novel
| ← Ch.144 | Ch.146 → |
"We finally got to the 20th floor, " Ho Sung Lee delightfully said while going up the stairs.
He laughed with dark bags under his eyes.
"We got to the 20th floor... but I feel like I'll die of sleepiness before I die in the hands of a devil."
As he said, there was no need to go in and out for food, but since the tower was high, it took a significant amount of time to clear each floor.
Min Sung, Bowl and Ssol weren't affected by this, but Ho Sung Lee was different.
After all, Ho Sung Lee was the closest one to being a normal human in the group.
Wobble-
Ho Sung Lee even wobbled due to his sleepiness.
At this rate, Ho Sung Lee was going to die if another special devil appeared.
"Rest, " Min Sung remarked.
"... I'm sorry, Sir."
Ho Sung Lee apologized for being a burden.
However, there was nothing he could do.
He knew his own body more than anyone.
"Bowl, you're on night watch."
"Yes, Master."
"I'll give you 3 hours to sleep."
"Thank you."
Ho Sung Lee leaned his face on a pole and then plopped on the ground.
"Oh... If you're going to rest anyway, you might as well become the Berserker."
In response, Ho Sung Lee stared blankly at Min Sung.
"... Pardon?"
"If you become the Berserker, your stamina will recharge. And 3 hours gives you enough time to cool down."
"T-that means..."
"Sleep tight."
Min Sung took out the Orichalcum Sword from his item window and walked toward Ho Sung Lee.
"H-huh... ? Sir!"
Min Sung stabbed Ho Sung Lee in the stomach without any hesitation.
Slash!
Along with an unpleasant sound, the pain of getting stabbed in the intestines washed over him.
"Ugh... !"
[You've been hit. ]
[Transforming into Berserker. ]
Ho Sung Lee's hair turned red. He grew fangs, and his muscles grew bigger.
Min Sung simply watched Ho Sung Lee transform into Berserker with a calm look on his face.
A moment later, Ho Sung Lee let out a monstrous scream.
Min Sung took a step back and waited for Ho Sung Lee to pounce.
"Wow!"
Ssol showed a surprised look on his face while Bowl ran off like a rat fleeing from a cat.
"Grrr, Grrrrrr!"
Ho Sung Lee wobbled up and glared at Min Sung, and Min Sung tilted his head in response.
The Berserker only had attacking instincts.
'He lost his consciousness, so why isn't he attacking me?'
When he looked closely, Ho Sung Lee's body was shaking.
Ho Sung Lee glared at Min Sung and then glanced around.
He looked like a weak monster who was at a crossroads.
"Graaaaaa!"
Ho Sung Lee then changed his target and pounced at Ssol.
In response, Min Sung dashed over and punched Ho Sung Lee on the side.
Ho Sung Lee hit the wall of the tower with a large thud.
Swoosh!
Crumbs fell from the ceiling and walls.
As a result of the dust, he couldn't see Ho Sung Lee.
When Min Sung walked forward, Ho Sung Lee cut through the dust and popped out.
He was holding his Death Knight Sword.
Ho Sung Lee attacked at an explosive speed.
His Hell Fire ability caused fireworks to explode into the air, but Min Sung wasn't fazed.
The Death Knight Sword simply cut through the air and nothing else.
Min Sung easily dodged Ho Sung Lee's attack as if he was dancing.
And once he decided that enough time had passed, he decided to put him to sleep.
Any damage would turn into experience points.
But if he applied too much damage, he would be affected even after waking up from being the Berserker, so he had to hold back.
Powwwwww!
Min Sung punched Ho Sung Lee in the chest.
"Cough!"
Ho Sung Lee threw up dark blood and plopped down onto the ground.
"Grrrrrr... !"
He then started drooling and trembled as a result of the pain.
Min Sung looked down at his luxurious watch.
8 minutes had passed.
"Will the Berserker be over soon?"
At that moment, Ho Sung Lee turned back to normal from the Berserker state.
He then fell asleep.
That was when Bowl peeked out from the pole he hid behind.
In response to Min Sung's pointing at Ho Sung Lee, Bowl ran over and stood as a night watch.
After Ssol smiled at Ho Sung Lee's relaxed face, he sat next to him and slept with him.
***
"The lights keep turning on, " one of the Samchunkyo hunters remarked.
In response, a few other Samchunkyo hunters jumped in.
"At a very fast pace."
"It's more surprising that he's even making it up there."
"Maybe he'll really clear the tower."
"What happens if he does? Will all of the dungeons disappear?"
"Who knows?"
"He's stronger than we expected..."
The Samchunkyo hunters looked at the Black Tower and the lit-up floors with heavy gates.
"That's why we made a plan."
Just as the Samchunkyo hunter said, they had a meeting to come up with a plan.
They decided that if Min Sung Kang happened to clear the tower, they would try to attack him when he was the most tired.
There was no better way than reducing harm to themselves while increasing the chances of killing him.
They would make him put his guard down and then attack.
The Samchunkyo hunters had been through this many times before.
But no matter their experience, the Samchunkyo hunters couldn't escape from their feelings of anxiousness.
On top of who they were going up against, this mission was very important.
If the dungeons disappeared and the world found peace...
It had to be Samchunkyo who monopolized on that peace.
They were going to dominate the world.
That was Samchunkyo's objective.
If they succeeded in this mission, they would become the heroes of Samchunkyo.
However, failure meant they would die.
It was like a double-edged sword.
The Samchunkyo hunters were determined to succeed no matter what.
***
They proceeded on climbing up the stairs as soon as Ho Sung Lee woke up.
The tiring process continued.
It took a long time to kill the devils and go up the stairs, and there was nothing more boring than repeating that process.
However, Min Sung kept going without a frown.
Despite having passed the 40th floor, no special devil appeared.
The tower was so easy that it felt like the difficulty was going down as they went up.
Of course, the hunt became faster after Bowl made Shaman and a few other devils into the undead, but it still didn't feel right.
The floors were so easy that Min Sung felt like something was off.
Even now, the tower was silent and still.
"Sir... are you going to keep stabbing me when I get tired?"
Ho Sung Lee asked with a pale face.
"Why? Are you scared?"
"Of course. Just think about getting stabbed every time you get tired. Who would be able to handle that?"
"If you can't, just give up and leave. I don't need someone like that."
"Forget it. Forget I said anything. Ugh, you're so cold-hearted."
Ho Sung Lee looked into the distance with a troubled look on his face.
He then turned to Min Sung.
"But Sir. At this rate, you'll clear this whole tower. When that happens, what will you..."
"This isn't the end of the Black Tower."
"... Pardon?"
Ho Sung Lee looked at Min Sung in surprise.
Min Sung continued with a chilling voice,
"They're not the type to make it this easy."
"..."
"This is just the beginning."
Min Sung sounded like he knew just what was going to happen, and that made Ho Sung Lee scared.
Min Sung Kang always seemed free and confident, but when he faced off against devils, he was different.
Despite being able to kill the devils so easily, Min Sung Kang still kept his guard up against devils.
'It's as if something bad could happen if he let his guard down for just a second. '
Ho Sung Lee was unable to understand why such a powerful man like Min Sung Kang was alert when It came to devils.
***
The unpleasant feelings grew from there.
No matter how high they climbed, the difficulty stayed the same.
The process was so repetitive that it felt like they were labor workers at a factory.
It wouldn't have felt like this if more special devils appeared while they climbed the tower.
So they waited.
Until another special devil appeared.
They wondered who would appear.
They overcame the boredom with that anticipation.
Min Sung walked through the floors drenched with devil blood while looking back at Ho Sung Lee and Bowl.
Ho Sung Lee walked with the will to survive.
As for Bowl, he was obeying his master with flames in his eyes.
And Ssol, who was the last to join their group.
He still lacked in many ways, but he was doing a good job.
... However.
Min Sung focused on the path of the dark tower.
'They will awaken soon enough. '
'Their instincts and second nature will break from its shell and unleash into the world. '
'And that world will be a different playing field. '
'This world will begin tumbling down. '
Just the thought of the peaceful world coming to an end, the restaurants all closing down, and the talented chefs dying were enough to overwhelm him with stress.
It was important to raise Ho Sung Lee and Bowl to be strong, but he felt that he needed more men to fight against the devils.
He wasn't in a rush, but it was something that needed to be done.
| ← Ch. 144 | Ch. 146 → |