Solo Max-Level Newbie - Chapter 357: A New Weapon (2)

Rumble, rumble, rumble!

As the Gnome upturned the earth once again, the dirt blocking the passage poured away. A red-tinted door appeared where the path had been completely obstructed just moments ago.

“Wooow! Master!”

“You were right, master! The door is here!”

“How did you even know it was there?”

The elementals bounced up and down excitedly in place.

‘Perfect…’

Jinhyuk smirked in satisfaction.

His intuition, built upon the map he’d gotten from Uasis and his own experience, had brought about this result.

“You all stay here and secure the retreat,” he ordered.

“Huh? You and that demon are going in alone?”

“Yeah. This place is far from ordinary. It’s too dangerous for you guys to come along.”

The elementals knew better than anyone what Jinhyuk meant when he said something was “dangerous.”

“Uhh… Alright.”

“We’ll just stay out here and keep digging, then.”

“Please come back safely… not that I hope you die or anything!”

The elementals offered their heartfelt, albeit slightly sarcastic, farewells.

“Shall we go, then?” Jinhyuk asked.

“Indeed. It has been quite some time since I’ve wandered ruins like these, but it is not unpleasant,” Beriel, who was still perched on Jinhyuk’s shoulder, nodded. His eyes burned with intensity.

It was clear that Beriel intended to make Jinhyuk strong enough that no one, not even Gunthafell, could interfere with him.

‘I feel a bit bad, but…’

There was no helping it.

The Tower of Trials was a world where everyone exploited one another. Besides, Jinhyuk figured he might help Beriel out in the future when he visited the Abyss.

Jinhyuk understood why Beriel was so desperate to make him his Black Apostle.

‘The rule is to repay an enemy a hundredfold and repay a favor only once, but I should at least repay the favor once.’

He had no intention of betraying those he considered important.

[You have entered the Hidden Place of ‘Pelterhorn.’]

The door opened, and the scene before them was swallowed by darkness.

When Jinhyuk opened his eyes again, the narrow, dark corridor was gone, replaced by a completely different environment.

Fwoosh!

Fwoosh!

Torches lining the walls on both sides ignited all at once.

Jinhyuk could see a floor stretching endlessly into the distance, with a thin bridge spanning it.

The first trial: *The Bridge of the Unchosen*.

As the name implied, failure to cross safely would result in falling into the abyss below.

Step by step, Jinhyuk cautiously moved forward.

“Are we really just supposed to walk across? There’s an ominous energy flowing through this place,” Beriel remarked.

“Don’t worry. Just trust me.”

Jinhyuk had already memorized the pattern.

The key was balance. It was crucial to distribute weight evenly across the bridge’s surface.

If the weight wasn’t properly balanced, numerous traps would activate immediately.

Of course—

Clunk!

It was impossible to avoid activating some traps.

With a mechanical click, chakrams—circular, boomerang-like weapons—launched from the darkness. These assassins’ tools had a special trait: their flight paths could change unpredictably in midair.

Shwing!

Simultaneously, dozens of spears were fired from all directions.

Jinhyuk’s eyes darted to the bridge’s surface.

Engraved into the floor were numerous symbols.

He had memorized the trap patterns by studying the location of these symbols.

The corner of the character that resembled a ‘ㅂ’.

The intersection of the two lines in the ‘y’-shaped character.

The central point of the ‘&’-shaped character, where a slight shift to the right by one centimeter provided a safe zone.

Whoosh!

Whoosh!

Jinhyuk dodged all the spears with swift, precise movements.

With this… he had avoided the basic attacks.

However, the chakrams were different. They were tricky because their exact trajectory was impossible to predict until the very last moment.

But it didn’t matter.

“Beriel.”

He had brought a reliable shield for this exact scenario.

“No… you can’t mean…”

Beriel’s eyes widened in disbelief.

“Go!”

Without hesitation, Jinhyuk grabbed Beriel off his shoulder and threw him into the chakrams’ path.

Shwing!

The sound of the chakrams slicing through the air changed.

They always aimed for the target closest to them.

“You rotten…!”

Boom!

“Arghhh!”

Beriel’s body was struck directly by the chakrams and flung aside.

As expected, his body was annoyingly tough.

To make a sound like that without being instantly sliced in half meant his body was incredibly resilient.

Despite the impact, Beriel had managed to raise his ‘Dark Aura’ just in time, successfully defending himself.

“Perfect,” Jinhyuk said.

“Perfect, my foot! Were you trying to kill me?! Using me as a shield… this is an insult to the Abyss!” Beriel flapped his wings furiously as he flew back to Jinhyuk.

“Hey, it’s not like that. If you hadn’t blocked them, I would’ve died. This wasn’t about using you as a shield—it was a demonstration of teamwork.”

“Teamwork? What kind of ridiculous teamwork is this?! Do you think I’d fall for such a cheap trick—”

“Don’t be so harsh. I just wanted to rely on someone stronger than me.”

“Stronger? Me?”

“Of course. Among the Demon Kings, you’re one of the strongest. You’re someone who has the potential to rise to the position of Demon God in the future. That’s why I trusted you.”

“Hmm… I suppose. Only a Demon King of my caliber could survive such traps.”

“Exactly. Why else would I have chosen you over my other companions?”

Jinhyuk laid it on thick.

His flattery was like a soft brush of sweet grapes sliding down the throat.

Maybe it was so sweet it melted Beriel’s brain?

“Very well. I shall show you just how great I am. Watch closely and witness what it means to be my Apostle.”

Beriel took the lead.

Boom!

“Arrgh!”

Boom! Boom!

“Arghhh!”

Thud!

“Ugh!”

Sounds of explosions and screams alternated in rapid succession, but Beriel, determined to maintain his pride, pressed forward without showing any signs of fatigue.

Thanks to that, Jinhyuk was able to pass through the first trial without much effort.

All he had to do was walk leisurely behind with his arms crossed.

Jinhyuk and Beriel quickly reached the end of the first trial and found themselves at a staircase leading downwards.

[The second trial, ‘Cavern of Deadly Poison,’ has been opened.]

＊＊＊

“Hissss!”

“Ssssh!”

As soon as they descended, they were greeted by a cavern filled with poisonous snakes.

The number of snakes was staggering, enough to fill an area the size of Jamsil Stadium.

At least, it wasn’t an ambush-type trap.

The snakes only attacked when someone entered a certain range, triggered by proximity.

‘That’s a small comfort, I suppose… but with this many, it’s hardly reassuring.’

Normally, this would mean spending several days carefully finding a path out of the snakes’ domain.

But now, Jinhyuk had a precious tank to shorten the process.

“You’re not afraid of snakes, are you?”

“Haha… Haha… Afraid? Me? As if I’d fear some snakes. I drink Black Mamba venom as a nightcap when I can’t sleep. The most potent poison bathes me, and I remain unscathed—I am Beriel.”

Really?

“Then go ahead. I, on the other hand, am vulnerable to poison. Just brushing up against it could kill me. Weak humans like me can’t even compare to the great Demon King.”

Jinhyuk pretended to shiver as he hugged his arms around himself.

“Fu… Fufufu.”

Beriel, pale-faced, walked into the sea of snakes.

Wow.

The saying that pride would be the death of someone seemed fitting here.

Who would’ve thought he’d actually walk into that mess?

Especially when he was only in a minimal avatar form, not his true body.

Stab!

Stab!

Oof. That must’ve hurt.

One of the snakes bit him right in a bad spot.

“Arrrghhhh!”

Beriel’s agonized scream echoed through the cavern.

＊＊＊

“Haa…”

Hastings couldn’t hold back a throbbing headache.

It was no wonder.

He had been a manager of the Tower for about 30,000 years, and a senior administrator for about 10,000 of those years.

Throughout those long millennia, he had always done his job perfectly without a single mistake, earning the recognition of the entities on the 50th floor.

His impeccable record had accumulated and led to his current position.

But recently…

…the Tower had started to crack.

All because of a single player.

“Is he really at the ruins on the 19th floor right now?”

“Yes, sir. We tried to monitor him as per your instructions, but for some reason, the entire ruin is enveloped in an unfamiliar mana field, making it impossible to observe the interior.”

A lower-tier administrator with the appearance of a hamster quickly bowed his head.

Panem, a member of the ‘Pearl’ type species.

He had only recently become a lower administrator and was still in his internship period.

Perhaps it was because he was new, but Panem couldn’t hide his nervousness as he stood before a senior administrator.

Hastings’ eyebrows furrowed into a sharp ‘V’ at Panem’s report.

“A zone that even a manager can’t observe? Does that sound plausible to you?”

“There is no mistake, sir. I even used the ‘Manager’s Scroll’ that you gave me, but the barrier remained intact.”

“…!”

Not even the Manager’s Scroll could breach the shield?

That meant there was something or someone with the power to interfere.

And there was only one group capable of such feats.

The 50th Floor.

The ancient entities had taken action.

‘There are no signs of them manifesting… So, could it be?’

In an instant, a realization flashed through Hastings’ mind.

The *Old Guard*.

Nyarlathotep’s hunting dogs had been deployed.

‘They called them in without even informing me…’

Hastings clenched his teeth hard enough to nearly shatter them.

Was this retribution for his previous failure?

Or had they simply lost faith in him and decided to cut ties?

There was no way to know the answer.

In fact, it didn’t even matter.

With the Old Guard deployed, Jinhyuk stood no chance of survival.

But then—

[Urgent Report]

A purple message appeared in front of Hastings.

It was a dispatch directly from the 50th floor.

And the contents were…

“This can’t be…”

It was shocking.

The report detailed the death of a high-ranking Hound and the retreat of the Old Guard.

Along with orders to clean up the situation.

Everything was unfolding far beyond Hastings’ expectations.

‘…This is my chance.’

A golden opportunity to redeem himself for past mistakes had presented itself.

He had to seize it.

The *Dunes of the Sun*… the *Dunes of the Sun*…

Hastings’ mind raced.

The void created by the loss of *Pentagris’s Fang*.

Why Jinhyuk was still inside the dunes, searching for something.

Piece by piece, it all began to come together.

It didn’t take long for Hastings to deduce what Jinhyuk was after and where he was headed.

‘He’s aiming to clear the 19th floor’s hidden area and obtain another weapon at the same time.’

Indeed, Jinhyuk’s movements were flawless.

Every step was calculated to ascend the Tower by the most efficient route possible.

But that also made his moves predictable.

‘I won’t let him have his way.’

The question was…

Who should he send?

He needed someone strong, capable, and with a variable that could catch Jinhyuk off guard.

‘Not the Dragons yet.’

Though he had struck a deal with the Dragon Clan, the timing wasn’t right yet. They weren’t ready for immediate deployment.

Suddenly—

Woooong!

Someone approached Hastings’ domain.

“May I enter? Senior Administrator.”