BFBT 14

Chapter 14

Foolish Challenger

Whoosh—

A pillar of light descended onto the plaza of Undermost in the 1st-floor waiting room.

Standing over 180 cm tall with a solidly built frame, Shin Ha-neul—who had just barely shed his youthful look—moved his body around in sheer amazement.

“Heh, so it’s actually true?”

Back on Earth, Shin Ha-neul had been forced to give up his dream of becoming a professional mixed martial artist due to a severe injury. Feeling his unhealable body return to perfect condition in a single moment left him feeling somewhat stunned and surreal.

Swish— Swish— Swish—

As he threw punches into the air, executing weaves against an imaginary opponent, he spotted a rabbit walking up to him.

“Hello everyone! I’m Toing!”

Flashing a smirk at Toing, Shin Ha-neul reached down and picked Toing up by one ear.

“Who’s the strongest fighter around here?”

“Awwwww! I don’t know either!”

Watching Toing flail its short arms and legs in midair, Shin Ha-neul felt a lack of trust. He shook Toing back and forth, asking again.

“You gonna tell me properly or what?”

“Waaaaah— I really don’t knooooow—!”

“Whoops!”

Just then, Hwang Gang-woong, who was passing by, tripped over his own feet and stumbled into Shin Ha-neul. Caught off guard, Shin Ha-neul grabbed Gang-woong to steady him, dropping Toing from his grip in the process.

“Oh my, I’m so sorry…”

“Hey, old man! Where are your eyes looking?!”

Shin Ha-neul shoved Hwang Gang-woong away in annoyance and questioned him. Toing had already vanished from sight, nowhere to be seen.

“Hey old man, do you know who the strongest fighter around here is?”

“Strongest fighter? What do you plan to do once you know that?”

“I’m gonna pick a fight with him. Out on Earth, people were saying there are guys in here bound to become top rankers of the Tower.”

At Shin Ha-neul’s words, Hwang Gang-woong stroked his beard thoughtfully and nodded.

“Did they say that outside? Hoo…”

“Hoo, my ass… So do you know or not?”

“I’m not quite sure, but…”

Tsk, useless.

Leaving Hwang Gang-woong behind, Shin Ha-neul headed into the city.

Undermost truly looked as though a city from the outside world had been transplanted right into the Tower.

As he wandered around, he discovered an area where training dummies were gathered, with people exercising and striking the dummies.

I wonder if that promising prospect guy is around here?

Shin Ha-neul grabbed one of the trainees out of nowhere and demanded bluntly:

“Who’s the strongest guy here?”

Grabbing someone out of nowhere and speaking so rudely drew the attention of everyone nearby.

I saw a pillar of light drop earlier, is he a newbie?

What’s his deal?

Why is he looking for the strongest guy? Is he trying to fight?

The strongest guy here is…

People’s eyes turned toward a corner where Park Ju-hyeok was repeatedly striking a dummy with a sword.

Completely oblivious to Shin Ha-neul’s presence—or simply uncaring—he steadily swung his blade into the dummy, working hard to raise his Strength and Endurance stats.

“Looks like that guy’s the strongest, huh?”

He had a distinctly built physique and a fierce impression. Shin Ha-neul flinched for a split second, but fighting wasn’t about outward appearances.

If not for his injury, he was a prospect so promising that people said he had no rivals among amateurs in striking martial arts. There was no way he could lose to ordinary people like this.

“Hey, old man.”

Park Ju-hyeok’s brow furrowed at the approach of Shin Ha-neul’s presence. His concentration on his training had been broken.

“What is it?”

“Are you the strongest around here, old man?”

“…”

“What are you getting at?”

“Fight me.”

At the sudden challenge to spar, Park Ju-hyeok looked at Shin Ha-neul’s face. He was just a kid who hadn’t even fully shed his youthful innocence. Beating up a kid like this would only make himself look ridiculous.

“I’m training. I don’t spar.”

“What’re you saying? Scared?”

Snap—

For the first time, Park Ju-hyeok felt that his temper had softened considerably. Under normal circumstances, he would have beaten a kid like this half to death instead of letting him off the hook.

“Don’t disrupt me and get lost.”

“Dumbass, you’re totally chicken.”

“Phew… fine, come—”

“T-Team Leader!”

A teammate who had been watching the situation anxiously grabbed Park Ju-hyeok’s arm.

“He’s just a kid. Please hold back,” the teammate whispered in his ear.

Hearing that, Park Ju-hyeok held back with every ounce of his willpower.

Seeing Park Ju-hyeok ignore him without even replying anymore, Shin Ha-neul felt his excitement drain away and moved elsewhere. He couldn’t just forcibly beat up someone who refused to react.

Even when he checked other places, everyone showed similar responses.

They’re all just a bunch of useless cowards.

How were guys like this supposed to lead Korea to the top?

Shin Ha-neul moved to the central plaza.

“Are you going up to the 1st floor?” Toing asked, seeing Shin Ha-neul standing near the portal.

“Yeah.”

He had heard that the 1st-floor boss didn’t kill people. Ever since he was on the outside, the thing he had been most curious about was this guy called the 1st-floor boss—the boss that even Cha Yu-min couldn’t beat.

The dominant opinion outside was that Cha Yu-min must have suffered a severe penalty to his stats, making his abilities roughly equal to other 1st-floor challengers.

If the stats are similar, I might even win.

Shin Ha-neul stepped onto the portal.

“Oh…”

Arriving on the 1st floor, Shin Ha-neul was slightly surprised by the unexpectedly grand appearance of the floor. Walking along, he came across a three-way junction and took the path on the far left.

The monsters he had heard so much about from the outside world were right there. It was his first time confronting actual monsters, but he had already simulated the fight countless times in his mind.

Squeak-squeak-squeak—

A Sewer Rat let out a screech and lunged at Shin Ha-neul.

Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!

Evading the creature’s attack and counterattacking wasn’t difficult at all. After delivering just three hits, the Sewer Rat died.

“This is way too easy, isn’t it?”

Next, he smashed a skeleton and stomped a goblin to death. Confidence surged within him.

When he first entered, he hadn’t had complete confidence that he could defeat the boss. He had simply wanted to test his strength. He was curious to see how his talent measured up against Cha Yu-min’s.

However, as he experienced his stats rising and felt his body growing stronger, a persistent thought kept echoing in his head: Even if the boss is strong, how strong could it possibly be?

Exiting the left room, he walked down the long corridor in the middle. At the end of the hallway stood a massive door.

“Is this the Boss Room?”

Could he win? Could he defeat the boss that even Cha Yu-min couldn’t vanquish? What if the boss changed its mind and tried to kill him?

Such worries lasted only a moment. Shin Ha-neul imagined himself becoming the first person to break through the altered 1st-floor boss, reborn as a supernova star—a world where everyone praised his talent and hailed him as a challenger even greater than Cha Yu-min.

“It’s not entirely impossible.”

Because my talent is the absolute best.

Holding that thought, Shin Ha-neul threw the door open aggressively.

Inside sat the boss, staring at him intently with a bored expression.

“You’ve finally arrived?”

His tone made it sound as though he had been waiting for him. Shin Ha-neul wondered what that meant, but it didn’t matter.

“Are you the boss?”

“Are you?”

Seeing Shin Ha-neul speak so disrespectfully right off the bat, Lee Shin’s brow furrowed.

“What, you offended because you’re a monster?”

“Haha…”

Shin Ha-neul pressed forward brazenly. That boss had supposedly never killed a single person. He assumed it was a system constraint put in place to balance the increased difficulty. If the boss killed challengers over a little bad attitude, it wouldn’t have been surprising if several people had already died. Up until now, the casualty count was zero—there were no exceptions.

“You’re an ill-mannered brat, aren’t you?”

“I don’t speak respectfully to anyone unless they’re stronger than me.”

“You think you’re strong?”

“Of course. And why should I speak respectfully to a monster, anyway?”

Lee Shin gave a bitter laugh. He had intended to briefly demonstrate the difference in their skills and send him on his way, but it seemed that wouldn’t be enough.

Lee Shin’s magic power dispersed in all directions.

Fwoosh—

The appearance of the Boss Room transformed in an instant.

Boiling lava churned all around them, and the ground beneath their feet crumbled into fragments, leaving barely anywhere to stand.

“W-What is this?!”

“Let’s see how long you can maintain that trashy attitude.”

Vivid, scorching heat seared his entire body. Below him lay a pit where a single misstep meant falling to his doom. In the distance, lava cascaded down like a waterfall, causing the lava level to rise steadily.

At this rate, the lava would reach his feet in about five minutes.

“This… this is an illusion, right?! A lie?! You think I’ll fall for something like this?!”

“Heh.”

Lee Shin merely sneered without offering an answer.

Shin Ha-neul cautiously bent his legs and leaned toward the lava. Driven by the lingering doubt—could this really be real?—he attempted to gauge the heat.

Splatter— Sizzle—

A splash of lava landed on his shoe. Watching his shoe melt away in real-time, he frantically pulled his leg back and kicked off the shoe.

R-Real?!

The shoe had genuinely melted. The intense, oppressive heat repeatedly verified that this space was no illusion. Sweat drenched his entire body.

He looked over at the boss on the opposite side. The creature was in the same environment.

“If this continues, you’ll die too, you bastard!”

“Do you know why I haven’t killed my enemies? Because to kill an enemy, I have to die once myself. But I really don’t like you.”

“You… crazy bastard…… You’re going to die with me just because you don’t like me?!”

“Because I’ll resurrect anyway. Though I’ll still have to suffer the pain of dying.”

The churning lava surged ever higher, reaching right beneath his remaining foot.

Sizzle— Sizzle—

The lava began to touch his remaining shoe bit by bit.

“Aaargh! You crazy bastard! Undo it right now! Undo it!”

“Let’s die together.”

“I’m sorry! I said I’m sorry! It was all my fault! So please……!”

“It’s already too late.”

Sizzle—

“Kaaaaagh! It hurts! Please! Save me! Please……”

It was a agony he had never experienced in his life. As his skin scorched and seared, Shin Ha-neul screamed out in terror. In a space where he could neither dodge nor escape, he had no choice but to wait for approaching death.

“I’m sorry… I’m so sorry……, Please… save me. Please!”

“Where did that confidence from earlier go?”

“I’m sorryyyyy, sob! I won’t do it again!”

“‘I will never act up again.’ Repeat it three times.”

“First, just undo this……”

“Just die, then.”

Sizzle—

“Aaaargh! I will never act up again! I will never act up again! I will never act up again!”

Crying and sobbing through the agonizing pain, Shin Ha-neul felt the sensation around him shift drastically and cautiously opened his eyes.

“Huh……?”

Opening his eyes, he saw the faces of other challengers gathered around him.

“You……”

Among them were a few faces he recognized from the city earlier.

“Who is this brainless kid?” Park Hye-won asked.

“A brainless kid,” Park Ju-hyeok answered flatly.

“Go stand over there in the corner.”

“Huh?”

Responding dumbly to Lee Shin’s command without realizing it, Shin Ha-neul flinched as he met Lee Shin’s gaze.

“O-Okay!”

Terrified of experiencing that pain again, he scrambled into the corner, staring blankly as the others trained alongside the boss.

Not only the boss, but everyone present—from the man he had picked a fight with earlier to every single challenger here—were masters operating on a dimension entirely different from his own.

As the memory of how he had acted earlier flashed through his mind, his face burned with intense shame.

Hah……

[Jin Ivryum]

# Class: Necromancer

# Status: Seal – Unraveled Stage 2 (Details*)

# Title: Details*

# Health: 3850 / 3850

# Magic Power: 63720 / 63720

# Strength: 28 (+47)

# Agility: 24 (+47)

# Intelligence: 81 (+65)

# Dominion: 11

# Skills: Details*

“Hmm, I’ve grown a lot, but…”

Honestly, it was still far from enough.

Strength and Agility in particular weren’t stats that could be raised simply by wanting to. He had trained his body through physical exercise as much as possible, but this was the limit. The only way to raise them further was to acquire special skills, titles, or clear floors in the Tower to earn rewards.

This distorted distribution of Health and Magic Power stats…

His magic power had surpassed 50,000, and his Intelligence was approaching 150. As his physical seals unraveled, his overall stats had experienced a massive surge.

Even so…

“It’s not enough.”

The entire Tower rested under the watchful eyes of the gods.

Except for one single place: the 1st floor.

“It must be driving them crazy with frustration.”

Lee Shin scoffed toward the sky as he spoke.

For reasons unknown, the 1st floor existed beyond the divine realm of the gods. That was precisely why the voices of the gods had not been heard here.

Lee Shin suspected that the reason he was sent back to the 1st floor upon regression might have been for this exact purpose.

I regressed, but they didn’t.

The timelines were distinctly separate, and that world and this world were different places. Perhaps sending him to the 1st floor when he regressed was intended to hide him from the eyes of this world’s gods.

If so, why?

“Hmm…”

The questions were endless. It seemed he would only be able to unravel these mysteries once he began climbing the Tower.

Once he departed from the 1st floor, he would inevitably fall back under the influence of the gods in one way or another. He needed to prepare thoroughly before making his ascent.

“Title list.”

[A Great Wall of the Tower]

You have repelled 100 challenges! To the challengers, you are a giant, unyielding wall!

# All Stats +5

[Invincible Guardian]

You have repelled 1,000 challenges! You are writing a legend! This will surely be etched into the history of the Tower.

# All Stats +10

The next title would likely require repelling ten thousand challenges, but Lee Shin had no intention of staying here until then. He had already acquired almost all the titles worth gaining. Now was the time to focus on ascending the Tower.

Once he began his climb, the eyes of the gods would lock onto him. At that point, they might sense something amiss and take action.

Or perhaps…

They might rejoice at the emergence of such exceptionally powerful individuals, showering him with flattery to make him their apostle. They were obsessed with apostles and possessed a staggering craving for outstanding challengers—because as their apostles and followers rose in rank, the gods’ own divine status elevated accordingly.

With a hardened expression, Lee Shin let out a sigh and walked slowly toward the entrance of the 1st floor.

He opened the massive door blocking the mouth of the cave.

Stepping through the smooth opening, Lee Shin took in the distant polar landscape. This region, blanketed in ice and snow, was a environment Lee Shin could not cross with his current restrictions of basic magic alone.

One of the main reasons was the bird circling above the region: the Ice Bird.

It was a creature encountered not only on the 1st floor, but also beyond the 80th floor. Even the name “Ice Bird” was merely a moniker given arbitrarily by humans who had spotted it here.

Marthas.

That was its true name.

Standing here, Marthas could be seen gliding through the sky. That spine-chilling cold aura—a single breath from Marthas right now would freeze Lee Shin’s entire body solid.

“…”

Lee Shin gazed at Marthas with a complex expression.

Before he had reclaimed the Unforgetting Sphere, the creature had cast Lee Shin into the ocean and flown away toward an unknown individual.

If it was Marthas, wouldn’t it know something? What the Unforgetting Sphere truly was, and who that mysterious entity summoning Marthas had been?

Looking at the creature, it almost felt as though it were whispering: You are still far too lacking to know the truth.

With a bitter smile, Lee Shin stepped back into the depths of the cave.