Chapter 99
The one who climbed Nightmare 8F was clearly Solo Warrior, so why was my name somehow being mentioned too?
Wondering what this was about, I scrolled through the popular posts and found one particular post.
[Title: Review of Clearing Nightmare 8F, Chapter 1]
[Author: Solo Warrior]
Whew…. It was insanely brutal, but I managed to clear it somehow.
A score of 52 is barely a pass, but I’m still satisfied.
The reason I haven’t been coming to the community much or climbing the regular Tower lately is because I was actually preparing for this ㅋㅋ
Ah. And while I’m at it, let me clear up the controversy that came up in the community last time.
It wasn’t anything weird like you guys were thinking.
I just received some ordinary advice from True Ancestor-nim through private messages ㅇㅇ
I can’t reveal the contents of the advice, but thanks to it, I was able to surpass my limits.
I’d like to take this opportunity to thank True Ancestor-nim!
- Wow, that’s seriously insane LOL
- Congrats ㅊㅊㅊㅊㅊㅊㅊㅊ
- The Great Solo Warrior is clearing Nightmare 8F ㄷㄷㄷ
- Holy crap. True Ancestor-nim personally gave him advice?
- He teaches even the top rankers. Just how strong is True Ancestor-nim?
- But when he says he surpassed his limits, does he mean literally? Because he became a vampire…!!
ㄴ Solo Warrior) Here we go again. I said I received advice ;;
ㄴ ????: I’m supposed to write it like this, right, True Ancestor-nim?
ㄴ ??: Well done, mortal.
ㄴ ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅅㅂ
ㄴ ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
At first, it was merely a playful atmosphere filled with laughter and jokes.
But the general mood of a community always has a way of veering off in unexpected directions.
[Title: Chills, Chills—The Reason Solo Warrior Really Was Bitten by the True Ancestor]
[Author: Anonymous]
Wasn’t Light’s Apostle << this registered user originally leading the charge at the forefront of all those conspiracy theories?
He got all worked up, saying he would heal Solo Warrior and capture the True Ancestor.
But at some point, he suddenly stopped saying anything about that and went completely silent.
On top of that, all mentions of the True Ancestor disappeared after a certain date.
What does that mean? He was silenced, obviously ㅇㅇ
- Holy crap ㄷㄷ
- That’s a suspiciously reasonable conclusion.
- You’ve opened your eyes.
- Aren’t you scared? Last time, True Ancestor-nim immediately went to find someone who had been trapped inside a Gate, too ;;
- So Solo Warrior got bitten, and Light’s Apostle got bitten too? ㄷㄷㄷ
- Solo Warrior) No, what kind of baseless speculation is this….
ㄴ Solo Warrior) @Light’sApostle Come explain this quickly. It’s not like that, is it?
‘What is this supposed to be?!’
I was dumbfounded too.
Even Solo Warrior had already explained himself about as much as he could.
After all, the more someone involved in a conspiracy theory denies it, the more fiercely it burns.
But if Light’s Apostle personally appeared and clearly explained everything, wouldn’t this speculation die down quickly?
And not long afterward, Light’s Apostle really did leave a comment.
- Light’s Apostle) …That is not the case.
- Light’s Apostle) I am avoiding mentioning True Ancestor-nim only for personal reasons. It is not for the reason you are all thinking.
ㄴ ?
ㄴ Per?sonal rea?sons
ㄴ True Ancestor ‘nim’???????
ㄴ GodChris) Hold on. Guys, is this for real?
ㄴ CorpseLover) Oh LOL, what’s with the serious guy~? Did the True Ancestor educate you and make you behave~?
ㄴ KittyPunch) ㅇㅅㅇ?!
ㄴ Cheonma) Hmm. So you even made the Saint submit…. True Ancestor, you have made me even more curious about you.
ㄴ ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Cheonma-nim just outright called her a Saint.
ㄴ No, Cheonma-nim ㅠㅠㅠ What are you going to do after exposing someone’s identity so openly!
But there was something suspicious about the content itself.
The comment section exploded.
Even the famous registered users gathered in the comments.
But as I stared down at my smartphone screen, my expression gradually grew grim.
‘So this is what happened….’
This was why mentions of me had suddenly started pouring out.
‘It’s nice that my reputation is going up, but the false rumor that Solo Warrior became my retainer is a little troublesome.’
Ding.
Just then, a system message arrived from Solo Warrior.
[Solo Warrior: True Ancestor-nim, I’m so sorry, so sorry….]
[Solo Warrior: Somehow the community sentiment took a weird turn ;]
He seemed to find the situation quite troubling as well.
‘What should I do?’
I considered how to respond.
Should I write an explanatory post on the community myself?
Or should I simply maintain radio silence?
‘Sigh… This isn’t the time for this.’
Feeling the futility of it all, I let out a deep sigh.
Come to think of it, this wasn’t the time to be fooling around on the community.
I had a quest to complete, didn’t I?
The Lord’s Great Feat.
I needed to influence powerful people quickly and obtain a new divine artifact.
I should stop fooling around and go seek out some genuine powerhouses….
‘Hmm…?’
Wait a moment.
Come to think of it, aren’t all the powerful people gathered here?
Solo Warrior, Light’s Apostle, Cheonma, Chris, and so on.
The Climber Community was where all the top rankers from around the world had gathered.
On the off chance, I hurriedly opened my status window.
[The Lord’s Great Feat (Unique)]
- Current progress: 10%
The blood-drop-shaped slot that had been completely empty was now faintly filled with red.
‘Ten percent!’
Apparently, becoming a topic of discussion among the big shots and drawing their aggro had counted as ‘influencing powerful people.’
Then drawing attention was always a good thing, wasn’t it?
A situation where hate-posting had turned into fan-posting!
I immediately sent a reply to Solo Warrior.
[True Ancestor: There is no need to explain yourself. Simply leave it be.]
[True Ancestor: By the way, your achievement on the 8th floor was fairly commendable for a mortal.]
After giving him a light compliment, I smacked my lips.
With all this attention focused on me, what if I threw out some new bait?
Something insanely impressive enough to rival the buzz surrounding clearing Nightmare 8F, Chapter 1.
‘I have Infinite difficulty, too!’
I had gone there just yesterday, as it happened.
Then should I write a review post too, like Solo Warrior?
I opened my inventory and took out the A+-grade item I had obtained yesterday.
The ritual dagger set with a green jewel, which I had received as tribute from the dark mage Yair.
What if I filmed myself using it and showed everyone?
With the vibe of an unboxing video, that is.
‘This should draw some serious aggro, huh?’
I admired my own genius.
I immediately entered the special training room.
I held the dagger in one hand and raised my smartphone with the other, switching filming mode on.
To prepare for any eventuality, I had Katarina quietly wait outside the camera’s frame.
I carefully adjusted the angle so that only my hand and the dagger appeared on-screen, keeping my face out of view.
“Ahem.”
I cleared my throat and pressed the record button.
“Poor mortals. You have been making quite a commotion by uttering this body’s name again today.”
The voice enhanced by [Noble Demeanor] echoed throughout the training room.
“Pitying the sorry state of you all, this True Ancestor shall graciously show you an item obtained from a brand-new difficulty.”
As I added that, I held the dagger up to the camera.
“This item was received as tribute from the unexplored frontier of the Tower.”
After carefully showing it from every angle,
I held the dagger right side up and lightly swung it toward the empty air.
Vwoom—!
At that moment, a mysterious green aura swirled around the dagger.
When I checked the status window,
[Spell Power: 51]
‘Wow! My Spell Power rises a lot!’
My pathetic Spell Power, which had originally been only 1, had temporarily increased by a full 50 points.
“With a swing like this, my magical power rises slightly. Of course, to this body, it is no more than a single grain of sand fallen in the desert. Even so, it is quite an entertaining toy.”
I gave my evaluation in a relaxed, boastful voice.
That alone was already plenty impressive.
But one function remained that I was even more excited to see.
‘If I swing it in reverse, it summons the dead, right?’
I turned the dagger upside down and swung it powerfully once more.
Kwaaang—!
This time, a black magic circle was inscribed on the floor of the training room, and a massive figure rose from within it.
An undead knight clad in pitch-black armor, blue light flashing from within its helmet.
‘A Death Knight?!’
It was a summon with exactly that sort of feel.
[……. ]
Without saying a word, it knelt before me while gripping a heavy greatsword.
Honestly, I was quite startled inwardly by its overwhelming presence.
But before long, I felt that I could control the creature however I pleased.
‘Damn, that’s cool.’
I admired it inwardly and ordered it to swing its greatsword.
Whoosh—!
As soon as the command was given, the Death Knight thrust its sword toward the empty air.
The sound of the blade slicing through the wind rang throughout the training room.
“Hmm. Its movements are fairly decent for an undead creature. At this level, it should perform admirably as a shield.”
I moved it a few more times and even showed it cutting down summoned monster illusions.
Goblin, one-hit kill.
Griffin, one-hit kill.
Giant orc, one-hit kill.
As befitted a Death Knight, it was incredibly powerful.
‘This should do.’
I had shown enough, so I decided to wrap up the video naturally.
I dismissed the Death Knight and put the dagger away before pressing the stop-recording button.
I opened my gallery to check whether the video had been filmed properly.
The luxurious appearance of the dagger, the visual effect of its amplified magic,
and the overwhelming Death Knight that appeared at the end.
Everything had been captured perfectly on video.
“As expected of this body!”
Feeling proud, I immediately logged into the Climber Community and wrote a post.
[Title: A Tribute Obtained from the Tower’s New Difficulty.]
[Author: True Ancestor]
I came up with that title….
Video attached and uploaded.
There. This should draw aggro for sure, right?
With the impact of a Death Knight summon, everyone would be utterly stunned.
‘Could the progress jump by 20 or 30 percent all at once?’
The corners of my mouth rose involuntarily.
Normally, the number should only rise by hunting powerful monsters or clashing fiercely with powerful people, but apparently I could clear the quest with a single click on a community post from my room.
Isn’t this too much of a freebie?
I hit refresh, my expectations swelling.
Recommendations rapidly piled up, and comments began appearing.
But then.
- Wowww, did True Ancestor-nim’s voice just drop?!
- Crazy, an extreme close-up of True Ancestor-nim’s hand ㄷㄷ
- Wakya-pyah-heok, long-legged vamp ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
- Ah ㅋㅋ There’s no way I can resist Baby True Ancestor-nim’s vlog ㅋㅋ
‘…….’
No, look at the dagger and Death Knight, not me?!