Chapter 35: 5th Floor (1) - The Countdown Begins

"3."

The countdown had begun. Even without the Death Merchant's ability, it wasn't a meaningless stretch of time. It was a precious opportunity to size up the opponent before the duel started.

"2."

This match's foe was the same race as his first opponent: a green monster—an orc. But this one was far larger than that initial specimen, with intimidating tattoos covering the parts not hidden by armor. Above all, it wasn't confused. This orc warrior, dragged here and tempered through countless duels, calmly scouted Yun-seok just as he was doing now.

"1."

The orc warrior was clad in breastplate armor. Its weapons were twin double-headed axes, one gripped in each hand. On its right wrist gleamed the bracer he'd seen in the shop: the Gladiator's Battle Bracer. It was an item infused with magic that temporarily boosted stats upon a battle cry.

As soon as it began, the orc warrior roared as expected and charged straight at Yun-seok. His brief worry that this opponent might be as strong as the Heavenly Demon or Keriksis vanished quickly. He inwardly sighed in relief.

'Is it because I just fought that monster?'

It wasn't that low-tier. The orc's charge carried real momentum. But compared to that steel tank of a man, it fell laughably short.

Yun-seok used his right sword to deflect the orc's axe swing aside. Then he channeled vitality into the blade in his left hand. A bluish sword aura quickly formed, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and without hesitation, he swung it.

"……!"

Sensing something ominous, the orc desperately raised its axe to block, its face twisted in dismay…

Screeech!

The moment sword met axe, the blade sliced through like tofu. This was the raw power of the sword aura alone—no Weapon Enhancement, no One Flash.

Even Yun-seok was startled by the effect, which exceeded his expectations. Though if anyone was more shocked, it was the orc warrior.

"Kreegh!"

The orc, which had charged in so aggressively, first pulled back to create distance from Yun-seok. Had he swung immediately, he ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠might have severed at least one arm—but Yun-seok held off. This exchange had all but confirmed it: the orc was inferior. Whether he could knock it out and continue training would require a bit more testing.

"Kre, kreegh! H-how can a human wield aura like that?!"

The orc bellowed in disbelief. Aura? Was that what they called sword aura in its world? If so, Yun-seok had manifested a technique used by warriors from that realm.

Learning interdimensional techniques through self-study was impressive enough—but more crucially, it shattered the rule that all skills activated only via commands. Strictly speaking, it was a side effect of the Heavenly Demon Body.

"Whatever. Is that all you've got? No hidden tricks?"

Yun-seok traded a few more blows with the orc warrior. Once he confirmed no further threats, he knocked it out cold. Snatching the bracer and shattering its weapons was just icing on the cake.

"Kreegh! What do you think you're doing to me?!"

Whenever the orc stirred and spouted weird misunderstandings in some incomprehensible tongue, it soured Yun-seok's mood a bit—but he just kept knocking it out.

The newly acquired sword aura—whether skill or technique, it was ambiguous—couldn't be mastered in the waiting room's mere 24 hours.

'If I'd gotten this sooner, would things have been different?'

As he pondered the sword aura more deeply, the thought surfaced. Keriksis had nullified all mana-based techniques. But this vitality felt slightly different from mana. Maybe the sword aura could have worked.

The regret of that defeat deepened. But what could he do? He'd been complacent, assuming he'd naturally grasp vitality's effects in time.

'Just don't repeat the same mistake.'

Yun-seok felt the need to use every moment more efficiently. That sparked regrets over his past actions too. He'd prided himself on maximizing the arena's time-stop feature for self-training—but was it truly his best?

Take his duels with Lee Chang-hoon or Raguna. He'd prioritized other things over training, failing to exploit the arena's limits fully.

'If I'd pushed harder then… it might've been different.'

Useless hindsight now, yet Yun-seok couldn't shake the lingering what-ifs. Had he achieved Sword-Mind Union sooner, delved deeper into vitality to wield sword aura, he might've avoided that loss.

—You were just a little short, nameless swordsman.

As the man had said, he fell short. Not in talent, but in will.

—Crash and shatter. Then melt into the mold and crash again! That is the life of steel.

There had been a path to harden himself through endless clashes, yet he'd harbored a corner of complacency: this should be enough to win next time. He hadn't been as relentless as a shark that must swim ceaselessly to survive. That was the root of his past defeats.

'I need to work harder.'

Yun-seok gritted his teeth. He didn't want to lose again.

* * *

Unlike lower floors, the orc's high stamina let it endure a full eight days. Unlike that suicidal beastman pleading for death, its eyes burned with defiance to the end. It reaffirmed Yun-seok's conviction: only those desperately yearning to ascend survived to the upper floors.

Finally reaching the 5th floor filled Yun-seok with elation. Just a midpoint now, but once, reaching here to buy a permanent return ticket had been his goal.

'Achievements category?'

One unfamiliar phrase stood out. Curious, Yun-seok checked his tablet back in the waiting room. Amid the usual six tabs—[Info], [Equipment], [Skills], [Sundries], [Convenience], [Chat]—a new [Achievements] tab had appeared.

It listed achievements Yun-seok had unknowingly racked up. Some made him think, Did I do that?—but examining them, it all checked out.

'Worldbreaker must be from the duel with Lady Heavenly Demon. And Novice Hunter's ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Dimensional Invader is probably that monster from reality.'

Yun-seok frowned. Beyond total scores, challengers got individual evaluations. Obvious why they'd grade people like livestock for "convenience."

Still, another thought: Big Rookie meant he'd hit at least S-grade now. What grade had they slapped on him initially?

'Like a prisoner bragging about shiny shackles…'

He shifted focus. Achievements themselves didn't matter—what counted was the LP (Legend Points) they granted.

Switching tabs revealed intuitive LP uses. No fumbling needed.

'Some wild stuff here…'

His eyes lit up scanning the list. The achievements shop sold outlandish items absent from the regular store.

They made stuff like this possible? Each item was a jaw-dropper.

Not just utility—combat boosters abounded too.

These mostly mimicked AP-purchasable effects.

'LP builds power too, but the system's not designed for that.'

He checked his balance: 2,275 LP. Enough for nearly anything.

'Do others have this much?'

Yun-seok shook his head. Normal challengers probably topped 100 LP at this point—Win Streak or Entry-Level. Without Veteran, Worldbreaker, or Big Rookie, even he'd have under 300.

To gauge others, Yun-seok opened chat. From 30,000+ on 1st floor, only 778 remained—but participation was near-total.

Scrolling fast-updating chats from the top, complaints about difficulty dominated. Yun-seok realized something: 5th-floor opponents weren't fellow challengers. Hitherto matchup-based on relative eval, now absolute?

'Filtering out the unworthy here, huh?'

From now on, only the qualified could ascend.