The Earth Dragon Falls
GROOOOOAAAR—!
Seeing the Earth Dragon’s majesty once more was truly something to behold. Yujin couldn’t help but admire the creature as it charged across the first floor like a force of nature, reducing the land to scorched ruin in its wake.
“Impressive. Really damn impressive.”
How the hell did something shaped like an earthworm move that fast? The Earth Dragon writhed and surged forward, hell-bent on devouring the prey right in front of it—a living catastrophe. Of course, that only held true from the prey’s point of view. Not his.
“Aaaaaaaah!”
A raw, throat-tearing scream ripped from Lee Sia’s mouth.
“H-how are we supposed to beat this thing to death?!”
Park Ji-hoo fixed Yujin with eyes that glittered with a half-crazed light.
“I already told you we can kill it.”
Yujin dug a finger in his ear as he answered.
Did I make them hunt nothing but Red Goblins for too long?
On a proper growth path, climbers would have hunted all sorts of monsters, leveled steadily, and only then faced the Earth Dragon. With that experience under their belts, a beast this size wouldn’t have rattled them—they’d have handled it just fine. But Sia and Ji-hoo were different. The only monsters they’d ever killed were sulfur deer and Red Goblins. Going from human-sized prey straight to a several-dozen-meter behemoth was more than enough to send anyone into a panic.
Still, what else am I supposed to do? This is the fastest way.
Combat experience? They’d rack that up whether they wanted to or not once they climbed higher. Survival meant thrashing like mad just to stay alive. The first floor’s leisurely, almost peaceful vibe was nothing like what waited above. Right now only one thing mattered: levels. Red Goblins weren’t optional. They were mandatory.
“Stop running around and just kill the damn thing already. You planning to waste more time on this trash?”
Thanks to that grind, the two of them had hit level 20. Considering most people left the first floor around level 13, that was absurdly high. An Earth Dragon ought to be something they could crush with their eyes closed…
“Mm? Maybe not.”
Yujin shook his head mid-thought. He couldn’t measure everyone by his own standards. Sia and Ji-hoo were gifted idiots—better than complete morons, sure, but still only a step above that in his eyes. Expecting too much from a couple of blockheads like them was a fool’s errand.
“Anyway, if you don’t kill it in ten minutes, it’s back to Red Goblins. If you want another week of living soaked in blood, go ahead and keep running.”
The instant the words left his mouth, a black sword-light flashed.
That was Lee Sia’s resolve—she would rather die than relive that hell.
“Aaaaaaaah!”
Park Ji-hoo was the same. He poured every ounce of strength into a punch that slammed into the Earth Dragon’s underbelly.
KRAAAAASH—!
Hide split and burst. It looked exactly like an ancient sandbag tearing open and dumping its stuffing everywhere.
“Kyaaaaak!”
“Uweeeek!”
Both of them were instantly coated in the Earth Dragon’s nauseating guts and nearly blacked out from the stench.
“Honestly.”
Yujin clicked his tongue at the sight. All that drama over killing one measly thing.
“Right?”
He asked Chunbae. The little bear doll bobbed its head.
“Kkyaaaaang—!”
“Yeah. You’re a hundred times better than those two.”
He gave Chunbae a fond pat on the head, then strolled toward the pair still heaving up their breakfast beside the sprawled corpse.
“See? Not that hard, right? You just got spooked by the size and wasted time running.”
Forty minutes to kill the Earth Dragon. If they’d treated it like another Red Goblin and stayed calm, fifteen would have been plenty.
“Let the enemy cow you and you won’t even manage half your real strength. That’s why I keep telling you to keep a cool head.”
He had told them. Probably while they were buried under a Red Goblin wave, thrashing just to stay alive, so they hadn’t heard a word.
“Anyway, good work. Time to head up.”
Yujin waded through the rotting stench without a flicker of discomfort and approached the staircase leading to the second floor.
“H-hey, Mister, are you okay?”
Sia called after him.
“About what?”
“This smell! Ugh!”
She gagged again mid-sentence.
“You get used to it. Don’t make a scene over every little thing.”
What was a bit of stink? Higher up, they’d walk through hells far worse. Zombies. More zombies. And still more zombies. He’d even eaten the rotting carcasses of monsters raw when there was nothing left that could pass for food. Compared to that, Earth Dragon guts were nothing.
“Keep up.”
He shot them a look of pure pity and started walking. Then, as if something had just occurred to him, he muttered under his breath.
“Come to think of it… there’s nowhere to wash on the second floor.”
“A-aaaaaaaah!”
Lee Sia’s scream echoed faintly across the first floor.
“Huff—huff—!”
Lee Sia’s eyes sharpened. The Black Wing [C] in her grip pulsed gently, as if telling her to calm down.
I know.
Sword Heart [D].
The trait that psychopath had gotten for her meshed with her so perfectly it was almost scary. She’d always felt steadier with a sword in hand, but after learning Sword Heart [D], the blade felt like an extension of her own body. It wasn’t just a feeling. Her swordsmanship had improved by leaps and bounds. Leveling and combat experience played a part, sure, but the influence of Sword Heart [D] couldn’t be ignored.
It was the same now. Black Wing [C] moved as if it were a living creature in perfect sync with her—heartbeat, temperature, everything tuned to her. That was why, even in this tense moment, she stayed composed and read the situation with cold clarity.
Three enemies.
Mantises, he’d called them. True to the name, they looked almost exactly like praying mantises—except each one stood five meters tall. Insect or not, their agility was unreal. He’d said they were only around level 10, yet they were matching her blow for blow.
I’m level 23, damn it!
A week on the second floor. In that time she’d gained three levels. Compared to the first floor it felt glacial, but Seong Yujin had looked satisfied. So maybe it wasn’t actually slow…
“Hup!”
That brief lapse was all it took. One of the Mantises surrounding her on three sides lunged into the opening.
Frrrraaaak—!
The beat of its wings made her skin crawl. Worse were those forelegs.
Ssssshk—!
The sound of air splitting was sharp enough to freeze the blood.
Shit!
Sia swung exactly the way Black Wing [C] urged—toward her rear.
Clang—!
The Mantis’s foreleg met the black blade. A shrill metallic scream rang out.
Beeeeeeep—!
It hadn’t expected to be blocked; a startled cry escaped its mandibles.
“Not a chance!”
Crisis was opportunity. Without hesitation Sia spun Black Wing [C] and took the creature’s head.
Shhhk—!
Head and body parted. Green ichor sprayed, but she didn’t dodge. She’d already been soaked far too many times for that.
“Now!”
She vanished into the fountain of blood and shouted. On cue, a massive hole punched through the chest of the Mantis that had been charging from the left.
Thud—!
A thirty-centimeter cavity. Park Ji-hoo’s gauntlet was visible through it.
One left. Sia’s sword cut through the air and pierced the panicked Mantis right between the eyes.
Puuuk—.
It felt like driving a knife into melted butter. The compound eyes stared at her for a heartbeat, then the light faded and the body toppled backward.
Kuuuung—!
Their corpses would simply become part of this vast jungle, fertilizer for countless lives.
“Haa—”
Sia flicked the green blood from her blade and looked over. Park Ji-hoo stood there looking every bit the beggar she did.
“Good work.”
He only shrugged. He’d never been talkative, but since coming to the second floor he’d grown even quieter. For a second the image of the man who’d bought them food at Starlight Wanderer overlapped with him.
Is he going to break?
The worry flickered… until she saw the light that sparked in his eyes during a fight. Pointless fretting. He spoke less, but those eyes had never belonged to someone who’d given up. If anything, the more he fought, the more alive he looked. The kid really must love a good brawl.
“Where’s the crazy mister?”
“Over there.”
Ji-hoo pointed. Beyond a thicket so tall it barely counted as grass, a chilling wave of mana rolled out.
“Huh? He’s still fighting? That monster?”
Unlike the first floor, where he’d mostly watched, here he hunted harder than either of them. When they took down ten, he came back with fifty. It wasn’t just speed. He hunted longer, more seriously. Seong Yujin was grinding like a man possessed. His level was nearly thirty. The Mantises they’d just fought would have been nothing but a light snack to him. And he was still fighting?
“What, is he taking on a boss or something?”
Nothing else would make that freak drag a fight out this long.
“Wanna go watch?”
They’d already hit today’s quota, and the light was fading. Time to head back to camp. Sia decided to check on what Seong Yujin was doing while they were at it. She pushed through weeds taller than she was, and a blade of killing intent pricked her skin.
What the hell is he fighting?
It was sharper than even the edge of Black Wing [C]. Maybe he really was fighting a boss.
I was only joking…
Sia swallowed dryly and crept forward.
PAAAAASH—!
A massive surge of mana exploded outward, sweeping the surroundings.
“Ji-hoo!”
The lighter-bodied boy’s feet left the ground. Sia grabbed his hand on pure instinct and looked ahead.
“Holy shit!”
Her eyes flew wide. They had to. Seong Yujin was fighting—and for the first time ever, he looked completely serious.
Who’s the opponent?
The shabby weapon called Flame Dragon Blade [E] carved through space. The one who blocked it came into view.
The Tower’s manager. The one once called the Reaper of the Tutorial Floor.
“…Didascalia?”
That disgusting face was unmistakable.
“Die, you son of a bitch.”
Yujin’s blade flashed again.