Chapter 45: Expand your territory!

Area Expansion!

Min-hyuk gave a slight nod as soon as the system window appeared, asking if he wished to enter the twelfth floor.

Immediately, he was enveloped in light and vanished.

**[You have reached Level 12. Mana and physical abilities are greatly enhanced.]**

**[※ Rewards for clearing floors after the tenth floor can be collected at the base.]**

Min-hyuk looked straight ahead as a helpful guide informed him that his achievements would be converted into points at the base, where he could choose his rewards.

A landscape different from what he had seen on Hunternet unfolded before him.

**[The conquest route for the twelfth floor has been changed due to the completion of a special quest. Would you like to proceed with the altered route?]**

**[This route must be attempted “solo.”]**

**[※ Proceeding with the original route will not affect a “Flawless Clear.”]**

“Altered route.”

There was no reason to hesitate.

He knew that the rewards for completing special quests were overwhelmingly superior.

As for the risk?

With Min-hyuk’s current power, it wouldn’t be much of a problem.

Besides, anticipating this, he had come prepared with armor he obtained during his repeated runs.

**[(Unfinished Masterpiece) Unfinished Ancestral Base Artisan’s Armor Set!]**

**[1. Along with improved defense, it partially prevents critical injuries.]**

**[2. Increases resistance against fighting spirit and mana.]**

**[3. The movement speed penalty is suppressed to below 5%.]**

—Note: The penalty may decrease as you become accustomed to the armor.—

**[4. (Locked)]**

**[5. (Locked)]**

It looked like there were originally five options, but two were locked.

Perhaps because of that, it didn’t seem to have particularly great stats for something called a “masterpiece.”

With those locked slots, it actually had fewer options than typical rare-grade armor.

However, Min-hyuk was satisfied with the fact that the movement speed penalty, which was unavoidable when wearing armor, was suppressed to under 5%.

‘It’s not bad.’

Satisfied with the potential for growth, Min-hyuk looked forward.

He was in the safe zone of a side path where he had previously defeated a hobgoblin.

Multiple goblins were visible along the branching paths.

Normally, the goblin units would be scattered about, but now they were swarming toward him at the sound of a clanging bell.

The difficulty was already spiked because of the non-standard route, and now it seemed it would climb even higher.

And they were swarming?

‘It’ll be difficult.’

Actually, he preferred it this way.

It wouldn’t be fun if it were too easy.

He remembered a time when he entered the tower and constantly thought, ‘I wish this were a bit easier,’ but he was different now.

*Clang! Clang! Clang!*

Feeling the rhythmic vibration of the gongs, he put strength into his legs and began his advance.

Mana arrows began to rain down on him.

*Tink!*

Unlike before, the bluish arrows seemed much clearer to his eyes.

Though he had charged forward recklessly to test the armor, all the arrows aimed at him bounced off the plates.

A thick smile spread across Min-hyuk’s face once he confirmed the armor’s performance.

Just then, a single arrow glowing yellow flew toward him.

Sensing danger instinctively, he rolled across the ground, and the arrow exploded as soon as it hit the dirt.

*Boom!*

“So it’s this.”

He had read somewhere that high-quality armor sometimes had a function that signaled whether an attack was something the gear could withstand.

Seeing as there were no reports of rare-grade armor having such a feature, it meant that even unfinished, a masterpiece was still a masterpiece.

“This is fun.”

The battle on the twelfth floor suddenly became more exciting.

His eyes burned slightly from the sight of illusions dancing in front of him and the waves of blue and yellow light, but he was enjoying himself.

“This one looks dangerous.”

A massive fireball created by several goblin shamans had turned a deep red.

Min-hyuk swung his great sword vertically.

The massive sphere of fire split in two and passed harmlessly on either side of him.

“Okay! I think I’ve got it now.”

Min-hyuk nodded, as if he had finally become accustomed to the new armor.

He began to exude mana from his entire body to move in earnest.

“Huuu…”

The moment he exhaled a long breath, his now-vivid fighting spirit began to manifest.

In response, the goblin units forming the defensive line pulled out all their hidden weapons.

*Rumble!*

A series of mana explosions erupted, but he endured them by momentarily releasing his fighting spirit and then began to charge like a madman.

Running forward blindly like a bull, mimicking the sensations he had felt on the eleventh floor, hidden goblins lunged at him from both sides.

He ignored them all and increased his speed.

*Crash!*

The door shattered under the slash he delivered while running.

Behind it stood a unit of waiting goblins.

Even though they were more numerous than those on the eleventh floor, Min-hyuk had only one target.

‘The Goblin Commander.’

As he charged toward the commander, who had been the boss of the eleventh floor, a thought flashed through his mind.

‘What are the odds of the eleventh-floor boss appearing as the boss on the twelfth floor too?’

It wasn’t impossible.

Even with the same boss, the tower could adjust the difficulty by increasing the size of the army or making the map layout more treacherous.

However, Min-hyuk had already seen the hobgoblins.

So, where were they?

‘It’s a trap.’

At that moment, Min-hyuk stepped on a defensive barrier and soared into the sky.

A goblin triggered a trap, likely expecting Min-hyuk to continue his straightforward charge.

It was a cold-blooded plan to bury dozens of their own subordinates alive along with him.

It was a massive pit filled with sharpened wooden stakes.

Explosives must have been planted inside as well, for fire erupted from the deep hole.

*Koom!*

“Crazy bastards.”

Clicking his tongue at the cruelty of the goblins who would sacrifice their own as bait, Min-hyuk landed on the other side of the trap.

The moment he stood face-to-face with the Goblin Commander, the hobgoblins he had seen before sprang out around him.

Min-hyuk smiled and charged once more, sensing that the ultimate weapons of the twelfth floor had finally arrived.

His primary objective remained the commander’s head.

Recognizing this, the hobgoblins also rushed at Min-hyuk with great speed.

Meanwhile, the commander backed away and activated a trap beneath its feet.

*Rumble!*

Wooden walls rose up, and arrows fired from crude mechanisms poured out.

He could feel a faint mana from the spells carved into the arrows, but it was meaningless.

Before, Min-hyuk would have expended energy by releasing his fighting spirit, but now, protected by his armor, he ignored everything.

He cleaved through the wooden wall and plunged his great sword into the commander’s torso.

“…Grrrk!”

The commander trembled, its eyes wide as if it were looking at a monster.

Min-hyuk, already losing interest, split the commander’s body in two and used the rotational force to send a crescent-shaped slash toward the hobgoblins lunging from behind.

Perhaps it was because they had lost their commander so suddenly?

The hobgoblins appeared flustered, but they charged again, relying on the swarm of goblins pressing in from the rear.

However, the moment the commander fell, the unit had effectively lost one-third of its combat power.

‘A unit that has lost its morale is nothing more than a paper tiger.’

With that thought, he dove into the center of the charging goblin army and went wild.

Min-hyuk was right; their movements were no longer systematic.

There were only desperate goblins struggling to stop a predator.

*Slash! Slash!*

Goblins fell one by one to the sound of rending flesh.

They attempted to launch attacks using the sacrifices of their comrades, but it was futile.

As if he had predicted their every move, he evaded spears with simple twists of his body and counterattacked.

“Whew… It’s a bit restrictive.”

He felt slightly more stiff than when he moved unarmored.

Min-hyuk’s fighting style involved many acrobatic movements.

There was a reason why the combat styles of high-ranking hunters were often rigid; since their movements were restricted by heavy gear, they developed styles that maximized efficiency with minimal motion.

However, even considering that, it wasn’t bad.

Since it wasn’t a full-body suit that covered every inch, the restrictions on his movement weren’t severe.

“I finished this time without even a scratch.”

Admiring the power of his armor anew, Min-hyuk looked around at the sea of blood that now surrounded him.

Perhaps he had become too strong?

He was looking on with an expression that suggested even the twelfth floor wasn’t particularly impressive when a message appeared.

**[The Goblin Lord responds to your overwhelming prowess.]**

**[The Level 15 Boss, Goblin Lord, wishes to make a special proposal. If accepted, all enemies from the thirteenth to fifteenth floors will begin their assault against the challenger.]**

**[Emergency Quest: Conquer Floors 12–15 at once!]**

**[※ As this is an Emergency Quest, the reward is yet to be determined.]**

It wasn’t just two floors like before; it was a special quest to clear everything from the already-conquered twelfth floor to the fifteenth floor in one go.

Even though the reward hadn’t been decided yet, Min-hyuk smiled.

He didn’t know how strong the fifteenth floor would be, but since he hadn’t even used his Sword Dance skill yet, he felt it was worth a shot.

“I’ll do it.”

As soon as he answered without a moment’s hesitation, the veil of light that formed the boundaries of the twelfth floor vanished.

A path opened up to a fortress on top of a distant mountain peak.

“It’s a long way.”

Because three floors were now connected, the distance looked quite significant.

Bridges connected the peaks as if symbolizing the boundaries of each floor, and it seemed he had to cross them to reach the highest summit.

“Whew… Alright. Let’s go.”

Breaking through four floors at once, including the twelfth.

Even for Min-hyuk, who had built a solid foundation from the first to ninth floors, this was a fight that might prove difficult.

However, he had a feeling.

Just like when he restored the collapsed bridge on the tenth floor, if he could overcome all these floors at once, he might be able to plant the base’s watchtower on that bridge currently occupied by goblins.

*Bwaaaaaaa!*

The sound of a horn echoed, signaling the start of the war against the out-of-spec monster that was Min-hyuk.

In response, screams began to erupt from the silent mountain peaks.

A shamanic ritual was underway as the goblins shouted intentionally to bolster their courage and morale.

As if refusing to be outdone, Min-hyuk also ate some meat and downed a buff potion before walking slowly toward the enemy.

Feeling his consumed health and mana slowly refilling, Min-hyuk reached the boundary line.

The enemy vanguard swarmed toward him.

“Shall we?”

The moment he muttered those words, Min-hyuk’s figure appeared before the enemy vanguard.

A hobgoblin warrior stared with wide, bewildered eyes.

Min-hyuk gave a bright smile and, for the first time, struck down with his mana-infused great sword using his full strength.

*Crrrash!*

Mana exploded with a thunderous roar, annihilating the vanguard in a single blow.

Min-hyuk curled his lips into a smirk and whispered toward his final target, who was surely watching.

“I’ll be there soon, so just wait a bit.”