Volume 2, Chapter 47. 8th Floor, God of Trials. Pride (1) [Lee Tae-yeon[Alone] : Oh, um. Mr. Taesan. I took the Trial like you said.] [Kang Taesan[Alone] : Really? How was it?] [Lee Tae-yeon[Alone] The Trial itself was fine, but… um. This is a bit confusing. What was that? Is that what a god is supposed to be like?] [Kang Taesan[Alone] : What do you mean?] [Lee Tae-yeon[Alone] : ……………I couldn't breathe. The Madness and Confusion Judgments came in at the same time.]
Before going down to the next floor, he met Lilith. He explained to her how to obtain Frost Arrow.
"It's just like Scorching Orb… Is it some kind of rule?"
As she wracked her brain, pondering the theory, Taesan took out some equipment from his Inventory.
"This should be enough for one, right? This time, Basic Detection."
He learned the magic. A new power settled within Taesan.
[Basic Magic: Basic Detection] [Mana Cost: 2] [Proficiency: 1%] [Scans the surroundings. Can only detect the location of objects and the like.]
It was a completely inferior version of reconnaissance. Still, since Magic and Skills have different Judgments, there must be a way to use it. Lilith peeked her head out.
"When are you going to learn a new magic?"
Only when Taesan learned a new magic could she also learn something she hadn't been able to. But Taesan shook his head.
"First, I'll learn all the magic you have."
To learn a new magic, two things were needed: the tribute Lilith received, and the tribute he was allowed. He could learn magic for the smallest tribute, so he had no intention of betting on something uncertain. Lilith's face fell.
"Okay. I understand."
His business was done. Taesan left Lilith. In the end, she smiled brightly and waved her hand.
"See you on the floor below!"
Taesan headed for the 8th Floor. As always, he greeted the Dwarf who was waiting for him and went down.
[8th Floor Quest Start.]
[Defeat the boss of the 8th Floor and pass through.]
[Reward: Marnius's Rune.]
[Secret Reward : ???]
At the same time, the Quest Window appeared.
[Special Quest Start] [Return to Earth.]
"It's about time."
[Huh? For what?]
"This business."
Taesan checked the quest.
[Special Quest Start] [Return to Earth] [In one week. You will all return to the land you abandoned. Survive there, and then return. The reward will be determined by your performance.]
[This quest cannot be refused.]
It was a short Quest Window. But the sentences it contained were by no means light. In one week, they would return to Earth.
To that place where monsters had appeared and tried to trample the world. It had happened a few times in the past, so he checked it without much emotion. They, the Players, had occasionally returned to Earth even before clearing the Labyrinth.
All of those instances began under the name of a special quest. It was a quest that made Players go through various emotions and experiences. When he opened the community forums, it was bustling with noise, just as he had expected.
[Kim Tae-jin[Alone] : What is this? I'm not the only one who got it, right?]
[Lee Tae-yeon[Alone] : Yes. I got it too. How am I supposed to take this?]
First, there was bewilderment and confusion. And here and there, anticipation began to show itself.
[Kang Jun-hyeok[Alone] : Doesn't it mean exactly what it says? We're returning to Earth in a week?]
[Kim Tae-jin[Alone] But so suddenly? Isn't something strange?]
[Kang Jun-hyeok[Alone] : Is there only one or two strange things about this place? At least they're giving it to us as a quest, so I don't think they'd lie.]
[Na Jae-yeon[Alone]: We can really go back?]
[Lee Sang[Alone] : Wait a minute. For real?]
[Moon Jae-seong[Alone] Wow. Awesome.]
They could escape this place where they had to fight for their lives. Everyone was immersed in joy at that fact. Just as people were overcome with happiness, Kang Jun-hyeok threw cold water on them.
[Kang Jun-hyeok[Alone] : Um… is this a good thing?]
[Kim Tae-jin[Alone] : What are you talking about! We're going back! How is this not good!]
[Kang Jun-hyeok[Alone] But, the reason we came here was because of the monsters, wasn't it?]
[Kim Tae-jin[Alone] : ………Ah.]
A fact they had belatedly forgotten washed over them. Before the Quest Window appeared for them, the sky had split open. A giant monster had appeared from it and looked down on them.
Everyone who entered the Labyrinth had been startled by the monster and fled in a panic.
[Lee Sang[Alone] : Uh.......]
[Moon Jae-seong[Alone] : So what. We're stronger than we were back then. It might just be a big brute.]
[Na Jae-yeon[Alone] : That's right. It'll work out somehow.]
Still, hope lingered more than despair. No one said much, but they had accumulated a considerable amount of stress from the extreme situation. They rejoiced in the mere fact that they could escape this place where they struggled for their lives.
Above all, if they went to Earth, there were definite material benefits.
[Lee Sang[Alone] : We'll be able to eat something, right?]
[Moon Jae-seong[Alone] : Probably? Can we finally stop eating this damn Big Rat's Meat?]
Emergency food was too expensive for beginners to buy, so the only thing to eat was monster meat. For them, who were accustomed to modern food, it was a time of torture.
[Lee Sang[Alone] : There must be canned food left. Maybe we can even eat rice.]
[Lee Tae-yeon[Alone] : Canned corn! I used to like that.]
[Na Jae-yeon[Alone] : It's delicious, right? But I found peanuts to be tastier.]
[Kim Tae-jin[Alone] : I like pineapple!]
It was a joyful sight for the first time in a very long while. In Alone Mode, you couldn't meet anyone except NPCs. They were all worn out from the sense of isolation.
The expectation of being able to meet people also made them excited. An alert popped up for Taesan, who was staring blankly at the community forums.
[Kang Jun-hyeok has invited Kang Taesan.]
Taesan accepted.
[Kang Jun-hyeok[Alone] : Oh, was this what you were talking about?]
[Kang Taesan[Alone] : Yes.]
[Kang Jun-hyeok[Alone] : ………How did you know about this?]
Kang Jun-hyeok asked dubiously. Taesan answered indifferently.
[Kang Taesan[Alone] : You know about the Altar of a God, right?]
[Kang Jun-hyeok [Alone] : Ah, do they tell you?]
[Kang Taesan[Alone] : Not perfectly, but they give you a rough idea. I inferred it after hearing that.]
[Kang Jun-hyeok[Alone] : So there's a way like that. If they're called Gods, I guess they'd know that much.]
Kang Jun-hyeok quickly accepted it. In reality, that wasn't the case, but since he knew nothing about the Gods, he had no choice but to accept it.
[Kang Taesan[Alone] : If you can, clear the 2nd Floor before coming out. It'd be even better if you break through the 3rd Floor too.]
[Kang Jun-hyeok[Alone] ………It seems the difficulty is quite high.]
[Kang Taesan[Alone] : It won't be easy.]
Everyone in the community forums was rejoicing that they could leave this place. But the first time they returned to Earth, half of the living Players had died. When he thought of it that way, it was nothing to be happy about.
[Kang Taesan[Alone] : Don't say anything unnecessary and throw cold water on them, just say something like let's work hard to break through. Motivation is important in this place.]
[Kang Jun-hyeok [Alone] : Yes. I'll work hard.]
The conversation with Kang Jun-hyeok ended. Taesan, who was looking at the community forums, smirked. Choi Jung-hyuk, who was always chattering noisily, was nowhere to be seen.
'He must have a headache.' He looked forward to the day he would return to Earth. Taesan had no intention of just waiting around either.
He planned to go down as far as he could. He advanced towards the 8th Floor.
"Kkiruruk!"
The monster of the 8th Floor.
Marcanda.
It was a human-sized bird with a sharp beak, a non-humanoid monster after the Big Rat. It was a tricky monster to deal with because its movements were unpredictable as it flapped its wings and rushed forward. Of course, that was a story that had nothing to do with Taesan.
He brought his sword down.
"Kkireuk!"
[You have triumphed against the Marcanda.]
This was more comfortable than the humanoid types. Since they only moved according to instinct without high-level techniques like Swordsmanship, Taesan could deal with them more easily.
"Can you use Swordsmanship against beasts too?"
[Uh… Since it's a Swordsmanship created based on humans, my Swordsmanship won't work. That kind of thing is the Swordsmanship of mercenaries or barbarians.]
It seemed there were some restrictions on Swordsmanship as well. Unlike Skills, its effectiveness seemed to vary greatly depending on the opponent. It wasn't a big problem, so he cleared them out and moved down.
Since his goal was to break through quickly, his movements were relentless.
[Your Soul Rank Ascension has been activated.]
In the midst of that, his Stats steadily rose. When he had broken through about halfway, he found an altar.
[You have discovered the Altar of Pride.]
[First Discovery Bonus] [Mana +2] [Intelligence + 2] It was an Altar of a God.
This was the third altar, following Rakiratas and Balthazar.
[Altar of Pride] [An altar created by those who serve Pride. It is a passage connected to the god. Pride can exert influence through this place.]
The Ghost opened its mouth.
[Pride, the God of Trials. He gives trials to adventurers and likes to see them grasp their own strength. He's also the god you need right now.]
He felt a power from beyond the altar. A transcendent power, just like before. But it wasn't that strong.
It was at a level he could calmly handle.
[Sub Quest Start] [Pride wishes to test you, who have come to his altar. If you accept, a trial will come to you. If you overcome it, a reward will follow.]
[Reward: Pride will decide based on your performance.]
There was no reason to refuse. Taesan accepted the quest.
[Sub Quest Start] [Pride prepares according to your choice.]
Kuung!
The door closed. The room turned into an isolated space.
[Trial of Pride: Prove your strength.]
A black liquid slowly gathered on the floor. It began to take a single form. A shadow in the shape of a human held a sword.
Cheolkeong.
The sword pointed at Taesan. Taesan took a stance. He had no information on what level the opponent was.
The shadow, which had been watching him silently, kicked off the ground.
Taat.
Seeing the shadow rushing towards him, Taesan was bewildered. 'Why is it so slow?' It was as if it had the speed of an ordinary human.
Considering that even a slight increase in Stats would transcend the human realm, it was too slow. 'Is there something else?' Wary of some kind of Skill or special ability, Taesan swung his sword.
The shadow couldn't even react before it was cut. The liquid scattered.
[As a reward for passing the first trial, Agility increases by 1.] Along with the System Window, the scattered liquid gathered again.
Cheolkeong.
This time, too, a human figure appeared.
Tat.
The shadow kicked off the ground again. This time, it was a little faster than before. Its movements reached the limits of the human realm.
To compare it accurately, all its figures were probably slightly superior to an Olympic gold medalist. But to Taesan, it was incredibly slow. Just like before, it disappeared with a single sword strike.
[As a reward for passing the second trial, Strength increases by 1.] Ggulleong.
Once again, the liquid gathered. The shadow took a human form again.
Taesan realized.
"Is it in stages?"
[Correct] The first shadow was at the level of a 1st Floor Adventurer who hadn't leveled up much, with stats not much different from a human.
The second shadow was at the level of an Adventurer who had entered the 2nd Floor and was just beginning to challenge their limits. The third would be an adventurer who had entered the 3rd Floor, showing movements that transcended human limits.
Taat.
As Taesan had expected, its movements were faster than the previous shadow's. When he defeated it with a light movement of his sword, another shadow appeared.
[Third trial passed. As a reward, Intelligence increases.]
"Is it testing me with the average strength of Alone Mode?"
The God of Trials. The intention was simple. Test whether you truly have the strength befitting the floor.
If I defeat this shadow, a shadow with the strength of the 4th Floor will probably appear. This was perfect timing. Taesan gripped his sword.
It was a situation he didn't know much about anyway. The only other Alone Mode Player was Lee Tae-yeon. She had avoided all sorts of things on her way down, so she was far from average.
She couldn't be a target for comparison. On top of that, monsters that he hadn't seen in Easy Mode were starting to appear. It was difficult to make any kind of comparison.
Comparing Stats was also rather meaningless.
[Lee Tae-yeon] [Level: 258] [Health: 45810/45810] [Mana: 7020/7020] [Strength: 10152] [Intelligence: 9899] [Agility: 13254] [Attack Power + 5421] [Defense Power + 8456] These were the stats of Lee Tae-yeon, who had cleared the Labyrinth.
They were so high that comparison was meaningless. The further down he went, the more he accelerated, so it was difficult to get a sense of what level he was at. In other words, Taesan knew he was strong, but he didn't know what floor's level he was at in Alone Mode.
He could only make a rough guess. He needed to grasp that. Taesan swung his sword at the approaching shadow.