CHSE 11

Chapter 11

“Power Up.”
I immediately activated my support circuits and cast a buff.
Then I layered a Shield over myself before crouching low and kicking off the ground.
–Kuuuuh–!
The Ice Dragon’s eyes tracked my movements.
It didn’t expect prey like me to rush in first, and a frosty mist spewed from its nostrils.
Moments later, the beast opened its jaws wide, ready to swallow me whole.
–KROAAARRR–!
<Han Ji-min!>
“I know!”
Its massive maw crashed down, covering an enormous area.
I twisted my body, slipping out of range just before the ground quaked, ice rumbling violently under the impact.
“If I take that head-on, I’m done for.”
With the weight of its body behind the strike, even my Shield would be obliterated.

“Phew!”
The blade of Oath of Frost in my hand began to burn with golden light.
I focused, forging a strong aura around the sword, and swung at the dragon’s massive, shield-like scales.

Claaang!
‘Tougher than I thought.’
But not unbreakable.

I pushed my mana circuits to their limits, channeling every ounce of power.
Vwooom!
Dodging the swipe of its tail, I struck again at the same spot.
Craaaack!
The steel-hard scale split open before my eyes. Retrieving my sword smoothly, I gathered mana into my left fist.

A Hunter’s mana-charged punch carries the force to crumple a multi-ton truck.
“HAAAP!”
With a sharp shout, I drove my fist into the dragon’s flank.

–KRAAAARRRR–!
The beast’s pained roar echoed as it writhed violently.
Each flailing movement was deadly, so I dodged, then countered with slashes again and again.

“HAAAP!”
Each golden flash of mana drew another agonized scream from the dragon’s mouth.

‘Good thing I learned Power Up…’
<Smart call. Guess support circuits really were the answer?>
My strength had noticeably increased, letting me deal more damage.

‘Still nowhere near what I used to be…’
If my stats were any lower, I wouldn’t have been able to scratch it, even at full throttle.

Fortunately, the beast’s massive body was too sluggish to keep up with my speed.
Which meant hit-and-run tactics were viable.

I kept up the assault, pounding away at the Ice Dragon.
–KROAAARRR–!
‘Now–!’
The moment its head opened wide, I instinctively lunged forward, intent on finishing it.

But just as I swung down toward its skull—
Something shot in from outside my vision and slammed into me.

THUD!
“—!!”
Blinding pain exploded as my world flipped upside down.
‘Shit. A trap.’

Of course—this was a Named monster, ruler of the floor.
Not something to take lightly.

<Y-you okay?!>
I quickly gulped down a potion and checked inwardly. Luckily, nothing broken.
I had reflexively pulled mana into my body, which absorbed the worst of the hit.

“You’ve got… some moves, huh?”
I hadn’t expected to win flawlessly.

“But getting caught by such a cheap trick? That stings.”
After my mana circuits broke, I’d been fighting weaklings in the lower floors for too long.

“Alright then… round two.”

Golden mana and the dragon’s icy breath clashed midair.
CRACK! BOOM!
I dodged first, predicting its movements. Each time an opening appeared, I struck.

<Not bad.> Hit and run—easy to say, hard to do. You need perfect reads on your opponent, cutting off every variable.

But Ji-min was dodging everything.
Even cornered, his eyes stayed calm, always finding a way out.

It was like he’d sparred against this dragon hundreds, thousands of times.
<Didn’t he say he was once S-rank?>
His movements showed it—impressive despite being rough around the edges.

No wonder the people of this country put their hopes in him.
<Yes! That’s it!>
Tichi’s eyes gleamed as he watched.

The enemy was an E-rank Named.
By rights, Han Ji-min should never have been able to beat it.

But his extreme analytical ability and combat intuition let him adapt, becoming faster and sharper with every exchange.
<Oh?! Beautiful!!!>
Ji-min’s uppercut shattered one of the dragon’s crystalline fangs, sending it spinning away.

The beast lashed out with its claw, but Ji-min had already dropped to the ground.
–KRAUUUHHH–!
Enraged, it unleashed a frigid breath.

Ice pillars erupted across the battlefield, trapping Ji-min in a deadly cage.
<Oh shit! You’ve gotta move!!>
The dragon’s jaws opened again.

But Ji-min was faster.
He activated Fly, boosting his speed, and darted straight into its gaping mouth.

<…Holy crap.>
Tichi could only gape.

BOOOM!
With lifeless red eyes, the giant corpse splashed into the lake.
The impact shook the surrounding forest.

“Whew… that was close.”
I tapped its skull with my blade. No movement—dead for sure.

<You okay?!>
Tichi flew over in a panic.
“Yeah. Nothing serious.”
<God damn, I thought we were finished back there!>
“Me too.”
One second slower and I’d be an ice statue.

Thankfully, the desperate mana explosion I unleashed inside its mouth not only blocked the breath, but fried its brain.

“Tougher than I expected.”
It had only been two years since I retired…
But the toll of my broken circuits weighed heavily now.

“Still, I could at least handle Elites through experience alone…”
But a Named? The stat loss was painfully obvious.

The only reason I won was Infinity.
‘Seriously, Infinity is busted.’
The dream of every Hunter climbing the Tower.

Before, I’d be exhausted after a few swings.
But here, my heart’s circuits poured out mana endlessly, like I was chugging elixirs the whole fight.

In the end, taking down a Named solo was satisfying.
<Hey! Look, an Ice Fang!>
Tichi scooped up the trophy and brought it over like a magnet pet.

I handed him a cherry pepper soda in exchange.
As I cracked one open for myself—

[Incredible result!
You have defeated the Frozen Lake’s Ice Dragon alone.
You are the first to earn the achievement: Conqueror of the Lake Tyrant.]

“Oh?!”
An achievement reward, for the first time in a while.

I looked at Tichi. He nearly spat out his drink.
<What the hell?! My Influence just went up by 50!!>
“Damn…”

Fifty Influence meant I could now enter the Tier-3 Growth Tower.
A guaranteed stat increase.

Not bad. Named bosses really did pay out differently than Elites.

But that wasn’t all.

[First-achievement bonus: Strength +1, Agility +1.]

“…Huh?”
I blinked.
The message stayed.

“…Holy shit.”
The words slipped out.

In over ten years climbing Towers, I’d never seen this.
Even in Save Earth the game, when I cleared lower floors of Heilongjiang Tower, the only rewards were Influence for Tichi.

But now—
“My stats actually increased?!”
I couldn’t stop laughing.

I wanted to rush home and check on my computer right now.

As if reading my thoughts, Tichi asked slyly:
<So… shall we head back?>
“Are you insane?”

I’d just proven that soloing a Named could grant stat rewards—at least for first achievements.
What if I found more?

“The message said: ‘You are the first to defeat…’”
Could it be that only the first achiever gains stat rewards?

“Ahhh!”
A jolt of realization surged through me.

“So that’s why Masters wander lower-tier Towers hunting boss monsters…”
They must’ve known first achievements grant stats.

No wonder Master Chen Long of China left Heilongjiang Tower alone.
No wonder William Quincy of the U.S. was in an uproar about Hunter X.
As fellow Masters, they understood.

“Damn, now I don’t want to leave Heilongjiang at all.”
This one fight gave me a Named trophy and a stat increase.

The Ice Fang alone could sell for a fortune, easily hundreds of millions even at a discount.
But selling it would expose me immediately.
In my current powerless state, I couldn’t afford suspicion.

<Entrance to the upper floors!>
Sure enough, the stairway to the 52nd floor revealed itself.

“Shall we?”
<Let’s go! More Influence awaits!>

We were just about to climb up when—
A portal opened over the ruined lake.

A figure stepped through.
A woman with long black hair braided down her back.
She wore gear styled after a cheongsam, slit up the side.

And when I saw her face—
I instinctively reached for my mask.

An all-too-familiar face.