100 Floors All Master - Chapter 98

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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All Master of 100 Floors Episode 098

Floor 16. World of Numbness (1)

[Title: Ah.]

[Ahhhhhhh. Ahh. Ahh. Ahhh! Ahhhhhhh!]

[Choi Do-woon (Floor 24): …What’s this?]

[Jung Ji-hoo (Floor 27): Looks like someone cleared a floor? Is it Floor 16? Or Floor 24?]

[Choi Do-woon (Floor 24): Floor 24 doesn’t get that kind of reaction. You get consumed by self-loathing instead. Looking at it, seems like Floor 16.]

[Jung Ji-hoo (Floor 27): That place is a shitty floor too.]

* * *

“Phew.”

Kang Jun-hyeok had returned to Earth. His face was filled with satisfaction.

He had significantly raised his skills’ proficiency and acquired the skill to awaken as a true True Ancestor. At the end, he had defeated a Player and leveled up as well.

The results were sufficient. Kang Jun-hyeok opened his mouth.

“Pixie.”

[Oh, you were alive!]

Cutting through space, Pixie burst out with sparkling eyes.

[I thought you were dead since there was no summoning for quite a while. Did the second test end well?]

It had been about two weeks since he was with Eldyria. It wouldn’t be strange for Pixie to mistake him for dead. Kang Jun-hyeok answered.

“I had some business.”

[Business? What business?]

Pixie, who had been puzzled, hesitated.

[…Wait. You’ve changed somehow. Something… you’ve become something different.]

“You notice right away.”

Kang Jun-hyeok lightly waved his finger. Even though he didn’t activate any skills, blood rippled and rose.

Pixie’s eyes widened.

[Vampire’s Authority?]

“As a reward, I met the Vampire Queen, Eldyria. I learned this and that from her.”

Pixie swallowed.

[Eldyria… You met her and survived? And received a reward on top of that?]

“Should I show you?”

Kang Jun-hyeok asked with a faint smile. Pixie suddenly came to her senses.

[W-well, I’d be grateful, but our contract is about the Tower’s floors. Just because you show me doesn’t mean there’s anything I can do for you.]

“It doesn’t matter. It’s just simple goodwill.”

[Then show me!]

Pixie rushed over eagerly. With eyes full of excitement, Kang Jun-hyeok smiled and extended his finger. Kang Jun-hyeok’s memories began to be transmitted through Pixie.

[…Haa.]

A moment later. Pixie, who had let out a sigh, looked at Kang Jun-hyeok with a face full of wonder.

[…Eldyria. She allowed you. She bestowed True Blood upon you.]

“That’s what happened.”

[Ha. All the vampires in the entire universe will try to kill you. Even those who were courting her. Are you confident you can survive?]

“If I wasn’t, I wouldn’t have gone for it in the first place.”

At Kang Jun-hyeok’s calm words, Pixie made a delighted expression.

[Hahaha. This is going to be interesting. Thanks for showing me something so personal.]

Pixie’s face toward Kang Jun-hyeok was filled with gratitude and goodwill.

His contract with Pixie was a Tower contract. He couldn’t gain starlight just by showing memories with Eldyria.

But Pixie’s favorability had increased. That was enough.

Pixie, who had been happily reminiscing, suddenly stopped.

[…Huh?]

“What’s wrong?”

[At the end, when Eldyria gave you True Blood, there was something strange about it.]

Pixie looked at Kang Jun-hyeok with a puzzled face.

Manbyeonggi was in a state of having lost itself.

Having lost its name, body, and all its power, its senses had infinitely deteriorated compared to when it was alive.

But Pixie, though she may have lost her name, still possessed her full power from when she was alive.

That’s why she could sense what Manbyeonggi couldn’t.

She spoke with a groan.

[Eldyria. Is that you?]

[…Hmph. You still have beast-like senses.]

A clear voice rang out from within Kang Jun-hyeok.

Kang Jun-hyeok’s body trembled as he spoke with a bitter expression.

“Lady Eldyria?”

[It’s a simple link. Rather than being stuck in there waiting until the world ends, I thought it would be more interesting to watch how you climb the Tower from within you.]

Eldyria continued quietly.

[Unlike Manbyeonggi or Pixie, I have no intention of interfering. I plan to watch whether you truly run toward your goal. Don’t mind me.]

Manbyeonggi let out a hollow laugh and Pixie made a strange expression.

[Since when were you someone who took such interest in others?]

[Uh uh… Eldyria. What is this?]

[Shut up.]

Eldyria spoke as if annoyed and then closed her mouth. Pixie spoke with a mischievous face.

[You’ve gained a companion for your journey.]

“Seems like it.”

Kang Jun-hyeok shook his head. It was unexpected, but it didn’t matter much. He could just think of it as gaining one more spectator. Pixie smiled broadly.

[The Quest she gave you is to kill the Root-Bearing Tree alone. If you accomplish that, you can obtain the one called the most beautiful in the universe. Give it a try. Well, it might be possible for you.]

Even Pixie, who said this, had a face that showed no expectation. Achieving victory against Victor alone was nearly impossible even for them.

Kang Jun-hyeok smiled silently. Manbyeonggi also maintained a strange silence.

[Well then, farewell. Let’s meet after you clear the next floor!]

Pixie waved her hand and departed.

After taking a brief rest, Kang Jun-hyeok checked the world’s situation through the community and news.

During this week he spent with Eldyria, the world had changed significantly. Players who cleared the second test began climbing the Tower even more enthusiastically. And so did those who failed to pass the temporary test.

‘This is exactly the same as before.’

Players who gave up on becoming stronger, judging that the penalty wasn’t much.

They had now experienced a truly meaningful penalty. Death.

They were finally feeling a sense of crisis and climbing the Tower, but it was considerably too late. Only an extremely small number among them would barely survive. It wasn’t important to him.

Kang Jun-hyeok, who was browsing the news, suddenly paused.

[The renowned Perfect Player. Is his true identity a Korean Player?]

[Despite having only cleared Floor 15, he overwhelmed Yu Jin-ha, Korea’s strongest Player.]

[Perfect Player. What is his true identity.]

All sorts of tabloid-like news. Now that he looked, it wasn’t just one. Most of the news was about him. When he checked the community, it was even more of a spectacle.

[Choi Ga-young (Floor 15): So you’re saying a Player on the exact same floor as me overwhelmed Mr. Yu Jin-ha? Well, I’ll be.]

[Gu-ryong (Floor 25): Honestly, I can’t believe it. Is that really possible? Yu Jin-ha is a Floor 46 Player. That’s more than double.]

[Pham Min Deuk (Floor 26): But… they say it’s actually true. Unless all the Players in Korea were brainwashed, it can’t be false.]

“What a commotion.”

When he checked his phone, there were dozens of calls and hundreds of texts from Kim Tae-yeon and Baekdusan. When he called Kim Tae-yeon, she answered in less than a second.

-Mr. Kang Jun-hyeok! You’re alive! You didn’t answer calls for this whole week and there was no sign of you when I looked for you…

“Did you think I was dead?”

-N-not that, I was just worried… More importantly! What should we do about this? We’re getting contacted like crazy!

Kim Tae-yeon and Baekdusan had direct connections with Kang Jun-hyeok. Those who noticed this fact were pressuring the two to somehow create a link. To her urgent words, Kang Jun-hyeok answered simply.

“Just ignore them.”

[P-pardon?]

“Is there anything that changes if I reveal myself through you two?”

-…Uh.

Kim Tae-yeon, who was silent for a moment, answered cautiously.

-Nothing…?

The existence called Kang Jun-hyeok would simply be revealed to the world. That was all. Nothing would change.

“The next test will be conducted soon. It doesn’t matter how well-known I become or how famous I get.”

What the test looked at was individual performance. That was all.

“If you were managing a guild, it might be different, but right now you two are individuals. You don’t need to worry about outside influences. Just climb the Tower and build your strength.”

-Ah, I understand. Then I’ll answer that Mr. Kang Jun-hyeok doesn’t want it.

“Yes.”

Kang Jun-hyeok hung up the phone. As he was about to close the community, one post caught his eye.

[Olivia Turner (Floor 48): D-do you happen to know about that person? I was rude in the past and want to receive forgiveness.]

“Still the same.”

He chuckled and turned off the Community. Whether he became famous or not, what he had to do remained unchanged. After briefly warming up his body, he entered the Tower.

[Will you challenge the Tower?]

[Floor to challenge: Floor 16.]

Kang Jun-hyeok’s body enters Floor 16.

And what he feels is that there is nothing.

He cannot see.

He cannot hear.

He cannot feel.

Beyond the five senses, his sixth sense itself becomes paralyzed. The only thing he can perceive is his own body.

It felt like being thrown into an empty void.

In such emptiness, the System Window calmly announced its purpose.

[Floor 16 Quest.]

[Survive in this place for one week.]

* * *

‘Hmm.’

Kang Jun-hyeok looked around. All he could see was darkness. Nothing entered his field of vision.

He opened his mouth and spoke. His voice scattered and disappeared without substance.

When he stepped forward, he could only tell that he had moved, but felt no sensation whatsoever.

He opened his mouth to call Manbyeonggi, but no answer came back. He couldn’t feel its presence either.

‘As expected, all connections have been severed.’

Surviving for one week in a void with nothing. That was the Floor 16 Quest.

Looking at the simple conditions alone, it seemed incredibly easy. One could clear it just by spacing out and passing time.

But in reality, it wasn’t.

There was nothing here.

With his sixth sense itself paralyzed, all he could perceive was his body.

The human mind wasn’t that strong. Being locked in a solitary cell for a week would likely turn someone into a wreck. Moreover, Floor 16 went beyond a simple solitary cell—all senses were completely blocked.

This was a kind of death.

Floors 1 to 15 were floors that evaluated a Player’s abilities.

And Floor 16 was a floor that evaluated a Player’s mental strength itself.

Every Player who cleared Floor 16 had their mind collapse and remained broken for at least a month.

‘I had quite a hard time in my previous life too.’

Though not as much as others, he had also struggled for a week.

‘But not now.’

For his current self, this level of pressure held no meaning, so he could clear it by simply meditating quietly.

But naturally, Kang Jun-hyeok was aiming for more than that.

The purpose of the Floor 16 Quest was living together for a week.

It wasn’t survival.

He slowly began to move his body.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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