Floor 1: Cyber-Scrap Forest

Kyouze’s POV:

At last, I’ve stepped into the first floor of the Abyss Dungeon.

This level is known as [Cyber-Scrap Forest], and just like the name suggests, it’s a strange blend of natural wilderness and advanced technology that has become scraps.

A deep jungle where nature and machinery have fused together into something unnatural.

The trees stretch high, their bark intertwined with glowing wires. Mushrooms pulse with neon hues in the underbrush, and the rivers aren’t filled with water, but with glowing, digitized streams of flowing data.

This is supposed to be the easiest area in the entire dungeon.

Level 2 and 3 beginner players often come here to grind monsters, gather herbs, and collect valuable resources.

The herbs harvested from this forest are commonly processed into recovery potions and healing items.

But I’m not here for any of that.

I’m sprinting through this digital jungle alone.

I can’t help but think about Mikan, who I left behind on the surface.

Then there’s Lorelei… her words still echo faintly in my mind. Her request. Her trust.

But I push those thoughts aside. I don’t have the luxury to be sentimental.

Right now, those feelings are just weights tied to my legs.

I steel myself and focus on one goal: clearing the dungeon. Fast.

The first floor covers 2.8 square kilometers. Under normal circumstances, it would take about 90 minutes to complete.

That’s far too long for me. I plan to clear it in 30.

I activate my EtherCode skill: [Volta Sprint].

It doubles my movement speed at the cost of 2 EP every 5 minutes. With 772 EP in reserve, I can afford to burn through it without hesitation.

As I dash through the forest, metallic shrieks echo in the distance.

Scrap Goblins emerge from the trees, they are small, vicious monsters with bodies made of rusted iron and broken machinery.

They wield crude weapons: massive screws, hammers made from broken generators, jagged pliers turned into scythes.

Normally, these goblins are slow and predictable.

But thanks to the Nightmare difficulty, everything’s changed.

They move faster now. More erratic. Their glowing eyes twitch like short-circuited drones gone mad.

They’ve gone berserk.

For a typical player, this would be a deadly encounter.

For me? Just another warm-up.

SLASH!

Three goblins fall with a single sweep of my blade.

Another wave comes. I take them down. Then another. And another.

I keep moving forward, not letting my momentum die.

Eventually, I reach the dense center of the forest, massive, tangled roots made from bundled cables thicker than tree trunks.

I leap into the air to bypass them.

But mid-flight, something’s waiting for me.

A barrage of arrows.

A group of archer-class Scrap Goblins are hidden in the trees, shooting at me while I’m airborne.

“Tch… annoying pests.”

There’s no time to hesitate. I activate my saber technique: [Mid-Air Slash], a medium-tier skill that sends out a wide-range slash with a reach of 10 meters.

The attack tears through the air, cutting down the archers in a single stroke.

I land safely and push forward.

Before long, I reach the final section of the floor.

Unlike traditional dungeons, the Abyss Dungeon doesn’t use boss rooms.

Here, bosses reside in open “territories” located at the deepest part of each level. Once you enter, the boss spawns automatically.

You’re allowed to retreat and recover if needed, but I have no intention of backing down.

I’m here to crush the boss and move on.

The boss of this floor used to be a monster called Scrap Commander, a giant heap of metal and junk that moved like a sludge, held together by wires and AI-driven instincts.

At level 3, it was tough, but predictable.

But this time, something is off.

The boss doesn’t appear. The clearing is empty.

“What the hell? Where is it?” I mutter. “This isn’t right. It’s completely different now.”

Then, a presence. A dark, crushing feeling.

Instinct kicks in. I leap into the air..

BOOM!
The ground where I stood is obliterated by a massive set of jaws.

The creature rises, forming itself from the land, scrap metal, twisted wires, broken gears and circuits all assembling together into something monstrous.

Its head forms. Then its shoulders. Then its fists. Legs. A full body.

“Seriously… You look ten times uglier than before.”

[FLOOR 1 BOSS HAS APPEARED!]

[YOU ARE NOW FIGHTING A BOSS!]

《THERON, THE SCRAP COMMANDER GOLEM》

 [BOSS LEVEL 3]

This isn’t just a junk pile anymore.

The creature has taken form a true golem, now fused with the forest itself.

It’s not just stronger, it’s smarter, faster, and synchronized with the world around it.
Its core pulses with light beneath layers of debris.

He has four layers of HP. Previously, he only had two layers.

It steps forward, each footfall shaking the ground. Easily five meters tall, its body emits steam and static.

I hesitate for a second. But only for a second.

It swings a massive fist at me. I dodge and counter, slicing off its arm, but the limb flies back and reattaches like a magnet snapping to metal.

The golem lets out a screeching roar and opens compartments in its chest. From within, it spews more enemies, Scrap Goblins and Trollbytes.

“Come on! This again?!”

I fight them off, cutting down the endless wave. But they don’t stop. They keep coming.

Then, I see it.

A faint shimmer beneath the wreckage on its head, a glowing gem, barely visible under layers of scrap.

Its core.

“That’s it.”

I charge forward, activating [Volta Drive], slashing through the lesser monsters and clearing a path straight to the golem.

Now it’s just me and the boss.

It throws debris at me rusted weapons, hunks of steel, but I slip past it all.

“Too slow.”

I activate [EtherCode: Volta Slash 5X], five lightning-fast slashes in a row.
Its legs are severed. Then its arms. It collapses to its knees.

I jump high, slicing downward, splitting its head open.
Then plunge my blade into the exposed core.

CRACK!

The gem shatters.

The creature stops moving.

Its body begins to break down, turning into glowing particles of pure data.

[CONGRATULATIONS! YOU DEFEATED FLOOR 1 BOSS: SCRAP COMMANDER GOLEM]

[YOU GAINED 5,000 EXP]

[ITEM ACQUIRED: MAGNETIC GLOVES]

I exhale.

“Thirty minutes… right on time.”

There’s no sense of victory. No chance to celebrate.

I turn toward the glowing gate ahead.

“No time to rest. Floor 2… here I come.”

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