<Has the Key Figure finally tasted defeat on the 11th floor?>
<The F-rank who brought a storm to the Magic Tower: Was the 9th floor his limit?>
Numerous speculations swirled around the Key Figure.
Although he cleared the 10th floor in record time, the fact that he was F-rank and accompanied by another led people to believe he had help.
And as if to prove it, no record of the Key Figure appeared on the 11th floor.
The public reacted in two ways.
One group believed the Key Figure had finally hit his limit.
The other thought he might have personal reasons for not climbing that day.
Most leaned toward the former.
For two reasons.
First, he couldn’t have cleared the 10th floor alone.
Second, if the Key Figure could clear the 9th or 11th floor in mere seconds, why would he skip climbing due to lack of time?
Letting a Magic Tower entry ticket, usable once every 24 hours, go to waste?
When no new record for the 11th floor was set even 36 hours after the Key Figure’s 10th-floor clear,
People began to tremble with fear.
Rumors of the Key Figure’s death even started circulating.
A live YouTube broadcast was streaming, filming the 11th and 12th floor walls of the Hall of Fame on the first floor of Suseo Magic Tower.
A simple broadcast, showing only the 11th and 12th floor Hall of Fame without any commentary or dialogue, was being watched by 1,800 people.
The chat was filled with people chanting for the Key Figure.
Key Figure! Come back!
We’re waiting!
The Key Figure is real and waiting for players’ challenges on the 100th floor!
…
(Show more)
S-ranks laughing at the Key Figure’s disappearance, throw some donations!
Meanwhile, Choi Junseok was lounging in his room, scratching his stomach and watching TV.
It was amusing to see the world buzzing about him, and he could feel his influence growing.
“People are really interested in the Key Figure, huh.”
Song Hana said this while sharing ice cream with Kamdori.
Lee Nayeon, lying upside down on the sofa with her long hair dangling, nodded.
Her legs were propped up against the wall for blood circulation.
Despite her bizarre posture, her tone was calm.
“With this level of fame and popularity, couldn’t you just debut as the Key Figure?”
“Yeah, at this point, why not just reveal your identity?”
The thought had crossed his mind.
But there were two reasons why it wasn’t a good idea.
First, revealing his face and identity now wouldn’t bring any benefits.
To safely earn a lot of money, it was better to stay behind the mask of anonymity for now.
For example, he was already receiving maximum support from the Player Management Office.
What would revealing his identity achieve? No extra perks would come from it.
It would only increase overseas scrutiny and kidnapping attempts disguised as recruitment.
Now, let’s look at this graph.
This is the power graph of the Key Figure’s climb up to the 10th floor.
While the seconds fluctuate, it’s generally trending upward… but recently, it’s plateaued or even declined.
The turning point was the 10th floor.
We can analyze it like this…
It was the analysis of a self-proclaimed Magic Tower analyst.
…
As if analyzing a stock chart, they connected the peaks of a bar graph of the Key Figure’s power in seconds, calling it a power graph.
Choi Junseok, watching this on TV news, rubbed his stubbly chin.
Wow… this is ridiculous.
The credibility of TV news had hit rock bottom.
Just because he didn’t set a new record on the 11th floor, they were saying he was dead.
“These idiots.”
He wondered how they’d react if he cleared the 12th and 13th floors in succession.
With anticipation, Choi Junseok used the entry ticket to Hephaestus’s Forge.
A red portal appeared, and Choi Junseok, picking up Kamdori, stepped inside.
The Balrog’s sword obtained from the hidden stage.
He had a perfect use for it.
***
Around the same time, Director Moon Kwonsu visited Team Leader Kang Jinsu’s office at the Player Management Office, sipping coffee.
Kang Jinsu knew this wasn’t just a casual check on work progress.
“The Key Figure was climbing two floors at a time recently, but it stopped?”
“That’s right. It seems he used an additional Magic Tower entry ticket.”
“Those items, what’s the market price now…?”
“They’re trading at about 180 million won per ticket.”
“Oh, right, I remember now. The Gurkha mercenaries were making a fuss about buying extra entry tickets to climb 10 low-level floors a day, demanding budget allocations. It was a hassle to stop them.”
Director Moon Kwonsu sipped his coffee calmly, but his words carried a sharp edge.
“So, does it seem like the Key Figure has hit his limit? The higher-ups haven’t officially said anything, but my phone’s been buzzing since this morning.”
It meant many people were asking about the Key Figure under the guise of personal calls.
“The Key Figure will climb again today. Don’t you think it’s too early to say he’s hit his limit at the 11th floor, Director?”
“Well, who knows? Maybe he got some opportunity that could only be used 10 times.”
“I know he’s not that kind of person. Just wait half a day, Director. He’ll prove how foolish those talking about limits are.”
Though he didn’t know the Key Figure’s true abilities or strength, Kang Jinsu was certain of that much.
***
“You little guy! So cute! Want some lava?!”
Hephaestus seemed to love cute things, despite his muscular build.
Kamdori merely tilted its head at the mention of lava.
It flapped its tiny wings and lay flat on the ground, looking annoyed.
Choi Junseok grabbed Kamdori’s tail, lying on the floor, and pulled it with a TUG.
With a CRACK, Kamdori opened its mouth and spat out an item.
“GWEEK!”
The item it spat out like vomit was a flaming greatsword.
‘Balrog’s Flaming Sword (Miscellaneous)’
Hephaestus’s eyes widened suddenly upon seeing it.
“Whoa! How did you get this? A Balrog’s sword?!”
It was a miscellaneous item useless to other players, but in Hephaestus’s forge, whether equipment or miscellaneous, everything was just material.
Kamdori, having skillfully spat out the massive sword, burped and purred under its master’s touch.
“Can you make a weapon out of this?”
“Oh… my God. Of course. I want to start right now, but there’s a problem.”
“What is it?”
“To use this as a weapon, you’ll need a lot of magic stones. A ton. High purity.”
“…”
“Can’t you just hammer it roughly into a usable size?”
“Hey! It’s not that simple.”
“How much are we talking?”
Hephaestus rummaged through his pocket and pulled out a purple amethyst-like magic stone.
Even at a glance, it exuded a clean, mysterious power—a high-quality magic stone.
“At least 5 kilos of stones this pure.”
“5 kilos?”
“What, can’t do it?”
Based on his experience as a porter, Choi Junseok roughly knew the market price of magic stones.
The government buys high-grade magic stones at about 20 million won per 100 grams, or 0.1 kilos.
That’s about 200 million won per kilo.
That’s the government’s cheap buying price.
For a player to buy it, it would cost at least double.
So, 5 kilos would be worth about 1 billion won in selling price.
If purchased, it would cost around 1.3 to 1.5 billion won.
“Do you know how much that is in Korean won?”
“Not my problem.”
Choi Junseok was speechless.
Honestly, wasn’t Hephaestus working for free as long as the materials were provided?
He wasn’t even charging a fee.
“If you melt that item down…”
“You’d get a legendary-grade sword with a level 100 requirement. At least, that’s my estimate. What about additional effects?”
A flaming sword. It would be perfect for the floors he’d face next.
Up to the 15th floor, undead monsters were the main enemies, and up to the 20th floor, he’d face ice-attribute frozen monsters.
As expected.
“Can’t you tell? It’s imbued with fire and dark energy, effective against opposing attributes. If you think it’s too expensive, just give up.”
In truth, buying a legendary item for 1.3 to 1.5 billion won?
Even non-ranker players would jump at the offer.
“Keep it in mind for now. I’ll get them exactly.”
Hephaestus nodded, satisfied, as he took the Balrog’s sword, his eyes gleaming like he’d gotten a new toy.
Back in reality, Choi Junseok knew exactly who to call.
So… you need 5 kilos of magic stones? Preferably high-quality ones?
“Exactly.”
Is something going on lately?
“Well, some things happened, but nothing you need to worry about.”
Nothing to worry about, huh.
Kang Jinsu nodded at the vague response.
From his voice, it seemed like he climbed the 11th floor yesterday.
The matter with his cousin, Park Suho, seemed to have been resolved.
Lee Jiyu’s visits to his home were a bit concerning, but honestly, having an S-rank player show friendly interest wasn’t a bad thing.
5 kilos of magic stones would easily exceed 1 billion won in market value.
“Is that too much? Doesn’t the Player Management Office handle magic stones?”
It’s related to our work, but we don’t directly manage them.
The Magic Stone Management Corporation does… but it’s all the same circle.
“Then let’s borrow some. Just 5 kilos.”
1 billion won’s worth.
“Yes.”
Kang Jinsu thought this guy was getting bolder,
But he knew there was only one answer he could give.
Got it. I’ll contact you once it’s ready.
5 kilos should fit in one big box for delivery.
Kang Jinsu ended the call.
“5 kilos of magic stones…”
It felt like calling a countryside home and saying, “Hey, Mom, it’s me. Send me 5 kilos of sweet potatoes or cabbage.”
“Of course, we’ll provide it.”
That late afternoon, as Kang Jinsu was buried in paperwork to secure the 5 kilos of magic stones,
The Player Management Office buzzed with excitement again.
“The Key Figure! He cleared the 12th and 13th floors simultaneously!”
Amid the bustle and noise outside the office, the corners of Kang Jinsu’s mouth curled up.
As expected.
He wasn’t someone who would collapse so easily.
Then, Kang Jinsu quietly changed the magic stone request from 5 kilos to 6 kilos on the support form.
“Let’s be generous.”
In those two days, the money Kang Jinsu had invested in the Key Figure project easily surpassed 1.5 billion won.
And at that moment,
A notification window appeared before Choi Junseok, who had cleared the 12th floor.
[Congratulations!]
[You have cleared the 12th floor.]
[Congratulations!]
[Hidden Reward Condition: Achieved the fastest solo clear.]
[Clear Time: 8 seconds.]
[Would you like to register anonymously in the Hall of Fame? (Y/N)]
[Registered anonymously.]
[Hidden rewards and clear rewards will be distributed.]
[Would you like to return? (Y/N) You will automatically return in 30 minutes.]
That wasn’t all.
[Special Condition Achieved! – ‘Cleared 5 floors with the best records’]
[A special reward will be granted for achieving the condition!]
It was a notification for achieving the special reward for setting the best records on the 8th, 9th, 10th, 12th, and 13th floors.