The Strongest Hunter in History

Since I still had plenty of time left even after purchasing all my skills, I logged back into the Transcendent Gallery.

If I had the luxury of time, I would have gladly chatted with them. But right now, I was on the verge of challenging Floor 2. Rather than answering their questions, I decided to ask for what I needed most.

This was the strategy guide I had compiled back when I worked for the guild. Although it didn't detail exactly how to lure the monsters or how to defend the village—since every Awakened possessed vastly different abilities—it was always best to keep the basic strategy as a general framework.

I had hoped they would point out anything I missed or offer an even better strategy, but...

Why do these Transcendents know so little?

The information I had just explained was literally written in the international Tower strategy guide that even ordinary people could read. Of course, I was the author of that guide, but still. There weren't any highly classified, mind-blowing tactics in there.

Come to think of it, just because they had cleared Extreme difficulty didn't mean they had any reason to meticulously analyze the Tower floor by floor. In fact, once they cleared it, it was only natural for their interest to fade. As I was swallowing my disappointment, a new comment popped up.

The sword I had received from the Clown Knight had already melted away in the Spawning Pool. Besides, I wasn't skilled enough to use a sword as my primary weapon anyway. My swordsmanship was merely at the level of an ordinary person trying their best to learn self-defense.

Even back when I worked for the guild, there was never a situation where an unawakened person like me could contribute through raw force. Thus, I had yet to decide on a main weapon. I turned my gaze toward Poppy.

Even without activating the skills, I could vividly picture the results in my mind.

Chitinous Armor wraps my entire body in armor, while Sharp Claws covers one of my arms in chitin and sprouts blade-like claws from my hand.

High Leap would cover both of my legs in armor and boost my jumping power. I relayed the effects of my skills to the Forgotten Swordmaster.

The Transcendents, who had been suppressing their curiosity because of my impending Floor 2 challenge, could no longer hold back after hearing about my bizarre abilities. Since I had already gotten all the tips I needed for Floor 2 anyway, I explained what had happened to me.

According to their words, most Transcendents hadn't faced much difficulty in conquering the Tower. While the strong didn't always survive, those who had cleared Extreme difficulty were undeniably powerful.

The Tower was a classic case of the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer. One had to steadily accumulate points and secure bonus rewards from the very beginning to make the subsequent floors manageable. The weak who struggled on the lower floors never stood a chance of clearing Extreme difficulty.

In a way, I was similar to them, except I hadn't trained in mana. Wasn't I currently conquering Impossible difficulty using the strategy guides I had written beforehand based on the information left by the pioneers? When I voiced these thoughts, an unexpected response came back.

As I conversed with the Transcendents, the Forgotten Swordmaster returned.

I lightly moved my body according to the Forgotten Swordmaster's advice. Although I couldn't actually activate the skills due to their cooldowns, the subtle details he pointed out were immensely helpful to me, who had previously been swinging my arms blindly.

Ignoring her trivial question, I focused on practicing. Before long, the safe zone began to collapse, and Floor 2 of the Tower commenced.

I guess I can't just cheese this one...

At a glance, the forest of Floor 2 looked remarkably similar to Floor 1. However, no matter where I looked, there were no Headcollectors or Void Devourer legions. I had secretly hoped that the enemies on Floor 2 would also be Void Devourers so I could get an easy win, but unfortunately, things weren't going to be that simple.

I found a suitable spot, dug a pit, and created a Spawning Pool. Thanks to Poppy's help, digging a large pit was a breeze.

"Good boy, Poppy."

"Woof!"

After constructing the Spawning Pool, I used my remaining resources to produce ten Void Grubs. The Void Grubs that crawled out of the pool now possessed massive mouths. Unlike their previous round, straw-like mouths, they now had gaping maws like anglerfish, lined with razor-sharp teeth like piranhas.

Meanwhile, Poppy felled the surrounding trees and tossed them into the Spawning Pool.

Splash!

"Wait, stop for now."

The Spawning Pool's storage capacity filled up quickly, so I had to stop Poppy from cutting down more trees.

"I should probably build more Spawning Pools."

If I built too many Spawning Pools, it would be difficult to defend them with just Poppy if an enemy appeared. However, the rate of resource accumulation was simply too fast to ignore. Of course, this speed would drop once the trees right next to the pools were cleared, so I built five Spawning Pools at reasonable intervals.

Even while I was constructing the Spawning Pools, no other monsters appeared.

Hmm... in that case, should I just pump out workers first?

"Woof!"

Unless there were tons of enemies attacking the Spawning Pools, it was only natural to greedily hoard resources when there was no immediate threat.

I can't resist a greedy fast expand.

After setting the production queue of all five Spawning Pools to infinitely produce Void Grubs, I ordered Poppy to guard them. Although I couldn't control the Spawning Pools from a distance, I could use Poppy as a proxy to change the production units even from afar.

First, I spawned a single Void Hound and set off down the forest path. Now that the basic hatchery setup was complete, it was time to officially begin conquering Floor 2. The Void Hound produced from the Spawning Pool—let's call it Poppy No. 2—followed me while hiding in the underbrush.

After walking through the forest for a while, a small cabin came into view in the distance.

Poppy No. 2, move out!

I confirmed that my stealth was active and positioned myself behind a tree near the cabin.

If the villagers were too strong, clearing the floor would be too easy, so it was standard for them to grow weaker as the difficulty increased. Poppy No. 2's combat capability was high enough to easily tear apart most small monsters. I just needed to remain in stealth and spring out at the perfect moment.

"Woof! Woof!"

Poppy ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠No. 2 began to bark in front of the cabin.

Creak...

The wooden door of the cabin slowly swung open.

Thwip!

The sharp sound of slicing wind echoed through the forest.

"Yip! Urgh..."

An arrow flying through the air pierced Poppy No. 2 right between the eyes. Its brain pierced in an instant, Poppy No. 2 dropped dead on the spot.

The hunter's gaze locked onto the exact tree I was hiding behind.

The hunter stepped out of the cabin and began walking straight toward me.