Solo Max-Level Newbie - Chapter 454
“Mo-gi, Mo-gi!”
“Miyooo!”
Two Ancient Species bounced around excitedly.
Their eager expressions, hoping to be praised, were quite adorable.
“Alright, alright.”
Jinhyuk gently patted Goguma and Fried on their heads.
“You both did great.”
He meant it.
After all, they had managed to raid one of Guntafer’s treasure vaults—a daunting feat.
“Hold on… Wait a second. I stored it somewhere around here.”
Rattle.
A handful of large magic stones tumbled out.
Those who achieved great results deserved equally fitting rewards.
Veteran Corporation’s motto was to never forget a grudge… but also to never forget a favor.
“I’ll be counting on you both in the future, got it?”
“Mo-Mogi!”
Goguma saluted with determination, as if pledging absolute loyalty.
Fried quickly mimicked the gesture.
“Miyo!”
A pair of perfectly conditioned slaves—no, loyal Ancient Species—had been born.
“We took quite a bit of damage too. Even though their forces were significantly reduced, there were still plenty of defenders. Fortunately, there were no fatalities, but about half of our troops won’t be able to fight for a while.”
Beauregard spoke up from the side.
His body was covered in dust and blood.
They had done their best to lure Guntafer’s main force to Blaine Fortress, yet the battle had still been fierce.
“That’s to be expected. But it was worth it.”
Jinhyuk grasped the smallest gem among the treasures that had come out of Goguma’s mouth.
He had put in considerable effort over the past three days just to obtain this.
This alone meant that nearly half of his entire plan was a success.
“Well… We do owe you, so we’ll stick around for now. Call if you need anything else. I’ll stand guard while the others recover their energy.”
Beauregard left the scene.
Then, Chun Yoosung, who had been silent until now, opened his snake-like eyes.
“It’s nothing new for you to use others as bait, but I never thought you’d use yourself as well. That’s why I didn’t realize attacking Blaine Fortress was pointless. Damn it. I was completely fooled.”
His voice was forced, as if struggling to suppress his emotions.
Right now, he probably wanted nothing more than to draw his sword.
“Ah… Sorry, I should’ve told you in advance…”
“You should have?”
“You know, they say if you want to deceive your enemies, you have to deceive your allies first. I was simply following the wisdom of the ancients.”
“…I see.”
Chun Yoosung nodded.
“Wait… Are you actually understanding?”
“Then I suppose I can also deceive my allies… to fool future enemies. This sword here? It supposedly won’t kill you even if it stabs you… Wanna trust me? Just once. I won’t ask twice.”
Chun Yoosung had fought desperately on the western side of the fortress and was one of the last to escape.
It was only thanks to the intervention of Phantom Death Shadow that he had barely survived.
Gulp.
Jinhyuk swallowed dryly.
Why… Why did he feel that if he didn’t run immediately, his life would be in danger?
“Haha…”
Cold sweat ran down his back as he slowly stepped away.
“You and I… Today, we settle this once and for all.”
“Y-Yoosung?”
Shling!
A sword imbued with a green aura was drawn.
But just as Chun Yoosung was about to swing—
An unexpected system notification appeared.
[The 30th Floor has been conquered!]
A golden message flashed before them.
[The 30th Floor has been conquered!]
[The first to climb the ‘Wailing Cliff’ theme is ‘Scott Affleck’ of the ‘Crash’ Guild.]
[This remarkable achievement will be recorded in the ‘Hall of Fame’ for a day.]
[Rewards are being calculated.]
A series of status messages appeared in succession.
“Ooooooh!”
“W-What’s going on?”
“Wow! We… We actually did it! We made it!”
Players from the Crash Guild erupted in cheers.
They had struggled immensely, but they never imagined they would be the first to conquer the floor.
“Haha… Good job, everyone. Seriously, how did we even make it up here…?”
Affleck peered down the sheer cliff below.
A dizzying drop of over 50 kilometers.
Climbing it alone was an incredible feat, but with monstrous birds and other creatures attacking, the difficulty was beyond imagination.
‘No, seriously… how did we even make it up here?’
Crash was a mid-tier guild at best.
They had gained some recognition in Philadelphia, but in the grand scheme of the U.S., they weren’t even in the Top 100.
Their original goal wasn’t to conquer the 30th floor but simply to gain experience.
“Hoho. You all worked hard. Thanks to your efforts, everyone made it to the top safely.”
A silver-haired man approached with a faint smile.
“Lucas… sir.”
Yes. This man.
If it weren’t for this enigmatic individual who had revealed himself as a 30th-floor resident, none of this would have been possible.
His skills were undeniable, but there were too many suspicious things about him.
The previous resident of this floor had died under mysterious circumstances.
His origins, his presence, and the timing of everything…
None of it was ordinary.
But there had been no other choice.
Having a resident among their ranks was the only way to survive in this hell.
And in the end, the gamble had paid off.
They had outpaced not only major guilds and rising star factions but even the ever-dominant Veteran Corporation.
“Let’s get out of the Tower quickly. By now, reporters must be swarming. The main event can’t be late, right?”
“Yeah. The media is going to go crazy over this. Let’s enjoy the moment.”
“Hah, soon, we won’t even be able to go to the grocery store without being recognized!”
The guild members patted Affleck’s back.
They knew better than anyone how much he had endured, so they wanted him to have the honor of being the first to step out.
‘Yeah… It’s probably all in my head.’
Affleck tried to shake off his doubts.
A bright future surely awaited them.
—
The Heavenly Demons summoned through Produce Heavenly Demon 101 could remain in the Tower of Trials due to their system contracts.
However, with the conquest of another theme, their justification for staying in this world was disappearing.
—Paatsutsu!
Blue powder scattered from their bodies.
As their supply of magic was cut off, they began returning to their respective worlds.
“…….”
Jinhyuk bit his lip.
Guntafer had made his move.
He had forced players who chose different themes to clear their respective floors, accelerating the floor progression.
‘He still shouldn’t know the full effects of the gem I retrieved through Goguma…’
To prevent him from realizing it, Jinhyuk had stolen additional treasures to create a diversion.
Yet, Guntafer had seen through even that.
Losing the Heavenly Demons at this timing was a devastating blow.
“How much time do we have left?”
“If we conserve as much internal energy as possible… three days, maybe less.”
“Got it. We’ll have to completely revise our plan.”
Using the Heavenly Demons to destabilize the enemy’s stronghold was no longer viable.
At most, they could fight at full power once.
Even handling just one Behemoth would be troublesome…
Clatter.
Jinhyuk fiddled with the gem in his hand.
Time and resources were limited.
The plans he had prepared to shake Guntafer still needed more time.
“What do you plan to do?”
“For now, we need to leave the Tower and head straight to the 31st floor. The other players will be resting, so we’ll use that window to meet with the Barbarians.”
“If we leave, Berial’s side will get crushed.”
“Yeah, they probably will. But we have no choice but to trust them to hold out. If the enemy manages to recruit the Barbarians, not just the Demon Realm but the 31st-floor conquest itself will become impossible.”
“So we’re abandoning the King piece on our side when we don’t even know when it’ll be captured? On top of that, all our Knight pieces—the Heavenly Demons—are on a time limit. And… I heard that butler of yours is fuming after going broke last time. Better watch your back at night; wouldn’t be surprising if you get stabbed.”
“T-That’s why I need to return quickly… before Berial ends up as a homeless wreck in Hell.”
Hearing Chun Yoosung lay out the situation made it sound even bleaker.
Even if things went smoothly, taking down Guntafer would require an insane amount of luck.
“For now, let’s go. We need to check out the guy who’s backing Crash Guild before it’s too late.”
“Alright. Got it.”
—Wooong!
The gate opened.
With the conquest of the 30th floor, all players had gained permission to leave the Tower.
A blinding light engulfed them, and as their vision cleared, everything changed.
—Cha-cha-cha-cha-cha!
The first thing that greeted them was a flurry of camera flashes.
“There, over there!”
“They’re out!”
“It’s Kang Jinhyuk, the master of Veteran Corporation!”
A swarm of reporters, who had been camping at the 1st floor, rushed toward him like a horde of wasps.
“You lost the first clear. What do you think went wrong?”
“Was it because Teresa, Yoo Yeonhwa, or Lee Taemin didn’t join you?”
“Do you regret choosing such a difficult theme?”
Provocative questions flew at him.
Hyenas, through and through—always hungry for sensationalism.
It wasn’t even worth acknowledging.
Besides, this wasn’t the time for that.
“…….”
Jinhyuk ignored the microphones shoved toward him and instead focused on one particular spot.
“Hahahaha!”
Scott Affleck, the master of Crash Guild, was laughing joyously.
And standing behind him…
“……!”
Jinhyuk’s pupils trembled.
Silver hair.
Eyes that faintly gleamed with a crimson hue.
That man… Jinhyuk had assumed he was a demon.
But he wasn’t.
A vampire.
And not just any vampire—a pureblood noble.
Though his outward appearance had changed, the unique aura he emanated couldn’t be fully concealed.
No, it was as if he wanted to be recognized, his gaze locked directly onto Jinhyuk.
“Excensio…”
One of the last remaining Heads.
The usurper who had seized control of Ataraxia’s leadership.
Jinhyuk’s grip tightened around Crimson Lotus.
But he knew.
This was a provocation.
If he engaged in a fight here, he would be attacking the celebrated heroes who had conquered the 30th floor.
If Excension had invested this much effort into coming outside the Tower, he had undoubtedly set up additional schemes.
‘At least it’s a relief that Alice isn’t here.’
If she had been released from Braham’s Ring, she would have turned this entire place into a wasteland on the spot.
Regardless, they had gained something valuable by leaving the Tower.
At the very least, they had identified the enemy’s identity and intentions.
At that moment—
“We will proceed directly to the 31st floor.”
Excension made a bombshell announcement before the gathered reporters.
“Excuse me?”
“You’ve gained 90 days. Why are you leaving immediately?”
“Why are you pushing forward so recklessly?”
There was no reason they couldn’t wait until they had fully recovered.
It made no sense to rush like this.
A sly smile crept onto Excension’s lips.
“According to the rewards we obtained from the 30th floor… there’s an item on the 31st floor that will completely change the playing field. The Hourglass of Möbius. It extends a single day to the equivalent of ten. However, this hourglass will only exist for exactly 72 hours after the floor is unlocked.”
Time—the most crucial resource for humanity’s survival.
Excension had thrown out a massive bait.
One that no one could resist biting.