Solo Max-Level Newbie - Chapter 364: Cult of Wraiths (1)

To kill the living and offer them to the Great Being.

That was…

The ideology held by the ‘Cult of Wraiths,’ one of the major factions on the 20th floor.

Although they resided on the 20th floor, it wasn’t because their power was limited to this floor.

The constant flow of blood and the battlefields that spanned the entire floor.

The vast resources provided by the magic stone mines.

The ability to secure endless sacrifices and magic stones at the same time was what kept them anchored to this floor for so long.

And currently…

Inside a tent filled with heaps of corpses, a monstrous figure with a grotesque appearance stood.

Blood dripped from the monster’s black lips.

It had the form of a gaunt man, and on its head rested a bloodstained crown.

“Just as you commanded, we have destroyed all the humans’ bases,” said the monster, its voice filled with malice.

This was ‘Sloth,’ the leader of the Cult of Wraiths and one of the Seven Deadly Sins.

A renowned named being even in the upper floors.

But this terrifying creature was now bowing respectfully before someone else…

One of the Demon Kings from the Demon Realm, ‘Guntaper.’

Technically, it was an avatar infused with Guntaper’s soul, but even so…

“Hmm. Well done. You’ve made quite the mess,” Guntaper clicked his tongue, surveying the surrounding destruction.

Mountains of corpses lay scattered around.

Hundreds of players had been slaughtered without much resistance.

“As you instructed, I’ve captured the humans with high magic power alive. However, a few managed to escape our encirclement and scattered.”

Sloth pointed toward a makeshift prison nearby.

Instead of iron bars, the prison was wreathed in red flames, and inside were players of at least A-rank.

“Oh? Some escaped? How many?”

“About 30 to 40. But the pursuit squad is already on their trail, and we should capture them all before the day ends.”

“You failed to capture that many despite having Blood Knights and Slaughterers with you? How is that possible?”

Guntaper’s mouth twisted slightly.

The temperature in the area plummeted.

A chilling cold swept through.

“…!”

Sloth’s entire body trembled uncontrollably.

Fear and terror,

And a crushing, overwhelming aura pressed down on his heart.

“T-there was an Apostle candidate from ‘Eden’ among the humans. A blonde woman who wielded powerful divine energy. It seems the Blood Knights had no choice but to give way to her. But, if you give me a little more time… no, I’ll personally move to ensure—”

“Still full of excuses, aren’t you? As the one overseeing Sloth among the Seven Deadly Sins, do you know why you’re stuck on the 20th floor?”

The other Deadly Sins held their positions in the upper floors of the tower.

But only Sloth had been relegated to the middle floors, taking up the title of cult leader.

“T-that’s…”

“It’s because you haven’t produced results.”

No matter how perfect the process, it didn’t matter.

What was most important was the result, and the result alone.

“Don’t disappoint me this time. No matter what, you must capture the saint alive.”

“I… understand.”

Sloth bowed his head deeply.

“Good. I’ll trust you.”

With that, Guntaper’s avatar dissolved into shadows and vanished.

At that moment…

*Crack!*

Sloth ground his teeth in frustration.

“Gather all the followers. Triple the size of the pursuit squad.”

“Yes, High Priest.”

The massive Slaughterer knelt before him.

“Also, send word to the other factions and relay my message.”

The ‘Red Giant,’ the ‘Great Wing,’ and the many smaller factions entangled with them.

All of them would be informed.

“What message shall we send?”

“I will put a bounty on her. Whoever captures the blonde saint who wields divine energy will receive 30% of the magic stones mined from this place for the next three years.”

The 20th-floor magic stone mine contained some of the richest veins in the entire tower.

The purity of the stones was so high that mid- and upper-grade magic stones were being mined in droves.

Offering 30% of that would be an enormous reward.

It meant that Sloth was now willing to go all-in to accomplish his mission.

“We will carry out the great leader’s will.”

The Slaughterers and countless followers began to move.

＊＊＊

[You have entered the 20th floor.]

*Buzz!*

With a bright flash of light, a new group appeared on the 20th floor.

It was the ‘Veteran Corporation,’ led by Jinhyuk.

“So, this is the 20th floor… We’ve finally made it.”

The sky held two suns, and the landscape was a barren grassland stretching into deep canyons.

This was the 20th floor.

Jinhyuk’s gaze turned to the sky.

Around this time…

*Ding!*

[Clear Condition]

Details: There are approximately 173 factions on the 20th floor.

Of these, about 20 factions have over 1,000 members. To clear the 20th floor, you must either rise to the top three among these factions or completely destroy the largest one.

A window displaying the floor’s clear conditions appeared.

‘The largest faction… that would be the Cult of Wraiths.’

The fanatic group that worshipped the Demon King, their faction was massive.

And at the head of their organization was one of the Seven Deadly Sins, ‘Sloth,’ a monster with power comparable to that of a ‘Hero’-class being.

“We’ll have to stay sharp. There’s very little information about this place. Hardly anyone has made it this far,” Chun Yoosung muttered, his face tense as he flexed his hands.

“The great Sword Saint is afraid, huh?”

“A-afraid? Nonsense! I’m just being cautious, that’s all. Isn’t it common sense to be prepared when entering an unknown place? Especially the 20th floor?”

To be fair, even the veteran players who had mastered the Tower of Trials hadn’t made it past the 20th floor.

Even Chun Yoosung, that leech of a Sword Saint, had given up climbing the tower here.

“This floor can be tough. Lots of guys like you pop up all over the place.”

“Guys like me? What’s that supposed to mean?”

*Shing!*

Chun Yoosung’s sword was half-drawn.

From here on, words had to be chosen carefully.

Otherwise, I might end up in more danger than Teresa.

“I mean… you know, there are lots of skilled fighters. Dedicated, talented ones like you. You know what I mean, right?”

*Clang!*

The sword returned to its sheath.

“You’re talking as if you’ve passed through here before. Have you made it past the 20th floor?”

Another probing question.

This guy had always been curious about how far I’d climbed in the tower.

“I’ve been a little further than this.”

“I knew it. After seeing what you did in the Empire and Murim, I suspected it. You’ve been up to the mid-20s or early 30s, haven’t you?”

The mid-20s… to the early 30s?

“Well, somewhere around that.”

Jinhyuk smirked.

“Give me a straight answer. Was it the late 20s or the 30th floor?”

“I don’t remember exactly where I stopped.”

“You’re always so…!”

Just as Chun Yoosung was about to press further…

*Rustle.*

The sound of movement through the reeds interrupted the conversation.

Someone was coming.

“Heh heh! What’s this? Some new tenants, eh?”

A group of hobgoblins emerged from the bushes, armed with small daggers.

Larger and far more intelligent than regular goblins, hobgoblins were a higher species.

And because they always moved in groups, they were quite tricky to deal with.

Yeah.

This was what the 20th floor was all about.

From the entrance to the exit, every step and every moment was a battlefield.

“Looks like you’ve just arrived on the 20th floor, but it’s your bad luck to run into us.”

“Heh heh! That’s right.”

“You crawled all the way here, so I’ll give you credit for that, but your luck’s run out.”

“Hand over everything you’ve got, and we might just let you live. Start by giving us that silver-haired woman and the dark-haired one behind you.”

The hobgoblins’ blades pointed toward Alice and Chu Hon-Sa Young.

Of all people… they chose those two?

It seemed their luck was worse than ours.

“Oh my. Did you say you wanted me?”

Chu Hon-Sa Young stepped forward, her smile bright.

“Heh heh! Look at that, she’s smart.”

“Don’t worry—”

*Thud!*

The mocking words didn’t last long.

*Slice.*

*Crunch…*

The hobgoblin’s head rolled clean off.

A pristine white sword traced a graceful arc through the air.

“Why are you so surprised? Didn’t you ask me to come to you?” Chu Hon-Sa Young flicked her fingers.

“K-keeek?”

“How dare you repay our mercy with this kind of insolence?”

“We’ll tear you to pieces!”

The hobgoblins immediately launched a counterattack.

They charged from all sides, armed with heavy wooden shields and swords, aiming for Chu Hon-Sa Young.

At that moment…

*Whizz! Whizz! Whizz!*

Scarlet spears shot through the air from the side.

“Keek!”

“Graaaah!”

In an instant, the hobgoblins were skewered and collapsed to the ground.

“Lowly creatures, you don’t even know your place. Who are you to speak of mercy and life when it’s your own that’s in question?”

*Kuhuhuhuhu!*

As Alice unleashed her power, dark clouds gathered beneath the twin suns.

An overwhelming force.

A level of magic so great that mere hobgoblins couldn’t possibly contend with it.

“M-monsters!”

“Hiiiik!”

“Monsters have come to the 20th floor! We need to warn the leader!”

But that was only wishful thinking.

Red meteors rained down from the sky, turning everything around into scorched earth.

*Boom!*

*Boom!*

There wasn’t a single bug left alive that had dared to claim her as their own.

“Oh my. If you’re going to fawn over that lady, I might get jealous. You should have some fun with me, too,” Chu Hon-Sa Young teased, her voice playful.

She wasn’t the only one with a regal demeanor.

As the 8th technique of her ‘Ghost Sword’ unfolded, beautiful arcs of light slashed through the air.

“…!?”

“Guh… urgh?”

The hobgoblins couldn’t even comprehend how they were killed.

They were simply massacred, one after another.

The scene quickly turned into a bloodbath.

The blood of the hobgoblins soaked the reeds until the entire field was stained red.

“Did we really need to kill all of them?” Chun Yoosung swallowed dryly, watching Chu Hon-Sa Young’s lethal dance.

He was probably making a mental note to treat his master with a bit more respect from now on.

“We had to leave only one alive.”

We needed to make our presence known to everyone.

By now, the shattered Olympus Guild raid group would be running for their lives, fleeing from their pursuers.

To save them, we needed to divert attention away from them.

‘And while we’re at it, I’ll extract every possible advantage.’

Well then, it was time to start the real challenge of the 20th floor.

Jinhyuk opened his subspace inventory.

The reward he had earned after clearing the 19th floor.

Inside was the key to clearing the 20th floor smoothly.

*Buzz!*

With a flash of light, a small box appeared.