LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 31
[Isaac casts ‘Gale’.]
Thud!
“Go away, trash mobs!”
[Isaac casts ‘Wild Wind’.]
Whoooosh!
“Kyah!”
“Ker-ack!”
Tap-tap-tap.
“Don’t just stand there like an idiot, get out of the way, you bastards!”
“What? You don’t─.”
Damn it. I couldn’t close the gap with that agile guy who’s buffed by a spirit.
The difference between having a usable movement skill and not having one is huge.
‘Last time we sparred, I could barely use my skills focusing on my stance. Did he practice separately after getting wrecked?’
The good news is he’s rushing ahead, clearing the way up front…
As he moves ahead, he’s passing by other adventurer parties before they can react, clearing the path smoothly.
If monsters block the way, he’s killing them left and right, wasting his mana.
‘What should I do? Lightning Step? No. He’s not immobilized like with Gospel.’
Even if I use Lightning Step to get to him now, no matter how hard I grit my teeth, he’d be down for a moment.
And it’s obvious Isaac would jump at that chance to kill me.
‘His mana is F+. Should I just follow and wait for his mana to run out?’
There are too many variables. What if he has a mana potion or recovery items?
Sigh. Huh.
Rumble.
In the end, without relying on any variables or coincidences, I have to carve my own path.
Vroom.
“Huff huff.”
I started managing my mana as I sprinted toward him.
I need to focus.
It’s similar to how explosive swordsmanship gathers mana in my arms and detonates; I need to concentrate it in my legs and feet to push off the ground.
‘If the distance keeps widening because I don’t have a movement skill, I’ll just make one myself!’
“Ha.”
‘Get a grip! I only got the enhanced body from my legs burning in the fire, and learned explosive swordsmanship thanks to Ivelyn moving me around. What if it backfires and I blow my leg off?’
Worry disguised as hesitation gnawed at me.
Dammit. For real… It’s not like I learned anything special, and I could end up disabled from using it recklessly.
“Ugh, how long are you going to keep running? You’ll never catch up with that speed, you slowpoke─!”
Rumbling.
If I hesitate out of fear after that provocation, I deserve to die.
[You gain the specific trait ‘Enhanced Body ─ Dragonian’, and derived skills are added.]
“Grrrr!”
Boom─!
A stinging pain hit my soles as if something sharp pierced them mercilessly.
With a loud explosion, I pushed off the ground and charged at Isaac.
Bahm!
“Got you!”
Thump!
“Argh!”
Extending my sword, I pierced one of his shoulders, and we fell into a tangle.
“Ugh! My… my shoulder, AAAAAH!”
Slash!
Isaac screamed, clutching the sword deeply embedded in his shoulder.
I pulled out the embedded sword.
“AAH─! Huh… why are you doing this to me? Why, why?!”
Isaac sobs as he questions me. Why? Why, you ask?
“Will this help you remember? Huh?”
I took his fallen hand in mine.
And then I helped him up.
He gripped my hand tightly, just like he did back when he first transferred.
“Do you remember this clasped hand? Look at my face closely. Stare at me like you’re going to engrave it in your eyes!”
His teary eyes locked onto me.
And then…
“…Huh?”
Isaac’s eyes widened in disbelief.
They looked about ready to pop out.
“Do you remember a bit now? Do you know who I am?”
Shivering, Isaac falters as he opens his mouth, stuttering.
“N-no, that moment, umm, it means…”
It means what?
“─You son of a! So because I didn’t let go back then, you’re doing all this now? Huh?”
With our hands still clasped tightly, Isaac’s bloodshot eyes blazed as he spit out words.
“Wow! Honestly, I never imagined you’d be that loser, Aren. Hey, it’s not like you enjoyed your time in this world!”
I couldn’t believe he would say such a thing.
“What do you mean? You’re saying you dude felt great coming here?”
“Seriously, your skin got so damn white and you turned into some kind of sculpture.”
“Wow…”
“Traveling with two girls, one cute, the other one, a red-haired beauty who only has eyes for you! You probably got some sick traits and crushed me in training!”
“…”
“And you even became a disciple of some chick named Yeohee? You got good gear and weapons from her, what grudge do you have against me!”
I was losing it.
“I fell here with nothing. Lived like a beggar, eating trash until I got a job at an inn, saved enough to get into the Labyrinth.”
Shiver.
“That bastard didn’t even express gratitude, and here you are, like some high-and-mighty rich kid, couldn’t you just eat me instead!?”
Slap!
I slapped his face hard, disgusted by his whines.
“Grrr.”
“Hey. Do you think I got everything handed to me? You think I lived like a beggar? Worked in an inn for pocket money?”
All those moments I’ve endured came flooding back.
“I fought goblins with my bare hands after falling naked on the 3rd floor while you were safe in your city.”
Memories of before the 3rd floor resurfaced.
“If I met the wrong person, I screamed while my legs burned and cooked. I had to stain my hands with blood from my killings.”
I recalled the moment I stabbed Scarlet.
That wasn’t all.
“I faced mutations at the escape portal, jolted by electricity, writhing in agony until I passed out.”
Crash!
I clenched my fist unintentionally.
“Ever since I escaped, I’ve been battered, falling over, tired, and healing using potions.”
I continued, glaring at Isaac as he bit his lip.
“When you were carried safely, I was on my way to win the lottery and cash in 2 billion VIP in this shitty world.”
“…”
“You probably thought you were going to struggle intensely after falling here and lead a great life with your traits gifted by the gods, huh?”
I locked my gaze with him, pronouncing each word sharply.
“You’re just a miserable transfer with a useful trait. Understand?”
Isaac hung his head. No movement at all.
“…Shut it.”
“What?”
“Who cares? You prick.”
Same old bastard. Enough already. Getting more heated just makes me look like a fool.
I roughly threw him aside and stepped closer.
“Alright then. Let’s end this tiresome fate here.”
“Wait!”
He raised his head as though asking me to pause, but I ignored him.
I raised my sword, ready to end him completely.
Whoosh─
Isaac pulled a dagger from his belt and stabbed it into his own heart.
‘What? Why stab your own heart when you’re going to die anyway?’
Isaac coughed blood as he looked at me, grinning.
“Ha, ha. If I die, I’m not the only one suffering. Everyone else can go down with me. You bastard.”
“Such a whiny prick, even dying you continue to annoy me.”
Swish.
I unleashed my mana and sliced Isaac’s neck.
“…That feels good.”
I’d killed someone again, but this time it felt surprisingly relieving.
They say forgiveness is the best revenge? Revenge feels hollow?
Not at all.
Finally, it felt like I could shake this guy off my life and lead my second life in this world.
“Oh.”
After killing him, I noticed a gray light at my core.
It clearly said there are rare traits in that divinity…
Then, it happened.
Boom─!
“What, what’s happening?”
Something was going on.
*
“Wow, I never imagined it; Aren, you were that loser back then.”
…
…
I was an absolute trash of a human back on Earth.
After dropping out of college and finishing public service, living at home for almost thirty years doing nothing but eat, game, and sleep, that was my life as an unemployed loser.
Struggling to become independent while draining my parents’ pockets relying on the title of eldest son for rent and living costs.
So… I thought I would be the main character in this world.
Since I’d transferred, I had made a resolve to live like a proper human being, unlike back on Earth.
‘Hah, main character, my ass.’
The wind god Nephear once said on the day I was summoned.
To put an end to the gods’ quarrels, several gods sent humans who cleared their fractures in the game to the Labyrinth.
Damn… Is it because of that?
Was the hidden piece existing in this city? Did those who arrived before me clean everything out, leaving nothing behind?
The Legendary Bow, Veil of Night, Prayer of the Divine, Blazing Red Plum Blossom, Sky Step, and so on.
It was already known among the Labyrinth City, and some other losers like me probably snatched it all up.
One oddity, they claimed that there were apostles who were active for decades, regarded as legends.
Isn’t this game less than ten years old? Is time flowing differently between Earth and this world?
Anyway. Wandering around the city searching for hidden pieces, shamelessly asking for information while scavenging through garbage for food, I was lucky to finally get a job.
From there, I worked hard to earn money, got some basic equipment, and registered as an adventurer in the Guild.
Dammit… I got crushed when I bumped into a cocky dude with a girl midway.
I was lying to myself that I would soon be better than him while preparing for the Labyrinth.
With the traits given by the gods and their high agility, I entered a party, but the outcome was this miserable failure.
Moreover, the guy named Aren turned out to be the same guy I had clashed with back then?
If I were him, I would have been thrilled about the start of this life in another world.
Instead, this punk pours out his troubles in a somber voice.
“Who cares? You prick.”
‘Am I going to die at his hands? Just like this, in vain?’
─The 30th floor is still yet to be reached, and layers separators have been discovered at every 5th floor, totaling to 25 layers.
─Because the adventurers who discovered the conditions are keeping silent for their own reasons, very few know the calling conditions for the rulers.
Suddenly, Berkel’s words popped into my mind.
Only appearing in units of 5 floors? That’s half true.
‘If it’s an exception in the rules, there had to have been a layer ruler on the 1st floor. Yet no one knows about it?’
[It shows up when the playable character stabs their heart and chooses death voluntarily at the center of the first floor.]
Back then, when I had no talent even in the game, for nearly half a year I couldn’t advance to the 2nd floor, dying over and over with NPCs by my side.
Was I so angry that I ended up doing that once?
This time, I doubted if I’d ride on a broken character tree or not, resting in the central area, simply used a basic starting dagger from inventory to stab my heart.
As I moved to the next character creation screen, something odd popped up in the system logs before the game ended.
[The first layer ruler has appeared.]
After realizing that, I tried several more character resets in vain just to attempt to stab myself again at the center of the 1st floor.
But the name of the ruler always changed to ‘Starter’s xxx’ each time, and since the character’s death meant a game over, it was all pointless.
‘The method of getting resurrected items to use right away on my partner wasn’t possible during my time on the first floor.’
I kept experimenting out of spite, but I couldn’t catch them just because I summoned them.
Eventually pouring several years into my skill, I grew into an adept, climbing layers while I had forgotten all this.
I remember it so clearly…
Now, I’m a playable character, gifted the divine power of transference.
And there’s more than just me who was transferred? But no one knew that method?
Yeah. Alright! I’ll be the first to discover it and catch the layer ruler that no one has ever caught. Get it yourself!
‘On my way, this is the last gift I am giving you, you bastard.’
Whoosh─
“Ha, ha. If I die, I’m not the only one suffering. Everyone else can go down with me. You bastard.”
…
…
Thud.
*
[Conditions fulfilled.]
[The terrain of the 1st floor changes.]
[Darkness temporarily vanishes.]
Crackling─
[The first layer ruler ‘Starter’s Epusio’ appears.]