Chapter 20: 3rd Floor. Dungeon (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 20: 3rd Floor. Dungeon (2)
[Well... now this is something.]
Of course, it wasn't literally ten thousand distinct skills.
Many of the passive skills had been consolidated. For instance, the specialized technique for handling a kukri had been merged into Dagger Technique. In reality, the total number barely exceeded a hundred.
Even so, it was a staggering figure.
Even the Master of All Weapons, who had lived an impossibly long life, had never seen anyone possess such a vast repertoire of techniques.
Naturally, the Master of All Weapons couldn't help but wonder.
[How?]
This wasn't something achievable through talent alone.
It wasn't just about wielding a weapon; one had to perfectly grasp its strengths and characteristics, then apply them flawlessly in actual combat. It required experience, and it required a massive investment of time to match.
When asked, Kang Jun-hyeok replied simply.
"It’s not that impressive. I’m only at the level where I can barely manifest the skills."
He hadn't reached anything beyond the basics. Because he handled such a wide variety of armaments, he couldn't reach the pinnacle of any single one. It was a limitation of his own talent.
However, that answer did nothing to resolve the Master's confusion.
[Even so, it is near impossible.]
Passive skills were powerful. Since they provided constant corrections to one's abilities, the more one had, the better.
Yet, the vast majority of players didn't go out of their way to acquire a diverse range of skills. The barrier to entry was simply too high.
To gain a single passive skill, one typically needed about a year’s worth of dedicated proficiency. One had to train intensively with a sword for an entire year just to finally obtain the Swordsmanship skill.
Rather than investing that much time just to pick up another low-level passive, the "correct" path was usually to focus on raising the proficiency of the skills one already possessed.
Yet, Kang Jun-hyeok possessed the proficiency to acquire passive skills for ten thousand different armaments.
Thus, the Master of All Weapons voiced two questions.
[Why?]
Why invest so much time into mastering ten thousand weapons?
And.
[You. How old are you?]
If it took one year to gain a single passive skill... then how much time was needed to acquire ten thousand?
Kang Jun-hyeok answered calmly.
"As for why... because it was necessary."
He learned to use them simply because he had to. That was all.
"And my age."
Kang Jun-hyeok pondered for a moment before shaking his head.
"I don't know. I don't remember."
His time in the tower had been long, but the time after the tower closed was so vast it was beyond reckoning. The Master of All Weapons let out a hollow laugh.
[So you are no young child. You are an old child.]
"Calling me an 'old child' sounds a bit strange," Jun-hyeok muttered.
After the tower closed, it was no longer possible to acquire new skills. That was why he had fought desperately, feeling the weight of his own inadequacies. In that process, he had no luxury to keep track of something as trivial as time.
But that was no longer the case. He was back in the tower now.
'I’m going to take everything I can get.'
Kang Jun-hyeok clenched his fist.
* * *
Having acquired Hand-to-Hand Combat, Kang Jun-hyeok pulled out a bow next.
As a Red Skeleton appeared, he drew the string and fired. Leaping backward, he accurately shattered the finger bones holding the monster's weapon. After repeating the process of piercing their skulls a few times, he successfully obtained the passive skill.
[You have acquired Passive Skill: Archery.]
As soon as he got Archery, he swapped weapons again.
Next was the axe. Just like before, he adopted a combat style that maximized the weapon's strengths. He tore through the monsters with a savage, brutal ferocity, much like a barbarian.
[You have acquired Passive Skill: Axe Technique.]
And so, Kang Jun-hyeok claimed his rewards.
The Master of All Weapons watched this in silence.
'This fellow...'
He was incredible. He possessed a talent perfectly optimized for climbing the tower.
Though these were abilities Jun-hyeok had earned while reaching the 100th Floor in his past life, to the Master, who knew nothing of that, it seemed as if he were born with it.
A talent like this likely couldn't be found even if one searched the entire universe. He was truly a special existence.
That was why the Master of All Weapons felt a sense of pity.
Because everything had already ended. Because all that remained was nothing more than a toy.
Even after seeing Jun-hyeok’s abilities, the Master still believed the predetermined future could not be changed.
'If only this man had been there during the Great War of the past...'
No. It wouldn't have mattered. Even then, it would have been impossible. The Master of All Weapons cleared the thought from his mind.
Meanwhile, Kang Jun-hyeok continued to press forward. Having run out of new weapon types to train, he had switched back to the greatsword.
As he advanced, a chest appeared before him. A single chest sitting lonely in the middle of a room.
Jun-hyeok raised his greatsword and slammed it down on the chest.
[Kieek!]
With a monster's shriek, the chest was crushed. It was a Mimic.
[Proficiency in Trap Disarming has increased.]
[You are quite cautious.]
"Mimics are a staple in dungeons."
The Master's voice was noticeably subdued. He seemed lost in thought, but that didn't matter to Jun-hyeok. He killed the Mimic and took the reward from inside.
[Boots of the Dungeon Basement]
• Part: Shoes
• Rank: Low-Rank
• Speed +2
• Defense +4
• Something held by a Mimic. It is the Mimic's bait to lure adventurers, but it is only granted to an adventurer when the Mimic dies.
Low-rank shoes. Not bad. Buying something like this at the shop would cost nearly 1,000 Gold. Given the difficulty of the underground, the rewards were substantial.
Kang Jun-hyeok continued his march.
Unfortunately, due to the level gap, he didn't level up from the minions. Eventually, he arrived at the boss room.
This was the end of the 3rd Floor. Without hesitation, Jun-hyeok stepped inside.
Clack. Clack.
Two monsters were waiting within.
One was a Red Skeleton Knight. The other was a skeleton draped in a robe, holding a staff—a Skeleton Mage.
"A Skeleton Mage, huh?"
The Skeleton Knight would protect the Mage while the Mage rained down spells. It was a simple tactic, but a troublesome one. The Skeleton Knight charged toward Jun-hyeok.
Jun-hyeok swung his greatsword down at the knight.
Clang!
The Skeleton Knight’s body was pressed down, but it wasn't blown back. It held its ground with its shield, enduring through sheer strength.
The Skeleton Mage took that opening and raised its staff.
Whoosh!
A fireball formed at the tip. The flickering flame surged toward Jun-hyeok at high speed. It was a spell designed to explode upon impact, engulfing the target's body and searing their very lungs with a horrific inferno.
Jun-hyeok didn't dodge.
He continued to swing his greatsword at the Skeleton Knight. The incoming fireball collided with his body.
Boom!
The flames swallowed him whole.
However, no damage was dealt. Jun-hyeok brushed off the flames with his hand as if they were a mere nuisance.
His Fire Resistance proficiency was Rank C. A mere fireball couldn't hurt him. The Skeleton Mage hurriedly tried to switch its spell to an ice bolt, but it was already too late. Unable to withstand Jun-hyeok’s onslaught, the Skeleton Knight crumbled.
Step.
Jun-hyeok immediately dashed toward the Skeleton Mage. He used his greatsword to block the incoming ice bolts.
The Skeleton Mage slammed its staff down. A translucent barrier formed around it. Jun-hyeok stepped forward, putting his full weight into a thrust against the shield.
Clang!
The barrier was incredibly sturdy. Cracks spread like a spiderweb, but it held even against Jun-hyeok’s empowered strike. An ordinary player would have struggled significantly to break through this defense.
The recoil began to push Jun-hyeok’s body back. The Skeleton Mage quickly began chanting, intending to use the opening to cast a powerful spell.
Jun-hyeok had no intention of giving it that time.
[Thrust.]
His body, which was being pushed back by the recoil, suddenly snapped into a perfect stance as if defying the laws of physics. Gripping the greatsword with both hands, he stepped forward and thrust with everything he had.
Crrraaaack!
The barrier couldn't hold and shattered into pieces.
The Skeleton Mage panicked, trying to trigger its magic somehow, but Jun-hyeok kicked the staff away. The incantation was canceled. He then took its head in a single sweep.
[Proficiency in Thrust has increased.]
[Weapon: Skeleton Mage's Staff has been acquired.]
[Level Up.]
[Health +20]
[Strength +1]
[Speed +1]
[Feat +1]
[Underground Dungeon Cleared.]
[The quest will end once you exit through the door.]
With a heavy grinding sound, the door opened. The dungeon was cleared. Jun-hyeok checked the reward.
[Skeleton Mage's Staff]
• Part: Weapon
• Rank: Low-Rank
• Attack Power +1
• Mana +12
• Equipment Ability: Can use a Fireball with 100 damage.
• Cooldown: 5 minutes
• A staff once wielded by a Skeleton Mage. It has the Fireball spell embedded within.
"Oho."
Jun-hyeok’s eyes gleamed.
Normally, to use a staff, one needed the Mana stat—something Jun-hyeok currently lacked. However, this staff had Fireball as an equipment ability. This meant he could use it even without any Mana.
For a typical player, this wouldn't mean much, as there were restrictions on swapping weapons during combat. But Jun-hyeok had the Master of All Weapons.
Since he could swap weapons freely even in the heat of battle, he could trigger the Fireball without any penalty. It was the perfect piece of equipment for him right now.
"This is good."
Jun-hyeok was satisfied. He had cleared the underground without a hitch.
This should have been the end. He had gathered enough rewards, so he should just walk out the door. That was the logical conclusion.
But Jun-hyeok didn't move. He stood there, silently.
* * *
Seeing Jun-hyeok lost in thought, the Master of All Weapons asked.
[Are you not leaving?]
"It’s a bit strange."
Jun-hyeok stroked his chin as he pondered.
'It wasn't as hard as I expected.'
The underground floor of the dungeon. There were Red Skeletons twice as strong as normal skeletons. And in the boss room, a Red Skeleton Knight and a Skeleton Mage were waiting.
The Knight tanks while the Mage nukes. Jun-hyeok had cleared it easily thanks to his overwhelming stats, attack power, and skills, but for an average 2nd-floor player, this would be hellish. Most who entered the underground would die at the boss.
But that was it.
It wasn't just humans from Earth climbing the tower. It was every sentient being in the universe. Among them were those with special powers—those born with innate gifts, or those from worlds where they trained themselves to start with stats far beyond basic Strength and Speed.
Some of them must have reached the 3rd-floor underground. And they would have entered without hesitation, possessing the strength to back up their confidence.
And yet, not a single one of them returned? From a difficulty level like this?
'That doesn't make sense.'
The base completion rate for the 3rd Floor was 5%. That meant 95% of players were here in the underground. But no matter how Jun-hyeok calculated it, the difficulty didn't account for that. At most, the mortality rate should have been 50%.
Then where was the other 45%?
As he pondered, Jun-hyeok’s eyes fell upon the dungeon wall. The wall right next to the exit. Its color was subtly different. It was darker, blacker.
Jun-hyeok walked over. He felt along the strange wall before applying pressure.
Rumble.
A brick slid inward.
With the mechanical sound of the dungeon operating, the bricks shifted to form a path. At the end, a passage leading even deeper inside revealed itself.
[So the underground wasn't the end.]
"Seems like it."
The passage felt incredibly ominous. It was made of bricks so dark they were nearly black. It was as if the tunnel itself were warning anyone who found it: Do not step inside. Only a pitch-black hell awaits you.
Naturally, Jun-hyeok stepped into the passage.
[The completion of the 3rd Floor Progression Quest has been canceled.]
[A new quest is underway.]
[3rd Floor Secret Quest: Defeat the final enemy.]
A new quest appeared. The final enemy waited at the end of this tunnel.
Jun-hyeok moved immediately. He passed through the tunnel and arrived before a door. He grabbed the handle and pushed.
Inside was a room as dark as the abyss. And in the very center, a knight in pitch-black armor stood waiting.
[Hm?]
The Master of All Weapons made a sound. It was the reaction of someone seeing a familiar face. A system window appeared before Jun-hyeok, revealing the knight's identity.
[The Defeated of the Great War: Alessandro has appeared.]