Chapter 35 - 11th Floor (1)
Upon exiting the blue-engulfed portal, a generally hazy and dreary background enveloped the entire view.
Seo Hye-in quickly organized the information about the surrounding terrain.
Fog. Water vapor. Mucky mud.
“Report. We have successfully entered the 11th Floor. We will feed our status regularly later. Over.”
After receiving confirmation from Jeong Min-woo that there were no hostile reactions, Seo Hye-in spoke into the communication device around her neck.
Inside the Tower, all electronic devices were basically disabled, but that only made reception impossible; sending signals from here was somehow possible.
Thanks to that, the 11th Floor conquest they were attempting now was scheduled to be broadcast live here and there.
-…
And as Seo Hye-in finished her communication, a drop of water fell, plop, onto her cheek.
“…?”
What is this, Seo Hye-in thought as she wiped it away, and immediately looked up from where it fell.
It didn't even take a few seconds for astonishment to dawn on her face.
A ‘sky’ with dark clouds and fog existed there.
“What… in the world is that?”
It was a dazed voice that didn't match her usual cool and composed demeanor at all, but it was understandable.
This was ‘inside the Tower’.
If there was a sky and it was raining while inside a building, well.
Even a veteran Climber of her caliber was bound to lose her mind.
The 1st Floor, at least, felt strange, but it wasn't to the extent of shattering common sense.
Moreover, none of those who had entered the Tower before them had ever reported seeing such a phenomenon.
“…”
Jeong Min-woo, who was also staring at it with a dazed expression, picked up one of the rifles he had brought and suddenly fired it into the sky.
Thanks to the mana suppressing the noise, it didn't make a loud sound, but Seo Hye-in, startled by the action, turned to look at him.
“What are you doing?”
“Measurement. I can tell where what I just shot lands.”
Jeong Min-woo, who said that, looked at the instrument panel on his rifle.
“…No target hit. It didn't hit anything. That’s a real sky. Or at least something similar.”
“There’s no reaction to magical illusions either.”
Lee Si-yeong also said so and cut off the mana she was infusing into her staff.
She too was clearly very confused by the current situation.
“We will postpone moving for now. We will prioritize collecting information on the current situation-”
Seo Hye-in, who was about to say that, quickly stopped.
It was because she heard the sound of loud footsteps echoing around her.
No matter how you heard it, it wasn't the sound of several humans' footsteps, and when you heard such a sound inside the Tower, it wasn't very difficult to guess what the target was.
“Everyone, prepare for battle!”
***
It was not an environment that was easy to move in, to say the least, but the conquest team still moved in perfect order to form a formation.
“They’re coming!”
As Seo Hye-in said that, several wolf-like demonic beasts appeared in front of them.
This party's response to this was also quite familiar.
In the first place, all the conquerable areas of the 1st Floor had a set routine of demonic beasts pouring out upon entry.
And one way or another, all the members here now were well-known pros in their respective fields.
Seo Hye-in, the vanguard, charged forward, while Seo Ah-in provided backup in the second row, Jeong Min-woo, the rear guard, scouted in all directions, and Lee Si-yeong, the mage, prepared a wide-area spell in case of the appearance of unknown demonic beasts.
It was a textbook strategy that could be shown when conquering a typical Tower floor.
But, the current situation was not just a cookie-cutter one.
“…Wait a minute.”
Jeong Min-woo, who was aiming his gun at the rushing demonic beasts with his eye to the scope, opened his mouth with a slightly stiff voice.
“There’s a civilian in the lead. It looks like they’re being chased.”
“…A civilian? Are you sure?”
Seo Hye-in asked back in a dumbfounded voice.
Indeed, among the list of things you could find inside the ‘Tower’, ‘civilian’ would be one of the most unfitting words.
What was usually here were demonic beasts and Climbers.
That was the case on the 1st Floor.
‘Good.’
From my perspective, it was a situation that made me think that.
If it was a civilian being chased by a horde of demonic beasts on the 11th Floor, there was only one person I could think of.
If he hadn't shown up, I would have had to go looking for him, but for him to come on his own as soon as we entered like this.
“Yeah. He’s injured and being chased.”
“…It could be a smokescreen. There were some intelligent demonic beasts among them that used such luring tactics.”
“He’s a civilian.”
I cut in on Seo Hye-in's cautious words.
I shrugged at Seo Hye-in’s gaze that turned to me and continued.
“I guarantee you, you’ll regret it if you don’t save him.”
I was serious.
The other expeditions that came before us probably saw it as a smokescreen or something similar and just ignored it, leading to a bloodbath, a highly likely probability.
He was just a ‘civilian’ in name.
The moment you miss him and pass by, the floor conquest is as good as failed.
“We have to save him?”
“Yes. Absolutely.”
“Hey, F-rank. What do you know to be so sure and spout nonsense like that?”
Lee Si-yeong interjected with a scornful voice, but before I could react to that, Seo Hye-in cut in with a firm voice.
“All units, prohibit the use of wide-area skills. Prioritize the rescue of that person.”
“…Wait, really?”
“You probably won’t lose anything by listening to him.”
When Seo Ah-in next to me even chimed in with narrowed eyes, Lee Si-yeong immediately shut her mouth.
A grumble of ‘what the hell is this guy that you’re giving him so much leeway’ leaked out, but she didn’t seem to be openly defying the leader’s decision.
“Alright.”
Jeong Min-woo sighed and put his finger on the trigger frame.
“Then let’s at least reduce their numbers.”
Simultaneously, condensed mana bullets brilliantly adorned the air.
In line with Seo Hye-in's command, it was aimed fire that dodged the civilian running ahead instead of hitting a wide area at once, but its speed and accuracy gave the illusion of a fully automatic gun being fired.
An average mob would be taken care of in an instant by this barrage of fire, but the wolf-shaped demonic beasts were running head-on into the storm of terrifying bullets.
“They’re pretty tough.”
As Jeong Min-woo said that with a whistle, Lee Si-yeong sighed and raised her staff.
“And you call yourself an A-rank Climber? Look properly.”
As she said that, lightning branched out in several directions from the tip of her staff.
It was an attack that didn’t fall behind Jeong Min-woo’s bullet storm in terms of force.
In fact, if we were just talking about power, this one felt more overwhelming.
-!
-!!
“Oh.”
Jeong Min-woo let out a smirk and opened his mouth.
“Not a single one died.”
“…”
Lee Si-yeong silently lowered her staff.
Well, the atmosphere might be light, but it wasn't a good situation.
With the demonic beasts approaching in a horde, the attacks of the two with the most decent firepower weren't even making a dent.
So.
If I hadn't been there, that is.
“Excuse me, can I borrow this for a moment?”
I said that and pointed a finger at the rifle Jeong Min-woo just fired.
It was actually a ridiculous thing to say.
It was generally a taboo for others to touch a Climber’s weapon with which they shared life and death, and this tendency was especially strong for Climbers closer to the top.
But, well.
This guy was a bit of an exception.
“…”
Jeong Min-woo, who smirked at me, tossed the rifle over without another word.
Such a good personality.
Unlike his brother.
“Thank you.”
I replied as I received the rifle.
The weight was incredibly heavy, giving off a feeling that it was no ordinary item.
I first attempted to scan the item.
[ Vanquisher / Grade: Rare ]
[ A heavy weapon with numerous advanced technologies applied, based on refined high-grade mana crystals. It is a masterpiece made by a group of excellent craftsmen, but its operating system is complex and requires advanced mana control as a necessity. ]
In short, it meant that it was a good item, but difficult to use.
In fact, you could tell just by the one line that came from Jeong Min-woo after this.
“But that thing, not just anyone can use it, you know?”
“Is that so?”
“Yeah. Our Min-woo also tried to use it and couldn’t even activate it. The required mana control is difficult, and it's a bit hard to operate.”
Hearing that, I smirked.
Jeong Min-woo. Main character Jeong Min-woo’s brother.
This guy was probably interested in me because I had completely thrashed his younger brother in the Rating Test.
“Well, but even a beginner can just shoot it without much difficulty. First, from the slide there-”
[Observation]
[Dexterity]
Listening to Jeong Min-woo's words with one ear and letting them out the other, I continuously operated the gun.
Slide. Lever. Mana flow through the circuit. Catch. And preparation to fire the trigger.
The blue crystal in the center of the gun glowed menacingly, finishing the preparation for firing.
“…”
Leaving the speechless Jeong Min-woo behind, I carefully brought my eye to the scope.
I set the output gauge on the selector to maximum.
“Wait a minute. If you use that, even I can only shoot a few rounds before it’s over-”
“I’ll be fine.”
Yeah. I’m not just saying that.
[Arcane Burst]
I’ll really be fine.
“Seriously, stop showing off! The fact that we’re just standing here giving an F-rank a chance to attack is crazy! We need to move right now-”
I let Lee Si-yeong’s annoyed voice from the side go in one ear and out the other, and looked at the rushing horde of demonic beasts.
The wolf-shaped demonic beasts all had a complex symbol-like seal drawn on their foreheads, and in the center, there seemed to be a small, yellow-glowing gem embedded.
That was what I was aiming for.
The fact that a blue protective shield was cast over the gem showed that they knew it was a weak point and were protecting it, but I had a means to not be bound by such things.
I took a deep breath.
[ Beholder ]
In an instant, the gems embedded in their foreheads all lost their light.
And, now.
[ Bullet Time ]
In the sensation of the world slowing down.
I continuously pulled the trigger.
-!
-!!
-!!!
-!!!!
Even while replenishing nearly infinite mana with Gnosis's Heart, I could feel an immense amount of mana being sucked through the gun's circuit, but I paid it no mind and kept shooting.
And by the time I stopped shooting.
In front of my eyes, the corpses of the demonic beasts that had been charging so imposingly just a moment ago were spread out almost like a carpet.
“…”
“…”
And only silence descended upon the surroundings.
Everyone except for Seo Ah-in was expressing their astonishment with different expressions.
“The gem on their foreheads is their weak point, you know?”
I said that and held out the gun to Jeong Min-woo.
“You’ll be meeting those things a sickening number of times from now on, so just aim for that and shoot. It’s a common tip for this floor.”
“…You know.”
Jeong Min-woo, who took the gun with a hollow laugh, opened his mouth in a low voice.
“Why the hell are you F-rank?”
“Because I took the F-rank test.”
“…”
I don't know why he's glaring at me like he wants to kill me.
I only stated a fact.