Chapter 184: 40th Floor. Vampire Princess (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 184: 40th Floor. Vampire Princess (1)
[Community] How many days did it take everyone to clear?
[User: It took me one day.]
[Charang (58th Floor): Three days.]
[Dang Jung-ryeong (65th Floor): It was four days for me.]
[Gugugugu (40th Floor): ……The universe is a vast place. On our planet, the record was two days.]
* * *
Kang Jun-hyeok flicked his finger. A chair rose into the air and drifted toward him.
Telekinesis—the psychic ability to move objects.
Among countless superpowers, it was the one closest to being omnipotent. However, it had a fatal drawback: it was nothing more than a convenient tool unless the output was high enough.
With Kang Jun-hyeok’s current Psychic stat, his limit was moving about 10kg at most. At this stage, it was difficult to use effectively in combat.
Usually, the output of a psychic power depended on innate talent. No matter how much one trained, it was nearly impossible to overcome the limits set at birth.
But he was a Player.
[Psychic: 13]
Psychic energy, which determined the output of his power, was explicitly defined as a stat. If he raised this stat, his output would increase accordingly. Since there were various ways to boost his stats while climbing the tower, he simply had to acquire them.
‘By the way...’
Gu Bijan crossed Kang Jun-hyeok’s mind.
Gu Bijan must have obtained his psychic power through the girl after achieving a Perfect Clear on the 39th Floor.
And Gu Bijan had kept that information hidden. Once the floor was cleared, there was no real reason to keep it a secret.
But on second thought, there was no need to mention it either. Claiming he gained a superpower through a reality manipulator would only lead to unnecessary headaches.
The effect of the [Perfect Player] title was Psychic +1. Having organized his thoughts, Kang Jun-hyeok prepared for the next floor.
* * *
At that same time.
Somewhere in the universe.
On a planet tens of thousands of light-years away from Earth—a distance normally impossible to bridge.
A man was there.
He was a handsome young man with blue hair and golden eyes. He possessed a charm that could win over anyone, and his quiet smile brought warmth to those who saw it.
He was moving his hands calmly. A sword floated in the air, dancing freely through the sky.
“No matter how many times I see it, I just don’t understand.”
A woman wearing a wizard’s hat beside him muttered in wonder.
“I can’t see the flow of mana at all. I’ve tried to replicate it with magic several times, but I can only mimic the surface. I can’t grasp the principle behind it.”
“It can’t be helped, since it’s not a power of this world.”
“I wish you’d explain how you got it.”
“I’m sorry, but I can’t do that,” Gu Bijan declined with a gentle smile. “The memories of that place are my most precious treasures. And my bond with her... it’s not something to be spoken of lightly to others.”
Why had Gu Bijan remained silent about the 39th Floor?
The reason was simpler than one might think.
To Gu Bijan, the year he spent with the girl was a memory that belonged only to him. It was not something to be defiled by the greed and curiosity of others.
“Stubborn man.”
The grumbling woman spoke up as if something had just occurred to her. “Oh, speaking of which, there’s that Perfect Player.”
“You mean Kang Jun-hyeok?”
“Yeah, him. He also achieved a Perfect Clear on the 39th Floor, the same place you got your psychic power.”
“I saw the announcement too. It was impressive.”
“Do you think he achieved the Perfect Clear the same way you did?”
“Who knows.”
There was more than one path to a Perfect Clear. One could achieve it by turning the city upside down without ever meeting the girl.
However, Gu Bijan’s intuition told him otherwise.
He felt that Kang Jun-hyeok, just like him, had met the girl.
“Kang Jun-hyeok…… is it?” Gu Bijan smiled broadly. “He’s starting to pique my interest.”
* * *
[40th Floor Quest]
[The Vampire Princess is undergoing her Coming-of-Age Ceremony. Kill the Vampire Princess.]
Kang Jun-hyeok arrived in the middle of a vast field.
Before him stood a massive tomb. As soon as he grasped the situation, a thunderous scream erupted from within the structure.
[Uwoooooooo!]
The air surged violently. The grass of the field was crushed and flattened. Kang Jun-hyeok let out a low whistle.
“That’s quite a grand welcome.”
[……She is one of my kin,] Eldiria groaned. [And a True Ancestor at that. It seems she is undergoing the Coming-of-Age Ceremony to become a Vampire Lord.]
“You can tell just by looking?”
[Who do you think I am? I am the one and only Queen of all vampires. I can recognize the process of a kinsman’s ceremony instantly.] Eldiria spoke with pride. [But…… it is not good. The quantity and quality of her power are woefully insufficient to complete the ceremony. There is a high probability she will fail.]
“Can the ceremony fail? You made it look so easy, Lady Eldiria.”
[Not everyone is born with the same power as I. The ceremony allows one to be reborn as a true True Ancestor. One must stake everything on it. Even the slightest misalignment leads to failure, creating a blood-crazed monster. And looking at her current state, that is likely what will happen.]
[Uwoooooooo!]
A scream filled with agony echoed. No matter how one looked at it, the process did not seem normal.
“Is there no way to save her?”
[It is impossible. The moment someone intervenes, the ceremony is canceled and ruined. The only thing you can do is grant her a merciful end.]
[Uwo! Uwoooo!]
[The ceremony is still ongoing. As time passes, an even stronger monster will emerge. Disposing of her now would be the quickest way to end this.]
The longer he dragged it out, the stronger the monster would become.
In other words, the 40th Floor was a stage where the weaker you were, the faster you cleared it. Most could not last even a few hours, and even those confident in their strength found five days to be their limit. It was necessary to coldly assess the strength of the growing monster.
That was why Kang Jun-hyeok sat down on the ground.
Eldiria muttered in a satisfied tone, as if she had expected nothing less.
[As expected of my successor.]
He waited, tempering and refining his own strength. The ceremony continued, and the power radiating from within grew larger and larger. One day, two days, three, four, five.
And then, past a week, ten days had passed.
Rumble!
The tomb shattered into pieces. Kang Jun-hyeok stood up, swatting away the flying debris.
“Finally coming out, are you?”
“Ugh, oh, uh, uh…….”
A vampire stood there.
Her entire body was twisted and broken. Veins protruded from her skin, writhing like snakes, and her limbs were grotesquely swollen. She looked like a creature straight out of a horror movie.
“Quee... Queen... the Queen’s…… successor……”
[Does a shred of intelligence remain? What a curse,] Eldiria spoke bitterly. [Grant her mercy.]
“As you wish.”
[Judgment of the Law]
“Uwoooooo!”
Boom!
The vampire charged. She raised a massive arm and swung it down toward Kang Jun-hyeok. He raised his sword to meet it.
Clang!
A violent collision rang out. The earth beneath Kang Jun-hyeok’s feet gouged out.
‘She’s strong.’
In terms of pure physical strength, she was a step above him. But the vampire’s power didn’t end there.
“Uwoooo!”
Snap, snap, snap!
The veins protruding from her skin burst out, lashing at Kang Jun-hyeok like wild whips. He kicked off the ground to evade, swinging his sword in a blur.
Clash, clash, clash!
He struck away, parried, and blocked the lashing blood-veins. He sheathed his sword and pulled out a spear in one fluid motion.
[Thrust]
Thwack!
The spear pierced the vampire’s arm. She let out a cry of pain.
“Uwoooooooo!”
Boom!
Blood exploded, shaking the surroundings. In an instant, thousands of blood droplets flew toward Kang Jun-hyeok like needles. He quickly deployed an [Anti-Field] to protect himself, but it was shattered instantly.
[Rift Movement]
Swish.
He moved through the rift, reappearing directly above the vampire’s head.
[Thousand-Pound Weight]
Thud!
A massive weight crushed the vampire. He swung his sword at the opponent pinned to the ground. In an instant, cuts of various sizes appeared all over her body.
“Uwo! Uwoooo!”
At that moment, the blood scattered in all directions rose into the air.
This was dangerous. Kang Jun-hyeok quickly clenched his fist.
[High-Output Gauntlet from Somewhere]
The power of the gauntlet erupted. Simultaneously, the blood in the air exploded like bombs. The two massive forces collided, shaking the entire area.
Rumble!
The field was devastated, turning into a wasteland. Kang Jun-hyeok, having escaped the aftermath of the explosion, clicked his tongue.
“She really is strong.”
[Though she failed, she is a True Ancestor who grew enough to attempt the ceremony. She could not be weak.]
“Uwooooo!”
The vampire raised her hand. The blood rose and took the form of weapons—swords and spears. They flew toward Kang Jun-hyeok at high speed.
Clang, clang!
He deflected, blocked, and pushed them away. But all of them were byproducts made of the vampire’s blood. They reformed without any loss and flew at him again.
[Repulsion]
He activated the skill to push back the attacks and create distance. Then, he threw spears in rapid succession. The blood weapons shattered upon impact.
[Single Point Penetration]
He then sprinted toward the vampire. The spear pierced her shoulder with great force. The vampire screamed.
“Uwoooooooo!”
Boom!
The blood exploded once more. Now, it completely swallowed the space, to the point where the vampire’s form was barely visible.
‘Vampires are so annoying because of that.’
Kang Jun-hyeok clicked his tongue. Vampires were a race that held dominion over blood. At the True Ancestor level, it was no exaggeration to say that dominion was absolute. No matter how much he wounded her, she could wield that blood as her own power, making her a relentless opponent.
But the same applied to him now.
“Whew.”
Kang Jun-hyeok loosened his muscles. He stored his weapon back into the [Master of All Weapons].
[I am the Vampire Queen, Eldiria. The Queen of Queens of all vampires.]
There were many True Ancestors who had undergone the ceremony to reach the position of Vampire Queen. But the only one who could be called the True Queen was Eldiria.
Eldiria spoke softly. [You are my one and only successor. Go and prove your worth.]
“I planned to do so even if you didn’t tell me.”
Kang Jun-hyeok put strength into his legs and charged. The vampire unleashed her power in a violent convulsion. Kang Jun-hyeok clenched his fist.
[Glory of the Lost God]
An intense light illuminated the world, incinerating the blood.
Kang Jun-hyeok arrived in front of the vampire. With a roar, the vampire drew up her blood again.
And Kang Jun-hyeok did the same.
Streams of blood began to flow out from around him. His eyes were dyed a deep, predatory crimson.
[True Ancestor Awakening]