The cave was alive with echoes—what had been snarls of pursuit turned into the shrill panic of wolfhogs and the ragged cries of goblin raiders. Their hunt had twisted into horror, their prey becoming the predator.
"...180 more," Yggy muttered through clenched teeth, eyes locked on the hulking shadow just five meters away. The Snow Bear. Its nameplate still shrouded in blackened "???" as if the tower itself refused to reveal it.
Then—it moved.
A white blur of fur and muscle, the beast crashed forward, hurling raiders aside like ragdolls. Yggy didn't retreat. His body surged ahead, cleaver raised, heart hammering like war drums.
Steel met claw. The impact rattled his bones—brute force against honed reflex. Sparks scattered, claws screeching along the cleaver's battered edge. Yggy's boots skidded, every tendon screaming, but he pushed back.
The bear roared, the sound a shockwave that slammed the cavern walls. The sheer force buckled Yggy's knees, his chest concaving from the pressure. Then came the follow-up—three claws like scythes. Yggy intercepted, cleaver intercepting each with explosive clangs—until the fourth carved across his shoulder.
"Arghhh!" His cry ripped through the cave. Blood sprayed. The cleaver spun from his grasp—but instead of falling useless, his hand twitched and the blade, controlled by telekinesis, spun back and buried itself into the bear's arm. The beast bellowed, thrashing, but its counter-swipe cut the air where Yggy had rolled moments before.
His shoulder burned, his vision swam. But instinct screamed louder than pain.
Wolfhog riders charged, desperate to claim glory. Five snarling mouths lunged at once—only for cleavers and broken spears to whirl like vultures around Yggy, guided by thought alone. Each blade struck true, splitting skulls, collapsing mounts, leaving corpses scattered at his feet.
The Snow Bear advanced again. With every step, the cavern trembled. Yggy's ears rang, but he caught it—the rhythm of its paws.
Thud. Thud.
He darted left, rotating on instinct. The beast's claws shredded only empty air. In the same motion, Yggy's cleaver dug deep into its hind leg, then another slash tore into tendon. The monster faltered, its bulk stumbling.
It twisted, claws whipping. But Yggy had already anticipated. A discarded cleaver on the ground lifted on command—spun midair—and smashed into the beast's temple. It didn't pierce, but staggered it long enough.
Yggy became motion itself. A blur of silver hair and bloodied steel, slashing, stabbing, carving along the creature's spine. Each impact jolted through his arms, his breaths ragged, but his movements never stopped.
The boost in DEX surged through him. His body no longer fought—it flowed, as if his nerves and muscle memory had always known this dance of death.
Spears and cleavers circled him like hunting falcons, striking legs, tearing joints. The bear buckled. One eye burst in a spray of blood as Yggy's blade plunged through it.
Wolfhogs screamed as their riders urged them forward—too late. They ran only into orbiting blades, their blood joining the cave floor.
The Snow Bear gave one final roar, guttural, pained—a defiance of death itself. It tried to rise. Its ruined legs quivered, tendons snapping. Its bulk swayed.
And then—
It collapsed, still glaring, still refusing to fall fully, one claw raised to strike…
The moment the Snow Bear crumpled, the cavern filled with the shrieks of goblins. Their bloodshot eyes widened, and desperation turned into greed.
"He's tired!" one screamed, voice echoing.
"Kill him now! The glory—!"
The tide came rushing—a wall of 179 raiders, weapons raised, wolfhogs snapping their jaws.
But Yggy didn't falter.
His lips curved, blood running down his jawline, eyes gleaming with feral light. And then—he moved.
Thunder.
That's what it looked like to them. One instant, a boy bloodied and broken; the next, a storm given flesh. Cleavers and spears swirled in orbit, guided by telekinesis, each one screaming through the air like lightning bolts.
Goblins were carved apart mid-charge. Heads split. Spines severed. Wolfhogs collapsed with cleavers buried between their eyes. Yggy's own body flowed with impossible speed—ducking, slashing, sidestepping, stabbing—as though instinct itself puppeteered him.
Every strike landed. Every scream was silenced.
By the time the last goblin fell choking on his own blood, the cave was a massacre ground, littered with corpses in rivers of black-red.
Yggy stood in the center, chest heaving. Then he turned back to the Snow Bear—still twitching, still glaring with defiance in its one remaining eye.
He grinned. Wide. Unshaken. Mocking.
"You're weak," he muttered.
The bear lunged weakly, claws swinging.
Slash—its left arm hit the stone floor.
Slash—the right arm followed, spraying hot blood across the cavern walls.
It tried to roar but managed only a rasping growl.
One desperate goblin stumbled from the shadows, shrieking as it charged Yggy's flank—only for a cleaver to shoot forward and bury itself in its skull, dropping it lifeless at his feet.
The system's panel flickered alive:
[Congratulations! You have leveled up.]
Level: 14 → 15
Looter Domain radius has expanded.
Yggy exhaled, grinning, and whispered one word:
"Loot."
Floor Quest:
Defeat Enemies — (999/1000)
Defeat the Boss of the Floor — (0/1)
The air rippled. His vision lit up with cascading numbers as the Book of Greed updated:
[Personal Stats — Yggy Medas]
Aether Rank: (F)
Aether Proficiency: Level 10
Class: Criteria not met
STR: 1644 → 2105
DEX: 2770 → 3675
VIT: 1180 → 1537
INT: 1024 → 1560
LUCK: 14 → 15
And then—finally—the nameplate above the beast shimmered. No longer veiled.
[Snow Bear — Lv. 20]
Yggy tilted his head, smirking.
"Nice to meet you, Snow Bear."
The cleaver fell.
The beast's head rolled.
Its massive frame thundered as it crashed lifeless to the ground.
The panel erupted again, golden script filling his vision:
[Congratulations!]
You have slain: Snow Bear — Lv. 20 (Floor Boss)
You have gained the following stats:
STR: +20 (2125)
DEX: +15 (3690)
VIT: +25 (1562)
INT: +12 (1572)
Floor Quest Completed
Defeat Enemies — (1000/1000)
Defeat the Boss of the Floor — (1/1)
Rewards Unlocked:
Entry to 2nd Floor — Follow the red trail towards the elevator.
Ability Gained: Dimensional Store (tap to gain information)
Yggy lifted his blood-slick left hand, chest rising and falling. The corpses, the blood, the echoing silence of the cave—it was all his now.
A predator's grin spread across his face.
Book of Greed Capacity: 220 / 230 pages
Yggy's breath steamed in the frozen air. He lifted his left hand, palm trembling with exhaustion yet buzzing with power.
"Manifest."
The cave shook.
A mountain of corpses erupted into existence—Barok the captain's mangled remains, raiders, wolfhogs, goblin guards—stacked grotesquely, filling every inch of stone floor. The stench of iron and rot pressed against the walls, echoing in the silence that followed.
The weight of it bore down on him, pressing into his bones. His veins thrummed, body vibrating with the rush.
"Loot!"
The word cracked through the cavern like thunder.
In an instant—the pile vanished. Gone. Absorbed into the pages of his cursed book. All that remained was stone, firewood crackling faintly, and Yggy himself—standing alone in the dark, bathed in the afterglow of power surging back into his frame.
The wall ahead pulsed. A trail of red light bled across the stone, stretching outward like molten veins, slithering beyond the cave mouth. Yggy narrowed his eyes. He'd seen this before—always the same.
The tower guides you once the floor bends.
Meaning only one thing: conditions cleared. The path to the next floor had opened.
Book of Greed Capacity: 12 / 230 pages
Snow hit him as he stepped outside. The wind whipped sharp against his cheek, only to dull as the Looter Domain unfurled—vast, expanding until it blanketed nearly the entire floor. He whispered, almost lazily now:
"Loot."
The world shivered.
Pebbles dissolved. Broken teeth scattered from fallen goblins winked out. Cloth scraps, snapped arrows, discarded bones—everything not rooted as tower structure was swallowed into his book. The floor was scoured clean, purified by his greed.
[Personal Stats — Yggy Medas]
Aether Rank: (F)
Aether Proficiency: Level 15
Class: Criteria not met
STR: 2125 → (+30) → 2155
DEX: 3690→ (+10) → 3700
VIT: 1562 → (+10) → 1572
INT: 1572→ (unchanged)
LUCK: 15
Book of Greed Capacity: 13 / 180 pages
Special Buffs:
Warm Felt Inside a House (Lvl 1/10): Immune to the coldness of snow and wind as long as a structure of +5 is stored in the Book of Greed.
Bear Hunter (Lvl 1/10): Gained ability Bear Punch as long as 1 bear boss or 100 bear units are stored in the Book of Greed.
Goblin Killer (Lvl 1/10): Detection Skill Scent is activated as long as 900 goblin corpses are stored in the Book of Greed.
Yggy's lips curled as the book shimmered with black light. Another line etched itself onto the panel.
[Dimensional Store — Locked. Say command to open.]
He exhaled, tightening his grip, bloodied knuckles trembling.
"…Dimensional Store. Open."