[Floor 15 Mission Overview]
-Defeat 4 Desert King’s Royal Guards.
-Defeat 1 Desert Gravekeeper.
-Completion Condition: Defeat the Desert King’s Royal Guards and Desert Gravekeeper Arkan
-Failure Condition: Death
-Failure Condition: Desert Gravekeeper Arkan completes the Grave-Opening Ritual
Upon entering Floor 15, I noticed that, unlike the previous floors, there was an additional failure condition.
It meant that merely surviving the battle was not enough. I also had to stop the actions of Arkan, the named monster appearing on Floor 15.
No one knew what would happen once the Grave-Opening Ritual was completed.
That was because no Hunter who had failed to stop Arkan had ever survived.
Still, many Hunter scholars speculated that the Grave-Opening Ritual was somehow connected to the King of the Desert, who slept on Floor 20.
After all, the King of the Desert was currently asleep, and Arkan of Floor 15 was the gravekeeper guarding the tomb in which that king slept.
‘Well, putting that aside…….’
I shifted my gaze.
A massive pyramid towered over the center of the vast desert.
And standing guard along the path leading toward the pyramid were the King’s Royal Guards.
There was no sign of Gravekeeper Arkan, but that did not particularly matter.
If I wiped out everything here, he would have no choice but to show himself.
“Summon Magic Sword.”
[Summoning Magic Sword.]
A sword of Magic Power wreathed in blue flames took shape in my right hand.
Its overwhelming presence seemed almost capable of burning away the very space around it.
That was probably the result of my Magic Power Stat of 79.
‘I should make regular use of Magic Sword from now on.’
From what I had heard, the more frequently a Skill was used, the greater one’s proficiency with it became.
Proficiency was not a clearly visible numerical value, but it was only natural that someone would become more adept with a Skill through repeated use, so there was little reason to doubt it.
In fact, there were even famous Hunters who continued using relatively low-ranked Skills, such as C-rank or B-rank Skills, simply because their proficiency with them was so high.
‘Shall I begin?’
Since I needed to develop a better feel for Magic Sword, I deliberately chose not to summon Clone.
Not that I particularly needed it in the first place.
[Activating the special Skill, ‘Magic Discharge’.]
Waves of Magic Power scattered from Magic Sword, engulfing the surrounding area in brilliant blue light.
For an instant, the entire world was dyed blue.
Then, little by little, its original colors returned.
[You have defeated a Desert King’s Royal Guard!]
[You have defeated a Desert King’s Royal Guard!]
[You have acquired Experience Points.]
I had swung the sword only once.
That alone had wiped out every Desert King’s Royal Guard standing before the pyramid.
As far as I knew, no matter how high one’s Magic Power was, a mere C-rank Skill like Magic Sword should not have been capable of producing something like this.
It was probably because the special effect from Disaster Incarnate had been added to it.
“Hmm.”
I had defeated all of the Desert King’s Royal Guards, but no notification appeared saying that Desert Gravekeeper Arkan had been killed.
Just as the strategy guides had said, Gravekeeper Arkan was somewhere else.
‘Then I simply have to find him.’
Facing the pyramid, I lightly kicked off the ground.
That alone sent me flying dozens of meters in a single bound.
It felt as though I had become a bird soaring through the sky.
Even after pushing off loose sand that swallowed my feet and provided relatively little resistance, I could leap this far.
I could hardly imagine what would happen if I tried the same thing on solid ground.
‘There?’
The moment I set foot within the area surrounding the pyramid—
HMMMM─
A strange sense of separation washed over me, as though I had crossed into another world, and things that had been invisible from outside began to appear.
[You have entered the King’s Tomb.]
[The Grave-Opening Ritual is currently in progress.]
[Stop Gravekeeper Arkan, the conductor of the ritual.]
[Current Grave-Opening Ritual Progress: 12%]
Gravekeeper Arkan stood before the entrance of the pyramid, surrounded by all manner of ritualistic objects as he performed some incomprehensible ceremony.
[Physical attacks cannot damage the ritual conductor while the Grave-Opening Ritual is in progress.]
[Stop the Grave-Opening Ritual.]
‘As expected.’
Just as I had read in the strategy guides, Gravekeeper Arkan could not be stopped through ordinary means while performing the Grave-Opening Ritual.
A ritual barrier surrounded Arkan for as long as the ceremony continued.
In other words, he was what Hunters called a gimmick-type monster.
The standard strategy was to destroy the ritual stakes positioned at each corner of the pyramid to interrupt the Grave-Opening Ritual.
And yet—
‘Should I try hitting him?’
A sudden curiosity came over me.
They said he possessed an invincibility gimmick, so I wanted to see whether he was truly invincible.
More importantly, I had nothing to lose by trying.
‘And if it works, even better.’
According to the strategy guides, resolving the Grave-Opening Ritual’s gimmick was an extremely troublesome and arduous process.
Throughout the ritual, Gravekeeper Arkan continuously hurled all manner of curses at the Tower climber, while corpses buried within the tomb rose and attacked.
In other words, it was best avoided if possible.
‘Let us try it.’
I did not hesitate for long.
Of course, since I was challenging a monster with an invincibility gimmick, I had no intention of using an ordinary attack.
I would use the strongest attack currently available to me.
In other words, I intended to go all out.
‘There is really only one option.’
Magic Sword continuously consumed Magic Power simply to remain active.
Then what would happen if I deliberately poured even more Magic Power into it?
‘There is only one way to find out.’
I forced even more Magic Power into Magic Sword.
CRACKLE, CRACKLE!
The Magic Power condensed within the blade surged violently, sending intense sparks crackling through the surrounding air.
I could feel enormous quantities of Magic Power being torn from my body.
RUMMMMMBLE──!!!
The more Magic Power I poured into the sword, the more violent the storm surrounding it became.
I had not even swung Magic Sword yet, but its mere presence was already distorting the space around it.
‘…Is this really all right?’
The presence emanating from Magic Sword was so overwhelming that even I began to question it.
How much Magic Power had I poured into it?
Only after I had expended nearly 60 points of Magic Power at once did the raging storm suddenly grow still.
-KRAAAAAA!!!
Gravekeeper Arkan must have sensed that something was terribly wrong.
He stopped the ritual he had been concentrating on and turned toward me with an unreadable expression.
It almost looked like fear.
Or perhaps awe.
“Whew…….”
Standing within that strange stillness, like the eye of a typhoon, I instinctively swung the sword.
For some reason, I felt that if I did not release it immediately, the Magic Sword itself might swallow me whole.
FLASH!
The moment I swung the Magic Sword, into which I had poured almost all of my strength, the world turned white.
The light was so intense that I wondered whether my vision might simply cease to function.
WHOOOOOOSH…….
When the flash faded, nothing remained.
Yes.
Absolutely nothing.
[You have defeated Desert Gravekeeper Arkan!]
[You have acquired Experience Points.]
‘…It actually worked.’
I had only struck him on the off chance that it might work.
I had not truly expected to overpower the entire gimmick through sheer force.
“Hmm.”
Once again, I realized something.
Needing to solve some special gimmick merely meant that you lacked enough strength to ignore it.
[You have completely destroyed the Grave-Opening Ritual.]
[You have accomplished an astonishing feat believed to be impossible!]
[The special reward for clearing <Tower Floor 15> has been tremendously enhanced.]
[The King of the Desert has taken notice of you.]
[The special reward for clearing <Tower Floor 15> has been greatly enhanced.]
[Gravekeeper Arkan holds you in awe.]
[The special reward for clearing <Tower Floor 15> has been enhanced.]
[The special reward for clearing <Tower Floor 15> will now be issued.]
.
.
.
[You have cleared <Tower Floor 15>.]
[All Stats are ‘15’ or higher. Additional Experience Points will be awarded instead of a Stats increase.]
[You have achieved SSS-rank.]
[A special reward for achieving the rank will be issued.]
[The clear record for <Tower Floor 15> has been updated.]
[Exiting the Tower.]
***
After leaving the Tower.
The moment I returned home, the Clone responsible for the housework was waiting for me with my smartphone in hand.
I had planned to check the special reward I had received for clearing Floor 15 as soon as I returned, but apparently something else had happened.
“What is it?”
“You received a phone call.”
“A phone call? From whom?”
“An unfamiliar number. I did not answer it in case there was a problem and waited for you instead.”
My Clone possessed the same memories and judgment I had at the moment it was summoned.
Even so, it never ran wild or acted however it pleased.
It truly was a loyal fellow.
“Good.”
[7 Missed Calls]
Wondering what could possibly have happened, I checked my smartphone and discovered that I had received no fewer than seven calls while I was inside the Tower.
‘Who is this?’
As expected, I did not recognize the number.
I wondered whether it might be spam or an advertisement, but a text message had been left behind.
[Hello. My name is Kim Beom-gu, Personnel Manager of the White Tiger Guild. Are you Hunter Choi Kang Hyuk? There is something I would like to discuss with you in person.]
The White Tiger Guild.
A place I could never forget.