Chapter 15 - You Have Skills Too? (3)

A week had passed.

GRRR...

The monster staggered, making a sound like a bubbling pot. The Great Goblin, practically the resident overlord of the fifth-floor hunting grounds, finally collapsed with its throat cut open.

I gazed down at its corpse with a solemn expression.

"Gorr."

Of all the monsters I had faced over the past week, this one had been the toughest. Ah, how many times had I died trying to kill this beast? Like an honorable warrior bidding farewell to a worthy rival, I looked upon the Great Goblin...

"What a load of bullshit. You crazy-ass zombie."

"Oh, come on. I finally killed it on my sixth credit. Can't you leave me alone to savor the moment?"

For the record, six credits meant I had put my life on the line six times. This was my sixth credit, so I had died five times trying to kill the Great Goblin.

The attendant spirit snorted.

"Getting all sentimental over killing one monster makes you a nutjob. What else would it make you? I'm just stating facts."

"Wow, is that so? Our esteemed Sword Emperor has such a wonderful personality."

As you could probably tell from how freely I was chatting with the attendant spirit, I had grown accustomed to aura. Time was still crawling along under the elixir's effects.

I was simply concentrating aura in my tongue to speak 'much faster' than usual.

"Gorrrk."

Though I had won through trickery, not a fair fight.

I took out a shit-colored card and examined it.

[Goblin High Society]

Rank: F

Effect: The Great Goblin pondered deeply. 'Our goblin culture is far too crude. Every utterance ends in kerrrk or kerk. How am I to display my majesty like this?' Then the Great Goblin's genius flashed. 'Yes! From this moment onward, I shall say gork, not kerk. Gork! A pronunciation worthy of my refined sensibilities.'

※However, conflict within the tribe intensifies.

※This skill was copied from the monster Great Goblin.

I clicked my tongue.

"Goblins sure worry about some useless crap. Kerk, gork—it's all the same."

"That's why they're goblins. Humans aren't much different."

"What?"

"Nothing. Talking to myself."

Just as I was about to ask what he meant, a voice rang inside my head.

[Your existence becomes more distinct.]

I had never heard those words before.

But I knew what they meant. Countless hunters had testified to them in interviews, and some had even shown them firsthand in personal videos.

"F-finally!"

A level-up!

[Hunter Kim Gongja's level increases.]

"Ah..."

I was overwhelmed with emotion. I had spent my entire life as an F-rank hunter, terrified I might remain one forever. But after acquiring my copying skill and regression skill, after overcoming so much pain... my own moment to level up had finally arrived.

[Your skill slots expand!]

[Your hunter rank is now E!]

Even if I was still only E-rank.

[May luck be with you.]

WHOOSH!

Red aura surged up from beneath my feet. Resembling flames—or simply a stream of red water—it enveloped my body once, then flowed back down and vanished.

"... Flames?"

The attendant spirit furrowed his brow in front of me.

"No, blood? Tsk. Hard to tell. Looks like either flames or blood..."

"That was the level-up effect just now, right?"

"It's not just an effect meant to look cool."

The attendant spirit scratched the back of his head.

"It's a kind of hint."

"A hint?"

"Yeah. The effect that manifests when you level up determines your [aura's form]. Take that Flame Emperor guy you killed. His aura's form must have been [fire]."

"Flames, huh."

I recalled the sight of the Flame Emperor burning the Saintess to death in a slum alley. It was such a sickening memory that I didn't want to revisit it... but yes, Yoo Suha seemed to have wielded aura in the form of flames.

"The form aura takes is usually determined by a hunter's trauma."

Trauma.

"An event, a scene, a memory important enough to define your life. Something like that manifests as your aura's form. You could call it the shape of your subconscious. Well, it doesn't necessarily have to be negative trauma. But it usually is."

"I see."

"From what I can tell, Zombie, yours is either flames or blood."

Listening to him made me curious.

"Come to think of it... what form does the Sword Star's aura take?"

"Moonlight," the attendant spirit said offhandedly.

"Old Markus apparently got lost in the mountains as a kid. He didn't want to die, so he desperately climbed toward the summit. As he got closer, the leaves blocking the night sky grew sparser and sparser. When he finally reached the top, the pitch-black sky opened up brightly before him."

Moonlight.

"He said he thought this then: The moon doesn't shine on its own. It only receives the sun's light, yet even a life spent simply receiving can be beautiful enough. Ah. I want to shine by receiving, like moonlight."

"..."

"Apparently it left such a deep impression that he carried it in his heart all his life."

I listened in disbelief.

"You said he was a child?"

"Yep. Twelve, he said."

"What twelve-year-old kid has thoughts that profound?"

The attendant spirit nodded.

"That's why old Markus is a born old fogey. Tsk, tsk. When I was twelve, all I thought about was the most efficient way to beat the shit out of the thug in front of me."

"Well, that doesn't sound entirely... normal either..."

If the Sword Star was a born old fogey, what did that make the attendant spirit in front of me? A born delinquent?

"Anyway, you've gotten used to the fifth floor. Let's head up to the sixth-floor hunting grounds."

"Ah, about that," I said. "Can't we just go straight for the tenth-floor boss?"

"What?"

"We know I can copy monster skills now, and I've gotten reasonably used to aura. I think I'm more than capable of killing the tenth-floor boss."

The attendant spirit fell silent for a moment. His gaze was sharp as he stared at me.

"Kim Gongja, aren't you getting cocky awfully fast for a rookie?"

"Absolutely not," I answered firmly.

The tenth floor!

Our world had failed to clear it for years. It was considered impregnable. Since I had dared to claim I would clear such a difficult area, the attendant spirit had every reason to worry.

"I'm genuinely confident."

But I really was confident I could clear it.

No, I was certain.

"If I can't kill the tenth-floor boss within two credits, I'll call you Master."

"Huh? Two credits?"

The attendant spirit suddenly looked tempted.

"A guy who needed six credits just to kill a goblin boss is going to kill the tenth-floor boss in two? Seriously? You apparently don't know this, but I've never gone easy on anyone in a bet."

"But! I have a condition."

"Huh?"

I raised my index finger.

"Tell me every skill the tenth-floor boss has without hiding anything. No lying about this. No tricking me about the cards, either."

"Hmm. Well, that much is easy enough..."

"And!"

I grinned.

"If I win, call me Lord Gongja. As politely as possible. With proper courtesy and respect."

"..."

"What? Scared? Aw, if you're scared, just forget it."

A twitch.

If you had to pick the words a delinquent hated hearing most, they would be, 'You scared?' And the attendant spirit was no ordinary delinquent. He was the mightiest delinquent of another world, one who had cleared all the way to the ninety-ninth floor.

His facial muscles twitched.

"Hock, ptui! You reckless little brat! A few cheat skills and you think you can mock the great Sword Emperor? Fine, then. Let's make this bet!"

"You're on."

"You're on! Kim Zombie, you'll fail to clear the tenth-floor boss and call me Master for the rest of your life, until the day you die. Ah! You can't even die, so you'll just have to keep calling me Master forever."

"Do you have a delusion skill? Hurry up and get ready to serve Lord Gongja."

"Heh heh heh."

"Heheheh."

We glared at each other, letting out sinister chuckles.

Hunters killing goblins in the distance whispered among themselves.

"Hey, that guy's been muttering to himself this whole time."

"Now he's even laughing all by himself. Is there something wrong with his head?"

"Shh! He might look this way. Pretend you didn't notice. Just pretend."

"..."

... I should try to talk to myself less.

I obediently shut my mouth and headed for the tenth floor.

Unlike the other hunting grounds, the tenth-floor boss room had an attendant stationed outside.

The person dispatched by the Hunter Administration Bureau frowned after hearing what I had to say.

"You want to challenge the boss alone?"

"Yes."

It took less than two seconds for the attendant's expression to turn into, 'Who might this lunatic be?'

"Look. I don't know if you saw the news recently... but the Black Dragon Guild put together a raid team of thirty elite members, plus four top-ranked hunters, and failed. Hunting it solo is suicide."

"So what?"

I stood my ground confidently.

"Bureau regulations say you have to let any hunter who wants to attempt a clear go through."

"That's true, but..."

The attendant looked troubled.

"Forgive me, but I keep a record of every hunter who enters here. My superior at the Bureau will look through the records later... and then I'll be the bastard who let a hunter in when they were obviously going to die, won't I? Please consider my position, too."

"Hmm."

What should I do? I calmly stroked my chin.

"What? Administration Bureau? We didn't raise people like this when we were clearing the Tower in my world!"

Of course, I meant that I alone was calm.

"These slackers! I've always hated the way they set up bureaus and guilds to play politics. Wasting their energy on that crap is why they're still floundering on the tenth floor! Hey, Kim Zombie! Just beat this asshole up and go into the boss room."

'Why would I hit someone who hasn't done anything wrong?'

"He dares to stand in my way."

As expected of a psychopath, he gave human rights about as much weight as a mosquito's.

"Sir."

Clicking my tongue inwardly, I took out a pouch.

"I can see how hard you work every day. You're right. Challenging it alone is nothing short of suicide. But... I really do want to kill myself."

"What?"

"Things have been so hard lately..."

I gave a bitter smile.

"My lover died a year ago. Then, not long ago, the Alchemy Ministry diagnosed me with an incurable disease. They said I have six months at most, but I don't think I can endure those six months without my lover."

"Ah..."

"What?"

The attendant spirit scowled.

"What kind of bullshit is this zombie bastard spewing?"

I ignored him and continued speaking softly to the attendant before me.

"But I'm still a hunter, even if I'm at the bottom. I don't want to end my life lying in an Alchemy Ministry hospital, wondering whether I'll die today or tomorrow. Even if I have to die... I want to keep challenging monsters until the very end."

"You've been through so much..."

As the attendant listened, his expression gradually filled with pity. You know the look people get when they hear about the misfortune of a complete stranger and go, 'Ah...' That look!

"Here's the money I saved for my treatment."

I handed the attendant the money pouch. It was heavy. There were a hundred gold inside.

"I have no use for it anymore... You should take it."

"I-I can't accept money like this!"

"I'm going to disappear anyway. I want to leave unburdened, without leaving anything behind in this world. Sir, please don't record that I entered here, either. It's my last request as a hunter..."

The attendant's face grew heavy, as though he were about to cry. The weight of the money pouch probably contributed a little to that heaviness.

"... Understood. Go on. I didn't see anything..."

"Well, would you look at that."

The attendant spirit was incredulous.

"Hey, are you two shooting a movie? There isn't a hidden camera rolling somewhere, is there?"

Whatever he had to say, the attendant let me through.

I left the attendant behind and walked on. A stone path. The tenth-floor boss lived in an extravagantly ornate mansion, like an old noble family's residence. I walked along the stone path leading to it.

'The tenth floor, originally cleared by the Flame Emperor, Yoo Suha.'

I stood before the mansion's front doors and slowly pushed them with both hands.

'This time will be different. I'll take the Flame Emperor's place... No.'

CREEEAK.

The hinges trembled as the mansion doors opened.

'I'll write a legend even more dazzling than the Flame Emperor's.'

I took a step forward.

And it began.

"Ahahahaha!"

Laughter rang out from every direction. At the same time, the doors I had entered through slammed shut.

BOOM!

My surroundings instantly darkened, and the eerie laughter grew more intense from somewhere beyond the darkness.

Candles lit up one by one.

"Will you play with us?"

Here. There. Candles stuck to the floor ignited without anyone touching them. Wherever a candle lit up, there was invariably a doll: lady dolls of the sort young children often played with.

"Will you play with us?"

The dolls opened their mouths.

"Freeze tag? The Hibiscus Flower Has Bloomed? Hide-and-seek?"

"The ice has melted. The flowers are all torn up. Let's play hide-and-seek!"

"Let's! Play with us! Play hide-and-seek with us!"

"Ahahahaha!"

I took my stance.

"All right. I'll play with you."

The aura I had honed over the past week rose from my body.

As though it had been waiting for that reaction, a voice rang inside my head.

[You have entered the boss stage.]

[Challenger: Hunter Kim Gongja. One participant.]