Obtained End-Game Gear for a Bowl of Ramen - Chapter 40

The liar senior was like Loki from Norse mythology. A mischief-making god. A troublemaker, a walking disaster—the very one who triggered Ragnarok.
But was he purely evil? No. He always cleaned up after his pranks, often pulling out even better results, and he alone among them had no greed for gold.
‘What will the 5th floor of Hero’s Tower be like with Loki involved? I’m worried, but curious. I should go see for myself.’
Jung-ho set foot on the stairs leading upward. Behind him came Deep Shadow Dae-young’s voice.

* * *
[Entering the 5th floor of Hero’s Tower.]
[5th Floor Objective: Lead the routed soldiers and escape from the death ground.]
Jung-ho emerged from a murky gray haze. The moment he did, the stench of artillery fire, smoke, ash, and flames struck his nose. Squinting, he glanced around—the air was filled with the ringing clash of metal.
Routed soldiers, bearing wounds and devoid of will. Unarmed civilians fleeing in terror, trembling with fear. Enemy shadows closing in from all sides.
‘This is different from Trial Tower’s 25th floor. This is… the Hero’s Journal, Chapter One.’
Jung-ho quickly grasped the situation. It seemed the task was to break through the enemies closing in from all sides and evacuate the people safely.
But unlike the 25th floor or Chapter One, this time Jung-ho had to move directly, leading the people himself. Using Earth Manipulation to build walls and hold a defensive position wasn’t an option.
“Master! We’re surrounded!”
“We’re already caught! The cavalry will be upon us any moment!”
“There are ambushes all along the front!”
“We can’t save everyone! We should use some as bait and sacrifice them to save the rest!”
The wounded soldiers summarized the situation bluntly. In short: they were royally screwed.
‘So that’s why it’s called the layer of sacrifice. How many should I let die to save as many as possible? How many should I use as bait?’
Jung-ho looked at the group he was supposed to save. Honestly, even looking at them, he had no idea. It wasn’t as if he’d served as a military officer, and it wasn’t like he knew any tactics.
“Forget it. Hey! We’re all going together!”
“What?! That won’t work. We’ll all die!”
“The column is already moving too slowly. We have to abandon the wounded!”
“If the fast ones become bait, the rest might survive.”
“Master! Make a decision now—”
“Shut it. Fire Bolt.”
Two suns rose above Jung-ho’s shoulders. The sight of those roaring, blazing suns silenced the soldiers.
“Want to die? Going to die? Should I kill you? Stop spouting nonsense. Let’s go if we’re going. Honestly, you don’t know either, right? How to survive. So if we’re all equally lost, we might as well try till we can’t go any further.”
The soldiers hesitated, then began nodding and rising one by one. It would’ve been nice if they were inspired by his speech. Probably they were just terrified of the Fire Bolt.
‘That’s good enough, I guess. If we don’t know what to do anyway, throwing around talk of bait and sacrifice just makes things worse. Let’s try to save as many as we can.’
“Enemies from the rear!!”
Already? We haven’t even left? Armored cavalry wreathed in crimson flame came charging.
‘Fire? Wait. Hold on. Why fire? But they said cavalry! Loki’s messed with this floor for sure!’
[Skill Used: Fire Bolt Original]
[Launching arrows wrought of flame.]
[Hero’s Power Stage 4 resonates!]
[Split Mind Technique activates!]
[Skill copied: Fire Bolt Original]
Boom—!
The Fire Bolt Original bombarded the burning iron cavalry. Still they blazed on, surging forward with savage intensity.
‘Flame immunity! Deep Cloud, Water Shield!’
[Skill Used: Deep Cloud Original]
[Engulfing in cloud. The cloud’s nature can be transformed by other elements.]
[Hero’s Power Stage 4 resonates!]
[Split Mind Technique activates!]
[Skill copied: Water Shield Original]
Whoosh! The cloud absorbed the Water Shield and turned a vivid blue, writhing like a living water barrier. The burning vanguard of the iron cavalry charged forward with terrible force.
Shhhhh—
The flames went out. The iron cavalry thrashed in the water, then went limp. It worked. But the fire was so fierce—I wasn’t sure how long the water would hold.
‘So it comes down to Earth Manipulation again? But that’s easier said than done. This time, using it carelessly is dangerous.’
Jung-ho wasn’t foolish. The iron cavalry had already split their forces, encircling him from the flanks. If he threw up an earth wall carelessly, he’d only seal off his own escape route.
He’d have to hold out with Deep Cloud and Water Shield for as long as possible, saving Earth Manipulation for the last resort. The way skills were burning through, he drew the Magic Sword Arc Spark as well.
“Stop gawking and keep moving! Go!”
They finally started forward. But within five minutes, the entire column began to flag.
“Why are we going so slowly?”
“There are too many wounded!”
“Leave us behind and keep going, sir!”
“Absolutely not! Get the wounded evacuated first!”
Floor 5 of Hero’s Tower—this is so much harder than I expected. More iron cavalry will come soon enough. And I still haven’t even encountered whatever ambush is waiting.
-Kuhaha. Son Jung-ho. Always remember this. What it means to be a hero. You can retry a failed tower ascent, but once you lose your Hero’s Image, it’s over.
Jung-ho recalled the words Deep Shadow Dae-young had spoken. So this floor was designed to shatter one’s Hero’s Image. Forcing compromise after compromise, sacrifice after sacrifice.
Now that I’ve lived through it, I understand. Hero’s Tower Floor 5 is structurally impossible to clear perfectly. Of course—even my own ideal Hero’s Image must crumble under such pressure.
Anyone clinging to an unrealistically perfect Hero’s Image will only face despair. Yet to compromise so easily with reality would make me nothing but a coward.
‘Forget it. Too many wounded? Earth Manipulation.’
But Jung-ho’s Original skill was powerful.
Very powerful, actually.
[Skill Used: Earth Manipulation Original]
[Manipulate earth, stone, and mineral.]
[Hero’s Power Stage 4 resonates!]
[Split Mind Technique activates!]
[Skill copied: Earth Manipulation Original]
Crack-crack-crack-crack! Black luminous stone rails shot up across the ground, and a black luminous stone steam engine materialized as if printed by a three-dimensional printer.
“Hey! Get on! Quickly!”
Jung-ho climbed atop the locomotive’s cabin. The moment everyone boarded and the Deep Cloud barrier shattered, iron cavalry flooded through.
“We’re off! Fire Bolt! Water Shield!”
[Skill Used: Fire Bolt Original]
[Launching arrows wrought of flame.]
[Hero’s Power Stage 4 resonates!]
[Split Mind Technique activates!]
[Skill copied: Water Shield Original]
A steam engine runs on steam power, doesn’t it? Pour water, apply heat, and you get steam.
Clack-clack-clack-clack—!!!
The locomotive tore down the rails in a wild rampage. The burning iron cavalry pursued savagely. Some ran alongside Jung-ho’s cabin.
“What are you looking at?”
Jung-ho swung the Magic Sword Arc Spark. Slash! The blade of water bisected an iron soldier in two. The shocked cavalry began falling back one by one, falling away.
“What, what is this?!”
“Are we mad? What in all the hells is happening?!”
“Oh, gods above! What manner of demonic contraption is this…?”
For ones supposedly wounded, their tongues worked fine. Jung-ho ignored the chaos of sound and fixed his eyes ahead.
‘This won’t end so easily. Loki said he’d set traps.’
Whoosh! The moment the thought crossed his mind, pillars of fire erupted from the ground. A volcano to their flank exploded in concert, and a pyroclastic flow began burying the rails.
“No! We’ll die!”
“Please, stop! If we drive into that fire, we’re all dead!”
“At this rate we’ll be swept up in the pyroclastic flow! Stop!!”
‘Now that’s more like it. Earth Manipulation. Water Shield!’
[Skill activated: Earth Manipulation Original]
[You manipulate earth, stone, and minerals.]
[Hero’s Power Stage 4 resonates!]
[Split Mind Technique activates!]
[Skill copied: Water Shield Original]
Crack-crack-crack! A massive ramp of stone erupted from the ground. The train climbed the slope and surged upward, while the pyroclastic flow cascaded beneath like a thunderous waterfall. A shimmering shield of blue water enveloped the entire train, carrying it gracefully between the towering pillars of flame.
‘Is that all? Loki? Nothing else coming?’
“There—look—up in the sky!”
“They’re the Empire’s pursuit and assassination machines!”
“Hiding won’t help……. They track heat like serpents…….”
Someone pointed upward. Clockwork soldiers forged from gold flew through the air like robots, descending toward the train. Loki—the god of gold, or so Jung-ho had heard.
“Loki, isn’t this a bit much? Deep Cloud.”
[Skill activated: Deep Cloud Original]
[You shroud everything in clouds. You can alter the cloud’s properties using other elements.]
[Hero’s Power Stage 4 resonates!]
[Split Mind Technique activates!]
[Skill copied: Deep Cloud Original]
Whoosh! Dense, moisture-laden clouds blanketed a radius of over ten kilometers. The incoming golden soldiers froze in mid-air, spinning their heads in confusion.
The damp clouds rendered their heat sensors useless. The train seized the opening and punched through the murk. The frenetic pace gradually eased, and the oppressive sky cleared to blue.
“Senior, is that it? Nothing else?”
Jung-ho leapt from the front of the train and shouted skyward. The heavens suddenly split left and right, and a colossal face emerged—the Liar himself.

“What? Did Dae-young also climb Hero’s Tower?”

A gigantic golden fist descended slowly from the sky. Was he really going to punch him? Jung-ho flinched. Fortunately, the fist stopped just in front of his face.

The massive fist opened. A crimson orb, slightly smaller than Jung-ho’s own fist, fell gently into his palm.
“What is this?”