Chapter 56: Absolute Defense

Whooooosh…….

The first floor of the tower, shrouded in silence.

No matter how many times I’ve been here, I can never get used to the bleak atmosphere of this place.

Muchaka drew his signature dual swords as he thought to himself.

‘You can enter the first floor of the Tower of Infinity from level 50 to level 59. The second floor is open to those from level 60 to 69. That means, the higher the floor, the higher the level of the respawning monsters.’

In other words, the monsters on the first floor are the lowest-level ones.

And since the monsters that respawn in the Tower of Infinity don’t give any experience, Muchaka made sure to be level 59, the highest possible level for entering the first floor.

 

Kiiiiiee!

 

‘Here they come!’

A wailing sound echoed from somewhere.

It was the cry of the first monster on the first floor—a Red Orc.

As the Red Orcs appeared, Muchaka activated his skill.

“Berserk Mode, on!”

 

[Berserk Mode activated.]

[Defense decreases by 200%, Attack increases by 200%.]

 

Berserk Mode—sacrificing flesh to gain bone, so to speak.

It’s an indispensable skill for berserkers, whose attack power rises as their health drops.

‘Let’s do this!’

With a battle cry, Muchaka threw himself into the endless swarm of Red Orcs.

 

---

 

The tower’s doors opened again, drawing everyone’s attention.

But as someone was flung out from the portal, people quickly lost interest.

After all, those who failed their attempt would be tossed right out the door.

A Scouter sipping green tea in the café glanced at the head of the user who’d just been ejected.

‘3 hours, 1 minute, and 12 seconds…… Still, not bad.’

The time spent on the attempt floats above the head of every challenger.

And just a moment ago, the ejected challenger’s timer displayed over three hours.

It belonged to Muchaka.

‘Three hours is still impressive. The 10th place record is five hours. But there are plenty of dealers at that level.’

The world of pros is a cold one.

Muchaka was definitely a damage dealer who wouldn’t be ignored anywhere, but not quite enough to be scouted by a pro team.

But then—

 

[The Tower of Infinity’s first floor challenger rankings have changed.]

 

“Pffft! What?”

An announcement echoed from the tower.

It was the tower’s proclamation of a new ranker.

“Ranking change?”

“They only announce that when there’s a new record, right?”

“Then could it be…?”

The crowd murmured.

A ranking change meant the appearance of a new ranker.

In other words, a major rookie had appeared.

All the Scouters’ eyes lit up at the announcement.

‘Whoever it is, I won’t let them slip away this time.’

With the scale of gaming tournaments growing every year, prize money alone easily exceeded a billion won these days.

In other words, as tournaments got bigger, sponsors and corporations lined up to invest.

So the Scouters were desperate to recruit rookies, without worrying about capital.

All eyes turned to the entrance of the Tower of Infinity.

Like the hungry gaze of a predator eyeing its prey.

And the identity of the new rookie they were after was none other than—

“Waaaaaah!!”

 

[Shout activated.]

[All targets who hear the shout are stunned for 2 seconds.]

 

—Revan.

Revan swung his Black Iron Mace at the Orcs he’d stunned with his shout.

Crack-crack-crack!

Each swing of the Black Iron Mace knocked down at least three Orcs.

Revan’s physical prowess was overwhelmingly superior to the Orcs that spawned on the first floor.

He whistled as he watched the Orcs quickly turn to ash and disappear.

‘Who knew the Tower of Infinity was such an easy piece of content.’

He’d challenged the Tower of Infinity several times in the past.

If you made it into the top ten, you’d be courted by the big guilds and all sorts of pro teams.

Then you could focus solely on growing your character, without worrying about money.

That was why Revan challenged the Tower of Infinity.

But like most users, Revan had been a plain blunt-weapon warrior, never lasting more than two hours, let alone reaching the top ten.

Such were the limits of an ordinary class.

But now.

Reborn as a legendary class, War Mage, Revan had just broken into the 10th place record on the first floor.

‘10th is 5 hours, 13 minutes. 9th is 6 hours, 4 minutes. If I can hold out for about 50 more minutes, I’ll move up again.’

The main monsters on the first floor are Orcs.

The first-floor Orcs start as Red Orcs, and every hour, they’re upgraded to the next color in the rainbow sequence.

So the Orcs Revan was currently facing were ‘blue.’

Far stronger than the Red Orcs.

But for Revan, they were nothing more than—

‘No matter how tough a small fry gets, it’s still a small fry.’

Only the color had changed.

As Revan smashed the head of a Blue Orc, he thought,

‘Maybe I could even make it into the top five?’

First place was a staggering 9 hours and 25 minutes.

The record held by a necromancer user named ‘Cheonak,’ a pro player currently active on a pro team.

Breaking into the new top ten, Revan now roughly understood how someone could become a top ranker.

‘Necromancer. Definitely an easy class to exploit.’

A dark mage class that summons undead via corpses and uses curses and dark magic.

But even so, it’s a mage class, making it brutally difficult to train.

Yet Cheonak had leveled his necromancer easily, with little trouble.

Because Cheonak was the youngest son of the mega-corporation, ‘Samgong International.’

In other words, born with the proverbial ‘golden spoon,’ he had an easy ride.

‘But what can you do? I’m not a golden spoon—I’m the kind who crawled up from nothing. Just thinking about stirring things up in the interview has me itching already.’

The endless waves of Orcs didn’t scare Revan at all.

With health, defense, attack, and recovery so far beyond anyone in the same level range, the Orcs seemed like little more than mayflies.

He continued swinging his Black Iron Mace for a long time.

 

[Challenge time has exceeded 6 hours.]

[The Orcs are strengthening.]

 

As the challenge passed the 6-hour mark, the Blue Orcs’ skin deepened in color.

They had evolved into the next color—Navy Orcs.

‘Wasn’t the 9th place time 6 hours, 4 minutes? There doesn’t seem to be much difference. Why could they only last 4 more minutes?’

Why had the current 9th place only lasted four extra minutes, when the Orc hunting seemed so easy?

Thinking this, Revan swung his Black Iron Mace at the first Navy Orc that approached.

Crunch!

Its skull burst easily.

Just as he’d expected.

The ease with which he broke through the Navy Orc made the 9th place record seem even more mysterious, and before long—

 

[Congratulations! You have set a new record.]

[The rankings have been updated.]

 

He had easily bumped the former 9th place down to 10th.

‘Three hours and thirty minutes more! Let’s gooo!’

Revan’s club began to dance even more lightly.

 

---

 

‘What the hell……’

Scouter Kim Yonghwan could hardly believe his ears.

The major rookie who’d shaken up the rankings had just pushed 5th place down and claimed a new 5th place.

This was a huge event.

Because the first floor was the one most people challenged.

So, the turnover rate in the top ten was far faster than on any other floor.

But even then, the highest usually switched was up to 6th place.

From the record of 6th place onward, the fearsome Grey Orcs appeared, even stronger than the seven-colored Orcs.

‘Grey Orcs. That’s why the gap between 5th and 7th isn’t very big.’

Grey Orcs were truly formidable.

So strong that it was hard to believe anyone in the 50-level range could ever beat them.

Those who faced the Grey Orcs were mostly users with hidden classes, or those who’d forced their way through with massive in-game spending.

But the unknown rookie had boldly taken 5th place just now.

‘It’s been a while since a monster like this appeared.’

Kim Yonghwan’s eyes gleamed at the appearance of a new ranker.

Top ten and top five are simply incomparable.

The top five—meaning being one of the five fingers—were those who, on the first floor, set records due to either unimaginable wealth, or possessing top-tier hidden classes.

That’s why, knowing all this, Kim Yonghwan couldn’t help but feel his blood boil.

‘From the top five onward, I have to recruit them at all costs. Anyone who can get into the top five will be a superstar when they go pro.’

Kim Yonghwan was certain.

His best recruit ever, Cheonak, had proved it.

And before long, the tower made another announcement.

 

[The Tower of Infinity’s first floor challenger rankings have changed.]

 

---

 

[Congratulations! You have set a new record.]

[The rankings have been updated.]

 

“Grazie!”

Amid a swarm of Grey Orcs, Revan cheered.

He’d just set a new record and moved up to 4th place.

‘Just pass 8 hours and 4 minutes and I’ll be 3rd!’

The Grey Orcs were definitely strong.

When it was the Purple Orcs, it still felt like hitting flesh, but starting with the Grey Orcs, it felt like hitting solid stone.

But so what?

Revan’s weapon was a blunt instrument, not a blade.

He relished the feeling of smashing, and tirelessly shattered the skulls of Grey Orcs.

‘Though, starting with the Grey Orcs, it does hurt a bit.’

His tankiness, built up through his stats, seemed to max out at the Purple Orcs.

If the Purple Orcs hit like kids under seven, the Grey Orcs felt like being hit with a spoon.

Of course, with pain sensitivity reduced, it didn’t slow his movements, but his health began to noticeably drop.

Still, he could manage by chugging health potions.

After all, Revan still had some trump cards left.

And finally, as the challenge time surpassed 8 hours—

 

[Challenge time has exceeded 8 hours.]

[The Tower of Infinity is awarding a special perk for rankers.]

[Special Perk: ‘Time Axis Distortion’ granted.]

 

A new perk was given to Revan.

‘Nice!’

From the moment you set a new record and become a tower ranker, the tower grants several perks.

One of those is ‘Time Axis Distortion.’

Normally, Warlord playtime is limited to 8 hours, but for rankers challenging the Tower of Infinity, that limit is lifted.

In other words, from the moment you set a new record, you can continue playing as long as you want, unrestricted by the time limit.

Thanks to this, Revan could now stay connected to Warlord for longer than anyone else in history.

‘Can’t believe I’m actually experiencing Time Axis Distortion for myself.’

New experiences are always refreshing.

Seeing the playtime meter, stuck at 8 hours, finally begin to decrease, Revan smiled.

And then—

 

[The Orcs are strengthening.]

 

As expected, the Orcs began their next evolution.

Their once gray skin turned pitch black, as if shrouded in darkness.

 

[Black Orc / ???]

 

Not even their level was displayed.

At the sight of the Black Orcs, Revan remembered Cheonak’s interview.

‘From here on out, the class is just different, huh?’

These were the ones said to have entirely different health bars and attack power compared to Grey Orcs.

So Revan had prepared a plan in advance.

‘No point wasting energy on monsters that don’t even give experience.’

Watching the multiplying Black Orcs, Revan finally played his hidden card.

That card was none other than—

 

[You have equipped the Black Iron Helmet.]

[You have equipped the Black Iron Chestplate.]

[You have equipped the Black Iron Leggings.]

[You have equipped the Black Iron Shoulder Guards.]

[You have equipped the Black Iron Greaves.]

[You have equipped the Black Iron Wrist Guards.]

[You have equipped the Black Iron Gloves.]

[You have equipped the Black Iron Boots.]

 

“Come on, you 99% cacao bastards.”

……It was absolute defense.