MDPS 37

 Chapter 37

My Dark History is Too Strong

Tower of Fierce Battle (2)

《You have defeated the Darkened Shield Knight.》

“Haa… haa….”

The sound of rough breathing echoed all around.

The joint raid force of the great guilds had been challenging the 100th floor since the previous night.

“Let’s take a short break.”

The raid had already gone on for more than 18 hours, and everyone’s fatigue was piling up.

They sat down, caught their breath, and took time to reorganize.

“Are we sure this is right? This is way too strong. We’ve been at it for over half a day, and we’re not even halfway through yet.”

One of the members turned to the raid leader, Deathside’s Sun Sung-tae, with his question.

It was only natural to ask him.

After all, starting from the 96th floor, he had suddenly appeared with “strategies” in hand.

Where he got them from, no one knew.

The others simply assumed he had received them from one of the great powers.

Because of that, Sun Sung-tae became the raid leader.

“The First Clear title is right before our eyes. We knew conquering the 100th floor would never be easy. Even if it’s hard, grit your teeth and endure.”

There was no one who could argue with Sun Sung-tae’s words.

They all knew — even if the strongest of the Four Great Guilds was said to be Fire God, the only reason they had been able to progress this quickly was thanks to the strategies he had brought.

“…Where did you even get those strategies? Since we’re resting, why don’t you tell us?”

That question came from a member of the Sword Clan guild.

“The condition was strict confidentiality. I can’t reveal it outside.”

“Outside? Are we outsiders to you? After all these years working together?”

At the Sword Clan member’s words, Sung-tae let out a dry laugh.

“Then would Sword Clan give up all their intel too? If not… shut your mouth.”

“What? Shut my mouth?”

“Yeah, you bastard. You think I brought you along because I like you? No. I only brought you because you were useful. Keep running your filthy mouth and see what happens, moron.”

“You son of a—!”

“Enough. Everyone’s on edge. Let’s cool our heads while we rest.”

Radiance Guild’s Son Tae-yeon quickly stepped in and separated them.

“…Damn it.”

But Sung-tae’s mind was elsewhere.

Even with the help of “that person,” his situation hadn’t improved.

He had brought strategies for conquering the Tower, yet the guild alliance didn’t respect him — they branded him as a “traitor trying to move ahead alone.”

Still, that resentment was nothing compared to the unease caused by a certain “mysterious adventurer.”

Before entering the Tower, he had received a call from Min Kang-hoon, terrified.

Min had been investigating the adventurer and claimed to have witnessed none other than the Witch of the End, Hertia.

And not just Hertia. He said there were two other beings radiating an uncanny aura.

“Weren’t there supposed to be only two to keep an eye on? Has another one appeared already?”

Sung-tae felt uneasy.

If he failed his mission, he might lose that person’s blessing.

If he botched this, he didn’t know when he would be discarded.

“I’ve come too far for that. I sacrificed too much to get here!”

He had given everything: money, time, his future, even his family.

In return, he had gained power.

Power that raised him to the rank of guild master of one of the Four Great Guilds.

But he could not stop here.

The moment he was abandoned, it would all be over.

He had to prove himself useful.

“There’s no stopping now. I’ll grow stronger. I’ll climb higher. I must. I will….”

Grinding down his frustration, Sung-tae recalled his plan once more.

“The opportunity is still there.”

He smirked, imagining the miserable downfall of that mysterious adventurer.

“You’ll never clear the 100th floor. Because you’ll encounter something even more dangerous than the boss.”

Calling one of his guild members, he gave a secret order.

“Slip away from camp quietly. Proceed as planned, and return.”

The 100th floor was infamous for its nightmarish difficulty — but with Theo and Hertia, the story was different.

They could completely counter the monsters’ greatest strength: speed.

By using Hertia to fix their speed to “lower than Hertia’s,” and then using Theo to convert one enemy into an ally at the start, victory was guaranteed.

A perfect victory plan.

On top of that, I had unlocked Theo’s second skill with the resources I had saved.

Skill 2: Law of the Throne
Description: Harnesses demonic power to move faster than others and pierce the enemy’s defenses. On first strike, gains “Extra Action.” If the same target is struck again, one piece of that target’s armor is disabled for the rest of the battle.

In other words — it’s a “beat one guy to death” skill.

Smash one! Then it’s my turn again! Smash him again! Then his armor breaks!

Basically, Theo is the king of one-on-one duels.

At the start of combat, I could control one enemy, nearly kill another, or outright erase them.

Even better, the 100th floor was Theo’s home turf.

Meaning my passive skill buffs applied perfectly.

《The Cruelest Avenger skill activates!》
《Dark Prince Theo has defeated the Shadow Assassin.》
《You have defeated all enemies in the Pit of Silence.》

I immediately checked the timer.

《Elapsed Time: 34:33》

Not bad.

The Pit of Silence was two-fifths of the 100th floor.

After escaping the cavern-like pit, the next area was Ruins of the Lost Kingdom.

This barren wasteland was once the Kingdom of Pheriad.

Cross the ruined land, then traverse the Endless Hills, and finally, at the Distorted Remnants of Infinity, the boss fight awaited.

《You have entered the Ruins of the Lost Kingdom.》

No time to admire the view.

I needed to clear this floor quickly and prepare for Episode 8.

And while I was at it, deal with that suspicious Deathside problem too.

Just as I was about to move on—

《An anonymous adventurer has invaded the dungeon.》
《An anonymous adventurer has invaded the dungeon.》
《An anonymous adventurer has invaded the dungeon.》

Suddenly, the system alerts appeared.

And I realized immediately — this was Deathside’s doing.

For someone to invade the 100th floor dungeon, they must have cleared up to the 99th.

Meaning, these were guild alliance raiders.

And considering the hostility, there was only one group it could be.

“Fine. So now they’ve dropped the pretense.”

I turned back, ready to eliminate anyone who rushed in.

But less than a minute later, another alert popped up.

《An anonymous adventurer has left the dungeon.》
《An anonymous adventurer has left the dungeon.》
《An anonymous adventurer has left the dungeon.》

“…What? They left immediately?”

If they were trying to sabotage me, they wouldn’t have left so quickly.

“Could it be… they were just checking my progress? Or is there another scheme?”

I lost focus for just a moment, but quickly regained it.

No matter what tricks they tried, no one could stop me now.

At least not on this KR server.

“Let’s move to the next area.”

Guild Alliance Raid Force

“Everyone ready?”

At Fire God Guild Master Park Byung-chul’s words, a hand went up from Sung-tae’s guild.

“Please wait a moment. Some of our members haven’t returned yet.”

The three adventurers Sung-tae had ordered out had not yet come back.

But soon, the alerts came—

《Party member Kim Jin-soo has rejoined the dungeon.》
《Party member Lee Myung-jin has rejoined the dungeon.》
《Party member Lee Jo-yeon has rejoined the dungeon.》

As soon as they arrived, they moved to Sung-tae’s side.

“We left it in his dungeon as ordered.”

“Good. You confirmed his position?”

“…It seems he has already cleared the Pit of Silence.”

Much faster than expected.

They hadn’t directly witnessed the mysterious adventurer, but judging from the strategies he posted and his absurd pace of climbing ten floors a day, it was undeniable — his skills defied common sense.

“As expected… just as that person said.”

Oh Hyun-woo was a man who should not exist.

No different from a cheater — no, according to that person’s words, he was the very one who had “triggered the Great Cataclysm across the world.”

“And on top of that, he definitely commands at least one villain — the Witch of the End.”

Min Kang-hoon’s testimony, the unbelievable Tower-climbing speed, and the words of the one Sung-tae served — all of it turned suspicion into certainty.

“Which is why… when he reaches the end of the 100th floor, he must die.”

For there, waiting, was the power bestowed by his master and patron — Karmar de Lavel.

“Mr. Sun Sung-tae?”

“Let’s go!”

Sung-tae stood up and, smiling almost unnaturally brightly, declared:

“The First Clear title — surely none of us can yield it, can we?”

《You have defeated all enemies in the Endless Hills.》
《Elapsed Time: 01:58:10》

Having cleared the fourth area, only the boss fight remained.

“Good work, everyone. Just one more step, and this Tower is mine.”

Of course, not literally — but symbolically, nothing could be greater.

Even the members of the Seven Deadly Sins seemed excited by my declaration.

“Congratulations in advance, Great One.”

“Congratulations? Do you really think our master would be pleased by merely conquering this tower?”

“That’s true. My lord deserves far greater than such paltry praise.”

“Then what, you’ll let the worms below have the honor of congratulating him first?”

Hertia’s sharp remark silenced Caligo and Theo, who quickly changed their tune.

“Master! Congratulations in advance!”

“My lord! Blessings upon this victory!”

“…Enough. Stay focused until the end.”

“Yes, my lord!”

After that brief commotion, I checked my final party setup for the boss battle.

[Team 1]

• Witch of the End Hertia Lv. 80

• Liberator of Death Caligo Lv. 80

• Dark Prince Theo Lv. 80

• Black Priestess Meryl Lv. 80

I had chosen them with synergy in mind — Caligo’s combos and Meryl’s focused taunts.

The 100th floor boss, Azas, was unmatched in speed.

So under Hertia’s power, I planned to use Meryl to hold his attention.

Good. All set. This would be the end of the long “Tower of Fierce Battle.”

In fact, it had gone so smoothly it almost felt anticlimactic.

《You have entered the Distorted Remnants of Infinity.》

…Or so I thought.

The moment I stepped inside, things went wrong.

《Boss Azas awakens.》

“…The boss woke up the moment I entered? What the hell….”

Suddenly, a memory flashed back.

The adventurers who had invaded my dungeon.

And then, within less than a minute, left.

“…Don’t tell me those bastards…?”