Seung-hoo slammed his sword into the ground with all his remaining force.
A violent surge of electricity burst outward in a rippling wave, crawling across the cracked stone floor like living lightning. The air shook with a thunderous crack, and the Hobgoblins were thrown off their feet as sparks wrapped around their bodies. Their snarls turned into distorted screeches as their weapons clattered uselessly to the ground.
In that instant, Seung-hoo bent his knees and launched himself into the air.
His hospital gown fluttered violently in the storm of wind and electricity surrounding him. His eyes burned with focus as he raised his sword high above his head.
"Lightning Barrage!"
Bolts of light descended in rapid succession, striking the stunned Hobgoblins one after another. Each impact echoed through the hollow tower halls like rolling thunder. Shadows danced wildly across the cracked walls as the last of the monsters collapsed into black smoke and fading particles.
Silence returned—heavy and unnatural.
Seung-hoo landed on one knee, his sword planted into the floor to steady himself. His chest rose and fell as he took a deep breath.
"…Finally, those damn hobgoblins are finally dead " he muttered.
The smell of burnt stone and ozone lingered in the air as faint blue sparks still crawled across the ground before slowly disappearing. After a few seconds, he stood up and tightened his grip on his sword, turning his gaze toward the path ahead.
The tower corridor stretched forward, narrow and dim, lit only by flickering lines of light embedded in the walls. As he walked, something strange appeared in front of him—floating numbers, glowing faintly in the air.
3568396466
They hovered silently, unmoving, as if carved into space itself.
Seung-hoo slowed his steps.
"…What is this supposed to mean?"
He reached out, but his hand passed straight through the numbers like mist. The digits shimmered briefly and remained in place, offering no explanation. With a frown, he continued forward, the numbers slowly fading behind him as the corridor widened.
Then the path abruptly split into twisting passages.
Stone walls rose on all sides, forming a maze-like structure that stretched endlessly in different directions. Some corridors sloped downward, others curved sharply, and faint echoes of wind whispered through the empty halls.
At the entrance of the maze stood a metal sign bolted into the wall.
"Find the crystal to open the door."
Seung-hoo stared at it for several seconds.
"A crystal…?" he repeated quietly.
His eyes moved back and forth across the maze, trying to make sense of it. Every path looked the same—cold stone, faint blue light.
Then he felt it.
A pressure.
He slowly turned his head to the left.
There, towering over the corridor, was a massive door carved into the wall of the tower. It was covered in strange symbols and deep claw marks, as if something enormous had tried to break through from the other side. Thick chains of light crossed over it like seals.
Seung-hoo swallowed.
"…That's the boss door."
Even without touching it, he could feel the energy leaking from beyond—heavy, oppressive, and watching him.
His grip tightened on his sword.
"So the crystal opens that…"
The maze suddenly felt far more dangerous than before.
As he took a cautious step forward, the tower trembled slightly. A cold sound echoed through the corridors, sharp and metallic.
A mechanical shim rang out
______________________________________________________
|[ Ding! System Active ]|
|[ Warning! Time is running out, complete the quest as soon as possible ]|
|[ Quest: Defeat the boss of this Rift ]|
|[ Quest Ranking: Normal ]|
|[ Time: 2 hours ]|
|[ Time left: 20 minutes ]|
|[ Penalty for failing: Deduction from Skill Max-level Growth ]|
______________________________________________________
Seung-hoo stared at the glowing screen floating in front of him.
The warning symbols pulsed faintly, urging him forward.
"…I don't have time for this," he muttered.
His jaw tightened, and he turned away from the massive sealed door. For a brief moment, the words on the sign—Find the crystal to open the door—flashed through his mind… but his thoughts were clouded by urgency. The pressure in the tower felt heavier with every passing second, as if something beyond the walls was growing impatient.
He broke into a run.
The maze swallowed him almost immediately.
Stone corridors twisted in impossible angles, splitting and reconnecting like veins inside a living creature. Every turn looked the same—cold walls, dim blue light, and shadows stretching too long across the floor. His footsteps echoed endlessly, making it impossible to tell how far he had gone.
Left.
Dead end.
Right.
Another dead end.
"Seriously…?"
Seung-hoo growled under his breath.
He spun around and sprinted down another corridor, only to be greeted by a blank stone wall covered in faint cracks. The air felt stale here, heavy with dust and something metallic. He clenched his sword and retraced his steps, sweat running down his temple.
Minutes passed. Or maybe longer. Time felt distorted inside the maze.
Every wrong turn made the silence feel louder.
Finally, after turning one last narrow corner, a soft glow appeared ahead.
Seung-hoo slowed.
At the center of a small circular chamber stood a crystal pedestal. Upon it rested a large, translucent crystal shaped like a jagged star. Pale white light pulsed from within, casting shifting reflections across the stone walls.
"…Found it."
But his relief vanished the moment he stepped closer.
A thick metal lock was wrapped around the crystal's base, etched with unfamiliar symbols and a long horizontal line of digits. There were no buttons—only a smooth surface waiting for an input.
Seung-hoo frowned.
"A lock…?"
He stared at it, frustrated. His mind raced, replaying everything he had seen since entering the tower. The sign. The maze. The sealed boss door.
Then—
His eyes widened slightly.
The floating numbers from earlier.
3568396466
"…That's it."
He raised his hand toward the lock. One by one, glowing digits appeared in the air as he entered the combination.
3…
5…
6…
8…
3…
9…
6…
4…
6…
6…
The lock trembled.
A low hum filled the chamber, growing louder with each second. Thin lines of light spread across the metal casing like cracks in glass.
"Click".
The lock split apart and dissolved into particles of light.
The crystal reacted instantly.
Its glow intensified, flooding the chamber with blinding white radiance. The walls reflected the light in sharp angles, and Seung-hoo had to shield his eyes with his arm. The air itself seemed to vibrate, filled with a strange warmth and pressure.
The crystal slowly lifted from its pedestal, hovering in midair as if weightless.
Wind rushed outward from it, pushing against Seung-hoo's clothes and making the maze corridors echo with distant rumbling sounds.
Then, a mechanical shim rang out again.
______________________________________________________
|[ Ding! System Active ]|
|[ Individual Successfully Obtained The Crystal ]|
|[ Rarety: High ]|
|[ Crystal Needed To Open The Door Of The Boss ]|
|[ Time Left On The Quest ]|
|[ Time: 9 minutes ]|
______________________________________________________
Seung-hoo stared at the screen floating in front of him, its faint light reflecting in his tired eyes.
"…I can finally open the boss's room," he whispered.
"I only have nine minutes left."
The words felt heavier than they sounded.
He tightened his grip around the crystal and began walking toward the massive door at the end of the corridor. Each step echoed loudly in the hollow tower, as if the structure itself were counting down with him. The air grew colder the closer he came, and even his breathing seemed too loud in the unnatural silence.
The door loomed before him—enormous, ancient, and carved from dark stone. Strange symbols spiraled across its surface like frozen screams. At its center was a hollowed-out shape.
A silhouette.
It was the exact outline of the crystal in his hands.
Seung-hoo stopped.
For a brief moment, everything was still. No wind. No sound. Even the faint hum of the tower seemed to fade away.
He looked down at the crystal. Its light pulsed slowly, as if it were alive… as if it knew where it belonged.
"…So this is it."
He raised his arms and carefully pressed the crystal into the carved slot.
The moment it connected—
A blinding white light exploded outward.
Seung-hoo shielded his eyes as the door began to tremble. Cracks of light spread across its surface like lightning veins. The entire tower groaned, stone grinding against stone in a deep, ancient roar.
Slowly… painfully… the massive door began to part.
Dust poured from the opening. A cold wind rushed out, carrying with it the smell of old stone and something hollow and lifeless.
Beyond the doorway stood a vast chamber, far larger than any room before it.
And in the center of that darkness—
Something enormous waited.
It stood perfectly still.
A towering figure of stone shaped like an angel, wings folded behind its back. Its face was carved into an expression of endless sorrow, and in its arms it held a massive stone book pressed against its chest. Cracks ran along its body like dried tears, and faint dust drifted from it as if it had not moved in a long time.
No breathing.
No footsteps.
No sound at all.
Just silence.
"…A weeping angel," Seung-hoo muttered.
The chamber felt wrong. Too quiet. The kind of quiet that pressed against his ears and made his heart beat louder.
Then—
The angel's head moved.
Stone scraped against stone with a slow, dreadful sound as its face tilted downward toward him.
Its empty eyes locked onto Seung-hoo.
He stumbled backward in shock, his foot sliding against the floor. A chill ran through his spine, freezing him in place for half a second too long.
Without warning, the angel lifted its arms.
The massive stone book tore free from its grasp and was hurled forward with terrifying speed.
"—!"
Seung-hoo dove to the side as the book slammed into the ground where he had been standing. The impact shook the chamber violently, sending cracks racing across the floor and throwing shards of stone into the air.
Dust swallowed the room.
He skidded across the floor and barely managed to stop himself with his sword. His ears rang from the collision, and his chest burned with effort.
Before the dust could settle, his sword began to glow.
A strong yellow light surged along its blade, buzzing like contained lightning. Sparks danced across the metal, illuminating the angel's massive shadow against the wall.
Seung-hoo stood slowly, eyes fixed on the towering figure ahead.
The weeping angel did not chase him.
It only watched.
Silent.
Unmoving.
Waiting.
Seung-hoo bent his knees, muscles tightening as electricity crackled around his blade.
With a sharp breath, he launched himself forward toward the towering stone angel.