Chapter 535
Thunk!
A wound opened on Creed’s thigh.
One of the magitech-made bugs had stabbed into Creed’s thigh.
“What…?”
Creed’s eyes widened.
The pain was one thing, but the shock of the situation was even greater.
Boom! Boom!
With a single gesture, Creed turned the rebellious creature to dust.
The crystal turned red—a clear sign it was out of his control.
“No way…”
It couldn’t be.
It had to be a coincidence.
With ‘Empire of Iron’ activated, there couldn’t possibly be anyone able to interfere with his ability.
But—
People call one incident a coincidence. But when incidents keep piling up, no one calls it coincidence anymore.
Creak… creak!
The color of the crystals kept changing.
“You…”
Something strange was happening.
* * *
Thump….
Lost in a trance.
Lee Tae-min desperately clung to the last shreds of consciousness.
…He barely even knew how he was fighting.
All he could do was keep going, clinging to the single thought of saving Jinhyuk and the others.
Boom!
A huge shock flung his body away.
A heavy impact weighed down his whole body. His fingers wouldn’t move properly.
He couldn’t even count how many ribs were broken.
And yet, he got up again.
Grit!
He clenched his teeth and grabbed the fallen spear once more.
He fell.
Then stood up again.
He fell, then again…
And eventually, counting lost meaning.
Pushed to his absolute limit, Lee Tae-min burned every last bit of mana.
[You have met the activation condition for the ‘Unique Holy Spear’.]
Ding!
A single message appeared.
[Unique Holy Spear ‘Last Meister’ is activated!]
Zzzzt…!
The drones and all the armored soldiers around Lee Tae-min began to transform.
Runes floated above the core crystals that powered the machines, and incomparably greater mana was injected into them.
[The machines are being upgraded.]
[Numbering 003 – ‘White Out’ is deploying.]
Snow-white armor.
Thin, long magic stones appeared over the engraved patterns.
Vwooom!
As the high-speed spinning magic stones gathered, a terrifying force condensed.
The long-awaited awakening of his Unique Holy Spear.
Now, the true second round was about to begin.
Boom!
Lee Tae-min sprang forward.
The smoothness and overwhelming speed of the new machine surprised even him.
‘This… is my power?’
All the pain vanished like a lie.
In fact, the surge of new vitality made him feel sharper than ever.
Tap… thud!
Two seconds.
That’s all it took to break through more than ten enemies and get behind Creed.
His spinning spear came crashing down from above.
“…Tch!?”
Creed reacted a beat too late.
It was so much faster than before, he simply couldn’t keep up.
Boom!
With a thunderous crash, part of the bridge collapsed.
But Lee Tae-min didn’t even pause—he accelerated again.
A pair of plasma wings unfurled, creating sonic booms.
Boom boom boom boom boom!
Lee Tae-min spun counterclockwise, swinging his spear like a storm.
It felt like dozens of spears were being unleashed at once.
The moment Creed tried to catch the spear, Lee Tae-min’s weapon vanished—
And instead, a titanium fist smashed into Creed’s face.
…Crash!
His head snapped back, a long line of blood spurting out.
“You little rat….”
Creed wiped the blood from his lips.
“Now you finally look like you’re hurting.”
“If you get cocky just because you picked up a little power, you’ll get crushed…”
Creed’s expression changed completely.
Until now, there’d been some composure, but now the air felt different.
He intended to go all out and crush him completely.
The crystal spheres floating at Creed’s side began to resonate.
At the same time—
Zzzzz!
Three crystals shot out lasers.
Lee Tae-min barely twisted out of the way, but his drones were caught in the attack.
Boom! Boom!
Just a graze and they exploded instantly.
The drones in the air dropped like leaves.
“Die.”
Creed charged at Lee Tae-min with chalk-white spikes in both hands.
Boom boom boom boom!
Clang!
Unbelievable speed.
A flurry of attacks, even faster than Lee Tae-min’s.
He tried to regain the initiative after being knocked back, but Creed expertly blocked every opening, driving Lee Tae-min further into a corner.
Dozens of spear strikes flew back and forth in just a few breaths.
“I admit your skills aren’t bad, but you didn’t think you’d be able to master a Unique Holy Spear you just obtained, did you?”
Creed wore a mocking smile.
A Unique Holy Spear was the ultimate weapon a being could wield.
Just learning it was insanely difficult, but mastering it was another level entirely.
Even monsters at the top of the world had to hone such a weapon for years.
The idea of wielding it perfectly immediately after obtaining it was impossible.
Creed flipped his palm again.
Lasers wove into a tight web.
[Evasion Maneuvers activated!]
The system calculated the optimal escape path.
But—
There were just too many patterns to avoid them all.
Lee Tae-min soared into the air, trying to slip out of Creed’s line of sight.
His movements were dazzling.
Most lasers didn’t even graze his machine.
But—
Creed’s experience and battlefield savvy far exceeded Lee Tae-min’s.
Crash!
“Ugh!”
Lee Tae-min grimaced.
He’d moved desperately, but perfect evasion was impossible.
A triple-layered trap left a thin hole in Lee Tae-min’s machine.
The wound wasn’t large, but it was at the core’s location—immediately, the system warned him.
[Warning! The power source has been damaged!]
[Output rapidly declining!]
[Operational output 92%… 70%, 55%….]
His mana plummeted.
‘Even this isn’t enough…?’
Lee Tae-min bit down hard.
“That was a decent game of tag. Rookie magitech engineer. A few more years and you’d have been truly interesting… It’s a pity.”
Vwooom!
Another laser gathered right in front of Lee Tae-min.
If it hit now, with the system down, it was all over.
There was no way to dodge in this state.
He could either accept his fate—
Or struggle and die miserably.
No chance of victory either way.
But just as Creed went in for the finish—
Vwooom!
A red status window appeared before everyone.
A message only a ruin’s boss monster could send.
[Boss monster ‘Nanoleaf’ orders a temporary halt to battle.]
Attention from the ruins’ boss.
And a command to Creed.
Twitch.
Creed’s facial muscles spasmed.
He hated being interrupted.
But the opponent was the boss of the entire ruins.
No matter how strong Creed was, he couldn’t disobey.
Slowly…
Creed raised his palm.
Immediately, the army of bugs halted as if it had all been a lie.
“Kiii…”
“Krrr…”
They just stared, eyes glowing, at their prey.
A brief pause fell over the frantic battlefield.
With things calmed, the boss monster ‘Nanoleaf’ sent another message.
[Nanoleaf proposes a deal to player Kang Jinhyuk and Veteran Corporation.]
“A deal? That Kang Jinhyuk guy is already knocked out and barely hanging onto life. What’s the point in making a deal with someone who’s about to die?”
Creed scoffed.
But, against all expectations—
[Ability copy is complete.]
Someone who’d been quiet until now began to stir.
* * *
“Phew… Now I can finally move comfortably.”
Jinhyuk stretched.
He’d been playing dead to copy the Unique Holy Spear.
But now, there was no need to keep up the act.
“Hyung…?”
“Oppa!”
Both Lee Tae-min, who’d been resigned to his fate, and Yoo Yeonhwa, who’d been leading the players against the monsters, cried out in shock.
Everyone thought Jinhyuk was unconscious, dying.
That was why they’d fought so desperately.
But the man himself just nodded with a calm smile.
‘As expected, Unique Holy Spears really are sweet.’
Just as Creed said, they were the culmination of endless talent, effort, and opportunity.
That’s what a Unique Holy Spear meant.
And the rush of stealing something another worked so hard to achieve was incomparable.
‘Still, Nanoleaf taking an interest in players is rare…’
A glint of interest appeared in Jinhyuk’s eyes.
Usually, most died to Creed before the boss ever cared. Nanoleaf’s personality avoided even talking to inferior races.
Seeing a new pattern appear compared to his climb up the Tower of Trials was definitely interesting.
“So, can I hear what this deal is about?”
[Nanoleaf says the winner here is already decided. Elsewhere, maybe the outcome would differ, but on the Bridge of Illusion, you will never defeat Creed. So….]
Status windows flashed one after another.
[If you hand over clues to the ‘Crown of Conquest’ and the ‘Book That Speaks of Bugs,’ he’ll guarantee the safety of you and everyone who came with you.]
The goal was the crown.
And information about the ‘Necronomicon.’
“Haha…”
Jinhyuk scratched his head.
It was a familiar feeling, but the fact that the 50th floor’s powers were influencing every corner was undeniable.
Now even a ruin’s boss monster was trying to collect it.
‘From another angle, it means they’re being chased just as much as I am.’
He could finally see them coming into range.
“Sorry, but I’ll have to decline that offer.”
Jinhyuk slowly shook his head.
[Nanoleaf expresses displeasure.]
[He warns that stubbornness will only get you killed.]
“I don’t think that’ll happen.”
Jinhyuk shrugged and refused again.
At that, Nanoleaf’s patience ran out.
He fell silent, issuing Creed a silent order.
“Haha, what an idiot. Kicking away the only chance to survive. Well, I wanted to crush you from the start, so it works for me. Let’s see if you can even scratch me with your pathetic skills.”
Creed snickered and gripped his spikes.
Hmm…
Looks like he’s seriously mistaken.
“Sorry, but Tae-min isn’t the only one here who can use magitech.”
[Unique ability ‘Machine Lord’ is activated!]
A blue light shimmered in Jinhyuk’s left hand.
And at almost the same instant—
Another power stored in the library activated.
[Unique Holy Spear ‘Last Meister’ is activated!]