[You have slain a low-level demon.] [You have acquired 100 experience points.] [You have acquired 1 demon soul.]
. .
You have acquired 100 experience points.] [You have acquired 1 demon soul.]
For two hours, he slaughtered every low-level demon that crossed his path. Jin-Woo checked the number of souls collected.
[Souls collected: 309 / 10,000]
Three percent of the quest completed. If he kept hunting at this pace, the numbers said he'd gain another level in two hours. His current level was 61. Going from level 60 to 61 had required the equivalent of nine C-rank Dungeons' worth of experience. That had taken around two days. But here, four hours was enough to gain a level?
*'This is insane.'*
A smile crept onto Jin-Woo's face. How long had it been since he'd enjoyed hunting this much?
*'Is this the first time since then?'*
He couldn't think of anything after the memory of running back and forth between the first and second basement floors of the Hapjeong Station instance dungeon until his level stopped increasing.
"Kiiik!"
Whenever Jin-Woo's dagger flashed, at least one low-level demon invariably fell.
"Kyaah!" "Keek." "Kehh, keck!"
Sometimes several at once. In no time, Jin-Woo had taken down twenty more low-level demons.
*'This is a jackpot.'*
Experience points and soul counts climbed in tandem with every demon he cut down. On top of that, the items were a bonus. A grin bloomed on Jin-Woo's face as he gathered his loot.
*'Horns drop almost every single time.'*
[Item: Low-Level Demon Horn] Acquisition Difficulty: None Type: Junk Two small horns from a low-level demon's head. Demon horns are a high-grade magic crafting material and sell for a high price.
The "junk" item Demon Horn sold for 200,000 gold just by offloading it to the shop.
*'Last time, Cerberus dropped 150,000 gold per tooth too... Demon Castle monsters really are generous.'*
Having tasted the shop's usefulness several times recently, Jin-Woo no longer saw junk items as junk. Every last one of them would eventually be converted into gold that paid dividends.
*'Nothing here is worth throwing away.'*
Jin-Woo happily sold off what he could, sent the rest to storage, and rummaged through the low-level demons' corpses. That was when he spotted it.
*'What's that?'*
It was an item he'd never seen before, peeking out from among the demons' spilled innards.
[Item: Admission Permit] Acquisition Difficulty: ?? Type: ?? A permit that allows you to ascend to the second floor of the Demon Castle. Can only be used at the floor-transfer magic circle on the first floor.
It was a scroll of rolled-up parchment.
*'An Admission Permit?'*
Unfurling the document, he found it covered in incomprehensible geometric shapes and inscriptions. In the end, the item description was the only clue that made any sense.
*'An item that lets me go from the first floor to the second...'*
Could it be? Jin-Woo looked around. He was inside the Demon Castle, but he was also inside Daesung Tower. If the Demon Castle had floors divided the same way, then this was the first floor.
*'It's a field-type Dungeon, so I never even considered it might have separate floors...'*
Did that mean there could be a hundred floors here, just like Daesung Tower? Jin-Woo clicked his tongue at the sheer scale of the Dungeon.
*'...There probably aren't really a hundred floors, right?'*
There was only one way to find out. Find the magic circle.
*'The place here that could house a floor-transfer magic circle would be...'*
Jin-Woo's gaze came to rest on the pillar of light stretching up toward the sky.
*'That's the only spot.'*
He'd picked it as his destination from the start, but he'd gotten sidetracked hunting low-level demons and ended up somewhere else entirely.
*'Maybe it's time to head over.'*
He felt it was the right time to go. He'd already cleared out every low-level demon nearby. Jin-Woo grinned.
*'Summon.'*
Unlike the extraction skill, the Shadow Storage skill required no incantation to call forth sealed shadow soldiers. He just had to will them into existence. Whoosh. The enormous magic beast soldier, created by extracting the shadow of the Ice Bear boss, appeared before Jin-Woo.
"Krrrr."
A monster bear standing on two legs. It was the size of a house. But in front of Jin-Woo, it was no different from a gentle puppy.
"Down." "Grrr."
When the magic beast soldier obediently lay flat, Jin-Woo quickly clambered on top of it.
"Let's go!"
The moment Jin-Woo kicked its side with his heel, the magic beast soldier broke into a terrifying sprint toward the pillar of light. Thud, thud, thud, thud! For a creature so massive to also be this agile, the distance to the destination shrank rapidly. Even when the occasional nuisance got in the way—
"Kiik!" "Kikik!"
KRAAAASH! A single lightning-fast swipe from the magic beast soldier ended things in an instant. Not bad. Jin-Woo looked impressed.
*'I only hopped on for fun, but this actually works pretty well.'*
Deciding it was worth using often, he even gave it a name on the spot.
"From now on, your name is Tank." "GROOAAARG!"
The magic beast soldier—or rather, Tank—craned its neck and let out a long roar. Was that a yes or a no? With lungs that powerful, it was impossible to tell. Meanwhile, the pillar of light drew closer and closer. Tank gradually slowed and came to a stop in front of it.
"Good job."
Jin-Woo stepped down, gave Tank a pat, and sent it back into the shadows. Then he turned around. A familiar chime rang out.
[You have discovered the floor-transfer magic circle.]
A circular magic circle was carved into the floor. Light fired from it reached all the way to the sky. Jin-Woo stepped inside.
'...'
Nothing happened. Frowning, Jin-Woo took a few more steps until he stood at the center of the circle. Only then did a message appear.
[No floors have been opened.] [Where would you like to go?]
"How many floors are there?"
No answer came back.
*'To figure out where the end is, I'll just have to climb my way up.'*
Jin-Woo pondered for a moment. His experience was nearly depleted—should he Level Up before ascending, or go up first and Level Up there?
*'Unlike other instance dungeons, monsters here don't respawn, so staying in one spot is inefficient.'*
On top of that, the upper floors were said to house demons carrying multiple souls. Both for experience and for quest progress, it made the most sense to push upward as fast as possible.
*'All right.'*
Let's go. Jin-Woo spoke.
"Floor two."
[An Admission Permit is required.]
Jin-Woo pulled the scroll from his storage as instructed. The moment it was removed, it vanished in a flash of light.
[The second floor of the Demon Castle has been opened.] [Ascending to the second floor.]
Vmmm—intense light surged from the magic circle. At the same instant, Jin-Woo realized.
*'Ah... so that's what this is.'*
It was just an elevator. The moment he understood what the pillar of light truly was, Jin-Woo was teleported to the second floor in a blinding flash.
***
Floor two, floor three, floor four... all the way to floor twenty-seven. That was his record over two days. He'd told Jin-Ah he'd be away traveling for about a week.
*'Five days left.'*
Judging by his progressively increasing clearing speed, he had a feeling it wouldn't even take five days to reach the hundredth floor—the top, he assumed. Jin-Woo briefly looked around. A completely devastated city.
*'At this point, I can't even tell what city this was modeled after.'*
Each floor presented a different city. But the higher he climbed, the more severe the destruction became, until the twenty-seventh floor where he now stood was barely recognizable as a city at all. Was this what would happen if a carpet bombing hit downtown? Jin-Woo shook his head to shake off the thought.
*'No time to sit around dwelling on it.'*
He checked the watch on his wrist—it was already 11:00 PM. There was no day or night here. He had to rely on a clock for his schedule. 11 PM meant it was time to get some rest. He'd need his energy to tackle another day in the Dungeon. But before that—
*'Let me check my progress.'*
Jin-Woo stared at his quest progress.
[Souls collected: 2,116]
*'2,100...'*
Nearly a thousand demons a day. Quite the haul over two days. He was still far from ten thousand, but he was banking on the demons of the upper floors, which were said to carry multiple souls each.
*'Getting to the top is the top priority for now.'*
Next, his level.
"Haah!"
Jin-Woo's eyes went wide.
[Level: 67]
His level had shot up to 67 in no time. After spending the early stretch hunting low-level demons worth 100 experience each, switching to mid-level demons worth 300 experience had dramatically accelerated his Level Up speed.
*'Levels are going up really fast.'*
Abundant monsters, rich experience, just the right difficulty—the Demon Castle was the ultimate Level Up ground. And it wasn't just his level that was rising. Jin-Woo had been using every spare moment to raise his skill proficiency as well. Even now, the skill 'Night Killer' hovered in the air above his palm. The skill Ruler's Authority—the power to exert physical influence without making direct contact. He devoted even this downtime, sitting still as he was, to honing it.
*'Ruler's Authority doesn't cost any mana anyway.'*
It was a bit tiring to maintain constant focus, but compared to the skill's versatility, it was a bargain. Just then, good news arrived.
['Ruler's Authority' skill level has increased!]
*'Nice!'*
Jin-Woo leaned back against the wall with a grin. Every time he felt himself growing stronger, little by little, a sense of calm settled over him. His eyelids grew heavy.
*'Come to think of it, Yoo Jin-Ho's Guild Master license should be issued by now.'*
How was Yoo Jin-Ho doing? Being on his own after so long had suddenly brought Yoo Jin-Ho's face to mind—the one who was always trailing behind him. Yoo Jin-Ho was up against a tough fight: the eldest son, already a successful businessman, and the second son, a student who held a Master-class license.
*'Hang in there, Yoo Jin-Ho.'*
Cheering Yoo Jin-Ho on at least in his mind, Jin-Woo slowly drifted into deep sleep.
***
Yoo Jin-Ho walked into an upscale Korean fine-dining restaurant with a look of grim determination. He'd chosen the place himself, keeping his father's taste in mind.
"Where is the chairman?" "He's waiting."
Yoo Jin-Ho swallowed hard.
"This way."
He was led to the room where his father, Yoo Myung-Han, was seated. Rattle. When the sliding door opened and his father's face came into view, his tension spiked several times over. He felt his resolve waver for a moment, but Yoo Jin-Ho steeled himself once more and sat down across from his father.
"What brings you here? You're the one who set this up." "Father, before I get to why I'm here, I'd like you to look at this." "This is...?" "My Guild Master license and my raid records from this point on." "Master... license? You?"
When Yoo Myung-Han's eyes showed genuine surprise, Yoo Jin-Ho nodded, visibly pleased.
"Yes, Father."
Yoo Myung-Han silently scanned the documents Yoo Jin-Ho handed over. A look of increasing interest gradually formed in his eyes.
"..."
While his father kept silent, Yoo Jin-Ho's heart was pounding so hard he could barely breathe.
"So."
Yoo Myung-Han set the papers gently back on the table and continued.
"You want to take the reins of the Yoo-Jin Guild yourself?" "I do." "Hmm..."
For a moment, Yoo Myung-Han's face showed a mixture of surprise and deep thought.
*'Father is actually weighing a choice between me and my brother.'*
Yoo Jin-Ho was moved. That alone was a major victory for him. Under normal circumstances, he might have been satisfied right there. But the thought of backing down never even crossed his mind.
"As you're already aware, entrusting full authority of the Guild to an outsider carries far too much risk—" "Enough."
Yoo Myung-Han raised a hand. At the same instant, Yoo Jin-Ho's mouth stopped. His father's "enough" was an absolute command that no one in the Yoo family dared defy.
"There's someone I'd like to introduce to you." "Pardon?"
Yoo Jin-Ho's eyes went round. He was the one who'd initiated contact and arranged this meeting. Yet his father was the one who suddenly had someone to introduce? Who could it be? While Yoo Jin-Ho's curiosity hit its peak, a door other than the one he'd entered through rattled open.
"H-hello."
A man who appeared to be in his late twenties or early thirties gave Yoo Jin-Ho an awkward greeting. Who was this? No matter how hard Yoo Jin-Ho looked, he didn't recognize the man. At a chin-lift from Yoo Myung-Han, the man came and sat down beside him.
"This is... Hunter Go Myung-Hwan." *'Go Myung-Hwan?'*
Yoo Jin-Ho tilted his head. He'd never heard the name before. His father, as though expecting this reaction, nodded and continued.
"He's one of the survivors who made it back alive from the Red Gate incident involving the Baekho Guild that's been making headlines lately."