A greatsword the size of a man was held in the goblin's hand. At the unrealistic sight, Taesan took a step back.
‘A Lord?’
A monster with a name.
A Named.
The Lord of the goblins. Having received the title of king, he would be far stronger than an Elite Goblin. The ghost let out a groan.
[Oh… this is not good. Why is a Lord-class monster here?]
“Do you know about it?”
[Literally, the king of its species. A being that exists as only one, having escaped the limits and concept of its race.]
“Seems like it.”
A body three times larger than the other goblins. At that size, he was even bigger than Taesan. Indifferent eyes and intricately, perfectly formed muscles.
An unwavering stance. The difference was so great it was embarrassing to even call it a goblin. Even its clothing wasn't the usual tattered rags that revealed its flesh, but neat, like a human's. [Even if it's a goblin, a Lord is a Lord.
This isn't a monster that should appear in The Depths. Why is it here?] The ghost kept muttering, as if this was beyond its expectations.
Taesan processed the information in his head and took his stance. The Goblin Lord quietly watched Taesan.
“Is it telling me to come over?”
There was no reason to refuse. Taesan put strength into his ankles.
Thwump!
His body accelerated. The wind struck his face harshly. In an instant, he reached the space before it and brought his sword down.
Clang!
The sound of colliding steel rang out.
Taesan frowned.
The Goblin Lord, still in his seated position, blocked the attack without even flinching. The Goblin Lord, who had been staring blankly, opened his mouth.
“I do not resent you.”
It wasn't the somewhat shrill voice of the goblins he had seen until now, but an incredibly soft one.
“You too must be a toy, swayed by them. However… I am tasked with the role of a monster in this place.”
Strength entered the Lord's hands. The greatsword moved. The Lord spoke calmly.
“Therefore, I will kill you.”
Power exploded forth. For a moment, Taesan felt as if a truck was charging at him. A multi-ton truck filled to the brim with cargo.
[You have activated Deflection. The next attack will be deflected.]
The skill was used almost as a reflex. The sword's trajectory was twisted, striking the wall. A large gash appeared on the wall.
“What the.”
Scraape!
The Lord, still seated, moved his hands. The sword whipped around like a storm. Taesan clenched his teeth and put strength into his arms.
Clang!
With a rough sound, both swords were thrown back. A small hint of admiration appeared on the Lord's face.
“You are strong.”
“What is this crap.”
Taesan was dumbfounded. His Strength Stat was 37. In Easy Mode, a stat like that would have no problems up to the 50th Floor. But the Lord's greatsword was clearly heavier than his.
An enemy he couldn't handle even with a Strength close to 40. This was a monster from the 3rd Floor?
“This crazy balance.”
While Taesan was cursing, the Lord calmly swung his greatsword. The man-sized weapon tried to split Taesan in two. Taesan made a swift decision.
The shield was useless. Against the Lord's strength, blocking would be no different from not blocking. He threw away the shield and gripped Rakiratas's blade with both hands.
Claaang!
As the swords clashed, Taesan's knees bent. But they didn't touch the ground. It wasn't a level he couldn't withstand with both hands.
Taesan scraped his blade along the Lord's and charged in.
Sparks flew. Scraaaaape!
The current situation was advantageous for Taesan. The Lord was in a downward-striking posture. He had to raise his arm to attack again, but Taesan was closing in from below.
At the very least, he couldn't be attacked with the weapon. Taesan planned to stick close at this timing and deal heavy damage. He judged that since his opponent's weapon was a very large greatsword, he would have the advantage in close-quarters combat.
But the Lord pulled the sword back with a blank expression. Instead of striking down with the blade, he aimed the pommel at Taesan's face. At the decisive response, Taesan clicked his tongue and activated a skill.
[You have activated Deflection. The next attack will be deflected.]
The pommel's trajectory twisted. It was forcibly redirected to strike Taesan's shoulder. Skills were an Absolute Judgment in the Labyrinth.
The only way to overcome them was to counter with a higher-level skill.
[Goblin Lord has activated Power Strike. The next attack will deal great damage.]
A calm System Window covered Taesan's vision. The pommel, which had been about to be forcibly twisted away, aimed for Taesan's head in its original path. Taesan's pupils wavered for a moment, but he quickly grasped the situation.
He brought the sword up against his body to block.
Thud!
“Ugh!”
[You have received a strong impact. All actions will be slowed for 10 seconds.]
His body trembled and went numb. His movements became noticeably sluggish. The situation was the worst it could be.
In this state, it was impossible to escape the attack range. There was only one answer. He had to endure for 10 seconds.
Taesan steadied his breath. The Lord raised his sword.
Clang!
Sword and sword clashed. In strength, agility, not a single aspect did Taesan have an advantage. On top of that, his actions were slowed, so even blocking a single attack was overwhelming.
[You have activated Counter. You will counter the opponent's next attack.]
His body moved automatically. A skill that controlled the body on its own to find the optimal path and counter the opponent's attack. But it had a drawback.
If it was a situation where a counter was impossible no matter what, the skill would end at just dodging the attack. Still, the fact that he could dodge an attack he otherwise couldn't was important in itself. The greatsword grazed past his head.
Severed strands of hair flew into the air.
5 seconds.
The Lord pulled his sword to the side and swung. The sound of the air splitting was bone-chilling. Taesan practically laid his body flat to dodge it.
3 seconds.
His posture was broken. He couldn't dodge the next attack.
[You have activated Deflection. The next attack will be deflected.]
[Hage-Ha has activated Power Strike. The next attack will deal great damage.]
[You have activated Deflection. The next attack will be deflected.]
The attack's trajectory twisted, returned to normal, then twisted again. The greatsword slashed Taesan's waist.
[You have taken 46 Damage.]
0 seconds.
His body's condition returned to normal. Taesan sprang up and created distance. Instead of chasing, the Lord calmly corrected his posture.
“Well, I'll be.”
A hollow laugh escaped him. What was that thing? The opponent still hadn't risen from the throne.
Meaning he had overwhelmed Taesan from a seated position.
[The opponent is an impossible foe to defeat.]
He knew it even without the system telling him. That was definitely not an enemy that should appear on the 3rd Floor. It was a monster you could understand seeing on the 7th Floor.
[You have to run.]
Even the ghost's voice was serious, not playful as it usually was.
[You can't fight that thing right now. You have to run away for now, get stronger, and then come back down.]
“Then what's the point?”
[What?]
Taesan calmly looked at the Lord. The Lord was still sitting on the throne. The ghost beat its chest as if frustrated.
[I'm telling you, that's a Lord! It's not meant for a 3rd Floor Adventurer to fight! It's not like it's going anywhere!]
“Then there's nothing to be gained. The rewards for a floor drop significantly the moment you go down.”
The ghost, who had been throwing a fit, paused.
[…You knew?]
“Of course.”
Moving between floors in the Labyrinth was free. But that didn't mean the rewards were the same. The moment you descended a floor, the rewards of the previous floor were drastically reduced.
Experience and Gold acquisition became 1/5 of what they were, and all special rewards disappeared. That was precisely why no one endlessly grinded on the lower floors. To obtain everything from this floor, he had to resolve it right now.
“I have no intention of going down.”
He would defeat it here. At Taesan's stance, the ghost muttered as if it couldn't understand.
[Arrogant. After being so careful and raising your proficiencies, you're going to challenge it like this?]
“What are you talking about? That was all for this.”
He didn't grind to be safe, to avoid danger. If he was someone who cherished his life, he would have chosen Hard Mode. He could become much stronger just by clearing Hard Mode.
But he chose Alone Mode. It wasn't for survival. It was a life-risking challenge.
An act for the sake of rewards. Disarming traps, acquiring skills, and raising proficiencies were all to raise that probability, even if by a little.
[You….]
[Judgment unnecessary. Your spirit did not break against a foe you cannot defeat!]
[Judgment unnecessary. Your fighting spirit has risen against a foe you cannot defeat!]
[Judgment unnecessary. Your will has risen against a foe you cannot defeat!]
[All Stats have increased.]
[You will never break in the midst of battle.]
[You have gained eyes that can see through your opponent's weaknesses.]
[Hage-Ha feels respect for your unbreakable will.]
“A brave warrior.”
Admiration appeared in the Lord's indifferent eyes. He gripped his sword with a serious face.
“If you will not stand down, then I too shall face you with dignity.”
Taesan quietly observed the Lord. They wouldn't have placed a completely undefeatable enemy on the 3rd Floor. There had to be a chance of victory.
As a reward for the "impossible foe" judgment, he began to see the opponent's weaknesses. The Lord had not once risen from the throne. At first, he thought it was because the Lord was looking down on him, but upon closer inspection, that wasn't it.
“……His legs.”
[Huh?]
The ghost also noticed belatedly.
[His legs are mangled, aren't they?]
The Lord had a large wound on his leg. Overwhelmed by his presence, he hadn't noticed it, but a scar ran across the entire thigh, looking like it would be difficult for him to even stand.
[Was he driven out in a territory dispute?]
“Is that a thing?”
[It is. Another species invaded, or someone challenged the Lord and won. For this reason or that, monsters kill each other.]
Come to think of it, the system had said former Goblin Lord. Meaning he wasn't the Goblin Lord anymore. Whatever the case, the opponent's mobility was limited.
Taesan widened the distance. The Lord didn't give chase and remained where he was. It was certain.
The opponent couldn't leave the throne. If so, there was a chance of victory.
“Are you not coming?”
The goblin asked with a bored expression. For nearly thirty minutes, Taesan had stood still without moving.
“Wait a moment.”
Taesan's mind was racing. He calculated tactics and how he would fight. And he found an answer.
The Lord smiled faintly.
“Come. Brave one.”
[Well now. I don't think this is it….]
The ghost grumbled, but its earlier pessimistic tone was gone.
[Still, give it a try. I'll watch with anticipation.]
Taesan approached a wall and gathered his breath.
[You have activated No Breath.]
He gathered his strength. To the limit, to the point where his muscles might rupture. He then fiercely struck the wall.
Craaack!
Vibrations spread through the wall. His strength wasn't enough to break the wall, but it was enough to make things attached to it fall. The room had numerous decorations.
Animal bones.
Ornate wooden ornaments. Heavy and large things were hanging from the ceiling. They all fell at once.
The decorations began to collapse like a hailstorm.
“So this is how you come at me?”
The Lord laughed joyfully and raised his sword. The falling decorations were quite large. If he took a direct hit, he would take considerable damage.
He had no choice but to strike them down with his sword. Taesan quickly took out his magic staff.
[You have activated Fireball.]
The instant the flame gathered, he switched the magic staff for a bow. He quickly nocked two arrows and drew the string.
Fwip!
A Paralysis Arrow and a Poison Arrow were shot. Passing through the flying Fireball, they became flaming arrows. He then immediately took out the Random Staff of the Mind.
[You have activated Confusion.]
[Judgment in progress….]
The Lord let out a small groan. But he shook it off without difficulty. Taesan had expected this.
The reason he used the Random Staff of the Mind was for just a slight opening. The decorations obscured his vision. As they were falling throughout the room, Taesan had nowhere to hide either.
But instead of blocking, Taesan kicked off the ground. He ran towards the Lord amidst the collapsing room.
[You have activated Forced Duel. For 10 seconds, no one other than Hage-Ha can deal damage to you.]