One thing became clear while moving along the ridge.
These undead bastards were absolutely everywhere.
So dense that even weaving through them was a challenge.
*Thump thump thump thump thump.*
So I just started shoving them aside with my shoulder.
*Krrrk?!*
The ones I bumped into turned their heads, but I didn't care.
It was just a reflexive reaction — they hadn't actually registered me.
*'Where the hell are you, Tarion?'*
This was like looking for a needle in a desert with undead packed in from every direction.
Every time I followed a large presence, it was always a named monster sitting there.
I'd already struck out over a dozen times.
Just as I was thinking about finding a high vantage point and stepping forward—
A strange sense of dissonance hit me.
Somewhere within my detection range.
That one spot was completely empty.
As if not a single undead existed there.
I quickly climbed up the ridge and scanned that direction.
Of course, undead were swarming there too.
But the fact that I couldn't sense anything meant someone was deliberately concealing it.
I curled the corner of my mouth and leaped to a higher point.
And the moment I landed—
*Whoosh...!*
Something spread outward from me.
Like stepping into a calm lake.
Ominous, but I hoped it was just my imagination.
Because I really didn't want to get caught in a place where undead were everywhere I looked.
*Guuuuubaramooooosarahak.*
An unintelligible resonance echoed.
"Oh."
At the same time, I let out a soft exclamation.
As if they'd made a pact, thousands of undead turned their heads toward me.
Maybe it was because of the dark night, but it was pretty terrifying.
I moved my hands to the Judgment of Radiance and the Blessing of Eldoras at my waist.
And the moment I exhaled—
*Kraaaaaaah!!!*
The undead began to surge forward.
---
**[Nazebever-Style Draw, First Sword — Night Crow Hunt]**
A blade-blue aura spread in a wide circle.
The undead that touched it were instantly shredded and scattered.
*Kugugugugu...!*
Maybe it was because my stealth had been broken now.
The ground behind me trembled along with all kinds of spine-chilling cries.
Now that the master's location had been exposed, even part of the legion that had been rushing toward the castle turned this way.
I smiled.
With things as they were, there was only one option left.
Full speed ahead.
*Kwagagagak!!*
I cut down everything in my path and accelerated.
Countless undead blocked the way to stop me from reaching their master.
*Kwajajak!!*
But it didn't matter.
The unique floor had been created, the floor had been reinforced, and all kinds of named monsters had spawned — but the rest were just regular monsters.
Even with Mortarion's reinforcement, they weren't strong enough to stop someone in the 130s.
"Clear the path, you weaklings."
Just as I was cutting through, a grim voice rang out.
Death Knight Kurga, lifting a massive greatsword and batting away the undead monsters in front of him.
One of the named monsters created by the floor reinforcement.
"Foolish human."
Behind Kurga.
The Necromancer of the Century, Mortarion, sneered.
All that came to face him and his immortal army was a single person?
This wasn't even a matter of arrogance.
There was no other explanation but insanity.
"You will make a fine soldier."
A body with foolish but powerful strength.
Maybe a new named monster could be created from it.
"My knight Kurga. Kill him with as few wounds as possible. I will make him my servant."
Having given his order, Mortarion leisurely looked ahead.
But his composure didn't last long.
A question mark formed on his face.
Why wasn't Death Knight Kurga answering?
And why wasn't he moving?
The enemy was right in front of him.
"Kurga."
He called again, but still — silence.
Kurga couldn't even turn to look this way, only trembling faintly.
Mortarion's question mark grew larger and larger.
Kurga was a powerhouse once called the greatest swordsman of an entire kingdom.
For someone like that to tremble because of a single human — impossible.
"I've heard of this before. Even when someone dies and becomes undead, their instincts and intuition from life don't completely disappear."
Jinhyuk, now standing right in front of him, looked down at Kurga.
"You can't picture it, can you? The image of you winning."
Kurga didn't answer.
Because he was busy fighting his own battle.
*Swing. Kill the enemy in front of you. Swing. Cut the enemy down. Swing. Swing. Swing.*
He kept issuing commands, but it was useless.
Every nerve and sense in his body was stubbornly refusing.
Refusing to challenge the existence before him.
*Swick!*
Death Knight Kurga's head sliced through the air — meaninglessly.
"My servants!! Reveal yourselves before me now and destroy my master's enemy!!!"
Mortarion didn't hesitate at the grotesque sight.
He pulled out all the elites he'd been saving.
This enemy was far too ominous to hold anything back.
In an instant, an elite undead unit rose up and surrounded Jinhyuk.
But they couldn't slow his advance by even a single second.
*Swaaak!*
As if a line had been drawn, the elite soldiers shattered and scattered.
Jinhyuk burst through them and let out a low breath.
*'I don't need to call them.'*
From the moment he'd left the castle alone after going stealth, his hand had been hovering over the SOS button.
Ready to press it in 0.1 seconds at any time.
But after cutting down Death Knight Kurga and facing the Necromancer of the Century, Mortarion — he realized.
There was no need.
Mortarion and his named monsters were no different.
The overwhelming pressure from this extreme level gap didn't disappear.
*'The goal was always to defend the castle anyway.'*
From the moment the floor was created until now.
There had never been a single moment where victory or defeat was the question.
It was always just about clearing or failing — that's why I'd put in the effort.
"O long-slumbering sources of curses."
Of course, Mortarion seemed unaware of this.
He still couldn't accept it.
Mortarion pulled out a large box and flung it wide open.
Hundreds of curses poured out from it.
"Consumed by curses, di—?"
His vision flipped, and a question mark formed on Mortarion's face.
But finding an answer to it was impossible.
His head, already separated from his body, began turning to ash.
"Nooooooo!!"
The last thing Mortarion saw was his enemy, ignoring the curses battering his body, kneeling on the ground and screaming in agony.
Jinhyuk, clutching his head, stared at the now-open box.
If it had stayed closed and Momo had picked it up, it would've been a great cursed item acquisition.
But he'd let his guard down, and it had been opened.
*Thud.*
"Ah."
Only then did Mortarion's crumbling body catch his eye.
He'd been so startled by the box opening that he'd cut him down.
That must have been the finishing blow.
A post he'd once seen on the Tower Site came to mind.
---
**-Summoner class special: Without summons, you're garbage.**
---
Even the Necromancer of the Century couldn't escape this "special."
At the time, I thought people were just being inflammatory, but now I realized it was a legendary quote.
---
*Ding!*
**[The Necromancer of the Century, Mortarion, has returned to nothing!]**
**[The immortal army under Mortarion's command is dissipating!]**
---
I turned around.
They'd been charging in with foam at the mouths, which was a little scary.
But now, as if it had never happened, they were all collapsing and turning to ash.
---
**[The Immortal Legion never even reached Solaum, the capital city of Saintra!]**
**[Not a single casualty occurred among Player Yoo Jinhyuk's party or in Saintra!]**
**[You have overwhelmingly crushed an impossible difficulty! A great victory that will be recorded in history forever!]**
**[You have cleared the unique floor 'Saintra's Final Siege'! The sub-floors are being processed as cleared!]**
**[Floor 74 of the Reinforced Tower of Despair is cleared!]**
**[Floor 75 of the Reinforced Tower of Despair is cleared!]**
**.**
**.**
**.**
**[Floor 80 of the Reinforced Tower of Despair is cleared!]**
**[Clear rank for Floors 74 through 80 has achieved SSS+!]**
**[Returning to Solaum, the capital of Saintra, will finalize the achievement gauge settlement.]**
**[You have acquired the achievement 'One Who Defeated the Immortal Army'! / Level: 130 / Rank: Epic]**
**[Unique Trait 'Level Matching' activated! The highest-level member, Seira Kincaiton, is selected as the standard.]**
**[Player Yoo Jinhyuk levels up!]**
**[Player Yoo Jinhyuk levels up!]**
**.**
**.**
**.**
**[Player Yoo Jinhyuk has reached Level 137!]**
---
The achievement I'd gotten from killing the black dragon Drakkan last time — Dragon Slayer.
Dragon Slayer's achievement level was 200, and its rank was Legendary.
It hit me anew.
That dragon was really absurdly strong — it just had a lot of environmental factors working in its favor.
---
**[You have acquired 3 Blank Cards — Common!]**
**[Black Knight Commander Seira Kincaiton's experience has increased! Current Level: 202 / Current EXP: 90%]**
**[Yodel Ranger Vice-Captain Kancho's level has increased! Current Level: 136]**
**[Unique Trait 'Clay Rides the Wind' level has increased! Current Level: 4]**
** Explosion amplification value proportional to speed has increased!**
**[Undying Dark Castro's level has increased! Current Level: 143]**
**[Unique Skill 'Ice Path' acquired!]**
** The path the lord of cold walks will freeze completely!**
**[Greedy Collector Momo's level has increased! Current Level: 141]**
**[Unique Trait 'Presence Suppression' level has increased! Current Level: 10]**
** You can walk more stealthily than usual!**
** Even when facing someone directly, they won't notice your existence unless they're paying attention!**
**[Star Alchemist Elia Posen's accumulated experience has increased! Applied upon awakening to Epic!]**
**[Sky Reader Kamela Sirin's accumulated experience has increased! Applied upon awakening to Epic!]**
**[Forged-in-Darkness Steel Goblin Renya's level has increased! Current Level: 137]**
**[Goblin Killing Fist — Advanced level has increased! Current Level: 2]**
---
I swallowed dryly and checked the messages flashing by.
My friends and I leveling up and gaining experience was an excellent boon.
But this alone wasn't enough.
More precisely — it couldn't end like this.
Do you know how much gold I'd dumped into this?!
After taking a deep breath—
"MOOOOMOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!"
I shouted with all my strength.
If the system wouldn't give it, there was nothing I could do.
I had to grab it myself.
"I'm here!!"
She didn't ask why I called.
In an instant, she went straight to Mortarion's corpse and slammed on the brakes with a *skreeee!* Great Momo-sensei.
I stood beside Doctor Mo, who had started operating the moment she arrived.
*Thump-thump.*
I could see all kinds of things being pulled out, but I had no idea how good they were.
After rummaging for a while, Momo pulled something out with a *swoosh.*
"This is the best one!"
My eyes naturally moved to it.
And I couldn't help but draw a massive question mark.
A single book — so old it looked like it would fall apart any second.
*This* is the best one...?
----------
T/N:
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