Episode 230 Endless Dungeon (2)
What Sanghyeon found most interesting on the first floor was status effects.
As the instructions indicated, it was true that not even a tiny bit of physical damage was inflicted.
As a test, he swung his sword with all his might. And he did so against a utterly pathetic rabbit monster.
However, despite striking as if to split its body in half, he could not cut a single hair off the rabbit.
The laws of the system take precedence over the laws of physics. Within this, even the providence of nature bypassed it.
On the other hand, having witnessed it firsthand, he felt relieved regarding the possibility of variables arising.
Since the characteristics of the floors are announced in advance, it actually makes preparing skills easier.
If there is physical resistance, one simply prepares magic-related skills, and if the opposite is true, one simply prepares the opposite.
Perhaps because the structure provides advance notice, there was a positive aspect in that it simplified his thinking.
The skills Sanghyeon found the most use in were Knockback Burst and Updraft.
The first floor generally consisted of narrow terrain, and there were indeed many sheer cliffs and precipices.
With 100% physical resistance set as the default, it was expected that a typical Swordsman would struggle against him. This was
because it was difficult to secure a suitable battlefield, and physical pressure was ineffective against the monster.
However, Sanghyeon was able to deal with the monster without difficulty simply by utilizing his skills.
For example, consider this scenario:
a creature resembling an enhanced troll appears.
While ordinary trolls are famous for their tenacity, an enhanced troll is incredibly resistant to ordinary attacks.
In colloquial terms, it is a "HP pig." It takes a significant amount of damage to finally bring it to its demise.
Furthermore, a Swordsman player inevitably has limited magical damage.
If a Swordsman in the conventional sense had come, it would have taken an eternity just to handle a single enhanced troll.
However, Sanghyeon found a way to eliminate the creature with ease.
First, he uses an updraft to launch the troll high into the air.
While it is true that it is a HP pig, its intelligence is significantly lower in inverse proportion to its high HP. Consequently,
inflicting status ailments on such a creature is as easy as breathing.
So, whenever Sanghyeon encountered an Enhanced Troll, he would first use an updraft to give it a good look at the sky.
What was next?
Timed perfectly with its fall, he would unleash a fully charged Knockback Burst to blow it away.
If the first floor had been an ordinary field, even with this combo, the Troll would likely just brush it off and get back up to attack.
The problem, however, was the countless cliffs, precipices, and slopes that appeared.
This meant that the environment was set up everywhere, perfectly suited for the Enhanced Troll to fall to its death.
No matter how high its HP or how muscular its body, it was difficult to survive falling tens of meters down.
Hitting a rock would inevitably shatter its head or body, and falling into water meant inevitable drowning.
In this way, Sanghyeon dealt with every monster he encountered using a combination of airborne and knockback attacks.
It was a clean method of suppression created by combining his skills with the dungeon environment.
Furthermore, it was a method unique to Sanghyeon that no other Swordsman player could have even conceive of.
“Wow… Level 325 right in front of the first-floor boss? You’re saying your level went up by over 10 in just one floor?” It
was only after facing the boss monster that Sang-hyun was able to check the backlog of level-up messages.
At that moment, he was startled.
He had seen a few level-up messages, so he assumed his level had gone up a bit, but he never imagined it would be by 10.
The challenge environment wasn't even that difficult for Sang-hyun .
Rather, it was closer to mechanically repeating the Updraft and Knockback Burst skills.
“I think I understand why players who come here and seize the opportunity become ‘Named.’ This… is definitely cheating.”
Sang-hyun laughed.
But if you were to ask if it was a completely absurd cheat, the answer was absolutely not.
It is a cheat that applies only to players who are qualified to experience such cheat-like growth.
In other words, it is a legitimate ‘cheat code’ granted only to players who possess the potential and qualifications to grow.
“I’m getting really greedy about this.”
Just experiencing one floor made his heart pound. And his greed soared to infinity.
Isn't that right?
If the reward for just one floor is this great, imagine how much greater the rewards would be if I kept conquering the stairs.
If the raid were to end prematurely due to my own mistake or lack of ability… …?
I felt like I would regret it for a long time, feel a pang of jealousy, and get angry. Because I would be missing an opportunity that would be hard to come by again.
Meanwhile,
special information was also being displayed on the boss right in front of me, who was glaring as if to devour Sanghyeon.
[Boss – Glaze]
[Physical Resistance]
[Ice Resistance]
“This guy is at his best with a fire sword.”
『Great Flame』
■ Skill Level: Stage 3 (3.2%)
■ Skill Introduction: Conditional skill activation is possible, limited to a single designated artifact.
2 Mana is consumed per second to maintain the flame.
As the skill level increases, it evolves into the forms of Inferno and Super Inferno.
Sanghyeon conjured flames on the Nameless Sword and confirmed the Great Flame skill, which could unleash fire-attribute attacks.
Originally, it was the Small Flame or Flame skill, but the name changed upon reaching level 3.
As a skill with all capabilities maximized in the fire attribute, it is perfect for dealing with monsters resistant to ice.
“Here I go!”
Sanghyeon charged directly at the boss monster, Glaze, without hesitation.
Lacking prior information, he was in a situation where he could not judge the creature in the slightest without fighting it himself.
Therefore, calculating in advance how to deal with it or formulating a strategy was meaningless.
A place where data is accumulated only through combat. That place was the Endless Dungeon.
* * *
Afterwards.
As Sanghyun continued to fight Glaze, he realized one more reason why the Endless Dungeon was so terrifying.
Throughout clearing the first floor, he had been so focused on combat that he was late in checking other things. Upon
closer inspection, however, he realized that the speed of skill level—or rather, mastery—increase was incredibly fast.
Skills Sanghyun had frequently used earlier, such as Updraft and Knockback Burst, had all reached level 5.
The notoriously difficult first skill leveling was complete. Thanks to this, the coefficients related to the skills had also changed and increased significantly.
However, a change had also occurred in the Great Flame skill, which he had focused on using to fight Glaze.
Just before entering the battle, the skill was clearly level 3, bearing the name "Great Flame" and displaying a mastery of 3.2%.
Now, however, it had risen to level 5 with a mastery reaching 80%. It had increased by a whopping two levels.
Considering the case of a typical player, growth that would take years had been achieved in just a few tens of minutes.
Of course, even at level 5, after reaching around 80%, the rate of growth slowed significantly.
It was as if he wanted to say that the peak of explosive growth is reached at 80% of level 5, and that the brakes are applied thereafter.
In any case, he reached level 5—the point where a skill undergoes a complete transformation—far too easily.
Considering the immense effort players pour into "skill grinding" to reach level 5,
it is a waste of words to even mention it, but it was truly unbelievable.
Thanks to this, the Great Flame skill, renamed "Super Inferno," became a veritable pillar of fire.
The flames blazing fiercely around the Nameless Sword stretched a staggering 8 meters in length by rough estimation alone.
From Sanghyeon's perspective, this meant he could strike enemies with fire from 8 meters away.
Since flames deal magic damage unlike sword strikes, it was also easy to counter resistances.
If the opponent had physical resistance, he would attack with the flames, and if they had magic resistance, he would inflict physical damage with his sword.
“Ku-heeek. Heeek. Heeek.”
Perhaps because Sang-hyun was so excited about working on skill mastery, Glaze had already fallen into a state of exhaustion.
It was no wonder, given the power of the Flame Sword growing stronger with each passing moment.
It wouldn't have been strange for him to consider himself invincible simply by possessing physical and ice resistances.
However, he was completely neutralized by magic that easily ignores physical attacks and flames that easily ignore ice.
And then.
Whoosh! Slash!
Sang-hyun unleashed a final blow with all his might, cleanly blowing off Glaze's head.
Level 330 achieved in an instant! Simply by facing and killing the boss monster in a one-on-one battle, his level had risen by a whopping 5.
The total sum of levels gained on the first floor was close to 20. It was an unbelievable rapid growth. The
surprising events didn't end there.
[Stairway clear special bonus activated.]
[Randomly upgrade one equipped artifact of Epic grade or lower.]
[Artifact to be upgraded selected.] [This is the 'Frozen Blue Ring'.]
“This is seriously a cheat code.”
Sanghyun shook his head.
As soon as the message appeared, the composition of the Frozen Blue Ring changed, and its configuration was completely different. It had been upgraded.
「Frozen Blue Ring」
■ Artifact Grade: Epic
■ Artifact Description: Increases Freeze Resistance by 100%. Increases Mana by 400.
“The Mana increase went from 100 to 400… and? The Freeze Resistance went from 5% to 100%? Not 10%?”
Sanghyun couldn't believe his eyes.
It was because the resistance stats given were far too excessive for an Epic grade item.
That alone was enough to mean he had already acquired complete immunity to freezing.
As long as he wore the Frozen Blue Ring, Sanghyun would never freeze again.
“Now I understand why Jeron Decay and Frederic Villain were destined to become ‘Named.’ They secured a dungeon like this and climbed it whenever the opportunity arose.”
It finally makes sense.
Of course, I had absolutely no intention of belittling their efforts or dismissing them as worthless.
I simply can comprehend the reason for their rapid growth.
Since they reaped the rewards of the Endless Dungeon based on their diverse potential, rapid growth was inevitable.
“I must climb at least one floor, no matter what, even if I have to grit my teeth. Wow… this is truly insane.”
Sanghyun rarely uses the word “insane,” but this time, he wanted to use it without reservation.
Having tasted the thrill properly, he felt a strong desire not to fall behind. At the same time, his motivation was high.
The more he grew here,
the easier the battle against the Eye of Calamity contractors he would face later would be.
For that reason alone, he desperately wanted to reach the maximum floor, as long as conditions and circumstances permitted.
And so began the raid.
Having gotten off to a stellar start on the first floor, Sang-hyun advanced unstoppably through the second, third, fourth, and fifth floors, reaching all the way to the sixth.
Crisis? There hadn't been one so far.
To the point where one wondered if the Endless Dungeon was even allowed to be this intense.
