How the Regressed Munchkin Chews Up the Tower - H.R.M.C.u.T Chapter 20 (Part 1):
In the 1st Floor, known as [Terra], the most numerous monster by far was the Sulfur Deer.
They inhabited an immense territory, their numbers too vast to count.
But they didn’t cooperate with one another.
It was because they lacked intelligence.
At best, when one of their herd was attacked, they would instinctively respond together.
Thanks to this, the number one had to face at a time was, at most, 20 to 30.
In contrast, the population of Red Goblins was so small it felt almost unfair to compare them to the Sulfur Deer.
But they possessed a faint glimmer of intelligence.
The concept of kinship and the ability to form small societies.
That was what made Red Goblins dangerous.
When they realized one of their own was in danger, they would swarm like a hive of bees.
They didn’t care how strong their enemy was.
They would always seek vengeance for their kin, moving in perfect unison as if it were the mission of their entire race.
“Yeah, just like that,” Yujin muttered.
The corners of his lips curled upward as he gazed at the red wave approaching rapidly from the distance.
Ten? Twenty?
No, it was far beyond that.
“So many of them,” he remarked.
At least a hundred.
It seemed the entire tribe of the one he’d let escape had mobilized.
“Let’s see,” Yujin said.
He released his mana to gauge their exact numbers.
‘Roughly 300, huh.’
More than he’d expected.
He’d thought maybe 200 or so.
“All the better,” he said.
Red Goblins, no matter how many came rushing in—
“For leveling up quickly on the 1st Floor, there’s no better way than this.”
*Srrrng-.*
With a face brimming with anticipation, Yujin drew 『Black Wing [A]』.
The distance to the goblins was about two kilometers.
It was time to start preparing for the experience point harvest.
* * *
“We did it!”
Park Jihoo let out a triumphant shout.
For someone with such a timid personality, who had never raised his voice before, to lift both arms high and yell like that was unheard of. Yet no one paid it any mind.
They were all the same.
“Whoa, I can’t believe we actually took down two!” Ishia exclaimed.
She looked down at the corpses of the two Sulfur Deer lying before her, her expression overflowing with exhilaration.
‘That old man warned us to absolutely only hunt one at a time because it’s dangerous.’
Was their skill just that good?
Or had Mullen been overly cautious?
Perhaps it was a bit of both.
‘Well, what does the reason matter?’
The important thing was that they had managed to take down *two* Sulfur Deer at once.
Didn’t that mean their leveling speed had effectively doubled?
“Hahaha! At this rate, it won’t take long to reach the top, right?” the Tank declared, laughing heartily.
It wasn’t exactly something to say fresh off arriving on the 1st Floor.
The higher the floors, the more exponentially difficult it would become compared to now.
Even the monster they’d seen in the tutorial floor—weren’t those creatures so powerful that billions of Sulfur Deer wouldn’t stand a chance?
Just how high would they need to level up to fight and defeat something like that? It was impossible to even guess.
But even so.
Ishia felt a surge of confidence.
If they climbed one floor at a time, steadily growing stronger, one day they’d reach the top and clear the Tower.
‘Maybe it’s not as hard as I thought.’
At least, that’s how it felt based on their experiences so far.
Wasn’t it the same in games?
By repeating quests and hunting, you eventually reach the ending.
This Tower was no different.
Of course, there would be trials and tribulations along the way…
‘But I think we can do it.’
They had taken a step ahead of the others hiding in the city.
That fact alone would let them progress at a speed incomparable to others.
Perhaps the ones to truly clear this Tower would be them.
“But we didn’t level up,” the Healer said, a hint of disappointment in her excited voice.
“We just leveled up earlier. It’s probably the required EXP increasing,” the Tank explained.
“Required EXP?” the Healer asked, puzzled by the unfamiliar term.
“Oh, it’s just a shorthand for the experience needed to level up. As your level increases, the amount of experience required grows, so we’ll probably need to hunt a few more to level up again.”
“Ahh—.”
The Healer nodded in understanding.
Ishia, Park Jihoo, and the Spearman already knew this, so they didn’t react much.
“The question is how much EXP we need…” the Tank muttered.
Levels, skills, items, and so on.
The 【Akasha System】 was eerily similar to a game.
But it wasn’t a real game.
It wasn’t kind to players, offering no precise numbers or explanations.
As a result, they had no way of knowing exactly how much experience was needed to level up.
Naturally, the same went for how much experience a single Sulfur Deer provided.
“Still, I don’t think the difference will be too big. It’s not like it’ll suddenly jump to 100 or 200 times more,” the Tank reasoned.
They’d probably get a rough estimate after hunting one or two more.
“Then let’s rest a bit and go hunt again,” Ishia suggested.
Taking down two Sulfur Deer at once was definitely tougher than handling just one.
While no dangerous situations had arisen, they could feel how much stamina and mana they’d burned through.
Ishia decided to take a short break with her teammates before continuing the hunt.
They casually cleared some nearby bushes and sat down to chat.
“Hm?” Ishia tilted her head.
Something felt off.
“What’s this?” Park Jihoo called out, seemingly sensing it too.
His slightly widened eyes scanned the surroundings as he looked at Ishia.