MDPS 15

Chapter  15 

 Tower of Trials (1)

The moment I entered the Rune Dungeon, I reorganized my party.

Hertia, Caligo, Temina, Iron.

That’s the best lineup I can make right now.

Naturally, I needed to introduce the new members.
I summoned Hertia and Caligo.

The moment they appeared, the two greeted me with bright expressions.

“Master! You radiate elegance as always.”
“Oho, Sage! It’s an honor to be summoned! What business brings you here today?”

“Introduce yourselves. These are new comrades who will be climbing the tower with us.”

At the word new comrades, the two veterans’ faces soured.

In truth, the Pandemonium summons—Hertia, Caligo, and the rest—absolutely despised one another, constantly bickering, but when it came to comradeship, their trust ran deep.
They recognized each other’s abilities.

Their attitude toward non-Pandemonium summons, however, was… different.
Whenever I brought in someone I thought was a good addition, they would gang up on them.
They bullied them so harshly that some would be in tears every time I logged in.

Well… at least it’s just these two this time, so maybe it won’t be as bad.

Hoping Temina and Iron’s future wouldn’t be grim, I summoned them.

“Come forth, Temina. Iron.”

Temina appeared in a fluttering bikini swimsuit, a wide-brimmed hat, and carrying a crimson parasol with ornate patterns.
Iron, the cowardly golem, looked like he was about to burst into tears, his hulking frame trembling pitifully.

“Adventurer! Thank you for finding me, Temina!”
“I’m not happy at all—this is scary!”

Crack. Grind.

Before they could even get their bearings, the two veterans approached with ominous sounds.

Hertia leaned close to Temina and whispered:

“Lowborn. You’d better not act coy in front of Master. And maybe close up that outfit.”
“Huh…?”
“Or keep your eyes down and your mouth shut. Looks like you recognize who I am. You’d better behave… before I rip apart those pathetic scraps you call clothes.”
“…Yes, ma’am…”

Meanwhile, Caligo approached Iron.

“‘Not happy’ and ‘scary’? Did you just say our Sage is scary?”
“Wh-what?!”
“Want me to show you what really scary looks like?!”

Caligo popped the cork on a flask at his belt and dropped it to the ground.

Hisssss…

A harsh chemical smell filled the air as the ground sizzled and white smoke rose.

“Hiiiieeeeek!”
“If you don’t want a bath in this solution, you’d better watch that disrespectful mouth. Or I might just use you for my next experiment.”
“Y-y-yes!! I-I’ll be careful!!”

Well, the pecking order seemed established.
Time to put the newbies through some training.

“Hertia, Caligo. I’m leaving it to you. Get their strength up to a usable level.”

“If it is Master’s will, I obey.”
“I’m not thrilled about it, but if the Sage commands it, I’ll do it.”

A day later—

I finally entered the Tower of Trials.

《Welcome to the Tower of Trials.》
《You may choose to proceed or stop after each floor.》
《Every 5 floors, you can face a special opponent for great rewards.》
《If a summon is unsummoned due to damage, you may replace it with another summon.》
《If you have no replacements, your summoner protection will be lifted.》
⁝

They rattled off all the things I already knew.
Only at the very end did they ask something important:

《All records in the Tower of Trials are saved. Will you make your information public when saving?》

As if.

《NO》
《All information except your record and score will be kept private.》

With privacy set, it was time to summon my team.

[Team 1]
Doomsday Witch Hertia – Lv 18
Liberator of Death Caligo – Lv 18
Flame Canopy Temina – Lv 11
Cowardly Golem Iron – Lv 10

Yesterday’s dungeon grinding had mostly evened out the levels.
Only Iron lagged behind—not for any complicated reason, just because he was such a coward.

Who knew he’d run away before even gaining EXP?
I’d kept him in the far back, and he was still like this. Now, in the tower, he had to stand in the front lines.

I was worried whether this coward could do his job…
Well, he’s probably more afraid of Caligo than of the enemy, so maybe it’s fine.

If Caligo kept him in line, there’d be no problem.

“Form up.”

I summoned everyone except Hertia.

“Iron.”

“Y-yes?! Y-you called?!”

“You’ll be guarding the front from now on.”

“M-me?!”

“Of course. If not the knight, then who?”

“Ah… b-but…”

Just then, a red-haired man with a wicked expression stepped forward.

Shff—

“Hiiiieeeeek!”

Nice, Caligo.
He only had to shake that flask at his belt for Iron to shuffle into the vanguard without another word.

Now for the last detail…

《Hertia sends you a message.》
–I have completed your orders. Returning now.

Good work, Hertia.

Before entering the tower, I’d set up a little diversion.
Using Star that Guides the Shepherd, I’d disguised Hertia—whose build was similar to mine—in my coat and had her leave a credit card transaction at a convenience store near the tower.
Afterward, she’d dump the clothes in a subway bathroom and be unsummoned.

Persistent tracking could still catch me eventually, but for now, I had an alibi.
Now—

“Let’s go.”

“Yes, Sage!”
“Hiiiieeeek…”

《Entering Tower of Trials – Floor 1: ‘Crumbling Forest’.》

《You have entered Floor 1: ‘Crumbling Forest’.》
《Remember! If all summons are unsummoned, the attempt fails and you die.》

Before even finishing the system messages, I gave Hertia an order.

“Hertia! Left side!”

Where I’d pointed, a group of goblins was obliterated by her attack.

《Floor 1 Cleared.》
《Unbelievable Record!》
《Clear Time: 00:02》

I didn’t even bother looking at the new record.
All I had in my head was my old best time.

Back then, I took 15 minutes to reach the 10th floor. This time, I’ll do it in under 10.

For the first time in ages, I felt genuine excitement.
My heart pounded, my blood rushed, my veins thrummed.
And unlike a game, my real life was on the line—pure tension.

Honestly? I was enjoying myself.
Even acting as “Lucifer,” which had felt awkward at first, was now second nature.

It all started the moment I first summoned Hertia.
When my life was threatened and I solved it with quick thinking—what had I felt then?

Joy.

The life-or-death tension, the chance to unleash my full talent—
It was all just… fun.

I was certain.
This tower was a stage for Oh Hyun-woo—no, for Lucifer.

《Entering Floor 2: ‘Unusual Forest’.》

At a glance, the terrain and the buildings’ placement brought back every memory from the past—
Even the enemies’ positions and numbers.

It wasn’t arrogance—it was confidence born of the knowledge “Oh Hyun-woo” had built.

“Hertia! Sprint 10 meters forward, then right. Six enemies there—don’t let a single one escape.”

“As expected of Master!”
“Khaha! Sage, show me a miracle! Keep going, keep going!”

The climb was like a landslide victory—unstoppable.
A feat impossible with just villain power alone.
My talent, given the perfect stage, was finally spreading its wings.

《Floor 2 Cleared.》
《Floor 3 Cleared.》
⁝

First boss stage: Floor 5.
The Goblin Chief and his 10 minions—wiped out in an instant by Hertia’s Death Vortex.

《Floor 5 Cleared.》
《Unbelievable Record!》
《Clear Time: 00:33》

Good. 33 seconds. That’s 30 seconds faster than before!

Grinning, I charged toward the next floor.

“Next—30m ahead, three orc archers. Twenty meters right, one orc spearman! Mark them!”

“Yes!”

Meanwhile—

Lee Jeong-yul’s mornings had been gloomy ever since the “super rookie” vanished.
Team leader Jeon kept demanding more reports, teammate Park barely did his work…

But Lee was sure—this wasn’t a fluke.
The rookie was almost certainly Korean.

She had proof.
During a minor update’s announcement, they’d been assembling a special raid for a dungeon anomaly—only to hear it was suddenly cleared.
The odd part: no one claimed credit.

If it had been foreigners, they’d have demanded rewards beforehand. If it was a known Korean adventurer, they’d have no reason to hide.

To her, the answer was obvious: the rookie had done it.

The rumor he was a chaebol heir had lost traction.
Instead, she now knew:

He’s skilled. Extremely cautious.

For some reason, he avoided leaving records—likely because…

A dangerous-designation summon. If his summons are strong enough, the government might try to control him.

That meant—no money, no backing.
But overwhelming skill and enough wits to assess the situation.

Which narrowed the target even more.

A former ranker, most likely.

Her pulse quickened.
The only regret—she couldn’t tell him the situation had changed.

We used to have no choice but to bow to foreign demands, but now we’re fighting to stand on our own!

Where was he now?
The question burned in her mind, keeping her up nights running through scenarios.

Ugh… what am I even going to put in today’s report…

She got up to stretch her neck and shoulders—when a sudden notification flashed across her monitor.

《Unknown Adventurer clears Floor 1 of Tower of Trials in 00:04.》
《Unknown Adventurer clears Floor 2 in 00:12.》
⁝
《Unknown Adventurer clears Floor 5 in 00:33.》

She blinked and rubbed her eyes.
The numbers looked too unreal.

Four seconds for Floor 1…? Wait—the old world record was… 48 seconds…

And the world record for Floor 5 was 6:20.
This was thirty-three seconds.

Thump.

“Taegyun!”

“Wh-what, ma’am?”

“Pull me the entry list for Tower of Trials for the last 15 minutes!”

“Huh? All of a sudden?”
“Just do it—hurry!”
“Y-yes, ma’am!”

Lee was certain—
Whoever was climbing the tower now was the rookie from the tutorial.

Yes. No way this is coincidence. Just wait—once I find you, I’ll get you every support possible and raise you to the top!

《Floor 10: Orc Garrison Cleared.》
《Unbelievable Record!》
《Clear Time: 00:58》

Done!

No obstacles up to Floor 10—obvious, since I knew every strategy.
From the map shape to the monster placements.

“Kha! This thrill—this shiver running up to my head, Sage!”

Caligo was on the verge of tears—impressed by my precise enemy callouts.

“Caligo. Maintain your dignity.”

“Hertia, can’t you feel it too? How amazing Master is!”
“Nonsense. Any scum would already be dead by my hand.”
“Ha! For once, we agree! I’m so fired up—I’ve got so many experiments I’d start right now if I just had a test subject!”

…Judging from the “test subject” talk, I’d better give him something soon.
With strong summons, the upkeep was no joke.

Still—when I looked at the rewards stacking in my inventory, I knew I could indulge them a hundred times over.

This is all worth so much!

Thanks to my record times, the rewards from Floor 1 onward were piled high.

[Cumulative Rewards]
Normal Summon Tickets ×400
Advanced Summon Tickets ×200
Rare Summon Tickets ×100
Hero Summon Tickets ×50
Legendary Summon Ticket ×1
Normal Artifact Summon Tickets ×30
Advanced Artifact Summon Tickets ×10
Rare Artifact Summon Tickets ×2

Just in tickets, I’d made hundreds of millions.
And I’d only gone up 10 floors.

Not to mention, I’d gotten equipment crafting materials:

• Goblin Shaman’s Staff

• Goblin Chief’s Necklace

• Orc’s Broken Molar

• Orc’s Dirty Blood
  ⁝

And then there were the highlights:
From Floors 5 and 10, I’d gotten Hero Skill Unlock Scrolls—huge gains.

I could give them to Temina and Iron right away, but it didn’t feel urgent.
Best to save resources—spend them all at once and you’d regret it.

Maybe I’d use one now, but there was no rush.

Phew…

Floor 10 wasn’t the stopping point.
Today’s goal was Floor 15—straight through in one go.

From Floor 11 to 15, the enemies were werewolves—fast, with layered evasion buffs.
This was the first real “wall” for new climbers, since they rarely had high-speed gear.

But with Hertia, it wasn’t a problem.
In fact, I’d built this party specifically for fighting werewolves.

“Gather up. Here’s the plan.”

“Yes, Master.”

“The next enemy is werewolves. We’ll rush through to Floor 14, then take down the boss on Floor 15. But on Floor 15, we’ll wait a bit.”

“Wait? For what?”

“Until their manes turn red.”

When the pure white moon turned crimson—
That’s when I’d strike the Floor 15 boss.

“No time to waste. Move.”

“Yes!”