Jin-Woo quickly arrived near where Tank was. In the distance, he could see a magical beast soldier unit made up of roughly equal numbers of black bears with black steam rising from their bodies and high orcs clad head to toe in pitch-black armor. Out front, Tank strode along proudly.
'The next target must be this way.'
Tank had originally been the leader of the Ice Bears—a monstrous beast of incredible strength that had single-handedly overwhelmed the shadow soldiers when it was alive. Even as a shadow, there were few soldiers who could match him in raw power. But his comparison pool was unfortunate. Iron, Igrit, and Fangs, who served as squad leaders of other units, were a different grade altogether. Tank might have been a high level, but he was still just an elite soldier-grade shadow. Igrit and Iron were knight-grade, and Fangs even had "Elite" tacked on before "Knight." It wasn't even close. So if the enemy had the intelligence to spot weaknesses and could read the soldiers' movements, the next target would naturally be here.
'Let me watch for a bit.'
Jin-Woo concealed his presence as much as possible and moved alongside the magical beast soldiers at a steady distance, maintaining a set gap. Even the beast soldiers themselves didn't notice that Jin-Woo was nearby. How much time had passed? After waiting a long while with no sign of the enemy, Jin-Woo tilted his head.
'Was I wrong?'
Just as the thought crossed his mind—maybe the monsters had gathered not where strong enemies were, but where injured soldiers had been—Jin-Woo's eyes narrowed.
'...They're coming.'
The enemies had also been concealing their presence until they drew closer—he realized their approach later than usual. Jin-Woo closed his eyes and focused on his senses. His remarkably enhanced sensory ability began sweeping through every trace of presence in the area like a radar.
'Four approaching presences, twenty of my soldiers, five demons hiding underground.'
Jin-Woo opened his eyes. He'd deal with the five demons playing dead underground later.
'Stealth.'
With a soft rustle, Jin-Woo used the Stealth skill to conceal himself and approached the magical beast soldiers. Before long, he could confirm the enemy's presence with his own eyes.
'They're coming on horseback?'
Tududududu—
'Armed too, no less?'
Not only the riders themselves but even their horses were clad in armor. As they drew closer, their names appeared. No wonder they seemed so different from the existing demon monsters, whether low-level or high-level, all of whom walked around unclothed—they were different starting from their names.
'One demon noble and three demon knights.'
Names he'd never seen before appeared in vivid black. Strong hostility emanated from all four of them.
'These must be the ones who attacked my soldiers?'
Strong presence, strong hostility. Jin-Woo decided to maintain his Stealth and observe the situation for a while.
'Let me see how they fight.'
Since these were newly encountered monsters, he wanted to see their abilities and fighting style with his own eyes.
'Monsters powerful enough to crush shadow soldiers...'
He could afford to be excited. Jin-Woo stopped at a point where he wouldn't interfere with the battle between the beast soldier unit and the new demons. Grrk? Tank had spotted the demons. The demons dismounted their horses once they drew within striking distance.
'So the horses are just a means of transportation.'
Jin-Woo watched the demons with eager eyes. Soon, the beast soldiers, riled up by the enemy's appearance, screamed and charged first, and a fierce battle between the two groups began. Gwaaaaah! Tank took the lead. Charging forward at full gallop on all fours, Tank reared his massive body up before the enemies. A situation where an ordinary human would faint from the intimidation alone. But the demons were calm. They didn't so much as flinch until Tank swung his massive front paw like a baseball bat with all his might. Whoosh! Tank's paw sliced through the air. It was an agile attack that didn't match his bulky frame. But— the demon noble Tank had aimed for nimbly leaped over his paw with light footwork.
'...!'
Jin-Woo's eyes widened. The astonishing sight didn't stop there. The noble spun in midair and drove the spear he'd been holding into Tank's chest. Kwang—! The mana-infused strike created a watermelon-sized hole in Tank's chest. Explosive energy poured out from the small frame. And on top of that, the clean, graceful movements. Jin-Woo grew interested.
'These aren't ordinary monsters.'
Not just the noble—even the three knights guarding him were noticeably stronger. The battle was one-sided. The beast soldiers were no match for the new demons. Unlike the high-level demons who were large but easy to hunt, these humanoid noble demons easily ravaged the beast soldiers.
'So this is why the soldiers' regeneration couldn't keep up.'
Jin-Woo's face hardened.
"Gwaaah!" "Kyaaaah!"
The beast soldiers were sliced apart by the demons' spears and swords the moment they regenerated. Jin-Woo furrowed his brow. He knew that as long as his mana didn't run out, the beast soldiers were immortal. Even if their mana ran out, they would simply return as shadows.
"Kuaaah!"
Still, watching his own soldiers get beaten down by monsters didn't sit well with him. How to describe it? Like an older brother watching his younger sibling get picked on somewhere.
'That's enough.'
Unable to watch any longer, Jin-Woo recalled his soldiers. The soldiers who returned to shadow form quickly moved to Jin-Woo's feet and merged back into his shadow. When the soldiers who couldn't withstand the attack disappeared, the noble demons looked at each other and nodded. The atmosphere felt like they were celebrating a third consecutive victory. But just then—with a soft rustle—Jin-Woo dropped his Stealth right in the center of their formation. The demons were startled, but being skilled fighters, they read Jin-Woo's hostility and immediately attacked. Bang! Bang! Jin-Woo struck down the two knights beside him with his bare fists and grabbed the charging knight, slamming him into the ground. Crack! Spider-web-like cracks spread across the floor, and a message appeared.
[You have slain a demon knight.] [You have gained 3,000 experience.]
The same message appeared three times. One monster per attack—in less than a second, all three were finished off.
'These are just the grunts. The real one is over there.'
Jin-Woo's gaze turned to the demon noble. Their eyes met, and the noble flinched before leveling the spear tip at him.
'I used to wonder whether monsters could feel fear...'
Now he knew for certain. The demon noble's spear tip trembled ever so slightly—different from how it had been when facing the beast soldiers. Reading an opponent's skill level was part of one's abilities too.
'Not that I'm going to go easy on you.'
Jin-Woo launched himself forward. The demon noble thrust his spear at the same instant. Jin-Woo tilted his head just slightly to dodge the thrust. But remarkably, the noble changed direction midair several times, attacking relentlessly. First at his brow, then his neck, then his heart. The fluid, flowing movements suggested anything but ordinary skill. But every time, they were blocked by Jin-Woo's dagger—'Baruka's Dagger.' When the final attack aimed at his heart fell short, 'Baruka's Dagger' sliced clean through the spear's shaft with a sharp sound.
'...!'
The noble froze for an instant upon seeing the halved spear. That was the end of the contest.
'An enemy that even A-rank Hunters would struggle against if three or four attacked at once...'
Jin-Woo rated the demon noble's abilities highly. The opponent had simply been outmatched. Jin-Woo grabbed the noble's helmet with his left hand.
"Guk!"
The noble, caught off guard by surprise, tried to yank their neck back but couldn't budge against Jin-Woo's grip. Jin-Woo intended to tear off the helmet and cut the throat, so he tightened his left hand. As expected, the helmet came off easily. With a clatter, Jin-Woo raised 'Baruka's Dagger.'
"Surrender! I surrender!"
Jin-Woo wrinkled his nose and stopped mid-motion.
"A woman?"
The face revealed inside the helmet was unmistakably female. To be honest, whether a monster was male or female didn't much matter to Jin-Woo. But the moment the monster who had raised both hands in surrender realized that communication was possible, it dropped flat to the ground and pressed its forehead to the floor.
'...'
On top of that, he found himself reluctant to bring the dagger down on a defenseless figure.
"I-I'm sorry. We were wrong. P-please spare my life!"
A quick change of stance was one thing, but begging for her life too? A monster?
"Hah...?"
Jin-Woo stared down at the small back of the monster prostrate at his feet, looking utterly dumbfounded.
***
It wasn't strange for intelligent monsters to exist when intelligent magical beasts existed. But this one was definitely off.
'...'
After a moment of speechlessness, Jin-Woo struggled to find words before finally parting his lips.
"You attacked my soldiers, and now you're asking me to let you off?"
"I-I have committed a mortal sin."
The demon noble pressed her forehead to the floor and continued.
"But from the perspective of my clan, charged with guarding this place, we couldn't stand by and watch someone... *huff!* No—someone slaughtering demons at random. We would be grateful if you could forgive us."
Well, he supposed it could feel unfair from the demons' perspective. After all, they'd been the ones barging in and hunting demons down. So Jin-Woo changed his question.
"Are you really in a position to beg for your life from someone who killed your soldiers?"
"A knight's duty is to protect their lord. If I alone can survive, my knights would be glad."
Jin-Woo scratched his temple. The answer was utterly absurd.
'Is she shameless, or just absurdly optimistic?'
The demon noble raised her head slightly and eyed Jin-Woo cautiously.
'Oh no!'
She could feel the situation turning increasingly against her. The anxious voice continued from the one who had pressed her head to the floor again.
"If you spare my life, I will give you anything you want."
Jin-Woo rested a hand on his hip. The demon noble was a powerful monster, but with her armaments completely stripped, finishing her off now would be easier than eating soup.
'What do I do with this?'
Jin-Woo pondered. Not whether to spare or kill her—he was thinking about what could be more valuable than the experience and items he'd get from killing her.
'Ah.'
There was exactly one thing.
"Floor Entry Permits."
"What?"
The demon noble looked up with wide eyes in surprise. With the exception of the particularly long and sharp fangs he'd glimpsed when she'd opened her mouth earlier, she looked like nothing other than a human woman. Jin-Woo asked flatly.
"Can you get them?"
"..."
When their eyes met, the monster's face turned pale, and she pressed her forehead to the floor.
'Of course—how would a monster know about items.'
The deal was over. Jin-Woo called back 'Baruka's Dagger,' which he'd returned to his inventory. He didn't know why this monster had intelligence and was using it to plead for mercy, but he had no intention of giving up the experience.
'A demon knight gave 3,000 experience, so this one should be worth more.'
There was even a chance that a permit might drop when he killed her. But—
"I-I'll give them to you."
"What?"
"F-floor... Floor Entry Permits."
The monster who raised her head broke into a cold sweat upon spotting the dagger in Jin-Woo's hand.
"You can give me the permits?"
The demon noble nodded hastily.
"My clan keeps them in their custody. If you escort me back safely, I'll hand them over."
The demons were guarding the permits? Jin-Woo rubbed his chin. It had been quite some time since he'd reached the 80th floor, and he'd killed more than a few demons, yet he'd heard nothing about permits.
'At first I thought the drop rate had just gotten worse as the floors got higher, or that a mid-boss might be holding them...'
If what she said was true—that the monsters were secretly hiding them—it made perfect sense. Seeing Jin-Woo ponder in silence, the demon noble, feeling the pressure, added more.
"I know where all the permits for the upper floors are as well. If you guarantee my safety and that of my clan, I'll guide you to every one."
Jin-Woo's expression shifted slightly. That was tempting. For Jin-Woo, who wanted to reach the top floor in the shortest time possible, an offer to guide him to every permit's location was quite appealing. But—
'The question is whether I can trust this one.'
Jin-Woo reached out and lifted the demon noble's chin. He could feel her panic, but he didn't ease his grip. Jin-Woo looked the demon noble straight in the eyes.
'Killer Intent.'
[Skill: 'Killer Intent' has been activated.]
Whoosh—a chilling aura radiated from Jin-Woo's eyes. The demon noble's lips trembled in fear.
"Can I trust you?"
"It's... it's not a lie."
There had been a principle he'd made for himself when he first gained the power of the System. Give and take. Even if the other party was a monster, the principle didn't change. If the monster kept their promise, he would keep his.
"Fine."
Jin-Woo withdrew his Killer Intent.
"As long as you hand over the permits, I'll leave quietly."
"Is... is that really true?"
Jin-Woo nodded. The experience from the monsters guarding the Floor Entry Permits, including this one, was certainly tempting—but the time spent searching for the permits was even more precious. He'd already wasted more time than planned on the 80th floor. And if this one tried any tricks, that was exactly what he wanted. It would give him free rein to tear through their stronghold.
"Thank you!"
The demon noble's face lit up noticeably. Whether she was honest with her emotions or just simple-minded, Jin-Woo clicked his tongue inwardly but asked what he'd always been curious about.
"Before that... what exactly are you?"