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“Finally…”

My body wasn’t tired, but my mind was being worn down. A skyscraper. I had to climb over 120 floors to reach the top.

“What a view!”

As I ascended to the rooftop of the highest floor, a strong wind hit me. The open vista from this height was breathtaking. The emerald sea was now quite close. Looking down suddenly made me dizzy. I thought I didn’t have a fear of heights, but now it seemed like I might.

“Kyuuwut!”

In contrast to my anxiety, the fairy seemed to enjoy the high winds and chirped happily. Well, it was over 500 meters up in the air—this was the top of Roteworld Tower. Meanwhile, the White Deer had created a platform using magic, forming stairs. At the end of the stairs—about 30 meters higher than the rooftop—a wavy space shimmered like a mirage.

“What’s that?”

“That’s the entrance to the dungeon.”

Not on the ground, but in midair. It meant a dungeon appearing nearly 600 meters high. After all, dungeons could also show up underwater, so why not in the sky?

‘…If it weren’t for Roteworld Tower, I would have had a hard time climbing this.’

My magic would have run out before I reached 600 meters. While stepping on the platform, the White Deer told me calmly, “Be careful.”

Of course, I intended to. The surprises that could occur in dungeons were unpredictable, just like an unexpected enemy in volcanic regions.

Just then, as I crossed a line of vigilance—

“……?”

—I suddenly began to fall. Confused, I stood there blankly until I rushed to create a platform to stop my descent. Taking a deep breath to calm myself, I looked around and realized the fundamental issue of the dungeon.

‘The floor?’

There was no floor. In other words, there was nowhere to step. Well, to be precise, there were places, but not in the way I expected.

“Caw caw!”

The sound echoed. All around, there were only birds soaring the skies, with no wild beasts in sight. The floor and ceiling were flipped upside down. Where the floor should be, there was an endless chasm resembling a massive sinkhole, and the cityscape was stuck upside down on the ceiling.

Inverted skyscrapers—a city turned upside down. That was the essence of this dungeon.

It meant that without wings, survival was impossible here. While I was surveying the area, the White Deer came closer to check on me.

“Are you okay?”

“You should have warned me about this beforehand.”

“I told you to be careful, didn’t I?”

Just before entering, it had said, “Be careful.” …I thought it meant to stay vigilant since it was a dungeon, but my sigh was met with the fairy happily chirping away. For the fairy, who was the only one with wings among us, this dungeon was no different from usual.

‘…If I had come a year later…’

I thought I might have been able to fight riding on the fairy. As if reading my mundane gaze, the fairy hurriedly flapped its wings above the White Deer’s head.

‘It’s already impossible now.’

I smiled wryly and checked my magic usage. I could maintain the platform for about an hour, but if we truly engaged in a fight, that time would be sharply reduced. We needed to ascend to the skyscraper as quickly as possible.

‘It feels like we need to climb nearly 500 meters from here.’

We still needed to ascend to the highest building—the rooftop of Roteworld Tower. Just as I was about to clamp down and create another platform, a bird changed direction as if it had spotted us.

‘…Crap.’

I’d preferred to avoid fighting until we reached the skyscraper, but it fervently flew in our direction, picking up speed. Wincing and focusing my sight, I saw a huge hawk with four pairs of wings.

[Thunder Hawk]

[Length 1.16m] [Height 38.6cm] [Weight 29.8kg]

[Strength 211] [Agility 524] [Stamina 447] [Magic Power 251]

[Skills]

[Superior Acceleration (C)]

With an agility of 524, and additionally, superior acceleration. It kept getting faster until a deafening roar erupted, piercing my ears.

“———!”

In an instant, the wolf’s gaze sharpened. The thunderous sound that still echoed meant the air barrier had been broken—the sonic boom. I finally understood how it had earned its name.

‘Impressive.’

The White Deer, who had been observing quietly, nodded. Not only the sonic boom, but the fearsome speed caused steam to gather on the Thunder Hawk’s body, making it look like it was draped in clouds. Normally, it would have struggled to fly with wet wings, let alone have survived the impact of the sonic boom, but the creature was protected by its magic and high stamina.

‘If it collides…’

Even the wolf would not come out unscathed. But the White Deer simply watched nonchalantly. With a straight downward dive, it seemed clear to the White Deer how the Thunder Hawk would fly. If it could read it so easily, then the wolf must have had it even easier. Soon, something shot from the wolf, piercing through the cloud encircling the hawk.

‘Thorn.’

As I focused my vision by concentrating magic, I confirmed the thorn had pierced through the Thunder Hawk. The next moment, blood sprayed into the air, and the shadow I had laid out caught the hawk and sent it plummeting into the abyss. The wolf let out a sound of realization.

“Ah.”

While defeating the Thunder Hawk wasn’t hard, I hadn’t thought about the lack of a floor. It fell, becoming a speck in the distance and eventually disappearing, leaving the wolf to lick its lips with disappointment.

“…Experience points.”

Another tricky penalty had been added to the list. Without a floor here, I needed to catch and hold my prey to consume it. The wolf exhaled a frustrated sigh, filled with emotion.

‘There’s just too much to keep track of.’

On top of that, my magic was still being consumed. Above all, reaching the skyscraper was my top priority. The wolf and the White Deer began alternating in creating platforms to step on in midair.

***

“So, we woke up…”

“Ugh, there’s a little problem?”

Kang Tae-ho scratched his temple with his index finger.

“Well, anyway, Yu-ri seems to be struggling, so let’s just go without her.”

“Are you crazy?”

At the sharp reply, Kang Tae-ho scratched his head. To be honest, no matter how strong the monsters in Neverland were, if they weren’t bosses, they posed little threat to top-tier hunters. In fact, since it was only a matter of containment, rather than a full clear, it wouldn’t be a big deal if Hong Yu-ri didn’t participate. But…

“Forget about section 5, which we haven’t even been to. What about section 3? What about section 4? Besides, Square isn’t participating either. Tae-ho, go commit suicide alone.”

“……”

“Others will point fingers at you. True, people will complain if you leave now, but deep down, they’ll feel relieved.”

It was none other than Kang Tae-ho that was pushing this issue. However, everyone involved—Baek Gun-tae, who had prepared based on trusting him, and the Bishop of the Temple—were filled with unease. With things turning out this way, I thought it was better this way. Letting other clans gain experience and waiting for the next opportunity was the wiser decision. Baek Gun-tae gazed at Kang Tae-ho seriously.

“You’re not the type to misinterpret my words. If you keep insisting here…”

“Huh…”

With such straightforward words, Kang Tae-ho puffed air to lift his bangs. He had no choice. He knew what Baek Gun-tae meant. If conditions had changed and he kept being stubborn, he’d just be a brat throwing a tantrum. I hadn’t really expected anything; I just prodded a bit.

“Fine, I get it.”

Despite not being able to hide his disappointment, Kang Tae-ho nodded with a short sigh. The moment the goal of the expedition shifted from clearing to containment—of course, it would be disappointing for him, but ironically, it also became an opportunity for clans that had yet to reveal their stance on Neverland to join in belatedly.

***

The shadow ripped through the charging creature, and late tentacles caught it. The relief of not repeating the earlier mistake was short-lived. As the weight threatened to break the platform, I had to use more magic.

[You have consumed a Coatl. Experience and satisfaction have increased.]

‘Perfect timing.’

I had learned how to create platforms in volcanic areas and honed my skills through battles with Hong Yu-ri. It wasn’t easy, but it was manageable for me. If we had come to this dungeon a bit earlier, we would have faced overwhelming odds.

“You’ve become accustomed.”

I nodded at the White Deer’s words. Now, creating platforms from a distance, like the White Deer did, wasn’t so difficult anymore. Perhaps it was possible to clear this dungeon more smoothly than expected. Just as I thought that, something unexpected happened with only 100 meters remaining until the skyscraper. Monsters occasionally charged at us, but they all seemed like easy targets. However, looking far away, I stood there dumbfounded, mouth agape.

“…A dragon?”

A long body measuring several dozen meters. It looked like a spirit, gliding through the sky with clouds billowing around it. It was unmistakably a dragon’s form—no, wait. It was very similar, but crucially, it had no legs and no horns.

Right. More like…

“Something that failed to become a dragon.”

[Bichunmang]

[Length 35.4M] [Height 2.52M] [Weight 38T]

[Strength 511] [Agility 430] [Stamina 479] [Magic Power 511]

[Skills]

[Dragon’s Lament (C)] [Acceleration (D)] [High-Speed Flight (D)] [Tough Skin (E)]

A serpent soaring through the skies. I instinctively felt that it was the boss of this dungeon. While it might lack in some areas compared to the Earth Serpent, I bit my lip.

‘This is midair.’

The difficulty of fighting on land is night and day compared to in the air.

‘Above all…’

If I did defeat it, how on earth would I consume it? Even if the White Deer and I created platforms together, I couldn’t guarantee we could support a creature over 30 tons for even a second. As I stood there dumbfounded, it seemed the Bichunmang noticed us, its eyes gleaming.

“White Deer!”

Nodding, the White Deer created dozens of platforms. Though they were spaced a few meters apart, the distance was no problem. I kept leaping up, but eventually, I wasn’t able to shake it off, and its enormous maw lunged at us. At that moment, the fairy activated its teleportation skill.

“Kyuuwut…!”

We barely escaped, landing back on the platform in the air. Just as the creature’s jaws were about to close in, the fairy teleported once more. 10 meters higher into the sky, I successfully threw the White Deer using my tentacle.

‘Got it.’

It seemed the White Deer was surprised initially, but quickly grasped my intent, biting onto the edge of the skyscraper. The now-sturdy jaw of the White Deer held us up while providing enough bounce to ascend faster towards the skyscraper.

“―――!”

It was still pursuing us, the Bichunmang. Before it could swallow us, I quickly shot a thorn into its eye. While it writhed in pain, I used my tentacle to smash through the rooftop and pulled the White Deer inside.

“That was close.”

The White Deer muttered, relieved. Though it had been a close call, we had managed to escape. The Bichunmang glared at us as if remembering, but it wouldn’t dare follow us into the building. I sighed with disappointment.

‘I was hoping it would come…’

If it weren’t in midair, I would have been confident in hunting it. That’s what I regretted most. Anyway, we had finally reached the corner of the skyscraper.

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