A short while earlier—
When Hajun stepped in front of the assailants, they all thought the same thing.
‘What is this?’
‘Why is some weakling blocking our path?’
‘He must have lost all sense of fear.’
To their eyes, Hajun appeared to be an insignificant Ascender.
They could tell merely by looking at his clothes.
He wore shabby clothing without a single respectable magic tool or piece of equipment.
The rings on his hands appeared somewhat expensive, but that was all.
‘Let’s dispose of him quickly.’
After exchanging glances, the assailants immediately moved to eliminate Hajun.
However, Hajun acted first.
CRACKLE, CRACKLE!
Emerald lightning gathered in his hand.
“He’s a mage!”
“Block it!”
Only then did they realize that something was amiss.
The instant they felt the flow of the atmosphere turn violently unstable—
FLASH!
KRA-KOOOOM!!
A bolt of lightning erupted from Hajun’s hand.
‘It’s Thunderbolt.’
The assailant standing at the very front somehow recognized the spell Hajun had unleashed.
A confident smile curved across his lips.
‘Magic Shield!’
The bracelet around his wrist flashed red.
It was an <Advanced>-grade Artifact.
Something as trivial as a one-star Thunderbolt should be easily blocked.
‘I stopped it.’
The instant he thought that—
SHATTER!
KRA-KA-KA-KRAK!!
The Magic Shield shattered into pieces, and unimaginable agony swept across his entire body.
It was pain unlike anything he had ever experienced.
Before losing consciousness, the last thing he heard was—
“AAAAARGH!”
“G-GUAAAGH!”
“URRRGH—”
The dying groans of his companions.
THUD, THUMP, THUD!
More than a dozen assailants, each possessing combat power among the highest on the first floor, collapsed to the ground simultaneously.
It was a shocking sight.
“G-Good heavens…….”
Everyone stared at Hajun’s back with their eyes wide open, unable to comprehend what had happened.
“W-What kind of magic was that……?”
The Black Rabbit Mask—
The manager of <Black Hand>’s auction hall—
Had honestly believed that he had been fortunate enough to gain a human shield when Hajun first stepped forward.
If they could hold out for only a little longer, <Black Hand>’s elite Ascenders would arrive.
He had expected Hajun’s only role to be buying them a little time.
However—
‘He is not an ordinary Level 10 Ascender. His Trait must be at least eight-star, and that Thunderbolt was undoubtedly Legendary grade or higher.’
The Black Rabbit Mask had managed <Black Hand>’s auction house for many years.
As a result, he possessed an exceptional eye for judging the value of both objects and people.
Among all the Level 10 Ascenders he had observed during his long stay on the first floor, Hajun had displayed the most impressive power.
It was enough to make him question whether Hajun truly belonged on the first floor.
‘He cannot be an Ascender from an upper floor.’
When an Ascender from a higher floor descended to a lower one, the Sky Tower imposed restrictions upon their power.
Those restrictions were most severe on the first floor.
That was why high-floor Ascenders rarely descended there.
As a result, the strongest people on the first floor were Level 10 Ascenders.
‘Ah. The heavens must be watching over Black Hand. I never imagined we would receive the assistance of such a powerful Ascender.’
Without realizing it, the Black Rabbit Mask nearly clasped his hands and bowed toward Hajun’s back.
That was how deeply moved he was by Hajun’s strength.
“Insane.”
Someone else was just as shaken as the Black Rabbit Mask.
Customer Number 53.
The Fox Mask.
‘To think I felt fear after seeing someone else’s lightning energy.’
The Fox Mask was not an ordinary Ascender.
The source of her own power was lightning energy.
Because of that, she understood almost as clearly as the Black Rabbit Mask just how much extraordinary power Hajun’s Thunderbolt contained.
‘Is he truly an Ascender from the same first floor as me?’
Her eyes trembled incessantly as she stared at Hajun’s back.
“…May I ask who you are?”
There was someone whose emotions had been shaken even more violently than those of the Black Rabbit Mask or the Fox Mask.
It was the Skull Mask, the leader of the assault and the person who had suffered the greatest setback because of Hajun’s appearance.
‘He isn’t a member of Black Hand.’
The Skull Mask realized that Hajun was not affiliated with Black Hand.
He had merely been one of the participants in the auction.
‘Of all the rotten luck…….’
It felt as though he had stepped in filth while innocently walking down the road.
Why did someone like this have to be present here?
‘We cannot retreat.’
No matter what happened, he had to secure <Guldin’s Necklace>, the final item scheduled to appear in the auction.
It was a mission he had to complete even at the cost of his life.
“Are you bastards from Tiamat?”
At that moment, Hajun looked at the Skull Mask and spoke.
* They are indeed from Tiamat. They bear the same emblem upon their chests as that heavyset brute.
Aleon’s advice was the reason Hajun had been able to guess their identities.
“Y-Yes! Those bastards are from Tiamat!”
The Black Rabbit Mask was quick-witted.
He sensed Hajun’s displeasure when he mentioned <Tiamat> and immediately confirmed their identities.
“What?”
“T-They’re from Tiamat?”
Cries of alarm erupted from the Ascenders who had stopped fleeing to watch the confrontation.
Why was <Tiamat>, the public enemy and most notorious villain organization in the world, appearing here?
“Ugh… I-I’m leaving.”
The terror inspired by Tiamat’s name was considerable.
Even after witnessing Hajun overwhelm the assailants, several people resumed fleeing the auction hall.
Hajun paid them no attention.
Once he became certain that his opponents belonged to Tiamat, emerald lightning began gathering in his hand once again.
‘If they’re from Tiamat, I have even more reason not to let them live.’
They were the people investigating his identity.
Even if only to eliminate future trouble, he could not allow them to survive.
“…If you withdraw now, we will forget that you attacked us.”
The Skull Mask growled in a low voice.
However, there was no possibility that Hajun would accept the offer.
He had already disturbed the hornet’s nest.
Would everything truly end peacefully merely because he walked away?
It would be better to settle the matter decisively here.
‘Relea…….’
Just as Hajun was about to launch Thunderbolt at the Skull Mask—
“Shadow Binding!”
The Skull Mask shouted first.
Tiamat.
Its regional branch on the fifth floor.
Several figures who appeared to be executives were engaged in conversation.
“Maksel will be able to bring back ‘Guldin’s Necklace,’ won’t he?”
“Of course. He is the most trustworthy member operating on the first floor.”
Maksel, the man who always wore a skull mask, was a powerful Ascender who had few opponents on the first floor.
His Trait was exceptional, but one of his Artifacts made his strength even more pronounced.
“Then again, the ‘Legendary’-grade Artifact he possesses is the strongest anti-personnel Artifact available on the first floor.”
“Correct. No one from Black Hand’s first-floor branch can stop Maksel.”
“Wouldn’t it be difficult for anyone on the first floor to stop him, not merely Black Hand?”
“Yes. You are right.”
That was why the two men did not believe that Maksel could fail his mission.
“Still, what exactly is Guldin’s Necklace? Why are we going so far as to antagonize Black Hand to obtain it?”
“Hmm. I don’t know either. I was only informed that our superiors considered it essential. I merely heard in passing that it was a sealed item.”
“Oh. That only makes me more curious about what kind of item it is.”
“I feel the same way.”
RUSTLE!
My shadow suddenly stretched outward.
Black hands emerged from within it.
‘What is this……?!’
I frowned as I looked at the dozens of black hands wrapping around my body.
They bound me completely, preventing me from moving even slightly.
Naturally, I could no longer aim Thunderbolt at the enemy.
“You should have left while I was still asking politely.”
Murderous intent burned in the Skull Mask’s eyes.
‘This is dangerous!’
Alarm bells rang inside my head.
Since becoming an Ascender, this was the most dangerous situation I had encountered.
“Rise.”
The Skull Mask drove the staff in his hand into the ground.
“GRRROOOOAGH!”
“GURRRRK—”
Then—
The assailants who had clearly died after being struck by Thunderbolt began twisting their bodies and rising again.
“U-Undead?”
“Good heavens!”
“H-He’s a Necromancer!”
Another great commotion erupted at the sight.
Necromancer was considered one of the most powerful Traits within the Sky Tower.
Particularly on the lower floors, Necromancers displayed strength that bordered upon invincibility.
CRACKLE, CRACKLE!
At that moment, I heard electrical sparks beside me.
“Hey, you. Can you move?”
I shifted my eyes toward the voice.
The woman wearing the Fox Mask stood there holding two rapiers wreathed in electrical currents.
What was this?
Was she truly preparing to fight them?
“I can’t handle all of them alone. You need to escape those restraints.”
I silently admired her words.
The Fox Mask genuinely intended to help me.
I saw her in a new light.
I withdrew everything I had thought about her being insane during the auction.
“Can’t you break free on your own? Do you need my help?”
When I failed to respond, the Fox Mask glanced toward me and asked.
I gave a faint laugh.
“No. I’m fine.”
Was I bluffing?
No.
I had genuinely discovered a method of escaping the restraints.
“GRRROOOOAGH!”
“GAAAAAAH!”
RATTLE-RATTLE-RATTLE!
“They’re coming!”
The Fox Mask shouted tensely.
I immediately activated the skill embedded within the <Unprecedented Hahoe Mask>.
‘Stealth (5-Star ★★★★★).’
RUSTLE!
My body disappeared as though dissolving into the air.
The shadow hands restraining me vanished instantly.
* You succeeded!
‘Hehehe. What did I tell you? I knew it would work.’
* I shall at least acknowledge your talent for schemes.
That was right.
This solution had been my own idea.
The Skull Mask’s ability was clearly ‘Shadow’ Binding.
Its power had taken root within my shadow.
Then what would happen if I erased my shadow through Stealth?
The root would disappear.
Naturally, Shadow Binding would be released as well.
“Detection!”
SHIIIIING!
However, the Skull Mask was no fool.
Perhaps he already knew that Stealth countered Shadow Binding, because he immediately cast Detection Magic.
However—
[You cannot be revealed by Detection Magic of five-star grade or below.]
That was right.
My Stealth was five-star.
The Hahoe Mask had not received the Legendary grade without reason.
‘To be honest, the Dispel Ring might also have released it.’
I had used Stealth first because I did not know the grade of Shadow Binding.
If Stealth had failed, I would have tried the Dispel Ring.
In any case—
That meant it was my turn now, didn’t it?
‘Thunderbolt.’
When I activated Thunderbolt while under Stealth, the spell also manifested invisibly.
However, that lasted only while it remained within my hand.
KRA-KOOOOM!!
The moment it left my grasp, it revealed its brilliant emerald radiance.
To their eyes, a streak of emerald lightning must have suddenly appeared from empty space.
KRA-KA-KA-KRAK!!
The Undead struck by Thunderbolt for the second time were reduced entirely to ash.
More cries of astonishment erupted behind me.
Even from my perspective, the destructive power was genuinely absurd.
“You damned monster!”
The Skull Mask screamed and hurriedly pulled a scroll from inside his clothes.
‘Not so fast.’
I launched Mana Bolt before he could act.
BOOM!!
The Mana Bolt struck him directly and hurled him into the wall.