Chapter 54

054. 8th Floor (2)

Crack!

"The Skeleton's command has been absorbed."

"Proficiency increased by 0.08%."

"Not as good as I thought it would be."

I crushed one of the leading Skeletons with my bare hands and frowned.

I didn't expect it to give a very high proficiency boost, but...

'What can you even do with 0.08% proficiency?'

Even if I hunted 30 of them, it would only increase my proficiency by 2.4%.

'Even if I absorb them with Necromancy, my stats won't rise much.'

The stat increase from Necromancy is influenced by the mass of the absorbed command.

In other words, these commands won't even boost my stats.

'What should I do...?'

Crack!

While pondering various things, I slashed the approaching Skeletons with my sword.

The days of struggling against monsters that weren't even E-rank were long gone.

"Proficiency increased by 0.08%."

"Proficiency increased by 0.08%..."

"Proficiency increased by 0.08%..."

After quickly dispatching over ten Skeletons, I started to worry.

'How many more are there?'

There was no time limit, but the number of Skeletons didn't decrease.

'I was clearly told to defeat the Lich that summons them...'

But without a clear path, I couldn't even find where the Lich was.

After a moment of thought, I used all the commands I had absorbed.

"Most commands have been consumed to summon a Bone Knight."

"Current command count – 1/30"

I left only the dungeon boss 'Blue Ghoul' I caught at the Cheonbosan Gate and poured all the commands into the Bone Knight.

Honestly, I could have hunted them one by one, but it was too troublesome.

'I might as well leave it to the Bone Knight and look for the Lich.'

I used the commands from over ten harvested Skeletons to create the Bone Knight.

'For a dungeon boss-level enemy, it might only distract them for a moment...'

But it would be perfect for holding back so many Skeletons.

In an instant, the commands left my body, and the Bone Knight rose from the ground.

The moment the ordinary-sized Bone Knight's eyes lit up with a flame...

Clank...

The Bone Knight immediately approached the enemies in front without hesitation.

'If the Bone Knight can buy me a minute, that would be great...'

Just a minute, but it would be enough to figure out where the Lich is.

If the Bone Knight can hold them off, the search will be easier.

But...

"..."

As I watched the Bone Knight's movements, I was shocked.

"What the...?"

Clang!

The Bone Knight suddenly picked up a stone from the ground and started hitting the Skeletons with it.

'What is this?'

I was amazed by the practical movements, which were more efficient than I expected.

Unlike the Skeletons, which moved at a similar speed to orcs, the Bone Knight I summoned moved swiftly.

'Maybe the dungeon boss was too strong, so I didn't see its full potential?'

The Bone Knight was subduing the Skeletons with agile movements.

The first attack broke the bones, and the second shattered the skull or neck.

It was a simple hunting method, taking advantage of the overwhelming stat difference.

'Not bad.'

Thud! Thud! Thud!

The Bone Knight knew how to hunt efficiently.

"This... is more useful than I thought."

It seems the aura didn't just grant a unique trait but also additional abilities.

"Raaaah...?"

Finally, the Skeletons sensed something was wrong and targeted the Bone Knight.

'This will buy me more time.'

With the Bone Knight handling the incoming Skeletons, I activated a skill.

"Grace of the Wind."

"The skill 'Grace of the Wind' has been activated."

"All speeds increased by 60%."

"Current skill stacking progress – 6/7"

After setting the skill stacking progress before the cooldown, I started running towards where the Skeletons were gathered.

Despite a significant reduction in their numbers, the sight of nearly two dozen still made me laugh.

Their numbers were overwhelming, even if they were weak.

'If it were another challenger, this would be quite a headache.'

But that didn't apply to me.

"The unique effect of Swift Boots (C+) increases instant speed."

Without needing to chain an instant acceleration skill, the unique effect of the Swift Boots activated immediately.

Whoosh...

I quickly approached where the Skeletons were gathered and swung my sword...

"The unique effect 'Electricity Grant' of Thunder Sword (C) has been activated."

"Electricity is granted to enemies hit by the attack."

Boom!

The lightning that shot from my sword instantly devastated the area.

***

'I thought lightning wouldn't work on Skeletons, but it seems it does.'

"Proficiency increased by 0.08%."

"Proficiency increased by 0.08%..."

"Proficiency increased by 0.08%..."

The Skeletons couldn't withstand the shock of the lightning and shattered instantly.

I thought it might be difficult to wipe them out in one go due to their resistance, but...

'It doesn't seem to be a problem.'

I started swinging my sword, hunting the Skeletons.

Actually, it was more like a one-sided massacre.

As I cut down nearly twenty Skeletons...

"Who are you...! How dare you cause chaos in my sanctuary...!"

I turned my head at the sudden angry voice.

Then...

"Really, there's a Lich...?"

I saw a skeleton in a red robe, holding a black book.

What was surprising was that the Lich was speaking directly.

'I didn't expect to see a talking monster.'

Seeing a high-level monster I had only heard about in rumors made me marvel.

But the Lich didn't want to wait and continued to rage.

"How dare a human enter my sanctuary without permission? You will pay the price..."

Swoosh!

As the book in the Lich's hand opened, two Undead emerged from behind it.

The two Undead, covered in rotting flesh, were quite large.

'They're about the size of a Sand Golem.'

Of course, they weren't as strong as the out-of-spec Sand Golem I saw in the 7th floor trial, but...

They didn't seem weaker than a Sand Golem.

Moreover, Skeleton soldiers rose from the ground to protect them.

"Oooh..."

As I marveled, the Lich gave a sinister laugh and opened its bone-only mouth.

"Hehehe, do you now realize whose sanctuary you've entered?"

"Um...? I still don't know. Are you going to summon more?"

"What...?"

"Because I'd be disappointed if you didn't."

To increase my Necromancy proficiency, I needed more commands.

I didn't know how much proficiency the two Undead would give, but...

'Having more summons wouldn't hurt.'

However, I couldn't summon more as I had expected.

"You cursed human..."

I was trying to provoke the Lich to summon more, but it seemed there were none left.

"The guardians alone are enough to tear your filthy mouth apart!"

The Lich, enraged, started using the summons to attack.

"Raaaaaah---!"

As the two Undead, with their heavy bodies, charged, I moved.

"The skill 'Instant Acceleration' has been activated."

With the Grace of the Wind already stacked six times, the acceleration was...

Boom!

"Proficiency increased by 1.2%."

"Proficiency increased by 1.2%."

In one strike, I split the bodies of the two Undead.

"What, what...?"

The Lich was surprised, but to me, it was a natural result.

'If I can kill a dungeon boss in one hit, there's no way my sword would be stopped by these...'

I immediately cut down the remaining Skeletons.

Crack...

"Proficiency increased by 0.08%."

"Proficiency increased by 0.08%."

"Hmm..."

As expected, Skeletons don't increase proficiency much.

'The Undead are stronger, so they give more proficiency.'

Of course, it wasn't as high as what I got from the real dungeon, but...

It was a satisfactory level to handle.

At that moment...

"The summoned Bone Knight has been destroyed."

"Oh..."

The message appeared, indicating the Bone Knight had died.

'Well, there were dozens, so it's not surprising they couldn't all be killed.'

I understood the Bone Knight's struggle and moved.

It was time to finish off the Lich.

'After killing it, I need to absorb the commands of the Skeletons the Bone Knight handled.'

To do that, I needed to deal with the Lich first.

"Where did such a monster come from...?"

The Lich muttered, sounding defeated.

Of course, it didn't matter to me, and I didn't slow down.

'I need to finish this.'

I wanted to end the 8th floor trial and return to the waiting room.

But...

'Hmm?'

Thinking about it, the Lich was freely summoning monsters.

That means...

'Is it possible to grind for proficiency?'

The moment this thought crossed my mind, I spoke.

"I have a question... Can you summon more of those guardians?"

The Undead gave 1.2% proficiency.

In other words, if I could hunt more of them...

'It means I can increase my Necromancy proficiency to 100%.'

I looked at the Lich with an expectant gaze, and it hesitated before asking.

"W-Why are you asking that?"

"Never mind. I just want an answer."

"..."

"If you don't want to, I can't force you."

As I raised my sword and approached the Lich, it quickly spoke.

"Alright! I'll tell you! I'll tell you! Just stop approaching!"

"So, when can you summon the guardians again?"

"T-The guardians can be summoned immediately..."

"Then, when can you summon them again after the first time?"

"W-Well... I don't remember clearly..."

"If that's the case, I have no choice."

As the Lich hesitated, I tightened my grip on my sword.

"I-I remember now! The guardians can be summoned a few minutes after they die!"

"Can you summon them now?"

"Y-Yes, but they won't be effective against someone like you."

"Never mind. Summon the guardians."

"W-Why...?"

"Do I need to know?"

I tilted my head, and the Lich flinched.

"N-No... Not really..."

The Lich, now cowed, immediately opened the book and summoned more Undead.

I cleanly beheaded the Undead with my sword.

Thud! Thud!

After two quick strikes, the Undead's body fell to the ground...

"Proficiency increased by 1.2%."

"Proficiency increased by 1.2%."

I smiled faintly and absorbed the commands from the fallen Undead.

"Is that it...?"

The Lich looked at me cautiously and asked, but...

"No, not yet."

I wasn't satisfied yet.

How many trials like the 8th floor, where I can increase my proficiency, are there?

'It's better to get what I can while I can.'

With this thought, I persuaded the Lich.

"Can you summon all the remaining Skeletons and the guardians again?"

The Lich, now quite familiar with my requests, nodded.

"Alright. But how long do you plan to do this?"

I told him my thoughts.

"Until I say to stop."

I intended to increase my Necromancy level on the 8th floor.