Episode 17: Tower of Strife (3)
The Tower of Strife often has floors with unique gimmicks.
These floors increase difficulty when the gimmick is triggered, but the rewards scale accordingly.
Floor 15 is no exception.
The ‘Mad Moon’ gimmick is known, but its trigger conditions remain obscure.
Most assume it’s random.
They’re wrong.
The trigger for the red moon—the Mad Moon—is time.
Open the boss room door, don’t enter, and wait until the red moon rises.
Under the red moon, werewolves require a different strategy.
Up to now, the approach was to strip their evasion buffs with high hit-count attacks.
But werewolves empowered by the red moon are the opposite—they grow stronger with each hit, like steel being forged.
They get faster, tougher, and their teeth sharper, ready to tear through challengers.
Plus, the Mad Moon grants them a passive skill.
【Mad Moon’s Ascendance】
Description: Under the red moon’s influence, werewolf base stats increase by 30%, and evasion rises by 30%. Each hit taken increases these stats by 1%, stacking up to 20 times.
For werewolves already boasting high speed, this buff is the cherry on top.
That’s why Floor 15 is infamous as the “Wall of Tears” for beginners.
But, as always, there’s a way.
“Master, the enemies’ condition feels off.”
“I know. I’ve already devised a new strategy.”
The strategy is simple: take out the boss, Carmine, Wolf King of the Mad Moon, first.
Once the leader falls, the other werewolves’ morale collapses, and their buffs vanish.
The catch? It’s an obvious plan, but executing it is tough.
Without overwhelming power to one-shot the boss, success rates plummet.
But I’m different.
“Hertia.”
“Yes, Master.”
“Bring that beast calling itself a king to me.”
“…As you command!”
***
Carmine, Wolf King of the Mad Moon, awakened by the red moon’s power, felt an insatiable urge for slaughter coursing through him.
A human with a delectable scent stood before him—irresistible.
‘No time to savor this. I’ll tear their throat and drink their blood.’
Carmine had no intention of losing.
He brimmed with confidence.
The red moon made him stronger, faster.
With this power, what couldn’t he do?
The enemies looked pathetic.
A massive golem initially startled him, but it cowered, clutching its head in fear.
A golem terrified of werewolves—laughable.
“I’ll send you off without pain.”
Carmine ordered his pack to target the enemies.
Awooo!
How long had it been since he tasted fresh human blood?
He’d drink it and elevate his pack’s honor.
…Or so he vowed, but things went awry.
Despite his orders, none of his pack moved.
“What are you doing?! Attack them!”
“Boss, we… we can’t move.”
“What?”
What was this nonsense?
Unable to move with enemies in front?
Carmine ground his teeth.
Werewolves were feared for their ferocity.
Yet his pack was paralyzed by five foes?
Pathetic didn’t cover it.
“Useless fools. I’ll do it my—”
Strange.
His feet should move, but they wouldn’t.
Was he… scared?
No, impossible.
Awakened by the red moon, Carmine feared nothing.
So what was this?
Before he could process, a woman in high heels stepped forward and snapped her fingers.
Snap!
A black curtain filled the boss room, and thin threads pierced every werewolf’s heart.
“Guh!”
Before the pain fully registered, she snapped again.
Snap!
A massive vortex swept up the werewolves from the rear, dragging every hidden one to the center.
Even Carmine couldn’t escape.
‘Damn it! Where did this magic come from?!’
Carmine felt death closing in within Hertia’s Vortex of Death.
But he couldn’t die like this.
The Wolf King of the Mad Moon, felled by five enemies?
A disgrace to werewolves.
Carmine barked orders to his resilient pack.
“Drain the blood of your dying kin! Survive and kill them!”
Carmine bit the throat of a faltering subordinate, draining its blood to endure the vortex.
He and his elite werewolves landed at the central path below the cliff.
As they did, their comrades’ corpses rained down.
Thud-thud-thud.
Carmine scowled.
These arrogant foes.
He’d show them the consequences of defiling his territory.
He roared at Hertia, prancing in her black dress.
“Is that all you’ve got?!”
“…”
“I don’t know how you stole initiative, but from now on—”
Carmine froze.
The enemy’s attack should’ve ended.
Even if they’d somehow stolen the initiative, their attack should’ve ended, losing its effect.
So why couldn’t Carmine move?
Hertia answered his question.
“Foolish beast. Iron, it’s your turn.”
“W-What?!”
“Don’t make me send you to Caligo’s lab. Target that thing now.”
“N-No, I-I mean…”
Iron trembled in fear, but Hertia’s artifact forced him to act.
“Stop cowering and smash that thing’s head!”
“Eek!”
With Hertia’s sharp command, Iron charged forward involuntarily.
“W-Wait?! G-Get out of the way!”
Iron’s right fist grew massive, hurtling toward Carmine’s face.
《I’m Scared, But! Skill Effect 1 activates.》
《Iron, forced to the frontline, unleashes a desperate strike!》
Iron’s special effect, Trauma.
In the frontline, all his stats pour into health and defense, and his attacks deal health-scaling damage.
In other words—
“W-Wait—”
BOOM!
A deafening explosion kicked up a cloud of dust like fog.
“Urgh…”
Iron, terrified, stumbled back in the haze.
“W-What do I do? I-I think I hit something! I’m sorry!”
Hertia ignored him, turning to Oh Hyun-woo.
“Master, it’s done.”
Hyun-woo grinned brightly at her words.
《Devastating Strike!》
《Carmine, Wolf King of the Mad Moon has been defeated in one blow.》
《The leader’s death demoralizes the werewolves.》
The surviving resilient werewolves, seeing Carmine’s mangled corpse, cowered in fear.
“The leader’s dead. Caligo, Temina, clean up the rest.”
“Oh! Finally, my turn!”
“I’ll make it scorching hot.”
The demoralized werewolves stood no chance.
Caligo and Temina dispatched them swiftly.
As the last enemy fell, the system notification arrived.
《You have cleared Floor 15 of the Tower of Strife: Crimson Rock Forest.》
《Unbelievable record!》
《Clear time: 01:00》
《You have broken the Clear Time Ranking #1.》
《Clear rank: SSS》
《You have broken the Clear Rank record.》
《Level up! Adventurer level is now 28.》
Rewards poured in alongside the record and level-up messages.
‘Sweet! So sweet!’
***
《An unidentified adventurer cleared Floor 15 of the Tower of Strife in 01:00.》
Jung-yul and Tae-gyun covered their mouths in shock.
The record on the monitor was so extraordinary it triggered an instinctive reaction.
“Team Leader, is this real? Clearing Floor 15 in one minute?”
“And it’s not just any Floor 15, right?”
They knew from the Tower of Records’ data.
This wasn’t a standard Floor 15 clear—it was with the gimmick activated.
《An unidentified adventurer triggered the Floor 15 gimmick, summoning the red moon.》
The difficulty of Floor 15 with the gimmick active is unimaginable.
Even a Level 40 veteran adventurer with top-tier gear would struggle.
Yet this person cleared it in one minute.
“Tae-gyun, what’s the previous record for a gimmick-activated Floor 15?”
“Uh… the fastest was over an hour.”
“An hour? And this person did it in a minute? That’s like clearing it 60 times while others clear it once.”
“Exactly, it’s the top record. Others took even longer. Isn’t this beyond a super rookie—a monster?”
“Definitely not normal.”
“So… do we hide this too?”
They’d been debating whether to report or delay.
But a record like this couldn’t be hidden.
For now, it’s just low floors, so scrutiny is delayed.
At this pace, they could reach Floor 100 within a month.
This person would surface soon.
‘Then it’s only a matter of time before other countries find out. We need to move first.’
Jung-yul’s goal remained unchanged: secure this unidentified adventurer for the government.
No matter the cost, they had to be claimed.
“Tae-gyun, I’ll report this now.”
“Yes, ma’am!”
One thing was certain.
This adventurer had their own unique strategies.
It wasn’t just luck or strong summons.
Knowing Floor 15’s gimmick and an unknown strategy explained the impossible record.
‘It’s clear. This adventurer is a Legend Seven player. A ranker, no less.’
They had to be secured.
At any cost.