Chapter 60: Branch Tower (6)

Based on the 1st floor, I tried to predict the enemies that would appear in the future… and I had a feeling every single one of them would possess a special ability.

“Alright.” Let’s see what we’ve got.

I moved to the next floor, sharpening my senses to their peak.

In other Branch Towers, the monsters changed as you went up, but the early floors were always the same: Goblins, Orcs, Lizardmen, Werewolves… The 2nd floor of the fifth Branch Tower was no different.

The enemy on the 2nd floor was an Orc. However, its skin was gray instead of green, and it felt slightly larger than the Orcs in other towers. It carried an axe and wore a full suit of armor.

Graaaaaqh!

The Orc roared the moment I entered. Instantly, a ripple spread through the air like a stone hitting the surface of water.

“Wait.” What was this?

My body stiffened, and I couldn’t move. The Orc rushed toward my frozen self. I used Time Stop.

‘I see. Is this Orc’s ability to paralyze opponents with its roar?’

It wasn’t a dangerous situation. My Sixth Sense told me it was just a common mob. Like the stealthy Goblin, it was just a bit stronger than an Ordinary Orc. Even if I took the hit as I was, I wouldn’t take much damage.

‘I can still use Concentration.’

Though my body was immobile, I could still use skills. After finishing my Concentration, I released the time flow and cast Flame Strike.

K-booooom!

Fireballs manifested in the air and flew forward, causing the Orc to Incinerate.

An easy success. After a moment, the paralysis wore off. I clenched and unclenched my fists, confirming there were no issues with my body.

‘Will it keep going like this?’

As expected, it seemed monsters with special abilities would continue to appear. It was fine for now because the monsters were weak on the lower floors, but it could get truly dangerous as I went higher.

Next, the 3rd floor. Let’s keep going.

I used Time Stop the moment I entered. The enemy before me was a Lizardman. I began my Concentration. Since I didn’t know what strange abilities the opponent might use, I decided to go all out from the start.

I fired a fully charged Destruction Line at the Lizardman. Whatever ability it might have had, the Lizardman vanished before it could even blink.

Next, the 4th floor. I waited for the Destruction Line cooldown and entered immediately.

The monster was a Werewolf. Again, I stopped time, concentrated, and fired a Destruction Line.

Things went smoothly up to the 4th floor. From the 5th floor onward, the monsters would likely change. After cooling down my skills and recovering my Willpower, I moved to the 5th floor.

I used Time Stop. All I saw was darkness. It was a complete pitch-black Cheonji.

‘Hmm, what is this? Surely my eyes haven’t gone bad?’

Skreeee…

When I released time, I heard a sound like metal scraping from several directions.

“Diul.”

I summoned Diul and used Night Vision. Fortunately, there was nothing wrong with my eyes. I could see three monsters approaching me through the darkness. They were… like the “Eight-Foot-Tall” ghosts? Tall, lanky monsters with spindly limbs holding scythes. The scraping noise was the sound of the scythes dragging on the floor.

Fwoosh!

I immediately cast Flame Strike. The fireballs split into three directions and caused the monsters to Incinerate.

Was the Gimmick of the 5th floor the dark environment itself rather than the monsters’ abilities? It wasn’t a problem for me since I had Diul.

Already the 6th floor. Upon entering, I saw mirrors. Five large mirrors hung on the walls, surrounding the room.

‘What is this… are the mirrors the monsters?’

I finished my Concentration and released time. I tried launching a Flame Strike at the mirror in front of me.

Tung!

The fireball bounced off the mirror and flew straight back at me.

‘Wait, what?’

K-boooom!

The fireball struck the exact spot where I had been standing. I dove to the side to dodge and stared at the mirror in disbelief.

‘Damage reflection?’

Suddenly, the edges of the mirrors turned red. An image appeared in one of them—a face resembling a demon.

Kyaaaak!

As it shrieked, a hazy Shockwave shot out from the mirror. I dove again to avoid it. The Shockwave hit the floor and exploded.

Kyaak! Kyaak! Kyaak! Kyaak! Kyaak!

Demon faces appeared in the other mirrors one after another, shrieking. Then, more Shockwaves came flying. I moved around and easily dodged them all. Evasion wasn’t difficult.

The edges of the five mirrors returned to normal. The demon figures vanished, and the attacks stopped. I tried attacking the mirrors again, this time with a Magic Bullet instead of a Flame Strike.

With a clear ringing sound, the Magic Bullet was reflected and flew back at me.

“Hmm…”

I dodged to the side and furrowed my brow. An attack-reflection ability—a very mirror-like power. Wow, thank goodness I didn’t lead with Destruction Line the moment I walked in. That would have been a disaster.

I used Time Stop and calmly considered the 8th Floor Strategy Guide. If magic doesn’t work, maybe they’ll break if I hit them directly? I released time, ran toward one of the mirrors, and struck it with my Fist.

Tung!

With a recoil I could feel in my hand, my body was sent flying back. It reflected physical attacks too. That wasn’t it.

The mirror frames turned red again. Kyaaaak! The demon faces reappeared and started firing Shockwaves. I used Time Stop.

‘Maybe I have to attack that thing?’

Maybe the answer was to attack when the demon appeared. It only surfaced for a brief moment, but that was plenty of time for me to strike. I finished my Concentration and fired a Magic Bullet at the demon face.

Pang!

This time, the attack wasn’t reflected. The demon figure dissipated like black smoke. It seemed I had found the answer.

Kya-ik!

Another demon appeared in a different mirror.

Pang-pang-pang-pang!

I cleared the rest of the demons like a game of whack-a-mole, firing Magic Bullets at the remaining four mirrors.

Success. Before moving to the 7th floor, I took a moment to think.

‘The Gimmicks are starting to blend together…’

In other words, the solutions were getting more tedious. Still, it felt manageable for now. The basic structure of “defeat the enemy to win” remained the same. Compared to the Nightmare where even that didn’t exist, this was nothing.

Well… let’s keep going. I moved to the 7th floor.

The enemy on the 7th floor was… just a Monster. I call it that because it had a look that didn’t fit any specific word. It was about the size of an Orc, with a lumpy Body that reminded me of a streusel bun, and it held a Mace.

I performed my Concentration during Time Stop. Since reflection abilities had just appeared on the previous floor, I tried a Flame Strike first instead of Destruction Line.

K-boooom!

A massive explosion. After the flames cleared, the monster was perfectly fine. It was covered in red scales—different from when the Skin Hardening skill is active, but similar in effect. I was slightly surprised.

‘…No damage at all?’

Grrrr…

The monster charged at me with a low growl. I stopped time again and concentrated. Since it didn’t seem to have a reflection ability, I used Destruction Line. A pitch-black beam engulfed the monster.

However… I was truly shocked this time. The monster wasn’t obliterated even after a direct hit from Destruction Line. Forget being destroyed; it was perfectly intact. After being pushed back to the wall, it stood up and Charged at me again.

I dodged the Mace it swung and countered.

Kwang!

Struck by my Fist, the monster flew back and crashed into the wall. As expected, there was no damage. it stood right back up. It felt like the red scales covering its body were absorbing all the impact.

‘Invincibility…’

Could it be an invincibility ability? One where no attack works? However, the monster’s own Physical Ability was far below mine—about Level 40 at best.

Kaoooo!

I summoned Fliya, and together we began to pummel the monster. We beat it relentlessly; it bounced around like a ball, crashed into walls, and was even chewed on by Fliya. It was a one-sided fight that didn’t feel one-sided, because no matter how much we hit it, the monster took zero damage.

The monster wasn’t a threat to me, but I couldn’t kill it either. I rotated my wrist. How was I supposed to kill this thing? Fliya was currently pinning the monster down so it couldn’t move.

“Whew.”

Those red scales were clearly absorbing all the damage. Since it stayed intact despite the constant beating, it didn’t seem to be a consumable resource. I had beaten its entire body thoroughly. There wasn’t a single spot not covered in scales… Wait, hang on.

There was one place I hadn’t checked. I approached the monster.

“Keep it pinned down, Fliya.”

Stepping on the struggling monster’s forehead, I grabbed its jaws with both hands and pried them open. Looking closely inside…

“…There are none here.”

The inside of its mouth wasn’t covered in scales. Bingo.

Grip!

I shoved my hand into the monster’s mouth and used Time Stop. After concentrating, I fired a Destruction Line directly inside. This time, the monster’s Head was obliterated.

Success. I waited for the Destruction Line cooldown, refilled my Willpower, and moved to the next floor.

I used Time Stop. Now what… The moment I entered, I was underwater.

I released time, held my breath, and looked around. No Monster was in sight. The layout was the same as the previous floors, but the space was filled with Water. I tried swimming upward, but the water reached the ceiling; there wasn’t a single pocket of air. Conversely, the floor was covered in sand, as if mimicking the seabed.

I stopped time again.

‘Um… this is a bit disconcerting.’

Suddenly underwater, no monster, and since I don’t have gills, there’s a time limit. Escaping by breaking the walls was impossible either; I already knew from previous battles that the walls of this Strategy Guide stage were indestructible.

To save my breath, I stayed in Time Stop. Let’s think. The core structure shouldn’t have changed. It ends when you defeat the enemy. That means there is an enemy here somewhere… and it’s hiding very well.

I couldn’t feel any hostility or bloodlust through my Sixth Sense. That meant it had no intention of attacking me right now. Why? Because it knew I couldn’t hold out just by waiting?

…I thought of a method that might work. I released time. I relaxed my Body and slowly sank toward the floor. Reaching the sandy bottom, I lay there without moving a muscle.

A moment later, I sensed a faint trace of bloodlust and opened my eyes slightly. The sand in front of me was slowly rising, and its color was shifting. It was a giant crawfish.

‘Wow…’

I didn’t notice that huge thing? Its camouflage was insane. Even an octopus couldn’t do it that well. Thinking I was dead, the crawfish approached, its bloodlust growing. I stood up casually and reached my hand out toward it.

“You should have been more careful, you stupid crustacean.”

I fired a fully charged Destruction Line. Being underwater didn’t diminish the destructive power of the beam at all. A hole was blown straight through the crawfish.

I was a little nervous about drowning, but I succeeded on the 8th floor regardless.

Only two floors remained. I moved to the 9th Floor immediately.