- Volume 4, Chapter 8 83. 16th Floor, Uduna, the One Who Forges Dreams (1) The meeting chamber of the Guides of Sin. People were seated around a circular table. A frivolous man, who had been lazily watching the others chatter loudly, spoke up as if he had just remembered something.
“By the way, I heard he died.”
“Who?”
“You know, that guy. The one I told you about last time, the one whose eyes opened.”
“Oh.”
The fire spirit, recalling the memory, cleared his throat. The others, who had been bickering amongst themselves, stopped to listen to their conversation.
“What’s this about?”
“It’s nothing. An old story already.”
The frivolous young man said lightly. A sturdy, muscular man who heard the explanation frowned.
“Didn’t we agree to handle such matters after the meeting?”
“A meeting for a 13th Floor adventurer? Who would do something so troublesome?”
“Still, you should have said something. A miscommunication could lead to an incident.”
The man only gave a light warning, not speaking too seriously. At best, he was a 13th Floor adventurer. There was no need for them to pay him any mind.
“So what happened?”
“He was killed by the ones below.”
“A predictable outcome.”
The difference between the 13th and 20th Floors was clear. Everyone thought Taesan had been killed by the 20th Floor side, but the frivolous man shook his head.
“He wasn't killed by a second rank.”
“Hm?”
“Actually, the second rank adventurers all died at his hands.”
A momentary silence fell. A look of interest crept onto their faces.
“A 13th Floor adventurer defeated a second rank?”
“Is that so amazing? I did it too. It’s not hard against those without talent and a broken will.”
“That’s because you were strong from the outside. We don’t know about this one. And even you couldn’t have faced ten of them.”
“You never know until you try.”
“That’s why I said we don’t know. Are you deaf?”
They babbled on. For them, who had lived long, unchanging lives, Taesan's story was an intriguing one.
“So, was he killed by a second rank in the end?”
“No. I heard he took down a third rank with him.”
The sturdy man’s face scrunched up.
“The 30th Floor?”
“Yes.”
The frivolous man nodded. Silence fell once more.
“...Is that even possible?”
“Well...”
When they heard he had defeated a second rank, they were surprised but could accept it to some extent. It was something they themselves were capable of. But a third rank was a different story.
“...I think even I would find that difficult.”
“It’s possible for the 20th Floor. But the 30th Floor… impossible. I wasn’t that strong on the 13th Floor.”
“Is he a child of a Dragon?”
“No. From what I heard, he’s just an ordinary human. Besides, if he were a child of a Dragon, he wouldn’t have died with him, would he?”
“Hmm…”
Defeating someone from the 20th Floor and defeating someone from the 30th Floor were entirely different matters. Here, where growth was accelerated, the difference of even a single floor was by no means small. Yet he had died together with a foe who was a whole 17 floors above him.
“What a shame.”
A hint of regret was in the voice. An adventurer of that caliber could have been a great asset to them. The fire spirit spoke calmly.
“He was one who rejected our offer anyway. We would have become enemies in the end.”
“So who was it that died?”
“A child of the Demons. A fellow named Zagan.”
“A Demon…”
The blue-haired woman, who had been muttering, narrowed her eyes slightly.
“Is it that one who was said to be useful?”
“No, a different one.”
“Ah, is that so?”
The interest in her voice vanished in an instant. It was surprising that a 13th Floor adventurer had defeated a third rank, but the third rank adventurer himself was of no interest to them. The fire spirit spoke.
“He’s a dead man. No matter how much we discuss it, we’ll never see him again unless there’s a resurrection of the dead.”
“Speaking of which, I heard he was on his way here with the Hero’s Quest.”
At the frivolous young man’s words, their gazes gathered in one place. A young girl with ash-gray hair opened her mouth expressionlessly.
“What.”
“No. Nothing.”
Under an unspoken agreement, they changed the subject. The conversation about Taesan ended there.
“Like the fire spirit said, a dead man isn't important. We need to talk about the future.”
The sturdy man tapped the table.
“The strategy for conquering the 74th Floor. Let’s discuss that again.”
“Is this over two hundred times now?”
“234 times, to be exact.”
Chuckling, they began to speak with serious faces. Having cleared the 14th Floor, Taesan looked at his rewards. With the Guides of Sin constantly appearing, he hadn’t even had a chance to check.
The standard clear reward for the 14th Floor was a pair of ankle guards.
[Valley Ankle Guards] [Magic +4] [Defense Power +3] [Ankle guards crafted in the depths of a valley. They possess the magic power of the deep sea.]
“Tribute, I suppose.”
Unless it was an incredibly good magic Item, he planned to offer them all as Tribute. And the Secret Reward was a bracelet.
[Bracelet of Six Hundred and Seventy Patterns] [Strength +10] [Defense Power +4] [Countless patterns are inscribed within this small bracelet. It seems they were all carved by human hands.]
Not bad equipment. He put it on. The Secret Room reward was two Runes of Intelligence.
Using them increased his Intelligence by 10. Then, he went down to the 15th Floor.
[15th Floor Quest begins.]
[Defeat the Boss of the 15th Floor and pass through.]
[Reward: Staff of Sapphire] [Secret Reward: ???]
“Passing through.”
He greeted the Dwarf and immediately went down. The monsters on the 15th Floor were Skeleton Knights. Monsters that displayed rough Swordsmanship and swift speed with their bony bodies.
Taesan pulled back his arm.
Crunch.
Bones shattered, and a skull flew far into the distance. Taesan broke through the room. There were floors where two appeared at once, but it made no difference.
He crushed their swords in a single blow, caved in their chests, and swung his fist to send their heads flying. It was too easy. It was truly overwhelming.
Even so, the monsters of the 15th Floor were opponents that Lee Tae-yeon or Kang Jun-hyeok would have had to risk their lives against, but to Taesan, they were far too weak. Even before, ordinary monsters were no match for him, but after hunting down adventurers, his Stats had risen to an absurd level.
Taesan advanced without stopping, crushing the monsters in his path. His Level didn't rise. Taesan's current Level was 41, almost the same as the 20th Floor's Level.
The 15th Floor monsters didn't give any decent Experience. Similarly, Soul Rank Ascension didn't work properly either. It was to be expected, so he crushed and trampled them without much thought.
Based on the information he heard from the Guides of Sin, he quickly found the Secret Room. He disarmed the Trap and dealt with it. Then he killed the Boss.
It all took less than twenty minutes. The Secret Room reward was a ring.
[Ring of Frost] [Defense Power +4] [On attack, 1% chance to inflict a Frostbite Judgment on the opponent.]
And the clear reward. A Staff of Sapphire.
[Staff of Sapphire] [Magic +14] [Sapphires have long been called excellent gems for gathering magic power. The value of a magic staff embedded with such a sapphire is surely not small.]
And the Secret Reward.
[Bow Made from Troll Sinew] [Attack Power +17] [Hit Rate +50%] [Troll sinew is exceptionally tough, highly elastic, and also has regenerative properties. It has long been the perfect material for a bowstring.]
As a magic user, he didn’t use a bow, but it wouldn't hurt to have it. Taesan collected his rewards and went to find Lilith. She was just now struggling to move her things to the 14th Floor.
“...You’re already down to the 15th Floor?”
She looked at her half-moved belongings with a desolate expression. Leaving her to her troubles, he offered two of the items he had brought and learned the Beginner Magic she had learned.
[Beginner Magic: Slow] [Mana Cost: 12] [Proficiency: 1%] [Slows all of the target's speeds. The amount of speed reduction varies depending on the target. The Judgment can fail.]
“Let me show you how it works.”
Lilith used Slow on Taesan.
[Judgment unnecessary! Taesan shook off the Slow.]
“...It doesn’t work?”
“I guess I’ll have to use it.”
Taesan cast Slow on Lilith. Unlike with him, it succeeded instantly without a Judgment.
“Soo thiiis iiis whaaat iiit feeeels liiike.”
It felt like watching a video at a forced slow speed. Lilith flailed about.
“You don’t seem that much slower.”
“Iiiit’s becaaauuse II juust leaaarned iiit.”
Judging by Lilith’s movements, she had slowed down by about 20%. The stronger the opponent, the higher the chance of failure, and the less they would be slowed. But even considering that, it was a good spell.
Speed was significant in any level of combat. Furthermore, the target of the Judgment wasn't just enemies, but all targets. It would probably include magic and objects as well.
‘I can have fun figuring this out.’
The process of finding out its range of application and what kind of Judgments it allowed would be quite enjoyable. Lilith spoke with a frustrated look.
“Leeet meee gooo.”
“How do I let you go?”
“Whaaat?”
“It’s my first time learning this magic, so I don’t know. I don’t have a skill to dispel it. Don’t you know?”
“...Iii doooon’t knooow eiiitheer.”
Lilith’s face turned pale. Even the speed at which it turned pale was about 20% slower, which was somewhat amusing. Fortunately for Lilith, it wore off naturally after about 10 minutes.
She was greatly surprised, but Taesan had learned its duration, so it was a gain for him. Taesan immediately headed to the 16th Floor.
[16th Floor Quest begins.]
[Defeat the Boss of the 16th Floor and pass through.]
[Reward: Hammer] [Secret Reward: ???]
The monsters on the 16th Floor were Wraiths.
Taesan spoke.
“They’re your friends.”
[Shut up.]
With a light joke, he advanced through the floor. They were quite tricky monsters that physical attacks didn’t work on, but they couldn't be an enemy to Taesan, who had learned Magic. He advanced quickly, firing dozens of Frost Arrows.
Before long, he found the room the adventurers had spoken of. A blue door, different from the usual ones.
Taesan entered.
A gust of hot air blew out. The crackling sound of flames echoed. The walls of the Labyrinth on the 20th Floor were generally red, but here they were even redder.
Clang. Clang.
The sound of a hammer rang out cheerfully. The man was there. He wasn’t human.
He was a Dwarf. But he was different from the Shopkeeper. While the Shopkeeper was about half Taesan’s height with a bushy beard, fitting the common image of a Dwarf, the one before him was the complete opposite.
First, he was tall. Not as tall as an average human, but he was a head taller than the Shopkeeper. His chin was smooth and beardless, and his entire body was a dark color, as if covered in ash.
[You have encountered Uduna, the One Who Forges Dreams.]
Clang.
Along with the system window, the hammering stopped.
“Are you an adventurer?”
A voice, thin for a man, echoed.
Taesan nodded.
The Dwarf, who had been looking at Taesan, shifted his gaze to the Ghost.
“You’ve come as well?”
[You’re not surprised?]
“The half-wit wouldn’t leave without telling the truth, so I figured you’d come down one way or another. It’s been a while.”
[The last time we met was when you were alive, so it has been quite a while.]
The half-wit was probably the Ogre Sage. It seemed that NPCs, adventurers, and intelligent monsters sometimes interacted with each other. The Dwarf, after a brief look at the Ghost, turned to Taesan with a look of great disinterest.
“Is this the one who received your Quest this time?”
[Yes.]
“Surprising. I thought you would have cleaned things up, since it’s been so noisy lately.”
[I wasn't just sitting around. This one killed them all.]
At the calm reply, a look of surprise finally appeared in the Dwarf’s eyes.
“That’s quite something. To win against the 20th Floor adventurers…”
[Well, that’s not all…]
The Ghost swallowed the rest of his words. The Dwarf extended his hand.
“What’s your name?”
“Taesan. Kang Taesan.”
“No need for formalities. We’re partners who will help each other.”
A blacksmith.
Lee Tae-yeon had commissioned many pieces of equipment from him. She had said that without him, she would not have been able to reach the Depths.
“I am Hafran. I look forward to working with you.”
Leveling up through battle