Chapter 18: Physical, Magic Immunity, What’s That?

Right after the call ended, Lee Nayeon adopted a nonchalant attitude.

“Fourteen seconds. That’s plenty of time to hide from the aftermath.”

“Yeah, if only it weren’t an open plain with no cover.”

Two issues stood out.

The first was the lack of terrain to shield from the aftermath.

“I could dig a trench.”

“No way. Wouldn’t you just end up buried alive?”

“That’s true.”

“Besides, can you even dig a hole big enough for me in 14 seconds?”

“It’s indeed an impossible task.”

Nayeon asked with genuine curiosity, “So, how do we clear this floor?”

Biting her lower lip lightly, she added uncertainly, “I’m not sure I can kill that Giant Slime in 14 seconds.”

Her shoulders slumped, looking dejected.

If she were a cat, her ears and tail would’ve drooped.

Choi Junseok shook his head.

“It’d be tough for your physical strength to kill that slime in 14 seconds. Besides, they said if you kill it with a physical attack, it splits in half.”

“That’s a problem. Even summoning the holy sword… isn’t that technically a physical attack? Maybe we should take this floor slowly.”

Nayeon seemed to be wondering how the two of them could possibly defeat it.

But Junseok said confidently, “Every slime has a plan to split.”

“…”

“Hmm?”

“Until it meets overwhelming physical force.”

Nayeon tilted her head, puzzled.

But Junseok knew the Tower’s systems and rules weren’t absolute.

“They said even S-rank Lee Chanwook, the Flash, couldn’t stop it from splitting, right?”

Lee Chanwook, the Flash?

‘Who’s that?’

Junseok looked at Nayeon and asked, “Can you protect me?”

“From the holy sword’s aftermath?”

Nayeon tilted her head again.

Junseok said confidently, “No, from something else.”

It seemed Nayeon still didn’t fully grasp her own strength.

Of course, Junseok had been assessing the situation, but she had never seen the holy sword’s power up close.

After a moment’s hesitation, Nayeon cleared her mind and nodded.

“I will protect you.”

And so.

“Summon.”

The holy sword crashed down onto the Giant Slime.

Boom!

The massive slime was literally shredded into molecular fragments, scattering everywhere.

Thanks to that, there was no shockwave or aftermath when the holy sword hit the ground.

Nayeon instantly realized what she needed to protect Junseok from.

The slime’s fragments.

The sticky shards flew drip-drip as they were torn apart.

The slime’s viscosity completely absorbed the holy sword’s aftermath.

As the holy sword slowly touched the ground,

Whoosh!

The remaining large chunks of slime exploded in all directions.

“Nayeon!”

“I know!”

Nayeon gripped the longsword summoned in midair and stood in front of Junseok.

It wasn’t just any longsword.

‘Kim Chunsik’s Longsword,’ a Unique-grade weapon with a mysterious bonus effect when slicing kimbap.

Despite the slime’s acidity being as strong as concentrated hydrochloric acid, the sword remained unscathed.

The real problem was Junseok and Nayeon behind it.

The slime’s mucus was so corrosive it could melt skin on contact.

And being sticky, it didn’t come off easily.

It was like living white phosphorus.

‘I won’t let a single piece through.’

Nayeon slashed and deflected every flying fragment of slime.

Her strikes were swift and exhilarating.

Swish! Slash!

The slime’s sticky mucus flew in all directions, but none touched Junseok.

After a flurry of frenzied slashes,

“This won’t level us up.”

Nayeon noticed the scattered slime fragments starting to regroup on the ground.

But a completion window was already floating above them.

[Congratulations!]

[You have cleared the 6th floor.]

[Congratulations!]

[You have achieved the fastest clear time.]

[Clear Time: 5 seconds.]

[Would you like to register anonymously in the Hall of Fame? (Y/N)]

“Register anonymously.”

The scattered slime pieces wriggled, crawling toward a specific direction.

“Junseok-nim! They’re merging into one spot!”

“Exactly as I planned. Stay sharp; it’s not over yet.”

The slimes began to merge.

Though they were scattered far apart, they quickly coalesced into two clumps.

As if aiming to form slimes of a certain size.

Seeing this, Junseok raised his laser pointer and said, “Alright, let’s start leveling up.”

Even splitting takes time for a slime.

But after obliterating the slime’s structure with overwhelming physical force,

While the scattered fragments were being restructured by the system,

The Tower judged the slime as defeated and issued a clear.

The 6th floor’s clear condition was simply: ‘Defeat the Giant Slime.’

If the system judged all slimes defeated before they could merge?

The Tower would immediately issue a clear.

Junseok had exploited a blind spot in the Tower’s system.

‘Firepower that surpasses the slime’s ultra-fast regeneration.’

At the same time, weapons began materializing around Junseok’s head.

Cold weapons emerged with their tips pointing in midair.

Ripples appeared in the air, as if dozens of portals were forming.

It was hard to keep track of them all.

Most were high-steel weapons with no special effects.

Their descriptions included phrases like ‘Does not rust. Stainless steel craftsmanship applied.’

Just ordinary cold weapons, but valuable enough to use.

Six high-quality daggers, among other weapons, appeared one by one.

Spears, swords, axes, daggers, halberds—all sorts of weapon tips materialized in the air.

[Would you like to return? (Y/N) You will automatically return in 30 minutes.]

“No, I’m not returning.”

Two Giant Slimes, now half their original size, formed in front of Nayeon.

“We’re killing them all within 30 minutes.”

“Yes!”

***

As soon as Junseok returned home,

Nayeon collapsed onto the floor, exhausted, as if soothing her weary body.

As she fell, she let out a short “Ugh” yelp.

“I’m exhausted.”

“You did well.”

But it was worth it.

Their levels had skyrocketed by 9.

[Level: LV. 14 (NEW)]

‘The theory that the laser pointer’s debuff counts as an attack was correct.’

“What’s the 7th floor like?”

“The 7th floor has a golem. It’s resistant to magic-based attacks.”

“…That sounds a bit better.”

“No, it’s actually more dangerous. The 6th floor’s slime absorbed the shockwave internally, but…”

If they destroyed the giant golem on the 7th floor, massive rock fragments would fly as aftermath.

Nayeon, lying on the floor, catching her breath, turned her head to look up at Junseok.

‘Choi Junseok. He’s not weak.’

It was hard to believe he was an F-rank porter.

Right after dealing burn damage with the laser pointer’s beam,

A cold weapon would strike, following the laser’s path.

“You’re stronger than I thought.”

“Than you thought?”

“Well, you’re an F-rank porter.”

“Summoning the holy sword is my ability, and summoning you is my ability. Was being weak ever an option?”

“Hmm. Fair point.”

Nayeon said to Junseok, “Pull a bottle of water from the inventory.”

“Water? Get it yourself.”

Junseok’s words were cut off by the ding of the doorbell.

He glanced at Nayeon.

Nayeon, still sprawled on the floor, looked up at him calmly.

“What’s with that look, like you’re testing the reaction of a guard dog?”

“Seeing you’re not tense, it must not be a stranger.”

Nayeon narrowed her eyes, mildly offended, but replied, “I’m not a guard dog… but yes, those footsteps belong to Team Leader Kang Jinsu.”

Junseok opened the door.

Team Leader Kang, looking somewhat exhausted, greeted Junseok.

His expression was notably aggressive, diving straight into the point.

“Junseok-nim, what about the conversation we had last time?”

“What now…?”

Kang continued, as if giving a brief warning.

In summary:

1. Climbing the Magic Tower so recklessly makes it impossible to protect you.

2. It’s dangerous, so set records narrowly, like a smokescreen.

That way, rumors might spread that it’s not Function climbing the Tower.

But Junseok brushed it off with an “I understand” attitude and sent Kang away.

Exactly one day later,

Junseok’s response came in the form of clearing the 7th floor.

“Summon!”

Boom!

This time, instead of plunging the holy sword vertically, he threw it horizontally.

Aiming to pierce the golem’s core.

While the holy sword flew far,

The plan was to escape its aftermath by returning quickly.

The massive golem shattered in all directions.

[Congratulations!]

[You have cleared the 7th floor.]

Deflecting the flying rock fragments was Nayeon’s job.

“Here they come!”

Rock chunks rained down.

Boom! Crash! Bang!

[Congratulations!]

[You have achieved the fastest clear time.]

[Clear Time: 4 seconds.]

[Would you like to register anonymously in the Hall of Fame? (Y/N)]

“Anonymous registration! Hurry!”

As the next notification window appeared,

Nayeon’s sword swiftly shattered, slashed, and deflected the rocks.

Bang! Crash! Slash! Clang!

Some she could deflect.

But some were impossible.

As a house-sized boulder hurtled toward Nayeon and Junseok,

‘I can’t cut that.’

The moment that instinct hit Nayeon,

A return notification appeared in Junseok’s vision.

[Would you like to return? (Y/N) You will automatically return in 30 minutes.]

“Return! Now!”

Whoosh…

The afterimage of the two faded into yellow light.

The house-sized boulder seemed to freeze in midair for a moment.

As the holy sword hit the ground, its aftermath lifted the falling rocks.

Boom!

In an instant,

The house-sized boulder turned to dust, exploding in all directions.

Drip-drip…

As the holy sword, flying horizontally far away, touched the ground due to gravity,

Its aftermath obliterated the entire confined 7th floor.

Nayeon collapsed onto the floor upon returning,

And Junseok, realizing he’d nearly died, leaned against the wall, sitting down.

“Phew… I almost died.”

But it was worth it.

The hidden reward random box for clearing five floors with record times

Was safely in his inventory.

Perhaps because he’d burned the golem’s eyes with the laser while summoning the holy sword, experience points came in too.

His level jumped to 18—a massive level-up for the 7th floor.

Likely because, climbing solo, there was no need to split experience with teammates.

Nayeon, catching her breath while sprawled out, suddenly snapped her gaze toward the door.

Sensing someone approaching, Junseok looked at the door.

Now entering the passcode naturally, Team Leader Kang burst in.

His expression was almost tearful.

“Choi Junseok-nim, seriously, seriously… what’s wrong with you? Do you have some grudge against us?”

“What’s wrong with climbing the Tower? You told me to climb.”

“That’s… ugh…”

He calmed himself, suppressing his frustration, and sat across from Junseok.

Unlike the day before, both looked like they were catching their breath rather than exhausted.

‘Looks like it was a close call.’

“I have no intention of climbing the Tower quietly.”

“I’ve told you multiple times: doing this only draws more eyes to you. I said to create a smokescreen.”

“That ‘barely breaking records by a few seconds’ isn’t as easy as it sounds. If you knew my ability, you’d understand. Should I tell you?”

Kang sighed, regaining some composure, and shook his head.

“No. I don’t want to know anything unnecessary. Sometimes ignorance is bliss.”

“America’s already watching me, right?”

“They found you and dealt with the brokers they sent, didn’t they?”

“Covertly, national player protection policies work like that. Kidnappings are common. America’s taking it as a firm warning and backing off.”

“I see…”

Junseok’s indifferent attitude frustrated Kang.

‘Does this guy not watch the news?’

CNN had reported today:

A lunatic in Korea was climbing the Suseo Magic Tower, destroying it.

Not a single floor took more than 10 seconds—an unprecedented record.

In the Middle East, they claimed Junseok’s actions were blessed by Allah,

Urging him to board a plane to the Middle East with bizarre logic.

In other words, the Middle East had sent a warning: ‘We’re looking for Function too.’

“If you truly want to climb the Tower safely, without interference from other forces, is that correct?”

At his question, Junseok met his eyes for a moment before answering.

“Have you ever signed up for a monthly bathhouse pass because you didn’t have a shower?”

“No. I didn’t even know public bathhouses or monthly passes still existed.”

“Have you ever run out of rice at home? Washed clothes by hand with soap in a public restroom because you couldn’t use a washing machine?”

Kang, caught off guard by the sudden topic, didn’t know how to respond.

“You don’t know. I’m someone whose family was torn apart by the Magic Tower.”

There was a strange venom in Junseok’s eyes and words.

“So don’t talk to me about sincerity. Before I just leave Korea.”

Kang could only blink and nod.

“Go. I need to claim the five-floor record reward. I’ll climb the Tower my way. Don’t tell me what to do again.”

Seeing Junseok’s resolve, Kang nodded.

He knew convincing him was futile.

“Understood, Junseok-nim. But… if you’re going, let me say one thing.”

“…?”

“Someone’s moving in downstairs. A player, Japanese descent.”

“…What? You’re keeping security tight, right?”

“Yes. She’s listed as a Japanese player, but she’s actually a summoned being, so there’s no issue. Think of her as support for your safety.”

Junseok didn’t quite follow the logic.

But it didn’t seem like he had a choice.