Even while Sang-hyeok examined the change in his right arm, the <Extinction Devouring> spreading through the stone soldier did not stop.
HISSSSS!
The stone soldier, having lost its spear and right arm, turned black from the severed shoulder.
The black energy soon spread into its torso.
FSSSS.
Its body collapsed into black sand.
Before the first stone soldier had even disappeared completely.
Crack.
Crrrrack.
The sound of stone locking together echoed repeatedly through the fog.
The statues along both walls raised their heads.
Seven stone soldiers wielding dark-red spears and swords blocked the passage.
[Remaining Silence Stone Soldiers: 7]
Black fog rose from their bodies and surged toward Sang-hyeok all at once.
The fog wrapped around his entire body and pressed down on his authorities even harder.
[Status Effect <Silence> intensity increases.]
[Authority output restriction strengthens.]
The power of the scroll was no longer enough to maintain even twenty-five percent authority output.
The <Extinction Devouring> around Sang-hyeok’s right hand visibly faded.
THUD!
His heart beat again.
The power of <Silence> rapidly weakened in the right arm touched by the dark-red flow.
The fading <Extinction Devouring> deepened once more.
It was more than enough output to erase the stone soldiers.
At that moment, three soldiers in the front row kicked off the floor together.
WHOOSH!
Two spears aimed at Sang-hyeok’s chest and waist.
A stone sword fell between them from above.
Sang-hyeok twisted his body and slipped between the spearheads as he swept his right hand across them.
HISSSS!
Black energy passed over the weapons and bodies of all three soldiers at once.
The stone spears and sword became black sand.
The soldiers’ bodies collapsed immediately afterward.
Once Sang-hyeok had broken into their formation, the fight became one-sided.
Whenever the barrier’s fog weakened <Extinction Devouring>, his heart beat and the dark-red flow restored the output in his right arm.
Every time Sang-hyeok’s right hand passed over a soldier, its weapon and body scattered into black sand.
FSSSSSS.
Before long, six more stone soldiers had vanished.
The final soldier spread both arms.
The black fog filling the surroundings rushed into its chest.
VMMMM!
The mana core embedded there pulsed dark red as if it might explode at any moment.
Sang-hyeok did not stand and watch.
Tap!
He cut through the fog, entered the soldier’s guard, and placed his right hand over the mana core.
‘<Extinction Devouring>.’
HISSSSS!
The mana core turned black and crumbled apart.
The soldier that had lost its core also scattered into black sand.
At the same time, the black fog filling the passage lost its strength and rapidly cleared.
The stone gate hidden beyond it appeared.
「8th Floor Trial <Silence Barrier> completed.」
[All Silence Stone Soldiers defeated]
[Hits Taken: 0]
[Clear Time: 02:17]
[Mana Consumption Efficiency: Highest]
[Clear Evaluation: SSS]
「Level increased.」
[Lv.8 → Lv.9]
Whoosh.
Warm mana spread through Sang-hyeok’s body with the level increase and replenished what he had spent.
THUD.
The dark-red energy that had remained in his right arm now climbed into his shoulder and settled beneath the skin.
[Bloodstream Adaptation progresses.]
[Adaptation range expands.]
[Current Adaptation Areas: Right Arm / Right Shoulder]
Sang-hyeok lightly rolled his right shoulder.
He felt no pain or rejection in the newly expanded area.
The adaptation had not yet spread through his entire body, but its range had clearly grown.
***
At the same time.
Moscow, Russia.
Overseas Forces Directorate, Russian Player Committee.
A red alert appeared on the main screen of the situation room.
Beep.
[Eastern Channel / Republic of Korea]
[Public Name: Private]
[Tower of Growth Floors 1–8 Clear Evaluation: All SSS]
[8th Floor Clear Time: 02:17]
[Hits Taken: 0]
[Current Level: Lv.9]
The director of overseas forces, dressed in a black military uniform, walked toward the screen.
“They passed even the Silence Barrier easily.”
“Yes. Two minutes and seventeen seconds on the first attempt, with zero hits taken.”
The Silence Barrier was a section where rookies who had climbed quickly by relying on a single powerful authority were often stopped.
After clearing it without taking a hit, the player could no longer be dismissed as a rookie dependent on one particular authority.
There was a reason Russia was watching a rookie from the Eastern Channel.
Russia belonged to the Western Channel, but a player’s national and channel affiliation changed with citizenship.
If a Korean prospect naturalized as a Russian citizen, that player could immediately become part of Russia’s Western Channel strength.
The director asked.
“What about China?”
“They appear to have already activated their cooperative network inside Korea.”
“As expected. They move quickly.”
The director tapped the Republic of Korea entry with one finger.
“Move the recruitment team in Seoul. Put the special retrieval team on standby as well.”
“You want the retrieval team prepared from the start?”
“Are you planning to wait until China gets its hands on the player first?”
The officer immediately changed the target’s management level.
[Management Level: Observation → Acquisition]
[Korea Recruitment Team: Deployed]
[Special Retrieval Team: Standby]
“Once the identity is confirmed, offer the best terms first. If they accept, complete the contract normally.”
The director stared at the blank public-name field.
“But the moment they refuse, they stop being a recruitment target and become a retrieval target.”
There was no hesitation in his voice.
“Bring them to Moscow even if they don’t want to come. We can persuade them there.”
***
The next day.
Sang-hyeok climbed the Infinite Tower again.
「You have entered the 9th Floor of the Infinite Tower.」
RUMBLE.
The gray floor beneath his feet split apart to both sides.
A massive stone staircase rose diagonally from below.
The stairs pierced through black fog spread like clouds and continued so high that the end was difficult to see.
At the summit stood a blue crystal as tall as a person.
「9th Floor Trial begins.」
[Trial Name: <Thousand-Weight Staircase>]
[Time Limit: 10 minutes]
[Objective]
- Climb 100 steps and reach the Pressure Stone at the summit.
- Every 10 steps, the mana pressure applied to your body increases.
- Pressure increases according to the amount of mana released to protect your body.
[Evaluation Criteria]
- Clear time
- Number of stops
- Protective Authority usage
- Mana consumption efficiency
The <Thousand-Weight Staircase> was a trial that crushed the challenger’s body with pure mana.
The greater a player’s mana resistance, the easier it was to endure.
Players with insufficient resistance could use protective authorities to raise it.
However, using an authority caused the pressure to increase accordingly and also lowered the evaluation.
The blue rest areas placed along the staircase worked the same way.
A player could briefly escape the pressure and recover there, but the instant they stepped inside, it would be recorded as a stop.
If the goal was merely to pass, using either method did not matter.
But to receive SSS, a challenger had to climb using only their body, without protective authorities and without stopping even once.
‘I’ll climb to the end without resting.’
Having decided on his method, Sang-hyeok placed a foot on the first step.
THUD.
An invisible hand pressed down on both shoulders.
It was only slightly heavier than ordinary gravity.
Sang-hyeok measured the pressure as he stepped onto the second and third stairs.
For the first few steps, the weight pressing on his body did not change much.
But the instant he stepped onto the tenth stair.
VMMMM.
The surrounding air grew heavy.
The pressure that had been concentrated on his shoulders spread across his back.
‘Just like the explanation. It increases by one stage every ten steps.’
It was still easy enough to endure.
Sang-hyeok gauged the changed weight and continued upward.
The twentieth step.
The pressure had dropped as far as his waist and crushed his entire upper body.
The thirtieth.
Now, every time he lifted a foot, an invisible force pulled his whole body downward.
Feeling it directly was entirely different from reading numbers in a guide.
‘Pure mana can create this much weight?’
After Sang-hyeok passed the fortieth stair, even his breathing began to grow heavier.
[Current Pressure Stage: 4]
[Number of Stops: 0]
A blue rest area shimmered right beside him.
Sang-hyeok did not even glance at it.
He stepped directly onto the fiftieth stair.
RUMBLE!
A much stronger pressure crushed his entire body.
The stone stair beneath Sang-hyeok’s foot cracked.
Crack.
For the first time, his knee bent slightly.
‘This trial definitely isn’t easy.’
Then.
THOOM!
The Heart of the Apocalyptic Demon Dragon beat harder than usual.
The dark-red energy that had only occupied his right arm and right shoulder faintly spread into the right side of his chest.
In that instant, the weight crushing Sang-hyeok noticeably decreased.
His right arm and shoulder in particular, where Bloodstream Adaptation had already progressed, moved almost as lightly as normal despite the pressure.
「<Bloodstream Adaptation> reacts to strong mana pressure.」
[Mana resistance increases in areas reached by the bloodstream.]
‘Is the Demon Dragon’s blood itself highly resistant to mana?’
Thinking about it, that was not strange.
It was the blood of a dragon, a race called the progenitors of magic.
There was nothing unusual about it being strong against mana pressure.
That power was now beginning to spread beyond his arm and shoulder into his upper body.
Sang-hyeok straightened the knee that had bent and climbed again.
The sixtieth step.
The seventieth.
The pressure intensified with every stage, but it no longer restrained Sang-hyeok’s movements the way it had at first.
The harder it pressed down, the more powerfully his heart beat.
The dark-red energy extended a little farther through his chest and back.
[Current Pressure Stage: 7]
[Number of Stops: 0]
[Time Remaining: 08:24]
Sang-hyeok passed another rest area and stepped onto the eightieth stair.
RUMBLE!
Pressure like an enormous boulder settling onto his back crashed down.
His upper body dipped briefly.
The stone stair beneath him cracked like a spiderweb.
Then.
THOOM!
The Heart of the Apocalyptic Demon Dragon beat heavily again.
The dark-red energy spread through his upper body deepened another shade.
Strength returned first to the places where that energy grew dense.
Sang-hyeok straightened his lowered body and stepped onto the next stair.
The pressure was still powerful.
For others, it was an ordeal that made climbing the stairs itself difficult.
For Sang-hyeok, it was stimulation accelerating his Bloodstream Adaptation.
‘Good.’
He increased his speed instead.
Before long, the final rest area shone blue beside the ninetieth step.
Sang-hyeok did not turn toward it.
He stepped directly onto the ninety-first stair.
The ninety-fifth.
The ninety-ninth.
Finally, the instant he placed his foot on the hundredth step.
RUMBLE!
The final stage of pressure crushed his entire body.
The stone stair beneath him sank deeply, cracks spreading in every direction.
Only three steps remained to the Pressure Stone at the summit.
Sang-hyeok exhaled once, corrected his shaken balance, and took the first step.
Crack.
The cracks beneath his feet widened.
Sang-hyeok pushed his body forward and took the remaining two steps in succession.
Standing before the Pressure Stone, he extended his right hand.
Tap.
The instant his palm touched the blue crystal.
FLASH!
Blue light burst from the Pressure Stone and wrapped around Sang-hyeok.
At the same moment, the pressure crushing his entire body vanished completely.
「9th Floor Trial <Thousand-Weight Staircase> completed.」
[Number of Stops: 0]
[Rest Area Uses: 0]
[Protective Authority Uses: 0]
[Clear Time: 02:39]
[Mana Consumption Efficiency: Highest]
[Clear Evaluation: SSS]
「Level increased.」
[Lv.9 → Lv.10]
Whoosh.
Warm mana surged up and rapidly filled his body.
The fatigue accumulated while climbing the stairs disappeared in an instant.
THUD!
The Heart of the Apocalyptic Demon Dragon beat powerfully in response to the replenished mana.
The dark-red energy spread faintly through his upper body gathered around his heart.
The connected stream then flowed without obstruction through his right shoulder and arm.
At that moment, a notification Sang-hyeok had never seen before appeared.
「<Heart of the Apocalyptic Demon Dragon> detects a new growth condition.」