Chapter 65: Floor 5 (3)

The Zone 1 boss had possessed combat strength roughly equivalent to level 20.

The Zone 2 boss, according to what I had heard, had been around level 40.

Following that progression, it was reasonable to assume that the Zone 3 boss would be somewhere around level 60.

I should be able to handle an opponent of that level by myself.

Probably.

There was no way to know for certain until I faced it in person.

Naturally, plenty of other people would also be aiming for the Zone 3 boss’s First Clear Reward.

Top-tier Climbers such as Alex, the Chief of the Security Corps, and Wang Kai.

Even so, I was confident.

If I joined the others in a group battle against the Zone 3 boss, I was certain I could earn the highest Contribution.

But that wasn’t something I could afford to do.

So, if at all possible, I intended to fight the boss alone.

If at all possible.

Since the Zone 3 boss had never appeared before, no one knew where in Zone 3 it would spawn.

Finding it first would come down entirely to luck.

What if I arrived too late and someone else had already defeated it?

That would be unfortunate, but there would be nothing I could do.

And what if I ended up having to fight the boss alongside everyone else?

In that case...

I supposed I would put on a hood and join the battle.

I couldn’t very well give up a First Clear Reward simply because I didn’t want anyone to see me.

I would deal with that problem when the time came.

For now, my priority was filling the Zone 3 Boss Gauge.

[Zone 3 (90.9%)]

The gauge currently stood at approximately ninety-one percent.

There was no way to know exactly how long it would take to fill the remaining nine percent.

Still, according to what people were saying, it would take roughly another month at the current rate.

The reason it filled so much more slowly than the Zone 1 gauge was simple.

The monsters were far stronger.

The creatures in Zone 3 reached approximately level 30.

A Climber needed to be at least in the mid-to-late twenties to hunt there, which probably placed them among the top one percent of Climbers on Floor 5.

So I decided to start contributing.

The moment I entered the forest of Zone 1, I summoned Plli and climbed onto her back.

“Let’s go, Plli.”

Plli shot forward like the wind, racing toward the outer zones.

We crossed the boundary of Zone 1 and entered Zone 2 in no time.

The borders between zones were impossible to miss.

The surrounding environment changed abruptly, as though someone had drawn a ruler-straight line across the landscape.

Unlike the dense forest of Zone 1, Zone 2 consisted of barren, lifeless earth.

Enormous scorpions and spider monsters prowled across the wasteland.

Ugh. Disgusting.

I ignored them and continued onward.

Because each zone was wider than the one before it, crossing Zone 2 took longer than crossing Zone 1.

Even so, it didn’t take us long.

The moment we entered Zone 3, a wave of heat washed over me.

The landscape had transformed into something resembling a vast lava field.

“Whoa...”

Streams of molten rock flowed through fissures in the ground.

In the distance, lava cascaded down the side of a rocky mountain like a blazing waterfall.

I took a moment to admire the scenery before sliding off Plli’s back.

It was time to hunt.

“Run wild, Plli.”

I ordered Plli to kill every monster she encountered.

There were only two strict conditions.

She was never to attack another person, no matter what happened.

And she was never to allow herself to be seen.

The instant the command left my mouth, Plli launched herself like an arrow toward a Lava Giant lumbering in the distance.

Plli would hunt automatically while I handled my own share.

I spotted a gigantic snake-like monster slithering in the distance and started moving.

All right.

Let’s finish filling that gauge.

***

Lower-level Climbers, along with those who had no interest in Boss Clearing, might not have noticed it.

But recently, Floor 5 had taken on the oppressive atmosphere of the calm before a storm.

The reason was the Zone 3 boss that would soon appear.

How powerful would it be?

Could the Climbers defeat it without suffering a catastrophe?

And who would claim the First Clear Reward?

Naturally, tensions between the Security Corps and the Black Star Society were rising.

“It would be a serious problem if Wang Kai claimed the reward again...”

At his lieutenant’s anxious remark, Alex, Chief of the Security Corps, let out a quiet sigh.

“Tell me about it.”

“Are you confident you can beat him?”

“Hard to say. That bastard Wang Kai is a monster in his own right.”

Wang Kai held China’s highest record for Hard difficulty.

Alex held the equivalent record for the United States.

In the end, the struggle for the Zone 3 First Clear Reward would most likely come down to the leaders of the Security Corps and the Black Star Society.

One of the two would walk away with it.

The two factions had agreed that, when the Zone 3 boss appeared, they would temporarily join forces to defeat it.

Temporarily.

They had reached the same arrangement two years earlier, during the battle against the Zone 2 boss.

The result had been Wang Kai earning the highest Contribution and claiming the reward.

At present, Alex and Wang Kai were separated by four levels.

In other words, the difference between them amounted to a single floor.

It wasn’t an insurmountable gap, and Alex wasn’t entirely lacking in confidence.

Nevertheless, Wang Kai held the slight advantage.

Truthfully, this kind of competition did not sit well with Alex.

They had no idea how powerful the boss would be.

Under such circumstances, the two factions should have been cooperating without reservation.

Instead, they remained locked in a constant struggle, circling each other like rival predators.

Yet the First Clear Reward couldn’t simply be divided between them.

Neither faction was willing to surrender it voluntarily.

Given that, the current situation was unavoidable.

“Wang Kai has been appearing on Floor 5 much more often lately, hasn’t he?”

“Yes. The Black Star Society appears to be devoting everything it has to hunting in Zone 3.”

“The gauge will fill eventually. What’s the rush?”

The recent rate at which the Zone 3 Boss Gauge had been increasing was unusual as well.

It had been around ninety percent, yet in less than a week it had already risen beyond ninety-five.

Even taking Wang Kai’s efforts into account, wasn’t that far too fast?

Was he really putting that much effort into hunting in Zone 3?

“Could Person123 be hunting in Zone 3 as well?”

“...Person123?”

“He would have every reason to pursue the First Clear Reward, wouldn’t he?”

The suggestion was hardly unreasonable.

Alex stroked his chin thoughtfully.

If Person123 had truly entered Floor 5, Alex and the Security Corps would be perfectly willing to yield the reward to humanity’s savior.

The Black Star Society probably wouldn’t feel the same way, but even so.

If Person123 could become a figure around whom others rallied, uniting the Climbers of Floor 5 might not be impossible.

Unfortunately, he had shown absolutely no desire to reveal his identity.

“In any case, I’m curious. Just how strong is Person123? What do you think?”

By now, it was common knowledge that Nightmare difficulty granted ten levels as a reward for every cleared floor.

The lieutenant considered the question before answering.

“Judging by the difficulty of the Sub-Towers he has cleared, there’s no chance he’s only level 40.”

“Do you think he’s stronger than Wang Kai or me?”

“That, I couldn’t say.”

Regardless, at the current rate, the Zone 3 boss would appear within the week.

If Wang Kai claimed the reward again, there would be little the Security Corps could do about it.

More than anything else, Alex simply hoped the battle would end without too many people being killed or injured.

***

Looking down into the canyon, I saw a dense mass of Red Snakes gathered below.

“Whoa. Jackpot.”

I divided my Flame Strike into multiple projectiles and rained fire down upon them indiscriminately.

KABOOM!

Roughly half of the creatures were blown apart.

I descended into the canyon and finished off the survivors with my other skills.

It had been about a week since I began hunting seriously in Zone 3.

Whenever I had free time, I entered Floor 5 and worked tirelessly to fill the Boss Gauge.

Three main species of monster inhabited Zone 3.

The first were Lava Giants.

Instead of blood, molten lava spilled from their bodies when they were wounded.

That made close-range attacks potentially dangerous.

The second were Red Snakes.

They were the creatures I had just killed.

They were enormous and possessed no particularly unusual abilities, but they were relatively fast.

The third were Pterosaurs.

Skreeeeeee!

At that very moment, one of them was screeching as it flew directly over my head.

They were called Pterosaurs for the simple reason that they blatantly resembled pterosaurs.

I launched a Flame Strike into the sky and brought it crashing down.

The ordinary monsters of Zone 3 reached approximately level 30.

They posed no threat to me whatsoever, so the hunting itself was going smoothly.

That said, when I first came here, I had imagined clearing enormous hordes of monsters like in an RPG.

Unfortunately, opportunities like this, with many monsters gathered in one place, were rare.

Most of the time, they wandered around alone or in pairs, scattered across enormous distances.

As a result, progress was much slower than I had hoped.

I really wished the field had a higher monster density.

For the record, I had encountered other Climbers before.

Only two or three times, thanks to the enormous size of Zone 3.

Naturally, I had simply activated Concealment and slipped past them unnoticed.

From what I saw of their battles, everyone else was having a difficult time.

[Zone 3 (95.1%)]

The Zone 3 Boss Gauge had now surpassed ninety-five percent.

At this rate, it would reach one hundred within the week.

“Ugh. That burning smell.”

I walked past the charred remains of the Red Snakes I had blasted apart.

The corpses of slain monsters disappeared after a certain amount of time.

Apparently, anyone who wanted to collect the drops needed to butcher the bodies quickly and transport the valuable parts beyond the zone’s boundary.

I had heard that Red Snake scales fetched a high price.

Naturally, I hunted monsters without bothering to gather any materials.

Where would I even sell them?

And even if I found a buyer, dismantling every corpse would be far too troublesome.

I left the canyon behind and continued onward.

After traveling for some time, I once again reached the far edge of Zone 3.

Beyond it lay Zone 4, a frozen wilderness consumed by a raging blizzard.

Once again, the change in the environment was perfectly abrupt, as though the boundary had been drawn with a ruler.

I still couldn’t enter Zone 4.

Whenever I tried, an invisible barrier blocked my way.

Each zone opened only after the boss of the preceding zone had been defeated.

To enter Zone 4, we first had to kill the Zone 3 boss.

“I wonder if I could defeat the Zone 4 boss as well...”

Recently, I had begun considering whether I should challenge the Zone 4 boss after defeating the one in Zone 3.

Before moving on to the next floor, I always needed to squeeze out every possible increase to my stats.

But first, I had to take down the Zone 3 boss.

I turned away from the barrier and resumed my search for monsters.

***

Team 3 of the Security Corps continued hunting in Zone 3.

Before long, they spotted a Red Snake approaching from the distance.

“Red Snake! Get ready!”

The members of the team swiftly assumed their combat positions and engaged the creature.

However, the Red Snake was already severely wounded.

The battle ended almost immediately.

“...It looks like someone else was hunting it and allowed it to escape. Maybe it came from Team 2’s area?”

The team members exchanged uncertain glances as they stood over the corpse.

A group of people was approaching from the same direction the Red Snake had come from.

The Security Corps members’ expressions hardened.

The newcomers did not belong to the Security Corps.

They were Climbers from the Black Star Society.

As the Black Star Society Climbers drew closer and noticed the Red Snake’s corpse, their faces stiffened as well.

“We had nearly finished that one off. Are you seriously going to steal it from us?”

The leader of the Security Corps team stepped forward, staring at them in disbelief.

“You’ve got to be joking. If you let it escape, that’s your problem. Besides, this is our territory. What are you doing here?”

The Security Corps hunted in the eastern region.

The Black Star Society hunted in the west.

That was the unspoken rule the two factions followed in order to avoid conflict.

The territories had never been divided along an exact line, but there was no question that this area belonged to the Security Corps.

The Black Star Society had crossed into their hunting ground.

One of the Black Star Society Climbers gave a mocking smirk.

“Your territory? According to whom? You’re talking as though anyone ever formally agreed to that.”

“You son of a bitch...”

“In any case, that monster belongs to us. Hand it over and get out of here.”

“Enough bullshit. You’re the ones who should get lost, unless you want to die.”

The atmosphere turned vicious.

Encounters like this weren’t unheard of during hunts.

In the past, the two sides had exchanged insults and veiled threats before eventually backing away.

The confrontations had never escalated into actual violence.

But now, with the appearance of the Zone 3 boss hanging over both factions, the nerves of the Security Corps and the Black Star Society had been stretched to their limit.

All it took was one final pull.

Like a taut string snapping.

“...Gaaagh!”

“You— You crazy bastards!”

“They attacked first! Kill them!”

At last, the tension boiled over.