Chapter 24. Unexpected Party (3)
“Grraaawr!”
Skeletons emitted a grating, metallic screech from throats that no longer existed as they charged at Jeonghyeon, their bones rattling on the verge of shattering.
“Come at me, then.”
Jeonghyeon launched himself straight at the oncoming foes with terrifying speed, swinging his Blood Dissector harvesting knife in a clean arc as he sliced past the monster.
A straight line appeared over the skeleton’s bones as if drawn with a ruler in the air, and in an instant, it was completely disassembled from head to toe.
Thud.
A single mana stone was all that remained on the remains of the skeleton, which hadn’t even managed a death rattle.
Like a master butcher processing livestock, Jeonghyeon wove through the skeletons with concise, fluid movements.
The Blood Dissector—a harvesting knife and Epic Weapon—sharpened its blade far beyond even a top-grade sword whenever it was used for dissection, granting it cutting power that made famed blades look like toys the moment one treated it as disassembly rather than mere slashing.
Dozens fell to the floor in seconds, and Yongmyeong and his lackey hunters scrambled to pick up the dropped mana stones.
“Touch one and you’re dead. Seriously.”
Of course, only until Jeonghyeon spotted them.
“Uh… w-we’re just collecting them! Haha! For your convenience!”
What bullshit.
After sweeping the entire room clean, Philip seized the advantage against the monster that had been giving him trouble and slammed his mace downward.
Krunch!!
The head of the ogre skeleton—the closest thing to a sub-boss—shattered against the floor.
“Kid’s got some moves, huh?”
Catching the genuine praise in Jeonghyeon’s offhand comment, Philip laughed heartily, brushing it off as all thanks to him.
“Haha!”
Once the cave-like room was a half-collapsed mess, the unintended five-man party took a short break.
“Don’t touch ’em, Pak.”
Of course, it was really just Jeonghyeon confiscating the mana stones from Yongmyeong’s gang, who kept trying to pocket them at every opportunity.
“Y-yes, sir…”
Still, Jeonghyeon judged they weren’t fully done yet and tossed them a few low-quality stones.
“Take these.”
“Thank you!”
“By the way, what was that swordsmanship just now? I couldn’t quite catch it, but it felt different from how regular swordsmen move.”
Sharp eye, noticing that. Not bad.
Jeonghyeon played dumb and asked back.
“How do regular swordsmen fight, then?”
“Well, they go shwick! Tak! Shoo! Clang! like that, right? But yours was more like sliiiide! Swoosh! Shk! Slice! or something.”
…
Sharp eye, huh?
Jeonghyeon nodded with a complicated expression.
“Eh, close enough. Swordsman skills as a field porter. Something like that.”
The unexpected reply came from an unlikely source.
“Eek?! You’re not a hunter—you’re a porter?!”
Yongmyeong stared at Jeonghyeon in shock.
“Porters can fight this well?! Lucky bastards!”
Humans really don’t change, do they?
The guys who’d been groveling, calling him “bro” and begging for their lives moments ago flipped their attitudes the second they heard “field porter.”
“Man, I’m jealous. No wonder you haul so many mana stones. Wanna climb the Tower with us next time?”
Even his own lackeys shot Yongmyeong looks like this was crossing a line as he blabbered on cluelessly.
“B-bro, he still saved us.”
“Oh.”
Only then did Yongmyeong glance nervously at Jeonghyeon, but Jeonghyeon ignored the nonsense completely. His only concern was when they’d kill the boss with this trash in tow.
“Anyway, the boss?”
Philip answered immediately.
“Next room over. I can feel a strong presence.”
Jeonghyeon recalled that Tower climbs had a hefty share of dungeon-style trials—handy skill.
“Anything you know about the boss?”
“Hm… can’t remember well. Things got clearer from the 4th floor on.”
“I know from 4 too. Got it.”
Jeonghyeon’s memory blanked specifically on floors 3 and 8. Weird, since he’d climbed it multiple times for the “cool factor” to help junior hunters.
Because they’re undead?
Weak undead melted at the slightest whiff of Solgaleh’s light dragon power, so it made sense.
Then 8th floor’s undead too? Gotta test it.
Recalling past climbs, some floors he’d breezed through without fighting, like a casual stroll. If those were undead layers, unlike with Solgaleh, he might gain comprehension on other undead monsters here.
As he pondered alone, one man approached Jeonghyeon.
A frail-looking mage from Yongmyeong’s gang, with shoulder-length hair.
“Uh… about the boss.”
“Yeah?”
“Before I joined, I overheard in the plaza—rumor has it the bosses have been changing lately, over the past few months.”
“Bosses changing? What’s that mean?”
Had that happened before? No way Jeonghyeon would forget a major shift like that, bad memory or not. Maybe a false rumor back then?
The man continued.
“Uh… originally, the 3rd floor boss is the Skeleton King—fused skeletons and…”
“I know that. Changed to what?”
“Totally unexpected bosses appearing. Different for everyone, they say.”
No way.
Jeonghyeon’s brow furrowed at this nonexistent event, and the mage raised his hands in panic.
“Might not be true! Just the rumor! And only the 3rd floor, apparently!”
No way only 3rd floor changed. Hunters hadn’t reached 20th yet, so small sample size.
But that didn’t make boss changes normal.
“Something’s off. What bosses showed up?”
“Some say a slime out of nowhere, others got the scheduled Skeleton King.”
Reliable?
Jeonghyeon’s mind raced.
These guys’ words were trust-zero. But no reason for lies or boasts right now, either.
Either hunters are wrong, or real change but not enough data…
As his head grew complicated, Philip’s voice cut through.
“Doesn’t matter. With you and me, we’ll win anyway, right?”
“…”
Jeonghyeon couldn’t help a smirk.
Yeah. What would you know? Every change from the past made the path to the Demon King unpredictable. A mere hunter like Philip couldn’t grasp the details—no need to, either.
“Right you are. Never been picky about my monsters. Let’s go in.”
After a good rest, the party rose to end it.
They pushed open the small, shabby stone door—hardly boss-room worthy—and entered.
The moment it began to open, Jeonghyeon whipped his head toward the mage.
“Hey, mage. What weapon you use?”
“Uh… a staff?”
“Gimme.”
“Pardon?”
“Hand it over. Not stealing.”
“Ah… sure.”
Jeonghyeon snatched the mage’s staff and shoved the door fully open.
***
Attribute: Ceramic staff, inherent fire attribute
Features: Extremely sturdy—handy for melee defense too. Low mana efficiency, but inherent fire attribute makes it ideal for flame magic!
Rank: D
Attribute Liberation: 0% (comprehension increase buff applied)
Mid-level ceramic whatever—fancy talk for mass-produced plastic staff. Total dud.
If these punks wanna strut around, get decent gear at least.
Gripping the unfamiliar staff—not even his size—Jeonghyeon scanned the empty boss room.
Sticky slime coated the floor widely, eerie vine-like plants writhing as if alive.
“Philip. Stay sharp.”
“Got it.”
Jeonghyeon took point with Blood Dissector in one hand, staff in the other; Philip guarded the rear, with Yongmyeong and the hunters sandwiched in between.
To boost their survival a bit, since killing them wasn’t an option.
Chirrrk.
Vines slithered across slime from the corner, the sound echoing.
The hunters tensed, moving silently.
Definitely not Skeleton King. Tower bosses really changing?
Even protecting the hunters, Jeonghyeon scoured for intel.
But the thick darkness offered no visuals.
Chiiiirrrk.
A longer slither, then thorned vines shot at Jeonghyeon at blinding speed.
“!!”
He twisted instinctively to dodge…
“Kyaak!”
“Gyaah!!”
Forgetting the hunters behind him. Yongmyeong and the mage screamed, thorns piercing shoulder and gut.
“Damn it!”
Jeonghyeon slashed the vines with Blood Dissector and charged forward.
“Philip! Keep ’em alive!”
“On it!”
Philip ripped vines barehanded and sat the hunters down.
“Pull ’em now and you bleed out! Hang on!”
“Aghh…!”
“It hurts!! Shit…!”
Unfamiliar agony sent the hunters into panic, crawling on the floor. Jeonghyeon plunged into the dark to kill the boss before they died.
Whatever monster this was, time to see its face.
Grinding his teeth, after a few steps, a massive monster encompassing an entire wall revealed itself.
“…Why the hell are you here?”
A colossal pillar-like body sprouting from the wall, human torso impaled atop it—grotesque form.
Dozens of huge tendrils writhed threateningly from its body.
At least A-rank.
The Gigantic Mandragora.
Things were different. A monster you’d meet at least 10 floors higher in his past life, already here.
But Jeonghyeon grinned wickedly instead.
“Perfect.”
He channeled mana into the staff.
Swordsman, so weak at magic—but every high-rank hunter knew one basic spell.
Fwoosh.
Flames flickered at the staff’s tip, glowing bright.
Soon, a head-sized fireball formed.
Fireball. Simplest magic, even swordsmen could manage.
“Nothing beats fire for burning plants. Right?”
Jeonghyeon swung the staff, hurling the fireball at the writhing plant.