[Defender: King Centipede (101F)]
A massive body. Dozens upon dozens of revolting legs.
"There we go."
A giant centipede. A Gallery monster.
Shhhhhk—!
⟨Intruder…⟩
A metallic rasp leaked from its maw.
It was using language. Clearly different from the sub-100 floor monsters.
"I'm not an intruder—I'm an inspector. Have any intruders come through here?"
I tried the same approach I'd used on the Treasure Keeper, figuring I had nothing to lose.
But.
Hssssss!
The answer came as an attack.
"Barang, dodge!"
⟨Kraaang—!⟩
Barang beat his wings and shot upward, evading the charge.
Just as the Gallery users had said—it had no interest in talking. They'd mentioned communication was rough, too.
This was apparently the normal behavior. Which made me wonder just how unusual the Treasure Keeper had been.
*I heard fire is its weakness.*
Under normal circumstances I'd want to preserve the body as much as possible for the Spirit Blood Tea Rite, so burning was something to avoid—but I had absolutely zero intention of turning this centipede into an undead.
*I really, really don't want to drink bug juice…*
Hssssss—!
The thing moved its hundreds of legs and began crawling up the wall.
I split my focus.
I stretched both hands out and drew two magic circles in the air simultaneously.
*Fire Wall!*
*Fire Wall!*
Fwooooosh—!
Fwooooosh—!
Two massive walls of flame erupted toward both sides of the ceiling, cutting off the centipede's retreat.
⟨Kieeeek!⟩
Startled by the heat, it dropped to the floor.
I didn't let the opening slip.
I used double casting again.
*Fire Ball!*
*Fire Ball!*
BOOM—!!
Two enormous spheres of flame slammed into the centipede's head.
"SCREEEEEEEE!!!"
With a death shriek, its carapace burned away and crumbled to ash.
[Floor-101 King Centipede defeated]
[Promotion reward: 10,000G acquired!]
[Experience gained.]
Easy. Having the weakness listed in the guide made it simple.
Though honestly, I could've handled it with just the scythe.
This was my first time fighting a Gallery monster, so I'd wanted to test out the known weakness. That was all.
I jumped down from Barang's back and walked toward the smoke-drifting wall.
I readjusted my grip on the scythe.
Time to check whether floor 101's wall was normal.
I slammed it hard.
CRAAANG—!
"……"
The result was identical to before.
The marble surface cracked and gouged—but the layer known as the first wall didn't yield at all.
A deep grey cross-section.
The "4th layer" the Gallery users had talked about.
"..."
Before the centipede's corpse could disappear, I took a photo with the wall in the same frame.
Then I posted to the Gallery.
______
Title: Conclusion reached.
Author: Anon (101F)
{A photo showing a wall with gouged marble and the charred corpse of a giant centipede in the same frame}
Same deep grey wall as floor 100.
Monster matched the Gallery info.
Probably a different tower…
______
I hit refresh.
[Comments]
Fenrir: …What the hell??
Anon (279F): It was already weird that a newbie spawned on floor 1 to begin with. Irregular from the start, so whatever.
└ Anon (487F): At least the monsters are the same, thank god.
└ Anon (751F): As long as the monsters match, it's fine.
└ Anon (267F): Except now there's no guarantee they'll keep matching lmaooooooo
└ Anon (643F): Fr it feels like something's gonna go sideways in the middle;
└ Anon (566F): Yeah that's literally the problem, are you guys dense.
There were concerns that monsters not in the guide—or monsters appearing out of order—might show up later.
But.
None of this hit me as particularly alarming.
Anon (101F) (OP): Haven't once fought a monster using Gallery info anyway, so it's fine…
└ Anon (605F): Yeah, not like you'd feel the difference lmaooo
└ Anon (397F): Gutsy.
Was it inconvenient or not? Obviously inconvenient.
But I had to add: *at this point, what else is new.*
Floor 1 start. Invaders appearing. Encountering that unidentified giant hand.
I'd always been having a different experience from the Gallery users.
It was an all-time streak of bizarre encounters from the very beginning.
*A slightly different tower wall is the least of it.*
I decided to think of it that way, shook it off, and asked Sword Sovereign Ji-hee.
└ Anon (101F) (OP): Sword Sovereign Ji-hee, does this mean I can't train wall-breaking for a while?
└ Sword Sovereign Ji-hee: …Indeed. What you can currently break is nothing but the softest of marble.
*Marble is plenty hard though…*
└ Anon (101F) (OP): So what do I do?
└ Sword Sovereign Ji-hee: If not the wall, there is only one thing left to break. Cut and tear through the monsters—that shall be your training.
"Ah."
There were 900 things waiting to be cut down above me.
└ Sword Sovereign Ji-hee: Given the circumstances, the formal test will be skipped. Until your scythe can shatter a 4th-layer wall, cutting down the tower's monsters shall serve as your substitute training.
└ Anon (324F): She's basically just saying keep climbing lmaooooo
└ Anon (549F): Is this actually fine?? lmao
└ Anon (369F): If you kill with the scythe they can't respawn—is that really okay?
└ Fenrir: Should be fine in the early 100s… they're weak anyway.
*Oh…?*
It was quite interesting to see the veteran user who'd always urged caution change his tune.
He seemed to place enormous weight on the difference between having monster intel and not.
The reason for caution up until now had been not knowing what monster would appear on the next floor.
└ Anon (397F): Climbing speed is insane wtf;
└ Anon (643F): We should start getting used to it tbh. Reached floor 100 in a week—quit acting shocked~
└ Anon (249F): Why is this guy acting so smug when he's not even the one climbing?
└ Anon (643F): Currently level 120 with two floor-100 artifacts, nothing to be scared of for a while
└ Anon (249F): Fair enough…
The consensus was shifting toward continuing the climb.
└ Sword Sovereign Ji-hee: But before that—you must lay the foundation for wielding the scythe. Read carefully the stances and principles I am about to post. And make certain to apply them in your next battle.
└ Sword Sovereign Ji-hee: Magic is now forbidden. Fight with your weapon alone.
└ Anon (324F): Excuse me?
└ Seol Ha-rin: Honestly. Who are you to ban magic?
└ Anon (312F): Banning magic seems kind of dangerous though.
└ Anon (461F): It's fine, she has Wrath of the Sun God.
└ Anon (643F): The newbie's not an idiot, she'll use it when things get dicey.
└ Anon (236F): Fr lmao like Sword Sovereign Ji-hee says "forbidden~" and she's just gonna listen? lol
└ Fenrir: If something shows up that's not in the guide, go full power immediately.
└ Anon (101F) (OP): Obviously.
After that, I checked the post Sword Sovereign Ji-hee had put up.
[Title: The Five Stances of Hook-Scythe Arts and Moon Wheel Scythe Method.]
*Oof…*
The title alone had a steep barrier to entry.
I steeled myself and clicked.
The post opened with something I'd never heard before—her introduction.
______
Title: The Five Stances of Hook-Scythe Arts (鉤鎌術) and Moon Wheel Scythe Method (月輪鎌法).
Author: Sword Sovereign Ji-hee
I drifted into this place from a world called the Murim.
Over long years, I have sifted through which martial arts hold meaning within the laws of this Demon King's Tower and which do not—devoting my time solely to refining and training those that apply to this world.
What my homeland called 'Ki (氣)' exists here in a form called 'mana.'
You already wield that mana freely, which is no different from having fully formed your dantian and opened the meridians throughout your body.
Therefore, foundational conditioning may be skipped—I shall transmit the stances to you directly.
First: the combat technique for wielding a scythe is called Hook-Scythe Arts.
Among scythe methods, the Moon Wheel Scythe Method is best suited to a large, curved blade like yours.
The name comes from the scythe's curved edge resembling a crescent moon—and because its arc traces the path of the moon.
I shall transmit these five stances.
…
..
.
______
I read through the post slowly.
My impression:
*…Incredibly detailed and yet somehow simple…*
It was an overwhelming explanation—elbow angles, relative speeds of each sub-movement all spelled out—so it wasn't easy to absorb at once, but when I boiled it down, there wasn't much to it.
Downward slash, horizontal slash, upward slash, guard, combined.
That's what it came down to.
Which made me wonder whether doing this would actually make me stronger. It didn't feel real.
In the end, it was just swinging a scythe.
And that's what made it confusing.
I had no idea how any of it was supposed to activate.
Below the movement descriptions were things called principles—explanations that sounded profound—but they were so abstract they were worse than useless.
So I asked.
└ Anon (101F): Does it produce some kind of effect when it activates?
└ Sword Sovereign Ji-hee: Seeing once is worth more than hearing a hundred times.
That was the only answer I got. Classic wuxia master response.
"…Guess I'll just have to try it."
I downed a Fatigue Recovery Potion and headed upstairs.
*
[Defender: Kardok (102F)]
A demon-type monster with bat wings and horns.
⟨Intruder!!! Die!!!⟩
The 100-floor monsters seemed to universally identify me as an intruder.
*I do look kind of human, I guess…*
The Treasure Keeper had recognized me as a demon race the moment it saw me—apparently its intelligence was exceptional.
The prerequisite for growing stronger through training seemed to be tied to intellect after all.
I set the thought aside and dismounted from Barang.
I gripped the scythe and stood directly in front of the monster.
Shhhhhk—!
It charged straight at me.
Shaaak—!
It crossed its arm spines and drove them down.
Tap—!
I sidestepped.
And in the instant it swept past me, I rotated my hips and extended the scythe.
"Stance 2, *Half Moon*."
I said it aloud, but it was nothing more than a wide horizontal slash.
I tried it for the first time.
Shhhhhhk—!
Its wings and torso were sheared clean off and hit the floor.
Easy.
*Right, this is what physical stats do…*
A moment of rediscovering the power of Strength and Agility.
[Floor-102 Kardok defeated]
But a question nagged at me.
*Did the stance actually activate…?*
I had no way to be sure.
*
Floors 103, 104.
I worked through the movements in sequence and cut them down.
Shk—!
Fortunately, the monsters appearing matched the Gallery information without exception.
*Even using only the scythe, it feels smoother somehow…*
Knowing what was coming definitely reduced the mental load going into each fight.
*
Floor 105.
[Defender: Elite Ghoul Knight (105F)]
A knight-type demon. It came charging with a rusted longsword.
Clang!
"Stance 1. *Falling Moon*!"
Downward slash.
Shhhhhk—!
Dispatched in an instant again.
But.
*…Am I actually executing these right?*
Still couldn't tell.
I was mimicking the movements Sword Sovereign Ji-hee had taught me, but whether anything was actually happening remained unclear.
Unlike magic, there was no visual effect to confirm activation.
Was the stance triggering and the technique landing—or was I just swinging?
I couldn't tell the difference.
*I wish I at least knew whether I was getting the movements right.*
With my current Agility stat, my movements ended in a blink—I couldn't be certain of my own form.
*Maybe I'll get a feel for it eventually…*
For now, I moved on to floor 106.
[Defender: Granite Targion (106F)]
A giant made entirely of jet-black stone.
A textbook heavy-armor tank monster.
It drove a hammer-fist straight down at me.
Crashing toward my head—but it looked incredibly slow.
In that case, there was a move worth trying.
"Stance 4, *Shrouded Moon*."
The only defensive technique.
Raise the scythe handle upward and use the flat of the blade to cover the entire body.
"Ngh…"
Clang clang clang—!
Sparks flew as I was knocked back.
Crash—
Even with Strength over 100, the recoil traveled through my body.
This stance had definitely not activated.
And it seemed Wrath of the Sun God had barely not triggered either.
Because of Wrath of the Sun God, I wasn't actually tense.
It looks dangerous but isn't dangerous at all.
When things get truly dangerous, Wrath of the Sun God or Oblivion of the Time God will activate.
"Stance 1, *Falling Moon*."
Shhhhhk—!
I switched to offense, drove the scythe into the gap between the thick stone plates of its carapace, and split it in two.
Thud!
[Floor-106 Granite Targion defeated]
I headed to floor 107.
*
Creeeeak—
[Defender: Shade Specter (107F)]
An assassin-type monster wielding twin blades. Again, exactly as the Gallery had described.
Whoosh—
The moment the door closed, the creature's form vanished into the darkness.
I wasn't alarmed.
I already knew it had a stealth skill.
With Sense stat 100, I felt out the flow of air around me.
Shhhk—!
Behind me.
⟨Die!!⟩
Its twin blades crossed and flew toward the back of my neck.
I twisted my body quickly.
"Stance 4, *Shrouded Moon*."
I tried the defensive move again.
But my form was awkward—I was half a beat late.
"Uh oh…"
Before I could properly raise the scythe handle, the twin blades came slashing in—
And in that moment.
Piiiiiing—
A ringing sound, like tinnitus.
My vision bled blue.
And then, in an instant, I heard a sound like a pendulum swinging.
At an impossibly slow tempo.
Tick
.
.
.
Tock—!
The trajectory of the incoming twin blades became something out of a high-speed camera.
Even tiny motes of dust seemed frozen in midair.
[Oblivion of the Time God]
Stretches time immediately before being struck.
The artifact had activated.
Before Wrath of the Sun God—this one came first.
"……"
Within the stretched time, I slowly tracked the path of the twin blades with my eyes.
*If I step further in, I can dodge it…*
I made that judgment and stepped toward the creature instead.
"…!"
Everything was very slow.
A sensation similar to running in a dream.
But deliberate.
Every bundle of muscle, every joint in my legs was obeying my commands.
After I pressed fully inside and slipped out of the attack's range—
Tick
.
.
.
Tock!
Time snapped back to its normal speed.
And simultaneously—
"Stance 3. *Rising Moon*."
From inside its guard, I swept the scythe upward.
Shhhhhhhhhhhhhk—
Blood sprayed into the air.
[Floor-107 Shade Specter defeated]
I exhaled, looking at the corpse.
I grabbed my head.
"What the—no, this…"
First I needed to calm down.
Because I'd just realized two things.
Oblivion of the Time God.
"*Subtle*? This is *subtle*??"
A hollow laugh escaped me.
SSS-Rank Gear Chaser had said this about Oblivion of the Time God:
— *You'll probably find the effect underwhelming. It'll just feel like your Sense stat bumped up slightly right before you get hit.*
Absolutely not.
There was no way anyone could call this subtle.
I couldn't believe it.
"…Is this what 'subtle' means by the standards of someone above floor 800…"
…From where I was standing, it felt like I'd become a god.
And just like that, I was reminded all over again of exactly how weak I still was.
And the second thing.
*…If I use Oblivion of the Time God, I think I can actually learn the movements properly.*
That thought came to me.
When time had been stretched, I'd been given the time to issue commands to each individual muscle bundle.
If I could swing the scythe in that moment—
I might be able to execute the exact movements each stance required.
And I had a skill that could make that possible.
"Let's try it."