Chapter 15: The Pinnacle of the Infinite Tower

‘…Reaching the 100th floor is impossible. That’s beyond anyone’s reach.’

Cheon Ocheon stepped out after clearing the 99th floor of the Infinite Tower.

His legs wobbled beneath him. His ragged breathing showed no signs of calming, and he paused with his eyes closed.

It felt as if every ounce of energy had drained from his body, leaving him teetering on the edge of collapse.

The only sound in the quiet world was his heavy breathing, proof that he was still alive.

“…Haah. Haah. Even though I’ve sealed those memories again, I can’t seem to grow accustomed to this exhaustion.”

His voice was deep and resonant, like an ancient scripture flowing from a temple.

This was the aftermath of summoning five hundred million years of memories.

Those memories held cosmic wisdom a profound enlightenment that seemed to stretch to the edge of the universe.

His consciousness expanded infinitely, and it felt as though he could grasp the very essence of universal truth.

But such overwhelming power came at a cost. If left unchecked, it might propel him straight to the heavens.

It was as if he stood on the verge of ascension, a boundary far beyond human comprehension.

He clenched his fist tightly. The satisfaction of setting a new record finally began to sink in.

“As expected, martial arts truly are the pinnacle of all pursuits.”

Though his body and mind were at their limits, a satisfied smile spread across his face.

The Infinite Tower.

Cleared in record time.

A three-second run that no one else could beat.

Even if the once-world’s strongest fighter, Moomyeong, were to return,

Cheon Ocheon was confident that this three-second record would remain unbroken.

‘How could some unknown rookie from such an insignificant peninsula—a place that’s practically an island now ever hope to surpass this record?’

Cheon Ocheon harbored a deep disdain for Korea.

The northern part of the Korean Peninsula had become what could only be described as a “Demonic Realm.”

It was the most dangerous place on Earth, a land teeming with terrifying monsters, unfit for human survival.

“There’s no way I’m letting filthy Koreans take this record.”

Whenever massive monster waves surged from North Korea toward the continent,

the Koreans would shrug off responsibility, leaving the burden to others.

“An incompetent nation that can’t even handle its own problems and only causes trouble for others. Such shameless people.”

Feeling a sense of satisfaction at having prevented any Korean hunters from scaling the tower, Cheon Ocheon smirked.

Just then, his secretary cautiously approached him.

She handed him a glass of water and spoke softly.

“Master, you’ve worked incredibly hard. Your breathing is still uneven. Why don’t you rest here for a while?”

“You’re right. I should. I’ve already achieved everything I set out to accomplish.”

“Also… I have some good news for you, Master.”

Her unusually bright tone made Cheon Ocheon raise his head.

What could possibly make her so cheerful?

For someone who was usually so reserved, her faint smile was a rare sight.

“A new national-level hunter from China, the ‘Saintess,’ is here. She has chosen our guild, Taesan Bukdu.”

“The Saintess… has joined our guild?”

“Yes, Master. It’s like adding wings to a tiger.”

A heavy sense of joy welled up in Cheon Ocheon’s heart.

The Saintess.

The Saintess, of all people!

She had appeared out of nowhere and spread miracles across the continent.

Without expecting any reward, she had devoted herself solely to acts of kindness.

When monsters began to appear, they brought with them countless incurable diseases and curses.

Yet, she had resolved all those calamities singlehandedly.

There wasn’t a single person she couldn’t heal.

Rumors even circulated that she could resurrect the dead.

She was so revered that she had amassed hundreds of thousands of followers who worshipped her unconditionally.

And now, this extraordinary new star had chosen China’s strongest guild, Taesan Bukdu.

How could things possibly go better than this?

Cheon Ocheon felt elated.

“She’s here now. Would you like to meet her?”

“Yes, of course. We mustn’t keep the Saintess waiting.”

As she entered the room, her presence seemed to brighten the space.

Her long black hair shimmered with a silky luster,

and her graceful figure was accentuated by the curves of her cheongsam.

This was China’s new national-level hunter, the Saintess, Xiaolin.

Her elegant yet commanding presence was striking, and Cheon Ocheon’s admiration was undeniable.

But just then—

「The record for the 10th floor of the Infinite Tower has been broken.」

「The reward for the fastest clear time on the 10th floor has been reclaimed.」

「The record for the 20th floor of the Infinite Tower has been broken.」

「The reward for the fastest clear time on the 20th floor has been reclaimed.」

「The record for the 30th floor of the Infinite Tower has been broken.」

「The reward for the fastest clear time on the 30th floor has been reclaimed.」

[……]

“…?”

A stream of identical notifications poured in, just like the day before.

Cheon Ocheon stood frozen, his mouth agape, as if witnessing something he couldn’t believe.

“This is absurd.”

“Guild Master, is something wrong?”

“It’s because of Korea’s new hunter, Zz. ”

“He even broke the three-second record I set… This is impossible. It simply can’t be done.”

Cheon Ocheon explained the events to the puzzled Saintess, Xiaolin.

He looked utterly defeated, as though his spirit had been shattered.

Watching him closely, Xiaolin spoke softly.

“So, there’s no way to stop Zz from taking the record?”

“…That’s correct.”

“Then, what if something happens to Zz?”

“?”

“If that were to happen, the fastest record reward would naturally revert to you, Guild Master, wouldn’t it?”

“But Zz is shrouded in mystery. It’s impossible to track him down…”

At that moment, Xiaolin’s dark eyes gleamed momentarily with an eerie light.

“Don’t worry. Leave it to me. I was already planning a pilgrimage to Korea. ”

“After all, they don’t even have a single S-rank healer over there.”

” When the time comes, I’ll take care of Zz. Then the fastest clear-time reward will return to you, Guild Master.”

Cheon Ocheon stared at her in astonishment, but Xiaolin merely smiled calmly.

That smile, however, seemed far too dangerous for someone known as a Saintess.

HunterNet Forum

When news broke that Zz was climbing the Infinite Tower with one-second clears, the community’s atmosphere shifted drastically.

Just hours earlier, posts like “Zz is finished” and “The number one spot belongs to Cheon Ocheon anyway” had been dominant.

But with Zz’s record-breaking runs, those posts vanished.

[“Isn’t everything past the 50th floor practically a different genre?”]

(Photo)
(51st floor clear time: 00:00:01 screenshot)

“Insane, seriously . The difficulty spikes from the 50th floor onward, but he still one-second clears everything.”

“From the 50th floor on, even top hunters struggle, but . What even is Zz? Is he even human?”

“He’s light itself.”
“They say the Tower of Pisa tilts in reverence to Zz.”
“The reason Qin Shi Huang desperately sought the elixir of life was to witness Zz 2,000 years later.”

[“So from now on…”]

“Is Zz the world’s greatest?”

(Photo)
(A blurred image of Zz during the World Boss Lucifer raid, radiating so much light he couldn’t be photographed clearly.)

“Damn, it’s light again. We must worship.”
“Suddenly, Zz seems even more incredible.”
“Time to normalize it. The strongest in the world has always been Korean.”
“If Moomyeong hadn’t disappeared, we wouldn’t have to deal with the likes of this Chinese Guild Master .”
???: “Attention!”

[“The best way to handle controversies:”]

[“The Gospel of Zz, Chapter 1: ‘Prove it with skill.’”]

(Photo)
(A meme of a toad lifting a wine glass.)

“Ah, I apologize for doubting the light.”
“Oh sinful lamb…”
“How could you doubt the light? Repent.”
“Seek forgiveness.”
“I never thought I’d live to see one-second clears of the Infinite Tower.”
“Even Moomyeong wouldn’t be able to pull this off.”

[“I’m newly awakened, so I’m not sure—does the Infinite Tower end at the 99th floor?”]
“It’s called the ‘Infinite’ Tower, but everyone stops at the 99th floor?”

“Clearing the 99th floor is basically a rule of thumb.”
“Reaching the 99th floor = S-rank, more or less.”
“That’s when hunters compare records to determine their ranks.”
“Of course, it’s not absolute.”
“There are hunters like Min Hayul or Han Jinseong who don’t climb the Tower at all.”
“And hunters like Park D00-sik who can’t even reach the 99th floor but are still S-rank.”
“Tower records are kind of like a combat power benchmark.”
“I don’t think anyone besides Moomyeong has reached the 100th floor.”
“I’ve been awakened since the early days, and I remember when Moomyeong once held a 100th-floor record.”
“After that, everyone stopped at the 99th floor. I’m not S-rank, so I don’t know why.”

As I ascended the Tower, I thought to myself, This is so dull.

“Wouldn’t it be better if they all just attacked at once?”

The repetitive grind was exasperating—waiting a full minute each time to declare a sanctuary.

“And to think I have to do this 100 times…”

I felt like I was going insane from the boredom.

But.

“Impossible.”

“Guild Master, is something the matter?”

“It’s about the new hunter from Korea, Zz. ”

“Even the 3-second record we set has been surpassed by him… This is unbelievable. It’s simply impossible…”

To the puzzled Saintess Xiaolin, the Guild Master recounted the recent events.

Heavenly Sky (Cheon Ocheon) appeared utterly defeated, like someone whose spirit had been crushed.

Seeing him in such a state, Xiaolin spoke softly.

“There’s no way to prevent Zz from breaking records, is there?”

“…That’s correct.”

“In that case, what if something happened to Zz?”

“?!”

“Then, naturally, the reward for the fastest clear would return to you, Guild Master, wouldn’t it?”

“But Zz is an enigmatic figure. There’s no way to do anything about him…”

At that moment, Xiaolin’s black pupils gleamed with a sinister light.

“Don’t worry, leave it to me. I’ve been considering a pilgrimage to Korea anyway. ”

“They don’t have a single healer above S-rank over there.”

” When the time comes and I deal with Zz, the fastest clear reward will surely come back to you.”

Heavenly Sky stared at her in shock, but Xiaolin was already smiling calmly.

Her smile, however, seemed far too dangerous for someone called a saintess.

HunterNet Community

As the news spread about Zz clearing the Infinite Tower’s floors in just 1 second, the online community was thrown into chaos.

Just hours earlier, posts like “Zz is finished” or “The first place is undoubtedly Heavenly Sky” dominated the forums.

But with Zz setting a new record, such posts vanished completely.

[After the 50th floor, isn’t this basically a different genre?]
(Screenshot: Record of 00:00:01 for clearing the 51st floor)

“Insane! LOL. Even from the 50th floor, the difficulty spikes like crazy, but he cleared it in one second!”

“From the 50th floor onwards, even S-rank hunters barely scrape through. LOL.”

“Is Zz even human?!”

Comment thread:

• “No, he’s literally light.”
• “The Leaning Tower of Pisa tilted to bow before Zz.”
• “The Qin Emperor searched for the Elixir of Life just to witness Zz 2,000 years later.”

[So, from now on…]
“Is Zz the supreme champion of the world?”
(Photo: The radiant form of Zz observed during the World Boss Lucifer raid, too bright to be captured properly in the image.)

Comment thread:

• “Damn it, it’s light again. We must worship him.”
• “Suddenly, I feel an overwhelming sense of awe for Zz.”
• “Time to normalize this—Koreans were always the strongest anyway.”
• “If Nameless hadn’t disappeared, we wouldn’t have to see a Chinese guy take the spotlight…”
• “???: Attention!”

Tower Progression

I climbed the tower.

“So boring.”

Wouldn’t it be easier if everything just attacked all at once?

It felt like something no human should endure.

One by one, monsters appeared, and I had to declare a sanctuary, wait a minute, then repeat the process.

“Doing this a hundred times… Ugh…”

I was bored out of my mind.

But I kept going.

The “Hell of Alarms,” as some called it, was truly a nightmare. But for an angel, such a fate was inevitable.

“Sanctuary declaration.”

As soon as the monsters spawned, they vanished into dust.

「You have successfully cleared the 51st floor of the Infinite Tower.」
「Record: 00:00:01」
「Fastest clear achieved.」

「You have successfully cleared the 60th floor of the Infinite Tower.」
「Record: 00:00:01」

…

「You have successfully cleared the 90th floor of the Infinite Tower.」
「Record: 00:00:01」

No resistance. Everything was settled in a single second.

Finally, the climactic 99th floor.

“Yawn… Sanctuary declaration.”

It was no different from before.

Even though the dust suggested that the monster was larger than usual, nothing could withstand the sanctuary.

「You have successfully cleared the 99th floor of the Infinite Tower.」
「Record: 00:00:01」
「Fastest clear achieved.」

But unlike before, the path to the 100th floor was different.

“Are they seriously making me walk?”

… Annoying.

Still, I had no choice.

With sleepy eyes, I trudged toward the staircase.

But something felt off.

Just a few steps in, I hit an invisible barrier, like an unseen wall blocking my path.

“What… is this?”

I stopped to think.

Something capable of stopping me?

“Is this… a barrier?”

No barrier could withstand me, but this one felt different.

It was as though the world itself was standing in my way.

Breaking the Barrier

“Ugh, this is getting annoying.”

Wasn’t the wish-granting reward supposed to be mine? Why was this so complicated?

This barrier wouldn’t break easily.

Heavenly wings and a radiant halo emerged around me.

“Haaa!”

Divine light enveloped my body as I pushed against the barrier.

As the light and the barrier clashed, immense pressure rippled through the surroundings.

The ground cracked, and the air roared like a storm.

Yet the barrier didn’t give way, instead pushing back against the light as if retaliating.

“This isn’t enough?”

I wasn’t out of strength yet. Pushing harder, the barrier trembled.

With a loud crack, faint fractures appeared, but it didn’t shatter completely.

The tension in the air felt like an impending war, and the pressure was overwhelming.

Yawning, I gathered even more power.

“…Yawn. This is the most troublesome opponent I’ve faced so far.”

But no barrier could withstand the infinite holy power of an angel.

Reaching out, I pushed further. The barrier fractured further as my divine energy expanded.

When the light reached its center, the barrier finally began to tear apart.

A burst of intense light filled the space.

Flash!

I stepped into the light. The barrier could no longer stop me.

“Even the strongest barrier can’t hold me back…”

I walked toward the 100th floor.

Waiting for me was…

“Huh…?”

A young girl, her eyes closed, sat silently in the center of the floor.

“Zz….”