Chapter 74[OK]

BOSS METUS

'The top floor is different.'

Jin-woo recalled the first and last boss-class monster he met in the Devil's Castle, 'The greedy Volkan.'
His title is "Lord of the Lower."
Beyond the 50th floor where he was, the difficulty rose like a lie.
The speed of moving up to 10 or more floors and up to 20 floors per day has decreased significantly, making it difficult to climb the 7 or 8th floors of a day.
The place where you are standing is on the 74th floor.
The Supreme demon or the occasional High demon that comes out as a regular monster is different from the demons that were seen from the bottom down.
Tuck it up!
The Supreme demon, the size of a two-story building, slowly fell down with a dagger stuck in his chest.
Ku Woong!

[We have defeated High demon.]
[Earn 1,700 experience points.]
[Obtain one demon's soul.]

Jinwoo pulled out a "dagger of Baruka" embedded in the fallen demon's chest.
This one I just kill is the last one.
Another battle is over.
Shadow soldiers who won the battle gathered around Jinwoo.
Jinwoo looked at the soldiers.
Undead legions, it is unlikely, but somehow the soldiers seemed exhausted.
That level of monsters was high.
This battle was rather easy because the high demon was not involved.

'One equals a boss.'

It was not a rhetorical thing to say without justification.
The ball of greed that grabbed the Volkan.
The bead was explained as an item made by solidifying the blood of the Volkan.
If the term 'The Supreme demon' refers to the level of the Volkan, it was no different from the monsters upstairs.
From the 70th floor or higher, the high-ranking demon appeared frequently.

'I don't know if it's just a rise in the monster level...'

There was a bigger problem.
The background that began to change from the upper level.
All the cities from the 51st floor were burning. And the fire grew more and more steadily toward the upper floors.
After crossing the 70th floor, it became so hot that even if I stood still, I could hardly keep my strength. A little movement soon filled the body with fatigue.
It is not 'demonic' but 'burning tower'.
The feeling I felt before coming here was correct.

'... let's go down.'

This is the strategy.
Measures were urgently needed to prevent the blaze.



'I need to have an artifact that can protect me from the fire. '

The equipment used by senior hunters is very expensive. There is no need to mention the protective spell. I've seen the news that the expensive one costs tens of billions of dollars.
While I was with Yoo Jin-ho, I saved a lot of money, but I was a little worried if I could afford the price of the artifact.
So insurance was needed.

'It'll be enough if I sell this.'

Jinwoo smiled as he watched the 'bead of greed' he had placed in the warehouse.
Anyone who is a magic series hunter will have to salivate for this item.
If you sell a bead of greed in an auction, how much will it cost?
If he proves its performance, the magical high hunters seemed to stand up to the line.
Jinwoo closed the warehouse.

He has fulfilled his goal of raising his level before entering the dungeon.
So it wasn't too bad to postpone dungeon clear to the next time.
But only one thing caught my mind.
The gaze of Jinwoo turned upside down.

[Number of Souls Collected: 9,624]

400 souls left.

A little more of the demon's soul could finish the quest.
Today is the sixth day.
A day was enough to complete the quest.
The only advantage of the upper layer was that you could get multiple souls if you kill one demon.
Four hundred. It’s A Piece Of Cake.

'Let's just finish the quest and get out.'

Jinwoo, who made such a promise, turned around.
It was more difficult to walk because there was a definite goal.

[From the 1st floor to the 74th floor.]
[Where do you want to go?]

Sun Jin-woo, in the center of the Magic Elevator, or the floor-moving magic, said.

"Top 75."

***


What is this?
Jinwoo smiled while looking at the monster that was guarding the far-away, Magic Elevator.

[Metus, the messenger of the Spirit]

The name suggests a boss-class monster.
The man wearing a black rope was conspicuously wearing a silver necklace.

'That's the demon's necklace.'

Quests to complete the set item to collect one more piece was created.
But the reason why Jinwoo is smiling is not the item.
No matter how good a monster can give you an item, it's no use.
Jin-woo took two daggers in his hand.
And I ran forward.
Soon, a skull wizard wore a black robe and found Jinwoo.
Tingling!

[Metus, the messenger of the Spirit found the intruder!]

He completed the spell in an instant like a boss-class monster.
As soon as the bloodstained Magic Circle came under his feet, a dark energy came from around him.

[Metus the messenger of the Spirit uses Skill: 'Cursed Voice'.]

The undead army, called by Metus, rose from the ground at once.
That's how many thousands!
The army was breathtakingly awful to the average man, but the Jinwoo surrounding them did not panic at all.

'So...'

It was as expected.
Strangely enough, black smoke was rising endlessly around here. It wasn't hard to predict what type of monster Metus was from.

'The messenger of the spirit'

His title convinced him of his expectations.
Sure enough.
Metus summoned a powerful undead legion.
And Jin-woo had the best job in the field.

"Get up!"

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!
Soldiers climbed from the shadows of the Undead with painful screams.
The number is hundreds!
Compared to Metus's army, the number was far short, but that was enough.
The real thing was apart.

"Get out of the way!"

Black soldiers from the shadow of Jinwoo.
This was real.
Hundreds of soldiers made from shadow extraction have grown steadily since entering the demon's Castle.
One destination!
The lead Iris and Iron began to smash the undeads at an alarming rate.
The distance with Metus quickly narrowed.

'This is enough.'

Jinwoo came forward.

'Sprinting!'

[The level of 'Sprinting' skill has been increased!]

As I jumped into the evil spirit, I saw one more level of Sprinting skill level.

'Okay.'

Jinwoo grinned.
Jinwoo, who escaped the siege of the Undead Army, stood in front of Metus in a blink of an eye.
At that time, the eyes of Jinwoo and Metus met.

'You didn't expect this to happen, did you?'

Jinwoo had a look of victory, but Metus shrugged his shoulders.
No, I felt like he was shaking.

'Does the monster feel scared, too?'

That's what I thought.
Jinwoo's dagger made dozens of afterimages.
Slash.
The boss-class monster has fallen to the ground.
Experience has already shown how weak the wizard-driven monsters will become when they face a 1:1 confrontation.
When I first saw Metus, the situation was drawn in my mind.
Jinwoo sent the dagger back to the warehouse.
Soon a message appeared.
Banding.

[We have defeated Metus, the leader of the Specter.]
[Acquire 200,000 experience.]
[You found the souls of the demons sealed in the pendant of Metus.]
[Take 220 demon's Souls.]
[Level up!]
[Level up!]

Jinwoo clenched his fist.
220 souls at a time.
It was an unexpected achievement.

[Number of souls collected: 9,971]

A smile rose at the mouth of Jinwoo.

'There's not much left.'

There are only 30 souls left.
It was enough to fill a few demons.
Jinwoo, who wanted to finish the quest quickly, quickly packed up the items and went into the moving circle.

[Where would you like to go?]

"The 76th floor."


***


East America.
Hwang Dong-soo, who had been wriggling around like a nightmare, rose suddenly

'...?'

The first thing I saw was a white ceiling.
On a strange background, Hwang Dong-soo looked up.

"hospital?"

A dream.
Was not it a dream?
Hwang Dong-soo wiped the sweat off his chin with the back of his hand. And at the same time he found it. The patient's clothes and the ringer on his arm.
The impression of Hwangsu-soo was terribly hardened.
Then a cold voice came out of his mouth.

"If you have anything to say, go ahead."

Deputy Director of the Hunter Bureau.
A middle-aged white man with more gray hair slowly approached Hwang Dong-su.

"I've been waiting to ask you something myself."

What do you want to ask?
Hwang Dong-soo looked up.
Facing his gaze squarely, the deputy director asked

"A man named Sung Il Hwan... Was he really a monster?"
"Then I attacked a good person?"
"It's not that I don't believe you. I just wanted to confirm what I saw with my own eyes."

The deputy chief handed his phone to Hwang.
There was a video playing on the phone.

"It's...?
"It's from a surveillance camera nearby that day."

Inside the video, an Asian man was rescuing employees from the collapsing administration building.
There was no need to ask who the man was.
How can I forget?
The last face I saw before I lost my memory.
The man was Sung Il Hwan.
The deputy director spoke with a dark face.

"I... I've never heard of a monster who helped humans before. Has your idea that he's a monster remained unchanged?"
"...it's a perfect catch."
"I see."

The deputy director took his phone and continued.

"When the treatment is over. you'll have some paperwork to fill out"

Hwang Dong-soo asked the deputy director back.

"What happened to the man?"
"He disappeared right after he fought with you. The bureau's after him, but I don't know if a man with the ability to knock you down will ever be caught."

Just before leaving the room, the deputy chief had difficulty licking his lips.

"Do you have any idea where he goes?"
"..."

Seeing that Hwang Dong-soo was silent as if he had nothing more to say, the deputy director left the hospital.
As soon as the deputy director left, Hwang violently pulled out the ringer.
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ringer%27s_solution)

"Damn it!"

It was a humiliating defeat.
Before he realized what had happened, he lay straight on Sung Il-hwan's feet.
I lie down on the floor and look awful.
Sung Il-hwan once told himself.

- Never put your feet in Korea. Not for my son, but for you. You will not be able to detect your eyes when you die.

There was no memory after that.
When I woke up after losing consciousness, I was here.

'You can't even sense your eyes when you're dead?'

What does that mean?
Is it a threat to kill him so horribly that he can't even close his eyes?

'Are you... threatening me?'

Hwang Dong-soo's fist trembled.
What a shame!

'I know where he's going.'

I grab him again.
But how?
It was undeniable that he was strong, whether or not.

'I need equipment to catch him.'

Fortunately, it is not difficult to get equipment. (yeah, scavenger)

'Let's contact Guild.'

Hwang Dong-soo's scavenger was one of the best in the world.
Even if the price of artifacts is calculated, it would easily exceed the budget of a small country.

'There's no problem if I have at least an artifacts.'

Hwang's eyes glistened with madness.
in Korea
Hwang Dong-soo set a destination.


***


[You have killed The Supreme demon]
[Earn 2,200 experience points.]
[Obtain one demon's soul.]
[Summons acquires three demons' souls.]

'It's over!'

Jinwoo couldn't hide his joy.
Luckily, the last monster caught got four souls. As a result, the quest target was achieved.

[Number of Souls retained: 10,001]

Banding.

[General Quest: Gather the demon's Soul! 1] completed.
[Compensation has arrived.]
[Do you confirm compensation?] (Y/N)

'Of course.'

When the answer was over, the list of compensation came up.
Banding.

[We have the following compensation.]
Compensation 1. Choice of all items 1
Reward 2. Bonus Stat +20
Reward 3. Unpublicized Rewards

[Accept everything?]

Other rewards are outstanding, but at the moment, Jinwoo's biggest concern was once.
It was not too much to say that I finished the quest for number one.

'Accept Compensation 1.'

Tingling!

[You can select one of all items.]
[Do you have any items you want?]

It's the item you want.
Of course there was.
Since I first saw the quest, Jinwoo had an item in mind.
If you had made a different choice, what would have been the result?
I've always wondered since that day.
I don't know if it's treated as an item, but it's worth it.

[You can choose one of all items.]
[Do you have any items?]

The system prompted me again.
After worrying, Jinwoo replied.

"Cursed random box."