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SERIES: Regression of the Cursed Blacksmith
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Chapter 28 - The Final Trail
[ You have entered the 50th floor. ]
His vision changed, and a message appeared announcing his entry to the 50th floor.
But the scenery, which had been the same all this time, had changed for the first time.
To be precise, he was able to see the sky.
“Huh, no way?”
The scenery he had seen until now was just a spacious field.
The edges were blocked by walls, and the top was covered not by a sky, but by a high ceiling.
But this place was wide open on all sides, with no outer walls or ceiling or anything like that.
All he could see was a vast, blue sky and a wide field.
A chill ran down his spine.
Seeing the sky meant there was nowhere else left to climb.
At that moment, the tower's guidance began.
[ Congratulations! You are the first player in history to successfully reach the summit of the Tower of Growth. ]
[ For achieving this great feat, the system gifts you 3 bonus stats. ]
It started with receiving the reward for the achievement of reaching the summit.
[ The tower has watched you from the very beginning. ]
[ You are the fastest player in the history of the Tower of Growth to reach the summit. ]
[ You are the first player in the history of the Tower of Growth to reach the summit without being hit a single time. ]
[ The tower will now bestow upon you a final trial. ]
[ You will choose one of the many trials the tower can offer and face it as your final test. ]
The guidance continued.
Then, countless golden cards appeared before Choi Hyun's eyes.
[ The cards of trial are ready. ]
[ Please select a trial yourself. ]
[ The content of the chosen trial will not be revealed until it is selected. ]
There seemed to be at least several hundred cards.
Perhaps because of that, Choi Hyun was a bit flustered.
“There are this many trials?”
Just what in the world is this place?
He had that thought for only a moment.
The fact that there were hundreds of trials made him think that their difficulties might all be different.
Of course, while the difficulties might vary, none of them would be easy.
Choi Hyun's brow furrowed.
“Do I just have to leave it to luck?”
With no information to go on, he was truly at a loss.
But there was no other choice.
In the end, he had to pick one of them.
It was then.
“Wait, luck?”
Suddenly, he remembered something he had momentarily forgotten.
It was the God of Wagers' Protection.
“When it comes to luck, there’s nothing better than the God of Wagers' Protection.”
There was no reason to hesitate.
He immediately used the God of Wagers' Protection.
[ The God of Wagers' Protection is activated. ]
As the God of Wagers' Protection activated, its characteristic gentle breeze enveloped Choi Hyun.
Thanks to that, Choi Hyun felt much less burdened and slowly examined the cards.
But as he looked over the cards, one in particular glowed with a faint, whitish light.
“This is the one.”
The other cards didn't glow.
Only this one did.
This meant the God of Wagers' Protection was giving him a hint.
Before picking it, Choi Hyun checked the bonus stats he had acquired. He invested all of them into Dexterity.
He checked just in case, but his specs were in peak condition.
After finishing his check, Choi Hyun finally picked the card.
[ You have selected a trial. ]
[ The tower smiles upon your choice. ]
[ The trial will now begin. ]
[ The final challenge begins. ]
Fwaaa!
The cards vanished.
And the challenge began.
“The final challenge, huh.”
The words "final challenge" made Choi Hyun's heart race.
As soon as the trial began, the floor started to change rapidly.
To be precise, the once-solid stone floor was suddenly filled with water, forming a shallow pool.
The water was shallow, only reaching up to his ankles.
Jingle-
The sound of a bell.
Turning his head toward the sound, he saw a bell the size of an adult's fist hanging from a stem that looked like a fishing rod.
- Geumgang Anglerfish Lv.???
Above the bell was a nameplate that read "Geumgang Anglerfish."
“Geumgang Anglerfish?”
Seeing that it even had a level displayed above it, it seemed like this was the monster for the trial.
But it looked like a bell, so why was it named Geumgang Anglerfish?
At that moment, the protruding bell ducked down and disappeared in the water.
“It submerged?”
In water this shallow?
Then, a short while later.
Jingle-
The sound of a bell came from somewhere.
At the same time, bubbles rose up from beneath Choi Hyun's feet.
In that instant, Choi Hyun instinctively leaped back, and just as he created some distance, a massive anglerfish shot up from the water's surface with its maw wide open before disappearing below again.
“……!”
It was large enough to swallow a person whole with ease.
That was the Geumgang Anglerfish.
“Wow.”
A faint exclamation of awe.
He had let his guard down because he thought the water was only ankle-deep, but it seemed that depth only applied to him.
Just in case, he touched the bottom again, but the floor beneath the water was as hard as the stone floor from before.
“But that fish can submerge through this floor?”
And I can't?
That was correct.
Then, the bell rang again.
Jingle-
Shifting his gaze, he saw the Geumgang Anglerfish's bell-lure moving around, making noise like a shark's fin.
It looked just like a fisherman's lure.
But that wasn't a fisherman's bait.
It was the bare minimum of a warning from the Geumgang Anglerfish.
He didn't know why it was giving a warning, but he was thankful for it nonetheless.
Without it, he would only know of the creature's appearance right before it burst out.
At that moment, the creature's bell disappeared again.
Choi Hyun ran.
The bell's disappearance meant the creature was about to surface.
And just as he expected.
“Kuaaaaaah!”
The Geumgang Anglerfish burst out again with its maw open right where Choi Hyun had been standing.
Splash!
The Geumgang Anglerfish submerged again with a loud noise.
It was truly strange how it could move as if it was swimming in the ocean in such shallow water.
In any case, he had finished analyzing the creature.
Keep an eye on the bell, and when it disappears, be wary of the floor.
That was the first step to defeating the Geumgang Anglerfish.
Soon, the bell disappeared again.
Choi Hyun then raised the Dark Sword.
And the moment the Geumgang Anglerfish shot up, he dodged to the side and immediately swung his sword.
[ Super Focus has been activated. ]
[ Deft Hands has been activated. ]
[ Nameless Swordmanship has been activated. ]
[ Ultra Strong Strike has been activated. ]
KWAAAAANG!!
There was a heavy, explosive sound.
The attack was a success.
Splash!
The Geumgang Anglerfish disappeared.
Soon, the bell reappeared again.
His grip tingled.
He had definitely timed his dodge and attack perfectly, but strangely, it didn't feel like the attack had been successful.
It was because the creature was so incredibly tough.
Before the Geumgang Anglerfish could attack again, Choi Hyun checked the information on the Dark Sword.
[ Dark Swordsman's Sword ]
- Type: Item
- Requirement: Level 60 or higher. *However, all usage restrictions are removed within the Tower of Growth.
- durability: 2,410/2,600 (2,000+600)
- attack power: 390 (300+90)
- Options:
1. When using sword-related skills, additional power increases by 10%
2. skill, ‘Ultra Strong Strike’ can be used.
# The sword used by the 49th floor's gatekeeper, the Dark Swordsman.
# Has been perfectly repaired by a skilled blacksmith, and some of its performance has been enhanced.
# The enhanced performance will disappear if the durability drops below its original value.
What the hell?
Its durability dropped by 190 from just one attack?
It was crazy.
Just how tough was its body that nearly 200 durability was shaved off from a single blow?
He couldn't help but frown.
He immediately raised the Hammer of Repair and struck the Dark Sword.
Clang, clang, clang-
The durability was restored.
It seemed that with this boss, just like what he did with the Wandering Knight, he would have to use a hit-and-run—no, a hit-and-fix—strategy to deal with it.
“Still, in the end, I will be the one to win.”
Anyone else would have given up long ago.
But Choi Hyun was different.
Because he had above-average physical stats and a repair skill.
Jingle-
The bell rang once more.
Choi Hyun raised the Dark Sword again.
“Alright, come at me.”
“I'll take you on as many times as you want.”
“Because I will never be the one to fall.”
* * *
The world was in an uproar.
To be precise, it was in an uproar again.
There was only one reason.
Because of the 50th-floor challenge that Choi Hyun had started.
The Tower of Growth, which everyone thought maxed out at 49 floors, actually had a 50th floor.
This fact alone was enough to set the world abuzz once more.
“Whoa, amazing. A 50th floor.”
“Isn't that insane?”
“At this rate, what if there’s a 51st floor too?”
“Ah, that's overkill. The max entry level is 30, so how much higher is it supposed to go?”
“How high does this thing go?”
As news of Choi Hyun's 50th-floor challenge spread, Bukhansan Mountain, which was already saturated, became even more severely overcrowded.
And now, 12 hours after Choi Hyun began his challenge, the excitement still showed no signs of cooling down.
“But it looks like the 50th floor is really, really difficult, right?”
“It took him a little less than 12 hours to clear up to the 49th floor, so how is he taking 12 hours on just the 50th floor?”
“If he fails now, it'll be legendary.”
“Legendary? Come on, you have to give him credit. For a Level 1 blacksmith to have come this far, we should cut him some slack on the 50th floor, man.”
“That's true.”
“He beat China, so let's have a drink~”
Now, about 12 hours after Choi Hyun began his 50th-floor challenge, public opinion was split exactly at fifty-fifty.
There was the side that thought he would likely fail, and the side that believed if he could last 12 hours on the 50th floor, he would definitely succeed.
It was then, while opinions were divided.
Fwaaaaaa!
In the pitch-black night.
Before all the people who were staying up all night under floodlights, the tower began to emit a brilliant golden light.
Someone who saw it said-
“Huh, no way?”
[ The 50th floor has been cleared. ]
[ The conqueror is the player, “Choi Hyun.” ]
The system notification announced yet another miracle.
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