The Second Floor

Information on the Hell ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠difficulty was almost nonexistent.

In a way, that made perfect sense.

The famous figures known to have come from Hell difficulty were mostly active as S-class Hunters.

There was no way those top-tier Hunters would casually spill valuable information.

Still, by cross-verifying interviews from various Hunters, I managed to learn one thing: starting from Hell difficulty, every Hunter received completely different strategies and stage contents.

In other words, searching for Hell difficulty strategies online was a complete waste of time.

And right now, that was even more true because one particular topic had completely taken over not just online communities but even the terrestrial news networks.

What was that topic, you ask…

No matter where I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠looked, the entire community was buzzing with stories about me.

I had expected some reaction after setting a new record for clearing the first floor, but I never imagined the response would be this explosive.

It felt strangely ticklish to have so many random people talking about me, but now wasn’t the time to dwell on that feeling.

I quickly got ready and left the house.

After cutting through the alley near my home, I arrived at a small church.

I stared at the old building that served as both an orphanage and a church, then confirmed the lights were on before stepping inside.

The sound of the Director’s sermon drifted from the chapel.

I held my breath and carefully opened the door, making sure not to make any noise.

The Director, who had been reading a passage from the Bible at the pulpit, spotted me and gave a small, gentle smile.

I sat in the very last row of chairs and waited until the service ended.

Once the sermon was over, the Director beckoned me and led me to the parlor.

“So, Yohan. Are you hurt anywhere?”

“No. It wasn’t anything special.”

“Still, you must always be careful.”

“I’m always careful. You know that. I’m the timid type, remember?”

I told the Director everything—from registering as a Hunter to what had happened inside the Tower.

As he listened, the Director looked surprised yet smiled with kind, proud eyes.

That warm gaze made me smile without realizing it.

“Is there anything I can help with today?”

“Not at all. You’ve been through a lot. Go home and rest properly today.”

I bowed deeply, then left the church as the Director had suggested.

The day after my monumental first climb dawned.

The world was still noisy with talk of ‘Yohan,’ but my daily life hadn’t changed.

Yohan wasn’t exactly a rare name.

Most people probably wouldn’t assume it was my real name anyway.

Since you could set a separate nickname, how many weirdos would actually use their real name?

Well, that was just my personal opinion.

Maybe someone had already figured out who I was.

Even so, what I had to do wouldn’t change.

I would climb the Tower.

It wasn’t what I had intended, but since I’d been dragged into Hell difficulty, I might as well give it my all.

“Yes.”

The moment I entered the Tower, what greeted me was a lone figure dressed in black, standing alone in a pure white waiting room.

She opened her eyes at the sound of my presence and looked at me.

Facing the Black Saintess, I asked in a low voice.

“How was it? What did it feel like to come back to life and spend an entire day?”

“…”

“There weren’t any abnormalities or anything, right? Oh, and I checked whether I could use the Dead Gallery outside the Tower… but I couldn’t.”

Using the Dead Gallery was restricted in reality.

It seemed the dead were beings bound to the Tower.

By the same logic, summoning the Black Saintess in the real world was impossible.

However, unlike the spirits, I could summon and control actual ‘corpses’ in reality as I pleased.

Last night I had pulled out a blood-soaked hobgoblin just to test it, and cleaning up afterward had been a nightmare.

After setting my fixed nickname and escaping from anonymous mode, I waved my hand across the gallery window.

It would have been nice to get information about the second floor of Hell difficulty.

But since it was different for everyone, there was nothing I could do.

I used my shadow to store the Black Saintess.

I scanned the system message and quickly surveyed my surroundings.

‘A shelter?’

Trembling children and an elderly person came into view.

Judging by the flickering dim lights, it seemed to be an enclosed space.

Judging from the destroyed traces around us, several battles had already taken place.

I approached the child who was glowing particularly brightly.

A girl with silver hair and striking red eyes that looked somehow familiar.

When I drew near, the girl slowly lifted her head and looked up at me.

“Why… why are you only coming now…! Our parents are already… already… hic!”

The girl poured out resentment and sorrow toward me.

Rumble—

A heavy tremor came from the ceiling.

The vibration gradually moved toward the shelter’s entrance.

Soon, a swarm of monsters began pouring into the shelter.

First, I summoned the five hobgoblin undead I had stored in my shadow.

I quickly ordered them to block the entrance, then focused my mind and summoned the Black Saintess.

The summoned Black Saintess looked at the sobbing girl beside me and, for the first time, showed a visibly flustered expression.

She bit her lip, turned her head sharply, and began reciting a prayer.

“If it had been me… if I had been given that kind of power… I could have saved everyone… If only it had been me instead of you…”

The girl’s muttering reached my ears, but my attention was entirely focused on the entrance.

‘What the hell are those?’

Indescribable monsters.

I could tell they were ‘orcs’ or ‘goblins.’

But I had no idea what those things clinging all over their bodies were.

They looked like someone had plucked pieces of the night sky and turned them into living creatures.

Because of those things, my hobgoblin undead weren’t properly obeying my commands.

It felt like another version of myself was fighting me for control.

I concentrated hard to keep from losing control of the hobgoblin undead and shouted loudly.

“If you know anything, tell me!”

“They’re Life Eaters. Simply put, they’re parasitic organisms from outer space.”

“Throwing sci-fi at me all of a sudden is a bit much!”

“…They parasitize living beings, seize control of their bodies, and mutate them. Anything that touches them becomes a Life Eater.”

The Black Saintess frowned as she spoke.

The black curtain sealing the entrance shook violently.

Behind that black curtain, the five hobgoblin undead who had dealt with the isolated Life Eaters were desperately holding back the invasion with all their strength.

But it was only buying time.

The hobgoblin undead infected by the Life Eaters during battle would eventually open the entrance themselves.

“How long can you hold them?”

“…Not for long. Those things don’t really have senses.”

They had no senses, so they were almost immune to the Black Saintess’s debuffs too.

And they had enough control to fight me for dominance over my necromancy?

This might as well be a stage designed specifically to counter me.

It was an unreasonably unfair enemy, almost malicious.

‘Wait… fighting for control?’

I hurriedly looked around.

Monster corpses and human corpses littered the shelter.

The aura of death was everywhere.

Despair, fear, terror, sorrow, frustration… all kinds of negative emotions.

The conditions were more than enough to carry out the plan I had thought of, but…

Could I really do it?

Even now, I was barely holding back the monsters trying to pour through the narrow entrance with only five hobgoblin undead.

If not for the black curtain the Black Saintess had deployed, it would have been breached long ago.

Grind—

“One minute.”

“Just hold on for one minute.”

I closed my eyes and focused.

I rapidly absorbed the thick death energy that had settled all around us.

Then I reached out toward the monster bastards that had already become true ‘corpses’ due to Life Eater infection.

‘Yeah. Let’s have a proper fight for control.’

Rise.

The aura of death pierced through the black curtain and engulfed the creatures trying to break in.

The blue glow in their eyes instantly turned pitch black.

Good. Now those monsters had become my ‘undead.’

Then all that remained was—

A counter to the counter.

“Shadow.”

The shadow stretching rapidly from where I stood swallowed every undead infected by the Life Eaters.