Chapter 564
Red pupils quivered slightly.
“Ah…”
A soft sigh slipped from Alice’s lips.
It was like waking up from a long nightmare—her mind was hazy and clouded.
She felt as if she’d been wandering through fog.
But right in front of her stood someone so familiar, so precious.
“C…Contractor…”
“Feeling a little more clearheaded now?”
Jinhyuk looked at Alice with warm eyes.
They hadn’t been apart for long, but he had missed her terribly.
The thirst that tormented her was gone.
Unconsciously, Alice reached out and wrapped both arms around Jinhyuk’s shoulders.
“Mm…”
She spoke with sincerity.
It really was okay now.
It had been painful and shameful, but now… everything was truly okay.
Because the nightmare was over.
Just then—
“Guh…”
From amidst the rubble, 25 Years staggered to his feet.
Black sparks rose from his whole body.
He had clearly taken massive damage—his wounds weren’t healing.
“To think… I’d take this much damage… from just a clone. A monster is still a monster. But using the Coronation like that… you’ll regret it, won’t you? Can you handle the consequences?”
25 Years pointed to the heavily damaged painting.
He wasn’t wrong.
No matter how much Jinhyuk pressured Orun, something that broken wouldn’t be restored.
There were things even threats couldn’t fix.
“That’s none of your concern. You’ll be dead soon anyway.”
Jinhyuk aimed his gun at 25 Years’ forehead.
Main Gods had an intense attachment to life—but Administrators were on a whole other level.
Facing death, 25 Years’ demeanor shifted completely.
“If you kill me, you won’t know how we’ll move next. But if you let me live…”
“Not interested.”
‘Click!’
The hammer cocked back.
It was true—sparing 25 Years could yield more benefits than harm.
But just the fact that the bastard who pulled this stunt was still breathing annoyed Jinhyuk far more.
Besides—
[Copy Condition: An Administrator is one who exists at the top of the Tower of Trials. If you force such an Administrator to use their unique ability and then subdue or eliminate them, you will gain the ability they possess. (However, due to system limitations, some restrictions may apply.)]
A chance to copy the Administrator’s ability.
Even with restrictions, it was still incredibly valuable.
25 Years saw the look in Jinhyuk’s eyes and swallowed hard.
He understood—no negotiation would work.
“GRAAAAGH!”
He screamed, thrusting his hand forward.
He still had the power to manipulate system stats.
If it worked—he might live.
But Jinhyuk had already anticipated it.
He moved half a beat ahead of 25 Years.
The runes on the ground began to shine brilliantly.
[10-Star Grade Barrier ‘Binding of Runes’ activates!]
“W-What?!”
Blue lights surged and bound 25 Years’ entire body.
The stronger the mana, the stronger the binding—a special trait of this high-grade barrier.
Using the last of his strength, Jinhyuk had created an unimaginably powerful seal.
“You never disappoint. If you had used that to escape, maybe you’d still have some limbs left to live with.”
Someone who didn’t mind hurting others but couldn’t stand wounds on his own body—
That’s why 25 Years was going to die here.
“W-Wait! I still—!”
‘BANG!’
Before he could finish, the gun fired.
A single flash pierced through 25 Years’ skull.
“Uuugh… guh…”
A fist-sized hole of wind.
And yet—he didn’t die in one shot.
Truly worthy of the title Administrator—his life force was absurd.
‘BANG! BANG! RATATATATAT!’
Violet flashes burst repeatedly.
“GRAAAAAH! AAAAAARGH!”
25 Years’ body convulsed madly.
Agony tore through him, but his stubborn life force and regeneration wouldn’t let him die easily.
“Just kill me already… Just end it, you rotten bastard!”
He screamed until his throat gave out.
⁂⁂⁂
How long did it last?
Eventually, 25 Years’ body disintegrated beyond recognition.
One of the Administrators who had floated above the Tower of Trials, crafting countless myths, was erased.
At the same time—
‘Ding! Ding! Ding!’
[Your level has increased!]
[Your level has increased!]
[Your level has increased!]
[Your level has increased!]
[Your level has increased!]
[Your leve—]
[…has increased!]
More level-up messages than ever before.
Since breaking into triple-digit levels, this was the first time so many notifications popped up.
Even more surprisingly—items Jinhyuk had never seen before dropped where 25 Years died.
‘That is…’
The ice spear he had used.
And a ring engraved with a mysterious symbol.
Checking those items was important.
But first—
‘Vwoooom!’
Jinhyuk activated his personal status window.
——————————————————
Name: Kang Jinhyuk
Gender: Male
Level: 281
Strength 119 / Agility 131 / Stamina 148 / Mana 589 → 682 / Gap 100 / Luck 10 / Adaptive 78 / Vital Force 237.55
Unused Stat Points: 93
Coins: 20,554,579
Class: Ruler of Runes
Unique Holy Spears:
Wheel of Heaven’s Reversal, Phase 2, Eight Swamps, ‘White Night’, ‘Final Genesis’, ‘Down Fall’, ‘Flare Eclipse’, ‘Last Meister’, ‘Iron Lotus Blossom’, ‘Plague’, ‘Whispers of the Moons’, ‘Flowing Moonlight’
Unique Abilities:
Fusion, Grave of Swords, Blessing of the Stars, Judgment of Anubis, Blood Demon Energy, Mandala, 1-Second Invincibility, Thousand Poisons, White Beast, Shared All Things, Sanctuary of the Sun, Black Sky Demon Emperor Art, Triple Magic, Colossus Strike, Flame Dragon’s Breath, High-Speed Sword, Tombgrave’s Right Arm, Berserker, Domain of Wind, Shadowstep: Mortal Slash, Primordial Flame, Blood Explosion, Black Tear, Tombgrave’s Leg, Monstrous Might, Core of the Legion, Ancient Barrier, Heavenly Demon Divine Art, Mentra Taming, Nihilism, Ten Thousand Heavens Poison Extinction, Red Hare Riding, Machine Lord, Extreme Taekwondo, Nightmare’s Oath, Will of the Ocean, Heretic’s Golden Apple, Devour Growth, Grasp of Subjugation, Earthquake, Acidic Tendrils, Poison Lord, Cascadia Slav, System Manipulation (Limited)
Skills: Too many to list — collapsed.
——————————————————
A whopping 31 levels!
93 new stat points.
But the most thrilling part—was the new ability he obtained.
‘Thump! Thump! Thump!’
His heart raced uncontrollably.
Unlike anything he had gained before, this was a power from an entirely new domain.
[System Manipulation]
Difficulty: Impossible
Description: You may manipulate the status window of a selected target. The range and effectiveness of manipulation vary depending on the user’s proficiency. If contradictions with the system occur, it may cause fatal backlash to the user.
Just reading it made him certain.
He had acquired something that transcended existing rules.
‘I finally got a trump card to surpass the 50th floor and the remaining Administrators.’
A reusable, developable power.
Of course, he’d been lucky.
The timely restoration of [Napoleon’s Coronation].
And the opponent’s arrogance in underestimating him.
If he hadn’t made use of both—he might’ve been the one killed.
‘Time to allocate stat points.’
To use his new ability effectively, all points had to go into mana.
[Mana increased from 589 → 682!]
‘Vwoooom!’
An immense mana surged through his body.
He could feel the difference immediately.
‘I should be able to make more clones with Flowing Moonlight now.’
Or reduce the number and raise the completeness of each.
Now then—
Let’s test this new ability.
[Unique Ability ‘System Manipulation’ activates!]
[Selected Target: ‘Napoleon’s Coronation’. Severely damaged portions partially restored!]
Mana gathered as the item’s wrecked status began to change.
[Damage Grade changed from F (Unusable) → D (One-Time Use)!]
“Guh…”
But the recoil was brutal.
Even with his mana raised, the pressure from activating the skill was immense.
Blood dripped from his nose.
His blood vessels swelled like they might burst.
Any more intense manipulation might rupture his heart entirely.
Still, it was worth the cost.
He hadn’t fully restored it—but at least temporarily patched it.
Next—
Jinhyuk looked down at the two dropped items.
‘Patzzt!’
Even from a distance, he could feel the chill.
Despite using [Glacial Sculpting] for defense, it was intense.
As he got closer, [Eye of Gluttony] activated.
[Ice Spirit’s Spear]
Difficulty: Unknown
Attack Power:
Durability: Infinite
Description: Grants power over Absolute Zero. Automatically upgrades all ice-type abilities to their highest tier.
[Ice Spirit’s Ring]
Difficulty: Unknown
Durability: Infinite
Description: A sacred relic of the ‘Ice Spirit’, one of the original sovereigns of the Tower. The ring maximizes resistance to mental attacks and affinity with the Five Great Elements.
…Jackpot.
Jinhyuk nearly forgot to breathe.
Its attack power surpassed even Balmung.
And the ability to wield Absolute Zero—it was practically broken.
Even better, the Ice Spirit’s Ring was a top-tier artifact specialized in resisting mental powers.
With this, he had the best shield for the 50th floor’s infamous mental attacks.
But most importantly—
‘Tap.’
Jinhyuk silently placed a hand on Alice’s silver hair.
“Hehe.”
The carefree queen smiled in pure happiness.
More precious than any item or ability—
He had protected a dear comrade he could never replace.
“Alice.”
“Mm. What is it?”
“We’ll finish the war. You should rest here. Even if you feel fine, with our contract severed, you shouldn’t overdo it.”
“Ah… that’s right. The contract between me and my contractor was broken.”
Alice’s expression clouded.
She opened and closed her hand repeatedly, still unable to believe it.
But only for a moment.
“It’s okay.”
“What is?”
“I read on the internet the other day. There’s a way to form a new contract.”
…What now?
A contract isn’t some joke.
She wants to do what, based on the internet?
“I-It said… if a man and woman… share mana…”
Alice stammered, her face turning red.
At that moment, Jinhyuk made a firm decision—
From now on, she’s banned from using the internet.
But for now, more urgent matters awaited—
He had to run.
From an Alice who had completely abandoned rational thought.
“Flowing Moonlight Clone disengage. Disengage! I said disengage!!!”
(T/N: That power is literaly broken. It’s a literal plot armor skill.)