Squeeze—!
‘What am I supposed to do with this?’
I clenched my fist with it still fitted over my right hand, but it felt awkward.
It had only been a week, but the gap between the wooden sword I’d swung every day and this knuckle dagger was enormous.
Even when I’d smacked him with my shield, I was the one who got sent flying and slammed into something.
So what the hell was I supposed to do with a dagger like this?
‘Think. Think...’
This was reality, but I didn’t have to think of it like reality.
There had to be some method only I could come up with—a man who had protected countless worlds.
If it were me, the CommanderTeacherAdmiralMasterTrainerDoctorPioneerTravelerRopemanCultLeaderWanderer...!
"Huff... Huff...!"
"..."
Perhaps he was dizzy. The bastard stood in place, shaking his head.
The wiki was still saying nothing.
Whether it hadn’t anticipated the desperation pattern or was analyzing it in real time, it didn’t look like I could expect the kind of dramatic help I’d gotten in the Tower of Fate.
‘I do remember how to parry with a dagger, at least.’
I couldn’t perfectly imitate what I’d seen in the technique manual, but I remembered it.
Even if it was a stance I’d never practiced even once, I was confident thanks to all the real combat parrying I’d done against this guy.
Boom!
"Hu... man...!!"
"..."
I faced the bastard as he rolled across the ground and glared at me.
"This time, I’ll smash you to pieces...!"
I really might get smashed to pieces by his next attack.
The coliseum wall stood firm at my back. If I took a body slam in this state, I really would be headed for the afterlife.
Like that stone wall on the eleventh floor—
‘...A wall?’
There was definitely a wall behind me.
A solid wall that hadn’t even cracked after I’d flown several meters and crashed into it.
And that mysterious being right in front of me.
The boar from the tenth floor—the one I’d lured into a wall and stunned.
"Uwoooooo!!"
‘...This could work?’
The bastard was blind with rage.
He would charge in at full power without bothering to hold back.
He’d rush at me without caring in the slightest whether there was a wall behind me or not.
Thinking back to how he’d lowered his head when he charged at me on all fours earlier, he definitely...
‘I just have to dodge once.’
Even if I did nothing, he’d ram his own head into the wall and destroy himself.
The problem was whether I could dodge in my current condition.
‘I’ll manage somehow.’
I’d been walking a tightrope ever since I was dragged here. It was far too late to get scared now.
Squeeze—!!
"Come on, you bastard."
"Shut that mouth of yours—!!"
I gripped the knuckle dagger even tighter as I watched him charge.
Like the fighters I’d watched online, I raised my guard, narrowed my eyes, and watched him.
Flash!
"Hoo...!"
I took a short breath as red light burst forth.
Thud! Thud! Thud—!!
"You’re slower than before?! Come at me with everything you’ve got—!!"
"Squeeeeeal—!!"
The bastard’s speed had slowed from just moments ago as he let out a monstrous shriek.
Of course, it was natural for him to slow down after getting tired, but even accounting for that, something was strange.
‘Is something bothering him?’
His face as he rushed toward me looked slightly bizarre.
He kept scrunching up one side of his face and tilting his head as he charged.
It wasn’t just that he had slowed down.
He was staggering ever so slightly. I was his destination, but the path he took toward me wasn’t straight.
‘...A concussion.’
Below the head I’d struck with the shield earlier. Above the neck I’d smashed with the wooden sword.
Maybe it hadn’t been serious enough to cause major problems, but that didn’t mean there was no problem at all.
‘I need to dodge left.’
I had to dodge toward the side where his reaction would be even a little slower.
But how?
I could fall sideways if I wanted, but that alone would be dangerous.
If I moved too early just to dodge, I wouldn’t be able to lure his attack into the wall.
The timing I’d parried over and over until now.
I had to evade in that split second, right before his attack reached me.
In this awful physical condition, where sweat was pouring down my body just from standing.
‘Can I do it?’
I swallowed as I watched the light drawing closer.
I placed my left hand over my right and raised them slightly, taking a stance that would let me bring them down easily.
It would be too late to dodge with just my legs. My waist was in terrible shape.
My arms were the only part of me still in decent condition, and the only weapon I had was in my hand.
Thud! Thud! Thuuud—!!
The ground shook. My heart pounded as though it would burst.
The vibrations traveled from my feet up through my knees, making my teeth clatter.
My clenched hands and the legs braced against the ground trembled violently.
"Aaaaaah!!"
"Squeeeeeal!!"
Forcing down my fear with a shout, I waited for the bastard, now right in front of me, to slam into me.
‘Now—!!!’
At the exact parry timing the wiki had taught me, I brought my weapon down onto the left side of his head.
In the split second after my attack hit him first and before his headbutt could crush my body against the wall—
Using the dagger embedded in his head as a support, I put every ounce of strength into my arms and threw my body into the air.
Craaaaaash—!!
Thump—!
"Kuhk...!"
The shock traveled straight into my waist, which had already been hurting like hell.
But I’d dodged it. I could clearly feel the boar’s bristles brush past my body by a hair.
"Haa...! Haa...!!"
I hurriedly caught my breath, grimaced hard, and turned my head—
"What happened—"
I froze the moment I saw what came into view.
‘Stuck in wall...?’
He was stuck in the wall. Like one of those memes you see online.
I didn’t want to know why he had to be in that exact pose, in that exact state, but...
He was twitching while wedged into the wall.
"Fuck..."
What had I done wrong to keep being shown scenes like this?
At least he hadn’t ripped his clothes for this, right?
Rustle.
I planted a hand on the ground, supported myself against the coliseum wall, and got to my feet.
I nudged aside the debris that had flown around with my toes and slowly approached him.
"You alive...?"
"Our clan... will not... fall to something... like this..."
I squeezed my eyes shut and opened them as his voice trailed off from a mutter.
The faint twitching stopped completely as well.
"Whew..."
It was over.
This should really be the end.
Pat.
"From now on... don’t store it in a place like that...."
I said it as I lightly patted his back.
I had no strength left. My body, which had taken a light hit on the fifteenth floor, seemed to have been completely wrecked by this fight.
I didn’t have any visible wounds, but I felt like I would need to rest for a while at least.
‘Should I pick up a rock or something?’
I wanted to finish him off for certain, but I couldn’t find the dagger—whether I’d dropped it when I threw myself aside or it was still embedded in his head.
For a moment, I considered using a chunk of stone like I had on the tenth floor.
Fwoosh.
"..."
Like the hologram I’d seen in the Tower of Fate, the boar turned translucent before dissolving into particles and disappearing into the air.
So it hadn’t been a real living creature after all.
I didn’t know whose appearance it had copied, but either way, it eased my guilt... somewhat.
I knew it had been a choice I made to survive, but facing the actual result was different.
"Haa."
Rumble...!!
As I let out a sigh, the iron bars in the distance descended, kicking up dust.
It looked as though they were telling me to go back now that I had cleared the twentieth floor.
Ding—!
"...The wiki?"
Then, at that moment, I heard a notification from the wiki, which had been quiet all this time.
Wondering how it had stayed safely in my pocket through all that chaos, I checked the notification—
[Tower of Trials Floor 20 Cleared - TP + 2,000]
"Okay...!"
As expected, TP was awarded every ten floors. I clenched my fist and cheered.
‘The reward increased, too.’
The tenth floor had given me 1,000 TP, while the twentieth gave me 2,000 TP.
The thirtieth and fortieth floors would probably work the same way. Considering I could earn it the same way in the other towers, the income felt better than I’d expected.
Of course, that was assuming I could climb the towers...
‘Whatever. If I can’t climb them, I die anyway.’
It was practically a bonus event.
‘The dagger disappeared after all.’
Besides the dagger I’d driven into the boar’s head, I searched for the other dagger it had thrown at me, but it was nowhere to be found.
Like the revolver I’d seen on the tenth floor of the Tower of Fate, it had most likely vanished naturally.
Brush.
‘Maybe I can use the shield a little longer.’
I dusted off the shield that had been sent flying during the fight earlier.
It wasn’t in great condition, but given how little I had, this was practically A-rank equipment.
As for the wooden sword... regretfully, its shape was no longer even recognizable.
Feeling oddly forlorn, I picked up only the wooden sword’s handle and carefully dragged myself toward the coliseum exit.
[Tower of Trials]
-20-
Click!
"That was fucking exhausting, seriously."
Honestly, it felt like a miracle that I could even walk right now.
My waist hurt so much more that I wondered if I had seriously injured something.
‘...Whatever!’
I’d gained TP and mastered parrying perfectly. Since I’d repeated it dozens of times in such a short period, I’d accumulated experience like crazy.
I’d also discovered that the wiki applied guidebooks purchased from Starpang as though they were skill books.
Honestly, I’d gained far more than I’d lost.
After all the trouble I’d gone through today, I had essentially extended the timer by ten days.
I had plenty of time to rest and recover anyway.
Step.
-1-
[Apocalypse 355:09:48:33]
[Section 4:09:48:33]
[ 50 / 14 ]
"Damn..."
The moment I returned to the communal area and checked the timer, a sound of admiration escaped me.
How should I describe this feeling?
A sense of achievement? Pride in myself?
It felt like I had carved my name into a ranking board in a game.
Every time the number of floors I had cleared went up by one, I felt better.
It wasn’t a stat upgrade... but there was something satisfying about watching the number rise.
After roughly taking a picture of the timer, I returned to my hideout—and then—
Ding—!
"Huh?"
[Bonus for Successfully Defending Against All Attacks from the Floor 20 Floor Master - TP + 1,000]
"!"
Moved by the wiki’s kindness in giving me a bonus on top of telling me I’d done well, I slapped my forehead.
‘You really are the only one who loves me, Wiki!!’
Technically, Starpang had given it to me, but whatever.
I decided to treat the whole internet as something managed by the wiki.
*
[★ Attention, you bastards who slandered me.] (350)
[Author: Sword Saint Wiki]
(Verification photo of clearing Floor 20 of the Tower of Trials)
(Photo of numbers and a timer floating in the air)
You can curse me, tear me down, and doubt me all you want, but I prove myself with results.
Upvotes 455 Downvotes 33
[Comments]
Anonymous: Holy shit, what the hell is this for real????
dd: LMAOOOO at this point, before I even wonder how, I just think it’s amazing.
┗ Anonymous: For real; my first thought is just that this guy is a being on a totally different level from me;
Not an Eraser🔸: You worked hard!! You’re amazing, Wiki!!
┗ Not an Eraser🔸: (Sticker of a grotesque creature clapping with all its might)
Anonymous: No, how the fuck did you clear ten floors in three hours?
Two Hundredth Swordmaster: What the hell did you even do with that stance??
┗ Sword Saint Wiki (Author): "Well."
┗ Anonymous: I seriously want to beat the shit out of this guy LMAOOOO
[Pepperoni Pizza] - 300 TP
[Cider, 1L] - 30 TP
"Mmm~ Yummy~."
I took a huge bite of pizza as I watched posts and comments pour in without stopping.
If I had only received the reward for clearing the twentieth floor, I wouldn’t have ordered food this expensive.
‘But Wiki sent me this so I could eat something tasty, so I can’t help it!’
Since I’d even gotten a TP bonus, it was fine to splurge on one meal.
‘Though I’m not sure whether I really did defend against every attack.’
The boar had attacked me during its first desperation pattern and sent me flying a long way.
Of course, I had landed a parry at the exact right timing. If I had been stronger, if my weapon and armor had been better, maybe I wouldn’t have gone flying.
From that perspective, it wasn’t entirely wrong for them to send the reward.
I’d received it, so it was a sweet deal for me. I wasn’t going to worry about it any further.
"Haa... The taste of civilization after a week...."
I was happy.
It felt like when I went on leave as a private and got to eat real food.
Last week, I had feasted on chicken, beer, cola, dessert, and fruit. Then I’d spent the week eating only bread and water—it had been hell.
‘Which means it’s time to write another post.’
A week ago, I’d said I would give presents to the mentors of the gallery, so I decided to make a post to get things started.
Watching someone you used to dislike turn into someone you BE-like was what made it fun.
[This newbie is so tired, so I’m eating something delicious!]
[Author: Sword Saint Wiki]
(Photo of cheese stretching from a pizza loaded with pepperoni toppings)
(Photo of a plastic bottle filled with clear, carbonated cider)
Yummy yummy LMAOOOOOOOO
"Hehe..."
I deliberately wrote the post in an irritating tone, then laughed out loud at the reactions that came in.
The posts and comments were exploding. Both the people who knew pizza and those who didn’t were going crazy.
"Ugh..."
After laughing for a while, pain flooded through my entire body.
Now that the adrenaline had worn off, it hurt even more than it had in the tower.
As I struggled and leaned against the wall while lurking on the gallery—
"Hmm...."
A new post appeared. It was, in a way, an obvious and predictable one.
[LMAO if I curse him out, he’ll make another note of it, right? This is fucking annoying.]
[Author: Anonymous]
He thinks he’s so great LMAO.
A fucking first-run newbie, too.
‘They’ve got me exactly right.’
If they cursed at me, I would make a note of it.
I did think I was great.
And I really was a first-run newbie.
There wasn’t a single thing wrong from the title to the content of the post.
Honestly, this was the reaction I expected.
I had been acting cocky while trusting in nothing but Starpang’s ability.
‘I should give this one something first.’
Turning a crisis into an opportunity.
Wasn’t that precisely the path Han Seol should walk!
[Cola, 1L] - 300 TP
[Gift delivery complete]
[Recipient: Anonymous]
[Remaining Delivery Time: 5 minutes]
[TP Held: 2,923]
Since I had received a bonus, I could afford an investment like this.
After all, an enemy turning into an ally was more reassuring.
‘Any moment now...’
Thinking the time had come, I refreshed the gallery for a while.
"...Gasp."
I blinked at the title of the new post that appeared.
[LMAO, did you think I’d defend you just because I got this?]
This was unexpected.
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