Ch-273. **Transcendence of the Legacy**
—
“Any technique that has been successfully blocked cannot be challenged again. At most, only one hundred people will pass and proceed to the 17th floor.”
Sansha spoke, as if urging them to hurry and succeed.
At that, a sense of urgency spread among the crowd.
There were roughly five hundred people gathered here.
Four hundred of them would be eliminated?
*You only need to block one.*
*That’s not difficult at all, is it?*
One hundred techniques.
A trial where blocking just one of them was enough.
Moreover, they could choose a technique that suited their own affinities from among those already demonstrated.
On top of that, Sansha was even adjusting his stats to match the challenger’s level.
Thus, at first, everyone rushed forward, eager to advance to the next floor—
“His rank… it’s different. Completely different…”
“I can see it, but I still can’t block it. He’s dominating the space itself.”
“Sansha is overwhelming the entire floor. He’s nothing short of a monster.”
As the trial progressed, the number of challengers dwindled exponentially.
To break through Sansha’s power, they gathered in factions and held discussions.
But if it were merely a matter of exploiting weaknesses in techniques, all of them were capable of that.
Most of those gathered here were hailed as *geniuses*.
They had eyes sharp enough to instantly discern an opponent’s movements and the flaws in their techniques.
Yet Sansha’s movements and techniques themselves were absurdly simple.
So simple that it felt strange they couldn’t block them.
And yet, they couldn’t.
They weren’t even blocking—just continually offering up their lives.
Because the rank of existence itself, the very dominion over space, was different.
Still, doing nothing wasn’t an option.
“The Four Dragon Sword. A death blade imbued with extreme poison. Unless you have strong resistance to toxins, it’s better to avoid that technique.”
“The Heavenly Dragon Stomp and the Dragon-Slaying Stomp. Both are mid-range techniques. They momentarily amplify mana at the feet to crush the opponent.”
“Most of Sansha’s techniques are close-range. He only has two long-range attacks. If we focus on those two, victory is assured. Techniques meant to be used at a distance lose accuracy the closer you get.”
They spoke animatedly, each offering their own analysis and ideas for a guaranteed victory.
No matter how monstrous Sansha was, it was impossible for all one hundred techniques to be flawless.
Every technique had weaknesses, and even the same technique might not work against everyone.
So there *had* to be an opening.
If none existed, they would force one into being.
Though it was called an individual trial, this battle was no different from a group effort.
A trial that demanded everyone pool their intellect and fully understand Sansha.
*This trial is about identifying the weakest technique among the hundred.*
*Charging in blindly won’t cut it.*
*What is it? Which technique is it?*
Their minds raced at a blistering pace.
Yet answers were hard to come by—
Until suddenly.
“…Found it!”
From the center of one faction, a man shouted in triumph.
Found what?
Soon after, the man strode confidently toward Sansha.
“Which technique will you choose?”
Sansha asked, eyes gleaming.
Such confidence meant the man had surely found an answer of his own.
The man smiled and replied,
“Unity of Divine Sword.”
“Very well.”
Shrrrk—
In an instant, a sword appeared in Sansha’s hand.
The blade began to vibrate lightly.
Sansha closed his eyes.
Watching that, the man taunted him.
“I am William, heir to the Valkent territory. I will ascend to the top of this tower and claim victory in this tournament. Watch closely!”
William.
He had grasped the essence of this trial perfectly.
*This isn’t a trial you can clear through sheer strength.*
Hyun of Adrium—the one who had shaken everyone with dread on the 14th floor—
Even he seemed to have given up, merely closing his eyes and remaining still.
He must have sensed it instinctively.
That Sansha was not an opponent who could be beaten by brute force alone.
In fact, the stronger one was, the harder it became to clear this trial.
But William had found it.
The sure path to victory.
Sansha’s weakness.
*Only when using Unity of Divine Sword does Sansha close his eyes. And his movements become simple.*
The logic was straightforward.
To become one with the sword was, in simple terms, to become simplified.
Avoiding a blind sword was an easy task.
And William was more confident in his agility than anyone else.
Clang!
William discarded his sword.
Thud!
He removed his armor as well.
He made himself as light as possible.
He abandoned the very idea of clashing head-on.
William intended only to evade that sword once.
“Hah.”
“Trying to lighten your body and dodge it somehow?”
“A desperate escape…”
“Hmm. Not a bad choice, perhaps.”
Watching William, people murmured in admiration.
After all, surviving until the technique was demonstrated was the core of this trial.
It meant that even evasion—without blocking—would count as passing.
*This method can only be used once. It’s truly a trump card.*
Evade the slowed sword produced by Unity of Divine Sword.
If he passed the trial this way, no one else would be able to challenge “Unity of Divine Sword” again.
“Are you ready?”
“…I am.”
William wiped the smile from his face.
It was time to face the trial in earnest.
Sansha stepped close.
William took a deep breath, pouring all his concentration into Sansha’s shoulder and the tip of his blade.
Then Sansha unleashed the sword.
Whoosh!
*I dodged—!*
Slice!
…William’s severed head fell to the ground.
“What—what?”
“He clearly dodged it!”
“Don’t tell me… it’s an unavoidable attack?”
Panic spread.
Anyone could see that William had avoided Sansha’s sword.
Yet his head lay severed on the floor.
Unless Sansha had played a trick, there was only one explanation.
*Unavoidable?!*
*That’s impossible!*
In this world, there existed a very small number of attacks that could not be evaded.
Ultimate techniques honed to the extreme.
Among them, attacks that poured everything into a single strike—the absolute domain of masters.
The “Unity of Divine Sword” Sansha had just used belonged to that same category.
Yet it made no sense.
Unavoidable attacks existed for a reason.
They were the absolute domain attained only by those who devoted their entire lives to a single strike.
But Sansha had trained *one hundred* techniques.
*Then does that mean all one hundred techniques… reached that absolute domain?*
If so—
Then the premise of this trial itself was flawed.
*Does he intend to pass no one at all?*
From the start, Sansha had no intention of producing one hundred survivors.
He intended to slaughter everyone here.
A supreme being who had refined one hundred techniques to their extreme.
*And two people blocked all of them?*
*Insane…*
Randolph.
And Wilhelm.
Just how had those two managed to block every single one of that monster’s techniques—
Not one or two, but a hundred unique skills that had reached the absolute domain?
Cold sweat broke out across everyone’s faces.
At that moment—
Shrrrk.
Shrrrk—
A man began to move, dragging his blade along the ground.
One by one, all eyes turned toward him.
They couldn’t help it.
“Hyun of Adrium…?”
“Is he actually going to challenge him?”
The monster who had remained motionless with his eyes closed all this time was now walking toward Sansha.
The Demon King of the 14th floor.
The beast who had slaughtered two hundred people with a single gesture.
Yet Hyun of Adrium’s movements were strangely sluggish.
Was it because he had exhausted all his mana on the 14th floor?
“He doesn’t look to be in good condition. Still, his body seems fine…”
Even Sansha commented.
To Sansha’s eyes, the man’s condition was indeed fine.
Despite the awkward movements, his body was perfectly normal.
*Is he acting?*
Was he pretending to be injured to avoid having his stats adjusted?
Sansha inwardly clicked his tongue.
A truly foolish idea.
This was the Tower of the War God.
Sansha, perfected through the tower’s trials, possessed the authority to see through an opponent’s abilities completely.
No act would deceive him.
“Which technique will you choose?”
“Unity of Divine Sword.”
“…Oh?”
Even Sansha couldn’t help but be surprised.
He had just witnessed it being an unavoidable attack, yet he challenged it without hesitation.
That resolve alone deserved recognition.
Hyun of Adrium.
The gazes of those watching him were filled with the same intense curiosity.
“With such an awkward stance, does he really think he can stop the strike of Unity of Divine Sword?”
“…This is nothing like what he showed on the 14th floor.”
It was different.
Completely different from the domineering figure he had been on the 14th floor.
He didn’t even assume a proper stance—he simply stood there.
Shrrrk—
Once more, Sansha’s sword began to vibrate.
Sansha closed his eyes.
And yet, Hyun of Adrium simply stared blankly ahead.
He showed no intention of blocking.
No intention of dodging.
Believing that standing still could save him from an unavoidable attack would normally be sheer stupidity.
“Hm…?”
“What is it?”
But soon, the people realized something strange was happening.
Sansha, wielding Unity of Divine Sword.
And Hyun of Adrium.
“Why… why aren’t either of them moving?”
“Why is Sansha just standing there?”
Both of them were motionless.
Sansha, who had always struck first, didn’t move an inch.
Then, gradually, a change appeared.
Sansha’s brow began to furrow.
Soon after, he opened his eyes.
His body trembled, as though something deeply displeased him.
“You…”
He spoke.
Then bit his lip.
And spoke again.
“…You pass.”
—
—
In the end, I had to choose.
Drift here indefinitely—
Or climb, no matter the cost.
In truth, the choice had been decided from the start.
*I’ll climb.*
To the top of this tower.
I had always intended to.
It was just that an unintended obstacle—one that wasn’t quite an obstacle—had appeared.
Randolph’s body was on the 30th floor.
The tower had forcibly summoned Randolph.
And the reason that was possible was probably because of *me*.
*Because I’m here.*
Now a Dragon God, Randolph couldn’t be summoned by the Radiant Dragon Einhassar simply because *my soul* resided there.
Likewise, right now, I was moving myself—Park Hyun-myung.
I had one soul.
But two bodies I could move.
When one moved, the other was left empty, and a body without a soul was defenseless.
That was why protections like guardian barriers could block attacks—but not the tower’s summoning for the sake of fulfilling a champion’s duty.
No matter how much I wracked my brain, no other explanation fit.
*…This trial itself was far too easy.*
Sansha’s trial was absurdly easy for me.
Especially if I chose “Unity of Divine Sword.”
An unavoidable attack—
In other words, a technique guaranteed to *hit* the opponent.
*If Sansha kills me, San-sha dies too.*
Because I possessed an absolute ability that reflected such “hits.”
Namely—
*As long as I’m wearing the Primordial Armor, Sansha cannot attack me with Unity of Divine Sword.*
The Primordial Armor bore an effect of 50% physical resistance, along with reflecting 210% of physical damage.
The moment Sansha attacked me with Unity of Divine Sword, he would die.
He realized that instinctively the moment he invoked the technique—and thus couldn’t act.
A being bound to carry out a trial, to fulfill a mission, couldn’t choose mutual destruction and leave the other challengers behind.
And so, at the moment I completed the 16th floor’s trial and ascended to the 17th floor—
《You have completed the 16th Floor Trial of the Tower of the War God: “Sansha’s Trial (1)”.》
《Achievement earned: “The First to Overcome the Trial of the Ancient Demon Sansha”.》
《The standard of your Legacy has exceeded a threshold and transcends to the next stage.》
《The “Great Legacy” forges an entirely new legacy.》
《The Hidden Classes “Destroyer,” “Warlock,” “Heavenly Demon,” “Eraser of Holy Radiance,” and “Destruction” have combined and transcended, elevating into “King of Ruin”.》
《Would you like to inherit the Hidden Class “King of Ruin”?》
A hidden class inheritance born of the Great Legacy!
That alone was astonishing enough.
*…But the hidden class transcended?*
