The Crazy Battle God Has Returned - Chapter 220

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

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A Mad Swordsman Returns – Chapter 220

The Tower’s conquest proceeded without incident.
Of course, “without incident” was measured by my standards.
To any observer, the conquest appeared so perilous that death could come at any moment.
The Tower of Records was a trial at every floor.
Especially for the players from Earth.

“How in the world are we supposed to conquer that tower?”
“Wow, these non-human races are insane. What kind of power is that…”
“That’s magic, right? Is it because they’re elves? The level of magic…”

The sight of players ascending the Tower was uniformly breathtaking.
Crushing enemies with astounding brute force or sweeping entire floors with large-scale magic—such images were nearly impossible for Earth’s players to even imagine.
But what was even more astonishing was Han Yu-sung.

“…He’s actually ahead of those players?”
“Yeah. The gap has narrowed to just one floor now…”
“At this rate, wouldn’t his conquest finish before theirs?”

Han Yu-sung maintained the lead.
The gap had narrowed compared to the beginning, but I still held my advantage, and closing it didn’t seem easy.

[Player ‘Han Yu-sung’ has conquered the 7th Floor of the Tower.]

I had passed through the domain of ‘Piercing Gaze’.
It was a zone where nothing could be seen, but I possessed the Predator’s Senses and the Dragon’s Heart.
Using both, finding the path wasn’t particularly difficult.

[Entering the 8th Floor, the Land of Extreme Cold.]
[This is a domain ruled by the Master of Extreme Cold. Pierce through the frigid air that freezes all things and reach the end of this land.]

The 8th Floor was a battle of endurance.
The Land of Extreme Cold was a frozen world where a blizzard so fierce raged that one couldn’t even open their eyes.
A place where all living things would be frozen solid without exception.
Of course.

“I should be able to endure this much, at least.”

It wasn’t something Han Yu-sung couldn’t endure.
Thanks to the strong elemental resistance of the Heart of the Dragon, I was able to withstand the extreme cold that swept over me. That resistance allowed me to persist against the frigid air.
But it seemed I couldn’t endure it forever—I could feel the cold gradually piercing through my resistance.
If I wandered here for too long, I would inevitably freeze solid.

‘I need to find a path quickly.’

The problem was that the blizzard obscured my vision.
So I tried to secure my sight using Kakasha’s flames, but—

“I didn’t anticipate this.”
[Gah! My flames are useless against this blizzard…!]

Just as on the 7th Floor, Kakasha’s flames proved ineffective on the 8th Floor as well.
To be precise, the flames did ignite.
But they couldn’t extend far before quickly extinguishing.
Kakasha, feeling humiliated, intensified the flames, but—

[It won’t work. It seems they’ve set some kind of rule in place. How infuriating…! How dare they suppress my flames!]
“There’s nothing for it but to press forward with patience.”

When I thought about it, it made perfect sense. If flames could overcome this, it wouldn’t be called an extreme situation.
I should be grateful that I could now resist the cold.

“Hmm….”

I stopped and looked around at my surroundings.
Seeing this, Kakasha asked with confusion.

[What’s wrong?]
“No, it feels like someone is watching me.”
[Watching… Could it be that one from the message we saw earlier….]
“The Master of Extreme Cold, was it?”

The one who rules this domain.
Perhaps that being is watching me right now.
Regardless, if I continue forward through this land, I will eventually meet them.
I stamped the ground and rushed swiftly across the Snowy Plain.

Crack-crack! Screeeeeech!

[These things—they keep appearing in such a disgusting manner!]

Countless enemies blocked my path forward.
Ice golems and ice spirits burst forth, unleashing a barrage of fierce attacks.
I pressed onward relentlessly, dispatching them as I advanced.

Slash, slash-slash…!

Fight and move. Fight and move again.
I continued forward across this land with no discernible end.
The surrounding landscape remained monotonous—an endless expanse of Snowy Plain, relentless blizzards howling without cease, and enemies that stubbornly kept appearing.
Everything was drenched in white. Even my own thoughts had become consumed by it.

[…This truly seems endless. Are you holding up?]
“I’m fine. And actually, I think it’s about to end soon.”
[About to end?]

Kakasha sounded puzzled.
The scenery hadn’t changed, and the blizzard obscured everything from view.
It felt as though I might be wandering in circles through the same location.
Yet I was saying it would end soon.

“The attacks are growing increasingly fierce.”
[Hmm…?]

He was right.
As I progressed further, the enemies multiplied and their assault grew progressively more violent.
It was as if they were warning me not to advance any further.
From experience, such signs always meant the end was drawing near.

Whoooosh!

I unfurled the Gale Cloak and surged forward.
Transformed into a fierce wind, I swept across the Snowy Plain.
The blizzard intensified further, and from somewhere, I felt a formidable presence emerge.
A smile crossed my lips.
Without the slightest hesitation.

“At last, you reveal yourself.”
– Shrieeeeeek!

I hurled Thunderbolt toward the presence I sensed.
Hundreds of lightning bolts scattered across the blizzard, and the bolt shot through the storm struck its target with precision.
A colossal tempest of lightning swept across the Snowy Plain of Extreme Cold.
In that instant, the endless blizzard that had been raging suddenly stilled.

“Afraid of losing your prey, you came to claim it yourself?”

The owner of the presence revealed itself.
It was a female spirit wearing a crown of ice.
Jagged ice crystals jutted from various points across its body like icebergs—a striking sight.
This was the Master of Extreme Cold that governed this realm.
Scars left by Thunderbolt were etched across its body.

– Kiiiiieeeek…!

As the Master of Extreme Cold displayed its rage, the blizzard intensified once more.
Simultaneously, countless spirits emerged, and frigid air engulfed the surroundings.
Han Yu-sung let out a scoff and gripped my sword.

“Let’s finish this quickly. It’s freezing.”
– Shrieeeeeeeek!

* * *

[8th Floor, Land of Extreme Cold cleared.]
[Stairs to the next floor open!]

Just as I had anticipated, the Land of Extreme Cold ended shortly after.
Once I defeated the Master of Extreme Cold, the blizzard ceased, and the edge of the land came into view beyond.
Upon reaching that point, stairs descended from the void.
Standing before the stairs, I brushed the ice clinging to my body away.

“It took longer than I expected.”

The Master of Extreme Cold was a troublesome opponent in every conceivable way.
She summoned spirits to block my path, obscured my vision with blizzards, and unleashed massive attacks from the rear.
It resembled the kind of battle I despised—fighting against a mage.

[Still, wouldn’t other players struggle with a floor like this?]
“Probably. Only two floors left now anyway.”

I could finish this before the distance closed any further.
I climbed the staircase.

[9th Floor, Proving Ground—entered.]
[In this realm, you will face endless combat. Survive the battles against countless enemies and advance to the next floor.]

The 9th floor had relatively straightforward mechanics.
A floor where I had to survive against an endless stream of monsters.
Its simplicity made it all the more difficult.
I had to fight the relentlessly attacking monsters without any clever tricks or shortcuts.

“I like this.”
[I knew you would say that.]

Simultaneously, it was a floor perfectly suited to my tastes.
The landscape shifted in an instant. Enemies appearing from all directions.
I clenched my fists and threw myself into the endless battle.
Kill and slash. I healed the wounds I sustained with Spirit of Blood Ghost.

Crash!

Blood from countless enemies soaked the ground.
It was the perfect Battlefield for me.
I strengthened my skills using the blood and continued to slash through the endless tide of enemies.
There was no need for complicated thoughts.
I simply had to fight the enemies that came at me.

Boom!

How long had we been fighting?
A grotesquely twisted monster collapsed.
Han Yu-sung whirled around, searching for the next enemy. Only then did I realize.
There were no enemies left in the vicinity.

[9th Floor, Proving Ground area cleared.]
[Staircase to the next floor opens!]

A staircase descended from the void as if to congratulate Han Yu-sung.
I shook the blood from my blade and gazed quietly at the stairs.
Ascending here would lead me to the Tower’s Top Floor, the 10th Floor.

[The 10th Floor, then. What do you think they’ve prepared?]
“Hard to say. The standard approach would be to place a boss monster.”
[Hmm, this Tower has been more orthodox than expected. Considering that…]

A boss monster might indeed be waiting as I suspected.
If so, my task was simple: defeat the boss monster.
Yet an unease lingered in the corner of my mind.

[You have a feeling this won’t end there.]
“Something tells me it won’t end like this.”
[Hmm, certainly…… that’s not an unreasonable thought.]

Kakasha agreed.
The Tower of Records hadn’t been easy, that much was certain.
With powerful beings from countless worlds summoned here, each floor’s difficulty was genuinely high.
But aside from the difficulty, it had been surprisingly conventional.
I couldn’t shake the feeling that something more awaited.

“Let’s go up and see.”

Then I would know.
Han Yu-sung ascended the stairs without hesitation.
The staircase to the 10th Floor was far longer than those of the lower levels.
And there was something else.

[What a magnificent view.]
“The surroundings open up quite widely.”

The walls were transparent, revealing the surrounding landscape in perfect clarity.
An endless expanse of sky filled my vision.
Han Yu-sung and Kakasha ascended the staircase, taking in the scenery around them.
How much longer had we climbed?

[10th Floor, entering 【XX’s Domain】.]
[Proceed forward.]

I had reached the 10th Floor, the Top Floor of the 【Tower of Records】.
At the Tower’s highest level, a formidable boss monster awaited, and any player who climbed the Tower had to defeat it.
Only then would a reward be granted to those who conquered the Tower….

[There’s nothing here. Not a single monster, nothing at all.]
“Hmm….”

That should have been the case.
What greeted Han Yu-sung upon reaching the 10th Floor was nothing but a uselessly vast White Space.
The only thing present was an enormous grandfather clock standing in the center.

[Best Record: 4:24:38.]

Records were inscribed upon that clock.
Han Yu-sung stood before the grandfather clock.
The moment he did, the clock blazed with brilliant light and began etching a new record.

[New Record: 3:36:06.]

Needless to say, it was Han Yu-sung’s record.
A time that far surpassed the previous record of four hours and twenty-four minutes.

[Congratulations, Han Yu-sung. You have set a new Tower record.]
[Your Achievement will be eternally recorded upon the Tower.]

Han Yu-sung gazed impassively at the message that appeared before him.
But it was only brief.

[The first stage of the 【Proving Ground】 is ending.]

“It’s ending?”

Han Yu-sung’s eyes widened slightly as he read the message that followed.
He had merely conquered a 10-floor Tower without even a final boss, and the first stage was already complete?
It was a bewildering message in every way.
He had assumed there would be more to it, but apparently not.

[Beginning the second stage, Realm of the Strong.]
[Player Han Yu-sung.]

Yet the message was far from finished.

[You have ascended to become the final boss of the Tower of Records.]
[From this moment forward, you must face the players who reach the Top Floor and prove that you are the strongest among countless mighty warriors.]

Han Yu-sung let out an incredulous laugh upon reading the subsequent message.
It was an unforeseen revelation, after all.
And simultaneously.

“…I quite like this.”
[As I mentioned before, I knew you would feel this way….]

Above all, it was a mechanic that suited Han Yu-sung’s temperament perfectly.

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

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