The Martial God Becomes a Necromancer and Conquers the Tower - Chapter 35

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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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Chapter 35
Episode 35
—Yeah, fair point lol
—I have no idea what the Perfect Clear condition is for seat-stealing.
—Is it about getting first place? But Sryeong already got first place before.
—Exactly? But the Perfect Clear message didn’t pop up.
“So I’m going to skip that map for now and try entering a different stage at random.”
I sent my intention to the Dimensional Tower System.
“Floor 2 entry.”
I felt the system respond to my will.
But then.
[We propose the following to an Awakener who has achieved two Perfect Clears:]
[Will you enter a floor configured at a higher difficulty level?]
“Huh?”
I found myself blinking involuntarily.
What is this now?
—?!?!?!
—What the hell???
—Wait, isn’t this that thing???
—Holy crap, it actually appeared??
—Sryeong, that’s it! That’s the thing!
—Wow, it actually dropped ㅋㅋㅋ
The chat exploded into overdrive all over again.
“Hey, everyone calm down. What is all this fuss about?”
What is this?
—This only pops up for people who’ve unlocked multiple achievements!
—Hard Mode entry proposal!
—The Dimensional Tower is normally in Normal Mode, but for skilled players it asks whether they want to enter Hard Mode.
—According to records, only a handful of people worldwide have ever seen this.
—Sryeong, you absolutely have to accept!
—Finally, the real Sryeong content begins!
Oh. So this was that famous Hard Mode.
The chat was scrolling past at lightning speed, but I got the gist of it.
I’d seen it scattered around the Dimensional Tower community forums as “a mode that only appears for skilled players.”
But since so few people had actually witnessed it, it was treated like an urban legend.
I never thought I’d actually receive it.
“Oh. I’ve always wanted to try this.”
I broke into a grin and opened my mouth toward the chat.
“Viewers, shall I accept?”
—Of course you should!!!
—Let’s go go go!
—Sryeong Hard Mode go go!!
—Our Sryeong is the kind of guy that crazy content suits!
—Going Normal from here would be even stranger.
—Accept it, accept it, accept it!
Unanimous decision.
My viewers were all pure chaos incarnate.
I loved it.
“Good. Then it’s decided. I accept.”
The system responded to my will.
Whoooosh!
Light erupted from beneath my feet, and my vision shifted in an instant.
[You have entered the high-difficulty Dimensional Tower Floor 2 Maze breakthrough.]
[Break through the Maze.]
[Failure occurs if the Awakener dies.]
[May fortune be with you.]
As the light subsided, a new landscape spread before me.
What lay ahead was.
A narrow corridor carved from towering stone walls.
Dim torches were embedded here and there, and the ceiling stretched far overhead.
The floor was paved with stone slabs bearing the marks of long centuries.
It looked like the kind of scenery you’d find in an old dungeon game.
And there I stood, alone in the middle of it all.
“Now this is atmospheric.”
I looked around slowly, letting my lips curve upward.
-Maze breakthrough incoming!
-Sryeong’s tackling the Maze! That Maze!
-Damn, the Maze is seriously brutal.
-Traps are the real problem here. Regular hunters die to them all the time.
-The monsters are threatening, sure… but for Sryeong, monsters are just materials anyway, right?
-lmao for Sryeong monsters = corpses = resources.
-Traps are genuinely more dangerous, no joke.
-Sryeong should watch out for traps, the traps!
Information poured into the chat window in steady streams.
Maze breakthrough.
It seemed to be a dungeon type where you had to navigate your way out of a complex maze filled with traps and monsters.
“The Maze… I’ve been wanting to try this one.”
The memory came back unbidden—spending a whole year trapped inside that cursed Formation Art in the Cheongi Jegal Clan in my past life.
“Alright. Let’s give it a shot.”
I did some light stretching and began my preparations.
“First things first. I need to summon the Undead.”
I flicked my fingers lightly, and the shadow beneath my feet began to expand slowly.
Slip. Slip.
Familiar shapes crawled out from the shadow in succession.
Heuk Gang and Baek Gang.
And eight walking corpses besides.
A total of ten Undead lined up in the narrow corridor.
But then.
[In Hard Mode, Undead Manipulation is limited to a maximum of 10.]
“Oh? Is that how we’re playing it?”
Seeing the system message, I let out a dry laugh.
Hard Mode really did have strict limits.
During mining runs I’d summon seven hundred at a time and drive them like madness, but here I was capped at exactly ten.
Well, not that I could fit seven hundred into a narrow maze corridor anyway.
-lol hard cap in effect
-Sryeong 700 → 10 nerf oof
-Yeah that’s Hard Mode for you.
-But honestly Sryeong just needs those two ghouls, already.
-Right. Those two Ghouls are basically one-man army characters.
“This much is plenty.”
I rolled my shoulders lightly and moved on to the next preparation.
“Summoning the imperial throne palanquin.”
Whoooosh.
A massive jade throne rose slowly from my shadow.
The Small Empire Emperor’s Jade Throne.
And beneath it, the White Bone Palanquin Base that supported it.
As the imperious throne settled onto the palanquin base woven of bone.
Its grandeur remained undiminished, even in the confines of the narrow maze corridor.
“You eight will be my palanquin bearers. Lift it.”
I pointed at the eight walking corpses.
Slip.
All eight corpses moved in perfect unison, positioning themselves on either side of the throne palanquin.
And then, all at once.
Thud.
They lifted the throne with ease.
Eight bearers, as always.
Four on each side of the bone palanquin base, perfectly symmetrical.
The very image of an imperial procession.
A palanquin procession in a maze corridor—it was admittedly a comical sight.
-lmaooooooooo
-Sryeong really entering the Maze carrying an actual palanquin???
-No, the emperor concept is actually insane hahahahaha
-A palanquin in a narrow corridor hahahahahaha
-Sryeong is dead serious about the emperor cosplay no matter where he is.
-First time I’ve ever seen a palanquin going into the Maze.
-This guy’s consistency is actually lovable.
I could see the viewers all losing their minds at once.
This level of insanity was standard equipment by now.
“Well then. Shall we go?”
I leaned back deep into the jade throne and sent my will to Heuk Gang.
Heuk Gang stepped forward first.
It was at that moment.
Screeeeeech!
I saw something shoot down from the ceiling at a terrifying speed.
Enormous spear blades.
Not just one, but dozens of Killing Spears cascading down in a torrent.
The Maze’s first trap.
The trap panel in the ceiling opened, and they fell straight down toward Heuk Gang’s crown.
-Ahhhhh!!!
-Danger!!!
-Sryeong! Heuk Gang!!
-A trap, right from the first step??
-This Maze is seriously cruel ㅠㅠ
The chat erupted into screams in an instant.
And then, the next moment.
Clang-clang-clang-clang!
A sharp metallic ring echoed through the Maze.
The spear blades that had fallen on Heuk Gang’s head and shoulders
bounced clean off.
It was the sound of steel rods being hurled against a steel wall.
The chat stopped cold.
-?
-???
-Wait, what???
-They bounced off??
-The spears broke???
-What on earth just happened???
“Pfft.”
I couldn’t help but laugh.
They all thought Heuk Gang was about to be shredded by the trap.
Well, by normal hunter standards, that would’ve been the expected response.
“Everyone, relax.”
I waved a hand casually from where I sat in the jade throne.
“My undead are in a ghoulified state, so they have the Knife-Proof Body as a basic trait.”
-Knife-Proof Body???
-Wait, ghouls are that strong?
-Knife-Proof Body? Is that even possible???
“Of course it’s not like they’re completely immune to physical attacks. If the physical damage is strong enough, they’ll still break. So… well. Basically, my ghouls have bodies that are hard as steel. When steel hits steel, you get what you just saw.”
I pointed at Heuk Gang.
“But with a trap at this level, there’s no chance. It’s not even a hydraulic press or anything. Plus.”
I smiled slightly and continued.
“There’s the effect of my throne as well. The Small Empire Emperor’s Jade Throne increases the stats of subordinate undead by 25%. That affects their durability too.”
-Wow….
-This is insane ㄷㄷㄷ
-Knife-Proof Body + 25% buff?
-Traps are just meaningless?
-Does Sryeong’s Maze even matter?
-Traps are completely useless??
-Wait, so you’re just gonna plow straight through the Maze???
The viewers shifted into overdrive again.
Well, I understand.
The Maze’s greatest threat—its traps—were neutralized before I’d even taken a step.
“Though I doubt all the Maze’s traps work the same way. We’ll find out soon enough.”
I crossed my legs again on the Jade Throne and gave Heuk Gang a signal to proceed.
“Then, shall we go?”
Heuk Gang took another step forward.
The palanquin procession followed in his wake, moving with ponderous weight.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
The bearers’ footsteps echoed through the narrow Maze corridor in steady rhythm.
Really, I wonder if this is turning into some kind of viral broadcast.
High difficulty?
Piece of cake.
* * *
Beijing, China.
Deep beneath the outskirts of the capital.
Inside a classified conference room directly under the Dimensional Tower Management Bureau.
Red lights embedded in the ceiling cast their dim glow across the chamber.
An enormous curved screen dominated the entire wall.
Currently, it displayed a live feed of a certain Korean super-rookie’s broadcast.
Moving through the Maze astride the Jade Throne’s palanquin.
That very image of effortlessly parrying a ceiling trap with the Knife-Proof Body in its Ghoulified form.
All a dozen figures seated around the conference table had their eyes fixed on the screen.
Military officers in uniform, politicians in suits, and a white-haired Daoist elder among them.
The white-haired elder seated at the head of the table slowly opened his mouth.
“Codename Ghoul-Sorcerer has entered the Dimensional Tower’s second floor.”
At his words, all eyes shifted from the screen to him.
“And he’s running it on Hard Mode.”
The elder’s weathered fingers drew slowly through his white beard.

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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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