Chapter: 20
Without question, the most numerous monsters on the First Floor were the Sulfur Deer.
They occupied an enormous habitat, and there were so many of them that they were impossible to count.
However, they did not cooperate with one another.
Because they lacked intelligence.
At most, if members of the same herd were attacked, they would instinctively respond together.
Thanks to that, the number that had to be fought at once was usually no more than twenty or thirty.
The number of Red Goblins, on the other hand, was so small that comparing them to the Sulfur Deer almost felt unfair.
But they possessed a faint degree of intelligence.
Enough intelligence to understand the concept of their own kind and form small societies.
That was what made the Red Goblins dangerous.
The moment they realized one of their own was in danger, they would swarm in like a cloud of angry bees.
It didn’t matter how strong the enemy was.
They would always avenge their kin, moving with perfect coordination as if it were the sacred duty of their entire race.
“Yeah… just like that.”
Eugene curled the corner of his lips into a grin as he watched the crimson wave rushing toward him from the distance.
Ten? Twenty?
No.
It wasn’t anywhere near that little.
“That’s a lot of them.”
At least several hundred.
It looked like the entire tribe of the goblin he had deliberately spared had mobilized.
“Let’s see.”
Eugene released his mana to determine their exact number.
Around three hundred.
More than he had expected.
He had guessed there would be around two hundred.
“Even better.”
No matter how many Red Goblins came charging…
“There isn’t a better way to level up quickly on the First Floor.”
Shrrringā
With an eager smile spreading across his face, Eugene drew Black Wing [A].
The remaining distance between them was about two kilometers.
It was about time to prepare for a massive harvest of experience points.
“W-We did it!”
Park Ji-hoo shouted in triumph.
Normally too timid to even raise his voice, he threw both arms into the air as he yelled.
Yet no one paid any attention.
Because everyone else felt exactly the same.
“Wow… I can’t believe we actually managed to kill two of them.”
Lee Si-ah looked down at the two Sulfur Deer lying dead before her, her face glowing with excitement.
That man warned us it was dangerous and told us to fight only one at a time…
Were they simply more capable than they had thought?
Or had Mullen exaggerated the danger?
Maybe it was both.
Well… either way, it doesn’t matter.
What mattered was that they had successfully defeated two Sulfur Deer at once.
Which meant…
Their leveling speed had effectively doubled.
“Hahaha! At this rate, we won’t need long to reach the top!”
The shield user laughed heartily.
It wasn’t exactly something to say after only just arriving on the First Floor.
After all, the higher floors would become incomparably more difficult.
Even the monster they had seen in the Tutorial Floor was so powerful that billions of Sulfur Deer wouldn’t have stood a chance against it.
No one could even imagine what level they would need to reach before they could defeat something like that.
Even so…
Si-ah felt confidence welling up inside her.
If they steadily grew stronger one floor at a time…
Then one day, they really might reach the summit and clear the Tower.
Maybe this won’t be as difficult as I thought.
At least, everything they had experienced so far suggested that.
Games worked the same way.
You repeated quests and hunted monsters until, before you knew it, you reached the ending.
This Tower wasn’t any different.
Of course, there would surely be hardships and obstacles along the way…
I think we can do it.
They had taken the first step ahead of everyone else still hiding inside the city.
That alone meant they would progress at a speed incomparable to others.
Maybe…
They really would be the ones to clear the Tower.
“But we didn’t level up.”
Even amid the excitement, the healer looked disappointed.
“We just leveled up a little while ago. Our required experience probably increased.”
“Required experience?”
The healer tilted her head at the unfamiliar term.
“Oh, we shorten ‘required experience’ to ‘REQ EXP.’ As your level rises, the amount of experience needed to level up increases. We’ll probably have to kill a few more monsters before we level again.”
“Ah…”
The healer nodded in understanding.
Si-ah, Park Ji-hoo, and the spearman already knew that, so they showed little reaction.
“The problem is figuring out exactly how much experience we need…”
Levels.
Skills.
Items.
The Akasha System resembled a game in almost every way.
But it wasn’t actually a game.
It wasn’t kind enough to display precise numbers or detailed explanations.
Because of that, they had no way of knowing how much experience was required for each level.
Naturally, they also had no idea how much experience a single Sulfur Deer provided.
“Still, I doubt the increase is that dramatic. It’s not like the requirement suddenly jumps by a hundred or two hundred times.”
They could probably estimate it after hunting another one or two deer.
“Let’s rest for a bit, then hunt again.”
Fighting two Sulfur Deer at once had definitely been much harder than fighting just one.
It had never become truly dangerous, but they could clearly feel how much stamina and mana they had consumed.
After taking a short break with her teammates, Si-ah prepared to continue hunting.
Once they had roughly cleared away the surrounding grass and sat down chatting…
“Hm?”
Si-ah tilted her head.
Something felt strange.
“Noona?”
Apparently Park Ji-hoo had noticed it too.
His eyes widened slightly as he looked around before calling out to her.
“What’s wrong?”
When the healer asked, Si-ah placed a hand on the ground.
“Doesn’t it feel like the ground is trembling a little?”
It was an incredibly faint vibration.
So slight that most people wouldn’t even notice it.
“Y-Yeah.”
“Now that you mention it… it does seem to be shaking.”
Only then did the others notice it.
“Maybe it’s just a small earthquake?”
The First Floor hardly seemed like the inside of a tower.
It was practically an entire world, complete with sky and land.
So an earthquake wouldn’t be all that strange.
“I don’t think that’s it.”
Si-ah frowned at the shield user’s and spearman’s guesses.
This felt more like…
“The same vibration we felt when the Sulfur Deer were chasing us.”
When those three-meter-tall monsters ran behind them, the ground had trembled just like this.
Her expression stiffened as she slowly stood up.
Quickly, she scanned the area.
Could another herd of Sulfur Deer be charging this way?
“Huh?”
But what entered her sight wasn’t a herd of Sulfur Deer.
It was a group of bizarre creatures with bright crimson skin.
They were small.
Yet the murderous aura and ferocity they radiated made them seem far more dangerous than the Sulfur Deer.
“W-What are those? Monsters?”
“I think so.”
At the very least…
They definitely weren’t human.
“Damn…”
“There’s no way we can beat those, right?”
The others had also risen and spotted the creatures, whispering nervously.
“They look much stronger than the Sulfur Deer.”
Mullen had specifically recommended the Sulfur Deer for newcomers who had just reached the First Floor.
They were beginner monsters.
Naturally, there had to be stronger monsters with higher levels.
Those crimson-skinned creatures were undoubtedly among them.
And there weren’t just one or two.
There were hundreds.
The confidence that had filled them only moments ago melted away like snow under the sun.
With their current abilities, defeating even one of those monsters would be difficultā
Forget hundreds.
“We should put some distance between us.”
In other words…
They should run.
The shield user suggested it in a trembling voice, and everyone nodded.
“I-I think that’s for the best.”
If those monsters noticed them and changed direction…
There would be no chance of surviving.
“But where are they even going?”
As they quietly retreated, hoping not to be discovered, Park Ji-hoo whispered.
“It doesn’t look like they’re just moving somewhere.”
“Yeah… It looks more like they’re charging into battle.”
The healer agreed.
Sure enough, every one of them was carrying a weapon and rushing forward with murderous intent.
As if they were marching to war.
“Maybe they’re fighting other monsters? Like a territorial dispute.”
That sounded plausible.
Even among monsters, the Sulfur Deer and those crimson creatures were entirely different species.
If monsters had territories and food chains just like animals…
Then they would naturally fight each other.
“…That means we’ll have to fight monsters like that someday.”
The cheerful mood vanished instantly at the healer’s words.
“W-Well, we’re still the strongest players, aren’t we? They look terrifying now, but we’ll catch up before long.”
Games were like that too.
The high-level monsters that seemed impossible for beginners eventually became enemies you could kill in a single hit.
Once they gained enough levels, these monsters would become no different.
“For now, they’re too much for us. Let’s focus on hunting Sulfur Deer and getting stronger.”
“Yeah. If we keep leveling, we won’t have to run away like this forever.”
Trying to recover their shattered confidence, they all repeated those words to themselves.
Thenā
SPLAAASH!
Far in the distance, crimson liquid erupted high into the air.
An even deeper red than the skin of those strange creatures.
It didn’t take them long to realize what it was.
“…Blood?”
It shot upward like a fountain before raining back down.
It was blood.
The surreal scene left everyone rooted in place, forgetting they were supposed to flee.
BOOOOOOM!
A terrifying shockwave of mana swept across the area, completely overturning the fields of grass.
“Ah…”
Si-ah’s mind went blank.
The overwhelming aura made it difficult to breathe.
Just what is…
…releasing such terrifying power?
Could it be the Floor Boss?
Or perhaps a terrifying existence like Didaskalia?
She couldn’t tell.
The distance was too great to make out the figure massacring the crimson creatures.
But one thing was certain.
It was dangerous.
Those red-skinned monsters were already terrifying enough.
So how much more frightening must something be that could tear them apart so effortlessly?
We have to run!
They needed to turn around and sprint back to Terra with everything they had.
Only then might they survive.
“R-Run…”
Even as her body trembled, Si-ah forced herself to open her mouth and warn her companions.
Thenā
“Die, you bastards! Die! Die and become my experience points!”
Someone’s voice echoed across the battlefield.
Si-ah froze and looked toward the source.
It couldn’t be…
But somehow, the voice sounded strangely familiar.
As if she had heard it very recently.
No… that can’t be right.
When had she ever met someone that strong?
Other than her teammates, she had barely spoken to anyone.
At most…
Mullen…
And that completely insane murderous lunatic she had encountered on the street…
“Huh?”
Her eyes flew wide open.
“T-That crazy bastard?”
