Chapter 600
Exactly three days after the Veteran Corporation defeated Tulcha—
A surprising visitor arrived at KDS Broadcasting Station.
Bang!
“D-Director!”
A staff member with long straight hair burst into the director’s office.
Ordinarily, that alone would’ve been enough to earn a resignation letter shoved into every orifice.
“Khh…! M-my Morani… my precious Morani…!”
Kang Byungchan trembled all over, clutching the broken stem of his cherished orchid.
After his humiliation at Kang Jinhyuk’s hands, he had become a public laughingstock and was demoted. For over a year, he carried the stigma of being the producer responsible for a string of failed shows.
For a once-successful elite, it had been a living hell.
The only light in that darkness was his orchid, Morani.
His loyal companion, always there, a source of comfort — the one thing that kept him sane and gave him hope to reclaim his position as director.
And now… it was gone.
“Y-you… Assistant Lee! You’ve clearly lost your mind in this cold weather! I’ll make sure you can’t even afford fish-shaped bread at the station front from tomorrow!”
Kang Byungchan gripped a pair of scissors in reverse, ready to strike.
But Assistant Lee ignored his wrath, too focused on relaying what she’d just witnessed.
“D-Director! At the front entrance right now…”
“At the entrance? What? The president stopped by?”
“No, it’s Unknown… Player Unknown is here!”
“…W-what did you say!?”
Kang Byungchan froze, his scissors clattering to the floor.
Unknown — the ranker every journalist in Korea had been desperate to interview.
There had long been rumors that he and Kang Jinhyuk were the same person, but those were only theories. No one had ever confirmed it.
“And Kang Jinhyuk? Where is he right now?”
“I just checked through our field correspondent — he’s busy with some kind of weird contest. Something about an eating match with that pet creature, Goguma, and that silver-haired girl, Alice.”
As expected, it wasn’t Kang Jinhyuk.
He was currently attending a buffet party at Signiel with the rest of his team.
That meant—
“It’s the real deal.”
A strange smile crept across Kang Byungchan’s face.
“Did you escort him through Entrance 2?”
“Yes. The system couldn’t get a reading. We checked four times, but the results were all the same.”
An unreadable reading — meaning mana levels at least S-rank or higher.
It far exceeded the limits of the building’s security sensors.
Kang Byungchan’s expression twisted oddly.
The middle-aged man who once tended orchids under warm sunlight was gone.
“Kuhahaha! My poor Morani gave me one hell of a farewell gift before departing for the afterlife!”
“Haha… Director, that means I’m not fired, right?”
“Fired? No, no. I’ll make sure your performance review reflects this nicely. Expect a hefty bonus, too.”
“Thank you!”
“More importantly — go bring Mr. Unknown up here. No, actually, I’ll go myself. He’s still in the lobby, right?”
“Yes, sir. I told security to make sure he doesn’t leave.”
Kang Byungchan sprinted toward the elevator.
The humiliation he’d suffered over the years flashed through his mind.
But all of that pain was about to end.
With Unknown — with this program — he could take everything back.
He could redirect the public’s attention away from that insufferable Kang Jinhyuk. Maybe even replace him with a new star.
More than anything, the thought of writing the first page of a new legend exhilarated him to the core.
⁕⁕⁕
‘What’s he playing at…?’
After meeting with Unknown, Kang Byungchan nervously chewed his nails.
The masked man sat in silence, still as a statue, the tension unbearable.
No matter what offers or incentives he proposed —
Even promises of a joint broadcast with the most popular idols —
Unknown barely reacted.
He wanted just one thing.
A live broadcast — during the prime-time slot.
The topic didn’t matter.
He simply insisted that it must be aired live.
‘Doesn’t matter. We’ll get what we need out of it. We’re getting a world-famous ranker on-air for cheap — that’s a win either way.’
Kang Byungchan brushed away his worries.
He couldn’t lose. The world already knew that Unknown would appear live on ‘KDS: Climbing the Tower of Trials.’
The announcement had gone viral hours ago, not just in Korea but internationally.
“Director! We’re about to go live!”
Only one minute until the broadcast.
Whatever happens, the show must go on.
“What are you waiting for? Final check! Lighting, scripts — make sure everything’s perfect! Stream the live reactions on my monitor!”
Kang Byungchan barked orders, adrenaline surging.
Meanwhile—
At Signiel, Jinhyuk and the Veteran Corporation members were watching the same broadcast.
“Unknown? Wasn’t he one of the famous players back in the early days?”
“Yeah. Back when Jinhyuk-hyung was still new, those two were rivals at the top.”
Yoo Yeonhwa and Lee Taemin watched the screen intently.
“Hmmm. So the rumor that Unknown was the contractor was tru— ouch!”
Alice yelped as Jinhyuk pinched her in the side.
He had caught the most painful spot perfectly.
“It ‘is’ strange though. Why suddenly appear live, and at this timing of all things?” Teresa said.
“Doesn’t feel right,” Chun Yoosung added, arms crossed.
But no one looked as troubled as Jinhyuk.
‘Unbelievable. Someone’s actually pretending to be ‘me’ now?’
It was absurd.
Plenty of fakes had claimed to be “Unknown” for fame before,but no one had ever gone as far as a live TV broadcast.
‘Still, if KDS went along with it, they must’ve verified something…’
As trashy as Kang Byungchan was, he wasn’t stupid.
If there was profit to be made, he always knew how to sniff it out.
There had to be something behind this.
Just then, the broadcast began.
“Hello, Olafs! I’m Kim Hyunji, your host for ‘Climbing the Tower of Trials’! Today, we have a guest everyone’s been waiting for — once ranked among the strongest of all players — Player Unknown!”
The bunny-eared MC raised her energy.
But—
“……”
Unknown said nothing.
Kim Hyunji hesitantly held out the mic, but he remained silent.
The atmosphere chilled.
An awkward silence settled over the studio.
Trying to keep her composure, Kim Hyunji forced a bright smile.
“Ahaha… I suppose Unknown-nim is just a little shy since this is his first live appearance! Please, take your time. Could we start with a short self-introduction?”
“A self-introduction…”
A faint vibration stirred around Unknown’s masked lips.
His voice carried an odd mix of emotions — weariness, irony, regret.
“If I reveal my identity here… there will be chaos. My life itself would be in danger.”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“There’s a reason I insisted on coming here, to this station, for a live broadcast. I needed as many people as possible to see this.”
Clack…
Unknown lifted a hand to his mask. The lock clicked open as the veil slowly fell away.
And beneath it—was the unmistakable face of Player Kang Jinhyuk.
“What the—?”
“That’s Kang Jinhyuk!”
“So it’s true — Unknown really ‘was’ him!?”
The studio exploded.
A theory long built on speculation had just become fact.
But the excitement quickly turned to confusion.
Because a simple, obvious realization struck everyone.
“Wait, hold on. Player Kang Jinhyuk is currently…”
He was at Signiel — live, at a party.
Both locations had verified correspondents.
Which meant—
A fake.
One of them was pretending to be the real thing.
Panic spread.
Journalists frantically snapped photos, while social media exploded with comments.
“What are you waiting for!?” Kang Byungchan flailed his arms like a drowning fish, and the stunned host Kim Hyunji finally regained her voice.
“T-then… are you saying the Kang Jinhyuk currently at Signiel is a fake? That the battle against Tulcha—?”
“Yes. The one who fought Tulcha wasn’t that man. It was me. And contrary to what’s been reported, I didn’t win. No matter what I did, it was useless.”
The audience fell silent.
The way he said it — so calm, so sincere — carried conviction.
“Those beings beyond heaven and earth are called such because human power can’t defeat them.”
Unknown — or whoever he was — admitted defeat plainly.
Then he added, in a voice that cut through the air:
“That’s when he appeared. The fake — the one who looks and acts exactly like me. The man pretending to be me now… was commanded by Tulcha herself. Not just to win the battle, but to leave the Tower and destroy our world. I’ve stayed hidden all this time, waiting for the chance to expose the truth.”
He pointed toward the camera.
No — toward someone beyond it.
“You tried so hard to kill me in secret. But with this many witnesses, even you can’t deny it now.”
At that moment—
[Unique Ability – ‘Eye of Chaos’ is activated!]
Wuuuuung!
A faint violet light flickered through the TV broadcast.
No one noticed the subtle wave that spread — a compulsion that made viewers subconsciously sympathize with Unknown’s words.
Doubt faded, replaced by an eerie dread.
“A fake…”
“So one of them’s pretending…”
“Ha… what the hell is going on?”
The audience sat speechless, overwhelmed by the madness unfolding before them.
“I understand your fear,” Unknown continued softly. “But we’re out of time. The moment I spoke the truth, another game began.”
Ding!
[Apocalypse ‘Covenant’ conditions fulfilled.]
[The First Seal is released.]
[Red Alert Event is activated!]
Objective:
Find the real Kang Jinhyuk and eliminate the fake.
Failure Condition:
Within seven days, seven seals will be released sequentially.
When all seals are undone, system restrictions will vanish — allowing every being in the Tower to move freely between floors and even influence the outside world.
Time Limit: 7 days
Reward for Success:
Clearing up to the 40th floor of the Tower.
At the very peak of humanity’s confidence and hope—
The worst possible event had just begun.
(T/N: DAMN!!! What a fking mess! Sorry for the delayed release! I was on a vacation this weekend! Happy Thanksgiving!)