The Second Boss Layer

A week had passed since then.

“Haaam~.”

I stretched lazily, yawning wide as morning sunlight sliced through the curtains.

I rolled out of bed, scratched my stomach, and shuffled to the refrigerator. Inside, the side dishes my sister had packed for me were stacked in perfect, orderly rows.

I pulled some out, microwaved a pack of instant rice, and made myself a simple breakfast.

After brushing my teeth and stepping outside, a breathtaking sight unfolded before me in an instant.

“The morning view never gets old. It’s not quite as spectacular as at night, though.”

The shimmering iridescence spread across the Han River like a carpet of light, while the skyscrapers beyond stabbed into the sky. Just drinking in the scene filled my chest with a mysterious, swelling emotion.

Seeing it from atop this old rooftop unit wasn’t bad at all.

I’d only started living in this hillside neighborhood’s rooftop room about five days ago.

I’d asked the friendly real estate agent if he knew any cheap places with an incredible night view, and he’d recommended this one. That very night, after tasting the beer I drank here, I signed the monthly lease on the spot.

Any place where I could stretch out my legs was good enough for sleeping, so a rooftop room was no problem.

As for the rest of the money? My sister and I paid off the debts she’d accumulated from banks and acquaintances to cover our living expenses. What remained was being saved to build a house in Grandfather’s hometown so we could all live together.

Construction had already begun. Besides the house itself, we planned to buy fields and agricultural equipment like a tractor.

Once the house is finished, I should buy a vacation villa too. Separate ones for winter and summer would be nice. And a yacht—if we could swing it.

No matter how much money you had, it was never enough.

Fortunately, by climbing one floor a day at a steady pace, I had managed to save quite a lot. Even after setting aside what I absolutely needed to spend, I still had around a billion won in liquid assets.

Maybe it’s time I started acquiring proper gear?

I ran up the steep stairs of the hillside neighborhood as training while pondering equipment choices.

There was no immediate issue with going without, but considering the future, the difference between having high-quality gear and not having it was substantial.

Wasn’t I already reaping clear benefits from the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Epic ring I’d obtained on the tenth floor—the Tricolor Jewel Ring of the Small Goblin King?

Of course, items of that caliber were one thing, but even Unique-grade equipment commanded absurd prices. A billion won wouldn’t get me anything truly exceptional.

That was exactly why people risked their lives trying to join large guilds that provided full support for such high-end gear.

Lost in thought while running, I soon reached the neighborhood mineral spring.

It used to be packed with elderly people at all hours, but now, thanks to poor security and inadequate medical facilities, nearly everyone had left. No matter when you visited, you’d be hard-pressed to find another soul.

That was another reason I had chosen this neighborhood.

“Cradle of the Dead. Goblius.”

“Are you prepared, my Lord?”

“Then I’ll be counting on you today as well, Master!”

Clang! Clang-clang-clang!!

From early morning, the mineral spring rang with the relentless, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠resounding clash of steel as Goblius and I crossed blades.

In truth, it was me challenging him while he taught me swordsmanship, and the training proved immensely helpful.

The only thing the White Dragon Guild had taught me was basic swordplay. To someone like me, Goblius—who had mastered Imperial Swordsmanship, the supreme sword art of another world—was the ideal instructor.

That was why, during training, I treated Goblius with utmost respect as my master and devoted myself to honing Imperial Swordsmanship.

“The more arduous the trial, the more keenly you must guard the height of your waist, my Lord. If your waist floats upward, power will not flow into your strikes. Never forget that while the essence of Imperial Swordsmanship lies in dynamic forms that capture the shapes of nature, its foundation begins in stillness.”

“Yes, Master!”

Best of all, the wide-open mineral spring made for a perfect private training ground, as if I had rented it out for free. In central Seoul, securing such a space was either extremely difficult, ridiculously expensive, or required impossible reservations.

After finishing morning training, I took a quick shower and headed to the Tower for work.

“Good morning, Humin.”

Sowon greeted me warmly, and I returned the gesture.

“Good morning. Ready to go?”

“Of course.”

Today was the day we would challenge the twentieth floor.

We set off into the Tower to conquer the second boss layer.

“Cradle of the Dead.”

Black mist swirled as my loyal goblin minions materialized.

“Goblius, your top priority is protecting Sowon.”

“Your command is my honor, my Lord.”

“Sowon, stay right behind me at all times.”

“Yes! Don’t worry.”

We left the safe zone and began to move.

The twentieth floor’s objective was to hunt the Nightmare of the Sewers—Contaminated Slim. To do that, two prerequisites had to be met first.

The first was obtaining keys to enter the chamber where the contaminated slime was sealed.

There were three keys in total. Defeating the red, blue, and white Tyrant Rats would guarantee a drop of each respective key.

The problem was that the creatures didn’t stay in fixed territories. They constantly roamed this vast, maze-like sewer system.

As a result, even after challenging the floor multiple times, most parties ended up exhausted from searching for the rats without ever finding the boss, forced to leave without even catching a glimpse of it.

“Incoming!”

The moment we left the safe zone, monsters poured in as if they had been waiting.

It was like a sewer monster reunion. Every type of creature we had hunted in previous sewer floors appeared all at once.

“Inferno’s Radiance!”

Flames roared. My body ignited with sacred fire, incinerating every sewer dweller that drew near.

The problem was that the skill’s effect turned me into the ultimate wide-area taunt. The monsters ignored my goblin warriors’ provocations and swarmed ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠solely to kill me.

“Warriors, fall back and block the ones coming from behind! Swordsmen and assassins, support the warriors!”

While Inferno’s Radiance was active, I served as the highest-level area provocation, so there was no need for warriors to stay near me.

It was far better to have them draw aggro from the rear and hold the line.

I couldn’t deactivate the skill, either. The moment I did, I would lose any means of dealing with the horde surging from the front.

Whoosh!

The sewer dwellers were numerous but physically weak.

Even so, unlike the residents I had encountered on the twelfth floor, these only burned to death after getting much closer. If the weakest sewer dwellers were this tough, how strong were the others?

This was a boss floor, after all.

Even monsters of the same species as those below received the boss floor bonus, dramatically increasing their stats.

That was why they stubbornly advanced through the flames to attack me.

A Ratro’s rusty sword dropped toward my head. An Alligator Warrior’s crescent blade sliced horizontally toward my neck—attacks so fast and powerful that an ordinary priest would have died without being able to react.

But—

Slice! Slash!

What was severed wasn’t my head, but the heads of the Ratro and Alligator Warrior.

Having become Nyx’s Chaos Knight, my Strength, Stamina, Agility, and Intelligence had all been integrated into Chaos Energy thanks to the passive effect.

My current Chaos Energy level was 25.

With the Tricolor Jewel Ring of the Small Goblin King’s option of +3 to stat skill levels, it was effectively 28.

In other words, it was no different from having raised four main stats to level 28 each.

That number was absurd.

I was only level 30. A stat skill level of 28 at this stage was something only achievable by Swordsmen, Warriors, Archers, or Mages who had nearly abandoned all other skills to pour everything into their primary stat.

To me, the movements of the enhanced Ratro and Alligator Warrior were crystal clear.

Dodging their attacks and countering by taking their heads was child’s play.

Moreover, even though they avoided instant death, Inferno’s Radiance continued dealing burning damage. The moment their weapons touched me, their necks were severed and they died instantly.

I never grew tired no matter how much I moved. I could sense every enemy’s movements and attacks surrounding me with all five senses. With a single slash, I could bisect a monster’s waist as thick as a log.

“My Lord!”

At Goblius’s urgent call, I glanced rearward and immediately cast my next skill.

“Night Crows!”

The problem was the sheer number of sewer dwellers.

I had calm, effective ways to handle other monsters and could actually do so. But the dwellers that simply overwhelmed with numbers were a different story.

Boom—boom—boom—boooom!!

The Night Crows instantly annihilated the dwellers swarming my goblin warriors.

Since the explosion dealt no damage to my Minions of the Underworld, it was a viable tactic. The problem was that even if the minions took no damage, the sewer itself did.

Rumble rumble rumble…!

“The sewer is collapsing!”

“Let’s move! Follow me!”

I took the lead and moved with the goblin swordsmen.

While Inferno’s Radiance handled the dwellers and the goblin swordsmen dealt with the ones that endured, we changed sectors and avoided the falling debris.

Although we had evacuated safely, my expression remained dissatisfied.

This wasn’t a fight that would end simply by holding out.

“How are we supposed to find the ones carrying the keys?!”

Sowon accurately pointed out the core issue, and I answered carefully.

“The best method would be to split up the poison dart soldiers—who excel at scouting and searching—to locate the keys. But that won’t be easy. If nothing else, the current goblins are overwhelmed just dealing with the sewer dwellers.”

The warriors could endure being swarmed thanks to their defense, but the others—especially the low-stamina assassins and poison dart soldiers—would eventually fall no matter how hard they tried to hold on.

“The next best option is to advance slowly with the poison dart soldiers at the front, searching one by one. It will take a long time, but it’s far safer than splitting up to search.”

However, using that method could take not just hours but days.

In fact, even the world’s previous raid parties that had cleared the twentieth floor had taken at least a week at best, and up to a month in the worst cases, before miraculously succeeding.

That was why lower-ranked hunters often chose to ride along with so-called “carried raids,” clearing the floor the easy way before moving on.

The twentieth floor was simply too difficult to clear through standard methods.

“I understand. If we conserve our food, a week’s worth should be enough. We’ll hold out as long as we can. I packed plenty of emergency rations in my backpack just in case.”

Even in this situation, the smile she gave me while offering encouragement was a tremendous help.

“Alright. Let’s do this.”

With that answer, I advanced through the sewers slowly and without impatience.

It certainly took a long time, but I moved while preserving my forces as much as possible, following the poison dart soldiers’ guidance.

Even so, I refused to abandon one particular hope.

I didn’t want to give Sowon false hope, so I didn’t mention it, but if only those creatures would appear…

They were unique monsters that only spawned on the twentieth floor. There was no guarantee they would appear, and even if they did, there was no guarantee we would encounter them.

But if, by some miracle, we could meet them…

No, I shouldn’t get my hopes up. The higher the expectation, the greater the disappointment. I’m doing well enough right now. Don’t get impatient. Just breathe…

Shiver!

At that moment.

Clang!

The instant I twisted my body at the eerie sensation and swung my sword, a black cone as tall as I was suddenly shot up from the spot where I had been standing.

If I had failed to react, I would have been skewered and become their next meal.

It had been an incredibly dangerous moment, yet the corners of my mouth…

It’s here!

…curled into a smile.