Floor 15: The Road to the Fortress (3)

"Agh, damn it...! Hah... one step too late." Alexei let out a hollow sigh. His expression had gone completely slack, like someone who'd thrown in the towel — there was no greed in his eyes for the dagger at all.

Then again, I was still a long way from owning that dagger myself, so I could hardly blame him for wanting it.

He'd given up far more cleanly than I'd expected.

"Son of a—! This time I really felt something! Agh!"

Alexei clawed at his hair. You could feel just how much it stung from his expression. The sag of his shoulders only deepened the picture of his disappointment.

Well, he's got every right to be that frustrated.

I understood. Alexei had risked his neck walking nearly three hours in the direction opposite the arrow. If he'd arrived just a little sooner, it would have been his — so he was probably tearing himself apart over it inside.

Still, what was I supposed to say to him?

Nothing came to mind.

"Um... sorry?"

"Nah, what have you got to be sorry about? I'm the one who showed up late."

Deflated, Alexei shook his head slowly.

He had a point. I wasn't sorry at all — I'd only said it because I couldn't think of anything else to say.

But how did Alexei even get here?

Ha Heijeong had told me that no one discovered this dagger in her first regression. She'd only heard about it herself from the Emperor after clearing Floor 16.

But Alexei said he'd felt something — which meant he'd sensed it somehow.

How on earth had things changed like this? The butterfly effect of Heijeong's regression...?

"What are you doing?"

Alexei's irritated voice snapped me out of my thoughts. I turned to find him frowning, glaring at me.

"Aren't you going to get the dagger? We don't have much time. No telling how long it'll take to reach the fortress. Even if we came here separately, we should travel together as far as the fortress, shouldn't we?"

Midway through, Alexei shot me a suspicious look.

"Wait — don't tell me you're planning to wait for me to walk myself into a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠dead end so you can backstab me over that dagger?"

"Huh? No, I was just thinking about something. We'll go together. I'll grab it quick."

"Fine, I'll wait right here, so hurry up. No telling how long it'll take to reach the fortress."

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

Instead of answering, I nodded and started walking toward the dagger.

It wasn't that I had any particular reason to move separately from Alexei.

Granted, it would be a little awkward... but looking ahead, getting closer to Alexei could only help, and if the lizardmen showed up, facing them together would be easier than going it alone.

That aside... is this water, really?

The moment I drew near the lake, something felt off.

Even under the bright moonlight, the water was black and sluggish, its waves thick and tar-like. It didn't look so much like water as... dense fog.

Every now and then I got the feeling the waves were squirming, and I half expected something to come bursting out of them.

Tense and wary, I crossed the stone bridge carefully.

All that caution proved wasted — nothing threatened me all the way to the center of the lake.

Looks like I have to grab the dagger and pull it out...

Unknown letters were carved into the stone monument, and driven upside down into its top was the dagger.

The strange atmosphere made me take my time studying the monument first.

Hm... not a clue what it says.

It seemed like a waste of time, so I turned my eyes back to the dagger.

Its appearance was nearly identical to the replica I carried. An unassuming silver, less ornate than I'd imagined — even the grip was rough, plain leather.

As I drew close, a notification window appeared.

The genuine article, just as I'd suspected.

Cheering inwardly, I read through the dagger's description, and an awed breath slipped out of me.

"Wow..."

Everything was a direct upgrade over the replica. Two more points of Agility, one more automatic defense.

But the real prize was the skill. Shadow Veil had become Shadow Monarch.

Shadow Monarch, huh...

It looked like anything but an ordinary skill. Well, if skills had grades, it was probably A-rank or S-rank...

It was a Unique-grade item tied to a hidden mission, after all — no wonder the specs looked so good.

Still, kind of a shame...

Just as Heijeong had told me, it was a holy relic, and it could only be used up to Floor 16.

I'd tried to think of it as nothing more than a quest item from some video game... but standing here looking at it, a fierce possessiveness welled up in me. Almost enough to make me regret checking the dagger's description at all.

Well, whatever — I can use it until Floor 16 is over.

Besides, I still had the replica. First I'd figure out some way to actually keep this one — and if that fell through, I could always fall back on the fake.

With my thoughts in order, I pulled the dagger out.

I'd expected it to be stiff, jammed into the stone all this time — but it slid out smoothly. And the notification window updated.

Yeah, figures.

I'd thought it was too easy. A hidden mission, with a Unique-grade dagger on the line — finding it wasn't going to be enough to just walk away with it.

The black waves of the lake began to churn violently.

The water writhed with wild convulsions, and as the lake's surface rose, the stone bridge vanished beneath the black swells.

"Hey! You okay? What the hell's going on over there?!"

Alexei's panicked shout carried across from the far side of the lake, but I had no room in my head to worry about him.

A single black wave rose up from the churning surface of the lake.

The cresting swell swelled and shrank, swelling and shrinking, and began searching for a shape. That was probably the Shadow Wraith.

I adjusted my grip on the axe and charged.

This wasn't some shonen manga. I had no intention of waiting politely until my opponent was ready to fight.

Strike fast, end it fast — my axe carved straight through the sagging, formless mass.

Huh?

But the axe passed through the shape like it was cutting water — not even a hint of resistance, let alone the feel of a real hit. I'd been channeling lightning through it instinctively, so it wasn't simply that physical attacks couldn't connect.

The writhing shape rapidly began reassembling itself.

What do I do here?

I racked my brain fast. Lightning and axe. Neither of my means of attack was working. If I couldn't come up with an answer, I couldn't put it down.

While I thought, the Shadow Wraith finished taking its form.

Its armless limbs were sharp as blades. Where a head should have been, there was only a smooth circle — no eyes, no nose, no mouth — and instead of legs, an elongated body fused to the ground.

The thing glided across the earth like a ghost and drove its arm at me.

Damn it.

I stepped back a pace and evaded. In the same motion I swung the axe to block its arm — and the blade passed through the wraith, pathetically empty.

Meanwhile, as the creature's arm skimmed past my wrist, I felt its edge keenly.

Obviously that thing's not going to pass through me the same way...

On a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠tiny island with nowhere to run, I twisted this way and that, dodging in succession.

One mercy: compared to me, the thing wasn't all that strong. I read every one of its movements clearly.

I couldn't land an attack on it, but I was confident it would never touch me either.

Don't tell me I'm supposed to attack with this dagger?

The thought struck me, and I moved on it immediately. But Ronsyark's Dagger fared no better than anything else. I swung it at the wraith's arm, and it merely glanced off.

Damn it, not that either.

Then a flash of inspiration shot through my mind.

It said Shadow Wraith, didn't it? Shouldn't I be attacking the shadow?

I shifted my gaze to the creature's shadow. Unlike its roughly assembled body, the shadow it cast had a far more complete, more credible shape.

Damn it — why didn't I notice that sooner? Ever since my first attack failed, I'd been so fixated on how to attack that I'd missed the obvious.

Now — time to counter.

I ducked under the arm sweeping in from the side and, in the instant the wraith's swing left it open, surged forward.

Wha—?

A sharp new arm suddenly sprouted from the wraith's torso. Already committed to my momentum, I was walking straight into a thrust aimed at my abdomen.

But the Shadow Wraith's fatal mistake was that its opponent was me.

Anyone else might not have made it. I could change the direction of my body with room to spare.

Keeping my charging posture, I fired lightning at the wraith's shadow while driving off my right foot and shifting my body left.

The lightning reached the shadow first.

There it is — the shadow was the answer.

No scream came, but the arm extending from its torso withered and recoiled.

And I brought my axe down on the creature's shadow.

I drove it into the ground — but it didn't feel like striking earth. The blade bit deep into the shadow's flesh. It was soft.

Beneath a silence as still as death, the shadow thrashed against the ground.

And then it was sucked away into the black waves of the lake.

As if to announce that the ordeal was over, a notification window rose before me.

Then, just as before, the lake's waves surged violently. The black energy of the water gathered, shot upward, and flew toward me.

But it wasn't a hostile movement.

Almost on instinct, I extended the dagger, and the black shape vanished into it as though being swallowed.

And the lake was black no more.

The stone bridge reappeared above water now clear and transparent. The lake must have been dark all this time because of the Shadow Wraith.

Well, either way — time to head back.

I tucked the replica into my pack, then fastened the real Ronsyark's Dagger to my belt. I crossed the stone bridge and flashed Alexei a light smile.

"Got it. Let's go."

"That monster back there — that was the hidden mission tied to the dagger, wasn't it?"

"Yeah. Apparently a hidden mission isn't something they hand over easily, even after you find it."

"Getting here was hard enough already. The Tower of Trials really is an absolute piece of work."

Alexei sighed, looking disgruntled. And at that moment, a notification window appeared.

So we made it. It felt ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠like the last frayed thread of tension still knotted inside me finally snapped loose.

Everything I'd set out to accomplish on Floor 15 was done. My party had reached the fortress in first place, and I'd claimed the dagger tied to the hidden mission.

All that remained was for me to return to the fortress.

I was quietly smiling to myself when the notification window updated once more.

The invaders' assault is going to intensify?

That was one part Heijeong had never told me.

Not that I had any reason to blame her. In her first regression, this was a hidden mission no one had ever known about. She couldn't possibly know what would happen.

And the instant that dry, flat voice of the message finished, my eyes locked with Alexei's.

It seemed that because we were traveling together, the message had appeared for him too.

Half a second of silence stretched between us.

"Run!"

Without so much as a word about who went first, we both broke into a sprint, charging in the direction of the arrow.