The Head Collector

Massive pink petals and a black tentacle protruding from the center. Having swallowed the head, the flower closed its petals and slowly digested its meal.

Although it only appeared from Floor 90 onward on Hard difficulty and was virtually unknown to the general public, I knew exactly what that creature was.

Its official designation was the Void Flower. Every monster appearing in the Tower had an official name designated by the System. However, in the field, people preferred intuitive, easy-to-understand names over formal ones that didn't immediately convey what the creature could do.

Awakened who climbed past Floor 90 on Hard difficulty called it something else: the "Head Collector."

A monster that snatched any living thing ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠entering its detection range at the speed of sound, devouring only the head. It was manageable if spotted from a distance, or if the Awakened possessed a high Sense stat.

But that thing is appearing on Floor 1?

This was Floor 1, and I hadn't even received a single clear reward yet. With all my stats hovering around 10—excluding Mana—reacting to such an attack was physically impossible.

No matter how powerful my SSS-rank regeneration was, I would have died instantly without my stealth skill. While surprise attacks after the collapse of a safe zone were not uncommon, an unavoidable strike like this had never been reported.

And someone actually cleared this?

Unless you were lucky enough to awaken a stealth ability like me, there was absolutely no way out.

Impossible... The name of the difficulty I had chosen weighed heavily on my mind once more.

How did the Transcendents survive this? Did they just get lucky with easier enemies? Or perhaps, contrary to popular belief, they had possessed immense power even before entering the Tower.

I wanted to open the community and ask them right away, but my current situation was far from safe.

*Rustle, rustle.* The bushes surrounding the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠clearing shook, and water bears the size of small dogs began to emerge.

They flooded the clearing in an instant. To avoid bumping into them, I quickly scaled a nearby tree, moving with practiced ease until I settled onto a thick branch.

Right. If there's a Head Collector, those bastards are bound to be here too.

The Head Collector was a unit of the apocalyptic monster faction known as the Void Devourers. The appearance of that disgusting pink flower was proof that this place had already been consumed by them.

Looking down from my high vantage point, I scanned the forest and spotted wild dog-like monsters the size of large hounds. They resembled stray dogs, but instead of fur, they were clad in thick, purple chitinous armor.

Void Grubs and Void Hounds... A textbook combination.

Void Grubs, which harvested resources to breed new soldiers, and Void Hounds, the hunting dogs used by the Void Devourers.

The Void Grubs gathered below, forming groups of ten to carry the corpses away. Like ants hauling a massive piece of food, they clung to the bodies and marched in unison.

My plan is already ruined, but the goal remains the same.

Wasn't my original plan to use the others as a meat shield to escape Floor 1 anyway? Just by identifying the types of enemies and their threat levels, the meat shield had served its purpose well enough.

The real question is whether there's a Detector around...

Most enemies, including the Head Collector, couldn't detect stealth. On Hard difficulty, enemies with stealth-detection capabilities didn't appear until Floor 30. But since a legion of Void Devourers had shown up on Floor 1, comparing this to Hard difficulty was utterly pointless.

After waiting a while, the Void Grubs finished securing their cargo and departed the clearing.

Where is the exit most likely to be?

The higher the difficulty, the more hostile the Tower became toward the Awakened. The exit would undoubtedly be in the most inaccessible, dangerous location. If so, the most likely spot was the Void Devourers' hatchery.

I stealthily trailed behind the Void Grubs, making sure not to make a sound.

After navigating through the forest for a long while, a towering hill came into view. Beneath it lay a gaping cave entrance.

Scanning my surroundings, I cautiously slipped inside the cave. Before me lay a massive, glowing green pool of unfathomable depth.

The Void Grubs tossed the corpses they had carried into the pool.

Are they not producing more troops?

I recalled the characteristics of the Void Devourers from the reports I'd read. If the Spawning Pool were active, there should have been eggs waiting to hatch. Yet, there was nothing inside the Spawning Pool except for the corpses that had just been thrown in.

Before long, the corpses dissolved into nothingness.

I scanned the rest of the hatchery. It was so vast that I couldn't take it all in at once. I wandered around the interior for a while, but the exit was nowhere to be found.

Was my guess wrong?

Disappointed, I searched every nook and cranny of the hatchery until a massive Void Hound caught my eye.

Unlike the others, which were the size of large dogs, this one boasted a colossal frame reminiscent of a tiger. Its paws were massive, tipped with razor-sharp claws.

Holy crap, there's an elite mob here too?

The hatchery's guardian stood up and began to prowl. Even if it was an elite, a Void Hound shouldn't possess detection capabilities. Still, on Impossible difficulty, there was no telling what variables might exist. Having searched everywhere I could, I slipped back out of the hatchery.

Where should I look next...?

Moving ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠away from the hatchery hill, I scanned the forest when a shimmering white portal caught my eye atop the hill. It had been cleverly hidden from the angle I had approached earlier. The exit was right there, on top of the hill housing the hatchery.

It wasn't inside, but on top?

The slope near the cave entrance was too steep to climb. I circled around to the back, where the incline was relatively gentle, and began my ascent.

I was about halfway up the hill when—*crumble.*

Gasp! The dirt beneath my feet gave way, revealing the Spawning Pool directly below. I barely managed to catch my balance and threw myself flat against the ground.

Looking around, I realized the hill was riddled with sinkholes, all cleverly concealed by the dense foliage.

Fortunately, trees grew along the hillside. I used them to navigate, swinging from branch to branch to approach the exit. The portal drew closer by the second. Clearing Floor 1, which had felt so distant, was now right before my eyes.

Once I escape, should I not even look at Floor 2? Actually, maybe this is surprisingly doable...

Perhaps the thrill of survival had clouded my judgment. The moment I leaped from the tree toward the exit, I spotted a dark silhouette lurking behind a tree right next to the portal.

*Thwack!* A heavy impact slammed into my abdomen, sending my body flying backward. The exit, which had been right in front of me, rapidly receded.

A searing, burning sensation surged up from my stomach. I could feel a warm liquid soaking my lower body.

"Ngh...!" An involuntary groan threatened to escape. I shoved my hand into my mouth to stifle the sound. My teeth ground together, drawing blood from my hand as I bit down hard.

"Ugh... huff... ah..." My vision flickered white, and a mixture of blood and saliva dripped from my lips onto the ground. But it was fine. I had endured this level of pain countless times before.

I searched for a status window message through my fading vision. There was no notification indicating that my stealth had been deactivated.

After a moment, the burning sensation in my abdomen subsided, and my vision focused. *Clatter.* The flesh regenerated by my skill pushed out the object that had impaled my stomach. A one-handed sword fell to the ground.

But now was not the time to worry about the weapon that had skewered me. I looked up and saw a figure standing by the escape portal in the distance.

It wore pitch-black plate armor that looked like it belonged to a medieval knight. However, where the visor should have been, a bizarre steel clown mask stared back at me.

Fuck, this is crossing the line.

I immediately recognized the enemy. The conditions for breaking stealth were making a loud noise or coming into direct contact with a living creature. Getting hit by a blind attack wouldn't deactivate it. Yet, the enemy standing over there was staring directly at me, even though I was still cloaked.

The nightmare of all rankers, and the very reason why the Rank 1 Empress and Rank 2 Captain had abandoned their conquest of Hard difficulty. The entity that randomly appeared from Floor 90 onward, utterly humiliating the arrogant rankers whose confidence pierced the heavens.

The Clown Knight.

Possessing martial prowess that completely overwhelmed rankers, it was infamous for never killing its prey. Instead, it would merely incapacitate them, leaving them barely alive. It was a monster that took sadistic pleasure in watching proud rankers crawl on the ground in despair, absolutely refusing to let anyone clear Floor 92.

The very reason why even I, who had completed the strategy guide for Floor 91, had given up on writing one for Floor 92. An enemy I had never forgotten since the moment I first heard of its existence now stood blocking my path.

This is fucking ridiculous!

Suppressing my rising fury, I picked up the one-handed sword and backed away from the exit. Fortunately, the Clown Knight didn't pursue me.

After confirming there were no Head Collectors or Void Hounds nearby, I opened the system window I had put off checking.

While the standard community forum couldn't be accessed outside of safe zones, the Transcendent Gallery remained active, refusing to disappear.

I saw various posts written by the Transcendents, but now was not the time to leisurely browse the forum. I immediately wrote a new post.

The moment I submitted the post, comments began pouring in.

I immediately described the Clown Knight's appearance.

No, I didn't ask you guys to sympathize with how strong the Clown Knight is!

I didn't need them to validate how tough the Clown Knight was. If they were Transcendents, surely they had a way to break through a situation like this? ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Unable to suppress my boiling emotions, I typed out a reply.

*Ding!*

Pulling my eyes away from the system window, I looked up at the sky. A giant, spherical eyeball was floating directly above my head.