Chapter 22

Chapter 22

“What the hell are you talking about!! The monster that’s going to appear during the Synchronization phenomenon is a Bone Dragon? Observation team! Are you sure you observed it properly?”

He slammed his hands on the desk and shouted.

At Kang Han-seok’s roar, the man in the black suit broke out in a cold sweat.

“Y-yes, sir. We compared and analyzed the wavelength observed three minutes ago against the big data, and the prediction is that a Bone Dragon will appear.”

Thud!

At the report that followed, Kang Han-seok collapsed into his chair with the expression of a man who had lost his country and let out a wail.

“A Bone Dragon... Oh, damn it. Of all the monsters out there, why did it have to be that bastard...?”

“Team Leader, what’s wrong with you! Bone or whatever, it’s just a pile of bones, isn’t it! Get a hold of yourself! What are you going to do if you act like this, Team Leader!”

“...You idiot. It isn’t just a pile of bones.”

“Pardon?”

“Haa, do you know about the Peru national default incident?”

“Th-that... I do, sir. It was the incident where Peru requested support from great powers because of a Synchronization phenomenon that happened in the capital, only to have not just their domestic affairs interfered with, but even their national finances stripped bare, wasn’t it?”

It was a fairly famous incident.

If the Treaty of Ganghwa existed in our country’s history, then the Peru Treaty had been newly recorded in modern history.

“Yes, you know it well. Then do you know what monster appeared back then?”

“I don’t, sir. I don’t know that much....”

“It was a Bone Dragon.”

“Pardon?”

“The Bone Dragon that is about to appear in our country. That monster.”

“.......”

Han-sol shut her mouth.

For a moment, she was at a loss for words.

“Then who are the Chosen who have arrived at the scene?”

“Ah, Kang Seong-jin is said to have arrived one hour ago.”

“Kang Seong-jin? Don’t tell me you mean that... traitorous bastard who went on a Chinese variety show recently and insisted kimchi and hanbok belonged to China?”

At the report from the man in the black suit, Han-sol practically foamed at the mouth.

“Anyone but that bastard. If he resolves this incident, he’ll use it as an excuse to naturalize as a Chinese citizen, then tear Korea apart in public! Absolutely not!”

“So?”

“Pardon?”

“At a time like this, when Kwon Hyeok-jin is gone, who is there who can take down a Bone Dragon?”

“Isn’t So-rin from the Goryeo Guild here?”

“She is overseas training right now.”

“Pingkkyu Gyongdyu is....”

[The Hall of Fame is being updated.]

[Hall of Fame (12th Floor)]

1st: Pingkkyu Gyongdyu

2nd: Jin-ha

3rd: Kiina Karin

4th: Robert Hans

…….

….

..

The system appeared just then.

“He’s in the Tower.”

“Ah.......”

Han-sol shut her mouth with an awkward expression.

After quietly folding down her fingers for a moment, her face turned pale blue.

There really was no one.

The Synchronization phenomenon in present-day South Korea.

In other words, there was no talent capable of killing the Bone Dragon.

“Japan, China, Taiwan... even North Korea contacted us. Do you know what they said?”

“What did they say?”

“They told us to use their Chosen as mercenaries.”

“.......”

Han-sol maintained her silence.

At a glance, it looked like goodwill.

But in politics, there was no such thing as goodwill. Only black-hearted motives.

The moment South Korea accepted mercenaries from other countries, its national power would become worse than North Korea’s.

Capital, manpower, technology—everything would be siphoned away by other countries.

Then it would be over.

From rice paddies to skyscrapers.

The South Korea built up over a hundred years would regress and return to the Japanese colonial era.

He knew South Korea would collapse miserably if they failed to stop the Bone Dragon.

However, even knowing that, there was no way to stop it.

Thump. Kang Han-seok sank down, his face ashen.

“We’re screwed.”

***

I climbed the Tower.

[13th Floor cleared.]

[Contribution Rank 1 achieved.]

[MVP achieved!]

That itself was not particularly difficult.

While playing the game, I climbed all the way up to the Tower’s skyscraper dozens, hundreds of times.

That experience and knowledge were inside my head.

Moreover, I was not climbing alone.

[Rainbow Servant Slime (Poing)’s level has increased.]

[Rainbow Servant Slime (Poing)’s level has increased.]

[Rainbow Servant Slime (Poing)’s level has increased.]

Poing was right beside me.

Just having him there was reassuring.

However.

‘As expected, the difficulty is different from the game.’

The Tower’s difficulty was Developer Mode.

A stage no one had ever reached before.

I was even attempting it for the first time.

For example, Back when I climbed the 4th floor, a Goblin Shaman had appeared.

In the game, it had been a mid-boss-class monster that only appeared once you climbed to the 9th floor.

After entering Developer Mode, many things had changed from the Tower knowledge I possessed.

That had enormous significance.

If things were different from the knowledge I knew, it meant I could not prepare for them.

I had no choice but to respond flexibly amid rapidly changing situations.

[Entering 14th Floor.]

[Kill three Dullahans.]

The moment I entered the 14th floor, a system window appeared.

It had definitely changed.

Dullahans were monsters that only appeared in the mid-to-late part of the 10th-floor range.

Compared to the game, their appearance was early.

‘Still, this floor should be better.’

At least it told me the clear condition.

If I did not know a floor’s clear condition, I would have no choice but to comb through everything from beginning to end and find it myself.

That was truly hard labor.

Compared to the suffering I had gone through so far, this was downright merciful.

Yes, no matter how much it was the Tower.

If it had a conscience, it should give me a perk like this every once in a while.

“Th-that armor monster has no head!”

Poing shouted in shock.

Dullahans, also known as faceless undead.

Where their heads should have been, there were no heads to be seen, only blue flames flickering.

Three of them narrowed the encirclement.

They were on a different level from the ordinary undead I had met so far.

‘Of course they would be.’

They were monsters that originally appeared only in the mid-to-late part of the 10th-floor range.

Until now, I had been fighting skeleton soldiers, so of course they would be different.

Even so, I was not particularly worried.

“This is enough.”

I did not fight battles I would lose.

I only fought battles I would win.

Holding Wands in both hands, I thrust them toward the Dullahans.

[Imbuing Wand with Electric Shock.]

“Electric Shock, Electric Shock.”

Grade 2 attack magic shot from the tips of the Wands.

The Dullahans struck directly by the electricity were electrocuted and trembled in place.

Taking that opening, I renewed the magic imbued in the Wands.

[Imbuing Wand with Dust Cloud Explosion.]

Originally, Dust would burst out once, then Static Electricity would act as a trigger, combining into the magic.

Going through that series of processes took quite some time.

The Dust had to reach the area sufficiently, and it also took time to use Static Electricity magic.

However, Dust Cloud Explosion itself was Grade 2 magic.

If I used that.

“Dust Cloud Explosion.”

BOOOOOOM!!

I could skip that long process all at once.

The Dust exploded, sending a blast of hot wind toward me.

Even though I was quite a distance away, the fine hairs on my skin were singed.

SNAP!

“Huh? The Wand split in two!”

Just as Poing said.

Along with a burnt smell, the Wand split in two.

“Ah, it broke this time too.”

It was not sudden.

It had happened from time to time before.

Wands were originally items made so that even ordinary people who were not mages could use magic.

More precisely, they were items meant to use Grade 1 self-defense magic.

They had not been made to contain Grade 2 magic in the first place.

But since I had used Grade 2 magic in succession, their durability was bound to run out.

In a way, it was only natural.

‘That’s why I tried to save durability by combining only Grade 1 magic as much as possible.’

But I could not keep doing this every time.

I did not have an unlimited supply of Wands either.

These cost money. Money.

I needed to find another move.

I could not keep going like this forever.

[14th Floor cleared.]

[Overall Contribution Rank 1 achieved.]

[MVP achieved!]

At any rate.

After twists and turns, I also climbed the 14th floor.

As expected, my ranking was 1st as well.

It was my 14th consecutive floor in 1st place.

By now, I had grown so used to it that it did not feel like a big deal.

“Hajin, the next floor. Can we go up?”

Poing asked with an expression full of worry.

I wondered why he was suddenly acting like that.

“You don’t have a weapon now. Isn’t that dangerous?”

Ah, I wondered what he was worried about.

Was he that worried because the Wand had split in two?

It was a needless concern.

“I brought one in case something like this happened.”

I had brought one spare Wand in preparation for an unexpected situation.

Holding a Wand with only one hand felt somewhat awkward.

But there should not be much of a problem.

I had Poing, and Blink still remained.

If worse came to worst, I could use the Special Ability Reset Elixir too.

“There won’t be a problem until the next floor.”

If I aimed for the 16th floor, the 17th floor... or higher, supplies would become an issue.

But our goal from the start was to climb to the 15th floor.

For now, this was still within the permissible range.

“Shall we go again?”

“Yeah!”

[Entering 15th Floor.]

When we arrived on the 15th floor, a vast canyon spread out before us.

“Hajin, look over there. Something weird is there.”

Immediately after arriving on the 15th floor, Poing pointed beneath the canyon.

Pale whitish dots swarmed at the bottom of the canyon.

At first, I thought they were white spiders.

It did not take long for me to realize that was my mistake.

[Undead Knight]

No matter how much it was the Tower, it would not display a system window for mere tiny creatures.

Besides, I had never heard of a spider species called an Undead Knight.

Which meant....

Don’t tell me everything swarming beneath the canyon was undead.

“Fuck.”

A curse slipped out of my mouth without me realizing it.

I had been confident that I would not be shaken no matter what situation came.

But.

I learned for the first time.

When a person panicked, they truly could not think at all.

Just the ones I could see numbered in the tens of thousands... no, well over hundreds of thousands.

‘Even in the game, nothing like this ever happened.’

This had gone beyond the proper degree.

Then, in the middle of that.

“The skeletons look like they’re moving that way.”

Poing pointed toward the end of the canyon as he spoke.

“They look like they’re moving?”

“Yeah, if you look waaay over there, there’s a black gap, and it looks like they’re going there!”

Indeed.

When I looked closely, I could see it.

The undead walked in a fixed direction, as though their destination had already been decided.

Not a single one was left out.

Then what was at the end?

Well, I did not know either.

This was my first time experiencing something like this.

Originally, there was only one monster that appeared on the 15th floor.

-Grrrrrr.

As expected, speak of the tiger and it appears.

A massive shadow fell from the sky above the canyon.

What revealed itself before us was a dragon made entirely of bones.

[Bone Dragon]

The master of this canyon.

“H-Hajin...!”

Poing, facing the Bone Dragon, trembled and transformed into a slime.

Poing. With a familiar sound, he stuck tightly to my shoulder.

It was understandable.

A dragon.

A monster at the very top of the food chain.

Each and every one of them was Named.

It was only natural that Poing was terrified.

He had grown by leaps and bounds while traveling with me.

But at his core, he was a slime.

The difference between a dragon and a slime was like heaven and earth.

Heaven and earth? Please. Even comparing it to outer space and the deepest abyss would not be enough.

“Such a fuss.”

I smiled faintly as I looked at Poing.

“It is a dragon, but it isn’t a dragon.”

“It isn’t a dragon?”

“That thing is only an undead being moved by necromancy.”

It was no different from a scarecrow moved by strings.

That said, it was not as easy an opponent as those words made it sound.

Even if it was a corpse.

A dragon was still a dragon.

[Clear condition: Reduce 5% of the Bone Dragon’s total HP.]

‘This is the same as the game.’

Still, it seemed to have some conscience.

With the skill of a Chosen who had just climbed to the 15th floor, it would be impossible even if they died and came back to life.

At minimum, one would need to be on the middle floors.

Even among them, only someone with top-ranking skill might or might not be able to kill it.

But.

That had nothing to do with me.

“It’s been a while.”

Since I used this.

[Using Special Ability Reset Elixir.]

-Special Ability: Instant Kill’s cooldown has been reset.

“Blink.”

My vision flipped along with a golden flash.