Beyond the Night Fog
With the boss clear on the Tower of Trials 8th Floor, I immediately activated the transfer gate. The queasy sensation of passing through was gone, and the world that unfolded wasn't all that different from the 7th Floor. A vast forest stretched out, dotted with unremarkable trees everywhere.
Thud! As I scanned the surroundings cautiously, a distant pounding echoed through the air.
I spread my mana in the direction of the sound and pinpointed its source. Some massive tree golem was lumbering around, thudding away. It didn't seem like the wooden monsters from the 7th Floor. More like a high elf familiar or guard golem.
Whatever it was, it didn't look that strong, and I had more pressing matters. First things first—head to the dark elf village. I already had the location memorized; no need to check a map.
Crunch crunch crunch! I charged toward my destination at full speed. The skill I'd earned from clearing the 7th Floor boss was kicking in.
Charge Lv.1
A faint mana swirled around my legs, lightening my steps and boosting my speed. It scaled with my agility stat, apparently—this Lv.1 skill packed a serious punch.
In the midst of my sprint, I ran into that tree golem I'd sensed earlier. Looked like these things were scattered throughout the forest. The golem's eyes lit up the moment it spotted me, and with a creaking groan, it lunged right away.
Time to test the achievement reward from one-shotting the 7th Floor boss.
Weak Point Detection
I targeted the tree golem in front of me and triggered the skill. A strange mana flow wrapped around it. Similar to sensing surroundings with mana, but different—this felt like peering inside the target. The golem's overall structure mapped out in my head, revealing its vulnerabilities naturally.
The thing's core was a small seed embedded in its back, powered by mana there. Smash that seed, and it was done.
Screeech! The golem slowly raised its arm, aiming to smash down on me. But it was even slower than its bulky frame suggested. No way in hell I'd let that hit me even if I tried.
Iron Wall
I closed in on the golem and drove my Iron Wall-empowered fist straight into its chest.
Boom! My punch shattered its body in one hit, piercing clean through to the back. A red effect flashed as the core exploded.
The critical hit felt different from usual. The skill description mentioned crits on vital spots—this must be it. Normal crits were just judgments on lethal blows. But this forced a crit by hitting a detected weak point, turning even non-lethal attacks lethal.
The system was often vague; had to figure shit out through trial and error like this. But right now, I just wanted to get to the village.
Rumble. The ground tore open as more tree golems emerged, surrounding me.
It seemed killing one spawned more. Probably info in strategy guides, but I'd rushed up the floors without checking.
Looked like I'd poked the wrong monster and gotten swarmed solo—a total disaster for most. But honestly? This was nothing now.
Thud! The golems crumpled one by one, their cores precisely obliterated. I waited, but no more showed up. Must've been a limit on spawns.
I'd grown strong enough to one-shot floor bosses that took ten-plus challengers. Trash mobs like these? No threat, no matter the numbers.
I pressed on after felling the golems—and immediately hit an unexpected snag.
"What the hell is this."
A strange mist descended, exuding an eerie aura. My minimap vanished from the system window, and the path seemed different from what I remembered. The fog around the dark elf village had always been thick, but nothing like this map gimmick. And by now, the village should be in sight—except it was all mist.
Sensory Amplification
I spread mana around me and activated Sensory Amplification. Chaos hit immediately. The mana scattered every which way; I couldn't sense shit properly.
"This is magic."
The mist was creating some interference effect. Not just blocking sight or detection—it was scrambling my senses entirely. Felt like area-wide magic affecting even mana sense. Could search communities for solutions, but relying on strats felt lame. If I couldn't overcome this solo, it'd bite me later.
"Hoo..."
I took a deep breath and redeployed my mana.
Condensation
Recalling the focus from skill use, I tried condensing mana to a single point for control. Might work if I nailed it.
No dice. Fuck. The harder I focused, the tougher it got to control—like meditation when my mind was fucked. Mental chaos bleeding into mana.
Damn it, all I wanted was to check on the dark elves quick.
"...Try again."
Eyes closed, I poured everything into mana sense. Mana kept slipping, scattering wildly. Trying to corral it failed repeatedly.
Change tactics. Instead of fighting the scatter, push it outward. Blast maximum mana at once, reach as far as possible. I dumped mana until my MP hit zero.
Then, at the edge of the farthest wave, something pinged.
Crack! I bolted toward it full tilt. What I saw: a massive Rune Bear—and a familiar dark elf leaping over it, blade flashing.
That intense presence from the 7th Floor onward? Unmistakable.
Thud! The Rune Bear collapsed, shadows dissipating from her sword. The dark elf turned and shouted my way.
"Who's there?"
I hesitated a beat. Would she even remember me? Was this the same person?
"It's me."
Awkward as hell, but the dark elf—Elenoir—walked over slowly.
"No way... is it really you?"
She recognized me right away.
The dark elf village was in the exact same spot as on the 7th Floor. They'd just beefed up the fog magic around it to keep intruders out. Used to just obscure vision a bit; now it scrambled all senses.
"Can't believe I didn't think to add you as an exception when setting the spell. Not a day I've forgotten you."
Elenoir beamed, grinning ear to ear at seeing me again. Why hadn't she thought of me? Probably the system messing with her.
Beyond the Night Fog - Ruel's Stump
Following Elenoir, I arrived back at the dark elf village. I swallowed hard.
Would the other dark elves recognize me like her? The thought hit, and I smacked my forehead.
"Wait, who gives a shit."
What was I even worrying about? If NPCs didn't remember me, so what? Better that way, even. Lets me focus purely on grinding without distractions. Their kindness softens me up—that's why I bailed from the 7th Floor in a hurry.
So why the hell was I hoping they'd recognize me now? No need to overthink. Seo Jin-hyeok, you pathetic fuck. Still craving some peace, huh.
After talking with Rizmel, I'd decided not to treat dark elves like mere NPCs. If they talk and act like people, they are people. But the Tower of Trials slapped me down—told me they're just system parts, NPCs through and through.
"Everyone's gonna flip when they hear you're back. The village mood's been down for a while; this'll lighten things up."
"Humans age so fast, yet here you are, looking exactly the same."
"Finished your trials? How many dimensions did you travel? Can't wait to hear!"
But staring into Elenoir's eyes, still burning with dreams and curiosity—
"Come on, tell me everything from the last twenty years."
—logic and reason scatter, and some primal urge keeps rearing up.
I shouldn't have sided with the dark elves.