Chapter 11: 2nd Floor. Goblin (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 11: 2nd Floor. Goblin (2)
Kang Jun-hyeok entered the room at the Guard Captain’s summons. Inside, the Guard Captain was waiting for him with a beaming smile.
“You’re here, Kang Jun-hyeok!”
The Guard Captain surged to his feet and threw his arms wide, pulling Kang Jun-hyeok into a boisterous hug.
“No one died! This is the first time that’s happened in all my years of facing these invasions! It’s all thanks to you! Hahaha! You did a truly magnificent job!”
“Is it over?”
“There hasn’t been an attack for two days, so the invasion likely ends here.”
The Guard Captain spoke with a face full of relief.
“The goblins will continue to invade periodically in the future, but… with you here, we have nothing to fear! I’ll be counting on you, Kang Jun-hyeok.”
The Guard Captain held out his hand.
“And if you’re open to it… I intend to groom you as my successor. You’ve proven you have exactly what it takes to lead the guards.”
The Guard Captain’s gaze was heavy with trust.
If he took that hand, the quest would be cleared.
Kang Jun-hyeok had protected the soldiers and slaughtered dozens of goblins single-handedly. He hadn’t allowed a single casualty and had earned the complete recognition of the Guard Captain—a man who usually did nothing but bark insults at other Players.
It was a perfect clear, as flawless as one could hope for.
However, Kang Jun-hyeok did not take the hand. The Guard Captain looked puzzled by his sudden stillness.
“Kang Jun-hyeok?”
“Captain,” Kang Jun-hyeok began. “I have a proposal.”
[Hmm?]
The Master of All Weapons was momentarily surprised.
The quest would have been cleared the moment they shook hands, yet the boy was suddenly making a proposal to an NPC?
The Master of All Weapons couldn't fathom the meaning behind it. However, he was even more bewildered by the Guard Captain’s subsequent reaction.
“A proposal?”
The Guard Captain tilted his head and withdrew his hand. He turned and sat back down in his chair.
“What kind of proposal? Let’s hear it.”
* * *
[The quest…]
The Master of All Weapons muttered with a low groan.
The quest completion window had not appeared. The quest was still ongoing.
The Master of All Weapons was quietly shocked. Meanwhile, Kang Jun-hyeok’s eyes grew cold and focused.
The achievements he had made while progressing through the 2nd Floor had earned him the Guard Captain’s favor. As a result, the Guard Captain was willing to entertain his proposal.
It was time to take the next step. Kang Jun-hyeok spoke.
“The goblins. Do you have any intention of wiping them out for good?”
“…Wiping them out, you say?”
The Guard Captain’s face clouded over. What came out of his mouth was an immediate refusal.
“We don’t know exactly where the goblins are nesting. We don’t even know their numbers. It’s too dangerous to go hunting them. Since we’re just a small village on the outskirts, we can’t ask for outside help, either. It’s impossible.”
The NPC had rejected the Player’s proposal.
Normally, that would be the end of it. But Kang Jun-hyeok spoke up again.
“Then do you intend to just sit back and watch as this village slowly dies?”
“…What?”
The Guard Captain’s face stiffened. Anger began to slowly seep into his expression.
“What do you mean by that?”
This was the crucial part. Kang Jun-hyeok reined in his emotions and began to speak.
“Twenty years ago, a pack of goblins settled near the village. That was the beginning of all our calamities.”
During the five days he spent on the 2nd Floor Quest, Kang Jun-hyeok had traveled around the village gathering information about its history—the tragedies that had occurred and the scars left behind.
“May, who left for the forest to gather fruit and was dragged away by those monsters. Angela and Luia, who left the village to play hero and vanished, leaving only scraps of their clothes behind. Canton, who went to rescue them and died with his throat pierced by a goblin’s arrow.”
“…….”
The Guard Captain’s eyes wavered. Kang Jun-hyeok continued relentlessly.
“Over the past twenty years, we have paid a heavy price to the goblins. More than fifty people have vanished without a trace after heading to the forest. The forest that once provided us with plenty of fruit has essentially turned into a Demonic Realm where no one dares set foot.”
Kang Jun-hyeok stomped his foot hard. His voice began to fill with mounting emotion.
“That’s not all. The goblins invade the village every two years. Fortunately, there were no casualties this time, but that wasn’t the case before, was it? Every time, at least four or five people died. If you include those who were crippled, the number exceeds ten.”
“…Stop.”
The Guard Captain tried to cut Kang Jun-hyeok off, his voice tight. But Kang Jun-hyeok did not stop.
“How many children in this village are growing up without parents? When will the flow of new orphans into the village church finally stop? How long must we be too afraid of the goblins to step into our own forest? Just how much longer must we suffer at the hands of those wretched monsters!”
Kang Jun-hyeok roared. His face was twisted with immense grief and rage.
In this moment on the 2nd Floor, he was not a Player from Earth.
He was someone born and raised in a fantasy village that was harsh yet full of warmth. He was a man who had trained himself, burning with a desire for revenge after losing his childhood friends, his parents, and his benefactors to the goblins.
He immersed himself in that persona. He donned the mask and summoned the emotions. Kang Jun-hyeok ground his teeth.
“We are slowly dying because of those goblins. Within a few decades, we will be destroyed by them. You know this too, don’t you, Captain? Isn’t that why you were so happy when I performed well?”
“…….”
The Guard Captain said nothing more. Kang Jun-hyeok shook his head violently.
“I didn’t train myself just to protect the village from them. I trained to kill them—to uproot them entirely. So please, I beg of you.”
Kang Jun-hyeok bowed his head deeply.
“Join forces with me and help me uproot the goblins, Captain.”
“…….”
The Guard Captain did not answer. He sat in his chair with a hardened face.
Kang Jun-hyeok did not press him. He simply waited in silence with his head bowed. After several minutes passed, the Guard Captain finally spoke.
“It’s too dangerous. We don’t know how many of them there are or where their den is.”
“We just have to find out. We have to risk our lives to tear them out by the roots. I have tempered my strength for that very purpose.”
“…You’ll have to put your life on the line.”
“I’ve already made my peace with that,” Kang Jun-hyeok replied shortly.
After watching him for a moment, the Guard Captain let out a short, dry laugh.
“…The youth really are something else. So different from a coward like me.”
As he said this, the Guard Captain’s face settled. He nodded with a look of grim resolve.
“Fine. I accept.”
With those words, a new quest appeared.
[The clear for the 2nd Floor Quest has been canceled.]
[A new quest is in progress.]
[2nd Floor Progress Quest: Rescue the hostages and destroy the goblin den.]
[You have acquired the Passive Skill: Acting.]
[You have acquired the Passive Skill: Persuasion.]
Kang Jun-hyeok broke into a bright smile.
“I knew it, Captain! I believed in you!!”
“But… wait, just wait a moment. I need time to organize my thoughts.”
“Yes. I’ll wait outside. Please call for me when you’re ready.”
Kang Jun-hyeok nodded with a firm expression. He looked every bit the soldier determined to protect his home.
He turned and walked out the door. It closed with a heavy creak.
The moment he reached the hallway, Kang Jun-hyeok’s expression shifted instantly. He no longer looked like a grieving soldier, but like a cold Player conquering the 2nd Floor. He whispered quietly to himself.
“That went well.”
[You.]
The Master of All Weapons asked with a groan.
[Did you know this from the start?]
“More or less.”
The condition for the 2nd Floor Quest wasn't just defending the village. It was saving the village. It wasn't hard to guess that there was something beyond simple defense.
“The problem was how to trigger the transition.”
One couldn't move to the next stage through normal means. The moment he shook the Guard Captain’s hand, the 2nd Floor Quest would have ended right there. He’d had to give it some thought.
In the end, Kang Jun-hyeok had come up with a method.
In the 2nd Floor Quest, the Player becomes a soldier protecting the village. The setting was that he was a local, born and raised there. So, he fully immersed himself in that role.
He acted as a member of the village, showing a sense of belonging and community. He deceived even himself to achieve total immersion. He became a village soldier, not a Player.
It was essentially method acting.
That approach was the correct answer. The Guard Captain had been persuaded by the emotions of a man raging for his village and had accepted the proposal.
“I have to use every tool at my disposal.”
In the Tower, there were things that couldn't be obtained simply by being strong, having great intuition, or being good at fighting. There were even floors that could only be cleared by staying as still as a plant for an entire week.
One had to utilize various methods, and immersion and acting were among them. The Master of All Weapons asked:
[The reason you’re doing this is for the achievement rate, isn’t it?]
“Exactly.”
In the Tower, rewards change based on the achievement rate. The average achievement rate for the 2nd Floor was only 10%. This meant most Players were missing out on the other 90%.
The Master of All Weapons let out a hollow laugh.
[So it’s possible to progress like this.]
The Master of All Weapons knew all the information about the Tower. Naturally, he knew that something called an achievement rate existed. However, he only knew of its existence; he didn't know how to actually increase it. He had simply thought that doing a good job would be enough.
To think it could be achieved in this manner. The Master of All Weapons asked in a suspicious tone.
[Are the other brats around you all like you?]
“Hardly. If they were, you wouldn't have been stuck on the 1st Floor for so long.”
[I suppose so. It wouldn't make sense if everyone was like you. I’ve ended up with a strange one. It’ll be entertaining to watch, at least.]
There was a strange sense of interest in that voice. Kang Jun-hyeok checked his skills.
[Passive Skill: Acting]
• Rank: Lowest-Grade
• Proficiency: F
• The act of deceiving one’s own emotions and wearing a mask. You have become more adept at hiding your true feelings.
[Passive Skill: Persuasion]
• Rank: Lowest-Grade
• Proficiency: F
• Speech and behavior that make others accept your opinions. Beings within the Tower will pay more attention to your words and actions.
Both were excellent skills. There would be many floors in the future where he would be assigned a role and have to perform it to clear the stage, much like the 2nd Floor. They would be useful every time.
‘I already have eight passive skills.’
This was a number an average Player wouldn't obtain even after passing the 20th Floor. Kang Jun-hyeok smiled with satisfaction. A few minutes later, the Captain’s voice came from inside the room.
“Come in.”
Creak.
Kang Jun-hyeok opened the door and stepped inside. The Guard Captain was sitting in his chair with a look of grim determination.
“…Kang Jun-hyeok. You said you would risk your life. I assume you meant it?”
Kang Jun-hyeok nodded. The Guard Captain exhaled slowly.
“Good. Let’s start planning.”
“Yes, sir.”
Kang Jun-hyeok’s eyes sharpened. He had carved out the path to 100%. All that remained was to walk that path perfectly.