Season Rank: 64th / 64 Nations]
[Republic of Korea Iron Rookie Fixed Parties: None]
[National Season Reward Range: 1st–16th]
With the Republic of Korea in last place, attention naturally turned toward the Impossible One.
[Korea/Lv.33] Newbie Guardian Squad : At this pace, won’t they meet the participation requirements this season and still be able to play more than twenty matches?
[China/Lv.68] Beijing Swordsman : That assumes they clear the 6th through 19th Floors without resting even one day. It won’t stay easy as they climb higher.
[Korea/Lv.42] Soju in Rice Soup : They’ve climbed exactly one floor every day until now. Do they look like they’re suddenly going to stop?
[Japan/Lv.55] Tsukikage : Even if they arrive in time, individual clears and team battles are different. Korea doesn’t even have a fixed party that has practiced together beforehand.
[Korea/Lv.51] Gangnam Fire Fist : That’s exactly why we need the Impossible One. Even with a party of people meeting for the first time, if that person takes the center, we might have a chance.
[United States/Lv.61] IronJack : Before asking whether they’re strong enough, shouldn’t you ask whether they’ll actually participate? In the Channel League, battle footage and registered equipment are made public. Will a player who has hidden their ability and equipment until now take that risk?
[China/Lv.68] Beijing Swordsman : Even if they participate, the only strong one is the Impossible One. Can a hastily assembled party beat fixed parties from powerful nations?
[Korea/Lv.42] Soju in Rice Soup : How many times has that one person already done things everyone called impossible? Why should team battles be any different?
[Japan/Lv.55] Tsukikage : Even if the Impossible One arrives, they’ll only be Iron Tier in the Rookie Channel. Can their performance really pull Korea out of 64th place?
It was not an unreasonable point.
A single win in Iron Rookie was worth only three national season points.
The higher the tier, the more points a single match could award.
Powerful nations with deep rosters in the upper tiers, from Diamond to Legend, had been accumulating large scores since the beginning of the season.
The Republic of Korea, on the other hand, lacked upper-tier players capable of competing with them.
The roughly ninety-day season had already passed its halfway point.
Even the gap to 63rd place was too large for the results of a single rookie to erase.
[United States/Lv.61] IronJack : At Lv.31, they automatically graduate from Iron Rookie. They can play at most eleven Iron Rookie matches. Even if they win every one, that’s only 33 points.
[Japan/Lv.55] Tsukikage : Right. Even after moving to the regular channel, they’ll start in a lower tier. Even if they keep winning from there, it’ll be hard to catch the gap created in the upper tiers.
[China/Lv.68] Beijing Swordsman : Season rewards only go down to 16th. At this rate, Korea will have trouble even escaping last place, forget rewards.
[Korea/Lv.42] Soju in Rice Soup : That calculation assumes the Impossible One fights alone. If they start a winning streak, Korean players who have only been watching might start moving too.
[China/Lv.68] Beijing Swordsman : Players who have sat out for more than half the season are suddenly going to join because of one rookie? That isn’t calculation. That’s hope.
Even if the Impossible One won every match, one player alone could not fill a gap that had already grown so large.
To change the ranking, Korean players inspired by the Impossible One’s winning streak would have to earn points together across multiple tiers.
No one could guarantee they would actually move.
And yet people were already waiting for the day the Impossible One, who was still only on the 5th Floor, would appear in the Channel League.
***
At the same time.
Sang-hyeok stepped onto the 6th Floor of the Infinite Tower.
RUMBLE.
The gray floor split into three branches.
From the cracks, three enormous stone gates rose one after another.
THUD.
THUD.
RUMBLE!
Once the final stone gate settled into place, the vibration stopped.
In front of each stone gate stood a waist-high circular control pedestal.
「You have entered the 6th Floor of the Infinite Tower.」
「6th Floor Trial begins.」
[Trial Name: <Triple Mana Gate>]
[Time Limit: 15 minutes]
[Objective]
- Open all three Mana Gates.
- Supplying mana to a control pedestal opens the corresponding gate.
- If contact is broken, that gate’s Opening Rate resets.
[Evaluation Criteria]
- Clear time
- Mana supply interruption count
- Mana consumption efficiency
Sang-hyeok approached the nearest control pedestal.
A palm-shaped groove had been carved into its center.
To open the gate, he had to place his hand in that groove and continue supplying mana until it opened completely.
If he removed his hand midway, the Opening Rate would return to zero.
The task itself was simple.
The problem was the six circles engraved into the floor.
At the center of each, stone hands and weapons were buried beneath the surface.
According to the known strategy, stone defenders would awaken from those circles while the gate was opening.
Sang-hyeok looked over the circles, then called up the league announcement.
[Current Channel Season Ends In: D-35]
To obtain the 20th Floor entry pass, he had to climb through the 19th Floor.
Including the 6th Floor, fourteen floors remained.
If he followed his plan of one floor a day, there was enough time to enter the league this season.
But every extra day spent on a single floor meant one fewer match he could play before the season ended.
That did not mean he intended to chase speed at the cost of his evaluation.
The more SSS evaluations and special records he accumulated, the faster he could grow through additional rewards.
The Republic of Korea’s deficit points would also decrease by a larger amount.
He had to climb quickly while still receiving the highest evaluation every time.
His reason for rushing toward the Channel League was not merely to play more matches.
A few victories by Sang-hyeok alone would not immediately overturn the national season ranking.
But if he continued winning overwhelmingly, he could move Korean players who had stopped trying.
Before his regression, a lack of raw strength had not been the only thing that brought the Republic of Korea down.
As defeats accumulated, the belief that trying was pointless spread.
More players stopped participating, and the gap widened even further.
Even now, many Korean players were ignoring the Channel League despite still having participation attempts remaining.
‘This time, I’ll break that vicious cycle.’
If he showed them even the fixed parties of powerful nations being crushed, he could revive the belief that Korea still had a chance.
If even one more player returned to the battlefield after seeing that, the national ranking would begin to move.
And Sang-hyeok’s goal lay far beyond a mere season ranking.
Stop the coming invasion of other-dimensional beings and change the ending in which humanity was destroyed.
Protect the family he loved and turn the Republic of Korea, where they would live, into the strongest nation in the world.
To create that future, he first had to keep the promise of one floor a day.
The Rookie League would be the first public stage on that path.
Promising players directly sponsored by the Sixteen Heavenly Seats were gathering there as well.
To overwhelm them from the moment they met, Sang-hyeok needed to become even stronger.
He closed the announcement and looked down at the groove in the control pedestal.
For now, it was time to finish the 6th Floor with an SSS.
“Let’s begin.”
He pushed his left hand into the groove.
Clack.
Stone clamps rose from both sides of the pedestal and pressed down over the back of his hand.
Once his left hand was fixed in place, a notification immediately appeared.
[Mana supply begins.]
Sang-hyeok flowed mana into his left hand.
VMMMM.
Blue light spread across the control pedestal and traveled over the floor toward the first stone gate.
[Gate 1 Opening Rate: 1%]
[Gate 1 Opening Rate: 2%]
The blue pattern engraved on the <Spirit Vein Ring: Sprout> around his left wrist brightened and began drawing in surrounding mana.
Thanks to it, even while he continuously supplied mana to the pedestal, the mana inside his body decreased far more slowly than expected.
‘At this rate, I can fight while opening the gate.’
As the gate slowly rose, the six circles engraved in the floor began trembling.
Crrrrack.
The stone hands buried inside the circles braced against the ground.
Six defenders wearing stone armor pulled themselves out of the floor.
[Mana Gate Defender]
[Lv.6]
The defenders raised their weapons at once and charged the control pedestal.
Sang-hyeok kept his left hand in the groove and swung his right hand broadly to the side.
‘<Extinction Devouring>.’
FLASH!
Black energy spread out in a fan and swept through all six defenders.
Weapons, armor, and bodies touched by the black energy turned into black sand one after another.
FSSSSSS!
Every one of them vanished before reaching the control pedestal.
All Sang-hyeok had to do afterward was wait for the gate to finish opening.
The wide-area use of <Extinction Devouring> had consumed a large amount of mana.
But the <Spirit Vein Ring: Sprout> drew in mana from the surroundings, quickly replacing what he had spent.
‘At this level, there’s no need to conserve it.’
[Gate 1 Opening Rate: 100%]
RUMBLE!
The first stone gate rose upward.
Blue mana poured from beneath it like a wave.
It was the mana left over after opening the gate.
The <Spirit Vein Ring: Sprout> even drew in the mana that would otherwise have dispersed, filling Sang-hyeok’s reserves even faster.
Clack.
The clamps holding down his left hand released.
Sang-hyeok immediately pulled his hand free and ran through the open gate.
He reached the second control pedestal and, without hesitation, placed his left hand into the groove.
Clack.
[Gate 2 opening begins.]
Crrrrack.
This time, soldiers carrying long stone crossbows rose on both sides of the gate.
[Mana Gate Crossbowman]
[Lv.7]
Clack.
Six crossbows aimed at Sang-hyeok at the same time.
WHIZZ!
Sang-hyeok extended his right hand toward the incoming stone bolts.
‘<Extinction Devouring>.’
WHOOM!
Black energy spread like a curtain.
Every stone bolt that touched it turned into sand.
The black energy continued forward and swallowed the crossbowmen behind them as well.
FSSSSSS!
Even after all six crossbowmen disappeared, the gate was still in the middle of opening.
Sang-hyeok felt his mana replenishing and remembered the 4th Floor.
Back then, he had been forced to exploit an enemy’s charge simply to save even a little mana.
Now, he had spread <Extinction Devouring> over a wide area twice, yet still had plenty left.
The Opening Rate reached the end while he waited.
[Gate 2 Opening Rate: 100%]
KRAAAASH!
The second stone gate rose.
The moment the clamps released, Sang-hyeok pulled out his left hand and ran toward the final gate.
The third control pedestal was much larger than the first two.
Three blue patterns formed circles around the palm-shaped groove.
When Sang-hyeok inserted his left hand, thick stone clamps pressed down over it.
CLACK!
[Gate 3 opening begins.]
[Required mana supply amount increases.]
VMMMM!
Far more mana than before drained through his left hand.
While the <Spirit Vein Ring: Sprout> continued drawing in mana, the floor in front of the stone gate split apart.
RUMBLE.
A stone hand as large as Sang-hyeok’s torso thrust out through the crack.
A giant wearing thick armor and carrying a greatsword as tall as a person pushed itself up from the floor.
Red eyes flashed inside its helmet.
[Triple Gatekeeper]
[Lv.8]
The third gate was the section where challengers on the 6th Floor failed most often.
The Triple Gatekeeper moved slowly, but its armor was so hard that defeating it was effectively impossible for low-floor players.
The standard method was to keep the left hand fixed in the groove while dodging and blocking its attacks until the Opening Rate reached 100%.
Most players failed their first attempt here even after preparing thoroughly.
The gatekeeper looked first at Sang-hyeok’s left hand, which was trapped against the control pedestal.
“Intruder!”
A voice like grinding stone echoed from inside the helmet.
“Cease the mana supply immediately!”
Holding the greatsword horizontally, the gatekeeper charged.
Sang-hyeok did not answer.
He kept his left hand fixed and raised his right.
The gatekeeper swung the greatsword down toward Sang-hyeok’s left arm.
Instead of dodging, Sang-hyeok reached his right hand toward the falling blade.
‘<Extinction Devouring>.’
HISSSSS!
Before the greatsword could even touch his hand, it began turning into black sand from the tip.
The blade and handle vanished in sequence.
Only the gatekeeper’s empty hand cut through the air.
The red eyes inside its helmet shook violently.
“What….”
Sang-hyeok pushed his right hand forward.
The <Extinction Devouring> that had erased the sword spread up the gatekeeper’s arm and into its chest.
Armor that had repelled the attacks of low-floor players turned into black sand wherever the power touched.
As Sang-hyeok pushed <Extinction Devouring> harder, the <Spirit Vein Ring: Sprout> drew in surrounding mana to replenish the consumption.
THUD!
The Heart of the Apocalyptic Demon Dragon accepted the newly absorbed mana and beat powerfully.
Mana that passed through the heart rushed into Sang-hyeok’s right arm, making the black energy of <Extinction Devouring> surge even higher.
WHOOOM!
The black energy covering his right hand flared up and swallowed the gatekeeper’s entire body.
For the first time, fear shook the red eyes inside the helmet.
“This power… impossible…!”
FSSSSSS!
Even the helmet, the final piece that remained, scattered into black sand.
Only a pile of black sand remained where the gatekeeper had stood.
Sang-hyeok lowered his right hand and turned back toward the control pedestal.
Even after erasing the entire gatekeeper, his mana showed no sign of reaching bottom.
The <Spirit Vein Ring: Sprout> had continuously replenished what he spent.
[Gate 3 Opening Rate: 100%]
RUMBLE!
The final stone gate rose.
Blue light ran between all three gates, connecting them.
[All three Mana Gates have opened.]
[Mana supply interruptions: 0]
[Time Remaining: 08:41]
「6th Floor Trial completed.」
「Settling clear results.」
[Clear Evaluation: SSS]
Clack.
The clamps holding his left hand released.
When Sang-hyeok removed his hand from the pedestal, the brightly glowing blue pattern of the <Spirit Vein Ring: Sprout> slowly settled as well.
But even after he withdrew <Extinction Devouring>, the power that had passed through his heart and gathered in his right arm remained.
THUD.
Each time his heart beat, a dark-red flow spread beneath his skin and pushed all the way to his fingertips.
As Sang-hyeok tried to examine the changed sensation, a new notification appeared.
[<Heart of the Apocalyptic Demon Dragon> begins bodily adaptation.]
[Adaptation Target: Bloodstream]