The Community of the Dead, on the sixteenth floor.
[Dang! That was absolutely crazy, just beyond words.]
[Where are those guys who panicked, claiming Kwon Su-Hyeok and the climbers would die in one second? Are you all hiding?]
[Probably dying of shame right about now. I think they’ve actually kicked the bucket this time. 😂]
[Hah! Let’s be honest, though. Deep down, didn’t you all think Kwon Su-Hyeok was going to lose?]
[No way, not me! I have had unwavering faith in Su-Hyeok since the very beginning~]
[Seriously, though. What he did was incredible. The way he plummeted down from the heavens made him look like the embodiment of the God of Lightning.]
[If I were still alive, I’d be down there charging forward right with him. I’m so jealous…]
[I feel the same. Something about that last charge just strikes a chord deep within you.]
New n𝙤vel chapters are published on freeweɓnøvel.com.
[IKR, like, why am I getting so pumped just watching him? I want to be there, running with them.]
[Hold on, weren’t you a mage? Even if you were alive, you wouldn’t be running in the front lines, you know.]
[LMAO. Look at all these non-warriors talking about wanting to charge with them. What’s gotten into you all?]
[Hey, we’re human too! Anyone witnessing that glorious charge would be tempted to join in.]
[Why can’t mages feel the same urge to charge? Stop putting a damper on our spirits just because we’re not physical fighters!]
***
[Defend the fortress until the invaders are defeated. If the fortress falls, survive for six hours. There is no time limit.]
The night was cloaked in murky moonlight. Yet even in the moon’s dim glow, the endless sea of lizardmen corpses sprawled across the battlefield stood out starkly.
Torches flickered among the bodies as our allies tended to the wounded climbers and Imperial soldiers, while swiftly dispatching any lizardmen who still retained a spark of life.
A nearby Imperial soldier, whose arm was severed at the shoulder, smiled as he took care of a Koshark warrior with a gaping wound in his side.
Against all odds, we had won the war and successfully defended the fortress
I turned to gaze at the fortress in the distance. Even with its gates shattered, it looked steadfast and indomitable under the pale moonlight, casting long shadows across the bloodied field.
We charged quite far, didn’t we?
I estimated we were about three kilometers away from the fortress gate now. Leading all the way to the gate, crushed bodies and broken weapons marked the path we had carved through the ranks of the lizardmen.
I couldn’t help but smile as I looked at the trail we had left behind.
That charge… It was exhilarating.
Although the Kosharks were a different species and we had only met for the first time on the sixteenth floor, we fought alongside each other like old comrades of many years.
Time to head back.
I began retracing the path we had furiously charged along earlier. This time, however, I was able to walk at a leisurely pace while savoring the thrill of our hard-earned victory.
The pungent stench of blood, mixed with the foul odor of rotting corpses, lingered in the air. With how exhilarated I felt, it didn’t repulse me in the slightest.
As I made my way back to the fortress, the grateful gazes of climbers and Imperial soldiers alike followed my every step, almost making my skin prickle. Amidst their reverent stares, an elderly Imperial soldier stepped forward and bowed deeply in silence.
One by one, others began to lower their heads as I passed, until the entire battlefield was filled with soldiers and climbers bowing in unison.
It felt like I should say something to break the solemn atmosphere. I took a deep breath and glanced around at the gathered crowd before raising my voice.
“Today! Today we triumphed! Today we ended this war. Now it is time to return to the fortress and rejoice!”
My words weren’t anything elaborate or poetic, but the cheers that erupted around me were deafening.
“Woooooh! Commander! Commander!”
“Yeeeaaaah! Kwon Su-Hyeok!”
“Dragonslayer! Dragonslayer!”
Everyone’s voices joined together in a celebratory chorus. Even the individuals whose eyes were red from tears, their faces streaked with dirt and blood, were smiling brightly through it all.
It was a strange, yet satisfying feeling.
Amidst the thunderous roar from the tens of thousands of voices, I turned back toward the fortress and resumed my victorious return.
Reaching the broken gates, I saw that my party members were waiting for me. Upon noticing me, Seo Ha-Rin was the first to run over.
“Oppa! Are you hurt anywhere? You’re not injured, right?”
“Huh? Oh, no. I’m fine. No injuries at all.”
Seo Ha-Rin’s eyes sparkled as she spoke, still wide with excitement.
“You were so cool back there!”
“Haha…”
As I scratched my head awkwardly, Seo Ho-Su and Cole stepped forward to join us.
“Wow, Su-Hyeok. You really were something else today.”
“I knew you were strong, but I had no idea you were this strong.”
“Ah, it’s nothing, really.”
“Nothing? You killed a dragon in a single strike. If that’s ‘nothing,’ I’d love to see what something looks like!”
I didn’t mind strangers praising me, but receiving compliments from my party members always felt strangely embarrassing.
As I fumbled for a response, I caught sight of Ha Hee-Jeong mouthing, “Good job,” from the corner of my eye. Seeing her encouragement brought a wide grin to my face.
“Mr. Kwon Su-Hyeok!”
At that moment, Kartrey Monaca came running over with her arm still wrapped in bandages.
“Thank you. Truly, thank you. It’s all thanks to you that we were able to protect the continent and the Empire.”
Her face flushed crimson as she grasped my hands and bowed her head deeply, clearly full of shame.
Well, it wasn’t surprising. She was supposed to be the commander of the fortress, yet barely a few minutes into the battle, she had to be carried away after being caught off-guard by an ambush.
Did she even last twenty minutes out there? Come to think of it, the climbers really did everything.
Even the Imperial soldiers had fallen under our command. In fact, it was hard not to suspect that the Empire’s constant retreat across the continent was due to its leadership’s sheer incompetence.
The way the defense of the fortress had played out only reinforced my suspicion.
After Kartrey Monaca had been ambushed, the leadership hadn’t sent anyone to replace her position as Imperial commander—neither the Great General, the Emperor, nor any of the other regional commanders. I distinctly remembered that there had been plenty of other officers in the strategy room during the initial briefing.
Don’t tell me they all ran away while we were fighting.
No, that couldn’t be it. The idea of the Emperor abandoning his own men seemed absurd. If the fortress fell, the entire continent would soon follow. There would be nowhere for them to flee.
The blare of a distant horn pulled me out of my thoughts. I turned toward the sound and saw the Emperor, the Great General, and the rest of the Imperial high command approaching.
“The Emperor approaches!”
I hadn’t caught a single glimpse of them during the battle, and now here they were, quickly marching over. How swift they were to show up when all was said and done.
Kartrey Monaca’s absence was understandable, given that she was recovering in the infirmary. However, these buffoons—only daring to leave their hidey-hole in the fortress once the battle was completed—frustrated me.
Were they seriously considering slipping away earlier?
The suspicion that had bubbled just under the surface of my thoughts began to rise again. Still, judging by the fact that they were wearing armor, it didn’t seem like they had been planning to flee outright.
“Oh, Commander!”
The Emperor briskly strode over and enveloped me in a tight embrace, his demeanor disturbingly brazen and unashamed.
Honestly, I could have easily dodged or pushed him away, but I held myself back. After all, he was the Emperor, and there were matters of propriety and decorum to consider. It didn’t feel right to embarrass him here. Though, being hugged by an old man wasn’t exactly my idea of a reward.
His beard’s coarse bristles rubbed against the side of my neck, sending an unpleasant tingle down my spine.
“Thank you! Truly, thank you! I heard that you were the one responsible for saving the fortress, and by extension, the continent! Ah, such a valiant charge! I’ll make sure your heroic deeds are immortalized in song and passed down for generations to come!”
He patted me on the back enthusiastically, perhaps a little too enthusiastically.
Does he normally congratulate others with such a naturally heavy hand, or is he just excited the fortress was saved?
After a few more forceful pats, the Emperor finally released me and stepped back with a big smile, although it looked somewhat artificial and stiff.
His expression grew cautious as he hesitated for a moment before speaking, “Now then, may we retrieve the sacred artifact that we lent to you?”
Hmm… does he really have to bring this up now?
It left a bitter taste in my mouth. After all the effort we put into saving the continent, he overlooked it and instead focused immediately on retrieving the dagger. On top of that, he spoke as if the item was already his to begin with. His shamelessness knew no bounds.
Why is he so desperate to have the artifact?
An unsettling avarice glinted in his eyes, bordering on mania. The intensity with which he gazed made me wonder whether there was more to this dagger than I had initially realized.
Still, this belongs to them. I should return it sooner or later.
In any case, the artifact would disappear once I conquered the sixteenth floor. Better to return Lung Shark’s Dagger and receive some sort of compensation than let it disappear into thin air. The Deiorne Empire once ruled an entire continent, so surely they had a powerful weapon or elixir to spare as a token of appreciation.
“Of course, Your Majesty. But… you did mention a reward earlier if I’m not mistaken…?”
I dropped the hint delicately, just in case the Emperor had somehow “forgotten” his earlier promise of recompensation. His eyes widened for a fraction of a second, betraying his shock.
Just as I thought, he had forgotten.
This was unbelievable. How could a man who called himself an emperor have no recollection of what he had promised just hours ago? I had almost been fooled into handing the dagger over without a second thought, practically doing this self-centered idiot a favor.
Trying to mask his embarrassment, he forced out a hearty, booming laugh.
“Haha! Of course, of course! How could I forget? The Empire’s treasure vault is housed within the fortress. Even though we had to retreat from the capital, we made sure to bring along the heirlooms of our ancestors. You may peruse and then take anything you desire from our collection.”
At least he wasn’t completely devoid of conscience.
A treasure vault, huh? That sounds promising.
I had been eyeing a specific set of armor in the shop for some time, but who knew what could be stored among the Empire’s treasures? For all I knew, there could be something even better stored among them. If I were fortunate, I could even find a Unique grade item.
“Thank you, Your Majesty.”
“Then, the dagger… may I have it now?”
The Emperor’s insistence only grew more urgent, now almost bordering on desperation. His demeanor felt out of place, and the vague sense of unease once again began to take root in my mind.
It’s because we’re climbers, isn’t it?
They merely saw us as God’s envoys, divine beings sent to help them in their hour of need.
On the fourteenth and fifteenth floors, we had disappeared back to the waiting room once the trials concluded. The Emperor was probably worried we would vanish without a trace at any moment, just like before. No wonder he was so eager to reclaim the artifact.
Come to think of it, we routed the invaders, yet the floor hasn’t ended.
[Defend the fortress until the invaders are defeated. If the fortress falls, survive for six hours. There is no time limit.]
The notification window hadn’t changed.
Perhaps the system was giving us extra time to collect the spoils of war, given the massive scale of this battle. Or maybe there were still too many lizardmen clinging to life on the battlefield.
Either way, I now understood the Emperor’s apprehension. If I were in his position, I would also be anxious to retrieve a holy artifact before it disappeared along with the mysterious “envoys.”
In that case, I should return it quickly and head straight to the treasure vault.
If my luck turned out for the worse, the tower could whisk me away to the waiting room before I even set foot in the vault. I hastily drew Lung Shark’s Dagger from its sheath.
However, just as I was about to hand it over, the notification window suddenly updated.
Really? Are we being sent back to the waiting room already?
Panic surged through me as I glanced at the message.
[The sponsor ‘Omniscient Thunder Axe’ wishes to provide Challenger Kwon Su-Hyeok with support. The sponsored support is ‘Information.’ If the Challenger accepts it, his sponsor will gain an additional 81% of his total shares.]
What the?
I stared at the message, stunned, as I struggled to process what I was seeing.
The sixteenth floor’s trial was supposed to be over. Yet, my sponsor wanted to give me “information” now? That made no sense.
If the increase to their share percentage was reasonable, I might have considered it, but 81%? What kind of information could be worth 81% of my TOTAL shares? This is crazy!
It was absurd.
Up until now, everything had pointed to my sponsor being a reasonable and trustworthy entity, but I couldn’t be absolutely sure that was the truth. Accepting a deal that would reduce my percentage of shares under such dubious circumstances was out of the question.
Sure, I could restrict my stats to reduce my sponsor’s percentage of my shares, but…
The seventeenth to nineteenth floors are unknown territory, even for Ha Hee-Jeong.
With the fortress still intact, the following floors had diverged significantly from Ha Hee-Jeong’s previous life and were now uncharted territory. Venturing into the unknown while shackled by severe stat restrictions would be a death wish, no matter how strong I was.
My decision was clear: I had to refuse.
No.
As soon as I decided, the notification window updated once more.
[Challenger Kwon Su-Hyeok’s Sponsor ‘Omniscient Thunder Axe’ wishes to use his fixed share percentage to roll the Dice of Fate.]
[Sponsor’s current fixed shares: 1.09%. The probability of the climber’s actions being forcibly dictated is 1.09%. The Dice of Fate will now be rolled.]
What?
I was utterly bewildered. My sponsor had initially offered to provide me with information, yet they were now trying to roll the Dice of Fate to forcibly control my actions. All this for a meager 1.09% chance to get their way.
Clatter, clatter—
The sound of rolling dice reverberated faintly in my mind, breaking my train of thought. It wasn’t an audible noise, more like something that existed beyond my five senses, echoing deeply within me.
Time itself seemed to have stopped, and I couldn’t see the dice themselves. Only the Emperor’s frozen figure remained before me, his eyes gleaming with insatiable greed.
The sound of the dice rolling faded ever so slowly.
Clatter, clatter—
And then, the dice came to a halt. The notification window blinked to life once again.
[The Dice of Fate’s result is ‘Forced Action.’]
What? That’s impossible. Did the 1.09% chance really succeed?
As disbelief washed over me, another set of messages appeared, shattering my last shred of composure.
[Forced Action: kill the Emperor, Great General, and Imperial high command..]
[Punishment upon failure or refusal: death.]