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Arlon wiped a streak of blood from his cheek.

Not his blood.

Kurgek's.

The battle had been a brutal exchange of speed and precision.

He had landed dozens of strikes, each aimed at its weak points.

Kurgek had adapted, moving more erratically, countering his attacks with terrifying accuracy.

But Arlon had adapted faster.

With every exchange, his sword strikes grew sharper, his footwork more refined.

He had learned its attack patterns.

He had memorized its movements.

And now—

Kurgek was slowing down.

Cracks lined its joints, its once-flawless movement slightly sluggish.

Its breathing was heavier.

One last push.

Arlon exhaled, his mana surging around him.

Dark energy flickered across Aetherion's Edge.

Shadow Slash.

A fusion of dark magic and a precise warrior technique.

He dashed forward.

Kurgek raised its arms to defend—

Too slow.

Arlon's blade struck true.

The dark-enhanced slash cleaved through both of its weakened joints, severing its limbs in a clean arc.

Kurgek screeched, staggering backward.

Arlon didn't let it recover.

He flicked his sword, dispersing the dark energy.

Then, he stepped forward.

One final slash—straight through its neck.

Kurgek's massive body trembled.

Then, it collapsed.

Silence filled the chamber.

Three hours to clear the horde. Another hour to bring down the boss.

Yet, his level remained the same.

Arlon frowned.

It wasn't surprising—just frustrating.

He already knew that simply gaining experience wasn't always enough to push past certain thresholds, though this wasn't the case for him.

Agema had explained some things to him, even if she couldn't reveal everything.

Leveling up wasn't just about accumulating experience points. At higher existence levels, especially on these thresholds, something more was required.

This had always been the case, but at lower levels, the extra effort needed was barely noticeable.

Reaching level 200, or the S level existence, though—that was different. That was a barrier, not just another step.

In his past life, he hadn't leveled nearly as fast as he was now.

Back then, he never had the knowledge of existence levels to recognize the inconsistencies.

He just fought, gained experience, and when the time came, he leveled up without knowing why.

But now?

Now, he had two lifetimes of training. He understood the process more clearly.

Additionally, Agema had trained him.

And if he hadn't reached level 200 yet, that only meant one thing—he still didn't have enough experience points.

I must be close, he thought.

At this rate, he would probably level up before reaching the third level of Floor 52.

---

The last monster of Floor 52, Level 1 lunged at Arlon, its claws cutting through the air with enough force to crack stone.

Arlon sidestepped with ease, watching the creature's movements with cold precision.

Level 207.

It was stronger than the others, but not strong enough to make a difference.

He pivoted, his grip tightening around Aetherion's Edge.

One clean strike.

Slash.

The dark blade tore through the monster's chest in a seamless arc. A spray of blackened blood followed, and within seconds, the creature collapsed.

A system notification appeared in the corner of his vision.

[Floor 52, Level 1 – Cleared.]

Arlon exhaled, rolling his shoulders. His body was fine, but his mind was preoccupied with something else.

Leveling up.

It had been on his mind ever since he learned this wasn't a game.

Why did players only receive experience points after a battle was over?

Even if he killed ninety-nine monsters in a fight, he wouldn't receive anything until the last one fell.

That was strange, wasn't it?

If experience was something accumulated over time—something gained through combat, through struggle—shouldn't it be given piece by piece?

And yet, it didn't work that way.

After learning the truth of this world, Arlon had searched for answers.

Shirl had been the one to explain it to him.

The thing players called experience points wasn't some arbitrary number calculated by a system. It was something real. Something that existed within every being.

Life force.

When someone killed another, they didn't just take their life. They took their power—the essence of their existence.

It wasn't as simple as absorbing strength. It was more like inheriting their growth, their accumulated experience.

That was why leveling up existed in this world.

But if that was the case, why did it only happen at the end of a battle?

Arlon had even asked Agema about it, but she wouldn't tell him the answer.

She knew about the life force. She knew about existence levels.

But she couldn't explain why it worked this way because of limitations.

He hadn't gotten an answer then, and he didn't have one now.

All he knew was that he still hadn't leveled up.

Arlon clenched his fist.

But I can feel it.

His instincts told him he was close—right at the edge of breaking through.

The next battle would be it.

The next 200 monsters would push him past the barrier.

He almost felt sorry for the others.

For those who had to train for decades just to take this step.

For Orlen, who was still stuck at level 199.

For all those who struggled for years, only to fail.

And yet, in a matter of days, Arlon would reach what they had spent lifetimes chasing.

Because unlike them, he didn't have time to waste.

A new notification appeared.

[Floor 52, Level 2 will begin when the challenger is ready. Do you wish to start?]

Arlon didn't hesitate.

"Yes."

The moment he confirmed, the chamber trembled.

A familiar pulse of energy spread through the air, and in an instant—

200 monsters appeared.

Their glowing eyes locked onto him.

Their bodies twitched, muscles coiling in anticipation.

[Levels 205 – 207]

***

Floors 51 and 52 had revealed something else Arlon had been wondering about.

He wasn't sure what existence level was required to ascend, but he had a theory.

In his previous life, he had reached level 250, which meant he was an SS-level existence.

That was where Zephyrion stood.

Then, there was level 300—the SSS-level existence.

But beyond that?

He had no idea.

Agema wouldn't be able to answer that question, so he hadn't bothered asking her.

But the moment he entered the Tower, he noticed something.

The monster levels were increasing at an alarming rate.

He still didn't know how many floors the Tower had, but if it had 100… and if the monster levels continued to rise at this pace…

Then, by the final floor, he would be facing level 500 monsters.

That was impossible.

Even Agema had told him she didn't believe ascended beings existed in the Tower.

And while he didn't know the exact level threshold for ascendance, level 500 would undoubtedly be beyond it.

So when he reached Floor 52 and saw that the monster levels had only increased by two, he understood something.

The Tower was designed brilliantly.

There would always be people entering it—whether to test themselves or to level up.

For those challengers, the Tower provided exactly what they needed.

But then, there were the others.

The ones who wanted to reach the top.

Floor 50 was the dividing line between the two.

After that, the level increase slowed down, forcing those who aimed for the summit to fight through far more monsters.

With this kind of progression, it was entirely possible that the Tower had 100 floors.