Volume 1 — Chapter 4 First Meeting with the Black Swordsman

The battle had begun.

Airi Amamiya stood in the middle of the second floor of the tower, facing the enormous Cerberus.

Its three heads moved independently.

One watched her.

Another lowered itself toward the ground.

The third opened its mouth, revealing rows of enormous fangs.

Flames burned deep inside its throat.

Airi could feel the heat even from a distance.

Her hands trembled slightly.

She had already fought the King of the Undead.

She had already experienced the fear of standing before an enemy that could kill her.

She had already died—or at least, believed that she had been moments away from death.

But this was different.

The King of the Undead had been level fifteen.

The Cerberus before her was level forty.

There was a massive difference between them.Airi stared at the monster.

CERBERUS

LEVEL: 40

Her throat became dry.

"Level forty..."

She had only recently reached level thirteen.

She had expected the second floor to be difficult.

She had not expected to encounter something like this.

The Cerberus growled.

Its claws scraped against the stone floor.

Then—

It disappeared.

Airi's eyes widened.

"What?!"

She immediately raised her hand.

Space distorted around her.

A powerful shockwave passed through the place where she had been standing only an instant earlier.

The Cerberus reappeared several meters behind her.

Airi turned.

It was already moving again.

Too fast.

She could barely follow it with her eyes.

The three heads moved in different directions while the enormous body accelerated through the dungeon.

Airi jumped backward.

One of the Cerberus's claws struck the ground.

The stone floor exploded.

Fragments flew through the air.

Airi manipulated space and bent the distance between herself and the debris.

The fragments passed around her.

She immediately counterattacked.

A magical circle appeared.

"Fire!"

Dozens of fireballs appeared in the air.

They launched toward the Cerberus.

The monster moved.

The fireballs struck the wall instead.

Airi's eyes widened.

It had dodged every attack.

Not one.

Not two.

Every single one.

"How fast is it?"

She raised her hand again.

"Ice!"

The temperature around her dropped.

Sharp crystals of ice appeared in the air and shot toward the Cerberus.

Again, it moved.

The monster's body blurred.

The ice passed through empty space.

Airi clenched her teeth.

She needed a way to track it.

The Cerberus was moving too quickly for ordinary perception.

Even her magical senses were struggling.

She opened her skill menu.

Her eyes quickly moved across the list.

Then she saw something.

MONSTER TRACKING

Airi froze.

She had never needed the spell before.

She opened its description.

The spell could reveal the position of a monster even when its physical abilities or stamina were far beyond the user's perception.

Airi immediately activated it.

"Monster Tracking."

A magical symbol appeared before her eyes.

For a moment, nothing changed.

Then—

The world became different.

A faint red outline appeared.

Airi's eyes followed it.

The Cerberus was moving behind her.

She turned instantly.

The monster was already charging.

"I can see you!"

Airi raised her hand.

Space twisted.

The distance between them changed.

The Cerberus suddenly found itself farther away.

Airi immediately fired another spell.

"Lightning!"

A bolt of lightning struck the ground.

The Cerberus dodged.

Airi followed its movement through the tracking spell.

She attacked again.

"Light!"

A sphere of brilliant white energy appeared above her.

It exploded.

The Cerberus roared as the light struck its body.

One of its heads recoiled.

Airi didn't stop.

"Darkness!"

A black sphere formed in her palm.

She released it.Dark energy spread across the battlefield.

The Cerberus jumped backward.

Airi watched carefully.

Fire.

Ice.

Lightning.

Light.

Darkness.

She used one spell after another.

The battlefield became a storm of different elements.

Fire illuminated the dungeon.

Ice covered the ground.

Lightning struck the walls.

Light and darkness collided.

The Cerberus continued moving.

Airi used space manipulation to change the battlefield.

She shortened distances.

Then increased them.

She bent the path of the monster's attacks.

She distorted the ground beneath its feet.

Whenever the Cerberus tried to reach her, space itself seemed to interfere.

Then she used time.

The world slowed.

Only slightly.

But it was enough.

Airi could see the Cerberus more clearly.

Its three heads.

Its claws.

Its enormous body.

She attacked.

A powerful magical blast struck the monster's side.

The Cerberus roared.

Airi smiled faintly.

"I hit it."

But the smile disappeared almost immediately.

The Cerberus stood again.

Its wounds were not nearly as serious as she had expected.

Airi swallowed.

"It's still fine..."

The monster lowered all three heads.

Its eyes glowed.

Then it charged.

Airi immediately manipulated space.

But this time—

The Cerberus broke through.

"What?!"

Its speed was even greater than before.

Airi tried to move.

The first head missed.

The second head snapped toward her.

She twisted space.

The jaws passed beside her.

Then the third head attacked.

Airi barely avoided it.

She stumbled backward.

Her heart pounded.

The tracking spell continued showing the monster's movements.

But even knowing where it was wasn't enough.

She could see it.

She simply couldn't react quickly enough.

The Cerberus accelerated again.

Airi raised a barrier.

The monster slammed into it.

The barrier cracked.

Airi's eyes widened.

"No..."

Another strike.

The barrier shattered.

Airi was thrown backward.

Her body hit the ground.

Pain spread through her back.

She immediately tried to stand.

The Cerberus was already there.

One of its heads lunged toward her.

Airi raised her hand.

"Stop!"

Space distorted.

For a fraction of a second, the monster slowed.

Airi tried to escape.

But the Cerberus's jaws closed around her hand.

"Ah!"

Its fangs pierced her hand.

Airi screamed.

Real pain exploded through her body.

She had experienced pain in Astrea before.

But this was different.

The administrator had changed the rules.

The pain settings were no longer protecting her.

The bite felt real.

Far too real.

Airi desperately tried to pull her hand away.

The Cerberus tightened its jaws.

Her HP dropped.

HP: 50/100

Blood flowed from her hand.

Airi stared at the number.

"Fifty..."

Her breathing became uneven.

The pain was overwhelming.

She had never experienced anything like it.

She could feel the fangs.

She could feel the blood.

She could feel her trembling fingers trapped inside the monster's jaws.

"I... can't..."

The Cerberus shook its head.

Airi screamed again.

Her vision became blurry.

She remembered the King of the Undead.

She remembered the weapon descending toward her.

She remembered believing she was going to die.

And now—

The same feeling returned.

"I'm going to die..."

Her body trembled.

The Cerberus lifted its head.

Airi was dragged from the ground.

Her injured hand remained trapped between its jaws.

She tried to use magic.

Nothing happened.

Her concentration was broken by pain.

She tried to manipulate space.

The spell failed.

Her thoughts were becoming confused.

"Please..."

The Cerberus opened its jaws.

Airi fell to the ground.

It raised one enormous paw.

She couldn't move.

She closed her eyes.

"I don't want to die..."

Then—

A sound cut through the dungeon.

CLANG!

A blade struck the Cerberus's claw.

The monster recoiled.

Airi opened her eyes.

Someone stood between her and the monster.

A man.

He wore a long black cloak.

His armor was black with dark purple details.

A sword was held in his right hand.

His entire appearance was covered in black and purple.

He didn't look at Airi.

His eyes remained fixed on the Cerberus.

The monster growled.

The swordsman raised his blade.

"Stay back."

Airi stared at him.

She didn't understand.

"Who...?"

The swordsman moved.

In an instant, he was beside the Cerberus.

His sword flashed.

SLASH!

A massive cut appeared across the monster's body.

The Cerberus roared.

Airi's eyes widened.

The damage was enormous.

The swordsman landed several meters away.

He stood calmly.

The Cerberus turned toward him.

One of its heads attacked.

The swordsman blocked.

The force pushed him backward.

But he didn't fall.

He slid across the stone floor.

Then he moved forward.

His sword cut upward.

SLASH!

The Cerberus's head recoiled.

Another head attacked.

The swordsman ducked.

He moved beneath the jaws.

His blade flashed again.

SLASH!

Another massive amount of damage appeared.

Airi stared.

He was fighting with one sword.

Yet every movement was precise.

Every attack had purpose.

There was no wasted motion.

The swordsman didn't simply swing his weapon.

He understood distance.

Timing.

Movement.

The Cerberus attacked again.

He dodged.

The monster attacked from another direction.

He turned.

His sword blocked the strike.

Then—

He drew another sword.

Airi's eyes widened.

"Two swords..."

The swordsman now held one blade in each hand.

His movements changed.

He became faster.

Much faster.

The two swords moved like extensions of his body.

One blade attacked from the left.

The other followed from the right.

The Cerberus attempted to defend.

It couldn't keep up.

SLASH!

SLASH!

SLASH!

The swordsman's attacks continued.

The Cerberus roared.

Its three heads tried to attack simultaneously.

The swordsman moved between them.

He avoided one bite.

Blocked another.

Then cut through the monster's side.

Airi watched in silence.

There was something strangely familiar about his fighting style.

She remembered stories she had heard before entering Astrea.

Stories about players who had reached extremely high floors.

Players who had become legends.

And there was one name that appeared again and again.

The Black Swordsman.

A beta tester.

A player who had entered Astrea before the official release.

A player who had reached the fortieth floor of the tower.

Nobody knew exactly how strong he was.

Many players considered him a legend.

Some believed he had disappeared.

Others believed he had retired.

Airi had never expected to see him.

And yet—

He was standing in front of her.

The legendary Black Swordsman.

The Cerberus roared again.

The swordsman crossed his blades.

The monster charged.

He moved.

For one moment, his body disappeared into the darkness.

Then—

BLACK SLASH.

Two black arcs crossed the battlefield.

The Cerberus was struck.

Its enormous body was thrown backward.

It crashed into the wall.

The entire dungeon shook.

Airi stared.

The swordsman lowered his blades.

The Cerberus slowly stood.

It was badly wounded.

But it was still alive.

The swordsman looked at Airi.

"Can you move?"

Airi looked at her injured hand.

Blood was still flowing.

"I... think so."

"Good."

He turned back toward the monster.

"Then stay behind me."

Airi nodded.

The Cerberus attacked again.

This time, Airi understood what she needed to do.

She activated Monster Tracking.

The red outline appeared.

"I can track it."

The swordsman glanced at her.

"Good."

Airi raised her uninjured hand.Space distorted.

The Cerberus's movement changed.

For a moment, the monster was forced into a different path.

The swordsman immediately attacked.

His first sword struck the monster's front leg.

The second blade followed.

Airi activated Lightning.

A bolt struck the Cerberus.

Then Fire.

Then Ice.

Then Light.

Then Darkness.

The five elements attacked together.

The Cerberus roared.

Airi continued manipulating space and time.

The swordsman continued cutting.

They were completely different fighters.

Airi controlled the battlefield.

The swordsman controlled the enemy's body.

Together, they became extremely dangerous.

The Cerberus tried to escape.

Airi distorted space.

It couldn't.

The monster attempted to attack.

She slowed time.

The swordsman struck.

The battle became one-sided.

Finally, the swordsman crossed both blades.

"Now."

Airi understood.

She gathered all the remaining magical energy she could use.

Space compressed.

Time slowed.

Light and darkness appeared together.

The two forces collided around the Cerberus.

The swordsman moved.

"Black Slash."

Two black blades crossed.

The attack struck the Cerberus directly.

The monster's body froze.

Then—

It shattered.

The Cerberus disappeared.

Silence returned.

Airi stood still.

She looked at the place where the monster had been.

The system displayed a notification.

CERBERUS DEFEATED.

Airi exhaled.

She had survived.

Barely.

She looked at her hand.

It was still bleeding.

The pain hadn't disappeared.

The swordsman approached her.

"You're injured."

Airi nodded.

"Yes."

"Can you heal yourself?"

"I... have healing magic, but..."

She looked at her abilities.

Her hand trembled.

The swordsman understood.

"Use it."

Airi activated the spell.

Warm light surrounded her hand.

The wound slowly closed.

The pain decreased.

Her HP returned.

Airi sighed in relief.

"Thank you."

The swordsman nodded.

"You would have died."

Airi looked down.

"I know."

For a moment, neither spoke.

Then Airi asked:

"Are you really the Black Swordsman?"

The man paused.

"You know that name?"

"I've heard stories."

He didn't answer immediately.

Then he said:

"Names don't matter."

Airi looked at him.

"But you reached the fortieth floor, didn't you?"

His expression changed slightly.

"Once."

Airi's eyes widened.

"So it's true..."

Before she could say anything else, a strange system notification appeared.

WARNING.

BLOODY FEAST EVENT: NIGHT PHASE ACTIVE.

Airi stared at the message.

The swordsman looked at it too.

"The monsters are stronger at night.""What?"

"During the day, most monsters on this floor are around levels twelve to fifteen."

Airi remembered the monsters she had fought earlier.

That explained why the second floor had initially seemed manageable.

"But at night..."

The swordsman looked toward the dark corridor.

"They become stronger."

Airi's expression became serious.

"Because of the administrator?"

"Probably."She remembered Vygeo.

The creator.

The man who had transformed the first floor.

The man who had declared that the tower's trials had begun.

The bloody feast.

This was another part of it.

The monsters weren't simply stronger because they were naturally stronger.

The event itself was changing them.

At night, the monsters could become vastly more powerful.

And the Cerberus was proof.

Airi looked at the dead monster's location.

"It wasn't even the boss..."

The swordsman nodded.

"That's the problem."

Airi became silent.

If a normal monster could reach level forty at night, what would the actual boss be like?

The answer came soon.

A system notification appeared.

SECOND FLOOR BOSS LOCATION DETECTED.

Airi looked at the swordsman.

He looked back at her.

"Want to go?"

Airi hesitated.

She was still frightened.

Her hand still hurt.

Her body was exhausted.

But she remembered the first floor.

She had already learned that running forever wouldn't solve anything.Airi nodded.

"Yes."

The swordsman turned.

"Then let's go."

They continued deeper into the second floor.

Along the way, they encountered other players.

Some were wounded.

Some were fighting monsters.

Others were desperately trying to survive.

The appearance of the Black Swordsman immediately changed the atmosphere.

Players recognized him.

"Is that..."

"The Black Swordsman?"

"No way."

"He really exists?"

"He reached the fortieth floor!"

The swordsman ignored them.

Airi remained beside him.

She didn't know why he had saved her.

She didn't know why he was helping her.

But for the first time since entering the tower, she wasn't completely alone.

They eventually reached the boss chamber.

The doors opened.

A massive creature stood inside.Its body was covered in dark red armor.

Blood flowed around it like a living river.

Two enormous horns rose from its head.Its eyes glowed crimson.

The system displayed its name.

BLOOD DEMON

LEVEL: 47

Airi froze.

"Forty-seven..."

The swordsman drew both swords.

"Stay focused."

The Blood Demon roared.

The entire room shook.

Blood rose from the ground.

It moved like waves.

Airi immediately activated Monster Tracking.

The creature appeared clearly.

She could see its movements.

She raised her hand.

Space began to distort.

The Blood Demon charged.

Airi manipulated the distance.

The monster's movement became distorted.

It tried to reach her.

She changed the space around it.

The Blood Demon suddenly found itself several meters away.

"Now!"

The swordsman charged.

Both swords flashed.

The Blood Demon blocked one strike.

The second sword cut through its defense.

Black energy exploded.

The demon roared.

Airi continued.

She manipulated space.

The ground beneath the Blood Demon twisted.

Its body became distorted.

The monster attempted to escape.

Airi intensified the spell.

The space around its body compressed.

The Blood Demon was forced downward.

Then—

The ground beneath it changed shape.

Stone erupted upward.

The Blood Demon was impaled against the ground.

Airi held her hand forward.

"Stay there!"

The demon struggled.

The swordsman moved.

He crossed both swords.

Black energy gathered around the blades.

"Black Slash."

The two swords moved simultaneously.

Two enormous black arcs struck the Blood Demon.

The monster's body split apart.

Airi maintained her spatial distortion.The demon couldn't escape.

The swordsman attacked again.

And again.

Finally—

The Blood Demon shattered.

The system appeared.

SECOND FLOOR BOSS DEFEATED.

Airi stared at the message.

Then another appeared.

SECOND FLOOR CLEAR.

The players who had been fighting throughout the floor suddenly stopped.

The boss had been defeated.

The path upward had opened.

Some players began cheering.

Others simply collapsed to the ground.

They had survived.

Airi looked at the Black Swordsman.

He lowered his swords.

"Let's go.""Where?"

"The third floor."

Airi nodded.

Together with the surviving players, they moved toward the staircase.

Along the way, they encountered monsters still obeying the boss.

The players fought them together.Some attacked with swords.

Others used magic.

Healers supported the wounded.Airi used her abilities carefully.

The Black Swordsman moved through the battlefield like a shadow.

One sword.

Then two.

Every strike was precise.

Eventually, the remaining monsters were defeated.

The staircase appeared.

Airi looked upward.

The third floor.

She took a breath.

Then stepped forward.

The moment she crossed the boundary—

Everything changed.

Warm sunlight touched her face.

Airi stopped.She looked upward.

The sky was blue.

The sun was shining.

A gentle wind passed through the streets.

For several seconds, she couldn't move.

The third floor wasn't another dark dungeon.

It was a city.

An enormous adventurer city stretched across the horizon.

Stone buildings stood beside wide streets.

Shops filled the roads.

Guild halls rose above the surrounding houses.

Adventurers walked everywhere.

Weapons hung from their backs.

Magic illuminated signs.

Carriages moved through the streets.

And beyond the city—

Airi could see the world.

Mountains.

Forests.

Rivers.

Fields.

Far in the distance, enormous structures rose beneath the open sky.

Airi stared.

"It feels..."

She couldn't finish the sentence.

The Black Swordsman looked toward the horizon.

"This is Astrea."

Airi nodded slowly.

The first two floors had made the world feel like a prison.

The third floor showed her something else.

Astrea was enormous.

The tower wasn't simply a series of rooms.

Each floor could contain an entire world.

Airi looked at the adventurer city.

For the first time since becoming trapped, she felt something other than fear.

Hope.

Maybe she could survive here.

Maybe she could become stronger.

Maybe she could discover why this had happened.

And maybe—

She could find Mika.

Airi clenched her injured hand.

"Mika..."

She still didn't know where her best friend was.

She didn't know why her account had disappeared.

She didn't know whether Mika could return.

But Airi refused to stop searching.

She looked toward the enormous world beyond the city.

The tower had one hundred floors.

She had conquered two.

Ninety-eight remained.

The bloody feast had changed the rules.

The monsters could become stronger.The players could die.

There was no exit.

And somewhere at the top of the tower waited the answer to everything.

Airi slowly looked toward the Black Swordsman.

"Will you continue?"

He looked at the tower.

"Of course."

"Even after everything?"

He nodded.

"I've already decided."

Airi smiled faintly.

"Then..."

She looked toward the city.

"Let's prepare."

The third floor would become their temporary base.

A place to rest.

A place to gather information.

A place to meet other players.

A place to prepare for the floors above.

For the first time, Airi understood that surviving Astrea would require more than overwhelming magic.

She would need allies.

Knowledge.

Experience.

And perhaps people she could trust.

The Black Swordsman walked into the city.

Airi followed.

Behind them, the other surviving players entered the third floor as well.

The sunlight covered them.

For a moment, the bloody nightmare of the first two floors seemed far away.

But Airi knew better.

The tower had not become safer.

It had simply given them a place to breathe.

Above them were ninety-seven more floors.

Above them were monsters stronger than the Cerberus.

Bosses stronger than the Blood Demon.

And perhaps enemies that even the legendary Black Swordsman could not defeat alone.

Airi looked toward the distant tower.

Her eyes became serious.

She was still afraid.

She still wanted to return home.

She still wanted to find Mika.

But she had survived.

She had defeated the King of the Undead.

She had survived a level-forty Cerberus.

She had defeated a level-forty-seven Blood Demon.

And now she had met one of the legendary players of Astrea.

The Black Swordsman.

Their journey had only just begun.

The third floor awaited them.

The adventurer city opened its gates.

And beyond its walls stretched a vast world beneath the sunlight.A world they could explore.

A world they could use to prepare.

A world that might contain the answers 

they were searching for.

Airi took one final look at the staircase behind her.

Then she turned away.

She walked forward.

Toward the city.

Toward the unknown.

Toward the next floor.

The tower had begun its bloody feast.

And Airi Amamiya had survived another night.

But the higher she climbed—

The more terrifying the truth of Astrea would become.

End of Chapter 4.