Chapter 172: 60th Floor Administrator (1)

I had safely stopped the Tower’s rampage in Seoul but that didn’t mean I could rest easy. 

Why?

“The Tower’s rampage? The power of the monsters appearing through the dimensional rift was beyond imagination.”

“If it hadn’t been for Korea’s Kim Si-won, the rampage could not have been stopped.”

“What if it happened in another country, not Korea? Unimaginable damage is expected.”

“It’s not just one country’s problem. A global, fundamental solution is urgently needed.”

The whole world was in an uproar. 

It had to be. 

After all, Korea—home to the world’s strongest Awakeners and greatest military power—had suffered greatly. 

What kind of country was Korea? 

It possessed the current strongest in the world, the peak Awakeners Kim Si-won and Leon, along with talents from Siwon School. 

The incident happened not in some remote province, but right in the middle of Seoul’s city center—everyone was shocked. 

If such a situation, a Tower rampage, had occurred in another country instead of Korea, the damage would have been unimaginable. 

That was why:

“The World Awakener Association declares a state of emergency!”

“The Tower can rampage at any time. The root cause is Nepas.”

“Nepas is extending his demonic hand toward humanity and Earth. As Chairman Kim Si-won said, it is now clear that a disaster is descending upon Earth.”

The entire world entered a state of emergency. 

At the center was the World Awakener Association. 

As if it had existed precisely to prepare for such an event, it moved swiftly and completed an emergency system enabling close coordination with each nation’s situation.

***

Under the command of the World Awakener Association I had established, the world quickly stabilized. 

Of course, since the association was founded for this very purpose—to counter Nepas’s schemes—it could be said that it had fulfilled its mission. 

However…

‘I haven’t solved the fundamental problem.’

Emergency system? 

It was merely an emergency system, nothing more. 

If a Tower rampage occurred in another country instead of Korea, the result was obvious: massive damage and countless casualties. 

The reason Korea and Seoul suffered relatively little damage was that I could respond quickly. 

But no matter how well-connected portals and dimensional gates were, I couldn’t move as fast in other countries as I could on my own. 

Time was the issue. 

If a monster like the Goblin Lord appeared—since the First Floor’s rampage brought out the Goblin Lord, even stronger beings would emerge from the Second Floor onward—even a single second could cause enormous damage. 

And stopping them wouldn’t be easy.

This Goblin Lord invasion… Because of it…

‘I used up a lot of my lifespan.’

Some would say, “As expected of Kim Si-won.” 

But that power was earned by sacrificing my life force, my own lifespan. 

I had gained enlightenment and extended my life. 

However, by overexerting myself to stop this invasion, just as much lifespan had been shaved off. 

At most, now…

‘Five years… That’s about it.’

The time allotted to me was five years. 

Of course, if I attained another enlightenment, I could buy more time, but that wasn’t easy. 

Enlightenment wasn’t something one could gain easily. 

Especially for someone who had reached my level—achieving enlightenment was akin to a miracle. 

So I couldn’t count on extending my lifespan through enlightenment. 

Instead…

-Swipe.

What I touched with my hand was…

Cain’s Crown of Immortality.

The Cain’s Immortality set I had never obtained. 

Surprisingly, the Goblin Lord had been wearing one of its pieces—the Crown of Immortality.

‘As I suspected, the Cain’s Immortality set cannot be obtained through normal Tower progression.’

Even when I got the armor, it was likely arranged so that only a single item could be obtained from the Tower. 

To get the other pieces, I would need another Tower rampage like this one, or…

‘I will have to reach the realm where I can destroy the Tower myself.’

Nepas was destroying the Tower. 

And I, too, would have to approach that realm of Tower destruction alongside him and access its secrets before I could complete the Cain’s Immortality set. 

Therefore…

“Rip.”

I tore the ticket immediately. 

It was a movement ticket that allowed teleportation to the 60th Floor. 

Earlier, I had postponed it due to the First Floor’s rampage, but I could no longer delay it. 

To obtain the Tower’s secrets along with the Cain’s Immortality set—the information Nepas had accessed—I entered the 60th Floor.

***

Passing the 60th Floor’s Trial was far too easy. 

So instead of focusing on the Trial…

“Thump.“

I sat down right there and spread my sensory field wide. 

Surely there would be an unknown realm, a world I didn’t know about, unfolding before me. 

To realize it, to sense it, I focused again and again. 

With the same Shimui I had used when I killed the Goblin Lord.

“Whoosh!”

I pulled out my astral form—a clone, a fluid body. 

It could be called a soul, or another me. 

Using the astral form connected by a thin thread I freely roamed the area of the 60th Floor.

The Trial of the 60th Floor was monster subjugation. 

The appearance of the Demon King’s Legion, and an increase in monster numbers. 

That was why many kingdoms on the Gritia Continent had agreed to subjugate monsters in advance and competed to do so. 

I, too, became one of them, required to hunt the strongest monster and pass the Trial.

“Kyaaah!”

“Kiiieeek!”

Countless monsters surrounded me. 

But they couldn’t perceive me while I was in astral form. 

That was only natural—I existed yet did not exist. 

No one in this Trial could notice that.

Thus, I wandered around in astral form. 

I saw countless monsters and observed each one. 

But nowhere could I find a clue to destroying the Tower.

‘No, there’s definitely something.’

But I wouldn’t give up. 

If I had known nothing at all, I might have passed by, but Nepas had reached that realm. 

The mindset when believing something didn’t exist was completely different from when confirming it did. 

To not miss anything that existed here, I kept surveying the surroundings in astral form.

And then…

“Go back…”

A will reached me as I advanced through a certain cave.

‘…?’

There was nothing around. 

No other being except me.

“This place is not permitted. Go back!”

Along with the will that came again…

-Whoosh!

My astral form was forcibly moved and returned to my physical body.

“I see.”

…I found a clue. 

A being capable of sensing my astral form. 

That could not be considered part of the 60th Floor’s Trial. 

At least on par with the Goblin Lord, or higher. 

The only thing I could think of was that a foreign being lurked here.

And that…

‘Must be connected to Nepas destroying the Tower. If it’s a being not included in the Trial, it surely relates to the realm Nepas reached.’

Therefore…

“Flash!”

I immediately accelerated toward the cave where I had been moments before. Incredible speed. In truth, I had no choice but to hurry.

[Time remaining for monster hunting: 1 hour 15 minutes 21 seconds]

The 60th Floor’s Trial was simple: hunt the strongest monster within a time limit and bring it back. 

Additional rewards were given based on the monster’s strength, but there was one restriction—a two-hour time limit. 

No matter how powerful the monster you found and killed, the time limit inevitably made people anxious. 

That restriction held me back. 

Because I had spent a full 45 minutes searching with my astral form, I too was pressed for time.

Moreover…

“Kirruk! Kirrrruk!”

The stage of this Trial was monster subjugation. 

So powerful monsters were everywhere—Basilisks, Manticores, Cockatrices, Wyverns, and so on. 

That was inevitable. 

The place where the 60th Floor’s Trial began was the Dekern Mountain Range, a primeval forest where the most powerful monsters lived, one that humanity had never conquered. 

Obstacles from monsters are even stronger than before.

But…

Shhhhhhwing!

With a gesture, the immensely powerful monster vanished. It didn’t die—it split into countless pieces and completely disappeared. Even without a sword, I manifested swordsmanship with the edge of my hand and cut down all the powerful monsters.

How long had it been?

“Ahead… Finally, I could see the cave I had spotted earlier.”

Wheeeee!

An ominous wind blew as I approached the cave that held pitch-black darkness.

“This place… is forbidden.”

As soon as I stepped into the cave, someone’s will reached me. It was the same as before, when my astral form had been returned to my body.

“Challenger. Approach no further. The secrets of this place are not permitted to you.”

Not permitted.

Heh.

Hearing those words, I couldn’t help but laugh. Yes. That which was not permitted to us was precisely the authority to destroy the Tower. So I was certain. This was the only path to reach the unknown realm I suspected.

“Thud”

So without hesitation, I took a step forward. But…

“Crackle!”

It was as if a transparent barrier blocked my entry. The intense heat and sparks forced me back involuntarily. If I had stayed even a moment longer, my physical body would have been burned away.

“Go back.”

“The price for approaching the forbidden is death.”

“I will show no more mercy.”

Of course, I couldn’t go back. 

Even if it meant dying here, even if my body burned to ashes, I had to reach the secret.

‘Nepas… If I can’t take the information he holds, this game is as good as over. Nepas has already accessed unknown information. If I cannot approach that information, that truth, we will always be dragged around. Nepas is already superior at scheming. If he holds information one step ahead, he will surely use it to drive me and humanity into a pit of despair. That alone—that situation—must be prevented at all costs.’

I wrapped myself in Shimui, the Will. Ignoring the backlash from moments ago.

“Crackle!”

I stepped forward, reaffirming my resolve to enter the cave. Sparks flew.

-Whoosh!

An immense heat dominated my body. It was hot—so hot it felt like my body would burn away instantly.

-Sizzle!

Even sweat evaporated in an instant from the heat. But still…

‘Forward.’

Only forward. 

For me, clad in the absolute armor of Shimui, of determination, that heat was…

-Flash!

…nothing more than something that would soon vanish. At last, I broke through the barrier and entered the cave.

At that moment…

-Hssss!

The surroundings began to change. As if entering the Tower from reality, I had arrived at a secret space within the Tower. It was a vast cavity. And what I saw at its center…

“You have broken the taboo!”

-Slither.

Someone emerged from the darkness like a shadow. He was a being with the number sixty engraved on his forehead.

“60th Floor Administrator…?”

I didn’t know why, but I was certain. 

The being before me was the Administrator who managed the 60th Floor. 

And a very special being who had reached the realm of the Unknown.