In the dim light of the Dungeon, flashes of black sword light flickered silently. Each strike drew hot blood from monsters, staining the cave walls.
Blending into the shadows, Kai's movements were honed to the extreme. Each strike was silent, each slash sharp enough to pierce the heavens.
Then his sword returned to stillness—as if nothing had happened.
Hidden in darkness, Kai's presence was nearly erased. But whenever he unsheathed his sword, a momentary radiance exploded, enough to make anyone shiver.
Clang—!
The dark blade hummed. Metal rang sharply. Using his waist as a fulcrum, Kai struck then withdrew, leaving a dark arc in the air. The fierce slash ripped through a monster.
Squelch.
A pause—then a spray of blood soaked the ground.
That was the last monster on this floor. All the others had already fallen by Kai's sword.
With each step, his shoes made sticky sounds on the blood-soaked floor.
Even as new monsters spawned, they were immediately slain.
After fighting all night alone, Kai's Solo Player skill was at its peak, enhancing all his attributes fivefold. His base stats were over 60, and with buffs, they were close to 70.
With all stats at 70, he rivaled a Lv.2 adventurer with all C-rank attributes.
The Dungeon floor was quiet, save for the squelch of blood and the monsters' death cries.
Then, in the distance, two red lights flickered—eyes. Heavy footsteps followed.
A two-meter tall creature with bronze skin and bulging muscles stepped into view.
Snorting thick breath, its hooves struck like rocks, its horns sharp and twisted.
A Minotaur.
Kai had faced one before and used it to level up.
Now, a month later, there was no fear in his heart. Only the tightening of his grip, the charging of his legs, and the instant he became a streak of black lightning.
Flash!
He passed the Minotaur in a blink. Blood arced like a crescent on the ground.
Behind him, the Minotaur stood frozen. A thin red line spread across its neck.
Splurt—
Its head flew into the air. The body collapsed.
Kai didn't even blink. He looked toward the corridor ahead.
Dozens more adult Minotaurs stared at him.
Normally, no adventurer would dare face so many elite monsters alone.
But for Kai, it was simple.
He was exhausted, yes. But the Solo Player skill was maxed out. His stats were near 70.
And he had already made up his mind—he would pay any price to grow stronger.
If the sword was in his hand, and the enemy in his sights, then there was only one thing left to do—kill.
Narrowing his eyes, Kai charged into the corridor.
...
In front of the vertical stairway to the 17th floor, Kai paused.
Behind him, the 16th floor was a battlefield of corpses. The ground was covered in blood and remains. The air reeked of iron.
Staring at the stairwell, Kai hesitated.
He had entered the middle floors to gain experience and level up.
Though he didn't know how much EXP he'd earned, the countless Lv.2 monsters he'd slain should be enough.
Should he go back?
His sword still dripped blood. His hand trembled. Every breath burned his lungs. His muscles ached terribly.
His reason told him to turn back. But his legs didn't want to move.
…Am I really just going to walk away like this?
As someone familiar with the original work, Kai naturally knew what awaited on the 17th floor—there were no normal or elite monsters here. There was no overwhelming monster horde. There was only a single monster that occupied the entire floor—known as the [Labyrinth's Lone King], Goliath.
One monster alone ruled an entire floor. Goliath's strength was unquestionable. Even several elite adventurer parties with top-tier Lv.2 strength would likely gain no advantage against it.
Under normal circumstances, Lv.2 adventurers would never even think about setting foot into that monster's domain. But as someone who also possessed floor-clearing strength, Kai couldn't help but be drawn to the fearsome [Labyrinth's Lone King].
Unlike the system's passive class skills, which only cared about the number of kills, adventurer level-ups placed greater importance on the quality of kills rather than quantity.
Sometimes, killing a single elite monster could grant as much experience as dozens—or even hundreds—of regular monsters of the same level.
And as the elite of elites, the floor boss of the entire 17th floor, the so-called unbeatable [King] against Lv.2 adventurers… if he could successfully kill Goliath, how much experience would that be worth?
His body was already exhausted. Even if he did kill Goliath, he would be completely drained afterward and couldn't possibly fight his way back up to Babel—but that didn't matter. Adjacent to the 17th floor was the rare safety zone of the Dungeon, the 18th floor, where monsters would not spawn.
And if the timeline matched the original, the Loki Familia was currently resting on the 18th floor. The Sword Princess was also there. Nothing unexpected should happen.
Frowning in thought for a moment, Kai called out his system interface. Staring at the countdown ticking down—only a bit over ten days left—he gritted his teeth and stepped into the vertical shaft.
The vertical shaft to the 17th floor wasn't much different than the others: pitch-black, damp, filled with an uncomfortable humidity in the air.
Kai gripped the cold, solid sword hilt tightly, his expression grave as he descended. His footsteps echoed around him, making the silence feel unbearably heavy.
Too quiet. Much too quiet.
Though the shafts between the previous 16 floors were also quiet, this silence was fundamentally different.
As he drew closer to the 17th floor, under the enhancement of his [Black Swordsman] skill and heightened battle instincts, Kai immediately sensed something off.
This wasn't normal silence—no, it felt more like deathly stillness. The air carried a murderous tension, as if something savage and dangerous lay dormant here, and even the Dungeon itself was holding its breath to avoid waking it.
Gulp…
Unconsciously, Kai swallowed. Since unlocking the [Black Swordsman] skill tree, this was the first time his palm broke into a cold sweat while holding a sword.
The shaft between floors wasn't long. Even though Kai had slowed his pace, after a short while, he arrived at the 17th floor entrance.
He silently stared at the light filtering in from beyond the entrance. A chill crept down his spine.
But since he'd come this far, there was no way he was turning back.
Move… don't be afraid…
His rational mind issued commands to his body, finally overcoming the instinct to flee, and Kai stepped forward.
Clack—
Inside a vast rectangular stone hall, each over a hundred meters in length and width, Kai's footstep echoed as he entered the floor.
The moment he stepped in, he was enveloped by the chamber.
There were no decorations, no side halls or passages—just a massive stone room that occupied the entire 17th floor.
And in this empty hall, Kai's eyes were drawn immediately to the left wall.
Though clearly made of rough stone, it shimmered like polished pearl or jade, as if countless master craftsmen had tirelessly polished it. The seams between the wall and surrounding structure were perfectly rounded, without a single crack or joint—it could only be described as beautiful.
This was the [Wall of Lamentation].
Adventurers who traveled between the Dungeon and Orario referred to it that way.
It was the "womb" from which the floor's sole master, the [Labyrinth's Lone King] Goliath, would be born.
Staring at the flawless surface, Kai's inner alarm blared.
His muscles instinctively tensed.
The hairs on his neck stood on end. Goosebumps rippled across his back.
An invisible sword pressure condensed around him, warping the air like summer heat rising from asphalt.
His combat instincts screamed—roared—begged him to leave at once.
And at that moment—something stirred.
Crack!
A fissure suddenly tore across the rounded, inward-bulging Wall of Lamentation like a bolt of lightning, slicing through the left wall.
Within the growing crack, two massive eyes, each the size of a human head, locked onto the defensive Kai.
Their eyes met—and both sides saw killing intent.
"AIOOOOOO!"
The next instant, it opened its mouth and let out an eardrum-shaking roar, slamming hard into the not-yet-shattered wall.
A low groan, like a mixture of moaning, panting, and sighing, shook the entire chamber.
The strange, intense sound waves echoed through Kai's skull like a tsunami.
As Goliath rammed the wall again and again, the [Wall of Lamentation] groaned louder in protest. Cracks began spreading wider across its surface. The very ground of the 17th floor trembled in response.
BOOM—
With another earth-shaking collision, the wall finally reached its limit.
In the next moment, a thunderous crash filled the air. The left wall exploded into countless chunks of rock and clouds of dust.
Boulders tumbled and slammed into the floor.
But even as the debris rained down, Kai's attention remained fixed on the opening in the wall.
There, under his sharp gaze—
A massive humanoid figure, over seven meters tall, burst forth. It had hard, gray-black hair and dark gray skin. With a thunderous roar, it emerged from the breach.
This was the floor boss.
The one who held overwhelming strength even against Lv.2 adventurers.
The [Labyrinth's Lone King]—Goliath.
"Huff… huff…"
Dust billowed from the shattered wall. Goliath turned its head, crimson eyes locked onto Kai. Then, it bared a terrifying grin.
At that same moment, Kai's face tensed. His heart pounded like a drum—but still, he raised his sword.
And in the next second, a black sword light tore through the distance between Kai and Goliath.