Chapter 23: Floor 3 Trial (Part 5)
Fwoosh—!
No words. No questions.
Rakowak didn’t ask why he had been chosen, whether Lee Jinhyuk was truly an Imoogi, or how a mere novice could be this strong.
The warrior—no, the player—simply proved everything with skill.
That’s why he didn’t hesitate. From the beginning, Rakowak swung the heavy mace he held toward Lee Jinhyuk.
“Now’s my chance.”
Rumble—!
Despite the mace’s enormous size and weight, it flew toward Lee Jinhyuk’s head with incredible speed.
“It’s doable.”
Swoosh.
With the bare minimum of movement, Jinhyuk dodged and leapt from the ground.
[Item <Sylph’s Leather Boots> generates a faint breeze.]
“That won’t be enough.”
The weapon Rakowak wielded was no sword. It was a mace—far heavier and more destructive than a blade.
The moment it hit the ground, it shattered the floor and devastated the surrounding area. Just dodging wasn’t enough.
That’s why Jinhyuk used the <Sylph’s Leather Boots> to evade the attack.
“You’ve got a few tricks up your sleeve.”
Fwoosh—!
Rakowak didn’t expect to finish it in one blow. Without hesitation, he twisted his body and charged again.
His strength and agility stats were vastly higher than Jinhyuk’s—a novice couldn’t even dream of matching his speed.
Thud—!
Was the difference in strength and level too great?
Rakowak charged with all his might, and the mace slammed into Jinhyuk’s abdomen.
“…!”
“It’s over.”
“A fight between a ranker and a novice? The fact that he lasted this long is amazing.”
“Right? Beating two Salamander squads right after reaching the 3rd floor was already crazy.”
“He’s clearly abnormal.”
The Lizardmen judged.
In fact, any player watching this would’ve agreed—just making it this far was record-breaking.
Surely, now Jinhyuk would collapse.
“Wait…”
But contrary to everyone’s expectations, Rakowak noticed something.
Though it looked like the mace had hit Jinhyuk, it had only grazed him.
It connected, yes—but the damage had been minimized.
Crackle—!
The moment Rakowak’s mace touched Jinhyuk, blue sparks of mana wrapped around his body.
“Hiss?”
Rakowak flinched in confusion, and Jinhyuk quickly rolled away.
[Item <Sylph’s Leather Boots> generates a faint breeze.]
“Penalty!”
The Tower had safety measures.
One of them imposed a penalty when a ranker or high-ranker attacked lower-floor players—especially novices who hadn’t cleared Floor 5.
“Smart. You deliberately took the hit to trigger the penalty?”
The penalty activated the moment a novice was struck.
Jinhyuk had lured him into that.
“You chose me just to trigger the penalty?”
Swoosh.
“And you were confident you wouldn’t die from a single hit?”
“Yeah. That’s why I took the hit while deflecting the force.”
His body wasn’t in great shape, but this was the best outcome.
‘Besides, he couldn’t kill me anyway—not with Jormungand watching.’
An Apostle cannot defy a Constellation.
Jinhyuk factored in this complex relationship and successfully triggered Rakowak’s penalty.
“How’s the spark taste?”
“Not bad.”
Whether it was a general or a grand general—Rakowak and the others were insurmountable walls to Jinhyuk.
They were at least level 100.
Jinhyuk was under level 30. The stat gap was absurd.
So, choosing Rakowak—who would suffer a heavy penalty—was the smartest choice.
And he was right.
Crackle!
The penalty was burning Rakowak alive.
“Hssssss…”
Looking at the blue sparks frying his muscles, cells, and scales, Rakowak grinned.
“Yeah. It’s electric.”
The Tower’s penalty was brutal—because from its perspective, Jinhyuk was far too weak.
“Looks like you forgot something,” Jinhyuk said, slowly stepping forward.
“I’ve only cleared the 2nd floor. I’m as green as they come.”
“…”
“And you’re a ranker, using your full strength against a novice?”
“Novice, huh.”
Crackle—!
“Ridiculous!”
<Leap Dash>
Boom—!
Rakowak stomped the ground and charged, swinging his mace again.
“He’s serious.”
They say even a lion uses full force to catch a rabbit.
That was the Lizardman race—treating even weak prey with full force.
Until now, Rakowak had held back due to Jormungand watching. But now, he was going all out.
What he didn’t know was—Jinhyuk had been preparing for a real fight with a ranker this entire time.
[Skill <Blood of the Imoogi> activated.]
Flash!
One of Jinhyuk’s pupils became a vertical slit. Black scales spread over his body.
[Warning! Due to the Tower’s penalty, resistance to status effects <Fear> is reduced.]
[Status Effect: <Slow> activated. Stats slightly reduced. Body gradually stiffening.]
System messages appeared in Rakowak’s vision.
Now that Jinhyuk was using the Imoogi’s full power, primal fear crawled up Rakowak’s spine.
Lizard vs. Imoogi.
Due to the Tower’s penalty, Rakowak’s resistance to racial fear was weakened.
“Tricks won’t work!”
Usually, a ranker could crush such fear with brute force—like an elephant stepping on an ant.
But even a slight hesitation born from fear could create an opening.
And Jinhyuk wasn’t the kind to miss such chances.
Clang!
He blocked the monstrous mace with the <Elite Kobold Greatsword>.
“…!”
[Constellation <King of Muspel> is astonished by your movement.]
“But it hit…?”
The blade and Jinhyuk had vanished like a ghost—he’d ducked low, out of Rakowak’s wide vision range.
“Hiss!”
For the first time, Jinhyuk created a valid opening.
Whirl.
While Rakowak was shaken, Jinhyuk attacked again—expressionless.
He spun and struck with <Scale Breaker>, aiming straight for Rakowak’s eye.
“You’re not dodging?”
An attack so precise it unsettled even the experienced Rakowak.
And if he hadn’t pulled his head back just in time, it could’ve been fatal.
“Flexible, aren’t you?”
“Impudent!”
Only a Lizardman, with their long, many-vertebraed necks, could have dodged that.
[Skill <Enchant: Flame> activated.]
To counter that—Jinhyuk had <Venom Blade> ready.
Crack—!
Jinhyuk’s dual swords, wrapped in flame, collided with Rakowak’s poison-covered mace.
Fire and poison neutralized each other—smoke burst out.
Craaack—!
They both staggered back.
Boom!
Rakowak stepped back one pace. Jinhyuk? Six paces.
Crackle… Crack!
Cough.
Though sparks intensified on Rakowak’s body, Jinhyuk was coughing up black blood—he was injured.
His arm holding the <Elite Kobold Sword> was shredded.
Even with tricks, the ranker’s wall was still towering.
[Constellation <King of Muspel> begins to get excited.]
[Constellation <Birth-King of Neutralization> is amazed by your dual swordsmanship.]
[Constellation <Flame That Killed the Mother-God> wonders how you learned swordsmanship.]
[Constellation <Eternal Flame> insists that justice requires power.]
But everyone watching—especially the Constellations—was astonished.
Jinhyuk’s swordsmanship was not inferior to a ranker’s.
In fact, surviving against a ranker as a novice made his skill level even more impressive.
“…”
Rakowak readied his stance again, and Jinhyuk thought:
“Time is on my side.”
Swoosh.
“If I just stall, I’ll win. The penalty will wear him down.”
If he kept dodging, Rakowak would soon be unable to move.
“But that’s not good enough.”
Jinhyuk’s ultimate goal was to stop <Pure Radiance>.
To do that, he needed power.
To gain power, he needed the Constellations’ attention.
To raise his value.
To test and refine his new body by fighting the strong.
So, Jinhyuk chose a direct confrontation with Rakowak.
“You’re not going to run? Then you’ve made a mistake.”
Fwoosh.
“This next strike ends it.”
As Rakowak charged again—
[Time Remaining: 5 minutes]
Exactly 5 minutes left.
“Alright. One last shot.”
[Skill <Bloodthirst Frenzy> activated.]
[All stats increased by 5x. Agility stat increased by 10x.]
BOOM.
A surge of red energy exploded. Jinhyuk’s movements sped up beyond reason.
“…!”
Startled by the sudden burst of speed, Rakowak swung his mace in reflex.
His instinct as a ranker wasn’t wrong.
But now, the speed difference was meaningful.
Slash.
The unarmored back of his neck was slashed.
“Blood…?”
<Scale Breaker> had a 50% additional bleeding effect on scaled enemies.
Blood gushed out of Rakowak’s wound.
“Not yet.”
Slash.
[Mana consumed. Item <Scale Breaker> begins to wail.]
It spun, gaining even greater cutting force.
“…!”
Realizing the blade wasn’t normal, Rakowak raised his mace to block.
“Novice? This guy’s a novice?!”
Rakowak was losing his mind.
Sudden speed, eerie eyes, black scales that nullified glancing blows.
And a dagger that appeared out of nowhere, slashing like a ghost.
Every clash ended with the opponent vanishing into smoke, only to reappear silently.
“It’s like… like I’m fighting a specter!”
Despite having far superior stats, Rakowak couldn’t keep up with the attacks.
His opponent felt somehow empty—but that only made him more terrifying.
“What the hell kind of swordsmanship is this…?!”
CLANG!
“Arrogant…”
Rakowak’s face twisted.
Jinhyuk wasn’t trying to last ten minutes.
He was truly trying to defeat him—with power and skill.
“HOW DARE YOU!”
<Venom Storm Blade>
Crackle—!
A storm of violet energy engulfed Rakowak.
Fragments of poisonous metal whirled into a deadly hurricane.
Venom Storm Blade—one of Rakowak’s top three strongest skills.
It enveloped him in countless poisonous shards, making escape impossible.
On top of that, the poison caused status effects.
Any normal player would die the moment they stepped near it.
“You still wanna fight head-on?!”
It was Rakowak’s all-in move.
But Jinhyuk’s eyes were calm—as if he’d expected this all along.
“Perfect.”
He removed his gloves and threw himself straight into the storm.
[Skill <Enchant: Flame> activated.]
