“Haah! Haah!”

Kakang! Kakang! Kakang!

It was the Sword Aura of Lea the Swordmaster, capable of even cleaving through a meteor’s shockwave.

Yet the rock withstood that formidable assault without so much as a scratch.

“Dame Lea, allow me to try.”

Next was Maya’s turn.

Surely a 6th circle mage would make a difference?

When Maya placed her hand on the rock, dozens of blue strands of light blazed across its surface, tracing geometric patterns just as they had for him.

…Ohhh!

A full five seconds passed before Shin Jungho felt a peculiar emotion.

He had always thought he was the best at this… but Maya was better?

Then could it be… the Arcane Forge as well?

For some inexplicable reason, the desire for Maya to succeed and the hope that she would fail became tangled together within him.

Puk!

The blue light that had pushed past six seconds fizzled out.

Yes!

Ah, no, wait!

“Maya, try again!”

“…I shall gather my full concentration and attempt it once more.”

Syashashashashashashak!

Oh… maybe this time?

Puk!

Unfortunately, it ended at seven seconds.

Still, the duration was gradually increasing, so it seemed the seal would break if she kept at it.

But as if that had been mere luck.

Syashashashak!

Puk!

Syashashashak!

Puk!

Syashak!

Puk!

The duration grew shorter with each attempt.

Until finally.

Pukpukpukpukpukpukpukpuk!

Maya had also gone berserk.

…Yes, he knew that feeling all too well.

Kkaang!

Maya struck the rock with the wooden staff she was holding.

She stood frozen in that posture for a moment before regaining her usual refined demeanor and apologizing politely.

“I fear I have shown you an unseemly side of myself. In my humble opinion, this seems to be the Tower’s trickery designed to toy with superhumans.”

Indeed.

From discovering these to unlocking them.

Who on earth could actually obtain a Rune?

A champion who could solve a 3x3x3 cube in three seconds?

Moreover, time was also an issue.

It was time to focus not on Runes but on how to deal with the monsters for the Amazing Achievement.

Just as he was wondering whether to give up.

“Huek! Huek! Huek! Everyone’s so… fast!”

Clara arrived belatedly.

Time was short, but fairness demanded equal opportunity, so Shin Jungho demonstrated the unsealing process for her right away.

Syashashak!

Puk!

Syashak!

Puk!

Sya

Puk!

…Pukpukpukpukpukpukpuk!

After a brief deep breath, Shin Jungho asked.

“Clara, do you think you can do this?”

Clara, still catching her breath from behind, answered.

“Huek, me? Huek. I’ll give it a try.”

Still seemingly out of breath, she approached the pure white rock with her shoulders heaving.

Oh dear, should I have told her to rest first before trying?

When Clara placed her hand on the rock, those familiar blue strands of light radiated outward in all directions.

Syashashashashasha—

A full five seconds passed.

Syashashasha—

Past Maya’s best record of seven seconds.

Syashashak—

Tiring—!

Until the sound of something unlocking echoed at the very end.

“Huh? It’s done? That was easy?”

…What’s with this girl?

She looked so innocent, as if she couldn’t play a game to save her life!

How could she ace such a high-level gacha game…!

Ah!

Shin Jungho had a new realization.

Right—this was simply a different game genre.

So even within the same simulation genre, if the Arcane Forge was real-time tactics (RTT), then the Rune rock was real-time strategy (RTS).

It was only difficult because he wasn’t used to it.

He consoled himself with the thought that once he got the hang of it, he could do it too.

The rock that hadn’t sustained a single scratch despite Lea swinging her Sword Aura at it now split apart of its own accord, left and right across its upper half, revealing a single stone within.

A fist-sized, pure white stone, much like a Magic Stone.

Its surface was beautifully engraved with mystical-looking patterns.

This was the Rune of Stamina?

“Wow, maybe because it’s a Tower item? I’ve never seen a Rune with absolutely no impurities before! If I make an elixir from this, the effect will be incredible!”

Clara, the most outstanding contributor to the unsealing, held up the Rune of Stamina and examined it from every angle.

“How dare a servant presume to handle and appraise Your Highness’s possession? Present it to His Highness at once.”

Maya scolded Clara with a voice that carried a subtle edge of displeasure.

“I shall not mince words. Offer it to the Lord at once.”

Lea likewise leveled her sword and lowered her voice.

“No, no, I was just looking at it for a second, why is everyone getting like this? H-here, Boss!”

Clara hastily handed over the Rune of Stamina.

Maya then offered her congratulations with a demure smile.

“Clara is but an extension of Your Highness’s hands and feet. Therefore, Clara’s accomplishment is entirely Your Highness’s triumph. I find myself unable to contain my awe at Your Highness’s extraordinary talent.”

Lea likewise sheathed her sword and placed her fist to her chest in salute.

“Congratulations on your acquisition, Lord! From the discovery of the Rune of Stamina to the breaking of its seal—none but you, my Lord, could have accomplished any of it!”

Wasn’t this akin to slapping Michelangelo onto a pumpkin and calling it a watermelon?

Clara glanced nervously between Lea and Maya.

“Uh… m-me too? Oh, y-yeah, yeah! The Boss is the best at everything! Long live the Boss!”

Shin Jungho understood.

Why rulers of nations had always kept such sycophants close at hand!

When Clara had unsealed the Rune, he had felt a peculiar mix of satisfaction and dissatisfaction.

But receiving the heartfelt(?) congratulations of three women, the unpleasant feelings drifted away like a river current, leaving only a blissful sense of fulfillment swelling in his chest.

…I need to stay sharp.

“Let’s finish the climb first and talk later.”

There would be plenty of time for rewarding merit once they returned.

“Lea, there should be two packs to the right. Clear them as quickly as you can and come back.”

“Understood!”

Lea shot out like a bullet.

“Maya, two packs are approaching from the front, left and right. You can handle them within five minutes, yes?”

“Your Highness’s will is my will.”

Maya too soared away like the wind, riding her wooden staff.

“Boss! What about me! Where should I go?”

Clara had already grabbed her combat tongs and was ready to dash out at any moment.

Shin Jungho answered her.

“Clara, you’ll wait here with me.”

“Huh? Why do I have to wait?”

“Can you clear the monsters and return here in five minutes like Lea or Maya?”

Clearing them would be quick enough.

She could simply unleash an assortment of offensive potions.

The problem was getting to where the monsters were and coming back.

“Ah… if only I had the Water of Life, I could make a much more effective Sprint Potion!”

“Let’s hope a Source Stone comes out of the Random Box.”

Then they could create the Spring of Life.

And the highly effective Sprint Potion Clara wanted.

And a Stamina Enhancement Elixir from the Rune of Stamina.

{Lea, a pack is approaching from the right.}

{Understood, Lord!}

{Maya, you could merge the two packs and deal with them together, you know?}

{My thoughts are exactly the same as Your Highness’s.}

While conversing with Clara, Shin Jungho monitored the battlefield through his Clairvoyant Map and issued instructions to Lea and Maya.

Communicating back and forth was certainly far more effective for directing operations than issuing one-way commands.

What set these Blood Wolves apart from the monsters they had faced so far was their use of feints.

{Lea! The ones in front are bait! There are others targeting you from behind!}

{I am aware!}

The front group would draw attention as if about to charge, creating an opening for the ones behind to attack.

{Maya! They’re trying to scatter again! Take them out before they spread further!}

{I have already finished casting the spell!}

Whenever the situation seemed to take an odd turn, they would immediately break formation and scatter left and right—their movements were anything but ordinary.

Still, they had a Swordmaster and a 6th circle mage.

Lea and Maya returned after wiping out the Blood Wolf packs without much difficulty.

Nearly twenty minutes had already passed.

Some time had been spent obtaining the Rune of Stamina, but the significantly larger battlefield compared to the Beginner Zone was what truly contributed to the time consumption.

Nine packs remained.

If they were aiming for the Amazing Achievement, they needed to annihilate all of them at once.

“Lea! Maya! Ready?”

“I shall always stand at the vanguard for my Lord!”

“I as well shall give it my all.”

When they had set out to eliminate the Blood Wolves, Lea and Maya had brimmed with confidence.

But now they stood taut with tension, an air of solemn resolve about them, leaving Clara as the only one standing beside Shin Jungho with a puzzled tilt of her head.

What on earth could make those scary older sisters so tense?

“Meteor Summoning.”

The identity of the skill spilled from Shin Jungho’s lips.

Clara’s confusion remained unresolved.

Meteor Summoning?

Rocks falling from the sky?

And then, far above in the distant sky.

A massive.

A truly massive hole opened.

And from within it, a rock… no.

A colossal.

Something truly colossal was falling.

Alarm bells clanged in her mind as she felt an inexplicable threat to her very existence.

“Five seconds! Incoming!”

Kwaaaaaaaaaaaaang!

An apocalypse unfolded within the Tower.

The galaxy Shin Jungho had selected this time was Megastrum.

From within it, a medium-sized light.

The fiftieth-floor range featured a considerably vast battlefield, and accordingly, the monsters were spread far and wide.

Furthermore, the terrain was cluttered with trees, boulders, and hills—an environment that prevented the shockwave from propagating fully.

So even with Megastrum, selecting a small light and dropping the smallest meteor might not be enough to wipe out the remaining monsters in one blow.

Of course.

In that case, he could simply fire another shot.

But a new face had joined their ranks this time—shouldn’t they give her a proper welcome?

Moreover, for the continued growth of Lea, who had only recently become a Swordmaster, it would be good for her to gradually face not just small(?) but also medium(?) meteors.

Kuoooooooo—!

A fearsome shockwave erupted upon the meteor’s impact.

But this time, it wasn’t a wasteland—it was a forest terrain full of obstacles.

What would happen to the shockwave’s force?

The upper-layer shockwave pushed through the air and spread out overhead.

The ground-level shockwave was entirely absorbed by uprooting trees and sending boulders flying in all directions.

Kwarararararararak!

Viewing it through the Clairvoyant Map was like watching a concept animation from a sci-fi film.

It was already this spectacular—how much more amazing would it be to see it with his own two eyes?

He could use the Ring of Levitation to check, but he had a feeling he’d be done for by the shockwave before he even made it to the ground.

“Haaah!”

Seugeok! Seugeok! Seugeok! Seugeok!

Massive tree trunks and boulders charging from the front.

Countless tree pillars and rocks raining down from above.

It was a disaster-level storm raging before them, and his chest swelled with grandeur.

He had done this… with his own skill!

“Whaaat the heeeck is thiiis!”

Clara erupted in cheers(?) before this century’s masterpiece.

Still, she instinctively pulled out a potion and tried to do something.

Lea handled seventy percent of the incoming barrage.

Maya dealt with the remaining thirty percent, leaving Clara with absolutely nothing to do.

And perhaps that triggered a deeper sense of powerlessness than expected.

“Why… am I even here?”

With that hollow remark, the first climb they had undertaken as a quartet came to a close.