Chapter 700
Tsk tsk tsk…
A faint Mana leaked from his body.
Typically, those who had surpassed a certain level could control and conceal their presence. It let them move freely without drawing unnecessary attention.
However, in his moment of fluster, Jinhyuk lost his composure.
As a result, he revealed his presence to the opponent.
‘Damn. I’m making a mistake like this.’
…Too late.
The one who noticed was already approaching.
“Hehe. So you were here after all. I searched for a really long time.”
A cute boy, laughing innocently.
A returnee he had fought in Yottlearm Canyon.
It was Pain von Adel.
The worst Sword Demon, returned from a dimension teeming with swordsmen, obsessed with an unfinished match—he had come all the way here.
“You….”
“You are…?”
The members beside him stiffened.
Because they felt a visceral aversion toward the opponent.
In less than a second, multiple combat abilities tried to activate.
At that moment, Jinhyuk intervened.
“It’s fine. He doesn’t seem like he wants to fight right now.”
“Are you sure, Contractor? He’s dangerous.”
“I know. I’ll talk to him, so don’t make a scene. There are a lot of eyes on us.”
“Tch. Fine. If the Contractor says so, there’s no choice.”
Alice reverse-summoned the skewer she’d half-drawn.
Blood droplets scattered, and the storm that looked ready to erupt at any moment settled.
Only then could they talk properly.
“How can you come outside?”
Jinhyuk asked, sounding incredulous.
Even mid-tier factions had to consume massive amounts of items and Mana Stones to move between floors. And coming outside the Tower was so burdensome that even they had to gamble their faction’s rise and fall on it.
But an individual doing it…
Absurd.
“I paid the cost. I’ve saved up quite a bit, you know.”
Adel smiled slyly.
Then he added, casually.
“And for a faction’s backing… I beheaded all the upper echelons of a suitable mid-tier faction and took their place.”
He said something that bloody with an innocent face.
That made it even more chilling.
“The Administrator would accept something that makeshift?”
“That part’s fine too. I killed one mid-tier Administrator who tried to nitpick. The other one with him kindly agreed to help, so at least this time there shouldn’t be any problem!”
Ah…
A headache throbbed behind Jinhyuk’s eyes.
Since Casey and Judro, this was the first time he’d run into a lunatic who acted purely on instinct.
Still, Adel being here wasn’t entirely bad.
‘He’s useful. This guy.’
In many ways, handled right, he was a valuable pawn.
Not to mention the abilities he possessed.
Already, the Eye of Gluttony had grasped Adel’s information in full.
[Pain von Adel]
Level: 315
Unique Holy Spear: Night Parade of One Hundred Demons
Unique Ability: Willow Sword
Skills: Lv37 ‘Swordsmanship Creation’, Lv35 ‘Manic Focus’, Lv35 ‘Breath Control’, Lv35 ‘Flowing Sound Steps’,… There are too many other skills, switching to ‘Collapsed’ state.
Copy Condition: Not to become stronger, but to slay the strong. The boy has grown by overcoming numerous mountains. An obsession close to madness. If you arrange a one-on-one fight for Adel with the opponent he most desires to fight, you can copy one of his Unique Holy Spear, Unique Ability, or Skills. (However, the opponent participating in this fight must also engage in the battle with sufficient fighting spirit, and a satisfactory result must be achieved.)
A fight without regrets.
Copying Adel’s ability required a considerable sacrifice.
Coincidentally, someone came to mind—someone he could throw in as a sacrifice without a shred of guilt.
Now all he needed was the right stage, and the right spark.
Jinhyuk’s mind filled with wicked plans.
“You want Chun Yoosung, right?”
“Yeah! That hyung is the best swordsman in this world, right?”
“Yep. I’ve never seen anyone handle a sword like him. Never. To the point I thought he could even cut down the moon.”
“Hmm. That much?”
“Yeah. Hard to believe, right? But why would I tell a lie that’d get exposed immediately?”
“Then what about you, hyung? From what I saw back then, you didn’t seem ordinary either.”
“I’m more specialized in guns or magic than cold weapons. At least, his swordsmanship is several levels above mine. I’m not even worth the dirt under his fingernails. Yep. Absolutely.”
A genius sword saint.
Yoosung, who swept through enemies in all directions, truly possessed the supreme dignity of this world.
Jinhyuk looked at the sun floating outside the window, his face overflowing with emotion.
As if to say there was only one sun in this world.
“He seems worth cutting down! Thank you!”
The moment he finished speaking, Adel’s hand went to his waist.
‘Snap-click!’
His center of gravity dropped.
Sparks rose.
This madman intended to carve up everyone in the testing grounds—until he reached Yoosung.
“W-wait! If you do it like that, you won’t be able to properly fight Chun Yoosung. His ability is a bit special—he can only show his true strength when certain conditions are met. You wouldn’t want to cut down an opponent who can’t go all out, right?”
“…….”
Hesitation.
Adel reacted to Jinhyuk’s words.
What he wanted wasn’t a hunt, but a match.
He swung his sword for the razor’s edge between life and death, and the pleasure of overcoming it. This was prey he’d been craving for far too long—he couldn’t waste it meaninglessly.
“Then… what should I do?”
Hooked.
The corner of Jinhyuk’s mouth twitched.
“I know how. Join us in this tournament. What you want—I’m the only one who can make it happen for you.”
In any deal, the best strategy was gaslighting.
Make them believe there was only one product, and only one seller.
Seasoned second-hand dealers wouldn’t fall for it easily, but…
This guy was a battle maniac who did nothing but swing a sword all day.
Not someone worn down in the brutality of Hongdangmu Market.
And as if proving that.
“Promise. Keep it.”
Adel bit the bait.
—
[Party selection has concluded.]
[A total of 1,268 teams have been formed.]
[Each team is awarded a badge symbolizing the team, and depending on the number of badges collected, varying advantages will be applied in the upcoming main event.]
Jinhyuk, Alice, Teresa, Wolyoung, and even T-Bone and Frey, who had donned human skin using the Flesh Mask.
With Adel joining those six, a party of seven was formed.
“……Out of these, at most three teams.”
“The rest will all be eliminated.”
“We have to get in. Just participating in the main event changes your life.”
“I invested my entire fortune for today. I’ll smash them all.”
Sharp psychological warfare unfolded here and there.
As the countdown on the display hit ten seconds, the tension peaked.
Start with the nearest enemy?
Or the one who looked strong?
Or conserve stamina and Mana by avoiding conflict as much as possible?
They faced off, each with different strategies and thoughts.
And finally—
[3, 2, 1… Start!]
The competition began.
‘Bang bang bang bang bang… Slash!’
The moment the status window vanished, a fountain of blood erupted.
“Kyaaak!”
“Aaaah!”
Adel’s Willow Sword stretched out, tracing a terrifying trajectory.
The rule forbade killing.
So there were no deaths, but those whose limbs had been carved open were clearly in no condition to continue.
They didn’t even know where the strike came from.
“B-block it!”
“That crazy bastard….”
At first, they tried to fight back.
The enemy was only one.
Attacking everyone without hesitation wasn’t courage, it was recklessness. It should have meant he’d be crushed by sheer numbers.
However—
‘Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh!’
Far from fading, the flames only burned fiercer as time passed.
“Kick! What’s this, you hyungs and noonas are too slow.”
As if his body had fully warmed up, Adel’s speed and sharpness became even more brutal.
“Eeek!”
“M-monster.”
“It’s impossible. Run. Forget the test—we have to run to survive!”
The situation flipped. Those who tried to fight tucked their tails and fled.
‘Clang clang clang…’
Blades were severed, armor shattered. The fishy stench of blood signaled the opening of the festival.
“My Lord.”
Wolyoung frowned.
To anyone, the gap in skill was obvious.
Even though he could control the situation, the excessively cruel finishing moves drew disgust even from his own teammates.
“It’s a bit much. Alice.”
Jinhyuk nodded toward Alice beside him.
“To tell this great one to waste her Mana on such a trivial fight. Does the Contractor have no conscience?”
“Maldives. The place you kept going on about. I’ll take you there.”
[The Unique Holy Spear ‘Apocalypse of Revelation’ ‘Blood Eclipse’ is activated!]
[Due to the Blessing of the Stars, an invisibility effect is additionally granted to the skill.]
Before she even answered, a domain of blood unfolded.
“Cocktails and lobster should be unlimited.”
‘Boom!’
Monstrous gravity pressed down on the entire arena.
“Kuh!”
Even the rampaging Adel buckled under the weight and froze.
As for the remaining players…
It wasn’t worth describing.
[Team A-15 has been eliminated.]
[Team B-22 has been eliminated.]
[Team F-7 has been eliminated.]
Countless elimination messages flooded in.
About ten minutes later, only a tiny fraction of the applicants were still standing.
—
World Awakened Association Federation.
The War of Stars, hosted by the most authoritative and powerful group, was believed to be the most important event for climbing the Tower.
So they intended to select preliminary participants as fiercely as possible.
But—
“W-what happened? What on earth…”
“My goodness….”
A test expected to take at least six hours ended in under twenty minutes.
If it was due to a massive melee, it would’ve been understandable.
If thousands fought at once, an early end wasn’t impossible.
But being annihilated by a single person—
That shattered common sense.
The monitors couldn’t move for a long while.
They just stared at the screens, forgetting what they were supposed to do.
After who knew how long, the senior monitoring officer, Affleck, slapped his cheek.
“Immediately request all data on that individual. Also compile and report the profiles of the other qualified members. We’re short on time—within one hour!”
“With nearly twenty people, it might be tight to investigate in detail.”
“The rest can be updated later. What’s important now is participant number 1772.”
After Shuette, another monstrous rookie had appeared.
The boy who had been rampaging suddenly knelt on one knee, but it made sense if that was the trigger for a wide-area mental or magic-type skill.
After all, the Mana reactions of the remaining applicants were all mediocre, without anything noteworthy.
‘No one stands out.’
Affleck’s gaze shifted to Kang Jinhyuk, a former Korean BJ.
As expected, only a pitifully short and trivial career—something that could only be called luck—was written. There were also no records of any notable activity since the Tower of Trials appeared.
‘Still, as a sidekick, he should be enough to play his role.’
Fuel for the dazzling festival of stars.
That was enough.