"What the fuck…"
James stopped a few meters away and stared at the creature in front of him with open disgust.
"This guy is ugly," he said loudly.
He tilted his head slightly while examining the monster.
"Very… very ugly."
Beside him, Elena blinked.
"That's your reaction?" she asked.
James pointed his sword toward the massive creature standing in the clearing.
"I mean look at it."
The monster towering before them was easily twice the size of the Hobgoblin Executioner James had killed the day before. The Hobgoblin General stood nearly twenty feet tall.
Its skin was a darker shade of green, almost gray in places, covered in thick scars from countless battles. Heavy iron armor plates were strapped across its chest and shoulders, though they looked more like trophies ripped from fallen warriors than properly forged equipment.
A massive spiked mace hung in one hand. In the other, it held a large, jagged shield made from what looked suspiciously like the shell of some gigantic monster. But the worst part was its face.
Its nose had clearly been broken multiple times, flattened against its skull. One yellow eye bulged slightly larger than the other, and several crooked tusks jutted out of its mouth in random directions.
The creature's expression looked permanently angry. The Hobgoblin General slowly turned its head toward them.
Then it growled. The sound rumbled through the entire clearing. The System appeared instantly.
[Gate Guardian Detected]
[Hobgoblin General – Level 20]
Elena swallowed.
"…That's a Gate Guardian?"
James nodded slowly.
"Looks like it."
The Hobgoblin General lifted its mace. The weapon alone looked large enough to crush a small car.
Elena glanced at James.
"You still confident?"
James stared at the monster for another moment. Then he rolled his shoulders.
"Yeah."
He lifted his sword.
"I've fought uglier."
Right before James stepped forward, he suddenly stopped. He lowered his sword slightly, still staring at the massive Hobgoblin General in the clearing.
"I just don't see the point," he said.
Elena blinked.
"The point of what?"
James gestured toward the monster.
"This."
"The point of this."
He tilted his head slightly.
"Plenty of people already cleared the Gate Guardian before us, right?"
Elena nodded slowly.
"Yeah. Hundreds of teams have."
"Then why does every single person who enters the floor have to clear it again?" James asked.
"It's pointless."
The Hobgoblin General roared again in the distance, slamming its mace into the ground as if impatient. Elena thought for a moment.
"That's… actually a good question."
She looked out across the field.
"The Tower probably isn't designed like a normal place."
James glanced back at her.
"What do you mean?"
"Well," she said, thinking out loud, "maybe the Tower doesn't care about progress in general."
"Maybe it's testing individuals."
She pointed toward the monster.
"Maybe every person who enters has to prove they deserve to move to the next floor."
James considered that.
"…So it's like an exam."
"Exactly."
He nodded slowly.
"Yeah."
"That actually makes sense."
Then he looked back at the Hobgoblin General.
The monster was already charging toward them, its massive mace raised high.
James sighed.
"What a drag" he said while he waited for the boss to attack.
.....
The Hobgoblin General didn't charge immediately. Instead, it stood in the center of the clearing like a warlord surveying a battlefield. Its massive shield rested against the ground while the spiked mace hung loosely in its other hand.
Its yellow eyes slowly moved between James and Elena. Then it grinned.
A low growl escaped its throat.
"…I don't like that look," Elena muttered.
James rolled his shoulders. "Yeah," he said. "This one actually thinks."
The Hobgoblin General suddenly slammed its shield into the ground.
THUD.
A shockwave rippled through the grass. Before James could react, the monster moved. But not toward him. It charged straight for Elena.
"Hey—!"
James dashed forward instantly. The monster raised its shield and smashed downward. Elena jumped backward just in time as the shield cratered the ground where she had been standing.
"James!" she shouted.
"I know!" he barked.
The Hobgoblin General swung its mace sideways toward her. James intercepted.
CLANG.
His sword struck the mace mid-swing. The force rattled through his entire body, sending him sliding several feet across the grass.
"…Okay," James muttered, gripping the sword tighter.
"That thing is strong."
The Hobgoblin General turned toward him again. This time it didn't rush. It began circling him slowly. Testing him. James mirrored him. For a moment, neither of them attacked. Then the monster lunged.
But instead of swinging the mace, it slammed its shield forward like a battering ram. James jumped sideways. The shield barely missed him and tore through a tree behind him like paper.
Before the monster could pull it back, James struck. His sword flashed toward the creature's exposed wrist.
The blade sliced deep. Dark blood spilled across the grass. The Hobgoblin General roared and swung the mace downward in retaliation. James didn't dodge. He stepped forward. At the last second, he grabbed the monster's arm.
Using his momentum, he twisted his body and yanked. The Hobgoblin General stumbled forward. James drove his knee into the creature's stomach. The impact made the giant grunt. Behind them, Elena raised both hands.
"Move!"
James immediately jumped back. A brilliant spear of golden light shot from Elena's hands and slammed into the Hobgoblin General's chest.
BOOM.
The monster staggered backward several steps. Smoke rose from the scorched armor on its torso. But it didn't fall. Instead, it roared louder than before. The Hobgoblin General planted its feet and lifted both weapons. Then it charged at James.
Far faster than a creature that size should move.
James' eyes widened.
"Oh shit."
The mace came down like a meteor. James barely rolled away in time as the ground exploded beneath the impact. The monster followed instantly with a shield strike. James blocked with his sword.
The collision sent him flying across the clearing. He hit the ground hard, slidding through the grass.
For a moment, he just layed there.
Then he laughed.
"…Alright."
He pushed himself back to his feet.
"That was fun."
The Hobgoblin General roared again and charged. James cracked his neck.
"This time," he said quietly, "let's do it my way."
...
James lowered his stance. The Hobgoblin General thundered toward him, each step shaking the ground. But this time James didn't rush forward. He waited.
The monster raised its mace high, preparing to crush him with a single devastating blow.
Closer. Closer. Closer.
Now.
At the last possible second, James stepped forward instead of backward. The mace came down behind him with a deafening crash.
BOOM.
The earth exploded where he had been standing. James was already inside the monster's reach.
"Too big," he muttered. "Too slow."
He drove his sword upward, aiming for the gap between the creature's armor plates near its ribs. The blade slid in. The Hobgoblin General roared in pain and swung its shield wildly. James jumped backward just before the massive slab of iron smashed the ground where he had been.
But the monster didn't stop. It lunged again, swinging its mace in a brutal horizontal arc. James ducked under it, the weapon howling through the air above his head.
Before the creature could recover, he grabbed its wrist with both hands. Using all his strength, he twisted and pulled. The Hobgoblin General stumbled forward. James stepped aside and slammed his elbow into the creature's knee joint.
CRACK.
The monster buckled slightly. Behind him, Elena raised her hands again. A pulse of bright green energy burst forward. The magic struck James' back. Warmth flooded his body. A strength boost.
"Nice," he muttered.
The Hobgoblin General roared and swung blindly. James dashed around it now, circling like a predator.
Slash. Slash. Slash.
His sword struck again and again, carving new wounds into the monster's legs and arms. Blood sprayed across the clearing. But the creature refused to fall.
With a furious roar, it suddenly slammed both weapons into the ground.
BOOM.
A shockwave exploded outward. James was thrown backward several meters, landing hard on the grass.
"Elena!" he shouted.
"I'm good!" she replied from behind a tree.
The Hobgoblin General staggered upright again, breathing heavily now. Its armor was cracked. Its leg was bleeding badly. But it was still standing. James wiped blood from his lip.
"…Alright."
He lifted his sword again.
"Let's end this, you ugly mutt."
The Hobgoblin General roared and charged one final time. James ran forward to meet it. Just before the monster swung its mace, James jumped. He landed on the creature's shield. Using it like a step, he launched himself upward.
The Hobgoblin General looked up just in time to see him above it. James raised his sword with both hands.
"Night night."
The blade plunged down through the monster's eye socket. The sword sank deep into its skull. The Hobgoblin General froze. For a moment, the battlefield quieted.
Then the giant body collapsed forward with a thunderous crash. James pulled his sword free and landed beside the corpse.
The system appeared.
[Gate Guardian Defeated]
[Hobgoblin General Slain]
[Level Up]
[Level Up]
James exhaled slowly.
Behind him, Elena walked over carefully, staring at the massive corpse.
"…You really are insane," she said.
James shrugged.
"Worked, didn't it?"
Elena looked at him for a moment.
Then she smiled.
"Yeah."
"It did."
.....
"Alright," he muttered.
"Let's see what we got."
"Open stat screen."
The blue window appeared.
[Champion: James Carter]
[Occupation: None]
[Classification: SS-tier]
[Class: Gambler]
[Level: 4]
[Monsters Slain: 238]
[Exp: 12 / 1500]
[Skill points: 320]
[Strength: 211]
[Agility: 1]
[Defense: 56]
[Mana: 10]
[Magic Affinity: 1]
[Speed: 106]
[Ego: Max]
[Abilities:]
[The Gambler]
[Luck Thief]
[?]
[?]
[?]
[?]
[?]
[?]
[?]
[?]
Elena leaned over slightly, curious.
"You checking your stats?"
"Yeah."
"Good news?"
James stared at the number. Three hundred twenty skill points.
His lips slowly curled into a grin.
"…Very good news."
He opened the gambling interface.
"Activate The Gambler."
The familiar card table appeared.
[Skill points wagered: 200]
[Red] or [Black]
"Red."
The card flipped. King of Hearts.
[You win.]
[Skill points: 400]
[Gamble further?]
"Black."
The card turned slowly. 10 of Spades.
[You win.]
[Skill points: 800]
"Red."
The card spun in the air. Ace of Diamonds.
[You win.]
[Skill points: 1600]
James' heart was pounding now. Sixteen hundred points. He could stop. He should stop. But the gambler inside him whispered again. Just one more.
"Black."
The final card flipped. 5 of Hearts. The table went dark.
[You lose.]
[Skill points lost.]
The gambling interface vanished. James stared at the empty number.
[Skill points: 120]
He rubbed the back of his neck.
"…Well."
Behind him, Elena glanced over.
"You okay?" she asked.
James shrugged casually.
"Yeah."
She raised an eyebrow.
"You look like someone who just made a bad decision."
James smirked faintly.
"…Something like that."