Chapter 35: The Butcher’s True Value

The moment he accepted the special quest, the glowing barrier that had been blocking his path opened.

Min-hyuk felt the air shift. He sensed an energy mixed with something other than mana.

He frowned at the unpleasant sensation for a moment, then followed the arrows of light toward a half-collapsed fortress.

“If the area with the pillar of light is like this, that place must be even worse.”

Min-hyuk gazed toward the blackened mountain, presumably part of the tenth floor range, and entered the small fortress.

It was his first time seeing other humans since entering the tower.

Strangely, small system windows floated above their heads.

**[Soldier 1]**

**[Soldier 2]**

**[Soldier 3]**

Instead of names, they were labeled like extras in a play.

Just then, an elderly man stepped out from between the ranks of soldiers and addressed him.

“To think someone actually entered through those gates… impressive.”

The elderly man wore magnificent armor, but his face was etched with exhaustion.

**[Fortress Commander]**

Seeing that he only had a title like the soldiers, Min-hyuk frowned and asked, “What is your name?”

“Names do not exist for the remnants of a forgotten world.”

He pointed toward the center of the fortress. Min-hyuk nodded quietly at the gesture, which seemed to indicate that what he wanted was over there, and glanced around his surroundings.

A half-collapsed shop.

Numerous buildings that were tightly shut.

Crumbling castle walls everywhere.

In the midst of the small fortress that looked ready to collapse at any moment, only the massive, white-glowing mana stone in the center remained in perfect condition.

Next to it, a familiar title was written.

**[Korean Server Tenth Floor Perfect Clear Hall of Fame]**

**[※ Entry into the Tenth Floor Hall of Fame is limited to Level 19.]**

— Cheon Tae-san: Level 15 —

— Kim Sun-hwa: Level 17 —

— Park Young-hwan: Level 18 —

— Park Min-hye: Level 18 —

— Min Chul-woong: Level 19 —

The Perfect Clear list, which had been absent since the first floor, appeared once again.

It even seemed to have more names than the list on the first floor.

‘Is it because of the skills?’

Hunters usually received usable skills starting from the tenth floor.

It seemed several S-ranks had achieved a Perfect Clear as a result.

As he stood there in a daze, the arrow pointing toward the mana stone began to vibrate impatiently.

“Alright, alright.”

Min-hyuk told it not to nag and placed his hand on the massive mana stone.

System windows immediately began to scroll before his eyes.

**[You have reached Level 10. Your growth will be twice the total amount gained from floors one through nine.]**

**[As a reward for the Flawless Clear of the ninth floor, your wind attribute affinity has increased.]**

**[Your class skills are being modified based on your growth stats from floors one through nine.]**

**[All butcher skills related to the physical body and attribute affinities are being integrated into ‘Butcher’s Skilled Body.’ You now possess the optimal physique to butcher in any environment.]**

**[Magic Martial Arts, Aura Application, Combat Techniques, and Butcher’s Weaponry are being integrated into ‘Butcher’s Combat Method.’]**

— When starting a slaughter, all abilities are temporarily increased fivefold.

— As health decreases, all stats increase further.

**[The active skill ‘Butcher’s Blade Dance’ has been created through ‘Butcher’s Combat Method.’ When used, strength is temporarily amplified tenfold.]**

**[Butcher’s Meat Processing has been upgraded due to the achievements earned on floors one through nine.]**

— All types of materials processed by the Butcher receive additional bonuses.

— Detailed processing instructions will be provided from now on.

— Rare processing methods exclusive to the Butcher have been added.

Unlike other Hunters who only received one useful skill, system windows packed the air in front of him.

Min-hyuk stared blankly at the lavish rewards that seemed to compensate him for the hardships he endured up to the ninth floor, then he looked down at his own body.

The increase in mana from the Level 10 reward alone was enough to make him feel as though he could have slaughtered the ninth-floor monsters while taking a leisurely stroll.

“Phew.”

He couldn’t even fathom how much stronger he had become through mana growth alone.

What would happen once the skills were added?

Just as he was about to pull his hand away from the mana stone, eager to test his strength, more windows appeared.

**[The Tenth Floor Trial begins. Due to the special quest, you will proceed alone.]**

**[Primary Objective: Defend the fortress perfectly.]**

**[Secondary Objective: Capture the broken bridge area.]**

As the system windows appeared, a screeching sound echoed from the distance.

“Everyone, to your positions!”

Archers climbed onto the half-collapsed walls, and spearmen took their positions before the battered castle gates.

A faint blue light emanated from their bodies, suggesting they were all capable of using mana.

Normally, one would survive the time limit by relying on their sacrifices, but Min-hyuk stepped out beyond the broken gates alone.

“Don’t go out—”

The Fortress Commander warned him of the danger, but Min-hyuk simply turned his head and nodded as if to say it was fine.

He gripped his greatsword and headed out anyway.

Monsters with the stature of older elementary or middle school students appeared before him.

‘Goblins.’

They were treated as trash among Hunters.

They had no useful parts, and their weapons were so crude they were worth nothing.

However, they possessed combat techniques using mana and utilized supernatural powers through shamanism.

Their systematic way of fighting made them tricky opponents for Hunters who had just reached the tenth floor.

There were even other types of enemies.

‘Were there Imps and Kobolds too?’

Imps that manipulated elemental power and Kobolds that knew how to use weapons they forged themselves.

A hollow laugh escaped him at the sight of the trio of small monsters appearing all at once.

One might wonder how to deal with this, but the original objective was simply to defend the fortress alongside the soldiers for a set time, so the difficulty wasn’t supposed to be that high.

If it felt like too much of a burden, a Hunter could wait in the tower to be matched with others to clear it together.

The problem was that Min-hyuk couldn’t just stop at defending; he had to seize the broken bridge area as well.

“This is a bit tricky,” Min-hyuk smirked.

When he lightly deflected an arrow fired by a Kobold, a Goblin Shaman recognized him as an extraordinary foe.

It immediately began its attack by conjuring a ball of fire.

Following that, a squad of Kobolds in the rear began throwing crude bombs made by overloading mana stones and magic arrows.

Meanwhile, the Goblins in the front line leveled their short spears to keep Min-hyuk in check.

It looked like a well-trained monster army, but it was meaningless to the current Min-hyuk.

The difference in power was simply too great for tactics to matter.

As he let out a long breath, phantoms resembling him appeared before his eyes.

In his vision, which had been filled only with lines, these phantoms imitated his combat methods, showing him exactly how to kill the monsters.

*Thud.*

Before anyone knew it, the head of the lead Goblin began to slide off its neck.

The Goblin had the superhuman senses typical of a monster, but it died with an expression that showed it hadn’t even been able to react.

The Goblins standing beside it belatedly began to attack, but it was a futile struggle.

The greatsword had already cleaved through all the lunging Goblins.

“Is it the torso this time?”

Min-hyuk frowned at the information flooding his mind and swung his greatsword again.

The Butcher’s skills found something worth taking even from the Goblins, who were mocked as beggar monsters.

Mana stones.

Totem necklaces made of bone.

Shamanic staves.

Bone knives infused with mana.

Hearts enchanted with spells.

The skill guided his movements so he could kill them in a way that kept these items as intact as possible.

It even included movement correction.

While this caused mental fatigue, it wasn’t a big problem since he could turn it on and off at will. He only needed to use it in critical moments.

“What I saw before was just a teaser.”

Min-hyuk smiled broadly as if he finally understood the true value of the Butcher skills.

Even though he wasn’t using the skills to their full extent, the area was already filled with the corpses of monsters neatly severed to avoid damaging mana stones and useful equipment.

**[Primary Objective achieved.]**

Since he had repelled the enemy’s offensive, it was now time to counterattack.

An army of monsters, crossing over on hook-chains attached to the broken bridge following the annihilation of the vanguard, rushed toward Min-hyuk with horrific shrieks.

Min-hyuk began to advance, cutting through them alone with his greatsword.

From Goblins split apart along with their shields in a single strike, to Imps who collapsed from internal injuries after being directly exposed to an aura blast, and Kobolds who were wiped out by a single slash.

Min-hyuk had become a fierce general taking on an entire army by himself.

It certainly was a tricky situation, but that was only true when the difference in power wasn’t large.

He crushed them with overwhelming force, like a Hunter who had returned from conquering the upper floors.

“Kieeeek!”

Seeing Min-hyuk silently swinging his greatsword with a dry expression, the Goblins eventually chose to flee.

He finished even them off with flying slashes and arrived at the broken bridge.

**[Withstand the enemy’s offensive for one hour…]**

At the prompt to hold the bridge, he looked at the monsters swarming on the other side.

‘Is there a need to wait?’

The moment that thought crossed his mind, he started running toward the bridge.

The monsters coming across the hook-chains, the monsters camping at the broken bridge, and the monsters waiting in reserve on the other side—every single one of them began to die by Min-hyuk’s blade.

Even after killing over 200 enemies, from the vanguard to those beyond the bridge, he still had strength to spare.

“Is this it?”

Min-hyuk, who had been nervous because it was a special quest, picked up a broken flag with a bored expression.

*Thud!*

The moment he slammed the broken flag into the ground in front of the broken bridge, a system window appeared.

**[Secondary Objective achieved.]**

**[Special Quest cleared!]**

As the system window announced the completion of the tenth floor, he stood there with a look of slight disappointment.

He noticed half-collapsed towers around him.

**[Ruined Boundary Tower.]**

Normally, there should have been an obstacle preventing him from moving past the cleared point, but there was none.

Feeling as though the area up to the ruined towers was originally a safe zone, he unconsciously stepped outside the glowing area created upon his victory.

**[※ Warning: Please return to the safe zone.]**

The system window flashed a warning.

However, Min-hyuk’s pace only quickened as he headed further out.

‘This isn’t enough.’

He hadn’t even used his skills properly, let alone warmed up his body.

Perhaps that was why he advanced without hesitation toward monsters that looked far stronger than the previous ones.

Min-hyuk soon entered the monsters’ territory.

At that, the monsters, who had been baring their teeth and emitting bloodlust, finally began to move.

Unlike the vanguard, these were Goblin Warriors who utilized much more sophisticated combat techniques.

There was a squad of Shamans, whereas previously there had been only one.

There was even a Kobold bombardment squad that didn’t just throw bombs but fired them like guns.

Under normal circumstances, these were specialized units that would only appear on floors 13 through 15, but it didn’t matter.

Because Min-hyuk’s stats increased more and more as his health declined, they were just as unable to mount a proper response.

“It’s not enough.”

The moment he tried to step past the barricades, claiming it wasn’t enough, a bright light forcibly ejected Min-hyuk from the tower.

**[Congratulations. You are the first in the world to achieve a Transcendental Clear.]**

**[There will be adjustments to the strategy for floors 11 through 15.]**