050. Manager (2)
「The dungeon boss, ‘The Maw of Blue Fear’ has died.」
「The dungeon boss will no longer appear.」 「The dungeon will
collapse after 3 hours.」
I wiped the blood from my face with my sleeve.
There was blood all over his body, not just his face, but he couldn’t wipe it all off.
‘I had to leave the stone of cleanliness at home…’
It was a bit complicated to see that the clothes were dirty due to the battle that was not as clean as I thought.
Of course, I decided to put the significance of having finished the hunt safely.
‘If I didn’t have the Mind’s Eye skill, I might have been pretty injured instead of just a costume.’
Even if he had a high-speed regeneration skill, he couldn’t be careless.
If it was not the boss monster who just attacked out of sight, but the monster in the tower…
‘It must have been seriously injured.’
It was an attack I hadn’t thought of, but I had to think over the fight and improve my weaknesses.
After wiping the blood off my face and thinking about it, I approached the dungeon boss and collected the corpse.
「Absorbs the spirit of the Maw of Darkness.」
「Proficiency increases by 22%.」
As a bonus, I put the corpse in the subspace bag and absorbed the spirit of the dungeon boss.
‘Is this the end?’
It seemed that the dungeon raid was over for now.
I killed quite a bit of the flame angler outside and also killed the dungeon boss inside…
Even the dungeon collapsed soon, so I didn’t think I’d see anything else in the dungeon.
But…
“….”
Even while I was moving like that, Lee Ha-yeon just stood there blankly.
I tilted my head as I saw Lee Ha-yeon muttering in disbelief,
“What the hell is this…” as if not knowing
what just happened .
It was the same as before, and it is the same now…
The current reaction Lee Ha-yeon shows is to the extent that I think it is excessive.
‘I’m sure you’ve seen as many as you’ve come up to the 8th floor…’
But the problem is that all those reactions aren’t fake, they’re sincere.
why?
I doubted it for a moment, but I didn’t have to ponder it.
That would be the case….
“If you’re a normal hard difficulty challenger, wouldn’t this be enough?”
Because there is someone in front of me who can answer my questions.
“…no. Even on hard difficulty, there will be a limited number of people who can do this.”
“Even if everyone’s trials are different, most of them have done this level in individual trials, right?”
“You’re kidding…?”
“I am serious.”
“…”
Lee Ha-yeon was taken aback by my answer, then opened her mouth.
“You can do this a few times, and everyone will stay on the top of the table. Most of the time, it’s impossible to overwhelm such a strong monster.”
is it?
‘I don’t know…’
The Tower of Trials is not a good place.
At first glance, it seems like a friendly system with difficulty adjustments, but the essence is a challenge.
You have to overcome the trials that always test your limits and you have to take risks.
Those who cannot do so cannot survive, and those who can become stronger.
That was the truth I learned while adapting to the Tower of Trials.
‘Only those who can do that can have the reward.’
It’s not that the Tower of Trials said ‘Hard Difficulty’ for nothing.
It is several times more difficult than other difficulties, and it is difficult because you always put your life on the balance and struggle.
However, it was disconcerting that so few people could do this.
As I looked at Lee Ha-yeon as if I didn’t know, the answer came back soon.
“Even on hard difficulty, personal trials are not constant.”
“I know.”
That was something I knew.
Everyone had to break through trials with different contents for each individual in each ordeal.
“Those who don’t do well in trials don’t get very good rewards when they pass.”
“Yes. There will be no such thing as additional compensation.”
“It’s no coincidence that people like that were able to survive in the tower.”
“…?”
“For those who do not perform well in trials, the level of subsequent trials is adjusted.”
“What is that…”
“It’s good to say that it’s certain because the statistics were released through the challengers we’ve recruited so far.”
Having said that, Lee Ha-yeon continued to explain.
“So let me explain…”
To put it simply, Lee Ha-yeon explained it like this.
Even on the easy difficulty level, those who have broken through the ordeal with a grade that complies with the ordeal become more and more difficult as the
ordeal rises.
There was even a gradual change in the propensity of the ordeal in terms of disposition and characteristics.
“That was the case with me. The ordeal has changed from combat to something like navigating a labyrinth and finding an exit. The same goes for the trial level.”
Of course, the ordeal is difficult as it is a hard difficulty, but it is different from the previous one.
“Hmm…”
“On the contrary, the challenger with better grades will have more difficult trials and will be specialized in combat.”
“And at the same time, the ordeal rewards will be better.”
“I can’t give statistics on hard challengers, but… I think I will.”
“After all, if the trial results are not good on Hard difficulty, the difficulty is adjusted.”
That also meant that I passed all the trials well and the difficulty level went up.
It was embarrassing, but it wasn’t all bad.
Anyway, the fact that the reward has also increased means that the ordeal has changed to be more suitable for growth.
“What Sungyoon Han just did is a skill that only rankers in the top 50 can do.”
In other words, it is special among the hard difficulty challengers.
“As such, the more trials you pass, the stronger Han Seong-yoon will become. Now, in the Tower of Trials, there are only those who sincerely climb the tower.”
Most of them are returning to reality by buying hearthstones.
Therefore, it is interpreted that those who climb the tower have the will to do so.
Soon I nodded and opened my mouth.
“…okay.”
“Of course, the risk of the ordeal will increase as well. So I want you to be more careful.”
“…?”
“I want to see Han Seong-yoon grow and become stronger by my side for a longer period of time.”
Then Lee Ha-yeon smiled bashfully and continued.
“Not just as a contractor, but as a hunter.”
“…I know what you’re worried about. But don’t worry.”
Just as the challengers had a desire to climb the tower, so did I.
He gives back what he suffered and does not yield to anyone if he wants something.
It was something I had been determined to do for a long time.
“As much as the other challengers become vicious, so will I.”
“That is fortunate. So let’s go now The dungeon will collapse soon.”
At that, I nodded and followed Lee Ha-yeon as she left the boss room.
It was the moment when the final schedule of the second return was completed.
***
After clearing the dungeon of Mt. Cheonbo…
I spent the rest of the day normally without going in and out of the dungeon in my own way.
「The Hunter Association announced that the ‘Tower of Trials’ was an incalculable calamity, and
it became a hot topic…」 「What is the Tower of Trials? A stepping stone for life reversal that even ordinary people can awaken to?”
“It is said that challengers of easy and normal difficulties have been secured…”
There were quite a few things to do, such as finding out various information about the Tower of Trials.
Also ….
「Bank account balance – 1.23263 billion won」
“It really came in….”
It was confirmed that all the money earned during the return was deposited.
It was obtained not only by selling the right to occupy the gate, but also by selling by-products of monsters such as magic stones.
‘There’s a lot more money coming in than I thought.’
Even if he had the right to occupy the gate, the money he earned with magic stones was pretty good.
Obviously, if you work as a hunter, you will earn more money than this.
But…
‘I can’t just stop here.’
It would be foolish to stop here when you could be stronger.
Climb the tower of trials and climb again and become stronger.
That was what I was aiming for, so I couldn’t give up.
It was then.
“?”
Burr…!
My smartphone, placed next to my desk, vibrated, notifying me of a text message.
With no one to contact, it was obvious who the owner of the message was.
‘Lee Ha-yeon must be the team leader.’
And that prediction was immediately met.
“The proof of credentials for using the Silver Guild dungeon has been completed. From now on, Seongyoon Han will be able to use the dungeon whenever he wants.”
“Oh.”
It was good news to hear.
‘Now I don’t have to worry about where I can use the dungeon every time I return.’
Soon, I sent a reply saying that I know with a smile.
And a text saying that I will return to the tower soon, so I don’t have to worry if it disappears.
Regarding him, Lee Ha-yeon answered briefly as much as he knew.
“I’ll be waiting for you, so please call me anytime when you get back.
”
Now, the ‘waiting time’ is gone.
In other words, it means that it is possible to challenge trials at any time.
As such, I had no intention of stopping climbing in the middle.
So soon I would hit the limit, and then I would return to reality.
‘I’ll be back soon, so I won’t keep you waiting for a long time.’
Of course…
“That’ll be a story later, too.”
“We will return to the Tower of Trials in 5 minutes.”
As before, I slowly prepared myself for the message that it was time to go back.
I waited for the remaining time to end while wearing all the things I had brought back to reality…
「Time is over.」
「Return to the Tower of Trials.」
As soon as those messages came to my mind, the scenery around me changed.
“…”
When I opened my eyes, I was transported from a small studio to a familiar waiting room.
‘It’s the second time, so I’m quite used to it.’
Without feeling any special emotion, I immediately issued the command.
“test.”
“Will you accept the trial on the 8th floor?”
Before responding to the message, I took a peek at my equipment.
It’s a bit unsettling, but I felt that this level was enough to challenge the 8th floor trials.
‘Well, I’ve grown quite a bit outside, so I don’t have to worry about it.’
There was nothing to worry about as he had grown by absorbing the spirits of all kinds of monsters.
Subsequently, I immediately affirmed the message asking if I would accept the ordeal.
But…
the moment I prepare to move thinking about the portal that will appear soon.
「Select the turning point of the ordeal」
「narrative」
「battle」
「strategy」
“…?”
Suddenly, options came to my mind asking me to choose a branching point.
‘what?’
I was taken aback for a moment, but that was only for a moment.
‘Come to think of it, I heard that there will be a system called a junction.’
What came to mind was one of the systems added upon reaching the 8th floor.
Of course, I had thought about this in the past, so the choice was quick.
「I have chosen the turning point of the ‘battle’.
」 「All challenger Han Seong
-yoon
‘s individual trials are focused on ‘battle’.
」
I just wanted to quickly check the newly acquired skills.
By the way…
「Contender Han Seong-yoon has the qualifications of a ‘pioneer’.」
Something was strange.
“…?”
Instead of going straight into the ordeal, other messages came to mind. “The
manager
interview begins.
”
It was clearly the one who had shown his presence once in the Tower before.
Freezing the chat room and answering questions, he was always a talkative person among the challengers.
It was completely unexpected for me to have an interview with such an existence.
An interview with the entity that manages the tower…
「Exploration complete.」
「Interview with the ‘Iron-Blooded Lord’, the manager of the battle fork, begins.
」
