Chapter 182: Heavenly Dungeon

Episode 182

They stood before the portal leading to the third round arena.

“We’ll enter the portal in one minute! Make sure to check your equipment one last time!”

Director Sergio, who had returned, shouted to the participants.

Everyone was busy preparing to enter the portal.

Kim Jinsung, who had already finished his preparations, looked at the white portal ahead.

‘That’s the Heavenly Dungeon, right?’

Its official name was ‘Tower of Trials’. It was said that the gods of the Heavenly Realm, who created this dungeon, distinguished it by floors instead of levels.

‘This dungeon is filled with Heavenly Energy, which is the antithesis of Demonic Energy…’

Kim Jinsung had a slight concern.

He was worried that he wouldn’t be able to use his full power in this dungeon, which was filled with Heavenly Energy, the natural enemy of Demonic Energy.

Although he possessed various abilities, including numerous skills and elemental magic, his most powerful asset was his hand-to-hand combat in ‘Demon-God Fusion’ state.

‘Dantilion said I wouldn’t be able to use my full power there.’

He had asked Dantilion about the ‘Tower of Trials’ before the first round. He had asked what kind of place it was and if he would be able to perform well there.

Dantilion had replied,

[Of course you’ll struggle! Heavenly Energy is the only natural enemy of Demonic Energy, and the Heavenly Realm is filled with it!]

‘…Then how am I supposed to fight there?’

[Just don’t use Demonic Energy! That’ll give you a head start!]

He hadn’t explained any further. He had said he didn’t want to talk about those damn hypocrites for too long.

‘It’s a bit ironic to tell me, whose specialty is Demonic Energy, not to use Demonic Energy…’

“Everyone, enter!”

At Sergio’s shout, Kim Jinsung and the other participants stepped into the white portal.

As soon as he entered,

‘…Hmm.’

Kim Jinsung suppressed a groan.

He suddenly felt a heavy pressure on his entire body, as if he were wearing sandbags.

It wasn’t just his imagination. A notification window appeared before him.

▶ Your surroundings are saturated with Heavenly Energy.

▶ Activating Demonic Energy will reduce all stats by half.

▶ Activating Demonic Energy will consume Beast Karma Points at a higher rate than usual.

‘…It’s the complete opposite of entering a demon world dungeon.’

He read the notification window and relaxed his muscles, trying to adapt to the environment of the ‘Tower of Trials’.

Meanwhile, one participant was feeling the exact opposite.

‘Ahh…! This is it!’

Juan closed his eyes and savored the refreshing sensation that washed over him.

This place was practically his home ground, as he could use Heavenly Energy.

‘I can definitely reclaim first place in this Tower of Trials!’

As his confidence surged,

“Attention! I will now explain the rules for the third round.”

Sergio stepped forward and addressed the participants.

“This is the 30th floor of the Tower of Trials.”

“…!”

The participants’ eyes widened.

30th floor?

“We were originally planning to hold the third round on the 25th floor. But after seeing your performance in the second round, the Master instructed us to increase the difficulty level.

This is proof of your exceptional skills, so be proud.”

Indeed, after the second round, the general consensus within the clan was that this was the strongest generation of prospects in history.

Not only were the existing top prospects like Juan, Luca, and Gian performing exceptionally well, but the prospects from the lower-ranked teams, like Alopsky, were surpassing them.

“I trust you all know what the Tower of Trials is. There’s no way someone who doesn’t even know the basics could join a Major Clan like Triunfo.”

‘…That was close.’

Kim Jinsung chuckled inwardly at Sergio’s nonchalant explanation.

If he hadn’t searched for information on his smartphone last night, he would have entered the third round completely clueless.

‘It’s a good thing everyone told me that the third round would most likely be in the Tower of Trials…’

The Red Team members, who had become friendly during the second round, had all said the same thing during dinner.

They had said that the newbie showdown always included both the Tower of Trials and a demon world dungeon.

He was thankful that he had studied in advance.

‘According to what I learned, you have to fight the boss from the beginning in the Tower of Trials.’

He had heard that it was the opposite of a normal dungeon, where weak enemies appeared first and gradually got stronger, culminating in a boss fight at the end.

In the Tower of Trials, you fought the boss from the beginning, and weaker enemies appeared later.

‘But if you fight the boss from the start, wouldn’t it be difficult to hold a one-on-one match?’

His prediction was spot on.

“The third round, held on the 30th floor of the Tower of Trials, will be a team battle.”

Sergio continued explaining the rules.

“The goal of the third round is for all ten of you to work together and clear the 30th floor of the Tower of Trials.

After the third round, the evaluation team will score you based on your performance in the dungeon. We will then announce the rankings for the third round and the final rankings for the newbie showdown.

Anyone who falls behind or is not present at the final boss fight will be automatically disqualified.”

The phrase ‘not present at the final boss fight’ particularly caught Kim Jinsung’s attention.

He was even more sensitive to it after hearing from Hans yesterday about the possibility of ‘accidents’.

“Any questions?”

“…”

“If not, we’ll begin the third round. Good luck to you all.”

Sergio finished his explanation and returned to the temporary monitoring area set up near the entrance portal.

Only the participants remained in the area where Kim Jinsung was standing.

“Alright, everyone, let’s work together! We can’t clear 30 floors unless we work as one.”

Juan naturally stepped forward and addressed the group.

“I’ll be the leader for this third round. I’m from Team 1, and I have experience on the 30th floor of the Tower of Trials. Any objections?”

He looked at two people specifically as he asked.

Luca and Alopsky.

“…”

Luca looked displeased but didn’t voice any objections.

He knew better than anyone that he had no grounds to challenge Juan for the leadership position.

‘If only my gigantification skill had worked properly back then…’

If his gigantification skill hadn’t malfunctioned for some unknown reason in front of the second tower, he would be the one standing there, giving orders, instead of Juan.

As for Kim Jinsung, he wasn’t interested in the leadership position in the first place.

‘It’s more convenient to have someone else guide the way.’

He silently agreed, thinking to himself.

Seeing their lack of response, Juan nodded and shouted to everyone,

“Alright, then everyone get ready for battle and move forward. The boss will appear soon.”

The ten participants, with Juan at the front, drew their weapons and cautiously moved forward, wary of their surroundings.

And as Juan had said, the boss appeared soon.

– Greedy beings from the Middle Realm dare to set foot on my land again!

A woman’s voice suddenly boomed from the sky.

– Very well, prove your worth against me, Melahel!

As the voice faded, a blinding white light engulfed the area, and a giant angel appeared before them.

A beautiful angel, clad in heavy armor and wielding a massive sword…

‘That must be Melahel, the boss of this dungeon.’

Given the nature of the Tower of Trials, where the boss appeared from the beginning, it was clear that Melahel was the boss of this round.

“Listen carefully to what I say!”

Juan immediately started giving instructions as soon as Melahel appeared.

He continued speaking through the microphone connected to his earpiece.

“First, it’s crucial to get used to Melahel’s attack patterns. That way, we can easily defeat her in the end.”

As he was speaking, Melahel launched her attack.

She swung her massive sword at them with incredible speed.

“We need to get used to the speed of her sword attacks!”

“Whoa!”

“She’s fast…”

Even without Juan’s warning, the participants were struggling to dodge Melahel’s sword.

Her attacks were fast and had a wide range.

However, no one was seriously injured by her sword, even after a long time.

They were all proving their worth as members of a Major Clan with their agile movements.

‘Her attack speed isn’t as fast as I thought.’

Kim Jinsung was even starting to feel relaxed as time passed.

He had been worried that the Heavenly Energy-saturated environment would hinder his movements, but it turned out to be a groundless concern.

‘As long as I don’t use Demonic Energy, it’s not a big problem.’

He was able to move without any issues by using normal Mana through his ‘Master of Mana’ trait.

For now, at least.

‘I’ve gotten used to dodging, now I need to see if my attacks work.’

He decided he had gotten used to Melahel’s attack patterns and formed a giant fireball above his hands while dodging her attacks.

He was planning to compress ‘Dragon Breath’ into a sphere and fire it, just like he had done at the end of the second round.

“What are you doing?!”

Juan shouted, but Kim Jinsung ignored him and fired the sphere at Melahel.

**Boom!**

A massive explosion of flames erupted from Melahel’s body.

…And nothing happened.

“You idiot! Elemental attacks don’t work on Melahel at all! How did you even get into Triunfo without knowing that?!”

Juan yelled at Kim Jinsung, unleashing a torrent of insults. It seemed like he was venting all his pent-up frustration.

Kim Jinsung, of course, ignored him completely.

‘If elemental magic doesn’t work, then I have to rely on pure hand-to-hand combat…’

**Clang!**

‘Ugh…!’

He instantly regretted his decision as he tried to block Melahel’s next attack.

He felt a tremendous shock throughout his body the moment he blocked it.

‘It’s impossible to block her attacks with normal Mana.’

He made a quick judgment and felt a sense of worry.

‘Then how am I supposed to fight her in hand-to-hand combat?’

He could only use half of his Demonic Energy in this environment, and even using normal Mana wasn’t enough to defend against her attacks.

He needed to try something new to stand a chance against Melahel…

‘…Ah, right. I have that.’

He remembered something he had forgotten and didn’t dodge Melahel’s next sword swing.

He took a defensive stance, as if he were about to block it again.

“You idiot!”

Juan shouted again, seeing that.

“Stop doing useless things and just dodge! I’ll figure out a plan to deal with her once we understand her patterns…!”

**Clang!**

– Ugh…!

“…?!”

Juan’s words were cut short.

His eyes widened in shock, fixed on Melahel’s face, which was slightly contorted in surprise.