ALL NOVEL chapter 15
15 – Boss Room (1)
[The trial is complete.]
[Contributions for rewards are being measured.]
The trial on the 8th floor, where eyes could have been gouged out, has ended.
A chilling three hours spent in the eerie graveyard.
How cleverly everything was hidden. For those without skills to recover from abnormal conditions, night vision, or tools to illuminate the surroundings, it was a perfect trial leading to death.
Kangwoo slowly blinked his reddened eyes.
In the stiff condition of his eyes, which strongly suggested dry eye syndrome, the system spoke.
[Trial completion reward 650 points]
[Monsters defeated 0]
If it’s 600, then it’s 600, and if it’s 700, then it’s 700. What’s with the 650?
The system’s notification followed the measly reward. Of course, the number of monsters defeated was 0.
From the start, those ghosts were monsters impervious to physical attacks, and even if they had magical skills, they would never attack.
Those creatures… If attacked, they would flip their eyes and chase you to the end of the earth. Never should you touch monsters without the means to annihilate them.
Simply applying the clear achievement, the total reward was 1,300 points.
After experiencing treasure hunting in the Courage Experience Hall, it was quite a substantial amount.
Satisfied, Kangwoo sprawled out.
It was a time to give respite to the eyes that had endured for three hours.
***
[You have challenged the ninth trial.]
“Hu.”
The fact that it was the ninth trial was a new experience.
Since discovering that the Tower couldn’t be left after the intervention of the Flame Fist in the first-floor Safe Zone, how much anxiety had filled his mind about climbing the Tower alone.
Just yesterday, he was complaining, and now it was already the ninth trial…!
Thanks to the deep rest in the Safe Zone, Kangwoo, with a refreshed look, surveyed the surroundings.
“… Isn’t repeating this kind of thing excessive?”
Whether it was a lack of imagination or intentionally done.
The place that had become familiar to the point of being comfortable welcomed Kangwoo.
A vast meadow, a horizon that seemed endless. The place that was the backdrop for the trials on the third and sixth floors, where crazy cows and crazy birds frolicked, welcomed Kangwoo.
“…”
Unpleasant. Very unpleasant.
The first time he came here, he ran like a dog to avoid being killed by the crazy cows chasing him, and the second time, he almost became grilled meat for the red sparrows.
But now, this meadow again. What’s going on this time…?
“Uh…?”
Kangwoo’s complexion, as he repeated memories, turned pale.
Nothing happened each time he came here… Could it be happening again this time…?
Just before the heart paralysis due to fear, the system notification appeared.
[Mission: Increase stats through training.]
[The trial will end after the stat increase alert appears 3 times.]
“Huh?”
Not a single ant on the vast plain.
Kangwoo’s bewilderment scattered with the wind.
“Huh?”
So baffled that his mind couldn’t function properly.
Training? Wha… what is th… traaaiining?
Was the Tower, which had been rolling around like a dog, hinting at knowing the meaning of the word ‘training’ if one didn’t want to die?
But even setting that aside.
“… There’s nothing here?”
By now, Kangwoo understood the Tower’s intention behind this trial.
Since the party’s size wasn’t restricted, and it wasn’t designed for individuals to overcome the trials alone.
The Tower seemed to have issued the mission assuming that multiple individuals would challenge the trial.
Train together and increase your stats!
That’s what it meant. But…
“… Damn it?”
On the desolate plain with no one around, Kangwoo muttered a curse.
This was too much to endure.
Perhaps I waited with some unknown expectations, but even after an hour since the trial began, not a single monster appeared.
At this point, a crazy thought crossed my mind, wishing for a giant horned snail to show up instead.
Having realized that the Tower indeed desired ‘training,’ Kangwoo pondered extensively.
The first idea that came to mind was increasing strength using the ‘Sacred Touch.’
However, since this skill did not enhance strength for self-inflicted injuries, and considering the obvious absence of monsters in this trial, this method was rejected.
While there was an option to increase strength through effort…
Kangwoo, surveying his surroundings, involuntarily sighed.
Once strength surpassed 10, it didn’t rise easily through ordinary means. Even with exercises like push-ups, it was futile after countless attempts.
To elevate strength to around 19.2, a strong stimulus was necessary…
In a place devoid of even a single tree, let alone rocks, finding tools to increase strength was impossible.
Endurance… It might increase if one endured enough hits, but to imagine how many hits one needed to endure to raise it to level 3 was incomprehensible, so he passed on that.
Intelligence… Since he had never heard of a way to increase it, he passed.
Mana was popularly known to increase through using skills. However, using the only skill, ‘Sacred Touch,’ required getting hurt, so he passed due to the same reason as endurance.
Then, only one option remained. Agility…
An old memory flickered through Kangwoo’s mind.
The hellish race against numerous giant horned snails, staking his life.
Back then, Kangwoo didn’t want to know, but he found out: agility rises when you run like crazy.
“To do that again… here of all places… Ugh.”
The only way was agility. He had no choice but to increase agility.
“Ah, I really don’t want to do this.”
Especially in this meadow, I really didn’t want to run for real.
Considering that the agility stat earned from the race was only 2, it was unimaginable how crazily one had to run to increase agility by 3 more.
However, the provisions he had were only enough for six days, even if he saved them diligently. And he had only 1L of water, so he couldn’t drink to his heart’s content.
“Ah, damn.”
With no other choice, Gangwoo used the shoulder strap of the kite shield to carry it on his back and fixed the staff on his back with a rope.
Even though there were no monsters, he chose to carry a weapon because of the vigilance that arose after encountering the red sparrow.
Having completed the preparations, Gangwoo began training to increase agility.
“aaah!!”
After that, there was nothing special.
Running with the shield and staff awkwardly strapped to his back, Gangwoo realized the new fact that the steel kite shield was heavy.
Even with an agility stat equivalent to that of a track and field athlete, running with a steel shield was damn difficult.
Run, rest if tired. Repeat.
After running like crazy for five hours, Gangwoo realized that his agility wasn’t increasing.
He realized that resting when tired doesn’t increase agility.
After that realization, about three hours later, Gangwoo heard the system notification for the first time since receiving the mission.
[Agility has increased by 1.]
“Aja-aaah!!”
Having exhausted all his stamina, Gangwoo clutched his trembling legs and sat down.
It was expected, but increasing stats wasn’t an easy task.
“Hoo…oo…”
Gangwoo, who had lain down for a moment to take a break, blinked and fell asleep unintentionally. When he woke up and checked the time, he realized that he had slept for 7 hours.
Hastily scanning the surroundings and finding no monsters nearby, Gangwoo sighed in relief and stood up from his spot… only to sit back down.
No matter how much he thought about it, running with these legs wasn’t an option.
He stared blankly for a while.
Gangwoo’s eyes sparkled when he discovered a bow and quiver between the baggage he had set aside.
“Oh?”
It was the expression of a mischief-maker who had found a toy to kill time.
***
[Trial will end.]
[Measurement of contribution for rewards will begin.]
“Seeeriously.”
Clear time for the trial: 98 hours.
It wasn’t a life-or-death situation being chased by monsters, and there was nothing but a deserted plain, but trying to kill time alone was driving him insane.
Just when the drastically reduced food supply was about to run out due to his uncontrollable appetite.
Gangwoo, barely passing the trial, collapsed on the ground.
[Reward for completing the trial: 100 points]
“?”
Gangwoo, upon hearing the system notification, jumped up. He didn’t hear any follow-up messages about defeating monsters or clearing achievements or whatever.
“100 points, seriously?”
After enduring that ordeal for four days, he only got a measly 100 points? Isn’t it the smallest amount among the rewards so far!
“Is it a good thing that my abilities are increasing, and you’re only giving me meal money or something?”
Jjojan’s heart trembled at the modesty of the Tower.
“Rather, bring out the monsters!! Who wants to train???”
Kangwoo, who had been complaining for a while with his head held high, as if in rebellion, suddenly stopped as if lying.
Turning his gaze, he faced the door leading to the next trial.
The same door as always, with the same form, but for some reason, the darkness of that door seemed more intense today.
’10th floor.’
A floor ending in 0.
10th floor, 20th floor, 30th floor, and so on. The trial of the floor ending in 0, also known as the boss room, was significantly more challenging than the previous trials.
Whether it was deemed irrelevant to clear information. This information had spread from the awakened individuals who left the Tower and was even recorded in the association’s textbook.
“…Sigh.”
I secretly hoped, just in case.
As expected, there was no one else in this safe zone except Kangwoo.
Failing to catch up with those who went first because he spent a lot of time clearing the trial alone.
[Points: 3,139]
The remaining amount after buying a simple meal and flashlight on the 8th floor.
It wasn’t a small amount, but it wasn’t enough to buy items with the effect of increasing abilities.
So, the conclusion is that he has to challenge the trial as it is…
[Name: Choi Kangwoo
Strength: 19.2]
Physical Strength: 10
Agility: 10
Intellect: 7
Mana: 9+(1)]
His muscular strength was significantly higher than average growth, but answering whether it was sufficient was not easy.
After all, challenging a boss room meant for dozens of people alone was a different story.
“Should I wait…?”
Thoughts of waiting until the newcomers who would enter the tower next month reached the Safe Zone on the 9th floor dominated his mind.
If he waited for them, he wouldn’t have to venture alone.
“…”
After a brief hesitation, Kang Woo, lowering his head, opened the store.
[Purchased Intermediate Healing Potion.]
[Purchased Intermediate Healing Potion.]
[Purchased Intermediate Healing Potion.]
Including those he had bought from the Safe Zone on the 7th floor, Kang Woo now had a total of four Intermediate Healing Potions.
[Available Points: 139]
By using all his points, Kang Woo eliminated the option of waiting and lay down on the floor, closing his eyes.
For someone who knew that the world would end in three years,
there was no luxury of wasting even a month.
Conquering the tower after the world had ended would be pointless, after all.
Time flowed quickly.
The next morning.
Prepared and ready, Kang Woo walked towards the next trial.
With a steel kite shield in his left hand and a familiar staff in his right.
[You are challenging the Tenth Trial.]
Urgently scanning the trial location, it was the circular arena, the Colosseum.
[Mission: Survive against the diseased orc.]
[If 30 minutes pass, the trial will end.]
Even if he were to say this to someone else, no one would believe it.
The tenth trial, challenging with a simple announcement, had begun.