Chapter 7
6th Floor
“Let’s go, let’s get going already.”
Radel held the carriage reins as he spoke. His voice was more deferential than usual.
The carriage carrying Kim Jun and the members of the ‘Han’ guild passed through the eastern gate of Thebes.
‘To think he really slew a dragon…’
Radel glanced at Kim Jun, lost in thought.
Just a few days ago, when he had taken him to the Scorched Earth, Radel had thought Kim Jun was a poor young man going to his death.
But his shock at seeing him return alive mere hours later was short-lived, as the rumor that he had acquired a Hidden Class had now spread throughout all of Thebes.
‘Dragon Slayer.’
Radel pulled the reins even tighter.
“Hyung, why are we in such a hurry?”
“I think we could’ve rested a bit longer.”
Park Min-soo asked, and Ryu Ji-ah grumbled.
Although they had stayed in Thebes for a day to maintain their equipment and buy potions, there were still many places they hadn’t seen.
“If you want to rest more, you can stay in Thebes.”
At Kim Jun’s words, Ryu Ji-ah made a face.
“How can you go without me! We have to go together!”
Lee Seo-yeon laughed and patted Ryu Ji-ah’s shoulder.
“We’ve arrived.”
Before the entrance to the 6th floor, a massive stone gate.
“Let’s go.”
Kim Jun took the lead and opened the stone gate.
Rumble—
The landscape beyond the gate was a vast grassland.
Hills were visible in the distance, and beyond them, a forest.
At first glance, it seemed a peaceful scene, but small, moving shadows were visible here and there across the plains.
[You have entered the 6th Floor.]
[Quest Generated: Subjugate the Goblin King]
[Objective: Defeat the Goblin King.]
[Reward: EXP 100, Coins 500]
From the 6th floor onward, the difficulty curve diverged from the previous floors.
If floors 1 to 5 were the prologue, then starting from the 6th floor, after the class advancement test, the true Tower began.
The monsters’ levels were higher, and the boss’s attack patterns became much more difficult.
Not that it mattered much this early on.
“Hmm.”
Kim Jun observed the goblins scattered across the distant plains.
The goblins, with their green skin and grotesque faces, were much larger and stronger than the ones they had encountered on the 1st floor.
Their weapons were more refined, and some even wore crude armor.
This signified that the civilization level of the goblins residing on the 6th floor was higher than before.
The party soon moved across the grassland towards the nearest group of goblins.
Park Min-soo stood at the front, clearing the way with his shield, followed closely by Kim Jun with his greatsword.
Lee Seo-yeon and Ryu Ji-ah positioned themselves in the center, preparing healing and attack spells respectively, while Han Soo-in circled the party, guarding against enemy ambushes.
“Ggrooaaahk!”
“Ggurok!”
The first goblin group numbered about thirty. The goblins, noticing the party’s presence, let out grotesque war cries and swarmed them.
“They’re coming!”
“Leave it to me!”
Park Min-soo’s shield slammed into the lead goblin. The goblin’s body was sent flying back by the impact of the steel shield, but it quickly got up and resumed its attack stance.
“They’re tougher than I thought? Are these really goblins?”
As if in response to Park Min-soo’s words, Ryu Ji-ah raised her staff high. Blue mana gathered at the tip of her staff before exploding outwards.
“「Frost Nova」.”
Whoooosh—
A cold wind swirled and assaulted the goblins. Shards of ice dug into the goblins’ skin, and some froze solid on the spot.
Kim Jun wasn’t idle either. His greatsword moved as fluidly as a living creature, severing the goblins’ heads.
Swish—
Meanwhile, Han Soo-in appeared behind the goblins, targeting their hearts with the 「Serpent Fang」 dagger Kim Jun had given her.
The curved blade of the dagger slipped through gaps in their armor, inflicting fatal wounds.
One strike, one kill.
She silently brought the goblins down.
“Ugh, I thought we just had to kill one boss and be done. But it can’t be that easy, can it?”
Park Min-soo spoke while wiping his sweat.
He was right.
The clear condition for the 6th floor was ‘Defeat the Goblin King’.
But dozens of goblin groups were scouting the vast plains, ambushing Hunters whenever they got the chance.
Their range of activity was wide, and if one group sensed danger, it would signal all surrounding groups to attack en masse.
Ignoring them and reaching the boss was practically impossible.
In that case, the solution was simply to kill them all.
Swoosh—
Kim Jun began to assume his characteristic stance.
“Oh, ohhh! Hyung-nim! Are you showing off?”
The surrounding atmosphere swirled towards Kim Jun, and the moment his pupils glowed red like lava—
“「Acceleration」.”
—!
His body became a red arrow, streaking across the grassland.
His trajectory, piercing straight through several kilometers, carved a river of fire into the earth, and every goblin on that path turned to ash without even a chance to scream.
After obtaining the Dragon Slayer class, the speed and destructive power of his signature skill, 「Acceleration」, had transformed into something incomparably more threatening than before.
In a single dash, he arrived at the goblin village.
Behind him, his comrades were following the trail of flames he left as quickly as they could, but it would take time for them to catch up.
The village, nestled among large trees, was quite sizable.
Dozens of huts were scattered irregularly, and a large bonfire burned in the center.
“Gguahahaha!”
“Gguararara!”
Goblins around the bonfire seemed to be performing a bizarre dance, as if holding a ritual.
Hundreds of goblins.
There were elite goblins equipped with armor, and larger brutes that were Goblin Champions.
And right in the middle, standing tall before a massive hut, was the Goblin King, clad in golden armor.
“That’s about where it was.”
But Kim Jun’s gaze wasn’t on the King, but on a cave located somewhere in the forest behind him.
The place leaking a green light. The abode of the Goblin Shaman.
The hidden boss of the 6th floor, and the condition for the hidden clear.
The Goblin Shaman.
In his previous life, not knowing its true nature, they had struggled considerably to defeat the Goblin King.
Because the Goblin King was merely a summon of the Goblin Shaman, and as long as the true body, the Shaman, wasn’t killed, the King would continuously regenerate health, forcing them into a hellish battle of attrition.
The memory of spending about four hours on the raid without knowing this fact in his previous life was vivid.
There was no need to drag it out this time.
Swoosh—
“Ggurok?”
“Gguroooaaaak!”
An alarm bell rang out across the entire village.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
Hundreds of goblins simultaneously raised their weapons and charged at Kim Jun.
The elite soldiers surrounded him with spears and shields, while archers hidden in the trees aimed their arrows at him.
“Ggu, Gguroaa….”
But their momentum didn’t last long.
The overwhelming pressure emanating from Kim Jun’s gaze began to freeze the goblins in their tracks.
Their instincts sensed danger before the presence of a being who had far surpassed the 6th floor.
Crackle—
‘Ah, I should leave some for the others.’
Even amidst the slaughter, Kim Jun was concerned about his comrades’ experience.
‘Not just me, but all of us together.’
If he killed all the monsters alone, his comrades’ growth would slow. Especially the experience from boss-level monsters needed to be shared.
He deliberately left some Goblin Champions and elite soldiers alive.
It was a number his comrades could handle when they arrived. And above all, he intended to leave the Goblin King to them.
Because the Goblin King wasn’t the important one.
“GGUROOOOAAAAA!!”
The Goblin King, whose Achilles tendon had been severed by Kim Jun’s greatsword, roared. Its massive body tilted to one side, losing its balance.
Green blood flowed from between the plates of its golden armor, and its face contorted with a mixture of rage and terror.
“Just hold on a little longer. My comrades will finish you off.”
Shhhk—
Kim Jun’s greatsword flashed. The sword, plunged in at a right angle, severed the tendons in the Goblin King’s remaining arm and leg.
A scream echoed through the village.
“GGUROOOOAAAA!”
No matter how much it regenerated, having its tendons seared by dragon fire would require considerable time to recover.
‘This should be enough.’
Leaving the shrieking Goblin King behind, his steps carried him towards the small cave on the hill behind the village.
The cave entrance was decorated with strange runic patterns, and a sinister green light seeped from within.
Kim Jun entered the cave as if it were familiar territory.
As he stepped inside, a gloomy energy enveloped him. The cave walls were covered in strange hieroglyphs, and peculiar patterns were drawn on the floor.
At the very back of the cave, next to a pool, a presence slowly revealed itself.
The Goblin Shaman.
A frame much thinner than a typical goblin, with wrinkled green skin, a hunched back giving it the appearance of a bent old woman.
But its eyes shone brightly. It wore a crown decorated with animal skulls and feathers, and held a staff that seemed to be made of human bone.
“Kururuk… Human. How did you find me?”
A voice like breaking twigs.
Kim Jun raised his greatsword towards the Goblin Shaman, as if it weren’t worth answering.
The moment the Goblin Shaman’s staff flashed, Kim Jun’s body was already gone from the spot.
One second.
The Goblin Shaman’s head was hovering in the air, and the greatsword was already sheathed on Kim Jun’s back.
Ding-!
[Hidden Boss ‘Goblin Shaman’ Defeated!]
[Hidden Quest ‘Master of the Shadows’ Achieved!]
[Reward: EXP 1,000, Coins 1,000]
[Skill 「Detection C」 Acquired!]
[Level Up! 32 → 33]
“Right. Should take this too.”
Kim Jun snatched the falling staff from the Shaman’s dust-scattering corpse.
The staff, seemingly made of bark and bone fragments, emitted intense magical power in waves.
[Item Acquired]: 「Branch of Shamanism」
[Grade]: C
[Trait]: Grade increases proportional to user’s Magic Power
[Effect]: Magic Attack +20%, Mana Consumption +15%
“Mana consumption increases, but it’ll be sufficient until we reach the higher floors.”
Kim Jun muttered, thinking of Ryu Ji-ah.
The moment he exited the cave, he saw his comrades running up the hill below.
“Hyung! So you were here!”
Park Min-soo shouted, waving his hand. Behind them lay the corpse of the Goblin King, slumped over and oozing dark blood.
“You finished it already? Impressive.”
When Kim Jun expressed admiration, Han Soo-in answered quietly.
“Guild Master, you did all the work…”
It was a long response for the usually silent Han Soo-in.
Her eyes held a gratitude for having noticed Kim Jun’s consideration.
A silent understanding, communicating without words.
A special bond only possible between comrades who had shared countless battlefields.
Kim Jun liked that about them.
“Let’s go together.”
The words slipped out, and everyone looked at Kim Jun.
“Huh?”
“To the summit of the Tower.”
A brief silence fell at the sentimental declaration.
“…;; Hyung-nim. Did you know you’ve been especially cheesy lately?”
“It sounds great to me! You keep talking back!! Oppa, please don’t change! Let’s keep going like this!”
“Hoot! I think it sounds nice too~ Guild Master has changed since we started climbing the Tower~. Hehehe.”
Thwack—!
“Ow!”
“Shut up.”
Kim Jun’s expression was stoic, but a faint, unstoppable smile lingered at the corner of his mouth.
