In the Tower, various monsters appeared, and among them were some with specific names. Hunters would call these monsters Named Monsters. - Hey, why are they called Named Monsters? Shouldn't it be Boss Monsters? > It used to be called Boss Monsters. > ???
Then why is it Named Monsters now? > America. > Ah LOL It was a matter of course, but these Named Monsters were strong. - What happens if you run into a Named Monster? > What do you think would happen if a lion that escaped from a zoo was in front of you?
One that hasn't eaten for about 3 days. The moment even seasoned Hunters encountered one, their survival rate would plummet like a stock that had hit rock bottom. Furthermore, the troublesome thing about Named Monsters was that their appearance times weren't fixed.
In other words, if you were unlucky, you could run into one while clearing the Tower, which was why information about Named Monsters was very actively shared between Guilds. There was no such thing as, "This Named Monster drops good items, so let's keep it a secret!" One of them was the Skull Breaker.
The Skull Breaker, which appeared randomly on the 5th floor and below, was a terrifying monster that, as its name suggested, destroyed the skulls of Hunters. The moment you see the Skull Breaker, if you have a Return Ticket, use it without hesitation! That was a phrase repeated countless times in the Guilds.
Of course, there were sometimes those who hunted the Skull Breaker. - How strong do you have to be to hunt the Skull Breaker? > At least level 30 or higher. > And the Hunters who have caught the Skull Breaker are all Frontier Class. Without a single exception.
And the Hunters who hunted the Skull Breaker were evaluated as Frontier Class, meaning those who could pioneer the floors of the Tower, and received the best treatment in their Guilds. Their value was on a different level.
In any case, it was a famous creature, which was why Lee Ji-soo had shouted to run the moment she heard the name Skull Breaker. And to her words, Park Jin-soo replied.
"I don't want to!"
Hearing that answer, Lee Ji-soo looked dumbfounded, even in this urgent situation. Eventually, she screamed.
"Hey, you crazy bastard!"
She let her true personality show.
"Run! I said run! Just run, no matter what!"
She yelled, sincerely hoping Park Jin-soo wouldn't die. At her sincerity, Park Jin-soo gave a strange smile and said.
"Thank you for your sincere concern!"
Groooowl!
By then, the distance between Park Jin-soo and the Skull Breaker was barely a hundred meters. Considering the speed at which they were running towards each other, there was only enough time for Park Jin-soo to shout about one more thing! So, Park Jin-soo threw out one more line.
"If we can't kill this thing, we're all dead anyway!"
The reason why they had to fight.
Groooowl!
And the moment he said that, Park Jin-soo came face to face with the Skull Breaker. The appearance of the Skull Breaker he faced was that of a goblin. However, it was completely different from the goblins he had encountered so far.
First of all, it was 190 centimeters tall, and its body, like that of a bodybuilder who had over-injected steroids and growth hormones, was filled with balloon-like muscles with not a trace of fat to be found. And its eyes were different. A murderous aura emanated from the yellow pupils filling its massive eyeballs.
A horrifying sight, enough to make one's legs give out at a single glance!
'Oh.'
But seeing it, Park Jin-soo was not particularly surprised. 'It looks similar to a person?' Rather, Park Jin-soo was pleased by the fact that the Skull Breaker had arms and legs like a human.
'This makes it easy!' If the Skull Breaker that appeared here was a monster with six arms and legs, or one that ran on all fours, it would have been a headache for Park Jin-soo. He had no experience fighting such things.
But if it was a monster with two arms and two legs, a human-like monster, the story was different. He had experience fighting things that, while not perfectly identical, were sufficiently similar. Of course, comparing the Skull Breaker to an ordinary human or Hunter was extremely rude.
Just as it would be extremely rude to treat a heavyweight world champion in martial arts the same as a middle-aged man in his forties who just happens to weigh 100 kilograms. Right away, Park Jin-soo's Survival Instinct talent was making his heart go cold, repeatedly warning him. Warning him of how threatening this monster was.
'It's threatening, but this much is manageable.' However, from Park Jin-soo's perspective, this level of threat wasn't a major one for him. Instead, Park Jin-soo thought.
If this was truly a formidable threat to his survival, his Survival Instinct would not just be lightly touching his heart, but gripping it tightly. Above all, Park Jin-soo knew. 'In the end, I have to kill it to survive.'
Running away was not the answer. 'My stamina is also a factor.' Crucially, Park Jin-soo had already expended a lot in the process of obtaining the Ticket to Challenge the Floor King.
His stamina, his mental energy, and his food. The chance of his condition getting better than it was now by waiting was virtually zero. Then wasn't it right to fight when his condition was at its best?
'Alright, clear my head.' That was it. 'Focus on the battle.'
Park Jin-soo now focused all his senses on dealing with the Skull Breaker. All distracting thoughts vanished. At the same time, the world Park Jin-soo saw began to slow down.
As if time had stopped. Within that slowed time, Park Jin-soo moved.
Whoosh!
He dodged the Skull Breaker's hammer as it flew slowly toward his head, aimed at his skull.
Whoosh!
At the same time, Park Jin-soo's arm also moved. The Skull Breaker's Hammer in his hand began to fly straight toward the Skull Breaker's head, towards the shimmering light between its brows.
CRACK!
A powerful sound rang out.
Guuuaaargh!
Following that sound, the Skull Breaker let out a scream of intense agony. At this, Park Jin-soo felt no pointless admiration. There were no thoughts.
There was no need for them. All Park Jin-soo needed to do now was dodge the attacks and strike the shining weakness on the Skull Breaker's head with his hammer as if driving a nail. That was all.
Whoosh! Thwack!
Park Jin-soo repeated the pattern of dodging and striking.
Whoosh! Thwack!
It was around the seventh time this was repeated.
Cra-cra-crack!
A sound different from before, the sound of something very solid breaking and something soft inside bursting out, was heard. And there, Park Jin-soo swung his hammer with all his might towards the source of the sound.
CR-AAAAACK!
A crisp sound rang out, and then it was heard.
[You have defeated the Floor King of the 1st floor.]
[You have conquered the 1st floor.]
[Missions will no longer occur on the 1st floor of the 251st Tower.]
[You have become the Floor King.]
Kim Jeong-bin heard the reports in sequence.
"Kim Jae-byeong was the traitor?"
"Yes."
"Check his records. Thoroughly."
First, he had them investigate the betrayal.
"No matter how much we look, nothing shows up. Other than his own testimony."
But the short investigation couldn't yield as much information as he wanted, which was normal. If it were a trace that could be found with such a brief investigation, Kim Jae-byeong would never have been included on this list in the first place. At that point, Kim Jeong-bin's expression hardened considerably.
'I didn't think it was this bad.' He was well aware that there were traitors within the Comet Guild. He also knew that all sorts of traitors, not just from China, but also from America, Japan, and Europe, had nested themselves in the Comet Guild.
Furthermore, the Comet Guild also had quite a few connections, traitors, hidden in the guilds of other countries. But to think that even someone he trusted was deceiving him? 'And Park Jin-soo saw through it.'
What was more surprising was that Park Jin-soo had immediately figured out something that even Kim Jeong-bin couldn't see. 'And he handled it.' And he handled it more cleanly than anyone else.
At that point, Kim Jeong-bin thought. 'Park Jin-soo will change the Tower. No, only he can change it.'
The fate of South Korea, and perhaps the world, might be in Park Jin-soo's hands. At that thought, Kim Jeong-bin's throat went dry. 'So he has to come back alive.'
Right now, that very Park Jin-soo was challenging the Floor King. Honestly, no matter how great Park Jin-soo was, he didn't think for a moment that it would be easy. The one thing that reassured Kim Jeong-bin was this.
"Um, Chief Secretary, about Lee Ji-soo."
That there was one person left.
"Should we investigate Ms. Lee Ji-soo's records as well?"
At his subordinate's words, Kim Jeong-bin looked at him with cold eyes.
"You never know, right?"
Kim Jeong-bin wasn't offended by his subordinate's words. On the contrary, from the subordinate's perspective, it was advice given for the good of the Comet Guild, and it was reasonable. With the Black Forest Guild wanting Park Jin-soo dead, and with a traitor they failed to filter out, was there any guarantee that Lee Ji-soo wasn't a traitor?
In fact, if she were the traitor, she could deliver the most fatal blow. However, regarding that matter, Kim Jeong-bin could speak firmly.
"You may doubt others, but do not doubt Ms. Lee Ji-soo."
If he had to pick five trustworthy Hunters in the Comet Guild right now, one of them would be Lee Ji-soo.
"The reason she remains a mere Supervisor isn't because she lacks ability."
The very reason she hadn't returned this time was because of her sense of duty. A sense of duty that she must help Park Jin-soo somehow, that she must save him! Thus, at this moment, Kim Jeong-bin's worry became one.
'Please, come back alive.' Could the two of them make it out safely?
"Ah."
The moment he had that worry, at that very moment.
"S-Sir!"
Breaking news arrived.
"A-An alert came out that the Floor King has been defeated!"
Breaking news that made all his worries seem pointless. The moment Park Jin-soo rushed at the Skull Breaker, Lee Ji-soo also moved.
'I will.'
In that instant, when her thoughts couldn't keep up, Lee Ji-soo moved with only one simple objective. 'If it comes to it, I'll be the bait.' To lay down her life for Park Jin-soo in the worst-case scenario.
It wasn't simply because she had an outstanding spirit of sacrifice. She wanted to conquer the Tower more than anyone. That was why she had refused the offer to become a Frontier Class and became a Supervisor on the 1st floor.
Now, she thought. 'That lunatic has to live.' To bring down the Tower, she had to send Park Jin-soo outside, no matter what.
With that resolve, Lee Ji-soo focused on the battle between Park Jin-soo and the Skull Breaker. It was thanks to this that she witnessed it.
'Holy shit?'
The unbelievable scene that Park Jin-soo was creating. 'Is that even possible?' While she was lost in that fact, Park Jin-soo defeated the Skull Breaker with incredible speed.
By then, Lee Ji-soo had simply frozen. What woke her up was a notification.
[You have become the Floor King. A Yellow Egg is provided as a special reward.]
[A Tower Ascension Ticket has been provided.]
[A Return Ticket has been provided.]
At the notification, Lee Ji-soo wore a look of disbelief. 'A-A Yellow Egg?' The eggs that came from the Tower were the most important factor for a Hunter to ascend it.
Moreover, to obtain a high-grade egg, one couldn't just clear the Tower; they had to produce extraordinary results to do so. That was the standard that separated the Frontier Class. In particular, eggs of Yellow Grade or higher were mostly untradeable, so they weren't something you could get just by having money or a strong background.
But now, she had such an egg in her hands? From Lee Ji-soo's perspective, it was an event worthy of shock.
"Excuse me, Ms. Lee Ji-soo."
Park Jin-soo approached her and asked.
"May I ask a question?"
"Uh."
At his question, Lee Ji-soo nodded with a dazed look, and Park Jin-soo then took an egg out of his Inventory and said.
"I got this as a first-time special reward. Is it okay to eat this?"
It was a Blue Egg.