I wiped the blade with a cleaning cloth.

Once. Twice. Three times, the signature dark luster of the sword gleamed even more seductively.

‘Not much time left.’

The crack I briefly saw in the sky before returning to the waiting room yesterday was a sign that they were coming.

The Fragment Series. Monsters of the highest grade appearing from the 80th floor and above in Pick Me Up. The Fragment Series earned the nickname “Balance Breakers” for humbling rankers who managed to clear the challenging stages.

Five people across the entire server.

That was the number of users who had broken through the 80th floor out of a hundred million Masters.

They were ranked from 1st to 5th place. Even the most skilled users who poured thousands of dollars and countless hours into their strategies found the 80th floor an insurmountable barrier.

The reason? The 80th floor was notoriously difficult.

When even the famously persistent Korean gamers gave up, that said it all.

In the end, players either settled for staying on the 79th floor or sought other content besides tower climbing.

‘Is it my turn to take on that challenge?’

I looked up.

[‘Forming a Large Attack Unit (4).’]

[Party Composition – ’37th Party’, ’38th Party’, ’39th Party’, ’40th Party’, ’41st Party’…]

Anytng, who had logged in early after a long absence, was organizing a new raid group.

She was assembling an efficient team for the 80th-floor attack. If we failed here, we would lose not just me, but all the heroes involved. The thought of losing the heroes I had spent time and money raising in an instant was horrifying.

‘The final battle is the 80th floor.’

The prince had once made an ominous statement.

Based on that clue, I had formulated a few hypotheses.

Most of them were negative, but I didn’t let that bother me.

For now, I focused solely on completing the mission.

[Attention! This is Iselle. Can you hear me? I am informing all waiting raid members. The following individuals should prepare for battle immediately! First, our unbeatable ace, Han…]

Iselle’s voice echoed.

Oops. Looks like we’re about to climb the 77th floor.

I sheathed Bifrost and left the room.

The heroes called this time didn’t even make up a full party.

Just me, Jenna, and Velkist. Only three in total.

Anytng must have realized that the real battle would start from the 80th floor.

We entered the rift in spacetime in a calm atmosphere.

It was my second time entering the imperial city.

As the image of the palace loomed, a holographic window appeared.

[FLOOR 77.]

[Mission Type – Exploration]

[Mission Objective – Search the Imperial Palace ‘Ragnasars’!]

The objective was identical to that of the 76th floor.

It was so uninspired it almost made me laugh.

Jenna muttered irritably.

“What is this? It’s exactly the same as the last floor! Did the mission creator get lazy?”

“Not entirely wrong.”

I replied with a smile.

First, night had fallen.

Looking up, the sky was full of stars.

Secondly, the streets were cleaner.

The remnants of the imperial army seemed to have been almost wiped out.

Only armed mercenaries patrolled the roads with stern expressions.

I made eye contact with one of the patrols.

The mercenary whispered to his colleague and then approached me.

“Excuse me, are you Sir Han Israt?”

“And if I am?”

“His Majesty is looking for you.”

He left with those short words.

“…”

“Should we leave you alone again this time?”

Velkist muttered.

I nodded silently.

“If anything happens, call us. We’ll come running.”

“This is so boring.”

The two vanished into the dark alley.

Left alone, I turned and walked towards the main street in the center of the imperial city.

Passing through the guards was not difficult.

They cleared the way as soon as they saw my face.

At the entrance to the sealed palace, I found Pria waiting for me.

“You’re here.”

Pria, leaning against the garden’s stone wall, straightened up.

She was wearing a simple white dress, not her usual ceremonial attire.

When my eyes fell on her, Pria scratched her cheek.

“…Does it not suit me?”

“No, I was just wondering why you wore that.”

“I wanted to change the mood.”

Pria started walking ahead.

Through the open doors of the palace.

I quietly followed behind her.

“My memories… have returned.”

Pria mumbled as if speaking to herself.

“Townia had already perished once.”

“…”

“Now, I feel as if a weight has been lifted from my chest. You were the helpers the goddess sent to me. I now understand why they hated me.”

The sound of her footsteps echoed down the dark hallway of the palace.

Dim lights illuminated parts of the interior.

“What I thought was a dream was proof of a foolish contract. If it hadn’t been for me… they would have met an end more fitting of their honor. They wouldn’t have been branded as traitors or accused of selling out the empire.”

“…”

“For my greed… I may have betrayed them. What happened to the prince was my do.”

Pria’s face was hidden in shadow.

I spoke softly.

“So, do you regret it?”

“Half and half.”

“Half and half?”

Not fried half-and-half, for sure.

“If I hadn’t betrayed Townia, I wouldn’t have met you, would I?”

“That’s a pretty dangerous statement.”

I wondered how Yosh would have reacted to hearing that.

“Hehe, didn’t I tell you? I’m a selfish person. I’d do anything for my desires.”

Pria chuckled softly in the glow of the lights.

It seemed she had recovered her memories without too much shock. This was a sign that she had matured.

“Han.”

“What?”

“Do you remember that promise?”

I nodded.

She was talking about that lifelong contract request.

“You don’t need to worry about it. It seems I’ve burdened you. I’m sorry.”

“And now you’re canceling it all of a sudden?”

“If that’s how you see it…”

“I haven’t decided yet. I need more time to think.”

“But…”

“It’s not over. Neither for you, nor for me, nor for this place.”

I stated firmly.

Pria bit her lip.

“…Understood.”

“The others are probably waiting. Let’s go.”

I wondered what nonsense they’d spout this time.

I opened the doors to the throne room and stepped inside.

Starlight streamed down through the ceiling vents.

I saw the vacant throne. The prince was absent this time.

Instead, the boy who had served him stood looking at me.

<Finally, it’s my turn.>

Hyung_Otaku

I'm currently Translating the following novels: Pick Me Up! | A Frontline Soldier Awakened as a Gamer In The War! | The 100th Regression of the Max-Level Player. If you want to support me and read more chapters please subscribe to my Patreon!

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