Episode 134
134. Tower of Trials
Before arriving at the Demonic Swamp where the Lizardmen are.
Ryumin left the ranks early on.
There were so many people that it wasn’t difficult to avoid people’s eyes.
‘There’s no way they’ll notice if I’m missing one person.’
I stopped and checked to see if anyone was following me, but there was no trace.
A relieved Ryumin passed the giant twin saplings and entered the gap between the rocks.
Then, a cave that looked suspicious at first glance appeared.
I entered the dark cave without hesitation, and a message appeared out of nowhere, illuminating the darkness.
[There is a hidden sub-quest!]
<Sub Quest>
└Find the hidden portal
└If successful ▶ Indomitable resistance potion provided
[You have completed the sub-quest!]
With the message that the quest was completed, a shimmering portal appeared in front of me.
The corners of Ryumin’s mouth rose in satisfaction.
‘found. Hidden portal.’
The 9th round sub-quest is none other than finding the hidden portal.
It was a sub-quest that could only be found in the Lizardman subjugation team, which had the lowest difficulty level.
‘This is why I chose the Lizardman. Because there are no sub-quests in other punitive forces.’
At first, Ryu Min didn’t know the identity of the sub-quest.
Until the angel spoke during the 9th round tally results.
‘After I found out that finding the hidden portal was a side quest, I wandered around every corner. Choosing all the options.’
I found it by selecting numbers 5 to 1 in reverse order.
Then I found this place, a cave near the Demonic Swamp where the Lizardmen were.
I found a hidden portal here and was able to complete the sub-quest.
The reward wasn’t bad, with an Indomitable Resistance potion.
[Indomitable Resistance Potion]
– Category: Consumables
-Grade: Legendary
-Effect: Fire, cold, and wind resistance fixed at 95% for 4 hours
-Restrictions on use: Regular grade or higher
-Description: An incredible item that increases resistance to the three major attributes to the limit. When taking it, you will not sweat even in the middle of summer, and you will not feel cold even if you take off your top in the middle of winter.
It was a legendary potion.
It’s an effective potion, but why did they give it to me?
There is a reason.
‘It’s a reward to be used here at the Tower of Trials.’
Ryumin looked at the portal fluttering before his eyes.
When you go in there, you already know what’s there.
That’s why I took a big step forward without hesitation.
Ryumin’s body was sucked into another dimension.
[Welcome to the Tower of Trials.]
[The Tower of Trials is a tower that tests the player’s limits from the 1st floor to the 99th floor.]
[The tower does not share the flow of time with other dimensions, so please attack the tower to your heart’s content without worrying about the world.]
[Anyone can take on the challenge, but only one person can obtain the reward on each floor.]
[If someone else has already obtained the reward for that floor, you will not be able to obtain the reward even if you clear it.]
[If you die in the tower, you will be thrown back to the original dimension and cannot try again.]
[Okay then, please, please! Please challenge your limits!]
As the explanation was posted, this is a tower that tests the player’s limits.
‘There are all kinds of traps and tests on each floor. Compensation too.’
Only one person can obtain the rewards placed on each floor.
This is why Ryumin hid the existence of the sub-quest through prophecy.
‘The rewards are all mine.’
Ryu Min climbed the tower to the 99th floor to get a reward.
As I climbed up, I felt a new emotion.
‘I failed 58 times to attack the 99th floor.’
Failure means death, but here, even if you die, you will only return to the cave where the original portal was located.
It’s a shame I can’t try again.
‘But I had many opportunities to challenge myself. And in the end, we succeeded in conquering the 99th floor for the 59th time.’
After that, I got the reward by perfectly climbing to the 99th floor every time.
The reward was not the stealth rune that I was supposed to get in round 9.
‘The rune of stealth is just a secondary reward that can be obtained from the upper levels of the Tower of Trials.’
The reward on the 99th floor was a reward for fighting against angels, and it was a must-have reward to fight against angels.
‘That’s why you can only get one.’
This is why the angels would go crazy if they found out.
Ryumin didn’t know why angels were given unfavorable compensation.
‘Isn’t good something good?’
Ryumin will get the reward this time too.
Just like it has always been.
Clap-squeak-
As I open the door of the tall tower and enter, a message comes to mind.
[You have entered the first floor of the Tower of Trials.]
[If you face the prepared trials, you will be rewarded.]
[When successfully conquering the 1st floor ▶ Strength +1]
Like the message, there are rewards on each floor of the Tower of Trials.
In other words, there are 99 rewards.
For Ryumin, it is no different from a treasure chest.
‘But you shouldn’t let down your guard.’
Each floor’s test is full of difficult traps.
‘If it’s your first time entering the game, it will be quite difficult.’
In front of Ryumin’s eyes, there is a passage where he can only see darkness.
As you can see, you can’t help but be nervous because you don’t know what will happen.
‘It doesn’t apply to me, though.’
Ryumin ran over at once.
Push shoo shoo-
An iron skewer protruded from the left wall, but I avoided it as if I had predicted it.
As soon as he did that, a skewer came again from the right wall, but he also easily dodged it.
Next are the iron skewers rising from the floor.
As if he had expected this too, he easily got over it by jumping.
Those life-and-death situations happened in just a few seconds.
At this point, it may seem like a trap designed to kill you, but it’s easier than you think.
‘If we proceeded slowly, we would have been able to detect abnormalities in advance by hearing the sound of the engine running.’
However, Ryumin, who knew the location of the ship, had no reason to go slowly.
It just breaks through as quickly as it does now.
[You have cleared the first floor of the Tower of Trials.]
[As a reward, your strength increases by 1 permanently.]
[You will be moved to the next floor after 10 seconds.]
Ryumin laughed while looking at the message.
For him who broke through the 99th floor, this is nothing.
‘The next two floors are arrow traps.’
Ryumin’s appearance disappeared in an instant.
* * *
Push shoo shoo!
Clap la la rock-!
Chains and arrows struck Ryumin at the same time.
I dodged it with smooth movements and somersaulted.
The floor suddenly opened and an abyss-like pit appeared.
Chorak-
Ryumin grabbed the chain that was swinging in the air and crossed over, grabbing the next chain.
Ryumin climbed over the pit and landed on the ground and ran without stopping.
Perhaps because I have attacked and memorized it dozens of times, the location of the traps is clearly visible.
[Cleared the 19th floor of the Tower of Trials.]
[As a reward, Dexterity 2 increases permanently.]
[You will be moved to the next floor after 10 seconds.]
While climbing to the 19th floor, Ryumin permanently gained the following stats: 7 strength, 7 intelligence, 7 agility, and 5 luck.
Even getting this far is a huge achievement.
‘But if it’s your first time climbing, the 9th floor is probably the limit.’
As the tenth position of the floor changes, the level of difficulty increases.
In other words, from the 10th floor onwards, traps are placed that are difficult for the average player to clear.
‘You have to be over level 50 with agility over 150 to decide whether or not to go up to the 20th floor.’
Therefore, for an average player, just getting to this point is an incredible feat.
Of course, Ryu Min was not an ordinary player.
‘Monsters will appear from the 20th to the 39th floor.’
You have to be over level 50 to reach the 20th floor, so the monsters that appear are not easy.
‘I told you all that the Minotaur comes as standard.’
Although it would only be good experience points for Ryumin.
‘It’s also an opportunity to accumulate massacre runes.’
Since I couldn’t catch the monster, the massacre rune stack is still 0.
All stats double when stacked to 100, so I wanted to get the buff quickly.
“Krrrrr.”
I could hear the monster’s cries in the dark passage.
Sigh-
Ryumin actually laughed.
He grabbed the scythe and ran with a smile.
It was an opportunity to raise the stack.
* * *
“Kwoaeook-!”
dump-
The ogre’s body, which had lost its head, fell to the floor helplessly.
[The ogre has been defeated!]
[Experience points increase by 1.5 times due to the title effect.]
[Experience +5.7%]
[Gold+12,000]
[Current kill count: 200/100]
[All stats increase by 100% due to the Rune of Massacre effect.]
[Damage increases by 15% due to the devil’s ring effect.]
Ryu Min, who had just cleared the 39th floor, opened the status window.
The level has already risen to 85.
I also accumulated the Rune of Massacre buff and gained 2 stats with the Orb of Eternal Sleep.
‘In addition to this, I also obtained rewards for conquering each floor.’
There was a variety of equipment, starting from expert level rare equipment to unique equipment.
[Cleared the 39th floor of the Tower of Trials.]
[The ‘Necklace of Trials’ will be given as a reward.]
[You will be moved to the next floor after 10 seconds.]
I confirmed the compensation Ryu Min received.
[Necklace of Ordeal]
– Category: Necklace
-Grade: Unique
-Effect: Strength, Intelligence +39
-Durability: 5,000/5,000
– Restrictions on use: Master level or higher
-Description: A necklace that can only be obtained by conquering the Tower of Trials somewhere in the world. Obtaining this means that you have cleared the 39th floor.
What I received this time was master-level unique equipment.
Ryumin smiled.
I think it would be good to use it in situations where the Bead of Spirituality is not used.
“Now it’s the 40th floor.”
Ryumin’s eyes were filled with tension.
So far it was just a warm-up, but now it’s the real deal.
Upon reaching the 40th floor, Ryumin took out the Indomitable Resistance Potion he received as a sub-quest reward.
From here on, this potion is absolutely necessary.
‘use.’
[Use ‘Indomitable Resistance Potion’.]
[Fire resistance is fixed at 95%.]
[Cold resistance is fixed at 95%.]
[Wind resistance is fixed at 95%.]
From now on, traps will appear that cannot be conquered without the help of potions.
‘There are traps where the entire passage gets hot like an oven, there are passages with gusts of wind that make it impossible to walk, or there are floors that test the limits of your mental strength with extreme frost.’
At this level, no matter how high the stats are, it cannot withstand attribute attacks.
In the first place, we created an environment where we had no choice but to rely on potions.
“Whew, shall we go again?”
Ryu Min, who was in good spirits, took another step.
You must go up to at least the 80th floor.
* * *
As the trap concept is different, the rewards on each floor are also different.
[As a reward, your fire resistance is permanently increased by 5%.]
[As a reward, your cold resistance is permanently increased by 5%.]
[As compensation, wind resistance is permanently increased by 5%.]
From the 40th to the 59th floor, it was a trap related to properties.
Perhaps that’s why rewards were released that permanently increase attribute resistance.
When we finished up to the 59th floor, Ryumin checked the resistance he had received so far.
‘Fire resistance has increased by 35%, cold resistance has increased by 35%, and wind resistance has increased by 30%.’
There are two types of resistance.
General resistance that prevents status abnormalities and attribute resistance that prevents attribute attacks as above.
The rainbow effect, which increases resistance by 50%, belongs to normal resistance.
This means that it is completely different from the attribute resistance obtained now.
That’s why Ryumin was happy.
‘Because attribute resistance is not something that can be easily raised.’
Items that increase attribute resistance are among the very few.
If possible, you have to give up trying to save it and rely on potions.
It was a huge privilege to be permanently in that position.
‘Now shall we start targeting the 60th floor?’
From here until the 79th floor, monsters appear again.
It’s not that stronger monsters appear, but they appear in conjunction with traps, so you need to be a little careful.
‘I won’t be able to run like I did the first time.’
Ryumin, who needed to proceed cautiously, advanced with his sickle in hand.
* * *
There is a reason why Ryumin set his minimum goal as the 80th floor.
[Cleared the 79th floor of the Tower of Trials.]
[A ‘Rune Piece of Stealth’ will be given as a reward.]
[You will be moved to the next floor after 10 seconds.]
A rune piece of stealth.
Finally, the item I wanted arrived.
As soon as Ryumin received it, he used it and imprinted it on his body.
[Rune of Stealth]
-Effect: When using invisibility, the sound of breathing, footsteps, clothes, etc. is completely hidden.
It is not affected by any external factors, whether it is search or presence detection.
If an attack is successful after becoming invisible, the cooldown of invisibility is reset.
A smile spread across Ryumin’s lips.
Now that you have the stealth rune, complete invisibility is possible.
‘You can’t be satisfied here. Because the real thing is still there.’
Ryu Min, who climbed to the 80th floor, took a moment to catch his breath and then moved forward.
Now, rough and difficult difficulties await us that can be considered a comprehensive gift set of the pitfalls we have faced so far.
‘There are still 2 hours left for the attribute potion, so it’s enough to get to the 99th floor.’
It was easier said than done.
Various monsters, wind and rain, typhoons, frost, fire pits, etc.
I climbed the floors, going through all kinds of traps.
[Cleared the 83rd floor of the Tower of Trials.]
[Cleared the 87th floor of the Tower of Trials.]
[Cleared the 92nd floor of the Tower of Trials.]
… … … … … … … …
… … … … … …
… … … …
‘Whew. I climbed it a few times, but the road to the 99th floor is difficult.’
Ryumin, who had climbed to the 98th floor, wiped the sweat from his forehead.
There were many challenges to get here.
The 97th floor, which was just the previous floor, even tested one’s mental strength with hallucinations.
Of course, thanks to the mental barrier rune, I passed through it despite it being a hallucination.
‘The easiest floors so far are the 97th and 98th floors.’
The 98th floor was the same trap, so I passed it by just walking.
The final 99th floor was not so easy to get through.
[Cleared the 98th floor of the Tower of Trials.]
[As compensation, resistance is permanently increased by 10%.]
[You will be moved to the last floor after 10 seconds. good luck.]
Eventually, Ryumin arrived at the 99th floor.
The final challenge awaited him.