Jeong Hyeon-a was able to escape the wall of flames through the open door.
[Congratulations. You have succeeded in overcoming the trial on the first floor.]
[Clear Grade: S]
The moment Jeong Hyeon-a opened the door and stepped out, Hunters began appearing here and there.
They were familiar faces.
They were the direct heirs of the Ten Great Guilds. As if their abilities were almost equal, they seemed to have cleared the trial at nearly the same time.
“Everyone is fast, are they not?”
And there was a man who seemed to have arrived first and been waiting for them.
“…Mu-hyeon?”
“Welcome. Everyone worked hard.”
Chae Mu-hyeon of Songgwang.
He was the guild master’s much younger youngest brother, a man they had thought lacked skill and had not even been able to climb the Tower until his mid-twenties. Now, Chae Mu-hyeon was waving his hand as though he was glad to see them.
“When did you…?”
“Oh, I just arrived too.”
Jo Seung-hyeok and Kim Min-gi looked at him with wary eyes.
That was what he said, but his voice and demeanor were filled with composure and confidence.
Even then, people who had passed the first floor continued entering one after another.
Most were promising prospects from the Ten Great Guilds, and after them came those who had participated as individuals or from small and mid-sized guilds.
“Hm. By the way, Hyeon-a, I do not see Hyeon-su.”
Jeong Hyeon-a, who had been glancing around to find Jeong Hyeon-su, frowned at Chae Mu-hyeon’s voice.
‘Ha, that wretched man. Why did he come looking like that, without any preparation at all…!’
Since he had not even completed the preliminary education for the clear, she thought he had no choice but to struggle in various ways.
And Chae Mu-hyeon’s gentle smile as he deliberately pointed that out truly irritated Jeong Hyeon-a.
“Well… I did expect it to be difficult for him, of course, but even so, he is far too late for a first-floor clear.”
“As expected, it was because Seung-jin was too careless. I wondered if that might be the case, and it seems I was right.”
“It was not carelessness.”
In the end, Jeong Hyeon-a flared up and stepped forward.
“That man may have been pathetic, but Chae Seung-jin used Rending Wave Energy at full power and was still crushed in one blow.”
Every trace of amusement vanished from Chae Mu-hyeon’s lips.
“Rending Wave Energy, you say. Hyeon-a, can you take responsibility for those words?”
In a way, it was a serious statement. If Chae Seung-jin had used the signature technique of the Tyrant Fist, which could be considered a symbol of Songgwang, and lost to Jeong Hyeon-su, then the guild’s pride was on the line.
“That is right. I saw it too.”
At that moment, Ji Min-jeong also stepped in.
“Sister…?”
“I do not believe outsiders to the guild are qualified to judge Rending Wave Energy.”
Chae Mu-hyeon was just about to continue speaking.
[The trial on the first floor has ended.]
[There is a new announcement!]
[Today, a new clear record has been achieved for the first floor of the Tower.]
At the same time, each Hunter’s rank was engraved above the heads of those who had passed.
Jeong Hyeon-a, Ji Min-jeong, Jo Seung-hyeok, and Kim Min-gi were S-Rank.
“S… SS?”
Astonishingly, above Chae Mu-hyeon’s head was an SS-Rank clear record.
Jo Seung-hyeok and Kim Min-gi looked at each other.
‘Was SS-Rank not a record left only by Alexander of the United States and Association President Seon Woo-hyeon?’
Although the clear had naturally become easier than it had been during the pioneering era, and could therefore be undervalued, it was still a grade that had not appeared even after strategies had been established.
Not only that, but a worldwide announcement for a clear record that had not appeared in decades had also gone out…
‘Songgwang set a new world record?’
South Korea had produced a president of the World Hunter Association.
Although its overall Hunter forces could not be considered those of a great power, its top guilds and Hunters were numerous. That was the current state of South Korea’s Hunter industry.
For that reason, this rookie clear, in which five of the Ten Great Guilds had taken part, was receiving considerable attention.
Those who had never imagined Chae Mu-hyeon would achieve such a result now looked at him with new eyes.
The Songgwang rookies standing firmly behind him were also filled with pride.
“The trial has ended, and regrettably, Hyeon-su is nowhere to be seen…”
[The current record holder for the first floor of the Tower of Trials is Hunter Jeong Hyeon-su, affiliated with South Korea’s Garam Guild.]
[Hunter Jeong Hyeon-su has recorded SSS-Rank and broken the world record.]
For a moment, Jeong Hyeon-a tilted her head.
Had she just heard a familiar name?
“…Congratulations, Mu-hyeon. You finally achieved a new world record.”
“Wait, the record is different, is it not? The announcement says SSS.”
Everyone’s gaze turned to Chae Mu-hyeon.
His result was an outstanding SS grade, but that was not what people wanted.
“Who is it? SSS-Rank?”
“It says Garam.”
“Jeong Hyeon-su of Garam! Where is he?”
[We announce once again. Hunter Jeong Hyeon-su, affiliated with South Korea’s Garam Guild, has achieved an SSS record and established a new world record.]
[The all-time first-floor rankings will be revised and posted on ‘HunterNet’.]
As though entranced, Jeong Hyeon-a accessed HunterNet.
HunterNet was a Hunter-related community for Tower climbers, created by the Tower itself.
Even though the number of users connecting must have been surging explosively, the server remained perfectly stable and smooth.
[Official Records for the First Floor of the Tower of Trials]
1st. NEW! Jeong Hyeon-su (Nationality: South Korea, Affiliation: Garam)
2nd. Alexander (Nationality: United States, Affiliation: Galaxy)
3rd. Seon Woo-hyeon (Nationality: South Korea, Affiliation: World Hunter Association)
4th. NEW! Identity Withheld
5th. NEW! Chae Mu-hyeon (Nationality: South Korea, Affiliation: Songgwang)
After checking the rankings, Jeong Hyeon-a could only blink.
“Young Lady…”
“What is this?”
Honestly, she had confirmed his ability when he crushed Chae Seung-jin. But a world record?
And SSS-Rank, something no one had ever achieved, was far too unreal.
“Congratulations, Hyeon-a.”
At Ji Min-jeong’s greeting as she approached, Jeong Hyeon-a could only stammer awkwardly.
“Huh? Oh… uh… Still, it is only the first floor… anyway, thank you.”
She did not even know what she was saying.
[The entrance to the second floor will now open.]
[Hunters who wish to challenge it, please begin your clear.]
The fact that Garam’s name had been engraved at the very top was certainly surprising, but Jeong Hyeon-a also thought that she had to focus on her own clear.
‘Was this a dream?’
Even so, she did feel a certain pride in the result achieved by her own blood.
For now, the impression of him as a detestable scoundrel still remained far too strong.
***
[You will be transported to the Tower’s second floor.]
The new Hunters who had cleared the first floor by revealing their True Names to the Tower and facing the clones manifested from their own traumas stared silently at the land before them.
“So this is the Corridor of Memory Erosion…”
Thanks to the clears made by senior Hunters, they had heard countless times what kind of place it was, but experiencing it directly was certainly different.
The red mist, as if announcing that the climb of the Tower was beginning in earnest, gave the Hunters an ominous feeling in one corner of their hearts.
Yet.
Even so, they had to move forward.
They had each come with different purposes, but in the end, they were all in the same position: they had to climb.
Each Hunter entered the red mist. And what waited for them inside was…
“Name…”
[Nameless One]
They were the Nameless Ones, known as the monsters of the second floor.
Those whose names had been stolen by the Tower.
Researchers of the Tower of Trials had proposed many theories, from the claim that they were Hunters whose names had been stolen during the Tower climb, to the claim that they were people from other dimensions or worlds besides Earth. In truth, nothing had been confirmed.
The known fact was that if one suffered at their hands, one’s memories would be stolen.
All that was known was that if too much was stolen, the Hunter vanished on the spot and was never seen again in reality.
“Name…”
The sight of a Nameless One wandering through the red mist in search of a name filled those who saw it with a grotesque unease.
A pale complexion. Empty eyes, as if the being itself had faded into ashen gray, wandered in search of something.
The legs of the gaunt Nameless One, so thin that it would not have been strange if it collapsed at any moment, came to a halt.
Then the Nameless One’s head slowly began to turn.
Its mouth opened.
It slowly smacked its lips. It was said that Nameless Ones felt a powerful hunger toward those who had names.
The source of that gluttony was deprivation.
For those who had lost their names and even their existence, it was the memory they lacked most.
The Nameless One that had discovered a Hunter still carrying that memory intact shuddered.
“It is… mine.”
“What…?”
“Give… it…”
Then it approached the Hunter.
One step, then another.
At first, it seemed to approach slowly, creaking as it moved.
SWOOOOSH!
Yet before anyone knew it, it had narrowed the gap and appeared abruptly in front of the Hunter.
WHOOSH!
A moment later, the Nameless One’s fingernails raked across the spot where the rookie Hunter stood. It was a form of Eagle Claw Fist, reminiscent of a hawk’s talons.
“Aaaaaaagh!”
As the Hunter collapsed in agonizing pain, the red mist writhed violently.
“It is memory!”
“Give it to me! It is mine!”
Then the Nameless Ones that had caught the scent and emerged from beyond the mist surrounded the Hunter from every direction and began attacking.
“W-what is…”
In an instant, the unknown Hunter had vanished.
They had not torn into his flesh, and yet his very existence had disappeared. The eyes of some who witnessed it trembled violently.
Everyone entered the Tower with confidence.
Especially in the lowest floors of the Tower, those who failed to break through were treated as fools.
In that situation, it was only natural that some of the others who saw a Hunter erased from the very beginning of the second floor felt their blood run cold.
But even then, there were still those who advanced.
“Everyone, do not panic. If you discover an enemy beyond the mist, signal first!”
In particular, the promising prospects belonging to the Ten Great Guilds advanced without hesitation.
“Name…!”
“Give it to me! Graaaagh!”
Using the innate talent that had earned them selection by the Ten Great Guilds, along with the formations and combat techniques they had learned there, the Hunters of the Ten Great Guilds advanced toward the center of the Tower.
While they did, Jeong Hyeon-a discovered a Hunter who had been surrounded by Nameless Ones and was on the verge of erasure, and she immediately launched herself forward.
At the same time, a dark energy close to nothingness erupted from her body.
BOOM BOOM BOOM!
The Black Heaven Return-to-Origin Art, one of the Five Kings’ Martial Arts.
That nothingness, which sought return through the power of the source, swallowed the attacks of the Nameless Ones, dissolved them back into their origin, and was released once more.
“T-thank you!”
“Today is not the only day.”
“What?”
“I do not know what your circumstances are, but you know that if you die, it is over.”
Leaving behind words suggesting that he should give up if his ability was lacking, Jeong Hyeon-a did not bother listening to his answer and moved forward.
“Where in the world is that man?”
Her eyes were searching for her blood relative, who had to be wandering somewhere beyond the red mist.
As the leader of Garam’s clear party, it was only natural for her to search for the whereabouts of a guild member from the same affiliation.
Not far away from Jeong Hyeon-a, who was thinking that way, Ji Min-jeong, who was likewise leading Hanul’s clear party, was also displaying activity worthy of an heir as she advanced toward the center of the second floor.
“Those wenches look positively delicious.”
A mysterious figure hiding in the darkness watched them and licked his lips.
“I was already in a foul mood, so I should at least have some fun. Would you not agree? Heh heh.”
Behind the man, who gave off a greedy gleam in his eyes, dozens of shadows appeared.