Chapter 722
Heh.
Wearing a sinister smile, Jinhyuk walked toward Cheongha.
Cheongha noticed him as well, and her ears perked up.
“You… are you Kang Jinhyuk?”
True to the Twelve Zodiacs’ reputation for being notoriously closed off, it seemed they hadn’t even properly grasped Jinhyuk’s personal details.
“That’s right. I’m Kang Jinhyuk. Are you the Cat Tribe’s representative?”
“I’m Cheongha. Hmm. You’re a little different from what I heard. I was expecting… something more like a hulking monster, like the Demon King.”
Whatever she had been imagining, she seemed slightly disappointed by Jinhyuk’s slender build.
“Well, muscles aren’t everything when it comes to strength, so I’ll let that part slide!”
Cheongha put both hands on her hips as though she had just convinced herself of something.
While the Cat Tribe tended to be foolish and naive by nature, this one seemed exceptional even among them.
“Berial said you really wanted to meet me?”
“Ah… right! You’ve probably already heard, but I want to propose that you and Veteran Corporation join our side. How about it? It’s an honor, you know?”
“That proposal isn’t even worth hearing. It has zero nutritional value.”
“Whaaat? Are you serious? We control a floor very close to the Summit of the Tower, you know?”
“Not ‘we.’ That’s thanks to the monkey and the Demon King among you.”
“Th-that’s…”
Cheongha’s mouth fell open after being struck right where it hurt.
But only for a moment.
She had clearly gone through enough training to convince herself over and over how advantageous this situation was for their side.
“Still, you’d better listen carefully. There’s no guarantee we’ll only work with you. Lucifer and Eden seem to have quite a bit of power too. What do you think would happen if I made this offer to them instead?”
If the Twelve Zodiacs chose to intervene in the middle of the war with the Demon Realm, they would become an enormous variable.
If they ended up siding with Lucifer, the difficulty of capturing the holy city would rise several times over.
Moreover, their forces were already stretched thin just keeping Eden in check from the rear. In the worst-case scenario, they would be forced to divide those forces even further.
“Hmm. That would be a little troublesome…”
“Right? So join us. While I’m still asking nicely!”
“Alright. But before that, could you do me one favor?”
“What is it?”
“I need to go somewhere later, and it’s a pretty dangerous place. I’d feel a lot safer with a guide who has outstanding agility. I was hoping the Cat Tribe, famed for having ‘the swiftest feet,’ could accompany me.”
The key was to flatter her just enough while making it sound casual.
Among the Twelve Zodiacs, the Cat Tribe was one of the weaker races, so they were always starved for praise.
“Huun! For a human, you know a thing or two. Fine. I’ll help you. So if I do this, you’ll join us?”
“I’ll give it serious consideration.”
Jinhyuk held out his hand.
Cheongha took it without the slightest suspicion.
“Then wait here for a moment. I’ll talk to my companions and come right back.”
“Alright.”
Leaving Cheongha there, Jinhyuk returned to Berial and Anubis.
The two Divinities, who had been anxiously bouncing their legs the entire time, stood back up the moment he returned.
“How did it go?”
“Of course my apostle, the one who even forced the Demon King to back down, would have handled the conversation perfectly and returned victorious, right?”
For beings who were supposed to be Divinities, they really had no dignity whatsoever.
They had at least seemed somewhat solemn when they first met.
“Yeah. You can continue the siege without worrying about them now. However, I won’t be able to help with this matter. There’s somewhere else I need to go.”
The invitation tucked neatly inside his clothes.
The seal written in a bizarre language kept its contents perfectly hidden.
“That can’t be. If you’re gone, this battle will be difficult…”
“I agree. The morale of our side was sky-high, but it looks like we’ll have to take the hard road again.”
“Don’t worry too much. My companions will stay behind and help with the war until I return.”
“I can say with complete confidence that I’ll be more useful than that idiot.”
“I’ll do my best!”
Chun Yoosung and Teresa nodded.
The swordsman who had inherited the power of the Sword Saint.
And the Saintess who could freely wield both of her personalities.
These two Top Rankers would be more valuable than an army of ten thousand.
The war with Eden, now right around the corner.
The first battle that would decide the fate of the Tower of Trials’ Upper Echelons had begun.
===
It was an exciting day.
For once, I had the chance to leave that familiar world full of nothing but the Cat Tribe and see another floor.
The stage had already been set. It was a simple, straightforward mission: threaten the other side with what I had memorized and get the result I wanted.
And sure enough, everything went smoothly.
The human caved immediately under the terrifying threat and quickly raised the white flag.
He promised that if I accompanied him somewhere first, he would join our side with his tail tucked neatly between his legs.
It was a task easier than breathing.
Humans might struggle with dangerous places, but for the great and swift Cat Tribe, traversing such terrain was no problem at all.
That was what I thought, at least…
“Mmm?”
The scene unfolding before Cheongha’s eyes forced a strange sound out of her throat.
[You have used the Tower of Trials’ [50th Floor Free Pass].]
[The invitation’s contents have been partially altered through [System Manipulation] and [Lost Language].]
[The entry limit has been increased to ‘3 people’.]
Sentient beings normally think.
They consider uncertain futures, imagine possible scenarios, and prioritize them.
But I can say with certainty.
This was not one of the scenarios Cheongha had anticipated.
Leaving behind the Cat Tribe girl, whose soul looked like it was currently drifting out of her body, Jinhyuk stretched lazily.
“Hmm. The air here really sends chills down the spine.”
The 50th floor.
A place he was visiting again after a very long time.
Just standing inside this space made every one of his senses sharpen and sent his heart pounding faster.
Like a finely forged sword, it felt as though every single cell in his body had come alive and was breathing.
Well, how could it be otherwise?
This was the 50th floor of the Tower of Trials.
A place that could be called the headquarters of the Ancient Beings.
Even now, it remained a domain no one had fully comprehended.
Not Jinhyuk, who had once cleared the Tower.
Not the Ancient Beings who lived here.
Not even those who oversaw the Tower’s operation.
‘One careless moment is enough to get you killed.’
Especially since he had reached the 50th floor far earlier than he had in the past. With his specs much lower than before, the risk was inevitably on a completely different level.
‘But that just makes it more thrilling.’
Lately, there had been very few moments where he had truly felt his life hanging by a thread, so having the chance to taste this highest-grade hellish difficulty was incredibly precious.
Poke poke.
Jinhyuk poked Cheongha on the shoulder.
“Snap out of it. It’s dangerous to stand still here.”
“W-wake me up from this nightmare already. Hehehe. Right. This can’t be real. The 50th floor all of a sudden? How does that make any sense?”
Hmm.
Looking at her now…
She had already passed fear and despair and reached the stage of outright denying reality.
Was the shock too much for someone who was just a mere proxy for the Cat King?
‘This’ll be troublesome if she’s already like this.’
Arriving on the 50th floor was only the beginning of the massive wave Cheongha was about to experience. From here on out, the ripples would gather and swell into a giant tsunami.
Right then.
Ssssss…
A thin shadow began creeping along the ground.
An approach so subtle it barely had any presence at all.
Of course, someone like Cheongha, who was already half-panicked, had no chance of noticing something that stealthy.
Chwa chwa chwa chwa chwa!
The plants, having closed the distance in an instant, lunged at Cheongha.
At that moment—
Swish!
Jinhyuk’s dagger cut through the air.
[Ancient Language is being engraved!]
Faint, glowing letters traced themselves over the surface of the [First Blade], and purple fluid burst from the severed plants.
Ssssss!
The ground began melting at a terrifying speed.
That same fluid continued dripping from the thorns sprouting along the stems.
“Wh-what?”
Cheongha’s pupils shook violently.
One second later.
No, 0.1 seconds later, and she would have melted into a sticky mess in that fluid.
“I’m only saving you this once. From now on, dodge for yourself.”
“Y-you’re just going to abandon me?”
“If you’re part of a faction that wants to recruit us, then shouldn’t you at least be capable of handling this much on your own?”
A resident of an Upper Echelon Power needing protection from a subordinate.
What kind of ridiculous nonsense was that?
Unless…
“You join us.”
If she understood her position and properly carried out her role as an intern of Veteran Corporation, then perhaps saving her wouldn’t be completely impossible.
“You want me to overturn our entire deal just to save myself? I’d rather die than do something that would harm my clan! And besides, it’s not like I’m fated to die here, right? Like you said, I’m confident in my agility.”
“Tsk tsk.”
Jinhyuk clicked his tongue as he looked at Cheongha desperately trying to recover her confidence.
“Why!”
“No, I just feel sorry for you.”
It was pitiable.
Almost sad, really, how completely she had missed the point.
“Sorry, but no matter how well you run here, you can’t completely erase the traces you leave behind.”
The moment someone entered the 50th floor, certain Ancient Beings would already become aware of the intruder.
They would probably notice the Cat Tribe scent as well.
In other words.
“You’ve already been marked on the 50th floor.”
Son Oh-gong or the Demon King might somehow have a chance of surviving.
But could a mere Cat Tribe last even a day against the Ancient Beings here?
Hmm.
If someone were offering odds on that, he’d bet his entire fortune.
“Haha…”
Cheongha’s face turned deathly pale.
That’s right.
There had never been a choice for her from the start.
If she wanted to survive.
And if she didn’t want the Cat Tribe itself to become prey for the Ancient Beings.
Then she had no choice but to pledge loyalty to Jinhyuk.
===
How should I even describe surviving on the 50th floor?
Watching that famous Bear Grylls survival show had made my palms sweat before, but this was on an entirely different plane.
It was primal fear engraved into DNA itself.
Fear of an unknown and alien world.
The sensation of boundaries collapsing and the five senses blurring into one another was the kind of thing nobody could endure while fully sane.
Except for one person.
“Oh! Hey. This was here too. I missed it. This brings back memories.”
Except for the high-level player who was leisurely sightseeing through this hellish Demon Realm as though he were out on a stroll.
Jinhyuk cast a Barrier around himself and kept exclaiming in admiration.
From a bizarrely shaped cliff, a blue liquid was flowing out, and its overly sweet, alluring scent stimulated the appetite.
“It looks dangerous.”
Cheongha’s ears stood straight up as she quickly hid behind Jinhyuk.
They had only been here for about an hour, yet she had already almost died more than ten times.
She had learned firsthand that everything visible in this place was fully capable of taking her life.
But—
“It’s fine. That’s one of the few drinks on this floor you can actually consume.”
It looked so suspiciously enticing that it almost seemed dangerous, but it was a liquid rich in nutrients and excellent in taste.
Come to think of it, I once had the ridiculous thought that if I carbonated this and sold it, I could become a tycoon. Now that this is reality, it might not be entirely impossible anymore.
Glug glug.
Jinhyuk filled his canteen with the liquid.
“So, can’t you at least tell me the final objective? You said that once we’re done here, we can go back.”
“Ah. Right.”
He had gotten so lost in the nostalgia that he had forgotten.
“We’re going to use this place as a temporary base, observe the situation for a bit, and then head to the royal palace.”
“The royal palace?”
“Yeah. The royal palace.”
“Who lives there?”
“Hmm. There’s a nasty guy named Azathoth on the 50th floor, and that’s where he sleeps.”
Although waking him up would lead straight to an immediate Dead End, infiltrating that place was essential if they wanted to achieve the purpose of coming to the 50th floor.
“……”
The moment the answer fell from his lips, Cheongha’s slender shoulders began trembling violently.
-Contractor. That cat girl is crying.
“Leave her alone. Even cats have moments when they need to cry.”
After making one last purchase from the Coin Exchange, Jinhyuk opened his Subspace Inventory. Inside were all the various materials he had steadily gathered after entering the 50th floor, stacked in neat order.
‘Every possible preparation is complete.’
The two suns sank.
The first moon was about to rise.
Now.
It was time to head into Azathoth’s domain.