58. Tower of Trials, 20th Floor
The boss of the 20th floor.
Dracula (S-grade) was a true progenitor.
Not a vampire who had become one after having their blood sucked by another vampire, but a being born as a vampire from the start.
That was why he was far stronger and nobler than ordinary spawn.
“How dare you.”
Swoosh.
As Dracula rose from his seat, he realized it. That some insolent somebody was trying to kill him.
“Who dares challenge my authority?!”
That was why he had sent the assassination squad, and even his secretary, ‘Lenphil’ (A-grade).
But.
The intruder was approaching so fast that it made what he had sent seem meaningless.
Kugugugugugu..!
An enormous killing intent poured out from Dracula’s body.
‘It’s been a long time.’
Has it been about a thousand years?
It had also been a very long time since he had raised his own body directly. It wasn’t as though there had been no challengers in all that time.
It was just that most of those who challenged him had been taken care of by the assassination squad or Lenphil.
“Kekekeke.”
Savage fangs showed beneath Dracula’s lips.
“This will be entertaining. Very.”
Reaching this place meant they had defeated Lenphil, but that did not matter.
Even hundreds of Lenphils charging him at once would not be enough to bring down none other than himself, Dracula.
“I shall bite you. I shall drain your blood, kill your neck, and make you into a second Lenphil. Reaching this place means you must at least have the qualifications for that….!!”
Just as he grinned wickedly and was about to unleash his power—
“Bullshit.”
Something suddenly rushed at him from right before his eyes at tremendous speed.
Kwaaaaaang!
What caught on Dracula’s rapidly raised claws was HunGyo’s sword.
“Ohh, indeed.”
Dracula admired him.
The heavy force he felt was no ordinary opponent.
“For a human, you are stron—··!”
Kwaaaang!
When Dracula tried to raise his other claws, HunGyo’s sword was already smashing hard into his neck.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Not just his neck.
Before he could properly react, Dracula’s whole body was already being raked everywhere by the sword.
With the blessing of the Omnipotent Rune, plus even a lucky opportunity, and on top of that the buff from Light-Speed Lamba, how could anyone possibly handle HunGyo?!
“You son of a….!”
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
“W-wait a moment.”
Dracula opened his mouth, sensing something was wrong, but—
Pugagagagak!
Gale Slayer’s scythe stabbed into it, then spun around inside.
‘No, fuck! Let me talk, you bastards!’
It wasn’t as if the damage was properly going through, since he had 99% physical resistance.
But they were too fast. There was no way to react.
It was like trying to catch a fly darting all over the place, its movements so mysterious that no matter how many times you clapped your hands, you just couldn’t catch it.
Kwaaaang!
Even when he swung his claws, a sword stabbed him somewhere else.
Kwaaaang!
Every time he tried to speak, they kept striking his fangs and tongue with the scythe.
Dracula was on the verge of going insane.
‘No, seriously!’
There had to be limits to how fast someone could be.
Kwagagagagagagagang!
He even felt like their attack speed was gradually increasing while they were beating him.
‘These insolent little worms!’
At last, Dracula resolved to get serious.
He decided to use Blood Space, a technique that drew up all his power and took control of the entire surrounding space!
“Kiaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!”
[‘Dracula’ (S-grade) reveals an overwhelming presence.]
[‘Dracula’ (S-grade) uses Blood Space.]
Kuagagagagagaga!
The blood and life force he had absorbed while alive transformed into energy and crushed down upon the space.
—Hup…!
—Krrk......?!
Even HunGyo and Gale Slayer, who had been attacking with all their might—
—Kyaaaaauuuut!
And even Lamba, who had been swinging her staff…
Under that overwhelming pressure, they were forced to let go of their weapons and kneel.
Gooooooo…..!
The sight of Dracula looking down on them with a wild expression was truly chillingly terrifying.
“Hoo.”
Baek Jinwoo, who had been watching that scene from a distance, let out a breath.
That was right.
That, in fact, was Lamba’s counter.
No matter how many stacks she built up, if a spatial pressure technique like that was strong enough, there was no way to avoid it.
What did it matter if attack speed was fast?
If you couldn’t move.
That was why they needed a ranged attack—specifically, Explosive Dragon’s Flame.
‘The weakness of Blood Space is its short range.’
Information about that skill was already streaming through Baek Jinwoo’s mind.
From how many seconds it bound the target to the range of its effect.
That was why Explosive Dragon had been kept outside the door separately.
“Explosive Dragon.”
—Yes, Jinwoo. I’m ready.
“Fire immediately.”
—Yes!
Explosive Dragon unleashed the Explosive Dragon Wave it had been storing all at once.
Explosive Dragon Secret Art - Flame.
Hwarurururururuk!
A fireball that bloomed outside the range of the skill took on the form of an explosive dragon and shot straight toward Dracula.
“N-no, what is this now?!”
Dracula cried out in shock.
Of all things, he happened to be weak to the fire attribute, and that skill clearly looked different at a glance.
Moreover, it had come right after he had fully released his power, so he couldn’t even find the timing to dodge.
In the end—
Kwaaaaaaaaaaaang!
Dracula was forced to take the hit from Explosive Dragon Sorcerer head-on!
“Kkoaaaaaaaaaaak!”
Dracula’s body began to burn.
He screamed over and over in pain on a completely different level from what HunGyo’s sword had inflicted.
His body bent like a bow, trembling violently in spasms.
‘This is impossible.’
This was not ordinary fire.
It felt like fire that had been compressed, then compressed again.
“H-how in the world…. what are you people?!”
In all the countless ages Dracula had lived, he had never once seen enemies like these.
Dracula’s HP began to fall at a terrifying speed.
“Kkeuaaaaaaa!”
He screamed madly, but there was nothing Dracula could do.
Because HunGyo and Gale Slayer had started moving again, interfering with Dracula’s evolution process.
Knowing the situation was nearly over, Baek Jinwoo slowly walked forward.
“You’re asking who we are?”
Then he grinned.
“What’s the point of knowing? You’re about to die.”
Then he’d die and come back to life again.
He’d revive without knowing anything and appear once more on the 20th floor of someone else’s tower.
After all, he was nothing more than a setting in Battle of Summoners.
Hwarurururuk!
The Explosive Dragon Wave that shot out from Explosive Dragon Sorcerer’s staff transformed via Transformation and burrowed into Dracula’s mouth.
The flaming transformation tunneled through him here and there, burning away everything inside him.
“......!”
Unable to even speak or scream anymore, Dracula gradually began turning pitch-black.
The process of becoming ash.
It was exactly the same as with Cyclops (S-grade).
He had once been a tremendous boss, but to the current Baek Jinwoo, he was nothing.
[You have defeated the 20th floor boss, ‘Dracula’ (S-grade).]
[Congratulations!]
[You have conquered the 20th floor of the Tower of Trials!]
The 20th floor as well had been easy enough.
* * *
News of the Tower of Trials 20th floor clear was delivered to only two places.
Yoobaek, and the Director.
“.....Huhuhuhuhu.”
After hearing the news, the Director shook his head in disbelief.
“Is it really true? He really cleared from the 11th floor to the 20th floor in just four hours?”
“That is correct.”
Even the Tower management employee wore a look of disbelief.
How could someone clear the Tower of Trials faster than clearing an ordinary dungeon!
His mouth was itching.
He wanted to grab someone and go on and on about Baek Jinwoo’s greatness.
But?
If he did that without Baek Jinwoo’s permission, he would be cursed by the system.
The contract was absolute.
“What about the 30th floor? Is he going to challenge it too?”
The Director was excited now.
Wasn’t the boss of the 30th floor one that even the famous Rachel had not challenged yet?
Why was that?
If it were Baek Jinwoo, it somehow felt like he would clear that easily too.
“I do not know about that. When he first entered the 11th floor, he said he would climb up to the 20th floor, and that is exactly what he did before leaving.”
“Hmmm, is that so?”
Well, whatever.
What did it matter either way!
For the first time in a long while, the Director had no choice but to feel pure joy.
Putting aside his own interests, it was the pure awe one felt when witnessing someone truly extraordinary.
And then there was the patriotic pride that came from the fact that such a person belonged to South Korea!
‘It’s changing slowly—no, quickly.’
Watching from afar as if observing an entire forest, he could feel it.
That present-day South Korea was going through a tremendous process of change because of a single person.
* * *
Baek Jinwoo canceled all his schedules.
He did not even go to the training ground and came straight up to the penthouse.
Why?
If you had just casually run the Tower, then of course you had to sort out the rewards right away!
—Kkirururururu!
Baek Jinwoo carefully landed on the rooftop, then reverse-summoned the Wyvern.
That was the good thing about the penthouse.
You could go straight home without passing through the first floor!
Jeok!
After arriving, HunGyo went to a corner and cleaned his sword, while Gale Slayer took up position on the rooftop and began keeping watch.
—Refrigerator! Refrigerator! Refrigerator!
Lamba ran off in search of cream bread.
Drrrk!
Explosive Dragon was grinding coffee beans after pouring them into the coffee grinder.
It was not for herself, but for Jinwoo, who had worked hard.
“Haa.”
Sitting on the soft sofa, Baek Jinwoo neatly organized the rewards he had obtained.
[11th floor – Omnipotent Polish x15]
[12th floor – Advanced Summoning Scroll x20]
[13th floor – Top-grade Summoning Scroll x5]
[14th floor – Mind-Reading Eagle (A) x1]
[15th floor – Essence of Darkness x15]
[16th floor – Omnipotent Polish x15]
[17th floor – Top-grade Summoning Scroll x5]
[18th floor – Top-grade Semi-Selection Ticket (Bound)]
[19th floor – Omnipotent Polish x15]
[20th floor – King’s Emblem (Bound) x1, Top-grade Semi-Selection Ticket (Bound) x2]
Good.
Very good.
Especially—
‘Mind-Reading Eagle?’
He had needed a lot of polish too, and 45 was more than enough, while the rest was not bad either.
This was a summon even Baek Jinwoo had never seen before, and after reading about it, he found it quite fascinating.
[Summon: Mind-Reading Eagle]
[Species: Eagle]
[Grade: A-grade (Rare)]
– Limited summon, only 50 individuals worldwide.
[Level: 1]
[Stats]
Strength: 1, Intelligence: 1, Stamina: 1, Agility: 1
HP: 1,000, MP: 100
Critical Chance: 20%
Critical Damage: 20%
[Skills]
– Mind Reading: Once per day, reads the heart and discerns whether the target is telling the truth or a lie.
It seemed to be a summon with special characteristics, like the Rainbow Snail his mother had, or the Interpreter Bird that Jasim had gifted him…..
Wow.
A lie detector bird.
It felt like a summon that would be quite useful if given to the police or the National Intelligence Service.
In truth, something like this was much better than an Advanced or Top-grade Summoning Scroll.
First of all, it was rare, and that alone gave it value.
But—
‘Something like this isn’t all that necessary for me.’
He might use it occasionally, but not often.
‘Rather...’
Wouldn’t it suit Yoo Jia better, since she handled business regularly?
At such a young age, she had to deal with all sorts of sly operators, and with that bird, the burden on her might lessen a little.
She would also be less likely to get stabbed in the back.
‘It seems like it would be more useful to her than to me.’
Come to think of it—
It felt like he was always the one receiving things from Yoo Jia and had never properly looked after her with anything in return.
Even if she had taken shares, he still had not forgotten the summons she had looked after for him back when she did not even know him at all.
Especially the gifts she had given to his family—they had not even been paid for with company money, but from her own pocket.
Right!
‘Let’s give this to Yoo Jia as a gift!’
Baek Jinwoo did not bother taking out the Mind-Reading Eagle right away.
Now that he had sorted everything out, the very first thing he needed to do was—
‘Rune Dwarf.’
Springing up—
Baek Jinwoo rose from his seat.
—Jinwoo, the coffee here is…..
Explosive Dragon had thoughtfully brought over a steaming cup of coffee.
“Thanks, but you drink it first. I need to go somewhere for a moment.”
Now.
It was time to work toward meeting yet another EX-grade summon.
Specifically, to make a guaranteed B-grade Summoning Scroll!
Just wait, Rune Dwarf!
I’m going to summon you and make very sweet use of you!
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