Chapter 23
Before climbing the 6th floor, Lee Woojae started explaining the skills to me.
“Horte didn’t have talent, but he was a really sly guy. He started learning only light magic with the plan to make a contract with a demon from the start.”
“What does that mean?”
“He realized he had no talent right after he started learning magic at ten years old, so he began studying light magic—the weakest type—because it matches well with demons.”
“So… he learned light magic from the start just to break the contract with the demon later?”
“Exactly. He summoned a demon, cried saying he had no talent, and used the contract to raise his proficiency in light magic.”
This guy… was smart, huh?
If you say it nicely, he was a clever guy. If not, just a smart schemer.
He actually made an unfair contract with a demon.
But could someone control a demon that easily?
Demons aren’t some kids. Haven’t they seen many people already? Wouldn’t they know when someone’s scheming?
“Demons go crazy for mocking gods. It’s hard to corrupt a light magician, so that made it more interesting for them. And he was special enough to summon a demon at thirteen. He was different from the start.”
“But even if light magic works well with demons, is it good enough to break contracts and control them?”
“No. The reason Horte could control demons was because he was a genius in creating magic.”
“What do you mean?”
“Like… he couldn’t sing, but he could compose songs perfectly. Enough to mess with demons. In the end, he broke the contract around age sixty and controlled demons.”
So, he realized he had no talent at ten, learned light magic, summoned a demon and made a contract in just three years.
And he was such a genius in creating magic that he even fooled demons.
And now he’s a great wizard who controls demons—and the boss of the 66th floor?
“Wait… is my understanding of ‘late bloomer’ wrong?”
“Usually, people called ‘late bloomers’ are geniuses in one area. Their talent is just hidden because of other weaknesses.”
That… kind of made sense.
“Magic isn’t just about using mana. It’s also about thinking and analyzing concepts in your head. He…”
“Oh, it’s fine. If I have a skill book, I can use it anyway, right?”
“That’s true.”
I heard that learning skills through practice works better than using skill books, but that didn’t matter to me.
Normally, you get skill books after clearing the Tower.
Unlike Hunters who have to improve through effort, I just need to climb the Tower to get stronger.
“Well, I’ll try using it now.”
“Wait. You should use the lightning magic beginner book from the random box first.”
“Why? Didn’t you say you were still thinking about selling it?”
“One of Horte’s skills is lightning, so you can create synergy.”
“Well, okay then.”
Even though the beginner book had a higher rank than Horte’s skills, his skill book grows over time, so it wasn’t that strange.
As soon as I showed the will to use the skill book, it disappeared like burning paper, and the knowledge entered my head.
[You used Lightning Magic Beginner Book (A).]
[You used Horte’s Radiance, Flash, Lightning, Laser, Burst, Hypnosis, and Dark Light (C).]
[Horte’s Lightning (C) has upgraded to B rank because of the beginner book.]
“As you might know, there are seven Horte skills—Radiance, Flash, Lightning, Laser, Burst, Hypnosis, and Dark Light.”
“Wait a sec. My head feels dizzy.”
“That happens the first time.”
The content was bigger than I expected, so it made my head spin.
I had used eight skill books at once.
It didn’t automatically download like in a game. It felt like it was carved into my brain.
As the headache faded, I started realizing how valuable this knowledge was.
“This is totally broken, isn’t it?”
“Yup. That’s why he’s called a genius at creating magic.”
To be exact, it wasn’t truly broken.
The power was still weak.
But if Horte developed this magic just to make contracts with demons, it was a whole different story.
Once this magic gained power, it would become an entirely new level of strength.
“So you’re saying I’m stronger than the boss monster Horte, who mastered all these and controls demons?”
“He’s nothing.”
It really hits me again—Lee Woojae is crazy strong.
So reliable.
“You seem to understand everything without needing extra explanation. Wanna try it out in real battle?”
“Sure. Let’s go.”
[6th Floor Mission: Kill 5 Trolls]
Even though I learned a bunch of skills, not much changed for climbing the Tower.
I still needed to collect S+ rank achievements.
We agreed in advance—Woojae would leave the monsters near death, and I would finish them off using skills.
“Wow, they’re really big.”
“Probably bigger than normal trolls. Usually 3 meters, but these are 5 meters. The boss is over 6.”
“The boss looks taller than a two-story building.”
This time, the opponent was the famous “newbie awakener crusher,” the troll.
They have insane regeneration, so if you don’t kill them instantly, they won’t die.
‘How do normal people even kill those things?’
Even with Woojae next to me, I felt nervous.
It was just animal instinct sensing danger.
If a green-brown monster nearly three times your height stands in front of you, anyone would freeze.
Especially an ordinary guy like me.
“Can I really kill one? I heard you have to cut off its head in one shot.”
“Don’t worry. I’m right here. Just remember one thing—when I attack, fire your skill right away.”
“Got it!”
“Even if you miss, I’ll kill it for you.”
I swallowed hard and nodded.
While incubating Myangmyang, I had learned how to use mana, and now I had internalized knowledge from skill books too.
“I’m doing it now.”
“Ready!”
Woojae swung his sword on the spot.
“Kuwaaaargh!”
With no delay, 90% of the troll’s neck was cut.
Still a perfect, clean sword strike.
“Now!”
I didn’t say anything and just nodded while shouting the skill name inside.
‘Lightning!’
A white bolt of lightning burst from my palm and struck the troll.
Thanks to the lightning magic book, it was my strongest skill right now.
“Oops!”
The problem was, it was my first time using it, so I couldn’t aim well.
With thunder booming, the lightning struck diagonally.
“Well, it still worked.”
When I came back to my senses, three trolls had their upper and lower bodies separated.
A clean instant kill.
What the—why is it this strong?
“I think it’s because you cleared floors 1 to 5 with S+ rank. The higher the rank you clear with, the stronger you get. Plus, you had both a beginner book and a skill book.”
“How strong were you around this time, Woojae?”
“About half of what you are now. I couldn’t get high ranks early on.”
“So if I keep getting S+ ranks, I might get stronger than you?”
“Maybe. But I trained for 24 years. Getting stronger by raising ranks helps, but training can’t be ignored either.”
“I see.”
Honestly, I didn’t want to become stronger than Woojae.
I just wanted to be strong enough to protect myself.
“But yeah, you’ll definitely become super strong. Clearing all floors with S+ is a crazy record.”
“That’s true.”
It made sense.
The fact that I could even wonder if I’d surpass Woojae was ridiculous.
Even now, I just used one skill, and Woojae finished the rest of the trolls.
If it wasn’t for skill practice, I could’ve climbed with zero effort.
[You have cleared the upper-level 6th floor with S+ rank for the first time. You become stronger in proportion to your achievement.]
[You’ve achieved an unbelievable feat! You get a random box.]
[Your achievement is announced to the world.]
Of course, I got the S+ achievement.
People out there must be shocked that I got S+ on the 6th floor.
“Boss, now!”
“Yes!”
Ziiing—
A red laser sliced through enemies’ bodies.
We followed the original plan—Woojae weakens the monsters, I finish them.
But based on raw destructive power, I could probably wipe them out myself.
Of course, that’s just power-wise. If enemies charge while I’m casting, I’d die instantly.
“No useless skills here.”
“It’s Horte’s legacy.”
Even though they’re C-rank, these skills were amazing.
Radiance added physical power to light and could turn parts of your body into light.
Flash exploded with a burst of light to blind the enemy.
Lightning shot powerful electric strikes.
Laser gave the strongest destruction per area.
Burst made an explosion from light.
Hypnosis shot light that messed with the enemy’s perception.
Dark Light created black light to boost destruction and absorb other light.
Some of them made you wonder if they were really light skills, but apparently, that was Horte’s style.
He distorted the concept of light to create bizarre magic.
I didn’t care about the fine details. The magic was awesome.
And these weren’t just single-use—they could be combined.
For example, you could mix Burst and Flash, then add Radiance for physical power.
That’s basically a light bomb.
Plus, as I climbed the Tower, the skills were growing way faster than I expected.
[You have cleared the upper-level 7th floor with S+ rank for the first time. You become stronger in proportion to your achievement.]
[You have cleared the upper-level 8th floor with S+ rank for the first time. You become stronger in proportion to your achievement.]
[You have cleared the upper-level 9th floor with S+ rank for the first time. You become stronger in proportion to your achievement.]
[You have cleared the upper-level 10th floor with S+ rank for the first time. You become stronger in proportion to your achievement.]
“We’ve climbed five floors. Should we go back? We did a lot today. I’m tired.”
“True. We can refine the ores later.”
But when I got out of the Tower, the situation waiting for me was totally unexpected.
Ding—
Ding—
Ding—
Ding—
“What… What is this?”
My phone showed dozens of missed calls and messages too.
[Mr. Namjoong! Multiple A-rank Gate Breaks have occurred! Be careful!]
[Still confirming, but one happened near your home!]
[We see you’re in the Tower. Please call as soon as you see this!]
[Gate Breaks are happening all over the world, not just Korea!]
[All available S-rank Hunters in Korea are dealing with the situation.]
I didn’t even need to read all the messages.
Even from this high up in my penthouse, I could hear people screaming.
The panic and cries felt both near and far at once.
