“Wow, it’s a flying monster.”
The primary enemy that appeared on the second floor was a bird.
Calling it merely a ‘bird’ would sound too weak, so perhaps ‘monstrous bird’ would be more fitting.
Watching the birds soar through the sky, I addressed Yodo, who hung at my hip.
“Hey, Yodo. What if I didn’t have a boomerang? How would I catch those birds in the sky?”
“Hah!
Do you take me for a half-wit incapable of ranged attacks?
With my sword energy, I could cleave even the sun in the sky.
Discard that shoddy toy right now and draw me.”
“You’re not a sword; you’re a *do* (saber), so shouldn’t you be a *dogi* (saber spirit)?”
Even when I explain it simply, you still act so insolent!
“But claiming you can cleave the sun is quite an exaggeration. How far away is the sun? If you could cleave the sun from Earth, you’d be capable of space travel.”
“The sun in the tower—”
“Enough!
The more I talk to you, the dumber I feel!”
“Of course, that’s because I’m teasing you to make you feel like a fool.”
‘This impertinent blade!’
“So the sun in the tower was like a lightbulb? I suppose humans can’t really measure celestial distances with their eyes. That could be it.”
Furthermore, one can’t even stare directly at the sun without going blind.
I ceased my teasing of Yodo and began the fight in earnest.
I hurled the boomerang towards the monstrous birds in the sky.
“Huh?”
However, there had been a grave misunderstanding.
I had assumed the monstrous birds in the sky were about one meter tall and flying 200 meters above.
In reality, they possessed a much larger stature and were soaring at a considerably greater altitude.
“No, just where *are* they? Surely not over 500 meters? It couldn’t possibly be a full kilometer, could it?”
The effective range of a boomerang thrown by an average person is less than 100 meters.
As a master of throwing and a psychic who had awakened their status window, I had aimed for 200 meters.
Moreover, I had to throw it upwards, directly defying gravity.
If the enemies were a kilometer above, hunting them would be impossible, wouldn’t it?
“Hahahaha!
After all that boasting, serves you right!”
“What? Are you playing games?”
“That level of throwing power won’t get you anywhere, will it?”
“Well, I still haven’t used my free distribution points.”
Free distribution points, which could be used to raise stats.
I had saved the 5 points received after clearing the first floor, intending to use them when truly necessary.
If I poured all of them into Strength, could I reach that high in the sky?
‘The possibility of needing them elsewhere…’
After a moment of deliberation, I simply allocated all the points to Strength.
‘If I always save them for dramatic moments, I might never use them and my life would end.’
I reset my stance and, quite literally, put my full power into the throw.
The boomerang shot skyward.
Yet, even then, the distance proved insufficient.
“If only I had a bow.”
*Ziiiiiiing.*
The boomerang, having heard my words, seemed to mourn, vibrating sadly.
But objectively, it’s common sense that a small arrow shot with the elasticity of a bowstring has a far greater effective range than a relatively large boomerang thrown using only one’s body, isn’t it?
“No, don’t cry like that.”
*Ziiiiiiing.*
*Ziiiiiiiiiing.*
The boomerang’s vibration, reminiscent of a dragonfly’s wings, made me feel uneasy.
Especially since it was an X-shaped boomerang with four extended points.
I might be a tough guy (TL Note: ‘Sangnamja’ refers to a very masculine, manly man), but I’m a bit weak when it comes to bugs.
Dragonflies, cicadas, butterflies, cockroaches.
They’re all terrible. Ugh.
“A true craftsman doesn’t blame their tools!”
Even with 17 Strength, I couldn’t hit the monstrous birds in the sky.
In that case, I simply needed to draw out a little more power.
I drew Yodo.
“Whoa-oh-oh-oh!
Are you finally drawing me?
Yes!
Grasp me in your hand and seize the world!
We shall become gods!”
Only halfway.
I only partially drew Yodo.
“What is this awkward stance?”
“Strength buff!”
Indeed.
Yodo, the Ghost Slasher, came with a stat buff of Strength +5 and Senses +5.
Although it was a trash weapon that resulted in a net loss of 4 stats due to a -7 Perception and -7 Willpower debuff.
For now, I needed to throw the weapon as far as possible.
Therefore, I had to maximize my Strength.
The additional 5 Senses, allowing for more precise posture control, was an added bonus.
“Me!
This Ghost Slasher!
You intend to use me for *such* a trivial purpose?!
How utterly humiliating!”
“If it’s so humiliating, what can you do about it, you flimsy Yodo?”
I had decided not to draw Yodo.
But if it wasn’t fully out of its sheath, didn’t that count as not drawing it?
So, this much was safe.
“You!
Weren’t you afraid of having your body and will stolen by me, which is why you wouldn’t draw me?!”
“As if?”
As if the Martial God’s talent would be defeated by a mere Yodo.
I threw the boomerang with nearly double the strength I possessed when I first entered the tower today.
The boomerang tore through the sky, hurtling towards the enemy.
It hit!
Finally, my boomerang struck the monstrous bird’s wing.
*Whoooooosh.*
The monstrous bird’s cry echoed in all directions.
After hitting the monstrous bird, I started to go retrieve the boomerang as it spun and descended, but then changed my mind and dodged it.
*Thud!*
A small crater formed where the boomerang landed, embedding itself in the ground.
Had I tried to catch it with my hand, it would have hurt immensely.
The ‘Yoyo Villain’s’ warnings about novices getting hit and killed by returning boomerangs almost came true.
Just how high had it fallen from?
At this rate, it was practically a bombing run.
“Well done, Dragonfly.”
*Ziiiiiiing.*
I pulled the boomerang, which was vibrating as if pleased, from the ground and prepared for battle.
The monstrous bird, enraged by the blow to its wing, was descending towards the ground.
How foolish.
If it had flown even higher into the sky, I would have had no way to catch it.
“Welcome!”
Since we were fighting like this anyway.
I once again partially drew Yodo, received the Strength buff, and threw the boomerang.
“Ah.
No.
Don’t torment me like that.
If you’re going to draw me, then draw me!
If you’re not, then don’t even touch me!”
“A mere tool shouldn’t order its master around.”
It’s my weapon; I’ll use it however I please.
The monstrous bird, having descended closer to the ground, finally allowed its true form to be discerned.
Its height easily exceeded 3 meters, and its intimidating presence was no joke.
Its height alone was 3 meters, and the span of its outstretched wings was even greater.
Indeed, the Man-Eater was armed with a sword and shield.
For a bird to be more threatening than that purely through physical prowess, it would need to be this large.
However, as I mentioned earlier, the monstrous bird should have fled higher into the sky instead of descending.
It seemed to be the limit of a bird-brain.
I was the one who had even defeated the shield-wielding Man-Eater with a mere rock.
Now that I had obtained a legendary-grade boomerang, how much more would my attack power have increased?
There was a world of difference between a boomerang that had exhausted all its power flying against gravity into the sky and one thrown at such close range.
*Whooooooosh! Screeeeeeech!*
With a single boomerang throw, the monstrous bird’s entire wing was severed, and it shrieked, plummeting to the ground.
To be precise.
Rather than being cleanly severed, it was shattered and torn before it fell.
Just hearing it, that must have hurt far more than a clean cut, wouldn’t it?
*Whoooooosh!*
A flock of monstrous birds, communicating among themselves with grotesque cries, swooped down upon me.
Their number was five, but they posed no threat to me, wielding a legendary-grade boomerang.
Each time I threw the boomerang, one by one they fell, writhing on the ground, a sight that was almost amusing.
“How dare you look down on me, who possesses the Martial God’s talent, from above?
Such insolence!
Kneel before me!”
[Your Throwing skill has evolved into Intermediate Throwing skill.]
[You have acquired the sub-skill, Boomerang Throwing skill.]
[Your Basic Swordsmanship has evolved to Basic Swordsmanship 2-star.]
After defeating the five monstrous birds, I achieved numerous accomplishments.
My swordsmanship evolved just by throwing a boomerang.
‘Is this the power of Myriad Paths Converge, a sub-talent accompanying the Martial God’s talent?’
With the power of 256x proficiency, I became incredibly strong just by throwing a weapon a few times.
Considering myself when I first entered the tower, how many times stronger had I become now?
[· Combat Power: 237]
“What?
I’m three times stronger than before entering the tower today?”
“But yesterday, I also became three times stronger than before entering the tower!”
“If I keep getting three times stronger every day, in ten days I’ll be 59,049 times stronger and capable of destroying the world, won’t I?”
Of course, I was joking.
The largest contributor to my combat power increase today was undoubtedly this legendary boomerang.
A gift from a veteran I met in the ‘Other Weapons Gallery’.
“Thank you, Pickpocket (TL Note: ‘Somaeneoki’ refers to discreetly putting something into someone’s pocket, often as a surprise gift or act of kindness, similar to ‘gifting’ in gaming.)!”
“Thank you, Boomerang Guardian!”
Afterward, I further explored the plains and hunted ten more monstrous birds.
With that, the second floor trial of the tower concluded.
[Congratulations! You have cleared the 2nd floor of the Tower!]
[Record: 00:39:15]
[Rank: 13382nd]
“What? My rank suddenly shot up so much?”
‘Hmm. Is that all it takes?’
The monstrous birds were nothing more than ordinary mobs, save for their extremely high altitude.
Did the others wait for the monstrous birds to descend and rest on the ground before catching them?
Did these people, who supposedly cleared the ‘Extreme Difficulty’ tower, really have no means of aerial attack?
I turned on Martial Arts Net and posed a question to the people in the ‘Martial Arts Gallery’ (TL Note: ‘Gimu-gael’ is short for ‘Gibon Musul Gallery,’ or Basic Martial Arts Gallery).
[Anonymous) Newbie cleared Lunatic 2nd Floor, why is my record like this?]
–It took me 40 minutes and I’m 13,000th, but wasn’t this supposed to be only for those who cleared Extreme Difficulty?
–The birds were just ordinary mobs; with an aerial attack method, isn’t it a one-shot kill?
–What reason is there for it to take over 40 minutes?
–?
–???
–I can’t understand the post from beginning to end, is it written in alien language?
The ‘hook collection’ (TL Note: ‘Galgo-ri su-jip’ refers to attracting attention or ‘hooks’ with provocative or unbelievable statements) had begun once more.
Just then, the Boomerang Guardian, who had ‘pickpocketed’ me with a legendary-grade weapon, appeared.
–Newbie, newbie, what are you talking about, aerial attack means?
–You didn’t actually hit a monstrous bird by throwing a boomerang, did you?
–They’re over 1km above, aren’t they???
–Is hitting them not allowed?
–There’s nothing to say it’s not allowed, but… is that even possible?
–It worked for me?
–?
[NotIntoSM) Martial God Newbie is truly baffling LOLOLOLOL]
–You’re supposed to find the monstrous bird nests scattered on the ground, break the eggs, and then the enraged monstrous birds come down, that’s how you catch them.
–For a 2nd-day newbie to hit an enemy 1km above and bring it down, their combat style is truly different.
–This is truly a crazy bastard I’ve never seen before.
–I’m saying this in a good way, admiring you.
“Aha.”
‘So that was the strategy.’
[Anonymous) So only about ten thousand people can attack enemies 1km above?]
–Extreme Difficulty must not be a big deal after all.
–This newbie is a bit arrogant, no, *outrageously* arrogant.
–Makes me want to ‘teach them a lesson’ LOL
–If you have the Martial God’s talent, you have every right to be arrogant.
–It’s true that we’re all inferior to the Martial God Newbie, aren’t we? We’re all pathetic, aren’t we? LOL
–It’s definitely the fault of all you melee ‘walkers’ whose range isn’t even 1km.
–F***, is ‘1km range’ someone’s dog’s name? Why do you keep calling it out?
While browsing the gallery was fun, perhaps I should claim the rewards before me.
The reward for the first floor was a fixed 5 free distribution points, but the second floor reward presented options.
[Which reward would you like to choose?]
[1. Free Distribution Points 3-10]
[2. Random Skill]
[3. Random Equipment]
‘What should I choose to make people say I made a good choice?’
‘It’s a tough decision.’
