The next day.
HISSSS!
Sang-hyeok’s right hand grazed the Ironwood Soldier’s chest.
The moment the red core inside its armor scattered into black sand, the heavy body folded forward helplessly.
THUD!
[11th Floor Individual Trial: <Ironwood Barracks>]
[Ironwood Soldiers Defeated: 29/30]
[Hits Taken: 0]
[Combat Interruption Time: 0.00 seconds]
It was a trial where the consecutive-defeat judgment continued only if the player attacked the next soldier within three seconds of bringing one down.
Sang-hyeok had used <Demon Dragon’s Eye> only on the first soldier to appear.
Wrist and knee.
The red core inside the armor.
Once he confirmed that every soldier had the same structure, there was no need to inspect their weaknesses again.
Every time his right hand brushed past them, the Ironwood Soldiers’ weapons and cores scattered into black sand.
Sang-hyeok passed their falling bodies and immediately rushed toward the next opponent.
His steps did not stop even once while bringing down twenty-nine of them.
RUMBLE!
The iron gate at the far end of the barracks opened, and a giant nearly twice the size of the previous soldiers walked out.
[Ironwood Captain]
[Lv.14]
As it raised an enormous axe, a new value appeared.
[Consecutive Defeat Maintenance Time: 02.41 seconds]
Sang-hyeok did not wait for the axe to fall.
Tap!
He kicked off the floor and drove straight into the enemy’s guard.
The Ironwood Captain hurriedly brought down its axe, but—
‘<Extinction Devouring>.’
HISSSS!
Black energy erased the axe blade and arm together, then continued straight into the chest.
The red core inside the armor turned black.
Crackle!
The Ironwood Captain’s enormous body dropped to its knees in front of Sang-hyeok.
[Ironwood Soldiers Defeated: 30/30]
「11th Floor Individual Trial completed.」
[Hits Taken: 0]
[Combat Interruption Time: 0.00 seconds]
[Clear Time: 01:46]
[Clear Evaluation: SSS]
「Level increased.」
[Lv.11 → Lv.12]
「<Flawless Climb> consecutive record updated.」
[Individual-Climb SSS Evaluations: 11 Consecutive]
Sang-hyeok clenched and opened his right hand while checking his remaining mana.
Even after bringing down thirty enemies without rest, more than half remained.
The <Spirit Vein Ring: Sprout> drew in surrounding mana and replenished what he used.
<Demon Dragon’s Bloodstream> circulated the mana that had passed through his heart throughout his entire body without interruption.
Thanks to that, even while running at full speed and repeatedly using <Extinction Devouring>, neither his speed nor power dropped at all.
‘Consecutive combat is no problem anymore.’
After confirming that, Sang-hyeok closed the settlement window.
* * *
At the same time.
A new record appeared in Second Seat <Mugeuk>’s private observation room in the United States.
[Republic of Korea Private Player: 01:46]
[Second Seat <Mugeuk>’s Rookie Record: 01:50]
The attendant compared the two records and reported.
“It is four seconds faster than the record you set as a rookie, Second Seat.”
The difference was only four seconds.
But this was the first time anyone had surpassed one of the low-floor records Mugeuk had left behind.
“He passed one of my records.”
There was no displeasure in Mugeuk’s voice.
Instead, his gaze moved past the clear time toward the detailed records below it.
[Hits Taken: 0]
[Combat Interruption Time: 0.00 seconds]
The private player had faced thirty Ironwood Soldiers without his attacks or movement stopping even once.
Nor had he abandoned defense simply to increase his speed.
“He didn’t force the time down recklessly.”
The attendant cautiously added an opinion.
“It is possible that the player’s Trait was particularly suited to consecutive defeats.”
“That’s possible.”
Mugeuk did not draw a conclusion from a single 11th Floor record.
Instead, he called up all the records the private player had accumulated so far.
Two Impossible Achievements in the tutorial.
First Complete Clear of the 5th Floor Hidden Trial.
First Complete Clear of <Frozen Gorge>.
Looking only at the publicly available results, there were no flaws.
But there was no way to know how the player had cleared them, or how much mana and equipment he had consumed in the process.
Mugeuk did not believe perfect results came without a price.
The trials and battlefields he himself had crossed had always demanded that someone bear a burden.
Mugeuk had simply taken the heaviest share upon himself.
Was that player also paying a price hidden from the records?
Or did he truly possess solutions Mugeuk did not know?
More information was necessary to find the answer.
“From now on, don’t report only that he received the highest evaluation.”
The attendant straightened his posture.
“The type of trial, its evaluation criteria, and every detailed record you can confirm.”
“Understood.”
Mugeuk stared a little longer at the Impossible One’s record remaining on the screen.
He did not merely want to know how many more times the SSS streak would continue.
He wanted to know what choices that player made in each trial, and what price he paid along the way.
Starting with the next record, Mugeuk intended to follow that process as well.
* * *
Over the next three days.
Sang-hyeok climbed the Tower without missing a single day.
The 12th Floor, <Collapsing Stone Bridge>.
As Sang-hyeok ran forward, the stone bridge behind him collapsed section by section.
Guards blocked the path ahead.
Sang-hyeok did not slow down.
He erased only the knees of the guards in his way with <Extinction Devouring>, making them lose their balance and fall.
The instant a path opened, he shot straight through it.
[Number of Stops: 0]
[Hits Taken: 0]
[Clear Evaluation: SSS]
[Lv.12 → Lv.13]
[<Flawless Climb>: 12 Consecutive]
On the 13th Floor, <Twin Guardians>, whenever one guardian fell, the other revived its companion.
It was a trial where both cores had to be destroyed simultaneously.
Sang-hyeok induced the two guardians to charge into each other.
As their chests collided, he drove his right hand between them.
<Extinction Devouring> swallowed both cores at the same time.
[Twin Guardians Defeated Simultaneously]
[Defeat-Time Difference: 0.00 seconds]
[Clear Evaluation: SSS]
[Lv.13 → Lv.14]
[<Flawless Climb>: 13 Consecutive]
The 14th Floor, <Mana Depletion Chamber>, continuously drained the mana of any player who entered.
Recovery stations placed throughout the chamber could refill consumed mana, but using one made an SSS evaluation impossible.
Sang-hyeok passed all three recovery stations without touching them.
Instead, the <Spirit Vein Ring: Sprout> drew in surrounding mana, and <Demon Dragon’s Bloodstream> rapidly circulated the newly absorbed mana throughout his body.
Even after erasing the final gatekeeper with <Extinction Devouring>, he still had mana to spare.
[Recovery Stations Used: 0]
[Remaining Mana: 42%]
[Clear Evaluation: SSS]
「Level increased.」
[Lv.14 → Lv.15]
「<Flawless Climb> consecutive record updated.」
[Individual-Climb SSS Evaluations: 14 Consecutive]
[Until 15-Consecutive Intermediate Privilege: 1]
[Until Second Seat <Mugeuk>’s Highest Record: 6]
Consecutive combat.
Breaking through collapsing terrain.
Simultaneous defeat and mana management.
Over four days, the abilities demanded by each trial had continued changing.
But the result had not changed even once.
Sang-hyeok opened the Iron Rookie League notice.
[Until Current Channel Season Ends: D-27]
Five floors remained before he could obtain the 20th Floor entry qualification.
At his current pace, he would reach Lv.20 with twenty-two days remaining in the season and enter the Iron Rookie League.
From that point onward, an entirely different stage would open.
Not a trial handed down by the Tower, but the Channel League, where he would directly fight players in the same level range.
It would be the first stage where Sang-hyeok truly revealed his existence to the world.
He needed to prove his strength there and climb higher.
He had to pull the Republic of Korea up from the bottom of the Eastern Channel rankings and build the foundation needed to stop the monsters of other dimensions that would invade in the future.
Entering the Channel League was the first step that would put all those plans fully into motion.
His individual-climb record had also entered an important stretch.
If he maintained SSS through the 19th Floor, <Flawless Climb> would reach nineteen consecutive clears.
If he cleared the individual 20th Floor with SSS as well, he would stand beside Mugeuk’s twenty consecutive record.
Then, on the 21st Floor, he would finally surpass it.
His first Channel League match.
And a new all-time record.
Both goals were now close enough to touch.
‘Not much longer.’
Just as Sang-hyeok was about to close the notice, a new notification appeared beneath it.
「Lv.15 Limited Cooperative Battlefield opens.」
After finishing his individual climb, Sang-hyeok returned to reality before entering the Cooperative Battlefield.
* * *
That evening.
A list of inquiries that had come from outside was spread across Kim Do-hyun’s desk.
[Request to Purchase List of Recently Manifested Conditional Awakened]
[Request to Confirm Player Awakening Status of Ilseong Chairman’s Family]
[Inquiry to Purchase Kim Sang-hyeok’s Recent Movement and Research-Wing Entry Records]
Most of the requests had come through partner companies and information brokers.
The parties behind them were hidden, but their objective was obvious.
They were looking for traces leading to the Impossible One.
“They haven’t singled you out as the Impossible One yet.”
Kim Do-hyun closed the inquiry list.
“But it’s clear they consider you one of the candidates. The higher your level rises, the more they’ll narrow the field.”
“The Association will start moving again too.”
“Not only the Association.”
Kim Do-hyun’s gaze swept over the contact routes organized on one side of the screen.
“Domestic guilds and corporations, and even foreign information brokers, are all looking for the same person.”
Sang-hyeok had already considered the possibility that China and Russia had sent people.
Once more records accumulated, they would not remain satisfied with indirect inquiries like these.
“We won’t be able to hold out forever by doing nothing except hiding you.”
Kim Do-hyun displayed a new personnel profile.
[Kim Sang-hyeok]
[Public Role: Tower Material Structural Analysis / Equipment Field Verification]
[Data Acquisition Route: Chairman-Direct Confidential Cooperation Network]
“What do you think about publicly declaring the work you are already doing as your official role?”
Sang-hyeok slowly read the newly written position.
He had been considering something similar.
If they tried to erase every trace he had already left behind, the empty space itself would become suspicious.
It would be more useful for hiding the truth to reveal a controlled portion of himself and give outsiders a business card anyone could verify.
His visits to the research wing and his recent awakening could both be explained as activities related to analyzing Tower materials and verifying equipment.
“Let’s do that.”
Kim Do-hyun nodded.
“We can connect the traces you’ve already left to this role as well.”
Publicly, Ilseong would obtain Tower records and materials through the chairman’s confidential cooperation network.
Sang-hyeok would analyze the delivered data and determine research directions.
Kim Seo-yoon and the researchers would turn the analysis into actual equipment, and Sang-hyeok would verify its field performance.
Every part of it was something Sang-hyeok was already doing.
The only hidden fact was that the player who brought in the materials and the person analyzing them were the same individual.
“From now on, when we publicly release equipment, your analysis and verification records will be kept alongside Seo-yoon and the research team’s design and production records.”
The more achievements Ilseong produced, the more Sang-hyeok would become known not as the Impossible One, but as a key employee discovering new technology.
“Keep climbing the Tower as the Impossible One, just as you have until now.”
Kim Do-hyun looked at his son.
“In reality, I’ll make sure Kim Sang-hyeok becomes firmly established as a completely separate person.”
“Understood.”
Sang-hyeok met his father’s eyes and nodded.
* * *
After returning to his room, Sang-hyeok opened the Cooperative Battlefield information he had postponed checking.
[Lv.15 Limited Cooperative Battlefield]
[Battlefield Name: <Ownerless Legion>]
[Basic Matching Members: 4]
[Basic Objective]
- Occupy 4 Command Points.
- Defend all 4 occupied Command Points for 3 minutes.
- On success, the Central Command Core temporarily stops.
[Battlefield Information]
- Legion soldiers are classified as demonic creatures.
- The Central Command Core controls the legion soldiers using the aura of an imitation leader.
- While the Command Core is active, defeated legion soldiers rise again.
- Occupation of a Command Point is maintained even if the player leaves it.
- If legion soldiers recapture a Command Point, its occupied status is canceled.
- Each Command Point occupied reduces the Central Command Core barrier output by 25%.
Sang-hyeok opened the PlayerNet video with the highest recorded clear rate.
A participant with a recording-type Trait had stored and publicly uploaded the battle.
The four players in the video had been top-tier super rookies gathered by major Eastern Channel guilds specifically to attempt the complete clear.
All four were ranged-type players capable of defending their own Command Points while attacking the center.
Once each of the four occupied a Command Point, the red barrier around the Central Command Core disappeared.
[Command Points Occupied: 4/4]
[Occupation Maintenance Time: 03:00]
[Central Command Core barrier is released.]
The moment the barrier vanished, all four players attacked the Central Command Core at once.
KRA-KRA-KRA-BOOM!
Fire, arrows, and mana projectiles rained endlessly onto it.
But they could not focus only on attacking.
Crrrrack.
The legion soldiers they had defeated rose again and rushed toward the four Command Points.
Every time the players pushed the soldiers away, they used the brief opening to pour another attack into the center.
It was a strategy that required defending the points and attacking the Command Core simultaneously.
But as time passed, the resurrected legion soldiers continued accumulating.
The opportunities to attack the Command Core became fewer and fewer.
[Occupation Maintenance Time: 00:00]
「All 4 Command Points have been defended for 3 minutes.」
「Central Command Core temporarily stops.」
「Basic Clear successful.」
[Central Command Core Durability: 71%]
[Complete Clear Condition: Not Fulfilled]
The video ended there.
Even four top-tier ranged attackers specializing in firepower had failed to reduce the Command Core’s durability by thirty percent after attacking for three full minutes.
Many parties challenged the battlefield afterward, but no record ever lowered the remaining durability below seventy percent.
Four players to defend the Command Points.
And one player to attack only the Central Command Core.
The basic matching size was four, yet the battlefield effectively demanded five roles.
That was why players called it the battlefield that needed a fifth party member.
Along with the claim that a complete clear was practically impossible.
Sang-hyeok checked the complete-clear information displayed beneath the video.
[Current Complete Clear Record: None]
[Complete Clear Reward: 1 Authority Factor]
[Current Authority Factors Owned: 1]
[Until New Authority Candidate Search: 2]
If he obtained this reward, he would have two Authority Factors.
Only one more would remain before he could search for a new Authority candidate.
On top of that, he had to finish the Lv.15 Cooperative Battlefield before the next individual floors would open.
Sang-hyeok recalled the seventy-one percent durability still remaining on the Command Core when the video ended.
Any other player would have no choice but to abandon the complete clear after seeing that value.
But <Extinction Devouring> was not an Authority that chipped durability away little by little.
As long as Sang-hyeok could touch the Command Core, he could erase it from that point onward.
The solution he had in mind was simple.
The four players would each occupy a Command Point and remove the barrier.
The instant it disappeared, Sang-hyeok would leave his own point and head for the center.
Even if he left the point, the barrier would not return until the legion soldiers recaptured it.
He only had to erase the Command Core with <Extinction Devouring> during that short opening.
‘There’s no need for a fifth party member.’