Dawn broke once again.
Of course, there was a reason I aimed for this dimly lit time before sunrise.
I pulled my hood down deeply and passed in front of the Association.
"Krrrg... Kug... Purrr..."
Today as well, the Association employee is playing a marvelous beatbox while traveling in Dreamland.
At that level, shouldn't he normally be fired for negligence?
I familiarly placed my hand on the surface of the Tower.
Along with the noisy notification sound like last time, my vision inverted.
[Welcome to the 2nd Floor.]
[Difficulty: Legendary]
The first thing I felt as soon as I opened my eyes was a familiar acrid smell.
That burning smell I smelled on the 1st Floor.
"Uh...?"
Looking around, I couldn't help but be dumbfounded.
I thought it would be a new environment.
This place was the same village I had saved on the previous 1st Floor.
If anything changed, it was that the atmosphere was more ominous than before.
Broken household items were rolling on the ground, and bloodstains were more rampant than before.
"Sob... It's all over for us now..."
"Oh God..."
A few surviving residents in the village square were sitting down in despair.
Then, an old man spotted me.
"Huh? Th-That person is...!"
At the old man's shout, the people who had their heads down raised them all at once.
Their eyes widened.
"It's that Knight!"
"The person who saved us has returned!"
"Sir Knight! Please... Please help us just one more time!"
"After you disappeared... even more terrible bastards appeared!"
I hid my bewilderment and calmed them down.
"Calm down, everyone. What happened after I disappeared?"
The old man, who appeared to be the village chief, pointed towards the forest with a trembling hand.
"As soon as you disappeared with the light, Sir Knight... bigger monsters came from the forest. Bastards wearing armor and as big as mountains... dragged people away indiscriminately."
"My daughter too... My wife too...!"
"We couldn't stop them. But if it's you, Sir Knight...!"
Their eyes were desperate, bordering on tragic.
Their expressions were too vivid to call them mere pieces of data.
It was as if they were real people, not NPCs.
—Ding!
[2nd Floor Clear Condition: Dragged Villagers]
[Content: Immediately after you left the 1st Floor, a more powerful Goblin elite unit raided the village. They kidnapped the residents who were not under your protection and dragged them deep into the forest. Rescue them.]
[Success Condition: Rescue kidnapped villagers]
[Failure Condition: All kidnapped villagers die or Climber dies]
"Calm down. Where did they go?"
"Th... There, the cave deep in the eastern forest! Please... Please help us!"
Simultaneously with accepting the quest, I turned my body in the direction they pointed.
As I went, I recalled the 2nd Floor guide information I saw on the gallery.
The guide post written by Brother GPTA came to mind.
[Title: 2nd Floor Guide for Tower Newbies]
[Author: TowerGPTA]
Hi newbies.
There are friends who clear the 1st Floor and run straight to the 2nd Floor with confidence, right?
You'll get your heads smashed doing that.
From the 2nd Floor, the level of mobs changes.
Goblin Warriors appear.
If the 1st Floor kids are just neighborhood thugs holding knives with bare bodies, these guys are brothers who hit the gym a bit.
First off, they wear leather armor as a standard, so they don't die from a tap like on the 1st Floor.
Size?
Hmm... If the 1st Floor kids are elementary schoolers, these are well-developed middle schoolers?
The weight class difference is significant, so don't solo play if possible.
It's an unwritten rule for newbies to form a party of 3~4.
Don't die showing off.
That's all!
└ Wow was planning to go to 2nd Floor but gotta find a party thx thx└└ TowerGPTA: Yep. Challenge solo play only after exceeding level 10 at least. └ But heard 'Hob Goblin' appears sometimes, true?└└ TowerGPTA: That's a rare species that only appears in Epic difficulty or higher. Newbies won't see it no no
"Well, if it's middle schooler size, it's cute."
I hummed as I pushed through the forest.
Not long after, I found their traces.
And at that moment.
"...?"
I doubted my eyes.
That is... a middle schooler?
"Chwik! It's a human!"
Their size was a bit bigger than I thought.
No, a little much bigger.
The bulging muscles were at a level where even gym rats would fold.
Their physique looked like they would do a 500kg total (Deadlift, Squat, Bench) just for warm-up.
Furthermore, what they were wearing wasn't crude leather armor but combat gear reinforced with iron chains.
Above all, the biggest difference was the name floating above their heads.
[Goblin Warrior (Rare)]
A red haze-like aura hovered around their bodies.
"Ha... It's my fault for coming to a weird difficulty!"
Before I could even grumble, my eyes met with the one in the lead.
"Kieeeeeek—!!!"
The bastard let out a scream that felt like it would tear my eardrums apart.
—Ding!
[Afflicted by status effect 'Intimidation'.]
[Immune to status effects.]
[Status effect 'Intimidation' is cancelled.]
"Phew, that took ten years off my life."
My body became light again.
Seeing that Intimidation didn't work, the Goblin Warrior, clearly flustered, raised its axe and rushed in.
"Die! Human!"
On the 1st Floor, I froze in panic, but now is different.
I caught my breath and focused my consciousness on the Pale Moon Sword in my hand.
Not my body, but the sword knows the path.
[Low-Grade Swordsmanship is activated.]
My arm moved regardless of my will.
A textbook vertical slash without a single wasted movement.
—Slice
A sensation smooth enough to give me goosebumps.
The opponent was a Rare grade monster, but in front of the Unique grade Pale Moon Sword, it was merely a large block of tofu.
Along with the bastard's axe, it was cleanly split from head to crotch.
"One cut."
But they were in a swarm.
The blind spot created as the halved corpse fell.
Aiming for that gap, another Warrior behind swung a massive wooden club.
—Thwack!!!
"Kugh!!"
I was hit in the side without time to dodge.
My breath caught, and flashes appeared before my eyes.
I rolled on the ground and hurriedly widened the distance.
"Ow f*ck... It really hurts like hell!"
Checking the status window, 1/5 of my HP was gone.
I got hit once and it's this much?
If I wasn't wearing the Goblin Leather Top (Rare), it wouldn't have ended with just broken bones.
Defnitely, compared to attack power, defense is like paper.
But I have something to rely on.
I urgently took out a potion from my inventory.
[Consumed Cola-flavored Healing Potion (Normal).]
[HP is restored.]
[Pain is suppressed.]
The pain in my side vanished in an instant, and the depleted health gauge filled right up.
I gripped the sword again.
"I can do this all day!"
—Slice!
—Gulp!
—Slice!
—Gulp!
Slice one, get hit once, drink a potion.
Slice and drink.
My heart ached every time my precious potions decreased, but could they be more expensive than my life?
Before I knew it, over a dozen Goblin Warriors guarding the forest entrance had all turned into cold corpses.
"Phew... Did I get them all?"
Leaving the scattered corpses behind, I moved my steps toward the inside of the cave they were guarding.
The inside of the cave reeked of dampness and fishy blood.
Entering a bit deeper, I saw something like an iron cage.
And in front of it.
"..."
There were people for whom it was already too late.
Horribly mutilated bodies.
It was a sight that made me not even want to imagine what had been done to them after being dragged here.
The nauseating smell and terrible sights constricted my breath.
—Thump! Thump! Thump!
My heart pounded crazily.
My fingertips turned cold, and nausea surged up.
[Afflicted by status effect 'Agitation'.]
My vision spun.
But at that moment, as always, a cold mechanical voice was heard.
[Immune to status effects.]
[Status effect 'Agitation' is cancelled.]
As if doused with cold water, the pounding heart calmed down like a lie.
I bit my lip tight and passed the bodies.
The deepest part of the cave.
There, the still-living villagers were huddled in a corner, trembling.
And I saw the existence guarding in front of them.
"What is that again...?"
It was much taller than the Goblin Warriors I caught earlier.
But its build looked rather more slender and agile.
The most heterogeneous thing was the skin color.
Red skin glistening as if covered in blood all over.
In its hands, it held a staff that looked made of human bones and a grotesquely long dagger.
[Hob Goblin (Epic)]
This crazy difficulty, an Epic grade appears on the 2nd Floor.
The bastard twisted the corners of its mouth looking at me.
I could know instinctively.
That it was on a different dimension from the guys I had faced so far.
It seems it won't be an easy battle.
"Kikik...!"
The bastard laughed.
Before the creeping laughter could even finish, the Hob Goblin's form blurred.
"Uh?"
It wasn't a speed the eyes could track.
But 'Low-Grade Swordsmanship' reacted.
—Clang!
My right arm shot out on its own and parried the dagger.
Sparks flew, and my wrist tingled.
Before I knew it, the bastard's dagger, which had reached right under my nose, was blocked by my Pale Moon Sword and trembling.
"Crazy fast!"
If the Goblin Warrior I faced earlier was a dump truck, this guy was a sports car.
Instead of pressing down with power, it persistently dug into gaps.
"Chwik! Slow! Human!"
The bastard vaulted over my sword and launched a kick.
—Thwack!
"Kugh!"
Kicked in the chest, I rolled backward.
[Goblin Leather Top (Rare)] absorbed the shock, but blood trickled from the corner of my mouth.
Without time to breathe, the bastard rushed in again.
This time, a red sphere created from the bone staff flew aiming for my head.
I forcibly twisted my body and dodged the red sphere by a hair's breadth.
But the dagger held in the bastard's other hand grazed my thigh.
—Slice.
[Afflicted by status effect 'Bleeding'.]
[Immune to status effects.]
[Status effect 'Bleeding' is cancelled.]
"Aack!"
The leather pants tore, and red blood seeped out.
"Going crazy..."
The sword reads the bastard's movements, but my wretched body isn't reacting.
"Kikikik! Die! Weakling!"
The bastard ran up the cave wall and descended from the air.
The dagger with added acceleration plunged towards the crown of my head.
Cannot dodge.
Must block.
—Kaaang!!
Once again, the swords clashed.
But this time, the force applied was different.
My knees buckled, and I collapsed onto the floor.
Ughhh... My arms are gonna break!
Lacking in Strength stats, I started to get pushed back in the contest of strength.
The glistening red skin and yellow teeth approached right before my nose.
The nauseating smell of blood vibrated.
I squeezed out even the strength I used to suck milk and pushed the bastard away.
"Get lost!!"
—Bam!
With the recoil, the bastard retreated back.
The opportunity is only now.
If it goes to a long-term battle, I'm at a disadvantage.
My stamina was showing the bottom.
I griped the sword with both hands.
Please.
Just explode once!
"Haaap!"
I kicked off the ground and rushed at the bastard.
As if mocking that, the bastard parried my sword with the staff and tried to stab my heart.
At that moment.
—Vwoom!
The Pale Moon Sword in my hand vibrated.
Cool blue light spewed out explosively along the blade.
[Moonlight Slash is activated.]
"...!"
The Hob Goblin's eyes were dyed with shock.
The bastard urgently tried to twist its body, but my sword was faster.
A blue flash brightening the dark cave like broad daylight.
—Boom!
The sword passed through the bastard's staff, dagger, and red leather without hesitation.
A perfect strike that didn't even feel like cutting, as if moonlight was cutting through darkness.
"Ki... E...?"
The bastard stared blankly down at the blue line drawn on its chest.
And.
—Thud.
The Hob Goblin's upper and lower body slid apart diagonally and collapsed to the ground.
"Huff... Huff..."
I barely stood, using the sword as a cane with trembling hands.
My whole body was covered in sweat and blood.
But a smile spread across my lips.
"Phew... That was damn tough..."
I gasped for breath roughly looking at the fallen Hob Goblin's corpse.
As I caught my breath and looked at the Hob Goblin carcass, I saw a red light twinkling.