I have the authority granted by the two Statues, the Gatekeepers of the Tower.
Not only do I have the authority to exit, but I also have the authority to enter the Tower whenever and wherever I want.
Normally, to enter the Tower as a party, all party members must gather and enter together, but since I have this entrance authority, I chose a different method.
– As I mentioned, we will enter the Tower today at 9:00 AM.
– Everyone on the team, please finish your preparations and wait.
I had previously explained to the party members that we would gather in the morning, describing the authority I possessed.
By now, they were likely preparing for the hunt while wondering if such a thing was truly possible.
I also packed all the equipment I had made.
After donning a full-body suit of armor for the party to hide my appearance, I immediately used the authority to enter the Tower.
[Welcome to the Tower.]
As soon as I used the authority, my vision shifted, and the interior of the Tower appeared.
Naturally, my party members were with me.
“It really worked.”
“To think such an authority existed. Just like the exit authority you mentioned last time, it’s quite remarkable.”
“Isn’t this authority just too convenient?”
“Phew, I almost came out without my mask on!”
The Sword Saint, Cheon Seung-heon, Cheongryong, and the Shadow King.
Four Rankers had gathered and behind them, dozens of my soldiers stood assembled.
Originally, the number of soldiers made the floor look quite full, but as we climbed higher, the floors grew larger, and several dozen didn’t seem like that many anymore.
The number of Monsters appearing on each floor was already immense.
“Well then, shall we head straight to the 65th floor and tackle the sub-boss level Trial?”
Since everyone had finished their combat preparations, I was about to start the Trial immediately.
However, I shook my head.
There was something I had to do before the Trial began.
“Han Yu-ra.”
“Yes?”
“Could you take this and change your equipment?”
“Equipment…?”
“I’ve prepared something new. Equipment specifically for you, Han Yu-ra.”
“Ah, it is fine. What I am wearing now is also SSS-Grade armor that you, Vulcanus, made for me.”
“No. It’s not SSS-Grade.”
“What? Then, could it be?”
“I’ve made a new set of Legendary (L) armor.”
“……!!”
The Sword Saint’s eyes widened.
Well, it was only natural to be surprised.
Her combat power had already jumped an incredible amount just by getting a Legendary (L) weapon, and now Legendary (L) armor had appeared before her eyes.
However, that wasn’t the only reason the Sword Saint was so shocked.
“Don’t tell me, all of these…?”
“Yes, they are Legendary (L) equipment.”
She would have been impressed even if I had just made the armor.
But every single piece of the set I was handing over now was a Legendary (L) item.
Six Legendary (L) items consisting of a helmet, top, bottom, shoes, gloves, and bracers.
Unable to hide her shock, the Sword Saint carefully checked the item information of the helmet placed on top.
[Helmet of the Sword Saint’s Qualification]
Type: Helmet
Grade: Legendary (L)
Requirements: Level 350 or higher, Vulcanus’s Recognition
Description: A helmet made from Nagunpa scales by the descendant of Hephaestus for the greatest swordsman.
Defense: 4,500
Abilities:
1. Sheathing – When the weapon is sheathed, defense increases significantly, and any attack received is judged as a ‘Block’.
2. Drawing – When the weapon is drawn, attack power increases significantly.
3. Gap – Critical hit rate increases significantly, and critical hit multiplier increases significantly when attacking vital points.
4. Time of the Sword Saint – When drawing, time flows slowly for a short duration.
5. Strike of the Sword Saint – When drawing, the attack power, attack speed, and attack range of the first attack increase.
“My goodness…….”
It wasn’t just that they were Legendary (L) items.
They were Legendary (L) items made specifically for Han Yu-ra, the Sword Saint.
The items were perfectly tailored to the combat style she used, such as sheathing and drawing.
That wasn’t all.
The moment she finished changing all her equipment as if possessed.
[‘Sword Saint’s Qualification’ Set (6/6) has been fully equipped.]
[The set effect of ‘Sword Saint’s Qualification’ is activated.]
[Set Effect: Sword Saint’s Qualification]
[The power of skills related to swords or sabers increases.]
The set effect appeared as well.
This, too, had an effect perfectly suited for her, as if it had been made specifically for her.
Just by matching all the Legendary (L) armor, her combat power would rise insanely, not just because of the armor itself but also because of those dedicated abilities.
And on top of that, a set effect like this.
“Thank you! Vulcanus!” The Sword Saint, now in her new equipment, bowed her waist at a right angle toward me.
I waved my hands in embarrassment, but she showed no intention of straightening up.
“For Legendary (L) items, the materials and time required must have been immense. I will show you a performance worthy of the name Sword Saint so that you will not regret this!”
“Haha…… I look forward to it. So, please straighten your back now.”
“Thank you so much! Vulcanus!”
Still, seeing her like that made the effort of staying up all night to create a full set of armor for the Sword Saint feel worth it.
I had used six of those precious S-class materials just to make that set.
Since I had even engraved the Rune Script properly, she would surely be able to show a sufficient performance.
I had also properly attached ‘Vulcanus’s Recognition’ to the equipment requirements.
And so, the delivery of items ended.
“…Ahem.”
“Ooh…”
“Guild Leader, no, Master! Massteeeer!”
I felt intense gazes from the side.
Cheon Seung-heon showed blatant interest in the Sword Saint’s armor, and Cheongryong cleared his throat while glancing this way.
The Shadow King clung to me openly and spoke directly. “Give me a Legendary (L) set item toooooo!”
That’s right.
All three of them were expecting Legendary (L) items.
In my heart, I wanted to deck out the remaining three with brilliant Legendary (L) items as well, but…
“This is all for today.”
“Ah…….”
“Hmm…”
“Aaaaaagh!”
Today, just preparing the Sword Saint’s armor was the limit.
Both physically and time-wise.
Although I had collected many S-class Materials while climbing the Tower and many more came in through this Monster wave, S-class Materials were still precious.
Even just gathering S-class Materials that matched the Sword Saint’s characteristics to create a set item was incredibly lucky.
However, even so, I had no intention of ignoring the equipment of the remaining members.
“As we climb the Tower and secure materials by fending off the Monster waves, I will prepare equipment for you.”
“Oh!”
“Right now, I lack suitable materials, and time was at its limit, so it couldn’t be helped.”
“Of course! I understand! Vulcanus!”
“I’m not trying to prioritize material greed, but with Legendary (L) armor, I feel I could play an even greater role. Ah, of course, not for free…”
“I’ll be counting on you, Master!”
“Shadow King, that ‘Master’ title is a bit…”
I would continue to match items for them as we climbed the Tower.
In any case, their becoming stronger would increase the probability of clearing the entire Tower.
Since equipping Rankers yielded greater efficiency than creating soldiers with the equipment.
“Then, let’s start immediately.”
“Yes!”
“The Trial on the 65th floor…… Everyone, let’s stay sharp.”
[Beginning the Trial of the 65th Floor.]
[65th Floor: Swarm of Death]
The Trial of the 65th floor began.
The 65th floor’s Trial.
The Swarm of Death.
***
As the Trial began, Undead Monsters rose across the entire 65th floor.
“It’s called a swarm, but it doesn’t seem much different from the other floors, does it?”
“It seems so, for now.”
“I guess there’s nothing special even if it’s the Trial of the 65th floor!”
“We shouldn’t let our guard down yet.”
However, the difficulty of the Trial was better than expected.
Compared to the 64th floor, it seemed a bit more difficult, but there wasn’t a huge difference.
Skeletons, Zombies, Ghouls, and so on.
It seemed like every existing form of Undead was rising, but they were manageable enough to handle.
And here…
‘Vulcanus’s soldiers. Their numbers are one thing, but their skill is also no joke.’
Vulcanus’s soldiers accounted for a large portion of the success.
If surrounded by such a large number of Undead, it would be difficult to hold out even if each individual Undead’s martial power was weak.
But Vulcanus’s swordsmen were forming proper formations to block that large number of Undead.
It wasn’t just their numbers that helped.
Their skill was also incredible.
Just looking at the individual Vulcanus called ‘Combat 1’, what was it?
Wielding a weapon called Durandal, which looked even more powerful than the Legendary (L) weapons the Sword Saint possessed, it fired off Attack Aura.
In terms of skill, the Sword Saint would be a step above, but that level of skill was enough to rival any decent Ranker.
The same went for the other soldiers.
The magic fired by the mages was freezing or burning the enemies.
Large soldiers like the Minotaur were crushing the Undead Monsters just by charging.
If those soldiers hadn’t been there, the difficulty of conquering the Tower would have spiked drastically even if the Rankers had gathered.
“It looks like the end is finally in sight.”
The massive number of Undead Monsters was slowly being cleared out.
Just as everyone was starting to feel relieved.
“Rumble” The ground began to shake.
No, that wasn’t it.
What was shaking wasn’t the ground.
The Undead Monsters covering the ground.
Not only the Undead that were still moving, but even the Undead Monsters lying on the floor with their heads exploded or their bodies cut in half.
All of them were shaking.
As if they were resonating with each other and soon…..
“Get away!”
“You mustn’t be sucked in!”
All the Undead on the 65th floor began to be sucked into one spot.
The form, which gradually increased in size, soon…
“Gruuuuuuu-.”
Began to take the shape of a giant monster.
A being formed by the merging of all those Undead.
That’s right.
The 65th floor’s Trial name, ‘Swarm of Death’, wasn’t a trial to simply face a large number of Undead.
What is a swarm in the first place?
It means individuals of the same species gathering to organize and connect into a common body.
That monster was the same.
They were beings that would have had different species and families when they were alive, but through the common denominator of ‘death’, all dead beings were merged into one.
What was created was the ‘Swarm of Death’ itself.
A monster made of death was born.
“What is this pressure…?”
Those who had been relaxing until a moment ago regained their focus.
As everyone, including the Sword Saint, was a Ranker, they could roughly estimate the combat power of an enemy just by looking at its presence.
In that sense, the combat power of that being was at least a Rank 9 or higher.
No, it was a monster so powerful that one might think it had reached the level of a Rank10 monster.
“Shift to defensive formation first! We’ll figure out the enemy’s patterns using a raid formation! Save your strength as much as possible and avoid its attacks!”
It wasn’t an ordinary monster.
They had thought it would be okay until the 64th floor but as soon as they saw that being, that thought vanished.
In a situation where they didn’t even know how many floors the Tower had, for such a monster to appear on the 65th floor.
While everyone was tensed up, preparing for the next attack the ‘Swarm of Death’ would showcase.
“5…… 4…… 3…….”
“Vulcanus?”
Vulcanus was quietly counting down.
And among them, only one person.
Only the Sword Saint could see it.
While the Swarm of Death was sucking in all the Undead of the 65th floor to form its body.
She saw Vulcanus planting a pure white ‘bomb’ he had prepared in advance into the body of a fairly large Zombie.
“2…… 1…….”
And the moment Vulcanus spoke the number ‘0’.
– Flash!
“Guoooooooh-?”
Beams of light began to burst out from the body of the remnants of death.
“BOOM!!!”
An explosion made of brilliance covered their vision.