Episode 23
[The Tower Lord Strategy (Unfinished Draft)]
[Since a certain streamer's influence has made everyone obsessed with defeating the Tower Lord lately, I'll share what I know. (Note: Written in casual streamer slang. Also, I haven't beaten him either. Calling this a "guide" is embarrassing.) The stage is Floor 8 - the tower's top level with a sky-painted ceiling, where the Tower Lord's office sits.]
The Tower Lord has two confirmed phases.
Phase 1 uses basic magic:
Fireballs, ice arrows, forest binds, earth walls, teleportation, etc.
If you've mastered combat and faced similar magic in lower floors or city quests, it's tough but manageable.
Why tough? His spells are either larger, faster, or spammed nonstop.
He occasionally multi-casts too.
Bring utility skills and high-defense gear.
Skilled players who enjoy combat should clear Phase 1.
Phase 2 is the real nightmare.
After taking damage, he activates a barrier.
Damn it!
Normal attacks bounce off.
High-damage bombs chip the barrier slightly, but...
He instantly recasts it.
"Just bring tons of bombs?" you ask?
Problem: surviving long enough to drain his HP.
In Phase 2, he spams lightning.
This shit's insanely fast.
(Video)
Nearly undodgeable. Relentless spam.
How much mana does this guy have?!
Tried using a friend as lightning rod - useless against infinite mana.
(PS: Don't party up. "Balance adjustments" double spell strength.)
I'm hunting for special gear now. This game's vast - there must be other strategies.
Might even be a Phase 3.
Only been one day - more research needed.]
“I see…”
Seo-jun grimaced as he opened his inventory:
An old guard’s sword, a basic hood,
and 40 machetes from gang raids.
A pitiful collection.
-LMAOOOOO BRO'S BROKE
-Even if you dodge lightning, barrier's unbreakable
-Just assassinate him already
-Stealth on Floor 8's fun anyway. Tower Lord's traps are wild.
“There’s gotta be a way. The mission allows assassination… but I’ve got standards.”
The mission never banned assassination.
But viewers would riot if he tried it.
“Can’t read his magic patterns either. Might die here for the first time. His barrier looks circular… suspicious.”
Seo-jun replayed the strategy video.
Slower than real lightning but still inhumanly fast.
-Weakness Detection’s useless here. Too fast
-Mission fail incoming
-Safe bet though
Notifications chimed as he spoke,
making him smirk:
[+5,000 won added]
[+7,000 won added]
[+3,000 won added]
...
Viewers piled on bets like dominoes - Travel’s system let anyone add rewards after mission acceptance. They expected failure (refundable "safe money").
[Current bounty: 1,230,000 won]
-LOOOOOL DON’T TRUST HIM
-Streamer’s playing y’all! Rewatching video = he’s got a plan
-Ah, the sweet stench of capitalism
-Sneaky brat…
Viewers caught on when Seo-jun grinned:
“How would I know? I’m not the dev.”
-Gasp.
-Wait??
-Big brain plays.
-No wonder he confessed his stats so boldly…
Closing chat, Seo-jun opened Floor 8’s door.
“I said no… Ugh. Let’s just go.”
LOL
"Hmm? And who might you be?"
A young man sat with his fingers interlaced on the desk. His neatly combed-back white hair, angular uniform, and pristine white gloves gave him an immaculate appearance.
Duke, Lord of the Magic Tower.
His office was surrounded by towering bookshelves filled to the brim, with a ceiling open to the sky. Behind him stretched a corridor dotted with strange mechanical devices and magical formulas.
"No name," Seo-jun replied.
"No name? Then why—no, how did you get here?"
"Well..."
Whoosh!
Seo-jun abruptly drew his sword mid-sentence, cleaving through an incoming spell.
"You’ve got skill. What a shame—this could’ve ended easily."
With a single gesture, the Lord conjured three fireballs and launched them at Seo-jun before rising leisurely from his seat. Seo-jun deflected them without moving an inch, only shifting his arm.
Thud.
He took a step forward.
"Damn, rude much? Don’t you think?"
"Are you talking to me?"
Another gesture summoned over ten ice arrows while his other hand remained casually behind his back—infuriatingly composed.
"Not you. That thing."
Seo-jun dodged the arrows as he closed in.
Thud.
"So? How’d you get here?"
Swish—!
Crunch!
Vines lashed out to bind him, followed by jagged rocks erupting from below. Seo-jun tore through the vines, plunged his sword into the rocks to dispel the magic, and advanced again.
Thud.
"Just walked in. The doors weren’t locked."
-So badass
-Facts lol
-LOL should’ve locked up properly
-Easy so far
"Hmm... Let’s see you dodge this."
Another wave of spells surged forth. No matter how fast or powerful, they were fundamentally the same magic.
"Yeah. Could dodge this blindfolded."
Thud.
-Facts x22222
-Streamer's got jokes 😂
-With how he scams viewers, no wonder he’s got no manners LOL
"We’ve gotten close, haven’t we?"
Seo-jun closed the distance instantly and slashed horizontally—
Shing!
The Lord teleported back, but not before a thin red line appeared on his neck, blood spraying. A fraction too slow. Yet his expression remained serene, mirroring Seo-jun’s usual calm.
"Hmph. Fine. I’ll take you seriously now."
The Lord removed his white gloves and clasped his hands. Blue sparks crackled around him.
-Phase 2
-Back off!
-Run!
Zap!
He thrust his hand forward—
The air split with thunder as a vivid blue bolt (like a Tesla coil’s) grazed Seo-jun and cratered the floor, leaving charred blackness where it struck before vanishing into the air.
Huh.
It was faster than any sword technique from his past life. "How am I supposed to handle this?"
Cold sweat dripped down Seo-jun’s back. 100,000 km per second—even slowed down 10,000 times, that’s still 10 km/s. Thank god I watched footage beforehand.
-How’d he dodge that LOL
-At this level, he’s pro-tier. Why even stream?
-Bro’s a streaming addict LOL
Reacting was impossible; he had to predict by watching the Lord's timing.
Zzzzt!
Sparks gathered in the Lord's palm again.
Seo-jun kept his eyes locked on it.
KRAKOOM!
Another bolt struck—this time grazing his right shoulder.
In battle, observation was everything.
Zap!
Electricity gathered in the Tower Lord's palm.
Crack!
Another lightning spell came crashing down.
Zap!
This time, Seo-jun flung his body left to dodge.
Crack!
Unlike bullets that fire instantly when the trigger is pulled, magic had a slight delay in activation. Seojun used that delay to evade while continuing his observation.
After several exchanges that left the office in shambles, Seo-jun noticed a few things.
First, the Tower Lord.
'I don’t know why, but he seems determined to keep me from approaching whatever’s behind him.'
When Seo-jun moved right, the Tower Lord cast spells further right, forcing him back to his original position.
'Same when I go left.'
Even when Seo-jun narrowly dodged lightning bolts while closing the distance, the Tower Lord didn’t retreat. Instead, he deployed a shield to hold his ground and push Seo-jun back.
With no way to break the shield, Seo-jun had no choice but to retreat again.
In this case, it was obvious.
'He must be protecting something important behind him.'
Seo-jun looked at the wall behind the Tower Lord. There floated a ring-shaped object about the size of a soccer ball inside a glass tube.
'I want to touch it.'
Seo-jun drew a machete from his inventory and threw it.
But it was blocked by the Tower Lord’s nearly 3-meter-wide shield.
Nope. Not happening.
lol How long you gonna keep dodging?
No answer? Should we just retry?
Let’s get some bombs first.
'Just as I thought.'
He’d expected this.
Zap!
“Where do you think you’re going?!”
The Tower Lord shouted, extending his hand. He seemed agitated.
Crack!
Seo-jun tilted his head sideways to dodge the lightning while thinking.
'This is my second question.'
Seo-jun observed the blue lightning lingering in the air for about a second.
Beautiful.
From afar, it appeared as a single bolt, but up close, he could see multiple thin blue strands converging and diverging to form one shape.
'Why did they specifically warn against using Weakness Detection for this mission?'
Not like you can cut or deflect lightning anyway.
Even with his reincarnated body and skills, this was impossible for Seo-jun.
'Was that just some random comment?'
But would they spend $1,000 on that?
Regardless of the amount, Seo-jun felt instinctively that whoever posted this mission was connected to the game’s management. And that feeling grew stronger as he watched the lingering lightning.
'There’s something there.'
Seo-jun steadied his mind and surrendered to instinct.
Crack!
The sound of air splitting echoed as an incredible blue electric streak flashed past Seo-jun’s eyes in an instant. Like shattered glass, multiple lightning branches converged then scattered again.
At their intersecting crossroads—that focal point—in the blink of an eye, Seo-jun plunged his sword.
