141. Tower of Trials, Floor 40 (1)
“Ohh, finally.”
Baek Jinwoo was genuinely delighted.
At last, Rund!
He had grown back to the level he was at before getting isolated in the past.
Crafting LV. 6, and Luxury Crafting LV. 3!
From Explosive Dragon Sorcerer all the way to Rund, they were all growing like crazy, each one determined to fulfill their role!
“You’ve worked hard, Rund.”
—Uhehehe! You’re the one who worked hard, Master. The only reason I could grow so much faster than before is all thanks to your consideration, isn’t it!
“I appreciate you saying that.”
Smiling softly, Baek Jinwoo opened his status window.
A new rune had been unlocked.
[This is the list of Luxury items you can craft.]
[Berserk (Rare), Omnipotent (Rare), Howling (Rare), Emperor (Rare), Trinity (Unique)]
[Extreme Poison (Rare), Ruin (Rare), Fire Dragon (Rare), Extreme Cold (Rare), Annihilation (Unique)]
[Iron Wall (Rare), Life (Rare), Knight (Rare), Savage (Rare), Flame Emperor (Unique)]
“Damn.”
Flame Emperor.
It had finally appeared.
Among all fire-element runes, that was the ultimate endgame monster of a rune, a ridiculously broken rune of which only a single set could exist in the entire game!
The way to make it was similar to Trinity or Annihilation.
Just as three Omnipotent Runes made one Trinity, and three Ruin Runes made one Annihilation.
Three Fire Dragon Runes made one Flame Emperor.
“Rund. Just wait. This master of yours is going to show you what the hammer of Flame Emperor Rune crafting tastes like soon enough.”
—Ooooooh, I love it! I shall eagerly await that day!
Good.
Now that most things were wrapped up.
‘Should I climb the Tower of Trials some more while gathering a few more Fire Dragon Rune materials?’
So far, he had reached Floor 30.
Rachel’s record was Floor 50, so for now, let’s push straight up to there!
The lineup was simple.
Lamba, HunGyo, Explosive Dragon, Gale Slayer, Aso, Jaggeo, Dampir.
It was, quite literally, an EX-rank wallpaper.
He had deliberately left the other summons out.
Baek Jinwoo’s identity lay in his EX-rank summons, and as long as he raised them properly, that was enough.
No need to spread precious experience points around.
“Sweetheart.”
In public, Yoo Jia called Baek Jinwoo “Mr. Jinwoo”.
But when no one else was around, the two of them were sweeter than anyone.
It couldn’t be helped.
They had only been dating for less than a month.
“Yeah?”
“Don’t push yourself too hard. If it starts getting too overwhelming, don’t force the climb and just come back.”
“Don’t worry. You think I can’t handle a path Rachel climbed?”
“....I’m just worried. You said you were going to clear them one after another, not just one floor or two.”
Even the Tower of Trials, which she used to send him off to without a second thought, now made her anxious.
At that moment, Aso, who had been summoned nearby, walked up to Yoo Jia.
—Mom!
“Eek.”
Yoo Jia covered her mouth with both hands.
Because the little life-form called Aso looking up at her was just too adorable.
—Don’t worry! I’ll protect Dad!
“R-Really? Hehehe. So reliable?”
More than anything, Yoo Jia liked that word, “Mom”.
She wasn’t old enough to be a mother yet, but still, it meant even his summon recognized her as part of the couple.
“Our Aso has to protect Daddy well, okay?”
—Yep!
Tap, tap!
Aso confidently slapped the sword at her waist.
She looked that cute, but the moment she grabbed that sword, there was no need for any other sword demon.
She still wasn’t stronger than HunGyo yet, but even HunGyo clicked his tongue at the speed of her growth.
—R-r-r-right then! Shall we get goingooong!
—We are ready, my lord.
—Gwoooar.......
—Let’s go.
In front of the Tower of Trials.
All the summons were burning with enthusiasm.
Preparations complete!
Now all that remained was to look forward and charge ahead.
“I’ll be back.”
Before entering, Baek Jinwoo wrapped an arm around Yoo Jia’s waist.
The two shared a light kiss.
* * *
The Floor 40 boss was the Cronotaur.
A half-man, half-bull monster, the king of Minotaurs.
Naturally, the entire dungeon process was vividly alive in his head.
[You may now challenge Floor 31.]
[Would you like to challenge it?]
[Y/N]
‘Yes.’
Wooooong!
With an energy enveloping his entire body, the location changed in an instant.
In a pitch-black space stood an enormous gate.
“This really takes me back.”
He’d gotten sick of seeing it on a screen, but in person, it felt different again.
Swoosh.
A towering gate made of stone.
It was split and weathered with the traces of countless years, its rough rocky texture evident.
—My lord.
“Yeah.”
—I will open it.
“Go ahead.”
When HunGyo stepped forward and put strength into it, the gate slowly began to open.
A deep, heavy resonance, like the weight of the earth itself being moved, overtook the space.
The sound announcing the beginning of the labyrinth.
It radiated grandeur and pressure all on its own.
But there was no need to worry.
The only things to watch out for on Floor 31 were traps and scouts.
“Lamba, build stacks.”
—On who?
“Put them appropriately on Aso, HunGyo, and Gale Slayer.”
—Got it!
“Dampir and Jaggeo, take the very front and hold the formation.”
—Gwoooar......
—Okay.
Jaggeo and Dampir.
They still weren’t invincible tanks yet, but he had leveled them up quite a bit anyway.
He’d fitted them with decent runes too.
Something like Minotaur Scouts would be easy for them to block.
“And next, Explosive Dragon.”
—Yes, Jinwoo.
“Keep stacking Explosive Dragon Wave, and only land the finishing blows. Time it right.”
—No problem!
This was the strategy of Baek Jinwoo’s legion.
Aso, HunGyo, and Gale Slayer beat enemies down until they were barely clinging to life, and then Explosive Dragon finished them off.
If they stacked properly all the way to Floor 39....
Wouldn’t they be able to send even the Floor 40 Cronotaur off easily?
He should be able to crush it before it even got the chance to use its annoying abilities.
Keeping the formation intact, Baek Jinwoo walked forward slowly.
There was no need to hurry.
The more stacks they built, the stronger they became.
How much time had passed?
—Uwoooarrrr.!
Two Minotaur Scouts (B-rank) charged from both sides with bull-like bellows.
—Gwo?
Jaggeo lowered his stance.
HunGyo, Aso, and Gale Slayer didn’t bother stepping in yet.
Pwaaaak!
The moment the Minotaurs’ axes lodged into Jaggeo’s body!
That was when the attackers moved in. Slash-slash-slash!
HunGyo and Aso swung their swords gracefully, while Gale Slayer’s scythe swept past the Minotaurs’ flanks.
Puhwak!
Blood burst out lightly.
—U-Uwoooargh!
The monsters dropped to their knees with cries of pain.
‘As expected, this is easy.’
It wasn’t so much that they were weak.
His kids had just grown far too strong.
They all had endgame runes, and their stats had been pushed up through brutal training.
As long as they marked the labyrinth properly as they went, clearing it should be easy enough.
—I’ll finish them.
Fwoosh!
Now Explosive Dragon’s flames were on a completely different level from before.
Intelligence +500.
And on top of that, the Fire Dragon Rune!
Explosive Dragon Wave, already stronger than most S-rank attacks, burned the fallen Minotaurs down to the bone.
[The effect of ‘True Devour’ is activated.]
[The damage of Explosive Dragon Wave permanently increases.]
Yeah. Yeah.
He could hear the sound of himself growing stronger!
Let’s keep going!
* * *
If Floor 31 was the entrance to the labyrinth, then from Floor 32 onward, it was the labyrinth itself.
“Aso.”
—Mm!
“From here on, marking the route is your job.”
—Got it!
The most important thing to watch out for when dealing with a labyrinth is not losing your sense of direction.
Whenever they came to a fork in the path, Baek Jinwoo had Aso leave a mark on the ground with her sword.
“Gale Slayer.”
—Krrrgh…..
“You’re in charge of trap detection.”
—Krrk…..
There were often hidden traps in the labyrinth.
Floor traps, wall traps.
There were even traps where the walls closed in and crushed you, and even Baek Jinwoo found those hard to deal with.
For one thing, Jaggeo was big and clumsy. That was why he threw Gale Slayer in first.
He had him touch things here and there, and only crossed when nothing seemed wrong.
He had also assigned someone to scouting.
Sometimes enemies would hide in ambush behind them and try to surround them, so he had placed HunGyo at the rear.
—What about me? What’s my role? Do I just keep swinging my staff around all the time?
Lamba puffed out her cheeks in a sulk.
Sigh.
Lamba....
Your role is actually the most important one....
“Right, your role is talking.”
—Whaaaat?
“Keep us from getting bored and act as the speaker.”
—What kind of....! Everyone else is detecting presences, identifying traps, leaving marks, burning things down.... Why am I the only one....!
“That’s a hurtful thing to say, Lamba.”
Baek Jinwoo said seriously.
“The labyrinth has a complicated structure, so it can wear down a person’s mind. Everything is walls on all sides, and you never know what’s a trap, so imagine how stressful that is. But your cute, cheerful voice helps relieve some of that stress.”
—I-Is that so?
“Of course.”
Her puffed cheeks immediately sank back down.
Then she went right back to chattering away.
As expected, Lamba was nice because she was simple.
* * *
Floor 33 was a bit unusual. It was a place called the Stone Hall, tucked away in a corner of the labyrinth.
Usually, after wandering around on Floor 32, you cleared it once you found that Stone Hall.
Baek Jinwoo immediately started Floor 33.
“From here on, it’s just a full-on battle. You’ve all built up a lot of stress, right? Just go in there and wreck everything!”
Inside a wide-open area within the labyrinth stood a massive stone structure.
The one ruling this place was ‘Karg’ (A-rank).
A mid-boss who led the ‘Minotaur Stone Throwers’ (B-rank), he was an extremely brutal bastard.
—Uwooooooar!
The excited stone throwers began hurling rocks.
Their defining trait was that they used stone-throwing attacks!
And the boulders were enormous too.
The moment they hit the ground, the floor cracked and fragments flew everywhere. They were dangerous enough to threaten anyone nearby.
But.
Tatatatat!
HunGyo and Aso moved gracefully as they dodged the rocks and climbed the structure.
Even though Lamba had no stacks built up yet since this was the start of Floor 33, they flew around like fish in water.
Slash, shhk!
—Uwoooar!
—Kkwoooough!
What was unusual, however, was that they only cut off the arms of the half-man, half-bull creatures and moved on.
Naturally, those kills belonged to Explosive Dragon.
Explosive Dragon Sorcery, Secret Art - Transformation
Fwoooosh!
The Explosive Dragon Wave, flaring up with furious momentum, transformed into a long stream of fire.
And then?
It pierced through the heads of the Minotaur Stone Throwers that HunGyo and Aso had swept through, landing the finishing blows.
It looked not just clean, but completely natural.
And not long after that.
—KRAAAAAAAAH!
From the corner, the enraged Karg revealed itself.
A hideous creature much larger than the other Minotaurs, its entire body covered in rock and iron.
In one hand it held a massive stone hammer, and every time it took a step, boom, boom! the ground trembled.
But.
—This one’s mine!
—You’re still not good enough for that, Aso.
Slash, shhk!
HunGyo and Aso were like starving wolves.
To them, that Karg was nothing more than an irresistibly delicious hunk of meat reeking of blood.
But.
—Everyone, move.
Fwoooosh!
Explosive Dragon had been building stacks well all this time too.
Explosive Dragon Sorcery, Secret Art - Ruination
The final Breath, the ultimate move of the Ancient Explosive Dragon, unfolded from her hand.
Kuwaaaaagagagagaga!
With a huge uproar, Floor 33 came to an end.
A single blow.
Even if it was only a mid-boss of the Tower of Trials, other people would have had to spend all day fighting it.
And yet he had finished it with a single strike.
But Baek Jinwoo was not surprised at all. To the current him, it was only natural.
“Nice work, everyone. Next is Floor 34.”
At the very least, he had to clear everything up to Floor 39 in a single day.
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