Chapter 59
Chapter 59
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 59
Chapter Title: Hospitality
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Hospitality.
When earthworms mature, they swell into white, round bands. These are called "hospitality."
All worm-type monsters have this clitellum, and the seam at its edge is softer than the rest of the skin.
That's why Hae-jin had leaped onto the sandworm's body.
To target the clitellum.
Reaching it, Hae-jin swung his sword.
"Let's end it in one hit."
Slash-!
Hae-jin cleaved the sandworm.
Unlike before, when it had only been half-severed, its body split cleanly in two right away.
"That's more like it!"
Hae-jin, smug after dropping the sandworm in one blow, headed straight up to the 71st floor.
[I wonder what'll come next?]
Thinking that, Hae-jin stepped into the 71st floor.
The 71st floor had turned into a snowy wasteland.
"A snowy field... Starts with yetis and banshees, huh."
Yeti.
A massive, white-furred snowman monster.
Its physical prowess rivaled a cyclops, but yetis could also use ice magic, making them even more exhausting.
And banshee.
A ghost-type undead that wielded ice-based curses and magic.
Seeing the two, Hae-jin thought:
[Yeti's just a simple slash...]
He could probably bisect a yeti with a normal sword strike.
But the banshee was different.
It was a ghostly monster.
Normal physical attacks wouldn't work.
Gripping his twin swords tight, Hae-jin circulated his inner energy.
'Aura Blade.'
Vmmm-.
Black energy flowed over the twin swords in his hands.
The black energy wrapped around the blades like scabbards.
No, not scabbards.
It took form just like the blades themselves.
Right now, no players had awakened to such insights, so everyone just used skills, but as the Trials' Arena progressed, some players gained otherworldly knowledge.
Among them, some elevated their mana into techniques rather than mere skills.
One such was the 'Aura Blade' Hae-jin was using now.
Against foes immune to plain physical attacks, you had to enchant weapons with magic or coat them in aura like this to deal damage.
With his Aura Blade ready, Hae-jin charged at the yeti and banshee, slashing both in one go.
Slash-.
Shrieek-.
The yeti split like tofu, the banshee bisected and torn apart.
Hae-jin's strikes were too fast; the yeti couldn't even scream, and the banshee wailed a curse as it died.
[Debuff! Banshee's 'Cursed Wail' activates.]
[All stats reduced by 20%.]
The banshee vanished, cursing its killer with resentment in its dying breath.
But.
[Skill! 'Curse Immunity' activates.]
[Banshee's 'Cursed Wail' has no effect.]
Joo-hyuk's 'Curse Immunity' skill brushed off the banshee's curse like a joke.
Seeing it, Hae-jin smirked.
"What can you do? To beat Joo-hyuk's curse immunity, you'd need at least those 'damned bastards'."
Saying that, Hae-jin kept climbing the Tower of Trials.
On the 75th floor, a Yeti King and Banshee Queen appeared, but they dealt no damage to Hae-jin.
From the 76th floor, those became mob fodder, with a Viking-like warrior at the center.
Hae-jin scowled at the sight.
[This guy's here.]
Snowy Mountain Viking.
Its official name: 'Ice Berserker.'
Hae-jin frowned not because it was strong.
The reason was.
"Uwaao! Yo mama!"
Berserker-types spammed mom jokes.
Once HP dropped below half, they'd enter berserk mode and stop, but until then, they hurled endless trash talk.
Hae-jin thought:
[Gotta shut that rag-mouthed bastard up first.]
He could wipe them all at once, but the Ice Berserker's insults grated, so he took it out first.
Berserker mobs ramped up the trash talk over time, which was annoying.
So he swiftly eliminated the Ice Berserker, then its yeti and banshee minions.
After clearing the 76th floor, Hae-jin said:
"Ah, so 80th floor's got the Trash Talk King?"
Trash Talk King.
A nickname Hae-jin's old party or surviving players who faced berserker-types gave it.
The Berserker King started with brutal trash talk.
Sure enough.
As expected, the Berserker King appeared on the 80th floor.
Hae-jin killed it fast.
"You motherless—Gaaack!"
He'd taken it out quick, but not before it landed a line, making Hae-jin clean his ears.
"Whew, my ears."
Afterward, Hae-jin moved to the 81st floor.
There, he saw it.
A vast ocean stretching out.
Hae-jin was on a ship automatically sailing forward over the sea.
He commented.
"80s floors are naval combat?"
Thinking naval battle, Hae-jin pondered what monsters might come.
[Mermen? But isn't that too easy?]
Mermen.
The sea had merfolk.
Two types: mermaids and mermen.
Mermaids had human upper bodies and fish tails.
Mermen had fish uppers and human lowers.
Usually, mermaids were NPC allies with players in the Trials' Arena, while mermen were monsters.
But after the previous foes, mermen seemed too low-level.
Then.
Boom-!
Something shook the hull, bursting from the sea to coil around the ship.
Hae-jin was stunned.
"Yeah, I figured no lizardmen... but a Kraken right off the bat? That's too much."
Kraken.
A Nordic monster, one of the most famous legendary sea beasts.
A headache among sea monster encounters.
"Too bad, I had butter, it'd be perfect."
But they weren't up to Hae-jin's current spec.
Hae-jin severed all the kraken's legs trying to crush the ship.
The severed legs writhed on deck.
"Ew, gross. Turn into tasty squid legs. Fireball."
Hae-jin extended his hand.
Joo-hyuk had solid magic skills too.
So he could use fire-attribute magic like Fireball.
[Skill! 'Fireball' cast.]
Fwoosh-!
Red energy swirled around Hae-jin's outstretched arm, turning to flame.
The flame formed a massive orb that struck the writhing kraken legs.
Boom-!
Fwoosh-!
Sizzle-!
The fireball roasted the kraken legs golden, evaporating their moisture.
Seeing it, Hae-jin recalled Joo-hyuk's words.
[Kraken legs are an excellent protein source.]
That's why he'd mentioned butter.
Joo-hyuk raved about them, slathering butter and grilling with Fireball for buttered squid legs.
Anyway, reminiscing, Hae-jin saw:
The kraken, furious at its severed legs, leaping from the sea onto the surface.
Hae-jin clicked his tongue.
"If you show yourself so clearly, I have to kill you."
Saying that, he slammed the sword in his right hand into the deck.
Thud!
Releasing it, Hae-jin took a javelin stance and activated a skill.
'Thunder Spear!'
[Skill! 'Thunder Spear' cast.]
Thunder Spear.
A lightning spear, as named.
Kraken's water attribute.
Lightning was perfect against it.
Hae-jin hurled the lightning spear at the kraken's eye.
Zzzap-!
Golden lightning coiled around Hae-jin's javelin hand, forming a spear shape that shot toward the kraken's eye.
Zzzzap-!
Leaving golden trails in the air, the Thunder Spear pierced the kraken's eye.
The kraken fell.
Hae-jin downed it instantly.
He sliced the recently grilled kraken leg to edible size and munched while saying:
"Hmm, so on the 80s floors, I don't climb— it follows the sea route automatically?"
His guess was spot on.
As the ship advanced, Hae-jin spotted two krakens welcoming him.
Difficulty had ramped up for sure.
A single kraken matched worm-type boss levels.
As mob fodder, how could it not?
Hae-jin just made it look easy.
But two krakens were still just protein sources to him—nothing more, nothing less.
Thus, Hae-jin progressed through the 80s floors.
In what seemed the 85th section, one Kraken King and five krakens appeared.
Then, in the 86th section, a megalodon joined the krakens.
Megalodon.
A massive shark sea monster.
No trouble for Hae-jin.
But one surprising thing:
[What the hell is this ship made of?]
Megalodon's bite force was infamous.
It chomped the ship targeting Hae-jin but failed, and the ship took zero damage despite the bite.
[Well, it has to be sturdy for floor progression.]
Thinking that, Hae-jin boredly cleared the rest of the 80s.
Finally reaching the 90th floor, the last of the 80s block.
But there, Hae-jin saw:
"Mermaids that haven't shown up till now appear at the end?"
Mermaid.
A merperson.
And the one before Hae-jin now.
A massive, macho, bearded mermaid wearing a crown, its whiskers fluttering.
Its regal attire screamed Mermaid King.
The Mermaid King stood atop a sea serpent, leading a horde of sea monsters toward Hae-jin's ship.
Seeing them, Hae-jin powerfully generated Aura Blades on his twin swords.
Whoooosh-!
Black energy surging over Hae-jin's twin swords.
The Mermaid King and giant monster swarm meant he had to get serious this time.
Gazing at them, Hae-jin said:
"Shall we sashimi the lot?"