Chapter 27: 4th Floor. World of Insects (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 27: 4th Floor. World of Insects (2)
The skittering of ants echoed from every direction. Their sharp, rasping screeches tore through the air, reverberating in an endless, haunting loop.
Kang Jun-hyeok narrowed his eyes, peering into the distance. Black shapes writhed amidst the thickets. Moving in a dense, swarming mass, they looked like a single, undulating wave of darkness.
‘Ants.’
He took a slow, deliberate step forward. It didn't take long for the swarm to spot him.
[Kieeeeeeek!]
With a sound like a surging black tide, six-legged horrors scraped against the earth as they charged. Kang Jun-hyeok summoned a Greatsword from the Master of All Weapons.
Crunch!
The Greatsword swung in a wide horizontal arc, shattering the head of the lead ant. Its hard carapace tore like wet paper, spraying green ichor across the dirt. He stepped toward the next one lunging at him and brought the heavy blade down in a thunderous vertical strike.
Boom!
The torsos of three ants were crushed simultaneously. The ground vibrated, kicking up a thick cloud of dust. One ant lunged from the periphery, trying to snap its mandibles around his leg, but Kang Jun-hyeok simply raised his foot and stomped.
Crack!
Its head was pulverized instantly.
‘Their individual strength isn't much different.’
Compared to the ants he had faced in the cave, these weren't particularly stronger. This meant he would have no trouble handling them in combat.
The problem, however, was their sheer numbers.
Black dots stretched infinitely across the plains before him. Even a cursory glance revealed that this was on a completely different scale from the thousands in the Ant Cave. Tens of thousands? No, it was far more than that.
‘Just how vast is this world?’
Kang Jun-hyeok exhaled slowly and surveyed his surroundings.
The horizon was a faint, shimmering line in the distance. The overgrown plains stretched on forever, flanked by a dense forest to the left and a jagged mountain range to the right. It was so vast that he couldn't even estimate where it ended with the naked eye.
“Hmm.”
The worst-case scenario crossed his mind.
0.001%.
What was the true significance of that achievement rate?
To figure that out, he first needed to confirm the overall size and shape of this world. To do that, he needed the high ground.
Kang Jun-hyeok turned his gaze. Far off in the distance, a soaring cliff came into view—a massive gray monolith that pierced the sky. He intended to climb it and see the truth for himself.
Kang Jun-hyeok began to move. Naturally, there were obstacles.
[Jieeeek!]
Ants burst from the thickets, their sharp mandibles clattering as they aimed for his throat and legs. Kang Jun-hyeok swung his Greatsword once, cleaving through three of them in a single motion. Green ichor splattered onto the grass, emitting a foul, acidic stench.
[Kieeeek!]
Another swarm rushed him from the flank. This time, he slammed the Greatsword into the ground and lashed out with a kick. With a dull thud, the carapaces of two ants shattered. He wrenched the Greatsword free and decapitated the remaining one in a fluid blur.
He didn't stop walking. Insects appeared constantly throughout his journey, and he slaughtered them all. The number he had slain already rivaled the entire population of the Ant Cave.
‘It’s wider than I thought.’
Arriving at the base of the cliff, he took a moment to catch his breath. Then, he reached out and began his ascent.
It was a grueling climb. Though there were jagged rocks to grab onto, the slope was so steep that a single slip would be fatal. Any professional climber would have fallen a hundred times over.
But Kang Jun-hyeok was no ordinary human.
His grip on the stone never faltered. Whenever he found a crevice, his body leaped upward as if he were weightless. He scaled the cliff—a feat that would normally take an entire night—in a matter of minutes.
As he neared the summit, Kang Jun-hyeok paused.
The final stretch was a slick, sheer wall with no handholds. The smooth gray surface stood almost perfectly vertical. No matter how strong or fast one was, it was impossible to climb conventionally.
Still, it wasn't a problem. He had a skill for this.
[Wall Climbing.]
Tap, tap.
His feet touched the wall. Defying gravity, he ran vertically at high speed. His hands cut through the air, the only sound being the rapid, rhythmic thud of his footsteps. He reached the summit in ten seconds.
[Your proficiency in Wall Climbing has increased.]
“Everything has its uses,” Kang Jun-hyeok muttered playfully, dusting off his hands.
Standing at the peak, he took a deep breath.
“Whew.”
Then, he looked out at the world.
“……”
A low groan escaped his lips.
It was vast. Incredibly, impossibly vast.
He couldn't see the end. The world stretching beyond the horizon reached past the plains, forests, and mountains, extending into an abyss of distance. The sky was clear, but the land beneath it was carpeted in a shifting layer of black dots.
He saw something writhing in the far distance.
[Focus Vision.]
His vision zoomed in. The blurry shapes in the distance became vivid. Like a telescope snapping into focus, every detail became clear.
And then he realized.
They were ants.
Thousands? No.
Hundreds of thousands—no, millions—were scattered everywhere. They covered the plains like a black tide, crawled through the forests like a plague, and swarmed over the mountain ranges like a living shadow.
“…Tsk.”
He clicked his tongue. It was the worst-case scenario.
The Master of All Weapons murmured.
[The world of ants. Brutalkain.]
“You know about this place?”
[It is a unique planet where only ants exist. You should know by now how many of them there are.]
“I have a rough idea.”
When he had left the floor after killing thousands of ants in the Ant Cave, the clear rate shown was 0.001%. That number represented the ant population.
If thousands of ants only accounted for 0.001%, then what did 100% look like?
The answer was simple.
Hundreds of millions.
Hundreds of millions of ants were here. And the quest condition was clear:
Kill as many ants as possible.
It meant a Perfect Clear was only possible if he slaughtered hundreds of millions of insects.
* * *
At that same time, outside the Tower, Baekdusan was heading toward Kang Jun-hyeok’s house. An uncontrollable smile spread across his face.
Kang Jun-hyeok was currently on the 4th Floor. Baekdusan knew this, yet he was heading to the house early anyway. The reason was simple: the moment Kang Jun-hyeok returned from clearing the 4th Floor, Baekdusan planned to give him a royal welcome. He intended to use the gesture to leave a lasting, positive impression.
—Are you really planning to wait in front of his house for days just for that? You’re a Guild Leader, you know.
His secretary had looked at him with an exasperated expression upon hearing the plan, but she hadn't stopped him. It was a necessary political move.
“Right! Here we go!”
Chuckling to himself as he approached the house, Baekdusan suddenly froze.
“…Wait.”
He saw a familiar face in front of Kang Jun-hyeok’s house. It was a woman with long, straight hair and a sharp aura.
Baekdusan’s face contorted the moment he saw her. The woman also frowned when she spotted him.
“…Baekdusan?”
“Kim Tae-yeon.”
The woman was the leader of the Verdant Guild, Kim Tae-yeon. Having clashed countless times in the past, the relationship between the two Guild Leaders was naturally icy.
Baekdusan spoke with a scowl. “…What are you doing here?”
“That’s my line. Why are you here?”
“…Ah. I see.”
Baekdusan nodded as if he understood. His guild had discovered Kang Jun-hyeok’s location. It seemed the Verdant Guild had somehow dug up that information and come here as well. Because of that, Baekdusan smirked confidently.
“Hahaha! You managed to track him down, I see! But you’re too late! I’ve already spoken with Kang Jun-hyeok! You’re just a dog left staring at the roof after the chicken’s flown!”
Baekdusan shouted triumphantly. Kim Tae-yeon blinked. It wasn't embarrassment on her face, but genuine bewilderment.
“What are you talking about? I’m here because Mr. Kang Jun-hyeok contacted me directly.”
“…Huh?”
Baekdusan’s eyes went wide.
“Wasn't it the same for you?”
It wasn't. Baekdusan had been the one to approach Kang Jun-hyeok, practically begging for contact.
After a brief, awkward silence, Baekdusan shouted, “Right! So you were called too!”
“I thought so. I wonder how he got our numbers, though.”
Kim Tae-yeon shook her head. She was a Guild Leader; her number was top secret, known only to a select few. Yet Kang Jun-hyeok had contacted her directly. It was strange.
Baekdusan had no idea what she was talking about, but he nodded boldly anyway.
“But why are you here already? Didn't he say he’d contact us after the 4th Floor?”
“That’s true, but…”
Kim Tae-yeon trailed off. From that reaction, Baekdusan realized she had the same thought he did.
“…So you’re going to wait.”
“As are you.”
The two looked at each other with sour expressions.
“Don’t you want to go back?”
“I’d prefer it if you did.”
Neither had any intention of backing down. If that were the case, they would usually have to settle it with force, but that was complicated. If Baekdusan and Kim Tae-yeon clashed, it would lead to an all-out war between their guilds. They couldn't afford to fight recklessly.
‘…More importantly.’
Baekdusan grimaced. Kang Jun-hyeok had called them both—the leader of Baekdu and the leader of Verdant. Until he understood Jun-hyeok's intentions, he couldn't move carelessly.
Kim Tae-yeon seemed to have reached the same conclusion as she muttered, “I suppose this is a temporary truce.”
Baekdusan snorted. Once the tension settled, Kim Tae-yeon spoke again.
“The 4th Floor was definitely the Ant Cave, right?”
“It wasn't a very pleasant floor. I wonder if he’ll get a Perfect Clear there too?”
Both Baekdusan and Kim Tae-yeon had killed every ant they could find on the 4th Floor. Yet, the achievement rate they received was a mere 0.001%. Both were curious—not just as Guild Leaders, but as players. They wanted to know what was hidden there.
“It’s been a day since he entered, right?”
“Yeah. Judging by his speed so far, it won't take him long.”
Three days at most. A week at the longest. That was their assessment. All that was left was to wait and move faster than the other. Baekdusan and Kim Tae-yeon glared at each other with wary eyes.
* * *
While the two Guild Leaders were engaged in a fierce war of nerves, Kang Jun-hyeok was lost in thought, stroking his chin.
Killing hundreds of millions of ants was physically impossible. No matter how hard he worked to kill them, more would surely be born. He was simply outnumbered.
[What will you do now?]
The Master of All Weapons watched him quietly.
[You said you were different. That you could reach the end. You told me to watch. Now you must prove those words…]
“This won't work.”
Kang Jun-hyeok spoke calmly. The Master of All Weapons’ voice cut off abruptly.
[Are you giving up?]
The words came after a long silence. Deep disappointment was etched into its voice. The Master of All Weapons suddenly found it ridiculous. It had already given up on everything, so why was it feeling disappointed? Without realizing it, it had begun to harbor expectations for Kang Jun-hyeok.
But in the end, Kang Jun-hyeok was giving up. He couldn't break the weapon's judgment. He couldn't meet its expectations. Just as the Master of All Weapons’ heart was about to sink back into gloom—
“No. I’m not giving up.”
[What?]
“I just have something in mind.”
Kang Jun-hyeok said softly. His eyes were calm, settled, and dangerously focused.