Chapter 81: Chapter 81

This Exchange Meeting’s theme was defense. Defense with no particular narrative or standout features.

So I didn’t bother taking off the rabbit mascot suit I’d put on beforehand. Right now, I was pouring all my attention into climbing the ranks.

I planned to just focus on my own training while doing what I needed to do.

— "Hey, look at that. That guy’s wearing a rabbit suit too. I told you, if it’s not rare, it’s not worth doing."

I heard voices laughing at the sight of the rabbit mascot suit I had on. There was another rabbit head above the person holding a shield and standing in a defensive stance at the front of the tower wall.

Well, this wasn’t like the Red Mask, a rare item that dropped with a low probability. It was just a costume anyone could get.

Thanks to that, even though I was wearing the same mascot suit as last time, the chances of people paying attention to me were much lower.

I hadn’t even registered my rank for clearing Floor 2 recently, so the number <14> floating above my head, which indicated my current floor, wouldn’t give away much either.

Because of that, ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) I could move around without drawing attention. For this Exchange Meeting, I decided to do no more, no less than just win first place.

The incoming monsters were nothing to write home about—just oversized Lizardmen or Orcs. Even the Orcs were larger than the ones I’d seen before.

They were riding mounts that looked like rhinoceroses called Obruks, but subduing them wasn’t difficult. Compared to the enemies I’d faced so far, they were way too easy.

For this Exchange Meeting, I decided to clear it using only martial arts and swordsmanship.

There wasn’t anything hard about it. Before it began, we’d agreed that if someone felt underpowered, they should just yell "Help!" without hesitation. And all we had to do was lend a hand to whoever called for help.

This Exchange Meeting looked like it could wrap up well before sunset.

"Uwaaaaah! Help meeeeee!"

A player from Floor 16, who had introduced himself as Normal Mode, was desperately screaming for rescue. There was no need to use too much force.

Just defending properly with reasonable strength would be enough.

With that thought, I threw a casual punch.

The sound of air tearing echoed in my ear. I’d blown the massive Orc’s head clean off with perfect precision.

The head. If there was a problem, it was that I’d blown it off far too perfectly, without meaning to. It was utterly vaporized—without a trace of flesh.

Flowing Strike: Water-Falls-With-Thunder.

Sure, it was a destructive move, but it was originally a soft technique meant to crash down quietly on enemies.

Yeah, quietly my ass. If the Orc’s skull had been hard enough to endure the blow, it might’ve gone down quietly.

But the Orc’s head was flattened in an instant. The two people next to me turned their gazes toward me.

“...Huh? Is that an actual rabbit mascot suit?”

A female voice spoke with a slightly uncertain tone. Guild: . There were players set to join that guild who received information through letters.

According to the Transcendent Gallery seniors, some of the info they got might include the masks I wore during the Exchange Meetings.

I was known as the "Red Mask" among the anonymous. And apparently, the rabbit mascot suit was being spread as another rising rookie. Kinda funny.

Anyway, that’s probably why she asked if it was real. Luckily, I kept my mouth shut and only lightly smacked the monsters, so no one said much to me.

This Exchange Meeting ended very quickly. Naturally, I did manage to secure first place.

Since the Exchange Meeting ended in less than a day, there was no reason to delay entering Floor 14. Floor 14 wasn’t particularly chaotic either.

It was a clean-cut dungeon-type stage. So for the first time in a while, I turned off the alert block on the constellations and progressed through the stage.

The name of the dungeon was Golretra. And the monsters that appeared were also Golretra.

Golretra were golems. They moved strangely, using mana cores implanted throughout their bodies.

They’d fly across distances that looked impossible at first glance.

I struggled at the beginning, but once I got a feel for the range, they were easy to subdue.

[‘Giant Who Swallowed the Moon’ is impressed by your burst acceleration.]

[‘Warrior Fueled by Rage’ gasps at your unyielding stance against Golretra’s massive pressure.]

[‘Judge with a Thousand Eyes’ begins to assess something.]

[‘Watcher Who Swims the Abyss’ clicks their tongue while looking at someone, mocking them for overreacting.]

They were gauging, clicking their tongues, and laughing amongst themselves. I could guess what they were trying to assess.

Probably gauging how things would go if they ever had to fight me.

Yeah, I’m still holding back about 30%.

Of course, I wasn’t underestimating the constellations. They weren’t enemies I could afford to take lightly.

According to the Transcendent Gallery seniors, most constellations were Rank 8.

— Archmage: “The current constellations are just ones who bowed to the Tower.”

— Archmage: “They stopped at Rank 8. Or reached Rank 9 but got scared and quit climbing.”

— Archmage: “The latter’s rare, but it happens.”

— Archmage: “When the Tower tried to lure them in, it was to protect their pride and save face.”

— Sword of Light: “They were tempted with the idea that 'Constellation' was a path to Rank 10.”

— Heavenly Demon: “Hah. As if. Things stuck in the Tower could ever reach Rank 10?”

— Absolute Monarch: “Sounds like pretty words with no substance.”

From the seniors' point of view, they were just losers. But from my point of view, they were definitely formidable.

『You’ve cleared the constellation quest registered by “Blood Demon.”』

The quest was simply to clear Floor 14’s stage.

The item Blood Demon wagered was an elixir. An elixir called “Feather of the Undying Flame.” Its fire resistance effect stood out significantly.

The rewards from Floor 14 were satisfying. Unlike yesterday’s Exchange Meeting, I ended up gaining two levels.

My current level: 58.

I reached the waiting room for Floor 15. I spent two days focusing on training. I even consumed the elixir I snatched from the constellation during the Exchange Meeting.

My body felt fine. Without hesitation, I entered Floor 15.

Reached Rank 6. I’d started to get a sense of what I needed to reach it.

First, I had to fully complete everything as a Rank 5. That came first.

And for that, real combat experience was better than solo effort.

I opened the door to Floor 15’s stage.

Light. As the light that had flooded my vision faded, the scenery revealed was monotone.

I could feel something swaying beneath both my feet.

Where I’d appeared didn’t seem like land. The sea.

It felt like a ship floating on the sea. It smelled old and worn.

I opened the cabin door and headed up.

I could feel a few people’s gazes following me. Their eyes scanned my clothes up and down.

The armor I currently wore was called [Barnell]. It was armor I’d taken from a constellation quest reward on Floor 12.

It looked much more like leather armor than the jet-black armor of Phaethon I’d worn before. But judging by the condition of the clothes the others were wearing, it made sense they were staring at mine.

Clothes with an overwhelming Eastern feel. Their facial features also felt familiar.

The buildings standing on land had a very Eastern-style architecture. All of this made it clear that the background here was unlike anything I’d seen so far.

『Pandemonium Mode Floor 15 is a Quest-Type Floor.』 ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ 𝕟𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕝•𝖿𝗂𝗋𝖾•𝘯𝘦𝘵

I’d expected to be summoned to a Murim-style world eventually.

Murim-origin seniors had said a Murim background was coming soon. It just came sooner than expected.

The people on the ship didn’t seem relaxed enough to keep staring at me. They had all looked away.

I took out the Transcendent Terminal and snapped photos of the ship and the faint buildings in the distance.

Then I sat in a corner and started typing.

Title: Looks Like Murim?

Attachment: 1823912839012839.jpg

— Seems like we’ll reach land soon.

I didn’t forget to attach the pictures I’d taken.

ㄴ Heavenly Demon) Oho.

ㄴ Spear King) Kya, finally the Murim background.

ㄴ Shrine Maiden) Hawawa, such a thing it is~ A sailing ship, it is~

ㄴ FamousOne) A familiar sight.

**ㄴ LOL look at all the Murim types crawling out now.

ㄴ Admin) Ah, right. There’s someone we’d forgotten.

ㄴ Ice Queen) Frozen! Frozen! Is it that person...?

**ㄴ You mean that noisy brat.

**ㄴ “Brat” LMAO, he’s literally the head of one of the Five Great Clans now, bit harsh don’t you think?

ㄴ Archmage) Was wondering why he hadn’t shown up—was he suspended?

ㄴ FamousOne) Yeah. Pretty sure he requested it himself. Said he needed to focus on real life.

ㄴ Admin) Yep, he asked to be released in month 4. That was two days ago. He’s back now.

ㄴ Danghayeon) Kyaaack!! Admin-kong!!!! That’s too cruel!!!!!!!!!!!!

ㄴ Admin) Only two days late.

ㄴ Danghayeon) Shouldn’t you release someone early when such revolutionary amusement is happening?! Too harsh!!!

ㄴ Admin) He said he had to live in the real world after becoming head of the Sichuan Tang Clan.

ㄴ Danghayeon) Boohoo, so unfair....

ㄴ Danghayeon) Lurking only was so painful. Still, I’m glad I was un-suspended just in time for Murim! Hehe! Nice to see you, Han Yuseong-gong!!!!

Can’t give a long reply, I’m too busy right now.

**ㄴ So this is Murim?

ㄴ Dragon King) Beltui—there’s one more person, right?

ㄴ Spear King) Come out, Gutter!

ㄴ Gutter Swordsman) ㅇㅇ

*ㄴ ㅇㅇ) Swordsman-sunbae, you were from the Murim side? Thought you were gonna teach me dual-wielding.

ㄴ Spear King) Murim uses twin swords too, y’know. Rare, but it exists.

ㄴ FamousOne) That senior really shouldn’t be using them... That’s just basic decency.

ㄴ Gutter Swordsman) Mount Hua has a secret technique called Plum Blossom Dual Blade.

ㄴ FamousOne) Please, god, Mount Hua Sword Saint...! Show some dignity!

ㄴ Gutter Swordsman) Plum blossoms bloom twice as bright.

The Beggar senior used to say this guy was a Branch Leader. Now he’s begging the Swordsman like he used to beg Heavenly Demon.

**ㄴ ...This is a mess.

**ㄴ Ugh, bro. Plum Blossom Dual Blade? That’s some low-effort BS LOL.

**ㄴ But that guy’s the sect head—no one can stop him.

**ㄴ Who saved the clan from extinction? That guy~~~

Even if I didn’t know what Plum Blossom Dual Blade was, it already sounded dumb just from the name.

ㄴ Danghayeon) Why are you crushing our Sword Saint-sunbae’s spirit !!!!

ㄴ FamousOne) There are no normal people in this Murim, I swear....

Seemed like the Beggar senior was right.