Chapter 161

It had been a long time since Gi-Gyu heard about guardians. The guardians were like the gatekeepers of each floor inside the Tower. Since guardians were very powerful, average players avoided hunting them alone; instead, they formed groups to raid them. Whenever someone spotted a guardian, they would light a firecracker to alert the other players.

Gi-Gyu heard Hal in his head.

-We have found a guardian, Grandmaster.

It appeared that Hal and the knight’s order had spotted the guardian. Gi-Gyu asked Sung-Hoon, “Should we go see?”

Sung-Hoon contemplated for a moment. No single player or group owned the right to hunt guardians, so whoever found one was free to hunt it as they wished.

But…

‘There is an unspoken rule: Guilds that specifically target guardians should be given priority.’ Gi-Gyu thought for a moment. If he went after a guardian being pursued by a guild, there would be trouble.

When Sung-Hoon didn’t reply, Gi-Gyu asked, “Why are you so hesitant?”

“It’s nothing.”

“Then…” When Gi-Gyu offered his hand, Sung-Hoon looked at him in confusion.

Gi-Gyu abruptly princess carried Sung-Hoon, making him look like a damsel in distress.

“Ranker Kim Gi-Gyu! What are you doing?!” Sung-Hoon screamed in shock.

Ignoring him, Gi-Gyu whispered, “Rush. Accelerate.”

It was time for his Ego, Hermes, to shine. His increased attributes and power made him feel like a squeezed spring ready to take off.

Whoosh.

Gi-Gyu kicked the ground and took to the sky.

***

Currently, he was sprinting in the air. Theoretically, it was impossible. Even Gi-Gyu wasn’t sure if someone had thought of this method of travel before. To maintain altitude, he would use Bi’s elemental skills and gain more airtime. Gi-Gyu was essentially flying without any wings.

The motion sickness made Sung-Hoon want to throw up, but he managed to barely hold on.

Clang.

“Argh!” Gi-Gyu heard a player scream.

“Run!” another player nearby warned.

These urgent voices came from where Hal had been dispatched. It was clear that Hal and some players were battling the guardian.

Kaboom!

A scared player yelled, “Why is that thing so strong?!”

The panic in that voice made Gi-Gyu kick the air again to go even faster. The voices were getting closer.

“Where the hell did these monsters come from? Are they death knights?!” several players yelled in confusion.

Eventually, the giant guardian’s silhouette entered Gi-Gyu’s eyes. Sung-Hoon recognized the silhouette and yelled, “It’s a zombie drake!”

The 46th floor’s infamy was all thanks to its zombie drake. Drakes were an inferior species of dragons and didn’t possess any magic or special abilities. However, their physical attributes alone made them a mighty foe. And the 46th-floor guardian wasn’t just a drake—it was a zombified drake.

One of the players fighting the zombie drake yelled, “It recovered again! Dammit! How is it recovering so quickly?!”

Gi-Gyu immediately realized that this zombie drake had an unusual recovery ability. It was no ordinary zombie drake.

‘Its energy feels different,’ Gi-Gyu thought as he felt something strange from the guardian.

Sung-Hoon yelled, “Ranker Kim Gi-Gyu!”

It appeared that Sung-Hoon was urging Gi-Gyu to jump in. Meanwhile, the zombie drake didn’t stop and was making quick work of its opponents. Hal and the knight’s order blocked its attack while trying to get close. If it weren’t for Gi-Gyu’s creatures, all the players would have been dead by now.

“I got this,” Gi-Gyu said and kicked the air again. Still in the air and still carrying Sung-Hoon, he said, “Sung-Hoon, tuck and roll, got it?”

“Pardon?” Sung-Hoon gasped in shock. Without any further explanation, Gi-Gyu dropped Sung-Hoon when he got closer to the ground. Sung-Hoon seemed surprised, but he was a player, not an amateur. He rolled and landed without any problems. Before Sung-Hoon could say anything…

Kaboom!

Gi-Gyu, already holding two swords in his hands, crashed into the drake.

***

Big Boss Guild specialized in hunting mid-level floors’ guardians. The group’s team leader and a veteran player, Woo Tae-Hoon, yelled in shock, “This makes no sense whatsoever! We can’t even get close to it!”

When their group had spotted the 46th-floor guardian, they had gotten into battle mode immediately, as usual. However, they soon realized there was another group already fighting the guardian.

Woo Tae-Hoon wondered, ‘Is the master of these undead nearby? Just how are they controlling those death knights?’

The players were surprised to find that the zombie drake was fighting undead and not some player. And they weren’t any ordinary undead. They were death knights, which were high-level undead monsters.

Death knights rarely moved on their own; usually, their master would control them from nearby. Also, the 46th floor wasn’t the home ground of death knights, and the knights showed no hostility toward them.

‘They are fighting like they are that zombie drake’s nemesis,’ Woo Tae-Hoon thought in wonder. It was strange, but he was glad they weren’t his enemy. Then, he suddenly remembered the rumors going around in the Tower.

‘Something about a pervert controlling undead and whipping an angel, right?’ Woo Tae-Hoon had heard about the player code named Morningstar. He had been told that this player was hunting on the mid-level floors.

So perhaps…

Kaboom!

A giant explosive noise rang in the area. It was so loud that some guild members covered their ears in pain.

“That player over there…!” Woo Tae-Hoon gasped, realizing Morningstar had just joined the battle. The undead quickly backed away and circled Morningstar as if protecting him. Big Boss Guild members couldn’t approach the battle. Whenever they tried…

Thud.

One of the death knights with the red eyes would slam its halberd to the ground and glare. This death knight seemed to be the leader of the undead group. The way he glared was enough to make anyone shiver in fear. Just what level was this death knight?

‘Is it a demon?’ Woo Tae-Hoon wondered. He didn’t know much about demons, but he had heard from his guild master about creatures with red eyes.

Demons, creatures with red eyes, were supposedly different from regular monsters. They lived on the Tower’s higher floors and among humans. Woo Tae-Hoon had already cleared the 50th floor, but he was still ignorant of many things. He had heard that only special players were given the chance to gain a lot of information after they had cleared the 50th floor.

A Big Boss Guild member approached Woo Tae-Hoon and asked in annoyance, “Team Leader. Are we just going to watch? Shouldn’t we fight?”

The mid-level floors’ guardians had always been theirs to hunt, and someone stealing their guardian was a rarity. If they didn’t do something about it now, they would lose their rewards. Also, their guild master would reprimand them harshly for that.

Woo Tae-Hoon became equally annoyed as he asked the guild member, “What do you suggest we do then? Are you willing to go in there and fight?”

When Woo Tae-Hoon pointed at the zombie drake and Gi-Gyu, the guild member became very quiet.

Kaboom!

Another explosion took place. With a shiver, Woo Tae-Hoon wondered, “What… is he doing that can cause such an explosion? Do you really think you can fight while enduring the shockwaves from those explosions?”

There was why none of the Big Boss Guild members dared to join the battle. They knew they couldn’t withstand the incredible shockwaves that rattled the space whenever Morningstar crashed into the zombie drake. Also, it wasn’t like Hal and the knights would even let them join in.

‘This sucks, but I’m smart enough to admit that none of us are strong enough to do this.’ Woo Tae-Hoon knew that everyone in his team was strong. After all, they were fairly well-known rankers who had passed the 50th floor.

But…

“This is a battle between beasts. Don’t you dare get involved unless you want to die?” Woo Tae-Hoon warned.

“But…” a player tried to protest.

Woo Tae-Hoon interrupted in annoyance, “But what?! Just shut up, you moron.”

This particular player that kept annoying Woo Tae-Hoon lacked experience. Surprisingly, his level was fairly high, but he was too naive to realize that joining the battle would be suicide.

On top of it all…

‘Those demons,’ Woo Tae-Hoon thought as he stared at the summoned demons.

‘And the angels too.’ In the sky, there was a beautiful goddess with three angels guarding her.

“So a player who controls the angels and the demons,” Woo Tae-Hoon whispered in awe. He decided that Morningstar was a player worth remembering.

Someone approached him and greeted him, “Hello. I’m Heo Sung-Hoon from the association. You’re Ranker Woo Tae-Hoon, right? The team leader of this Big Boss Guild team?”

Sung-Hoon offered a business card to Woo Tae-Hoon. A vicious battle was going on before them, but Sung-Hoon smiled brightly as if he had no worries in the world.

***

‘It’s working.’ Gi-Gyu was pleased to learn that Foresight, the new skill he had gained from syncing with Botis, was working. Despite not being skilled in using this new ability, he could sense his enemy’s general direction of attack and move accordingly. To Gi-Gyu, this fight was a good chance to get more experience.

‘A zombie drake would be a good opponent to test it out,’ Gi-Gyu thought. Zombie drakes, even the normal ones, were notorious for their stamina, but the one before him was a guardian. Moreover…

Lou murmured.

-It has been touched by a demon.

From the beginning, Gi-Gyu could sense demonic energy from this monster. Since it was a guardian that had been touched by a demon, it made sense that it was a little stronger and had better regeneration ability.

Gi-Gyu asked Lou, “If this monster was left alone, would it have turned into something like the 4th-floor guardian?”

Gi-Gyu easily dodged the drake’s giant front paw, and it struck the ground he had stood on a moment ago. This resulted in a giant explosion.

Boom!

-Probably.

Lou replied. The 4th-floor guardian, the orc, gave Gi-Gyu the courage to enter the 5th floor. This giant orc was too powerful to be the fourth-floor guardian. Gi-Gyu remembered this monster eating so many players.

‘That guardian looked like it was leveling up like a player.’ Thankfully, it was only the 4th-floor guardian, so it wasn’t impossible to kill it at the time. If this zombie drake became powerful at the same rate and to the same extent, then…

“I better make sure I kill it right now,” Gi-Gyu announced. He had tested out his new skill enough. He was still at an early stage of using Foresight, but he had confirmed that it worked regardless of his opponent.

Gi-Gyu had been testing for another thing, and he was happy with what he had found.

-I see that you’ve been attacking only with shockwaves rather than with your swords. You have become more efficient in using your magic.

Until now, Gi-Gyu hadn’t slashed the zombie drake once. He had been accumulating his magic into his swords and creating shockwaves to cause internal damage to the drake. It was an excellent way to fight the drake since it had great regeneration ability.

Gi-Gyu explained, “I have been having difficulty dealing with the magic build-up inside me. So I thought this would be a good way to relieve it a little.”

-Well, I suppose it’s a good idea. You’re getting good training while relieving the excess energy. It’s definitely helping you.

Gi-Gyu swung Lou, shooting half-moon-shaped energy toward the zombie drake.

Kaboom!

This was what the Big Boss Guild had been hearing and feeling from nearby. The shockwave Gi-Gyu created bounced off the drake and scattered in every direction. Gi-Gyu wasn’t sure if the other players knew what was happening, but it didn’t matter.

El murmured,

-We have blocked the excess energy, Master.

El and the other angels in the air created a barrier to ensure the Big Boss Guild members weren’t hurt from the shockwaves. Gi-Gyu lowered his two swords and replied, “You did very well.”

His experiments were completed.

“No need to let it live now.” Gi-Gyu twirled Lou and El’s avatar in his hands. Drake’s internal damage must have been extensive because it was having difficulty moving. With the last of its strength, the zombie drake sprinted toward Gi-Gyu.

“Well, I should test one last thing,” Gi-Gyu said. It was something he had been thinking about but had never tried. He never got the chance or an appropriate test target for this.

When Lou felt the energy gathering inside him and El’s avatar, he muttered,

-Fuck…

And…

Kaboom.

It was a much quieter explosion.

Then, a Big Boss Guild member whispered, “The drake is gone.”