Chapter 12
Chapter 12
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 012
Chapter Title: New Skill
-----------------------------------------------------------------
B-rank awakener Park Jin-ho held his breath as he closely examined the spot where he had just struck with his greatsword.
Though shallow, a clear sword mark was unmistakably left on the creature's massive carapace.
"...Got it!"
His voice trembled with excitement.
"Finally... finally, my attacks are getting through!"
The 30th floor boss monster, Adamantium Turtle.
Its carapace boasted a monstrous hardness that couldn't even be compared to those famously tough golems.
Until now, his greatsword hadn't left so much as a scratch.
But today, he had finally carved his sword mark into its shell.
Park Jin-ho channeled all his pent-up rage and slammed his greatsword down onto the shell once more.
"You damn bastard! Do you have any idea! How much! I suffered! Because of you!"
The Adamantium Turtle would retreat fully into its shell at the slightest disadvantage.
Even if he forced his sword into the gap, the beast would bite down with its teeth from inside and snap the blade clean off.
How many swords had he lost that way, failing to break through the 30th floor?
"If only! I could! Use magic!"
In truth, the countermeasure known among awakeners was magic.
Roasting the thing alive inside its shell or zapping it with electricity.
But that was impossible for Park Jin-ho, who only had impact-based skills.
And if he waited patiently for the head to emerge, adamantium spines would launch from the shell.
In the end, the only way to take it down was to somehow lure the head out.
Clang! Clang!
Park Jin-ho summoned every ounce of strength he had and kept hammering the same spot with his greatsword.
The sound was like pounding on unyielding iron. The shallow groove gradually deepened until a crack finally split open, revealing the soft flesh inside.
"Kreeekreeekik!"
Sensing the damage to its shell, the Adamantium Turtle let out a grotesque screech and thrust its head out from the carapace.
Park Jin-ho seized the opening and charged straight at the head.
His greatsword swung down vertically.
Thud!
The Adamantium Turtle's relatively soft neck fell away limply.
"Haa..."
Park Jin-ho leaned on his greatsword, panting heavily.
Hot tears suddenly poured down his cheeks.
A B-rank awakener whose growth had come to a complete halt.
All the insults and scornful looks he had endured flashed through his mind like a montage.
But things were different now.
He had cleared the 30th floor, loud and proud.
His stalled growth would start up again.
As if to soothe his scarred past, a system message floated before his eyes.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ You have acquired the new skill Berserker as a reward for clearing the 30th floor. The moment he saw the message, the tension holding his body together melted away.
Strength drained from his fingers, and the greatsword propped against the ground slipped free.
"A... a new skill?"
He hadn't even gotten a glimpse of the rewards for clearing the 15th, 20th, or 25th floors. Why now?
Clearing the 40th floor, something he'd only dreamed of, might actually be possible.
One face flashed vividly in his mind.
His savior, the Big Brother he would serve for the rest of his life.
He couldn't just sit still.
He had to repay him somehow.
That single thought consumed Park Jin-ho as he exited the tower.
Calming his excitement, he dialed Han Jeong-woo's number.
Ring... Ring... Ring...
The call connected, but for some reason, he didn't pick up.
"I hope nothing's happened..."
- Big Brother, it's Jin-ho. I'm coming to your place right now.
Park Jin-ho hit send on the text, then hurried off toward Han Jeong-woo's house.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ A small but unmistakable change had recently entered Han Jeong-woo's daily routine.
Once a day, Park Jin-ho would visit and serve as his mana stat supplier.
Park Jin-ho, who hadn't gained a single stat point in the past two years, had steadily built up strength, agility, stamina, and more through gravity training.
In exchange, Han Jeong-woo had been accumulating mana stats consistently.
Thanks to the increased mana pool, he could finally put his 24-hour Gravity Training Method into practice.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Retrieving 1 Low-Grade Mana Potion from the inventory. Han Jeong-woo reached into his inventory.
Under triple gravity crushing his body, even that simple motion felt a bit sluggish compared to normal.
It was noticeably faster than when he'd first endured gravity during that sudden quest, but...
He still had a long way to go before fully adapting to this weight.
Gulp, gulp.
He refilled his depleted mana.
Then entered the tower.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Entering the 20th floor of the Korea Tower. Mission: Defeat the Corrupted Pixie. The 20th floor.
The tail end of the lower floors, a wall that over half of all hunters couldn't surpass.
Han Jeong-woo planned to tackle only up to the 20th floor today.
With about a month until the 55th floor deadline, there was no need to rush. Simple math showed that climbing just two floors a day would leave him with two weeks to spare.
But the real reason he was putting off the 21st floor was something else entirely.
The 21st was the worst possible matchup for him right now. Conquering it would require special preparation.
As the message faded, the surroundings transformed into a vast forest.
Dim sunlight filtered through, filling the air with the damp scent of soil.
Right then, a child's laughter echoed from between the densely packed trees.
"Kikiki!"
Pixie.
A forest fairy taking the form of a child, this monster was characterized by its fist-sized body and wings sprouting from its back.
But corrupted by the tower's tainted mana, its tiny frame and wings were dyed pitch black.
"Kihehehehe!"
It darted erratically between the trees, emitting a creepy cackle.
⚡ SKILL ACTIVATED ⚡ Enhancing the target's gravity by 30 times. Thanks to the Skill Enhancement Ticket from Park Jin-ho, the maximum gravity Han Jeong-woo could control had reached 30 times normal.
Yet even under 30x gravity, the pixie didn't stop flapping its wings.
Its speed had slowed noticeably, but it was still annoyingly fast.
"Must be because it weighs next to nothing."
Han Jeong-woo's brow furrowed.
But his voice still carried a sense of leisure.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Retrieved Ruler's Silver Trident from the inventory. The ornate silver trident fit perfectly in his grip.
Han Jeong-woo hurled it with all his might at the pixie zigzagging through the trees.
Whoosh!
The spear traced a silver arc, slicing through the air with a sharp whistle as it parted the forest.
⚡ SKILL ACTIVATED ⚡ Gravitational Pull Enhancing the target's gravitational pull by 30 times.
Immediately, an indelible black mark branded itself onto the pixie's back.
Its body was already pitch black, so it was nearly invisible to the naked eye, but that didn't matter.
The black mark served as the epicenter of gravitational pull, drawing in everything the caster designated.
"Keeik!"
The pixie sensed the incoming killing intent and screamed.
Instinctively, it drew up mana from within.
Shadow Blink. The pixie's high-speed teleport skill.
Its tiny body dissolved into black smoke and instantaneously shifted a short distance in any direction.
Most low-rank awakeners gave up on climbing the tower without even grazing a pixie because of this one skill.
"Definitely tricky."
As the pixie blinked erratically with Shadow Blink, the trident chasing the mark lost its target and merely toppled random trees, tearing up the forest.
⚡ SKILL ACTIVATED ⚡ Releasing Gravitational Pull. ⚡ SKILL ACTIVATED ⚡ Gravitational Pull He recovered the trident, its acceleration gone and speed killed.
The spear circling in midair smoothly flew back into his hand.
"Kikiki!"
Spotting this, the pixie mocked Han Jeong-woo with its laughter.
"Yeah, laugh it up. It'll be your last."
Han Jeong-woo glared coldly at the creature and hurled the trident once more.
⚡ SKILL ACTIVATED ⚡ Gravitational Pull Enhancing the target's gravitational pull by 30 times.
As expected, a black mark branded onto the pixie's back. But he didn't stop there.
⚡ SKILL ACTIVATED ⚡ Gravitational Pull Enhancing the target's gravitational pull by 30 times.
A second mark engraved itself onto the silver trident's shaft.
In that instant, the pixie's mocking expression twisted in horror.
Spot! Spot! Spot!
It sensed the danger and spammed Shadow Blink desperately.
But it was all futile struggling.
No matter where the pixie teleported, it couldn't escape the marked trident even slightly.
In the end, the two marks converged, and the trident plunged deep into the tiny pixie's back.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ 20th floor cleared! You have achieved SSS-rank clear on the 20th floor. Acquired 400g of magstone as reward. Han Jeong-woo stored the glowing purple magstone chunk in his inventory and awaited the next notification.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Acquiring 20th floor reward. Acquired new skill Gravity Field as 20th floor reward. "...Oh!"
Han Jeong-woo's eyes widened, an exclamation slipping out.
"Gravity Field, huh..."
He checked the skill description and nodded in great satisfaction.
"Talk about perfect timing."
With this, he wouldn't need any tedious preparation for the 21st floor.
Han Jeong-woo pulled a mana potion from his inventory, downed it in one go, and headed straight to the next floor.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ ⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Entering the 21st floor of the Korea Tower. Mission: Survive the monster wave. The damp forest air vanished, replaced by scorching heat that seared his lungs.
The 21st floor's backdrop was a lava zone.
Cracked, parched black earth stretched out beneath his feet, with bright red lava bubbling up from the fissures.
"...Ugh. The worst floor after all..."
Han Jeong-woo grimaced and muttered at the sudden swelter.
Unlike previous floors where the mission was to slay monsters, the 21st floor tasked awakeners with surviving endless hordes swarming from all sides for a set time.
In other words, he couldn't blitz through and escape like before.
"Lucky for me, the perfect skill dropped right on time."
As mentioned, he had planned to hold off on the 21st floor.
His abilities were optimized for one-on-one fights or small groups.
A wave mission overwhelming with sheer numbers was his absolute worst matchup.
But the skill he'd just acquired.
Gravity Field.
A skill that generated a powerful gravity zone in a designated area.
In simple terms, area-of-effect damage and crowd control.
His weakness was gone.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Wave incoming. Survive for 10 minutes. A deceptively simple mission.
But its difficulty was beyond imagination.
Rumble rumble rumble!
As the message vanished, the black ground beneath his feet began shaking violently, like an earthquake.
Soon, the distant horizon rippled like a black wave crashing in.
It wasn't just from the front.
East, west, south, north.
From every direction, hordes of monsters surged forward amid swirling black ash.
Dada dada dak!
Crawling across the ground were thousands of Fire Lizards, the lizards said to live off lava.
They weren't particularly large. But their skin was tough, and they occasionally spat fire from their mouths—annoying pests.
A single one would be easy, but when they filled his entire field of vision...
⚡ SKILL ACTIVATED ⚡ Gravity Field Installing Gravity Field at designated location.
Han Jeong-woo fixed his gaze forward, and the space warped like a heat haze.
Soon, a black membrane rose from the ground, forming a pitch-black dome three meters in diameter.
Even the surrounding hot air and flying ash were sucked into it like a vortex.
Inside was an area crushed by thirty times normal gravity.
The same black domes rose one after another in the remaining three directions, forming an airtight defensive line on all sides.
The thousands of Fire Lizards had closed in right up to his position.
Hiss! One at the front flicked out its tongue and unwittingly stepped across the Gravity Field's boundary.
In that instant, it slammed into the ground without a chance to resist. Under 30x gravity, the Fire Lizard's bones shattered with a crunch, flattening into a meat patty on the spot.
```