Chapter 68
Chapter 68
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 68
Chapter Title: Rakiya Bells #4
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Before Rakiya Bells had even reached the 8th floor.
There was a time when she too needed her own training.
"Kuhk...!"
Her body flew through the air from the external impact.
She barely managed to regain her posture, minimizing the shock.
Her throbbing head, her aching arms and legs.
-Tremble, tremble.
Her body and stamina had already reached their limits.
Pushing any further would cross from training into the realm of torture.
"Hng~"
A signal of extreme discomfort.
In her aggrieved gaze, under the pale moonlight, stood the figure of her "big sister."
A thick shadow fell over Rakiya Bells, collapsed before her.
It suited her situation perfectly.
The one who had rolled her through life relentlessly, treating her like the family's precious jewel, forcing her to live each day with fierce intensity.
"How is it that our little maknae... even managed to bring home such a half-baked perk~?"
Perk: Valkyrie.
Despite its grandiose name, it still hadn't revealed what kind of performance it could deliver.
The Tower was like that—it bestowed trials and traits upon Hunters whose intentions it never revealed.
"If only we had one more bloodline like our little maknae."
-Grind!
At those words, Rakiya Bells ground her molars together.
An insult striking at the core of her identity, spoken right in front of her.
However, if it was tragic, it was that Rakiya Serbel truly felt that level of regret.
She was a cut above Hunters of similar rank, but to shine in the Tower, she needed far more talent than that.
Even taking Rakiya Serbel herself as the benchmark.
She already showed a clear difference from her little sister in climbing speed through the Tower's floors.
Right around now, Rakiya Serbel was aiming for the late 10th floors.
'What the hell am I supposed to do?'
To survive that hell, she couldn't afford to struggle at this meager level.
'And dragging home some worthless perk.'
The perpetually silent perk only added to Rakiya Serbel's worries.
Was it for combat? Support? Or did it grow alongside its user?
It would be better if it just clearly said it was trash.
Instead, the Tower handed out these childish riddles and situations, then stayed silent.
"Get up."
"H-How long... exactly..."
"How long? Hng... Our little maknae's head is still a flower garden, huh?"
Until it worked.
Even if the process was nothing but overexertion.
To survive the Tower and stand above everyone, Rakiya Bells had to prove her worth right now.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "Kuhk...!"
Pain slows down time.
Stretching seconds into eternity, transmitting excruciating agony through every nerve.
Rakiya Bells, facing the boss mob with her massive axe, was sent crashing into a tree.
-Crack!
Her body tumbled across the ground amid ominous sounds.
Danger signals blared from every part of her body, warning that this was as far as she could go, but she couldn't stop here.
"Hoo...!"
'Careless.'
A taboo she must never commit in battle.
'Something's off.'
Her footsteps were sluggish, her mind foggy like it was shrouded in mist.
Rakiya Bells dismissed it as mere imagination, but this wasn't just a fleeting anomaly.
Her physical abilities and stamina had already hit their limits.
Lifting her trembling head to look up, she saw the boss mob, not a single scratch on it.
The twisted tree spirit 'Netherroot,' existing in a dimension beyond Do-yoon.
'I can't do it.'
The difference in her body's condition was stark.
The word 'failure' etched itself clearly in Rakiya Bells' mind.
If she stopped here, if she failed.
Waiting beyond would be her disappointed sister and the tribe's scornful gazes.
No— she might not even make it that far, dying right here.
'Am I... going to die?'
She had steeled herself climbing the Tower, but she never imagined it would be on just the 8th floor.
Rakiya Bells.
The noble bloodline of the greatest tribe serving the Black Dragon.
She, who should stand in a position even Hunters from other worlds looked up to and dared not touch.
Had reached her limit, now contemplating the terrifying prospect of death.
It's scary.
Rakiya Bells' shoulders trembled faintly.
If her sister saw, she'd yell, "What are you doing, acting like a coward?"
But there was no one here.
On this 8th floor, only one Hunter could challenge the boss room.
In that instant, one man's face flashed in her mind.
"Ah."
In this situation, his face popping up was absurdly out of place—
But if she thought about it properly, she knew who was the only one who had saved her in such a crisis.
The cold embrace of her tribe?
Her sister, always pushing her to the brink?
No.
'Do-yoon.'
Even after she inflicted such humiliation in the theme stage.
Do-yoon, that man, had extended broad magnanimity and saved her pathetic, defeated self.
-Thump.
Something locked tight came undone.
Hot heat spread from the center of her chest, warming her chilled body everywhere.
And in that moment.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Conditions have been released! Perk, 'Valkyrie' temporarily activates! Brilliant wings sprouted from behind Rakiya Bells.
"....?"
As if they were part of her body, a new sensation awakened her brain.
Rakiya Bells stared at the phenomenon in bewilderment.
-Whoosh...!
Extraordinary mana pulsed.
Not stopping there, she felt vivid life force surging from the mana circuits in her body.
A miracle had occurred.
Her nearly depleted mana recovered, and new vitality surged through her body.
A situation that couldn't be explained as anything but a miracle.
'The perk.'
Rakiya Bells instinctively checked her activated status window.
'In this situation? Why now?'
Reviewing the state leading up to this, she reached one clear conclusion.
Do-yoon.
It had definitely triggered due to something related to that man.
She felt like even a passing goblin would give the same answer if asked.
"Ah."
As her thoughts reached that point, a warm sensation brushed Rakiya Bells' face.
Color rose to her pale cheeks, dyeing her with emotions she hadn't even known.
"Th-this is."
"Kroooaaar!!"
But the situation didn't wait for her to savor the lingering feeling.
The Hunter, who had been all but done for, suddenly muttered to herself and awakened.
From the boss mob's perspective, who had meticulously set up the perfect scenario, there was no greater injustice.
"....!"
Facing Netherroot's rage, Rakiya Bells instinctively prepared for battle.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "...You're telling me to believe that right now?"
Do-yoon stopped his attack in disbelief.
"I know it's hard to believe, but it's the truth."
-Kraaa!!
Following the rational voice came Netherroot's furious, reckless assault.
"Manners? Tossed."
Shaking him with sudden words, then ambushing— that was against the rules.
-Whoosh!
Do-yoon dodged the attack by a hair's breadth and glared at Netherroot.
"That attack was a bit dangerous. My apologies."
"Not sorry at all, huh?"
"As atonement, before my life ends, I'll share what I've realized first."
Hidden Piece, Graduation.
The key to it was, naturally, the boss mob itself.
Where it came from, how it lived.
Terrifying beings trapped in the Tower, having forgotten even those basic facts.
Netherroot was no different— until it faced Do-yoon and the other Hunter he brought simultaneously.
'Ahh.'
Look at that beautiful Hunter in another dimension right now, spreading her wings in battle against him.
Her eyes held resolute will, her surging mana brimmed with love.
'Yes, love.'
Before the curse, Netherroot had lived a life full of love.
Forgotten due to the Tower's and mana's interference, but one Hunter's bold step reminded it.
"Newbie."
"Yeah."
"Do you love someone, Newbie?"
"...?"
So out of place amid the urgency.
Do-yoon nearly let another attack through absentmindedly.
"You're aiming for this, aren't you."
"A misunderstanding."
Its form, probing mental gaps since earlier, was suspicious.
"But why suddenly ask something like that..."
"You must answer. It's important."
Its previously docile demeanor had turned deadly serious.
Do you love someone?
He had nothing particular to say about that.
Do-yoon's life, twisted from the first button.
Had been far too busy for loving anyone.
From childhood, he'd learned to make money, rolling through harsh places.
And now, he was throwing himself against malice-filled monsters.
"Dunno. Never really thought about it deeply."
"That makes me even more curious. About when you'll come to love someone, Newbie."
"Oppa, you don't love me...?"
This time, Eira suddenly threw a tough question from her side.
This one couldn't be answered wrong.
Do-yoon instinctively opened his mouth to Eira.
"I love you."
"Heehee."
"Huhu, a heartwarming sight. But."
"But?"
"What I want is— no, that's overstepping."
Leaving Netherroot to mutter in satisfaction alone, Do-yoon reached the mana stone once more.
One swing of his curved sword, and he could deliver the final blow.
"So, how do you think the Hidden Piece... no, Graduation, will go?"
"It's truly miraculous, but I have a strong conviction it will happen."
"Alright then."
"Yes, destroy my mana stone. And take my Hidden Piece."
No time left now.
Miss this chance, and the distanced Netherroot would target the limit-pushed Do-yoon again.
Thus—
-Kwang!
With Netherroot's willing response, Do-yoon raised his curved sword and smashed the massive mana stone with all his might.
-Ziiing...
The lustrous purple mana stone's glow faded.
As if life drained from it, the color dimmed gradually.
"Th-that, uh..."
Netherroot's movements slowed like a rusty machine.
The end.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Boss Mob, 'Twisted Tree Spirit, Netherroot' has been defeated! With the status window announcing the boss mob's end.
Do-yoon collapsed to the ground in deep exhaustion.