#30. 2층
Vampire prowled around me, sniffing at my scent.
Neither a woman nor a man? Trying to smell my scent? Fuck, I couldn't stand it.
“Wait, it's not Elysha or Yoo Dahui. Why the hell do you want my blood?”
I couldn't swing my sword, so I just asked.
The vampire glanced at Elysha and Yoo Dahui, then shook his head.
“It’s not them. Your scent is far deeper. The raven-haired woman’s scent is exotic, but nothing compared to yours. It’s more intoxicating than the Ancient Dragon, which is said to be otherworldly…”
“Fuck.”
“Humans hate homosexuality. I don’t care much about gender, but if I had to pick, women are better. Female blood is way sweeter than male blood. But…”
The vampire brushed my wrist.
I remembered this feeling from somewhere. Back when I was a newbie in the barracks, I learned that one of my seniors was actually gay. The same shock and disgust hit me now.
“Your blood smells sweeter than any woman’s. Far sweeter than a virgin who’s gone twenty years untouched by a man’s hands.”
“This fucking bastard…”
I swung my sword.
“It’s about to happen. Look over there. That’s a golem.”
The vampire pressed my wrist and grinned.
His hand pointed toward the golem. Alone on the plain, there was just one golem. I hadn’t noticed its size when we boarded Elena’s bus, but facing it now gave me the chills.
“Later. We’ll have a deep talk later.”
“Just die. Or I’ll go kill you.”
The vampire backed away, still under the party’s charm. He was clearly up to something.
As the vampire retreated, Yoo Dahui naturally moved closer to me.
“What did you two talk about?”
“He said my blood tastes delicious. Asked for just a taste before he died. Then he told me to fuck off.”
“Blood? That guy? A vampire or something?”
“Maybe? From what he said, it sounded like that.”
I could’ve mentioned we’d met before, but pretending not to know felt easier. The details were messy; better to keep it vague.
“Miss Dahui, weren’t you charmed by him?”
“Charmed? Nope. Why?”
“That vampire was spreading charm. Eyes meet, you’re done for.”
“Ah… I’m fine. How about Elysha?”
Yoo Dahui turned back to check on Elysha.
Elysha had no resistance to charm. In the previous cycle, only Elysha had been affected.
“I can break the charm.”
A 2-star vampire’s charm was nothing to Elena. I’d broken it dozens of times.
The golem raid party advanced into the plain.
The golem gave a faint reaction. The slightest movement felt like an earthquake to us.
“One wrong punch and I’m gone.”
“It’s not that strong. If strength goes over level 30, one hit is survivable.”
My muttering earned a tip from Yoo Dahui.
“…You have strength over level 30…?”
“Hah, yeah…”
I swallowed my laughter at Yoo Dahui’s flustered face. Strength was only level 29. What could I do? I wasn’t the protagonist.
“Still, level 29 means we can try, right?”
“Y-Yeah! We’ll make it!”
Yoo Dahui clapped her hands nervously as if soothing me. The cuteness made me laugh out loud.
We kept some distance from the golem and stopped.
Regressors had leeway, but others risked their lives for this challenge. Tension was needed.
The dwarf who had led the group first stepped forward.
“My name is Palo. This is my fifth attempt.”
Five attempts meant he had boss raid experience. He was warning us not to interfere since he was in charge.
“Some might think, after five failures, why is he still here? But I’ve safely retreated every single time.”
Coming back alive from a golem meant solid stats. He had the tankiness to show for it.
Palo said exactly what I expected.
“A few party members died, but they were weak. How do you save a party member who bursts from a golem’s punch or kick? Unfortunately, I’m not that strong.”
Palo stood in expensive chain armor, dual axes planted in the ground. He was a classic warrior.
“But I’m not weak like a rat. If you just tank one hit each, I get over ten chances. With those chances, I’ll take down the golem.”
“…So basically, you want us to be bait?”
“Yeah. Exactly.”
Yoo Dahui repeated the word “bait,” and Palo naturally asked us to act as bait.
Bait wasn’t a word you liked for a boss monster raid. We weren’t attacking as a guild in the mid-to-upper floors. This was the bottom layer—individual or party versus party. Bait was the worst term.
Palo’s eyes were already glazed with charm, babbling whatever the vampire wanted.
“What’s this guy thinking? He has a charm skill and still wants this hassle?”
“Great! I’ll be the bait!”
“Yes! We can do it!”
“Let’s go to the second floor!”
We shouted as one. The loud battle cry pushed our backs forward.
“Fight! Fight…!”
We awkwardly cheered and followed the players.
With Elena as the hidden card, there was nothing to worry about. The real question was what we could gain from the golem.
Even if boss raids weren’t as good as PK for growth, one solid boss kill beat killing regular monsters a hundred times. But considering the price of life, boss raids were the most inefficient.
Thud… The golem swung its thick legs.
From its perspective, it was slow. From below, it was terrifying.
“Dodge!”
This was a mixed bunch. If they had reason, they wouldn’t be here. They were all under the vampire’s control and acting like idiots.
I knew how to handle golem raids. Well, how those idiots should handle them. The golem’s movements were human-like. The waist was key; dynamic moves left big gaps. We had to bait the dynamic moves.
Of course, with overwhelming stats, none of that mattered.
Boom-boom-boom-boom! The golem charged.
Its 15-meter frame moved with surprising agility.
As soon as it came close, I’d need to chug a potion.
Who would be the first target?
“Bait!”
Palo called for bait the moment he became the target.
Reality didn’t go smoothly. The vampire had no intention of protecting Palo.
Thud! “Gah!”
The golem kicked Palo.
Even though it was kicked, the golem stayed in shape. Its strength stat must have been high.
This was our chance. The gap from the kick left room.
[‘Pluto’s Hand’ activated.]
I spent my life force to create a black hand and stuffed it with 2-star weapons.
“W-What is this?!”
“It’s not a sword!”
“Then what? Telekinesis?”
Even under charm, the sight was bizarre enough to pull everyone’s eyes.
I ignored the noise and charged at the golem like an arrow.
Yoo Dahui followed right behind me.
“What do we do?”
“First, wait for a gap and smash it. Before I become the target.”
The golem still swung its fists indiscriminately at the players around us.
One punch sent one player flying. It hadn’t targeted me yet. The charmed players were the main targets.
“Vampire, you fucking bastard…”
Thanks to that guy, it was harder.
“Elena, kill the vampire.”
The vampire sat beside Palo, fangs buried in his neck.
He was sucking blood.
“I told Elena to kill the vampire.”
“Why?”
“He’s been sucking the dwarf’s blood here. He’s deliberately sabotaging the boss raid.”
What the vampire was doing was normal PK. Backstabbing during a boss monster raid was common even in mid-to-upper floors.
Why bother using the golem? I wondered.
“He’s probably weak in melee.”
He could handle blood. That was all there was to it. No application. That was why he used the golem to grow stronger through PK.
“That ends now.”
Elena took out the vampire in an instant. Charm broke, players regained their senses and started screaming.
“T-The golem!”
“What?! Why is it here?!”
Dodge! Run!”
They screamed.
The fearless fanatics were finally afraid of death.
Thud! “Attack! Kill the golem!”
The moment one player burst, the rest poured into total attack mode.
“That flying weapon is distracting!”
“Everyone, move in when it opens up! Gah!”
I used ‘Pluto’s Hand’ to show peak offense and defense.
I borrowed the strength of level 29 to wield the enlarged hand.
A free-for-all. The golem couldn’t think straight. Its low intelligence meant it was lost in the flying weapons.
“It might be easier than I thought…?”
But I had to rack up contribution. Boss monsters rewarded based on contribution. Coins, stat bonuses, skill level bonuses. It was an event.
“Shit!”
Every time the golem was hit, fragments rained down. All of it was dirt.
“Core! Everyone, we need the core!”
Players here probably didn’t know, but just beating a golem didn’t mean anything. Remember the Academy’s first day test.
“Peel off the shell and smash the core inside!”
The black hand vanished the moment that shout rang out.
“Human dude! Suddenly the weapon disappeared?!”
Someone shouted at me.
The fifteen arms shrank to two. The stored life force was running out.
“Screw it.”
I got too excited trying to boost contribution and miscalculated.
Whoosh! The moment the mosquito-like weapons disappeared, the golem went berserk.
It began swinging at the players.
“Jinwoo!”
“Fuck!”
A powerful soccer kick aimed at me. The impact would shatter me on contact.
Whoosh! “Kyah!”
I infused mana into my ankle and detonated it.
Expecting the explosive power, I rolled forward hard.
Dirt rained heavily from above.
“Attack! Fuck, attack!”
As the saying went, you had to chew through the shell covering the core to deal with the golem.
Clang! Clang! I swung the axe and hammer.
A water lance pierced, sword energy sliced the dirt.
We were in a war of attrition.
[‘Pluto’s Hand’ deactivated.]
[‘Physical Enhancement’ activated.]
I deactivated the two remaining ‘Pluto’s Hands’ and turned the remaining life force into Physical Enhancement.
Even tiny stats could help us survive.
The golem still targeted me.
Whoosh! A vicious fist.
Speed and area were both ridiculous.
“Gah!”
I tried to dodge, but failed.
I took a heavy blow and flew into the air.
A horrifying pain like my body was bursting covered me.
If I hit the ground like this, there’d be no safe spots…
Unlike my worries, someone caught me.
A soft feeling on my back.
“Kim Jinwoo…!”
Elena looked down at me.
Far away, the sounds of battle continued.
Elena took a potion from her inventory. A glass bottle decorated with platinum, filled with emerald liquid…
“This is so fucking rare…”
“Shut up and open your mouth. Now!”
“Yeah, ugh!”
Elena poured a 7th-floor expedition elixir directly into my mouth.