So far, I had taken down two Minotaurs.

It was true—I hadn’t revealed my full strength yet.

— Admin: Constellations can’t immediately recognize your rank as 5th-Tier just by watching.

— Admin: If one were to descend directly to your floor, sure, they'd notice right away. But as long as they’re only watching from afar, you can easily hide it.

After cutting down two of them, I came to a conclusion:

I might be able to clear Floor 11 without using my full strength.

I didn’t know yet if that assumption would hold true all the way to the end of the floor...

But this was growth earned from choosing a 7-star difficulty option on Floor 10.

And I remembered what the Heavenly Demon once said:

— Heavenly Demon: A true martial artist must know how to hide 30% of their power.

So, I decided to conceal about thirty percent of my strength.

No need to go announcing to the Constellations that I’d reached the 5th Tier.

There were now three Constellation Quests registered.

As soon as all three were offered, a notification appeared stating that a maximum of three Constellation Quests could be accepted per stage.

Since I liked all three of the rewards, I accepted them all.

Two of them—offered by the Emperor of Undying Glory and the Giant Who Swallowed the Moon—both had the same requirement: clear the 11th floor stage while properly showcasing your skills.

The third came from the Saint Who Chases the Light, and her quest was a bit unusual.

She wanted to see me "press forward in the face of adversity."

...What the hell is that supposed to mean?

It was absurdly abstract.

But not exactly demanding.

Floor 11 might feel easier than Floor 10, but this was still Pandemonium Mode—there was no way I wouldn’t face some kind of adversity.

I stepped forward.

White sword energy surged and condensed on my blade.

CRACK!

I stabbed a Minotaur in the back, forcing its massive body to hunch forward.

Then I sliced off its left horn.

Its eyes immediately flared blood-red.

According to the Archmage’s advice, that was the signal for berserk activation.

SHHRRRIP!

The sound of an axe tearing through the air roared in my ears.

I caught the blade with my own sword—Mundum Exstinguit—and slowed it down.

Then I plunged the Fierce King’s Sword, charged with sword energy, into the Minotaur’s abdomen.

The axe that had just been swung with brute force suddenly stopped mid-swing.

That was all the opening I needed.

I wasn’t surrounded by just this one Minotaur—there were four of them total.

Not dumb, the remaining Minotaurs all charged me at once.

I exhaled.

Mana currents twisted inside my body.

Dragonslayer Swordsmanship Form Five: Náttskœrr.

A sweeping, crescent-shaped long-range slash.

The Minotaur directly in front of me was split clean in two at the waist.

SLIIICE!

And the ones rushing me from the left and right—cracks opened along their bodies.

The front Minotaur died instantly.

The others were near helpless.

I charged mana into both legs.

No need to target their horns anymore—one swift motion to each of their necks, and they were cleanly decapitated.

[Level Up!]

[Lv.46 → Lv.47]

THUD! THUD THUD!

Another Minotaur charged in from the right at terrifying speed.

THUD!

The ground shook violently.

This one was massive—easily over four meters tall. The others had been about two to two-and-a-half meters.

Since the “Boss Monster” title wasn’t showing above its head, it probably wasn’t a boss—but it came sprinting like a pro track athlete.

BOOM!

Chunks of the dungeon’s brick floor flew everywhere.

I saw black mana surging up from the Minotaur’s feet.

The thick, knotted mana concealed the nature of the attack, and that cost me.

The Minotaur’s foot slammed into my shoulder.

FWOOOSH—

My body was sent flying into the air.

I could actually feel the airtime stretching out—it was that long.

CRAAASH!!

I smashed into a wall with a deafening crash—but oddly, felt no pain.

Thanks to the Bodyguard Aura I had deployed earlier.

SMASH! CRACK!

I crashed through one wall and hit the next.

Buried in dirt and dust, I stood up.

This probably qualified as "adversity," right?

FWOOSH—

White sword energy flared once more along my blade.

I crouched and swung horizontally toward the Minotaur’s ankle.

The foot was severed clean.

The giant Minotaur stumbled forward, losing balance.

I severed both of its horns in quick succession.

Then slashed at its neck.

GRGH! GRRHHHH!

If one strike didn’t decapitate it, I just kept slicing until it was done.

GROOOAAARRRGH!!

Even their howls didn’t sound threatening anymore.

I had the strategy down now. All I had to do was repeat the process.

And before the day even ended—

BOOM!!

I brought down the boss monster of the dungeon Minotaur’s Watchtower—Zartan the Tyrant.

[Level Up!]

[Lv.47 → Lv.48]

Two levels in one run. A satisfying result.

[You have cleared Floor 11.]

[Player - Han Yuseong: Scoring Floor 11 stage results.]

As usual, the rankings for the existing 11th floor records appeared first.

1st – Strategy Union Leader: 801 pts

2nd – Black Star: 752 pts

3rd – In Pursuit: 743 pts

5th – BoiledPainIsDefault: 741 pts

⋮

⋮

[Score calculation complete.]

[Han Yuseong: 1,615 pts]

[You will be automatically moved to the Floor 11 Stairwell Waiting Room in 3 minutes.]

My score for Floor 10 had been 4,578 points.

By comparison, this seemed modest.

But that was only because my Floor 10 score was absurdly inflated.

Back then, I had cleared a 7-star optional quest even after finishing the stage.

As I scrolled up the Constellation feed, the reactions to the Floor 11 clear flooded in.

[‘Judge with a Thousand Eyes’ narrows their brows, realizing your power is far beyond expectations.]

[‘Sword Demon of the Black Typhoon’ reflects on your sword paths and martial techniques.]

[‘Warrior Steeped in Wrath’ reaffirms that Pandemonium truly is high difficulty.]

[‘Crimson Spear Ascendant’ notes your rapid growth rate.]

[‘Watcher Swimming in the Abyss’ quietly watches you.]

Thirty percent.

Even while hiding that much power, I still got those kinds of reactions.

Then the system informed me that all the Constellation Quests I’d accepted had been successfully completed.

[You have cleared the Constellation Quest from ‘Saint Who Chases the Light.’]

『Reward: “Lifsdropi” will be given. Please retrieve it in the Floor 12 Stairwell Waiting Room.』

According to its description at the time of quest registration, this item restores the body from near-death—essentially, it lets you fully recover even when you’re at death’s door.

It had the same ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) effect as the post-level-up regeneration boost.

In situations where leveling up isn’t possible just by killing a few monsters, it was an extremely valuable item.

[You have cleared the Constellation Quest from ‘Emperor of Undying Glory.’]

『Reward: “Cruorborn” will be given. Please retrieve it in the Floor 12 Stairwell Waiting Room.』

Cruorborn was a weapon attachment that restored health during combat.

It came in the shape of a gem.

Fighting with it affixed to your weapon, it would absorb life force from enemies and convert it into healing for the wielder.

I wasn’t sure why I kept getting items that worked better the more I got beat up... but hey, good’s good.

The final reward—from the Giant Who Swallowed the Moon—was similar to Gehenna, the elixir I’d squeezed out of the Judge with a Thousand Eyes last time.

It was another stat and mana-boosting potion.

FWOOSH!

A brilliant light filled my vision.

***

[Welcome to Floor 12.]

[You have received 2,200 coins as a reward for clearing Floor 11.]

The Floor 11 score ranking was registered as “Private.”

As expected—first place.

[The first arc of score ranking rewards, given up to 30th place, has now ended. From Floor 12 onward, there will be no score ranking rewards.]

[Starting from Floor 12, you may choose whether to register your scores publicly. Scores will not be shown by default.]

Just as the seniors in the Transcendent Gallery had said.

From Floor 12 onward, the score ranking rewards disappear, and the previously mandatory score registration becomes optional—based on the player's choice.

Title: Just arrived at the Floor 12 stairwell waiting room.

Author: ㅇㅇ*

—Like the seniors said, no more score ranking rewards after Floor 12. Was it Floor 50 to 61 where the second arc of score-based rewards kicks in?

ㄴ Yeah, that’s right.

ㄴ Admin: Yep. From Floor 12 onward, they’re gone. The first arc was just a kind of event for newbies.

ㄴ Admin: Only score rewards are gone. The stage-clear rewards are still there.

ㄴ Admin: The second arc is more like, “Wow, this guy’s still alive?” An event to honor that, basically.

ㄴ Shrine Maiden: Hawawa~ Have you decided whether to register your scores from Floor 12 onward~?

ㄴ ㅇㅇ*: Not gonna register, at least for now.

Since there were no rewards, there was no reason to.

I didn’t want to draw unnecessary attention.

ㄴㅇㅇ*: There are people hoping I’ll hit Floor 30 and unlock access to the Climber Gallery, right?

I’d heard that from Floor 30 onward, players could create or join guilds.

And to ascend the Tower properly, guild benefits were pretty much essential.

ㄴ Yeah, there are a lot of folks waiting for you to get there.

ㄴ They’re sharpening their knives for guild wars as soon as you show up, lmao.

ㄴ Dragon King: Beltui~ This is gonna be gooood entertainment~

ㄴ ㅇㅇ*: Then I’ll start registering scores again at Floor 27.

Score registration was basically a way to announce survival.

I did intend to use it again—for that purpose.

Climber Gallery, guilds—whatever came with it, I wasn’t planning to avoid anything.

Well, not that any of it mattered if I didn’t survive to Floor 30.

Floor 13.

The same place where “Ban,” a climber Pioneer had added as a friend, had died last generation.

Maybe it wasn’t a big deal.

Things had always been dangerous anyway.

I doubted I was the first Pandemonium Mode entrant of this generation.

Those who entered before me probably died early.

Didn’t even make it past Floor 10, I figured.

If I hadn’t picked up the Transcendent Gallery terminal either, I’d have died long ago.

I opened the Floor 12 coin shop.

There was a new item in the “Misc” category.

“...A baseball?”

35 coins.

But I had more than enough, so I bought it.

Thunk—

A square container materialized from the air and dropped to the ground.

Inside it was a baseball.

I picked it up.

A deeply familiar sensation traced through my fingertips.

The seams scratched lightly across my palm.

Been a while.

I figured I’d give it a try.

Throwing and catching alone, like I used to.

Not having a glove didn’t bother me.

This body no longer needed it.

I raised my arm and threw lightly over my shoulder.

Thump!

The ball hit the wall with a dull sound and bounced back.

I caught it with both hands.

Tap.

And repeated the process.

Again and again.

Thump.

Damn it all...

Even though I hadn’t touched a baseball in nearly two years, I couldn’t deny the sense of calm and balance it gave me now.

—Tap.

The ball rolled beside me.

The tangled threads in my head were beginning to loosen.

“I’m climbing.”

Unfortunately—

There was nowhere left to run anymore.