TSOT#1 Chapter 6

999th Floor of the Tower

 

A massive bolt of lightning struck the top of the spiral staircase, and at the same time, bat-like monsters screamed and collapsed.

 

“Get out of the way.”

 

Se-hyun, who was controlling the wolf-like monster, muttered in annoyance. Eun-young clicked her tongue from behind.

 

“Why waste your energy on low-level monsters?”

 

As they ascended the stairs, a cold, eerie silence filled the final floor.

 

Chae-rin, with her red hair tied up, looked puzzled.

 

“Where are the monsters? The final boss of the tower should be here.”

 

She looked around, and Eun-young pointed somewhere.

 

The final tower was shaped in a circular pattern. In a corner that Chae-rin hadn’t noticed, there was a large chair.

 

Someone was sitting with their back to them.

 

“What… is that… a person?”

 

Chae-rin frowned as she muttered.

 

Although the person’s face was obscured by the back of the chair, the ends of their sleeves were visible.

 

A pitch-black suit, with two golden buttons on it.

 

There were faint wrinkles and prominent veins on the back of their hand resting on the armrest.

 

The fingers tapped lightly on the armrest a few times.

 

Se-hyun, who had been watching quietly, seemed to sense something and took a step back.

 

“…That’s not just an ordinary human.”

 

Chae-rin’s expression twisted as she looked at Se-hyun. He quickly turned to her, speaking in a panicked voice.

 

“We need to run. That’s not someone we can face.”

 

Se-hyun had the ability to manipulate souls, so he didn’t need to check the system window to predict the opponent’s capabilities.

 

On the other hand, Eun-young, who could only understand a monster’s information through the system window, scanned the boss’s level.

 

“We don’t have time for that.”

 

Se-hyun shouted, frustration clear on his face.

 

But it was already too late.

 

The hand that had been tapping the armrest suddenly stopped, and the boss summoned something above the tower.

 

“Goddammit.”

 

Se-hyun cursed under his breath as he quickly commanded the wolf monster in front of them.

 

However, before the wolf monster could even take shape, it was instantly killed by something created from white light.

 

The monster’s large hand swept through the air with a violent gust of wind.

 

Chae-rin hastily pulled two swords out of her inventory.

 

The sharp sound of blades echoed.

 

The white light that had been blocking their view began to fade, revealing a monster with large wings.

 

Chae-rin screamed in horror as she stared at it.

 

“What… what is that?!”

 

Se-hyun, who had been gritting his teeth, opened his mouth.

 

“Can’t you tell? It’s a dragon.”

 

Before his words even finished, the dragon flew upward toward the ceiling. An overwhelming pressure filled the air.

 

Chae-rin, stunned, muttered in disbelief.

 

“What kind of boss can summon a dragon so casually?!”

 

Eun-young was the one to answer her.

 

“I don’t know either. The system window just says “Data Unavailable.”

 

Eun-young’s finger moved toward the dragon.

 

“Huh? What is this?”

 

Chae-rin looked at her with a confused expression.

 

Eun-young, her gaze fixed on the dragon, whispered as her face hardened.

 

“…I’ve never seen this grade before.”

 

【Dark Attribute Dragon Grade: EX】

 

At that moment, the dragon gathered a tremendous light in its mouth. It was a strange, blinding energy that felt like it could blind them. A wave of fear rushed over them.

 

Chae-rin’s hands shook as she gripped her swords.

 

Se-hyun, too, stood frozen, unable to do anything.

 

The sense of terror was suffocating, even worse than the fear itself.

 

Eun-young stepped forward.

 

“It’s fine.”

 

She firmly held Chae-rin and Se-hyun’s hands and calmly spoke.

 

“We won’t fall to something this trivial.”

 

Black flames began to pour from her body, surrounding her team members. A solid protective barrier formed around them.

 

“We didn’t come this far just to fall here, right?”

 

A burst of tainted light shot out from the dragon’s mouth, engulfing Eun-young and her team members. A deafening explosion rang out.

 

The black flames surrounding them slowly dissipated.

 

Joo-ah’s eyes snapped open.

 

For a moment, she stared at the ceiling with a dazed expression, then sighed deeply.

 

She had been trying to avoid memories from the past, but somehow, they had resurfaced, bringing her back into the nightmare.

 

Joo-ah sat up and pressed her hand to her forehead.

 

A sharp headache overwhelmed her.

 

Joo-ah had been up early, heading to the special training room.

 

Having spent the night awake due to the nightmare, she planned to train while the others were absent.

 

However, someone had already arrived before her in the special training room.

 

“Why are you sleeping here…?”

 

Jae-rim was lying on the couch, sleeping soundly.

 

His soft brown hair framed his closed eyelids. She couldn’t tell when he had arrived, but he seemed to be in a deep sleep.

 

Joo-ah silently looked down at him before turning to enter the training area.

 

“…Please.”

 

At that moment, Jae-rim’s lips parted softly as he muttered in his sleep.

 

Joo-ah stopped in her tracks and looked at him.

 

“Don’t die…”

 

Jae-rim’s brow furrowed as he spoke, his lips trembling. He appeared to be dreaming, biting his lips, and his long eyelashes were wet with tears. A tear slid down his cheek.

 

Joo-ah looked at him with confusion.

 

Who could he be telling not to die with such a painful expression?

 

In fact, the word “death” wasn’t unfamiliar to hunters. The government provided generous risk allowances, given the many hardships and dangers associated with hunting.

 

Joo-ah raised her hand and touched his system window. Among the various information, she read one prominent phrase.

 

Special Note: Team restructuring due to an accident three years ago.

 

Perhaps the nightmare he was having was closely tied to the “accident” mentioned in the system note.

 

Joo-ah turned back to face him and silently stared at Jae-rim, then raised her hand and gently covered his eyes.

 

A warm energy flowed through her touch.

 

This was one of her magic abilities—Purification.

 

Although her magic stats were significantly lower, its purity was extraordinarily high.

 

She would be able to stabilize Jae-rim’s condition, at least making his sleep more peaceful and preventing him from having nightmares.

 

Joo-ah’s hand slowly withdrew.

 

Jae-rim’s furrowed brow relaxed, and the tears stopped flowing.

 

In the quiet room, only Jae-rim’s faint breathing could be heard.

 

Joo-ah silently watched him for a moment before walking toward the training area.

 

In front of her, a blue system window appeared.

 

【Choose a virtual monster to face.】

 

【A Rank】

 

【S Rank】

 

【SS Rank】

 

【SSS Rank】

 

【Random】

 

Since this was a special room for higher-level training, she could summon monsters starting from A Rank.

 

Joo-ah hesitated for a moment.

 

For an E-rank hunter to summon an A-rank monster was practically a suicide mission.

 

Although the monsters were virtual, the damage was real.

 

But her decision didn’t take long.

 

Joo-ah’s finger pressed on the 【A Rank】 option. Immediately, a massive monster appeared in the center of the training area, summoned by a burst of white light.

 

Joo-ah quickly pulled out a greatsword from her inventory. Although her specialty was with a taser, the body of Seo Joo-ah was ill-suited to it.

 

A sword that required the least magic power was more suitable for her.

 

The lion-like monster began charging at her. Joo-ah didn’t flee but stood her ground.

 

The monster bared its sharp teeth and attacked. Joo-ah quickly blocked with her sword, trying to push the monster back with all her strength.

 

But her defense and power were far too weak. The monster’s weight caused her feet to slide back.

 

She quickly changed tactics, using her foot to stomp on the monster’s body and leaping up to strike with her sword.

 

The faster the battle was, the better it would be for her, as her strength was lacking.

 

She gritted her teeth as she swung the sword, but the monster was faster.

 

In the blink of an eye, the monster bit into her, throwing her to the ground.

 

“Ugh.”

 

Pain surged through her body, but before she could even feel it properly, the monster lunged again.

 

Rolling to the side, Joo-ah barely avoided the attack and grabbed the sword that had fallen to the floor.

 

She thrust the blade into the monster’s face as it charged, its teeth bared.

 

The sounds of the battle echoed through the training area. However, the room was soundproof, so the noise wouldn’t reach outside.

 

The monster, shaking its head in a frenzy, caused Joo-ah’s body to be dragged along. She quickly stomped on the sword lodged in its face and climbed onto its back.

 

The sword remained stuck in the monster’s face.

 

With one hand gripping its back, Joo-ah pulled out the taser gun from her inventory.

 

She aimed it at the monster’s head.

 

Most monsters’ weak points were in the head. So, even a weak taser could kill it in three shots, as long as her aim was true.

 

Just as Joo-ah prepared to pull the trigger, the door to the training room suddenly slammed open.

 

The monster she had been riding on vanished instantly.

 

Joo-ah fell from mid-air