Ruler (1)
Ruler (1)
Han-young, who had smashed through the dungeon wall, gaped at the sparkling door inside.
"......What the hell is that?"
"Who knows? It's pretty much a given that hidden dungeons or zones pop up in places like this......."
"It's not a Shortcut, right?"
"Of course not."
The newly appeared door wasn't the Shortcut we'd been looking for. Something even bigger. The secret of the dungeon itself, which had never been uncovered even once.
"......Should we go in?"
"It's not dangerous, is it?"
"It should be fine, right? Look at the members we've got here."
At those words, I looked at the kids gathered in this spot. Seoyun for ranged attacks, me and Eunha for close-range, Han-young and his two lackeys. Then Aram the healer and Deokgu, who's at least useful as a pack mule.
Not perfect, but not lacking either. More than enough to wipe out any monsters on this floor without a hitch.
And that's not all? Every single one of us has cheat abilities that others can only dream of, so our actual combat power is probably double or triple that.
'A force that can take on whatever comes. Hard to gather more than this.......'
Level-up Adventurers are rare talents, sure, but they're not exactly struggling to get by—just a slight difference in skill levels.
They're the type who won't bother risking danger to probe some unknown door. More explorer than adventurer......
"You decide."
Seoyun said. Starting with her, the other kids chimed in one by one.
"You're the leader on dungeon stuff...... We'll follow your call."
"This counts as an extra commission, right? We get bonus pay?"
I looked around at the kids. They were all pushing the decision off, but there was no fear in their eyes.
Just boyish curiosity shining through. They were holding off on choosing just so they'd have an excuse if things went south.
No worries about their own lives being in danger even if it did. That's how confident they were in their abilities.
"......Alright, let's go in."
"That's more like it!"
Hearing me, Han-young smashed the door with his hammer. Kwaaang! The hammer that had cracked the dungeon wall, but the door didn't even get a scratch as it slowly began to open.
[We are grateful first.]
Inside was a single greatsword.
And a massive orc that matched it perfectly.
[I thought I'd never open my eyes again.]
The orc, who had been sitting with its back turned, slowly rose to its feet. A huge opening. But its back was so enormous it didn't even look like one.
"What's that idiot saying."
And naturally, Han-young, seeing it as an opening, charged in and swung his hammer down. The hammer with dozens of tons of destructive power slammed into the orc's lower back.
Kirigik, and in an instant, the greatsword in its hand deflected the hammer clean away.
[No time for greetings, huh.]
The orc swung at Han-young like he was playing baseball. With speed unfitting its size, Han-young flew far off and crashed into the wall.
I immediately signaled Aram to heal him. At my command, Deokgu and Aram both rushed toward Han-young.
I drew my sword. Pathetic in comparison to the orc's greatsword.
But all of humanity's ancestors were giant killers who slew beasts bigger than themselves with these small weapons.
Believing that same blood flowed in me, I gripped my sword.
"Any Christians here?"
The kids stared at me like, What kinda question is that in this situation? Feeling their gazes, I muttered.
"Pray now. Too late after you're dead."
Guess my joke fell flat. The kids stayed silent. Swallowing my awkwardness, I charged in.
They say the dungeon appeared hundreds of years ago. So long ago it's not even in the records.
Which means this Great Warrior Orc had been waiting inside for hundreds of years too.
Guessing what this sword-wielding orc did all that time isn't hard.
Swinging its sword. Preparing for the worthy opponent who'd eventually come.
But contrary to the Great Warrior's expectations, that moment never arrived. Not for hundreds of years......
[Thank you.]
Awakening from excessively long solitude, the first emotion the orc felt wasn't duty or joy, but gratitude.
Gratitude toward the worthy foes who had finally come for him.
Sure, he was briefly disappointed they weren't that great, but the Great Warrior Orc was grateful for that too.
Because it meant he could end this duel whenever he wanted.
"Fuck, what the hell!"
Han-young, reborn after Aram's treatment, yelled that as he charged back in. No refined technique in his movements. Just power. Pure power.
And with that power alone, Han-young had broken through up to the 15th floor.
"Dieee!"
Trusting Aram was there, Han-young swung his hammer with everything he had. The parts not covered by the scales sprouting on his arms—like his lower back and legs—burst with torn muscles to complete the strike.
The Great Warrior knew the power in that blow surpassed his own. And that clashing head-on would be dangerous.
Luckily, he had techniques practiced for exactly this. A ton of them.
A technique from the first year of his hundreds of years of practice activated. The greatsword perfectly deflected the hammer at the exact angle.
Han-young, having failed his attack, took the full backlash. What should've been shared fifty-fifty between attacker and defender, he bore alone.
The burden on his already muscle-torn body was immense. His own attack had rendered him combat-ineffective.
"Get back."
Dojin tossed Han-young behind him and faced the orc with a scowl.
Aram's cheat ability wasn't an infinite elixir fountain. It had clear limits. Spamming it like this wasn't good.
'Teasing about buses and all that, getting everyone hyped...... But their actual skills suck.'
Annoying as hell. But he couldn't complain here. It'd tank team morale.
Never mind that this guy's double wipe had already done the most damage to morale.
Dojin raised his sword and stood before the massive orc. The Great Warrior Orc was huge. Insanely huge. Only comparable to the ogre he'd glimpsed from afar back on the axe day.
Not many techniques work on something that big. Back on Earth, there was no need to learn moves for 3-meter giants.
So Dojin went for a thoroughly threatening attack that wasn't even swordsmanship. The weakness he'd grasped from slaying countless orcs.
Targeting the Achilles tendon, femoral artery, and such.
It seemed that weakness threatened even this giant orc, as the Great Warrior immediately swung his sword to force Dojin back.
The swing was like swatting a fly, but the power was anything but.
A sword strike strong enough to chase off a dragon grazed by, and at the same moment, Seoyun from far away launched a massive icicle.
Her attack, held back without any prior moves just waiting for this moment, caught the Great Warrior off guard.
[You—!]
The instant his thigh was pierced, the Great Warrior instinctively knew she was someone who could end this fight in a flash.
In a very bad way for him.
The orc let out a massive roar. An orc's battle cry. A powerful warrior's roar is an attack in itself.
Dojin's group flinched at the sound, and the Great Warrior seized the gap, stomping forward with full power. Ogre-level muscle power pushed the ground and explosively propelled his body.
No one looked like they could block that charge. Hell, Seoyun didn't even see the orc coming at her.
That moment, Eunha slipped in quietly. Even by human standards, this small girl was practically invisible from the orc's perspective.
So he didn't see her pull back her fist.
Ho-yeon-ryu Ho-beop-gwon.
Kihojise.
Eunha's body shot forward ferociously. Beast-like momentum. Even feeling that aura, he couldn't ignore her, but the orc Great Warrior had no way to dodge.
'Hmph, just tank it.'
But the size difference between her and the orc was glaring. Realizing even her full power had limits with that frame, the Great Warrior gritted his teeth and swung his sword.
And the 3-meter behemoth went flying into the sky.
[──!?]
Stunned by the absurd situation, the orc's thoughts froze. By the time he snapped back, Seoyun had long vanished.
[What...... is this.]
An unbelievable strike from such a young girl's body. By the orc's guess, not much different from Han-young's blow. If it'd hit dead-on, he'd take massive damage even knowing it was coming.
[What...... are you all.]
Scanning the battlefield expecting the girl who'd done this to him wouldn't be fine either, the orc saw Eunha's arms weren't intact—but Aram's power restored her right away.
Seeing her jump back into the fray immediately, the Great Warrior admitted he was facing not weak kids, but worthy opponents.
[I apologize.]
"Hey, sorry, but you talk too much. Makes you sound like a total loser."
Han-young, seizing the momentum, smirked as he approached. The orc gripped his sword with both hands at the sight.
[I don't know what that means, but I get that you're insulting me.]
"Your speech is so......"
After that, the orc didn't talk. He swung his sword with full power. Unable to tolerate the insult. Hundreds of years of solitude had stolen his patience.
And a head-on clash—that was Han-young's favorite scenario. No monster was stronger than him at it.
Same for the Great Warrior. The orc's greatsword and Han-young's hammer collided. Intense noise rang out as both their arms shredded.
"Ahahahaha!"
Adrenaline surging from excessive injuries, Han-young burst into laughter. The orc too.
While the two laughed maniacally, the rest of the group moved very strategically.
The yang energy making his body move fast got Dojin behind the orc in a flash. The one with the ability to hide far away revealed himself alongside Seoyun.
Seoyun, the orc's top target. The one who could end this fight in one go.
The moment she appeared, the maniacally laughing orc prepared to charge her.
From behind, Dojin could see the orc's calves bulging like they'd burst. Perfect for a slash.
Dojin focused his energy into the sword.
Extreme Yang Body.
Scorching energy hot enough to burn his own body surged through him, flowing straight into the sword.
Dojin's sword became a blazing flame blade. Like it could cut anything. Even a giant orc's Achilles tendon.
Moments later, with a chiiik of searing meat, the orc toppled forward off-balance. He didn't even know why he'd fallen.
"Nice finisher!"
Han-young's hammer crashed down on the fallen Great Warrior's head. No way the defenseless Great Warrior could withstand it.
Like countless other monsters on the 10th Floor, the Great Warrior's head exploded.
That was the end. His body didn't even turn into a magic stone.
But one big change occurred.
[Ruler of the 10th Floor has been defeated.]
[Dominion Authority of the 10th Floor has been acquired.]
A game-like alarm rang in Dojin's head.