As soon as he saw the news that the 10th Floor had opened, Min-hyuk moved.
Various shops were now established around a massive white mana stone.
There were even far more soldiers than before.
“Thanks to you, this fortress has been revived.”
Unlike before, the fortress commander, who looked much less exhausted, smiled and expressed his gratitude to Min-hyuk.
“It doesn’t seem to be fully revived yet…”
“Still, it feels like the old days, and that is good.”
As he spoke, he looked out across the restored bridge.
“If we can take complete control of that area, stability will return to this fortress. However, it doesn’t seem like that time is now.”
As soon as the commander finished speaking, a system window appeared before Min-hyuk’s eyes.
**[10th Floor Special Mission: Defend the guard tower beyond the restored bridge from the enemies.]**
As soon as the special quest appeared, Min-hyuk told the commander to guard this area well and moved first.
The moment he put strength into his legs, he reached the restored bridge area in an instant.
The soldiers belatedly began to follow behind him.
“A lot of them are coming.”
Perhaps it was because they had lost the territory they originally occupied?
Monsters were swarming in like crazy.
Min-hyuk began drawing up his mana and entered the battle in earnest.
While he hadn’t experienced explosive growth like he did when reaching Level 10, he was able to kill the enemies more easily than before simply by becoming more familiar with his skills.
“Tsk. I haven’t even fully warmed up yet.”
The monsters flinched as they looked at Min-hyuk, who clicked his tongue in disappointment.
He finished them off by sending a slash their way.
The soldiers who arrived late stood dazed, staring at the scene.
Although they were late, Min-hyuk watched with satisfaction as they immediately got to work, climbing the guard tower to replenish weapons and re-erecting the collapsed barricades.
Then, he looked at the monsters that were already beginning to swarm again from afar.
‘This is suffocating.’
Feeling that just blocking them like this was frustrating, he stepped into the veil of light draped in front of the guard tower, just in case.
At that moment, a system window appeared.
**[Warning: Beyond this point is the territory of the 11th Floor.]**
**[※ Entering directly from the 10th Floor will increase the difficulty compared to the normal strategy.]**
**[You will have to face more monsters from the start.]**
**[Would you like to enter?]**
Min-hyuk replied as if there was nothing more to consider.
“Yes.”
The moment he answered, the veil of light began to fade slowly.
Seeing the monsters charging at a more ferocious speed, Min-hyuk drew up his mana once more.
Even though he had consumed mana in the previous battle, he lunged forward at full power, as if he hadn’t even warmed up yet.
*Crash!*
A group of goblins charging at the front was wiped out by a single full-power strike.
Then, the pack of kobolds, which had been shrieking to raise their morale, winced and faltered.
Their bodies were soon split in two by a slash, and their upper torsos began to slide off.
‘Is it starting now?’
Just as they had created a defensive line with a guard tower and barricades at the boundary of the 10th Floor, he could see that the enemy had also built a makeshift fortress by stacking various covers.
‘It seems the 11th Floor usually starts from there.’
A faint aura of light rose behind the makeshift fortress.
It was highly likely that the 11th Floor originally started from that spot.
However, the current Min-hyuk had to break through the makeshift fortress first.
If he wasted time here, more enemies would swarm in, leading to a vicious cycle that would make the conquest increasingly difficult.
The system’s warning hadn’t been for nothing.
“Kirik!”
Perhaps the kobold leader had given an order?
A shower of mana arrows began to pour toward the charging Min-hyuk.
He lightly spun his greatsword to deflect them and charged straight toward the makeshift fortress like a bull.
*Boom!*
The wooden gate, which was as hard as steel as if it had been treated with mana, was smashed to pieces as he entered.
As if they had been waiting, goblins holding spears began to attack all at once.
*Thud.*
With a single swing, the goblins’ bodies were split open and they collapsed.
Then, text appeared in his vision, suggesting he should have aimed for the neck.
It was advice that he should do so to salvage even crude goblin armor or weapons.
“Let’s just make it easy this time.”
Since he didn’t know how the difficulty had changed, he decided to focus on achieving his goal rather than focusing on looting.
At that, the movements of the apparitions changed all at once.
A new, optimal route to reach the target point was laid out.
If the movements before were to obtain meat or something else, now they were solely for slaughter.
Through the apparitions, he indirectly saw how a butcher changed when he gave up on obtaining anything.
And now, Min-hyuk had to put that into practice.
The moment he took a long breath and pulled himself together, his eyes slowly began to turn red.
A warning sound seemed to ring in his head, as if he might go insane if he kept running toward the goal like a madman.
As if to prove it, the goblins swarming toward him began to look like lumps of meat.
However, Min-hyuk, who had already made up his mind, responded by swinging his sword.
*Slice!*
A pack of goblins was cut down by the greatsword he swung lightly.
At that point, the warning sound ringing in his head disappeared.
Instead, a single apparition led him.
With each swing, two or three died in an overwhelming massacre, and the makeshift fortress was quickly covered with the corpses of goblins.
Not satisfied with this, he immediately began to run upward.
Countless goblins popped out of the narrow path leading to the starting point of the 11th Floor.
They tried all sorts of methods to stop him.
They attacked with poisoned needles, fired arrows, and spewed fire or poisonous smoke.
They even activated a pitfall trap.
However, he broke through all of it with overwhelming power.
Unlike before, arrows and poisoned needles were stuck in his shoulders and arms, but Min-hyuk, who ignored them and pushed through, was a berserker itself.
The problem was that he felt himself becoming more ferocious as time went on.
*Boom!*
A makeshift wooden wall built with a trap was smashed by a body slam, and Min-hyuk, who finally reached the starting point of the 11th Floor, moved upward without resting.
Before him, he saw two large goblin units that had gathered.
It was a firepower unit consisting of armored goblin warriors, kobold archers, shamans, and a pack of imps.
A goblin commander was leading them.
It seemed to show what kind of result could be achieved if a military force were given enough time to respond.
The goblin army, with a perfect encirclement, began their subjugation to catch the single boss named Choi Min-hyuk.
The result of an entire unit, perfectly prepared on a battlefield of their choosing, trying to take down the butcher named Choi Min-hyuk was a victory for the human.
“Ah…”
The goblin commander looked at his subordinates dying with a helpless expression.
They had certainly tried to take down the mad human in a systematic way.
They threw mana-infused nets in succession to restrict his movements.
They activated traps to make his movements awkward.
They breathed out poisonous smoke to continuously sap his health.
They used shamanic and imp magic to keep him from breaking through at once.
The kobolds fired arrows sequentially to harass him.
Thinking that they would surely win if it turned into a war of attrition, they even slowly retreated and continued to trigger traps as the enemy charged.
The problem was that all these plans were meaningless in the face of an overwhelming difference in power.
Not only were the nets torn apart by a single slash, but the goblin spearmen who were trying to keep him at bay were also slaughtered.
Several traps were neutralized by a single charge, and the shield-bearers were crushed and sent flying.
They even made a desperate move of firing fireballs toward their own allies to stop the charge, but it was useless.
“Cough!”
Finally, the goblin commander looked at the demon who had reached him after killing all his subordinates.
Min-hyuk looked indifferently at the commander, who was sputtering while being pierced by the greatsword and looking at him resentfully.
He cut the commander in two as if brushing off dust and moved again.
Drenched in green blood, Min-hyuk headed only toward the goal.
**[You have killed all the enemies on the 11th Floor. Clear successful!]**
Ignoring the system notification that he didn’t need to go to the target point, he arrived at the place where the commander should have been, only to find the inside of the base empty.
Perhaps he only then realized that he had killed all the enemies, for Min-hyuk slowly began to regain his senses.
A small smile began to play on his lips.
*Sniff, sniff!*
As if smelling something, he looked in one direction.
He saw a group of goblins running through a side path leading from the base.
They were unusually large for goblins.
They were individuals reborn through special magic, appearing twice as large as a human.
A unit consisting of hobgoblins stood before the base.
Min-hyuk walked toward them as they bared their teeth in regret, as if blocked by something.
As if they could go no further, the hobgoblins stared at the system barrier.
The moment their weapons and Min-hyuk’s were pointed at each other, a special quest was generated.
**[Special Quest: Sacred Duel!]**
**[Your mutual competitiveness has opened an honorable field of battle.]**
**[Victory Reward: Safe Zone created on the 12th Floor.]**
As if holding a duel between champions, one hobgoblin who looked like the leader stepped over into the area where Min-hyuk was.
Min-hyuk gave him a thick smile and exuded intense fighting spirit.
His entire body was a wreck, perhaps because he had charged without even caring about his health, taking poisoned needles and arrows head-on.
Nevertheless, as if he wanted to fight right now, he exuded fighting spirit, and the hobgoblin leader, as if their hearts were in sync, also exuded fighting spirit and charged.
*Boom!*
A battle between two warriors who clashed with all their might, as if a single blow would be enough.
The result was over in an instant.
The hobgoblin collapsed as his huge sword was split in half.
Were they also warriors?
Even though their leader had fallen, the others bowed their heads in respect, acknowledging the result of the duel, and then retreated obediently.
At that moment, the system window appeared again.
**[Special Quest Cleared!]**
**[You have achieved a perfect clear. You will be forcibly expelled from the tower in 10 minutes.]**
At the mention of being forcibly expelled to prevent him from causing more trouble, Min-hyuk returned to his senses and immediately started a campfire.
“Ugh!”
Min-hyuk, who pulled out the arrows and poisoned needles stuck all over his body, finished his treatment by pouring potions over himself.
He then thought back to the previous battle as he stuffed roasted meat into his mouth.
He hadn’t been in a crisis, but it felt like he had experienced something he didn’t want to experience.
It was certainly his own will, and his memories were vivid, but it felt strangely like he was losing his mind.
It was a feeling as if he were being warned to be careful, showing him what happens if he crosses a line he shouldn’t cross.
Was his feeling correct?
A system window appeared before his eyes.
**[You have caught a glimpse of the Butcher’s Madness. If consumed by madness, it may manifest as a skill.]**
**[Warning: Your mind may be consumed, leading to corruption. Please be cautious.]**