Chapter 175
The area near the Daejeon Tower was quiet.
Unlike other areas, there were no guards catching unlicensed hunters, and no food stalls.
Mainly because Daejeon didn't have many hunters to begin with.
But today was different from usual.
“When is Kim Hanbyeol coming out?”
“Looks like she comes out of that weird-looking tunnel over there.”
“Where does the tunnel lead? We could just look there instead.”
“Jung Manho’s house. You can’t get near that area. They’ve got it tightly cordoned off.”
“What about her teammates? She must have a team, right? Why can’t we see anyone?”
“Step back!”
Reporters and onlookers. Even the police controlling them.
A large crowd had gathered in the vacant lot near the tower.
Judging by the situation, they were waiting for me to appear.
“What is this…?”
Nothing like this had ever happened before.
To begin with, no one even cared when I went into the tower.
Even if there had been, it would have been hard to observe.
I always went in whenever I felt like it, without warning.
“Looks like this time I was too obvious.”
The government had announced my identity, and it was also public knowledge that I was the ruler of Daejeon.
On top of that, Japan and China had also announced just a few minutes earlier that they were going after Floor 50.
So it was only natural that I would make some kind of move too.
Their attention had no choice but to focus here.
“Good thing I told them in advance.”
Asking Chairman Park to send personnel was a good choice.
I could see the police effectively blocking people from getting close.
The reporters were unable to enter the vacant lot around the tower.
“Still, this makes me a little uneasy….”
Even so, I was still worried.
Someone fearless might be secretly hiding nearby.
I made myself invisible with a mirage and stood before the tower.
But that alone wasn't enough.
What if I came out of the tower after clearing it?
Would I still be invisible? I didn't think so.
Maybe the reward would fall from the sky like last time with the whale.
If that happened, it wouldn't just be a matter of revealing my face; people could get hurt.
It would be a true disaster.
“I should block it off for a little while.”
Tap, tap.
As I lightly tapped the ground with my staff, the earth surged upward.
The reporters were startled as the ground suddenly began to shake.
“W-what? An earthquake?”
“It’s Kim Hanbyeol! It’s magic!”
A few quick-witted people seemed to guess it was me.
Rumble-rumble-rumble!
A massive wall rose up, separating me from the people.
A wall that completely enclosed the vacant lot around the tower.
At this size, it would perfectly hide me even if I came out of the tower.
And at the same time, it would protect them.
“It’s a wall!”
“They said she was already S-rank level, and it’s true….”
“Doesn’t this drain her strength?”
I could hear the reporters outside murmuring.
Drain my strength? Not at all.
At this point, this was nothing more than a warm-up.
But I couldn't afford to let my guard down.
I kept myself reasonably tense as I stepped into the tower.
***
[You have entered Floor 50 (EXTREME).]
When I opened my eyes, I was in the same underwater temple as before.
The temple I had thoroughly demolished.
On its floor, the cracks left behind after the octopus died were still visible.
It was still a peculiar place that gave me a slight headache just from looking at it.
“Captain, you’ve arrived?”
Outside the temple, a familiar ship floated there.
It was Teach and the ghost ship.
“Are we finally going?”
“If we just take care of this, we can go back outside…!”
The crew also rushed out, each adding a comment.
The place quickly became bustling.
It seemed they had already finished preparing for battle perfectly.
They had all put their clothes back on, and each was armed.
Having confirmed that they wouldn't die now, they seemed even more confident than usual.
“You’re well prepared.”
“Of course. This time, shouldn’t we help from the very start?”
Teach answered confidently.
I looked at them for a moment, then suddenly thought this might be close to the end.
Since there were no flags left now, some degree of selection was necessary.
“What are you going to do after this battle?”
“Huh? Why are you asking that all of a sudden…?”
“Just curious.”
Teach thought for a moment at my words, then soon smiled warmly.
“Well. Now that we won't die, I guess we should sail every sea in the world. We'll become the Pirate King.”
“I’m planning to get married!”
“I just want to drink on the ship.”
The crew, not to be outdone, started talking about their own dreams.
Anyone could tell those were obvious death flags.
I scolded them for no reason.
“If you say things like that, you’ll die early.”
“Ah, we know. The guy who talks about home or family before a fight always kicks it first.”
“Then why are you saying it?”
“Because it feels like we won't die anymore….”
I let out a small laugh in disbelief.
“Yeah, that does sound fun.”
I nodded.
It wasn't time to say goodbye yet.
Someday, we'd meet again.
We could part with smiles after clearing the 50th floor.
I turned my gaze and looked at the crack.
The gap left behind when the high priest, turned into a pitiful octopus, burst apart and died.
Ominous energy was still spilling out of it.
I approached it.
[50th Floor EXTREME Quest: Gaze of the Abyss]
[Warning! Prepare yourself thoroughly.]
“A quest?”
It was a word I had never seen once while climbing the tower.
In my memory, the tower had always been straightforward.
A simple, brutish format where you just beat the enemy in front of you to death.
There had been a brief variation around the 30th floor, but even then there wasn't much difference.
And now it was suddenly a quest?
I swallowed nervously.
Then another message appeared.
[The Tower Spirit cannot enter.]
[Only the climber themselves can enter.]
“Hmm….”
Forced solo play, huh.
This was another unexpected alert.
Floor 50 was different from the previous floors in many ways. The system was getting more and more bizarre.
It wasn't a good sign.
“Teach, all of you need to wait here.”
“Weren’t we supposed to die together?”
“What are you talking about? If you're going to die, die alone.”
Teach nodded as if he had no choice.
“Then this time we’ll just cheer you on. Please make sure you win!”
“Don’t worry.”
Still, I wasn't too worried.
I was fully prepared.
Without hesitation, I reached my hand toward the crack.
The moment my fingertips touched the darkness, a powerful suction dragged me in.
It felt similar to when I entered the tower.
[Achievement Unlocked: Ancient Gate Usage]
[Mana: + 500]
My vision turned pure white, then dark again.
I slowly opened my eyes.
“Space…?”
In the endless expanse of darkness, countless stars were twinkling.
The space below my feet was just as dark, yet I could stand upright as if there were a platform, and gravity still worked.
A strange feeling.
“Where's the boss?”
But the enemy still wasn't visible.
All I could see were stars and darkness.
Then that status window, which I'd seen who knows how many times today, appeared again.
[Quest: Survival]
[Time Limit: 1 minute]
[From afar, the ruler gazes upon you.]
[Time until the gaze reaches you: 10 seconds]
“Hold out for just one minute?”
I doubted my eyes for a moment.
Just one minute?
That was far too short for a boss fight.
Could it be the being the high priest had mentioned?
A chill ran down my spine.
My instincts warned me. This was absolutely not someone to underestimate.
[10]
[9]
“… I don't have time for this.”
I hurriedly dumped the items out of my pockets.
The attack-reflecting mirror I had taken from Japan.
The death-preventing charm imbued with Turtle King's grudge.
Five top-grade healing potions.
I also stuck the White Whale Bone Staff and the World Tree Root Staff on either side so I could grab them at any time.
[6]
[5]
[4]
My heart pounded harder as the countdown ticked down.
I dumped out the spare sand I’d crammed into my pockets as far as they would hold.
A pile of sand the size of a car built up in an instant.
[3]
[2]
“Phew….”
I can feel it. Something is coming.
Something is approaching.
An enemy I still couldn't take on yet.
I gripped my staff tightly with both hands and waited for whatever would appear before me.
[1]
[0]
The moment the count reached 0.
[Time Remaining: 59 seconds]
The moment the timer appeared, I locked eyes with something enormous from the far side of space.
No, "locked eyes" was a strange way to put it.
You can't exactly make eye contact with the sun.
But I felt that thing was an “eye.”
The distance was hundreds of millions of light-years.
A distance that should have made observation impossible in the first place.
But no physical law mattered when it came to making eye contact with it.
Because what mattered was the concept of “seeing.”
That being was made entirely of concepts.
My breath caught in my throat.
An existence beyond my understanding.
I steadied my fading mind.
“I can do this…!”
I can win. If it were an ordeal I couldn't overcome, it wouldn't have been given to me in the first place.
And then, the very next moment after I had gathered my resolve.
Pop—!
Suddenly, my surroundings changed.
There was no space, and no colossal gaze.
More than anything, that heavy presence had vanished completely.
In an instant, as if nothing had happened at all.
“W-what?”
I looked around.
Asphalt on the ground.
And all around me, the huge earthen wall I had just made.
It was a familiar sight. I was outside the tower.
“What?”
There was no way a full minute had passed.
What on earth was going on?
That was when it happened.
I heard cheers from the crowd.
“The 50th floor clear just popped up!”
“Already? It hasn't even been a minute since she went in!”
“Ms. Kim Hanbyeol! Please give us an interview!”
“Please step back!”
Clear? Who? Me?
I was dumbfounded.
I couldn't even begin to guess what had happened.
“What in the world….”
And then, the next moment.
Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding!
Status windows popped up wildly before my eyes.
Status windows flooding my vision like pop-up ads.
Pure visual terror.
“What the hell!”
I strained myself to read them one by one.
[Warning! Abnormal access detected!]
「Nothing abnormal.」
[Congratulations on clearing Floor 50 EXTREME difficulty!]
[You have accomplished an impossible feat.]
[Achievement Unlocked: Survive for 1 hour under the Watcher's gaze.]
[Reward: Mana +1000]
[Recalculating clear rewards….]
“What? One hour?”
It felt like less than a second had passed.
Besides, didn't the reporters outside clearly say only five minutes had passed?
[First-clear bonus applied!]
[Achievement calculation complete.]
[Reward calculation complete.]
[A very special reward will be granted.]
[Reward: Black Tower Cataclysm Big Bang Patch.]
[Warning! Get away from the tower!]
At the same time, the Black Tower in front of me began to vibrate ominously.