[ Ding! ]
[ You have reached the 1st floor of Bukhansan Tower No. 1! ]
In that instant, gravity warped and space changed.
It was the tower entry method I had grown used to now.
What spread before my eyes was an old ruin.
Aged stone buildings and broken pieces of tower were scattered everywhere, and a rough wind stirred up sand and dust, blurring my vision.
“Haa....”
I lightly inhaled and raised my hand, clenching it.
I felt relieved that the sensation in my fingertips was still the same, but at the same time, an indescribable sense of wrongness surged over me.
And then...
[ Ding! ]
[ You have not died for a certain period of time! ]
[ Stats increased through ‘Overcoming Death’ are adjusted back to their original state. ]
“Ah, damn it.”
I spat out a curse, but it was a result I had expected to some degree.
Because I had not died, all the strength I had gained through death disappeared.
The only truth I had learned after obtaining the Curse of Immortality.
“Phew, hah.”
I swallowed a small breath and slowly lowered my hand.
It felt as if the overwhelming strength and speed I had maintained until recently had all evaporated.
My body, which had certainly felt light, was heavy now.
My arms and legs had grown dull, and my reaction speed had slowed.
But it was fine.
This was only a reset.
It could not erase my memories.
I had experience climbing a tower once before.
Even if I had grown weaker now....
“I can get stronger faster.”
I already knew how I needed to fight, and how to use death.
“Good....”
I looked around.
Unlike before, I was a little more cautious.
At that moment—
-Groooooan....
“Ah.”
I could already hear the sound of something welcoming me.
Eyes glowing red.
The dead, staggering toward me with their bony, emaciated frames.
That was right.
What greeted me on the 1st floor of Bukhansan Tower No. 1 was....
[ Ding! ]
[ Subjugation begins! ]
Five Skeleton Soldiers.
I smirked and raised the hand I had lowered.
“I’m going to get stronger again anyway....”
I took a fighting stance.
“Should I build up some momentum from the start?”
-Tap!
I immediately charged forward.
-SLASH—!
“...!”
And obediently accepted death as my neck was cut.
This was how I fought.
I rushed in, died, and grew stronger until I could kill!
-STAB!
“...Cough!”
When a cold sword pierced my abdomen right after I came back to life, hot pain spread through my organs.
The Skeleton Soldier’s movements were more familiar than they had been in the past.
But they were not slow enough for me to react while my stats were reset.
Well, even if I could react, whether I would react or not was a different question.
Because the more I died, the stronger I became.
“......”
I could have let out a pained groan, but I said nothing and looked at the sword.
Then....
-GRAB!
“Hey.”
-Rattle....
“Come at me more. Kill me more....”
-SLASH—!
Before I could even finish saying, Kill me more, another Skeleton Soldier struck my neck and cut my words short.
-Clunk, clatter....
My head rolled, and my death count rose again.
-STAB! STAB! STAB, STAB, STAB!
Then the rain of swords from the five Skeleton Soldiers continued without end, attacking me over and over.
They stabbed, gouged, and cut.
My eyes rolled upward, and my arms and legs went limp.
As my neck was cut off, my vision tilted several times.
And then....
[ Ding! ]
[ Overcoming Death activates! ]
[ All stats increase slightly! ]
The notification window I had been waiting for.
“Haa... Yeah, that’s it.”
I exhaled and rose from where I had fallen.
Death was already my weapon and my means of growth.
Therefore, I needed to die faster.
Die, resurrect, and die again.
I would grow stronger and stronger, and once the number of deaths I could get on that floor no longer satisfied me, I would kill everything and climb upward.
And in doing so, I would become stronger and stronger.
That was the method I had chosen.
And then....
-Whoosh...
The trajectory of a sword came toward me.
“...You’re going to make me yawn.”
To me, with my increased stats, it looked far too slow.
Sluggish.
Then I had no more business on this floor.
-CRACK!
I struck its jaw with my palm and separated its skull from its neck bone.
-BOOM!
I spun back and kicked one of them, collapsing every rib it had.
-Clatter!
I picked up the sword it dropped, swung it, found my spacing, and measured the distance between myself and the remaining three.
No.
In truth, there was no need to measure anything.
-Tap!
I charged in recklessly and brought the sword down on one of their crowns, smashing it all the way through its spine.
-STAB! STAB!
Then the remaining two swords lodged in my body.
“Ghh, urgh...!”
After letting out a slight groan of pain,
-SLASH—!
I swung my sword and cut down the skulls of the remaining two clinging to me.
-Clank! Thud!
That made five.
Subjugation complete.
[ Ding! ]
[ You have cleared the 1st floor of Bukhansan Tower No. 1! ]
───────────────────
[ Floor: 1st floor ]
[ Climber: Yoo Da-huin ]
[ Clear Time: 52 min 18 sec ]
[ Previous Best Record: 1 min 21 sec ]
───────────────────
[ Clear Condition Met ]
▶ Defeated 1 Skeleton Soldier (Normal)
[ Climb Ranking: Middle Rank ] (Current Rank: 7,982nd)
“Stats Window!”
-Flash!
────────────────
Name: Yoo Da-huin
Job: ??? (Curse of Immortality)
Level: 1 (Unable to level up)
────────────────
Vitality: ∞
Strength : 8 ( + 20 )
Stamina : 5 ( + 10 )
Agility : 6 ( + 30 )
Magic Power : 0
────────────────
Trait: 『Curse of Immortality』 (Detailed information available)
Skills:
[ Pain Numbness LV.5 (MAX) ]
[ Enhanced Regeneration Speed LV.5(MAX) ]
[ Death Detection LV.5 (MAX) ]
[ Blood Absorption LV.1 ]
[ Hidden Skill: Intimidation ]
[ Hidden Skill: Overcoming Death ]
────────────────
Death Count: 49137
────────────────
“Tch.”
The stat gains were still low.
But that was fine. There was no need to rush.
“After all, the monsters that’ll kill me....”
Should be crawling all over this tower.
[ Continue climbing to the next floor? ]
[ Yes / No ]
-Press.
I pressed Yes, and headed for the next floor.
[ Ding! ]
[ You have reached the 2nd floor of Bukhansan Tower No. 1! ]
[ Subjugation begins! ]
On the 2nd floor, seven toxic Slimes appeared.
Compared to Namyangju Tower No. 2, the monster arrangement was slightly, though only slightly, more difficult.
The gap in difficulty would probably grow larger as the floors rose.
But there was no particular difficulty.
-SLASH—!
I died about fifty times, then easily took down all seven.
[ Ding! ]
[ You have reached the 3rd floor of Bukhansan Tower No. 1! ]
[ Subjugation begins! ]
The 3rd floor had three Orcs holding stone axes.
As expected, and just as I had felt on the 2nd floor, the difficulty was high.
I struggled quite a bit against the Orcs,
but with the Strength stat that had risen as I died over and over, I eventually took their stone axes from them outright and ravaged their bodies.
Like that, I....
[ Ding! ]
[ You have reached the 4th floor of Bukhansan Tower No. 1! ]
[ Subjugation begins! ]
4th floor.
Six Goblin Warriors.
Defeated.
[ Ding! ]
[ You have reached the 5th floor of Bukhansan Tower No. 1! ]
[ Subjugation begins! ]
5th floor.
Ten Poison Spiders.
Defeated.
[ Ding! ]
[ You have reached the 6th floor of Bukhansan Tower No. 1! ]
[ Subjugation begins! ]
6th floor.
Five Steel Skeleton Soldiers.
Defeated.
[ Ding! ]
[ You have reached the 7th floor of Bukhansan Tower No. 1! ]
[ Subjugation begins! ]
7th floor.
Twelve Forest Wolves.
Defeated.
[ Ding! ]
[ You have reached the 8th floor of Bukhansan Tower No. 1! ]
[ Subjugation begins! ]
8th floor.
Four Goblin Archers and three Warriors.
Defeated.
[ Ding! ]
[ You have reached the 9th floor of Bukhansan Tower No. 1! ]
[ Subjugation begins! ]
9th floor.
Twelve Venomous Snakes.
Defeated.
“Phew.”
-Flop.
After dying and winning without rest all the way to the 9th floor, climbing far faster than before, I sat down for a moment and caught my breath.
My body revived in optimal condition every time I died, but mentally, repeating the same method over and over had tired me out a little, so I needed to clear my head.
“Stats Window!”
-Flash!
────────────────
Name: Yoo Da-huin
Job: ??? (Curse of Immortality)
Level: 1 (Unable to level up)
────────────────
Vitality: ∞
Strength : 8 ( + 200 )
Stamina : 5 ( + 80 )
Agility : 6 ( + 210 )
Magic Power : 0
────────────────
Trait: 『Curse of Immortality』 (Detailed information available)
Skills:
[ Pain Numbness LV.5 (MAX) ]
[ Enhanced Regeneration Speed LV.5(MAX) ]
[ Death Detection LV.5 (MAX) ]
[ Blood Absorption LV.1 ]
[ Hidden Skill: Intimidation ]
[ Hidden Skill: Overcoming Death ]
────────────────
Death Count: 48589
────────────────
Compared to the 1st floor, my stats had certainly risen quite a bit through repeated deaths.
I nodded, and since I had caught my breath, I briefly fell into thought.
“...Do I have to keep fighting like this from now on?”
At that moment, I remembered the words of the Hunter, Lee Cheol-heon.
‘Was there no other way?’
...What if there had been a worldline where I did not kill those three S-grade Hunters and persuaded them instead?
A world where I used this ability to work as a Hunter, earn proper money, and make a living.
Then I would probably have been quite a strong Hunter.
The Hunters who greeted me when I came out of Namyangju Tower No. 2 looked that way on the outside, and when I checked the news, they seemed like fairly strong Hunters too.
If I was strong enough that they couldn’t stop me, then I could have become an SS-grade— no.
Couldn’t I have become an SSS-grade Hunter?
“...I’m thinking strange things again.”
Rest really was no good.
My thoughts flowed in a different direction, and I began having useless regrets.
My goal was ‘death.’
In reality, I had nowhere to return to anyway.
The family that had only kept its outward form, and the arms of the father who had brought me into this world.
Neither existed anymore.
What remained was to die and kill, and in the end, the clear objective of ‘not coming back to life.’
Yes.
“I’m definitely going to die.”
[ Ding! ]
[ Continue climbing to the next floor? ]
[ Yes / No ]
Now came the long-awaited 10th floor.
A boss would probably appear.
-Press.
I pressed Yes, and headed toward the 10th floor waiting for me.
***
[ Ding! ]
[ You have reached the 10th floor of Bukhansan Tower No. 1! ]
The first thing I felt as soon as I arrived on the 10th floor was “...Ugh. It’s cold.”
A chill.
The stats I had built up by dying over and over since the 1st floor were covering my body, yet the moment I stepped onto the 10th floor, I felt my senses dull.
“Haa, haa.”
I exhaled misty breaths and looked ahead.
There stood ice pillars soaring high.
“...Somehow, compared to Namyangju, this is a lot more grandiose.”
On the 10th floor there, it had only been a single Ogre, but this place felt rather serious.
Countless sword marks and shattered pieces of armor were embedded in the ground, and evidence that someone had fought and died here lay everywhere.
Beyond those remains, an enormous silhouette revealed itself.
-Boom. Boom.
Heavy, cold footsteps.
It was.
[ Ding! ]
[ Boss – Knight of the Frozen Earth has appeared! ]
A knight whose entire body was made of ice and metal.
Dark blue ice armor, and the gleam of eyes inside a helmet glittering in the deep darkness.
-Vwoooooooom...!
The cold air inside spread even faster.
My breath grew thicker, and the floor slowly froze over.
“...Guh.”
I raised my hand, clenched and unclenched my fingers.
It felt like my flesh was splitting and my senses were dulling.
A powerful aura from the boss, beyond mere cold.
[ Subjugation begins! ]
I grinned.
“...Looks like I’ll have to get a little tense for this one.”
I muttered as I walked forward.