Alex's roar echoed through the shattered village as his body finally gave out.
He dropped to his knees, the impact sending ripples through the thick pool of blood covering the ground. The metallic scent filled the air, heavy and suffocating.
Bodies surrounded him.
Massive troll corpses lay scattered across the ruined village—some crushed beneath collapsed huts, others torn apart where Alex's scythe had carved through them. Broken weapons, splintered beams, and chunks of stone littered the battlefield.
The fight had turned the entire settlement into a graveyard.
Alex sucked in a ragged breath.
Every muscle in his body burned.
Cuts covered his arms and legs, some shallow, others deep enough that blood still trickled down his skin. His vision pulsed faintly with exhaustion.
Yet his coat looked untouched.
The Aetherwyrm coat shimmered faintly in the dim light, its surface smooth and pristine. Every tear it had suffered during the battle had already sealed itself, the dark material regenerating as if the damage had never existed.
If anything, the coat looked even richer than before.
Alive.
Alex lifted his gaze slowly.
At least one hundred trolls lay dead.
The troll lord's enormous corpse sprawled near the center of the destruction, its skull cleaved open where Alex's final strike had landed.
The surviving trolls had fled the moment their leader fell.
Fear had broken them.
Alex watched the tree line cautiously.
They would come back.
Creatures like trolls didn't abandon territory forever. Once their panic faded, curiosity—or hunger—would bring them back to investigate.
And if they found him like this…
Alex's grip tightened around his scythe.
His body swayed dangerously.
Don't fall now.
The darkness creeping at the edge of his vision threatened to swallow him whole.
Alex forced the blade of his scythe into the ground and leaned against it heavily, using the weapon as a support.
Resting here would be suicide.
He pushed himself upright.
Pain immediately exploded through his legs.
"Damn…" he muttered.
Each step felt like walking on shattered glass, but he forced himself forward anyway.
The village was almost completely destroyed.
Most of the huts had collapsed during the battle, either from Alex's strikes or the troll lord's rampaging attacks.
Then he spotted something.
A shed.
One of the troll storage huts still stood—barely.
Half of it had collapsed and rubble buried part of the entrance, but the structure itself remained intact.
Because trolls were enormous creatures, the shed was huge by human standards.
Even damaged, it was the only structure nearby large enough to shelter him.
Alex staggered toward it.
The door had been ripped off its hinges during the fight, leaving a jagged opening.
He stepped inside.
The interior smelled damp and stale.
Broken beams leaned against the walls and chunks of stone covered the floor. The ceiling sagged dangerously overhead, supported by fractured wooden pillars.
It looked like it might collapse at any moment.
Still better than the open battlefield.
Alex slid down against the wall and sat heavily on the ground.
For a long moment, he simply breathed.
The adrenaline faded.
Exhaustion crashed over him like a tidal wave.
His thoughts drifted back to the fight with the troll lord.
If that thing hadn't made that mistake…
Alex let out a slow breath.
I'd be dead.
Most adventurers would never attempt a boss like that alone.
Normally, it required a party of at least seven level-30 fighters just to stand a chance. And those were people who had spent months grinding monsters on the fourth floor to reach that level.
Boss hunts weren't normal quests.
They were rare.
Dangerous.
And almost always group efforts.
Alex glanced at the massive scythe resting beside him.
Then he laughed weakly.
"Guess I got lucky."
He raised a trembling hand.
"System."
A soft chime echoed in his mind.
Golden light formed in front of him.
Alex leaned forward, eyes focusing on the glowing screen.
[Level 42]
Before he could read further, his vision suddenly blurred.
The exhaustion he had been holding back finally broke through.
His body slumped sideways.
The scythe slipped from his hand and clattered to the floor as darkness consumed him.
Drip…
Cold water struck Alex's forehead.
His eyes snapped open.
Another droplet fell from above.
He groaned and slowly pushed himself upright.
Night had fallen.
Rain tapped softly against the ruined structure, and water leaked through cracks in the rubble ceiling above him.
Small streams trickled down the broken stone before dripping onto the floor.
Alex stretched his arms cautiously.
The pain was mostly gone.
His wounds had closed.
Nebula Healing had done its work while he slept, mending the worst of his injuries.
But the skill had drained nearly every drop of stamina he possessed.
His body still felt weak and hollow.
"Fantastic," he muttered.
Reaching into his inventory, Alex pulled out a piece of bread and a small flask of water.
The food was dry and plain, but right now it tasted incredible.
As he ate, he glanced around the pitch-black shed.
"I really should've bought a lantern…"
The darkness made it nearly impossible to see anything more than a few meters away.
Maybe on the sixth floor.
Alex leaned back against the wall and closed his eyes for a moment.
His goal remained the same.
He wouldn't stop until he reached the tenth floor.
Then something came back to him.
Before he fainted…
He had seen the system.
"System."
[Ding]
The golden interface returned.
[Level: 42]
[Strength: 57]
[Agility: 56]
[Stamina: 66]
[Mana: 56]
[Shadow Energy: 42]
Unallocated Points: 18
Alex studied the numbers.
One thing was obvious.
Stamina saved my life.
Several times during the battle, he had nearly collapsed from exhaustion. If his stamina had run out even slightly earlier, the troll lord would have crushed him.
That couldn't happen again.
He distributed the points carefully.
[Level: 42]
[Strength: 61]
[Agility: 61]
[Stamina: 71]
[Mana: 61]
[Shadow Energy: 42]
Warm energy flowed through his body.
Strength returned to his muscles.
His breathing became easier.
Alex flexed his fingers.
"Better."
Then he remembered something else.
That strange ability he had awakened during the fight.
The mist.
During the battle, the world around him had changed.
Everything had turned into swirling grey fog.
And within that fog, he had known things.
Movements.
Attacks.
Paths his enemies would take before they even moved.
Alex frowned.
Was it seeing the future…?
Or something else entirely?
He focused his mind and attempted to activate the ability.
Nothing happened.
He tried again.
Still nothing.
Alex repeated the attempt several more times.
Silence.
No mist.
No strange perception.
Nothing.
"…Why won't it work?"
Frustration crept into his voice.
He had used it instinctively during the battle.
But now it felt like reaching for something that wasn't there.
Eventually he exhaled and shook his head.
"Later."
Whatever the ability was, forcing it now wouldn't help.
Right now, he needs rest.
Alex leaned back against the wall and soon drifted back to sleep.
Morning came quietly.
Alex stepped outside the ruined shed and looked over the battlefield.
The village was still a graveyard.
Crows circled overhead.
He began searching through the wreckage.
Several of his throwing daggers had been lost during the battle. Recovering them now would save resources later.
Once he found what he could, Alex left the destroyed village behind.
And headed toward the next one.
On the Fourth Floor city, rumors had begun spreading.
Vendors whispered to customers.
Adventurers spoke quietly in taverns.
Everyone talked about the same story.
A mysterious warrior had begun destroying troll villages.
People had given him a name.
The Troll Slayer.
"I heard he wiped out a whole village alone."
"Impossible."
"That's what I thought too."
"They say he kept fighting even while bleeding."
"Someone told me he carries a massive scythe."
"I heard trolls ran from him like they'd seen a demon."
Stories grew more dramatic with each retelling.
No one knew who the Troll Slayer was.
But the legend was spreading.
Meanwhile…
Alex sat on top of a dead troll.
Bodies surrounded him.
The ground was soaked with blood once again.
He drank calmly from a water flask.
Then opened the system.
"I thought I'd gain more levels…"
The trolls had started giving him less experience.
Even after several hunts, he had only gained three more levels.
[Level: 45]
[Strength: 65]
[Agility: 66]
[Stamina: 76]
[Mana: 65]
[Shadow Energy: 45]
Alex stared at the screen.
Then something rare happened.
He smiled.
A genuine one.
Satisfied, he stood and lifted his scythe.
He could have moved to the Fifth Floor long ago.
But he had stayed intentionally.
Grinding levels.
Preparing.
Now it was time.
Alex stepped into the teleportation gate.
Blue light surrounded him.
The world dissolved.
And in the next instant—
Alex vanished.
The Fifth Floor awaited.