146. Tower of Trials 50th Floor (2)
41st Floor.
Statues stood in rows around the gigantic temple.
"First."
For this journey, he ordered that there was no need to explain things to the summons in detail.
There was filming going on, and in any case, every strategy was already clearly laid out in Baek Jinwoo's head.
If they just followed his instructions, they would get through without much trouble.
Of course, that only applied to Baek Jinwoo.
For a player of ordinary talent, this was a floor so difficult that no matter how hard they tried, they would not be able to clear it.
'The king of the 50th floor is Chronos.'
He was the leader of the Titan race.
The Titans were a race of giant gods symbolizing wisdom, courage, and strength!
Before climbing into the upper floors of the Tower in earnest, he was a kind of gatekeeper who tested those abilities.
"Gale Slayer."
—Grrr.
"From now on, search for the stone tablets around the temple. You don't need anything else, just find the purple tablets."
The mission of the 41st floor was to open that gigantic stone gate and enter the temple.
To open the stone gate, they had to find five stone tablets and fit them into the frame correctly.
Countless stone tablets were hidden around the temple.
It was a simple method: while searching, they had to deal with the moving statues.
"Aso, HunGyo, Explosive Dragon, clear out the statues so Gale Slayer can search properly."
—.…!
"Lamba, you know what to do, right?"
Nod!
Lamba nodded and immediately swung her staff.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh!
Lamba now spread stacks evenly even without being told!
Once that sound started, it was already no different from being over.
Statues?
They were easily smashed apart by HunGyo's attacks, and melted red under Explosive Dragon Sorcerer's flames.
Kwagagagagaga!
As they began moving in earnest, the nearby statues disappeared in an instant.
"Jaggeo."
—Gwoooar!
The Little Giant lowered his stance and offered his shoulder.
Baek Jinwoo and Dampir slowly climbed onto it.
"Let's go wait at the front gate."
Could anyone really be this relaxed?
Normally, on the 41st floor, you had to think through countless possibilities while searching for the stone tablets, but.....
Baek Jinwoo already knew which tablets were the answer.
All he had to do was wait.
'The 42nd floor was the Watcher of Thunder, right?'
In his head, he was already drawing out the strategy for the next floor.
* * *
PBC conference room.
Several executives clasped their hands together and prayed earnestly.
"Fuuu."
"It's been a week since Baek Jinwoo entered the Tower now, right?"
"Yes, sir. He absolutely has to clear up to the 50th floor and come back..... There's been no contact from headquarters yet. Since there's been no separate announcement, it seems like he's clearing it smoothly, but....."
In truth, that was easier said than done.
They were currently facing a critical situation that had the fate of the broadcasting company on the line.
Nothing else mattered.
Eternal Snow Ginseng and Azure Stone Milk together were worth over 1 trillion won.
That was just the price tag, and they were not easy to obtain either.
Most rankers got greedy and thought about feeding them first.
"But won't he clear it and come out? He seemed pretty confident himself....."
One executive muttered.
Rachel's record was currently the 50th floor.
Baek Jinwoo had defeated Rachel.
Still, it had not felt like an overwhelming victory.
It felt more like he had barely won by using feints while throwing his whole body into it.
"Haa, there's nothing we can do now."
Everyone in broadcasting knew it.
If they could just bring in Baek Jinwoo, it would be an absolute jackpot.
But no one had stepped forward because they thought no one would be able to persuade Baek Jinwoo.
No, surely some people had already sent feelers out.
They must have been rejected by Yoobaek's side.
"Either it's ruin or it's a jackpot anyway."
If Baek Jinwoo died in the Tower of Trials, they would lose their investment.
If he came out and simply handed over the footage, it would be a windfall.
If you were human and living in South Korea, could you really resist watching a documentary made from that footage?
Especially when it showed the inside of the Tower of Trials, which humanity was still in the process of conquering, in vivid detail?
From that point on, they could do business with the entire world.
They could sell the broadcasting rights, or collect royalties every time the footage was aired.
If they made a lot?
They would have to give a percentage to Yoobaek's side too.
That way, they could help each other and make the next contract easier as well.
'I don't care about anything else... just please come back alive.'
The air inside the conference room was filled with a mixture of tension and anticipation.
* * *
At the same time.
Baek Jinwoo had already reached the 49th floor.
The moment he entered the temple, he had to face ancient Titan warriors.
The 42nd floor was the Watcher of Thunder, the 43rd floor was the Regulator of Time..... those kinds of guys.
They were mid-boss-class giant gods who came under the king's orders to judge intruders, but.....
Fwoooosh!
They turned to ash from a single blast of Explosive Dragon Sorcerer's flames.
Naturally, as the floors rose, the abilities became trickier and harsher, but before Explosive Dragon Sorcerer's Ruination, everyone was equal.
Devour had already gone beyond the singularity.
—Kraaaargh!
Faced with the red dragon's breath, they scattered enormous amounts of experience and vanished.
'Thanks to that.'
Most of the summons had leveled up tremendously.
HunGyo had originally been in the high 50s, but now he was already level 63.
Lamba, Explosive Dragon Sorcerer, and Gale Slayer had all passed level 60 too.
And the others.
Aso, Jaggeo, and Dampir had all passed level 50.
As said before, the level cap was 100, and from level 60 onward, the amount of experience needed became so huge that leveling up was practically impossible.
'Level matters too, but there's no need to obsess over it.'
What mattered was how you used your summons. Level was only an additional stat increase.
"Guys, it's almost over now. Hang in there a little longer."
The 49th floor was a kind of test.
A place to prove one's qualifications to meet Chronos, the king of the Titans!
One had to pass through the gates of their values: wisdom, courage, and strength.
—So, you have reached this far at last, intruder.
Kugugugung!
With a tremendous roar, the sky shook.
Up in that sky, what appeared through the clouds were three giant gods.
They were so enormous that their bodies filled the entire field of vision.
—I am the Guardian of Wisdom, Ios.
A deep, resonant voice rang out as if splitting the heavens, but Baek Jinwoo remained indifferent.
—From this moment on, you must understand the history of us Titans and predict the destiny of the future. Enter the gate, correct the mistakes of us Titans, and..... hey...
Ios, who had been muttering in a grand voice, faltered slightly.
That was because Baek Jinwoo and his summons were already walking into the Gate of Wisdom below.
—At least listen to the explanation first.....!
But Baek Jinwoo had already entered the gate.
—.....
The giant gods watching from the sky were flustered.
—What is this...!
—A truly reckless challenger.
—But it is not our place to interfere.
Shaking their heads, they fell silent.
The Gate of Wisdom was a complex chamber where time distortion occurred, and within it, one had to properly arrange each event from Titan history in the correct order.
Beyond a logical problem, it required understanding and coordinating the flow of time and causality, so listening to Ios' hints was the core of the trial.
But the challenger had entered without hearing those important hints.
However, about ten minutes later.
"Easy."
Baek Jinwoo, having solved every puzzle, stepped back outside. His expression was relaxed, as if nothing had happened at all.
Hints?
He did not need them.
Long ago, he had thrown himself at this over and over so many times that now his body simply remembered it.
Naturally, the giant gods who saw that scene were struck dumb with shock.
—He is no ordinary man.
—How can someone who is not even a Titan know our history so well! And without any hints at that!
—In any case, since he has passed, we should introduce the next gate.
—I am the Guardian of Courage, Persi.....
"Yeah, Persia or whatever. I'm going straight to the next one."
The Gate of Courage, the Gate of Strength.
Both were the same.
He cleared all the gates in less than ten minutes combined and came back out.
As for the Gate of Courage, it was basically part of the training HunGyo usually did with them.
Soul-Flying Acupoint.
It was a pressure-point technique that maximized the target's fear and dragged the greatest terror hidden deep in their heart up to the surface.....
Through this, HunGyo trained the summons' fear resistance.
'The higher you go in the Tower of Trials, the worse the status effect "fear" gets.'
It was not like they trained for the 49th floor specifically.
It was essential training for the upper floors later on.
The kids from Five Emperors probably all do it too.
Since they do not have HunGyo, they probably bought a summon capable of inflicting the fear effect and trained that way.
Next.
The Gate of Strength?
It was even simpler.
You just had to kill those three giant gods.
Explosive Dragon Art, Secret Technique - Ruination
Kwagagagagagagagagaga!
Along with the red dragon's breath, a massive shockwave came sweeping out.
No matter how huge they were, it was hard for them to withstand the damage of the Explosive Dragon Wave, which had already been amplified to the extreme.
—Kyaaaaah! What tremendous destructive power!
—Indeed, he was one worthy of meeting the king.
—Pass through. But prepare yourself. Our king, Chronos, is a being on a completely different level!
One wore an expression of agony, while another looked both reverent and wary.
"Bullshit."
Chronos?
Sorry, but that guy is a one-shot for Explosive Dragon Sorcerer too.
Snickering, Baek Jinwoo started walking toward the enormous gate that had appeared in the center.
That place was the 50th floor of the Tower of Trials.
The path leading to Chronos (S-rank).
"Let's go."
Let's go and clear it quickly.
From the 41st floor up to now, there had not been the slightest hesitation in his steps.
And that entire sight was being captured without omission by cutting-edge cameras.
* * *
"Director."
"Hm?"
"We just received word that he has already..... broken through the 49th floor and entered the 50th."
"....."
Hearing that, the director pressed his lips together for a moment.
At this point, he could not even bring himself to be amazed anymore.
Did this even make sense?
In less than a month, he had blasted through everything from the 31st floor to the 50th in an instant.
He had immediately matched Rachel's unprecedented record.
"And Rachel?"
"...No news. Come to think of it, Rachel's side has been quiet lately."
Britain was still hiding the fact that Rachel had disappeared.
Because of that, even the Korean headquarters did not know the truth.
"So has he really caught up with everything now?"
"It seems so. Korea is now truly the undisputed world number one."
He had matched not only the world ranking, but the Tower of Trials record as well.
It was absolutely tremendous news!
The director drew in a deep breath.
And of all times, all of this had happened during his term in office!
For the rest of his life, he would have to bow to Baek Jinwoo in gratitude.
"Whew, wait until Player Baek Jinwoo comes out, then set off the celebratory fireworks! Get the articles ready to go out in force too. If there is any budget left at headquarters, scrape it all together and support Yoobaek's side too. Huh? I'm saying we need to back them hard!"
"Y-Yes, sir!"
The director's secretary quickly stepped outside.
It looked like things were going to get busy again for a while.
* * *
And then, one day later, good news reached Yoobaek, headquarters, and PBC.
"P-Player Baek Jinwoo has come out!"
"We've received word that he cleared the 50th floor!"
In just one week and one day.
In that short span of time, Baek Jinwoo had become joint number one in the Tower of Trials rankings alongside Rachel.
READ MORE CHAPTERS HERE : https://revengernovel.com/