Solo Max-Level Newbie
Chapter 357: New Weapon (2)

Chapter 357: New Weapon (2)

Kukukuku!

As the gnome overturned the ground once more, heaps of earth that had been filling the passage tumbled down. The area that had been tightly sealed off until moments ago was now revealed with a door tinged in red.

“Wow! Master!”

“It really is a door, just as the master said!”

“How did you know?”

The spirits hopped up and down in their spots, bursting with excitement.

‘Good….’

Jinhyuk smiled with satisfaction.

Intuition built upon the map of Yuasis and his experience.

Two sturdy pillars had led to this result.

“Stay here and secure our retreat while you wait.”

“Eh? You’re going in with that demon by yourselves?”

“Right. It’s quite different from the ordinary inside. It’s a bit too dangerous for you guys.”

Jinhyuk used the word ‘dangerous.’

The spirits knew better than anyone else what that meant.

“Uh… Uhm.”

“We’ll just dig tunnels outside… eagerly.”

“Please… not go and die… I mean, make sure to return safely!”

The spirits imparted their warm regards.

“Shall we then?”

“Yes. It’s been a while since I’ve traversed the ruins of the middle floors, but it’s not too bad.”

Beriel, who had been perched on Jinhyuk’s shoulder, nodded his head.

His pupils blazed with fire.

His determination to make the player he had marked strong enough to not be disturbed by anyone, not even Guntaper, nor any other existence.

‘I do feel a bit sorry, but…’

It couldn’t be helped.

The Tower of Trials was a place where using and being used were the norms.

And Jinhyuk intended to repay Beriel later when he went to the demon world.

The reason Beriel was so eager to turn this powerful player into a black apostle.

Jinhyuk was well aware of it.

‘The principle may be to repay an enemy hundredfold and a favor only once, but I do still need to repay at least once.’

At the very least, he had no intention of betraying a comrade he considered precious.

[Entering ‘Peltarhorn’s Hidden Place’.]

As the door opened, his vision turned pitch black.

And when he opened his eyes again, it wasn’t the narrow, dark passage but a completely new space that unfolded before him.

Whooosh!

Whooosh!

Torches aligned on both sides all flared up simultaneously.

A bottomless floor came into view with a fragile bridge above it.

The first gate.

‘The Bridge of the Unchosen.’

Literally, if one couldn’t pass through the traps, they’d fall straight below.

Step by step.

Jinhyuk cautiously moved forward.

“Is it just a straightforward walk? Looks like there’s a treacherous flow of magical power at a glance.”

“It’s fine. Just trust me.”

He had grasped all the patterns.

The most important thing was the center of gravity.

Stepping on the ground with a consistent weight was the key.

If the force wasn’t dispersed properly, numerous traps would activate immediately.

Of course,

Clank!

It was impossible not to trigger any traps at all.

Accompanied by the sound of heavy steel, a chakram melted into the dark flew towards him.

A boomerang resembling a circle that could freely change its trajectory in mid-air, an assassin’s weapon.

Zweeeek!

Simultaneously, dozens of harpoons were fired from all directions.

Jinhyuk’s eyes quickly moved downward.

The numerous characters etched into the bridge.

The patterns of this place were memorized by utilizing the location of these characters.

The bottom left corner of a character similar to ‘ㅂ.’

Where the two lines of a ‘y’-shaped character met.

An ‘&’-shaped character centered in the middle—shift an inch to the right and fit your body there.

Vroom!

Vrooom!

Harpoons sliced through the air.

Jinhyuk moved even faster, following the pattern coming at him.

With this… he dodged everything basic.

As for the chakram coming hidden in its trajectory…

To be honest, it was difficult to predict until the very last moment it struck.

But it didn’t matter.

“Beriel.”

He brought a solid shield for this very moment.

“Could it be….”

Beriel’s pupils shook with an earthquake of realization.

“Go!”

Jinhyuk flung Beriel towards the front, who had been sitting on his shoulder.

Whiish!

The sound of cutting through the air changed.

The chakram had a trait where it targeted objects that were far ahead.

“This damn…!”

Crash!

“Kaaak!”

Beriel’s body was flung back upon making direct contact with the chakram.

His body was disgustingly sturdy.

Such noise from a body that should have been sliced effortlessly was proof enough.

Still, befitting his reputation as a demon king, he briefly managed to draw up his ‘Dark Combat Qi’ and successfully defended himself.

“Nicely done. Perfect.”

“Nice my foot! Are you trying to kill me! Using me as a shield is a challenge against the demon world!”

Beriel flew back, flapping his wings.

“No, what I meant was, if you hadn’t blocked it, I would’ve died just now. And rather than a shield, wouldn’t it be better to say we had proper teamwork?”

“What kind of teamwork involves this crap! If you think I’ll fall for such a cheap trick…”

“Your words hurt. I was merely relying on an existence far stronger than me.”

“A stronger existence? Me?”

“Yes. You’re the most outstanding among demon kings. I believe you have the potential to ascend to the seat of the Demon God someday. That’s why I was able to trust and rely on you.”

“Oh. Indeed, no demon king other than myself could’ve survived these traps.”

“Exactly, why else would I have chosen you over the other comrades?”

Jinhyuk laid it on thick.

It was like gently caressing the esophagus with a candy cane.

Could it be the sweetness had completely melted the cerebrum into mush?

“Alright. In that case, I shall clearly demonstrate my greatness. Watch closely what it means to become my apostle.”

Beriel took the lead.

Boom!

“Kaak!”

Baaang!

“Krrk!”

Pffft!

“Urgh!”

Despite the crossing sounds of explosions and screams, Beriel continued ahead firmly, determined to uphold his pride.

Thanks to him, they managed to traverse the first gateway quite comfortably.

All Jinhyuk had to do was cross his arms behind his back and leisurely follow.

Before long, Jinhyuk and Beriel reached the end of the corridor.

There, a long staircase led downward.

[Opening the second gateway, ‘Toxic Tunnel’.]

＊＊＊

“Hiss!”

“Sshh!”

As they descended, they were greeted by a tunnel teeming with venomous snakes.

The quantity was enough to fill a space about the size of the Jamsil stadium.

What’s fortunate, perhaps, was that they weren’t aggressive trap types.

Only when intruders entered a certain range did the snakes attack.

‘Taking their number into account, that’s hardly reassuring…’

Nevertheless, it wasn’t necessary to relive that hell again.

Originally, they had to spend about three days to cautiously find a point to escape their territory.

But now, he had a precious tank to shorten the entire process.

“You’re not scared of snakes, are you?”

“Haha… Hahaha. As if I, a demon king, would fear mere snakes. I drink the venom of the black mamba when I can’t sleep…! Even the most potent poison shower won’t faze me, for I am Beriel.”

Really?

“Then Let’s move on. I have no resistance to poison, it feels like I’d die with just a touch. Indeed, inferior humans can’t even compare with the magnificent Demon King.”

Laying it bare, Jinhyuk wrapped his arms protectively over his shoulders.

“Hmm… Hmmm.”

Beriel walked amidst the sea of snakes with a pale face.

Wow.

The saying ‘Pride is all that remains when all else is stripped away’ must actually be true.

He never imagined that Beriel would actually step right into the middle.

Especially not in his mere avatar form, and not his true body.

Thud!

Thump!

Ah. That looked pretty painful.

Fangs sank into some rather sensitive spots.

“Aagh!”

Soon after, a harrowing scream echoed through the tunnel.

＊＊＊

“Hoo….”

Hasting, unable to steady his throbbing head, was struggling.

It was unavoidable.

Around 30,000 years since he first became a tower administrator.

And about 10,000 years of serving as a senior administrator.

Having performed his duties flawlessly without a single mistake throughout those long years, he had earned the recognition from those on the 50th floor.

All those accomplishments had culminated into who he was today.

But, just recently…

…fault lines had appeared in the tower meticulously crafted by him.

All because of a single player.

“Are you saying that the rascal is now on the 19th-floor ruins?”

“Yes, as you instructed, we tried to tail him but strangely, the entire ruin was enveloped in an unfamiliar magical wavelength that blocked any internal scrutiny.”

A junior administrator resembling a hamster quickly bowed its head.

A ‘Pearl’ category named Panem.

It was a newcomer, freshly appointed as a junior administrator, and still undergoing an internship. Not being able to hide his nervousness after being called by a senior administrator.

Panem’s comment caused Hasting’s eyebrows to wrinkle into a severe frown.

“A zone that an administrator can’t peek into? Do you think that makes any sense?”

“It’s the truth, sir. Just in case, I even employed the ‘Administrator’s Robe’ that you gave me, but the barrier remained intact.”

“…!”

If even the Administrator’s Robe, which could directly intervene in the system, couldn’t see through it, then it meant that something equivalent had intervened.

There was only one entity capable of such interference.

The 50th floor.

The ancient beings themselves had made a move.

‘No obvious traces indicate… Could it be?’

Suddenly, lightning flashed through Hasting’s mind.

Oldguard.

The hunting dogs of Nyarlathotep had been mobilized.

‘Without even informing me… They directly called them in?’

Hasting ground his teeth fiercely.

Was this retaliation for the previous blunder?

Or rather, had they cut him off as they no longer trusted him?

There was no answer for now.

No, there was no need to know.

With the Old Guard’s involvement, Jinhyuk’s chances of survival were nonexistent.

Right at that moment.

[Emergency Reply]

A purple message flew in front of Hasting.

Breaking news sent directly from the 50th floor.

Its content was…

“Preposterous…”

Shocking.

It reported the death of a high-ranking Hound and the retreat of the Old Guard.

And it commanded to tidy up the aftermath of this incident.

Everything was beyond expectation.

‘…This is an opportunity.’

A golden chance to rectify past mistakes had presented itself.

The Solar Spike, the Solar Spike…

Hasting’s thoughts rapidly came together.

The aftermath of ‘Pentagris’s Fang’ and the vacancy it left.

The reasons why they were still seeking something within the Spike.

The clues coalesced.

It didn’t take long for Hasting to grasp what Jinhyuk wanted, where he was heading, and his purpose.

‘He plans to tackle the 19th floor and secure another weapon all in one go at the Hidden Place.’

Indeed, his maneuvers were without any superfluous actions.

Every step was part of an optimal route to ascend the tower.

However, if you flip that…

It also meant that his actions were predictable.

‘I won’t let it flow as he wishes.’

The question was…

Whom to send.

Someone with pronounced talent and an unexpected variable to strike the opponent’s weakness was needed.

‘The dragons are not yet ready.’

Although the deal with the dragon race had concluded, there was still a need for more time before the plan could be fully realized.

They weren’t a card that could be used right now.

At that moment.

Whoosh!

Someone approached Hasting’s domain.

“May I enter, Senior Administrator?”