Chapter 10
Part 9
“Ah, right! Hyung, can I ask you something?”
Mincheol cautiously spoke as he walked beside Yugeon.
“Sure.”
“I saw the news yesterday. Apparently a Level 88 Fragment of the Abyss appeared on Sector 1, Floor 4.”
Mincheol lowered his voice slightly.
“They said someone believed to be a Great Star appeared and killed it in one hit. Apparently, he didn't even take the materials and simply disappeared...”
“...”
Yugeon continued looking forward.
His expression did not change.
“Was that you, hyung?”
“...”
“Ah, if I shouldn't have asked...”
“It was me. I happened to have business on Floor 4 when the Fragment of the Abyss appeared, so I killed it. I didn't have enough space to carry the materials, so I left them behind.”
“I knew it... It really was you.”
Mincheol's eyes sparkled.
He had suspected it while watching the news.
And he had been right.
Just how strong is hyung?
He had already wondered about it after watching Yugeon kill Drogas in one attack.
But he had never imagined Yugeon could also kill a Fragment of the Abyss in one strike.
Don't tell me... Could he even kill a Level 100 boss in one hit?
Strangely...
Mincheol felt that even a Level 100 boss monster would still die in one strike before Yugeon.
Floor 20.
[Black Spider Castle]
As Yugeon and Mincheol arrived, damp air clung to their bodies.
An abandoned castle covered in blue moss stood before them.
Thick white spiderwebs covered everything from the roof to the outer walls.
“I've never been here before.”
“Looks like you skipped Floor 20 with an item.”
“Yes. Our party leader had business on another floor, so he used an item that allowed us to go directly to the next one.”
“Using something that valuable on a low floor like this? He'll regret it later.”
“What is this floor like? Are there a lot of monsters?”
“Not many. The boss is the real problem.”
The Floor 20 boss was the Arachne Queen.
Her upper body resembled a pale woman.
Her lower body was the enormous body of a spider.
The instant she saw a human, she lost all reason and attacked.
Worse...
Anyone captured by the Queen would immediately fall under her control.
Because of that, the larger the party, the more difficult the battle became.
“Hmm. I can see why. But why are we here?”
“The Legendary item I'm giving Hwang Mungi is here.”
“A Legendary item?!”
Mincheol jumped at the word.
Yugeon had already told him about making a deal with someone named Hwang Mungi.
But Mincheol had not known the payment was a Legendary item.
“Y-You're really giving him a Legendary item?”
“It's not particularly useful to us anyway.”
“...”
“Why? Do you want it? Should I give it to you?”
“No. If it was something I needed, you would've given it to me first.”
Mincheol laughed.
Yugeon smiled faintly.
They had barely known each other for long, yet Mincheol was already beginning to understand him.
As they continued forward...
Yugeon turned his head slightly.
Behind a collapsed wall...
He sensed the faintest trace of killing intent.
“Mincheol.”
“Yes, hyung.”
“Raise your shield.”
“?”
CLANG!
Mincheol immediately pulled the shield from his back.
The order had come suddenly.
But he knew Yugeon would never give a meaningless command.
“There's a type of person I hate more than almost anything.”
Yugeon signaled toward the wall with his eyes.
Mincheol followed his gaze and lowered his stance.
“Don't tell me...”
“Right. Looters.”
They were trash who killed other Awakeners and stole their items.
Yugeon hated them.
And he hated the ones who operated on Floor 20 even more.
“They're probably not just after our items. They likely want to kill us to calm the Queen.”
“Huh? Calm the Queen?”
Mincheol had never cleared Floor 20.
Yugeon explained.
The Arachne Queen went berserk the instant she encountered humans.
But there was one method to calm her.
Offer a human as food.
After eating a human sacrifice, the Arachne Queen entered a dazed state.
While in that state, both her attack and defense dropped.
“They hunt humans to feed the boss. Stealing their items is just an extra benefit.”
Grit.
Mincheol clenched his teeth in disgust.
Offering humans as sacrifices?
He raised his hammer.
Hummmm!
“Damn it! They noticed us!”
Whoosh!
The hidden looters immediately leaped out from behind the wall.
There were six in total.
They aimed their weapons forward and openly released killing intent.
“Bad luck today. Of all people, we had to run into someone sharp.”
The man who seemed to be their leader clicked his tongue.
A visible scar crossed his face.
A nasty smile hung from his lips.
He looked exactly like a hyena.
“Hey, brothers. Why don't we make this easy? Drop your weapons and come over here. We'll put you to sleep with magic before you're eaten, so it won't hurt.”
