Chapter 65: 5th Floor (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 65: 5th Floor (3)
The Zone 1 boss had been around Level 20.
The Zone 2 boss was said to be around Level 40.
Following that logic, I could infer that the Zone 3 boss would likely be around Level 60.
At that level, shouldn't I be able to take it down on my own?
Of course, I wouldn't know for sure until I came face-to-face with it.
Naturally, I wasn't the only one eyeing the first clear reward for the Zone 3 boss. Top-tier climbers like Alex, the captain of the Security Force, and Wang Kai would surely be waiting for their chance.
Still, I was confident.
If I were to join the others in subjugating the boss, I was certain I could claim the highest contribution.
But I couldn't exactly do that.
So, my plan was to face the boss alone if possible. If possible.
Since the Zone 3 boss had never appeared before, no one knew where it would spawn. In the end, discovering it first would come down to pure luck.
What if I was too late and others killed it first?
It would be a shame, but there was nothing I could do about it.
Or, what if a situation arose where I had to fight the Zone 3 boss alongside others?
In that case... I figured I’d just pull up my hood and join the fray. I wasn't about to give up the first clear reward simply because I didn't want to expose my identity.
Well, I’d worry about that when the time came.
For now, the priority was filling the Zone 3 boss gauge.
[Zone 3 (90.8%)]
Currently, the gauge was at about 91%.
I couldn't say for certain how long it would take to fill the remaining 9%. However, based on the rumors circulating among the climbers, it seemed like it would take another month at the current pace.
The reason the gauge filled so much slower than in Zone 1 was simply because the monsters were that much stronger. I’d heard that monsters up to Level 30 appeared in Zone 3.
This meant a climber had to be at least in their mid-to-late 20s just to hunt here, which likely put them in the top 1% of the 5th Floor.
It was time for me to lend a hand.
Entering the forest of Zone 1, I summoned Phli and vaulted onto his back.
"Let's go, Phli."
Phli took off like a shot, racing toward the outer zones.
In an instant, we crossed the boundary of Zone 1 and entered Zone 2. The division between zones was unmistakable; the environment shifted abruptly, as if marked by a ruler.
Unlike the lush greenery of Zone 1, Zone 2 was an arid wasteland. I saw giant scorpions and spider monsters roaming the sands. Ugh, gross.
I ignored them and kept running.
Since the floor expanded as you moved toward the outer zones, it took longer to cross Zone 2 than Zone 1, but with Phli’s speed, it didn't take long.
As we crossed into Zone 3, the air grew stiflingly hot. The field had transformed into a volcanic region.
"Oh..."
Molten lava flowed through jagged cracks in the ground. In the distance, waterfalls of lava cascaded down the sides of rocky mountains.
I admired the scenery for a moment before dismounting. From here on, it was hunting time.
"Go wild, Phli."
I ordered Phli to kill every monster he saw. I also instructed him to never attack humans and to avoid being spotted.
As soon as the command was given, Phli blurred toward a Lava Giant lumbering in the distance.
While Phli handled the auto-hunting, I would hunt on my own. I spotted a giant snake monster slithering nearby and moved out.
Alright, let's hurry up and fill the rest of this gauge.
* * *
To low-level climbers or those indifferent to raids, it might have seemed like business as usual, but for the rest of the 5th Floor, it was the calm before the storm.
The reason was the Zone 3 boss, which was expected to appear any day now.
How strong would it be? Would the raid be successful? And most importantly, who would claim the first clear reward?
Tensions were reaching a breaking point between the Security Force and the Black Star Society.
"We can't let Wang Kai take the reward again..."
At the executive's worried words, Alex, the captain of the Security Force, let out a small sigh.
"I know."
"Are you confident?"
"I'm not sure. That guy Wang Kai is something else, after all."
Wang Kai, the record holder for China's Hard difficulty, and Alex, the record holder for America's Hard difficulty. Ultimately, it was a battle between the heads of the Security Force and the Black Star Society. One of them was the most likely candidate for the Zone 3 reward.
It had been agreed that if the boss appeared, the two factions would cooperate for the raid. For now, at least. It had been the same during the Zone 2 boss raid two years ago.
The result then was that Wang Kai achieved the highest contribution and claimed the prize.
Currently, the level gap between Alex and Wang Kai was four levels—essentially just one floor's difference. It wasn't an insurmountable gap, so Alex wasn't without hope, but Wang Kai certainly held the upper hand.
To be honest, Alex found this kind of competition unreliable. In a situation where they didn't even know how strong the boss would be, they should have been cooperating to the best of their abilities instead of wasting energy keeping each other in check.
But since it was impossible to share a single first clear reward, and neither side would willingly yield, the friction was unavoidable.
"I hear Wang Kai has been showing his face on the 5th Floor often lately?"
"Yes. It seems the Black Star Society is putting a lot of effort into hunting in Zone 3."
"The gauge will fill up eventually anyway, what's the rush..."
Lately, the speed at which the Zone 3 boss gauge was filling was unusual. It had been around 90%, but in less than a week, it had surged past 95%.
Isn't that a bit too fast?
Was Wang Kai really going that hard in Zone 3?
"Could it be that Saram123 is also hunting in Zone 3 right now?"
"...Saram123?"
"It wouldn't be strange for him to be after the first clear reward as well."
Alex stroked his chin at the plausible suggestion. If Saram123 really had entered the 5th Floor, Alex and the Security Force were more than willing to yield the reward to him—the savior of humanity. The Black Star Society probably wouldn't be so generous, though.
If Saram123 were to become a focal point, it might be possible for the climbers of the 5th Floor to unite as one. But since he seemed to have no intention of showing himself to others...
"Anyway, I'm curious. Just how strong is Saram123? What do you think?"
It was now public knowledge that Nightmare difficulty granted rewards equivalent to ten levels per floor.
The executive replied, "Given the difficulty of the Branch Towers he's cleared, he wouldn't be at a mere Level 40. He’s likely much higher."
"Would he be stronger than me or Wang Kai?"
"That, I wouldn't know."
Regardless, at this rate, the Zone 3 boss would appear within a week. If Wang Kai took the reward again, there was nothing to be done. More than anything, Alex hoped the raid would end safely without a high body count.
* * *
Looking down into the canyon, I saw a swarm of Red Snakes.
"Jackpot."
I unleashed a wide-range Flame Strike, bombarding them indiscriminately.
KABOOM!
About half were blown to bits instantly. I leaped down to finish off the survivors with my other skills.
It had been about a week since I started hunting in Zone 3 in earnest. Whenever I had time, I came to the 5th Floor and worked to push the boss gauge.
There were three main types of monsters in Zone 3.
First, the Lava Giants. If you shattered their bodies, lava sprayed out instead of blood, making close-quarters combat dangerous.
Second, the Red Snakes. The ones I just caught. They were ridiculously large and lacked special abilities, but they were incredibly fast.
And finally, the Pterosaurs.
Kieeeeeee—!
One was currently circling over my head, screeching loudly. It looked exactly like a prehistoric pterosaur, so that's what everyone called them.
I fired a Flame Strike and shot the beast out of the sky.
The normal monsters in Zone 3 were at most around Level 30. They weren't a threat to me at all, so hunting was going smoothly.
However, I had originally expected something like the satisfying mob-grinding you see in an RPG. In reality, monsters rarely gathered in large groups; most of the time, they wandered around individually or in pairs, so progress wasn't as rapid as I’d hoped. I really wished the monster density was higher.
By the way, I had run into other climbers a few times. The Zone 3 field was so vast that it only happened twice, and both times I just used Stealth to slip past them.
Watching them hunt, they seemed to be having a very difficult time.
[Zone 3 (95.2%)]
The gauge had finally surpassed 95%. I figured I could hit 100% within the week.
"Ugh, the smell of burning meat."
I passed by the charred remains of the Red Snakes. Monsters that were killed disappeared after a certain amount of time, so if you wanted to collect materials, you had to butcher them quickly and take the parts outside the zone's boundary.
I’d heard these Red Snake scales sold for a high price. Naturally, I didn't bother. Where would I even sell them? Even if I could, butchering them one by one was too much of a hassle.
I left the canyon and moved on. As I kept traveling, I reached the edge of Zone 3.
Beyond Zone 3 lay Zone 4—a frozen wasteland where blizzards raged. The environment changed as if cut by a knife. I couldn't enter Zone 4 yet; a transparent barrier blocked the way.
The next zone only opened after the previous zone's boss was defeated. To reach Zone 4, killing the Zone 3 boss was the only way.
"I wonder if I can handle the Zone 4 boss too..."
Lately, I’d been wondering if it would be possible to take down the Zone 4 boss immediately after the Zone 3 one. After all, I needed to power up as much as possible before challenging the next floor.
Well, I’d have to kill the Zone 3 boss first.
I continued hunting, searching for more prey.
* * *
Team 3 of the Security Force, currently hunting in Zone 3, spotted a Red Snake approaching from a distance.
"It's a Red Snake! Watch out!"
The members skillfully fell into formation and engaged the monster. However, the Red Snake was already heavily injured. The hunt ended almost instantly.
"...It looks like someone else was hunting this and lost it. Was it Team 2?"
While the members were talking over the corpse, they turned their heads. From the direction the Red Snake had come, a group of people was approaching.
The Security Force members' expressions immediately hardened. They weren't allies, but climbers from the Black Star Society.
The approaching Black Star Society members also frowned when they saw the corpse.
"We did all the work to catch that... Is it okay to just snatch it like that?"
The Security Force team leader stepped forward, his voice dripping with disbelief.
"Don't make me laugh. It's the fault of the ones who let it get away. And this is our zone, so what do you think you're doing here?"
The Security Force held the east, and the Black Star Society held the west. That was the implicit rule maintained to avoid conflict. While the zones weren't exactly split down the middle, this was clearly the Security Force's hunting ground. The other side was trespassing.
The Black Star Society climber sneered.
"Our zone? Where's that? You're talking as if we ever agreed to such a thing."
"You bastard..."
"Anyway, that's ours. Hand it over and get lost."
"Stop barking nonsense and get out of here yourselves. Unless you want to die."
The atmosphere turned lethal. While hunting, it wasn't entirely unheard of for groups to run into each other like this. Usually, they would exchange a few insults and back off. It had never escalated to a direct physical confrontation.
However, currently, both the Security Force and the Black Star Society were on edge because of the impending boss spawn.
It was like a tightly pulled string finally snapping.
"...Aaaargh!"
"Y-you crazy bastards!"
"They attacked first! Kill them!"
In the end, disaster struck.