Han Yuseong inhaled the moment he stepped into the cave. He could see the enemies inside—the ones guarding the sixth root.

A total of eight were slowly approaching. Yuseong sent out his sensory aura forward, aiming to gauge their ranks.

‘All eight are Sixth Rank-level...’

Eight Worst, surrounding him like a tightening noose. All of them measured as Sixth Rank through his aura.

Unlike the fifth root, there weren’t any support-types for regeneration. No obstacles blocked the path either. But the sheer number created a definite pressure.

“This one’s simpler.”

Ban Iner’s voice flowed into Yuseong’s ear.

“Guess we each take four.”

Yuseong glanced at Ban beside him and smiled.

“Yeah, let’s do that.”

“Too much for you? I can take two more if you want.”

“Nope. Four each. Clean split. Sounds good.”

Dragging this out would only make things worse for them.

Crunch!

Yuseong injected the last of his Dragonblood Serum into his side. Then took the Breath of Extremity.

“Phew...”

Ban did the same—exhaled deeply and injected the Breath. Radiant white energy gathered on Yuseong’s sword. Tiny particles scattered through the air.

As Yuseong stamped the ground hard and charged forward, his left eye shimmered with a change.

A prosthetic eye. Or rather, a lens-type artifact fitted into his eye socket.

Tirail Oculus.

An artifact that marked enemy weak points in navy-colored lines. Not only monsters, but even objects and other living beings’ singularities could be analyzed.

It was something he'd received from Pioneer via an interdimensional transaction.

– Pioneer) I started out just like you, you know. Summoned to the tower with nothing. Was just a merchant ship crewmember before.

– Pioneer) The item that saved my ass back when I should’ve died was something called Scholar’s Eye.

– Pioneer) I created this artifact based on that one myself.

That the pioneer who mastered Hard Mode once lived a life completely unrelated to battle was something that surprised Yuseong.

– Pioneer) You’ll probably see more than one weak point. Monsters rarely have just one. But not every weak point is critical.

– Pioneer) A critical one will show a stronger flow of navy-colored energy.

– Pioneer) To activate it, just feed a tiny bit of mana into the Tirail Oculus.

As instructed, Yuseong channeled mana into the eye.

He saw the weak points of the Worst. With the effects of the drugs, his senses had been pushed to the limit.

Yuseong stomped on one Worst’s right foot with his left. Losing control over its body, the monster tilted forward.

In a flash like lightning, Yuseong’s sword slashed through its waist and continued clean through its head. Blood sprayed like rain.

Ban, having also taken the Breath of Extremity, went for her target’s throat.

Chwaaak!

The two cut through their enemies almost in sync.

Tsssss...

Ban pressed her mana-wreathed index finger to her temple.

CardioFury.

Stage 3 of 3.

Rrrrghhk!

Her body screamed in protest. Bloodshot veins surfaced in her blue eyes.

CardioFury’s third stage—so dangerous that even her clan avoided it. Because it often caused sudden collapse, even without warning. A full physical shutdown.

Especially in extended, overheated combat.

Using Stage 3 alone meant risking death from enemies who previously weren’t even threats. But she did it because she trusted Han Yuseong to be there if she collapsed.

Ssplrrrk!

Flesh was torn. Yuseong and Ban never stopped moving.

This time, there was no need to hesitate. Unlike the fifth root, there were no regenerators. Killing blows meant permanent death.

When he had killed three, his level rose—from 52 to 53.

Shluk!

Yuseong followed the Oculus’s indicator and landed a blow precisely on a weak point. Only two Worst remained.

There were no walls, and yet they couldn’t rush the sixth root directly—those two remaining Worst stood in front like immovable sentinels.

Amid the wreckage and blood, Yuseong and Ban stopped.

Yuseong twisted his lips.

Just as I thought.

He’d been suspicious that none of the Worst guarding the sixth root had used a Domain.

A wide, circular aura spread beneath the last two monsters.

The force radiating from it was explosive.

Dududuk— Dududuk!

The already-massive and muscular Worst grew even larger.

Yuseong raised his sword again, radiant white energy gathering. They looked like bipedal beasts—part vicious predator, part monstrous insect.

To say he wasn’t scared would be a lie. But his will to fight crushed the fear completely.

If they couldn’t take those two down, the root couldn’t be cleared.

Ban spoke.

“Textbook physical-amplification Domain. Strength and mana enhancements.”

Yuseong nodded.

“Looks like it.”

Even with the Domains activated, Tirail Oculus showed no changes to the weak points.

The critical weak spot was the same—a core buried deep in the nape of the neck.

“A core, buried deep in the neck? Got it.”

Ban nodded at the explanation. She stepped forward sharply. Her body vanished.

Chwaaaak!

And reappeared—on top of the monster’s arm.

She slashed the hardened shell and flesh with her blade, climbing up its body, reaching its back.

Yuseong widened his eyes.

He’d been told she would use CardioFury Stage 3. A technique pushing her past her physical limits. But he hadn’t expected such speed and precision.

Breath caught in his throat. Still, Ban had no intention of stopping. She drove her blade under the monster’s neck, cleaving half of it away.

Then, she plunged her sword into the nape. A blue bolt struck the neck and shattered the core.

The problem came after that. Having slain one of the sentinels, Ban lost her footing and plummeted to the ground.

Thud!

Yuseong kicked off the ground and caught her.

KRAAANG!!

He pulled back just in time to dodge the massive gray club of the remaining Worst.

His body was soaked in sweat and blood.

“Haa...”

A shallow breath.

And dulled pupils.

Collapse.

Yuseong recognized it immediately. This was the collapse state triggered by CardioFury Stage 3.

Despite its name, it wasn’t from stamina depletion—but from disrupted blood flow.

To restore someone, you had to gently press a mana-coated finger to the temple opposite the one used to trigger CardioFury.

Yuseong wrapped mana delicately around his index finger and pressed it against Ban’s right temple. He gently laid her down.

“I’ll be back.”

She gave him a faint nod and smiled. Yuseong sprinted forward.

Ban had done her part. The last one was his.

Using Tirail Oculus, he struck every vulnerable point on the final Worst. It wasn’t easy. He had to dodge attacks while countering with his own.

Chwaaak!

An arm severed.

Crack!

A knee shattered—the Worst collapsed.

Then he drove his white sword aura into the nape.

KRAAAAK! KRRIIAK! BOOM! BAM! BAAAM!!

The Worst cried and thrashed—until it moved no more.

Han Yuseong drove the divine stone into the sixth root.

[You have cleared Floor 13.]

[Level Up!]

[Lv.53 → Lv.56]

“Hey.”

Ban was sitting, raising a familiar hand with a familiar smile.

“Nice work.”

Yuseong raised his right hand to return the gesture—

FWOOOOOSH—

White light engulfed his vision—no, the entire cave.

***

The light vanished. Han Yuseong quickly scanned his surroundings.

A transparent wall stood before him.

And an unfamiliar, grotesque being. Something unlike anything from the 13th floor.

“...What the hell are you?”

Its huge head was wrapped in bizarre cloth, stitched like it had been sewn together with dozens of needles.

Beyond it—another transparent wall. Ban Iner stood inside that one.

The unknown figure spoke in front of Yuseong’s opaque wall.

“Ah, greetings. I am Pleschek, a second-class administrator of the Tower.”

“Administrator...?”

Pleschek nodded.

“Yes. I’ll now explain the duel you’ll be facing in two minutes.”

Two minutes. Yuseong’s brow furrowed sharply.

He had no idea what Pleschek was talking about.

“We administrators receive a [renewal] directive from the top floor every cycle.”

Renewal.

“To put it simply, when certain floors need [balance patches] or new [content], that’s handled through renewal.”

He continued.

“But some floors have... [errors].”

“Floors that cannot undergo [renewal] unless they’ve been cleared at least once.”

“And as you’ve experienced, the current difficulty of Floor 13 exceeds what’s reasonable for a solo clear—even for someone climbing Pandemonium Mode.”

“So we used our power to bring back Ban Iner—the record holder from last cycle. Though she died, we made her a being who can exist only within Floor 13.”

“She can only become active when another climber enters Floor 13.”

“In short, we needed two players to proceed through this floor. It had to be conquered.”

Now Yuseong understood the gist.

Pleschek suddenly bowed.

“And you two did it. Beautifully.”

“We administrators express our sincerest respect to both Ban Iner and Han Yuseong.”

“If it were possible, we’d let you both ascend together. But that’s not an option.”

Yuseong already knew what the next line would be.

“In order for Ban Iner to fully return as a player and ascend to Floor 14—Han Yuseong must die. Without exception.”

Exactly as expected.

“We revived Ban Iner without her consent, so we told her in advance. That either she kills you at the end of the stage, or here, in the duel arena.”

Yuseong turned toward Ban, visible through the other transparent wall.

“I recommended killing you right after the stage, while you were off guard... but she didn’t.”

Ban Iner was smiling faintly.

“Well, there’s one minute left now. In one minute, both transparent walls will fall. The first to extinguish the candle on the other side wins.”

Yuseong looked left. A candle burned inside a transparent case—much like the wall.

“There’s really no way... both of us can go up?”

Pleschek shook his head.

“It is inevitable. One of you must die here.”

Yuseong hated that. He punched the wall—

BOOM!

It didn’t budge.

“If there’s no winner in ten minutes, we’ll judge based on wounds, hits landed, and so on.”

With that, Pleschek walked to the center and sat in a kneeling pose.

Yuseong looked to Ban.

“Ban—!”

He shouted her name over and over. But his voice didn’t pass the wall.

He even struck the barrier with a sword charged with radiant energy—not a scratch.

Pleschek’s voice came through clearly, though.

“You’d need to raise your Rank to break that wall. My voice ignores the wall’s laws, but I can’t destroy it either.”

BOOM! BAM!

“This is the law of the Holy Duel Ground.”

***

Ban Iner looked at Yuseong. Unlike him, she had known about this for days.

– You are strong, Ban Iner.

– You didn’t die at the fifth root.

– You survived by using CardioFury Stage 3, dodging attacks and destroying the root.

– You died at the sixth root, from seven critical hits while collapsed.

– You are strong. You can kill him and fully revive. You can ascend to the 14th floor. I, Pleschek, respect and support you.

Ban had thought long and hard. While shooting arrows. While playing catch with Yuseong.

She wanted to live.

But in the end—the answer was easy.

This might be selfish from your perspective.

She had no intention of asking Yuseong’s opinion. That made it selfish.

Talking wouldn’t help. That’s just how the Tower was.

Face-to-face, she’d just want to live. She’d want to ascend with him.

I want to live too, she thought. But I won’t kill him to do it.

That made her resolute.

When Pleschek appeared again—she made one request.

– When can the candles be extinguished?

– As soon as the barrier drops.

– Let me touch the candle before that.

– Eh? That’s not something I can...

– Not his candle.

– ...What?

– Let me extinguish mine.

She reached through the case. Took her candle.

Yuseong was shouting at Pleschek. She couldn’t hear the words. But she knew. Probably something like, “Let’s kill him together.”

She’d thought the same at first.

– Killing me won’t change the duel’s rules. Not that you could kill me.

But that wasn’t a real solution.

It’s selfish, but I hope you understand. I have no regrets. I thought about this far longer than you did.

Step.

Ban Iner walked to the barrier. Before it could fall. Before the duel began.

She had to do what she had decided.

***

Yuseong stared at Ban Iner. She held her candle.

He shouted her name. She pressed a finger to her lips—a silent “shh.”

Her lips moved slowly.

— Live.

Even without sound, the words were clear.

— Oh, and Han Yuseong.

Ban smiled gently.

— That thing called catch ball...

She beamed.

— It was really fun.

Her smile deepened.

— Because it was with you.

She stepped back. A breeze blew.

Ban Iner exhaled.

The flame went out.

[Forfeit Detected.]

Yuseong stared, stunned, as Ban collapsed.

['Player' Ban Iner has forfeited the duel.]

['Player' Ban Iner, deceased.]

['Player' Han Yuseong will be transported to the 14th floor lobby in 5 seconds.]