Chapter 32: You Have Won the 1+1 Event

[You have selected the Very Hard difficulty.]

[The Trial of Floor 21 on Very Hard difficulty will now begin.]

There was no need to think twice.

Of course, I had chosen Very Hard difficulty.

I felt the familiar sensation of crossing dimensions and glanced to the side.

“Chung!”

“Chung!”

Before my eyes, two figures snapped into formation.

They were Knights belonging to the siege unit and shield unit, Blansia Bellamin and Agamemnon Saglayer.

“Who am I… again?”

At my sudden question, the the two Knights answered.

“You are His Majesty Emperor Kim Si-won.”

“The King of Kings who rules the entire continent, the one and only sovereign.”

Though I asked just to confirm, they recognized me as the Emperor of the Galas Empire — the so-called Evil Empire.

From this, I could tell that the identity recognized depended on their affiliation.

If from the Asran Kingdom, they saw me as their king.

If from the Sanctus Theocracy, then as their pope.

In either case, they perceived me as their supreme commander and demonstrated absolute loyalty.

While confirming this, I noticed the surrounding environment begin to shift.

And midway through the process, a message drilled into my ears.

[You are one of the Crusaders of the Sanctus Theocracy.]

[You were deployed to cleanse a region recently plagued by an epidemic and witnessed the devastation firsthand.]

[What befell the village is no ordinary plague. Someone conducted experiments turning humans into Undead, and those cursed have been reborn as unholy beings.]

[You must stop this! If even one Undead infected by the plague escapes, this powerful curse will spread beyond the Theocracy and engulf the entire continent.]

[May a ray of light’s blessing be upon this continental crisis.]

“An epidemic…?”

One that creates Undead.

It was not unfamiliar.

Like flipping through the pages of a book, memories from hundreds of years ago resurfaced.

• Anomalous phenomenon detected in Linb Village, northeast of the Theocracy. Although it appears to be a plague, villagers who died have risen as unholy beings and roam freely. Request for additional personnel dispatched for more detailed investigation.

As a Knight of the Intelligence Bureau, I had received numerous reports from across the continent.

Among those, news regarding the Theocracy included an epidemic just like this one.

Had it been a simple plague, it would not have been treated as critical intelligence.

But reports came that those who died from the plague were resurrecting as unholy Undead.

Naturally, reinforcements were dispatched for detailed investigation, but they never returned.

They all vanished.

Whether dead or alive was unknown.

Later, another dispatch team including Knights was formed, but no meaningful trace or clue was found regarding the missing, halting further investigation.

As I thought this, the scene before me unfolded.

A village completely enclosed by a canyon.

The terrain was identical to that of Linb Village from the past reports.

That confirmed it.

‘This Tower trial is recreating the circumstances of that time.’

Of course, merely recreating the past was not the key point.

What mattered most was the trial’s achievement objectives.

★☆☆ Defeat 100 Undead occupying the village.

★★☆ Defeat 1,000 Undead occupying the village.

★★★ Completely exterminate all Undead occupying the village.

Originally, the 3-star objective should have been displayed as a question mark.

Momentarily stunned by this unprecedented situation, I quickly found the reason.

[Additional achievement goal: The faster you eliminate the Undead, the more extra rewards you will receive.]

An additional goal was presented.

A typical time attack.

Instead of ambiguous goals, the difficulty was raised by giving clear objectives.

One especially noteworthy factor was to locate enemies hidden deep inside.

Linb Village was trapped inside a canyon.

Moreover, the surrounding mountains were rugged.

Finding all the Undead hidden there would inevitably consume a lot of time.

But—

“Agamemnon.”

“Orders!”

“Draw the attention of the surrounding Undead.”

“Yes, sir!”

No hesitation.

No doubt.

He leapt down into the canyon.

To an outsider, it might look like suicide.

“Kwoong!”

Knights had reached the realm of superhumans.

Besides, Knight Armor was inscribed with Featherfall to reduce fall speed.

Agamemnon landed unharmed from that height.

“Pahk, pahk!”

He began attacking the villagers who had been turned into Undead, their flesh rotting.

“Fierce Charge!”

Like a fired cannonball, he boldly bulldozed through the clumsy Undead in his path.

And then, with unbelievable jumping power, he landed in the village center.

“Wholehearted Leap!”

I hadn’t ordered him to kill the Undead outright, but to draw their attention.

And the shield unit Knight possessed a Sword Soul that made that possible.

“Waaahhh—”

Some Knights had discovered a unique method of strengthening their voice.

What Agamemnon used was a howl named Howling of Provocation.

Designed to focus enemy attacks onto oneself, it was especially effective against monsters and Undead that relied on instinct.

And that howl—

“Aaaaahhhhh!”

It echoed throughout the entire canyon.

At that moment, groups of Undead began to emerge from all directions.

“Guhh…”

“Uwaaaah.”

Those stirred by Agamemnon’s howl instinctively moved toward him.

Their number was roughly one thousand.

While watching this spectacle, I discovered a hidden trap set by this trial.

‘It included not just humans, but beasts as well!’

The trap prepared by the trial was animals.

Naturally, I thought only plague-infected humans were targets, but beasts transformed into Undead were also included.

There were all sorts of them.

Not only ground-dwelling wild animals but also birds flying in the sky had turned Undead.

If not for the howl, I would not have noticed this and would have wasted precious time just trying to locate the Undead rather than eliminate them.

“Blansia.”

“Orders, sir!”

“Deploy Grandia.”

“Chung!”

He drew the sword from his waist scabbard.

A jet-black blade, even blunt-looking, this sword was the ultimate siege weapon that destroyed countless fortresses.

And now—

“Whooshing!”

It shot from his hand up high into the sky.

And shortly after, it transformed into an enormous size and began descending toward the ground.

“Kukukukukung!”

Its purpose was to wipe out the Undead mass gathered in Linb Village all at once.

But on the battlefield, Agamemnon was still locked in combat with the Undead that hadn’t yet broken away.

Naturally.

“Kuwakakwakakwang!”

Grandia crashed down from above Agamemnon, leveling Linb Village and the dense mass of Undead gathered there.

“Paaang—”

Ignoring the following shockwave, I focused straight ahead.

Through the thick dust, a silhouette emerged.

“Agamemnon Saglayer. I have carried out His Majesty’s orders!”

“Wuuung wuuung wuuung!”

Agamemnon shouted loudly as he generated a shield to absorb the impact.

I had no intention of sacrificing such valuable resources as Knights.

Still, I had planted Grandia right in the center, trusting in Agamemnon’s defensive strength.

Thanks to that, in just 1 minute and 15 seconds, we achieved the feat of exterminating every Undead in the vicinity.

[All Undead have been annihilated.]

[Time taken for annihilation: 1 minute 15 seconds.]

But—

There was nothing after that.

There should have been a reward summary message, but silence remained.

Just as I wondered why, Instead of a reward summary, a mysterious message came through, and a suspicious phenomenon began appearing in the village center.

[At 1 minute 15 seconds, you have achieved the Unfathomable Achievement and unlocked access to the ‘Secret’.]

[The mastermind behind the plague in Linb Village reveals itself.]

10000

Black mist-like energy seeped from the ground.

“Whooooosh!”

It generated a current and began to gather.

“This is an interference.”

Disrupting the black energy came a figure.

“Death Knight?”

Clad in jet-black armor, radiating tentacle-like black energy, with flashing blue eyes — this was a high-ranking Undead known as the Death Knight.

“How dare you interfere with His experiments. Repay that debt with your deaths.”

The Death Knight, mentioning “Him,” flared his sword that emitted Blue Fire.

I stared intently at that figure.

Death Knight.

Some might feel nervous or startled at the appearance of such a high-ranking Undead.

Understandably so, for the Death Knight was powerful.

Especially as he wielded Martugi, a unique power that served as a kind of shield blocking all physical and magical attacks.

Most attacks could not pierce his Martugi.

However—

“…Pathetic Undead.”

That did not apply to me.

“Lightning God”

“Crackle, crackle!”

White sparks poured around my body.

Ure was a Knight Sword imbued with lightning attribute.

Lightning was akin to light, and this light attribute pierced through the Martugi the Death Knight wielded.

The moment my will moved, my body followed.

With a natural and fluid movement at the peak of skill, I got behind him.

Even the Death Knight could not catch such a momentary motion.

At that instant when he lost me, my attack skewered his eyeball precisely.

“Kraaaah!”

A high-ranking Undead with intelligence felt pain.

Especially when struck by Ure imbued with the light attribute.

But there was one more thing.

“Falling Thunder”

A bolt of lightning struck from the sky through Ure.

“Zzzzzzzt!”

It flowed into the Death Knight.

“Keuk, guuuuh!”

The Death Knight writhed in pain.

But one hit was not the end.

“Hit him! Hit him hard!”

“Flash, flash!”

Successive lightning bolts struck the Death Knight, accumulating massive damage.

Of course, my body trembled as well.

No matter who wielded Ure, damage from lightning did not distinguish friend from foe.

But such pain was nothing.

After enduring centuries of agony, the pain of being electrocuted by lightning was merely part of daily life.

With the continuous lightning bolts, something like steam began rising around the Death Knight’s body.

“Shooooo!”

“Ssshh.”

The blue glow in his eyes vanished.

In an instant, one of the strongest high-ranking Undead, the Death Knight, collapsed meaninglessly.

And then,

[You have ‘Unbelievably’ cleared Floor 21 Very Hard.]

[Rewarding you for this marvelous achievement…]

[Additional bonus evaluation included.]

[Clear time: 2 minutes 1 second, Hits taken: 0, Hidden Named Death Knight defeated…]

There were so many bonuses that the reward calculation was delayed for a while.

And then,

[To honor this marvelous achievement, you are awarded the ‘Pack for the Knight on the Path to the Pinnacle’.]

“Thunk.”

***

The item that fell at my feet was not the Forgotten Knight I had received so far but a new bundle.

I picked up the pouch made of somewhat fine silk rather than leather.

“Sluuurp.”

The moment I untied the string, with a burst of light, I confirmed the various items that appeared before me.

“Fwahhh!”

***

Floor 65.

Three months ago, the United States became the first to conquer it.

But even after three months, the other three great powers had yet to succeed.

It was inevitable because the gatekeeper there was a Death Knight.

This high-ranking Undead possessed strength on a different level from the monsters we had faced so far.

Wyverns were indeed strong monsters.

But the Death Knight combined strength with ‘precision’ and ‘uniqueness.’

Swordsmanship known as Sword Soul.

Awakeners’ ability to read opponents’ moves and next steps.

That alone would make him a formidable foe, and on top of that, the Martugi that blocked all physical and magical attacks.

It was baffling how the United States managed to conquer the Death Knight.

That was why Russia and China, who were hot on America’s heels, were stuck and agonizing at this gate.

But now—

“You can do it!”

Lu Hong encouraged excitedly.

For two months straight, after dozens of failures, they were on the verge of conquering Floor 65.

“Flash!”

The swords of Lu Hong and other dealers gleamed.

This was thanks to a potion called ‘Blood of the Noble,’ or more precisely, a special oil applied to weapons.

They had realized that piercing the Martugi required holy attribute attacks and had invested heavily to create this oil.

“Attack Boost, ‘Critical Hit Boost'”

Supporter Ha Yeon Lee continued to cast buffs from the rear.

Thanks to her powerful buff, holy attribute attacks dealt additional damage, making it much easier to pierce the Martugi.

Moreover, using such traits consumed a tremendous amount of stamina.

“Battery”

This was a kind that could not be replenished during battle, but Ha Yeon Lee’s Battery made it possible.

‘Truly enviable.’

Lu Hong glanced at Ha Yeon Lee, who stayed in the back during battle.

If they could recruit her and the Pacheon Guild to China, they might even be able to defeat the United States, not Russia.

True to her nickname as a big eater, he indulged his greed toward her.

‘That’s a matter for later.’

For now, the Death Knight before him was the priority.

“Foolish ones!”

The enraged Death Knight’s blue glow deepened.

It was a sign of Attack Boost.

But he remained unfazed.

“The end, Undead!”

The deepening glow signaled the approaching finale.

Therefore, the dealers’ charge began to finish things off.

“Papapapat!”

When the Death Knight, on the brink of defeat, was about to vanish, an unbelievable message struck their ears.

[Kim Si-won of the Republic of Korea has used the Named Summon Ticket (Deloffin the Death Knight) on Floor 65 of the Tower in nation (China).]

[The specified target, Deloffin the Death Knight, has been summoned on Floor 65 of nation (China)’s Tower.]

And then, they could only witness the horrifying sight of the Death Knight becoming 1+1.

“Death to foolish humans!