Chapter 81
Chapter 81
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 81
Chapter Title: The Fifth Floor
-----------------------------------------------------------------
“Ugh! I’ve got a dead hand! Resources, I’m not drawing any resource cards!”
Whether he summoned a monster or cast a spell, he first needed to secure resource cards.
But despite this being his third draw, he had only managed to pull a single resource card.
Worse, the unit and spell cards he drew were all high-cost, so he couldn't summon anything with just one resource card.
Seong Yu-jin gave up on Kim Ha-neul for the time being. Deciding to act as if he wasn't there, she faced the oncoming slimes.
Several slimes curled up like balls and charged at Seong Yu-jin. Seong Yu-jin skillfully angled her shield not only to deflect their attacks but also to apply just enough force to send them bouncing away.
Crouched behind Kim Ha-neul, who was being protected by Seong Yu-jin, Khalid shouted loudly.
“Green Slimes! They're weak to lightning!”
Khalid could gather information on monsters he had seen 'several times'. After watching the fight for nearly five minutes, he had managed to analyze them.
At the word 'lightning,' Seong Yu-jin's eyes suddenly lit up, and she quickly called out.
“Kang-seok!”
“Enchant!”
Kang-seok, who had been single-handedly darting around drawing the slimes' attention, kicked off a wall and shouted.
The Witch of the Lake, Vivian, had given Kang-seok's party a total of four magic gloves.
They each possessed the attributes of lightning, earth, light, and water.
The one Kang-seok wore was the glove that granted the lightning attribute.
Electricity sparked from Kang-seok's right hand and surged up his black sword, Durandal. As he slashed the slimes with his sword, now wreathed in white lightning, they burst apart like magic. Green remains scattered in all directions.
And finally, Kim Ha-neul's bad streak was broken. He let out a cheer.
“Yes! A set of three resource cards! Activating Light-attribute spell, Chain Lightning!”
Kim Ha-neul, who had been repeatedly shuffling by discarding his entire hand, simultaneously laid three resource cards in midair.
The cards hovered as if placed on an invisible wall, and a brilliant light erupted from the final spell card he played.
A bolt of lightning the size of an adult's forearm shot from the card, striking one slime before arcing to another, setting off a chain reaction of explosions.
“Enchant!”
Seong Yu-jin also activated the power of her magic glove. She used its water attribute to further enhance the chill of Almas, solidifying parts of the approaching slimes' bodies to land direct hits.
Most of the slimes that remained in the area swept by Kim Ha-neul's lightning fell into a dazed state. Kang-seok quickly moved through the dazed slimes and finished them off, clearing the numerous creatures in an instant.
The last remaining slime exploded under Kang-seok's sword.
Kim Ha-neul, who had been anxiously resting his hand on his deck, collapsed to the floor. It was only the second floor, but he had been so tense that cold sweat trickled down his spine.
His hand had been truly, historically bad. Without Seong Yu-jin or Kang-seok, he would have surely died.
Once he'd calmed down a little, Kim Ha-neul remembered how he had boasted on the floor below. He blushed, afraid that Kang-seok or Seong Yu-jin might say something about it.
Wasn't the fear of others' criticism the very reason he wandered alone without an affiliation, despite having abilities better suited for party play than soloing?
But they weren't the type of people to rebuke someone for such a thing.
Seong Yu-jin offered a hand to help Kim Ha-neul up, and Kang-seok even encouraged the dispirited man.
“That fire support was great. You're very reliable. I'm counting on you for the next floor, too.”
It was certainly a late activation. But he had anticipated situations like this ever since he first heard about Kim Ha-neul's abilities. A party leader's role was to combine the abilities of different players to create the best possible synergy.
If Kim Ha-neul needed time, it was up to Kang-seok and Seong Yu-jin to buy it for him.
“Th-thank you.”
He had expected to be scolded, but instead, he received praise.
Moreover, Kang-seok's eyes were sincere. It clearly wasn't empty flattery, which made it all the more impactful.
His heart warming in spite of himself, Kim Ha-neul looked at Kang-seok and Seong Yu-jin with deep appreciation. Kang-seok didn't forget Khalid either.
“Your weakness analysis was good, too. Thanks to you, we handled it smoothly.”
“Haha… Thank you.”
Khalid replied with an awkward laugh.
He couldn't help it. When he first heard about Kim Ha-neul's abilities, Khalid had intended to recruit him into the Seven Sword Knights. But seeing Kim Ha-neul's bright expression now, he felt it was impossible.
‘S-rank potential, a unique Player…’
He fights with swordplay and martial arts. In a way, he wasn't so different from other Players. Yet, there was a distinct difference. As someone unversed in combat, Khalid found it hard to describe, but there was definitely something else there.
A talent that could not be concealed.
It was like how the Heavenly Dragon Emperor's fame spread in the North. There was a reason the Dark Destiny Lord's name was known throughout the Kingdom of Britannia and its surrounding territories.
“Well then, let's head to the next floor.”
Kang-seok took the lead, with Seong Yu-jin and Kim Ha-neul following behind him. Khalid watched their backs for a moment before setting off as well.
They headed for the third floor.
***
There were many differences between conquering a dungeon in a game and in reality, but the most striking was undoubtedly the need for ‘meals and rest’.
A person will die if they don't eat.
Furthermore, combat was an activity that consumed an immense number of calories. Without proper nutrition, one would quickly become hungry.
Having already learned the importance of food in the dungeon Labyrinthos, Kang-seok had prepared a good amount of combat rations before attempting to conquer Raum's Tower.
Lightweight, compact, nutritious, and as tasty as possible.
Those were the requirements for good combat rations, but in truth, they were difficult to meet.
That was why the adventurers of this world usually relied on hard, dried jerky or biscuits as their main combat food.
Leif Eiriksson's dried combat rations, which they had eaten constantly in Labyrinthos, were considered quite high-quality. Regardless of the taste, they were incredibly compact and provided an enormous amount of nutrition.
This time, too, Kang-seok had brought a large quantity of the same combat rations to distribute to the party. With about ten pellets each, they wouldn't have to worry for a few days.
Kang-seok and Seong Yu-jin had twenty pellets between them. It was just as he was about to give a suitable number to Kim Ha-neul and Khalid.
“You can make food? With cards?”
Seong Yu-jin asked, blinking in disbelief, and Kim Ha-neul gave a confident smile.
“I got a few related cards from opening booster packs. If I use them, food comes out. The cards I have are just for bread or water, but that's still better than combat rations, right?”
Seong Yu-jin quickly nodded. Kang-seok, who had half-opened his pouch, closed it again and sat quietly beside Seong Yu-jin. Khalid, too, looked quite curious.
The party was currently on the fourth floor of Raum's Tower. The ceilings of each floor were incredibly high, so it already felt like they had climbed quite a distance.
Instead of talking more, Kim Ha-neul took out a different deck from his combat one.
“This is a deck of spare cards I got from opening boosters. The food cards are in here, too.”
It seemed he kept his deck in a small leather pouch. But Kang-seok suddenly tilted his head.
“Uh, excuse me, Ha-neul?”
“Yes? What is it?”
“Are all those pouches on your belt filled with cards?”
Kim Ha-neul had a total of four leather pouches tied to his waist. If each deck required 50 cards, that meant he had 200 in total.
Kim Ha-neul nodded.
“Yes. I only had 50 to start with, so it was tough collecting them.”
Even Seong Yu-jin looked a little surprised now. She asked cautiously.
“Ha-neul, how much Kron does it cost to draw one booster pack?”
“The cheapest one is 100 Kron.”
The cheapest was 100 Kron. That meant there were even more expensive boosters.
Even if he'd only collected the cheapest boosters, that was 150 of them. In other words, 15,000 Kron.
Kang-seok and Seong Yu-jin quickly glanced at each other. They were worried about Kim Ha-neul's remaining survival time.
But judging by Kim Ha-neul's expression, he didn't seem particularly stressed about his survival time.
There was no need to deliberately sour the mood, so Kang-seok and Seong Yu-jin ended the conversation with another shared glance.
Meanwhile, while Kang-seok and Seong Yu-jin were having their silent conversation, Kim Ha-neul had already drawn six cards. He spoke cheerfully.
“Ooh, a good draw this time. I can summon right away! Earth-attribute resource card set, summon Bread and Milk!”
As soon as he laid down two resource cards, he played two more cards in succession. Then, like a magic trick, there was a *poof*, and a large loaf of bread and a ceramic bowl of milk appeared on the cards.
Even though they were in a dungeon and separated from their companions, they couldn't help but smile.
After their meal, the party decided to take a short rest before heading up to the fifth floor. Unlike the second floor, the third and fourth floors had taken a considerable toll on their time and stamina.
Fighting in a dungeon was like a marathon. If you went all out without managing your stamina, you wouldn't have any strength left when it really mattered.
The moment they lay down in a corner of the room, Kim Ha-neul and Khalid were fast asleep. It seemed both of them had been quite exhausted.
Leaning against a wall, Kang-seok naturally spoke to Seong Yu-jin, who had settled next to him.
“Should we take turns resting for an hour each? I don't think we can stay here for long, so that seems about right.”
As a direct combat Player, Kang-seok's stamina was incomparable to Kim Ha-neul's or Khalid's. Since advancing to Intermediate Warrior, his stamina recovered quickly just by sitting like this.
Seong Yu-jin chuckled.
“We could just keep watch together.”
Seong Yu-jin was a tanker, and in terms of pure stamina, she was top-tier even within the Adamas guild. Like Kang-seok, her stamina recovered just by sitting still.
The fourth floor of Raum's Tower.
Gazing up at the ceiling, Kang-seok said suddenly.
“This reminds me of Labyrinthos.”
“Huh?”
“The two of us wandered around so much.”
The ten days after Kim Kang-san and Park Han-yeong had left. Seong Yu-jin nodded. She felt a slight sense of nostalgia.
They had met Choi Yu-ra, and then many others in succession. Now, their guild had nine members, didn't it?
Seong Yu-jin glanced at Kang-seok's profile. Swallowing hard, she lowered her head slightly and said.
“Still, I’m glad.”
“Hmm?”
“That I met you, Kang-seok, right from the tutorial.”
Seong Yu-jin kept her head bowed low. But she couldn't hide the tips of her ears, which had turned bright red.
After pursing her lips several times, Seong Yu-jin grew flustered and started rambling.
“Ah, if I hadn't, wouldn't I have just been crying my eyes out, wanting my mom? I probably wouldn't have even survived this long. Right, I would have been dragged away by that bull-headed monster back then. So, so…”
Her voice trailed off, and she bit her lip. Seong Yu-jin cautiously raised her head again to peek at Kang-seok. He leaned his face a little closer to hers.
“Yu-jin.”
“Y-yes?”
“Something just occurred to me.”
Kang-seok's face was also red. But his expression was a little different from what Seong Yu-jin had been expecting—or rather, hoping for. Moreover, he wasn't looking at her but subtly gesturing with his eyes to the side.
Seong Yu-jin's eyes went wide. When she quickly darted her gaze, she saw Kim Ha-neul with his back to them, his ears perked up.
Seong Yu-jin, who had finally worked up her courage, let out a sigh, and Kang-seok cleared his throat before changing the subject.
“You remember this, right?”
“The Hero's Necklace?”
The golden locket Kang-seok pulled out from under his clothes.
The possession of the hero who had defeated the master of the dungeon Labyrinthos, the Demonic Beast Barbatos.
Kang-seok's party still didn't know who that hero was. Even the Witch of the Lake, Vivian, knew nothing about a swordsman who wielded the demonic sword Dainsleif.
The Demonic Beast Barbatos was stronger than any other demonic beast they had faced so far. Considering it had even managed to 'transform'—something Cimeries and Andras had failed to do—they couldn't even begin to guess its true strength.
The nameless hero had defeated that Barbatos alone. And thanks to him, Kang-seok and Seong Yu-jin had made it out of Labyrinthos alive.
Who was he?
They wanted to know. And they wanted to deliver this locket to his acquaintances. It felt like the least they could do.
Seong Yu-jin felt the same way as Kang-seok. She nodded once, and though it felt a little strange, she joined Kang-seok in a brief moment of silence for the hero.
And two hours later.
Kang-seok's party headed for the fifth floor of Raum's Tower.
***
The fifth floor was not much different from the fourth. The ceiling was very high, and the room was square. A group of gargoyles standing silently in the middle of the room seemed to be this floor's monsters.
As Kang-seok stepped past the stairs and arrived on the fifth floor, glowing letters appeared.
[Quest: Annihilate the gargoyles blocking the path on the fifth floor.]
[This is serious! Please clear the quest as quickly as possible!]
Iris cried out urgently. Her voice suggested she had no regard for the quest before them.
“Iris?”
[Lady Choi Yu-ra's party is currently engaged with the Demonic Beast Oriax on the sixth floor. Many other Players have joined the battle, but they are struggling!]
They could only connect with Iris when a quest was generated. It seemed that while Kang-seok's party was resting on the floor below, Choi Yu-ra's group had started fighting a demonic beast on the sixth floor.
The Tower of the Demonic Beast Raum.
But that didn't mean the Demonic Beast Raum was the only one in this tower.
Seong Yu-jin quickly looked up at the ceiling. Kim Ha-neul and Khalid, who couldn't hear Iris's voice, were bewildered, and Kang-seok fiercely drew Durandal.
They had to hurry.