CHAPTER 213: THE KING’S WALK

Chapter 209: The King’s Walk

The teleportation light of Floor 9 faded, depositing us into a corridor that looked less like a dungeon and more like a dragon’s hoard viewed through a fever dream.

Gold coins littered the floor in ankle-deep drifts.

The walls were lined with chests—ornate, jewel-encrusted, glowing with inviting mana. Weapons hung on the walls, their blades shimmering with enchantments.

Floor 9: The Mimic’s Game.

"Jackpot," Kaelen breathed, his eyes reflecting the glitter of gold. He reached toward a chalice resting on a pedestal.

"Don’t," I said. I didn’t raise my voice. I didn’t stop walking. I just kept my hands in my pockets, Kuro (Nox) snoozing on my shoulder.

Kaelen froze. "Why? It’s... it’s loot, isn’t it?"

"It’s teeth," I corrected.

As if on cue, a team from Class B materialized near us. Their rogue, eyes wide with greed, lunged for a similar chalice.

SNAP.

The pedestal split open, revealing a maw of serrated fangs.

The rogue screamed as his hand was clamped, the ’chalice’ morphing into the tongue of a pedestal-mimic.

My team flinched. I kept walking.

"Floor 9 isn’t about fighting," I said, stepping over a pile of gold coins that rippled disturbingly like muscle.

"It’s about impulse control. 90% of this room is alive and hungry. The other 10% is trash."

"Then where is the exit?" Seraphina asked, her bow drawn, aiming nervously at a suspiciously breathing suit of armor.

"The map says we need a key."

"We do."

I walked down the center of the hall, ignoring the chests that rattled as I passed.

The Tower was trying to bait me. It was throwing A-Rank weapon skins and piles of skill books at my peripheral vision.

’Nice try, game devs,’ I thought. ’But I farmed this floor for three hours in the beta just to get the achievement ’Paranoid Android’.’

I stopped in front of a rotting, water-damaged wooden crate in the darkest, dampest corner of the room.

.It smelled of mold and looked like it would disintegrate if touched.

"That?" Alex asked skeptically. "That’s the key?"

"The Mimics copy value," I explained, bored.

"They copy what you want. Gold. Weapons. Glory. No one wants a rotting box."

I kicked the crate.

It shattered. Amidst the splintered wood lay a rusty iron key.

[Key to Floor 10 Acquired.]

I picked it up and tossed it to Gideon. "Open the gate. Let’s get out of this pawn shop."

Behind us, the Class B team was currently fighting a chandelier that had dropped on their healer. I didn’t look back.

My team followed me, their expressions a mix of relief and that familiar, terrifying awe.

To them, I wasn’t just smart; I was seeing the world in code.

I wasn’t trying to look cool. I just wanted to get to Floor 10 before my coffee buzz wore off.

But to them? I was the King of Insight.

The transition to Floor 10 was heavy. The air pressure dropped, and the smell of ozone was replaced by the thick, copper scent of blood and unwashed bodies.

We materialized in a massive, circular colosseum carved from red stone. .

The stands were filled not with spectators, but with thousands of weapon racks—spears, axes, and skulls mounted on pikes.

In the center of the arena sat a throne made of bleached bones.

And sitting on it was the Boss.

[Floor 10 Guardian: Orc High-Chieftain Grumm]

[Rank: E+ (Elite / Mutated)]

[State: Waiting.]

He was massive—green skin the texture of old leather, tusks wrapped in gold wire, and muscles that looked like they were carved from granite.

He held a greataxe that was easily larger than Alex.

Around him, twenty Elite Orc Guards stood at attention.

"Floor 10," Seraphina whispered, her grip on her bow tightening. "The first real boss floor. This... this is going to be a raid."

"Formation," Alex said instantly, stepping in front of me, shield raised. "Gideon, debuffs. Twins, flank. Kaelen, keep me alive. Chief, we’ll hold the agro while you—"

"No," I interrupted.

The team froze. Alex looked back over his shoulder. "Chief?"

I stepped past Alex. I stepped past the defensive line my team had instinctively formed.

"I’m tired of walking," I said, cracking my neck. "And I’m tired of holding back for the sake of ’team building exercises’."

I looked at the Orc Chieftain. Grumm was staring at me, his beady eyes narrowing. He sensed it. The anomaly.

"This floor requires a team of 7 to 10," I said, my voice echoing in the silent arena.

"That’s the rule. But the rule doesn’t say the team has to fight."

I turned to them.

"Sit down."

"What?" Kaelen squeaked.

"Sit down," I repeated. "Take a break. Eat a fruit. Watch."

I turned back to the boss.

My team stood paralyzed. Was I insane? Charging a boss room solo?

I began to walk toward the throne.

Grumm roared. It was a sound that shook the dust from the rafters. He stood up, hefting his axe, and pointed it at me.

"GRAAAAGH! TINY MAN! DIE!"

The twenty elite guards charged. A wall of green muscle and steel, rushing to crush the lone figure walking toward them.

I didn’t draw Draken. Not yet.

I just kept walking, hands in my pockets.

’Distance: 50 meters. Enemy velocity: 12 m/s. Convergence point: 3 seconds.’

My [Quantum Analysis Mind] overlaid the battlefield with vectors and kill-zones.

When the first wave of Orcs was ten meters away, I stopped.

I slowly withdrew my right hand from my pocket..

"Kneel."

[Skill: Aura Dominion (Gold)]

[Effect: Will Suppression.]

BOOOOM.

A silver-blue shockwave erupted from my body. It wasn’t a wind; it was gravity. It was the weight of a Dragon’s soul, the crushing presence of the [Mindbreaker], amplified by my intent.

The charging Orcs didn’t just stop. They crashed.

The front line slammed face-first into the stone floor as if a giant hand had swatted them down. Their knees shattered.

Their wills evaporated. They lay there, trembling, their weapons clattering away, pinned by a fear so primal it overrode their berserker coding.

The back line stumbled, tripping over their fallen comrades, creating a chaotic pile of groaning bodies.

Grumm, the Chieftain, staggered. He braced himself with his axe, his knees buckling, but he didn’t fall. He roared again, fighting the pressure, his eyes glowing red with rage.

"GOOD!" I shouted, my voice amplified by the aura. "At least one of you has a spine!"

I drew Draken.

The sound of the blade leaving the sheath was like a zipper tearing open reality. The dark metal drank the light of the arena.

I activated [Swift Step].

I didn’t run. I vanished.

To the team watching from the entrance, I simply disappeared.

To Grumm, I appeared instantly in front of him, mid-air, eyes level with his.

The Chieftain swung his axe—a panic reflex. It was fast, lethal.

But I was already inside his guard.

"Too slow," I whispered.

My blade flashed.

[Siekie Ryoku Arts: Form Two – Twin Veil Cut.]

Two lines appeared on Grumm’s body. One across his axe handle, severing the steel shaft cleanly. The other across his throat.

I landed softly behind the throne.

THUD.

The massive axe head hit the ground.

THUD.

Grumm’s body hit the throne, slumping back into it as if he were simply tired.

His head slid slowly to the side, held on by a thread of skin.

[Floor 10 Boss: Orc High-Chieftain Grumm – Defeated.]

[Time: 0 minutes, 42 seconds.]

[Bonus: Solo Kill (in Squad Mode).]

[Bonus: Dominator.]

The twenty elite guards, released from my aura but terrified by the instant death of their leader, scrambled backward, dropping their weapons and fleeing into the data-stream, despawning in fear.

I sheathed Draken.

Click.

The silence that followed was absolute.

I walked around the throne and sat down on the armrest, right next to the corpse of the boss. I crossed my legs, resting my chin on my hand, and looked back at my team.

They were still standing at the entrance. Alex’s shield was hanging loosely at his side.

Seraphina’s mouth was slightly open. Gideon was grinning like a lunatic.

"I told you to sit," I called out, my voice casual. "We have to wait sixty seconds for the teleport."

Seraphina walked forward slowly, stepping over the groaning, terrified orcs that hadn’t despawned yet. She looked at the dead boss, then at me, lounging on the throne of bones.

"You..." she started, then stopped. She shook her head, a strange, breathless laugh escaping her.

"You didn’t just beat the floor. You humiliated it."

"Efficiency," I said, shrugging. "Why waste durability on armor when you can just crush their spirit?"

"You’re terrifying," Alex said, walking up, his eyes shining with hero-worship.

"That was... Chief, that was Aura, right? But it felt... heavier."

"Trade secret," I winked.

In the viewing hall back in Rolune, the instructors were silent.

Alastor Greythorn was leaning forward, his elbows on his knees, staring at the screen.

"He suppressed a C-Rank boss with pure intent," Alastor murmured. "And then executed it in one move. That’s not a student. That’s a warlord."

Evelyn Whitehound was tapping her stylus against her tablet, her eyes narrow.

"He’s bored," she noted. "Look at his face. He’s not straining. He’s not celebrating. He’s bored."

On the screen, I yawned, checking my nails while sitting next to a decapitated Orc warlord.

"He’s farming," Alastor grinned, recognizing the look. "He’s farming presence. He knows everyone is watching. He’s building a legend."

Back in the Tower, the blue light of teleportation began to swirl.

[Floor 10 Cleared.]

[Rank 1: Team Anomaly.]

[Gap to Rank 2: 3 Hours.]

I stood up from the throne.

"Alright," I said to my stunned, silent team.

"Tutorial’s over. Floor 11 to 20 is the Forest of Trials. Things might actually get interesting now."

I looked at the camera drone hovering invisibly in the corner of the room—breaking the fourth wall for just a second—and smirked.

"Try to keep up."

The world dissolved into blue light.

[Status Update]

Name: Michael Wilson

SP: 271,500 (Boss Kill Bonus)

Reputation: The Tyrant of the Tower (New Title acquired: Increases fear effects on lower-ranked enemies by 50%)

(To be continued)