Five Minutes to the Summit!
Crack—!
“Ungh.”
Kim Jun rose from the bed and stretched with visible pain.
Lee Seoyeon healed the damaged mana circuits every day, but the aftereffects of his berserk state were worse than he’d expected.
He couldn’t possibly begin clearing the next floor like this.
“Still, I can’t just sit around doing nothing.”
Kim Jun brought up his status window.
He hadn’t planned it, but after clearing all of Heaven’s many floors in a single day, his level had climbed to a point no one could hope to touch.
Of course, that had always been true to begin with.
“Forty-nine, huh....”
Kim Jun’s eyes flashed.
The Tower of Trials used a growth system remarkably similar to a game’s.
There were five basic classes, special classes, and even a second awakening that became possible once you reached a certain level.
For warrior-type classes, that second awakening came at level 50.
“Just one level short.”
Setting still made the awkward number 49 irritating, but if he tried forcing his way into another floor clear, Seoyeon’s gaze prickling at the back of his neck would be even more annoying.
Creak—
“Hyung? How’re you feeling today?”
Park Minsu arrived just then.
“Hmm....”
Kim Jun slowly looked Minsu over.
He was nearly two meters tall, and even more impossible to ignore than his height was the monstrous mass of muscle from his days as a bodybuilder.
His shoulders were as wide as a doorframe, and his forearms were as thick as Kim Jun’s legs.
“You’re really natural?”
“Bwahahahaha! Hard to believe, right? Right?”
Park Minsu proudly flexed his biceps.
“Heh! Hee! Chua!”
Muscle like a small soccer ball bulged up grotesquely.
“How much stamina do you have right now?”
“Me? Uh....”
“Three hundred and twelve thousand!”
“...What?”
Kim Jun checked his own stamina again.
192,000.
Even with more than a thirty-level gap between them, Minsu’s stamina was overwhelmingly higher.
Monstrous endurance, and every piece of his gear—top, bottom, even his gloves—had been reinforced to +10 or above.
But his attack power was painfully low.
It was the perfect condition.
Kim Jun wiped at the corner of his mouth and said, “...Minsu.”
“Yeah?”
“You want to level up, don’t you?”
“Obviously.”
Park Minsu’s eyes shone as he answered.
“Then come do something with me.”
“Huh? What’s that supposed to mean?”
He tilted his head, and Kim Jun smiled in a way that meant nothing good.
A perfect piece of meat... no, a perfect tank.
*
“Where are we?”
Park Minsu looked around nervously.
A red sky, rivers of flowing lava, and the howls of monsters echoing from every direction.
“Where else? Hell.”
Kim Jun answered flatly.
“H-Hell?!”
Minsu stumbled back in shock.
“Why are we suddenly in Hell?”
“If we want to level up, we have to kill monsters.”
Kim Jun said it as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
In truth, he had another reason.
His condition was at its worst.
The core where dragon and demon power fused together wasn’t functioning properly because of the lingering effects of his berserk state.
Normally, he could cut down dozens of monsters in an instant on his own, but right now his stamina and mana were both below half.
If he fought alone like this, the damage would only keep stacking up little by little.
That was why he needed a tank.
And while I’m at it, I can strengthen Black Flame too.
Kim Jun had another objective.
The fire attribute he already possessed had grown even stronger after awakening as a Dragon Slayer.
Then there was the darkness attribute he gained through his contract with Asmodeus.
Black Flame.
A unique attribute of Kim Jun’s had been born.
But it still wasn’t complete.
[Skill Information]
Black Flame
Rank: EX
Attribute: Fire + Darkness
Effect: Creates black flames that can never be extinguished
Special: Increases all attribute damage
Stage: 1/1000
Upgrading Black Flame was simple.
He just had to hunt the monsters of Hell.
He needed the special experience that could only be gained here.
“Shall we get moving?”
“I’ve got a bad feeling about this....”
Clear the Underground Second Floor
📍 Location: Underground Second Floor
🎁 Reward: ???
“Two, two thousand monsters?”
“What do you think? Perfect for leveling up, right?”
“Hyung, you’re not even in good condition right now. How am I supposed to handle all that? I’m not exactly a high-damage type, you know?”
Park Minsu asked worriedly.
Then the corners of Kim Jun’s mouth lifted.
“...Hyung? Why are you smiling like that?”
A bad feeling crept up his spine.
“I’m counting on you, Minsu.”
“Huh? Count on me for wh—”
It happened in an instant.
“Huh?”
Before Park Minsu could even realize something was wrong, Kim Jun’s hand pressed against his back.
No, “pressed” wasn’t quite right...
Whoosh—!
“Agh!”
He hurled him.
“Waaahh—!”
Park Minsu shot through the air in a perfect parabola.
Thud-crash—!
And landed exactly in the middle of the largest concentration of demon soldiers.
Dust flew up as Minsu was driven into the ground.
“A human!”
“It’s a feast!”
In an instant, dozens of demon soldiers swarmed around him.
“Hyung! What the hell is this?!”
“I’m not actually going to make you kill all two thousand. Just hold out for a bit!”
“Hey! That better be true! We’re just grabbing a few and going, right?”
“Yeah, you idiot!”
Startled, Park Minsu was still a veteran S-class tanker from before the Tower.
Click!
He tightened his belt and adjusted his helmet to clear his vision.
He checked the strap on his shield and double-checked the joints in his armor.
Then he bent his knees slightly, lowering his center of gravity—classic tanker stance, honed into his body over years.
He drew a deep breath and let it out.
“Good.”
Minsu’s eyes changed. The panicked look was gone, replaced by the gaze of a seasoned warrior.
He slid his left foot half a step forward, then lifted his shield to chest height.
In his right hand, he gripped his mace in reverse and hid behind the shield.
Even surrounded by dozens of demon soldiers, he showed no sign of shrinking back.
“Come on then!! Uryaahhh-cha-cha-cha!”
Park Minsu roared.
Bang—!
The huge shield slammed into the ground.
A heavy echo rolled across the second underground floor.
His confidence in taking on dozens of monsters alone wasn’t bluff; it came from skill.
“Area Taunt!”
With Minsu’s shout, a fierce wave of energy burst outward in every direction.
Slash—!
The invisible shockwave swept over every demon soldier nearby.
Their eyes all turned red at once, and every one of them fixed on Park Minsu.
Area Taunt Activated
Affected Targets: Demon Soldiers x52
Effects:
- Forced aggro lock (30 seconds)
- Damage taken by target +30%
- Cannot attack other targets
- Duration: 30 seconds
“Fifty-two, huh... that’s a pretty good cluster.”
Kim Jun watched with satisfaction.
The demon soldiers had formed a tight ring around Minsu.
Especially because Minsu had been forced toward the wall, they were packed into a semicircle.
It was the perfect formation for Kim Jun to unleash an area attack.
He drew out Judgment Sword Victorius, the weapon he’d obtained after killing the floor 11 boss, Lavia.
“Thanks, Minsu!”
Clang-clang-clang!
Demon Soldiers Defeated x52
Black Flame Experience Increased: 2/1000
Quest Progress: 52/2000
“Good. Next!”
Just as he was looking for the next group, the ground began to shake.
Thud—! Thud—! Thud—!
A massive shadow appeared.
A demon warrior four meters tall, its entire body covered in dark crimson muscle, came into view with an enormous axe in both hands.
Behind it, winged demons and bizarre, fleshy monsters writhing like clusters of tentacles emerged in swarms.
“These ones won’t be so easy!”
Park Minsu gripped his shield tightly.
“Die, human!”
Crash—!
The giant demon’s axe struck Minsu’s shield.
“Hup!”
Minsu was shoved backward.
At the same time, poison needles fell from the sky while a sticky liquid splattered up from the ground.
“Agh! Gross!”
Minsu’s feet started sticking to the floor.
“Hyung! This time it’s really dangerous!”
He shouted in panic. His stamina was dropping fast.
But Kim Jun was still standing there with his arms folded, watching.
Still 250,000 left.
Checking Minsu’s stamina, Kim Jun gave a small nod. There was still plenty of room.
“Just hang on a little longer!”
“A little longer?!”
Even after that, the situation remained the same.
“Area Taunt!”
Taunt.
“Holy Judgment!”
Attack.
“Area Taunt!”
Taunt.
“Holy Judgment!”
Attack.
“When are you planning to finish this, hyung?!”
“Just one more time.”
Kim Jun held up a single finger.
“Really?”
“Really.”
But when that “one more time” ended,
“Hyung! Aren’t we done now? I’m seriously dying here!”
“Ah, look, there’s another wave. Just one more time.”
“Again?!”
“If we take care of that one, it’s really over.”
Quest Progress: 890/2000
Quest Progress: 1,210/2000
Quest Progress: 1,390/2000
He repeated that ten times.
Pop—!
Gulp-gulp—
“Hyung!! I’m out of mana potions too! I’m seriously running if ten minutes pass!”
“Okay. This is really the last one.”
“Damn it, dammit!”
Kim Jun kept soothing Park Minsu.
He sounded like one of those neighborhood uncles on a mountain trail, casually saying, “Only five more minutes to the summit!”
And the summit that had been five minutes away dragged on to ten minutes past.
“Hyung! Hyung!”
“What.”
“It’s been five minutes already.”
“Let’s hunt for five more minutes.”
Twenty minutes passed.
“Damn it! You said that was the last one!!”
Thirty minutes passed.
“Kim Jun! You’re not even my hyung anymore!”
By the time forty minutes had gone by—
“Aaaagh! When is this going to end?!”
“...Minsu.”
“What!!!”
“There really isn’t much left.”
Quest Progress: 1941/2000
“Then you should’ve said you were going to kill them all from the start!!”
“If I had, you wouldn’t have come.”
“...Argh!!”
To be fair, Kim Jun had never intended to finish clearing the second floor in a single day either.
The underground floors were completely different from the upper ones.
Monsters came in swarms of dozens, even hundreds at a time.
It was a battlefield where a hunter’s personal strength mattered less than the ability to form a squad and fight strategically.
That was why, before his regression, hunters had organized into massive assault parties and cleared them gradually over several days.
Thankfully, the monsters of the underground floors took a full week to respawn, so it was possible to rest in between and continue the assault.
Kim Jun had originally planned to do exactly that.
Hunt for a few hours with Park Minsu, then come back tomorrow and continue.
But watching Minsu endure far better than expected had changed his mind.
Maybe we can actually clear it today.
That would normally have been impossible.
But Minsu’s stamina, defense, and taunt ability had all exceeded expectations.
A single man was holding out against thousands.
On top of that, the +150% damage against demon lords and demons from Judgment Sword Victorius was absurdly overwhelming.
“This is happening because you’re holding up way too well, you idiot. I’m tired too, but you’re doing so well I keep pushing for more.”
“I-is that... what, what you say right now?;”
Park Minsu panted as he spoke. It was meant as a joke, but right now Minsu was in such a state of furious near-breakdown that he couldn’t even take a joke.
His face crumpled and turned beet red.
“Haha, sorry. Just a little farther!”
Kim Jun unleashed Holy Judgment at the last wave.
Ka-ga-ga-gang—!
Quest Progress: 2000/2000
Underground Second Floor Clear!
Reward: Darkness Attribute, Darkness Attribute Experience Obtained!
“It’s over!”
Park Minsu shouted in triumph as he lowered his shield.
“Yahoo! Finally! It’s over!”
But then it happened.
RUMBLE—
A massive noise rolled up from deep underground, like a heavy stone door opening somewhere below.
Far away in the darkness, a red light began to seep through.
It was the boss room.
“...”
“...”
Silence fell for a moment.
Park Minsu’s face twisted when he saw Kim Jun’s gleaming eyes.
“...Minsu.”
“No.”
“Aren’t you tempted?”
“Not even a little.”
“Just that one place?”
“No!”
“Ahem.”
Kim Jun was serious.
He had really planned to kill only 500 monsters, then 1,000, then 1,500, then 2,000.
“....”
“I said no.”
But what could he do?
All of this was because Park Minsu was simply too good.
“I said no, didn’t I?”
“Ahem!”
“No!”
“Then I guess there’s no choice....”
“G-good, hyung. Let’s go back now....”
Kim Jun was smiling.
Minsu. Let’s go.
“A-ack...?”
It was a dragon tongue spell.
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