The Edillen family had managed the island of martial arts, Famiran, for generations.
As a family rooted in martial arts, the Edillens had one wish.
To spread the family name far and wide through their martial prowess, not just by managing some remote island.
So they waited desperately.
For the birth of someone who could fulfill this wish.
And perhaps their earnest desire reached the heavens.
Finally, he was born.
A martial prodigy named Ragharr von Edillen.
From a young age, Ragharr had no rivals, not only within the family but also in Famiran and the nearby cities.
Even by the time he turned thirty, Ragharr had never lost a single fight.
To be more precise, he had never even approached the brink of defeat.
Perhaps that was why.
No matter how much he trained, fought, and won, the thirst for strength was never quenched.
Edillen needed a rival.
A rival who could make the martial prodigy feel the thrill of battle, who could bring him to the verge of defeat.
So he decided to climb the Tower.
It meant abandoning his wife, children, and family, but he didn't care.
As long as he could quench this thirst, nothing else mattered.
And so he began climbing the Tower.
At first, it was disappointing.
Because he kept winning, just as he always had, and his thirst remained unquenched.
But when did it start?
The fights began to get harder.
Battles grew longer, wounds increased, and accumulated fatigue weighed down his body.
His grand goal of becoming the strongest in the Tower also faded away.
At some point, when Ragharr entered a new floor, he no longer felt any anticipation or excitement.
Instead, terrible things named fear and terror crept over his body.
And he kept asking himself.
When the hell would this damned Tower end?
When would he reach the top and no longer fear stronger opponents appearing?
Of course.
Ragharr never got an answer to that question.
On a train he boarded on some floor, he met someone.
"What's this? A beetle?"
An enemy dozens... no, hundreds of times stronger than any he had faced before.
A being so powerful he couldn't even dare to think of victory.
"You're a beetle not even worth killing. Don't lift your head until the train arrives. Then I'll let you off."
If it had been the usual Ragharr, he would never have tolerated such insulting words.
But this time was different.
What stood before him was a mountain itself.
Rushing at such a being wasn't courage or challenge; it was just meaningless, pointless death.
Twenty-four hours spent with his head pressed to the floor.
To Ragharr, it felt like a thousand years.
"Get lost. It's extremely unpleasant having a beetle on my train. Ah, but since you listened well, I'll give you a reward. Take it."
His legs wouldn't obey, but he didn't care.
After receiving what that being gave him, he desperately crawled out of the train.
Because he knew it was his last chance at life.
And he came down the Tower immediately.
Vowing never to look up again, vowing to live as a king ruling over the island of martial arts, Famiran.
'I thought this, at least, wasn't greed.'
It seems it was a mistake.
BOOM!
The impact under his chin blew away Ragharr's memories.
"Kugh...!"
This damned Tower.
It had sent this thing up after all.
SWISH!
A straight thrust split the air.
'Where...!?'
A chilling aura made him cross his arms above his head.
A downward strike aimed at his crown.
The ground beneath him shattered, and his body was driven down.
He bit his lip from the terrible pain in his arms.
What the hell was this brat?
He couldn't read him at all.
He was absurdly solid in fundamentals, yet his entire body was steeped in ever-changing, unpredictable techniques.
And on top of that, his movements were much faster than Ragharr's.
Forget reading his moves; by the time he tried to follow with his eyes, he was already getting hit.
BANG!
He burst out of the rubble and stood up.
Not yet.
He couldn't fall here.
"Hoo... hoo..."
He wiped away the stream of blood.
But his vision didn't clear.
His eyes must have taken damage too.
He raised his head and stared at the brat from the new era.
The corner of his mouth twitched.
Was this the Tower's punishment for someone who gave up climbing and ran away, sending a first challenger like this?
"Why... are you climbing the Tower? For... what?"
Everyone who climbs the Tower has their own wish.
So, he was curious.
What wish did the one trying to trample him and rise above him hold?
"Well, for what, you ask."
"No one... has ever seen the end of the Tower. That means... no one knows how many floors there are. When your wish will come true... is also unknown."
"That's good."
"What...?"
There wasn't a hint of lie or bluff in that answer.
"I was secretly hoping for it. That there would be no end."
Jinhyuk smiled.
Having escaped the laws of time, he had become an ageless body.
It would be troublesome if new content wasn't prepared endlessly.
"Because nothing is more fun than climbing the Tower."
"Fun...?"
Ragharr let out a hollow laugh.
This was a novel concept.
Not climbing for some wish or goal, but just because climbing itself was fun.
"Even with a mighty being before you... do you think you can feel something called fun?"
"I don't know how it sounds to you, a resident of the Tower, but if such a being appears, I can just come back later."
Outside the Mythical Tower, there's an excellent place to grow: the Tower of Despair.
I can just go there, level up, get better gear, and come back to beat them up again.
After a moment of silence, Ragharr spoke.
"Is it still fun now?"
"Very much so."
Jinhyuk lowered his stance.
A vortex was rising.
It was time to end it.
"...I see."
Ragharr also clenched his fist and gathered his remaining strength.
How should he put it? It was a strange feeling.
Being on the verge of defeat, he should be feeling despair or helplessness.
But for some reason, he felt relieved.
Maybe that was why, even if just a little, he thought he understood.
The feeling of fun.
BOOOOM!!!
Smiling, he pushed off the ground.
The two drove their fists into each other with all their might.
Ragharr's fist grazed past the hair on top of Jinhyuk's head.
CRACK!!
Meanwhile, Jinhyuk's elbow drove precisely into Ragharr's heart.
"Khaaak...!"
A massive amount of blood gushed from his mouth.
THUD.
The master of the island of martial arts, Famiran, Ragharr, fell to his knees.
Jinhyuk slowly stepped back a few paces.
"...!!"
Having spotted something, Ragharr barely managed to speak.
"Was that... consideration for a relic of the old era?"
For the first time since the fight began, he saw Jinhyuk's body up close.
The calluses on his palms, the development of his wrists, forearms, and shoulders.
They were full of traces of someone who had wielded a sword for a long time.
"No. I'm not the kind of person who knows consideration."
"Then why... didn't you use a sword?"
Taking a breath, Jinhyuk smiled.
"Romance."
The heat and thrill of battle that rose from exchanging blows.
Thanks to that, he could truly feel it.
"Heh..."
Ragharr let out a laugh.
Romance, he said.
This guy was even crazier than he thought.
He gathered his final breath.
"The victor... deserves a reward. My death... will help... with what you're trying to do."
The moment he finished his last words.
THUD.
The head of Ragharr, the ruler of the island of martial arts, Famiran, and the head of the Edillen family, fell.
Jinhyuk let out a low breath.
Ragharr von Edillen, who had brought a divine beast to pollute the Black Sea and the island and sacrificed the residents as offerings.
He was clearly a villain.
But he was also a martial artist who trained his body to become stronger, and a senior who had climbed the Tower before him.
So, he thought it wouldn't hurt to say this one thing.
"You've worked hard."
He closed Ragharr's wide-open eyes and then walked toward the top.
And from a little distance away.
Renya, the steel ogre tempered in darkness, smirked.
"Splendid."
He couldn't help but say it.
His opponent, Ragharr von Edillen, was by no means weak.
He was undoubtedly a strong man worthy of being called a wall.
Because of that, Jinhyuk wasn't dominant from the start.
But after some time passed?
It became a one-sided, overwhelming battle.
His innate qualities were excellent, but that alone couldn't produce this result.
'Is it innate?'
This was a life-or-death battle.
In such battles, most choose to fight with the cards they hold.
That's not wrong.
In a desperate situation, it's only natural to pull out what you're most familiar and confident with.
But Jinhyuk was different.
Throughout the fight, he analyzed and adapted to his opponent, establishing the best strategy, moves, and methods for the current battle, and executing them perfectly.
From Ragharr's perspective, facing Jinhyuk must have been extremely disorienting.
It was like facing an opponent he judged to be at a hundred percent of their power, only for them to suddenly become a completely different style at a thousand percent.
This isn't something you can do just by being aware of it or simply having talent.
It requires the fundamentals, techniques, sense, judgment, and experience to not only support that talent but also expand it.
He thought of Seira and Dark in his mind.
Those two, who had been beating Jinhyuk up from early on, probably played a big role.
"Kuh...!"
A strange thrill ran through his body.
He was already starting to look forward to it.
What would he become later on?
Our master.
* * *
SLAP! SLAP! SLAP!
"Run faster! How can you be so weak!"
"Huff, huff! This thing is damn heavy! Help me out a little!"
"I'm weak, so I'm not much help!"
"Then at least get off my head! Your fur keeps getting in my eyes!"
"That's a valid point."
Whoosh, Kancho jumped down and ran after Rick.
They had somehow managed to finish it, but the problem was getting it to the top.
"KYAAAAAAAH!!"
Rick, who had been running for a while, stumbled and fell.
Renya, the ogre, dropped right in front of him.
His appearance was too fierce to suddenly encounter, and Rick's heart nearly stopped.
Ignoring that, Renya grabbed the weapon with one hand and Rick's collar with the other.
Kancho, sensing the situation, climbed up Renya's body and onto his shoulder.
"W-Why me...?"
"We're in the same boat now! We'll die together!"
"Die...? Wait a minute. I'll go home. Put me down..."
BOOM!
Renya pushed off the ground and soared high into the sky.
Kyaaaaah... THUD.
With the sudden increase in altitude, Rick's head drooped.
Unconsciousness complete.
"That's no good. That one. He's way too scared."
Clicking his tongue, Kancho stared at the top of the island.
Let's hurry.
We need to drive out the island's pollution.
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T/N:
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