Chapter 15
“A Monster Beyond Specification has appeared in the Republic of Korea.”
“A monster?”
Baek Eun-Seol asked back, narrowing her brow.
“That is correct. More accurately… should I say 'monsters'? While Hunter Baek Eun-Seol was inside the gate, Korea was turned upside down twice.”
Association President Kim Tae-Seong sat down and began to summarize for her the events that had occurred in the meantime.
The unprecedented Unregistered Awakener, True Ancestor, had broken through the Tower of Trials 1st Floor and 2nd Floor on Nightmare Difficulty in just one second.
And the sudden annihilation of Black Cow, the Giant Dark Guild that had dominated the Gangnam Underworld.
“The Nightmare-Rank 1st Floor and 2nd Floor in one second…?”
After Baek Eun-Seol heard the entire story, her blue eyes wavered.
“Furthermore, the Black Cow guys were erased over the course of a few nights?”
“Yes. They were literally 'erased'.”
Kim Tae-Seong said, emphasizing the word.
“They weren’t just being pushed back in a typical turf war. They were thoroughly eliminated, from the organization’s Leadership down to its branches.”
“And you don’t know who’s doing it?”
“That’s right. They haven’t been identified yet. Seeing as the methods at the scenes were similar, we can only assume a small elite group made a move. However, there is one more thing to note here.”
He placed a single photograph on the desk.
A photo of the gruesomely dead corpse of a black monster.
“Inside the corpse of a High-ranking Official belonging to Black Cow, an A-rank Monster, the Parasitic Beast “Dark Oculus” was found dead.”
“…”
“In other words, there was a demonic human harboring a Parasitic Monster in their body within the Upper Echelons of Black Cow. It was a fact that neither our Association nor the Government had noticed at all.”
A demonic human had been planted in Black Cow.
Yet such an organization was annihilated in an instant.
This meant.
“The Unidentified group that annihilated the Black Cow organization… most likely knew that fact in advance and eliminated it.”
“You’re quick to understand, as expected. That’s exactly it.”
Kim Tae-Seong nodded.
Baek Eun-Seol let out a short sigh.
“Haa. I just got back from finishing work, and now two massive headaches have popped up.”
The Unregistered Person Prospect, “True Ancestor”.
And the Unidentified group possessing immense intelligence and combat Force.
Either one was a massive variable that could directly impact national security.
Kim Tae-Seong changed the subject again.
“First of all, what the entire World is paying the most attention to right now is the movements of “True Ancestor”. Looking at his climbing pattern so far, there is a very high probability that he will climb the 3rd Floor of the Tower on Nightmare Difficulty tomorrow.”
“Mhm.”
“At first, there was an uproar over what kind of Class he could possibly have to be that powerful. After experts ran Scenarios for the past two weeks, a leading hypothesis has recently been established.”
Kim Tae-Seong’s eyes shone sharply.
“The hypothesis is that rather than simply possessing immense strength, it is highly likely that True Ancestor has a conditional ability with a significant penalty.”
He spoke, spreading his hands and resting them on the desk.
“For example, an ability exists that instantly kills a target below a certain level just by touching it. It’s not like S-rank Classes with such peculiar Unique Skills don’t exist at all.”
“Hmm…”
Baek Eun-Seol gave a small nod.
“Since the Nightmare 1st Floor and 2nd Floor are structured so that only a single boss appears, if it’s a Skill like that, then certainly…”
“That’s right. That is why this 3rd Floor is important.”
Kim Tae-Seong said emphatically.
“Isn’t this 3rd Floor a floor where a large number of monsters swarm out all at once? If he shows an astonishing result here just like on the 1st and 2nd Floors… that would mean he truly is an absurd monster.”
Click.
Having finished the briefing and left the Association Head’s Office, Baek Eun-Seol walked down the hallway, lost in thought.
The Unidentified entity who would climb the Nightmare 3rd Floor tomorrow is True Ancestor.
Just what kind of class and Skill did he possess?
And why was he refusing to reveal his identity and even rejecting communication?
Also, what meaning was there behind the nickname Jinjo (True Ancestor)?
Her head was growing heavy with various thoughts.
“…Ah. He said he was climbing the 3rd Floor too.”
She remembered that the friend she had chatted with earlier in the game had also mentioned planning to climb the 3rd Floor.
At that thought, her heavy head felt much lighter.
'Fufu. I wonder if he’ll end up running away because the 3rd Floor is too scary.'
And she also felt a little worried.
Of course, given her friend’s personality, he would unconditionally choose the safest difficulty, but…
Still, the Tower was a place where unexpected dangers always lurked.
“Should I get him some newbie-exclusive gear or something?”
Baek Eun-Seol continued her steps with such lighthearted worries.
* * *
The next day.
I woke up feeling refreshed after a good night’s sleep.
Today was my turn to climb the 3rd Floor of the Tower.
I searched the internet beforehand to see what kind of place it was.
'Let’s see. Is the 3rd Floor’s gimmick a Cemetery?'
The 1st Floor and 2nd Floor were arenas, but the background changed from the 3rd Floor onwards.
It was a gloomy Cemetery.
The monsters appearing were said to be zombies.
'Ugh… I hate zombies because they’re gross.'
I was someone who absolutely never even played horror games with zombies in them.
Yet to think I had to face them in reality.
If I had to fight them myself, I might have given up.
It’s a good thing I have reliable Retainers.
Anyway, a zombie’s stats were said to be very weak, only slightly stronger than an Ordinary Person’s.
However
“The number is… 200?”
The concept of the Tower 3rd Floor was a “battle of numbers”.
The number of zombies appearing on Nightmare Difficulty was a whopping 200.
On top of that, there was even a Mother Zombie that controlled the zombies and produced more of them.
“Are they crazy?”
How on Earth is an Ordinary Person supposed to clear this?
Feeling anxious, I logged into the Domestic Hunter Gallery and posted a question.
<Domestic Hunter Gallery>
[Title: Newbie thinking of trying 3rd Floor Nightmare, is it really tough?]
Poster: Feeling anxious, I logged into the Domestic Hunter Gallery and posted a question.
<Domestic Hunter Gallery>
[Title: Newbie thinking of trying Nightmare 3rd Floor: Is it really tough?]
Poster: OP
I heard there’s a swarm of 200 and a mother even comes out. How hard is it?
- Lmaoooo newbie is cute
-
Nightmare-rank? This bastard caught the True Ancestor disease. Seems like there’s a lot of ki.
I heard there’s a swarm of 200 and a mother even comes out. How hard is it?
- Lmaoooo newbie is cute
-
Nightmare-rank? This bastard caught the True Ancestor disease. Seems like there are a lot of kids going crazy over Nightmare-rank for no reason lately because of that True Ancestor guy, but please don’t do that. You guys aren’t the True Ancestor.
- Fact Bomber) Nightmare Difficulty only shares the gimmick with the other three difficulties; you have to view it as a completely different kind of Tower.
-
Yeah the people above are right lol. There’s a recommended spec comparison table in the gallery notices that convert [Nightmare Floor = Normal Floor], so go look at that. For 3rd Floor Nightmare, you need specs to reach at least the late 10s floors to even stand a chance.
'Whoa. I guess it’s incredibly hard.'
The more I read down the comments, the more anxious I felt.
They said the difficulty was on such a different level that it could be considered a completely different Tower.
No matter how Overpowered my Retainers were, seeing everyone dissuade me this much made me start to feel intimidated for no reason.
I lowered my Smartphone and looked back and forth between Katarina and Si-Yeon, who were standing side by side next to me.
“Ahem.”
At the sound of my fake cough, my two Retainers looked at me simultaneously.
“I hear that about 200 zombies will swarm us in today’s trial, and even a giant zombie will appear. Will the two of you be able to handle it?”
I subtly tested the waters while maintaining as much arrogance as possible.
If they said it seemed even a little bit difficult, I planned to lower the difficulty immediately.
However
Katarina and Si-Yeon instead made puzzled expressions at my question.
“Liege Lord. Did you say zombies? Even if hundreds or thousands of moving corpses swarm us, they will not be able to block the Liege Lord’s path.”
Katarina answered as if it were obvious.
“I agree. They are not opponents at a level for the Master to worry about.”
Si-Yeon also nodded calmly.
Both of them were far too tranquil and full of confidence.
To speak with such certainty.
“Phew. Thank goodness.”
I let out a sigh of relief inwardly and nodded.
“Right. Let us go, then.”
[You are entering the Tower of Trials 3rd Floor (Nightmare).]
My vision flashed, and an unfamiliar landscape unfolded before my eyes.
A pitch-black Cemetery blanketed in thick fog.
It was a chilly, damp, and unpleasant atmosphere.
[The trial will begin in 10 seconds.]
The moment we set foot in that place.
-Grrrrk…
-Kuaaak!
A massive horde of zombies began crawling out, breaking through the graves in all directions.
Furthermore, right in the center of the graveyard, a giant Mother Zombie - a mass of flesh the size of a house - was growling at us.
A musty, disgusting stench wafted over.
“Ugh! The visuals are legendary. Even the smell…!”
I screamed inwardly at the terrible sight that assaulted my sense of sight and smell simultaneously.
I felt like plugging my nose and dry heaving right then and there.
But heartlessly, the Passive Skill [Exalted Dignity] activated, causing my arms to cross and my chin to raise stiffly.
“Tsk. What disgusting corpses.”
I Cast a very cold and arrogant gaze toward the gross zombie horde and commanded.
“Clear them away.”
A short and heavy word.
The moment that command fell, Katarina and Si-Yeon bowed their heads.
“Mission received, Master.”
“As you command!”
[The trial begins!]
Katarina lightly reached her hand above her head.
Then.
Tudududuk!!
Babababang!!
“Gwooo…!”
Out of nowhere, the horde of 200 zombies was literally ground to pieces.
The zombies' bodies shattered as if they had been hit by a shotgun.
“?!”
I wondered what on Earth this situation was.
It seemed she had shot drops of blood into the sky and then had unleashed an Area Bombardment in all directions like rain.
In an instant, the mobs that had densely filled the surroundings were swept away in a single blow.
And in that split second, the dense line of sight was cleared.
Paat!
Si-Yeon, who had vanished from my side at some point, had already reached right in front of the giant Mother Zombie’s nose.
Her fingernails had transformed into red lethal weapons.
Puuk - !
[Blood-Red Claws] pierced straight through the mother’s huge face.
“- - !!”
Kuuung!!
With a heavy sound, the Mother Zombie collapsed to the ground, and soon the surroundings fell silent.
Katarina withdrew the hand she had raised toward the sky.
Si-Yeon flicked the zombie bodily fluids off her fingernails with an expressionless face.
That was the end of it.
“Hmm. It really is.”
I thought as I looked at the scenery of the Cemetery, littered with countless zombie corpses.
As expected, just like people said, the 3rd Floor was not easy.
Because this time there were a large quantity and an additional boss on top of that, it inevitably took more physical time compared to the previous floors.
Therefore
[3rd Floor Trial (Nightmare) Cleared!]
[Clear Time: 00 Minutes 03 Seconds]
[You have achieved a World Record!]
This time, it was a 3-second clear.