Chapter 102
The fallen Zone 3 Boss.
Of course, since I had already acquired both the First Clear Reward and the Normal Reward, no reward message popped up for me.
Watching the rejoicing people, I thought to myself.
‘Did I hit it too hard?’
I ended up stepping in because someone was in danger, but...
It seemed I had failed a bit at Strength Control.
I might have stolen quite a lot of the Boss Contribution.
Well, as long as no one died, it was fine.
‘Anyway...’
I looked at the man and woman.
It wasn't like I had seen their faces before, but watching them fight, I could intuitively tell.
Those two were the representative Nightmare Challengers of the United States and China.
Since it was a flying monster boss, I thought it might be tricky to deal with.
But that Nightmare Challenger from China stepped up first, pierced its wings, and dragged the boss down to the ground.
Thanks to the cutting off of its flight capability right from the start, the strategy seemed to flow smoothly.
The performance of the United States' Nightmare Challenger was also incredible.
The ones who secured the highest contribution were probably those two.
Well, anyway, it's a relief that it ended without anyone dying.
I moved to Zone 0.
* * *
“Are you alright?”
Li Zeyan approached Ye Cheonwi, who was standing blankly, and asked.
Ye Cheonwi, who was staring at the boss's corpse, muttered as if it were a shame.
“I should have shown a more active performance...”
“Pardon?”
Because some idiot acted up, didn't The One end up stepping in personally?
“Don't mind me and take care of the injured persons first.”
“Ah, yes. Understood.”
Looking back toward the Public Order Squad, Ye Cheonwi suddenly locked eyes with Taylor.
When he smiled and gave a nod of greeting, she also nodded, looking slightly awkward.
“Phew...”
Taylor also took a breather and looked around.
She tried to look for Person123, but he was nowhere to be seen. Had he already left?
Public Order Captain Alex was walking around, checking the condition of the Squad Members to see if there were any Injured Persons.
Deputy Commander Justin was chewing out Vince, who was slumped on the ground.
“You crazy bastard, you know you almost died, right?”
He had warned him so much, but he ended up causing an accident again.
If Person123 hadn't stepped in to save him, he would have taken a direct hit from the Breath Attack and turned into an Ash Heap.
“...I'm sorry. I thought I could do it too.”
Vince's eyes, staring blankly at the boss's corpse, were somehow sparkling.
“But Deputy Commander.”
“What?”
“It's really insane. You saw it, right? He knocked that Monster down with a single punch...!”
Vince said in excitement.
Justin clicked his tongue. This guy almost died and still hasn't come to his senses.
“Good work. How many Injured Persons are there?”
Taylor approached Alex and spoke to him.
Alex answered.
“There are two, but they're minor.”
“That's a relief that it ended safely.”
“Did you acquire the reward?”
“Yes. What about the others?”
“It seems there are more people who couldn't acquire it than expected.”
It was likely due to the fact that a lot of the contribution went to Person123 when he stepped in.
Taylor and Alex looked at the boss's corpse.
There were numerous scars on the boss's body, but what stood out the most was the caved-in snout.
The mark where Person123's fist had hit.
Alex muttered in awe.
“I'm getting tired of being surprised now.”
Taylor agreed.
Of course, Person123 already had a track record of one-shotting the Zone 3 Boss.
But that was a Skill.
They could at least try to understand it by thinking that he had obtained such an incredible Skill as a reward for being the Nightmare Record Holder.
But this was truly...
A head that hadn't budged even when all the top Climbers rushed in and launched a Concentrated Attack was half-shattered with a single punch. It didn't even look like he used a special Skill.
Even his physical abilities were on another level.
Soon, the boss's corpse disappeared.
Alex felt it anew.
That Person123 was now becoming a completely different entity all on his own.
* * *
[Kai-Beu: Is it true that Person123 killed the boss with one punch?]
[Mu-Rye: He didn't kill it, just knocked it out for a moment. I heard he stepped in because someone almost died.]
[Sparrow: Just how strong is heJust how strong is he...]]
The Zone 3 Boss Battle ended safely.
It was about time to enter and clear the 7th Floor hidden route.
The 7th Floor was. How should I put it?
It was a floor where the Pure Capability Test was incredibly intense compared to other floors.
Especially the Body Left-Right Reversal.
I could deal with it using my Time Stop Ability, but others had to deal with it entirely with their own abilities.
But this wasn't something you could do just by knowing it in your head.
It was a gimmick that was nearly impossible to adapt to on the spot.
It wasn't like there was a way to practice outside either... Should they do Image Training or something?
Even if they knew the information, I was a bit doubtful whether the other Nightmare Challengers could pull it off.
Anyway, I still had to upload the information.
I left my house, got a motel room, and then entered the 7th floor.
[You have entered the Nightmare Difficulty 7th Floor.]
A cavern riddled with holes welcomed me.
Bang! Bang!
I dodged the arrows flying in like missiles this way and that.
‘32, 33, 34...’
This time, I made sure to count the number of Arrows.
I remembered all the questions the final statue had asked.
A total of 305 Arrows.
I dodged all of them up to the last Arrow and moved on to the next Gate.
The question for Gate 2 was the number of Arrows that flew in at the end.
I had guessed 25 for this and got it right.
Just in case, I used Stop Time and counted them once more. 25 was correct.
Next was Gate 3.
Paaat.
The pattern glowed, and the damn Left-Right Reversal activated.
I went into Quadruped Form again and dodged the Arrows while using Stop Time.
Hmm... As expected, this is really impossible to do.
For the other Nightmare Challengers to clear this, wouldn't they only have a chance if they perfectly memorized the Arrow Pattern at the very least?
Craaash!
The number of the final Arrows.
After counting them, the total was 26 Arrows.
Next was Gate 4. There was a colored arrow.
The color of the tenth Colored Arrow was the question.
I deflected the Colored Arrows with my swords and checked the color of the tenth one.
It was green.
- See, I told you it was green.
Ma-Wang said.
I was a bit dumbfounded.
This Yangban still remembered that.
Anyway, I passed through and went to the next, Gate 5.
A Red Dot appeared on the statue.
I gave up on hitting it with an arrow and just shot them all into mid-air.
When I blew all my chances, the statue aimed its bow in this direction.
Just like the method I used to clear it before, I timed it right when the Arrows touched my body and used Teleportation to let them all slip by.
The statue crumbled, and I moved on to the final Boss Room.
[What is the number of Total Arrows fired in the First Gate?]
The question on the stele.
Of course, it hadn't changed and remained the same.
“305.”
[O]
I answered the questions correctly one by one.
Circle Marks appeared in succession, and the numbers on the stele did not appear.
Craaack!
The questions ended.
The stele crumbled down, and the boss revealed itself.
Perhaps because I got all the answers right, no Arrows flew in.
I immediately fired a Line of Destruction at the boss.
After the boss took a direct hit, its upper and lower body was bisected, and it collapsed.
Since the time on the stele didn't increase, there was no Invincibility Buff either.
Boss defeat is complete.
I looked around.
Now it was time to find the Hidden Route...
‘Where do I go?’
Other than the path back to the previous Gate, it was a Cavern completely blocked off on all sides.
There were no more doors leading to the next Gate either.
Kugugugu-
At that moment, a vibration rang out once again.
A wall on one side of the Cavern crumbled, and an Entrance appeared.
...That must be it.
I waited until the cooldown for Line of Destruction returned.
And then I moved to the newly appeared entrance.
A long, Straight Passage.
I trudged forward while maintaining a bit of tension.
“...?”
Another wide cavern appeared.
And there were people. Three people.
The gazes of the three people also focused on me.
“Another one has been added.”
A Middle-aged Man wearing flashy Golden Armor said with his arms crossed.
“Welcome. You passed through the Sage's Gate and came here too, right?”
A woman who looked like a Mage, wearing a red robe and holding a staff.
“Hah, why do the people keep increasing? Three is already a lot.”
A man dressed like a free-spirited Wanderer was carrying a bunch of dagger-like weapons at his waist.
The three people looked at me and said a word each.
First of all... This seems to be a Medieval setting.
‘Sage's Gate?’
Looking around the Cavern, including the Entrance I had just come out of, I saw that there was one Entrance in each of the north, south, east, and west directions.
Did these people also pass through the Gates and come here like me?
And...
‘They're strong.’
Feeling it with my Sixth Sense, I sensed that all three of them were unusually strong individuals.
I didn't know if they were allies or enemies, but...
Anyway, for now, they only seemed to have a bit of wariness and no hostility.
First, figuring out the Background Setting is the priority.
I approached the three people to have a conversation.
“Hello. Did you all pass through the Arrow traps too?”
The Mage woman, whose tone was at least friendly, answered.
“That's right. After passing through all the Gates, we all ended up running into each other here.”
Judging by the atmosphere, it seemed the three of them didn't know each other either.
It wasn't just me; they seemed to be wary of one another.
The woman looked around and said.
“Four Passages, and four people... Could this mean everyone has gathered? How about we introduce ourselves to each other?”
Introductions are good.
But the Wanderer man replied bluntly.
“What introductions? Aren't we all Competitors right now? You guys also came all the way here because you covet the Sage's Treasure.”
The woman snorted and said.
“I'm not particularly interested in the treasure. I'm just interested in the Dungeon itself, which was built by the Sage, so I came here to investigate.”
“Is that so? Still, if the legend is true, wouldn't your eyes roll back in your head too?”
The Wanderer man clenched his fists tightly and shouted.
“He who obtains the Sage's Treasure can know all truths of the World!”
...I listened to their words and tried to figure out the Background Setting.
First of all, the keyword 'Sage' keeps appearing.
This place is a Dungeon built by the Sage.
And the Sage's Treasure that allows one to know All Truths of the World.
Is finding the Sage's Treasure here the Clear Condition?
“Especially since it's you Mage folks who are crazy about the truth, right? So stop with the ridiculous hypocrisy.”
At the Wanderer man's words, the woman frowned in displeasure, then countered sarcastically.
“On the contrary, the Sage's Treasure doesn't seem very useful to you, does it? You seem very far from someone who explores the knowledge of the world.”
The man smirked as if he took no hit from that.
“How did you know? Of course I have no interest in that kind of stuff. If I get the Sage's Treasure and sell it for a high price to the Emperor or some rich bastard, that's all that matters.”
The woman clicked her tongue as if he were pathetic, and the Knight still had his arms crossed, not joining the conversation.
Kugugugu-
At that moment, a violent vibration suddenly rang out in the Cavern.
The four Entrances are in the north, south, east, and west directions.
In an instant, the walls filled in, and the Entrances disappeared without a trace.
Craaash!
The Knight immediately drew his sword and swung it.
A massive Sword Aura flew out and struck the blocked wall, but it left no mark. He clicked his tongue.
“...Fascinating. It's been filled in completely without a trace. What kind of magic is this?”
The woman looked at the blocked entrance with interest.
“Is this the time to be curious about that? The exits are all blocked. We're trapped.”
The Wanderer man approached the blocked entrance and groped the wall.
At that moment.
The gazes of all four of us, including me, turned toward mid-air.
Letters appeared in mid-air.
[Find the Sage who has hidden their identity among the four of you.]