[Floor Boss – Goblin Chief has appeared.]
The trio flinched in terror.
"No..." Min-ho muttered. "We're wounded... We can't fight something like that..."
Hana turned to Dae-jung with tear-filled eyes.
"I-is this... the end?"
Dae-jung clenched his teeth, forcing himself to raise his shield, but for the first time, doubt flickered in his eyes.
"Is this... where we die?"
---
Two hours earlier – First floor of the tower.
Ha-jin crouched low in the bushes, alone, eyes locked onto a goblin holding a rusty dagger. Its back was turned to him.
[Calm Mind (B) activated.]
"Yeah," Ha-jin whispered to himself. "This is the right time."
He picked up a rock, stepped out silently, and smashed it onto the goblin's head.
The goblin collapsed. Its dagger fell from its hand. Ha-jin swiftly picked it up and stabbed it deep into the goblin's chest.
"Ordinary weapons don't work in the tower," he muttered, sitting down beside the body. "To kill magical beasts like this, you need either enchanted weapons powered by mana stones, or ones granted as tower rewards. But..."
[You have slain a goblin!]
As the system message appeared, Ha-jin gave a satisfied smile.
"...if you find something you can use as a weapon, that works too."
By the time the first-generation climbers figured this out and shared it with the world, too many had already died inside the tower.
"Glad I remembered it quickly..." Ha-jin said, just as more system messages began to pop up.
[Level up!]
"Otherwise, I'd have ended up just like those early climbers."
[You gained 3 stat points as level-up reward!]
[You can now allocate stat points freely.]
"Stat points, huh?" Ha-jin stared at the system window.
"I thought they'd be distributed randomly, but I guess I can choose. That's even better."
"If I run into another goblin now, I won't be strong enough to fight back. So it's smarter to put all the points into Strength."
As soon as he said it, the system responded.
[Strength increased by 3!]
[Strength: 2 → 5]
"Huh? So all I have to do is say it out lou—"
Rustle.
Rustle.
The sound of movement cut his words short. Ha-jin turned just in time to see a goblin leap at him from the bushes.
"KIEEEEK!"
Ha-jin barely dodged by throwing himself to the side.
The goblin hit the ground hard but recovered quickly, turning back and charging again, dagger raised.
"...!"
Ha-jin narrowed his eyes, tightened his grip on the rusty blade, and whispered:
"Calm Mind... is still active, right?"
The goblin lunged again.
This time, Ha-jin didn't move.
As the goblin attacked, he ducked under its swing, slid beneath its arm, and drove his dagger into the creature's side.
"KIEEEEK!"
It screamed, stumbling back, blood filling its eyes. Ha-jin didn't hesitate—he stabbed again.
And again.
The goblin collapsed, trembling... then lay still.
[You have slain a goblin!]
[Level up!]
[You gained 3 stat points as level-up reward!]
Ha-jin stood silently, taking a deep breath. Sweat covered his skin, but his breath was steady.
"This is it..." he murmured, gripping the dagger with trembling hands. "I'm scared. I'm shaking. But I'm alive."
A faint smile formed on his lips.
"Goblins' weak spot is the abdomen. They're fast, but they charge in without thinking."
He glanced at the new system notifications.
"Another three points..."
His expression turned serious.
"This time, I should increase Agility. If that thing had been any faster, I'd be dead now."
[Agility increased by 3!]
[Agility: 3 → 6]
Just as he finished allocating the stats, Ha-jin heard footsteps approaching through the bushes.
Step...
Step... Step...
Rustle...
Bushes began shaking from the left... and the right... and then from behind.
Ha-jin turned—and froze.
One by one, goblins began stepping out of the foliage. Some held rusty daggers, others brandished spiked clubs. Their teeth were bared. Drool dripped from their mouths.
"One... two... three..." Ha-jin began counting.
"...seventeen... eighteen..."
His pupils shrank.
"...twenty-four."
He swallowed hard.
"Twenty-four goblins... Are you kidding me?"
"Did they come because of the noise those other two made?"
The goblins had surrounded him. Escape was no longer an option.
But Ha-jin didn't take a step back.
Instead... his eyes lit up.
"Good. Now I get to see how far I can go."
[Calm Mind (B) activated.]
The goblins shrieked and charged.
"KREEEEK!"
The first one leapt. Ha-jin tilted his head slightly and drove the dagger up through its jaw.
[You have slain a goblin!]
Another came from the left. Ha-jin dodged back, grabbed its arm, and kneed it in the stomach. Then slit its throat.
[You have slain a goblin!]
The flood of attacks didn't stop. He was surrounded. But Ha-jin was already reading their movements.
He deflected one, then stabbed backwards without even turning around.
[You have slain a goblin!]
Blood sprayed. Screams echoed. But the goblins didn't retreat.
"If you're coming at me... then come ready to die!" Ha-jin shouted, grinning as if he were enjoying the battle.
He grabbed a club from a goblin with his free hand, staggered from the impact, but held firm.
He pinned another goblin down with his foot, pulled his dagger from the dirt, and slit its throat.
[You have slain a goblin!]
[Level up!]
Ha-jin's eyes grew colder.
"Keep coming. I won't stop until I kill every last one of you."
His breathing quickened. Wounds began to show. Blood dripped from his shoulder. His forehead was split.
But he remained standing.
Goblin corpses piled around him. The air reeked of blood and soil. Each step splashed red. But Ha-jin didn't falter.
One final goblin turned to flee.
Ha-jin hurled his dagger with precision—
[You have slain a goblin!]
Silence fell.
Ha-jin limped forward to the center of the carnage. The sky was gray. The air was thick and humid. Slowly, he collapsed to his knees.
He was covered in blood.
Wounds, fatigue, fear...
But something inside him was stronger.
The system chimed again:
[Level up!]
[Level up!]
[Level up!]
...
With the flood of messages, a golden window appeared before his eyes.
[You have reached level 10!]
[Level threshold surpassed.]
[You defeated a large number of enemies alone.]
[Achievement unlocked!]
Ha-jin stared in disbelief as golden letters shimmered before him.
[Achievement: Me vs. All of You!]
[Effect: When fighting against multiple enemies, stamina and speed increase by 10%.]
"This is... amazing—"
"NOOOO! DAE-JUUUUNG!!" a woman's voice screamed in the distance.
'A woman? Sounds like her party's in trouble.'
Ha-jin got up and sprinted toward the voice.
What he saw left him speechless.
Dozens of goblin corpses littered the ground. A man was slumped against a tree, shield broken. A healer woman desperately tried to cast magic on him. A warrior with a greatsword stood guard, covered in goblin blood and wounds.
"But... why are they in this state? Even with this many goblins, they shouldn't be this badly injured."
As he moved closer, the answer came into view.
[Floor Boss – Goblin Chief has appeared!]
Ha-jin's gaze locked onto the Goblin Chief.
It stood over two meters tall. A massive spiked club rested on its shoulder. Unlike the others, it wore thicker armor. Its eyes glowed red, saliva dripping from its snarling mouth, a dark aura radiating around it.
Another message appeared:
[You are facing an opponent stronger than yourself.]
[You have 24 unallocated stat points. Would you like to use them now?]
Ha-jin didn't hesitate.
"If I'm going to fight a boss... I need power."
The stat window appeared. He allocated quickly:
[Strength +5 → (5 → 10)]
[Agility +5 → (6 → 11)]
[Endurance +5 → (4 → 9)]
[Intelligence +5 → (4 → 9)]
[Mana +2 → (1 → 3)]
[Luck +2 → (2 → 4)]
[Stats successfully updated.]
A wave of heat surged through him. His heart pounded harder. Muscles tightened. It felt like his entire body had been reborn.
"This... is incredible," he whispered.
He gripped his dagger. His hands no longer trembled.
His eyes locked onto the Goblin Chief.
Min-ho was drenched in blood. Hana whispered her final prayers. Dae-jung lay unconscious.
The Goblin Chief raised its axe—ready to finish them off.