Mystic Difficulty? Total Pushover

"Ugh... what the hell was that just now...?"

A dizzying swirl of multicolored lights had enveloped me, and before I knew it, I was dropped right in the middle of some medieval-style village. The problem? Goblins and people shouting from all directions, and parts of the village buildings were on fire.

From what I'd researched online, the White Tower's first floor separated the waiting room from the monster room, no matter the difficulty. Unlike the towers real hunters used, you could supposedly turn back and exit through a door. But this place was an open space all around... no exit door in sight.

"...Mystic difficulty."

I thought I'd gathered every scrap of info on the White Tower online, but I'd never heard of this difficulty. Which meant I was the first to discover it.

Hmm. Big trouble.

No deep thought needed to figure it out. Generally, there were only two ways out of a tower: achieve the goal and walk out on your own two feet, or die and get your corpse ejected.

And here I was, on the supposedly easiest White Tower, getting forced into that choice.

Taking a deep breath to steel myself, a hologram popped up in front of me with the objective.

The displayed goal and condition worked a bit differently. The goal was what let you exit the tower—usually not too hard. The condition was for rewards. The tower's reward condition was simple: a time limit.

'Deaths at 5 or fewer...'

Not for the reward, but for the people's lives—I needed to move fast.

"Water under the bridge now. Gotta make it work."

"Kid! You haven't evacuated yet?"

As I steeled my resolve to survive, a man in full plate armor approached me.

"This place is dangerous! I'll help you find your parents—"

The armored man grabbed my wrist and started dragging me somewhere. At the same time, a hologram appeared.

The number on the hologram meant one person had already died. No ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠time to waste.

"Kid, when an adult talks, you listen!"

The armored man's scary expression made my heart skip, but I closed my eyes and focused on the Dragon Heart pulsing at my core. A fierce, vibrant energy circulated endlessly through my body.

"Polymorph."

The moment I activated the skill, changes swept over me. My skeleton shifted, skin hardened, claws sharpened. No pain. No discomfort—just comfy, like lounging on a cloud.

My fully transformed dragon form was tiny compared to Tenebris, but at least horse-sized. Well, hatchling life, right? Felt natural.

"Wh-what in the world...?"

The knight who'd tried to help backed away slowly. Yeah... turning into a dragon outta nowhere would shock anyone. Even I was kinda doing that internally.

But no time for explanations. Every second delayed upped the failure odds.

I flapped my larger-than-usual wings powerfully ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and soared into the sky.

"Oh ho...?"

Handy attack skill, despite the restrictions. Perfect timing too—with tons of targets for testing. I aimed at the goblin-packed spot and prepped my breath.

Hot energy boiled from deep in my lungs, surging up my throat and filling my mouth.

"Breath!!"

"Kerk?!"

"Kerrrrk!!"

The intense flame jet barbecued the cocky goblin horde alive. Tsk tsk, shoulda dodged to the corner.

Dragon Breath packed a punch, but mana drain was no joke—felt like 30% gone in one shot.

'Gotta save this for finishers...'

Mana ticked down even in dragon form, and with other skills to use, better ration Breath.

Without Breath, I was down to physical attacks. Time to close the gap.

'Position... there looks good.'

A goblin cluster I could squash flat with my bulk. Claws out, I dive-bombed, crushing more on landing.

If this kept up, Mystic difficulty was doable. Nah, I'd crush it.

The goblins either lost their minds or thought my size was manageable—they started surrounding me.

'Good, if aggro's on me, conditions get easier, even if tricky.'

Might even work in my favor, but first real fight meant 1vMany. For efficient victory: know thyself, know thy enemy, know the situation.

Weapons at my disposal: hands, feet, tail, wings, and... ugh, mouth.

About 20 goblins closing in. No clash yet, but one brave one could spark a rush.

Dragon fighting style... made me recall those Dark Souls 3 dragon bosses. Head, neck, tail—fast patterns to dodge. But hind legs or flanks? Easier access.

'...Weak spots?'

Worth a shot. Goblins were charging from all sides anyway.

I bit the lead goblin dead, clawed two more to shreds. Whipped my tail to smash three from behind into the dirt.

When they crowded too close—flight. Their short reach from small bodies was key to striking first.

Dove again, taking out three more.

"Ngh... dive-bombs sting a bit. Fast, though..."

"Keruuuuk—!!!"

"Damn it!"

Stunned from ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠impact, a goblin lunged straight at my flank. As its rusty spear thrust—

An arrow nailed its skull dead-on.

I instinctively looked toward the shot.

"Hey! You okay?!"

"Ooh. Nice support."

It was that knight from earlier. With goblin aggro on me, he'd rallied—knights now firing arrows at the horde from afar.

Ranged backup was clutch, but cramped my movement. Still, perfect setup: goblin positions + my spot = ideal firing angle.

"Breath!! Clear out!! To the corner!!!"

Kuwaaaaaah—!!!!!

The deep-breath blast turned the green blobs to ash. I'd aimed carefully to minimize village/nature damage, so some goblins still rushed the village or me—but

Shwick! Shwick!

"Kieeeek—!!"

They just screamed to death under the arrow rain.

Staring at hundreds of goblin corpses, the hologram reappeared, blocking my view.

"Cleared it after all..."

I knew rankings showed per floor, but snagging first? Never dreamed.

Proudly eyeing the ranks, I spotted the "enter nickname" prompt.

"Nickname? Hmm... what to pick...?"

The eternal dilemma for anyone who's ever named a character. Even anonymous, it was my alter ego—couldn't half-ass it.

Phew... perfect. A bit weird for anonymity's sake, but necessary. Bonus: advertises the dragon thing.

Scanning the rest, some nicknames screamed familiar hunters. Sword God Choi Hyun-seok, Korea's hunter star. And below...

"Ice Princess? No clue who, but confident name."

At the hologram's end: 'Claim rewards & exit' button. Hitting it would've gotten me out fast, but ditching without a word to my battle buddies felt off. They'd hardly treat their savior bad.

Yeah. I saved this village. Worship me!

A tad smug, I landed in the village. Oops—poor speed control, big thud and dust cloud.

Dust cleared, people gathered around.

"Ooooh...!"

Seemed like intense reactions incoming, so I quickly released Polymorph. Dragon in the village center? Scary, yeah. I'd freak too.

But they misinterpreted my courtesy—post-release, they crowded closer.

"Name! What's your name?"

"Whoa! So cute!"

"Over here! Look this way!"

Good thing: they kept a respectful distance.

As I answered questions, knights pushed through the crowd. At center: elderly man in old robes, probably the village chief.

"You're that... dragon?"

Simple question. I planned a quick greeting and dip, so simple answer—then he grabbed my hand.

"How can we repay this grace..."

"Nah, your help made it easy."

"Nonsense. Never seen a goblin raid this bad in my life. Without you, we'd be goners. Please, let us reward you."

Eh? Rewards beyond tower clear? Clears usually auto-issued on exit. Weird.

But free stuff? No refusing.

Worried it'd drag, but chief had a knight hand over a cloth-wrapped sword. Looked old, pretty plain. Standard knight fare.

"This sword's been in our village for ages."

"No, I can't take..."

Rude thought, but polite acceptance. Hoped for epic loot, but hey, something's something.

"Just our thanks—take it. Traveler, eh? When do you leave? Stay, we'll host you."

"Gotta head back soon. Can't linger."

Eyeing the shrinking hologram timer, knights and chief nodded like they'd heard a tale of woe.

"I see. Peace be with you."

"Thanks."

Light swallowed my vision.

Yoon Seol-ah was rolling around on Lee Ha-neul's bed as a post-work treat. Nothing beat lounging after clocking out.

Ha-neul got back, it'd be grabby-boob punishment and hour-long tail fondle. No reason needed.

Thinking that, door lock beeped—door opened.

"Huh, what. Seol-ah here?"

"Eh? What's with the huge box?"

Ha-neul huffed and puffed, hauling a box way too big for her frame.

Didn't she hit the White Tower today? Seol-ah wasn't a hunter, never entered one, but knew the structure well. Maybe Ha-neul oppa went bold on difficulty? Nah, dismissed it. Even tough clears gave quality magistones at best.

'Picked it up outside maybe?'

Imagined Ha-neul getting gifts from nearby hunters and Association staff. Who could resist such cuteness wandering the building? Even Seol-ah would've shoved something her way. Terrifying adorableness.

"...She really should've been an idol."

"Say that again and tail-whip incoming."

Seol-ah squinted eyes shut and continued.

"Idol would've been pe—"

Then mega tail punishment commenced.