Chapter 111

Chapter 111

Meanwhile, the Three Great Guilds had only recently reached the 40th floor and begun establishing themselves there.

Just as Suhyeok had feared, a large number of Players gave up on climbing the Tower.

The reason was simple.

The 40th floor was the place that most closely resembled the world they had originally lived in.

Still, one fortunate thing was that plenty of Players continued climbing despite those concerns.

And the reason for that was, naturally...

Suhyeok.

[Announcement to all Players on every floor.]

[Player Lee Suhyeok has cleared the ‘50th floor’.]

"...As expected, he's incredible."

Lee Serim sat at the center of a large conference room.

"He's already passed the 50th floor."

"It hasn't even been two months."

The other two guild leaders nodded in agreement.

"Hahaha! I knew he'd do something like this."

"Whatever anyone says, he's the one leading us right now."

"He has to accomplish at least that much."

"Right, old man Haksu?"

"...You seem even more excited than I am."

"But I'm happy too, so I can't exactly criticize you."

Reaching the 50th floor at such an absurd speed was more than enough to give hope to the people who had despaired after learning they couldn't return to reality.

And it wasn't only the Players who saw the announcement.

The Tower's residents who had received Suhyeok's help saw it too.

The Imperial Palace on the 10th floor.

Olivia sat in a garden bathed in warm sunlight.

She took a sip of tea and smiled happily.

"Sir Agnes, look at this."

"It seems he's already reached the 50th floor."

"Isn't that amazing?"

"Hah, indeed."

Agnes nodded.

"I knew from the beginning that he was extraordinary, but I never expected him to reach the 50th floor this quickly...."

"I'm sure all of them are far stronger than when we first met."

"Hehe."

"Sir Agnes, you're already plenty strong."

"There's no need to be so impatient."

"No."

Agnes shook his head firmly.

"A master can't become weaker than his disciples, can he?"

"And if I'm to protect Your Majesty, I must keep training."

"Hahaha."

He looked at the names of the three others displayed beside Suhyeok's.

He seemed prouder than ever.

Olivia rested her chin on the table and slightly puffed out her cheeks.

"Still..."

"When the plague broke out last time, it would've been nice if he'd at least shown his face once."

"He's even busier than I expected."

Then she smiled softly.

"Well..."

"I suppose it's partly my fault for waiting when I already knew what kind of man he was."

"Hehe."

Flash.

[You have arrived on the 51st floor.]

The four stood on a translucent surface in the middle of a vast ocean.

Bong Taesu repeatedly pressed his foot against the floor in amazement.

"I-I'm standing in midair...!"

"Oh! Oh!"

"Look!"

"There's even a whale swimming underneath us!"

"Hahaha!"

Lee Yumi sighed.

"Oh, stop making such a fuss."

"We've seen things way stranger than this by now."

"How do you react like this every single time?"

"Honestly."

Bong Taesu shook his head.

"Miss Yumi has no romance in her heart."

"Isn't this kind of thing romantic too?"

"Everything's romantic to you, ahjussi."

"How can one person have this much ‘romance’ in his life?"

She looked at Kim Hyuna.

"Right, Hyuna?"

Kim Hyuna answered with the ease of someone long accustomed to this.

"What's wrong with it?"

"I actually like seeing ahjussi act like that."

"And I think this is kind of romantic too."

"As expected of my little sister Hyuna!"

"Hahaha!"

"Hyuna, even you..."

Lee Yumi sighed.

Meanwhile, Suhyeok quietly scanned the surroundings.

Other than the four of them, no one was visible.

There should've been an Administrator here.

But there was no sign of one.

Leon crossed his arms and shook his head in disgust.

[ Haa. The 60th-floor Administrator has always had terrible taste, nya. ]

The moment Leon finished speaking...

The floor violently trembled.

RUMBLE.

The water beneath the translucent surface began swirling into a massive vortex.

Don't tell me.

The current surged upward.

The floor shattered apart.

An enormous pillar of water rose into the sky.

Then seawater came crashing down like a giant wave.

"Th-That's coming toward us, isn't it?!"

A massive shadow covered everything around them.

The wave was large enough to resemble a tsunami.

Suhyeok immediately concentrated Mana into the soles of his feet and anchored himself.

"Everyone, focus Mana into your feet!"

ROOOOOAR! SPLASH!

The wave swept past.

When it was over, all four were still standing there.

Completely drenched.

Fortunately, none had been washed away.

"Oh?"

"I went through quite a bit of trouble preparing that surprise."

A figure appeared where the water pillar had been.

He had a shark's head and wore a formal suit.

"Haa..."

"Not a single one of you got swept away."

"How disappointing."

The shattered floor had already repaired itself.

The shark-headed man straightened his suit.

"Allow me to introduce myself."

"I am Shaka, Administrator of the 60th floor."

"I look forward to working with all of you."

Even Suhyeok didn't recognize him.

Naturally.

Before the regression, Shaka had never once shown himself on the 60th floor.

"Oh dear."

"Perhaps my greeting was a little excessive."

"None of you look particularly happy."

He sighed dramatically.

"It would've been much more entertaining if at least one person had been washed into the sea."

Suhyeok was somewhat taken aback.

He had never met an Administrator quite like this.

The other three seemed equally bewildered.

"Enough nonsense."

Suhyeok spoke coldly.

"Explain the floor."

"That's what you're here for, isn't it?"

"Excellent point."

Shaka grinned.

"Then shall we begin?"

Snap.

He snapped his fingers.

A massive screen appeared.

It displayed a map of the entire region.

Bong Taesu stared.

"Um..."

"Is my eyesight failing, or is the entire thing blue?"

"I don't see even a speck of green."

"No."

Shaka smiled.

"You're seeing it correctly."

"This is a portion of the 60th floor you'll be visiting."

"The entire region is ocean."

He raised one finger.

"Ah, of course, there is land."

The map zoomed in.

A tree-shaped icon appeared in one area.

"Several races live here."

"Merfolk."

"Dark Elves."

"And humans, just like you."

"Because so many different races live here..."

"They're constantly fighting over territory."

Lines spread across the map.

The ocean was divided into three main regions.

"North, east, and west."

"Each territory belongs to one of the three races."

He pointed north.

"The northern sea is crawling with Merfolk!"

Then west.

"The western region contains the World Tree and the land where the Dark Elves reside."

Finally...

Shaka pointed east with a grin.

"And here in the east..."

"Humans just like you sail around in groups committing piracy across a savage sea."

"Doesn't that sound exciting?"

• Damn, this place is brutal lol

• Every race here hates everyone except their own kind lmao

• Dark Elves are one thing, but Merfolk absolutely despise humans lol

• The humans here are insane too. They're literally thinking about slicing Merfolk into sashimi ㄷㄷ

• Fucking savages;;

Suhyeok fell into thought.

Just like the previous section, floors 51 through 59 were probably connected under one shared clear condition.

This place was likely one of the Four Seas of Death found around the 60th floor.

Originally, the races had occupied separate seas.

Now they had all been gathered in one region.

The clear condition probably wouldn't be easy.

"I suppose I've rambled enough."

Shaka looked at Suhyeok.

"Just as Lee Suhyeok said earlier."

"There's only one way to clear this place."

A window appeared before all four Players.

[Clear Condition revealed.]

[Condition: Find the Hidden Dungeon ‘Atlantis’ and clear it.]

At the same moment...

The bracelet around Suhyeok's wrist vibrated.

The Bracelet of Atlantis.

The Sacred Relic he'd obtained earlier.

...It's reacting to the word Atlantis.

I still don't know what effect this relic has.

Finding its location comes first.

The problem was that even Suhyeok didn't know where Atlantis was.

Before his regression, every Player who had tried to search for the mysterious region had eventually given up.

"Do all of you know what Atlantis is?"

Shaka looked like he was dying to explain.

Lee Yumi answered.

"The legendary island that sank beneath the sea."

"A mysterious island nobody's ever managed to find."

"Yes, yes!"

"Exactly."

Shaka looked delighted.

"The legendary island said to exist only in stories."

"Then why do you think you need to find it?"

"In this unbelievably dangerous sea, no less?"

Suhyeok answered.

"You want us to unite the three races."

Shaka clapped enthusiastically.

Clap, clap, clap.

"As expected of the number one Player!"

"I love how quickly you understand things."

"Correct."

"To find Atlantis, you'll need all three races to cooperate."

To properly search for Atlantis, help from both the Merfolk and Dark Elves would be essential.

Atlantis was believed to be submerged somewhere beneath the sea.

They would have to search the ocean floor itself.

That was why previous expeditions had failed.

None of the three races tolerated outsiders entering their territories.

First, before searching for Atlantis, I need to go to ‘that place.’

It's pretty far away, but there's no helping it.

Then Shaka gestured.

The four Players' surroundings changed instantly.

A wooden deck appeared beneath their feet.

Above them rose enormous sails.

"Before you search for Atlantis..."

"You'll need a ship if you want to travel freely through this sea."

"It's not as though you can simply swim everywhere."

Bong Taesu inspected the ship excitedly.

It seemed to be in excellent condition.

It would be a tremendous help during their journey.

But...

"You don't intend to just give us this ship, do you?"

Suhyeok looked at Shaka.

"Am I wrong?"

"This is why I like perceptive people."

Shaka grinned.

"Yes."

"You're right."

"I can't give it away for free."

"Of course..."

"If you beat me in one little game, I'll happily hand it over."

Before arriving on the 51st floor, Leon had told Suhyeok about Shaka.

The 60th-floor Administrator loved making bets.

It didn't matter who the opponent was.

RUMBLE.

The sea began to shake.

A gigantic tentacle rose from the water.

BOOM! CREAAAAK!

More tentacles wrapped around the ship as though preparing to crush it.

Then the creature itself emerged.

A Kraken.

"Defeat that Kraken."

Shaka smiled.

"One warning."

"Unless you attack its weakness, it will regenerate endlessly."

His voice was full of confidence, as though victory was already guaranteed.

There was one reason for that.

The Kraken didn't possess any physical weak point.

But that kind of trick only worked if the opponent didn't already know the answer.

And there was no way Suhyeok didn't.

[Purchasing ‘Hallen Fruit’ and ‘Deep-Sea Grass’ from the Hidden Shop.]

[50,000 Coins consumed.]

A clump of seaweed-like Deep-Sea Grass appeared on the deck.

Beside it was a Hallen Fruit releasing a truly horrific odor.

The other three immediately covered their noses.

"Ugh!"

"Hyungnim, what the hell is that...?!"

"Hoo... hoo..."

"I'm seriously going to die from the smell before the fight even starts...!"

"Ugh..."

"The smell...."

Even Shaka looked curious.

"Oh?"

"What exactly do you intend to do with those?"

"I'm very interested."

Suhyeok walked toward the two items.

Then...

[Synthesizing two items.]

[Rare ‘Kraken Repellent’ synthesized.]

A spray bottle appeared.

Suhyeok sprayed it into the air once.

Twice.

The tentacles wrapped around the ship immediately began rotting.

The Kraken reacted instantly.

It severed its own decaying tentacles...

Then fled deep beneath the sea.

[Kraken successfully repelled.]

"A-Amazing...!"

Bong Taesu stared at the water.

"It doesn't even smell anymore!"

"How did that make such a giant octopus run away?"

Lee Yumi grimaced.

"Whatever happened, we won."

"Ugh."

"I never want to smell that stuff again."

"Me neither...."

Shaka stared for a moment.

Then burst out laughing and walked toward Suhyeok.

"I never imagined you'd use a method like that."

"Very well."

"I've lost."

"The ship is yours."

He gestured again.

"And as a special bonus..."

"If there's anywhere you'd like to go, I'll drop you off there personally."

A map appeared before Suhyeok.

The moment he selected a location, both the Players and ship would be transferred there.

Suhyeok pointed.

"Here."

Shaka froze.

"...You chose this place?"

He stared at Suhyeok.

"If it's you, I'm sure you have some reason."

"I'm looking forward to seeing what it is."

"Then..."

"Have a safe voyage."

Flash.

The ship appeared at the location Suhyeok had selected.

A moment later, Bong Taesu slowly raised both hands.

His expression looked deeply unsettled.

"H-Hyungnim...?"

"Don't you think we might've come to the wrong place...?"

The ship was floating atop a massive lake.

And surrounding it on every side...

Countless figures had arrows drawn and pointed toward them.

Dark skin.

Sharp ears.

Dark Elves.

That was right.

The place Suhyeok had chosen was where the World Tree stood.

Arknel.