Chapter 34: 5th Floor. Forest of Monsters (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 34: 5th Floor. Forest of Monsters (2)
It resembled a hut woven from tangled vines.
However, a closer look revealed that they weren't vines at all. It was merely something mimicking them.
The sensation it exuded was profoundly bizarre—an alien, twisted presence that defied the laws of nature, as if something from beyond was forcibly imitating the world around it. Anyone with a weak mind would feel their stomach churn and their head spin just by looking at it.
Kang Jun-hyeok stared at the vines. In his past life, he hadn't known what this was. But now, he knew exactly what he was looking at.
[I offer you a word of counsel. Do not approach that thing.]
For the first time, the Master of All Weapons tried to stop him. Its voice was low and heavy.
[That is one of the Victors of the Great War. It is a thing twisted and broken.]
Alessandro and the Master of All Weapons were Losers of the Great War. And where there were Losers, there were bound to be Victors.
What stood before him now was one of those Victors: The Altar of Hunger Growing in the Rift.
Shhhhk.
The entrance to the vine hut slid open. It was a silent welcome, an invitation to enter. Kang Jun-hyeok muttered under his breath.
"It’s telling me to come inside."
[It is a trap. Normally, it wouldn't have even budged. It would have judged that an ordinary Player wasn't worth its intervention.]
Kang Jun-hyeok knew that much. In his past life, he had seen the altar on the 5th floor, but it hadn't reacted at all. He had simply passed it by, thinking it was some strange decoration. He wasn't the only one; every Player who had encountered the altar reported that it never showed any reaction.
But now, the altar was clearly tempting him.
The Master of All Weapons continued.
[But you are different. You have caught their attention.]
[The Victors take a deep interest in you.]
[The Losers take a deep interest in you.]
The system windows that had appeared after he defeated Alessandro were proof. Both factions were watching Kang Jun-hyeok. That was why the altar was behaving differently than it had in his past life.
"To think a 'Victor' would take an interest in a speck like me. I’m honored," Kang Jun-hyeok muttered with a smirk.
The Master of All Weapons warned him again.
[They seek to kill Players. They are your enemies. This is a trap. No matter how capable you are, you cannot survive this.]
The Master of All Weapons was adamant. It was impossible. He would surely die.
[You are certainly special, but you are still inexperienced. You cannot overcome their traps. Give up on the Perfect Clear for this floor.]
"We'll see about that."
Kang Jun-hyeok, who had been wearing an unreadable expression, suddenly grinned. "Actually, this worked out perfectly."
[Perfectly?]
"You think I’ll definitely die, right? That I can't survive if I approach that thing?"
Even the Master of All Weapons, who now acknowledged Kang Jun-hyeok as someone special, judged this to be impossible. In that case, the answer was simple.
"Then what will you do if I survive the trap? If I overcome it?"
[What?]
"Think of it as a quest."
If he survived the Victor's trap, then this time, the weapon would have to truly fulfill its role.
"If I win, I think your mind might finally change."
[...]
The Master of All Weapons was speechless. Kang Jun-hyeok was actually trying to use the trap as leverage to gain something from the weapon itself.
"There's no reason to refuse."
He hummed as he stepped forward. Run away? What nonsense. If he were the type to back down from a challenge like this, he wouldn't have returned to the past in the first place.
As he approached the vines, they opened like a living mouth. The bizarre, wriggling thing welcomed him.
[The Hunger Growing in the Rift proposes a Trial.]
[Condition: Pass the Trial.]
[Reward: Authority of the Hunger Growing in the Rift.]
[Do you accept?]
"Of course."
Kang Jun-hyeok nodded. At that moment, the vines began to compress.
* * *
Creeeak. Crunch.
With a grotesque sound, the vines began to take shape.
[You... truly accepted it.]
The Trial had begun. There was no turning back now. The Master of All Weapons fell silent. In contrast, Kang Jun-hyeok remained perfectly composed.
I wonder what'll come out.
In his past life, he had encountered and fought many Victors. However, he had never met the Hunger Growing in the Rift, perhaps because it had always remained on the 5th floor. He was looking forward to this.
Creeeeak.
The vines clumped together until they formed a distinct shape.
[Grrrr.]
It was a dog. No, to be precise, it wasn't a dog—it was something that merely resembled one. It was a man-sized beast with six legs.
[Trial: Defeat the Servant of Hunger Growing in the Rift.]
[Growl.]
The dog glared at Kang Jun-hyeok, its bizarrely twitching pupils locking onto him.
Snap.
In an instant, the dog lunged. It was fast—blindingly so. Its speed far outstripped his own. The undergrowth was trampled as the beast charged.
Kang Jun-hyeok quickly drew his greatsword.
Clang!
A leg as sharp as a blade was blocked by the heavy steel. Kang Jun-hyeok’s body skidded backward. He hadn't been able to fully withstand the dog's raw strength and momentum.
It was fast, and it was stronger than him.
[Bark! Bark!]
It gripped the greatsword with its legs and tried to tear out Kang Jun-hyeok’s throat with its teeth. Kang Jun-hyeok shifted the hilt to block. The teeth grazed past his neck by a hair's breadth.
"Hmm."
A head-on confrontation wasn't ideal. Making a quick judgment, Kang Jun-hyeok leaped backward. After putting some distance between himself and the dog, he swung the greatsword down.
[Howl!]
The dog lunged with a cry. It twisted its body mid-air to evade the blade and aimed for Kang Jun-hyeok’s legs.
Screeeech!
He moved the greatsword to block the attack. Kang Jun-hyeok’s mind raced at high speed.
Strong and fast.
Strength and speed—it surpassed him in both.
But it's not unbeatable.
The Goblin King on the 2nd floor had also possessed overwhelming physical superiority, yet Kang Jun-hyeok had won. This was well within the realm of possibility.
Clang!
Kang Jun-hyeok was pushed back by the dog's attack. The movement of his greatsword slowed by a fraction of a second. The dog didn't miss the opening.
[Snarl!]
The dog lunged for Kang Jun-hyeok’s throat. But that was exactly what he had been waiting for.
[Thrust.]
Kang Jun-hyeok’s broken stance was forcibly corrected as he delivered a powerful thrust at the dog. The lunging beast recoiled in shock and tried to pull back. Kang Jun-hyeok stepped forward.
[Instant Acceleration.]
For five seconds, Kang Jun-hyeok’s speed increased by 1.5 times.
Clash! Clash!
[Yelp! Whine!]
Startled by the sudden burst of speed, the dog scrambled its six legs, but it couldn't hold its ground. Its legs were swatted aside, leaving its body wide open. Kang Jun-hyeok stepped in firmly and lunged with all his might.
Whoosh!
It was a perfect strike—impossible to dodge or block. Just as the greatsword was about to pierce the dog's chest—
Flicker.
The dog vanished as if it had been sucked away. The greatsword sliced through empty air. Kang Jun-hyeok’s eyes widened.
[Bark!]
The dog that had vanished reappeared directly behind Kang Jun-hyeok. Its teeth sank accurately into his shoulder.
Crunch.
"Ugh."
Kang Jun-hyeok let out a short groan as the pain bypassed his Pain Resistance. However, his body reacted instantly. He sheathed the greatsword and drew a dagger, aiming for the neck of the dog latched onto him.
Flicker.
In that instant, the dog vanished again. This time, it appeared at his side.
[Grrrr!]
Slash!
He moved his dagger quickly to block the teeth, but the claws raked across his body. The moment Kang Jun-hyeok tried to kick the dog, its body vanished like smoke once more.
The dog reappeared in front of a tree, far away from him.
[Growl...]
Kang Jun-hyeok clicked his tongue. "Right. It wouldn't be a Victor's Trial if it were that easy."
* * *
The battle continued in a similar pattern. Whenever Kang Jun-hyeok found an opening and tried to counterattack, the dog's body would vanish as if sucked into a void. Then, it would reappear behind him, beside him, or in front of him to attack again.
There was no delay, no time lag. It vanished and reappeared as naturally as breathing.
Kang Jun-hyeok muttered, "An Authority."
[Observation proficiency has increased.]
[Correct.]
The Master of All Weapons replied quietly.
[That is the Authority of the Hunger Growing in the Rift.]
"I see what it is now."
It was an Authority that lived up to its name. Gaps in the bushes. Gaps in the soil. Gaps in the grain of the wood. Gaps between leaves. It seemed capable of moving through every 'rift' that existed in the world. The fact that it had never appeared directly above his head, despite appearing and disappearing countless times, confirmed this.
If he had to name it, it would be 'Rift Movement.'
The concept itself wasn't particularly special. Space-leaping or teleportation were certainly powerful, but they weren't unheard of. Magic had Blink and Teleport, and there were space-leaping abilities among Espers. Even advanced technology could bridge space.
However, those usually required significant mana consumption, had delays, or needed preparation time.
But the Rift Movement the dog used was different. There was no delay, no time lag, no cooldown—nothing. It vanished and reappeared with absolute freedom.
[The Victors are not beings of this universe.]
The Master of All Weapons spoke in a low voice.
[They are beings from the 'Outside.' They do not follow the laws of this place. They impose and wield their own utterly selfish laws.]
The Hunger Growing in the Rift was the same. Its Authority, Rift Movement, allowed it to travel through rifts. There was no delay or cooldown. It could be activated freely in any situation.
[I told you. You should have run.]
This wasn't a matter of strength. It was a matter of fundamental abnormality.
How on earth was one supposed to defeat a being that could appear and disappear at will? No matter how many openings he found, it was meaningless. The beast could simply hide within a rift. It was like asking an ordinary human to defeat a ghost.
No matter how much Kang Jun-hyeok resisted, his stamina would eventually be depleted. At least in the Master of All Weapons' judgment, there was no solution. And it believed the same would be true for Kang Jun-hyeok.
Thinking this, the weapon looked at Kang Jun-hyeok’s face, half-resigned.
[You?]
And then it paused. Kang Jun-hyeok was smiling.
[Why are you smiling?]
"Is it so wrong to smile?"
The reward for the Trial was the Authority of the Hunger Growing in the Rift. That meant if he won this time, he could obtain that power for himself.
How could he possibly contain himself? Greed flared in Kang Jun-hyeok’s eyes. For a moment, even the Master of All Weapons was left speechless.