Homecoming and Pest Control
"...Wow, this is insane."
I stared blankly down at the dining table, spoon in hand.
Steaming white rice.
Sizzling spicy stir-fried pork.
And even a golden-brown rolled omelet.
"Is it perhaps too bland...?"
"No."
I shook my head and shoved a spoonful of rice into my mouth.
Chew, chew.
After eating nothing but bland elf food,
I was finally eating like a human being again.
This is it...
I began to practically inhale the food.
"...Did you not eat well over there?"
Do Sangjin looked at me with a worried expression.
"It wasn't just a matter of not eating well,"
I chuckled, picking up a piece of the sweet and spicy pork.
"It was more like it was better not to eat at all."
"...!"
"It wasn't fit for human consumption."
"W-was it really that bad...?"
"The only thing remotely edible was the fruit."
And even then, it wasn't sweet and tangy like strawberries or tangerines.
It all tasted as bland as raw radish. I thought I was going to die of boredom.
Gulp.
Eating home-cooked food finally made me feel alive.
For a while, I had felt this lingering sense of emptiness.
"There really is no place like home."
Do Sangjin smiled warmly at my words.
"I am glad you returned safely, Hunter-nim."
"Anything happen while I was gone?"
"Nothing major, other than Jumin failing his exam."
"Good to hear."
"Both Kang Mina-ssi and Go Juhee-ssi asked that you contact them as soon as you returned..."
Do Sangjin handed me my phone.
"But I believe it would be best for you to rest today and start working tomorrow."
"Should I?"
"You must be exhausted from your travels."
It had only been about a week in the Elf Empire.
But on Earth, a month and a half had already passed.
Well, it was actually the perfect amount of time for me.
I had vanished right when the hype about the world rankings and the potion factory was peaking.
I slipped away just as all eyes were on me.
Thanks to that, I didn't have to deal with annoying interviews or anything of the sort.
"But things have quieted down by now, right?"
Do Sangjin hesitated for a moment before answering.
"...I wouldn't say it has quieted down."
"Why?"
"Since your 'trip,' inquiries have surged from all directions."
"Ah."
"There were many calls asking for your whereabouts, and some even tried to contact you directly."
"Persistent bastards. Did anyone actually come here?"
"About five times..."
"Choi Muryeong must have been one of them."
"Yes. He kept asking when you would return."
"And?"
"I told him I didn't know either, but he didn't seem to believe me."
"What a pain in the ass."
Why is the World No. 3 so free?
"He is on the verge of clearing the 60th floor, so he must be anxious."
"But I've only just finished the 50th floor."
At my remark, Do Sangjin let out a hollow laugh.
"Hunter Lee Taepyeong-nim."
"Yes?"
"It didn't even take you a year—no, not even six months—to reach the 50th floor."
"Well, that's true, but..."
"And your climbing speed only increased as time went on."
"..."
"So, saying 'only the 50th floor' is highly inaccurate."
"..."
"Please do not underestimate yourself."
Tsk.
Is that so?
Honestly, if I set my mind to it, reaching the 60th floor wouldn't take long.
The problem was what lay beyond...
...From the 60th floor onward, demons appear.
They were entirely different from the monsters I had faced so far.
Sentient beings who had chosen to reside in the Babel Tower of their own free will.
There was a reason humanity had been stuck in the 60s.
Countless powerhouses from all over the world had collapsed before they could cross the threshold of the 60th floor.
Even Leo White was currently stalled at the 66th floor...
Choi Muryeong would naturally want to secure as much power as possible before challenging the 60th floor.
So it wasn't surprising that he was so desperate to get in touch with me.
What a hassle...
Let's just ignore him for now.
Whether I climb or not is entirely up to me.
For now,
I should enjoy the 50s.
The 51st floor.
Dark red clouds blanketed the sky.
Bzzzzzzzz!
No, they weren't clouds.
It was an innumerable swarm of giant insects.
Those were...
Blood Swarms.
These bizarre monsters, looking like a cross between a mosquito and a fly,
boasted sizes comparable to harpies.
Perhaps describing them as eagle-sized mosquitoes would be more accurate.
Given their massive size, their blood-sucking proboscises were practically the size of greatswords.
Once they slit a prey's throat and plunged that proboscis in to take a single gulp,
everything from the internal organs to the blood throughout the body would be sucked dry.
The useless head and hollowed-out carcass would be discarded on the spot.
Since it was literally just an empty shell,
even an Elixir wouldn't work, though a Resurrection Herb might be a different story.
Individually, they were weaker than harpies.
But because of their overwhelming numbers, they were far more troublesome than harpies or any other monsters in the 50s.
Bzzzzzzzz!
The deafening buzz of their wings assaulted my eardrums.
It was a completely different sound from the harpies.
While the harpies sounded like birds flapping their wings,
this was like the amplified buzzing of mosquitoes and flies.
It didn't inflict mental damage like a harpy's song,
but just listening to it was enough to drive anyone mad with irritation.
...Absolutely disgusting.
Harpies, Poison Mantes, Skull Griffins, Wyverns, and so on.
There were various monsters on the 50th floors.
But ironically, the one hunters loathed the most was the Blood Swarm of the lower floors.
That was how vicious they were.
Either way, they were annoying bastards just by existing.
BZZZZZZZZ!!!
The Blood Swarms flew closer, the buzzing growing louder by the second.
If I kill all of these, do I get an Adamant Flyswatter as a special reward?
"Tsk."
A Blood Swarm with two eyes the size of human heads rushed toward me at high speed.
I drew the Sword of Calamity.
Since I was alone, I might as well go for a speedrun record...
Whoosh!
It was then.
Something darted out from behind my back,
Flash!
and lunged straight at the Blood Swarm.
"...Bell?"
There was no reply.
Instead,
Thud!
the sound of something bursting echoed in the air.
And then,
Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop!
the Blood Swarms began to explode in rapid succession.
Splatter!
Shreds of translucent wings scattered in all directions,
Squirt!
and insect entrails rained down onto the ground.
"..."
It was as if someone were firing a machine gun into the sky.
No.
Maybe even faster than that.
Crunch!
Rip!
Wherever Bell passed,
only the shattered carcasses of the insects remained.
Wow.
I thought I was confident in my speed,
but is it because she's a dark elf?
She was almost as fast as me.
Swish!
Bell snatched one of the Blood Swarms and leaped onto its back.
Slaaaaash!
From atop the Blood Swarm, Bell began slicing through the other flying insects.
Damn.
Great reflexes.
BZZZZZZZZZZ!!!
The swarm of Blood Swarms belatedly changed direction.
Their target was singular.
Bell.
She's good at drawing aggro.
A dark red wave surged through the air.
BZZZZZZZZ!!!
The Blood Swarms rushed in.
...Let's see how she handles this.
I crossed my arms and quietly watched the spectacle.
The moment hundreds of insects swarmed Bell all at once,
Slip...
Bell vanished.
Or rather, she seemed to vanish.
"..."
All that remained was a dense cluster of insects.
Stab!
Thrust!
Squelch!
The sound of the Blood Swarms' sharp proboscises repeatedly stabbing into something echoed out.
And then,
Splat!
Squish!
Stab! Stab! Stab! Stab!
the Blood Swarms began to drop, their legs twitching like dead bugs.
Through the slight gap that opened up, I could see
Stab! Stab! Stab! Stab!
Bell stabbing the other Blood Swarms with a broken proboscis she had ripped off one of them.
Literally, like a maniac.
Stab! Stab! Stab! Stab!
With an expressionless face, Bell slaughtered the insects.
She was a killing machine, pure and simple.
...Is that how I look to others?
No way.
I must look more human than that.
Crack!
Just as I thought that, Bell twisted and ripped the head off a Blood Swarm.
Ugh.
Honestly, I'm not that brutal.
Seriously.
Crunch!
Splat!
Slash!
Stabbing, tearing, slicing.
While Bell killed the insects in a colorful variety of ways,
"*Yawn.*"
I yawned and looked around.
Hmm.
It didn't seem like there was anything to loot, unlike the harpy nests.
Maybe because they were bugs? They didn't seem to collect anything.
Only broken eggs littered what looked like a lakebed.
Looks like they're almost all dead...
The dark red clouds that had covered the sky were practically gone.
Well, then.
It was as if Bell had cleared the 51st floor instead of me.
If Bell can clear the 51st floor alone...
I might not even need to party up anymore.
The danger level spiked from the 50th floor onward anyway,
and I was starting to worry about my teammates.
Maybe I should just tell them to take it easy and stick to the floors below 50.
Roll, roll!
The head of the last Blood Swarm rolled right to my feet.
Crush!
I crushed it under my heel.
"Good job, Bell."
I nodded toward Bell.
She was a mess, covered head to toe in the muddy, dark red blood of the Blood Swarms.
Toss!
I tossed a water capsule at her.
I couldn't exactly take her back looking like that.
Flash!
Right after, two reward chests materialized before my eyes.
One basic reward chest and one speedrun reward chest.
One was Platinum, and the other was Diamond.
Click.
What came out of the Platinum chest was a worn-out pouch.
◈ Effect: Automatically collects and preserves monster carcasses and items.
◈ Capacity: [0 / 100]
Oh.
This is pretty good.
I can just have Bell wear it.
Click.
What came out of the Diamond chest was a sword.
A scimitar with a wavy blade.
Wow, I'm finally getting weapons from chests now!
◈ Effect: Generates an additional wind blade upon a successful hit.
◈ Special: If additional damage cannot be applied to the target, it inflicts additional damage to the nearest enemy.
Ooh!
This is also quite decent.
But it's not on the level of Jeoldanchamgeuk or the Sword of Calamity.
Tsk.
If I had gotten this in the early stages, I would have used it to death.
But right now, the Sword of Calamity is overwhelmingly better in every aspect.
I might as well give this to Bell too.
She was already slicing through bugs with a mosquito proboscis earlier, after all.
"Bell, take this."
I handed the Pouch of the Tracker and the Wind-Severing Scimitar to Bell.
Bell fastened the pouch and the scimitar to her waist.
...I might actually be able to auto-hunt now.
What a massive win.