Floor 10

Floor 8 was cleared. Eight thousand kills, and most of them Chinese.

So China wasn't strong for nothing.

It wasn't that another Heroic-grade had dropped. Most of them simply seemed to have been wearing gear, and the sheer volume that poured in was staggering. Back in Korea, a low-floor hunter kitted out in a full set like that was a rarity. For this lot, it looked like the baseline.

Thanks to that, a decent haul of items came my way. I dumped every last one on the auction house at once. At a reasonable price, of course. There were simply that many of them. Even a "reasonable" price added up to something enormous — enough that I could almost treat it as a steady income. They sold, and kept selling, and there was still stock left over.

Could I count this as side income?

I was a full-time hunter now. A freelancer, of a sort. And what is a freelancer's great anxiety? No steady paycheck. This, though — this might actually be all right.

Good. Anyway.

Money was money, and rewards were rewards. I checked them in order, starting with the payout for eight thousand kills.

A Skill Enhancement Ticket. Advanced grade, no less. I used it on Sinkhole at once.

Three options. I liked all of them, but I took the first.

Three extra little holes. Harder to predict — even better. The reach would widen too, and the unpredictability appealed to me. So number one it was.

All right. And the next reward? The event-monster payout.

Huh? Angel's Wing? A material I'd never seen before. Unfortunately, it wasn't a component for the Staff of Calamity. Still, anything you held onto tended to find a use. For now, I'd keep it.

Last of all, the event reward.

A helm. Black plate metal, cut with a T-shaped visor, a red emblem set into the center.

"So black with a red emblem is the look."

The cloak had been much the same. Gather the whole set, and it would cut quite a figure.

But what is that special ability?

The heart of the item was obviously the special ability. I pulled it up at once.

"Whoa."

The sound escaped me on its own. Footprints that lingered — and then exploded? And they triggered skills on top of that?

Ten seconds is a shame of a duration. But this is completely busted, isn't it?

Maybe because I was busted. The exclusive gear was busted too.

My heart hammered. Was it because I'd just gotten something outrageous? I wanted to try it, and I wanted it now. Ah — I wanted to see Floor 10 already.

"Welcome!"

"Whoa! Look at all the cars!"

We'd stopped in at a dealership.

"I'd like to buy a car."

Why else would I have come? To trade up. The one we had was a compact getting on in years — tight for a family of four, and I didn't trust it on safety either. So this time, I'd decided to change it. What I'd ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠made so far was already pushing a million dollars, and the auction house kept the money coming in.

"I was thinking of getting an SUV."

"Is everyone with you family? Four of you?"

"Yes, that's right."

"Well, well — a patriot, in times like these. Four people, you've got to go SUV. Was there a particular car you had in mind?"

"I was thinking Genesis. Ah — that one."

A Genesis GV80. To someone else it might have been nothing more than a nice domestic car. To me, it was as close as a dream car ever got to being real.

I used to watch them go by on the road and not even let myself think about it. A pie in the sky, plain and simple. I knew my circumstances too well. I'd been sure I'd never own one in my life.

"The GV80. Excellent choice. Care to see the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠interior?"

The dealer opened the door, and a rich brown leather interior caught the eye at once.

"The outside is one thing, but the inside is beautifully done as well. The options are considerable, too. Ah — and the safety package is no joke."

I slid into the seat. Yeah. It was good. Plush under me.

"The seats massage you, too."

......The world really has gotten better.

"Wow. It really is gorgeous."

My wife was staring, half spellbound. She slipped into the passenger seat.

"It— it really does feel different just sitting here."

She was falling for the charm of a luxury car, bit by bit. And it wasn't only her.

"Dad, Dad! Is this our car?"

"I love this one! Let's buy it!"

The kids were making a scene about how much they liked it. Well — of course I liked it. That part was a given.

"I'd like to sign for this one. What do I need to do?"

"Haha. Looks like the whole family is sold. Right this way, I'll take care of you."

The dealer led us to a desk and set down a brochure he'd brought over.

"First, let me walk you through the car."

He gave us the short version of the GV80's reputation.

"From here, these are the options. The price depends on which ones you add, so if you could tell me which options you'd like......"

"Ah, put in every option there is."

"......Pardon?"

"Don't leave a single one out. Every option you've got. And I'll pay right now. You can run a hunter-account transfer here, right?"

"Ah, you're a hunter! I knew it! Of course, sir! Absolutely! Hahaha! Just one moment, please!"

The dealer snapped to attention.

I can't believe I'm buying this car.

Could I really drive something like this? I hadn't even been able to think the thought. I knew my situation too well. And yet now......

"This is the price with every option included! We'll have the vehicle delivered safely to your home within a week of today!"

I looked at the fully loaded price and didn't feel the weight of it at all.

Beijing, China. Zhongnanhai.

"Wh-what is the meaning of this?"

Chairman Zhang Wei, paramount leader of China, was badly rattled. The cause was the news breaking across the world.

Outlets everywhere carried the story. An international humiliation, plain and simple. Chairman Zhang Wei shook from head to toe.

"......This is the first disgrace of its kind. And to have the items taken as well......"

He trembled.

He could not accept it. And at the hands of some minor nation, no less.

Was that even the end of it? The items had been taken too. Those items had flooded into Korea.

"......What is Korea's ranking now?"

"It has risen...... from twenty-seventh to twentieth......"

"All of it thanks to the items plundered from our Chinese hunters, I take it......"

"......"

"......"

Not one of them could find a reply to the Chairman. Not one — save a single man. Jin Gang, Minister of the Hunter Bureau.

"There is no need to worry so much."

Jin Gang said it with room to spare.

"What do you mean?"

"Have you forgotten Hao Jun, Chairman? We have Hao Jun."

"......Hao Jun?"

The Chairman's interest caught. Who was Hao Jun? China's greatest prospect of the present day.

"Yes. You know his ability well. 'The Precognitive.' Is that not his very nickname?"

"Oh. Oh......"

"And Korea's JUNE will be climbing to Floor 10 before long. Hao Jun has already cleared through Floor 9 and is waiting to enter Floor 10. Waiting for the moment JUNE arrives."

The Precognitive, Hao Jun. His ability was reading the future. It was not perfect — he saw three seconds ahead. But he was not called a top prospect for nothing.

"The instant he activates the ability and sees the future, every one of Hao Jun's speeds rises sharply. Attack speed and movement speed both climb to fifty times what they were. With that...... he will be able to evade JUNE's attacks."

"Ohh. Yes, of course. I had forgotten Hao Jun for a moment."

Jin Gang smiled, well pleased.

"So do not trouble yourself overmuch. Hao Jun may not have drawn the same notice as America's Kill Man or Korea's JUNE, lacking a wide-area attack — but in single combat, there is no one who can match him."

Strongest in a one-on-one, Hao Jun. China carried the pride that he would one day stand at World Rank 1.

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

"And that would hardly be all, would it? If Hao Jun can hold his own against JUNE, we will be able to uncover the truth of that second skill, still hidden behind the veil. One might call it killing two birds with one stone. We take JUNE, and lay the secret bare at the same time."

Jin Gang pushed his glasses up. His snake-like eyes were very sharp.

Three days passed. In all that time, I ran the Tower exactly once.

Floor 10.

There was only one reason. It was Floor 10.

Floor 10 ran as a battle royale. Ten thousand people entered at once — a chaotic free-for-all of mutual slaughter. Everyone was gathered into a single place after entry, and the fighting didn't even begin right away.

About time I headed in.

I read everything there was to read about Floor 10. Every tip, front to back. Now it was time to enter.

Beijing, China. Hao Jun made his move.

The first thing he did after entering?

"Participant list."

He checked the roster first. Roughly nine thousand had entered so far. And still, no JUNE.

"Exit."

He waited until nearly the very start. The name still did not appear. Then there was no point in going on.

It continued that way for three days. And then, today.

"Participant list."

"......!"

Found him. He came in this time. No need to leave, then.

"Isn't that Hao Jun?"

"Damn it. Of all times......"

"Guess I'm out."

People recognized Hao Jun. Some because they were Chinese. Some because they had been on the receiving end.

The countdown had begun. Hao Jun drew a light breath.

The countdown ended. He triggered his skill at once.

A low hum rose.

He saw the future — himself, running wild. Good. This would do.

He moved exactly as the foresight showed him. The world around him slowed; he himself sped up. He cut through the press in long ripping arcs, killing, and killing again.

And when the skill ended? No matter. The cooldown was a mere minute anyway. Rampage for that minute, then trigger it again.

How long passed that way? The space around him had been swept clean. But this was not the end.

The hum rose again.

He activated the skill once more and looked into his own future.

A cataclysmic roar tore through it.

"H-huh?"

A horrific future. The ground around him caving in all at once — an effect on the scale of a disaster.

......Is this what that bastard uses?

He had expected it. Not this. Cold sweat ran down of its own accord.

But it was not something he had failed to account for. If things went according to his plan, he could do it.

A deep rumble rolled through the earth.

Right then, what he had seen in the future came to pass. The ground shook violently, a great crash split the air, and a massive hole tore open in the floor.

I will not be taken!

He triggered the skill. The world slowed, and he sped up; he planted his feet on falling debris, then again, and again, and managed to climb.

"Hah... hah..."

Hao Jun had been leaping upward for what felt like an age. In truth it had all happened in a flash. For him, it had been a very long time.

He dragged in a ragged breath. What? This wasn't the future he had seen.

......Did I just change the future for the first time?

Had he dodged his own death?

"Ha, haha..."

Well now. To rewrite even the future. As expected of him.

How strong does that make me? I can overturn a failure that was already written?

"Hahahaha!"

The laughter burst out of him on its own.

"Now my era has co—!"

That was when it happened.

The ground dropped out from under him without warning. In three places at once.

And that was not all. From the sky came a rain of fire beyond counting.

Something rose over the sunken earth. No — something came into being.

A whirring filled the air.

"Huh?"

A black sphere, like a vortex. ......What in the world was that?

"Uh, uhh?"

Against his will, his body was dragged in. He fought with everything he had to pull free, but he could not master it — as if a magnet had hold of him.

"Uhhh!"

The whir rose to a shriek.

"G-gaaah!"

"S-save me!"

"Aaaah!"

Hunters were sucked in beside him, like a vacuum cleaner inhaling them. There were more than he could count. Watching it, Hao Jun closed both eyes.

......Fuck. How am I supposed to dodge this.

He had barely clawed his way out with his ability, and then fire poured from the sky, more pits opened underfoot, and people were dragged in without mercy. ......There was no gap to slip through.

"U-uaaaagh!"

Hao Jun was sucked in. Identical to what he had seen in the future. Exactly that sight. The future had been precise to the last detail.

That message spread to every corner of the world.