Description
An image of the mountain's peak taken by a drone provided by the Backrooms Robotics.
Level 770 — otherwise referred to as "Den Of The King" — takes the form of a cloud-breaching mountain, split into several sections revolving around its trials. Its approximate height is around 2,500 metres (or 8,000 feet), only able to be properly determined via drone due to the near-impossible task of climbing the mountain itself. Essentially, the level takes the form of a large-scale challenge of both physical and mental fortitude that is impossible to complete without a hardened physique and vault-tight mind. Only one man has ever trumped the King1; after which, they were gifted incredible physical prowess — above which they already possessed to be able to complete the ritual, as well as a few other useful abilities. Details on this individual can be found here.
Upon Entry
The clear rivers of the entrance to the level.
As one finds their way into Level 770, they will be met with a still forest, pierced by a gravel pathway that leads one towards the mountain. It is at this point and this point only in the level that one is presented with a moment to prepare themselves for the ritual at hand, as clean water flows through the rivers that interject into the forest and edible berries grow frequently throughout the forest on bushes. The forest, however, is surrounded by inescapably steep, smooth, and anomalously impervious mountains in the confines of about 52,000 square metres, thus forcing anyone who ends up in the level towards its only exit — the very top of the mountain.
As one enters the level, they will be instantaneously greeted by the King, who will appear wholly inactive before abruptly beginning to trek down the path ahead. He will guide wanderers down the gravel road, at their own pace, to complete the ritual of climbing it, waiting for whenever they are prepared, with a giddy grin on its face in anticipation for the oncoming chase. Upon arriving at the base of the mountain, the King will await the arrival of at least 5 wanderers to begin the ritual at once. To achieve this, the King will simply leave the wanderers that he’d guided to the start to their own devices for a while.
If you are not prepared to partake in the ritual at this point, do not go up the mountain. Death is certain should one not be wholly aware of everything that is about to take place; even if you are aware, your chances of survival are close to none. This level should not be entered without full acknowledgement of its struggles, trials, and tribulations. It is almost impossible to enter the level accidentally, so do not complete the entry ritual unless you are wholly confident in your abilities.
The Entry Ritual
Not to be confused with the ritual itself, the entry ritual is only known way to enter the level. In order to, for whatever conceivable reason, be transported to Level 770, one must follow these steps: sit cross-legged, facing a wall of any material; recite "I challenge you, King"; place both of your hands on the wall in front of you and lean the top of your head against it. After completing these steps, you will have successfully no-clipped into the centre of the level's forest.
The King's Ritual
The King's Ritual happens to be the toughest possible feat that one can achieve in the Backrooms as a whole — both for one's mind and body. In order to even begin to attempt this, one must be a skilled athlete, with the ability to climb, sprint, ignore significant amounts of intense pain, and make quick situational decisions. Without these skills, one will not be able to complete even the first trial.
The ritual is split into several trials, each of which incorporates a different type of skill set while the King chases one to their demise. The King will initially appear cooperative and helpful, however, once the first trial has begun, the entity will begin chasing the group of 5 or more wanderers up the mountain for a total of almost 24 hours — as that is how long it takes to complete every trial in its entirety.
The Climb
The first trial, quite fittingly named, begins abruptly at the ring of a bell situated where the mountain's base and gravel pathway converge. Surrounding it will be a wall of jagged yet slick rocks that one must climb to provide any hope of survival. The climbing route itself isn’t particularly hard, however, the constant falling boulders and rocks that rain down upon wanderers as the King scurries up the mountain's edge pose as the bulk of the trial's challenge. In order to avoid the boulders, climbers will need to perform numerous dynos2, as well as evade the King's fiending pursuit. If the King catches you, it will discard you off of the mountain via grabbing and tossing you down to your death.
The length of this trial is a gruelling 500 metres, leaving still 2,000 in order to ascend to the top.
Marathon of Intervals
The second trial is one of attrition and pacing as its name suggests; once reaching a plateau at the top of the first trial, one will be met with a wide tunnel as music begins to emit from the walls. This music acts as a pace setter — the faster the pace of the music, the faster the King chases, with the fastest beats being full sprints, and the slowest being jogs. The music will replay indefinitely until one reaches the end of the tunnel, which happens to be a whole 48 kilometres (or 4,800 metres) ahead. The only real way to prepare for this is good pacing, however that alone isn’t nearly enough.
An additional obstacle to look out for presents itself in the form of mangled corpses of wanderers that the King slams into the wall upon catching. Not many make it to this trial anyways, though, so the bodies are infrequent, especially further down the tunnel.
Another feature to note is that fact that the mountain is not actually 48 kilometres in length. How the tunnel within the mountain stretches on for this long is an anomaly in itself, however it should be the least of one's worries.
Mind Palace Elevator
The third trial — acting as a resting point for most who are able to make it here — takes the form of an elevator that appears at the end of the second trial's tunnel. The only special feature about this part of the trial is that the elevator is controlled by its assailants' heart rates and neural activity. If everyone in the elevator is calm and collected, and has a stable heart rate, the elevator will rise at a quick and steady pace, ascending about 1,000 metres without issue. However, if any of its assailants are especially unsettled, the elevator will begin to lower and teeter, sometimes even straight-up plummeting as the people inside fall to their demise.
The only factor that makes this trial especially tough is that it comes directly after a 48 kilometre run, which doesn’t exactly leave one's heart rate at a stable pace, nor their mind in calm order.
Within the span of about 3 hours, one will be forced to exit the elevator.
Deadman's Hang
Despite having already burned through more than a marathon and given semi-proper rest, the fourth trial is the most physically taxing of its counterparts. Upon exiting from the third trial, a long metal pole with release from above the elevator. In order to survive, one must hold onto this pole until they reach the final trial as it rises at a steady pace. If they do not exit the elevator, they will simply fall to their death.
This will take 12 hours in total, and bring one 750 metres higher.
Fight For The Throne
The final trial is by far the hardest of them all, forcing the wanderer — or multiple wanderers if multiple are somehow able to progress the whole ritual — to take up a blade or two of their choice out of a selection of them, and battle the King. If they can scratch the King, they are allowed access to the final staircase that leads to the mountain's peak.
The King, according to the only recorded man to reach the final stage, carries a longsword that it uses swiftly and aggressively, constantly attempting at its opponent's life. Without prior combat experience, you simply will not be able to beat the King. You will be killed. Even the only man to beat the King was left beaten and cut to shreds; he passed out for several hours before walking up the stairs to the mountain's peak.
The M.E.G. has provided their Underseer B's account of the events, as he led an exploration group to confirm the level's existence.
Entities
The King
The King is the resident entity of Level 770, ruling over the domain as his own. He inhabits a near-featureless and caliginous humanoid figure, possessing only two beady, black eyes and an unsettling, barely-noticeable grin — its identical colouration to his 'skin' makes it difficult to discern. His limbs house the expected five fingers and toes, meaning that his movements are at least somewhat similar to those of humans; however, the King's movements are all but human. He moves with unspoken fluidity despite the spiky and blocky nature of his appearance, able to make what should be impossible movements for a creature of his build.
The King — juxtaposed to his merciful nature prior to the climb — seems to somewhat hold back against his opponents in the final trial should they catch his interest. Oftentimes, if his opponent is physically capable enough, he will attempt to match their strength instead of completely annihilating him like he’s done to many others, visibly finding great pleasure in the art of combat. His technique is refined and precise despite his movements seeming too quick to even perceive, targeting his opponent's weakest points at all time and forcing them onto the defensive. In any case, winning against him is thought to be impossible should he attack unrestrained, as the only instance of his defeat arose from a once-in-a-lifetime display of luck.
On the only instance in which the entity was injured, he bled bright, white blood; afterwards, he jumped off of the mountain. The entity seems to be wholly impervious to any blunt force, as he’s been recorded to survive unscathed after being hit by even large boulders and, as previously mentioned, plummeting from the top of a mountain. However, the entity strangely still holds a scar where he was cut by Haeleus, thus leading to the belief that only stabbing, slashing, or cutting attacks can damage him.
Finally, the entity is at all times seen with a small, golden, and jewel-crested crown that is paradoxically cemented to his head, not moving an inch from its position upon the centre of his head.
Further study on this entity is pending, though it is heavily limited due to the level it inhabits' nature.
Exit
The only means of exiting Level 770 is via completing all of the King's trials and ascending the mountain to its peak, whereupon one will encounter a marble altar with a crown identical to that of the King resting upon it. Placing this crown atop of one's head — as far as our records show — leads one to Level 11.