Chapter 10
#10. Result of Effort
I hadn't lost the habit of checking the open community the moment I woke up.
[Tower of Trials #2661 (1/1)]
I no longer checked the reactions to the posts I used to put up at dawn; I just checked the number of people in the chat window and closed it right away.
The total was still one person today, just as always. I'd given up hope long ago, but every time I looked at it, it was still absurdly baffling.
Exactly half a year had passed since Mom's death anniversary. I'd already been in this tower for well over a year.
According to other servers, even going a week without new arrivals is rare, but here nobody has come in for over a year.
“Hup!”
I sprang out of bed and stretched energetically. Then I let the morning sunlight hit me while doing some light stretches.
After deciding to conquer the Tower of Trials by my own strength, the first thing I did was fix my daily routine.
The jobless slacker's routine of lazing around until dawn and only getting up in the afternoon was an enemy of growth in itself.
Right now, I'm the perfect morning person, waking up at 7 a.m. sharp.
“Let's go.”
After finishing my light stretches and stepping out of the inn, I immediately started running.
Thanks to my stat bonuses, I can now run all day at a speed that would make Usain Bolt faint.
Starting the morning by waking my muscles with simple exercise like this noticeably improves my condition in later battles.
After casually running one lap around the village outskirts, I stood in front of the entrance to the labyrinth area.
[Challenger, the Tower of Trials is calling you.]
Before entering the labyrinth, I carefully checked the items in my inventory, potions of course and even food items like White Rolls.
I have more than enough potions stacked up to last me a long time, but inventory capacity isn't infinite, so if I keep using potions without replenishing them, I'll eventually run out.
I hardly ever need to use potions in the first-floor labyrinth anymore, but today I need to prepare for even the most unlikely contingency.
It had been half a year since I started killing monsters every single day and raising my level and skill proficiency.
Seojinhyeok Lv.39 (Warrior)
My growth had reached a point far beyond the limits of the first-floor area.
Today, I will defeat the first-floor boss and move on to the next floor.
**
Aside from ranker carries, the smallest party to clear the first-floor boss was a seven-person party with an average level of 18.
The lineup was four warriors like me, two archers, and one thief.
No matter how high my level is or how good my gear is, there's no way I could perform all seven of those roles alone.
So despite the superior stats I'd built up so far, this wouldn't be an easy fight.
Still, to make absolutely sure I won, I'd spent a tremendous amount of time preparing. I'm confident.
“Phew.”
I took one deep breath in front of the boss room. Then I checked the equipment I was wearing once more.
[+6 Black Leather Armor]
Defense + 85
Agility + 3
Weight: 5
Durability 500/500
Enhancement attempts available: 0
First up is the armor: mobility-focused leather armor. Its defense is lower than the heavy armor I used before, but it comes with an Agility bonus.
No matter how much I try to boost my defense with items obtainable on the first floor, one clean hit from the boss is enough to finish me.
At best, the difference is between getting knocked out in one hit and getting knocked out in two, but in a solo run that difference doesn't matter.
Without party members to back me up, I wouldn't even have time to drink a potion before getting battered and dying.
[+7 Kingdom Knight's Straight Sword]
Attack + 77 (Slash)
Critical damage: x 1.5
Durability 350/350
Enhancement attempts available: 0
The weapon is a Kingdom Knight's Straight Sword I newly got while farming treasure chests; I poured a ton of materials into it and succeeded at +7 this time.
This time, instead of recklessly dumping everything into attack with [Sharp] enhancement, I balanced it out with +3 [Durability] and +4 [Sharp].
According to info posts on the open community, the first generation of hunters all invested in durability and sharpness like this.
If your weapon breaks in the middle of a fight because it doesn't have enough durability, you're done for. For someone like me with no party member to cover my back, that's even more fatal.
“Let's go.”
After checking the weapon, the armor, and finally the shield, I slowly opened the boss room door.
[Even among ox-eared brutes lacking everything but viciousness, a ruler with a sovereign bearing is bound to be born.]
[BOSS- Goblin Lord Graksar]
The system message announcing the boss fight began to appear. I immediately pulled a rock from my inventory and took my stance.
“GRAAAAAA-!!”
The moment the Goblin Lord appeared and roared, I timed it and hurled the rock with all my strength.
-Bang!
My target wasn't the boss but the goblin royal guard the boss summons. One perfectly timed throw, and one of them dropped instantly.
The one that went down was a crossbowman, huh. I cut down the ranged unit fast.
I immediately sprinted toward another royal guard goblin and smashed the crown of its head with the edge of my shield.
Then I hit the last goblin charging straight at me with a back kick.
My current Strength stat is forty-seven.
For striking alone, it's enough to ignore the goblins' heavy armor and drive a huge amount of impact through them.
Before, I couldn't take out the royal guard right away and ended up giving the boss the first strike, but not anymore.
My Strength and Agility stats are now high enough to bring down the goblin royal guards summoned by the boss without giving them even a moment's opening.
I stabbed the goblin royal guard that hadn't died outright to make sure of it, then took my combat stance.
-Thud! Thud! Thud!
The lone Goblin Lord charged at me with a speed unbefitting his massive frame.
The vicious bone greatsword swung with the added force of the charge, but just like my Strength, my Agility stat, which has also gone over 40, keeps up with my reactions.
-Whoosh!
I quickly leapt to the right and rolled. It was a big movement, but thanks to my Agility, I had plenty of time to regain my stance.
The Goblin Lord didn't lose heart even though the attack missed and swung the bone greatsword again.
-Clang!
And the greatsword that swung down was stopped by the shield in my left hand. Maybe it was my imagination, but the boss's face seemed to twist.
“What, surprised?”
The [Medium Round Shield] I got from the large treasure chest isn't much different in performance from the [World Rabbit Encyclopedia] I used before.
But a shield isn't all about defense. Whether you can actually block an attack depends more on the challenger's own Strength than on the shield's defense stat.
I don't know whether my Strength is higher than that burly goblin monster's, but anyway, if an attack doesn't have any momentum behind it, I can block it head-on.
And once you've blocked an attack, the next step is obviously a counterattack.
**
The Tower of Trials is a place that's really game-like in many ways, so challengers can fight using all sorts of skills.
For a normal-class warrior, the only skill learned upon class change is [Sword Mastery].
But because several active skills are tied to that mastery skill, the skills I can actually use are fairly varied.
I took aim at the wide-open Goblin Lord. Light immediately gathered around the sword in my hand, and my body moved on its own.
What unfolded was the warrior's basic attack skill, Brandish.
-Slash!
It may be the most basic skill, but its power is more than enough.
The Goblin Lord's thigh was slashed wide open, blood splashing everywhere. The bastard let out a 'Gyaaah!' and swung his greatsword.
But just like before, a normal attack without acceleration can easily be caught with my shield.
-Clang!
I caught the greatsword's brute-force swing, and this time I thrust, aiming deep into the shoulder.
The sword I deliberately aimed a little high cut through the Goblin Lord's muscles and sank in with a soft thud.
The tightly packed muscles caught the blade. I grabbed the hilt and, like climbing a tree, hauled myself up onto the bastard's shoulder.
Then I yanked the sword back out and, using a skill, slammed it into the back of the Goblin Lord's neck.
“Gaaaaaa-!!”
His neck muscles were too thick to finish him off by severing the windpipe outright, but hearing him scream was satisfying enough.
I stayed latched onto the Goblin Lord's back and pulled out the backup weapon I'd prepared in my inventory.
[+4 Hawk's Dagger]
Attack + 45 (Slash)
Critical damage: x 2.5
Durability 100/100
Enhancement attempts available: 0
Unlike my main weapon, it was a short dagger with no [Durability] enhancement and [Sharp] +4; I held it in a reverse grip and stabbed the bastard in the back with it.
-Thunk-thunk-thunk-thunk-thunk-thunk-thunk-thunk-thunk!
With my Strength stat fully unleashed while hanging there, I used my Agility stat to its limit and stabbed his back again and again.
The Goblin Lord, screaming 'Gyaaah!' and thrashing to shake me off, couldn't peel me away, and I clung to him like a leech and kept stabbing with the dagger.
Now I could be sure of it. There might be disadvantages from the difference in size and in attack power, but in raw strength, I was stronger.
-Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
Realizing he couldn't shake me off just by thrashing, the Goblin Lord started running with all his might.
The direction he was running toward was the sturdy wall of the boss room—so if I didn't let go, he was going to ram it head-on with me still on him.
“Fine, I'll let go.”
-Crash!
I jumped off right before he hit the wall. The Goblin Lord just ended up stupidly smashing into the wall.
I widened the distance and checked the time. The second summon pattern would be coming soon.
As expected, three goblin royal guards soon leaped down from the wall's watchtower-like perch and joined the battle.
-Thud.
The Goblin Lord flung away his bone greatsword and, at the same time, drew the axe from his waist.
The moment he drew out the bone axe, which looked much heavier at a glance, the Goblin Lord's muscles swelled dramatically.
“So this is phase two.”
Just as the strategy guide said, he quickly entered phase two. The bastard's attack power with the bone axe was much greater than before.
On top of that, with his muscles bulging and his strength increasing even further, if I tried to carelessly block with my shield from here on, I'd die.
And to make matters worse, all three of the summoned goblin royal guards were crossbowmen.
It's an extremely troublesome situation to be exposed to ranged attacks all at once, but it's fine.
“Come at me, you bastard.”
The effort I'd built up until now won't betray me.
I'll win.