Thud
Jinhyuk and his companions sat huddled around a table.
Kancho shot her hand up high.
"Dark hasn't come yet!"
"He's still at Yeon Merchant Company."
Yeon Merchant Company was moving tomorrow to the central district, where foot traffic was heaviest.
Being in such a remote spot now, they'd sent Dark ahead just in case.
"I see."
Kancho lowered her hand.
Jinhyuk checked his watch.
It was almost time to head back to the tower.
"I'm going into the 30th floor alone today."
Seira, who had been sipping her tea, looked over at Jinhyuk.
"I know the 30th floor is the final floor of this section. That means the difficulty will be accordingly high, so I'm against it."
No one knew better than Seira how much stronger Jinhyuk had become.
But when the opponent was hundreds of enemies, variables were inevitable.
It was too risky a choice.
"But you must have your reasons for wanting to do it that way?"
Jinhyuk wasn't arrogant.
His innate personality meant he never let his guard down.
He wasn't the type to opt for a suboptimal plan just because he wanted to fight solo, ignoring the best efficiency. There had to be a solid reason.
"Yeah."
Jinhyuk pointed at the monitor.
There was an image of an ogre with black leather-like skin.
"It's ugly."
"Looks weak."
Kancho and Seira's impressions followed one after the other.
The monster, which had just received harsh criticism, was named Ogre Raider.
While ogre warriors were at least imposing with their muscular builds, the raider was anything but.
It was gaunt all over, and the bizarre tattoos etched across its body only made it more off-putting.
The black skin didn't help either.
"This guy's the 30th-floor boss, but he doesn't always show up. If you and Kancho go in like usual, he won't appear. He's a total coward."
According to information gathered on Tower Site, the raider had three appearance conditions.
The climb into the 30th floor had to be a first attempt, the player's level had to be under 40, and the combat power demonstrated in battles up to breaching the inner keep had to be something the ogre raider deemed winnable for itself.
Different conditions on the surface, but the overarching theme was the same.
It only appeared when it was certain of victory.
That didn't make its appearance rare, though.
Almost every player encountered the raider.
Most first-timers on the 30th floor satisfied the second and third conditions as well.
The players who didn't meet it even on their first try were all those who'd looped around previous floors to hit level 40.
@ Just hit the escape button if you see it. Don't get cocky and die over nothing. It's way dirtier than it looks.
@ Agreed. It buffs ogre warriors and archers endlessly, so the difficulty is worlds apart with or without it. You won't even get close anyway, so escape quick and try again tomorrow.
That said, the ogre raider hadn't gone uncaptured.
It was just that the players who'd managed it were among the top ten rankers at present, which meant the standard strategy for average players was to skip it outright.
"I see. Then I'll manifest when you command it, Master. Though in my judgment, if you're in danger, I won't wait for the order."
"Okay. That's good enough. Kancho, you sync up with Seira and manifest."
"Got it! But why do we have to catch that thing no matter what?"
"I was planning to skip it at first too."
The change of heart was thanks to the item the ogre raider dropped.
Karakul's Ring.
Due to its abysmal drop rate, none had surfaced yet, but if one hit the market, it would easily fetch tens of billions.
Jinhyuk turned to look at Momo, who was deep in an ice cream mukbang.
With Momo on the team, they could now extract every item a monster carried, drop rate be damned.
Which made encountering it a must.
"Must be some useful gear."
"Yeah. Anyway, if the raider shows up as planned, that's primary objective achieved, but no slacking off. First off, Seira—don't cut off any fingers, no matter what. We can't lose the ring."
"Should I go for the neck then?"
"Yeah. The ring's the goal."
"Understood."
"Kancho, no attacking the ogre raider. If it explodes into dust, we're screwed."
"Dust?"
"It means it's all for nothing."
"Got it!"
"Okay!"
Beep beep. Beep beep.
Right on cue, the alarm rang, and Jinhyuk stood.
"All of you, dematerialize."
The three vanished in an instant.
A smile on his face, Jinhyuk reached out a hand.
[Entering the 30th floor of the Tower of Despair!]
At that moment, sitting at his computer, Jo Gangtae gnawed at his nails.
The post he'd uploaded to Tower Site had become a hot topic, just as expected.
Reactions were pouring in hot and heavy, and the Leka NewTubers were spreading it smoothly too.
@ Where's the Honor Scroll runner? Scared and ran away? Why no response?
@ He saw the post but bolted 'cause he's scared of Jo Gangtae. Admit it?
@ Isn't running away what makes him a runner? Or maybe he's getting insane government backing and breaking records nonstop.
He'd even had his friends drop some provocative comments to stir things up.
And yet.
'Why hasn't this bastard reacted?'
There wasn't a peep from the runner.
This didn't make sense.
Having shattered the Honor Scroll record a few times himself, Jo Gangtae knew better than anyone.
The runner, who was hogging all the spotlight on Tower Site day in and day out.
A guy like that, with all the attention crashing down on him—his ego had to be through the roof.
'He probably thinks he's the hottest shit in the world.'
People like that actually believed the hype when you kept calling them great.
They usually got drunk on their own arrogance.
Nose in the air, blind to everything.
At a time like that, seeing a post like his—he couldn't just sit still.
Maybe he hadn't seen it yet.
Just then.
Ding!
A new post caught his eye.
Isn't it the Honor Scroll runner's turn for the 30th floor? I remember Jo Gangtae, the hot post guy, skipped the raider? What happens if the runner catches the raider?
@ What happens? Jo Gangtae chickens out on a monster, and the runner bags it—that's what.
@ Jo Gangtae's gonna look like such a loser. Strutting around with all that bravado, posting hot takes, and the runner just yoinks his skipped trash?
@ He got an A rank skipping the raider. Wonder what the runner'll get?
Crunch!
'Which bastard wrote this?'
The username was Basement Cannon.
Clicking on it yielded nothing useful.
He'd been riding the wave so well, and now this pointless crap muddied the waters.
"Sigh."
Jo Gangtae flung his mouse aside and leaned back in his chair.
Annoying, but whatever.
The raider appeared on the 30th floor, but to players in that section, it was a walking disaster.
It took those already tenacious ogres and cranked them up to eleven.
Even Jo Gangtae had faced a buffed-up ogre warrior, realized it was hopeless, and hit escape.
Crunch.
He gnawed at his nail again.
Still, it was weird.
The runner clearly couldn't catch the raider.
So why was he so on edge?
[Entering the 30th floor of the Tower of Despair!]
Clangs of weapons clashing echoed from all directions.
The knights, former masters of the city, were locked in fierce battle with ogre warriors.
"Are you the reinforcements who led us here?"
A man who looked like the commander rode up on horseback.
"Yes."
Not entirely alone, but sure.
"Thanks to you, we made it this far. Allow me to express my gratitude."
"I only did what needed doing."
The commander nodded.
"But the battle isn't over yet. Just one step to toppling the inner keep. It won't be easy. Will you fight alongside us this time as well?"
"Of course."
With that, Jinhyuk drew Ganjang and Makya.
He tied the laces of his winged sandals tight.
Then slapped his cheeks a couple times.
'Focus. Focus.'
Unlike other times, he was solo today.
Seira and Kancho would manifest if things got dicey, but he had no intention of leaning on them.
"Knights! Form ranks!"
The hundreds of knights tasked with retaking the keep aligned in neat rows and columns.
Jinhyuk took position behind them.
[Combat begins in 5 seconds!]
'Don't get cocky.'
Ogre warriors were easy pickings now.
But ranged shots and getting swarmed needed caution.
[Combat begins!]
"Reclaim the castle from those vile ogres!!"
"Waaaaah!!"
The knights charged in unison.
Jinhyuk ran after the knight order, not falling behind.
To gauge the raider's appearance, the inner keep's gates had to open.
Until then, he had to help the knights cut down as many ogres as possible.
Separate from the item he needed from the raider, he couldn't pass up that SSS+ rank either.
"Krarrarak!!"
Hundreds of ogres poured from the inner keep.
Roaring as they charged, they clashed with the knight order, and battle erupted.
Jinhyuk, off to the side, raised his sword.
Blue aura flowed from the blade.
The commander passing by widened his eyes.
'Aura at that young age? Reliable indeed.'
But it wasn't just aura he wielded.
The ogre facing Jinhyuk didn't last more than a few seconds before collapsing.
Slash! Slash! Crunch!
And as the number of fallen ogres grew, Jinhyuk's sword grew swifter and heavier.
"Th-thank you!"
Jinhyuk didn't pass by ogres tangling with other knights either.
He thrust his blade into the side of one pinning a struggling knight, aiding him.
'His situational awareness is impeccable too.'
In the heat of battle, Jinhyuk stood out inescapably.
His movements, which had seemed measured at first, sped up to the point where it felt like he'd been holding back initially.
Thanks to Jinhyuk darting in at key moments with his speed, the knights' casualties were kept to a minimum.
"Huuu."
Jinhyuk exhaled.
Ganjang and Makya's buffs made his body light as a feather, but he didn't charge recklessly.
He scanned his surroundings thoroughly, only diving in once he judged no dangers lurked.
After felling a few more ogres that way.
"Breach the gates!!"
The knight order's siege engines began hammering the inner keep's gates.
Jinhyuk shifted position to handle ogres targeting the engines.
Boom! Crash!!
Soon, with a burst of sound, the gates flew open.
Jinhyuk turned his gaze there.
"Haaa."
Letting out a long breath, Jinhyuk smiled.
"Graaaaaararara!!! "
The ogre raider rose, unleashing a terrifying roar.
Its body glowed, showering the ogre forces with enhancement buffs.
Ogre warriors, wreathed in red energy, roared ferociously in turn.
"Th-this..."
The commander and knights faltered under the raider's aura, but not Jinhyuk.
He simply stood still, staring it down.
Rustle.
A small gust brushed his cheek.
And before that wind could fully scatter.
Thud.
The ogre raider's head fell.
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T/N:
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