Chapter 241
The Demon Lord Jiangshi he had created was clearly stationed on the 80th floor.
Yet bright light seeped out from the 80th floor, signaling its clearance.
The real problem came next.
An 81st floor—which originally did not exist—was newly “created,” and as if that weren’t enough, it was happening faster.
Swoooooosh!
…It spewed forth light.
Even if floors above the 80th existed, the pace of clearing should normally slow as one ascended.
Instead, it accelerated.
A situation even Anton hadn’t anticipated.
“A cheater… He must have cheated. There’s no other explanation for an 81st floor I never set suddenly appearing.”
That was the only answer he could offer.
That a “cheater” was clearing the floors by exploiting a loophole in the Creation Abyss.
He simply couldn’t explain it any other way—that another anomaly occurred because it wasn’t cleared through normal means.
“So you’re saying there was a flaw in the Mystic Tower that you weren’t aware of? And the one climbing the tower now is exploiting that flaw?”
“Th-that…!”
Under Gang Si-chan’s forceful questioning, Anton quickly shook his head.
But he was already a step too late.
It only served to reveal his own incompetence.
Gang Si-chan stroked his chin.
‘Not climbing the tower through normal means, huh.’
One of the two climbing the tower had given up on the 73rd floor.
At least that guy seemed to have climbed through normal means.
He’d quit after seeing the demon turned into a Jiangshi, disgusted by it.
Anyway, having seen a Demon Jiangshi, he could pose a threat to the Undead Sect.
If that guy carelessly opened his mouth, they would have to resolve the situation—even if it meant abandoning Anton.
Still, it was fine.
They could somehow cover things up to that point.
The greatest ordeal would be when the “Demon Lord Jiangshi” was discovered.
Because it was something Anton could never have done alone.
The Undead Sect would inevitably be implicated, and in the worst case, it would come back as a major blow to the sect itself.
‘It would be better if it were a cheater after all.’
Thinking about it, that was more plausible.
A tower where the difficulty increases exponentially the higher you go.
To climb beyond the 80th floor of that…
‘Wait.’
A sudden thought made Gang Si-chan look at the man who had exited the tower—Chiwoo.
He’d momentarily forgotten due to the one currently climbing the tower, but was it even possible to reach the 73rd floor through normal means?
That tower also contained Demon Jiangshi created directly by the Undead Sect.
The combat power of a Demon Jiangshi was on a level incomparable to ordinary Jiangshi.
Defeating one was not easy even for the mid-level masters of the Undead Sect.
But…
‘His breathing is calm. He also has almost no injuries.’
The man’s condition was exceedingly composed.
Not a single beat of his breathing was disturbed.
If he had engaged in a fierce battle, his clothes should at least be disheveled, but from head to toe, he was spotless without a speck of dust.
There was a faint scar on the back of his hand, but even that seemed to have already regenerated.
Meaning he dealt with the Demon Jiangshi with ease.
The flow of his internal energy, his gaze, and his posture as well.
‘A master.’
He was undoubtedly a master in the true sense.
Which made it all the more puzzling.
‘…A master of that level is from a Hidden Realm?’
It should be impossible to produce a master of that level using only the martial arts of a Hidden Realm.
Current martial arts were on a different dimension compared to the old ways.
Moreover, he didn’t look very old either.
He looked to be at most around his own age…
Whoooosh!
Whooooooosh!
Light continuously seeped out.
New floors were being created and cleared in a maddening repetition.
‘You bastard. Just how far do you plan to climb?’
By now, just watching it was enough to make him sick.
“Kuhaha! As expected of the Successor! He’s on a different level.”
That was when it happened.
The man who had exited the tower first laughed heartily.
…Successor.
Was there someone in the Hidden Realm worthy of being called “Successor”?
Above all, even the Arahan from the Hidden Realm seemed to be seeing that man for the first time.
Just who was he?
The one who climbed the mountain accompanied by such a master.
For Gang Si-chan—one of the Nine Family Tradition Holders, collectively called the “Nine Dragons,” who feared nothing in the world—it had been a long time since someone had sparked this much curiosity in him.
If the one currently climbing the tower were to exit safely.
Even if he were said to be a cheater.
‘All hell would break loose.’
The families trying to recruit him would be overflowing.
The Undead Sect had to make a choice.
They absolutely had to recruit him for the Undead Sect, or else…
‘He must be killed.’
===
[You have hunted the 80th floor “Demon Lord Jiangshi,” triggering the “Hidden Piece.”]
[You have entered an unknown domain!]
[From the 81st floor onward, the “True Master of the Cradle” appears.]
[The “True Master of the Cradle” regenerates when destroyed and revives on the next floor.]
[However, the time the “True Master of the Cradle” can revive is 3 hours.]
[Fever Time!]
[Reach the maximum floor within 3 hours.]
[After 3 hours, the Mystic Tower will vanish.]
[Additional rewards will be given based on the floor reached.]
Killing the Creator of the Cradle was not the end.
That bastard had created another domain behind itself.
But the time given was only 3 hours.
‘3 hours is enough.’
Park Chan-woo’s entire body turned pitch black like a Shadow.
It was the state of the Absolute Being.
The set effect of Baal’s Sword and Baal’s Belt.
Until now, he couldn’t activate it because the conditions weren’t met, but upon facing the Creator of the Cradle, it became possible.
He couldn’t be sure if directly confronting the Creator was the activation condition, but thanks to it, he could climb the tower even more easily.
True Master of the Cradle.
The goat with a sword the size of a giant mountain.
It emitted massive curses and constricted his entire body with fearsome Mana, but—
‘Plenty of room.’
Even so, its Level still hadn’t reached 30.
Unknown domain. Even after the 81st floor, the opponent’s Level increased by 1 each time.
Of course, it was a final boss–grade monster on a different dimension from an ordinary Level 30.
But Park Chan-woo smiled.
He was endlessly curious to see just how far he could go.
===
Exactly 3 hours later.
No more light seeped from the tower.
Instead, something even more astonishing happened.
“Th-the tower…!”
“The tower is gone!”
“What? What happened?”
The tower suddenly evaporated.
What was before their eyes vanished as if it were an illusion.
And in the place where the tower disappeared…
“Successor!”
A man lay collapsed.
It was Park Chan-woo.
The moment Chiwoo discovered the collapsed Park Chan-woo, he hurriedly ran over and supported him.
He seemed to have fainted from exhaustion.
He looked severely emaciated, as if he had burned through his body’s fuel.
It was distinctly different from before he entered the tower.
‘His internal energy is completely empty. He pushed his body to its limit.’
Chiwoo didn’t know what martial art he had used, but it was clear proof that he had used power beyond his limits.
He immediately began tending to Park Chan-woo’s body with his internal energy.
Simultaneously, murmurs erupted from the surroundings.
“That Arahan…”
“Did he perhaps conquer the tower? Completely?”
“If the reason the tower disappeared is really that…”
The Arahan looked at Anton.
The examiner who created and graded the test.
Because they couldn’t know what score he would give.
No, they didn’t even know if giving a score was possible.
A score above Special Top Grade Score didn’t exist, but to anyone seeing it, this result was too superior to be dismissed as a mere “Special Top Grade Score.”
An unknown domain no one had ever reached.
Even that, he had far surpassed!
“……”
Anton was at a loss for words.
So were Gang Si-chan and the other masters of the Undead Sect.
Was it because the one who emerged was so unexpected?
No.
It was because the domain he reached just before the tower disappeared surpassed imagination.
They had only just learned that floors above the 80th existed.
Anton muttered softly.
“The 150th floor…”
===
An emergency meeting was convened.
Lee Sabek, Yula, and Anton stood at the center of the meeting hall.
“Did you sense any private power? For instance, things like demonic power.”
Those clad in black robes like grim reapers asked.
They were the inquisitors who resolved matters of the mountain.
They possessed authority powerful enough to mediate all families, but it was unusual for them to convene a meeting over an incident at the mountain’s entrance.
“I did not sense it at all.”
“There was no demonic interference. Rather, he killed an incarnation.”
“…I don’t know.”
Lee Sabek, Yula, and Anton answered in turn.
The inquisitor looked at Anton and spoke.
“You don’t know?”
“I have no way of knowing what happens inside the tower. However… it seems it wasn’t climbed normally.”
“Is that a certainty? Or a conjecture?”
“It’s a conjecture, but… close to a certainty…”
“If you are not certain, do not answer.”
“…Yes.”
Anton nodded, his body trembling.
The authority and power of the inquisitors were not something someone like Anton could defy.
“Two Special Top Grade Scores. And one Superior Score. The subject ‘Park Chan-woo’ passed the entrance with an unprecedented score. Is there any disagreement in giving this score?”
“None.”
“I judged he sufficiently deserved it.”
“Looking only at the result… yes.”
Anton, who answered last, closed his eyes.
The bastard who climbed to the 150th floor and then made the tower disappear.
He was also the one who gave that bastard the non-existent score of Superior Score.
And yet, he couldn’t let go of his suspicion.
“Finally, did you sense any trace of ‘forbidden martial arts’ from those two?”
“Hmm… There was a trace of a martial art similar to Lion’s Roar being used.”
“Similar to Lion’s Roar, but not Lion’s Roar.”
“…I don’t know.”
The inquisitor looked at Yula, who answered second.
“If not Lion’s Roar, then what?”
“It’s closer to the roar of a beast. Probably an ability possessed by one of the two.”
Yula is a werewolf.
There was no way she couldn’t distinguish a beast’s roar.
The inquisitor nodded.
“Then it seems there is no problem. We permit those two to ascend to the mountain’s ‘mid-slope.’ Furthermore, we permit them entry to all sanctuaries on the mid-slope.”
“…To those from a Hidden Realm?”
Anton hurriedly asked.
Granting access to all sanctuaries to those from a Hidden Realm was also unprecedented.
“The qualification is sufficient. All of us inquisitors are in agreement. And, Anton.”
“…Yes.”
“Did you use a ‘demon’ to create a Jiangshi?”
“……!!!”
…Only then did he realize.
That he had been abandoned by the Undead Sect.
The fact the inquisitor asked directly meant the Undead Sect had reported it themselves.
Once the question was asked, there was no way out.
‘Aah…! No!’
Anton’s face turned pale once again.