Time Attack! The Brutal 26th Floor Grind
Time attack! The next day, I dove back into the 26th floor.
Just like yesterday, I planned to sweep through the orcs, grab items, sell them, and repeat.
There it is... my daily bread.
I spotted a group of about five orcs clustered together and was about to charge in just like before. But then I noticed something different about the group and held back.
Named...?
Yeah, it was definitely bulkier than the other orcs. And the gun it carried wasn't a rifle—it looked more like a shotgun.
"Found you, human!"
Suddenly, that orc spotted me and reacted faster than any of the others, immediately activating Berserk. Its eyes turned blood-red.
Was it because the blood vessels in its eyes burst, dyeing the whites red? I'd heard that if they kept Berserk up too long, the heat from their blood would cook their eyeballs until they shriveled up.
Of course, most people would die long before it got to that point.
Close combat's too risky...!
The orc loaded shells into its shotgun and fired relentlessly without a care. It handled that ridiculously huge gun with perfect form, no recoil whatsoever. One shot hit my armor dead-on, sending the full impact straight through.
My bones are gonna shatter...!
If I'd been wearing my old armor, it would've punched right through and killed me. Fucking hurts... What kind of monster is this? And it keeps firing like that?
If I back off here, it'll turn me into Swiss cheese...!
I had to take it down, no matter what. Keeping my cool, I activated Sword Ghost's Eye.
Another barrage... And now the other orcs were calmly pulling their triggers at me too.
My elevated level had boosted my physical stats enough to track the incoming bullets' trajectories clearly. Dozens of rounds flew straight at me—but their spread was wide. On purpose? To box me in so I couldn't dodge?
Makes it easier to weave through, though.
This firing pattern was actually simpler to evade. My small frame slipped perfectly between the bullets. If I'd been any bigger, a few might've grazed me—but I wasn't.
"Dodged them all...!"
One orc gaped in shock at the sight, and I rammed my blade into its open mouth.
"Don't just stand there like idiots—fight! You greenhorn shits!"
The sergeant's roar seemed to ignite courage in the others. The orcs that were about to get sliced started Berserking and rushed into melee.
"Mother of the Great Plains! Grant me strength!"
My usual method against orcs was to close in fast before they could Berserk and carve them up with Sun Blade. This was a huge problem. Goddamn it!
"I'll crush your skull, you runt!"
Whoosh—!
A 2-meter fist came hurtling through the air. I thrust my blade right into it and sliced. But it used its own body as cover, and another orc stabbed at me with its bayonet.
"Ngh...!" "Felt that! Push!"
The bayonet got stopped by my armor, of course. But the shock rippled right through to my insides.
I slashed it down, then took a solid hit from another orc swinging its rifle like a club. Fuck... My vision shook. Even so, my hand moved on instinct to stab it dead—but one was left.
"I'll strangle you, you half-pint."
The sergeant reached out with its thick hand, grabbed my arm, and swung me into the air. It slammed me down like a wet rag. Another massive shockwave hit.
You fucking bastard!
Was it going for the throat like it said? It reached again, but my helmet blocked it. So it switched to its gun.
"You fucking... bastard!"
Desperately, I grabbed the bayonet the orc had dropped and swung at it. I was a few dozen centimeters short—but it didn't matter. Sun Blade extended my reach. It carved into the bastard like pudding.
"Hah... hah..."
This was brutally tough!
Good EXP from the named, but this was insane. I used my Return Stone right away. I'd dragged it out too long—reinforcements would swarm soon.
Bad luck this time. Running into a named...
Won't happen next time. For real...
"Zero gains, huh? Why the death glare."
"..."
Contrary to Hyunwoo's optimistic expectations, reality was harsh.
He'd hit orc groups over and over—but kept running into squads with nameds. Some even had two or three. In those cases, he turned tail and used his Return Stone without looking back.
Just racking up losses!
At least he was leveling... But now he might have to push to the 26th floor properly. Problem was, he couldn't solo it.
Recruit a party now?
Hyunwoo hated to waste the investment he'd already sunk in. Once sunk cost fallacy kicks in, people turn ugly fast. He was no different. After that one big payday, he couldn't quit easy.
"Gotta grind levels bit by bit and hit the 27th!"
He declared it boldly, and Ryu Ga-eul snorted in disbelief.
"That'll take your whole life. Still LV.28, right? From 29, EXP requirements skyrocket, y'know."
"Uh... then what do I do?"
All players get powerful traits at LV.30. So Babel's constellations deliberately made this stretch a slog.
"What else? Grind your ass off. Pay for EXP like you have been. Or sink a ton of time."
"..."
"Hyunwoo. Grinding like this is fine, but... hmm... You know you gotta pay back the money, right?"
Park Hyunwoo couldn't answer easily. He hemmed and hawed, then spoke up.
"I'll pay it back soon!"
"'Soon'...? How many times have I heard that?"
"Hey, there's still three weeks left! You think I can't?"
Ryu Ga-eul felt a swell of pride at her feisty disciple. That defiance still stirred her lust.
"Yeah, yeah... Got it. See you in three weeks."
He didn't catch the implication, but instinct told him time was short.
It's fine. With good luck, I'll rake it in quick.
The next day, Hyunwoo slogged through 26th floor farming. Unlike before, named orcs dropped pricier rifles—decent profits. Though fewer kills meant less than day one.
"Hmm~ Keep this up, and it'll add up, right? Chin up."
The day after, he clashed with a squad of three nameds. An hour-long fight to barely win.
Can rest a day now?
Meager gains, but exhaustion demanded a full night's sleep.
Now I can handle one or two no sweat?
From that, Hyunwoo mastered taking down bigger foes.
Don't meet head-on—deflect at odd angles. Let it flow!
Orc melee became manageable. Three days later, his hunt speed accelerated.
"Hyunwoo-ya. Sis is gonna stock up a ton of pussy juice? Gonna squirt it all in our cute Hyunwoo's mouth."
Ryu Ga-eul mocked him anyway. To her, raking in that much cash was impossible.
"Won't happen. Deposited 5 mil."
"Oh...?"
"That covers the collateral. Two weeks left... To pay 11 mil, just 550k a day."
Days of millions in profit. A brief trial, but no plan disruption...
That's what Hyunwoo thought—until the level up.
Huh? No gun drop?
Babel's constellations don't want their champions stagnating. Especially dopamine junkie Odin.
No, two weeks left... A bit more...
Ruin barreled toward Hyunwoo.
Gonna paint his face with pussy juice first.
Ryu Ga-eul smirked at her disciple's retreating back...