A moment later, the names of the three standard battlefields appeared on the upper panels one by one.
All three were marked Easy.
The newly appeared dark-red option, however, displayed entirely different information.
[Battlefield Name: <Battlefield of Collapse>]
[Classification: Hidden]
[Difficulty: Unmeasurable]
[Rewards will be settled differentially according to clear method.]
Sang-hyeok’s gaze stopped on the final line.
Rewards would vary depending on the method of clearing it.
There was no such condition on the standard battlefields.
When Sang-hyeok reached toward the dark-red option, a warning appeared.
「If you select <Battlefield of Collapse>, you cannot change to a standard battlefield.」
「Upon failure, today’s 1st Floor challenge attempt will be consumed.」
Failure did not mean death.
Fatal injuries suffered during an individual climb would be restored when he returned to reality.
But today’s challenge attempt and every reward obtained in the battlefield would disappear.
His goal of clearing one floor a day could fall apart on the very first day.
Still, this was an opportunity opened by his Impossible Achievement.
It was worth risking a single challenge attempt.
Without hesitation, Sang-hyeok placed his hand on the dark-red panel.
‘Battlefield of Collapse.’
「Entering Hidden Battlefield <Battlefield of Collapse>.」
The three standard battlefield panels above disappeared at the same time.
Dark-red light rapidly spread and swallowed Sang-hyeok’s vision.
FLASH!
A moment later, he felt the ground vanish beneath his feet and his body fall.
THUD!
Both feet landed on cracked stone.
Dark-red dust kicked up to his knees from the impact.
A hot wind swept the dust away, revealing a ruined battlefield.
Land split all the way to the horizon.
A ruined tower leaning at an angle.
Black wreckage filling the spaces between them.
[Hidden Battlefield: <Battlefield of Collapse>]
[Basic Objective: Survive on the collapsing battlefield.]
[Time Limit: 30 minutes]
[Hostile entities strengthen as the collapse stage progresses.]
[Time Remaining 30:00]
The instant the number changed to 29:59, a violent vibration rose beneath Sang-hyeok’s feet.
CRRRRACK!
The stone floor split.
Black fingers thrust out from the gaps, and soldiers in stone armor pushed the ground aside as they climbed up.
One.
Two.
The same sound rang out all across the battlefield.
In an instant, dozens of Collapse Soldiers surrounded Sang-hyeok.
[Collapse Soldier]
[Lv.3]
Sang-hyeok was Lv.1.
For an ordinary newly awakened player, even one Lv.3 enemy would be a life-or-death opponent.
The nearest Collapse Soldier raised its stone sword.
The thick blade fell toward Sang-hyeok’s head.
WHOOSH!
Instead of retreating, Sang-hyeok raised his right hand toward the side of the stone blade.
‘<Extinction Devouring>.’
HISSSS!
Before the sword could even touch his palm, it turned black.
The blade became black sand, and the energy rushed through the hilt and into the Collapse Soldier’s arm in one sweep.
Fssssss.
The Collapse Soldier pitched forward after losing its arm and shoulder.
Sang-hyeok placed his palm against its exposed chest.
CRUMBLE!
The rest of its body turned into black sand and poured to the ground.
At that moment, three Collapse Soldiers behind it swung their weapons at once.
This time, Sang-hyeok swept his right hand sideways.
FLASH!
Black energy spread from his fingertips and covered the stone swords and spears together.
Hard weapons and thick stone armor were no different from sandcastles before <Extinction Devouring>.
HISSSSS!
The stone swords and spears scattered first as black sand.
Then the black energy swallowed the three soldiers and swept through three more charging behind them.
FSSSSSS!
Six Collapse Soldiers collapsed at once, leaving only black sand across the floor.
RUMBLE!
The remaining soldiers kicked off the ground and rushed in from every direction.
Rather than retreat, Sang-hyeok charged directly into their midst.
A stone spear flew toward his face.
Sang-hyeok knocked the spearhead aside with the back of his hand wrapped in black energy.
CRUMBLE!
The entire spear disintegrated into black sand.
A Collapse Soldier raised a shield to block his path.
Sang-hyeok planted his palm in the center of it.
HISSSS!
The shield and the body behind it collapsed together into black sand.
For the soldier charging from the side, a light brush of Sang-hyeok’s fingertips across its neck was enough.
Tap.
Its neck vanished, and its head fell to the ground.
A kick aimed at Sang-hyeok’s knee disappeared together with the leg the instant it touched his fingertips.
Every step Sang-hyeok took erased another Collapse Soldier.
Twenty became ten in moments.
Soon only one remained.
Before the final Collapse Soldier could even raise its stone sword, Sang-hyeok was already in front of it.
He placed his palm against its chest.
Hiss.
The body turned into black sand from the chest outward and spilled around his feet.
[Time Remaining 29:31]
Not even thirty seconds had passed since the battle began.
「All hostile entities of First Collapse Stage have been annihilated.」
Even after the notification appeared, the battlefield did not immediately proceed to the next stage.
Instead, fragments of stone scattered across the battlefield began to twitch and gather over the black sand.
「Attempting reconstruction of hostile entities.」
CRACKLE.
Stone fragments clung together and began rebuilding the bodies of the Collapse Soldiers.
But the moment the stones touched the black sand, they turned black and scattered again.
A Collapse Soldier once swallowed by <Extinction Devouring> could not rise again.
「Reconstruction failed.」
A moment later, the next notifications appeared one beat later than normal.
「Hostile entities have been completely annihilated.」
「Recalibrating battlefield difficulty.」
RUMBLEEEEE!
No sooner had the final message appeared than the leaning ruined tower collapsed.
The stones pouring from it floated into the air and joined together, forming a gigantic golem.
[Collapse Golem]
[Lv.5]
The completed golem immediately raised a fist the size of a house.
WHOOM!
The enormous fist dropped toward Sang-hyeok’s head.
The pressure of the wind alone pressed against his entire body.
But Sang-hyeok did not dodge.
Instead, he drove his fist wrapped in <Extinction Devouring> straight at it.
FSSSSSSSS!!!
There was no sound of impact.
The instant the golem’s fist met Sang-hyeok’s, it simply crumbled into black sand.
The power of <Extinction Devouring> climbed the arm and swallowed the shoulder and torso as well.
RUMBLE!
The tower-sized body lost its form in only a few seconds.
When even its head turned into black sand and poured down, Sang-hyeok lowered his arm.
No sooner had the golem disappeared than dark-red flames erupted over the ruins.
Humanoid arcane bodies appeared one after another inside the fire.
[Collapse Arcane Entity]
[Lv.4]
The creatures, their entire bodies made of flame, extended both hands toward Sang-hyeok.
FWOOSH!
Dozens of fireballs poured out at once, filling the space before him.
Again, Sang-hyeok did not dodge.
He thrust his right hand forward.
‘<Extinction Devouring>.’
FLASH!
Black energy burst from his palm and spread wide.
The fireballs it touched darkened and went out one after another.
The black energy did not stop there.
It continued forward and covered the Arcane Entities behind them.
FSSSSS!
Their flame-formed bodies turned into black ash and scattered all at once.
「All hostile entities of Second Collapse Stage have been annihilated.」
[Time Remaining 28:47]
Less than two minutes after the battle began, even the second stage had ended.
And Sang-hyeok still had plenty of mana left.
When he fought the Unbreakable Guardian, he had been forced to pour out every drop of mana even while keeping his palm in direct contact.
The enemies before him, however, were far lower in caliber than the Guardian.
A small amount of mana was enough for <Extinction Devouring> to sweep them away.
Sang-hyeok looked at the black energy still gathered thickly over his palm.
‘At this level, I can keep going as long as they want.’
The battlefield itself seemed to notice that Sang-hyeok still had room to spare.
「Opening Third Collapse Stage early.」
「Hostile entities of the final stage will be deployed simultaneously.」
RUMBLEEEEE!
The entire battlefield shook violently.
At the same time, knights wearing horned helmets burst from beneath the earth.
Three pillars of dark-red light slammed down into the ruins from the sky.
***
At that same time.
Korean Player Association, National Crisis Analysis Office.
The Republic of Korea’s current quarterly projection was displayed on the main screen.
[Tutorial special achievements: 2]
[Republic of Korea achievement points: +120,000]
[Estimated deficit points this quarter: 29,720]
[Estimated danger: Small and Medium Rift occurrence zone]
[Confirmed national rank: 64th / 64 nations]
The country had escaped the Large Rift occurrence zone.
But it was still short by 29,720 points.
“Can our existing players make up the rest through normal climbing?”
At the government liaison’s question, the analyst shook his head.
“This figure already includes the major clear results scheduled for this quarter. Unless an additional first clear or special achievement occurs, small and medium Rifts will be unavoidable.”
The government liaison looked toward the top of the screen.
[Achiever Public Name: Private]
[Affiliated Nation: Republic of Korea]
“In the end, we have to find that player.”
“Among registered new players, no one matches the conditions. If they awakened without reporting it, identifying them will be difficult until they leave some trace outside the Tower.”
“It will be even worse if China or Russia finds them first. Expand the search to Conditional Awakened records and narrow down candidates, even if that’s all we can do.”
An Association executive opened the Conditional Awakened management list on the screen.
These were people who had once been examined by awakening research institutes in search of their Manifestation Conditions but still remained recorded as unmanifested in Association records.
If one of them had recently fulfilled their condition and entered the Tower without reporting the manifestation, that person could be the private player.
Employees began comparing names and diagnostic records one by one.
Then one employee stopped scrolling.
“What about this person?”
[Kim Sang-hyeok]
[Identity: Ilseong Group chairman’s family]
[Registration Status: Conditional Awakening]
[Manifestation Report: None]
[Official Tower Climbing Record: None]
“He appeared recently at Ilseong’s equipment verification site. There are also rumors that he awakened not long ago.”
“His Trait?”
“Nothing has been confirmed. Because there are rumors that he was involved in finding the equipment defect, people assume it is a research- or analysis-type Trait.”
Thanks to Kim Do-hyun’s control of information, Sang-hyeok’s exact abilities and the existence of the Record Stone had not leaked outside.
Still, many people had seen him standing in Ilseong’s technical area on the day of the verification.
Combined with the rumors that he had recently awakened, speculation had begun that Sang-hyeok was involved in discovering the equipment defect.
The Association executive displayed the private player’s two achievements beside Sang-hyeok’s profile.
[Adamantine Scarecrow destroyed]
[Unbreakable Guardian defeated]
Both were achievements impossible without overwhelming destructive power.
They were far too violent to associate with a newly awakened research- or analysis-type player.
“Hmm. No matter how I look at it, they don’t seem like the same person. Still, don’t remove him from the list entirely.”
The employee added Kim Sang-hyeok’s name to the candidate list.
[Candidate: Kim Sang-hyeok]
[Estimated Type: Research·Analysis]
[Tracking Priority: Low]
[Action: Confirm additional information]
The correct answer had entered the candidate list.
But it was pushed all the way to the bottom.
***
At that same time, inside the Battlefield of Collapse.
KRAAAASH!
Three dark-red pillars of light slammed into the ruins.
When the light faded, three enormous figures carved from stone stood in their place.
Each had only one wing, and the shape of each wing was different.
[Collapse Executor]
[Lv.9]
Horned knights lined up in front of the Executors.
[Collapse Knight]
[Lv.7]
That was not all.
New golems and Arcane Entities were already appearing throughout the battlefield.
With the knights and Executors added to them, the entire ruin was packed with enemies.
Creatures that normally would not have appeared until the end of the time limit had all been deployed less than two minutes after the battle began.
[Time Remaining 28:31]
Sang-hyeok slowly looked around at the enemies surrounding him.
There were more of them than before, and their levels were much higher.
But nothing changed.
THUD! THUD! THUD!
The Collapse Knights locked their shields together and charged as one.
Their thick stone armor and overlapping shields formed a giant wall advancing toward Sang-hyeok.
He did not dodge.
He extended the hand wrapped in <Extinction Devouring> toward that wall.
HISSSSS!
The lead shield turned into black sand.
<Extinction Devouring> continued forward, swallowing the shields and armor behind it one after another.
FSSSSSS!
The seamless shield wall collapsed from the center.
Sang-hyeok walked forward through the cloud of black sand.
At that moment, Arcane Entities on both sides poured dark-red flames toward him.
Sang-hyeok spread both hands and expanded <Extinction Devouring> wide.
FSSSSS!
The flames went out one by one when they touched the black energy.
The black power continued through the space where the flames had vanished and covered the Arcane Entities themselves.
Ffft!
The flames that formed their bodies went out all at once.
Only black ash remained drifting in the air.
The instant the Arcane Entities disappeared, two golems on either side brought down enormous fists.
Sang-hyeok lowered his body and pressed a palm against the ground.
‘<Extinction Devouring>.’
FLASH!
Black energy spread outward beneath his palm and covered the golems’ feet.
FSSSSS!
Both sets of legs crumbled into black sand at the same time.
The gigantic bodies lost balance from opposite directions and toppled toward the center, crashing into each other.
CRASH!
Heads and torsos shattered apart.
Even the debris landing on the ground covered by <Extinction Devouring> turned into black sand and scattered.
Then a Collapse Knight leaped over the falling golem.
Dark-red mana flickered over its greatsword as it swung for Sang-hyeok’s neck.
Sang-hyeok reached toward the incoming blade.
Fsssss.
The greatsword became black sand the instant it touched his fingertips.
As the knight’s empty hands cut through the air, Sang-hyeok stepped inside its guard.
His palm pressed against its chest.
HISSSS!
The Collapse Knight disappeared from the chest outward, armor and helmet turning into black sand together.
The enemies grew stronger with every Collapse Stage.
But the speed at which they vanished before <Extinction Devouring> did not change at all.
[Time Remaining 27:46]
The final Collapse Knight scattered into black sand.
「All hostile entities of Third Collapse Stage have been annihilated.」
「All standard hostile entities of final stage have been annihilated.」
The battlefield grew quiet again.
There was no sound of reconstruction this time.
After several seconds of silence, a new notification appeared.
「Highest-rank hostile entities of the battlefield begin combat.」
The three Collapse Executors, which had only watched the battle from behind until then, finally moved.
When all three spread their wings at once, a violent wind swept across the ruins.
The Executor at the front raised an enormous axe over its head.
VMMMMM!
Dark-red mana gathered over the blade.
The axe was large enough to hide Sang-hyeok’s entire body behind it.
The Executor brought it down.
WHOOOOOSH!
The gigantic axe blade cut through the air toward Sang-hyeok’s head.
But Sang-hyeok did not dodge.
He raised his right hand toward the descending blade instead.
‘<Extinction Devouring>.’
The axe blade met his palm.
HISSSS!
The dark-red mana died first.
Then the enormous axe blade turned into black sand directly in front of Sang-hyeok’s hand.
The power of <Extinction Devouring> continued through the handle and swallowed both of the Executor’s arms.
HISSSSSSS!!
The Executor tried to retreat, but it was already too late.
Blackness spread across its chest and head, and its enormous body collapsed where it stood.
FSSSSS!
「Collapse Executor has been annihilated.」
‘One.’
Two remained.
This time, Sang-hyeok moved first.
He passed through the black sand of the first Executor and charged directly between the other two.
FLASH!
The one on the right swung a longsword toward his neck.
The one on the left thrust a spear at his chest.
Sang-hyeok caught the blade and spearhead with both hands wrapped in <Extinction Devouring>.
HISSSSS!
The sword and spear scattered into black sand inside his hands.
Without stopping, Sang-hyeok extended both arms farther.
His palms touched both Executors’ chests at the same time.
FSSSSSS!
The remaining two Executors collapsed into black sand together.
[Time Remaining 27:31]
Less than three minutes had passed since combat began.
In that short time, every enemy the Hidden Battlefield had prepared was gone.
「No hostile entities remain on the battlefield.」
「Annihilated hostile entities cannot be reconstructed.」
The notifications paused there.
More than twenty-seven minutes remained, but there was no longer anything left to attack Sang-hyeok.
At last, a new set of messages appeared.
「Basic objective can no longer be maintained.」
「Survival trial terminated.」
「Forcibly converting to defeat trial.」
RUMBLEEEEE!
The dark-red sky split open from the center.
From beyond the opening, a red heart as large as a building slowly descended.
THUD!
The heart beat once, and the entire ruin shook.
Debris bounced from the ground, and the cracks in the earth widened farther.
A new objective appeared before Sang-hyeok.
[Changed Objective: Destroy <Heart of Collapse>.]
[Time Remaining 27:30]
This time, his opponent was not something created by the battlefield.
It was the battlefield itself.
Sang-hyeok raised his head toward the <Heart of Collapse>.
‘Now something worth finishing has finally appeared.’