Ambushed in the Hidden Floor
As soon as we entered Babel for the Chinese hunt, I was met with a bewildering message.
Hidden Floor Opened!
You must pass through the Hidden Floor to access Floor 70.
Nothing like this had ever been seen or heard of before. Babel didn't have hidden floors.
"Probably a trait, right?"
"A trait that directly affects Babel? Must be one hell of a high level."
This hidden floor was probably a trap. Entering it would be idiotic.
We didn't go in right away. Instead, I brought the one person I trusted most.
"Hi, hi. I'm Sword Saint Ryu Ga-eul. Stick behind me and you'll be fine."
"Ah, hello!"
"Of course you should say hi. Aren't you our cute little chick underclassmen?"
It was my master, of course. Lin Xueying had come along too.
With LV.92 and LV.89 players showing up, everyone looked tense as hell.
"Don't be nervous. They're both here to help us."
"Yeah…."
"Nah, you should be nervous. My level's at least 30 higher than yours."
"Master!"
"Sheesh, why get so touchy over a joke."
I smacked her on the back, scolding her. If she acted like this with me around, god knows what she'd do without me.
"Let's head into the hidden floor for now."
"Yes!"
Moments later, our group of seven stepped into Babel's hidden floor. Sure enough… it was packed with Chinese players.
"Well, if it isn't Ryu Ga-eul the Sword Saint. What a pleasant surprise."
"You know my name? You're asking to die."
"Of course I do. You're famous even in China. They say you handled that whole incident single-handedly?"
"That's exaggerated. I didn't do it alone."
The hidden floor was crawling with players. Easily 80 of them, way over the party limit.
Had to be the full force of the Golden Guild. No Korean guild had numbers like that.
"Did you get help from Babel's constellations?"
"Bingo! My constellation is the goddess of retribution, Nemesis. With her power, we secured this new floor. Pretty impressive space, huh?"
The leader of this massive player horde stepped forward with a smirk. LV.95.
Higher than even Master or Lin Xueying.
In a straight fight, he'd outmatch Master. That overwhelming level gap….
"You've leveled up a ton, huh? How many players did you farm in Babel for that?"
"Useless trash anyway. Better they died and gave EXP to me and my country."
Seemed like they'd butchered countless players to gain that power. Probably the same for his underlings in the back.
"Babel's rule changes have been great for us. This floor was originally for resting regardless of party size. But these last few days? It's our EXP farm."
Once word got out that PVP gave massive EXP, this setup became a goldmine.
"So you bitches are behind all the missing players in China lately? You're something else."
"Thanks for the compliment? Time to kill you now. Any last words?"
"Last words… Is this your guild's full force?"
The LV.95 player shrugged smugly.
"Got about 200 more. Called it quits early today. The boss handpicked the ones who handle torture best. Anyway, bye."
Even more than this? Small mercy: their strongest guy was gone.
Still, 80 players… tough to wipe them all.
"Average level's LV.50, and dozens of them."
"Hm."
"Plus they're geared with unique items. No clue on their traits."
"Hm…."
Master stroked her chin, eyeing the hidden floor. I fiddled with the return stone in my pocket, thinking of bailing right now.
Return stones cannot be used in the Hidden Floor!
Damn… they thought of everything. No escaping.
"You bitches! Arms, legs! I'm gonna chop 'em all off and boil you in an octagon pot, you fucking cunts!"
"That's disgustingly specific."
"Kill 'em all!"
They even had guns. Marksman players—insane firepower.
Rat-tat-tat-tat—flames erupted from the muzzles, unleashing thousands of lead bullets at us.
Just subsonic shrapnel. No one in our group was too slow to react.
We deflected the bullets with our weapons, forming up.
"Hm…."
But Lin Xueying and Master just tanked the barrage head-on, advancing.
Master had already summoned clones, wielding that insane item.
"You wanna die that bad?!"
"How many do we gotta kill to leave?"
"Probably ten or so. Saw a message saying we can't exit without clearing the hidden floor."
"And they can turn any floor hidden anytime."
So that's how they farmed players for levels. I'd be seeing this guy a lot.
Meaning a ton of headaches ahead.
"Let's bail for now."
Surprisingly, Master suggested retreating.
"Huh? Not wiping them?"
"Eighty of 'em. Even for your super talented, cute, and lethally charming master, that's impossible."
"First time hearing that from your own mouth. Hey."
Swoosh… Master raised the Derry City's Clown Hand she'd pulled out earlier high above her head. The sharp, elongated scythe whistled through the air.
"Whoa!"
"Fuck, that's fast as hell! What the fuuuuuck!"
Three or four players caught in the swing had their waists sliced clean. That epic item's effect: unleashes unblockable, resurrection-proof death AOE sword beams.
Cost: one broken finger per swing. Can't heal with potions or traits.
"Can't use this for long."
"Looks painful… you okay?"
"Yeah, no biggie."
Fractures heal naturally in ten minutes for players. Good that she'd sliced four already.
But still too many. Things weren't unchanged, though—the bullet storm paused.
"Bounce."
At Master's signal, our party fell back. Gotta kill a certain number to exit.
I couldn't just run.
So I charged forward. Amodius's Scythe equipped on my left hand. I swung it with all my might, severing their necks.
"Fight back, don't just stand there!"
Thanks to my Chinese lessons, I understood. These scum were prepping a counter.
Unlike Master, my skills were a notch below—I let a few counters through.
Blades pierced and tore flesh. Before blood could gush, the scythe absorbed it, healing wounds.
Split skin slowly mended. I never got used to the sensation.
My level ticked up too. LV.68 now. Empowered body swung the scythe, shredding two more. I yelled to Master.
"Run!"
After killing about a dozen, we escaped the hidden floor.
Am I gonna have to keep fighting these guys?
Leveling fast was nice, but exhausting. Real problem….
Back home, Master and I crashed on the bed with heavy sighs.
"Gotta shower… but I'm beat."
"Ha… same."
Master looked wrecked. Using the insta-kill three times had broken several fingers.
"Heehee… guess no sex with me tonight? Be good and just sleep."
"Still fine?"
"Fine my ass. Looks like it hurts like hell."
"Nope. We're fucking tonight."
Looks like it hurts like hell. Sex what….
"Don't push yourself?"
"Better in a few minutes. Burns calories, but… opportunity's knocking soon. Can't kick it away."
"Huh?"
Master stared right at me. Then whispered.
"It's the 30th today."
"Ah!"
I finally got what she meant.