Deep within the molten lava,
the moment midnight struck.
[You have entered the Tower of Despair, Floor 40-4!]
We stepped into the tower.
"It's suuuper hot in here!"
"Yeah. Guess the previous floors were just a warm-up."
Sweat trickled down my forehead.
After drinking Ellia's potion it had been bearable, but not here.
I put my heat-resistant gear back on and looked around.
Nothing in particular stood out yet.
"Kancho. You sensing anything?"
"Not yet, nooo. What floor is this, anyway? It kinda feels like there's nothing here at all."
"Hmm. I doubt it's a freebie floor."
The tower timer was still frozen at 0 seconds.
Meaning the mission hadn't started yet.
"Let's wait a bit. By the way, Ellia, can you make more of that potion I drank?"
That cheat potion that boosted my stats just by drinking it.
If possible, I'd love to chug it every single day.
"Of course! But it won't really mean much, you know?"
Ellia came closer and poked Jinhyuk's body here and there.
"Once you drink it, you develop a tolerance. Even if you drink the same thing again, your stats won't go up. Didn't they go up less near the end last time?"
"So that was because of tolerance."
It was true that the stat growth had slowed down toward the latter half.
I'd thought it was just a weaker potion, but apparently not.
I glanced at my card friends standing around blankly.
Maybe they knew what I was thinking.
They shook their heads with a "no way" face.
Ellia rubbed her hands together, looking amused.
"I'll make one for each of you. But we don't know what might pop out, so the owner should taste it first."
"Obviously. I can't just forcibly send them back."
When card friends die, they're forcibly returned to their original location and reverse-manifested.
The cooldown for the next manifestation is decided by their level.
Since they might be unable to come out for quite a while, I intended to faithfully perform the role of poison taster.
"Oh?"
As something occurred to me, I looked at Dark.
Dark Castro, the Immortal.
He, too, had the perfect body for a poison taster.
"Just bear with the pain from any status effects, okay?"
"Fair enough. But, you know."
"Hm?"
"Can you at least make the potion taste good?"
"Medicine that's good for you is always bitter."
"Make it sweet."
"I'll try."
While we were giving each other a thumbs-up,
a vibration ran through the ground beneath our feet.
Kancho pressed his face flat against the floor.
"There's something down below!"
The moment he shouted dramatically, smoke began to rise from Kancho's face.
I also smelled burning hair.
"Kancho, your fur's burning."
"Ah?!"
He jumped up, but half the fluffy fur on his chubby cheeks had already been singed off.
While Kancho drooped in misery, Seira drew her sword.
By now the presence had grown strong enough that everyone could feel it.
The vibration, too, had intensified in proportion.
KWHAAAAAANG!!
Before long, a massive creature burst up through the ground.
[The master of the lava zone, the Centipede Elder, reveals itself!]
The Centipede Elder showed off its form, gliding leisurely between the erupting rocks and lava.
"Whoa…"
My jaw dropped at the absurd size.
If not for those seething, wriggling legs, it would have been a serpent on the verge of ascending into a dragon.
"Ugh. So gross!"
"Don't wanna look!"
Momo and Kancho squeezed their eyes shut.
Seira, who had taken her stance, swung Tarkan in a wide arc.
A black blade aura shot forward at high speed and reached the Centipede Elder in an instant.
It didn't bounce off the thick scales or anything like that.
Black Moon Night carved through the Centipede Elder's torso just as Seira intended.
The result was a body neatly sliced in half.
However—
Sssssssss…!
In no time, the severed halves joined back together.
"It's got at least a thousand years on it. That'd make some excellent medicine, don't you think?"
Ellia flashed a bright smile.
For someone who had lived 3,271 years, the Centipede Elder was nothing more or less than medicinal material.
"Black Knight, that's not how you slice that thing. You've got to cut it like this."
Ellia demonstrated.
Basically, instead of cutting it horizontally, you had to slice it from the head straight down through the legs in one go.
"Ellia, you've seen a Centipede Elder before?"
"Of course. You think I got to be over three thousand for nothing? Every segment of that thing's body has a regeneration core. As long as even one remains, it'll restore itself in no time."
Jinhyuk's eyes shone.
Truly, 3,271 years of experience.
That's some terrifying seniority.
"Oh, and one more thing."
Ellia pointed at the Centipede Elder.
"That thing's crafty. It always goes for whoever looks the weakest first."
The moment she finished speaking, the Centipede Elder moved with vicious speed.
I quickly turned my gaze to Momo, our noncombatant.
The Centipede Elder would definitely go for Momo fir— huh?
Without a split second of hesitation, it launched itself at Jinhyuk.
I'd almost forgotten for a moment.
To other people, Momo's presence felt smaller than air itself.
Jinhyuk spun around and sprinted across the lava field.
KAAAAANG!
Blocking the Centipede Elder's charge, Seira swung out another blade aura.
She carved apart a good chunk of its body, but it was so huge that cutting through every segment was impossible.
[The Centipede Elder has targeted Player Jinhyuk!]
'You could've told me that faster!'
As expected, the system was as unkind as ever.
It clearly meant to let me find out only after I'd already been chewed on.
Blocked by Seira, the Centipede Elder vaulted into the air to go after Jinhyuk instead.
'For Seira to cut it in one strike…'
I glanced back.
We'd need to straighten that jumbled, tangled body into a line first.
"Dark! From here, lay ice on both sides! Leave just enough of a gap for the Centipede Elder to squeeze through!"
"Got it."
Dark swung his arms, wreathed in Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron.
The moment they touched ground, a gigantic wall of Thousand-Year Glacier rose up on both sides.
Standing at the entrance, I looked up at the Centipede Elder.
For a moment, hunter and prey locked eyes.
'Scary as hell…'
The intimidation coming from its sheer bulk was insane.
If I'd run into that thing alone, I would've hit the escape button without a second thought.
KWHAAAAAANG!
After flinching for just an instant, the Centipede Elder charged violently.
I started to run, timing my sprint with its rush.
When its scales scraped against the Thousand-Year Glacier, shards of ice scattered in every direction.
On any other day, I might've thought, Wow, that's pretty, and taken a moment to admire it, but yeah, no chance today.
I stole a quick look behind me.
'Oh, hell.'
Maybe it was because it had as many teeth as it did legs.
That was not a face you wanted to keep staring at.
"Hff, hff, hff!"
Catching my breath, I pumped my legs as hard as I could.
Being chased is always terrifying, but that didn't mean I had no leeway.
Thanks to the potion, my Agility stat had shot up dramatically.
My body felt lighter than ever before.
Even against that Centipede Elder, it couldn't close the distance on me.
I didn't know how long I'd been running, but—
I finally spotted the exit of the glacier corridor up ahead.
Whoosh!
I slipped through without hesitation, and Seira stepped in to block the exit.
"Kyak!?"
The Centipede Elder's pupils dilated when it saw Seira.
With instinct outweighing intellect, it realized right away.
The being before it was something it could never defeat.
Deciding to slip out past the glacier walls, the Centipede Elder raised its head toward the sky.
A question mark drew itself in its eyes.
The black knight who'd been blocking its path was gone.
Where had she vanished to?
"Where are you looking, insect?"
A voice came from near its tail.
It wanted to turn around and see what had happened, but that was impossible.
When had she even passed by to cut it?
A black blade aura, starting from the Centipede Elder's head, drew a long, straight line.
The moment that blade reached the tail—
SSSSSSSSSSHH!!
Only then did the Centipede Elder's body split cleanly in two, like a fish being filleted.
KRAKAKAKAKANG!
The two halves crashed into the rocks ahead.
Watching from the side, Jinhyuk clicked his tongue.
'That's badass.'
Black Knight Order Captain Seira Kincayton's Black Shadow Slash.
The black aura that bisected my entire field of vision made it feel like the world itself had been cut in half.
Ding!
[You have slain the master of the lava zone, the thousand-year-old Centipede Elder!]
[Player Yoo Jinhyuk has leveled up!]
[Player Yoo Jinhyuk has leveled up!]
[Player Yoo Jinhyuk has leveled up!]
.
.
.
[Current Level: 49! Current EXP: 90%! You obtain 1 Blank Card – Dog! You can imprint one of your card heroes' still-locked skills at random! You obtain 1 normal Blank Card!]
[All stats rise simultaneously!]
[Seira Kincayton's EXP has increased! Current EXP: 54%.]
[Kancho has leveled up! Current Level: 76. Current EXP: 50%.]
[Momo has leveled up! Current Level: 82. Current EXP: 40%.]
[Dark Castro has leveled up! Current Level: 92.]
[Ellia Fossen's EXP has increased! Current EXP: 80%.]
'Six levels at once, niiiice!'
On top of that, my EXP had jumped to 90%.
[You have obtained 310 Centipede Elder Scales! Tempered in lava for a thousand years, these scales can deflect most blades! If you can work them, they can be forged into superb armor!]
[You have obtained a large quantity of the Centipede Elder's eyes and legs! They can be used as medicinal ingredients for stamina and recovery!]
Other assorted parts came in as well.
Every single one of them looked like it would fetch a high price.
With Momo diligently dismantling the corpse, our inventory was going to be stuffed to the brim.
[You have cleanly cut down the bonus-floor boss of Floor 40-4! Astonishing hunting speed! All compressed floors have been awarded a clear rank of SSS+!]
[Your Achievement Gauge is full!]
Jinhyuk's jaw dropped.
He'd just spun the special perk roulette back on Floor 36, and now it was popping up again.
Whoever said Compression Tickets were a dud?
They were a gold mine, plain and simple.
I clasped my hands together and watched the roulette for a moment.
Fwoooosh!
Flames burst up large in my field of vision.
This was a new entrance effect.
Ding!
[You have obtained the Flame Greatsword imbued with lava's power, Salamanca!]
Level Requirement: 45.Grade: Unique.Attack Power: 200.Unique Effect – Price of Heat: Damage from fire-attribute attacks is increased by 30%.Unique Skill – Lava Eruption: On hit, there is a 5% chance for lava to erupt from the ground.Binds to the player upon equipping.Can be used outside the Tower.
Wobble.
A sudden wave of dizziness hit, and I pressed a hand to my forehead.
I rubbed my eyes once and read the last line again.
It wasn't a tower-only weapon.
And it was Unique grade, no less.
I could easily get several billions for it if I sold it.
Of course, I had no intention of selling.
I'd been in desperate need of a weapon I could use outside.
I reached out toward Salamanca.
[This item will bind to the player upon equipping! Equip now?]
When I nodded, Salamanca appeared in my hand.
It had a similar heft to Ganjangmakya.
A smile crept across Jinhyuk's lips.
Dual-wielding knight, ready for deployment!
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T/N:
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