A Whiff of the Feast
‘Pureblood, huh.’ A vampire could manipulate blood. But a vampire who could actually become blood itself was rare. A pureblood among purebloods.
The vampire smiled with his lips curled. His bloodshot eyes sparkled. “Really now… to smell something this delicious… I just have to taste it.”
The vampire looked at me and smacked his lips. He ran his tongue across his lips, but it was utterly gross. No matter how handsome, that little bump dangling below it grated on my nerves.
“Handle it, Elena.”
At my sharp command, Elena poured mana into her sword. Using mana, she could cut anything—even things that couldn’t normally be cut.
“Terrifying.”
Chop—!
The vampire melted into the pool of blood. Elena didn’t hesitate and sliced straight through the pool.
“Guh…! W-What…!”
The monster appeared on the surface of the pool. The vampire cried out in panic and pain.
Slash—!
Elena showed him no mercy. With the clear intention that every second wasted was unforgivable, she hacked him to pieces as fast as possible.
Pat-pat, pat-pat. Blood splattered and fell.
One pureblood vampire had vanished into the sky.
[Life Energy absorbed]
From the vampire’s blood, I could feel more high-quality life energy than anyone else’s.
├─ Tier 1:Basic spellcasting ✓
├─ Tier 2:Advanced spellcasting ✓
└─ Tier 3:Black Magic Lv.11 ★
Black Magic required other lifeforms to grow. It had to steal them to advance. Because of that, its growth efficiency was higher than other skills.
Still, this speed was only possible because I was a regressor. If I weren’t, ruthless PK like this would be impossible.
Too many enemies would spawn.
“Let’s go grab those golems.”
On the plain, dumb golems stood around. A fifteen-meter behemoth. Just standing in front of it made me feel the weight of its pressure.
“Elena, engage.”
Elena drew her sword.
—- [1st Floor Boss Monster Hunt — Settlement in Progress…….]
—- [1st Floor Cleared.]
—-
The golem couldn’t even touch me and collapsed. A 1st Floor boss monster like that couldn’t even show its face on the 7th Floor. Since it did nothing, there were no rewards.
I’d have to personally clear the next one with Yoo Dahui.
Pas-sss-.
A portal appeared. This portal would let you ascend to the 2nd Floor for a set time. After the limit, it would close.
After that, you’d have to hunt the newly spawned boss monster.
“Hah. Looking forward to it.”
I already knew what the 2nd Floor was like, but seeing it for the first time meant the anticipation was only natural.
Passing through the portal, the air changed. The 2nd Floor had a slightly warmer weather than the 1st, making the whole place more humid and sticky.
“This is the 2nd Floor…?”
Elysha couldn’t hide her surprise as she looked around.
“It doesn’t feel any different from the 1st Floor?”
The 2nd Floor was mostly just trees. The real difference was that it was an island, not a forest.
“Let’s meet some people first.”
The Tower of Struggle was built on the basics of the survival of the fittest. The Academy was simply an institution for the top-ranked player squads to stomp on weaklings. It wasn’t a volunteer group that protected every player’s survival. Was there even such a thing as a privilege protecting the weak? No, only a bunch of exploiters.
We walked straight in one direction through the forest. It felt like descending, not ascending. If we went the opposite way, we’d meet the boss monster of the 2nd Floor.
The 2nd Floor was basically an island. The higher you went toward the center, the more it resembled a mountain. That’s why players gathered in the lower areas. As you descended, there were fewer trees and more open plains.
The boundary between sand and the ochre-colored soil was drawn sharply.
There were all kinds of shabby houses on the plains, surrounded by fences that barely stood.
“Hey! That’s a safe zone!”
Elysha pointed at the wooden fence and shouted.
“A safe zone…?”
The fence was even more pathetic than the one in First City. Since players had made it themselves, it was bound to be clumsy.
“Huh?”
No safe-zone message appeared even after passing the fence.
Elysha looked at Elena with a stunned face, completely lost.
Elena gave no answer.
She was the type who raised Elysha strongly.
“No. There’s no safe zone.”
To be precise, the system only recognized the houses each player built as safe zones. Because the safe zone the System provided was too small, you had to stay tense every time you stepped outside the house. Who knew who might ambush you from where?
This fence was evidence that a minimum society had been formed. Players huddled together like allies.
Shk-!
An arrow flew and stuck into the dirt below us.
Someone far away was aiming an arrow at us.
“Who’s there?!”
It was a human, but I had no idea who. I obediently raised both hands. I had no desire to start a fight.
“Just arrived from the 1st Floor. We found this place while descending.”
I wanted to meet familiar faces too.
“You just came from the 1st Floor?”
The man narrowed his brows and glared at us.
“An elf… you’re elves.”
The man lowered his bow and extended his hand.
“If you’re from the elf party, there’s no need to be suspicious. I’m Hose. What’s your name?”
“Kim Jinwoo.”
Naturally, we shook hands. Then came the strength contest.
The man started putting strength into his grip.
“Hmph.”
I was confident an elf would be able to handle it, but it looked like he was trying to kill my spirit.
I had no intention of lowering my head to a fellow human. If he were a named character I knew by face, I would’ve knelt, but I never knelt to an unknown character. I didn’t even have the confidence to lose.
“Ugh…?!”
Hose frowned in surprise at my strength. My strength was a full 18 levels. A number that could only be achieved after dying countless times. By human standards, it wasn’t low at all.
Suddenly, the strength left his hand.
I released his grip.
“Want to try again?”
“…No. I admit it. You must’ve come up thanks to the elf.”
Hose still looked doubtful.
Well, I could understand why. The party that just ascended from the 1st Floor was usually together. Meeting them in a completely unfamiliar place after sharing a life-or-death crisis? No reason to split up. But we were only three. Just three people who supposedly just came up from the 1st Floor? Anyone would doubt it.
“The elf helped more than I expected.”
Their species was originally kind. Even though the two elves next to me were weird, on average elves were usually kind and good people.
“You just arrived, so you must have a lot of questions.”
At Hose’s words, Elysha subtly raised her hand.
Hose looked at her gently. It was completely different from the feeling when he looked at me.
“I have a question, Mr. Hose. Isn’t this place a safe zone?”
“Haha, unfortunately it isn’t.”
“Ah, then there are no safe zones?”
Everyone became most vulnerable when they slept, so safe zones were extremely important. Especially for Elysha, who had nearly faced a big disaster.
“There are. The houses built everywhere here are each person’s safe zone. The larger you build it, the bigger the safe zone. It’s not easy, though.”
They had to be made with only things from the 2nd Floor. So most houses were worse than huts. You built them first, then slowly expanded. Otherwise you’d live in danger every single day.
“It’d be fun, but not a place to stay long.”
Overall, it was like living on a deserted island. Of course, using the advantage of being a regressor, I could enjoy a life incomparable to anyone else. Still, it was best to clear the boss right after arriving and head to the 3rd Floor. Obtaining the modification orb through Moses was also necessary to skip the 2nd Floor.
“Hose! Who are those people?”
A dwarf was dragging an axe toward us.
Hose looked at the dwarf and spoke.
“The players who just ascended today. They looked like good troops, so I took them along and explained things.”
“Oh ho…”
The dwarf looked Elysha and Elena up and down. His gaze was lecherous. I understood, but wasn’t it a bit too obvious? ‘Were there really guys like this?’
When you ascended from the 1st Floor, you were randomly summoned to one spot on the vast 2nd Floor land. Pure luck determined which one among the earlier 2nd Floor players you’d meet first.
“Humans and dwarfs… surprisingly wide area.”
Counting the houses sparsely built, around fifty people were probably living there. There might even be known players.
“The 2nd Floor system is quite different from the 1st. The biggest difference is that you have to gather food yourself. No matter how many coins you have, it’s useless.”
This was a lie. There was also a shop in the 2nd Floor where coins could be used. The problem was that only the faction that occupied the shop could use it.
“I might not really know….”
The possibility of not knowing was very low. In a group of fifty, no one could miss the existence of a shop. The shop was located in the center of the island, so it was hard to not know.
“Still, compared to other places, we’re much better off. The rules are pretty well set and everyone seems decent.”
Hose chuckled. The smile didn’t look good at all.
At the center of this village, one reasonably large wooden house had been built. It was much more advanced than the luxurious mansion in Third City of the 1st Floor.
Two men walked out from that house with big strides.
“The village chief and his escort.”
Hose said.
The village chief was a plump human, and his escort was the same. But from their clothing, it was clear their dimensions were quite different.
“Is the escort from Murim?”
Well-toned muscles, dense scars, and baggy robes were definitely Murim style.
They descended the stairs of the wooden house. Because it was such a grand house to see after so long, the village chief looked truly impressive.
“Guests. Are these the people Hose brought?”
“No. These people ascended from the 1st Floor and wandered the island until they entered our village.”
“Oh? Really? Then you’re the fresh newcomers just ascended?”
The plump village chief ignored me and looked the two elves behind me up and down. His gaze was even more obvious than the dwarf’s. It looked like he was deciding what to eat for dinner tonight.
“Okay, I’ve decided.”
It was an unpleasant gaze. I understood why a man would give lewd eyes while looking at a beautiful woman, but if that gaze contained the will to steal, that was where the challenge started.
One command from Elena and she could conquer this village. This village would disappear before tonight, and that wooden house would be mine to eat.
“Beautiful elves. But elves wielding swords don’t carry a refreshing scent.”
The plump village chief didn’t give much attention to Elena. He was focused on Elysha.
“You over there, if you want to live, come to my house…”
Slash—.
“Huh?”
The village chief, pointing at Elysha and gesturing, suddenly lost his hand.
Thud—.
The hand rolled on the ground. Cleanly severed below the elbow.
Elena had acted before I gave any order. She looked at the village chief with ruthless eyes.
“Take your filthy fingers away. Trash.”
“T-T-T-T-T-Too bad! A damn elf bitch!”
The plump village chief grabbed his arm and screamed. The fact that he picked up his arm showed he was definitely a 2nd Floor player.
“Hoon! Do your job! That bitch is pointing a sword at me…”
“I know, so shut up. It’s noisy.”
The man called Hoon stepped forward.
His fluttering robes and tiger-like aura seemed to wrap around him.
Slash—.
“If you don’t want to die, hand over that man.”
Elena cut the warrior’s leg. He couldn’t move.
Chungun staggered greatly.
“Kueup…!”
“C-Child? H-How…?”
The plump village chief shook with disbelief, unable to move from his spot. If he moved, he’d die at Elena’s hands.
“?”
But Elena only threatened. She didn’t move anymore.
She looked at me stupidly without finishing.
“You have to kill him. Only then can you take that wooden house.”
“Huh?”
I knew. I knew, but…
“Why leave him like this with only one arm?”
Breaking his legs like Chungun would make it easier and better to kill.
“He’s a guy at a similar level.”
Like she was offering a gift, Elena smiled wickedly and told me to fight.