The speed was incredibly fast.
They say even professionals are afraid when a baseball flying at 160 km/h comes toward them.
What if a wild animal lunged at a speed exceeding 300 km/h?
Beyond just being scary, your knees would knock.
However, mana allows living beings to transcend their limits.
And that applies to humans as well.
If the creatures of the Tower transcended the limits of ordinary life, the same was true for awakened humans.
The important thing was not to flinch.
Fear arises from the lingering emotions of being an ordinary person, despite being able to exert superhuman strength.
If one could just cast that aside, it was a level that could be dealt with.
As if proving that, Min-hyuk easily responded to the lunging enemies.
Clang!
Min-hyuk retreated, parrying sharp, mana-infused claws with his greatsword, when a snake suddenly lunged at him in an ambush.
He avoided it by tilting his head back and reflexively cut it in two with the dagger tucked at his waist.
He endured the subsequent attack from a wildcat with his greatsword and sent a flying squirrel, which lunged next, flying with a kick through an acrobatic movement.
“Killing intent…”
Animals that would normally be wary of each other were directing intense killing intent only toward Min-hyuk.
As they began to attack in unison as if he were an intruder in their territory, Min-hyuk’s movements began to speed up.
His movements were distinctly different from when he was on the 1st floor.
Moreover, his mana manipulation had become much smoother than before.
Boom!
Along with a roar so loud it was hard to believe it came from a sword clashing with a wildcat’s claws, he broke its leg and immediately swung his greatsword to cut its body in two.
Then, like a ghost, he sliced a rat aiming for an opening with the dagger at his waist and used the rotational force to swing his greatsword as a deterrent.
Having bought some time, Min-hyuk took a moment to catch his breath while looking at the surrounding prey.
“Certainly… I would have struggled if I had just come up after only experimenting on the 2nd floor.”
Physical abilities increase as one ascends the floors.
However, it is said that even for such hunters, it is only when they reach the 9th floor that they can stably break through the lower floors alone.
That is how difficult it is to break through the Tower alone.
Doing something for the first time when climbing the Tower is even more difficult, even when one is familiar with it through repeated attempts.
That is why it is said that clearing it solo on the first attempt is nearly impossible.
‘Getting used to a strengthened body.’
Because this is difficult, everyone chooses to hunt only the monsters required by the Tower and quickly move on to the next floor.
In the process, some even go into debt to obtain weapons that can be used in the Tower.
After reaching the 9th floor, they repeatedly hunt from the 1st to the 9th floor to get used to their strengthened bodies and mana.
Even just doing that, they will grow through the mana given as a basic reward through repeated hunting, and the physical strength that grows accordingly.
But would the foundation be properly built?
‘The Tower’s arrangements are meticulous.’
Even if it seemed difficult, when accomplished, it allowed one to build a much more solid foundation than the fast-clear methods currently established by humanity.
This was clear even to Min-hyuk, who had only climbed to the 3rd floor.
The Tower does not send you to the next floor immediately after clearing.
It gives time to get used to the senses, trying to catch as many monsters on the same floor as possible, even if it’s pushing it.
Even if you fail, you are to train through repeated attempts.
It gave time because only by putting in this much effort can one at least endure on the next floor.
It acts as a sort of brake for climbers who occasionally get a good skill and gain the confidence to skip about 10 floors at once.
Humanity threw such consideration from the Tower into the trash.
They only researched strategies to efficiently climb to higher floors. Is that bad?
No.
Rather, it might be faster to build a foundation at the point where progress stalls after quickly climbing to the higher floors.
But can everyone do that?
‘No.’
Most hunters cannot.
Those who awakened S-rank skills or higher, or those who have room to evolve even if they awakened A-rank skills or lower—this only applied to this small elite group of hunters.
In the end, if the foundation is weak, it’s over.
Can’t you just build it calmly once you get to the 9th floor?
There is a limit to the time one can stay on one floor.
An average of one month, up to a maximum of three months depending on how often monsters were dealt with.
In addition, several more months are given upon reaching the 10th floor.
As you go higher, the period increases, and time may be given in units of years, but the important thing is leaving the 10th floor.
The most important training ground where the foundation can be built—it means you just end up leaving this place.
Furthermore, most hunters throw away even this time like an old shoe to somehow climb to a higher floor.
It means they end up blowing more than half of the precious time to build a foundation.
“My senses are definitely coming back quickly now that I’m in a proper real battle.”
Min-hyuk smiled, looking at the blood on his clothes with a satisfied expression.
The battle itself was relaxed enough to feel that his mana and physical abilities had improved.
The proof was that his body, which would have been covered in wounds if not for the reward of the Rabbit Captain’s power, didn’t have a single scratch.
That didn’t mean it was easy.
Dealing with various erratic attacks was mentally taxing, and his stamina was strained to the point where even his high physical abilities felt the burden.
Moreover, because he used mana incessantly, his mana was slowly starting to run dry.
“Still, I managed to get this far.”
Min-hyuk muttered and looked around.
He saw monsters that had been split in half or killed by strikes to their vital points.
Evidence that even Min-hyuk, who was relaxed up to the 2nd floor, focused on killing this time without thinking about dismantling efficiency.
He didn’t seem satisfied himself, but to others, it was a monstrous display of power.
Even SS-rank top rankers would barely achieve a Flawless Clear after reaching the 9th floor and attempting the 3rd floor repeatedly.
That was how notoriously difficult a Flawless Clear of the Tower was. He reached the 3rd-floor boss in one go without even using a campfire for rest.
There was only one reason he pushed himself this far.
‘I have to wake up my senses.’
Time is needed to get used to becoming stronger, but humans tend to use every last bit of strength when in crisis, suddenly becoming accustomed to their strengthened bodies.
Thus, he succeeded in quickly getting used to the Rabbit Captain’s power.
Even Min-hyuk couldn’t help but break out in a cold sweat this time.
“Phew… This is brutal.”
A giant boar was fiercely emitting mana from its body as if it were overflowing.
The strange thing was that the killing intent to kill Min-hyuk mixed with the mana, turning into a tangible black energy.
The killing intent staring him down felt like it was constricting his body through the mana.
If the opponent tried to suppress him with force, he just had to do the same.
“Hup!”
As he intentionally emitted mana, the force constricting his body felt like it temporarily vanished.
Did it not like that?
The giant boar began to charge at a ferocious speed.
“…Crazy!”
His expression distorted despite himself.
That was because if it were a simple charge, he could just avoid it, but it wasn’t.
Like a being that transcended the limits of living creatures, it reached Min-hyuk’s location in an instant at an incredible speed.
More surprisingly, the momentum mixed with mana affected everything in the direction of the charge.
The force he had neutralized with mana constricted Min-hyuk again, making him unable to properly catch the timing to dodge momentarily.
“Hah!”
Min-hyuk, who barely managed to break free, rolled on the ground to avoid the charge.
The boar stopped instantly and attacked Min-hyuk again.
The pressure continued with every charge. However, unlike at first, he began to gradually get used to it after being hit a few times.
“Was it something like this?”
Min-hyuk, who dodged the boar’s charge by rolling on the ground once more, smiled and looked at the boar.
Then, the boar, which had charged immediately every time, began to flinch.
It was because Min-hyuk, whose body should have been stiff and unable to move even for a short moment after dodging its charge, stood up immediately.
“I’ve got the hang of it, you bastard!”
Min-hyuk said as he drew up his mana.
At the same time, he glared at the boar staring at him.
‘Kill it.’
The moment he stared with the sole intention of killing that giant boar, the space between Min-hyuk and the giant boar distorted, and a loud roar was heard.
Thump!
When the roar was heard despite there being no physical collision, it began to charge blindly.
The difference from before was that the speed was extremely fast.
Unlike the way it had been running, the boar lunged in front of Min-hyuk in an instant as if jumping.
Avoiding the attack by a hair’s breadth, he sliced right through the boar’s flank.
“Squeal!”
The boar, perhaps because the wound was shallow, was bleeding but its momentum still didn’t decrease.
Nevertheless, Min-hyuk’s expression was full of composure.
As if it didn’t like that look, it fired mana toward Min-hyuk as if it were going to pour out all its mana.
However, as if it were better because he was being trained, Min-hyuk entered the battle again with a satisfied smile.
Hindquarters.
Right leg.
The back of the neck.
Was it because he intentionally wounded only the thick parts while cornering the boar?
It stopped moving and stared intently at Min-hyuk with a body covered in wounds.
“Gurgle… Gurgle…”
Min-hyuk, who read the end in the eyes of the boar looking at him with an exhausted expression, nodded quietly and also drew up all the mana he had been saving.
Then, just like when the boar first appeared, his momentum began to materialize, merging with his mana.
“Thanks.”
With those words, he charged in a straight line just like the boar.
The boar also charged toward Min-hyuk with all its remaining strength.
The winner of the two beings who charged through each other’s momentum was Min-hyuk, who had fewer wounds.
“Squeeaaaak!”
As he twisted his body at the last moment and swung his greatsword, the giant pig’s head rolled on the ground with a squealing sound, spraying a fountain of blood.
“Huff… Huff… That was a bit tough.”
Min-hyuk lay spread-eagled as soon as he cut down the boar.
A system window appeared in front of him.
[You have successfully achieved a Flawless Clear.]
Just like the 2nd floor, only the notification of the Flawless Clear appeared before the system window vanished.
The reward would likely appear only after entering the 3rd floor. He saw that the door was open before he knew it, but he didn’t leave immediately.
“Is it one hour?”
Min-hyuk, who saw a system window with a time limit written on the door, forced his tired body up.
Thinking that even if he were to rest, he should dismantle the monsters first, he began dismantling the monsters he had killed.
The moment he finished dismantling all the monsters and left the Tower with his exhausted body, a system window appeared to all hunters once again.
[An anonymous hunter has succeeded in the first Flawless Clear of the 3rd floor!]