Chapter 69

Translator: Penny

Chapter 69

Currently, two Minotaurs have been defeated.

It was true that I hadn't shown my full strength yet.

After slicing up two of them.

I came to the conclusion that I might be able to clear this 11th Stage without giving it my all.

I don't know if that thought will really last until the end of this 11th Stage.

This is the growth rate that occurred thanks to choosing the Difficulty 7 option on the 10th Stage.

I also remembered Heavenly Demon Senior's comment.

For now, I decided to hide 30% of my power.

There's no need to let the Constellations know that I've reached Rank 5.

There were a total of three registered 'Constellation Quests' rewards.

As soon as the three were suggested, an alert window popped up saying that a total of three Constellation Quests could be received in one Stage.

I liked all three of the Constellation Quest rewards, so I accepted them all.

'The Emperor with Immortal Glory' and 'The Giant Who Swallowed the Moon'. The common task set by the two Constellations was to clear the 11th Stage while properly demonstrating my skills.

Another Constellation was 'The Saintess Who Chases the Light', and the task set by The Saintess was a bit unique.

Show me the image of overcoming adversity and moving forward.

...What is this?

It was too abstract.

But there wasn't much pressure.

It may feel easier than the 10th Stage, but that doesn't mean there won't be any adversity in this Pandemonium.

I took a step forward.

I condensed pure white Sword Qi into my sword.

Crack!

I stabbed the Minotaur in the back, forcing its body to bend over.

And I severed its left horn.

The eyes of the Minotaur whose horn had been cut off turned bright red.

According to the Archmage Senior's advice, it was a sign of Berserk Mode activation.

Tearrrrr!!

The sound of an axe tearing through the air echoed in my ears.

I slowed down the axe's speed by facing the axe blade with my sword, Mundum Exstinguit.

I shoved the King of Beasts' Sword, wrapped in Sword Qi, into the Minotaur's abdomen.

The axe that the guy had been swinging so strongly just now stopped for a moment.

This much gap is enough.

Surrounding me were a total of four Minotaurs, not just the one I was fighting now.

The not-so-stupid Minotaurs rushed at me at the same time.

I took a breath.

The Mana Current within my body wriggled.

Dragonslaying Sword Form 5, Natsker.

A horizontal long-range slash that extends Sword Qi like a crescent moon.

The Minotaur in front of me, who was facing me, was cut in half at the waist.

Swissssssh!

And cracks appeared in the bodies of the Minotaurs coming from the left and right.

The Minotaur in front was completely dead.

The rest were close to being incapacitated.

I condensed Magic Power into both feet.

I quickly beheaded the incapacitated Minotaurs without even needing to cut off their horns.

[Your level has increased!]

[Lv.46 → 47]

Thump! Thump thump!

I saw a Minotaur rushing towards me at high speed from the right.

Thump!

The ground shook.

It was definitely huge.

Unlike the other Minotaurs, who seemed to be about 2 to 2.5 meters tall, this Minotaur seemed to be 4 meters tall.

Seeing that the words 'Boss Monster' didn't appear above its head, it wasn't a Boss Monster.

The way it's running is like a short-distance runner.

Kwaaaang!

The bricks on the Dungeon floor scattered.

I could see the black Magic Power wrapped around the Minotaur's toes soaring up.

The black Magic Power was so thickly intertwined that I couldn't properly see through the essence of the attack, which was the root cause.

The giant Minotaur's kick reached my shoulder.

Whoosh-

My body literally floated into the air.

To the point where I felt like my air time was long.

Kwaaaaang!!

Considering how loudly I crashed into the wall, there was no pain at all.

Thanks to the Bodyguard Qi I had spread out in advance.

Bang! Kwaang!

I completely destroyed one wall, crashed into the other side, and got up from the dust.

This might qualify as overcoming adversity.

Whoosh-

I created white Sword Qi in my sword.

I lowered my body and swung my sword horizontally towards the Minotaur's ankle.

The Minotaur, whose ankle had been completely cut off, fell forward.

I cut off both of the giant Minotaur's horns in succession.

And I sliced its neck.

Kheu! Keueuu!

If it wasn't beheaded in one go, I could just slice it several times.

Kuweooooooo!

The Minotaurs' cries didn't sound so threatening.

The strategy was over.

Now all I had to do was repeat the process.

Soon.

Before the day was even over.

Kwaaaaang!

I defeated 'Tyrant Jartan', the Boss Monster of the Dungeon, 'Minotaur's Watchtower'.

[Your level has increased!]

[Lv.47 → 48]

Leveling up twice is a satisfactory harvest.

[You have cleared the 11th Stage.]

['Player - Han Yoo-seong' is tallying the 11th Stage score.]

As always, the existing 11th Stage ranking score window appeared first.

1st place - Union Leader: 801 points

2nd place - Black Star: 752 points

3rd place - Chasing: 743 points

5th place - LifeIsPainByDefault: 741 points

⋮

⋮

[Score tallying is complete.]

[Han Yoo-seong: 1,615]

[You will be automatically moved to the '11th Stage Stairway waiting room' in 3 minutes.]

The 10th Stage score was 4,578 points.

Compared to that, this score seems very shabby, but it's just that the 10th Stage score is ridiculously high, and the 11th Stage score isn't low.

On the 10th Stage, I cleared a Difficulty 7 quest that I didn't necessarily have to do even after clearing the 10th Stage, so I guess that's why I got such a high score.

When I pulled up the notification window where the Constellations' messages were popping up, the reactions to the 11th Stage were coming up endlessly.

['Judge with a Thousand Eyes' narrows their brow, thinking that your power is much stronger than they thought.]

['The Sword Demon of the Black Typhoon' ruminates on the Sword Path and Martial Arts you showed.]

['The Warrior Burdened by Rage' reaffirms that Pandemonium is a difficulty.]

['Crimson Blazing Creator' is paying attention to your growth rate.]

['The Watcher Swimming in the Abyss' stares at you blankly.]

30%.

Even if I hid that much power and moved, these reactions came out.

This time, notifications that I had successfully completed all the Constellation Quests I had been given covered my vision one after another.

['The Saintess Who Chases the Light' has cleared the Constellation Quest you registered.]

『Reward: 'Leafsdropi' will be provided. Please receive it in the 12th Stage Stairway waiting room.』

According to the description I saw when I registered the quest, it was a recovery item that could restore the body to normal, even if it was on the verge of death. Even if you're crossing the line between life and death.

An item with the same power as the physical recovery effect you receive immediately after leveling ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠up.

It was a welcome item in situations like now, where killing a few Monsters wouldn't immediately level you up.

['The Emperor with Immortal Glory' has cleared the Constellation Quest you registered.]

『Reward: 'Cruorbon' will be provided. Please receive it in the 12th Stage Stairway waiting room.』

Cruorbon is a 'HP Recovery During Battle' item that is attached to a weapon.

The attachable Cruorbon was in the shape of a jewel.

It was said that if you fought with it attached to a weapon, it would convert the life force of the life taken by that weapon into healing power, rapidly healing the holder's wounds.

I don't know why items that are more efficient when you fight while getting hit keep coming into my hands.

Good is good, I guess.

Finally, the reward given by 'The Giant Who Swallowed the Moon' was an elixir of stats and Mana enhancement, like the Gehenna I had snatched from 'Judge with a Thousand Eyes' last time.

Hwaaa!

Light covered my eyes.

[Welcome to the 12th Stage.]

[2200 Coins will be awarded as a reward for breaking through the 11th Stage.]

The 11th Stage score ranking was registered as 'Private'.

As expected, 1st place.

[The first act of the score ranking reward, which was given up to 30th place, ends. From the 12th Stage onwards, you will not be able to receive score ranking rewards.]

[From the 12th Stage onwards, you can set it to 'Unregistered' so that it is not exposed in the score ranking.]

It was as the Transcender Gallery Seniors said.

From the 12th Stage onwards, the rewards for the score ranking disappeared, and the forced ranking score registration was changed to registration according to the Player's wishes.

Title: Came to the 12th Stage Stairway waiting room.

Writer: ㅇㅇ*

Since there were no rewards, there was no need to register.

I didn't want to receive unnecessary attention.

And it was said that guild membership or creation is possible from the 30th Stage onwards.

I also heard that receiving guild benefits is essential to properly climb the Tower.

Announcing survival.

I was thinking of doing the ranking registration for that purpose.

Climber Gallery, guilds. I have no intention of avoiding anything.

Well, everything is ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠just a meaningless assumption.

I can't even be sure whether I can survive until the 30th Stage.

13th Stage.

Although it was an event from the previous round, I was getting close to the place ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠where Ban, the person whom Pioneer Senior had tried to befriend, died.

It might not be a big deal.

Anyway, it's always been dangerous.

I didn't think I would be the first Pandemonium difficulty entrant in this round.

Those who came in before me probably died early.

I had a feeling that they wouldn't have made it past the 10th Stage, let alone the 13th Stage.

If I hadn't picked up the Transcender Gallery Terminal, I would have died a long time ago.

I opened the 12th Stage Coin Shop.

There was a new item in the 'Miscellaneous' category.

"...A baseball?"

35 Coins.

But I had more than enough Coins, so I bought it.

Thud-

There was a baseball in the square storage box that tore through the air and fell.

I picked up the ball.

A very familiar sensation flowed through my fingertips.

The stitches scratched my palm.

Should I try it for a while?

Throwing and catching it against the wall alone.

I didn't really care that I didn't have a glove.

Because it had become an unnecessary body.

I slightly raised my arm and threw it over my shoulder.

Thwack!

The ball made a dull sound as it hit the wall and returned.

I caught it with both hands.

Thud!

And I repeated the process.

For a long time.

Thwack!

Damn it.

I couldn't deny the fact that the baseball, which I hadn't even touched for nearly two years, was now giving me Composure and stability.

─Thud!

The baseball rolled next to me.

The tangled mess in my head was somewhat resolved.

"Let's go up."

Unfortunately.

Now there was no place to run away from anything.