Chapter 135 - Floor 99
[You have entered floor 99 of the Tower of Trials.]
[When facing the ultimate challenge, you are rewarded with items that cannot be obtained anywhere else.]
[Success in floor 99 strategy ▶ ????]
Ryu Min walked forward, seemingly indifferent as he read the message.
A vast battlefield of 150 meters in diameter with a single floor lay ahead.
Descending the stairs and walking towards the center, a message appeared.
[Scanning information of the invader on floor 99.]
[Player: Black Scythe (Level 89 Death God)]
[Please wait a moment. Scanning and copying player information.]
………………
…………
[Scanning and copying complete. In 10 seconds, the final challenge will begin.]
Exactly after 10 seconds.
¡Partsss!
A man with black armor and a scythe appeared in front of Ryu Min.
[Face the enemy in front of you.]
The enemy in front of him.
It was himself.
"A fight against oneself. That's the final challenge of floor 99."
Ryu Min, who already knew it, raised the scythe without surprise.
The opponent, looking like an exact replica of Black Scythe, also approached holding a scythe.
The top players from the entire region clashed in one place.
¡Clang! ¡Clang!
The scythes clashed in the air, producing a clear metallic sound.
¡Clang! ¡Clang!
At times, the sound of the scythes scraping against each other echoed.
¡Clang! ¡Clang! ¡Crash!
When the scythes collided in the strength battle, a metallic scream-like sound was heard.
After exchanging attacks dozens of times in a short period, both stepped back.
"Not a simple illusion. It's really a clone duplicated exactly like me."
Neither strength, agility, nor speed had discernible differences with him.
A perfect duplicate of himself.
It was so similar that it could even be considered a mirror.
Ryu Min's gaze filled with tension.
It was natural when the strongest player was in front of him.
At that moment, the guy took a step back and prepared to swing the scythe.
Ki-iiiing!
"Moonlight Slaughter?"
Ryu Min jumped immediately.
But.
A second later, as if he had anticipated it, Moonlight Slaughter flew in the direction Ryu Min had jumped.
An inevitable angle.
However, Ryu Min had already assumed a posture in the air.
"Moonlight Slaughter."
Two blades bathed in Moonlight Slaughter clashed.
¡Clash! ¡Clash! ¡Crash!
When the enormous energies collided, a chain explosion occurred.
Ryu Min was pushed by the wind pressure.
The distance between the two widened, and dust filled the air between them.
"It's not avoidable. It really is a perfectly duplicated clone."
There was no way to find it because total invisibility was possible thanks to the Rune of Stealth.
Finally.
¡Pwaack!
Through the dust, Ryu Min's scythe cut the head of the clone.
Although he succeeded in the surprise attack, Ryu Min couldn't smile.
The corpse vanished amidst murmurs.
"Clone..."
In a brief moment, the clone Ryu Min had used appeared behind him.
The scythe aimed at the waist.
¡Swhoosh!
Ryu Min's waist was split in two, but this too was a clone.
In turn, Ryu Min, who was behind the clone, swung the scythe.
But as if he had anticipated it, the clone skillfully dodged with the scythe.
¡Clang! ¡Clang! ¡Crash!
After exchanging three rapid rounds of attacks, the clone disappeared.
Smoothly...
Ryu Min also triggered invisibility.
Their figures disappeared.
A quiet silence took over the surroundings.
"It's really not easy," he thought to himself.
Perhaps because he was facing himself, his skill was not ordinary.
Rune clones, invisibility, Moonlight Slaughter, among other things.
His skills were quite high.
He had already anticipated several moves ahead and blocked all attacks.
"There's no other choice. I have the runes of future sight."
Wouldn't it be logical for Ryu Min to move after seeing the future 7 seconds after the opponent, as if he were a clone?
"Even jumping when I used Moonlight Slaughter was also for this. If the distance widens due to wind pressure, I could go out of range of the runes of the rune of future sight."
Ryu Min didn't jump into the air for no reason.
He already knew that Moonlight Slaughters would clash due to wind pressure.
If he distanced himself and covered his vision with dust and dirt, he couldn't read the runes of future sight.
"But this strategy is also a failure. I can't handle his intelligence and agility."
Titles, runes, statistics, as well as equipped items, possessed items, combat sense, everything was the same.
It was like facing a mirror.
No wonder Ryu Min was having difficulties.
"But I can't back down like this."
How could he give up when the reward for floor 99 was at stake?
Ryu Min's scythe moved towards where there might be an opponent.
------------------
¡Kwa-ka-ka-ka-boom!
¡Kwa-ka-ka-boom!
Successive explosions shook the earth to the point of trembling.
Flashes appearing everywhere illuminated the darkness.
Night of Death, Crimson Moon, Moonlight Slaughter combo unfolded towards the opponent.
"Won't I die just by grazing this once?"
Ryu Min, blocking Moonlight Slaughter with Moonlight Slaughter, smiled towards the opponent.
"Five times. Have you already used them all?"
"...."
"I did too."
Although it was his own clone, he didn't admit it in words.
He didn't show emotions on his face.
Simply, like a machine, he silently swung his scythe, running forward.
¡Crash! ¡Crash!
Since they knew each other's moves 7 seconds later, the battle continued as if they were coordinated.
Even with perfectly equal statistics, they couldn't defeat each other with strength.
"An hour has passed, and neither of us has a single wound."
They could see the opponent's health bar as a symbol of death.
He was neither tired nor injured at all.
The same was true for Ryu Min.
Sssr-
Sssr-
When both used invisibility at the same time, silence returned.
The position couldn't be located when using invisibility.
Although he couldn't relax, this was the only break time Ryu Min had.
It was time to plan a strategy.
"Uf, how should I attack myself now?"
He had tried all possible attack patterns, but none worked.
It was logical since he could foresee it with the runes of future.
"By spreading dust and dirt to be unpredictable, I had already devised an escape plan, like a clever mirage fading into nothingness."
Making surprise attacks not work and, instead, providing opportunities for a counterattack.
Of course, Ryu Min didn't easily fall for the counterattack and played the next card.
"This won't make progress."
Both had the same statistics, skills, and power.
How could they defeat an opponent who was like a mirror?
Ryu Min, who had conquered floor 99, already knew the answer.
"If you can't win, resist. That's the only option."
This battle can't last forever.
Although it's not visible, there's a set time limit.
"Nothing less than a 24-hour duration!"
The real strategy to clear floor 99 is to resist for 24 hours against oneself.
The system only indicated facing the enemy in front of him, but never said to kill.
"In other words, floor 99 primarily aims to test mental endurance by fighting against oneself."
Beating oneself is impossible.
Even after trying dozens of times, he has never managed to beat himself once.
"Of course, it would be great to win, but based on my experience so far, resisting has its limits."
If you can't win, resist.
But losing is not an option either.
If he lets his mental resistance waver and shows a moment of weakness, he himself will kill Ryu Min.
Then, he will be eliminated without mercy.
The rewards of floor 99 will be lost forever.
"I can't let the means to face the angels disappear. That simply can't happen."
Ryu Min grits his teeth and stands firm for this reason.
Of course, it's still not difficult.
"Now, it has only been an hour."
Even though time is not shown, in terms of perception, there are still 23 hours left.
It's like running a long and exhausting marathon.
It might be difficult not to see the time, but Ryu Min considers it a blessing.
"Seeing the time might make my mind waver. It's better not to see it and feel more at ease."
So far, he has been checking the time, but now he decides not to pay attention.
He's going to face and fight the clones in front of him as if participating in a marathon race for the next 23 hours.
Thus, resisting and resisting.
"The time will run out, and I'll be able to clear floor 99."
He regains determination and raises his scythe once again.
------------------
Bang, bang!
Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-crash!
Caga-gaga-gak! Caga-gaga-gak!
Ryu Min continues to resist, using the sound of clashes as his music.
Resist until the message for completing floor 99 appears.
He doesn't know how much time has passed.
Since the first hour, he hasn't counted again.
In a state of total indifference, he has only faced the enemies in front of him.
"Don't they say the best enemy is yourself?"
It's not a metaphor; it's the truth.
The strongest enemy right now is himself.
A madman holding a scythe with the same appearance as a mirror.
"Ah, even insulting him is like spitting on my own face? It doesn't matter. It's true that I'm mad."
In the mind of that madman, there is only one thought: he has to kill himself.
He swings the scythe like a madman and performs attacks with different patterns each time.
"If my own self appeared as an enemy, it would probably look like this."
Even with level 89 statistics, he doesn't get tired at all.
There's no way to rest for more than 5 minutes.
"It really feels like fighting against a mirror."
He's exhausted.
Is there any reason to keep fighting like this?
Now he doesn't know anymore.
He just wants to let it all go.
"It's simple. I just have to allow one attack."
Giving up would be easy.
Black Scythe's damage is lethal even with a normal attack.
"I'll probably get a critical thanks to my high luck stat. Ah, maybe I can defend with the effect of the black armor."
By skipping attacks with a 67% probability, if he's lucky, maybe he won't die once.
"So, will you give me a chance? After all, you don't know if I'll die, right?"
What if he dies?
"I'll just go back to reality, what's the big deal?"
Should he let it all go and end this tedious fight?
Every time he had such careless thoughts, Ryu Min remembered the experiences he had lived.
People dying.
People he couldn't protect.
Even his only brother he had to bring back to reality.
Flash-!
The enemy's Moonlight Slaughter appeared in front of him.
Instinctively, Ryu Min responded with the same skill he was already preparing.
Boom!
At the same time as the explosion, his mind cleared.
"I must protect them. I don't want to see the world collapse again."
If he dies here, the rewards of floor 99 will be lost.
If he loses the means to resist the angels, there is no hope even if he conquers 20 rounds.
"It seems I lost focus for a moment."
Ryu Min's spirit returned as if cold water had been thrown on him.
Kaga gaga!
He blocked the scythe that was making its way to cut his head and engaged in a strength battle.
Everyone fought with a strength that no one yielded, like in a tense game of tug-of-war.
Ryu Min's body staggered forward.
Shalalalak!
The clone that had been fighting a moment ago disappeared like a mirage.
"You have resisted for 24 hours."
"You have cleared floor 99 of the Tower of Trials."
"It has been confirmed that you are the first player to clear floor 99 of the Tower of Trials."
"You have set an unprecedented record in the history of the Tower of Trials."
"Your achievement will be recorded in the akashic record."
Finally, he conquered the coveted floor 99.
Now he could relax.
Thump-
Exhausted of all his strength, Ryu Min sat on the ground.
"Hoo, hoo."
That time when I was so breathless that the message became invisible.
"The Tower of Trials admires the player's astonishing mental strength."
"Your health and mental endurance have been fully restored."
"You obtain the title 'Supreme Being'."
When his health and mental endurance were fully restored, the messages appeared.
"Finally got it. A title to face the angels."
Ryu Min opened the title information window.