Every time Subedei swing his spear, dozens of Whispering Spirits died.

  His mana shone brilliantly just like Zev’s final skill vaporizing nearby spirits into the air.

  His strength, his speed everything about him had grown far more powerful than before.

  He continued charging forward, slaughtering the Whispering Spirits in the most savage, beast-like manner as he closed in on the large spirit.

  At that moment, the large spirit’s smile vanished, its face returning to an emotionless expression.

  Subedei immediately raised his spear and slashed toward it, but the large spirit easily dodged his attack.

  Yet Subedei did not stop.

  Like a beast acting on instinct alone, he kept attacking, intent only on killing it.

  The large spirit calmly evaded again and again.

  Angered at seeing its prey slip from his strikes, Subedei used his remaining skill.

  [Your mana-based attacks and skills have improved by 10%.]

  His mana flared brighter, and his attack grazed past the large spirit’s arm.

  But that single strike erased a small portion of its arm, as if it had been damaged and dissolved.

  The large spirit looked at its injured arm and roared in fury.

  “AAARRRGHHH!”

  Hearing the roar, the Whispering Spirits trembled in fear and began circling Subedei even more closely, as if trying to block him from reaching the large spirit.

  From such close range, the devilish whispers intensified. Blood began pouring more heavily from his ears, eyes, nose, and mouth.

  But the monster that Subedei had become did not care.

  He ignored everything and continued attacking.

  Because the Whispering Spirits had drawn so close, his strikes killed even more of them at once.

  With every swing, more Whispering Spirits died, and each swing seemed to lessen the devilish whispers.

  Though they were dying in droves, they continued pressing closer.

  Some came too near and were vaporized by his powerful mana.

  Their closeness was dangerous—but also advantageous.

  They swarmed so tightly around him that he could no longer see his weapon or even his own body.

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  Each time Subedei swung his spear, countless spirits died, and for a brief moment he could glimpse his spear and hands—

  only for them to be covered again instantly.

  Before long, it became clear that the number of Whispering Spirits was decreasing.

  Earlier, they had flown so densely beside his face that neither his spear nor his hands were visible.

  Now, small gaps appeared among them, allowing him to see his weapon and arms slightly.

  Subedei did not worry about any of this.

  He simply kept swinging.

  Left and right, he cut down dozens of spirits at a time.

  He never paused for even a moment, charging like a maddened beast.

  Soon, a smile once again appeared on his face.

  Was it because he was seeing the woman he loved?

  Or was it joy from slaughtering so many Whispering Spirits?

  No one could know.

  Every swing of his spear was powerful and swift, killing relentlessly.

  The spirits could not withstand his pace of slaughter and rapidly diminished.

  Soon, there were barely any left circling him.

  At last, Subedei stopped and looked directly at the large spirit.

  He raised his spear, stepped back once, and hurled it with all his strength.

  The spear sliced through the air with a sharp whistle.

  The large spirit tried to dodge, flying higher—

  but it was too late.

  Subedei’s spear pierced straight through its arm with overwhelming speed and force, then continued downward, embedding deeply into the ground.

  Subedei did not remain still.

  He dashed forward and leapt straight toward the large spirit.

  The spirit stared in shock at the spot where its arm had vanished into the air.

  When it looked forward again, Subedei was already right before its eyes.

  With a crazed smile on his face, Subedei raised his fist and struck directly toward the spirit’s head.

  The large spirit was utterly stunned.

  By the time it understood what had happened, it was too late.

  “He wasn’t caught in the delusion!!!”

  The moment that thought finished, its head exploded from the impact.

  Its body began dissolving into the air from every corner.

  There was no fear or panic in its eyes.

  Instead, there was a gleam of realization—of having understood something—and a smile spread across its face.

  At last, the large spirit completely vanished.

  The faint golden glow in Subedei’s eyes faded.

  As if awakening from a dream, Subedei collapsed heavily onto the ground.

  “Ah… it hurts.”

  He hit the ground, dust rising around him, and felt his entire body aching intensely.

  Realizing what had just happened, he lay on his back and looked upward.

  “Looks like I used Beast Instinct.”

  “If I didn’t have that skill, I would’ve died twice.”

  Letting out a sigh, he slowly spoke to himself and checked the notifications before him.

  [You have killed “Spirit of Delusion.”]

  [You have leveled up.]

  [Strength +1, Speed +1, Spirit +1, Perception +1. You have gained 5 unallocated stat points.]

  [You have killed the 7th Floor Boss “Spirit of Delusion.”]

  [Do you wish to ascend to the next floor?]

  [Or do you wish to leave the tower?]

  “Yes”

  “No”

  Barely managing to stand, he walked over to where his spear had fallen and pulled it from the ground. Raising his hand, he pressed “Yes.”

  A black void appeared from nowhere before him, expanding until it was large enough for a person to enter.

  Enduring the pain, Subedei stepped into the darkness.

  With each step, his entire body trembled.

  Finally passing through, he let out a deep breath of relief at having left that dangerous place.

  When he slowly opened his eyes, he was back home.

  Unable to endure any longer, Subedei collapsed straight onto the floor.

  Looking at his unallocated stat points, he distributed them the same way as before.

  He added 2 to Strength, 1 to Speed, 1 to Spirit, and 1 to Perception.

  After finishing, as if finally at ease, he fell asleep right there on the floor.

  Before long, a knock sounded at the door.

  He slowly opened his eyes.

  Trying to get up in a hurry, he felt pain all over his body.

  Dark bruised circles lay under his eyes, making him look extremely exhausted.

  Still, compared to before, the pain had improved considerably.

  Enduring it, he slowly walked toward the door.

  He did not open it immediately. Having grown used to asking first since childhood, he called out,

  “Who is it?”

  A woman’s voice answered from the other side.

  “It’s your sister.”