Chapter 78
[The 6th Floor Clear for All Difficulties is complete.]
[The Tower calls for New Personnel.]
[A New Rule is added.]
[A Masked Auction will be held in 24 hours.]
[When the time comes, 100 6th Floor Clearers will be randomly invited to the Masked Auction.]
[Remaining Time: 23 hours 59 minutes 50 seconds]
I was moved to the Reward Room.
I checked the messages that subsequently popped up.
What is this now.
Since the 5th Floor wasn't exactly a floor to clear, I thought there might not be a new rule for the 6th Floor, but I guess not.
Do rules just unconditionally pop out every other even-numbered floor?
‘Masked Auction?’
6th Floor Clearers... So 100 Climbers from the 7th Floor and above would be randomly invited to something called a Masked Auction.
...If it's an invitation, does that mean we get moved somewhere?
And why an auction out of nowhere?
What kind of stunt is the Tower trying to pull this time.
I turned off my thoughts about what I'd find out in exactly 24 hours and checked my rewards.
A Rare Grade Skill Stone... and an item.
Huh, isn't this the first time an item came out as a reward when it wasn't a Hidden Clear?
An earring decorated with an emerald-colored jewel.
I checked the Item Information.
[Item: Rosalia's Earring]
An earring cherished by Rosalia, the eldest daughter of a prestigious Noble family. Willpower increases by 20%.
It was an item with a simple effect that increased willpower.
“...It's a dud.”
But it was useless to me.
20% was quite a significant boost, but it obviously meant nothing to me, whose willpower was practically infinite.
I immediately tossed it into my Subspace.
Next was the skill stone.
Since the item was a dud, let's hope this at least turns out to be a good Magic Skill.
[Skill: Sword of Light (Rare+)]
Summons a sword by compressing the Power of Light within a 1-meter radius. Requires 50 seconds of Mental Concentration to cast. You can consume additional willpower to explode the Sword of Light. Requires 100 seconds of Mental Concentration to cast.
Category: Magic
Willpower Cost: 20 per second / 300
Cooldown: 5 minutes After Explosion
“Nice.”
First of all, it came out as Magic!
Reading the description... the skill was quite unique.
A Magic Skill, but it summons a sword?
[Acquired 'Skill: Sword of Light (Rare+)'.]
I immediately acquired it and tried using it.
Hwaaa.
As I used the skill, golden light gathered and condensed into the shape of a sword in my hand.
True to its name, it was a sword made of light.
I grabbed the sword and swung it.
It was much lighter than a normal iron sword, so I could barely feel its weight at all...
“Oh.”
I tried drawing a line on the floor with the sword.
The blade smoothly sliced through the stone floor without any resistance.
It's quite powerful...?
It felt as if I was using Sword Aura.
From now on, I could just summon the Sword of Light and use it as my weapon.
Since this also had a Willpower Cost per second, it was a skill I could maintain continuously.
‘Plus, it even has a self-destruct function.’
Looking at the Skill Description, the Cooldown wasn't just 5 minutes, but 5 minutes After Explosion...
It seemed that as long as I didn't explode the sword, I could summon and dismiss it without a Cooldown.
I wonder how strong the Explosive Power is?
Let's check it later. It wouldn't be good to blow it up in the Reward Room.
[Difficulty: Nightmare]
[Floor: 7th Floor]
[Level: 80]
[Willpower: 3,600]
[Skills: Line of Destruction (Epic+), Subspace (Epic), Sixth Sense (Rare+)(+2), Teleportation (Rare+), Rapid Regeneration (Rare+), Scorching Zone (Rare+), Sword of Light (Rare+), Flame Strike (Rare)(+5), Shockwave (Rare)(+1), Blade Storm (Rare), Exaltation (Rare), Skin Hardening (Rare), Fairy Light Bullet (Normal+)(+1), Lesser Poison Resistance (Normal+), Lesser Burn Resistance (Normal+), Lesser Freeze Resistance (Normal+), Leap (Normal)(+2)...]
Before I knew it, my level was 80.
My willpower had also surpassed 3,000.
Including the 5th Floor Level Reward, it had gone up by 20 all at once compared to before Entering the 6th Floor.
I'll hit Level 100 soon enough.
[Nightmare]
Personnel: 478,821
Deadline: 1 year 20 days 4 hours 8 minutes 16 seconds
Reached Floor: 7th Floor
Anyway, I earned another year of time.
Now that I was around the 6th Floor, I felt somewhat calm about this too.
Rather than relief, the thought of whether I could succeed on the 7th Floor again... came to mind first.
“Diul.”
I called Diul out.
No matter what anyone said, the main protagonist of this 6th Floor Clear was Diul.
Of course, Flee also worked hard with the Lane Defense, but if Diul hadn't stepped up at the last minute, I definitely would have failed.
I wonder what would have happened if I had used the Scales of Life...
“Diul?”
Diul wriggled out of the bracelet.
I was surprised when I saw Diul. Huh?
Diul, who originally just had a round shape... had changed into the form of a Human.
Not that he became a real human, but his silhouette.
He reminded me of a small fairy.
“...Diul? What happened?”
His form had changed slightly when he unlocked his Stealth Ability on the 3rd Floor...
Did he undergo some sort of evolution again while unlocking a new ability?
Looking tired, Diul hovered around my head as if flying.
‘Idiot!’
A voice echoed in my head.
“...!”
I was startled.
We already had an Emotional Connection, but Diul had never made such a clear Expression of Intent before.
No, come to think of it, during the last Branch Tower Clear... Diul did speak to me, didn't he?
Though my memory wasn't clear since it was in a dream.
‘Idiot! Fool!’
Diul grumbled like that and then went back into the bracelet.
Fascinating...
Are we able to communicate properly now?
Diul seemed to have quite a lot of complaints. Was it because he had to overexert himself because of me?
‘...Idiot!’
Anyway, I could feel that he was extremely tired, so I let him rest well.
I should get some rest too...
Before exiting, I spoke into the Void.
“It's a success, you bastard.”
Bring a better proposal next time.
If you want to stop my challenge that badly.
I chuckled and exited.
* * *
[Parallel Universe: There's no way he'd choose the Ark, right? Right?]
[Sandor: How would you know. You never know]
[Sunlight: Should I seriously look into heading to Korea even now...?]
[Monster: I'm a Korean lol. Jealous?]
[Cinnamon: The Ark's range is only a 3-kilometer radius, you idiot. Did Person123 say he'd let you in just because you're Korean?]
[Krzysztof: I'm telling you, there's no way he'd choose the Ark. Do you still not know Person123?]
After the Tower handed Person123 its Second Proposal.
The World was chaotic and confused.
Even while thinking he wouldn't, people were anxious that Person123 might actually choose the Ark, and some acted quickly, such as trying to head to Korea immediately.
Of course, Those in Power were much faster.
“How about moving to Korea for now? We have finished all the preparations.”
Xiaolin spoke up.
Ye Cheonwi, who was doing calligraphy with a serene face, did not answer. Xiaolin spoke once more.
“If Person123 is aiming for Humanity's Definite Survival, he might choose the Ark, Cheonwi-nim. Therefore...”
Ye Cheonwi laughed as if he had heard something quite amusing.
“He will not choose the Ark.”
“...Who could possibly be certain of that?”
“Only ordinary people who do not understand him would be uncertain. That is why the World is in such an uproar over nothing again.”
“...”
“Person123 will challenge the 6th Floor as usual. Because...”
It was at that moment.
[The Tower's Proposal has been invalidated.]
A message popped up simultaneously before the eyes of the two people.
Xiaolin was startled.
The Tower's Proposal being invalidated meant... that Person123 had ignored the proposal and entered the 6th Floor.
Ye Cheonwi wasn't even surprised. He only widened his eyes slightly, then took his eyes off the message and moved his brush again.
“Because he is a True Savior. And he will succeed this time as well.”
Transcending the Ordinary to Enter Sainthood and Save the World.
Having finished the calligraphy he was writing, Ye Cheonwi smiled in satisfaction.
Meanwhile, there was another person who was certain that Person123 would not choose the Ark.
As soon as he saw the message that the Tower's Proposal had been invalidated, Billon let out a small sigh.
“Mr. Kim has entered...”
Ellen, who was standing beside him, also nodded with a stiff expression.
They had met Person123, Kim Seohyeon, a few times in reality as well.
Since they had shared a meal and even had quite a sincere conversation not long ago, they knew now.
That in the end, he was just an ordinary person too.
If he chose the Ark, he wouldn't have to risk his life challenging the Tower anymore.
Although most of Humanity would die, he could save all his precious people, including his family, and just choose peace. He could live like a king in a new world.
He had given that up and chosen to challenge it once again.
He was a Savior. If they had thought so previously because of his abilities, now it wasn't just because of that.
Billon simply prayed. For the safe return of the Savior of Humanity. That he would please pull it off this time as well.
[Hydra: Person123 has entered!]
[Sprint: Are you sure he entered? Didn't he just not do it yet?]
[Ruiba: It said the proposal gets invalidated if he enters... so it seems he did enter?]
[Rox: As expected! I believed in him!]
[Solar Flare: This isn't the time to be happy. Everyone hurry up and pray]
With Person123 Rejecting the Proposal.
The World, which had been in an uproar, suddenly seemed to stop its commotion.
- It appears Person123 has rejected the Tower's Proposal and entered the 6th Floor. It is a few hours earlier than his 4th Floor challenge...
People were relieved. And they prayed with bated breath.
[Darkness: Alejandro failed, but he'll succeed, right...? Please]
[Kakardika: Is Person123 the same as Alejandro? Just believe and wait]
[Boomerang: As expected, the only one capable of a First Clear is Person123]
It was even more so because Alejandro, who was called a Super Rookie, had failed just yesterday.
Quite a long time passed. Even longer than during the 4th Floor Clear.
Just as people's blood was drying up from anxiety, a message popped up.
[The 6th Floor Clear for All Difficulties is complete.]
A message announcing success.
The communication window exploded first.
[Rainbow: It's a Clear Success!]
[Chocochip Cookie: Humanity, Extended by Another Year...!]
[Bonda: Thank you so damn muuuuuuch! Person123!]
[Splendor: Just how difficult was it this time...? It's taking longer and longer]
[Pigeon: Ah, His Grace is endless. Everyone, you should believe in the Person123 Church too.]
- Person123 has rejected the Tower's Proposal and saved all of Humanity once again. We offer our respect and gratitude for his noble choice...
[The Tower calls for New Personnel.]
[A New Rule is added.]
[A Masked Auction will be held in 24 hours.]
[When the time comes, 100 6th Floor Clearers will be randomly invited to the Masked Auction.]
[Remaining Time: 23 hours 56 minutes 1 second]
Meanwhile, the Tower's rule appeared without fail once again.
It was quite different from before.
At the mention of an auction and inviting Climbers, people were either curious or anxious.
[Goblin: Masked Auction? What are they trying to do now]
[Tofur: You mean it starts in exactly 24 hours?]
[Crown: Whatever it is, I don't think it'll be anything good]
[Alien: Damn it, I'm a 7th Floor Climber, I won't get picked, right?]
Anyway, the World had gained another year of time.
On the streets, at home, at work, everywhere, the cheers of rejoicing people poured out.