100 Floors All Master - Chapter 21

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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All Master of 100 Floors Episode 021

3rd Floor. Dungeon (3)

The system window announcing him as a defeated one of the Great War seemed like mockery.

It was mockery saying that the being here was merely someone who had been defeated, nothing more than a failure.

A being personally introduced by the System. It meant he wasn’t just a simple monster. And Kang Jun-hyeok knew very well what kind of existence this was.

‘I didn’t expect to meet one of The Defeated Ones this early.’

[…Oh?]

A voice rang out. It wasn’t the voice of Manbyeonggi. It was the voice of the pitch-black knight.

[Well, well. A visitor after such a long time! I was worried no one would come anymore, but what a relief!]

Fluent speech and vocabulary. And an archaic pronunciation. Though his face was hidden by a helmet, you could tell he wasn’t young.

The knight laughed heartily as he introduced himself.

[Pleased to meet you! I am called Alessandro!]

“Nice to meet you.”

Kang Jun-hyeok answered calmly. Alessandro was intrigued by his composed attitude.

[Ho? All the Players who have discovered me so far were startled out of their wits. But you’re not like that. A familiar sight.]

Alessandro, who had been observing Kang Jun-hyeok for a moment, soon discovered Manbyeonggi fitted on his hand. Manbyeonggi opened his mouth as if he had no choice.

[It’s been a long time. Alessandro.]

[…Wait. Is that you?]

[Yes.]

[Good heavens.]

Alessandro was shocked.

[You’ve become quite a strange sight. I never thought I’d meet you again in this manner.]

[I feel the same way.]

[Hmm… What should I call you?]

Alessandro was speaking respectfully to Manbyeonggi. His attitude was like addressing a superior. Manbyeonggi answered as if accustomed to it.

[Call me Manbyeonggi. I’ve lost my past name now. More precisely, it has disappeared.]

[Manbyeonggi… is it.]

Alessandro’s voice was tinged with regret.

[Such a name. How truly sorrowful. Well, I’m not in a proper state either, so there’s no need to pick at each other’s wounds.]

Having said that much, Alessandro spoke to Kang Jun-hyeok in an apologetic tone.

[Ah. My apologies. You’re the one who sought out this place. It’s been so long since I’ve seen a welcome face that I neglected you.]

“It doesn’t matter.”

[…Hmm. How composed. You truly are special. Well, one who has obtained the person now called Manbyeonggi should naturally be special.]

Alessandro’s voice was filled with delight.

[Good! You’re truly excellent as a visitor to this place! Then I should introduce myself properly too! I am Alessandro! A wandering knight who revered freedom and traveled the world!]

“‘Was,’ you say.”

Alessandro’s introduction was in the past tense. There was a reason for that.

[Unfortunately, I was defeated in the Great War. I became unable to seek freedom any longer.]

Kang Jun-hyeok’s eyes darkened.

Over ten years ago, the system window that suddenly appeared before them.

[Hello, everyone.]

[After a long, long war, the Master of the Universe has changed.]

[The new master will abandon the current universe and create their own universe.]

After the war, the Master of the Universe had changed.

Then what happened to the original masters?

“That’s unfortunate.”

[Indeed it is. It was truly like hell. I’m fortunate I didn’t hang myself.]

Though his attitude was light, the atmosphere sank endlessly like a swamp. Manbyeonggi spoke up.

[Did all the other Defeated Ones enter the Tower too?]

[Some have entered, but many remain in the universe. They refuse to accept defeat and are working hard to somehow reverse the outcome.]

One of those efforts was the Fake Tower created by The Defeated Ones. Manbyeonggi’s tone was one of incomprehension.

[But why are you here….]

[That approach seemed difficult. So I went to find the Tower’s Administrator. Originally I tried to go directly to the Master of the Universe, but there was absolutely no way to find them. I begged the Administrator to please give me a chance not as a defeated one, but as a Player.]

[My, it was truly difficult. I bowed my head and pleaded desperately. I said I would even lick their feet if they wanted. Perhaps my efforts were touching, because they accepted.]

Though his tone was light, the content was anything but light. Manbyeonggi spoke quietly.

[How pitiful. Alessandro. You who were renowned as a wandering knight, who loved freedom and served no one, to end up like this….]

[That’s what I should be saying.]

Alessandro tilted his head.

[I never thought you would be broken and submit. You were mightier than anyone. Greater than anyone. Yet in the end, to lose even your name and become equipment of the Tower. What a miserable fate.]

[You didn’t see the end.]

Manbyeonggi spoke quietly.

[You know nothing of what lies at this end.]

[I won’t deny that. I couldn’t participate in the final battle after all. I didn’t even encounter the Master of the Universe. But still, I didn’t give up. Isn’t that enough?]

Manbyeonggi didn’t argue back. When he didn’t respond, Alessandro looked at Kang Jun-hyeok again.

[Hmm. My apologies. This is troubling. I keep failing to pay attention to you.]

“Since you’re meeting after a long time, it doesn’t matter. Then, though it’s a bit awkward to call it compensation, I’ll ask one question.”

Kang Jun-hyeok asked Alessandro.

“What kind of contract did you make with the Tower’s Administrator?”

[…You strike at the essence. Good instincts.]

Alessandro laughed heartily.

[Nothing much. My contract is simple. To gain the qualification to climb the Tower not as a defeated one, but as a Player.]

And contracts required conditions.

[Killing about a hundred Players who seek this place is precisely the condition.]

“…What number am I?”

[The forty-third. I haven’t even reached half yet.]

Alessandro spoke lightly. Kang Jun-hyeok let out a bitter laugh.

The Underground wasn’t that difficult.

A very few could somehow clear it.

But why had no one who cleared the Underground ever appeared?

It was quite simple.

Because the knight before his eyes had killed them all.

Forty-two Players who had reached the end of the Underground, who should have left their names in the universe.

“A past defeated one trampling on growing sprouts. How cruel.”

[I’m sorry about that. But I have no intention of letting go of this hard-earned opportunity. So.]

Please. Sleep here.

Alessandro said this as he drew his sword. A dark-colored sword was quietly gripped in both hands.

Kang Jun-hyeok’s eyes darkened.

The defeated one before his eyes was his enemy.

It wasn’t surprising. Just because they were defeated didn’t mean they were particularly friendly to Players. Though meeting like this was unexpected, nothing changed.

‘Kill or be killed. Easier to understand than pointless Quests.’

Kang Jun-hyeok drew his great sword. Alessandro was amazed at the great sword that emerged from Manbyeonggi.

[It doesn’t look like subspace or an artifact, yet a weapon emerges from thin air. That’s the Tower’s System. Impressive.]

Kang Jun-hyeok paid no attention and took his stance.

Now then, just how strong would the knight before his eyes be?

Originally, he could have killed someone like his current self in a matter of seconds, but he was bound to the Tower by contract. He must have lost most of that power. It would have been adjusted to a level that Players who visit this place could defeat.

‘His stats are likely lower than mine.’

Kang Jun-hyeok was not an ordinary Player right now. He had killed the Mantises on Floor 0 and achieved only Perfect Clears. He had even defeated the Goblin King, which normally couldn’t be caught, so he was clearly superior to the design.

There was no possibility that his stats were set higher than Kang Jun-hyeok’s. They were probably significantly lower.

‘In that case.’

First, he would thrust with strength and speed.

Kang Jun-hyeok kicked off the ground.

Boom!

The Tower’s floor shook. With explosive acceleration, Kang Jun-hyeok charged toward Alessandro.

Despite the considerable distance between them, it was closed in an instant.

Alessandro was genuinely surprised.

It was speed on a different level compared to any of the forty-two Players he had faced.

And his judgment was quick too. He guessed what his advantages were and immediately attacked using those strengths.

Impressive. Alessandro was amazed. Honestly, he had only been paying attention to Manbyeonggi and hadn’t shown much interest in Kang Jun-hyeok, but he had to immediately retract that thought.

That’s why Alessandro felt regretful.

‘To think I must break such a person.’

Alessandro moved the swords in both hands. Compared to Kang Jun-hyeok’s speed, it was an extremely leisurely, relaxed movement of the sword.

The dark-colored sword made contact with the tip of Kang Jun-hyeok’s sword.

And Alessandro lightly moved his arm.

Clank.

The touching swords wavered. They stuck together like magnets and wouldn’t separate. Alessandro’s arm showed a strange movement. A trajectory and flow that Kang Jun-hyeok couldn’t understand or reach.

At the end of it, Kang Jun-hyeok’s sword shot up toward the sky.

Kang Jun-hyeok’s eyes widened. He had definitely thrust toward Alessandro. It was a thrust with all his strength. But when he came to his senses, his arm was pointing toward the sky.

‘A skill?’

No. No, it wasn’t. This wasn’t that kind of thing.

This was pure sword technique.

[Farewell.]

Alessandro thrust his sword toward Kang Jun-hyeok’s chest, which was full of openings.

The direction of force had been completely misdirected. Even if he tried to correct his posture, he couldn’t be faster than the incoming sword. Dodging or defending was absolutely impossible.

But he was a Player of the Tower.

[Thrust.]

The arm that had been pointing toward the sky moved.

The arm returned and took position. Then it thrust strongly.

That series of actions was extremely strange. It looked as if time was reversing to perform the act of thrusting. Alessandro, apparently not expecting this, hastily pulled back his sword.

Claaang!

With an intense collision sound, Alessandro’s body, unable to withstand the force, slid backward.

[It was an absolutely unavoidable situation, yet how strange! Is that the power granted by the Master of the Universe! Certainly special!]

Alessandro exclaimed in admiration. But Kang Jun-hyeok had no leisure for that. He quickly put away the great sword and drew out a sword.

[So a sword is better than a great sword for breaking through the situation. Good judgment too!]

Alessandro stepped forward with admiration. The dark-colored sword smoothly drew a diagonal line.

Kang Jun-hyeok swung his sword to meet it.

His current Sword Technique proficiency was E.

It was the realm of first-class.

Clang clang clang!

But he couldn’t respond to Alessandro’s sword. Barely protecting his body was the limit. Even though he had the advantage in both strength and speed.

[You look young but your technique is good! Your talent is excellent… No. No, that’s not right. Seeing how excessively smooth it is, is it the correction of a Passive Skill? Truly convenient.]

Alessandro spoke leisurely while precisely targeting only vital points. Kang Jun-hyeok stepped back.

Through this series of exchanges, Kang Jun-hyeok realized.

His strength and speed were both inferior. At best, he was at the level of an ordinary 3rd Floor Player. He had no special Skills or abilities either.

But his sword-handling technique was on a different level.

As if Kang Jun-hyeok’s guess was correct, Alessandro lightly raised his sword.

[I gave up everything for the contract. Everything I had built up. But there’s one thing that remains with me.]

The sword technique Alessandro had accumulated.

That alone remained.

‘A loser is still a loser, I suppose.’

The Great War over ownership of the Universe.

Beings who had fought head-on against the current victors of the Universe.

Just because they were defeated didn’t mean they were weak.

“This is tough.”

But he would be the one to win. Kang Jun-hyeok tightened his grip on his sword.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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