Hard Mode Floor 2!

I started with a friendly hello.

Somehow, this felt less like a school group chat and more like a game guild's group DM.

On top of that—

"Hmm, IcePrincess is giving off this weirdly Mom-like vibe…!"

That busybody energy. With her type, the key was to keep feeding her just enough attention.

So once the greetings were done, I spent a good while chatting and explaining my current situation in more detail than strictly necessary.

"This bastard?"

Even with this body of mine being a woman's, Zippy reeked of that slimy women-only-subber energy.

Trading words with the seniors—and that women-only-subber—I picked up all kinds of Hard Mode tips.

Three days later.

I took my time prepping as well, diligently popping in and out of Floor 1. Even when no trolls showed up, the magic stones kept getting cashed out steadily.

"Heh heh. Beef every single day…"

I splurged on the expensive protein supplements and lived a thoroughly happy life.

In the meantime, I also borrowed a recording artifact from the Association, and Yeongjae's dual-employment approval went through without a hitch.

On top of that—

My section chief. My team leader. My juniors and the Hard Mode seniors. Plus my parents, my little sibling, hometown friends, and every acquaintance I could think of—I had them all subscribe to the brand-new channel first.

Thanks to that, even before any proper NewTuber activity, I'd already hit a third of the follower recruitment goal!

"Alright—time to go!?"

At last: Hard Mode Floor 2. Current time, 10 a.m. Every last preparation was done.

"Perfect."

I laid a hand on the watch at my wrist and, without hesitation, selected entry to Hard Mode Floor 2.

Light flashed. My vision shifted, and an unfamiliar space took shape.

A King, huh… Lucky!

Time to really loosen up!

First, I activated the artifact I'd brought along. One of the Association staff had personally set everything up for me, so all I had to do was press a single use key and it would start on its own. One button, and recording was good to go.

The AI inside the artifact began scanning the surroundings on its own, judging the best angles to film me.

"Whoa, you really can't see this thing."

Camouflage magic and protective magic, they'd said—tough, and hard to notice. If you weren't paying attention, you wouldn't even detect it. A soft low-noise fan hum brushed past my ear, the only proof it was filming me at all.

I kind of wanted to throw out a greeting for the camera, but Yeongjae had said to check the footage first and then settle on a trademark bit. So for now I just loosened up and surveyed the area.

No particular presence nearby. Just as the seniors had said, Floor 2's climbing condition seemed to be a one-on-one subjugation.

It varied by Climber, but the boss you usually faced on Floor 2 was a White Wolf King if it was a Ruler type, or an ogre if it was a King type. IcePrincess-noona in particular had told me that if it was an ogre, I should turn around and bolt from the Tower without looking back.

"Like I'd quit just because of that…!"

If anything, I preferred the ogre coming at me.

"Wolves just make me think of Ttori from Grandma's place. Hard to hit those."

A country Jindo dog looked a bit like a wolf at a glance, after all.

I was pacing the area when a massive presence registered.

Thoom. Thoom.

An ogre was approaching, snuffling the air around it. The sound drew steadily closer.

"Yikes, that thing looks vicious."

Two enormous arms, and a hammer so big a human would struggle just to lift it.

"What is with these guys? Why do they always carry tools around? Floor 1 was the same, and now Floor 2 too?"

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

Going bare-handed was starting to feel unfair. Maybe I ought to start carrying something myself.

"Whoa, it's got horns on its head too?"

A face crowned with massive horns. Ugly enough to make a troll look like a fairy, and about one and a half times the size.

"Damn, up close those thighs are the size of washbasins…?"

While I was still assessing it, the thing stopped snuffling at the air and locked its gaze on me.

"GRAAAAH!"

True to a creature famous as a man-eater, the moment it saw me it started drooling and charged with savage intent.

"Hey! Let's take it a little slower!"

I met the rush with Heavenly Demon Descent right away. And yet it kept coming, enduring the absolute pressure this body unleashed.

"Oh-ho, look at this guy."

I liked that toughness.

"Grrrk!!!"

"Our ugly ogre is really mad, huh!"

I cut Heavenly Demon Descent, slipped past the swinging arm, and drove into its guard, hammering a fist wreathed in protective aura into it.

It was a punch strong enough to punch through steel—and yet.

Pwoom.

"What? You tanked that?"

The hit had landed, but the shock was smaller than expected. The muscles packed tight inside that frame, true to its appearance, seemed to have dispersed the impact.

"Man, this punching bag's hide is way too tough."

But I wasn't worried. If that thing was a King, this body was the predator that ate Kings for breakfast.

The moment I decided I'd done enough feeling-out, the ogre's eyes started to gleam a bloody red. Then it began thrashing that giant hammer around wildly.

Whoom, whoom—

Fierce wind tore through the space the hammer passed, whipping my hair.

But—

"Slow. Too slow!"

I stepped through flashy footwork, slipped into the ogre's blind spots, and struck its vital points. Wherever I landed, the flesh swelled red at once. Next I focused on thinner-skinned spots and the joints. A knee-kick from this body into its knee joint wrenched a scream from the ogre.

"How's that? Stings, right!"

In the end, under this body's assault, the thing dropped its tail—groaning as it sank to the ground.

"Tsk. Is that all?"

For Floor 2, it wasn't all that different from Floor 1. I let a little disappointment show, and maybe it thought I was calling it trash—because suddenly the thing started blasting mana from its entire body.

"What is this, a game? There's a phase two?"

I'd been getting bored with how little it differed from Floor 1. I crossed my arms and settled in to watch whatever it was about to pull.

"Krrrr…"

The rampage ended, and the mana settled. Then, all at once, it started moving with a speed that didn't match that massive frame—an entirely different class of wind-cutting sound.

Wham!

The hammer didn't even land cleanly, but the wind pressure alone from a grazing pass at my side shoved my body back.

"Hup! You little—?"

Grazing me was one thing; keeping up with this body's lightfoot technique was another. I kept landing solid hits in between, but ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠whether it was riled up or simply not taking real damage, it charged on just fine.

"Tch… Fine. I'm going all out too."

I closed on the rampaging ogre, blasted Magi from my chest in a sudden burst, and sent it flying. Watching it sail through the air, I immediately poured Magi from my own body in the same way—using what had only ever been a support resource as pure amplification.

The vast Magi I'd been holding down surged outward in a tyrannical wave, crushing the space around me. Sensing the danger in that aura, the thing snapped into a stance, leapt, and brought its raised hammer down hard.

"Let's do this!"

In midair, our attacks crossed.

KRAAAAANG!

A tremendous sonic boom. The clashing strikes kicked up overwhelming pressure and set the air itself trembling.

This is fun…!

The pure thrill of throwing my whole body into it! Because I'd deliberately stood my ground instead of dodging, the ogre's hammer had already crumbled to dust—and now it was a pure, direct brawl.

Speed: I held an overwhelming edge. Power: unfortunately, it still had a slight lead. But power that couldn't land meant nothing. The accumulating count of violence started to pull apart.

In the end, the ogre was the first to drop to its knees.

"Grrrr…!!!"

Even with its bones caved in under the storm of my fists, the light in its eyes still refused to die. And that light moved me.

"Hahaha—I acknowledge you as a King!"

As the Heavenly Demon, I couldn't help laughing. Not because it was strong. I was simply impressed by the spirit that never gave up to the end.

Ending it like this felt a little wasteful—but it had entertained me, so the proper courtesy for something called a King was to send it off in a single moment.

I gathered Magi in my hand and pointed a finger at the forehead of the thing still growling to the last.

"It's over."

Tap—

My fingertip tapped its brow. In that instant, the Magi I'd already driven into its body like wedges over and over erupted all at once. And then the ogre's corpse blew apart as if a bomb had gone off inside it.

Looking down at the remains, I said:

"That's the Heavenly Demon Chain Burst I just invented. How's it taste?"

It was a technique I'd improvised on the spot with Internal Weighting Method, inspired by the ogre's adorable toughness, so it was still pretty rough. Which is why the corpse had been blasted in every direction.

I was smiling with satisfaction at the sight—when my mind snapped wide awake.

Oh, shit…

We were filming…!

Guts and flesh and brain matter hung grotesquely in every direction. That entire gory tableau had been ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠captured on camera in full. Completely unsuitable as video content. And as if to confirm there was no rewinding this, the message that I'd successfully climbed appeared.

"Ugh. This is ruined…"

None of those rewards even registered. All I could see clearly was my future of getting chewed out by Yeongjae. After he'd warned me so carefully, I'd swaggered around so confident—and it had all turned into empty bluster.

"Haaah…"

Amid the ruined field, I hung my head and could only sigh.