Chapter 154: 31st Floor. Empire from Somewhere (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 154: 31st Floor. Empire from Somewhere (2)
[Title: These things are appearing now…]
[Man, what even is this? It’s bizarre. And threatening. I can feel a clear murderous intent.]
[What on earth are these things? They’re hostile and trying to kill us.]
* * *
[…….]
Pixie’s jaw dropped.
After a long moment, she snapped out of her daze and stuttered as she checked the amount of Gold Kang Jun-hyeok possessed. Her mouth hung even wider.
[Is this for real…? You got all this from the test? What exactly did you do?]
“I received a bit of help from various people.”
[……Probably duels. Duels with Gold as the stakes? The Players would have gladly accepted, given the state you were in.]
Pixie managed to deduce the answer on her own. She let out a gasp of admiration.
[Incredible. And greedy. You actually found a way to earn Gold even in a situation like that?]
“I couldn't just let a rare opportunity like that go to waste, could I?”
[Normally, people wouldn't even think of that as an opportunity. Anyway, fine. You have enough Gold. Here. Take them!]
[You have obtained a High-Rank Active Skill Box.]
[You have obtained a High-Rank Active Skill Box.]
Kang Jun-hyeok smirked.
“Thanks.”
[You’re a strange one. And… is it the 31st Floor now? Hmm. So it’s that place.]
Pixie wore a mysterious smile.
[I’ll be looking forward to it.]
With those words, Pixie vanished.
Kang Jun-hyeok looked at the boxes with expectant eyes.
High-Rank Skills.
One had to pay fifty thousand Gold just for the chance to obtain one. At this point, even those who had reached the mid-50s floors barely possessed a single one, yet he had just acquired two more.
Kang Jun-hyeok didn't hesitate. He immediately opened one of the boxes.
[Active Skill: Anti-Field has been acquired.]
[Active Skill: Anti-Field]
[Rank: High-Rank]
[Proficiency: F]
[Cooldown: 24 hours]
[Description: Deploys a field around the body proportional to Health and Defense. The field blocks all incoming attacks and is consumed in proportion to the damage dealt.]
“Anti-Field.”
Kang Jun-hyeok’s eyes gleamed.
It formed a field around the body proportional to his Health and Defense. Through this field, he could achieve perfect defense against incoming attacks. It was a power bordering on a superpower—a top-tier skill even among defensive abilities.
Then, he opened the next High-Rank Skill box.
[Active Skill: Thousand-Pound Weight has been acquired.]
[Active Skill: Thousand-Pound Weight]
[Rank: High-Rank]
[Proficiency: F]
[Cooldown: 24 hours]
[Description: Increases your weight in proportion to Health and Strength.]
“Not bad.”
Kang Jun-hyeok whistled.
Thousand-Pound Weight. Theoretically, it was about 600kg, but the actual weight increased in proportion to his Health and Strength stats.
He had used this skill in his past life as well. Back then, when he activated it, gravity itself would distort due to the sheer mass he generated. With his current stats, he should at least be able to crush the ground beneath him.
From High-Rank onwards, these were the skills he had used as his main arsenal in his previous life. Having already obtained three of them was incredibly satisfying.
“Then, I guess it’s time for the next floor.”
The 31st Floor.
What was waiting there?
After pondering for a moment, Kang Jun-hyeok remembered. A laugh escaped his lips.
I see why Pixie said she was looking forward to it.
The Victors who currently ruled the universe. They were the true enemies of the Players.
However, up until the 30th Floor, there hadn't been much reason to encounter them directly. The Hunger Growing in the Rift on the 5th Floor required specific qualifications to even see; it was impossible for an ordinary Player to face it. The Slime Worms on the 22nd Floor were merely terraforming the planet; they didn't show active murderous intent toward Players.
But the 31st Floor was different.
There, for the first time, Players would encounter a true enemy in every sense of the word—one that possessed pure hostility and sought only to kill.
The 31st Floor. It was a floor occupied by a Victor of the Great War.
* * *
[31st Floor Quest.]
[Objective: Survive for one week.]
Kang Jun-hyeok entered the 31st Floor.
What met his eyes was an infinitely vast field of dirt. At a glance, it looked so clean one might mistake it for cultivated land. But a closer look revealed the opposite.
No matter how far he looked, not a single blade of grass or tree was in sight. All he saw was inorganic soil. There was a sense of intense hostility, as if the land itself refused to tolerate the existence of life.
This was an attack. Something had assaulted this world and turned it into a wasteland.
Kang Jun-hyeok knew exactly what it was. He looked up at the sky.
A black light was plunging down from the heavens toward him. Kang Jun-hyeok kicked off the ground.
Rumble!
The light pierced the spot where he had been standing like a volley of missiles. In an instant, holes were gouged into the earth, and soil sprayed violently into the air.
Rumble, rumble…
Massive craters formed in the ground. Kang Jun-hyeok whistled.
“How vicious.”
Black light attacks rained down irregularly from the sky. Surviving this onslaught for a week was the objective of the 31st Floor.
Naturally, Kang Jun-hyeok had no intention of simply enduring. He read the trajectory of the falling black light and moved toward its source.
Vrrrrm!
Black light periodically hammered down from the sky. The closer he got to the source, the shorter the intervals between attacks became, and the faster they fell. Even a Player from the 40th Floor would have been hard-pressed just to dodge.
Of course, it meant little to Kang Jun-hyeok. He kicked off the ground lightly, and the black light pierced the earth in vain.
At the end of the path, Kang Jun-hyeok saw the thing firing the black light.
A warship was floating in the sky.
The ship had a truly bizarre appearance. Machines were tangled and fused together in a way that defied any rule or order. Even with his Observation skill, it was impossible to understand how it functioned.
That thing did not come from Earth.
[You have encountered a warship of the Empire from Somewhere, a Victor of the Great War.]
* * *
[A warship of the Empire from Somewhere. It’s been a while.]
The Master of All Weapons muttered.
[They are one of the Victors of the Great War. An "Empire" in the literal sense.]
They had appeared alongside the Victors. Armed with countless battleships and all sorts of bizarre weapons, they began their assault on the universe. And they had a very unique characteristic.
Kang Jun-hyeok looked at the ship. An emblem resembling a distorted pillar was engraved on the hull. That emblem was the mark of the Empire from Somewhere. Every single entity belonging to the Empire bore that mark without exception.
Their goal was simple: to devour countless planets and absorb their energy.
A massive pillar—a "nail"—was driven into the ground, siphoning the planet's energy up toward the ship. With their own unique mark, they moved their fleet, swallowed planets, and drained their energy. Anyone who tried to stop them was eliminated.
It was an imperial invasion. That was why people gave them the name "Empire from Somewhere." They were one of the Victors who attacked the universe most aggressively.
Viiiiing!
The Imperial warship began to move to eliminate the intruder. Black light poured out from the ship all at once. Kang Jun-hyeok moved rapidly.
Boom, boom, boom!
Everything in the world that touched the black light died. The already desolate area was devastated even further. It was this ship that had killed all life on this planet.
If it were a weak planet, this single ship would be enough to bring about its downfall. Earth’s past was no different. An existence capable of destroying a planet single-handedly—such a Victor was now trying to kill a Player.
That was why Kang Jun-hyeok smiled.
Vrrrrm!
Black light shot down from the sky. It held an absolute elemental advantage over all the powers of the universe. There was no way to counter it other than defending with pure mass.
Kang Jun-hyeok tightened his grip on his sword. He swung it violently toward the light.
Clang, clang, clang!
The light was shaved away and deflected. The murderous intent emanating from the ship was tinged with bewilderment. Kang Jun-hyeok brandished his sword.
“Unfortunately for you, I’m a Player.”
The elemental advantage didn't work on him.
Viiiiing!
The black light pouring from the sky grew even more powerful. Kang Jun-hyeok dodged and looked at the "nail" driven into the earth.
The ship was receiving an endless supply of energy through that nail. Unless he destroyed it, he would eventually be overwhelmed by numbers. He had to destroy the nail first.
[Instant Acceleration.]
[Anti-Field.]
His physical speed increased. A translucent barrier enveloped his body. Kang Jun-hyeok steadied his breathing.
[Charge.]
Boom!
His body hurtled toward the nail. The ship hurriedly unleashed a barrage of black light, but it only shaved away at the barrier and failed to damage his body.
Woooooom!
Deciding to gather power and release it all at once, light began to concentrate in the ship’s main cannon. The power contained within that shot would be enough to shatter the barrier and blow him away instantly.
At the very moment before it fired, Kang Jun-hyeok raised a finger.
[Judgment of the Law.]
The ship’s speed decreased by 20%.
The sudden load caused a delay in the firing sequence. If the speed had been slow from the start, the ship would have adjusted the trajectory accordingly, but there was nothing it could do about slowing down mid-attack. The light grazed right behind Kang Jun-hyeok.
Rumble!
The distance to the nail was now one kilometer. Kang Jun-hyeok pulled out a spear.
[Single Point Penetration.]
Whoosh!
His body accelerated instantly, closing the distance. Before the ship could react, the spear pierced the nail.
CRACK!
The nail shook violently. Kang Jun-hyeok poured even more strength into the spear.
[Sword Ki and Sword Wind.]
[Shock.]
KABOOM!
With a powerful shockwave, the nail snapped and collapsed. The energy flowing up to the ship was cut off, causing the vessel to stagger momentarily.
Kang Jun-hyeok looked up at the sky.
Vrrrrm.
Intense hostility radiated from the ship as it regained its balance. He had succeeded in destroying the nail, but the ship itself still had energy remaining. Light began to gather again, as if determined to kill him at any cost.
He smirked and kicked off the ground.
[Rift Movement.]
Kang Jun-hyeok’s body reappeared directly on top of the ship. The emotions wafting from the vessel immediately turned into panic.
It was an absolute Authority that allowed him to move through the Rift to any place within his sight. The reason he hadn't used it to destroy the nail was that, ultimately, it was the ship he had to destroy. If he showed the skill once, the enemy would adapt immediately. He had saved it for the decisive blow.
“My neck hurts from looking up when you’re floating in the sky.”
Kang Jun-hyeok lightly pressed down on the ship with his foot.
“So, get down here.”
[Thousand-Pound Weight.]