Chapter 18

018. Return (2)

A gray spire stood at the center of the dilapidated and partially destroyed fortress city.

Even in the fortress city where five boss-level monsters divided and ruled their territories, this spire was special.

Because it was the dwelling place of one of the boss-level monsters.

‘If I can just defeat the thing inside, the fourth floor trial will be over, they said.’

Lee Si-yeon, a former hunter, scanned the interior of the spire, narrowed his eyes, and spoke.

“Hey, F-class.”

The man behind Lee Si-yeon, who had been addressed with a short but venomous remark, flinched belatedly.

“...Y-Yes, sir?”

The man with glasses, who had been watching his sluggish movements, frowned.

“Kid, you really answer as slowly as an F-class. If you were a civilian, you should have grasped the situation faster, tsk.”

The man called F-class, Lee Jin-ho, shrank and apologized.

“I-I’m sorry, Mr. Sang-yun. I-I made a mistake...”

“Mistake? Ha, kid, you have no sense. Do you even know your situation?”

Im Sang-yun, adjusting his glasses with his finger, gave Lee Jin-ho a cold stare.

He was annoyed that a civilian, who depended on hunters to progress through the trials, could act so cluelessly and slowly.

However, the tense atmosphere didn’t last long.

“Ah, forget it. Is it really certain that the Goblin King is inside here?”

At Lee Si-yeon’s words, Im Sang-yun took a step back, and Lee Jin-ho cautiously replied.

“When I used the question card, it said that one of the bosses lives here...”

“So it’s uncertain if it’s the Goblin King?”

“Yes...”

“Tsk, try to think before you speak, please. If there were only goblins on the way here, it’s obvious that the Goblin King or something is inside.”

“R-Right.”

“So it’s certain that a boss lives here.”

With that conclusion, Lee Si-yeon scanned the interior of the spire again.

‘Wow, it’s really damn huge.’

He was surprised by the absurd setting of the fortress city, but the spire itself was even more impressive.

Medieval-style paintings that perfectly matched the building were hung on the walls...

Bright stones that dispelled the darkness harmoniously illuminated the interior of the spire.

The dreamlike atmosphere was a type of place that even a C-class hunter like him had never seen before.

‘I don’t know what principle a tower operates on, but it’s definitely impressive.’

The scenery of the dungeon that appeared through the gate couldn’t even compare to this spire.

Not only were the monsters of a different caliber, but the equipment was also quite interesting.

Moreover,

‘The rewards you can obtain are better than those from a dungeon.’

The stronger the monster, the more valuable the reward.

If he could bring all these rewards to reality, it would be possible to transcend the C-class hunter.

‘No, there’s no need to continue being a hunter.’

The information Lee Si-yeon obtained from the initial entry would be valuable even at a national level.

Then, he could use that information as a trading material to secure funds for a lifetime.

In any case, there was nothing bad for Lee Si-yeon.

At first, he felt a sense of futility when he lost his power, but now he felt that he had a very good opportunity.

Of course, Lee Jin-ho, who was behind him, couldn’t even dream of such a fact.

‘Hmm, but wouldn’t it be a bit troublesome to keep this guy alive?’

If he were to spread the information outside, it would be troublesome.

The value of information increases the more people who don’t know it.

According to this simple logic, it would be appropriate to take the item from Lee Jin-ho and kill him later.

Lee Si-yeon smacked his lips.

It was a pity that he got such an F-class in the team member assignment.

‘It would have been better if a hunter, even an inexperienced one, had been assigned...’

Lee Si-yeon briefly envied the other challengers but quickly dismissed the thought.

‘Well, at least we didn’t waste time and made it here, so it’s not bad.’

It seemed that no other competitors had arrived yet, which was actually good.

If they could just kill the Goblin King here and escape, the others would automatically be eliminated.

Lee Si-yeon cut off his thoughts and spoke briefly.

“Let’s take out the Goblin King and get out of the fourth floor. We need to finish the trial.”

“Mr. Si-yeon, how will we form the battle formation?”

“What do you mean? You and I will stay at the back, and F-class will have to draw the aggro from the monsters like before.”

“Hey, did you hear that? F-class, get to the front quickly.”

“Understood.”

Lee Jin-ho, with a gloomy expression, took the lead and looked at the large door inside the spire.

A large door with an eye that seemed to see through everything was probably the entrance to the boss battle.

Lee Jin-ho felt fear at the thought of facing another life-threatening situation...

But if he rebelled, he might be killed by these two here.

Lee Jin-ho clenched his eyes tightly and spoke with difficulty.

“Then, I’ll open it.”

The moment Lee Jin-ho extended his trembling hand to the large door,

Rumble.

At the sudden sound from behind, Lee Si-yeon and Im Sang-yun turned their heads first.

「The competing team has entered the Goblin King’s spire.」

At that moment, messages they had never seen before appeared before their eyes.

「Conditions met.」

「Special mission, ‘Competition,’ has begun.」

「The boss battle cannot start until only one team remains, and it is impossible to leave the location.」

「If the goal of the special mission is achieved, additional rewards will be added to the breakthrough rewards.」

Beyond the system messages that overlapped in their vision, the figures of the other team members could be seen vaguely.

As Lee Si-yeon focused his eyes, the appearance of the man at the front became clear.

He was wearing a black robe, holding a sword and a shield in both hands, and he was not a goblin.

And the system had already identified who he was.

‘Damn.’

Lee Si-yeon cursed inwardly, took out his flail, and prepared for battle.

It seemed like his luck wasn’t as good as he thought.

“F*ck. The odds are really against us.”

Another team of competitors had entered the spire.

***

「Special mission, ‘Competition,’ has begun.」

The moment I entered the gray spire, a message appeared before my eyes.

‘Special mission?’

A type of system message I had never heard of before.

It meant that this was a unique function of the Tower of Trials.

‘What is this...’

I was momentarily confused since I had never seen it even inside the tower.

But since the theme of the fourth floor trial was ‘competition,’ I quickly regained my composure.

‘Of course, they wouldn’t make it easy for us to break through normally.’

They left only the option of a frontal breakthrough, preventing any other escape routes.

I didn’t expect the tower to be so ruthless, but I was prepared for it.

I glanced at the system message that appeared and observed the enemy.

‘There are three enemies in total, and there’s a mage...’

The man with glasses was wearing an elegant robe and holding a staff with blue beads.

He was clearly a mage.

Just knowing that there was a class that could provide support from the back made me tense.

After all, a mage is a valuable asset.

There was also a trembling, small-framed swordsman and a man with a flail and various weapons.

They seemed to have a better structure and abilities compared to my team members.

‘The center of the group is probably the challenger with the flail.’

Not only did he have a different stance from the other two, but he also looked more capable overall.

He didn’t show any signs of fear in this battle.

At that moment,

“F*ck. The odds are really against us.”

The challenger with the flail muttered this and his eyes flashed.

Reptilian-like eyes, a gaze that could only be described as such, were directed at me.

“Hey, F-class. You take the guy who looks like an assassin. Just stall him, don’t do anything else.”

The small-framed challenger, called F-class, couldn’t even respond.

That was because the moment the words were spoken, the challenger with the flail kicked the ground.

Rumble.

With a low, resonating sound, the body of the challenger with the flail moved swiftly.

Swoosh!

‘Dagger throw?’

He seemed to have decided not to use the flail from the start, pulling out a dagger from his thigh and throwing it.

The sound it made as it cut through the air was like that of a snake, probably due to the skill modifier.

However, my stats had increased after absorbing various monsters.

I couldn’t afford to take such an attack.

Ting!

I casually raised my shield to block the dagger, and before I knew it, the small-framed swordsman was already close.

“G-Gah!”

His voice was clearly filled with fear, and his eyes were trembling, but he didn’t stop advancing.

In fact, he swung his sword more fiercely, gradually cornering me.

Swoosh!

This time, I didn’t block with my shield but countered with my sword to create an opening.

‘It seems he closed the distance to land a decisive blow.’

I had no intention of going along with his plan.

I intended to kill the swordsman in the confusion caused by the sword’s recoil and then target the challenger with the flail.

However, his sword moved gracefully, as if to prevent that.

Despite his trembling hands and fear-filled eyes, his sword drew a sharp trajectory.

He must have learned a sword skill.

‘Damn, this is a bit troublesome.’

I decided I couldn’t delay any longer and called out briefly.

“Lee Ha-yeon, now!”

“Understood!”

At her words, Lee Ha-yeon, standing behind Lee Seong-hoon, moved her lips slightly.

「You have received ‘Blessing of the Wind’.」

「If your agility is 50 or less, additional stat modifiers will be applied.」

「Your agility temporarily increases by +3.」

「Remaining duration – 00:09:59」

A sensation as if my body had turned into wind distorted the scenery.

With the agility stat boost from absorbing various monsters, I felt almost omnipotent.

Madness, did Lee Seong-hoon receive this and still couldn’t handle a goblin?

With this, the swordsman couldn’t keep up with my movements.

With that confidence, I kicked off and lightly swung my black iron dagger.

However, his sword moved strangely, as if mocking my confidence.

Swoosh!

“...!”

The trembling swordsman, who was clearly afraid, read my movements and blocked my sword.

I thought he might have been hiding his true strength, but I soon realized that wasn’t the case.

‘Unique trait!’

That’s right.

Just as I obtained necromancy in the Tower of Trials, this man had obtained something as well.

I had forgotten about it because I had been overwhelming him with my stats, but a unique trait is a crucial factor that can turn the tide of battle.

I needed to identify what it was.

I pulled back my sword once and naturally retreated.

While doing so, I glanced at the battle between Lee Seong-hoon and Lee Ha-yeon and felt relieved.

At least, it was a relief.

The ‘magic resistance’ unique trait that Lee Seong-hoon mentioned wasn’t just for show, as it blocked even the flail’s arrows.

Of course, he was blocking them with a greatsword, but he was performing quite well.

The challenger with the flail seemed to be distracted by Lee Ha-yeon and couldn’t fully engage.

‘Fortunately, the mage on their side seems to be a support type.’

The loading speed, agility, and arrow speed had increased.

However, Lee Seong-hoon, with the ‘magic resistance’ trait, resisted the skill effects.

Because of this, he was kite-fighting from a distance, but it didn’t seem to be very effective.

Of course, if they realized how weak Lee Seong-hoon was, they would charge at him.

‘But for now, he can’t be too aggressive.’

There were plenty of elements to turn the tide, and I had the ability to do so.

I focused on the swordsman in front of me.

Swoosh!

‘Clearly, there’s no buff on him that allows him to keep up with my movements.’

The mage on their side hadn’t even cast a weak support spell on this swordsman.

Perhaps they considered him a discard and were focusing on the challenger with the flail.

But if that’s the case, the only thing allowing him to keep up with my movements is his unique trait.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

I pressed the swordsman with a storm of sword swings, and he started to panic.

To efficiently identify his unique trait, this was the perfect method.

If I didn’t give him a chance to hide, his actions would become more straightforward.

And as if to confirm this, his movements became awkward.

His eyes darted faster than his sword swings.

‘...?’

Only then did I understand what the swordsman’s unique trait was.

Damn, that’s why he could keep up with my movements