Chapter 19

019. Return (3)

The fact that I had killed a person for the first time wasn't as shocking as I thought it would be.

It wasn't me who initiated the attack; it was the other side, and it was a situation where I would die if I didn't kill.

Of course, I did feel a slight psychological shrinkage, like ripples on water...

But the message that appeared before my eyes made even that slight psychological shrinkage disappear.

"Would you like to absorb the soul of player 'Jin-Ho Lee'?"

Necromancy.

A unique ability I obtained after clearing the tutorial trial on the first floor.

This ability, specialized in significant growth support, was telling me something.

That I could gain abilities not just by killing monsters, but also by killing humans.

The fact that I could absorb a human soul along with my first murder shook me deeply.

If I were to absorb this, if I were to succumb to this temptation, it felt like I would truly cross a line.

But that feeling was only momentary, and soon I regained my composure.

'I need to calm down. If I hesitate now, I'll die.'

The space set up for the special mission explicitly stated that escape from the Tower of Trials was impossible.

In other words, the fight wouldn't end until one of the teams was completely eliminated.

The more I hesitated, the more my life would be in danger.

Putting aside the message asking if I wanted to absorb the soul, I immediately launched myself forward.

Bang.

The moment I pushed off the ground with force, my body shot forward like an arrow.

"Damn, you bastard!"

At the same time, the challenger with the mace was enraged.

He wasn't so kind as to be angry over the death of a teammate he barely knew.

It was more like he was acting out of desperation now that the person blocking me was gone.

With just one ranged attacker and a supporting mage in the back, it was difficult to stop me.

Moreover, although Lee Sung-Hoon was battered, Lee Ha-Yeon, who was behind him, was still in good condition.

The other side was in a situation where they had to settle things by any means necessary.

Clank, Thud!

A sharp and concise sound of a shot rang in my ears.

I tried to raise my shield with my left hand, but for some reason, it felt empty.

'Shield... Ah, right. I threw the shield.'

Picking up the shield while being focused on by a mace and daggers would be suicidal.

If I tried to pick up the shield, relying on high stats, and got hit by a hidden unique ability that could deal a fatal blow, what would happen?

It was clear that if it wasn't just a matter of reading the trajectory but could deliver a critical hit, I would be in trouble.

'Then I would be dead, unable to move.'

This was the moment to turn a crisis into an opportunity.

I made a calm judgment and pushed off the ground even harder, dashing forward like lightning.

I abandoned the option of picking up the shield and decided to trust the sword in my right hand.

Swoosh!

By a hair's breadth, I turned my head to avoid the arrow.

Without the shield to protect me, my heart raced wildly, and my body felt hot.

Psychologically and realistically, I was in a precarious position without the shield.

But I needed to calm down.

'Calmly, without being aware of the precariousness.'

If I wavered now, the fight would turn against me.

The opponent, seeing my shield fall, took the opportunity to launch a desperate series of attacks.

Whoosh!

In an instant, two daggers were launched, one aimed at the upper and the other at the lower part.

Clearly a high-level skill, it sent a shiver down my spine.

Perhaps due to the heightened state of my body, I could see things I usually couldn't, and time seemed to slow down.

With my already enhanced vision, I could spot the opponent's strategy.

A desperate move to bind me with my agile movements.

'They're trying to shoot me with the mace at the moment I dodge...'

If I were hit by the arrow, it would be a fatal blow no matter where it hit.

In the end, the answer was already decided.

'Quickly and cleanly, I need to knock away both daggers...'

I slightly raised my sword and struck the handle of the dagger rushing towards my side.

Clang!

Then, I deflected the dagger aimed at my left eye with the blade.

Clang!

The sound of metal clashing rang out, and I almost cheered.

'I did it...'

I was amazed at what I had accomplished, but there was no time to be amazed.

Just as I was about to accelerate again and charge at the challenger with the mace, the opponent extended his hand towards me and moved his lips.

"Snake's Bind!"

My legs, which were about to push off the ground, stiffened, and I immediately understood what had happened.

"Unique ability 'Snake's Bind' restricts movement for 10 seconds."

"After 5 seconds, the restriction weakens."

The sensation of being tightly held by a snake's tail, unable to move at all.

As expected, the opponent had revealed a hidden card.

But the problem was that this hidden card had a fatal effect on me for a moment.

No matter how hard I tried to move my body, it was as if an invisible barrier was blocking me.

'A unique ability of the binding type!'

This was the worst.

I had anticipated unique abilities, but I didn't expect a binding ability.

It was a weakness for my combat style, which relied on overwhelmingly high stats.

The opponent seemed to know this and grinned, then spoke.

"You damn brat, this is perfect! Im Sang-Yun, now! Shoot!"

Hearing this, the challenger called Im Sang-Yun immediately raised his staff.

Unlike ordinary magic, when he extended his staff, an ice arrow was immediately created.

'Spell casting skipped, is this also a unique ability...!'

The ice arrow, composed of white ice, had a faint aura.

It was clear that it would pierce the skin upon impact.

Even with the durability stat I gained from the Steel Elixir, it wouldn't make my skin as hard as steel.

If there was no way to block it, it would be the end.

I desperately tensed my muscles, trying to find a way to escape the crisis.

'Damn, I need to find a way to get out of this...'

But as if to prevent me from completing my calculations, the ice arrow pierced the air.

Whoosh!

A strike that I couldn't block or dodge, but my body's senses became even more acute.

1 second, 2 seconds, 3 seconds...

My body became more sensitive to the flow of time, and my muscles twitched.

Realizing that there was no way out, I gave up on breaking the bind.

And...

I focused all my strength on my legs, waiting for the moment the restraint would be released.

Crack.

The stats I had grown through unique abilities pulsed as I broke the stone floor.

"Binding duration has ended."

"The effect of binding has weakened."

The muscles that had been twitching suddenly moved, and my body was pushed back.

In that instant, the ice arrow grazed past my face, cutting through empty space.

Even with the weakened effect, it was no joke.

The heaviness pressing on my shoulders made it clear that the slowdown rate was high.

'What kind of unique ability...'

If I didn't have overwhelming stats, the arrow would have pierced my temple.

The action I could take because of the growth-specialized unique ability.

Now I understood why this was a competition trial and why teamwork was essential.

This crazy Tower of Trials was designed to impose significant restrictions on solo play from the beginning.

But at the same time, a sense of injustice also rose.

No, why did the other team have combat-specialized members when my team only had exploration and shield roles?

Why was my team not suitable for direct combat?

I wanted to argue with the tower's administrator, but...

"Unique ability 'Assassin's Cloak (D)' activated."

"Movement speed +15%"

"Remaining duration - 00:00:59"

Despite my complaints, my body moved quickly.

"What, wait! Let's talk! It wasn't intentional!"

The challenger with the mace, moving slower than before, was flustered and shouted something.

We had been trying to kill each other, and there was no hesitation in our actions.

There was no need to give him an opening by listening to his pitiful excuses.

The moment I reached the challenger fumbling to load an arrow onto his mace, I cut his neck.

Squish!

"Would you like to absorb the soul of player 'Si-Yeon Lee'?"

The rising black smoke and the message asking if I wanted to absorb the soul announced the enemy's death.

Thud.

As the body of the challenger, now without a head, collapsed, the man with glasses behind him was terrified.

"Ah, ah!"

Im Sang-Yun, wiping the blood from his glasses weakly, began to tremble.

His hands, feet, and jaw were shaking, and the sound of his teeth chattering echoed.

I had confirmed that his unique ability, magic, and skills were not a threat to me.

All of that was only powerful because of his teammates.

I shook the blood off my sword and turned my head.

There, Lee Ha-Yeon, with a frozen, frightened face, and Lee Sung-Hoon, crouching and looking around, were there.

"..."

The battle was over, and the remaining teammates didn't seem to have serious injuries.

The only noticeable injury was a large mark on Lee Sung-Hoon's arm, but that would heal in the waiting room.

It wouldn't hinder the battle for now.

'My team's strength hasn't weakened at all.'

I had been worried about whether I could fulfill my role in the upcoming boss battle, but it seemed I didn't need to worry.

The teammates were still in shock, but I needed to make a decision.

About the remaining competitor, Im Sang-Yun.

"Please, spare me... You're not a murderer, right?"

Perhaps he judged that he couldn't win after the last teammate was killed.

Shaking like a leaf, Im Sang-Yun begged for his life.

"Please. Earth, yeah, Earth. We can go back. I'll give you money. I have a lot of money."

"..."

"Trust me, I'm a Hunter. If I clean out all the back money, it'll be at least 500 million."

"Is that so?"

"Really, I swear. So, if you spare me here!"

"That's not possible, you know."

The cold words I spoke distorted Im Sang-Yun's face.

"The special mission, the tower said we can't leave until one of the teams is completely eliminated."

"But, but, that's not certain. Maybe there's a way out in here."

"No, there isn't. You knew that from the beginning, which is why you tried to kill me."

"..."

Fine, let's say there was a way out.

But even if there was, would there be a reason to spare Im Sang-Yun, who had tried to kill me and wouldn't be of any help in the upcoming boss battle?

'Just because I don't want to kill a person, we've come too far.'

It's too late to be a saint.

'Damn.'

I didn't even know what to say.

A dirty feeling, like being submerged in muddy water, enveloped my body.

The lukewarm, dried blood trickling down my skin felt even more vivid.

I wasn't a saint, but I wasn't a murderer who couldn't feel guilt either.

Standing on that ambiguous line made me feel even dirtier.

Status window, skills, stats, and so on.

After the Great Cataclysm, the world had become game-like, but it didn't limit individual choices.

'Is the special mission to kill people and receive rewards?'

A Hunter is a hunter, not a murderer who kills people indiscriminately.

If I did that, how would I be different from the monsters that killed my parents long ago?

Seven years ago, I became a player because I wanted to kill monsters, not for this.

I wanted to kill monsters, reduce dungeons that threatened people, and hope that people like me would disappear.

But the tower, as if to say "so what," urged us to kill people and receive rewards quickly.

Trials, rewards, and growth.

The outline of what the tower wanted from me, and what it wanted from the challengers, was becoming clearer.

"..."

I wasn't an absolute evil, but I wasn't good enough to let someone who blocked my path go.

Gripping the black iron dagger tightly, I approached Im Sang-Yun, who was in a panic.

"Don't, don't come! Let's, let's talk calmly-"

Without listening further, I cut Im Sang-Yun's neck in one swift motion.

A slicing sound echoed, and a new message appeared.

"Congratulations, you have completed the special mission."

"Additional rewards for the 4th floor trial are being processed."

I looked at the message, as announced before the battle, that additional rewards were being processed.

After staring at the message for a while, I turned my body.

'...Shield, I need to pick up the shield first.'

I picked up the shield that had fallen on the ground and equipped it.

Then, I spoke to the remaining teammates, preparing for the final battle.

"It's over. Let's prepare for the boss battle."

Lee Ha-Yeon and Lee Sung-Hoon quietly observed my face.

"..."

I know my face doesn't look good, but they flinch for some reason.

I didn't want to show this distorted expression to others, but...

'Well, it doesn't matter.'

I didn't have the confidence to hide it, nor did I want to.

"Are you okay?"

Then, Lee Ha-Yeon, worried about my expression, asked.

"Yes, I'm fine."

I wasn't fine, but I couldn't say that.

"Alright, should we go in now?"

Lee Ha-Yeon, noticing this, didn't press further and agreed.

Lee Sung-Hoon, glancing at me, cautiously offered his opinion.

"I'm not badly injured, so we can go in."

Seeing my expression worsen, Lee Sung-Hoon seemed to be getting a sense of things.

It wasn't bad.

"I'm fine too."

Ending the conversation, I approached the door with a large eye-like symbol and placed my hand on it.

"..."

For a moment, I wondered what to do with the necromancy symbols emitted by the challengers' bodies, but decided to leave it for now.

...I wasn't ready to absorb the souls of people I had murdered.

'Not yet... I need more time to think.'

Of course, the answer might be to absorb, but...

At least for now, I couldn't control the turmoil of emotions.

If I absorbed the souls of real people, I felt like my mind would break.

After all, crossing the door doesn't mean I can't come back.

If I don't cross the portal later, I can come back and absorb the remaining souls.

I just needed time to calm my mind.

Yes, if I had just that much time, I would surely make a rational choice.

I turned my eyes back to the boss room door and spoke.

"Then, I'll open it."

And.

"Entering the Goblin King's Chamber."

The end of the 4th floor trial was in sight.