Chapter 115 – Mirror Which Breaks Down The Boundaries (5)

[Unique ability ‘Blood Demon Qi’ is activated.]
The ability to further aggravate wounds dealt on a target.

There was no better ability than this to break this tightly held balance.

As the dark red energy slowly rose, something strange happened to the Rock Giant, who had been like an iron wall.

Medusa’s petrification effect began to take hold.

Kukuku!

[Absolute Judgment’ Curse of Petrification’ will be cast!]
A dark gray wave rose from the areas where the liquid touched.

“M-Medusa’s blood. The effects shouldn’t stay potent after leaving the temple! You! What did you do?!”

The Rock Giant yelled in disbelief.

An Absolute Judgment ability would be rare to find on floors under the 10th floor. Not only was it because it was difficult to obtain, but it was also difficult to use properly.

Even the higher beings who protected the Tower’s hierarchy didn’t know everything. Of course, it would be impossible for a human to know more.

But…

This cheeky human knew a method that even the Rock Giant was unaware of.

“Answer me, human! Answer me right now!”

As the Rock Giant slowly stiffened, it tried to demand the reason why he was now suffering so.

Perhaps it was more curious about the situation instead of its inevitable death.

Jin-hyuk didn’t give it an answer. Even if he told it the method, it wouldn’t understand.

‘Because one can never understand how much trial and error and frustration I had gone through for this.’

It was a state where he needed to constantly suffer through the same situations to achieve one target. It was only because of this struggle that he uncovered so many of the Tower’s secrets.

Kukukuku!

The speed of the Rock Giant’s petrification increased.

The petrification that had started with its legs had now reached its chest. In a few minutes, it would reach the head.

This was the end of the 10th-floor boss monster.

Jin-hyuk continued to observe it with emotionless eyes as the process finished.

The Rock Giant was now just a piece of real stone.

Tring!

[The 10th-floor boss ‘Rock Giant’ has fallen!]
[The 11th floor of the Tower of Trials is open!]
[Since the intervening floors weren’t conquered, only those who received the permission of the first attack can go to the 11th floor.]
[Time remaining until next floor is cleared: 89D: 23h: 59m: 59s]
[Level has risen]
[Level has risen]
[Level has risen]
[Level has risen]
[Level has risen]
[You have acquired the Rock Giant’s Great Sword’ Armor Breaker’]
[You have obtained the Shield of the Rock Giant ‘Gray Heart’]
[Coin Exchange’s Cookie Bag promotion (limited time item) has been acquired]
[This surprising achievement will be inscribed in the ‘Hall of Fame’ for 2 days]
[You have acquired the unique ability ‘One Second Invincibility’]
He had gone up a whopping five levels.

Items that had been used by the boss monster were also dropped.

‘This is why I can never give up on the Tower.’

This sense of accomplishment after passing a difficult task. It was always great to feel such things.

The best things were always the rewards that came after such hard work.

The Tower of Trials and its online community, the intelligence department, the guilds, Viewtube, and numerous media were in chaos.

In fact, the whole world had turned upside down.

This was inevitable.

Because the video that was uploaded to the Hall of Fame was beyond common sense.

-Watermelon flave: Not long ago, there was chaos because of Kang Jin-hyuk’s video. This time it’s Unknown.
-Mr. Kim: This is the first time I’ve heard that there are middle managers in the Tower!
-Apple Tart: To be honest, I thought Kang Jin-hyuk’s video would be number one for at least a month.
-zerokpl1005: But… ha, he’s on the 10th floor, lol. What the hell is this Unknown guy!
-Mid Faker: Actually, he broke through the current ceiling and entered the 10th floor, right?
-amazing for men: It’s actually more insane than I thought. I wish there would be more coming out, some other guilds or anything.
-Baeksu over Tesu: Huh, but… From what I heard, it seems that there must be a hidden piece that would explain this.
-Screaming Daram: Maybe it was some kind of a hidden job?
-5252: My heart feels huge.
-Cola is Coke Zero: But this is the real thing. The title of top ranker seemed to be shared between two people. Which of the two is stronger?
Many compliments followed the video’s appearance.

One of the commentators raised a sensitive topic. Their question was similar to asking which was stronger between a lion and a tiger. Or, more topically, who was better, Messi or Ronaldo?

It was now a world where one could ponder the question forever, but no answer would come.

However, the user Cola is Coke Zero broke the dam.

Eventually, the community became highly heated.

-Lord, I send you another: You are comparing the 10th floor clear with something else. Of course, it will be Unknown. Am I the only one who saw the video?
-Bad dogs of the world: You’re just yapping around like some old boomer. Are you a chihuahua? Why are you trying to say a man who hides his face is better than Kang Jin-hyuk?
-Apple tart: Everyone knows that the 10th-floor boss has an Invincibility ability, right? It is said that most in the past would give up, and only a few had succeeded. The successful strategy was never even revealed.
-AT-T major shareholder: Yes, but Kang Jin-hyuk.
-CCL5004: Right. Unknown still has more points
It was an uproar.

To the point where it was difficult to keep up with the comments.

‘Doesn’t this feel like members of two fan clubs fighting?’

Jin-hyuk thought this as he looked at the community.

Jin-hyuk had lit the spark by commenting under a fake user name to see what would happen, but the current response was a bit much.

Kang Jin-hyuk and Unknown.

It was precisely like two men recruiting their own fanbase to compete with each other.

‘The overwhelming difference between the two should be shown with some editing…’

He was quite confident as he had edited numerous videos in the past.

After mostly confirming the reaction, Jin-hyuk stretched out his body for quite a bit.

Phew.

‘My arms are sore.’

He had run wild against the 10th-floor boss. He also had a good workout, so it was inevitable that fatigue would take over his body.

He then made a groaning sound.

He felt good because he had defeated a boss monster that others couldn’t win against by risking their lives.

Jin-hyuk looked at the items he had laid on the hotel room floor.

‘Armor Breaker’ and ‘Gray Heart’.

The poison effect solution had gotten him the best possible items. This was why he liked solo play over playing with a party.

He got to keep the best items for himself.

‘This is probably… a tanker item.’

Jin-hyuk looked through the Eye of Gluttony.

[Armor Breaker
Acquisition Difficulty: SS
Attack: 2850
Durability: 550/ 580
Weight: 105kg
Effect: Ignores 30% of the opponent’s total defense. If you hit an effective attack 10 times in a row, the stun effect activates for 1 second.
Features: can only be used by players who have completed their ‘Tank’ class quest.]
The attack power of the dagger he had strengthened 10 times in the labyrinth was 280. Armor Breaker was an item that boasted an attack power that was 10 times stronger.

It meant that any piece of armor could be crushed.

However, the effects of ignoring defense and the stun weren’t that good.

‘But it cannot be placed on the market carelessly.’

It was an item too good to be given to other players.

‘Even if I die, I will not give someone something better than mine.’

He couldn’t do that.

No matter how many coins they offered or what kind of item they wanted to exchange. He would avoid it if there was even a 1% chance that it would become a risk factor.

[Gray Heart
Acquisition Difficulty: SS
Defense: 120,558
Durability: 1000/ 2000
Weight: 200kg
Effect: Gain an additional 10% defense against physical and magic attacks. When 1:1 with an enemy, the weight is reduced by 30% for 1 hour
Feature: Can only be used by players with a Tank class.]
And now the shield.

The formidable defense rating and its rare effects made it impossible for him to give it up to a Tank player.

‘If I sell this, it will be like handing it over to the Gods who have a desire of their own.’

If the Gods possessed something like this, they would never hand it down to the players.

It would eliminate the risk of raising useless competitors.

Even Rick would be used as a stepping stone without a second thought.

‘But, I gained a lot of things from this raid.’

Jin-hyuk nodded with satisfaction.

An opportunity to use his skills and barriers in conjunction and practice various combinations.

The chance had only been possible thanks to the monster’s invincibility.

Therefore, he was able to freely use the skills.

Some combinations were good, and he could do more in the future.

He also had a new unique ability that he could use for one second.

[1 Second Invincibility
Description: This was the ability of invincibility used by the Rock Giant, the boss monster of the 10th floor. However, this copied ability would only last for 1 second and has a cooldown time of 240 hours.]
This was honestly a bit disappointing.

Although its limitation and usage time was low, it would work in emergencies.

‘Finally….’

Jin-hyuk’s gaze turned to another part of the floor.

The last reward was the Cookie Bag Promotion, an item that could be used to learn skills related to a second job change.

This had the potential to be very fun.

It had the ability to refund his coins in their entirety if he successfully learned it.

Of course, the difficulty was extremely high, so even strong players would also be unlikely to succeed…

‘That’s a story about mid-level people.’

The veteran…

No, one shouldn’t give such rewards to just any veteran.

They would wipe everything out in one blow.

‘In the first place, the phrase ‘one coin clear’ is already strange.’

If a player wanted to get the skill, they wouldn’t even be given one chance.

Jin-hyuk tore up the 30-centimeter-long piece of paper.

[You have used the Cookie Bag Promotion]
[Secondary job skills are unlocked (A total of 117 barrier-related skills have been unlocked below 3 stars)]
[The required coin to learn a skill is 750,000 coins; if you fail to acquire it, you will have to pay the same amount to try again. If the attempt is successful, all the paid coins will be refunded.]
[The duration is 24 hours.]
A progression of status windows appeared in front of him.

Next to them, a total of 117 barrier-related skills were displayed.

It wouldn’t even take 24 hours.

“I will finish it in 3 hours.”

Jin-hyuk smiled as he read the first ability.