[All difficulties have completed the 6th floor.]
[The Tower summons new climbers.]
[A new rule has been added.]
[The Masked Auction will be held in 24 hours.]
[When the ti cos, 100 climbers who have cleared the 6th floor will be randomly invited to the Masked Auction.]
[Ti Remaining: 23 hours 59 minutes 50 seconds]
I was transported to the Reward Room.
I checked the ssages that appeared next.
What now?
Since the 5th floor wasn’t really a clear-type floor, I’d half wondered if the 6th would skip the new rule, but apparently not.
Was a new rule going to pop up every other even-numbered floor without fail?
‘Masked Auction?’
Climbers who had cleared the 6th floor… in other words, 100 climbers from the 7th floor and above would be randomly invited to this so-called Masked Auction.
…An invitation, aning we’d be transported sowhere?
And why an auction out of nowhere?
What was the Tower up to this ti?
Setting aside what I’d find out in 24 hours anyway, I checked my rewards.
A rare-grade skill stone… and an item.
Huh. Wasn’t this the first ti an item had co as a reward outside of a hidden clear?
A pair of earrings set with erald-toned gems.
I checked the item info.
[Item: Rosalia’s Earrings]
Earrings cherished by Rosalia, eldest daughter of a noble house. Increases willpower by 20%.
An item with a simple effect: a willpower boost.
“…A dud.”
Useless to , though.
20% was actually a pretty significant boost, but for soone like with effectively unlimited willpower, it ant nothing.
I tossed it straight into Subspace.
Next, the skill stone.
The item was a dud, so let this one at least roll a good magic-type skill.
[Skill: Sword of Light (Rare )]
Compresses the power of light within a 1-ter radius to summon a sword. Requires 50 seconds of ntal Concentration to cast. By consuming additional willpower, the Sword of Light can be detonated. Requires 100 seconds of ntal Concentration to cast.
Classification: Magic Type
Willpower Consumption: 20 per second / 300
Cooldown: 5 minutes after detonation
“Nice.”
Magic-type, right out of the gate!
Reading the description… it was a pretty unusual skill.
A magic skill that summoned a sword?
[‘Skill: Sword of Light (Rare )’ acquired.]
I acquired it on the spot and tried it out.
Whoooosh.
The mont I activated the skill, golden light gathered and condensed into the shape of a sword in my hand.
Just as the na suggested, a sword made of pure light.
I gripped it and gave it a swing.
Far lighter than an ordinary iron sword. There was almost no perceptible weight at all…
“Oh.”
When I dragged the blade across the floor.
It glided through the stone smoothly, with no resistance whatsoever.
Pretty powerful, huh…?
It felt like wielding sword aura.
From here on out, I could just summon the Sword of Light whenever I needed a weapon.
Since this one also drained willpower per second, it was a skill I could keep going indefinitely.
‘And it had a self-destruct on top of that.’
Looking at the description, the cooldown wasn’t a flat 5 minutes, but 5 minutes after detonation…
Which seed to an I could summon and dismiss it freely with no cooldown, as long as I didn’t blow it up.
How destructive was the explosion, I wondered?
I’d test that later. Setting it off in the Reward Room would be a bit much.
[Difficulty: Nightmare]
[Floor: 7]
[Level: 80]
[Willpower: 3,600]
[Skills: Destruction Ray (Epic ), Subspace (Epic), Sixth Sense (Rare )( 2), Teleportation (Rare ), Rapid Regeneration (Rare ), Scorching Zone (Rare ), Sword of Light (Rare ), Fla Strike (Rare)( 5), Lightning Strike (Rare)( 1), Blade Storm (Rare), Exaltation (Rare), Skin Hardening (Rare), Fairy Light Bullet (Normal )( 1), Minor Poison Resistance (Normal ), Minor Burn Resistance (Normal ), Low-Tier Frost Resistance (Normal ), Leap (Normal)( 2)…]
Before I knew it, my level had hit 80.
And my willpower had cleared 3,000.
Counting the 5th floor level reward, that was a jump of 20 levels in one go compared to before I entered the 6th floor.
I’d be hitting level 100 before long.
[Nightmare]
Climbers: 378,821
Ti Limit: 1 year 20 days 4 hours 8 minutes 16 seconds
Reached Floor: 7
Anyway, I’d bought humanity another year.
By the ti I’d reached the 6th floor, even this had started to feel routine.
More than relief, the first thought to surface was: would I be able to clear the 7th floor too…?
“Diul.”
I called Diul out.
Hands down, the star of this 6th floor clear was Diul.
Sure, Plli had worked hard holding the line, but if Diul hadn’t stepped up at the very end, I would’ve definitely failed.
If I’d used the Scales of Life, how would things have turned out, I wondered…
“Diul?”
Diul squird out of the bracelet.
I was startled at the sight. Huh?
Diul, who had originally been a round little blob… had taken on a human form.
Not literally human, but the silhouette.
Reminiscent of a tiny fairy.
“…Diul? What happened?”
Back on the 3rd floor, when Concealnt had been unlocked, the shape had shifted slightly too…
Was unlocking a new ability triggering another sort of evolution?
Looking exhausted, Diul fluttered restlessly around my head.
‘Idiot!’
A voice rang out in my head.
“…!”
I jumped.
We’d shared emotions before, but Diul had never expressed thoughts this clearly.
No, wait, co to think of it, during that last Sub-Tower clear… Diul had spoken to , hadn’t they?
Though since it was inside a dream, my mory of it wasn’t sharp.
‘Idiot! Dummy!’
After grumbling like that, Diul disappeared back into the bracelet.
How fascinating…
Could we communicate properly now?
Diul seed pretty disgruntled. Probably because of how much they’d had to push themselves on my account.
‘…Idiot!’
Either way, I could feel just how exhausted they were, so I let them rest.
I should rest too…
Before exiting, I called out into the air.
“Cleared it, you bastard.”
Next ti, co at with a better offer.
If you want to stop from challenging that badly.
I left snickering to myself.
*
[ParallelUniverse: There’s no way he’d actually pick the Ark, right? Right?]
[Sandor: How would I know. You never know]
[Sunlight: Should I actually be looking at flights to Korea right now…?]
[Monster: I’m Korean lmao jealous?]
[Cinnamon: The Ark’s range is only a 3km radius, dumbass. You think Person123 lets you in just cause you’re Korean?]
[Krzysztof: I’m telling you, no way he picks the Ark. Do you still not know Person123?]
After the Tower delivered its second offer to Person123.
The world was in turmoil and chaos.
People kept telling themselves he wouldn’t, yet they fretted that maybe Person123 would actually choose the Ark; so moved fast, scrambling to get to Korea right away.
The powerful, of course, moved faster still.
“For the ti being, why don’t you head to Korea? All the preparations are in place.”
Xiao Lin spoke up.
Ye Tianwei, calligraphing with a serene expression, gave no reply. Xiao Lin tried again.
“If Person123 prioritizes the certain survival of humanity, he may well choose the Ark, Master Tianwei. So…”
Ye Tianwei laughed as though he’d heard sothing quite amusing.
“He will not choose the Ark.”
“…Who could possibly be certain of that?”
“Only ordinary n who fail to understand him would lack such certainty. That is why the world is, once again, in such an uproar over a trivial matter.”
“…”
“Person123 will challenge the 6th floor as he always has. Because…”
It was at that mont.
[The Tower’s offer has been invalidated.]
The ssage appeared before both n at once.
Xiao Lin started.
The Tower’s offer being invalidated ant… that Person123 had ignored the offer and entered the 6th floor.
Ye Tianwei wasn’t surprised in the slightest. His eyes widened only slightly before he turned them away from the ssage and resud his brushwork.
“Because he is humanity’s true savior. And he will succeed this ti as well.”
Chao Fan Ru Sheng Ji Shi (超凡入聖濟世). [TL: “Transcend the ordinary, enter sainthood, save the world.”]
Completing the calligraphy he had been writing, Ye Tianwei smiled in satisfaction.
anwhile, there was another who was certain Person123 would not choose the Ark.
The mont Bilon saw the ssage that the Tower’s offer had been invalidated, he let out a small sigh.
“Mr. Kim has entered…”
Ellen, standing beside him, nodded with a grim expression.
They had t Person123, Kim Seo-hyeon, in person several tis.
Not long ago, they had even shared a al and exchanged so genuinely candid words, so by now they understood.
That in the end, he was just one ordinary person.
If he chose the Ark, he wouldn’t have to keep risking his life on these climbs.
Most of humanity would die, true, but he could save everyone precious to him, family included, and choose peace from there on. He could live like the king of a new world.
And yet he had set all of that aside and chosen to challenge once more.
He was a savior. If they had once believed it because of his abilities, they no longer believed it for that reason alone.
Bilon could only pray. For the safe return of humanity’s savior. That he would pull through this ti too.
[Hydra: Person123 entered!]
[Sprint: He really entered? You sure he hasn’t yet?]
[Ruiba: It said the offer gets invalidated when you enter, so… pretty sure he’s in?]
[Rocks: Knew it! Had faith!]
[SolarFlare: This isn’t the ti to celebrate. Everyone start praying, fast]
After Person123 rejected the Tower’s offer.
The world that had been in chaos suddenly seed to fall silent.
– It appears Person123 has rejected the Tower’s offer and entered the 6th floor. Several hours earlier than during his 4th floor challenge…
People felt relief. And then, holding their breath, they prayed.
[Darkness: Alejandro failed, but he’ll pull through… right? Please]
[Kakadtika: Person123 and Alejandro aren’t the sa. Just trust him and wait]
[Boorang: Yeah, the only one who can do a first clear is Person123]
It was all the more pronounced because Alejandro, dubbed the super rookie, had failed only the day before.
A long stretch of ti passed. Longer than the 4th floor clear had taken.
Just as the blood was draining from people’s faces, a ssage appeared.
[All difficulties have completed the 6th floor.]
A ssage announcing success.
The Communication Channel exploded first.
[Rainbow: Cleared!]
[ChocolateChipCookie: Humanity, one more year extended…!]
[Bonda: Thank you so fucking muuuuuch! Person123!]
[Splendor: How hard was it this ti…? It keeps taking longer and longer]
[Pigeon: Ahh, his grace knows no end. Convert to the Church of Person123, all of you.]
– Person123 has rejected the Tower’s offer and once again saved all of humanity. To his noble choice, our reverence and gratitude…
[The Tower summons new climbers.]
[A new rule has been added.]
[The Masked Auction will be held in 24 hours.]
[When the ti cos, 100 climbers who have cleared the 6th floor will be randomly invited to the Masked Auction.]
[Ti Remaining: 23 hours 56 minutes 1 second]
anwhile, the Tower’s new rule had appeared, as inevitable as ever.
But sothing about it felt distinctly different from before.
Talk of an auction, of climbers being invited sowhere, left people curious. And uneasy.
[Goblin: Masked Auction? What’s it trying to pull this ti]
[Topur: It starts in 24 hours?]
[Crown: Whatever it is, doesn’t sound like it’ll be good]
[Alien: Oh shit, I’m a 7th floor climber. There’s no way I get picked, right?]
In any case, the world had bought another year.
In the streets, in hos, in workplaces, everywhere, the cheers of overjoyed people poured out.
Read more chapters on my Patreon: /DDTL
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