Chapter 83
“F*ck… things really got twisted.”
Beneath a pitch-black sky.
At the fortress of demons, carved straight from the earth itself.
With the towering spires of Manmagung — the Palace of Ten Thousand Devils — piercing the heavens behind him,
the Lord of Yolak Hall, Kasehides, let out a long, heavy sigh.
How long had it been?
He could hardly remember the last time he had an audience with the Lord of All Demons.
That overwhelming voice, impossible to defy, echoed in his ears.
“Have you heard of a human named Hyun Doyoon?”
“Eh? Oh? Forgive me, my lord, but I cannot say I have.”
“…You mean to tell me the chief director of the Apostle Selection Project doesn’t know the name of the greatest variable disrupting it?”
“Ah! You must mean the so-called Strange Hunter! I know the alias, but not the real name…!”
“How peculiar. I’ve heard that Hyun Doyoon once challenged the ‘Trials’ designed by your Yolak Hall.”
“Haha, well, the lower ones handle those management details, you know.”
“He’s climbing the Tower. But from what I’ve seen… it’s the Tower that’s training him.”
“Th-that’s quite an unexpected development, isn’t it?”
“It’s impossible for him to surpass the 100th floor. Still, I can’t just stand by and watch. I’ll issue Yolak Hall a special order — don’t let that man run wild any longer.”
A command, personally delivered by the Lord of All Demons himself.
Once, Kasehides would have considered it the greatest honor imaginable.
But now…
his head felt like it was going to explode.
All because of the Red Oath he’d formed with Hyun Doyoon during the Trial of the Dark Hall.
[Execution Clauses of “Yolak Hall of the 7th Pillar of the Demon Lords”]
-
“Player Hyun Doyoon,” and anyone connected to him, shall not be harmed in any way.
-
No information regarding “Player Hyun Doyoon” shall be leaked outside Yolak Hall.
“…If I obey the command, I’ll break the Oath. If I keep the Oath, I’ll defy my lord. Either way—it’s a disaster.”
Kasehides exhaled in frustration and slumped deep into his crimson throne.
After rubbing his temples for a long moment, he lifted his gaze.
“I’m going to lose my damn mind. Someone, give me an answer.”
His subordinates stood in formation before him:
-
Remideus, the Demon of Pain.
-
Selexia, the Demon of Delusion.
-
Bastirox, the Demon of Gluttony.
-
Slozar, the Demon of Sloth.
“….”
Every one of the demon lieutenants kept their eyes down.
Bastirox smacked his lips awkwardly, and Slozar had already turned his head aside and was dozing off.
“You useless bastards!”
Crash!
His fist slammed down on the blood-crimson throne — the crystal shattered into fine dust.
The demons flinched in unison.
‘He’s been smashing those thrones a lot lately.’
‘Ah! More wrath! Please, my lord, punish this wretched servant instead!’
‘He breaks the throne first… we’re next.’
The tension was unbearable.
“…My lord.”
It was Bastirox who spoke first.
“Let’s do both — obey the command and keep the Oath. Carry out the order, but make sure it leads nowhere.”
“So you’re suggesting… half-hearted effort?”
“…Not a bad idea, actually.”
The others murmured in agreement — but Kasehides shook his head sharply.
“When our lord looked at me… that gaze already told me he knew something.”
“…?”
“You’re missing the point. This isn’t just about breaking orders or Oaths. The moment our lord learns of the Red Oath’s existence—”
Kasehides’s eyes darkened with genuine fear.
“…then what follows won’t even deserve to be called a catastrophe. Understood?”
“Y-yes, my lord. We’ll avoid any suspicious acts.”
If the Demon Lord learned that Yolak Hall had committed such a grave mistake—
even Remideus, who usually found joy in pain, didn’t want to imagine it.
Every demon’s face turned ghostly pale.
‘That cursed human again! Hyun Doyoon!’
‘Of all the people to catch the Lord’s eye… he had to be the one to cause this mess.’
Then, one demon raised her head.
“…Wait.”
It was Selexia, her eyes gleaming with cunning.
“To be frank, we can’t touch Hyun Doyoon. The Red Oath forbids it.”
“Everyone knows that,” Bastirox scoffed.
Selexia ignored him.
“But the real question is—how far can that prohibition stretch?”
“Obviously as far as possible,” Kasehides replied. “It says we ‘shall not cause any harm.’ That means even a single breath from Yolak Hall can’t threaten him.”
Selexia nodded.
“Direct harm, or indirect acts with harmful intent — all forbidden. In other words, we can’t even attempt to harm him.”
Silence fell across the hall.
“But…”
A sly smirk crept across her lips.
“What if we scatter our shadows so thin that the connection becomes untraceable? For example—what if we support one of Hyun Doyoon’s rival forces?”
“Idiot.” Bastirox cut her off. “That’s obviously a breach.”
“Rival forces are too dangerous,” someone else added.
But Selexia’s grin widened.
“What about competitors, then?”
“Competitors?”
Kasehides tilted his head.
“Say… we grant a portion of the Tower’s governing rights to the Guardian God of the East Asia League.”
“Oh?”
“If that god then uses those rights to support his own nation’s players…”
Remideus’s eyes gleamed.
“You… you’re clever.”
“Quite the idea,” even Bastirox admitted.
“If the competition strengthens, Hyun Doyoon’s rewards will naturally diminish.”
No one said it aloud, but they were all thinking the same thing—
And if those competitors end up targeting him directly… even better.
The best part? It wouldn’t technically violate the Oath.
This kind of “indirect influence” couldn’t be interpreted as harmful intent.
Kasehides gave a dark, satisfied laugh.
“Selexia… as expected, only you could think of this.”
The oppressive tension in the room evaporated like smoke.
“You flatter me, my lord.”
“The Guardian God of the East Asia League…”
Kasehides’s gaze pierced through the air.
“…Find those mortal administrators who would gladly accept our ‘benevolence.’ Quickly.”
Meanwhile…
“SKREEEEEEEEEEEH!”
The Ice Wyvern King opened its jaws wide — freezing the very air itself.
KWA-KWA-KWA-KWA-KWA-KWA-KWA!
A torrent of white frost poured forth like a waterfall.
Even a mere touch could freeze bone to dust — the breath of death itself.
The blizzard-like breath swallowed the entire field of vision.
And yet…
Doyoon merely rubbed his face with one hand.
As though refreshing himself under a shower.
“…Ah. That’s nice and cool.”
“…?”
The Wyvern King’s confusion didn’t last long.
It swung its massive tail, bristling with icy spikes.
If frost didn’t work, then brute force would.
WHOOOOOSH!
The air screamed as the tail sliced through it—
—but was suddenly caught.
By a single human hand.
“Keek?”
The massive creature found itself lifted effortlessly, spinning—
Once. Twice. Ten times.
“Bye now.”
Doyoon let go.
CRAAAAAAASH!
The Wyvern’s enormous body smashed into a distant ice wall, shaking the mountain.
[Activating ‘Guardian’s Blade (A)’]
SHIIING!
The ice-forged sword pierced straight through its heart.
[AA-Class Threat Eliminated!]
[Honor Points Earned: 2000]
At once, the Specters roared in outrage—
「How dare that beast breathe upon our Lord!」
「Tear it apart! Devour it! Leave not a single bone!」
SWAaaaaaaa!
The tide of shadow swept over the corpse, and within moments,
nothing remained of the Ice Wyvern King but dust.
As Doyoon watched, messages flashed before his eyes:
[‘Longest Survival (National)’ Record Broken.]
[‘Longest Survival (League)’ Record Broken.]
[‘Longest Survival (World)’ Record Broken.]
[Title ‘Point Copier (A)’ Activated!]
[Points earned in the Tower +3%]
[14x Consecutive Record Bonus (National): +12,231P]
[14x Consecutive Record Bonus (League): +24,462P]
[14x Consecutive Record Bonus (World): +48,925P]
Showers of records and rewards.
With a satisfied smile, Doyoon looked at the next prompt.
[Continue Climbing? Y/N]
“Of course.”
The moment he accepted, the ground began to tremble.
This time, it wasn’t just expanding.
RUMBLEEEEEEEE!
The snowy plains rose, reshaping into a massive rocky mountain range.
Jagged peaks and boulders the size of houses—
a treacherous new terrain.
[Entered Floor 15 of the Tower of Transcendence.]
[Mission Initiated.]
[Mission Title: The Stone Web of the Snow Mountain Yetis]
[Objective: The Yetis’ domain has merged with part of the Tower. Survive within their encirclement for 2 hours and 30 minutes.]
[Time Remaining: 02:29:59]
[Current Longest Survival Record: Shaka Boslu (South Africa League) – 02:59:14]
From the new landscape, white-furred giants began to emerge—
the intelligent species of the Frostlands: the Snow Yetis.
“KRUAARRR!”
Muscles bulged like boulders beneath their fur.
The leading Yeti hurled a rock the size of a cannonball.
It could pierce tank armor—
but Doyoon didn’t even draw his sword.
He just threw a punch.
CRACK!
The boulder shattered into dust.
“…A survival mission, huh?”
Doyoon chuckled.
“I wonder whose survival they mean.”
The ones who had to endure… weren’t the players. It was the Yetis.
SHHHHHK!
As the frost-forged sword materialized in his hand,
a one-sided massacre began.
For two hours and thirty minutes—
Slash. Slash. Slash. Slash.
Each flash of blue light split another Yeti apart.
[B-Class Threat Eliminated!] [B-Class Threat Eliminated!] [B-Class Threat Eliminated!] …
[Honor Points Earned: 5500]
The white landscape turned crimson, soaked in blood and corpses.
[15th Floor Cleared!]
[Tower Mission Reward: 15,000 Points]
[National Rank: 521st]
[League Rank: 11,049th]
[World Rank: 46,883rd]
“Only 500 people above me in this country, huh?”
He smirked. Not bad.
After all, Yetis were only B-class beasts.
But the real challenge was about to begin.
[Time Remaining Until ‘Longest Survival’ Record: 00:29:14]
[All Snow Yetis in the Frostlands are converging.]
At that moment, the mountainsides, peaks, and cliffs—
every inch of high ground filled with Yetis.
Thousands of them, each holding a massive stone.
“…So this was their setup all along.”
Doyoon looked around.
The terrain was built like a fortress — perfect for raining attacks from above.
A killing ground designed for one man.
And then—
“BAAAAAAAAAUUUUH!”
The Yeti leader’s roar echoed across the peaks.
KWA-KWA-KWA-KWA-BOOM!
A storm of boulders closed in from all directions,
the sky darkening under their shadow.
But while the Yetis unleashed their stone rain,
Doyoon wasn’t even dodging.
He simply opened his status window.
[Points Owned: 3,089,615P]
[Divine Points Owned: 1,920,000SP]
Nearly five million total.
‘No other awakened being has amassed this much at this stage.’
Without question.
And he hadn’t even invested most of it yet.
‘Half a million points earned in just two days.’
The Tower’s arrival had accelerated his growth beyond imagination.
Just the 15th floor had given him this much — what about the rest?
Now that he had the Point Copier (A) title, there was no way he’d stop.
Even if the 15th floor was called the “Demonic Zone”… or the “Hell Zone”…
Doyoon didn’t care.
Because giving up on breaking records—
was never an option.
