Chapter 25
After a shocking three-game losing streak.
I was lying in bed, watching a Blood Mage Tutorial video.
But there was one thing I found questionable.
[Everyone, because Blood is vulnerable to ganks, you must always buy a Red Ward and place it in the River Bush.]
Hmm.
But shouldn’t Junglers come and place wards for you?
I need to buy items quickly to win the laning phase, so do I really have to buy wards?
While I was having such serious contemplations.
Bzz.
A message notification went off on my phone.
[Ice Coffee: Sorry. I had some things to do today, so I couldn’t log in.]
[Huh?]
It was a message from my friend.
[Jin-Yu: It’s fine, it’s fine. Did something happen?]
[Ice Coffee: Yeah. A bit of a headache came up.]
[Ice Coffee: I’m okay now.]
[Aha. It was because of Hunter’s work after all.]
I nodded in understanding.
That was just how it was being a Hunter.
When something like an A-rank Gate suddenly breaks out as it did today, people have no choice but to rush out.
Of course, they probably aren’t a high enough rank to be directly deployed to such a major incident, but a small gate might have popped up in their area of activity.
Anyway, judging from how they were talking, it was a relief that they didn’t seem hurt or in any real trouble.
[Jin-Yu: Well, as long as you’re safe, that’s all that matters.]
[Ice Coffee: …Thanks for understanding.]
[Ice Coffee: Did you not play any games today?]
[Hmm…]
I did play solo queue and went on a three-game losing streak.
It felt a bit embarrassing to say.
[Jin-Yu: I played a few games.]
[Ice Coffee: How did it go?]
[Jin-Yu: Hmm.]
I hesitated for a moment before confessing honestly.
[Jin-Yu: I went on a 3-game losing streak.]
[Ice Coffee: Lol.]
[Ice Coffee: Wanna play another game later? I’ll carry you.]
[Looks like we can duo.]
Normally, I would have immediately said let’s go, but today just wasn’t the day.
Maybe the aftereffects of the three-game losing streak were bigger than I thought.
Honestly, I didn’t want to play any more games right now.
[Jin-Yu: Today is a bit…]
[Jin-Yu: I’m not really feeling it after losing 3 in a row;;]
[Ice Coffee: Lololol.]
[Ice Coffee: Got it. Let’s play next time then.]
[Jin-Yu: Okay, okay.]
Just as I was about to wrap up the conversation.
A thought suddenly occurred to me.
[Ah. Right.]
Nightmare 5th Floor.
I couldn’t find any information about it on Heon-gael at all.
But since they’re an active Hunter, wouldn’t they have picked up on something?
Figuring I had nothing to lose, I typed out a message.
[Jin-Yu: Do you happen to know anything about the Tower’s Nightmare 5th Floor?]
There was no reply for a moment.
Then, a little while later.
[Ice Coffee: I don’t really know either.]
[Ice Coffee: But why are you curious about that?]
[Ice Coffee: …You’re just about to climb the 4th Floor. You’re not thinking of climbing Nightmare Difficulty, are you?]
[Ah.]
I flinched.
Did I ask too openly?
I mean, I am climbing Nightmare Difficulty, but still.
[Jin-Yu: No, no, I was just asking out of curiosity.]
[Jin-Yu: I looked on Heon-gael and there was no info on the 5th Floor.]
Somehow, I felt like I shouldn’t say yes, so I hurriedly made an excuse.
Then.
Bzz, bzz.
[Ice Coffee: I see. That’s a relief.]
[Ice Coffee: Climb as safely as possible.]
[Ice Coffee: If you ever need anything, make sure to tell me.]
[Ice Coffee: If you were to get hurt, I…]
[Ice Coffee: …No. I overreacted. Forget about this.]
Suddenly, five messages flew in one after another.
[Uh…]
I blinked, a little flustered.
This was… how should I put it.
It wasn’t the usual emotional dynamic between game friends.
But considering they’re a Hunter…
Did they perhaps see a colleague die right in front of them in a gate, or have some kind of trauma like that?
That might be why they were worrying so excessively.
[Jin-Yu: No, no, you’re just worrying about me. Thanks, Thanks.]
[Jin-Yu: I’ll climb safely, so don’t worry.]
[Ice Coffee: Yeah… Thanks.]
However, the truth was that I was much more of a safety-first kind of person anyway.
I aimed for safety to an almost extreme degree, so they really didn’t need to worry.
If my Retainers weren’t doing all the fighting for me in the first place, I never would have set foot in Nightmare Difficulty.
[You might not know this, but my Retainers are actually quite a bit stronger than you’d think.]
It was none other than our Katarina who saved that S-rank Hunter, the Ice Empress, you know?
And I even have Si-Yeon, who I further strengthened with a grace this time…
Something like the Nightmare Grade 4th Floor was honestly no different from a children’s playground to me.
* * *
A few days passed like that.
Finally, the entry Cooldown for the Tower of Trials reset.
“Let us go, my Retainers.”
“Your command.”
“Yes, Master.”
Accompanied by my two reliable Retainers, I entered the Tower of Trials.
[Entering the 4th Floor of Trials, Nightmare Difficulty.]
[The trial will begin in 10 seconds.]
What unfolded before my eyes was the familiar scenery of a Cemetery.
But the atmosphere was definitely different.
The moon hanging in the sky was dyed red.
It blatantly gave off the vibe of a boss battle.
“Guuuhhh…”
In the distance, two massive monsters stood their ground.
Gray skin, bald heads, and bright red eyes.
ghoul monsters were wearing ragged cloaks and gripping giant staves.
[…So those are the Ghoul Lords.]
They looked exactly like the descriptions I had read in the strategy guides on Heon-gael.
The bosses of the Nightmare 4th Floor.
The leaders of the Ghoul Legion and commander entities are said to endlessly Summon Lesser Ghouls.
[The trial begins!]
Thud!
It was the moment the Ghoul Lords slammed their staves into the ground.
Rumble!
“Guuuhhh!!”
“Guuuhhh!!”
“Guuuhhh!!”
Summoning circles opened, and countless ghouls began pouring out.
[They said the 4th Floor was much harder than the 3rd Floor.]
To begin with, the physical specs of a ghoul were far stronger than a zombie’s, and there weren’t just one, but two Ghoul Lords summoning such ghouls.
It was a structure where the longer you dragged things out, the more the ghouls would endlessly multiply.
The common pattern for failing the raid was being unable to keep up with the summoning speed using an ordinary Area-of-Effect Attack, eventually leading to exhaustion.
That was why this 4th Floor was called the “Wailing Wall”.
Even prospects who had somehow managed to twist and turn their way up to the Nightmare 3rd Floor would almost all crumble here.
Still, anyone who made it this far was quite talented, so there were even people who, unable to give up due to their pride, would try dozens or hundreds of times until they ended up dying.
I definitely felt that with an average class, no matter how much combat talent you had, it would be physically impossible.
But.
Honestly, I felt sorry for the people who hit a wall here, but.
“Clear them away.”
…To me, there really wasn’t much difference from the 3rd Floor, you know?
B-b-b-bang - !
As Katarina, standing beside me, lightly flicked her hand once.
The massive horde of ghouls was deleted in a single blow.
[Kuu. As expected of Katarina!]
No matter when I saw it, Katarina’s Area Bombardment was no joke.
And that wasn’t the end.
Paat - !
This time, Si-Yeon moved.
Kicking off the ground, she leaped toward the first Ghoul Lord nearby in an instant.
Her fingernails were dyed red.
[Blood-Red Claws].
Slaaash - !!
“Gu, guuh?”
An attack that a mere Ghoul Lord couldn’t even react to in time.
Its neck was cleanly blown off, killing it instantly.
Thud.
The massive body collapsed to the ground.
[Wow.]
Si-Yeon is really strong too.
I marveled at it, but it was still too early to be surprised.
There was still one Ghoul Lord remaining.
This time, Si-Yeon didn’t even bother moving to close the distance.
“…”
She merely raised a finger from where she stood, calmly aiming at the creature.
The next moment.
Piiiing-! Pow!
Along with the sound of a gunshot slicing through the air, the Ghoul Lord collapsed with a gaping hole blown through its chest.
[Whoa…]
This was the very grace I had newly bestowed upon her this time.
The power of [Blood Bullet].
[She’s a total sniper!]
He is tearing them apart with Claw Hand in close combat, and piercing them with Blood Bullet from afar.
I gave an Assassin a means of Ranged Attack, and she turned into a sniper.
And a sniper with tremendous power at that.
[And that’s even just a stage 1 grace, isn’t it?]
The Blood Bullet Si-Yeon received was stage 1, the most basic of Blood’s Grace.
Yet it had that much power.
[It’s incredible because her Base specs back it up.]
Si-Yeon was originally an A-rank level Assassin, but her stats massively increased upon becoming a retainer.
Using a Skill in that state made its power go absolutely crazy.
[Hehe. I think I did well giving Si-Yeon the Blood Bullet.]
It was an extremely satisfying result.
[4th Floor of Trials (Nightmare) Cleared!]
[Clear Time: 00 Minutes 05 Seconds]
5 seconds.
In just 5 seconds, the supposedly high wall of the Nightmare 4th Floor crumbled in vain.
Ding! Ding!
[You have cleared the trial.]
[Level Up.]
[Rewards will be distributed.]
[Clear Time is under 1 minute.]
[Additional Reward will be distributed!]
[You have achieved a World Record!]
[Hmm. I’m 1st place again today.]
Now, even the new record notification didn’t give me much of a thrill.
Because it was an obvious result.
More importantly, there was something I had to do first before checking the rewards.