I Don't Need To Log Out

Arlon exhaled, steadying his breath as one of the final two monsters in his sight crumbled to the ground.

The battlefield was still, but his body remained tense, his grip on his sword firm.

Even though the boss was gone, these monsters were still level 299—stronger than anything he had faced before reaching this floor.

But compared to the boss?

They were nothing.

Even without his doppelgangers, Arlon had managed to cut through them.

Not effortlessly—every strike, every dodge, and every spell had been deliberate.

But the pressure he had felt during the boss fight was gone.

In a way, it felt like he was using them as a final test for himself. He had sent his copies away, wanting to handle this on his own. He wasn't just fighting; he was refining.

Adjusting his movements.

Experimenting with his attacks.

Sharpening his control over Portal and pushing the limits of Rewind Slash without exhausting himself.

Yet, despite all of that, he had a strange feeling. A nagging certainty that after today, he wouldn't be able to continue training like this anymore.

It wasn't because he lacked the time.

It was something deeper—a realization that the challenges ahead would force him to rely on more than just training, just like what happened with the boss.

The last monster fell, its body vanishing into particles of light.

Then, the notifications came.

Ding!

Ding!

Ding!

Ding!

Four consecutive level-up notifications flashed before his eyes, along with the usual message he had grown accustomed to seeing.

[Challenger, you have cleared Level 3 of Floor 90.]

He took a slow breath.

Finally... I'm level 299.

The moment felt surreal.

He had been climbing for so long, pushing himself beyond his limits at every stage, and now—he was standing on the very edge of a threshold that few could even dream of reaching.

SSS-level.

The very concept of it had been daunting before.

He had fought against opponents above his level before, but now, things were different.

Even this boss had been nearly impossible to defeat.

And the next boss would be harder.

But that wasn't the real problem.

If the Tower continued following its usual progression, then every single monster on the next level would be over level 300.

One boss was already overwhelming.

But hundreds of monsters over that threshold?

That wasn't just difficult—that was impossible.

Arlon clenched his fists, trying to calculate his options.

He couldn't fight against three level 300+ enemies at once, let alone a hundred, two hundred, or three hundred.

But that didn't mean he planned to give up.

Even if he had to throw everything he had at them, he needed to see the next floor with his own eyes.

He had just proven that his trump cards were effective but not enough.

Would it be a matter of experience points? Would getting experience points simply push him past the SSS barrier?

Or did he need training?

That was the biggest question.

Since one needed both certain level of training and experience points, Arlon was prepared for level 200 with Agema.

But he didn't think he would reach level 300, so he didn't know if his training was enough to level up.

Thanks to the years of training he had in the Tower, it could just be enough.

But he didn't know for sure.

And the answer was something he couldn't afford to get wrong.

If leveling up was all that mattered, then he could grind until he surpassed the limit.

But if training was required, then even if he slaughtered a thousand enemies, he'd never reach level 300.

Of course, unless he trained while fighting them.

The problem was that there was no way to know.

That left him with two choices.

One—he could spend the next fifty years training on this floor.

He could push his abilities further, refine his spatial magic, and try to improve his control over his abilities to absolute perfection.

Or two—he could stick to the plan and move forward now.

If he truly couldn't win, he'd die before the week ended in the real world, still reaching his goal of going back before the week ended.

Training here was important, but testing himself against stronger opponents was just as crucial.

And right now, he didn't have the luxury of waiting for decades just to find out if training was the key or not after all.

No matter how much he trained, no matter how many spells he created, he wasn't like Agema.

She had a natural talent for magic—something Arlon lacked.

He had worked to reach this point, but he couldn't create new time spells from nothing the way she could.

And the time magic he used till now didn't work on 300 level enemies, so his Slow wouldn't even work on normal monsters.

Spatial magic was different.

If he analyzed the boss's Blink-based combat style, he could refine his Portal technique further or create other spells like the trick she used on his copy.

But that alone wouldn't be enough to take on a hundred level 300+ monsters.

And even if he somehow defeated them all, there was no guarantee that reaching level 300 was even possible.

There was no guarantee that 100 kills would be enough.

So, the only path left was forward.

He would train here for as long as possible—fine-tune his Blink and Teleport control, pushing his reaction speed and combat instincts to their absolute limits.

Then, he'd climb.

If he failed, he'd simply revive back in Trion.

But if he succeeded—

If he somehow pushed past the wall—

Then... still nothing. He would just wish for a level up or wait to see if he could advance to the next floor.

Arlon exhaled, his focus shifting back to the lingering notifications.

There was one last thing he needed to confirm.

His gaze flicked to the final message.

It was there.

[Would you like to proceed to the next level?]

Relief flooded through him.

Even though the Tower had been damaged and repaired, he hadn't been sure if he would be allowed to climb further.

But the path was still open.

The only question now was whether or not he could survive it.

Arlon closed his notifications and stretched his arms.

There was only one thing left to do before advancing.

He would train.

Not for years.

Not for decades.

But just long enough to master his movements.

And then, he would step forward.

Toward the next fight.

Toward the next floor.

Toward the next challenge that would push him beyond his limits.

And toward the answer waiting for him at level 300.