The farm assassins were cleaned up quickly.

The missions were completed out of order.

Originally, the sequence was supposed to be: enter the farm pasture, kill the lower-ranked assassins, go into the houses, and then deal with the upper-ranked assassins, the special-ranked assassin, and the guildmaster.

But Staff Sergeant Bae had blown up one of the farmhouses with a large round.

The moment that happened, every assassin came rushing out at once.

The mission to kill the upper-ranked assassins was completed first.

After that came Kruk, the special-ranked assassin.

He had approached under stealth, but was he really going to escape Gyeon Dallae’s notice?

She slapped a Binding Talisman on him, locked him in place, and Meatshield tore him apart.

Killing the lower-ranked assassins came last.

Staff Sergeant Bae’s guided rounds, the vampire, and Bardin were more than enough.

Rajix just rode around here and there on Blood Wolf.

He had gone off searching because he said he was looking for treasure, but apparently he had not found much.

And finally,

Guildmaster Jericho.

“Gaaaaaah! P-Please, k-kill me. Q-Quickly! I’ll tell you everything. N-No, I mean, I will tell you everything.”

The Mad Demon’s tendon-and-bone-crushing torture.

Honestly, Juhyeok did not feel sorry for him at all.

A villain among villains.

He had sent a son to his father just so the son would die by the father’s hand?

And because of that karma, he had made the father suffer for the rest of his life.

Shameless bastard.

The worst of the worst.

Guildmaster Jericho started spilling everything without pause.

So who was behind it all?

Surprisingly, it was the Imperial family.

The emperor had been the mastermind.

The one who had kept the CRUEL ASSASSIN GUILD in the palm of his hand and toyed with it.

The reason the assassin guild had survived for sixty years.

It had only been possible because the Imperial family had been covering for it from behind the scenes.

But why?

The Lexington marquis household had belonged to the Emperor’s faction.

He had been the commander who led the Imperial Army and the steadfast sword of the Imperial household.

And yet they had ruined that house in a single blow?

That dogshit emperor bastard.

Juhyeok did not know what his exact purpose had been, but he had casually done something even back-alley thugs would hesitate to do.

Then would the mission on Floor 79 be the emperor?

Well, fine.

They would do it.

This was about easing the resentment buried in Cossack’s heart.

Anyway, they had identified the mastermind.

And then—

Ding.

[You have completed all missions on Floor 78.]

[Reward: 78kg of high-grade Magic Stones / Multinational Tower Access Ticket.]

Along with the ticket and the high-grade Magic Stone reward—

[Global Notice: You have achieved clear grade S+++ on Black Tower NO.2 (Korea), Floor 78.]

[S+++ Clear Reward: 2 Platinum Badges awarded.]

This time, they did not lose the badges.

They headed straight for Floor 79.

────────────────────────────────────

Kallios, emperor of the Baratheon Empire, had dreamed from the moment of his enthronement of absolute imperial authority that would never be checked by anyone.

The obstacle to absolute imperial authority was, naturally, the nobility.

To him, the Emperor’s faction and the noble faction were all the same.

The Emperor’s faction?

Did they support the Imperial family for free?

In the end, it was all about interests.

You had to hand something over.

Politics was a living, breathing creature.

It was never fixed.

The Emperor’s faction could turn into the noble faction overnight, and the noble faction could support the Imperial household for the sake of profit.

That was what nobles were like to begin with.

They were all the same.

It was actually better when there was balance.

Two noble houses of similar strength keeping each other in check while maintaining an even distribution of power.

That way, neither side grew too large.

And the more the two fought, the weaker both sides became.

Then an unexpected variable appeared.

Hartmann, the strongest swordsman in the Empire, a Sword Master, had attached himself to the Lexington marquis household.

The scale tipped.

The nobles who had stood neutral flocked to the Lexington marquis household.

The Emperor’s faction rapidly expanded its power.

Wouldn’t it be a good thing if the Emperor’s faction became stronger?

Not at all.

In fact, the opposite.

A noble house of the Emperor’s faction that surpassed the authority of the Imperial family...

He might have to govern the Empire while constantly watching their reactions.

The Lexington family’s power had to be weakened.

How?

Remove the one who had broken the balance.

Sword Master Victor Hartmann.

But the bastard was strong.

There was no way to deal with him by force.

So they decided to break him from within.

By kidnapping Hartmann’s young child.

It worked.

The greatest Sword Master in the Empire was broken.

The Lexington family collapsed too.

The balance of power returned to its proper place.

In truth, there was another reason Hartmann had to be dealt with.

Like any knight who wielded a sword, Kallios had also dreamed of becoming a Sword Master.

But he had never crossed that wall.

He had not even come close.

His skill was merely ordinary.

The realm of the Sword Master was far, far away.

Kallios burned with jealousy.

Why could Hartmann become one, but not him?

They were the same age.

He had had far more chances than Hartmann to become a Sword Master.

In any case, the plan had succeeded.

Emperor Kallios reached out a hand to the despairing Hartmann.

He acknowledged his succession to the marquis title and even entrusted him with the position of commander of the Imperial Army.

At the same time, he subjected him to continuous gaslighting.

Only with you can we keep the wicked Roland ducal house in check.

The ones who kidnapped your child were probably the Rolands as well.

Let us grow stronger together and uncover the truth.

Time passed.

Emperor Kallios gradually built up independent power of his own.

He secured funding, took hold of military authority, and built a solid foundation for imperial power.

The time had come.

The time to sweep away the Emperor’s faction and the noble faction all at once.

He sent the kidnapped son, raised into an assassin, to Hartmann.

Hartmann killed his own son.

He realized what he had done and went mad.

He vented his burning desire for revenge on the Roland ducal house.

Hartmann was exiled to Alto Island.

And the bloody purge began.

Absolute power, perfected.

Noble faction, Emperor’s faction, neutral faction—it did not matter. Any noble house that seemed even a little too strong was wiped out.

Sword Master?

So what if someone was strong in combat?

His head was lacking.

He would never know, not until the day he died,

that the one who had planned all of this was Kallios himself.

Kallios raised a celebratory goblet all alone in a secret chamber.

He was a man of exceptional caution.

He had one hundred rooms like this.

He never slept in the same room every time.

He always changed his sleeping quarters.

All of it was to avoid assassination.

He knew, because he had run an assassin guild himself.

A single moment of carelessness could bring the worst possible result.

An emperor of absolute power was public enemy number one by nature.

How many people would rejoice ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) if he died?

But right then—

BOOOOM! BOOM!

A thunderous crash came from outside.

At the same time—

“Enemies! Intruders have broken in!”

“Catch them!”

“Where are the royal guards?”

“Release the hounds!!!”

Intruders?

Daring to enter the Imperial Palace!

‘Could they be assassins?’

But Kallios was not worried.

The emperor’s secret detached palace had been built in the shape of a maze.

Twisting corridors, countless branching paths, one hundred rooms.

No matter how exceptional an assassin was, they would never make it this far, and even if they did, how could they find the exact room he was in among one hundred?

Boom! Boom-boom!

That was why he calmly kept sipping wine.

Boom! Boom-boom! Boom-boom!

Even as he heard something collapsing.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Even as the sound drew closer and closer... wait.

‘That’s too close.’

BOOM!

A gigantic fist punched through the wall.

CRRRRUNCH!

As the wall was violently ripped apart, a huge head stuck through the opening.

“Found you. Emperor.”

What?

────────────────────────────────────

Juhyeok entered Floor 79.

Just as expected, it was the Imperial Palace of the Baratheon Empire.

He began the clear immediately.

But the worst possible missions popped up.

[Floor 79 Basic Mission: Break through the outer gate of the Baratheon Imperial Palace (Time Attack: 10 minutes).]

[Floor 79 Additional Optional Mission: Break through the inner wall of the Baratheon Imperial Palace (Time Attack: 10 minutes).]

[Floor 79 High-Difficulty Optional Mission: Enter the audience chamber of the Baratheon Imperial Palace (Time Attack: 10 minutes).]

[Floor 79 Extreme-Difficulty Optional Mission: Kill Emperor Kallios in one of the 100 secret rooms of the secret detached palace of the Baratheon Imperial Palace (Time Attack: 10 minutes).]

“Oh no...”

Every single one was a time-attack mission.

The time given for each was only ten minutes.

And the extreme-difficulty optional mission?

Kill Emperor Kallios in one of the one hundred rooms of the secret detached palace?

And do it in ten minutes?

Had this mission been made to be cleared at all?

As he was worrying over that—

Ding!

[Time remaining for Floor 79 Basic Mission: 8 minutes 27 seconds.]

Time was still ticking away.

“...Let’s move.”

First, the outer gate.

Bzzzzzz—

KRAK-KRAK-KRAK—!

The large round fired by Staff Sergeant Bae slammed directly into the gate of the Baratheon Imperial Palace.

BOOOOOM!

The gate collapsed.

The guards fled in utter confusion.

At the same time, Juhyeok and all his summoned entities broke through the gate.

[You have succeeded in the Floor 79 Basic Mission.]

[Level increased.]

[Reward: 1.9kg of Magic Stones / 6kg of high-grade Magic Stones.]

As expected, the basic mission had not been difficult.

Next.

[The Additional Optional Mission will begin automatically.]

[If you declare mission forfeiture, you will exit the tower with a successful mission result.]

Forfeit? Not a chance.

[Time remaining for Floor 79 Additional Optional Mission: 9 minutes 59 seconds.]

“Alright, let’s go!”

“Where’s the inner wall, sir?”

“If we follow the road, we should get there.”

“Hoi!”

“This old man shall locate it.”

Whirl!

The Mad Demon rose into the air with airborne stepping.

“It’s that way!”

Rumbleeeee.

The group ran.

The royal guards and knights of the palace blocked their path.

BOOM!

The Mad Demon rained down crescent-shaped qi blades from the sky.

“Go on ahead! I shall cover you!”

SPOT! SPOT-SPOT!

Juhyeok and Cossack used Shadow Step, Gyeon Dallae floated through the air, Meatshield carried Bardin, Staff Sergeant Bae advanced with tactical movement, Jepetto transformed into a bat, and Rajix rode Blood Wolf.

[Time remaining for Floor 79 Additional Optional Mission: 5 minutes 32 seconds.]

And then they broke through the inner wall.

[You have completed the Additional Optional Mission.]

[Reward: Tower-only Strength Enhancement Elixir.]

[The High-Difficulty Optional Mission will begin automatically.]

This was where the problem started.

Enter the audience chamber.

There were not just one or two buildings inside the inner compound.

They were all about the same size, and because it was night, this one looked like that one, and that one looked like this one.

“Where’s the audience chamber, sir?”

“Split up and just rush into random buildings.”

“Worker Rajix! This ain’t the time to be treasure-hunting. We gotta find the audience chamber first.”

“Hwaeh?”

“Bark bark!”

“It’s kind of dark.”

“Light!!!”

[Time remaining for Floor 79 High-Difficulty Optional Mission: 6 minutes 38 seconds.]

“This ain’t it!”

“The other side!”

“Huh! We’ve already been here.”

“Is it this place?”

“No, no, get back out!”

“Grab one of them and ask.”

“Hoi?”

“No need to search! We don’t have time! You treasure-obsessed hamster!”

[Time remaining for Floor 79 High-Difficulty Optional Mission: 1 minute 55 seconds.]

“T-The time!”

“It’s fine! Worst case, we reset.”

“It’s over there!”

“Oh!”

“Hurry, hurry!”

[Time remaining for Floor 79 High-Difficulty Optional Mission: 0 minutes 19 seconds.]

“This should be it, right?”

“I think it is, sir.”

[You have completed the High-Difficulty Optional Mission.]

“Whew.”

“I’m about to piss myself.”

“I already did, sir.”

They had found the audience chamber by the skin of their teeth.

[The Extreme-Difficulty Optional Mission will begin automatically.]

They entered the audience chamber.

The imperial throne where the emperor sat to receive his ministers.

And behind it, a path leading farther in.

“Let’s go.”

Rumbleeeee.

Juhyeok ran with his summoned entities.

The Mad Demon was still outside.

He was staying back alone to draw attention.

Maybe that was why there were not that many guards chasing after them.

In any case, once they entered the entrance to the detached palace—

‘...Good grief!’

He could tell at a glance that this was going to be hard.

Corridors like a maze.

Branching paths twisting in every direction.

And doors here and there.

‘Are all of those rooms?’

One hundred rooms.

How were they supposed to find him?

Did they have to open them one by one?

[Time remaining for Floor 79 Extreme-Difficulty Optional Mission: 8 minutes 54 seconds.]

Just standing there and looking had already cost them a full minute.

At this rate, the clear would fail for sure.

‘Haa.’

Were they really going to end this without even seeing the emperor’s face?

If it came to that, even resetting and coming back in would not help.

A way to find him... wait.

“Princess!”

“Command me.”

“Let’s go back to the audience chamber.”

Rumbleeeee.

They reached the audience chamber.

[Time remaining for Floor 79 Extreme-Difficulty Optional Mission: 7 minutes 16 seconds.]

“This is the chair Emperor Kallios sat on.”

Then he raised his hand and pointed at the wall.

“And that is a portrait of Emperor Kallios.”

“Ahhh...”

“Can you do a Tracking Talisman?”

“I believe I can.”

Gyeon Dallae pulled a yellow talisman from her robes.

The information they currently had.

The name of the target, the face in the portrait, and the imperial throne in the audience chamber where the emperor had sat.

“Knowing his precise location would be difficult, but I should at least be able to grasp the direction.”

That alone would be enough.

Gyeon Dallae sat down on the throne.

Like a queen.

Murmuring softly, she recited an incantation while holding up the Tracking Talisman.

FWOOOSH!

The talisman burst into flame.

It turned to ash and floated upward.

“I have the direction.”

That solved one problem.

But there was still the maze, and the limited time.

[Time remaining for Floor 79 Extreme-Difficulty Optional Mission: 5 minutes 14 seconds.]

Then?

“Princess, tell me the direction.”

“This way...”

“Understood. Everyone, follow the warrior.”

Swoooosh!

Meatshield enlarged himself.

He stepped back a little.

SHWAAAAK!

BOOM!

Then he charged straight through the wall blocking the way, smashing it apart.

“That’s cool, sir! He’s a tank, sir!”

“Hwaeng!”

“He cannot compare to Master Bong, yet it is indeed magnificent.”

“Light!!!”

SHWAAAAK!

BOOM!

Craaaash.

A maze?

Did they really need to follow the passages?

Smash through and go straight.

This was the maze-escape method of a true <alpha male>.

SHWAAAAK!

BOOM!

Craaaash.

[Time remaining for Floor 79 Extreme-Difficulty Optional Mission: 4 minutes 03 seconds.]

The time kept dropping.

Meatshield’s bodily charge grew faster and faster.

BOOM! BOOOOM!

Craaaash.

When Juhyeok glanced back, a perfectly straight tunnel had been punched through everything behind them.

BOOM!

CRAAASH!

BOOM!

CRAAASH!

“He is very close. The next one should be—”

BOOM!

A hole opened by Meatshield’s punch.

And at the same moment, one man became visible beyond it.

It was the exact same face as in the portrait.

“Found you. Emperor.”

[Time remaining for Floor 79 Extreme-Difficulty Optional Mission: 2 minutes 36 seconds.]

There was not enough time left to check the background information.

He skimmed it quickly, and it was almost exactly the same as Jericho’s testimony.

“Do we even need words, sir? I’ll finish this quick.”

Radiating chilling killing intent, Cossack approached Kallios.

“You vermin!!! Do you know who I am?! I am the ruler of Baratheon, the father of all, the holy—”

“Cut the bullshit!”

Cossack smiled coldly and continued.

“Then who am I?”

“How would I know that?”

“Rian Hartmann.”

“...What?”

“The son of Victor Hartmann, the strongest Sword Master in the Empire. You’re the one who sent me to assassinate my father.”

“H-How could—?”

“Jericho spilled everything.”

“......”

What was this?

Hartmann’s son?

Hadn’t he died?

And yet he really did look alike.

A man who looked exactly like a younger Victor Hartmann.

“We don’t have much time, so I’ll ask. Why did you do it?”

Kallios did not waver.

“For the sake of the Empire. To establish powerful imperial authority by wiping out the nobles who cared only for their own interests and not at all for the suffering of the people.”

“Fuck.”

[Time remaining for Floor 79 Extreme-Difficulty Optional Mission: 0 minutes 57 seconds.]

“Strong imperial authority. Sure, fine. Politicians are like that. But then you should’ve done it properly. You should’ve just killed him cleanly. Instead, you kidnapped me, raised me into an assassin, and sent me to my father so he’d kill me? You demon bastard. At this rate, you’ve probably put the Demon King out of a job.”

Kallios’s eyes trembled like leaves on a poplar tree.

“I am the emperor. I had to protect the Empire. There was no normal way to kill Hartmann. This was all for the greater good—”

Cossack let out a short laugh.

“The greater good. Nice. Then I’ll kill you for the greater good too. For a cause bigger than this pathetic Empire.”

“What?”

“To stop the destruction of the entire world.”

Cossack raised his dagger.

“W-Wait! If I die, the Empire will—”

“So what?”

Slash!

Thunk!

Kallios’s head fell.

Shffft!

Before it could hit the floor, a red ribbon knot tied itself around it.

[You have completed all missions on Floor 79.]

[Reward: Summoned Entity Rank Breakthrough Rune (conditional) / Tower Clearing Mission Reset Ticket.]

The item reward was pretty good.

[Global Notice: You have achieved clear grade S+++ on Black Tower NO.2 (Korea), Floor 79.]

[S+++ Clear Reward: 2 Platinum Badges awarded.]

And they got the badges too.

────────────────────────────────────

Three tower-entry chances per day.

They still had one left.

The climb to Floor 80.

They took the mission too.

[Floor 80 Mission: Kill the Demonic Beast Lord Diamat (Copy).]

[Clear Time Limit: Within 15 hours.]

The objective, in addition to clearing Floor 80, was to identify the true form of Diamat (True).

And then catch the bastard hiding somewhere on Earth.

A short while later—

[Kill Demonic Beast Lord Diamat (Copy) 1/1.]

[You have succeeded in the Floor 80 Mission.]

[Level increased.]

[Reward: 80kg of Magic Stones / Diamat’s Eye.]

The global notice rang out.

[Global Notice: You have achieved clear grade S+++ on Black Tower (Korea), Floor 80.]

[S+++ Clear Reward: 2 Platinum Badges awarded.]

[Global Notice: The Demonic Beast Lord Diamat (Copy) has been extinguished on Floor 80 of the Republic of Korea Black Tower (NO.2).]

Let’s go kill the real one.