Chapter 12: Familiar Face

[Please choose two Barrier Special Effects.]

[Explosive Blast (Active): The barrier explodes, dealing minor magic AOE damage and blinding enemies for 5 seconds. Mana cost: 1.]

[Barrier Shift (Active): Moves the barrier in a chosen direction within its maximum range. Can be used to protect allies or trap enemies. Mana cost: 1.]

[Force Cushion (Passive): Reduces knockback effects by 10%, helping the user stay in place when hit.]

[Auto-Repair (Passive): Restores 2% of the barrier's maximum HP every second.]

Granger touched his chin and thought for a while.

After some time, he finally nodded.

"Auto-Repair sounds useful, but I don't think I need it when I can just create another barrier with my large mana pool."

He sat on one of the stones in the dark chamber.

"I'll take Explosive Blast and Barrier Shift. I already have a perfect combo in mind."

Granger looked at his status board and started assigning his stat points.

He put 11 points each into Strength, Constitution, and Intelligence, then 10 points each into Dexterity, Agility, and Charisma.

After resting for a while, he walked toward the gate leading to the 21st floor.

Like a relentless monster always hunting to grow stronger—for a single goal. Revenge.

Granger stepped through the gate and immediately heard sounds from a distance.

The sounds of battle—monsters roaring, blades clashing, fangs tearing.

The floor was a vast green field, covered in hills and grasslands.

[Master, you now have access to the teleportation circle. This device allows you to teleport to any floor you've reached.]

A magic circle glowed with a blue light next to the gate.

[You only need to stand there and choose which floor to go to.]

"The gate is open. Looks like another party made it here and defeated that tough boss."

Granger heard footsteps approaching.

Out of instinct, he activated his cloak's Special Effect and turned invisible.

Five people arrived, looking at the open gate with curiosity.

Granger watched silently and immediately recognized one of them.

Leading the group was the muscular figure of Zalgo.

Granger remembered him well. He was the one who warned him about the dangers of the dungeon.

Now, he understood why Zalgo never went against the Golden Dagger.

The Golden Dagger was stronger than Zalgo. Even if Zalgo wanted to help, he wouldn't risk his party's safety.

"Strange. They're not here," one of Zalgo's party members said.

Granger slipped past them without a sound or trace.

As if sensing someone watching him, Zalgo instinctively turned his head—making direct eye contact with Granger without realizing it.

"Something wrong, big guy?"

Zalgo glanced at his party members and shook his head. "Nothing." He turned. "Let's keep leveling. Monsters won't kill themselves."

Granger passed by several other parties as he traveled.

[Right now, the most crowded floors are 21 to 70. These floors hold 97% of all players. Only the top 1% have reached floor 71 and above.]

"So, floors 21 to 70 are deadlocks. That means players are struggling to level up here."

[Yes. Leveling from this point is much harder. Monsters give less experience points while getting stronger. Competing in these floors without a party is nearly impossible.]

"That's true—for them."

[Yes. For them.]

Granger laughed. But his laugh carried mockery.

By staying invisible, he avoided being noticed by other players.

Granger passed through multiple floors without anyone seeing even his shadow.

It took him some time, but he finally reached the 30th floor.

Unlike the other gates leading to mob floors, this one was empty.

"I arrived at the right time."

The gate was still closed, meaning a battle was still going on inside.

But it didn't even take a minute before the gate opened, signaling that the fight was over.

Granger stepped onto the 30th floor.

What greeted him was a massive desert. He could feel the heat coming from the giant gem on the ceiling, acting as the sun.

His boots sank slightly into the sand as he walked.

He looked around, trying to analyze what kind of boss he would be facing.

Suddenly, a man appeared in front of him, emerging from beneath the sand.

The man's face was covered in sweat and blood. His expression was full of fear. His armor was completely broken, and he was too injured to even stand properly.

[Player.]

"A player, huh?"

Upon hearing Granger's voice, the man's eyes lit up with hope.

"A native! Please help me! My party was wiped out! We need to get out of here!"

Granger looked around. "What is the floor boss?" His voice was cold.

"Wha-what?"

Granger's red eyes glowed as he stared at the man. "What is the floor boss you were fighting?"

The man gulped. "I... I don't know. We were wiped out before we could even see it. The people who cleared this floor before never shared any information."

"So you're saying your party was completely destroyed without even landing a hit on the boss?"

The man couldn't respond. His mouth hung open in disbelief.

The sand beneath him started to collapse, pulling him down.

"Please help me! We're both participants in this game! We should help each other!"

Granger chuckled darkly and walked past the man, who was slowly sinking into the sand.

"No, we are not." He glanced at him. "And I think, if you had the chance to survive by sacrificing me, you wouldn't hesitate. So let's just say, I don't want to give you that chance."

The man was swallowed by the sand, his teary face disappearing beneath it.

Granger walked away without looking back.

He activated his barrier.

"So, this boss can control a massive area... and can wipe out an entire party without even showing itself. How troublesome."

Granger pulled out his dagger and sword.

"Let's do this."

•••••

NAME: Granger Reiner.

PATRON: None.

ASCENSION RANK: Weak.

LEVEL: 26/30.

NEXT ASCENSION: Level 100.

[STATUS]

HP: 2700/2700

MP: 2557/2600

[STAT POINTS]

STRENGTH: 27

CONSTITUTION: 27

INTELLIGENCE: 26

DEXTERITY: 25

AGILITY: 25

CHARISMA: 17

AVAILABLE STAT POINTS: 0

[Abilities]

SKILL:

°RULE BREAKER°

°WEAK BARRIER°

HP: 30% of the user's HP.

RANGE: 3 Meter Radius.

[Barrier Special Effects]

—WEAK—

ACTIVE: Pulse Wave, Barrier Blink, Explosive Blast, Barrier Shift.

PASSIVE: Healing Barrier, Mana Shield Conversion,

•••••