novelraw Chapter 233 : Endless Dungeon (5)
Chapter 233 : Endless Dungeon (5)
Chapter 233: Endless Dungeon (5)
"That means he must have gone at least to the 10th floor."
Judging by the time that had passed, that seemed to be the case. Not the maximum, but the minimum estimate was the 10th floor.
When Frederick first entered the Endless Dungeon, his best result was the 7th floor.
That was because each floor imposed an extremely specialized condition.
For example, if a floor had monsters with 100% fire resistance, you had to take them down with ice.
To overcome such challenges, versatile abilities were absolutely necessary. Any deficiency would become a fatal weakness.
Frederick also knew the first score of Jerron Decay, a well-known player from the UK he was acquainted with. It was the 6th floor.
Considering Jerron's current fame, one might question, “Did he only get that far?”
But there was no doubt—it was something Frederick had seen with his own eyes.
Jerron grew into the player he was now precisely because he realized his shortcomings during his first run in the Endless Dungeon.
Until his second attempt, Jerron had frantically bought skill books.
He was determined to build a loadout that could handle every attribute, abnormal condition, and situation.
And when he challenged the Endless Dungeon for the second time, he was finally able to climb many more floors.
“I wonder if both Jerron and I simply glossed over a stage we once struggled with. It's almost frustrating.”
Frederick let out a hearty laugh. He wasn’t truly frustrated. He was genuinely envious in a good way.
At the same time, he felt proud, as if the Endless Dungeon had granted an opportunity to someone truly deserving.
In fact, there had been a few others who were given the chance to enter the Endless Dungeon in the past.
Sometimes it was due to earnest pleas, and sometimes the opportunity was sold for a huge amount of money.
But players who lacked desperation or failed to objectively assess their abilities met predictable ends.
It wasn’t something Frederick felt the need to share with Sanghyun, but no one had recently succeeded in conquering it.
Before Sanghyun’s attempt, a total of ten players had challenged the Endless Dungeon.
Seven of them had died, and three had failed. Zero success rate. They hadn’t even managed to clear the first floor properly.
That’s why even a conservative estimate of Sanghyun reaching beyond the 10th floor was nothing short of astounding.
Frederick regretted that he couldn’t witness it with his own eyes.
If he could see Sanghyun’s repertoire of responses to each floor, it would be a truly rare sight to behold.
“At this rate, I hope he goes as far as he can. If he gets even stronger, things are bound to get even more interesting.”
Frederick smiled as he thought of Sanghyun. He was the player who had received high praise from his picky cousin, Sophia.
A player who, with just a pair of wings, had the qualifications and potential to soar anywhere in the world!
That was Frederick’s evaluation of Sanghyun. Though there was one thing that puzzled him.
“When we last parted, he said he’d take his time clearing the Endless Dungeon. So why the sudden... gust of wind?”
That was the only thing he wondered about.
Though he didn’t show it outwardly, Sanghyun had started to rush his strategy for the Endless Dungeon ever since they had reconnected.
The usual composure Frederick had sensed in Sanghyun was gone, replaced by a sense of urgency.
If he was being chased by something and had to challenge the Endless Dungeon because of it—what could it possibly be?
Frederick wanted to know the answer to that.
From the 11th floor onward, the monsters that greeted Sanghyun had a new concept: small-scale elites.
Up to the 10th floor, it had been mostly fixed patterns involving groups of monsters.
But starting on the 11th floor, monsters appeared in groups of fewer than three, as if a boundary had been drawn.
Immunity was basic for these enemies.
On the lower floors, some monsters had no resistances, making progress much faster.
But now, even the smallest of monsters came with either magical, physical, or elemental resistance.
They could no longer be killed recklessly. Even the weakest-looking ones required strategic consideration based on their resistance.
So from the 11th floor, Sanghyun approached every battle with the mindset of completely re-learning how to use his skills and Artifacts.
The reason was simple.
The battles and processes here would likely be his “final training.”
Because the moment he left the Endless Dungeon, he would have to prepare for a showdown with the Contractor of the Eye of Calamity.
Thinking of it as the last opportunity made him focus even more on battle.
“It’s fun. Truly.”
Sanghyun murmured.
It wasn’t a lie he told himself. It was a genuine expression of joy in the moment.
In his previous life, Sanghyun had only one dream—to become a meaningful existence in the world.
But no one considered a run-of-the-mill sword-wielding player like him to be meaningful.
Even on the day he regressed, Sanghyun was still just one among many players.
But what about now?
It wasn’t just that people around him placed great expectations on him.
Even the Constellations were watching him. The Model Student repeatedly expressed his gratitude, recognizing Sanghyun’s value.
That made him proud and happy.
Of course, the future awaiting him would be anything but a bed of roses.
More likely, it would be blazing flames of hell or thorny paths filled with suffering.
That was exactly why it felt all the more rewarding.
It meant he was someone worthy of facing such trials head-on.
“If I can just eliminate the Contractor…”
Then he could finally look upward and grow without hesitation.
There would be no more need to worry about the future!
Then he could fully devote himself to his growth as a player.
“It’s time to use the Enlightenment option I’ve been saving. After much thought, the skill that seems like the perfect match is…”
The unnamed sword Sanghyun wielded had an ‘Enlightenment’ option.
[Enlightenment – Designate a skill to raise it to the maximum level. However, it must be a sword-based skill using your main weapon. Otherwise, it won’t apply.]
It had been active for a long time, but he had hesitated on which skill to invest in.
Even a level 5 skill could become broken, hence the term "skill crafting."
But using the Enlightenment option, the chosen skill would shoot up to level 20.
Level 20—something even Jerron Decay didn’t possess—was the kind of level players could only reach after more than a decade of refining their craft.
That’s why most players considered level 5 to be the maximum under "skill crafting."
From level 5 to 6 and beyond, the journey was so grueling that even half a year was the minimum benchmark for one step forward.
“Destruction Sword. In the end, what matters is the one fatal strike. No other skill seems worthy of being level 20.”
Sanghyun’s final decision was the ‘Destruction Sword’, a skill he had always used as a finishing move.
Before any stray thoughts could creep in, before any lingering regrets could arise, he activated the option.
He chose ‘Destruction Sword’ as the skill to bind with the Enlightenment option of the unnamed sword.
[Do you wish to grant ‘Enlightenment’ to ‘Destruction Sword’? Once granted, it cannot be undone.]
The system prompted him again, as if aware of the gravity of the choice.
When Sanghyun selected “Yes,” the same message popped up again. Likely a safeguard against rash choices.
He selected “Yes” again.
Immediately, the skill window changed, and the details for Destruction Sword were updated.
『Destruction Sword』
■ Skill Level: 20 (0.0%)
■ Skill Description: Uses 10% of your total HP to deliver a powerful thrust to a designated target point.
Additionally, it deals critical damage multiplied by five times the usual max critical hit.
If your current HP is not above 10% of your max HP, Destruction Sword cannot be activated. There is no cooldown.
“That’s a solid finisher. And much less taxing than before.”
The skill had originally cost 20% HP, but now only required 10%.
The expected damage had also been dramatically increased—from 1x to 5x the max critical hit.
Even the original version of Destruction Sword was destructive enough to match its name.
Now that multiplier wasn’t just double or triple—it was fivefold, making it outright broken.
And the cooldown was gone. If the condition was met, he could spam Destruction Sword.
“God…”
Sanghyun involuntarily whispered the word he wasn’t sure he should dare utter.
He had acquired a skill that surpassed human limits—one that even defied the common sense of a player.
He was eager to see how many monsters and players would be rendered helpless by it.
Just like pitiful creations that could only cower before a god.
“Let’s go. As far as we can.”
Sanghyun pressed forward once again.
It was only the 11th floor.
The number of floors left to climb far outnumbered the ones he had passed. His potential for growth was still wide open.
An unstoppable momentum.
There had been some crises, big and small, but in the end, he overcame every one of them.
Sanghyun was able to raise his level all the way to 480. The floor? The 20th.
He had been level 430 on the 10th floor, which meant he gained five levels per floor on average from the 11th onward.
Considering how exponentially experience requirements increased with level—
He had absorbed far more experience than the earlier floors offered, like a vacuum cleaner.
At some point, Sanghyun even forgot the passage of time, and how his skills were leveling up.
He simply focused on finding the best way to kill the monster in front of him, according to the current situation.
He didn’t waste time thinking—he moved by intuition.
Because in real combat, there’s no such thing as unlimited time to think and act as you please.
One second? No—things changed and new variables emerged in even less time than that.
Maybe there was room for unconscious reflexes to kick in, but there was no time for conscious deliberation.
So, he had to rely on a combat style that was instinctive—though it was driven by intuition and rapid judgment.
With his momentum building, Sanghyun intended to push on to the 21st floor.
But there was one problem.
[The maximum floor allowed on a first run is the 20th floor.]