episode_0004

Even after Han Yoo-seong finished the Transcendent Gallery and hurried to walk away, the theme of the story was still directed at him.

Title: But even if we help that guy somehow, what will it gain us?

Author: Secret Theorist

-Of course, there are things that relieve boredom, but I wonder if there are other things besides that.

n If it’s fun, isn’t that enough?

Since when did that Demonic Clan uncle start thinking of something so meaningful and looking for something like profit? ㅋㅋㅋㅋ

N It seems like it might be beneficial.

N?? Profit?

(Musa) Jwatak-gong, please explain in detail!!

N) We can trade among ourselves. I think we can trade climbing bragging rights as well.

Interdimensional trading is possible in the .

(n) We have a lot to give him, but we have something to receive from him… Oh, there is.

Oh yeah, this shit is hilarious lol

n Pioneer) Hmm, if possible, wouldn’t there be a lot to receive? Even if you don’t go to the upper floors, just get past about 30 floors. There must be people who need things like the 《Illusionary Tree》 or the 《Ghost Reunion Rune》… .

n Pioneer) And even if you don’t go all the way to the 30th floor, the Climber Coin Shop will open as soon as you reach the 2nd floor. You can get some food there.

n Pioneer) I don’t remember what I ate at the top, but I still remember the food from the Murim district. Mapo tofu. I keep trying it, but it doesn’t taste the same.

n I’m a martial artist, and that red wall surface… I sometimes think of pasta. It was like a ritual to eat a bowl every time I went up the stairs… I don’t know why the food disappears when we trade dimensions.

N) That’s right. The ones you buy directly from the coin shop are in the special storage box. That probably won’t disappear.

(N 天魔) So, uh, you tried it? An interdimensional deal with that climber?

ㄴ 쭫쭫) Yeah, I tried it, but it still says that the interdimensional trading is disabled due to the target not meeting the qualifications. That means there’s a chance that it will be activated. If I go to the second floor right now, it might be activated.

(Sword of Light) I can give you a swordsmanship book.

(N Shingung) I came back from training in the mountains… and such a strange thing happened. If we make a deal, I could give you something like a weapon.

n Even if I send it, there will be a level restriction, so what about the weapon?

N Shingung) Hmm, I see… .

n Priestess) Hawaii, the girl will give you an amulet.

n Pioneer) So?nyeo

(Mama) What’s happening, old man.

(Absolute Monarch) It’s a swordsmanship book. Sword of Light, you seem to be quite intent on teaching that guy like a disciple. You gave him the most advice. I wonder why.

n Sword of Light) There’s no particular reason. It’s just fun.

ㄴ Sword of Light) Starting from the 2nd floor, where scores are tallied for each floor. It would be really fun if the climber I helped was ranked in the top of the overall score rankings for Easy, Normal, and Hard difficulties.

(Sword of Light) I don’t like the guys who are currently at the top. I want to make them a little scared.

n Sword of Light) And in just a few days, I’ll be meeting other players at the monthly “Top Exchange”. Even if I’m alone for now. I’m also really curious about that picture.

(N Archmage) Do you think he’ll be able to prevent it to that extent?

n If Lightsword were to do as he said, it would be so much fun. But it’s scary that there’s a chance he’d die while talking like that.

(Ice Queen) I made an iceberg to pray for the safety of the climber! Don’t say things like that! Freeze!

N) Oh, right. I haven’t even asked the climber’s name yet. I’ll have to ask him when he gets back alive.

N This crazy guy just said something that would set off a death flag lol

n The death flag is triggered by the climber before the main character. What does ‘let’s see if we survive’ mean? Let’s see if we survive. Hmm, it looks like I’ll fall?

N) You block until the climber comes back alive.

Nah.

***

Kkwaduk!

The spear shattered. Before my eyes was a dark green monster with blood all over its hands.

Judging by its appearance, it’s probably a goblin.

A situation where the goblin’s axe was barely blocked by cutting the spear horizontally.

I rolled on the floor and grabbed the remaining spear shaft where the blade was.

Phew!

He raised his body and pierced the goblin’s neck with the blade he had picked up like a dagger.

Keuuk!

A thin groan burst from the mouth of the goblin, who was literally right next to me. Bright red blood spurted from his neck.

And the goblin’s body fell forward.

[Level up!]

[Lv.1 → Lv.2]

[The ‘Strength’ stat increases by 4.]

[The ‘Agility’ stat increases by 5.]

[The ‘Stamina’ stat increases by 3.]

It seemed like a lot of other notification windows were popping up, including one for leveling up, but my gaze was currently focused somewhere else.

Another person was dying before my eyes.

A dead woman with her long hair hanging on the ground. Her thin armor was colorless, her abdomen covered in blood.

I knew why this woman had these scars. I had just witnessed in real time the goblin I had just killed slashing and clawing at the woman’s abdomen with its sharp claws that were no different from swords.

The screams that filled the stairs were still vivid.

But when I faced that situation, it was a distance that I couldn’t reach by running a few dozen steps.

A handful of blood spurted out of her mouth, and the woman’s head drooped.

The woman’s body, which had been writhing, suddenly stopped moving.

The words were still floating above the woman who had been a living human being but had become a dead body.

[NPC – Defeated Mercenary]

Right now, at this moment, anger was greater than fear.

Why do you keep making me see these corpses? If you’re going to bring an NPC right in front of me, shouldn’t you give me a chance to save him properly?

Even if it’s just a welcome, it’s better to save someone than to see them die before your eyes.

What’s more annoying is…

The point is that I am currently supplying this mercenary’s items.

To live.

Sling-

In place of the broken spear, I picked up a sword that clearly belonged to a mercenary.

And I took the ankle braces from the mercenary and wrapped them around my ankles.

There was something to be taken from the pockets wrapped around the mercenary’s waist.

There were two potion bottles identical to the tier 3 recovery potion that [The Fleeing Citizen] had.

There were real bandages, not just the rags they were replacing.

I closed the mercenary’s wide-open eyes. It wasn’t some hypocritical act. They were the two eyes that met mine. I just closed them because I felt uncomfortable.

“Status window.”

Name: Han Yoo-seong

Race: Human

Lv.2

Strength: 16

Agility: 18

Stamina: 14

… The easy difficulty level guys said that each stat went up by 1. The normal level also starts at 1, and sometimes only one of strength, agility, or stamina goes up by 2.

Strength increased by 4, Agility increased by 5, and Stamina increased by 3.

This is a similar value to the prediction that the hard difficulty nerds mentioned.

-Sword of Light) If you’re on Hard difficulty, you’ll climb quickly in the beginning. If you’re someone who originally used a lot of strength, like the knights where I am or the warriors of the Murim Earth, your stats will be high to begin with, so even on Hard difficulty, you’ll only be able to climb a little bit, but since you’re from 21st century Earth, you’ll be able to climb easily.

– The gap between the life you used to live and surviving on hard difficulty. I think that those who survive on hard difficulty are compensated for their hard work.

-Seriously) Most of the summoners on hard difficulty aren’t normal people, so they don’t really feel it, but if you’re on hard mode, you might be able to feel it.

He spread both his hands wide and then clenched them into fists.

I can really feel it.

Even after retiring from high school baseball, I continued to exercise moderately, but ultimately only went to the gym.

A feeling of both firmness and flexibility in my muscles ran up my shoulder, through my arm, and into my hand.

Does this mean that the difficulty is set to hard?

A bitter taste lingered in my mouth.

I untied the cloth that had been tied around my shoulder like a bandage.

It seemed that one of the benefits of leveling up that the Sword of Light had explained, ‘complete recovery of stamina’, had been achieved.

We’re halfway to the first floor.

A scene unfolded that left me with no choice but to think that way.

What appeared was a long bridge. It was a long bridge connecting the ground and the cliff that would fall if you fell.

Steel planks on the left and right that can be called railings.

This was one of the structures that the ‘absolute monarch’ had told us about.

(Absolute Monarch) You must hide behind the planks on the left side to avoid arrows flying from the left. If they fly to a part of your body where you cannot hide, block them with your shield or strike them with your weapon. I was holding a rectangular shield, so it was easy to block them, but you probably don’t have that.

The absolute monarch, who seemed to be willing to tell me something else, cruelly betrayed my hopes.

(Absolute monarch) What can I do if I have to survive on my own?

(Absolute Monarch) Trust your instincts.

What the hell.

I took a step.

I ignored my uneasy feelings toward the NPC I couldn’t even try to save and stood in front of the bridge.

Squeak-

I took a step.

Up the bridge.

The wind blew from the right.

Wheaaa!

Three iron arrows rushed in from the right.

He moved his body quickly to the right.

We had to take as much cover as possible with the steel planks.

Kkwaduk!

One of the iron arrows bounced off the steel plate.

One foot.

Kaiaang!

He swung his sword and struck it down.

I didn’t have time to think about whether I could do it. I just had to do it.

Phew-!

One shot was hit.

It was an unreal pain, like being attacked by a three-headed Anthranthrop.

The iron arrow was stuck in my thigh. It felt like my entire leg was going to be ripped off.

I had to resort to the same old self-hypnosis again.

It’s a baseball mound.

Here it is.

Take a deep breath.

A place that has never collapsed no matter how tense you are a hundred or a thousand times.

A place where you don’t give up even after countless defeats.

Bam-!

I poured the remaining half of the potion into my mouth. Then I swallowed it and pulled out the arrow. I poured the 3rd level recovery potion I had obtained from the pocket of the [Lv.2 Defeated Mercenary] into the wound. Then I bandaged it.

[The level of the skill ‘Pain Suppression’ increases. Lv.2]

Saaaa …

This time the wind blew from the left.

That was like a warning that the iron arrows would rush in from the left.

Moved my body.

Avoid what you can by taking cover.

Kang!

I swung my sword and struck down what I could.

Phew!

Is it your shoulder this time?

[The level of skill ‘Composure’ increases. Lv.2]

Avoid what you have to avoid. Hit what you have to hit. Hit what you have to hit.

It was a repetition of that process.

[Crisis Detection Lv.1 – Skill acquired.]

I braced myself for countless arrows and struck down the chains that were falling from the sky.

[Expanded Field of View Lv.1 – Skill acquired.]

How many dozen minutes did it take?

[Concentration Enhancement Lv.1 – Skill acquired.]

at las.

Finally, the end of the long bridge began to vaguely appear beyond the fog.

Kagagagagagagak─ Kagagak!!

And I heard a creepy sound.

It was as if someone was diligently cutting something with a saw.

As the fog slowly cleared, an Anthranthrop appeared, about the size of a grown man.

He was busy cutting down the huge stakes that were supporting the bridge with both arms.

개새끼가.

A sentence appeared above the bastard’s head.

[BOSS MONSTER]

Boss monster.

[Queen Anthranthrope]

Queen Anthranceroff.

Was it a bitch or a guy?

I pulled out the arrow embedded in my shoulder and poured myself a potion. The pain that shook my mind was suppressed by the adrenaline.

My body moved on its own.

Kill.

[Focus Enhancement Lv.1 – Activates skill.]

Read the trajectories of the four iron arrows rushing in from the right.

Kak! Kaang!

I kicked two feet and dodged two.

Meanwhile, Queen Anthrancerhoe was busy sawing with both legs.

Kagagagagagagak─!!

As soon as I kicked off the edge of the bridge and jumped up, my long legs tumbled down the cliff.

Kireeek!!

The Queen, as her name suggests, had a head that was different from the Anthroxys we had seen before. Just one huge head.

It appeared to have a very hard shell.

Although the pain was burning hot all over my body, my mind was clearer than ever.

Wheaaa!

He struck out the left leg that was being thrust forward. He twisted his body to the right and struck down the sword vertically.

One of the six legs.

Kieek!

Calmly. I concentrated all my energy and avoided all of his attacks.

Puhwaaak!

During that time, he was stabbed in the stomach, but he gritted his teeth and endured. He also cut off the remaining five legs.

Kieeeek!

Boom─!

He swung his sword towards the head. Continued.

thud!

So hard that my arms were about to break.

thud!

Tsk tsk tsk─

I heard a sound like eggs being crushed.

A shard of the Queen’s broken crown dug into the back of her hand, but she paid it no mind.

A purple brain was visible inside.

The brain was beating strangely, as if it were a heart.

He swung his sword towards the brain.

Soon, notification windows began to fill my field of vision.

[I defeated the boss monster!]

[Level up!]

[Lv.2 → Lv.3]

[The ‘Strength’ stat increases by 4.]

[The ‘Agility’ stat increases by 3.]

[The ‘Stamina’ stat increases by 4.]

[You have cleared the first floor.]

[Go to the 2nd floor.]

The thick fog ahead slowly cleared.

Gggg-

I thought it was a wall, but it was a door. Through the open door, a long staircase was visible.

Arrows and numbers were visible on the door.

【 2 】↑

According to Jutak, the difficulty level is written next to the number.

There was definitely some writing next to it.

And the words had the kind of vicious power that could instantly blow away the sense of relief one felt at having killed a boss monster and survived.

I rubbed my eyes and checked again, but it was the same.

“… … .”

The typeface has not changed.

【Pandemonium】

Pandemonium.

I thought it would be at least Hard difficulty.

Before crossing the bridge, I saw the stats rising rapidly and gave up, thinking that it was on hard difficulty.

But the tower I fell from wasn’t on hard difficulty.

-Seriously) Pandemonium has no end yet.

– Grand Wizard) The clear probability there is 0%.

It’s fucked.

That too, very properly.