DLC 02

Chapter 2

The 100th Floor (2)

One hundred floors.

The 100th floor was the Tower’s ultimate trial—the sacred rite through which a mere mortal climber was reborn as a god.

Since the Tower first appeared across countless dimensions, only a handful of beings had ever reached its summit.

Naturally, those conquerors became the strongest existences in their worlds, and some even surpassed what the Tower itself had intended.

The Palace God. The Blood Demon. The Flame Emperor.

Even the mysterious Leader whom the gods themselves feared.

The stories of those who conquered the Tower had become legends.

It was a perfect cycle: overcoming every trial laid the foundation for divinity, and the achievements they accomplished after leaving the Tower only elevated the Tower’s prestige further.

Because of that, the final floor was never something that could be cleared through strength alone.

Despair awaited every challenger.

Trauma. Fear. Overwhelming disadvantage.

Only after overcoming all of those could one hope to achieve victory.

The theme of the 100th floor was simple:

The Manifestation of Horror.

The being a climber feared the most among all those encountered during their ascent would materialize as an opponent of equal level.

The Tower housed dominant races, transcendents, absolutes, and even gods.

Some climbers had to fight the very deities they worshipped.

Others were forced to confront the terror lurking within the abyss itself.

Facing an enemy one respected—or feared—more than anything was not a trial that ordinary courage could overcome.

However, the horror that appeared before Yoo Jinhyuk looked very different.

“Kiieeek!”

“…Huh?”

The trial standing before him—the Weakened Hobgoblin—bared its fangs and screeched threateningly.

A goblin appearing on the 100th floor.

It was an unprecedented situation.

And the person most bewildered by it was Jinhyuk himself.

“…No, wait. Is this actually right?”

Only Yoo Jinhyuk could find himself in such an absurd situation.

After all, he had reached the 100th floor immediately after clearing only the tutorial-like first floor.

Technically, it wasn’t a bug.

The only enemy Yoo Jinhyuk had ever fought inside the Tower was a single goblin.

It was simply the ridiculous butterfly effect caused by a system error.

Smack!

Jinhyuk slapped his cheeks and quickly regained his focus.

Then he carefully observed the goblin.

It was the attitude of a complete beginner who knew nothing about the Tower.

Just fight it.

Because he had never experienced the true despair hidden within the Tower, he could gather his courage surprisingly quickly.

More importantly, during his military service—before being transferred to the Honor Guard—he had killed countless goblins.

Back then I used a rifle, sure… but this is still better than fighting a troll.

Jinhyuk lowered his stance.

Goblins were small, but their strength should never be underestimated.

Without a stable center of gravity, one could easily be knocked over by their brute force.

This one definitely feels different from the goblin on the first floor.

“Kiik.”

Unlike the goblins he had encountered before, this one was cautious.

Holding a sharp stone knife, it slowly widened the distance between them.

I have the advantage in size. But this is still a trial from the 100th floor. It could be much stronger than it looks.

His concern was justified.

The goblin was incredibly quick and agile.

“Grrr.”

Come on.

Protecting his vital points, Jinhyuk slowly advanced.

Even though both of them were technically Level 1 goblins, various adjustments made the opponent far from easy.

Make the most of the difference in physique.

Jinhyuk maintained his distance relentlessly.

His plan was simple:

Wait for an opening.

Time passed.

“Huff… huff…”

“Kiieek…”

To anyone watching, a prolonged standoff between two goblins would have looked pathetic.

Yet Jinhyuk refused to lower his guard.

He kept a frustratingly safe distance and never rushed in.

Taking steady breaths, he observed every movement the goblin made.

“Man, this thing is stubborn.”

“Kiik.”

His caution was the correct choice.

Thanks to the Tower’s adjustments, the hobgoblin’s attacks carried status effects, and its stone knife had been coated in poison.

What might have looked like cowardice was, in reality, the smartest decision possible.

There was another fortunate fact Jinhyuk didn’t know.

The goblin possessed no blessings beyond racial adjustments.

Climbers who reached this floor usually carried countless titles, achievements, and blessings.

The true despair of the 100th floor was that everything that had empowered a climber throughout their journey became even greater strength for their manifested horror.

But Jinhyuk had been summoned only moments ago.

He possessed no titles.

No achievements.

Nothing.

Ironically, that made him the ideal candidate to challenge the final floor.

Completely unaware of this advantage, Jinhyuk focused solely on the fight.

On the first floor, his objective had been survival.

This time, it was victory.

“SKREEEE!”

“You’re really loud.”

The goblin became increasingly agitated, perhaps exhausted from the prolonged confrontation.

Jinhyuk remained calm.

Just as he had from the start.

Then his eyes noticed a small rock.

The goblin’s attention was fixed entirely on him.

It wasn’t watching the ground.

There it is.

Without showing the slightest change in expression, Jinhyuk gradually maneuvered the goblin toward the rock.

As a bonus, he constantly moved his fists above the creature’s eye level, keeping its focus away from the terrain.

“SKREECH!”

Finally, the goblin stepped exactly where Jinhyuk wanted.

Its foot caught on the rock.

It stumbled.

The stone knife slipped from its hand.

Now!

Jinhyuk lunged.

THUD!

The moment the goblin lost its weapon, the opportunity arrived.

All the power he had been conserving exploded at once.

BAM!

The goblin collapsed beneath Jinhyuk’s weight.

His elbow slammed directly into its collarbone.

In a single instant, the balance of the battle shifted completely.

“Guh… squeak…”

“…”

BAM!

BAM!

CRACK!

Without saying a word, Jinhyuk continued striking.

Again.

And again.

And again.

He didn’t stop until the goblin ceased moving entirely.

His full-body punches carried far more force than the creature could withstand.

The difference in weight class was overwhelming—something no racial adjustment could overcome.

Jinhyuk felt the goblin’s skull crack beneath his fists.

Only after its arm went limp did he finally stop.

“Haa… haa…”

He had prepared himself to die.

Yet somehow, he had survived.

As he confirmed his victory, excitement and relief surged through him simultaneously.

After concentrating for so long, exhaustion hit him like a wave.

“I can’t relax yet.”

Grinding his teeth, he rose to finish the job.

The first thing he grabbed was the goblin’s stone knife.

As expected, green poison coated the blade.

“Grrr…”

The goblin twitched in fear the moment Jinhyuk took its weapon.

Without hesitation, he drove the knife into its throat.

SHHK!

He disliked killing at such close range.

But he did not hesitate.

He had already prepared himself.

A chilling sensation ran through him.

The goblin gave its final breath.

Then messages appeared before his eyes.

[You have overcome despair.]

[You cleared the trial in the fastest time in history. Time Attack rewards granted!]

[You overcame fear through overwhelming superiority. All abilities increased to their level cap.]

“Phew… Next.”

[Level Up!]

A brilliant light enveloped him.

The wounds on his body vanished instantly.

Jinhyuk stared at his restored fist.

The complete disappearance of the pain felt strange.

A faint smile appeared on his lips.

Still, he remained cautious.

A whole group of goblins had appeared on the first floor.

Surely this couldn’t be the end.

“There’s no way the 100th floor is this boring. Maybe there’s a monster wave coming next.”

The Tower had described this as the battle against his strongest enemy.

He had seen trolls.

He had seen orcs.

Even he couldn’t believe a mere goblin was supposedly the strongest foe he had ever faced.

Yet contrary to his expectations, the system was already calculating his rewards.

[Calculating achievements…]

[You conquered the Tower faster than any climber across all dimensions.]

[Reward weight increased.]

[Additional bonus applied for extreme completion speed.]

[You accumulated no evil karma while climbing.]

[Integrity receives significant weighting.]

[Exceptional Good Alignment detected.]

[Reward structure being optimized.]

[Blessing of Light acquired!]

Blessing of Light (SSS+)

A blessing granted to one who has overcome despair.

Holy power repels all darkness.

• Possesses the highest level of mental protection.

[Additional rewards granted!]

[Title Acquired: One Who Transcended Despair]

[Divinity Granted!]

[Settlement in progress…]

[You have cleared all trials of the Tower!]

Messages flooded his vision so quickly he could barely read half of them.

But one thing was unmistakable.

“What? That’s it? Seriously? I graduated from the 100th floor just like that?”

As the Blessing of Light activated, radiant brilliance enveloped him.

Divine power bloomed within his body as a reward for conquering the Tower.

Yet Jinhyuk could only stare in disbelief.

More accurately—

He was completely dumbfounded.

It hadn’t even been a full day since he was summoned.

He barely understood how the Tower worked.

And somehow, he had already graduated.

“I’m… the first person to clear the top floor?”

At that moment, a legendary lucky bastard was born—

A man who cleared the 100th floor with nothing but Level 2 stats.

Before Jinhyuk could fully process what had happened, a golden gate appeared before him.

Without any explanation, he instinctively understood its purpose.

It was the exit.

The gate leading out of the Tower.

[Would you like to move to the end of the Tower?]

Jinhyuk stared at it.

Was this really the end?

Could the Tower truly be cleared this easily?

But if this unbelievable chain of coincidences and errors was real, there was no reason to refuse.

“There’s no reason not to—”

“Wait! Wait! Just a moment!”

An urgent voice interrupted him.

Just as he reached toward the gate, a familiar fairy suddenly appeared before him.

“Huff… huff… Yoo Jinhyuk! C-C-Could you please hear me out?”

The fairy desperately grabbed his arm with an ingratiating smile.

The arrogance it had displayed during his summoning was nowhere to be found.

In its place was an almost painfully polite attitude that made it hard to believe it was the same fairy at all.