Chapter 62. Event Raid (5)
"Ah, Mastiford-ssi."
Even with all the effort I put in, the city was still half-destroyed. I didn't know whether to be happy or sad. However, the fact that civilian casualties had not spread was a relief. If father and I didn't kill it, the boar would have kept charging through Guangzhou and destroyed the entire city. If that happened, millions of people would have died.
[You were even stronger than before, at least as strong as S-rank. Ah, of course, I'm still much stronger! Oh, if you're with Yungoong ajusshi, tell him that he looked cool today!]
"We went our way right after the raid. You should tell him yourself, I'm sure he'll be happy."
[Yeah, I will. Ah, um… Thanks. I was touched. I thought you were selfish and mean, but you're really a good guy! A cool guy! I, Hwaya Mastiford, can guarantee it.]
"I didn't go just to save people. I went because I knew I could win."
[Even so!]
Mastiford's good mood was clear from the excitement in her voice. Then, she suddenly became quieter.
[Sorry for putting you through all that danger… I hope something like this doesn't happen again, but if it does, I'll be sure to go with you.]
"I wasn't alone. Yungoong ajusshi was there too."
[Ah, uh, y-yeah.]
Mastiford's voice shook a little. I shook my head at father who was asking what was up. Then, I returned to my conversation with her.
"But yes, we should come up with a plan to deal with something like this. We can't let another Event Raid break out and have a country greedily say they'll take care of it on their own. Guangzhou had tourists from other countries too. We should leverage that fact and create a guideline or procedure for foreign ability user assistance in dealing with giant monster appearances."
[Don't worry, I'll take care of it. This time, I'll show you the weight that an SS-rank's words have! I'm done sitting still and shaking my legs while I fully know others are dying!]
Mastiford's voice was filled with rage and confidence. Thinking how she was fiery like flames, I laughed.
"What about Beijing and Shanghai?"
[The monsters there were successfully suppressed. Because the Chinese government deployed high-ranking ability users to both Shanghai and Beijing, their civilian casualties and materialistic damage were lower than Guangzhou's. Two S-rank ability users died in the process, though.]
"Died!? S-ranks?"
[Yep. It was from the Mini Krakens' poison. Perhaps because the Curse Magician was there, they didn't send any healers above A-rank. Stupid. Because of their mana-eater property, the Mini Krakens evolved to near B+-rank, making their venom highly lethal. Two magicians without any resistance against them died. I think even the Chinese ability users were shocked.]
"Tsk."
Inside the bath, I closed my eyes and pondered. They really died in vain. Less than 0.1 percent of ability users were S-ranked, making them elites amongst elites. However, they died in a C-rank boss raid. It was the result of recklessly attacking the enemy without knowing their special property.
Thinking how they died so stupidly while enjoying luxurious lives, a sense of emptiness swept over me. Reality was this unpredictable and cold-hearted. Everyone had to realize that the change that came with the second moon was not some gift from God.
When I was bitterly thinking about the people that died, Mastiford called me.
[Um… Yeon Hwawoo.]
"Yeah?"
[When are you going to stop calling me Mastiford-ssi? It feels stiff. You don't talk so formally otherwise.]
"… Hm?"
[When it's just the two of us talking, call me Hwaya. That's easier and simpler, right? Okay, that's that! Thanks for today!]
With that, she disappeared. I forgot the serious things I was pondering and became flustered. Eh? Uh…
"Is she saying we should be friends?"
"What do you mean, son?"
"Uh… it's nothing."
It felt a bit weird to tell father about it. I didn't know why, but I found my heart pounding slightly… Why was it pounding? Was something wrong with me?
"Ah, it must be because I made a new friend."
I was satisfied with the answer I came up with. I had finally obtained the qualification to face Hwaya Eleni Mastiford eye to eye. From herself, no less!
She didn't ask me to work under her either. She thanked me, and said she'd join me in the future. It meant no one would be under anyone's orders, and that we would stand on equal footing. As friends. I thought my heart was pounding at the excitement of being acknowledged as a friend by an SS-rank ability user like herself.
That was probably it. Yep, probably.
That day, what happened at Guangzhou was broadcasted to the whole world. A knight in a black suit of armor and a knight in a silver suit of armor suddenly appeared out of nowhere and disappeared along with the Giant Iron Boar after defeating it.
The Chinese government treated them as international criminals and declared that they'd capture them as they gritted their teeth. On the other hand, almost all other nations publicly denounced China, saying that they attacked this era's true knights. Not to mention, they attacked China for ignoring the safety of their citizens and foreign citizens that were there for tourism and business, all in their greed for monster remains.
Countless international lawsuits barraged them, the Chinese government sweated to take care of them all.
In the end, through a joint public negotiation between Guardian and Freedom Wing, an international law was created to outline the procedure of Guardian, Freedom Wing, and rogue ability users when another massive monster outbreak occurred. Although a similar law already existed, what happened with China today emphasized the importance of such laws, repealing and reinstituting a completely new, strengthened law.
In the case that civilian evacuation was not prioritized, or the monsters were not taken care of within a fixed amount of time, there would be no problem even if foreign countries' ability users appeared to help out.
There was already a law that said any ability users counter attacking in self-defense in case of a monster outbreak would not be held responsible for damages. As such, the ability users that were in the area would automatically be eligible to fight any monsters.
This new law allowed combat units of each country's Guardians and Freedom Wings to act more freely. When an event raid occurred in a country, these combat units of neighboring countries could be deployed as soon as a fixed amount of time passed.
Of course, the law worked differently for dungeon explorers. We could teleport to target locations as soon as the fixed time passed.
[Rather interesting rumors are going around. Two people in a full suit of armor suddenly teleported in, an ability user that could teleport people teleported two strong melee ability users into battle, etc. It would seem that the characters from these rumors are among us.]
[That's an interesting story, but rumors are rumors.]
[You aren't wrong, but it's clear that these aren't just rumors. Not to mention, I've seen what happened at Guangzhou. Mastiford couldn't have been there, especially since I already know her ability. That would mean the culprit is among the three of you.]
[I could say the same about you, Walker. Not that I think you'd be the type to do something so admirable.]
[You're right, I wouldn't do something like that… I'll let this conversation rest here.]
Of the two armored knights that appeared in Guangzhou, the media began to call the one in black suit of armor, 'Dark Knight,' while the one who freely controlled lightning was called 'Thunder Knight.' These nicknames spread to other media platforms and became universal. Every time I heard the media call us Dark Knight and Thunder Knight, I couldn't help but cringe.
"My Thunder Knight, bring your father some water."
"Dark Knight-nim, why don't you get it yourself?"
"Huhu, you must be itching for battle, Thunder Knight."
"You must be quite bored yourself, Dark Knight-nim!"
… After a few battles with our honor on the line, we negotiated by agreeing to never call each other by our nicknames.
[Rage Rush Boots (Unique)
Defense - 240
Options - Strength +5, Dexterity +10; Increases the effectiveness of all rush-type skills by 50 percent.]
The boots I got from the Giant Iron Boar was incomparably stronger than the Lizard Knight Set in terms of defense. Not to mention, the boots looked extremely fancy as it let out a black luster. Unfortunately, my level and stats weren't high enough to equip it. Plus, equipping it would break my set effect, though it would technically be made up for by Rage Rush Boots' options. As I didn't have any rush-type skills, the boots didn't have much effect on me either. As such, it was trapped in my inventory for now.
Of course, not having these boots didn't mean I couldn't hunt the Giant Ghoul by myself. Even today, I easily hunted a Giant Ghoul and consumed Skin Strengthening Elixirs.
[Your skin becomes strengthened to the limit, becoming tough enough to withstand spears and swords without armor. All blemishes on your skin disappear, making it even smoother and clear. Your constitution and charm both increase by 3. It seems consuming more of this item will have no further effect.]
Nice, this was the last one! As expected, the Skin Strengthening Elixir increased my constitution and charm by 12 each. Looking at myself in the mirror, I noticed that my skin was much smoother and cleaner than before. Even I thought I looked good. I felt how important having good skin was.
"Are you close to completely conquering the 25th floor?"
"Yes, there's only one equipment part I didn't get. I hope it appears next time, and not some other part or Skin Strengthening Elixir."
I used another Party Member Scarecrow as I answered Loretta. Nodding her head, Loretta calmly replied.
"In that case Shin-nim, I'll see you after your next raid. Don't forget to visit me afterwards."
"Understood."
After casually answering Loretta, I turned my back from her. I could hear her letting out a light sigh from behind, but I didn't look back. Who knew if she'd try to sell something to me again?
"Guoooooo!"
"All of you, come at me!"
[You used the skill, Provoke! You draw nearby enemies towards you!]
Giant Ghoul's solo raid was extremely simple. First, I just had to repeatedly use Provoke to gather the zombies towards me. Then, I didn't even need to use Elemental Tempest, as just a few normal Tempests were enough to completely wipe out most of the zombies, opening a path to the Giant Ghoul.
"Tempest! Tempest!"
"Back… to… darkness…"
As zombies continued rising from the ground, I just ignored them after I opened up the path. I ran towards the Giant Ghoul, at the same time the Giant Ghoul ran towards me, enraged by the fact that I killed so many zombies.
"GUOOOOOO!"
"Huu, haap!"
Raids in real life were good, but the dungeon's raids also had their charm. Being able to fight against opponents this strong and feeling myself getting stronger in the process, there was no better feeling!
"Haa!"
I leaped up diagonally and extended Black Earthen Spear's reach with my mana. Slashing through the back of Giant Ghoul's hand, I lightly landed while breaking a few tombstones on my way. With luck, the Giant Ghoul was immediately poisoned. Blood was flowing down from his mouth. I loved Black Earthen Spear's poison. Not only did it deal continuous damage over time, it also slowed the enemy's movements and made him more vulnerable to fatal attacks.
"GUOOOOOO, HUMAAAAAN!"
"I swear, I'll change my race one day. Then I won't have to listen to that line again… Haat!"
The Giant Ghoul reached toward me on all fours. Dodging his steel claws, I swung my spear at his face and shot out a Thunder Bomb. After my Spirit Mastery became mid-ranked, it became easier to use Peika's elemental magic while maintaining Spirit Aura state.
"KUOOOOO!"
"Being sturdy is your strong point! Come on, be more aggressive!"
Floor Master battles were so difficult because of the bosses' cheat-like skills, strong attacks, and boundless health and defense. In other words, if you could avoid their attacks and pierce through their defense and deal damage, you could easily kill the Floor Master alone.
Of course, most people would not even have a chance as they would be kicked out after taking a blow. The Floor Masters' attacks had a wide reach and could easily be fatal to anyone that was hit. To shave down their boundless health while fighting them alone, the challenger would need to stay tense and alert the entire fight.
Chapter 63. Draconian Lin (1)
The Giant Ghoul was big even among Floor Masters. His claws were imbued with a mana of death, and when he rampaged, you took mild damage just from being in contact with the ground. Not to mention, he endlessly spawned hordes of zombies, forcing you to stay wary at all times.
However, I could already easily dodge its attacks, had immense attack power, and had defensive power that mere zombies could not break through. When I obtained a certain skill on top of all that, the Giant Ghoul raid simply became too easy.
It was the reward I received from solo clearing the Giant Ghoul raid.
[Death Counter (passive) - You will not get intimidated against the undead. Against the undead, all attack skills become 50 percent stronger and you cannot become an undead. This skill has no skill level.]
I found it quite ironic that a skill perfect for fighting against the undead only appeared after defeating the Giant Ghoul solo, but there wasn't much I could do about it.
The part about not being intimidated by the undead was a strong effect. It was only after I obtained the skill that I realized my attacks were unnatural when fighting the undead compared to when I was fighting other monsters. Not only were my attacks unnatural, my defensive or evasive maneuvers all had strange, unnecessary movements mixed into them.
When I asked Loretta about it, she said living beings instinctively became weaker in face of the undead, who defied death and desired the living. I felt that skills really were amazing, being able to defy something instinctive.
Plus, the 50 percent attack boost when using attack skills was the main charm.
"GUOOOO!"
"I'll return you to hell soon!"
I slowly disabled the Giant Ghoul. When a target was this big, it was best to gradually make parts of its body incapable of fighting. First, I worked on the Giant Ghoul's left arm. Starting from the back of the hand to the wrist, forearm, and shoulder, I precisely pierced target locations with my spear. The Giant Ghoul then became unable to move his arm.
"Haaaap!"
I then continued to his left leg. It only took about 10 minutes to completely render half of his body useless. At this point, the Giant Ghoul began to look for zombies to consume in order to recover his injuries. The problem was that since he could only use half of his body, only his right hand could help him in this task. The Giant Ghoul was truly too predictable!
The Giant Ghoul quickly dragged his body to where the zombies were. Before he could grab any, I shot a Tempest forward.
"Kuooooo!"
"And take this!"
When the Giant Ghoul missed his targets and let out an annoyed roar, I shot forward and stabbed my Black Earthen Spear into its right forearm. Then, I exploded my Spirit Aura.
[Critical Hit!]
"KUAAAAAA!"
"Perfect."
The Giant Ghoul screamed and tried to shake me off of his right arm. Before I could fall on the ground, I pulled out my Black Earthen Spear and jumped off. I had grown too used to fighting large monsters lately. I found myself getting on and off their bodies with familiarity.
"What are you going to do now without your arms? Want to try using your mouth directly?"
"KIAAAAAA!"
It went without saying that he tried to do exactly that. However, his target was no longer the zombies, but me. As if to devour me along with all the zombies slowly approaching me, the Giant Ghoul opened his mouth wide and shot forward. This was also the moment I was waiting for.
"Eat this! Heroic Strike!"
I threw my Black Earthen Spear imbued with a generous amount of Spirit Aura. It shot forward like lightning and accurately hit the Giant Ghoul's face, piercing through his skull. The Giant Ghoul's head exploded, scattering rotten blood and other substances into the air. With his defense being so easily broken, I didn't understand all the complaining other explorers did about it having impenetrable skin.
The Giant Ghoul eked out a cry with its possibly broken vocal cords as it thrashed about. His health was likely reaching its bottom. He would soon use Diehard and try to recover his health and restore his injuries.
Of course, I wouldn't just sit still and let it happen! I took out my Silver Spear and aimed at his heart.
"Here's another one! Divine Speed, Heroic Strike!"
The Silver Spear combined with Spirit Aura and let out a dazzling light. In truth, I thought that the Silver Spear looked cooler than the Black Earthen Spear. Thinking rather useless things while Divine Speed's time was ticking, I shot the Silver Spear toward the heart of the Giant Ghoul, who had just used Diehard and was in the process of recovering.
[Critical Hit!]
"Gu…ooooooooo….!"
Of course, my attack hit its target perfectly. The Silver Spear pierced the Giant Ghoul's heart, which was strangely pumping out cold, rotten blood, and exploded it. After finding out Diehard activated using the heart as its basis, I always killed the Giant Ghoul without giving it time to complete Diehard.
[You obtained 30,000 gold.]
[Rewards will be distributed in order of contribution.]
[Kang Shin-nim's contribution is the highest. Choose your reward.]
2. Giant Ghoul's Shirt]
Seeing the Giant Ghoul's Shirt on the reward list, I let out a sigh of relief. When I used a Party Member Scarecrow, the dungeon didn't consider the fight as a solo raid. As such, neither the special equipment piece nor the 'Death Counter Magic Book' dropped. There were two normal rewards to choose from, one of which was the Giant Ghoul's Shirt I had been waiting for.
In truth, I didn't know what material the Giant Ghoul Set was made out of, and I didn't want to wear them because they felt dirty. Even so, I had to equip them once to confirm the set skill. With a frown, I equipped the Giant Ghoul Set.
[You equipped the Giant Ghoul Set. Your strength and dexterity increase by 12. When the Giant Ghoul Set is equipped, you can use 'Diehard' once per day.]
As expected, Diehard was the skill I received. I quickly stored it in my pocket watch's 5 o'clock position and threw off the Giant Ghoul Set. Then, I closely examined Diehard's skill description.
[Diehard: usable once per day. Automatically activates when HP falls below 3 percent, restoring all injuries and filling up your HP to 50 percent of its maximum.]
"Ama…"
Amazing! This skill! What a cheat! As long as I didn't die in a single hit, I could recover up to 50 percent of my max HP even from 1 percent HP. Realizing once again that all Floor Masters' skills were cheats, I rubbed the pocket watch on my cheek. I couldn't be reckless just because I got this skill, but I could at least be more daring in the way I moved. Just that fact made this skill valuable!
Just like that, I obtained the skill that would later give me the name 'Undying Crown Prince.'
[Name: Kang Shin Race: Human Sex: Male
Level: 26
Strength - 80(+35) Dexterity - 74(+21) Constitution - 78(+28)
Normal Skill - High-rank Martial Arts (Lv 2), High-rank Spear Technique (Lv 5), Mid-rank Heroic Strike (Lv 4), Mid-rank Provoke (Lv 3), Divine Speed (Lv 3), Return (Lv 1), Low-rank Dash (Lv 9), Peruta Circuit (Lv 4), Deific Manifestation, Death Counter
Subclass Skill - Endow Skill, Spirit of the Collector]
[Equipment:
Flesh Golem's Second Finger (Strength +7, Constitution +7)
Arachne's Black Earthen Spear (Strength +5, Dexterity +10, Poison damage on all basic attacks, inflicts poison status effect.)]
[Collector's Pocket Watch:
2 o'clock: Vengeful Spirit's Wail
4 o'clock: Dragon Skin
5 o'clock: Diehard]
[2 Event Dungeon clears, 1 Event Raid clear, accumulated bonus stats: 3]
[Current skill points: 10]
[Six title-effects: (Orc Lord Slayer, Wraith Queen Slayer, Dark Ratman Slayer, Giant Ghoul Slayer, Lizard Knight Master, Hermes). Accumulated effects: All stats +11, 15% speed increase, increased affinity to all elements, affinity to wind element greatly increased, can summon Talaria once per day.]
With an extremely satisfied expression, I headed towards Loretta, who greeted me with a smile.
"Looks like you got it, Shin-nim."
"Yep. It was a much better skill than I expected… I'm looking forward to the future."
"Huhu, seeing you get stronger makes me all happy. Good luck going forward as well."
"M-Mmm, thanks."
Eh…? Didn't she seem closer just now? When I tilted my head and pondered, Loretta interrupted like a thunderbolt from a clear sky.
"It looks like we won't meet at the Floor Shop for a while."
"What!? Why?"
"It's my resting period, one that lasts for 1 year every 100 years. I'm operating countless Floor Shops with my consciousness split into puppets. I sometimes need rest too, don't you think?"
"Ah, yes. Mm, I'll miss you."
"… You really will miss me?"
Loretta suddenly put her face close to mine and blinked. Although I was a little flustered, I answered her honestly.
"Of course, I've always been with Loretta. I had fun these past 5 years and even received a lot of help."
"Will you miss me that much?"
"Well, of course… uuu, how embarrassing."
"Don't worry, Shin-nim… I'm embarrassed too."
With that, Loretta smiled bashfully. For an instant, I fell into a trance at her beautiful expression, and had to make an active effort to snap myself out of my daze. Then, Loretta put her hands in her shop apron pocket and took something out after rummaging through.
"Since you say that, this here is perfect for customer!"
"Ek! Are you selling something again in this timing?"
"Ah! Erm, well… I-It's not being sold."
Loretta shrunk back after shouting out full of spirit. She wasn't selling it? I looked at the object in her hand. It was a light blue crystal shaped like a small key. It was a truly elaborate and beautiful key.
"What's this?"
"Um, you know, Shin-nim. Shin-nim will become the owner of a mansion called Marianne's Garden."
"Ah, I remember from last time. You said Marianne's Garden was the only Special Mansion without an owner."
Loretta nodded her head silently and seriously.
"Special Mansions aren't something you can buy with money. They're a sort of special reward given out to explorers who made important achievements in the dungeon. When people realize Shin-nim is the owner of Marianne's Garden, all other dungeon explorers will come to look at Shin-nim with admiration. Ah, not that I think someone would go out of their way make trouble, but it's best that you don't go around telling everyone you meet that you're an owner of a Special Mansion. Claim it silently and enter it silently. The Residential Area has marketplaces and even adult entertainment districts, but residents have to use a special method to enter their houses. Unless they reveal where they live and lead others to it, no one can find out."
"That makes me even more curious."
"You'll receive something that looks like this key. You can use it to enter Marianne's Garden."
"I see. Then what about this key?"
Loretta became silent. Her cheeks flushed red.
"J-Just like its name suggests, Marianne's Garden comes with a beautiful garden. In the center of that garden, there is a spring called Fairy Spring. It's not only Marianne's Garden. Other Special Mansions also have special devices like the Fairy Spring. This key reacts to those devices and operates."
"Operates?"
"You'll find out when you bring this key to Fairy Spring. T-Take it as a goodbye present!"
Loretta handed the crystal key to me. As I accepted it, I tilted my head. Operates? Will a giant robot pop out from the spring or something? Or will a door to a new world open? Although I wanted to ask Loretta, it didn't look like she would answer.
"M-Make sure you do it. Okay, Shin-nim?"
"I, I got it. I got it so don't look at me with those teary eyes."
Loretta was a bit strange today. When I looked at her, I felt stuffy and my heart pounded faster. I felt a bit hot, but I didn't think anything was different than usual. Did I catch a cold?
"T-Then you should head up. I also have to get ready and scrap the puppets."
"I understand. Thank you for everything until now, Loretta. I'll see you in a year."
"… It… might not take a full year."
"Really? That'd be great!"
When I gave her my wholehearted smile, Loretta smiled wholeheartedly in return. It was a beautiful smile without a single blemish. She then said.
"How about you buy 100 bottles of Holy Water to say goodbye? If you buy all 100 bottles now, I'll give you a one-time 15% discount! That's only 1,275 gold!"
"The 26th floor is undead too, huh…"
With that, I parted with Loretta. Because I felt like I lost a friend of 5 years, I felt extremely sad. Of course, at this point, I did not know where and how I would come to reunite with her.
Chapter 64. Draconian Lin (2)
When someone heard the word 'undead,' what were the monsters people would usually think of? Right, first were the zombies. The wraiths that appeared on the dungeon's 6th floor also counted as undead.
The ones people would think of second were of course…
"Human."
"Splint bone is mine."
"Screw off, I can't even make beef bone soup with you guys!"
Skeletons. They were undead creatures without a single bit of flesh and were made of white or black bones.
[Lightning doesn't work well on bones, Master…]
"Don't be sad, Peika. We just have to thoroughly crush them to make up for it."
Using my spear like a club, I shattered the incoming skeletons. They were much tougher and had much stronger attacks compared to the zombies or the ghouls. Even so, they were much weaker than me. Their attacks were only strong to the point that they could scratch my armor if I just let them freely attack. In other words, they could just barely break through my defense to deal a tiny bit of damage. Of course, they were embarrassingly weak.
However, their defensive power was quite good, and they were more troublesome than zombies or ghouls in terms of their regenerative powers. If I broke them without pouring mana into my spear, they regenerated, so I had to go through the trouble of destroying them with my spear imbued with a mix of lightning elemental power and mana.
Although they didn't smell as bad without rotting flesh, they were still extremely dirty and annoying to deal with. Just the way they moved irked me. For mere skeletons, they moved with dance steps as they tried to attack me with their swords. It really wanted to make me crush them.
Plus, these guys loved bones too much!
"His skull looks good."
"I like his third cervical vertebrae."
Every time they saw me, they charged towards me as they complimented my bone structure. I wondered if this floor was designed to irritate me. Perhaps it was a common feature of undead-type monsters, but their attainment in martial arts was pitifully low. I simply put one spear in each hand and flowed Spirit Aura into them to use them as electric beating clubs. Just like that, I crushed the skeletons' skulls as I made my way forward.
"T-The bones I spent my entire life polishing up…!"
"S-Skull Breaker!"
"Run away, it's the Skull Breaker!"
"Shut it!"
These guys! For monsters without brains, they sure were smarter than the zombies! I should've known when they said something like third cervical vertebrae!
[Thunder Bomb!]
"It's the Skull Breaker!!!"
"The Skull Breaker is coming!"
"Now you're calling me Skull Breaker no matter where I attack you…"
They called me Skull Breaker when I broke their ribs. They called me Skull Breaker when I crushed their arms. I didn't understand.
I couldn't just charge forward like I did in the 21st floor. Thus, I took a fast-walking pace, swinging my two spears and shooting out Thunder Bombs until I reached the 26th floor. The time it took to accomplish that was about 7 hours. After confirming that my level had gone up to level 27 and confirming that there were no more skeletons nearby, I put away the spears and sighed.
"Loretta, I'm he… Ah."
On the 26th Floor Shop, I couldn't find Loretta. Instead, there was a young man resting his chin on the shop desk as he smoked a cigarette. Discovering me, he looked around and muttered as he chewed on his cigarette.
"Eh? … Oh, right. It was from today. Welcome."
"Hello, are you Loretta's replacement?"
"Hm, you really do look like noonim's1 taste… What, a Hero? Noonim's quite skilled."
The young man glanced over me with sparkling crimson eyes. Although he sounded mumbly as he was still chewing on his cigarette, his voice was still extremely pleasant to listen to. He had snow-white skin and was pretty enough to be mistaken for a girl. However, there was something else that caught my attention.
"Um… on your head… there are horns."
"Yea, I'm a Draconian."
After answering me casually, he puffed out the cigarette smoke. Then, he put the cigarette back in his mouth. Don't tell me he thought that was enough of an explanation? Dumbfounded, I stared at him smoking his cigarette.
His hair was black just like mine. However, his hair was extremely long, which was tied at the top of his head in a ponytail. On each of his temples, a curly silver horn was protruding out, forming a symmetry. Finally, his eyes were a bit dirty.
He had a black garment draped over his body, which didn't seem to have any muscles. I then noticed the area behind his butt, where a scaled tail dozens of times larger than a lizard's tail swayed gently. It was then that I remembered something.
"Um, are you perhaps a beastman?"
"Beastman? Mmm… no. Beastmen are beings blessed by God to take animals' traits. On the other hand, Draconians get their traits from their draconic bloodline."
"Dragons?"
"Ah, that's all you need to know. It's nothing important."
He seemed too lazy to explain further as he waved the smoke away with his hands. Although there was a mountain load of questions I wanted to ask, I decided to just let it go. However, he seemed to have his own questions. After finishing his cigarette, he glanced at me and asked.
"So, you're Kang Shin, right? Earth's Hero."
"I don't really like being called Hero."
"Really? Mm, then just Kang Shin. Know this. Noonim pestered me quite a bit to take good care of you."
"She pestered you?"
"Loretta noonim was in charge of almost 4,000 explorers. Don't think my real body will be at all those places."
"Oh, so you aren't a puppet, but the real one?"
"What, she even told you about the puppets? …She fell deep, that person."
What did he mean Loretta fell deep? This new Floor Shop owner was unfriendly and liked to talk to himself. When I was already starting to miss Loretta, he blurted out as if he had just remembered something.
"Lin. You can call me Lin."
"Okay, Lin. Take good care of me for a while."
"Mm, yeah. I'm curious as to how many floors you can climb during this one year. According to noonim, you're a real one that hasn't been seen for a while. I can expect at least five floors, right?"
He glanced over me with narrow eyes as he spoke arrogantly. Oh, you're provoking me? I, Kang Shin, manliest of men, will take on that challenge.
"Lin, do you like betting?"
"Kukuku, I love it."
Lin and I exchanged smiles. As expected of Loretta's replacement. He was walking the same path Loretta once walked! I had to rein in my laughter from bursting out. Lin, on the other hand, was looking at me like I was a naïve child. I was already looking forward to the day his expression would change.
"Kang Shin, let's decide on our bet. There's what noonim said, so I doubt you won't make it to the 30th floor in 1 year. Right, if you defeat the 35th Floor Master by yourself within one year, I will make a gauntlet suitable for you. If you even defeat the 40th Floor Master by yourself within one year, I will make you a weapon that contains my essence."
"Lin, you're a blacksmith?"
"Yep. I'm the Red Dragon's descendent, so I have close affinity to fire. In any case, if you can't break through the 35th floor within one year, I will take the pocket watch back from you. Along with your subclass of course. I'll also take away the pocket watch if you party with other people to clear the 35th Floor Master, though, I doubt you have many skills in there anyways."
I already had five. Not that I'd tell him, of course.
"Is it possible to take away someone's class?"
"I wouldn't have said it otherwise. Though, not anyone can do it."
Indeed, it was a scary penalty. The pocket watch was a treasure that made up quite a bit of my overall strength. That said, this person was too soft. Did he think I couldn't climb 14 floors in one year? I asked with a bashful smile.
"Then, what if I break through the 40th floor even earlier?"
"What? Earlier than 1 year? Puhat."
The Draconian snorted.
"There's no record of such a thing happening. Don't look down on the 40th Floor Master. He forced countless First Dungeon challengers to their knees. The legend says that he's even stronger than the 45th Floor Master. You think you can reach the 40th floor and defeat him within one year? Don't kid."
"But a man should dream big. If there's a bigger reward, wouldn't I be more motivated to try?"
"… You aren't wrong. Right, explorers these days really lack that sort of attitude. Hmm."
Lin started a second cigarette. He didn't take out a lighter, but the cigarette was set on fire on its own. It seemed the power of the Red Dragon was used to set cigarettes on fire. While I nodded my head in appreciation of gaining new knowledge, Lin murmured with the cigarette in his mouth.
"If you can do it within 9 months, I'll make you a helmet along with the weapon. If you do it within 8 months, I'll add in the gauntlet. 7 months, I'll add in boots."
"Ah, I already have boots to wear though."
"If you manage to succeed, you can give me your boots. I'll do some work on them."
"Ah, got it."
"Finally, though I think it's completely impossible, if you succeed within 6 months… ha, I can't even say it with a straight face. Anyways, if you succeed in breaking through the 40th floor within 6 months, I'll make you a full plate armor set. Along with a weapon, of course."
"Wow, you really are generous."
"Puhahahaha! Climbing 14 floors in half a year, I think you're a lot more generous than I am! Ku, kukukuk! I know you're a Hero, but your liver is so big that it's hanging outside your belly2! Agh, my sides! I understand a little bit why Loretta noonim likes you so much!"
"Ek, but I'm into women…"
"I'm into women too, you bastard."
Because he suddenly emphasized his words with sharp eyes, I flinched a little.
"Well, do your best, Kang Shin. Don't give up in the middle. I hate people that give up the most."
"What a coincidence."
After getting ample rest, I stretched and loosened my body. Holding up my Black Earthen Spear, I shouted at Lin as I took a step on the stair to the 27th floor.
"I hate giving up the most too."
Noonim is a more formal version of noona. ↩ Korean proverb meaning you've got a lot of nerve. ↩