The Second Achievement (1)

I had never gone all-out on a boss floor before. Not even counting the first floor where I picked up Luca. The second floor had a reinforced boss, sure, but it wasn't anywhere near as tough as a hard-mode one. On the third floor I'd tried dipping my toes into hard mode, but after getting spooked by an ambush I immediately bailed for normal. So far, climbing the tower had basically been a total cakewalk… but that was about to change.

'It's about time I stopped wasting good bosses on the easy tower.'

One of my traits, Ruler, got better the stronger the boss I claimed. I hadn't felt any particular attachment to the first three floors. After all, I'd been diligently snagging the hard-mode rewards for my main body's stats every step of the way. Besides, even the third-floor boss was only level 600. By the time I reached the fifth floor, whatever I'd caught on the third probably wouldn't even register anymore. That was why I'd casually cleared the normal-mode boss back then without any regrets.

In the long run, it wasn't really a loss. …Or so I'd thought. But now, standing in front of the fifth floor, I'd changed my mind.

'From here on out, it's completely uncharted territory.'

The highest recorded clear for hard mode was the fourth floor. Plenty of challengers had attempted the fifth, but their updates stopped coming almost immediately. In other words, there were no reliable strategy guides I could rely on. Of course, that didn't really apply to me since I was busy milking the easy tower for all it was worth… but still.

'I can't pass up the first-clear scenario rewards.'

Being the first to step into unknown territory meant all the sweetest rewards were still up for grabs. At the very least, I needed to clear up to the ninth floor on hard mode if I wanted to claim everything. That was exactly why I'd decided to challenge the boss floor right away, but—

I froze.

"……Ah."

My feet refused to move. I knew the reason all too well. The hand gripping my sword was trembling.

'…Yeah. Honestly, I'm scared out of my mind.'

Ever since I was a kid, I'd been taught, "Even if you awaken, never pick hard mode. You'll die." At the orphanage, the director used to scare the kids by saying, "Bad children who don't listen get dragged off to the hard tower." That kind of learned terror wasn't easy to shake off.

'But I don't actually have to do this, do I?'

One more thing. I didn't need to take this risk. I was already plenty strong. If I just kept cruising through normal mode all the way to the seventy-fifth floor, I'd become a planetary-level Awakener, never mind national. I was already overpowered. Was there really any point in pushing my luck?

This wasn't like picking up Luca on the second floor or the break incident where lives were on the line…

Just because I thought 'I can do it'?

"With Serin here too… maybe I don't need to take any unnecessary risks…"

The weak words slipped out before I could stop them. I'd come here fully determined to take down a hard-mode boss, but now that I was actually standing in front of the portal, the fear hit me like a truck. So after weighing every factor, what conclusion did I reach?

'I'll give it my absolute best, but the second the Guardian Dragon's Protection triggers, I'm bolting immediately!'

First rule: never overextend. I'd fight hard, but if I took a fatal hit, I'd retreat straight back to the easy tower. And second—

"Trait Enhancement Swap, Inventory."

Clatter—!!

I dumped every item from my inventory onto the ground. All the weapon and armor summoning tickets I'd been hoarding to sell at auction later. I figured I'd fuse them all right now and go in fully prepared.

"That's twenty-two in total."

'I've already got a unique weapon, so armor should take priority, right?'

Rip. Riiip—!

The sound of tickets tearing echoed one after another.

…Twenty-two normal-grade items popped out.

"What the hell kind of rates are these?"

'Isn't it common sense that a ten-pull should at least give you one rare?'

My luck stat was already over 100 when combined with my title effects. This felt excessive. I couldn't help feeling a little bitter.

"Trait Enhancement Swap, Fusion… Huh? Whoa, wait—?!"

'No way, is this—?!'

…Right up until the golden light exploded in front of me, I really had been feeling salty.

"UWAAAAAAAAAAAGH!!!!"

'This is it!!!!!!'

What? Bad gacha luck? Yeah, well, I've got a mythic-grade trait. Just abuse the trait and everything works out.

'Mood completely recovered!!'

The dopamine hit me instantly. The heavy, soggy feeling that had been weighing me down like overcooked rice cake in tteokguk vanished in a flash. Exploits were always satisfying.

'Weapon transfer, though? What kind of effect is that?'

I slipped the gloves on right away. The luxurious texture was on a completely different level from the cheap work gloves I'd been using. The moment I thought about moving the sword to my other hand—

Whoosh.

"…Whoa?"

The sword that had been gripped tightly in my right hand instantly teleported into my left. I could already see the potential.

'If I drop the sword, it's game over.'

In a non-combat situation it wouldn't be hard. But trying to transfer the sword to the opposite hand in the middle of a fight? If I failed to catch it, I'd lose the weapon completely. And if I focused too much on catching it, I'd be creating an opening for my opponent. Just like the description said, this item had clear risks to balance out the reward.

'But for me? No problem at all.'

After all, I possessed the Sword God trait. No matter how advanced the technique required, I was confident I'd adapt without issue. To test it, I grabbed the sword again.

Swish—!!

'Let's start with one slash.'

I cut diagonally. The sword's trajectory drew a clean line from upper right to lower left. Normally I'd have to continue the motion into the next attack, but—

Switch.

'Warp to the opposite hand.'

I instantly transferred the sword to my left hand. The tip that had been pointing downward was now aimed upward again in the blink of an eye. If I had to compare it to a game, it was like canceling the recovery animation. Even though the cooldown was ten seconds, I could now skip the follow-through and chain two strikes back-to-back.

'And if I add the stigmata on top of this…?'

I counted ten seconds in my head, then pointed my sword at the safe zone wall. After taking a deep breath, I swung.

'Blood Explosion, Space Slash!!'

Whoosh—!!!

A crimson light burst from the pattern on my forearm. The stats boosted by self-inflicted damage converted into explosive destructive power.

'Transfer, Space Slash again!!'

One more for good measure. The instant I finished the downward swing, I activated the gloves' effect. Before the first Space Slash could even fire, the sword was already in my left hand. I swung again immediately.

The result? Spectacular.

BOOOOOOOOM!!!!!

"……Oh."

Two Space Slashes had carved a perfect X into the wall, landing almost simultaneously. Stone dust flew wildly as the roar echoed through the safe zone. Even I had never seen this kind of power before.

'This is what unique-grade can do…? Ah, I guess for normal people this would count as unique-grade.'

Most people probably couldn't pull off a performance like this. Fighting with a one-handed weapon without a shield was already dangerous enough. On top of that, you had to be able to wield the sword with either hand and seamlessly switch between them mid-battle. For an average Awakener, this might have been an overpriced piece of trash, but—

'For me, it's legendary-grade!!'

What, no shield? I've got an 80% damage reduction trait and footwork techniques, so I barely get hit anyway. An evasion tank with solid durability. Hard to handle? Yeah, just click the mythic-grade Sword God trait. In other words, no one could use this item better than me.

It was a hundred times more appealing than the transparency hat that was technically legendary-grade. I liked it way more.

'Then if I fuse one more time…'

Just in case, I tried fusing the remaining armor pieces into a chestplate, but—

"Darn~."

It came out as rare. And it was some clunky iron armor I had no use for. I awkwardly stuffed it back into my inventory. Even Hwang Hee-chan used unique-grade stuff. Hoping to get two uniques in one day was just greedy. Even I could admit that was shameless.

'Still, this should be enough, right?'

It wasn't exactly a replacement, but my confidence had returned. The gigachad in my head was cheering me on too, saying, 'See? You've got the Badass trait. Be brave, Hwimin, you got this.'

Yeah. Time to stop whining and get moving. I'd even made myself a new ultimate technique. Might as well give it a shot. Definitely.

'Time to gear up properly.'

After that, I double-checked my equipment. The unique gloves and rare shoes were still working perfectly. The Moonlight Sword still had a full charge. As for the legendary hat Tarnkappe… I still didn't like the way it looked no matter how many times I saw it. But its effects had been proven multiple times already.

I pulled the transparency hat down low and infused mana into the Necklace of Concealment. Preparations complete.

"Hoo… haa… huuuu…"

'It's fine. I can do this. Don't chicken out.'

I was the guy who'd made it this far purely on the strength of his traits. And now I had god-tier items backing me up too. Plus, that thing was lower level than Baekri-hyang. No reason to be scared. So stop stalling and—

"Let's gooooooooo!!!!!"

I shouted loudly, shaking off the last ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠traces of fear. Then—

Tap—!!

I stepped toward the portal. The signature eerie blood-red light of hard mode wrapped around me.

WHOOOOOOSH!!!

"Hik, hiiik…!!"

'I'm really doing this!!!'

Clutching my sword like a lifeline, I counted. One second. Two seconds… Three.

Exactly three seconds later, I realized I'd arrived inside some ruined castle.

"……"

'So this is the infamous fourth-floor hard-mode boss area.'

The thick metallic stench of blood hit me immediately. I held my breath. Even though I was invisible thanks to the hat and necklace, I still planned to be extremely cautious. With massive tension weighing on me, I took a step forward.

'Let's use the shoe effect, footwork, and Dragon ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Eyes all together.'

The rare-grade shoes stepped silently across the floor. I scanned the surroundings with Dragon Eyes while using my footwork to move without making a single sound. Thanks to the hat, there was no sign of anyone launching a surprise attack.

'On the third floor it ambushed me the second I showed up… Hm?'

After advancing a little further, I spotted someone kneeling on the castle floor. A knight in dark armor, sitting with a massive sword as tall as he was stabbed into the ground. That had to be the Forgotten Knight.

"……!!!"

'I can ambush him right now!!'

I was about to charge straight into battle when—

A glance.

"…Another visitor, I see."

For some reason, he didn't move at all. He simply stared exactly where I was standing despite my invisibility and muttered quietly.

"Did you enjoy watching someone else's failure?"

"……"

'What is that…?'

My gaze locked onto him. More specifically, onto his hand. The Babel Empire Signet Ring that had helped me cheese the fourth floor was half-shattered, emitting a dark glow.

As I stood frozen, his voice continued to echo.

"Your goal is to ascend higher, isn't it? I cannot allow that. I must kill you in order to regress once more."

"It's far too late to set everything right, but one must struggle until the very end, no?"

"Until I am freed from this eternal labor, I will continue to fail."

Then he gave a light, formal bow. It was the imperial etiquette I'd learned on the thirty-eighth floor. The gesture of respect shown to an opponent before a duel was directed at me.

"I apologize for the late introduction. I am Cain, the last emperor of the Babel Empire. Glory to the Babel Empire."

"Uh, um……"

"Now, draw your sword."

"……"

I was at a loss for words. Not because I was overwhelmed by his presence. It was because of the idea that had suddenly popped into my head. It was just so… absurd.

Whoosh. Clink.

"……"

I took something out of my inventory and tossed it. Since I was still invisible, it must have looked like ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠an ambush to him. He swung his hand wrapped in red energy to knock it away, but—

"Hm?"

The moment he saw what I'd thrown, the energy flickering around his hand vanished. Clink, clatter.

A golden object rolled across the floor and stopped at his feet. It was the Babel Signet Ring I'd shoved into the corner of my inventory.

"This is impossible!! This is… my brother's…!!!"

"……Oh?"

'This might actually work.'