Chapter 5
The 99th Floor
Floor 43
The forty-third floor.
The furthest point humanity had reached, where climbers were struggling through large-scale raid missions.
The situation was grim.
Their objective was to eliminate four ogre tribes scattered across the east, west, north, and south—all with a force of only forty people.
“Healer team! Are your cooldowns finished yet?!”
“J-Just a little longer!”
“Damn it… I’ve hit my limit!”
Even after transcending ordinary human limits, their opponents were overwhelming.
The ogres were three times the size of humans, and fighting an entire tribe felt like waging war against living mountains.
For the tanks holding the front line, it was hell itself.
Then, a single mistake shattered the formation.
CRUNCH!
The sickening sound of flesh being crushed echoed across the battlefield.
A knight froze as he watched the comrade who had fought beside him until moments ago turn into a bloody mass from a single punch.
“Haha… Is this where it ends?”
For a brief moment, he regretted not leaving the Tower on the fortieth floor.
But now that he had come this far, even regret felt like a luxury.
At this rate, the healers in the rear will be slaughtered.
Once that happens, the raid is finished.
If only I could buy a little time… enough for the other raid group to survive and try again…
“Everyone! Get down!”
A woman’s voice suddenly rang out.
FLASH!
A blinding light erupted across the battlefield.
The knight instinctively shielded his eyes.
Then a streak of lightning descended from the heavens, splitting the battlefield apart.
The moment he saw it, relief washed over him.
“…Miss Yeon-hee has arrived.”
“Have the northern ogres already been dealt with?”
“GRAAAAH!”
Bolts of lightning crashed down one after another.
The ogres staggered and roared in agony.
Though the opening lasted only seconds, experienced climbers did not miss it.
“Now!”
“Charge!”
The momentum of the battle changed instantly.
What had seemed like certain defeat became a counterattack.
The work of a single mage.
The knight gazed at the woman standing at the front with awe.
Oh Yeon-hee.
Humanity’s strongest mage.
The woman who inherited the power of lightning from the God of Domination, one of the Main Gods, immediately after graduating from the twentieth floor.
The Thunder Empress.
“Once this is over, we move on,” she said calmly.
“We need to minimize casualties if we’re going to challenge the next floor.”
Ignoring the looks of admiration around her, Yeon-hee unleashed everything she had.
“Lightning Chain!”
Crackling streams of lightning leapt from one ogre to another.
The barrage never ceased.
Eventually, the final ogre collapsed to the ground.
[Floor 43 Cleared.]
[Rewards will be distributed based on contribution.]
1st Place – Oh Yeon-hee: 43.4%
…
Cheers erupted everywhere.
The climbers celebrated their victory.
Yet the person who had contributed the most simply dropped to one knee, breathing heavily.
“Oh! Yeon-hee, are you alright?”
“…I’m fine.”
[The God of Domination gazes upon you with concern.]
She pressed a hand against her stomach.
She was accustomed to exhaustion.
She always pushed herself beyond her limits during battle.
But today felt different.
A strange pain throbbed deep inside her.
The sensation stirred old memories.
Memories from before she had entered the Tower.
“Jin-hyuk oppa…”
Her fingers unconsciously traced the faint scar on her abdomen.
A scar that no healing potion could erase.
A scar she treasured.
Because it reminded her of someone precious.
A man who had grown up with her in the same orphanage.
A man who had donated part of his liver to save her life without the slightest hesitation.
Even true family members would have hesitated.
He never did.
“…Oppa. Why would you do something like this for me?”
“What?”
“The transplant.”
“Huh? I can do it, so I did it. Isn’t that obvious?”
Yeon-hee would never forget those words.
No matter how much time passed.
No matter how high she climbed.
The man known as the Thunder Emperor among humanity’s climbers remained someone irreplaceable to her.
A faint smile appeared on her face.
“To be honest… I made it pretty obvious that I liked you.”
“But you always treated me like your little sister.”
Even amidst exhaustion and death, she found herself smiling.
“You have to keep climbing, Oppa.”
She clenched her fists.
Then she stood once more.
Meanwhile, on the 99th Floor
[Challenging Floor 99.]
Jin-hyuk stepped forward.
Unlike Floor 0, where he had been summoned without understanding anything.
Unlike Floor 100, where he had been thrown there by accident.
This was the first floor he entered by his own choice.
He was afraid.
Of course he was.
But he forced himself onward.
The message before him was simple.
[Defeat the Demon King.]
“The Demon King…”
Just hearing the title was enough.
There was no comparison between this opponent and the goblin from the Hundredth Floor.
Then another series of messages appeared.
[Current Void Fragment Destruction Count: 0/6]
[No Void Fragments have been destroyed.]
[All of the Demon King’s stats have been fully restored.]
[The Demon King’s unique restrictions have been removed.]
[Goddess’s Blessing: 0/4]
[You have not received the Goddess’s Blessing.]
[Checking Karma.]
[No penalties applied for Good-aligned Karma.]
Jin-hyuk’s expression stiffened.
“The fairy was right…”
“I can’t see any path to victory.”
It was only natural.
The Demon King was the final opponent of a massive campaign spanning Floors 91 through 99.
Only after destroying all six Void Fragments and obtaining the Goddess’s Blessings could challengers hope to face him.
Yet Jin-hyuk had done none of that.
He was essentially a fly marching straight toward the strongest Demon King in the history of the Tower.
He swallowed hard.
The only thing he could rely on was the Infinite Regression Ticket.
The floating shield circling him offered little comfort.
Still, he continued forward.
“It’s enormous.”
“Is this really inside the Tower?”
He had heard stories.
That floors above the twentieth floor were as large as entire cities.
Now he finally understood.
Each floor wasn’t simply a dungeon.
It was a world.
Before him stretched a barren landscape.
And at its center stood a solitary castle.
Dark.
Ancient.
Majestic.
There was no need to ask.
The Demon King was inside.
“The atmosphere feels different already.”
As he approached, his body grew heavier.
His heartbeat accelerated.
Every instinct screamed at him to turn back.
Finally, he stood before the castle gates.
“Phew…”
“Deep breaths.”
Then he remembered something.
The item the fairy had given him.
[Starter Weapon: Unity of All Weapons]
“Right. She told me to eat this.”
The thing looked more like a living green droplet than food.
Still, she claimed it would dramatically improve his abilities.
Might as well try.
Like a student swallowing medicine before a crucial exam, Jin-hyuk tossed it into his mouth.
The moment it touched his tongue, it melted instantly.
“Urgh!”
The taste was horrible.
Metallic.
Strange.
Almost alive.
Yet it slid down his throat without issue.
[Synchronizing…]
[Starter Weapon linked.]
[Additional conditions required for blooming.]
Moments later, warmth spread through his lower abdomen.
“Maybe it’s my imagination…”
“But I feel lighter.”
It wasn’t his imagination.
Though it didn’t directly increase his stats, the dormant weapon transformed its user into something closer to a weapon itself.
His body moved more naturally.
More efficiently.
Instinctively.
“Alright.”
“Let’s go.”
As soon as he made up his mind, the giant gates began to open.
RUMBLE…
The castle’s exterior was imposing.
Its interior was unsettling.
Everything inside appeared ancient and neglected.
As though nobody had touched it for centuries.
Goosebumps rose on his skin.
Step by step, he walked deeper.
Then—
“…Such a noble light.”
“It makes me sick.”
The voice echoed throughout the entire castle.
Jin-hyuk spun around.
Searching for its source.
“Hero.”
“You came alone.”
“Without even bringing the Goddess’s hounds.”
“Is that confidence?”
“Or arrogance?”
The voice felt distant.
Yet impossibly close.
The castle’s structure seemed to twist around him.
Suddenly—
The presence was right there.
Within arm’s reach.
His body froze.
An overwhelming pressure descended upon him.
Then he saw him.
The Demon King.
Leaning lazily against his throne.
One leg crossed over the other.
Looking utterly bored.
“How strange.”
“There were no restrictions at all.”
“Did you fail to destroy the fragments on your way here?”
“Thanks to that, I can use my full power for the first time in ages.”
Jin-hyuk couldn’t answer.
The pressure was overwhelming.
For the first time in his life, he experienced true terror.
The instinctive fear of a lesser being standing before something infinitely superior.
Slowly, he raised his head.
And looked at the Demon King’s face.
Then he froze.
There was no face.
Not because it was missing.
Not because he was a skeleton.
The outline of a head clearly existed.
Yet the place where facial features should have been was filled with darkness.
A darkness unlike anything Jin-hyuk had ever seen.
It wasn’t merely black.
It resembled an endless universe.
Stars.
Galaxies.
Infinite space.
The Demon King’s entire form appeared to contain a cosmos within it.
For a brief moment, Jin-hyuk felt awe.
The space contained within the Demon King’s silhouette felt larger than the entire ninety-ninth floor.
He instinctively stepped backward.
If that universe was the Demon King’s true nature…
Then the Demon King wasn’t merely alive.
He transcended life itself.
A fixed existence containing endless time and immeasurable space.
Jin-hyuk couldn’t explain it.
But he understood it instinctively.
“Hmm?”
The Demon King’s voice echoed once more.
“Hero.”
“Why are you standing there?”
His voice was beautiful.
Dignified.
Yet terrifying.
“Something is wrong.”
“You are far too flawed.”
“Are you hiding your power?”
The Demon King slowly rose from his throne.
Why…
Why is my body shaking so much?
Jin-hyuk trembled uncontrollably.
Like a leaf caught in a storm.
It was instinct.
The natural reaction of a living creature before a higher existence.
The Demon King frowned slightly.
He couldn’t understand it.
The hero who had climbed to this floor should have been a legendary warrior.
Not this.
“Judging by your physique…”
“A mage?”
“You seem quite confident in that light armor surrounding you.”
“Very well.”
“I’ll show you something interesting.”
The Demon King casually raised a fist.
At that moment, Jin-hyuk saw reality distort.
The entire space seemed to be drawn into that single hand.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve used this.”
A faint smile appeared on the Demon King’s face.
“This technique was originally created to pierce the scales of dragons.”
“Dragon Slayer.”
Jin-hyuk’s eyes widened.
“W-Wait—”
“Void Fist.”
The Demon King struck.
Jin-hyuk never even saw the punch.
Never felt pain.
Never felt impact.
His vision simply shattered.
His existence crumbled.
And a message appeared.
[You have died.]
[Infinite Regression Ticket Activated.]
[An unknown energy interferes with regeneration.]
[Climber Trait: Blessing of Light Activated.]
[Regeneration Resuming…]
“Hmm.”
“He’s not dead yet?”
The Demon King watched briefly.
Then lost interest.
He sat back on his throne.
“Tsk.”
“What a disappointment.”
“I had high expectations after waiting so long for a hero.”
“To collapse after a single blow…”
“How pathetic.”
“I have no interest in the weak.”
To the Demon King, Level 2 Yoo Jin-hyuk was nothing more than an insignificant insect.
The contempt in the Demon King’s gaze became Jin-hyuk’s final memory.
And then—
[Regeneration Complete.]
[Challenging Floor 99.]
[Defeat the Demon King.]
The world spun.
And in an instant—
Everything started over.
