Chapter 18: 2nd Floor Hidden (2)

Back in my room, I sat in my chair and lost myself in thought.

“Why did I fail?”

Was that demon not the boss I was supposed to defeat? Was there another enemy? If it were simply a matter of more enemies being present, there would be no reason for an immediate failure. The fact that it ended the moment the demon died meant she was someone I wasn’t supposed to kill.

Then, was she an ally?

‘But she ambushed me out of nowhere.’

If my reaction had been even a second slower, I would’ve died with a blade in my throat. Regardless, it was clear that killing the demon was a mistake. After hydrating and recovering my spent Willpower, I re-entered the 2nd Floor.

I cleared the platforms, climbed to the top, and took down the Minotaur. After descending the Tower and returning to the starting point, I headed into the forest. This time, I stayed on high alert. One slip-up and it would be over.

Just as I thought, ‘She should be popping out around here…’

I sensed a presence in the bushes to my side. Because all my senses were heightened, I was able to catch it. I stopped and stared at the thicket. A moment later, something blurred toward me, aiming for a strike.

Clang!

I parried the attack with my sword. I immediately stepped back and shouted.

“Wait a minute!”

The demon paused and glared at me. I raised both arms to show I had no hostile intent.

“I don’t want to fight! Why are you attacking me all of a sudden?”

Since she could speak, she wasn’t a mere monster but an intelligent being. I wondered if we could communicate. The demon glared at me, leveled her sword, and screamed.

“You despicable human! How dare you utter such shameless words!”

“What? What did I do?”

“You are the one who burned the entire castle with lava! Do you think I wouldn’t know!”

…Castle? Lava?

I pieced the context together. It seemed the “castle” she was referring to was the Tower I had just escaped from. And she was under the misconception that I was the one who filled it with lava.

Fine, I understood the flow of things perfectly now. I spoke up to clear the misunderstanding.

“I didn’t do that. I’m a victim too.”

“A victim?”

“Yes. I almost died in that lava myself before barely escaping the castle.”

“What? Who are you to be escaping my castle?”

“…Pardon? I was just there from the start.”

“What nonsense. So you are an intruder after all!”

Wait, the conversation was getting twisted. I realized my excuse sounded suspicious, and the demon’s eyes burned with even more hostility.

“Stop the wordplay, human!”

She lunged at me again, swinging her sword. I desperately dodged and blocked.

“I told you, it wasn’t me!”

Listen to me, you crazy demon!

Apparently having no intention of listening further, she didn’t stop her assault. I couldn’t kill her, so did that mean I had to subdue her? I was hesitant to use Flame Strike because a direct hit might kill her again. Setting the goal of subduing her through physical force, I threw myself into the fight.

Clash! Clang!

Our blades met in a fierce exchange. I seemed to have the advantage in raw strength, but our speeds were roughly equal. However, she was the superior combatant. I could feel that her swordsmanship and techniques were far more refined than mine. I thought I had grown accustomed to combat, but was this what real swordplay looked like?

‘This is hectic…!’

I barely managed to block and evade by stopping time periodically. I also had Teleportation as a fallback. As the battle dragged on, it became easier to endure. This was because my body was getting faster as the Elation stacks built up. Only after the effect reached its maximum did I finally gain the upper hand in speed.

Finding my rhythm, I began to push back. Even with the skill gap, the fact that I was now superior in both strength and speed balanced the scales.

“…!”

Now, the demon looked frantic. Still, seizing a decisive victory wasn’t easy. In the case of Knight Goblins or Minotaurs, their patterns were simple, making them easy to defeat once my Physical Ability reached a certain level. But this was my first time engaging in such a sophisticated exchange of blows, and it felt quite fresh.

‘This isn’t working.’

Deciding this would take too long, I stopped time. It was difficult because I had to subdue her without killing her. After concentrating, I teleported behind her. The demon’s sword, aimed at my neck, sliced through empty air. As she panicked at my sudden disappearance, I struck her from behind with a powerful roundhouse kick.

“Gah!”

Ah, did I kick her too hard? The demon, struck in the ribs, tumbled across the ground. She scrambled to her feet as I approached, and the fight continued. However, the damage was evident; her sword swings were much weaker than before.

“Let’s talk! Communicate!”

“What gibberish is this…!”

I’m telling you, let’s just talk. Is that so hard?

Clang!

The demon was pushed back significantly after blocking my sword. She gasped for breath while clutching her side, looking like she was in considerable pain. Surely she would listen now? I tried talking to her again.

“Let’s stop fighting. I don’t want to fight, so just calm down.”

“Pant, pant… You human…”

She kept harping on about being human. She was the one with the weird horns.

“I’m telling you, you’ve got it all wrong. I’m not an intruder, and I’m not your enemy. The lava wasn’t my doing either.”

“And you expect me to believe that…!”

“If you don’t, what then? Honestly, if I wanted to kill you, I could have slit your throat just now instead of kicking you. Why would I be bothering to talk to you like this?”

“Arrogant human! Who do you think you’re killing!”

The demon exploded in rage.

“Am I wrong? Then tell me. If we keep fighting, who do you think is going to die?”

“Urgh…!”

“That’s why I’m saying we should talk.”

She couldn’t argue further, seemingly forced to acknowledge that she was at a disadvantage. Her demeanor calmed slightly as she spoke.

“What is there to talk about?”

“Like I said, I’m not an intruder.”

“More nonsense! A human is in demon territory, and you claim not to be an intruder? Then what are you?”

So she really was a demon.

“I shall ask! What is a human doing in the land of demons? If you are not an intruder, what were you doing here in the Dapria County?”

I scratched my head and answered.

“Well… I’m lost.”

“What?”

“I’m a traveler, a wanderer, and I got lost. I didn’t even know this was demon territory.”

I decided to go with that excuse. I knew nothing about the setting of this world. There was nothing else I could use as a pretext. The demon spoke as if she found it absurd.

“…What are you talking about? Do you think that makes sense?”

“Whether it makes sense or not, it’s the truth.”

“I have never heard such a stupid story from a human. You crossed into demon lands just because you were lost?”

I pushed forward shamelessly.

“Yes. I have a bit of a poor sense of direction.”

“…”

The demon’s mouth hung open. Judging by her expression, it seemed to be working.

“T-Then! What was that about escaping from my castle earlier?”

“Oh, that? I just said that because I almost got hit by lava while passing by. I saw it pouring out of the windows like a waterfall.”

The demon frowned.

“I don’t think that’s what you said before…?”

“Don’t sweat the small details.”

Whatever, I’ll just wing it.

“Anyway, isn’t the current situation what matters? Let’s look at this logically. Who is stronger between the two of us? I am, right?”

“…Do not insult me! I have not lost yet!”

The “Lady” was about to have another fit. I continued calmly.

“Right. I know. You haven’t lost yet. But objectively, who is stronger? Be honest and speak from your conscience.”

“Guh… I have no intention of denying that you are strong!”

She spoke with a sense of frustration. At least she was willing to admit that much.

“Yes, I am stronger. Yet, even after you ambushed me and nearly killed me, I’m still trying to talk, right? Even though I could easily win.”

Well, I did kill her the first time, but let’s ignore that.

“If I were the culprit who burned your castle with lava, why would I be having this useless conversation instead of killing you, the owner of the castle? Does it seem like I have any ill will toward you?”

The “Lady” remained silent before shouting.

“That… would be impossible!”

“Exactly. I am not your enemy. So, you understand that we don’t need to fight anymore, right?”

The coaxing tone seemed to be working, so I stuck with it. She just stared at me now with confused eyes.

“Human, tell me your name first. If you truly have nothing to hide.”

“…My name? It’s Seohyun Kim.”

The “Lady” tilted her head.

“Kim-sseo-hyun…? Are human names always that strange? What is your family name?”

“My family name is Kim. My name is Seohyun.”

“How odd. Both the family name and the given name are strange. And why do you put the family name before the given name?”

…Why does she keep calling it strange? Should I hit her one more time?

“Regardless, humans are incomprehensible. I am Hailyn Dapria. I am the direct descendant of the Great Dapria Family.”

Even if you tell me that, I have no idea who they are. As I stood there with an “Oh, I see…” expression, Hailyn shouted.

“You might not know since you’re human, but my family is very prestigious! Human, what is your family? Is this ‘Kim’ family of yours nobility among humans?”

“No.”

Well, maybe they were a long time ago. Hailyn suddenly adopted an arrogant expression.

“Is that so? Then you must show me respect. Even if our races differ, I am a noble, and you, human, are not.”

Wow, she’s starting to get annoying. I had succeeded in moving from an enemy to a neutral party without killing her, but I didn’t know what to do next. What now?

“Fine, human. From now on, you shall assist me.”

“…Assist you? With what?”

“The situation is urgent, so you shall serve as my temporary guard.”

A guard, all of a sudden? Was this how the story progressed?

“What makes it so urgent? You should tell me that first.”

Hailyn explained.

“The reason my castle was burned by lava is that the magic went berserk. Originally, it is a self-destruct spell triggered as a last resort when an intruder enters, but it has activated out of nowhere. If you are not the intruder, then it means there is another one. An intruder powerful enough to warrant the activation of the self-destruct magic. That is why you must help me.”

Ah, so that was the plot. I asked.

“But Hailyn, why don’t you know who the intruder is? Weren’t you in the castle?”

“Call me Lady Hailyn!”

“Fine, Lady Hailyn. Anyway.”

Hailyn spoke with a grim face.

“I have a hobby of enjoying solitary night walks. However, when I returned from my walk today, this disaster had occurred. I followed the footprints at the main gate, which led me to you.”

“Aha…”

“The intruder surely committed this act knowing my father was away. How dare they… if only my father were here…”

Hailyn trembled with rage. I understood the situation roughly, but I had one last question.

“But why should I help you, Lady Hailyn? This has nothing to do with me.”

I spoke as if it were the most natural question in the world. Hailyn snapped back.

“I have not fully cleared you of suspicion yet! If you are innocent, shouldn’t you naturally help?”

It was pure coercion.

“Of course, once everything is settled, I shall grant you a proper reward. I am the direct descendant of the Dapria Family. I will not do anything to tarnish the honor of Dapria.”

A reward. Could that be the hidden reward? I nodded.

“Understood. I’ll help.”

It seemed like the correct path to take, and I had intended to go along with it anyway.

“So, what do you plan to do now, Lady Hailyn?”

“I am going back to the castle. There may be servants who escaped alive, so I must check.”

Hailyn led the way, and I followed behind. We retraced the path I had taken. Feeling a strange sensation, I thought to myself.

‘What is this world?’

Is it a real world? Are the demons in front of me actually living people? I hadn’t thought deeply about it on the 1st Floor, but since I was having natural conversations and the story was progressing like a game, I couldn’t help but wonder.

Even if I searched for information on other difficulties, there were no cases of meeting people or intelligent beings in the Tower that you could talk to. If so, was this a unique characteristic of the Hidden route? It felt too real to be fake, yet it was a world that simply reset every time I left and re-entered the Tower.

“Lady Hailyn.”

“Yes?”

“Do you know what the Tower is? The one divided into Easy, Normal, Hard, and Nightmare Difficulty…”

“What? What are you talking about?”

Hailyn seemed to have no idea what I was saying. I guess that conversation was a dead end. I changed the question.

“Then what kind of world is this? I mean… what do you call this continent we live on?”

“It is the Panderun Continent, of course. What exactly are you trying to say?”

Hailyn looked at me like I was a weirdo. Panderun. Was it another dimension? Or just a setting created for this place?

“Now that I think about it, I have a question as well. How did you move behind my back earlier? I couldn’t track your movements at all.”

“That? It was just a teleportation spell.”

Hailyn looked surprised.

“A spell? You were a mage?”

“Well… I can use magic.”

Since it was a Magic skill, it counted as magic. Hailyn asked, looking confused.

“But how can you cast magic in such a manner?”

“What?”

“Well, I am not an expert on magic myself… but doesn’t magic always require casting time? You shouldn’t be able to move while casting.”

Casting? Did she mean the mental concentration?

“I have my own methods.”

I brushed it off since I couldn’t explain it. During our brief conversation, we had arrived back at the castle.

“Ah…”

Hailyn let out a sigh as she looked at the castle. It seemed the lava had continued to rise even after I escaped; it was now completely overflowing, to the point where the outer walls were barely visible.

There was no way there were any survivors, right? In the first place, I hadn’t seen anyone but the Minotaur when I escaped.

“They must all be dead,” Hailyn muttered, looking aghast. “I must find traces of the intruder… they couldn’t have gone far… No, should I go to where my father is first…?”

Just then, both Hailyn and I turned our heads simultaneously. It was a sensation I had never felt before. Dark, ominous, and making my skin crawl. It was an incredibly powerful presence that was hard to describe in words.

K-Boom!

Suddenly, the castle gate and the piles of hardened lava were shattered. Someone walked out from within, covered in the glow of the lava. It was a knight in pitch-black armor.

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