Chapter 334: Eighty-First Floor, Monstrous Might and Malevolent Spirits (2)

[Explore the world. Time remaining: 167 hours 43 minutes.]

[However, the challenger is required to hunt at least one Great Yokai.]

“

Ghhk—

”

Though brilliant divine light continued to cascade down over the man’s broken form, he remained unconscious.

His injuries were far too severe. One of his arms had been severed, his side had been torn open, his organs were spilling out, and he had lost a tremendous amount of blood. It would take more time for him to stabilize.

Regrettably, I wouldn’t be able to glean any insight or advice about the yokai from him just yet.

𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

I shifted my grip on the axe. “Doppy, I’m counting on you.”

Though I often treated him like a child, Doppy was a capable apostle and priest. He had declared he could save the man, so he would. I left the wounded to him without hesitation.

Still focused on saving the dying man, Doppy responded, “Go. I’ve got this!”

I turned toward the opposite end of the plaza. The yokai had risen but hadn’t made a move. Its crimson eyes glinted ominously as it stared at me, massive axe still in hand. That glare was saturated with menace.

Much like I was observing it, it watched me closely and calculated. Each breath felt heavier, laced with an oppressive tension.

My thoughts raced, though my lack of information restricted my ideas.

It wields an axe, and it can create a barrier.

From its sheer presence, it was clearly formidable in combat, and the barrier around the village suggested that it possessed an advanced level of control over its strength.

Its physical power didn’t worry me; I was confident in that realm. The greatest unknown was its other abilities. I still didn’t know how many it had.

If its powers are limited to illusions, I should be fine since I can resist them.

Regardless, I hated not knowing.

Yokai. I hadn’t even heard anything concrete about them. Even the seemingly all-knowing Seo Ho-Su hadn’t mentioned them, which left me completely in the dark.

Ugh.

Just like Ha Hee-Jeong had warned, the difficulty of floors truly ramped up from the eighty-first floor onward.

Not that it changes anything.

In the end, the only path forward was through.

I cleared my mind. The yokai was still tracking my every movement.

Drawing it away would be my first priority. Neither Doppy nor the injured man could afford to be caught in the crossfire.

Pushing off lightly, I launched myself off the roof, careful to remain aware of the yokai’s movements. I didn’t know when or how it would strike.

Thirty meters away.

I came to a stop atop a tiled roof.

Clack.

The creature lifted the axe from its shoulder and let it fall back again with a dull thud. “So the monk’s finally dead, and now some freak has wandered in. Or wait, is it two of you?”

Its arrogant tone, paired with the way it spoke as if addressing something beneath it, immediately grated on me.

My brows furrowed slightly, and it added, “You don’t look like a monk. So who the hell are you?”

“Why is it that motherfuckers like you are always the same?”

“What? What did you just say?”

“You heard me. Don’t bother pretending you didn’t.”

Of all the enemies I had encountered while climbing the tower, the ones I loathed the most were those who immediately looked down on me as if I were some lowly underling.

Granted, that sort of enemy had become rare ever since I had grown stronger, but this one clearly didn’t care. Judging by its level, it could probably make a rough guess at my strength.

Despite that, it didn’t hesitate to look down on me.

A few individuals like this would inevitably exist. Ones who didn’t size up their opponents based on ability, but were simply born arrogant.

I glared at the creature, its face still frozen in disbelief, and coldly shot back, “You asked who I am, right? Me? Kwon Su-Hyeok.”

The moment the words left my mouth, I kicked off the roof. Continuing to talk with something like this would only be beneath me. Whatever basic information I could glean from the yokai, the monk would explain once he regained consciousness.

Since the tower had tasked me with hunting yokai, odds were high that it was the enemy here. Even if it wasn’t, it wouldn’t have mattered. I had no intention of tolerating something that slaughtered people indiscriminately.

Even if there is nuance to the yokai, it probably only applies to a rare few.

The distance between us closed in an instant.

I silenced every one of my stray thoughts and began circulating my mana. Lightning surged through me, and the wind spirit moved in tandem to support my approach.

The yokai struck first. Given its sheer size, its reach advantage made that inevitable.

I wasn’t concerned, however—I had battled my fair share of towering opponents.

Its axe came arcing down powerfully from an overhead strike.

I wasn’t quite at Aoshi’s level, but I had honed my coordination with the spirits. Wind coiled around my arm, and lightning erupted around me. Blue electricity danced along the dark blade of Soulbound.

Swinging my own weapon upward, I met my opponent’s axe with a resounding clash.

Boom!

The impact reverberated through my arms as our axes collided. Both weapons bounced apart, but I held the advantage. That meant more recoil was transferred to it.

I drove my axe forward through the newly opened gap.

Damn it.

The creature recoiled just in time, and its strength surged as it pushed Soulbound back.

My blade cut nothing but air, but I didn’t hesitate. Bending my elbow, I withdrew the axe and twisted my torso, unleashing a horizontal slash.

The yokai regained its footing and responded with another swing of its own. Suddenly, its power pulsed, and the single approaching axe split into five.

An illusion?

I couldn’t be certain. Left with no time to analyze the five axes, I let instinct take over. Every nerve screamed a warning.

Without hesitating, I activated Master of Shadows. Four shadow spears, each infused with lightning, shot out from behind me.

Crash!

Colliding with the centermost weapon, Soulbound found the true axe. The other four spears intercepted the remaining apparitions.

Clang! Clack!

Each impact rang out with a metallic screech. They weren’t mere illusions after all.

Without the shadows, this would have been a serious headache.

Its primary axe recoiled again, and the lightning rippling along Soulbound leaped onto the yokai’s arm, crackling violently.

Its hand stiffened as its expression twisted in pain.

I pushed off the ground, swinging my other foot and crashing it into the bottom of the yokai’s chin.

“

Grah!

”

My momentum caused me to do a spin midair. As my vision corrected itself mid-twist, I aimed directly for its shoulder in a brutal overhead strike. My axe came crashing down once again.

Just before Soulbound could shatter its bones, however, the yokai vanished. The residual lightning from Soulbound cleaved through the yokai’s power lingering in the air.

I turned my head sharply to the left. It had reappeared, twenty meters away.

Teleportation?

This time, it had used it defensively, but I would have to be cautious. It could very well use it offensively, to strike from behind when least expected.

The yokai’s eyes burned with fury, and a twisted smile curled at its lips. “Not bad at all.”

Whether it was bluster or genuine confidence, I couldn’t yet say.

I didn’t bother replying. There was no need, nor did I see any value in it. Instead, I shrugged casually.

The yokai lifted one hand as its eyes were fixed on me, lips moving quickly.

“—

Ye Maengryang—brimming—Om, Rosana, Ken, Amoka

.”

It had started chanting at a rapid-fire pace. At that speed, it was nearly impossible to catch every word.

Still, the surging energy around it was unmistakable. Azure wisps began to swell and dance through the air, blanketing the area.

From the spot where it had torn the air open, a golden rope adorned with white cloth shot out in a straight line and bound my arms and legs. I gave it a slight pull, testing its strength. It didn’t yield easily.

With a faint chuckle, I looked it in the eye. “That’s it? Are you done? Is this your big move?”

There was a reason I had let it finish chanting. I wasn’t a villain, but in movies, bad guys often lost because they held back at the start instead of going all in.

That wouldn’t happen here. I had a good grasp of the situation by now.

There was no doubt that the yokai was strong, but it wasn’t stronger than me. I had known that from the beginning.

What I was wary of, however, was its other abilities. I couldn’t know what it could throw my way without more information.

Now that I had confronted it head-on, though, I felt confident in my odds. From the way its energy had moved just now, this thing clearly couldn’t defeat me. Even if it had more tricks hidden up its sleeve, that wouldn’t change the outcome.

In the early stages of the trial, it is actually smarter to draw things out.

I invoked Divine Power. The sacred cords wound around my neck and limbs flared and disintegrated, burned away in a flash of holy light.

The yokai’s eyes widened in shock, pupils trembling from confusion.

I ignored it and gathered my mana. Half of me merged with a mass of lightning, and I began to charge.

In an instant, hundreds of wisps surged toward me. I tore through them, deflecting some, but absorbing others head-on. Their searing heat couldn’t penetrate the lightning enveloping me.

I closed the distance rapidly with Soulbound slung over my shoulder.

The yokai twisted at the waist and let out a guttural roar. “You bastard!”

“Yeah, yeah. You done talking?”

I brought my axe down. Even without using my full strength, the yokai couldn’t match the blow and lost its footing.

Knocked backward, it tumbled across the ground for over ten meters.

Hmm. Maybe I hit it a little harder than I intended.

***

Oh, well.

After that, I sparred with it for a while longer, then ended its life.

Its strange abilities turned out to be more troublesome than I had expected. When pushed into a corner, it threw everything it had at me.

It didn’t just create illusions; it unleashed all sorts of odd tricks.

In the end, I was thoroughly satisfied. I was glad I had used it to run some tests. If I had taken it out immediately and gone into the fight with the Great Yokai unprepared, it could have turned into a real problem.

Or maybe that is what the tower intended all along?

The thought struck me, and honestly, it seemed plausible. The tower was both ruthless and strangely considerate in its own way. This yokai was likely meant to help me get a feel for combat against one before things escalated.

Anyway, Doppy and I were now waiting for the monk to regain consciousness. His recovery was taking longer than anticipated, but considering the severity of his injuries, it wasn’t surprising.

It wasn’t that Doppy was lacking; the monk had simply been that close to death’s door.

In the meantime, I cremated the villagers. I didn’t know if this world had gods, but I offered up a silent prayer for their peace just the same. Doppy helped me with the process.

The monk...

I glanced over at the unconscious man. The yokai had clearly referred to him as a monk.

Now that I looked again, he did resemble one. The white martial robe and the half-broken fan fit the image.

Not that I have any real knowledge of monks.

The only reference point I had was Jeon Woo-chi[1] from some old movie.

Still, it felt oddly surreal.

The yokai can cast spells with their energy. Then what is a monk’s source of power?

It wasn’t mana, and it clearly wasn’t the same as the yokais either.

My thoughts were starting to spiral in unhelpful directions.

Enough of that. I will ask him once he wakes up.

Now that I had nothing in particular to do, time seemed to flow sluggishly.

He isn’t in any shape to wake up just yet, and I can’t exactly drag him off in this state, either.

If I made the wrong move, we could end up heading in the wrong direction.

Tch. Guess there is nothing to do but wait.

“Doppy. Let’s eat.”

“Right now?” Doppy glanced around, clearly uncomfortable.

The corpses were gone, but blood still stained the ground. The lingering sight seemed to bother him.

“We don’t know when we’ll get another chance. Better to eat while we can.”

I had grown accustomed to meals in environments like this while climbing the tower. Doppy had too, but he was just being a bit squeamish.

I reminded him of something from before, “Still better than when we had to eat in the swamp, right?”

“

O-oh

, yeah! Way better!”

That was back on the twenty-fourth floor in the Kokkari Swamp, when we had met up with Comet for the second time.

Trying to eat there had been a true ordeal. The humidity and stench were one thing, but insects swarmed in from every direction, flying and crawling around us nonstop.

I had been able to clear them away with lightning, but eating amid the constant crackling and the smell of burning protein wasn’t exactly pleasant.

Reaching into the mimic, I pulled out some food.

After handing one portion to Doppy, I didn’t dig in right away. Instead, I focused on syncing with my wind spirit.

Aoshi mentioned this is one way to train.

Letting the spirit handle my utensils helped fine-tune delicate control. I found it convenient, since training while eating was efficient.

Just about halfway through our meal, I noticed the monk beginning to stir.

1. Jeon Woo-chi is a legendary Korean trickster who uses magic and acts more like a playful rogue than a serious monk. ☜