There are about three hours left until the exam ends.
The final event, Night of Reckoning, had concluded. Due to its aftermath, those who had lost points became frenzied, attempting looting and causing utter chaos.
After taking a deep rest in the intermediate safe zone, I moved up to the 19th floor.
Thanks to the Mana Hot Spring I had enjoyed at dawn, my body was in peak condition. On top of that, I even experienced an unexpected stat increase.
[Due to the effects of the Mana Hot Spring, your Magic Power has increased by 0.5.]
My magic stat had risen by 0.5.
It wasn’t a huge increase, but it was an unexpected growth, so it felt quite satisfying.
“Phew.”
I guess I’ll go hunting for the remaining time.
I headed toward the monster hunting zone, a dense forested area.
As soon as I arrived at my destination, I sensed movement from a nearby bush.
It could be a red player who had lost points and gone mad, so I gathered my mana in preparation for an ambush.
“Oh? Sunwoo!”
“Yoon Hayoung?”
Emerging from the bushes was none other than Yoon Hayoung.
Her cheeks were blackened as if they had been burned, and her overall condition was terrible.
Well, she had been surviving in the wild for three days, so that was to be expected.
“Wow! This is great. I haven’t run into anyone I know since coming here.”
She smiled brightly, then glanced me up and down before continuing.
“Wait, did you bathe? You look ridiculously clean.”
Oh. She noticed?
As expected of Yoon Ha-young—her keen eye was impressive.
I chuckled and answered.
“I went to the 10th-floor intermediate safe zone. There’s a hot spring there.”
“Whoa. Seriously? That place costs 300 points just to enter, but you actually went? You must have earned a lot of points.”
“Well, I made a decent amount.”
Hearing my response, Yoon Ha-young sent me a jealous look.
“You sound so confident. Are you aiming for first place?”
I shook my head.
“There’s no way I’m first.”
“Hmm, really? Then who do you think will be? Ara? I saw that she had the highest average score during the event. Lily Rose got looted at the last minute, too.”
Resting her chin in her hand, Yoon Ha-young pondered to herself.
Casually, I tossed out a response.
“The first place will be Lee Seo-jun.”
“Seo-jun? Oh, right! I forgot about him since he hasn’t shown up in the rankings at all. Why is that?”
Instead of answering, I just smiled quietly.
Meanwhile, Lee Seo-jun was still climbing the tower.
His current floor: 29.
Just one more floor to reach the summit.
It had been grueling. Deadly traps, powerful monsters, and mind-bendingly complex patterns.
Now, he finally understood why, in the past fifty years, only one person had ever reached the top.
Even someone like him, who had never known the meaning of giving up, felt tempted to quit along the way.
But he hadn’t.
If he were the type to give up this easily, he wouldn’t have attempted the 30th floor in the first place.
Lee Seo-jun had the resolve to take on the challenge—and the talent and ability to back it up.
Of course, because he had abandoned the numerous events and point opportunities to challenge the 30th floor, failing would be a disaster.
If luck wasn’t on his side, he might not even make the top 100.
“Phew. This is rough.”
After being alone for three days straight, he was beginning to feel a little lonely.
He even wished he could see another person, just for a moment.
Shaking off those weak thoughts, he opened the door to the next stage.
[You have entered the Hidden Stage: The Administrator’s Domain.]
“…A hidden stage?”
Did the tower even have hidden stages?
Then, the space around Lee Seo-jun changed.
Pure darkness.
It felt as if he were floating alone in the vastness of space.
With no clear destination, he continued walking. Eventually, a stone tablet appeared before him.
[Administrator’s Archive]
[You may leave a message. The words you inscribe here will remain forever.]
“…An archive?”
He had a rough idea of what it was.
A commemorative message that only those who had reached the top of the tower could leave behind.
He had never expected such a system to be implemented in a test version of the artificial tower.
Using his mana, he entered a message.
━━
I, Lee Seo-jun, have reached the summit of the tower.
━━
“…Was that too simple?”
Feeling slightly embarrassed, he stared at the stone tablet. Mana dispersed into the air, and the inscription disappeared.
[Your message has been recorded.]
[You may view messages left by others.]
[Would you like to proceed?]
Messages from others?
After a brief moment of thought, Lee Seo-jun selected ‘Yes.’
━━
How far can human limits be pushed?
I dedicate this honor to my master and my precious loved ones.
2004-7-3
━━
“…What the.”
It seemed this message had been left by the one person who had previously reached the 30th floor.
Human limits. My master, and my precious loved ones.
Surprisingly poetic.
Who could they have been?
For someone who had achieved such a feat, it was strange that their name wasn’t known to the world.
[To think a human would make it here… Has it really been 28 years?]
A voice suddenly echoed.
But it wasn’t a normal voice.
It was eerily similar to the Will of the Tower that he had heard before.
Looking around, Lee Seo-jun spoke.
“Who are you?”
[I am the tower’s consciousness. If you were to describe me in human terms… I am the Will of the Tower.]
That response made him blink in surprise.
He had suspected, but to think it was truly the Will of the Tower…
[How fascinating. You bear an strange resemblance to someone I once knew—so much so that for a moment, I almost thought they had returned.]
The tower suddenly made a baffling remark.
He resembled someone the tower knew?
“…Ah.”
It was probably referring to the one person who had previously reached the top.
[No matter how many times I observe it, it remains baffling. How can someone’s aura be so similar?]
The tower continued to repeat the same words as if in fascination.
Lee Seo-jun felt a sense of doubt.
Who exactly was this person for the tower to say he was similar to him?
“Could you perhaps tell me who this person is?”
[Who… His name, surely…]
After a brief moment of contemplation, the tower’s will seemed to recall something.
[Jin Cheonwoo. Yes, his name was definitely Jin Cheonwoo.]
“…!”
Lee Seo-jun was momentarily taken aback.
Jin Cheonwoo.
It was a name he knew. No, there wasn’t a single person in this world who didn’t know the name Jin Cheonwoo.
The worst mage in history, who had once plunged the entire world into fear.
The leader of Jaun and a god.
[You seem surprised. Do you know of him?]
“…I have heard his name.”
[Is that so? Well, given the level of power that man possessed, it would be impossible for his name not to be known.]
“……”
Lee Seo-jun fell silent for a moment.
He needed to organize his thoughts. Then, he asked the tower what he was most curious about.
“I’d like to hear the specific reason why you said I resemble Jin Cheonwoo.”
[A reason, you say… I perceive and remember the aura and magic that radiate from humans, distinguishing them accordingly.]
“Aura and magic?”
[Yes. That is why I found you similar to Jin Cheonwoo. The aura and magic emanating from you are strikingly similar to his.]
At the tower’s words, Lee Seo-jun sank into deep thought.
I possess an aura and magic similar to Jin Cheonwoo? That was something he had never even considered.
“Then, what do you think is the reason for that similarity?”
[…The reason?]
The tower hesitated for a moment, as if contemplating.
[The reason you exude an aura and magic similar to Jin Cheonwoo is likely because his blood flows within you.]
At those words, Lee Seo-jun’s eyes widened in shock.
Time passed, and the three-day final exam had come to an end.
The current time was Friday, 3 p.m.
The tower’s magic enveloped all the students, gathering them in a certain space within the tower.
“That was seriously exhausting.”
“Yeah, we really went through a lot.”
“I totally failed this exam. I got raided at the last minute.”
The students began sharing their experiences from the exam.
“Who do you think took first place?”
“Well, it’s not Lily Rose. She got robbed at the end.”
“Honestly, that was kind of satisfying to watch. So, does that mean Yoo Ara is first?”
“Seems like it? Lee Seo-jun didn’t even show up on the rankings throughout the exam.”
“Wow. Then this must be Yoo Ara’s first time placing first, right? She’s always been second.”
As the students’ chatter grew louder—
A voice suddenly resonated from somewhere.
[Students, well done over the past three days.]
[Now, we will reveal the final rankings for the exam.]
A massive electronic display above them lit up.
[Final Rankings]
[1st. Lee Seo-jun – Cleared the 30th floor]
[2nd. Yoo Ara – 10,115 points]
[3rd. Kim Sunwoo – 8,225 points]
[4th. Louis Brown – 7,995 points]
…
…
“…What?”
“No way! What the hell, Lee Seo-jun?!”
“He climbed to the 30th floor? That’s insane.”
“Hey! But look at Kim Sunwoo in 3rd place!”
As the rankings were revealed, another wave of uproar broke out.
For the first time in 50 years, a new individual had reached the top of the tower, leaving everyone shocked and excited.
“……”
Yoo Ara silently stared up at the rankings, feeling a sense of frustration.
He really climbed to the summit of the tower.
The absurdity of it left her mind blank.
She had honestly thought that, just this once, she might have been able to surpass Lee Seo-jun with her own strength.
No matter how incredible Lee Seo-jun was, reaching the top of the tower was something only one person in history had ever achieved.
But in the end, Lee Seo-jun had done it. And he had taken first place once again.
Despite achieving an impressive second place, an overwhelming sense of powerlessness filled her.
Lily Rose, who stood quietly in a corner, felt the same.
“…He really made it to the 30th floor?”
Even if Kim Sunwoo hadn’t stolen her points, the fight had already been lost.
She didn’t know how to process that fact.
As she stood there, lost in thought, her gaze landed on the name in third place.
“Kim Sunwoo…”
Because of him, she had ended up in 34th place—the worst ranking she had ever received in her life.
And what happened that day was something she would never be able to talk about.
Kim Sunwoo.
Ranked 60th overall in the Korean Mage Academy.
Losing to someone like that would be nothing short of a national embarrassment.
“…Ha.”
Lily shot an annoyed glare at Kim Sunwoo, who was quietly staring up at the rankings from afar.
His expression was unreadable—he wasn’t reacting with excitement or joy.
How could someone like him be ranked 60th overall…?
“…What is he?”
The results of the joint exam between the Korean and British Mage Academies quickly spread across the world.
When news broke that Lee Seo-jun had reached the summit of the tower, people praised him as a genius.
On the other hand, Lily Rose, who had tried to challenge him and ended up in 34th place, faced criticism and ridicule.
Koreans, filled with national pride, began celebrating Lee Seo-jun as a hero.
Before long, he had become a national champion, victorious even before an official international competition.
Of course, there was also some minor coverage about Kim Sunwoo, who had unexpectedly placed third.
[Korean Mage Academy’s Top Theory Student, ‘Kim Sunwoo,’ Achieves 3rd Place in the Finals—A Rising Star?]
I figured the attention from reporters was due to the documentary filming.
Thanks to that, I earned some extra points.
[You have achieved the ‘Final Exam 3rd Place’ milestone.]
[You have received 5,000 points as a reward.]
[Character ‘Lily Rose’ feels powerless because of you.]
[You have received 1,000 points as a reward.]
[8,200 people are shocked by your rise in rankings.]
[You have received 5,000 points as a reward.]
[8 major characters are keeping a close eye on you.]
[You have received 4,000 points as a reward.]
I checked the messages that hadn’t appeared while I was inside the tower.
I had gained a total of 15,000 points from this exam.
And this was just the beginning.
As more articles spread, even more points would surely come my way.
“Heh…”
Lying on my hotel bed, I chuckled quietly to myself.
At that moment, Lee Seo-jun, who was on the bed next to mine, turned his gaze toward me.
“What’s up? Why are you laughing to yourself?”
“Oh, nothing. I just saw something funny on the internet.”
“…Alright.”
Lee Seo-jun accepted my flimsy excuse without much suspicion and turned back to his smart student notebook.
Even though it was his first free time in England, he hadn’t gone anywhere and was just staying in the dorm.
I could guess why.
It was probably because of what he had learned about Jin Cheonwoo in the ‘Administrator’s Land,’ the hidden stage on the 29th floor.
From now on, Lee Seo-jun would surely become more interested in Jin Cheonwoo.
I stared at him blankly for a moment before turning my attention back to my smart student notebook.
“Oh, right. Sunwoo.”
“Yeah?”
I turned my head at the sudden call.
Lee Seo-jun looked at me for a moment before speaking.
“…Never mind. You placed third this time. You must be happy. Congrats.”
“Oh.”
So that’s what this was about.
The unexpected congratulations made me happy, but I decided to stay humble.
“No need to congratulate me. You’re the one in first place. You should be the one getting all the praise.”
At my words, Lee Seo-jun shook his head.
“…Me? I’m always first.”
“……”
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