Swamp Ambush and the 4-Star Breakthrough

I headed straight up to the third floor without a second thought. The enemies in sight were the same as on the second: the water goblin with its feet sunk in the swamp and the wind goblin grinning fishily. But I wasn't falling for it this time.

'What fresh hell is this?!'

Were there two wind goblins? Or another water goblin hiding in the swamp? Or maybe a goblin of a different element? I took in the battlefield during those 60 seconds. The Climber Gallery folks had said to at least survey the terrain before combat kicked off.

...It went off the rails at the end, but it got recommendation bombs and even hit the featured posts, so no harm in referencing it.

"Divine sense, do your thing."

Divine sense. The cultivator's all-purpose sense that surpasses the five senses for detection, calculation, memorization, and more. Embarrassingly, it's one of those abilities I haven't fully tapped into. Downside of self-study, I guess? You have to learn these abstract senses by trial and error on your own. Still, I could feel my perception sharpening day by day. I even caught the subtle wriggle in the ground that old me would've missed.

"Earth goblin this time!"

Just like on the second floor, water spears and air bullets flew at me. Amid that, a green monster burst from the ground like a mole. The lineup was getting more lavish, like ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I'd stepped into a high-end restaurant. Grateful for the thoughtful welcome, I returned the favor to the goblin with heartfelt enthusiasm.

"Krak?"

The brown-robed goblin hurriedly crossed its arms in an X, my punch loaded with emotion and joy slamming into it. And it didn't accept my thanks. Meaning, it blocked successfully.

"Mud?"

Yellowish-brown mud coated the earth goblin's forearms. That's why the damage hadn't landed properly.

"They really come in every flavor."

As the earth goblin landed and steadied itself, sharply spinning water spears and slicing air bullets were already at my nose. Of course, I blocked them without much damage. But it soured my mood.

"This won't do."

I had to win overwhelmingly. The gallery regulars had warned me hard about it.

The fear you can imagine is always scarier. View-shot, view-shot? I absolutely couldn't lose to these goblins. Time to pull out a new technique.

"Let's go!"

Flames bloomed under my feet. Flaming Blaze Step, a basic footwork technique true to its plain name. Key features: explosive acceleration via bursts and sharp direction changes. Truth be told, my mastery wasn't ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠that high. But against Qi Refinement 1-stars, it was plenty.

"Kirik?!!"

I accelerated in a burst, charging right to the earth goblin's face. Up close, I savored its panicked expression and drove a knee into its chest! Boom-.

It was a paper doll.

"Kirik."

The goblin that had swapped places with a decoy popped out from the ground. An application of the paper doll technique from the first floor. I'd aimed to retire it, but now I just felt deflated.

"What the hell is this difficulty?"

Splat!! Splurt!

No breather—attacks poured in. Earth goblin from behind. Water spears from the rear. Wind goblin up front. Air bullets from the brush. And I'd just realized there was one more hiding. Total of four.

Four monster cultivators unloading on me. Was this right?

"Tch. No choice."

My kneeing body couldn't defy gravity and dropped back down. As I landed, I twisted and spun wildly. Channel Spirit Qi around my body, and you can deflect attacks like a top. This was Flame Spin Lotus, simultaneous defense and counter via rotation.

Ideally, it should've sparked flames and exploded on deflection, but I wasn't there yet. Still, the rebounding force toppled the earth and wind goblins off-balance. They were done.

"Pew!"

Damn. A wind goblin in the brush fired an air bullet to save its buddies. I vowed someday I'd incinerate all this brush on entry.

"Enough. Let's end it!"

I jetted flames from my feet for an abrupt stop, grabbed the earth goblin, and used it to block the air bullet. Heavier than expected, but no biggie for me pushing Qi Refinement 4-star.

"...Kiruk?"

After tanking the ranged poke with its mud armor, I finished the wind goblin first. Qi Refinement 1-star wind goblins were now trash mobs. They crumple with a tap, obviously. Annoying to hunt like mosquitoes, but insta-kill if you spot 'em.

Next, earth goblin. I clapped its mud-covered head like a fly. It blocked, but the skull-ringing daze let me slice clean. Then I hurled a fireball at the brush whence the air bullets came.

"Kiruk. Kirruk!"

Trash mob 2, wind goblin, leaped out in panic—I KO'd it with a throwdown. Just the water goblin left.

"Krawrak!"

With allies gone, the water goblin whipped its head side to side, but the tide had turned. It resisted ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to the bitter end, though. Annoyed, I closed in on its face.

But suddenly, the water goblin knelt and raised both hands high.

"Ki, kiruk!"

Lean forward, and it'd be the classic prostration from historical dramas—five points fully on the ground, humbling oneself utterly. But I didn't trust goblins anymore.

As its head dipped, hands and forehead hitting dirt... a water jet erupted from the ground.

Yeah. Never expected otherwise. I'd long grasped this was goblin average.

So, farewell. I gently stomped the prone water goblin's occiput.

Crack-.

The ground stained red as two chunks of transparent stones dropped before me. Pay at two thousand won per hour. When will minimum wage rise?

Oh! Circulation Pill, the natural wrinkle-erasing wonder that smooths Spirit Qi flow and boosts skin elasticity! Another 100-million-won skincare snack (not).

And finally.

"Hoot. First place again."

Third time already, but it never got old. I wanted to stay at the top.

Now I had three trophies. Felt like about 10% boosts for courage and vitality. Flame I'd test soon, but as a fire attribute guy, it'd help for sure. And passives are always right—that's my creed.

My ever-running Myriad Meridian Self-Genesis and Red Lotus Refinement Art were reinforcing my body even now, meridians humming away.

And so, right then—I stood on the cusp of Qi Refinement 4-star.

"Hoo."

I sat cross-legged, breathing deep. Time to leap the wall. Unlike the thin Spirit Qi of reality, the secret realm brimmed with it—perfect for training. I wanted to hole up for days, but the tower would boot me. After crushing goblins, settling in felt iffy with rankings dropping. Time scores were obviously a factor.

But for a breakthrough moment like this, a quick qi circulation seemed fine.

"In—hoo."

How long was I in meditation? Heaven and earth Spirit Qi seeped through my pores, body shuddering. Bones hardened further, the eight extraordinary meridians aligned. And I hit Qi Refinement 4-star.

Honestly, I was stunned. No wall at all—just smooth ascent, like barriers didn't exist. This talent? Scary stuff.

"Puhaha."

Who am I? A Qi Refinement 4-star cultivator with 540 million won in assets (soon). Sharing this glory with hidden MVP Heavenly Seedling and Intertwined Lotus Flame.

"Return!"

Goal achieved, I warped back to my studio. Felt cramped somehow. Despite closed growth plates, training had stretched me past 180cm. Muscles bulked up too since starting.

Move out? A 5-pyeong studio didn't suit the great Heavenly Seedling. Time for a place matching my stature—

Ding-dong!

"Hello? Mr. Choi Do-yul? Are you home?"

"Who... is it?"

Fresh from the tower, a visitor. My moving high crashed back to normal thanks to this intruder. Covered in blood and dirt—shower first? But I hated delaying.

"Good, you're home."

"Who are you, anyway?"

I spat it out irritably, then winced. No fault of theirs, and the voice was a woman's I'd never heard in 25 years.

"Hello. I'm Team Leader Cha Su-rim, who handled your ability assessment. Got a moment?"

"Ah... sure."

Opening the door revealed the unexpected: the uniform lady from the Awakener Association.