Black Poison Eagles
The atmosphere here was decidedly different from the lower floors.
It started around the 30th floor, right?
That was when level 120 monsters began appearing, and by the 39th floor, level 150 monsters had shown up.
"Wonder what we'll get this time."
Probably level 160 monsters.
No telling what kind, though.
The one silver lining was that the number of monsters scaled down with the size of the party?
And inversely, the drop rate for keys went up.
That said, having a smaller party wasn't always better. Fewer people meant slower clear speeds.
Which naturally led to fewer gems picked up, and thus fewer draws at the gacha.
"Monsters are gonna hit pretty hard from here on."
"Mm."
"You know to stay sharp, right?"
"Of course."
"Yeah, Oppa."
"Ji-yeon, just keep doing what you've been doing."
"Okay~."
Conversation over, they pressed forward.
Kruk, krurruk.
The monsters that appeared were black poison eagles.
A real pain, on par with wyverns.
"Flying types, huh."
"Gonna be a hassle."
"Eh, the space isn't too cramped, at least."
Mu-hyuk ordered his mages and archers to open fire, then kicked off the ground.
Wind Step
He chased after the streaking spells and arrows.
Bam, kwarung!
The magic slammed into five black poison eagles, and bone arrows lodged into their wings. At that moment, Mu-hyuk bent his knees slightly, using the recoil to leap high into the air.
He kicked off the wall once, landing atop a nearby black poison eagle.
Storm, Decisive Strike.
He plunged his sword straight down.
Decisive Strike used.
HP (500) and MP (300) consumed.
Storm used.
MP (200) consumed.
-6,198 damage.
Additional -11,157 damage.
Only once per hour, but Decisive Strike dealt 320% damage.
With a critical on top, the Storm damage exceeded 10,000.
No matter how many times he used it...
He'd been firing off the special options on his Pure Black Bracelet and Pure White Bracelet—Decisive Strike and Earthquake—left and right.
Yet that overwhelming damage never got any less shocking.
Kee, kiyaak!
Still, the black poison eagle didn't drop.
Its HP was insane...!
Reminded anew that this was a level 160 monster, Mu-hyuk stabbed his sword in again.
Puk, puuk.
The thrashing beast shook him off to the floor mid-thrust, but he leaped right back up onto its back.
With steady fire from the bone archers below, he finally finished it off.
"Hup."
Mu-hyuk landed, stowed the dropped gems in his inventory, and eyed the remaining four black poison eagles as he stepped forward again.
Kiyaak!
At that instant, the eagles flapped furiously, hurling feathers like daggers.
He kept his shield raised, stride unbroken.
Ting, tududung.
The feathers pinged off the shield, ricocheting everywhere.
Damage? With shield use, shock absorption hit 90%. This was just a tickle.
Blocking as he advanced, Mu-hyuk picked up speed.
One zipped overhead before long.
Around then, the feather barrage stopped.
"Hup!"
As he leaped, Sung Min-woo flashed by on the right.
He was diving in just as aggressively, no shield in sight. Unlike before, he had something to rely on.
"Ji-yeon! Hit me with a heal!"
"Okay~!"
That something was Kim Ji-yeon.
A beam of healing light shot out, wrapping around Sung Min-woo and topping off his HP.
"Woooah!"
The madman lit up again.
"Come on, you bastards!"
Trampling and pummeling with his spirits, he soon sent one crashing down.
The waiting skeletons speared it to finish.
Meanwhile, Mu-hyuk took down another, and Ye-rin bagged one with her squirrel and spells.
"Hoo."
One left.
Kiyaak!
It went all out—flinging wing-blades like daggers, whipping up gusts, diving to rake skeletons with talons, slashing with wings sharper than swords. But the skeletons took the hits.
Mu-hyuk, Ye-rin, Sung Min-woo, and Kim Ji-yeon stayed fresh, toying with it till the end.
"Break time."
Short rest taken, they moved on—
"Revive."
—after Mu-hyuk resurrected the five black poison eagles.
"Let's go."
"Yeah!"
Soon enough, a fresh wave appeared.
"Like fifteen this time?"
"Stay frosty for real this round."
"Roger."
It was a brutal fight, nothing like the first five.
*
Three days in, no key. Mu-hyuk and the crew called it.
"Whew, let's head out and get some air."
"Se- seconded."
"Me too..."
"Sounds good."
Exhaustion plain on their faces, they agreed and touched the door to the 40th floor.
Descend to floor 39?
[Yes / No]
No selected.
Exit to outside the tower?
[Yes / No]
Yes chosen.
Whooo.
A gentle breeze enveloped them, the surroundings shifting in a blink.
Familiar by now, of course.
"Skeleton Warhorse summon."
Mounted up, they rode to the nearest village for a proper meal and downtime.
"Man, this is why Death Tower rocks."
"You can actually leave?"
"Yeah, they should make all towers and dungeons like this. How great would that be?"
"You saying something smart for once?"
"Hey, 'for once'?"
Sung Min-woo feigned sternness.
His eyes met Kim Ji-yeon's.
"Ahem."
Coughing, he forked some food from his plate and offered it shyly.
"Here, try some. It's good."
"O-oh, okay~..."
When was it?
The day Ye-rin introduced her friend.
The day he turned back with an apology.
Since then, Sung Min-woo had been looking out for Kim Ji-yeon every chance he got.
Obvious to anyone watching.
Ye-rin and Mu-hyuk exchanged grins.
Smirk.
Then schooled their faces like nothing happened. Mu-hyuk eyed the munching Kim Ji-yeon.
"Yeah, eat up."
"O-okay~."
Finally, she took the morsel from Sung Min-woo's fork. An awkward, electric tension hummed between them—hard to put into words.
*
Decided to hit the tower again tomorrow.
"See ya."
"G-get some rest."
"Night, Oppa!"
Parting waves exchanged, Mu-hyuk logged off Illusion TV and headed to the auction house.
"Welcome."
"From Forma Continent."
"Ah, got it."
"Wanna switch to Kaion Continent system."
The NPC-looking man turned.
"Room 7."
Mu-hyuk entered.
A man lounged with feet up on the desk. He startled at Mu-hyuk's entrance, lowering his legs and rising slowly.
"Well, a customer."
"Yes."
"What can I do for...?"
"Switching auction house to Kaion Continent."
"Ah."
The man—not an NPC, but an Illusion staffer—grinned and approached.
He scanned Mu-hyuk's wrist.
"Forma user."
"Yes."
"Switched to Kaion."
"Thanks."
Out he went, opening the auction system.
Now it showed Kaion sellers, not Forma.
Arcana's Blood, search.
Supply was low.
Maybe 500?
Bought 'em all—5 gold spent.
Dirt cheap.
Mu-hyuk grinned, heading to the Alchemist Guild.
"Need a room."
"Which one?"
"Top tier."
"Per hour..."
Paid up, entered, dumped 500 Karma Herbs and 500 Arcana's Blood into the cauldron.
Arcana's Blood (500) and Karma Herbs (500) fusing.
Time remaining: 55 minutes
55 minutes—longer than expected.
Logout.
Out of Illusion, time with family, then back in.
Time remaining: 2 minutes 30 seconds
A short wait, light burst from the cauldron.
Karma's Blood created. ×500
Just what he wanted.
◈ Instantly restores HP (500) on use, plus additional 500 HP over 10 seconds. Requires 10-minute cooldown for repeat use.
Cooldown every 10 minutes, but it healed a whopping 1,000 HP total.
If this hit the player market now, folks would pay top gold for it.
Downside, though.
It had "Karma" and "Blood" in the name.
Recipe would leak fast—1:1 ratio, after all.
So no selling to players for a while.
Worked on NPCs too, though.
Mu-hyuk pondered, then headed to Baekho-woon, patriarch of the Baekho family—his first connection.
Moments later.
In Mawoori small city, Mu-hyuk went straight to the family estate.
"Hm? You..."
"Long time."
"Indeed. What brings you?"
"Here to see the patriarch."
"The patriarch?"
"Yes, got something to discuss."
"Hm, one moment."
The man went in, returned soon.
"Follow me."
"Yes."
Into the inner quarters, to a guest room.
"He'll be here shortly."
"Got it."
Five minutes later, Baekho-woon arrived.
"Been a while."
"Yes, about four months."
"Has it? So, what's up?"
Mu-hyuk pulled out Karma's Blood.
"Made this myself."
"You made it?"
"Yes. Healing item."
Baekho-woon's eyes gleamed.
"Healing, eh..."
He took it carefully, inspecting.
"How effective?"
"Very."
"Hard to grasp from words. Mind if I try?"
"Go ahead."
Mu-hyuk's nod, and Baekho-woon drew his sword, slicing his own forearm.
Deeper than expected—blood poured.
Face unchanged, he chewed the herb. The wound knit shut in seconds.
"This..."
Greed flickered in his eyes.
"Incredible."
The deal looked promising.