Artificial Intelligence (1)
At thirty-two years old this year, Lee Seo-ah was a former resident doctor turned LV.60 player whose livelihood came from contract killings. She was a sadist.
To be precise, she preferred inflicting mental pain over physical torment.
She loved hurting people so much that she'd chosen to become a specialist.
"I see... So even four LV.40s couldn't take down the Sword Saint."
"Fortunately, they managed to save their lives."
Lee Seo-ah responded coldly to her subordinate's report, her expression unchanging.
"Understood. Dispose of them."
"Pardon...? Yes, ma'am."
The subordinate swallowed his bewilderment inwardly. Hadn't those four been lured into the mission by Lee Seo-ah herself?
"They say useless dogs get boiled for stew, right? These ones aren't even good for that, so I'll chop them up small and use them as fertilizer."
"Understood..."
"Anyway, about this Sword Saint. Hmm, I did some digging, and it turns out she has a disciple now?"
He had indeed heard rumors recently that the Sword Saint had taken on a small-statured man as her disciple.
But was that relevant? Their target was solely the Sword Saint. No need to prioritize anyone else.
"Imagine if word got out that the Sword Saint's packing a dildo. That'd be pretty entertaining, don't you think?"
"Ma'am, that would cause a huge mess."
"Oh, of course. No media outlet would dare touch the Sword Saint."
Before Babel's emergence, even the richest or most famous could get torn apart by public backlash if they slipped up.
But that vanished once players appeared.
After all, insulting someone who carried undetectable weapons 24/7 took more than average guts.
"We'll pull back and observe for now."
"What should I tell the knight order?"
"Just say to wait a little longer. She's not the type to come charging at us anyway."
Her subordinate felt a chill from those unblinking eyes.
What the hell? They're like boiled fish eyes—they don't even blink.
Lee Seo-ah never showed emotion, unnerving everyone who met her gaze. It was a habit from her sadistic days.
She'd relished delivering death sentences to terminal patients without a flicker of expression.
And in doing so, she'd lost her ability to emote. Forever.
Goddamn psycho bitch...
No one liked Lee Seo-ah. Not even her subordinates.
Considering she was a healer treated like nobility in her party, it showed just how openly despised she was.
Once this job's done, I'm out. For real... Can't deal with this pervert who gets off on tormenting people anymore.
The subordinate meant every word.
Floor 21: Mechanical Ruins
You cannot leave until the boss is defeated.
Stepping onto the 20th floor revealed a crumbling city in ruins. Acrid smoke hung in the air... Amid the debris, robots with exposed metal skeletons lurked.
Furious at humans who haven't paid their subscription fees for 2,000 years.
Proceed with caution!
As the description warned, these were monsters to handle carefully.
The AI-equipped robots wielded guns or swords on their arms, looking plenty dangerous.
Is this why so many die on the 20th floor?
The 20th floor's nickname was the Player's Graveyard.
Not just because of the sheer numbers, but their relentless barrage of powerful firearms overwhelmed most in firepower.
One robot lunged forward with explosive speed. According to Babel's lore, they prioritized headshots on intruders.
Then dealing with them is straightforward.
Predictable attack paths were easy to block. He parried the robot's sword lightly, then severed its neck in return.
These bots had cores in their heads, like humans. Crush the head, or they wouldn't die.
The robots chattered nonsense as they aimed their guns. Time for a bullet storm.
A high-level player could dodge effortlessly, but at LV.24, evasion was iffy. So he read their aim and predicted.
Scrap metal's as simple as expected.
Each shot packed danger, but their straightforward patterns made dodging feasible. He evaded by a hair, closed in, and swung once—Solar Blade sliced three bodies at once.
Trait 1: After 4 attacks, Double Slash activates guaranteed.
Trait 2:Hunter's Gaze—detect enemy weaknesses.
No need to deliberate. He chose Trait 1.
Each trait selection makes me insanely stronger.
Now he understood why rankings solidified every 5 levels. A good trait could more than double your power.
"What the hell's with that bullshit?!"
Fresh fodder swarmed in—perfect for testing the new trait. He dove right in.
It performed flawlessly. Solar Blade already inflicted lethal wounds per strike; now it doubled up.
Destruction
It took mere minutes to clear the horde of AI robots. Refreshing... One step closer to Master.
Floor 21 cleared!
One item dropped—automatically awarded.
◈ Smartphone from a long-lost ancient civilization.
◈ Enables internet access even in Babel.
◈ Self-burden these days.
Who drops something like this? Babel generally banned electronics.
Players used rare items like this for contact, and demand was sky-high.
This'll fetch a nice price for sure.
He'd test it first before selling.
Speaking of which, didn't they say I blew up online?
Not that he cared much, but curiosity struck. He powered on the phone and searched his name.
Searching on a specific site pulled up posts immediately.
Are all these people talking about me?
A bit embarrassing... Strangers judging his path like this.
And every visible post was pure praise. Flustering.
He knew he had talent—people said it often—but this level?
Official account? Famous players apparently ran SNS profiles.
Hmm... Should he make one? These folks were basically fans. Opening a channel for chat seemed smart.
Decision made, he whipped up an ID. LV25ParkHyunwoo? Solid naming.
Maybe post a pic. Selfie mid-Babel climb? Weird, but whatever.
He snapped a face shot and uploaded. Caption:
That should do. Time to post pics occasionally.
Not much gained this floor, though...
At this rate, he'd end up sexually servicing Master for real.
With her personality, she might force him to post nudes on this account.
...That's going too far, right?
Master was a massive perv, but surely not that.
No way...