Chapter 19: 2F Hidden (3)

In fantasy manga and novels, there are scenes like this.

A character senses the aura radiating from an enemy and instantly realizes—ah, this one is strong.

I had just experienced that for the first time.

A knight clad in black armor stood before us, molten lava dripping from his frame.

Honestly, there was no need to sense any aura. His overwhelming strength was obvious at a glance.

He had walked straight out of a furnace, drenched in lava, without suffering so much as a scratch. How could something like that possibly be weak? Of course he was fucking powerful.

The only question was whether he was friend or foe.

What mattered now was the identity of that Black Knight.

“Sir Carlos!”

Heilin called out to the knight, her voice bright with relief.

Thank God. He must be an ally.

The knight called Carlos turned toward us.

Then he let out a sinister laugh and spoke.

“Out on another midnight stroll without your servants, My Lady Heilin? We have been searching for you for quite some time. I thought perhaps you had fallen into the lava and perished.”

Heilin’s expression slowly hardened.

Mine hardened along with hers as I read the atmosphere.

Oh, shit... Is he an enemy?

“Sir Carlos, don’t tell me... was this your doing?”

Carlos nodded.

“It was.”

Heilin erupted in fury.

“...How could you! You are the Knight Commander! How could you betray the Dafria family?”

“I was never loyal to begin with, so it can hardly be called betrayal.”

“How dare you! Do you truly believe you can escape the consequences? When Father returns...!”

“That is precisely why I am cleaning up the loose ends in advance. When the Count returns, I will take his head and put an end to this wretched oath.”

Their conversation unfolded like a cutscene in a game, but the words barely registered.

I watched for an opening, then launched a Flame Strike at the Black Knight without warning.

KABOOOOM!

“Huh?”

Heilin whirled around and stared at me in shock.

I said:

“First strike wins.”

When things looked bad, it was better to attack first and sort everything out afterward.

That was a lesson I had learned from taking down the old mage on the first floor... but apparently, this was not the right situation for it.

The flames dispersed.

The Black Knight stood exactly where he had been, completely unharmed.

He was so absurdly untouched that, for a moment, I wondered whether I had missed him entirely.

“...”

The Black Knight glanced at me.

I gave him an awkward grin.

Ha ha.

‘Am I screwed?’

Without so much as asking who the hell I was, the Black Knight raised the sword in his hand.

The instant he swung the blade, I stopped time.

...What the hell?

Even within frozen time, dark-crimson Sword Aura streaked toward me like an enormous net closing in from every direction.

I’m going to die.

I’m actually going to die.

With my life hanging by a thread, I activated Mental Concentration.

The instant time resumed, I teleported into a gap in the approaching net of Sword Aura.

KRAKABOOOOM!

A tremendous explosion swallowed me, and my body was hurled through the air like a scrap of paper.

Dead...?

No. Alive.

Am I still alive?

“Ghhh...”

Barely able to think, I managed to prop up my upper body.

The surrounding area had been devastated as though it had been carpet-bombed.

I could not even comprehend what the Black Knight had just done.

He had swung his sword once.

And somehow, that single swing had caused all of this.

“...!”

Through the cloud of dust, I caught sight of the Black Knight.

He did not spare me so much as a glance.

To him, I was nothing [N O V E L I G H T] more than an insect.

He walked toward Heilin, who lay collapsed on the other side of the ruined ground, and raised his sword.

Slash!

The sword fell.

And Heilin’s head fell with it.

A message appeared before my eyes.

[You have failed the Nightmare difficulty 2nd Floor Hidden route. (1/3)]

[Exiting the Tower.]

***

Back in my room, I lay sprawled across the bed in a daze.

Fortunately, my body was completely unharmed, but mentally, I was still reeling.

“What the fuck...”

A single attack from the Black Knight had leveled everything in every direction and nearly torn me to pieces.

Even Flame Strike, the strongest offensive skill I possessed, had done absolutely nothing to him.

That meant I had no way to damage him.

At all.

Maybe attacking him had been stupid from the start.

The thing had walked out of molten lava without a scratch.

He was clearly an opponent far beyond my current level.

And I was supposed to defeat him?

‘That’s insane.’

I reached a conclusion quickly.

He was not an enemy I was meant to defeat.

And if Heilin died, the route ended in failure.

Thinking back over the progression of events:

Encounter Heilin > persuade her and cooperate > discover that the Knight Commander betrayed the family > ???

In that case... there was only one possible answer, wasn’t there?

Run from the Black Knight.

With Heilin.

I had only one attempt remaining.

After resting, I entered the Tower to use my final chance.

If I failed to clear it, that would be unfortunate, but I could not afford to push myself too hard.

My life mattered more than anything else.

[You have entered Nightmare difficulty, 2nd Floor.]

I crossed the platforms, passed the Minotaur, and returned to the forest.

Keeping my guard up, I waited for Heilin to ambush me.

Clang!

“Wait! I don’t want to fight!”

“Silence, human! Die!”

Once again, Heilin refused to listen.

Just as before, the only way to make her talk was to demonstrate the difference in our strength.

“See? There’s no reason for us to fight.”

“...Very well. This Lady understands—for now.”

As expected, Heilin made the same proposal.

“In that case, human, you shall serve as This Lady’s escort for a time. This Lady has not yet cast aside all suspicion, so if you are truly innocent, prove it by aiding This Lady. Naturally, a fitting reward shall follow.”

“An escort?”

“Yes. This Lady’s situation is dire. The reason This Lady’s castle was engulfed in lava is that the magic went berserk...”

This was the branching point.

I listened to her entire explanation, then nodded.

“Of course I’ll help. But we must not return to the castle.”

“What? What are you saying?”

“I saw an incredibly powerful intruder there. I barely escaped without being noticed. There are no survivors left. We need to run. Right now.”

If I told a stranger like her that the Knight Commander was the traitor, she would only grow suspicious.

So I framed the situation differently.

Heilin’s eyes sharpened.

“That intruder is still near the castle? Where is he?”

“Huh? No...”

What are you talking about?

Did you not hear a single word I just said?

“I said he’s incredibly powerful! I can’t beat him, and neither can you. If we run into him, we die.”

“So you are telling This Lady to abandon the castle that this intruder destroyed and flee like a coward?”

I stared at her in disbelief.

What kind of pointless pride was this?

“This Lady will return to the castle. You will follow immediately.”

“I’m not going. Why would I willingly walk to my death?”

“Coward! Then get lost! This Lady will go alone!”

Heilin turned her back on me and started walking toward the castle.

God, this girl.

Realizing that persuasion was getting me nowhere, I moved in front of the stubborn Heilin and blocked her path.

“I’m telling you, if you go there, you’ll die! Just listen to me.”

“Move! Who do you think you are standing before, human?”

Was the true theme of the 2nd Floor Hidden route actually “wrangling an unruly child”?

“Please, just listen. I’m not saying we should run away forever. It’s a strategic retreat. You have to stay alive if you want revenge, don’t you? Why would you play straight into the intruder’s hands and walk willingly to your death? Am I wrong?”

I swallowed my frustration and tried my best to reason with her.

“Why are you so desperate to keep This Lady away from the castle? Now This Lady sees it clearly. You are obviously plotting something!”

The deranged demon responded to my efforts by swinging her sword at me again.

I’m going to lose my mind.

After a rapid exchange of blows, I teleported behind Heilin and caught her off guard.

“Gahk!”

My kick struck her squarely in the back, sending her sprawling to the ground.

“Please, will you just listen to me?”

Heilin bit down hard on her lip and screamed.

“Do not think you can break This Lady’s will through brute force, human!”

She still refused to listen.

“Y-you... guhk!”

I fought her again and landed several more blows.

As the damage accumulated, Heilin’s strength began to fade.

I brought my weapon down hard against hers.

Clang!

Her sword flew from her hand.

Then I kicked her in the stomach and sent her crashing to the ground once more.

I spoke as she writhed in pain.

“I’m begging you. Seriously. Who do you think I’m doing this for? If we go to the castle, we’ll die.”

Heilin let out a guttural snarl.

“Kill me! You damned human!”

At this point, she had fallen into a state of complete distrust.

She was the one who had attacked me, yet somehow, she was acting as though she were the victim.

Unbelievable.

Fine.

Screw it.

I give up.

I finally abandoned the idea of persuading her.

Thwack!

I teleported behind Heilin and struck the back of her neck with the edge of my hand.

“Gkh.”

Heilin slumped forward.

But she did not lose consciousness.

Instead, she rubbed the back of her neck and stared at me with an expression of utter disbelief.

...So much for that trick from the movies.

Left with no other choice, I forced her over one hip and hoisted her up.

“Let go! Ngh, let go of me! You, human!”

I had already been stronger than her to begin with, and in her weakened condition, she could barely resist.

The Exaltation effect was still active as well, so my stamina was holding up just fine.

“Let’s go. Come on. I’m killing myself trying to save your life here!”

“Put me down... Put me down, I said!”

Ignoring her protests, I started running.

I headed straight down the path leading away from the castle.

Heilin continued struggling for a while, but apparently too humiliated to contain herself, she suddenly burst into tears.

“A-a mere human... doing this to This Lady...! Waaaaah! This Lady will kill you!”

The things I have to put up with.

Seriously.

At least crying made her stop thrashing around.

That made things easier.

Yeah. Go ahead and keep crying.

With no idea how far I needed to go, I simply kept running.

And running.

Honestly, I was not certain this was the correct choice.

I had chosen this path only because fighting the Black Knight was so obviously not the answer.

If I was wrong, then so be it.

I would simply lose the opportunity.

After crying herself out, Heilin seemed to calm down.

I cautiously spoke to her.

“If we’re running away, where are we supposed to go? That intruder might already be chasing us.”

Heilin pressed her lips together and refused to answer.

God, I seriously want to flick her in the forehead...

“...!”

Suddenly, an ominous chill raced up my spine from behind.

I looked back.

Heilin must have felt it too, because she lifted her head.

“...Sir Carlos!”

Shit.

Is he really chasing us?

I broke into an all-out sprint as though the ground beneath my feet had caught fire.

“Sir Carlos! Over here! This Lady is here!”

Heilin began screaming at the top of her lungs.

I screamed right back.

“Shut up! That guy is the traitor!”

“What nonsense! Sir Carlos is here, so you are finished now, human...!”

Yeah, no.

You’re the one who’s going to die.

He did not even care about me.

Talking was pointless, so I poured everything I had into running.

No, wait.

I need to restore my Willpower first.

I stopped time and replenished my depleted Willpower to its maximum.

Then I resumed running.

As I fled, something appeared behind us.

It was not the monstrous Black Knight.

I could sense that he was still some distance away.

“What the hell are those...?”

Pitch-black hounds with glowing red eyes were racing after us at incredible speed.

Their bodies rippled and wavered like heat haze.

“Those are Sir Carlos’s tracking Familiars! You are finished!”

Thanks for the information.

The mutts were at my heels within moments.

If all they did was track us, I could have ignored them.

Unfortunately, they looked ready to leap on us and tear us apart.

So I fought back.

KABOOM!

Flame Strike wiped out most of them, but several remained.

No.

Wait.

More were appearing.

How the fuck many of these things are there?

“Ugh...!”

Without warning, Heilin violently twisted her entire body.

I lost my balance.

We both went tumbling across the ground.

Heilin immediately sprang to her feet and put some distance between us.

“Ha ha ha! Did This Lady not tell you? You are finished!”

The mutts had already caught up while we were down.

Heilin called to them joyfully.

“Over here! Come and restrain this—...?!”

The bastard hounds charged.

And attacked.

They ignored me completely.

Every last one of them went straight for Heilin.

“Kyaah! Wh-what are you doing?”

Heilin flailed desperately, trying to shake them off.

I stared in bewilderment for a moment.

Then I moved to help her.

I swung my blade through the hounds’ haze-like bodies.

They were easily cut apart and vanished immediately.

They were fast, but not particularly strong.

“Stay close!”

Another wave came swarming toward us.

I grabbed Heilin around the waist and activated Leap.

We shot high into the air.

From above, I unleashed Flame Strike onto the pack below.

KABOOOOM!

That finally wiped them out completely.

I landed and set Heilin down.

Blood seeped from several bite wounds across her body, but none of them appeared serious.

Heilin stood motionless for a moment, drawing ragged breaths.

Then she looked at me.

“...Why did they attack This Lady? Sir Carlos’s Familiars?”

I clicked my tongue.

“That’s what I’ve been telling you. He’s the traitor. They were never chasing me. They were after you from the very beginning.”

“That is impossible.”

Heilin looked deeply shaken.

Good grief...

“It’s very possible. Now that you finally understand, let’s go quietly. On your own two feet this time.”

I was still seething, but at least she had finally come to her senses.

I half expected her to throw another tantrum and insist on confronting the Black Knight.

Thankfully, Heilin clamped her mouth shut and began running behind me.

If even this insane demon could restrain her anger and flee, Carlos must truly have been that powerful.

“A little farther ahead, there will be a bridge.”

“A bridge?”

“Beyond it lies territory outside the domain. Sir Carlos cannot leave Dafria’s domain because of his oath. We need only cross the bridge.”

Really?

Now the clear condition had finally revealed itself.

Cross the bridge, and it was over.

“Hah... hah...”

As we ran, Heilin gradually began to fall behind.

Was her leg injured?

I could see her limping.

My own stamina was hardly overflowing, but I went back and picked her up again.

“Wh-what are you doing?”

“It’s faster if I carry you.”

She had said the bridge was not far away, so this was the better option.

If he caught up to us, we were dead.

This time, Heilin did not struggle.

She allowed herself to be carried against my hip.

Clenching my teeth, I sprinted forward.

Then I glanced back at her and asked urgently:

“How much farther?”

“...At this speed, one more minute!”

There was a reason for my urgency.

I could feel him.

He was almost here.

“...!”

A flash of crimson light erupted behind us.

I activated Leap while sprinting and hurled myself forward.

RRRUMMMMBLE!

The Sword Aura did not strike us directly, but the shockwave ripped trees from the earth and sent them flying through the air.

“Aghh...!”

Heilin and I were not far enough away to escape it completely.

We were thrown across the ground.

Forget it.

Maybe I should just quit.

I want out.

But the thought of everything I had suffered through going to waste made me groan and drag myself back to my feet.

I scooped Heilin up once more and started running.

“...!”

The bridge finally came into view.

But...

It was rather long.

Calling it long was an understatement.

It was a colossal bridge stretching across a dizzying chasm between two cliffs, massive enough to rival a major river crossing.

“Once we cross that, we’ll be safe!”

The final stretch.

Run.

I charged onto the bridge and reached approximately the halfway point before looking back.

The Black Knight was visible in the distance, no larger than a speck.

He had truly stopped at the entrance to the bridge.

He could not follow us any farther.

The thought crossed my mind that I would have been screwed if I had been even slightly slower.

Then—

Wait.

What is he doing?

BOOOOOM!

The Black Knight drove his sword into the ground.

A massive tremor rippled outward.

You have got to be kidding me.

Dark-crimson energy surged upward like a tidal wave and swallowed the bridge.

A third of the structure was obliterated in an instant.

Then the rest began collapsing in a chain reaction.

“AAAAAAAH!”

I screamed and sprinted across the crumbling bridge.

The collapse was rapidly gaining on me from behind.

Only a short distance remained.

I gathered every last bit of strength and made one final leap.

The ground vanished just behind my feet, missing me by a hair.

I flew through the air toward the far side of the chasm.

But the distance...

It was not enough.

“KYAAAAAAH!”

Realizing that we were about to slam into the cliff face and plummet into the abyss, Heilin let out a thunderous scream.

Hold on.

Just wait.

We’re not dying.

While still in midair, I hurled Heilin toward the far side with all my strength.

Then I stopped time.

Teleportation.

I arrived on the other side first and caught Heilin as she flew toward me.

Thrown by me and caught by me, Heilin stared up at my face in utter bewilderment, unable to comprehend what had just happened.

RRRUMMMMBLE.

The enormous bridge collapsed completely.

I set Heilin down and looked across the chasm.

The Black Knight, barely visible as a tiny speck in the distance, seemed to be staring back at me.

What are you looking at, bastard?

You can’t leave that place, can you?

I worried that the monster might try something else.

Thankfully, he appeared to give up.

After a moment, he turned away.

Every last ounce of strength drained from my body.

I sank to the ground.

Rescue the problem child...

Success.

“Haah...”

Heilin stared blankly across the chasm for a while.

Then she turned toward me.

I met her gaze with an equally unfriendly stare.

She had made something that should have been simple ten times more difficult.

There was no way I could look at her kindly.

“...Human, what are you?”

Heilin spoke.

“How did you know the Knight Commander had betrayed us...? No. More importantly, why did you go this far to save This Lady?”

I was too exhausted to answer.

I simply waited for the clear message to appear.

But no message came.

What the fuck?

Why isn’t it appearing?

I did everything.

“Human! Is This Lady not asking you a question? What are you, and why did you save This Lady?”

“Come on... You’re alive. Isn’t that enough? Why do you have to interrogate me?”

“Do not evade the question!”

Even if I told her the Tower had forced me to do it, would she understand?

I gave her a halfhearted answer.

“I saved you because I wanted to. Satisfied?”

Heilin tilted her head.

Then her expression suddenly grew flustered, and she began to stammer.

“Wh-what...! This Lady is a demon! We are of different species!”

“Excuse me?”

“Are you saying that, despite being human, you harbor those kinds of feelings for This Lady...? Granted, This Lady’s beauty transcends the boundaries between species, but even so... ugh!”

Heilin pressed both hands against her cheeks and shook her head violently.

“F-fine. If he is a man willing to lay down his life for This Lady, then so be it. You have already proven yourself... It is not as though This Lady could not give you a chance...”

What is she talking about?

How could anyone hear what I had just said and arrive at that interpretation?

While I stood there, too baffled to speak, Heilin gave me a shy smile.

“This Lady’s name is Heilin Dafria. What is your name?”

“...Kim Seo-hyeon.”

“Kimsuhyun? A peculiar name.”

Last time, she had called it strange.

Now it had apparently been upgraded to peculiar.

Heilin removed the necklace, bracelet, and ring she was wearing and held them out to me.

“First, since you saved This Lady’s life, a fitting reward must be bestowed in the name of Dafria. Choose one of the three. They are all precious treasures.”

...Huh?

A reward?

Still bewildered, I stared at the accessories resting in Heilin’s palm.

Could this be the hidden reward?

Was she really making me choose here and now?

“What do they do?”

I asked the obvious question first.

I needed to understand their effects before making a choice.

“The necklace is a medium used to form a contract with a powerful Familiar. This Lady has not yet attempted it, but perhaps you, Kimsuhyun, may succeed.”

“A Familiar?”

Like those bastard hounds that had chased us earlier?

“What kind of abilities does this Familiar have?”

“Did This Lady not just say she has not tried it? You would have to discover that for yourself.”

I shifted my gaze to the bracelet.

Heilin continued.

“The bracelet is a totem inhabited by a spirit of darkness. If the spirit takes a liking to you, you may borrow its power.”

“A spirit of darkness... What can it do?”

“It allows you to see through darkness.”

“...That’s it?”

“Th-This Lady’s affinity with the spirit is not yet high, that is why! The higher your affinity becomes, the more abilities you will be able to access.”

Lastly, there was the ring.

“The ring is a family heirloom engraved with the seal of House Dafria. The ring itself possesses no special power. However, should you one day bring it to the Dafria family, we will grant you any single request within the family’s power.”

In other words, it was useless.

Once I left this place, we would never see each other again.

Besides, wasn’t her family more or less destroyed now?

“Hmm...”

I deliberated between the necklace and the bracelet.

I touched both of them, wondering whether item descriptions would appear.

Nothing happened.

“Will you choose the bracelet?”

“No, hold on.”

Ugh.

I can’t tell which one is better.

Wait.

Why not ask for all three?

After everything I had gone through, surely that was not unreasonable.

I was the one who had saved her life, after all.

“They all look wonderful.”

“Indeed. All three are fine treasures!”

I glanced at Heilin.

When our eyes met directly, she quickly looked away.

“Wh-what are you staring at? Hurry and choose.”

...Maybe this will work.

Should I try?

There was nothing to lose.

Embarrassment lasted only a moment.

The rewards gained from it could last forever.

I dropped to one knee and gently took her hand.

“Lady Heilin.”

“Wh-what?”

“Might I have all of them? Since all three belong to you, Lady Heilin, I would cherish them dearly.”

Heilin’s pale skin turned a vivid, burning red.

It’s fine.

I’m not embarrassed.

I’m not embarrassed...

Repeating the words like a mantra inside my head, I kept my expression composed.

Heilin lowered her head deeply and answered in a tiny voice.

“Th-then... take them all...”

[You have cleared the Nightmare difficulty 2nd Floor Hidden route.]

[Fully absorbing the Power of the Floor.]

[Your level has increased.]

[Your level has increased.]

[Your level has increased.]

[Your level has increased.]

[Your level has increased.]

[Transferring to the Reward Room.]

The scenery shifted in an instant.

I was transported to the Reward Room.

I looked around.

Heilin’s three accessories and a single Skill Stone lay before me.