Millennium's Chill
Seira lightly swung her sword to shake off the blood.
I gave her a thumbs-up at her dignified posture.
Ogre Raider: one-shot kill in one second complete.
[You have defeated the Ogre Raider!]
[The morale of the Ogre Legion drops!]
[The combat power of all Ogres plummets dramatically!]
With their leader lost, the Ogre Legion began to crumble rapidly.
The knights, who had struggled in one-on-one fights moments ago, now cut them down with far greater ease.
Jinhyuk furrowed his brow as he glanced around.
'Damn. When did she go?'
He'd wondered where Momo had gone.
But she was already by the Ogre Raider's side.
Jinhyuk hurried over and stood next to Momo.
For a brief moment, he watched with a pounding heart.
"Here!"
Momo held out a ring.
It seemed she'd collected the most expensive one first.
"Thanks, Momo!"
Jinhyuk swallowed hard.
He'd finally obtained it.
The item he'd only speculated about, since it had never actually appeared—the magic used by the Ogre Raider.
After a deep breath, he took the ring.
[You acquire Karakle's Ring! A ring stolen by the Ogre Raider from the royal treasury! / Grade: Unique / Level Restriction: 30]
Magic Power Increase: 10.Maximum Mana Increase: 300.Unique Skill: Quick Shield - Physical.When a physical attack strikes the wearer, a shield activates! It cannot block physical attacks above a certain level!Mana is consumed proportional to the damage when the shield activates!
Jinhyuk's eyes gleamed fiercely.
The Tower of Despair, where deaths occurred daily without fail.
Among them, the most common cause was always ambushes.
Players often perished before they could even recognize the danger, let alone escape—and the Quick Shield, which activated automatically without awareness, was perfect for preventing such instant kills.
It even worked outside the Tower.
That was why he judged its market value would exceed billions the moment it appeared, despite the modest stat boosts.
One question that might arise here.
If it had Quick Shield, why did the Ogre Raider get sliced in one hit?
Gulp.
Jinhyuk shifted his gaze to Seira.
There was nothing wrong with the ring.
The Quick Shield had definitely activated, if only for a split second.
But the physical attack power of Seira's sword far exceeded what the Quick Shield could withstand.
'It just had a bad matchup. Anyway, my survival rate's been upgraded.'
With a smile, he slipped on the ring.
[A new stat 'Magic Power' is added! When using magic or spells that consume mana as a resource, their power increases!]
He grinned ear to ear as he stared at the ring, then threw a few uppercuts into the air.
He had no idea exactly what "a certain level" of physical attack meant.
But the odds of dying to some mysterious instant kill—whether in the Tower or outside—had plummeted dramatically.
'Gotta live long and prosper.'
Once he got out, he planned to test how far he could push his luck.
Slash!
In the distance, the last Ogre fell.
[The Knight Order has reclaimed the stronghold!]
[You have cleared the 30th floor of the Tower of Despair!]
"We won!"
"Hooray!!!"
Cheers erupted from every corner of the battlefield.
Everyone wore expressions of disbelief at this overwhelming victory.
The commander leading the Knight Order approached.
"We are truly grateful. Without the aid of a knight as exceptional as you, this victory would have been impossible!"
[All knights, including the commander, express their gratitude and respect to the player!]
[Total playtime: 11 minutes. Your contributions, acknowledged by all residents of the Tower who participated in the battle! You acquire SSS+ grade!]
Jinhyuk nodded with a smile as he looked at the commander and the knights.
Climbing mechanically could make things feel numb at times, but he was still curious.
Just what kind of beings were they?
They were different from Corny, whom he'd met before the 30th floor.
The same battle could unfold countless times depending on the player, yet the Knight Order acted as if this fight was their first.
'Acting... nah, probably not?'
If it was, he'd have no choice but to acknowledge it.
The kind of insane acting skill that could fool you with a double slap.
[Player Eugene Jinhyuk's level increases!]
[Player Eugene Jinhyuk's level increases!]
[Current Level: 37]
[With two level-ups, all held stats rise simultaneously!]
[You acquire 1 Blank Card, 1 Blank Card - Truth!]
Once again, his fist clenched tight.
Level-ups often didn't yield them, but two at once?
And one was a precious Truth card to boot.
He couldn't help but throw uppercuts.
[Kanchu's level rises! Current Level: 73]
[You acquire a new bomb recipe!]
'Something dangerous came out.'
He'd have to keep a close eye on her once he got back to the officetel.
[Momo's experience rises! Current Experience: 50%]
[Seira Kinkayton's experience rises! Current Experience: 99%]
'Oh, finally.'
The highest level in the party at 121.
Thanks to that, even clearing the Tower of Despair barely increased Seira's experience—like a mosquito's tear.
99%, painstakingly gathered drop by drop.
Just one more floor to clear for a level-up. It was thrilling.
[You acquire a large quantity of Ogre parts!]
[The achievement gauge increases! Gauge reaches MAX! You are awarded a Privilege Box!]
No sooner had the message appeared than he clasped his hands together.
Prayer mode engaged.
A bright light scattered before his eyes.
An effect that never got old, no matter how many times he saw it.
Ding!
[You acquire Unique Hero Skill Unlock Ticket Lv1!]
[Momo has completed all collections!]
[You exit the 30th floor of the Tower of Despair!]
A small ridge behind the old town.
"Whew. It's been a while since I climbed a mountain. Feels good."
Right after exiting the 30th floor, he left the officetel—there were several things he wanted to try, all in all.
It felt safer to do them outside than in his small, precious home.
Jinhyuk wiped the sweat from his brow and glanced to the side.
'As expected, only Seira.'
Kanchu and Momo weren't here right now.
When he'd declared they were going hiking, Momo had fled to the bed, and Kanchu to the couch, claiming it was too messy.
"That spot looks good."
Seira pointed to an area near the top of the hill.
It was well-shielded by rocks, minimizing the risk of prying eyes.
As he spread out a mat in a suitable spot.
"Oh? Hiking at this hour."
Darak, who had manifested, rubbed his chin with interest.
"Good work. Nothing going on at the Smoke Guild?"
"It's totally peaceful. The guys who got beat up by the boss don't have the guts to try anything. And it felt like they could manage without me."
"Huh? What do you mean by that?"
"The old man at the shop the boss used to frequent—he seems to be hiding his power."
"Oh Jaegap Grandpa? Really?"
He hadn't detected any notable energy even with Presence Detection. This was unexpected.
"Not certain. But if he sensed me in that street, he's no ordinary guy."
"Oh... A Taoist living in a fox den thick with cigarette smoke. Kinda mysterious."
Darak shrugged and sat down.
Well, this worked out perfectly.
What he was about to do next required Darak.
[Unique Hero Skill Unlock Ticket Lv1]
"Darak. I'm gonna unlock one of your skills. What's a good one? Can't unlock everything—just ones you could learn before Epic grade."
No need to explain skills or grades.
Just as he'd instinctively recognized Jinhyuk as his master upon their first meeting, he naturally accepted the system's existence too.
"Hmm."
After a moment's thought, Darak spoke.
"What's the attribute of the floors you're climbing next?"
"Floors 31 to 40 are the lava zone. Fire attribute, roughly?"
The 31st floor was known as a wall even on Tower sites.
A region boiling with lava, where battles had to unfold in that environment.
Even without monsters, the heat itself was a hurdle, making some form of body protection essential before entry.
That was why he'd decided without hesitation to use the unlock ticket on Darak.
"Perfect. There's one called Millennium's Chill. Unlock that."
"Okay."
[You use Unique Hero Skill Unlock Ticket Lv1 on the Undying Darak Kastor! Please select the skill to unlock!]
"Millennium's Chill."
[Required acquisition level 110! Level insufficient!]
Ding!
[With the power of the Collector, the unlock ticket is forcibly used! Level restriction overcome! You acquire Millennium's Chill!]
A power seeped into his body, and the corner of Darak's mouth curved up.
Then he stared at Jinhyuk.
To gain this power so soon.
His master truly was versatile.
"Did it work? All set?"
"Yeah. It went well. But there's one more thing I need separately."
"What?"
"Can I go back to the prison where I was locked up?"
"Of course."
Jinhyuk gave a thumbs-up.
Unlike the Tower of Despair, where each floor had entry conditions, the Mythical Tower required them per floor.
You couldn't climb every day even if you wanted to, so there was plenty of leeway with entry tickets.
The 4th floor of the Mythical Tower he'd originally planned to hit could wait for the ticket generating in a few hours.
[You enter the 3rd floor of the Mythical Tower.]
Without hesitation, he tore the entry ticket.
The enormous glacier prison reappeared.
"Ugh."
He shivered in the pouring chill.
Should've worn a padded jacket.
Darak walked toward the prison entrance.
It was so cold he stuck right to Seira as he watched.
"You're back sooner than I expected."
Darak murmured to himself as he faced the glacier.
Then he spread his arms wide.
From the eternal cold steel enveloping his arms flowed a deep blue energy.
"Well then."
The corner of Darak's mouth stretched long.
"Return to me."
Crack!!
With a massive roar, cracks formed in the millennial glacier that blanketed the area.
A sight so grand it made his body twitch involuntarily.
How many seconds passed?
Kwah-gah-gah-gah-kak!!!
Darak began devouring the millennial glacier at terrifying speed.
At first, the sheer volume made it look like he was being swallowed whole—but no.
It was Darak doing the devouring.
Jinhyuk looked around.
The walls he'd leaned against, the ice that formed the floor—everything was transferring to Darak.
"It's turning into the form of the prison I knew."
Seira was the one who'd knocked Darak down and imprisoned him in the glacier, but she'd said this was her first time on the 3rd floor of the Mythical Tower.
Back then, it was called the glacier prison in name only—the entire area hadn't been covered in ice.
Naturally, her encounter with Dordal, the guardian, had been a first too.
The area being blanketed in millennial glacier and Dordal's placement had happened after Seira sealed Darak.
"And that... is the one I knew..."
Seira trailed off, narrowing her eyes.
"The Undying who wields the chill of extreme cold, Darak Kastor."
All the visible millennial glacier vanished.
"Heh!"
An ecstatic smile spread across Darak's face.
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T/N:
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