178. Awakening Test (1)
Now Floors 51 through 60 had been sealed forever.
Within the next year, humanity had to conquer the 70th floor, and the participation requirement was clearing the 50th floor of the Tower of Trials.
At those words, both Xenos and Yoshida Hikaru were left gaping.
“The 70th floor? We have to clear that within a year?”
“Is that even possible at humanity’s current level?”
“But still, with party play... doesn’t that mean there’s a chance? We’ve got him, after all.”
Swish.
Xenos’ gaze turned to one side.
It was the screen showing Baek Jinwoo’s face.
“The problem is... the Tower’s difficulty has changed.”
Rachel explained that part as well.
First of all, the difficulty up to the 60th floor had increased by about ten times, by feel alone.
And after that, there was no guaranteeing how hard the Tower would become.
She shared everything else too, from the size of the terrain, to the method used to clear it, to what kind of rewards there were.
“Huh.”
“Hm.”
Everyone’s expressions turned grave.
These were people who had once been veteran diehards of Battle of Summoners.
They had lived off that information, so if there was a chance that the Tower’s contents might differ from before, they couldn’t help but be afraid.
After a few words were exchanged—
“For now.”
Rachel organized the discussion.
“I think the key will be gathering fifty people to challenge the next Tower.”
“All of them?”
Yoshida Hikaru shot back.
“There were times in the past when that kind of thing mattered. Even putting that aside, we don’t know what kind of difficulty it’ll be, so it’s better to gather as much strength as possible and clear it.”
“That’s true, but...”
This time, Yoshida Hikaru looked toward the screen showing Baek Jinwoo.
“I’m curious what God Ji-nu thinks.”
“Me?”
Wouldn’t it be enough to just clear it? I didn’t really have any particular thoughts.
“I agree with Rachel too.”
At times like this, it was best to follow the words of the person who was sincere.
And Rachel was serious about the Tower of Trials.
“Good, then.”
Bang bang!
Rachel came to a conclusion.
“By the time of this next league match, how many people can each of you prepare who have cleared the 50th floor?”
“We can do ten.”
“Japan has nine.”
“The UK has eight. Right now, I don’t want to touch any players other than Red Rose.”
America, 10.
Japan, 9.
England, 8.
What is this, an inverted pyramid?
“We’ve got fourteen.”
They had added the four newly selected members on top of the original ten national representatives.
Would that work?
Then again—
Why wouldn’t it?
We’d just do it.
“So that makes forty-one in total?”
Rachel nodded.
“We’ll make the announcement to the world from the UK first. For the rest, let’s gather world rankers from other countries. If they say they want to join, then as a participation requirement, we’ll just release all information up to the 50th floor.”
“Sounds good.”
“Japan agrees too.”
“Yeah.”
Baek Jinwoo nodded as well.
Soon after, the video conference ended.
* * *
Originally, it had been One Heaven, Five Emperors, but now One Heaven, Three Emperors would be more accurate.
Because Veskov and Baekcheon were dead.
The four of them didn’t say much about the league. They would simply take it according to skill!
And that wasn’t a bad thing, because—South Korea was guaranteed to win anyway.
There was no being on Earth capable of stopping the improved God Ji-nu.
‘Even if the Explosive Dragon Sorcerer starts complaining, it’ll still be over.’
‘Feels like even if the three of them charged together, it wouldn’t be enough.’
But well. For humanity’s future, it was only right to keep pushing the strongest person forward.
They had been watching God Ji-nu’s path for a long time.
They must have instinctively known that even gathering up what they themselves had received and supporting God Ji-nu was far more suitable for humanity’s survival.
Anyway.
After leaving the meeting, Baek Jinwoo summoned Yoo Jia and the guild members.
After gathering them, he informed them of what had been discussed.
“Huh.”
“Damn, is that really true?”
“...We all have to break through the 50th floor in half a year? All of us?”
The new recruits especially were startled and shaken.
They didn’t dare say it out loud, but the trembling in their pupils was obvious enough.
What kind of guild was this, where the moment you joined, an absurdly difficult mission was waiting for you?
But Baek Jinwoo remained firm.
“We have to make it possible.”
He slowly looked around at the guild members.
“If you’re afraid even now, you may withdraw.”
“......”
“......”
Naturally, not a single player moved.
The world’s best guild!
The world’s best benefits!
And they were supposed to walk out of SKY on their own?
That would be like winning the lottery and then being told to leave the secular world and live as a monk.
“I’ll organize all the information about the Tower for you. HunGyo will guide you in the necessary summons, abilities, and subconscious training. So there’s no need to worry.”
Okay.
For now, recruitment for the third generation is postponed indefinitely.
Let’s make our current guild members into players who won’t die no matter where they go.
* * *
Then came the UK’s announcement.
On the monitor screen—
Surrounded by reporters, the British spokesperson delivered the statement calmly with a stiff expression.
“...If we fail to conquer the 70th floor of the Tower of Trials within the next year, humanity will face the threat of extinction. The difficulty of the Tower has increased significantly, and we cannot be certain whether humanity in its present state can handle it. We hereby declare a global emergency for all mankind, and we will strive to ensure that the entire Earth establishes a unified response and calls for international solidarity...”
The entire world held its breath as it watched the announcement.
It was horrifying.
If humanity failed to conquer the 70th floor within the next year, it would face extinction!
And on top of that, the difficulty had risen so sharply that no one could even guarantee humanity had the capability to reach it!
“Ah, ahh...”
“What in the world is happening all of a sudden?”
In every street, in every home—sounds of despair rang out. It was too much to dismiss as a joke.
Hadn’t the message announcing the clearing of the 60th floor appeared in the vision of every person in the world just recently?
Some simply trembled in fear, while others clung to hope.
“Still, we’ve got Rachel and Baek Jinwoo.”
“They cleared the 60th floor this time, so won’t they handle the 70th floor just fine too?”
“We should just pour all the league rewards into their side.”
Humanity’s concern was no longer the league.
It was the Tower.
The UK announced the details more specifically.
They said they would select a fifty-man suicide squad before the upcoming league match.
After that group competed in the league, they would take the rewards and go clear the Tower.
“Oh dear, what are we going to do?”
“Then our Jinwoo is going too, right?”
Baek Jinwoo’s parents were also watching TV in worry.
No matter how their son had earned the title of the world’s strongest, there was no helping the fact that they would worry.
But—
Baek Jincheol spoke firmly.
“Still, our son has to go.”
“......Even so, if it’s the Tower of Trials, isn’t it incredibly dangerous? It feels like only yesterday the world’s number one had just cleared the 20th floor, then the 30th floor, and now suddenly it’s already the 70th.”
“There’s no other way. And that boy... he knows how to handle things on his own now.”
“That’s true.”
“Take good care of your mental state. Don’t put pressure on the son we raised so well.”
How much pride had they felt all this time?
They had not even dared spend lavishly outside, worried they might somehow damage their son’s image.
They had simply kept selling chicken diligently.
That was enough.
They had raised him well and proudly, so all they could do now was trust him and watch over him.
Whose heart wouldn’t feel heavy?
Over there too—Hong Ari’s family, Oh Sunyoung’s family, Gi Jaehyuk’s family—their parents were probably all feeling the same way.
‘I should tell them to come eat chicken sometime soon.’
A gathering of rankers’ parents, and now neighborhood neighbors too!
It felt like they ought to put together quite the spread of drinks.
* * *
“Hm.”
Baek Jinwoo had a lot on his mind as well.
‘This won’t be enough for me either.’
He had to grow stronger.
Even back in Battle of Summoners, he had always hated variables to an extreme degree.
What if, starting from the 61st floor, the difficulty increased not tenfold, but twentyfold or thirtyfold?
If it rose like that—
Then no matter how much experience God Ji-nu had, it could become difficult to clear.
—Master!
Rund came directly to the training grounds.
—I finished them! The Trinity runes!
“Already?”
—Didn’t I tell you? My proficiency has gotten high enough now that I can make them quickly.
Wow.
Even so—
That was faster than expected.
Baek Jinwoo received the rune Rund handed over.
It was definitely Trinity. And there were six of them.
“You worked hard. Still no sign of Luxury Crafting leveling up yet?”
—Ahem, I think it’s still a long way off. It feels close, but not quite there. I’ll keep hammering away at runes and try to improve!
“I’m not rushing you, so take your time.”
—Hahaha, of course I know that! Don’t worry. These days I’m still living for the joy of swinging a hammer.
Baek Jinwoo gathered what he needed and headed straight to the Enhancement Center.
He threw in all kinds of materials. And applied polishing agents generously, layer after layer.
[Rune]
[Grade: Top-grade (Unique)]
A limited rune, only 10 in the entire world.
[Set Effect: Trinity]
-When 6 are equipped, all stats increase by 1,000%, HP increases by 20,000.
2 additional stat options
[Level: Max]
[Stat Increase]
-Strength +48%, Intelligence +48%, Constitution +48%, Agility +48%, Critical Chance +20%, Critical Damage +60%
“Damn.”
Six perfect runes like this had been born.
After returning to the training grounds, Baek Jinwoo approached Aila, who was diligently swinging her spear.
“Aila.”
—Yes, Jinwoo.
She set down her spear filled with holy power and turned around.
He always thought this, but—she was really tall.
Baek Jinwoo was not short either at 183 cm, yet he still had to look up slightly at her.
“Wait a moment.”
He opened the status window.
Shrrr!
And equipped all six at once.
—.....!
Aila’s pupils widened.
—Th-this is impossible.
“What’s impossible?”
—My whole body is overflowing with power.
“Of course it is. This is what you call a rune.”
—Ah...
Apparently she found it fascinating.
Whoosh, whoosh!
She rotated her wrists, then lightly jumped around here and there.
—How is something like this even possible? Thank you so much. Jinwoo, you truly are an amazing being!
An S-grade summon, equipped with endgame runes, and even awakened on top of that.
Was there any being left who could defeat Aila now?
He needed to test it once.
“Aila.”
—Yes.
“Now that you’ve gained power, we should test it, right?”
—Is there a sparring partner?
“There is. HunGyo and Aso.”
As Baek Jinwoo raised a hand—
—Yes, my lord.
—Dad! You called?
The ones training over there were resummoned here again.
“That awakening test I mentioned last time. Let’s try it.”
—Understood, my lord.
HunGyo’s eyes lit up.
What kind of effects would appear when an awakened being and a non-awakened being fought seriously?
He intended to analyze that in detail starting now.
—First, raise your spear, Aila.
Shing.
HunGyo drew his sword and spoke.
—As you wish.
Whirl!
Aila also gracefully spun her spear a few times before taking hold of it.
—From now on, come at me seriously. Even if you die, you’ll just be reverse summoned anyway, so don’t hold back.
The eyes of both of them began to burn fiercely.
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