Desperate Stand on the Seventh Floor
After advancing for about three more hours.
“Ah……!”
A strange exclamation came from Yura, who was at the front.
It felt oddly sensual, but his companions pushed the thought aside and assessed the situation.
“What's up?”
“Something ahead?”
“Yeah.”
“What is it?”
Yura stepped aside.
Only then did it come into view.
The path leading up to the seventh floor.
“Seventh floor, right? Seventh?”
“Yes.”
“Phew, finally the last one!”
“Yeah, since it's the final floor, let's take a short break. We might face a boss monster, so we should prepare properly.”
“Sounds good. I'll start on some cooking then.”
“Thanks.”
“No need to thank me.”
One of the users began cooking.
His cooking level was higher than Mu-hyuk's, so eating his food would grant them substantial buffs.
There was also a user who knew Repair, and he fixed up everyone's gear.
Someone gathered up the remaining Slow Poison and Hallucination Poison, while another checked their equipment.
Some planned their strategy, and a few leaned against the wall with eyes closed, resting.
Soon, the cooking was done.
“Here, dig in.”
“Thanks.”
“Looks great, bro.”
The users began tasting the food.
Mu-hyuk and Sung Min-woo took a bite too.
Increased for 30 minutes.
Increased for 30 minutes.
Mu-hyuk smiled in satisfaction.
Strength and stamina.
And stamina increased by a whopping 3.
Not bad at all.
Mu-hyuk was reminded once again of the importance of the Cooking skill.
That was when it happened.
“Everyone ready?”
They looked up at Yura's question.
“Anyone need more time?”
No one did.
“Then let's head to the seventh floor.”
The moment she donned her helmet, her aura shifted. Turning to lead the way, she looked utterly reliable.
“Grr, she's smoking hot.”
Mu-hyuk ignored Sung Min-woo's comment and followed behind.
The instant they reached the seventh floor.
Krrrng?
The Cyclops Giant in the center of the hall charged at the entering users.
Flash.
Mu-hyuk shouted at that moment.
“Don't target its eye!”
“The eye?”
“What the hell?”
Yura turned her head and yelled.
“Everyone, focus!”
She glanced at Mu-hyuk briefly.
Their gazes met in midair.
Don't target the eye?
She was curious why, but there was no time to ask. The presumed boss monster was already upon them.
She had to choose.
Listen to Mu-hyuk or not.
“We'll take it down without targeting the eye!”
With her decision made, Yura bent her knees, leaning her upper body forward to brace her shield.
Boom!
The arriving monster's fist slammed into the shield.
It was tremendous force.
“Ngh……!”
Yura flew back, rolling across the floor with her comrades.
“Everyone, spread out!”
Boss monsters usually had at least one powerful skill.
If it was an AoE, getting hit by it would mean massive HP loss.
Possibly death.
That was why spreading out was standard protocol against bosses.
Yura executed it flawlessly.
“I'll go first!”
It was a Guardian-class man.
One by one, they stepped up to draw aggro while the others attacked from afar.
“Concentrated fire!”
Ranged skills flew out.
Boom boom boom!
Dust billowed, obscuring vision.
Thud.
In that instant, the Guardian user pierced through the dust, flying backward.
He crashed into the wall, got up, and frowned at his depleted HP.
“Lost 700 HP.”
From a single punch.
Of course, he hadn't blocked with his shield, taking it full-force, but it was still insane damage.
Even blocking to absorb 60% would've cost 280 HP.
If it was a skill?
Over 1,000 easy.
“Everyone, stay sharp!”
“Got it!”
At that moment, the Cyclops Giant charged at one user.
It happened to be a Priest. As the startled Priest backed away, someone else stepped forward.
Flash.
It was Yura, with sword and shield.
She met the charging Cyclops head-on.
It swung its fist.
Whoosh.
Destructive enough to part the air.
Knowing its brute strength, she ducked low without clashing directly.
She circled to the side and slashed. Enraged, it swung again, but she rolled across the floor to evade.
She sliced its ankle. After several dodges and attacks.
Kroooar!
It roared and suddenly raised its leg high.
That...
Mu-hyuk, watching, furrowed his brow.
Too late to dodge.
Yura instinctively sensed the danger and shouted urgently.
“Shield, heal!”
The moment her words ended, it stomped down.
Thud.
As the sound rang out, a transparent barrier enveloped her.
But the shockwave shattered it like glass and swept her away.
“Ngh!”
White light seeped into her body as she flew back.
A healing spell, Heal.
The perfectly timed heal restored her HP, but something she hadn't anticipated happened.
“Th-this……!”
“Dodge!”
The shockwave wasn't over.
Farther, even farther.
It engulfed even the users who had kept their distance—vastly wide-ranging.
A storm raged, followed by an eerie silence.
Yura, the only one left standing, stared blankly at her comrades' wretched states.
They weren't dead in one hit, slowly rising, but over 1,000 HP gone in an instant meant they needed time to recover.
Kroooar!
The Cyclops Giant, however, had no intention of waiting.
Step.
In the midst of it, one person stepped forward.
“Everyone, regroup.”
It was Yura's clear voice.
Out of a sense of responsibility as leader?
She advanced alone once more to face it.
*
After three more shockwaves.
“Damn……!”
One weak archer, two mages, and crucially, both Priests were forcibly logged out.
“How the hell do we take this thing down?!”
“Should've brought a hundred people……”
Mu-hyuk shook his head.
A hundred would've made the Cyclops Giant even stronger.
Of course, attacking without targeting the eye might make it easier.
But more users meant higher chance someone would hit the eye by mistake.
If that happened, it would become truly unbeatable.
So fewer was better.
Still difficult, though.
“Shit……”
Morale had hit rock bottom.
“Haa, haa……”
Even in VR, their breathing grew ragged.
That's how grueling it was.
Yet no path to victory in sight.
Retreat?
With three comrades dead, retrying later offered slim odds.
They all shook their heads.
“This is impossible……”
But one person.
Yura's eyes still burned with fire.
“The real boss lives up to the name.”
“Haa, yeah.”
Her comrade looked utterly drained, but Yura smiled.
“Doesn't that make victory mean more?”
She scanned her comrades.
With a fiery gaze.
“We're not giving up after coming this far, right? That wouldn't make you men.”
Her words made them avert their eyes.
That was when it happened.
The Guardian barely holding aggro—the Cyclops Giant went berserk again, closing in. Then it stomped at a precise spot.
BOOM!
The shockwave swept them once more.
Two more users died.
“Ah……!”
Yura's pupils trembled.
But she gripped her sword tightly and advanced.
It was all she could do.
Flash.
Kicking off the ground, she closed the distance.
Attacked, knocked down, sent flying.
Dust-covered and exhausted, she rose again.
Quit wasn't in her vocabulary.
Meanwhile.
Mu-hyuk, watching her, frowned slightly.
“……”
For some reason, it irritated him.
At this point, giving up was normal.
Look at them now.
Everyone but her had the eyes of defeat. They even seemed to wish she'd stop.
Worried about viewer eyes?
Fear of backlash?
No one would criticize this effort. They'd praise and cheer. Who'd dare fault that display?
So why……?
“Ngh!”
Yura flew back again but got up.
“Haa, haa……”
The last Priest's heal restored her HP, but her ragged breathing wouldn't normalize.
Mental fatigue?
Her body felt heavy. Still, she stepped forward again.
“Everyone, hang in there. We can do this……”
Her voice.
Her figure.
It stabbed at the heart.
Like a dagger.
And I...
Why does seeing her like this boil my blood?
Unable to hold back any longer, he stepped forward.
“How about everyone turns off recording?”
All eyes turned to him.
“You gonna keep filming this mess?”
“Ah……”
Yura's comrades nodded in understanding, gesturing in the air to stop recording.
Confirming it, Mu-hyuk glanced at Sung Min-woo, who nodded back.
Wind Step.
With the skill's activation, Mu-hyuk's body accelerated terrifyingly.
In an instant, he reached Yura's side, wrapping an arm around her waist.
Grip.
Supporting her firmly, he pulled back, then gently set her down.
“Wha……?”
The startled woman stared at him.
Embarrassed at being held?
No—baffled by the blinding speed and his sudden intervention.
“Why……?”
But he couldn't answer.
He didn't know either.
Mu-hyuk sighed and turned. He saw the Cyclops Giant and Sung Min-woo's four spirits harassing it.
Mu-hyuk pulled sword and shield from his inventory.
“Hup.”
Inhaling deeply, he kicked off the ground.
Flash.
Closing the distance in a blink, he brushed past the monster.
Slash.
One of its fingers severed.
His cutting power had risen, but not enough for the wrist—so he targeted just the finger.
Ngh……!
He followed up, slicing off a pinky toe.
Kroooar!
The Cyclops roared, flailing fists wildly, but it couldn't touch Mu-hyuk now.
With Wind Step, he was a gust of wind.