The First Stage of the Third Floor Competition
The first stage of the third-floor competition was a solo event where each participant had to find hidden treasures. The requirement was to collect at least five treasures per person. They had mentioned that gathering more than five would grant additional rewards, but in reality, simply securing those five was already an immense challenge.
“There aren’t any clues at all.”
“You’re right. The only hint we got was that they’re hidden somewhere. I’m guessing there must be treasure chests or something like that…”
Two men who had somehow run into each other in the middle of the desert. After entering the solo competition, Park Jocheol and Namgung Cheonho had made their first contact and were now walking aimlessly without any clear goal.
“By the way, what did you do on the second floor, Jocheol?”
“…The second floor?”
At Namgung Cheonho’s question, Park Jocheol’s shoulders twitched noticeably.
“Well… honestly, I’d rather not remember it. It was a world full of people with superpowers and monsters.”
“Oh, superpowers? Does that mean you learned some kind of ability?”
Namgung Cheonho’s voice was full of interest. Park Jocheol gave a small, silent nod. But seeing his somewhat timid reaction, a question began to form in Namgung Cheonho’s mind.
Aren’t superpowers supposed to be a good thing? They could move distant objects with telekinesis, fly through the sky, or even teleport. Sure, some powers simply made you stronger, but if someone who had already become a superhuman learned something new, it had to be a special technique, right?
Yet the expression on Park Jocheol’s face after saying he had learned a superpower was…
“I might be imagining it, but why do you look angry?”
“Ah, um, sorry. Bad memories came up.”
“……?”
At Namgung Cheonho’s question, Park Jocheol let out a long sigh without realizing it and stared at his own palm. The Hunter Academy. The brutal training he had endured there. The faces of the instructors who had taught him. The moment those memories flashed through his mind, he shook his head violently, using every ounce of strength to shake off the nightmare-like thoughts.
“You’re curious what kind of superpower I got, right?”
“Ah, yes. I suppose so?”
“Then I’ll show you.”
Park Jocheol sat down on the ground, closed his eyes, and placed both hands on the scorching sand.
Super Sensory
Rumble…
The desert sand began to tremble slowly. At first, the vibration was so faint it would have been hard to notice unless paying close attention. But as the waves in the sand grew deeper, Namgung Cheonho’s eyes widened.
“Whoa…?”
An earthquake was occurring in the middle of the desert. He couldn’t tell exactly what kind of ability it was, but there was no way this could be something a human was capable of doing.
“An earthquake! Is it an earthquake ability?! That’s incredible! Even if you can’t use it right now, the applications must be endless…”
“…This isn’t me.”
At Namgung Cheonho’s excited reaction, Park Jocheol frowned and denied it. The earthquake did not stop. In fact, it was growing even stronger. The two men standing on the already fine sand were starting to have trouble even keeping their footing.
Rumble rumble rumble!!!
“…Cheonho.”
“Yes?! It’s too loud, I can’t hear you!”
“There’s something under the ground!!!”
Park Jocheol’s super senses had picked up on something foreign. The ability he had gained on the second floor was Super Sensory. Having obtained the power to see, hear, and feel exceptionally well, he now detected something unnaturally hard at the edge of his senses. He drew the sword at his side.
“Cheonho! When I count to three, jump!”
“Huh?”
Park Jocheol gripped his sword in a reverse hold, ready to stab it into the ground at any moment. Namgung Cheonho, watching him, drew his own sword and prepared to leap on his signal.
“Goddamn it! Three!”
“What about two?!”
Kwaaaaang!!!
One, goddamn, three. The counting was a little off, but when Namgung Cheonho saw the house-sized centipede that had burst from beneath his feet, he mentally admitted that the strange count had been accurate.
“Uwaaaaaah!”
You have discovered a Lv.3 Treasure Monster.
◈ Successfully hunting it will drop a ring or necklace.
The moment the monster appeared, a game-like description floated above its head. It had no venom, but it would chew and eat anything. For a brief moment he wondered whether it was called a “giant desert stone centipede” or a “desert’s giant stone centipede,” but the sight of the wriggling teeth on its jaws made such questions irrelevant.
This doesn’t feel like a treasure hunt anymore, does it?
This was hunting, not searching. A sword was cleanly embedded in the centipede’s forehead. Purple blood gushed from the wound, soaking the dry desert sand.
Crunch. Crunch.
As if they had realized I had noticed them, the figures that had been hiding among the trees and grass began to reveal themselves one by one.
Black robes…
The dark, sinister clothing felt strangely familiar. We had never crossed paths, and I was certain I had never even exchanged greetings with them, yet I felt an oddly intimate sense of recognition.
“Kukuk… Fancy running into people in a place like this. How nice.”
“Oh! There’s a fish-man behind him too! This is gonna be fun! So much fun!”
The daggers they held were already crusted with dried, cold blood. Upon closer inspection, their clothes were also splattered with bloodstains that had been hard to notice because they were black.
“Ah, I remember now.”
Black robes and a sinister aura. People with no aversion to murder who proudly advertised themselves as villains. They were the players from the Echion Coordinate that the rabbit had explained to me over and over until my ears nearly fell off.
“Geumrin, stay behind me.”
Three enemies visible in front. Four hiding on the left and right. Seven in total. I had no idea how so many of them had already gathered, but it wasn’t important right now, so I set the question aside.
I carefully moved Geumrin behind me. Now that I knew what kind of people they were and that their numbers were higher than expected, I couldn’t afford to let my guard down. They were the type who simply enjoyed the act of killing itself, so there was no point trying to talk.
“Hoo… You have something to protect, huh?”
My action seemed to have provoked them. Starting with the one at the front, the rest began to chuckle with nasal laughter.
“Kick. We’ll make you an offer, so listen carefully.”
“……”
“I don’t know what your relationship is, but if you leave that fish-man here and walk away, we’ll spare your life. But if you try to fight? Then you both die.”
It was such a classic villain line that I could only shake my head. In movies or novels, villains always made these ridiculous offers. And the people who heard them always met the most miserable ends.
You know the trope. ‘B-but you said you’d spare me!’ That kind of thing.
“Hmm…”
I frowned and pretended to agonize over the decision as much as possible. I glanced behind me once and even looked at my sword. It was a perfect performance of someone standing at a painful crossroads. Geumrin’s already pale face turned even whiter, and he looked like he was about to cry.
“…There’s no other choice. Please abandon me and go.”
But the kid was kinder than I expected.
“I don’t know how strong you are, Siin-nim, but facing three at once is too much.”
And his judgment was worse than I expected. The reason I was acting was to make them drop their guard. I wanted them to relax, come closer, and give me the chance to take out all three with a single strike before the ones on the sides could rush in.
“Kukuku. This bastard’s more of a piece of trash than I thought.”
“Puhahaht!”
They burst into hearty laughter. I wasn’t sure if they actually found it funny or were just pretending in that edgy middle-schooler way, but it was enough. After all, ‘Puhahaht’ wasn’t the kind of laugh you let out while glaring at someone with wide eyes.
Slash!
I closed the distance with the smallest possible leap and thrust my sword at the ones whose eyes were still closed in laughter.
Killing people was certainly unpleasant. But after hearing from the rabbit that these guys had crossed the line into demons, I felt no hesitation.
Splurt!
One man died standing, his head severed from his body. But that was only the beginning. The two on the wings charged at me, and I swung my sword to cut them down.
Slice! Clang!
One was cut. One was blocked. I had wanted to take out all three at once. Maybe I should have waited just a little longer…
“You crazy bastard!”
“Kill him!”
Four swords flew toward me at once. But I wasn’t worried. I had already accounted for this much when I charged in.
“Siin-nim! On your side!”
“Hup!”
Geumrin’s shout came from behind me like a commentator. From his perspective, having only just spotted the enemies, I must have looked like a dead man walking.
But.
Moonlight Sword Art — Second Form
Ecstasy
Eight rays of light burst from my sword.
The enemies frowned at the sudden brightness. The Moonlight Sword Art of the Cheonwol Divine Art was far more effective in one-versus-many situations than in one-on-one fights. Of course, since it was a technique that bewitched the opponent, it could also affect allies in a chaotic melee, but right now there was nothing to worry about.
Swoooosh!
The rays of light from my sword pierced the enemies’ shoulders and stomachs. At such close range, the technique could not be blocked simply by watching. And even if they had blocked it—
Clang!!!
There was no sword here that could withstand the inner energy of someone who had already surpassed Lv.30.
“Kuaaaak!”
“U-uaaaagh!”
In an instant, the four who had charged from both sides were left on the verge of death. I could have ended their lives, but even leaving them like this, they wouldn’t last long.
But at that moment.
“You monster bastard!”
The one black-robed man who had blocked my sword earlier had somehow gotten behind Geumrin. He pressed a dagger to the boy’s throat and glared at me.
“S-Siin-nim…!”
“I admit we underestimated you! But no matter how high your stats are, can you stop this?!”
Shiiiing!
The man’s blade moved as if it would pierce Geumrin’s throat at any second.
Sichuan Black Tortoise Divine Art — Thunder-Chasing Footwork
I concentrated mana at the tips of my feet and shot toward Geumrin like a bullet. But that was my limit. No matter how fast I moved my legs, I didn’t think I could outpace the speed of a dagger stabbing a throat.
Crunch!
But then, a sound rang out that was far too unfamiliar to be the noise of sharp steel slicing through flesh. What caught my eye was a man’s arm being slowly torn off. The one holding it was a shadow that had appeared behind the enemy at some point.
“Gyaaaaaaaagh!!!”
Kwaaaang!
Without slowing the momentum of my Thunder-Chasing Footwork, I drove my fist straight into the man’s face. One arm flew through the air while the shadow was sent flying backward. I looked up at the newly appeared figure and saw a new notification.
You have discovered a Lv.4 Treasure Monster.