novelraw Chapter 230 : Endless Dungeon (2)
Chapter 230 : Endless Dungeon (2)
Chapter 230: Endless Dungeon (2)
Sanghyun had the most fun on the first floor thanks to status effects.
As guided, it was true that physical damage barely did anything.
He swung his sword with full strength as a test.
Even against a laughably weak rabbit monster.
Yet even though he slashed as if to split its torso in half, he couldn’t cut a single strand of its fur.
System rules that took precedence over the laws of physics.
In here, even the principles of nature were bypassed.
On one hand, seeing it with his own eyes gave him peace of mind about potential variables.
Since the dungeon gave advance notice about floor characteristics, it actually made preparing skills easier.
If there was physical resistance, he could prepare magic-based skills, and vice versa.
It was a structure that simplified thinking, perhaps precisely because it provided forewarning.
The skills Sanghyun enjoyed most were Knockback Burst and Updraft.
The first floor had many narrow terrains, steep cliffs, and ravines.
On top of that, the default setting was 100% physical resistance, so ordinary swordsmen had a tough time.
They couldn't secure proper battlefields easily, and physical pressure didn’t work on the monsters.
But Sanghyun had no trouble dealing with the monsters just by using his skills.
Take this case, for example.
A creature that looked like an enhanced troll appeared.
Normal trolls were already famous for their tenacity, and enhanced ones were even harder to kill with ordinary attacks.
They were what you'd call a ‘meat shield’.
You had to stack a ton of damage just to finally end their life.
And swordsman players typically had limited magic damage.
If an average swordsman came, even fighting just one enhanced troll would’ve taken ages.
But Sanghyun quickly found a way to take it down with ease.
First, he used Updraft to launch the troll high into the air.
It might have a large HP pool, but in contrast, its intelligence was very low.
Inflicting status effects on a creature like that was as easy as breathing.
So whenever Sanghyun saw an enhanced troll, he sent it flying for some sky-watching first.
Then what?
At the right moment, he deployed a fully charged Knockback Burst and blasted it away.
If the first floor had been a regular field, the monster could’ve just gotten back up and rushed again.
But the problem was that cliffs, ravines, and slopes appeared everywhere.
That meant there were plenty of spots where an enhanced troll could fall to its death.
No matter how high its HP was or how muscular its body, surviving a fall of dozens of meters was difficult.
If it hit a rock, its head or body would break, and if it fell into water, it’d drown.
That was how Sanghyun dealt with every monster he encountered using an air-launch and knockback combo.
It was a clean suppression strategy made by combining his skills with the dungeon environment.
And it was something only Sanghyun could do—other swordsmen wouldn’t have even thought of it.
“Wow... Level 325 right before the boss monster on the first floor? I gained more than 10 levels on a single floor?”
It wasn’t until just before the boss monster that Sanghyun checked the backed-up level-up messages.
At that moment, he was shocked.
He’d noticed a few level-ups here and there, so he thought it had gone up a bit, but never imagined it had gone up by 10.
The challenge wasn’t even that difficult for Sanghyun.
It was closer to just mechanically repeating Updraft and Knockback Burst.
“I get why players who seize the opportunity here become named.
This really... is broken.”
Sanghyun laughed.
But if you asked whether it was unfairly broken, the answer was no.
It only applied to players who had the qualifications to experience such growth.
In other words, it was a legitimate ‘cheat code’ granted only to players with the potential and qualifications to grow.
“This is seriously tempting.”
Just experiencing one floor made his heart pound. And his desire soared infinitely.
Wasn’t it obvious?
If one floor gave this much reward, how much greater would the rewards be the more you cleared?
If the challenge ended due to his own mistakes or lack of ability…?
He’d regret it forever, feel sick about it, and get angry.
Because it would mean missing out on a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Meanwhile.
Even the boss monster glaring at Sanghyun like it was going to devour him displayed special information.
[Boss - Glaze]
[Physical Resistance]
[Freezing Resistance]
“This guy calls for a fire sword.”
『Great Flame』
■ Skill Level: Tier 3 (3.2%)
■ Skill Description: Limited to one designated Artifact, a conditional skill activation is possible.
Maintaining the flame consumes 2 mana per second.
With each level up, it evolves into Blaze and Super Blaze forms.
Sanghyun checked the Great Flame skill that allowed him to create flame-element attacks through his Nameless Sword.
Originally it was just a Small Flame, then Flame skill, but it renamed itself when it reached level 3.
Since it was a skill that fully amplified fire attributes, it was perfect for fighting freezing-resistant monsters.
“Let’s go!”
Without any hesitation, Sanghyun charged at the boss monster Glaze.
Since there was no prior information, he couldn’t make any judgments without actually fighting it.
So calculating how to deal with it in advance or strategizing was meaningless.
Only by fighting could you build data.
That was the Endless Dungeon.
After that.
While continuously fighting Glaze, Sanghyun discovered another reason why the Endless Dungeon was terrifying.
He had been so focused on combat throughout the first floor that he hadn’t checked other details.
But on closer inspection, skill levels—meaning proficiency growth—were insanely fast.
The Updraft and Knockback Burst skills Sanghyun frequently used had both reached level 5.
That notoriously hard first round of skill leveling was already over.
As a result, the skill coefficients dramatically increased and changed.
Also, the Great Flame skill he used intensely against Glaze evolved too.
Just before entering the battle, it had been level 3, titled Great Flame, with 3.2% proficiency.
Now it had reached level 5, with nearly 80% proficiency. It had jumped 2 levels.
Thinking of an average player’s case, that kind of growth would take years—yet it happened in just tens of minutes.
Of course, even at skill level 5, once it hit around 80%, the growth rate significantly slowed down.
It was as if the game was saying: explosive growth caps at level 5 with 80%, after which a brake is applied.
Regardless, Sanghyun had easily hit the critical level where skills undergo a transformation—level 5.
Considering how players usually poured in time and effort to raise even one skill to level 5...
Saying it was absurd almost felt like a waste of words—something unbelievable had happened.
Thanks to that, the Great Flame skill, now renamed “Super Blaze,” had become a literal pillar of fire.
The blazing flame centered on the Nameless Sword had an estimated length of 8 meters.
From Sanghyun’s point of view, that meant he could now strike enemies with fire from 8 meters away.
Since flames applied magic damage instead of physical, it was easier to adapt to resistances.
If the enemy had physical resistance, he’d attack with fire, and if it had magic resistance, he’d use sword strikes for physical damage.
“Kuhek. Hehek. Hehek.”
Whether because Sanghyun was too hyped about training his skills, Glaze was now completely exhausted.
Understandably so—because the flaming sword kept getting stronger and stronger.
Having both physical and freezing resistance would’ve made anyone think they were invincible.
But in the face of magic that ignored physical defense and fire that ignored freezing resistance, it was completely helpless.
And then—
Fwoosh! Slice!
Sanghyun’s final, forceful strike cleanly severed Glaze’s head.
Then came the achievement—Level 330!
Just by taking on and killing the boss monster in a one-on-one, he gained a whopping 5 levels.
The total level gained from the first floor alone neared 20.
It was an unbelievable growth spurt.
But the surprises didn’t stop there.
[Special privilege of floor clearance is activated.]
[One equipped Artifact below Epic grade will be randomly upgraded.]
[The Artifact selected for upgrade is ‘Frozen Blue Ring’.]
“This is seriously a cheat code.”
Sanghyun clicked his tongue.
As soon as the message popped up, the Frozen Blue Ring’s structure changed dramatically—it had been upgraded.
「Frozen Blue Ring」
■ Artifact Grade: Epic
■ Artifact Description: Increases Freezing Resistance by 100%. Increases Mana by 400.’'
“My mana went from +100 to +400… huh? Freezing resistance went from 5% to 100%? Not 10%?”
Sanghyun doubted his eyes.
Because such a high resistance value was too excessive for even an Epic-grade Artifact.
Just from that one item, he now had complete freezing resistance.
As long as he wore the Frozen Blue Ring, Sanghyun would never be frozen again.
“I finally get why Jerron Decay and Frederick Villain had no choice but to become named figures.
They seized this dungeon early and rose whenever opportunities came.”
Now it made sense.
Of course, he didn’t mean to belittle or devalue their efforts.
He just finally understood the reason for their rapid growth.
They harvested the fruits of the Endless Dungeon based on their immense potential, so rapid growth was inevitable.
“Even if it’s just one floor, I have to grit my teeth and climb somehow.
Wow... this really is insane.”
Sanghyun didn’t usually use the word “insane,”
But this time, he wanted to use it without holding back.
Having tasted the full reward, he felt an overwhelming desire not to fall behind.
And also, strong motivation.
The more he grew here—
The easier the battle would be later against the Contracted One of the Eyes of Calamity.
That’s why, as long as conditions and situations allowed, he desperately wanted to reach the highest floor.
Thus began the assault.
After an outstanding start on the first floor, Sanghyun stormed through the second, third, fourth, and fifth floors, reaching even the sixth floor.
Danger? None so far.
The Endless Dungeon was almost too good to be true.