[You have killed the "Skeletal Mage."]
[You have killed the 6th Floor Boss. Congratulations.]
[Would you like to proceed to the next floor?]
[Or would you like to exit the Tower?]
[Yes]
[No]
At that moment, the young woman who had seen Subedei's smile asked curiously,
"Why are you smiling? Did something good happen?"
Hearing her words, Subedei's smile vanished, and he sat down in silence.
Suddenly, from afar, the clear sound of approaching footsteps echoed.
Subedei quickly stood up, turned around, and swung his spear forcefully.
When he looked behind him, he saw it was the middle-aged man who had been with the woman.
Even after realizing that, his spear did not stop.
The middle-aged man barely managed to dodge.
Still, blood flowed from his neck. It seemed his skin had been lightly cut. He quickly grabbed his neck and shouted,
"Stop!"
"I don't want to fight you!"
From the side, the young woman hurriedly added,
"Yes, what he's saying is true."
"We watched over you while you were unconscious."
Even after hearing this, Subedei did not lower his spear. He continued gripping it tightly.
Seeing this, the two of them, helpless, threw their weapons onto the ground.
"Do you believe us now? I even brought you food," the middle-aged man said, showing the loot in his hand.
Subedei ignored it and coldly replied,
"I can just leave and eat outside. Why would I eat that?"
The two were left speechless.
Subedei immediately brought up the exit notification.
[Would you like to exit the Tower?]
[Yes] [No]
He raised his hand and pressed "Yes." A black hole appeared before him, and he was about to step into it.
Seeing this, the middle-aged man quickly spoke.
"Please don't leave. At least give us a chance to thank you."
"Could you at least tell us your name?"
The young woman beside him nodded.
But none of it mattered to Subedei.
"I didn't save you two."
"I just passed out in the middle of the fight."
"You were simply lucky."
After saying this, he paused before entering the black hole and said,
"My name is Subedei."
With that, he stepped into the darkness and exited the Tower.
The two watched him disappear and quietly whispered his name.
"Subedei."
"Subedei…"
It felt as if he emerged from a dark void, and when he finally opened his eyes, he was back home.
Subedei let out a deep breath and immediately lay down on the floor.
Every muscle in his body ached as if it were about to tear apart.
He did not want anyone to see his weakness, so he endured the pain with clenched teeth.
As he felt the intense pain coursing through his body, one thought surfaced.
"Damn it, when did I lose consciousness?"
"And why does every muscle hurt like this?"
"I still don't understand how I killed that boss monster."
Pushing through the chaotic flood of thoughts, he softly whispered to himself,
"Someday, all of this will be explained."
As he said that, he unknowingly fell into a deep sleep.
Several hours later, Subedei slowly opened his eyes.
When he tried moving his body, it felt much better than before.
Still, his muscles continued to ache.
Ignoring it, he closed his eyes again, deciding to sleep more.
Suddenly, his stomach growled, forcing him to open his eyes.
"Grrr…"
Since the pain had lessened, Subedei stood up and decided to boil some noodles.
He planned to climb to the next floor tomorrow.
Deep in his heart, only one thought remained—become stronger as quickly as possible.
And he wanted to avoid being around people as much as he could.
As he was about to cook, he noticed his torn, dust-covered clothes. He decided to take a shower and change.
After some time, he came out looking like a new person.
He cooked and ate his noodles, then decided to go outside.
He grabbed a shirt from above and put it on before heading out.
As he walked outside, something felt strange.
Without his spear in his hand, he felt uneasy, as if his sense of security had vanished.
It felt odd, but he knew he had to get used to it.
Subedei walked calmly, looking around without much thought.
While he was walking peacefully, he suddenly heard people screaming from afar.
In the middle of a playground, a black hole abruptly appeared, and from it, countless skeletons poured out.
Seeing this, people panicked and began running in all directions.
A mother who had simply come out for a stroll with her child sat there, pale-faced, holding her baby tightly.
She wanted to run, but she had recently given birth and did not have the strength.
Her husband had just left her there with the baby to go to the store.
On top of that, she lacked the strength to carry her child far.
The skeletons began killing the nearest people who could not escape.
Red human blood splattered everywhere, and the screams of terror did not cease.
"Ahhhh!"
"Aaaahhh!"
People ran in every direction. Seeing this, the woman, terrified, tried to flee while holding her baby.
Though she had recently given birth, she lifted her child and walked as fast as she could.
While moving in fear, she stumbled over a large stone.
Clutching her baby tightly, she fell hard to the ground.
The sudden movement woke the baby, and it began to cry.
"Waaahhh!"
The woman barely stood up and turned around—only to see a skeleton standing right behind her, raising its sword.
Seeing this, she quickly hugged her child tightly and shielded it with her body as she lay down.
The skeleton's strike deeply slashed across her pale back, tearing her clothes. She screamed loudly.
"Aaaahhh!"
Blood poured from her mouth and streamed down her back, dripping onto the ground.
Clenching her teeth, she forced herself to stop screaming and looked at her child.
The baby, unaware of what was happening, looked up at its mother and smiled.
Seeing that smile, the pale woman seemed to find peace and smiled back.
Blood continued to flow from her mouth and dripped onto the baby. Trembling, she raised her hand and wiped the blood from her child's cheek.
At that moment, the skeleton raised its sword again and struck her back once more.
No matter how much pain she felt, the woman shielded her baby with her body, holding it tightly.
Several more skeletons surrounded her.
One by one, their attacks fell upon her body, yet she did not scream.
Instead, she looked down and smiled, trying not to frighten her child.
But suddenly, before the skeletons' attacks could reach her.
They stopped.
A sharp metallic screech rang out, as if something had collided with iron.
"Chisssss."