< Tutorial 35th floor (4) >
[Level Up]
[Strength increases by 1.]
[Dexterity increases by 1.]
I reached the end of the passageway as I got the level up message.
It seemed as though it was the end of the Boss Room because it was blocked by a wall.
And nothing happened.
Shit. Is there not even a clear.
Is it too much to ask for?
There’s no clear reward or even stamina restoration.
[Round 24, Day 2. 5h 55m]
Just 5 minutes left.
It was close.
I leaned against the wall.
“Status.”
[Lee HoJae (Human)]
Str: 13
Dex: 15
Sta: 15
Mana: 22
Skill: Combat Concentration Lv. 21, Will Lv.4, Awakening Lv. 7, Dash Lv. 1, Natural Recovery Lv.3, Super-Regeneration Lv. 3, Intermediate Spear Technique Lv. 3, Intermediate Weaponry Lv. 4, Intermediate Throwing Lv.1, Mana Circuit LV. 19, Pain Tolerance Lv. 2
At least I leveled up.
If it weren’t for the stat gains from leveling up,it would be hard to clear the later stages even if it was fine now.
I closed my eyes, sat down in a comfortable position, and guided my mana along the circuit.
It’s probably because of leveling up just now, but my body’s condition was good.
It was hard to believe the growth in such a short span of time.
I had a revelation in learning that the mana circuit expands quickly if the repeated overworking of the circuit act in conjunction with the water from the Spring of Recovery.
Obviously to ‘overwork’ the mana circuit, one needed a certain amount of skill; if one had that much aptitude, he didn’t need to expand the mana circuit forcibly.
But thanks to that, I could improve quickly.
I still felt a bit uncomfortable while circulating the mana.
The original plan was to clear the 3rd floor Boss Room and attempt to expand my mana circuit in the waiting room.
The process of forcing the circuit’s blockades open and expanding the path puts a considerable amount of burden on the body.
So, I wanted to give it a go in the waiting room, which has a recovery function.
But even though I had proceeded to the end of the 3rd floor Boss Room, I still wasn’t getting a clear message.
And because of that, there wasn’t a waiting room.
Once a bit of time passes, I’ll be moved directly to the 4th floor.
They precisely cut away the things they wanted to take away.
But why won’t they make these kinds of things exactly as it was before?
I should wait on expanding the mana circuit until I reach the 4th or 5th floor’s Spring of Recovery.
In the time left, I messaged Kim MinHyuk to let him know the new information I had discovered about the mana circuit.
[Kim MinHyeok, 30th floor: I got it. I’ll keep a record.]
[Kim MinHyeok, 30th floor: But are you ok on the 35th floor? Lee HyungJin was worried about you.]
It seems he talked to Lee HyungJin in the short time span.
Lee HyungJin took on the responsibility of managing and taking record of the people in the Hell Difficulty 1st floor instead of me.
So, Lee HyungJin talks to Kim MinHyuk or other militia members every now and then.
[Lee HoJae, 35th floor: I’m fine.]
If I wasn’t fine, what could be done.
It wasn’t like I could give up.
[Lee HoJae, 35th floor: What about Jung-Ah? She didn’t read my messages.]
[Kim MinHyuk, 30th floor: Even if you sent one, she won’t be able to check. It’s the start of the round, so she’ll be busy for a while.]
[Lee HoJae, 35th floor: That’s a shame. You should work too. Work harder.]
[Kim MinHyuk, 30th floor: … I’m busy too.]
[Lee HoJae, 35th floor: Work more.]
Recently, Park JungAh has been super busy every time a new round begins.
It doesn’t seem like her workload lessens when the start of the round has passed either.
As time passes, challenger survival rates are becoming slightly higher.
Since people don’t die like before and new people enter every round, the population in the tutorial is becoming larger.
As the strategy is solidifying, the danger level of the tutorial stage is much lower.
Naturally there has been an increase in the number of people enthusiastically trying their hand at the stages.
So, the ones in a bind were the administrators in the militia.
Plus, there was the need to check for information on those that have made it out of the tutorial from the newbies that have come into the tutorial during the new rounds.
They couldn’t help but be busy.
The time seemed to have passed as I was talking to Kim MinHyuk, and I was on the 4th floor stage.
Upon seeing the scenery change, I got up.
[Lee HoJae, 35th floor: I gotta move. I’ll message you later.]
[Kim MinHyeok, 30th floor: Ok.]
[Round 24, Day 2. 6h 0m]
The time limit for the 4th floor is 4 hours.
I wasn’t sure if I could make it to the Boss Room within that time frame.
Even if I do make it to the Boss Room, it’ll be hard to clear.
The area of the 4th floor Boss Room is immense.
I couldn’t be certain I’d be able to clear the Boss Room even if I had four hours to put into just that.
I’ll just try and do what I can.
I walked along the pathway that seemed larger than before.
The biggest point of interest on the 4th floor was that it’s the first stage with battles.
Unlike the earlier stages which are all trap-based, goblins appear, and you need to take care of them.
I thought of the moment when I first entered the 4th floor.
“Kuwaaaaaa!”
The same cry as before.
It was peculiar to hear it again.
Even to go through the traps I’ve been through before, but this was a bit different.
While they were Goblins, seeing the same reactions as before from living beings overlapped my vision with memories from the past.
The dark green skin.
The tightly squeezed muscles.
The large incisors.
The red glitter in their eyes.
The height going over 2 meters.
The heavy axes.
The iron armor.
The Goblin drill sergeant that appears first on the 4th floor.
It was the first enemy I’ve meet when I first came into the tutorial, and the first living organism I saw since the death of the people I met on the 1st floor.
“Heh, it’s been a while.”
The Goblin cocked its head at my words.
An adorable gesture for something of that stature.
Instead of accepting its charms, I quickly ran forward.
I don’t have any weapons.
It’s not like when I had a short sword and shield.
The only choice I can make now, is to run into the Goblin’s range.
As I quickly approached, the Goblin quickly erased its doubts and got ready for combat.
He lowered his axe and waited for the moment I approached to swing up the axe from the left bottom.
It was a tricky timing and arc to deal with since I was running straight at it.
But if I take a step back, I’ll be at the mercy of the Goblin’s range.
I need to do whatever it takes to get close.
I made sure not to lose any speed as I dodged the axe by sliding low.
And as I passed between the Goblin’s legs, I moved my hands.
I created a sharp edge of mana from my fingertips and scratched the Goblin’s calves.
The Goblin was wearing iron boots, but unfortunately, it didn’t cover his calves or thighs.
[Acquired Intermediate Brawling Lv. 8.]
Upon seeing the blood splatter from the Goblin’s calves, I got up.
As soon as I got up, the Goblin’s axe swung at me.
Instead of blocking the axe, I gripped the Goblin’s right wrist.
And with the other hand, I stabbed the Goblin’s side.
Obviously, it was coated with mana as sharp as a surgeon’s scalpel.
Trying to attack me while I was close enough to hug the Goblin, he moved his head.
I hesitated for a moment when I saw the Goblin attempt to headbutt me.
Normally, I’d just take the headbutt.
But it wasn’t a good choice right now.
While I could cover myself in mana, if I get hit by the stupid rock head, there will be quite an impact.[1]
Plus, the Goblin was wearing a helmet.
Before, I surpassed the Goblin in strength and speed, but was behind in ability.
Now, I surpass the Goblin in ability, but my strength, speed and endurance were very inferior.
I needed to take care of my body.
So, I sat straight down.
There was nothing else I could do to dodge the Axe coming from the side, the headbutt, and the left hand waiting to strike.
I let my legs crumple, and as I fell, I raised one knee and kicked the Goblin in the balls.
“Kuwaaaaa!”
Sorry!
Really sorry!
I aimed for the Goblin hobbled over in a strange posture.
I wrapped the Goblin’s ankle and calf with my right arm and struck the Goblin’s knee from the side hard with my left fist.
With a crushing sound, a leg bone popped out the other side.
The Goblin couldn’t even cry out from the abrupt pain.
I lifted my body as I pushed down on the Goblin falling from being struck on both legs and the balls.
I took a mounting position atop the Goblin falling down backwards and swung with my fists.
All the while the Goblin tried to raise its hands to protect its face, but what I was aiming for wasn’t its face.
I could feel the ribs breaking from my fist embedded in the Goblin’s chest.
The Goblin spit out saliva and the last of its breath as it were writhing, and soon its arms fell down.
Thanks to that, I could easily cut the Goblin’s throat with my two hands wrapped in mana.
That’s the end.
The Goblin convulsed as its neck spewed forth blood and died on the spot.
The hit to the chest was probably quite effective, since it died without able to even letting out a scream.
I was able to confirm that a good strike will be able to deal a proper blow.
I couldn’t help but feel the lack of mana available for shaping.
There was a difference in strength and speed, but it wasn’t hard to take care of him.
Not only did I finish the battle fast, but I also didn’t take any damage.
I wasn’t sure if this body would manage to keep pace with my thoughts in combat.
It was true my body wasn’t in top condition, but it’s fine if I keep that in mind.
The 1st battle on the 35th floor was a success.
That’s how I wrapped up the combat results.
I decided to take the axe lying on the floor.
I’ve never used an axe, but I thought it would be better to have a weapon than just bare hands.
If it doesn’t fit, I can just toss it aside.
As I walked with the axe, I could see a little foxhole ahead of me.
It was a hole with a tent on top.
Inside the tent were five goblins.
Two spearmen, two archers, and one shaman.
The goblin shaman is more of a support for the other four goblins rather than an attacker.
Since it was the 4th floor, its magic power wasn’t much to worry about.
It appears as though the goblin shaman discovered me, as it was shaking awake the other sleeping goblins.
That’s the role of that goblin shaman.
I ran holding the axe in front of me.
The two goblin archers quickly started shooting at me, but arrows from just two archers weren’t enough to be of any danger to me.
There was no need to block using my axe, and I just closed the distance while dodging the arrows.
As I approached near the tent, the two spearmen crossed the two spears and lowered them to block my approach.
The two archers behind tossed aside their bows and gripped their daggers.
It seems to be an attempt to prevent me from closing in near the spearmen.
I drew near one of the spearmen.
Instead of snuggling close, I quickly swung the axe and hit the head of the spear.
Normally, you need to ignore this and let it slide off.
But the goblin spearmen couldn’t manage to do that.
While the spearhead was pushed to the side from the impact with the axe, I took a wide step forward.
The nearby archer swung the dagger at me.
I dropped the axe I was holding.
I grabbed onto the wrist of the archer and stole the archer’s dagger with my other hand.
All the while holding onto the archer’s wrist, I stabbed the archer’s back muscles with the dagger.
I stomped on the spearmen swinging his spear at me again and shoved him with my shoulder.
As his ankle bones broke and the goblin spearman collapsed on the ground, I stabbed his neck and sent him off.
Now there was a set of one spearman and one archer, as well as a shaman standing at a slight distance.
Three in total.
As I was about to rush toward the other pair of spearman and archer, I heard a scream from behind me.
“Uaaaaaa!”
The goblin shaman was running at me while screaming.
I tried to ignore him, but there was a blue energy forming on the staff.
The shaman’s body was rather slow.
Without a problem, I suppressed him by grabbing his wrist and turned him around.
I embraced the goblin shaman from behind and held my dagger by his neck.
Then the spearman and archer running at me stopped in their tracks.
They apparently stop when I hold a knife to their ally’s neck.
I didn’t know this before.
After watching the hesitating goblins for a while, I stabbed the dagger deep into the shaman’s neck.
And shoved the shaman toward the spearman.
While the goblins were stunned, I quickly close the distance and ended the battle there.
It was something I felt before, but there was a large disparity in skill between the Goblin drill sergeant that appears in the beginning and the other goblins.
After making sure the goblins writhing on the ground were no longer breathing, I walked out of the tent.
I took one of the daggers.
I greatly preferred daggers to axes.
I’ll use the axe like a shield when I approach defensively and toss the aside the axe and use the dagger when I’m close.
“Huah…”
It felt refreshing.
While it was a clean victory, there wasn’t a big difference between me and the goblins.
It was a pleasant feeling of tension.
And the refreshing taste of small battles here and there that I haven’t had in a while.
Let’s hurry and go to the next one.
[The God of Remorse is watching you.]
< Tutorial 35th floor (4) > End
Gandara
[1] 돌대가리, rockhead means dumbass in Korean, as well as “head hard as a rock.”