Original(4)

I stepped through the portal that had appeared beside the Troll statue and entered a new space.

It didn’t take long to figure out where I was.

The cold seeping through the soles of my shoes.

The icy walls reflected white light like transparent glass.

‘…The glacier cave.’

The place where I met Mr. Bear and killed Jencia, a player from Noark.

However, I didn’t feel nostalgic.

After all, I had already experienced those emotions when I came here earlier to hunt the Tyrant Tarunbas.

So, that means this must be a rift located on the first floor…

Because of this, I now had another piece of supporting evidence.

Just like how the hidden boss Duke Cambormere would occasionally spawn in the Blood Tinted Castle under extreme conditions, some rifts may have hidden bosses.

The guardian troll I have to take down now likely falls into that category, too.

“Let’s face him first and then think.”

After standing at the entrance to gather my thoughts, I moved forward, passing through the corridor. Soon, the narrow path widened, revealing a massive cave.

Though for now, there was no troll in sight.

‘As expected… the boss room is a bit different too.’

Before the boss appeared, I quickly surveyed the terrain.

Just like how, instead of a death knight, there was a coffin in Cambormere’s fortress—

There were some changes here as well.

The three Ice Orc brothers, who were usually frozen inside ice pillars before the boss battle, were nowhere to be seen.

It was the same as when I fought in Tarunbas’s portal.

‘…What the hell happened here?’

The frozen chamber was filled with corpses.

Bodies torn apart, limbs shredded, faces unrecognizable—piled up like a mountain.

However, it wasn’t hard to tell that these were “Imperial soldiers.”

The insignia on the bloodstained, discolored flags gave it away.

The same emblem I had seen in the Doppelganger’s Forest and the cave where I fought the Captain Dreadfear.

‘The Imperial Army really gets involved everywhere.’

Are they like the British of this world or something?

Anyway, aside from the Imperial soldiers’ corpses, there were also monster carcasses in the cave.

Ice Orcs, Frost Wolves, Yetis—

Monsters that typically appear in the glacier cave, as well as completely unrelated creatures, were scattered around.

‘Wait, is that Tarunbas…?’

I even spotted the corpse of Tyrant Tarunbas, the original guardian of the glacier cave.

But I couldn’t see the club he usually carried, though—

Crunch, crunch.

What the? Where’s it coming from?

Amid the silence, the strange noise made me glance around. Soon, I found the source.

Crunch, crunch.

An unusually large pile of corpses at the center of the cave was wobbling.

Focusing on the sound, I realized it was coming from inside the pile.

Gulp—

This time, it sounded like something being swallowed.

Just as I cautiously approached, wondering what was happening—

[Grrraaaaah—!]

Something buried beneath the pile of corpses let out a furious roar and stood up.
***

A body over 5 meters tall.

Fierce, oversized fangs protruding from its mouth.

Aside from its massive size, it had all the traits of a troll.

‘Well, the black skin is a bit different…’

As a K-barbarian who lived in the modern era, where even mentioning skin color could get you labeled a racist—

I focused on its other features instead.

‘It’s holding a club too.’

While munching on a human arm like a snack with one hand, the troll held a club in the other.

The same club Tyrant Tarunbas used to wield.

Oh, and by the way, it has an official name.

No. 9712, ‘Club of the Snowfield.’

As a high-numbered blunt weapon, it simply added frost damage to its normal attacks.

Thud—!

After swallowing its ‘snack’ in one gulp, the troll took a threatening step toward me.

However, I calmly tried to communicate with it.

“I am Bjorn, son of Jandel.”

Thud—!

Hearing my words, the troll stopped in its tracks.

It tilted its head and stared down at me.

[Grrr…?]

Wait—could it actually talk?

But that hope was crushed in a second.

[Grrraaaaah—!]

For some reason, upon hearing my name, it let out a vicious roar and charged at me.

I sighed in disappointment.

“Ha…”

Guess talking was out of the question.

I had a feeling when I saw it chomping on human limbs…

Still, I wasn’t ready to give up.

Whoosh—!

Dodging its swing, I tried again, this time in Ancient Tongue.

[Calm down. I don’t want to fight you.]

[…]

[My name is Bjorn, son of Jandel—]

[GRAAAAAAAH!]

Dammit.

That didn’t work either?

I was running out of options…

“Grrraaaaah—!”

I even tried speaking in its own language, but communication still failed.

So, I resorted to my last resort.

If neither Raphdonia’s language, Ancient Language, nor its own words worked, only one thing was left:

A conversation through force.

Wham—!

I smashed my hammer into the troll’s jaw as it charged mindlessly at me.

In the modern world, people with anger management issues were common. So I figured, if I showed the power difference between us maybe it would regain its senses.

But…

‘Guess it’s not going to work either.’

I didn’t even use [Swing], worried it might die in one hit, but the troll only grew angrier and attacked even more fiercely.

Its behavior was no different from that of ordinary monsters, which remain aggressive until their life force is extinguished.

‘Okay, forget the communication plan.’

I gave up on my main goal and focused on my secondary objective—

To gather information on this thing.

Whoosh—!

Just then, the troll’s club tore through the air with a sharp sound.

There were no flashy effects—no glowing weapons or lightning bursting forth.

But even so—

No, precisely because of that, I recognized it instantly.

‘…[Swing]?’

The troll had just used [Swing].

Though it was confusing, I calmly deduced the reason behind this phenomenon.

‘A Mutated variant…’

The troll in the glacier cave is a mutated variant.

That’s why it can use the essence of other species.

Just like how Vampire Cambormerr could use Nightflayer’s [Pain Sharing], this guy can use an Ogre’s skill.

But that’s not the important part.

‘…Wow, it really exists.’

This was something I’d been curious about for a long time.

What would a monster with an Ogre’s strength and a Troll’s regeneration feel like?

Now, that imaginary monster had become reality.

But…

‘It’s not as impressive as I thought.’

If it were the other way around—an Ogre with a Troll’s essence—it might have been different.

But right now, the Troll variant felt underwhelming.

Well, to be precise, maybe I’ve just gotten too strong?

If I had encountered this guy instead of Cambormere in my first rift, Bjorn Jandel’s journey would have ended that very day.

‘Alright, time to gather some data.’

I began methodically dealing damage, observing the troll’s combat patterns.

The more I learned, the easier it would be for others in the future.

Of course, the fight still ended quickly.

About 30 minutes or so?

Aside from the chamber going dark and the troll losing its cooldowns at the end, nothing too concerning.

 

“The character has slain the corrupted beast Kirdyu.”

「Mutated Variant Defeat Bonus. EXP +1」

「Guardian Defeat Bonus. EXP +3」

Finally after smashing the troll’s head with my hammer, a portal opened. As always, I ignored the Rainbow Essence and stepped outside.

***

After killing the troll, I proceeded to hunt down all the remaining unconfirmed guardians of the 5th floor, but there wasn’t much to gain.

Duke Cambormere was the only one I could communicate with.

‘There must be a reason for this…’

No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t come up with a plausible explanation.

Why was that guy the only one I could talk to?

What made him different from the other unconfirmed guardians?

Just luck?

No idea. But at this point, I decided to stop digging for secrets and resume the main quest.

I cleared the 3rd-floor rift, the White Temple.

[…]

Oddly, the Knight of the Apocalypse that appeared there didn’t say a single line from the original game.

The same went for the 4th-floor rift.

[You… Did you come to kill me…?]

The doppelganger, who should have spoken that line, said nothing and jumped straight into the boss fight.

Oh, and the battle structure was different from the original.

I was curious how I’d manage the trick of hitting it from inside and out while it disguised itself as one of my comrades.

I was curious how that would work solo—

‘How is anyone even meant to clear this?’

It transformed into me and used [Self-Replication] to create numerical superiority.

Still, the situation wasn’t hopeless.

Doppelgangers can’t copy Numbers items.

Aegis Barrier.

Kraul’s Demon Crusher.

Along with these two core items, I also had the Outlaw of the Wilderness, which countered humanoid monsters, plus several other pieces of gear I’d borrowed before coming in.

By utilizing them to their limits, I managed to defeat the Doppelgänger.

After about seven hours.

「The Character has defeated the Doppelgänger.」

「Guardian Defeat Bonus. EXP +3」

The Doppelganger’s seals, which were supposed to be locked at all costs, had been broken from the start, and I endured its [Crystallization] pattern a total of 13 times.

But with my full setup, none of them could deal real damage to me.

‘God, I almost died.’

After escaping, I shared the full battle details with everyone. The fact that it took 7 hours left them speechless.

Thankfully, no one was reckless enough to challenge it after hearing that.

They simply gaped in awe.

“The Doppelgänger’s essence… It’s tempting, but I suppose I must give it up.”

“This isn’t a monster you can take on alone.”

“The fact that you soloed a fourth-floor rift guardian is incredible.

“But, Baron, it seems you didn’t take the essence this time either?”

Ah, that last question was something I had wondered about, too.

The Doppelganger’s essence had high value.

No matter the class, it could be quite useful.

But…

‘I don’t have the slot.’

How much stronger would I really get by becoming two of me?

It’s not like my clones could replicate Numbers items.

Plus, [Self-Replication] only synergizes with essences like [Dual Reign], which Amelia had, so I decided to pass.

‘I need to keep at least one slot open for whatever comes next.’

Anyway, after the intense battle with the Doppelganger, I spent the rest of the day lazing around.

The expedition’s atmosphere was quite peculiar.

“Oh! You’re back! That’s a relief!”

“P-Priest! Please take a look at my wounds!”

The explorers constantly flowed in and out of portals, brimming with passion, while the knights, priests, and mages stayed back doing their own thing.

They didn’t need EXP or essence, so it didn’t matter to them.

The mages, with their academic curiosity, were the only ones still curious about the situation…

“The Baron will likely challenge the Golden Ruins tomorrow, yes?”

“Yes, I believe so.”

“I wonder… What lies beyond those sealed doors?”

The mages simply waited for my next move, paying no attention to the already cleared statues.

The next day, after breakfast—

[The character has defeated the Golden Fang Kalfion.” EXP +6]

「Guardian Kill Bonus: EXP +3」

I challenged the 4th-floor rift, Golden Ruins, and cleared it in about three hours.

It wasn’t as intense as the Doppelgänger.

That was the destiny of a tank.

‘God… I need an attack skill.’

Thankfully, I had [Swing] and the Demon Crusher.

Still, peeling Kalfion’s shell layer by layer took time.

Since it wasn’t a humanoid monster, the Outlaw of the Wilderness couldn’t boost my damage either.

‘…Though I suppose I only won because I am a tank.’

It’s common in RPGs.

A well-raised tank can solo bosses that others can’t.

Ah, of course, assuming there’s no time limit.

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