Songs in the Void

ICDS Universe, 1st Dungeon, 9th Floor Shop.

"That took a bit longer than usual, Tatsuo-Sama." Loretta said while wearing her trademark, professional smile. "Did you run across some difficulties on the last floor?"

"Hmph!" Lin snorted, putting on an act of disdain, despite the reverence towards Tatsuo he was feeling due to his draconic bloodline. "And you had the nerve to boast that you would only need two days per floor."

In response, Tatsuo only smiled brightly has he pushed his cowl back. Then, he unequipped his bladed knuckle dusters and strode towards the shop counter.

"No, there were no issues during my exploration." Tatsuo said in a cheerful tone. "I was just trying to get a hang of my new skills. So, I took a little longer experimenting and implementing them into my fighting style."

Hearing that Tatsuo had a new set of skills, both Loretta and Lin showed surprised expressions. Then, they both took the time to examine him more closely. And when they did, their surprised expressions intensified.

"You've grown a lot stronger, Kid." Lin said in a nonchalant manner. "You're still pitifully weak, though."

"It seems you've received a class, as well." Loretta added with a smile. "congratulations."

"Thanks." Tatsuo said with his smile widening. Then, he turned his gaze towards Lin as he continued. "Anyway, I'm hoping I can finish the work on the [Orc Lord Set] before I move on to the 10th Floor."

Though they were curious to know about the Class Tatsuo received, they knew it was bad etiquette to ask. So, Loretta and Lin could only keep their questions to themselves. At the same time, Loretta turned to Lin, letting him know that it was time for him to get to work.

"*Sigh* At the rate you're progressing, you'll probably only need a few hours to finish the modifications." Lin said with a shrug. He then continued as he walked out from behind the shop counter. "As long as you don't make any mistakes, that is."

In response, Tatsuo nodded his head. Then, he took out the disassembled parts of the [Orc Lord Set] and his crafting tools. By the time Lin was nearby, Tatsuo had already started working, leaving Lin to observe from the side while giving the occasional piece of advice.

Four hours later, Tatsuo had completed his work on the [Orc Lord Set]. And to say that he was pleased would be an understatement. Lying on the portable workbench in front of him, Tatsuo looked at a sturdy, shiny black body suit with thicker protection over his vital spots. And just as his elation reached its peak, he received a [Notification] from the [System].

{Skill: [Leather Working] rank has increased to D-}

{Skill: [Tailoring's] rank has increased to D-}

'*Sigh* Now I kinda regret not taking the [Orc Lord's Glaive] as one of my rewards from the raids I did on the Orc Lord.' Tatsuo thought to himself. 'I could have made my [Blacksmithing] Rank increase, too if I had melted it down and reforged it into knuckle dusters.'

In reality, Tatsuo's thought was wrong. Though the [Orc Lord's Glaive] was much more powerful than most weapons you could find or buy on the lower floors of the Dungeon, it actually had no mana running through it. It was simply an extremely sturdy glaive that complimented the Orc Lord's high physical strength.

"Not bad." Lin said as he picked up the body suit and examined it more closely. "All the mana pathways are still intact. And from what I can tell, the stat boost should be even higher than before when you're wearing it. I gotta say, this is pretty impressive for your first time making magical gear."

Hearing that, Tatsuo stopped lamenting over his, perceived, missed opportunity. Instead, he turned to Lin, his excited expression reappearing on his face in an instant. Then, he took the modified [Orc Lord's Set] from the Draconian and equipped it quickly.

However, because he was not particularly concerned with having his body being seen by those of the opposite sex, Loretta ended up turning away with a slightly blushing face when Tatsuo appeared in only his underwear for a brief time. That said, she could not help taking a few extra glances at Tatsuo's nearly perfectly sculpted physique.

'*Gulp* I wonder who has a better body, Tatsuo-Sama or Shin-Nim.' Loretta thought to herself while trying to control the heat rushing to her cheeks. 'I really wanna see Shin-Nim without his armor, now.'

While Loretta was falling into her daydreams about this world's main character, Lin glanced at her for a moment before shaking his head. Then, he turned his attention back to Tatsuo who had finished putting on the modified [Orc Lord Set].

"So, how is it?" Lin asked curiously.

"It feels great." Tatsuo said while hopping up and down and testing his range of motion. "It fits me like a glove."

"I would hope so." Lin replied in a sharp tone while shaking his head once again. "You did craft it to your specifications, right? If it didn't fit you perfectly, I would be questioning your intelligence."

As soon as Lin finished speaking, he shuddered violently. Though, because Tatsuo was too busy testing the feeling of the modified [Orc Lord Set] and Loretta was too busy fantasizing about seeing Kang Shin's body, no one noticed. Despite that, he was feeling an immense murderous intent locking onto him. And he knew that no matter what he did, he would be unable to escape should the owner of this intent want to kill him.

'What the hell is going on?' Lin asked himself with an extreme level of fear clenching his heart. 'Whose killing intent is this? There's no way it's Loretta-Ane ue's. Although hers is scary, this is downright terrifying. It's definitely not the Lord's, either. But who could it be?'

["You're not qualified to know who I am."] A majestic female voice said directly into Lin's mind. ["But you should know, if I hear you insult that child ever again, I'll erase you from time and space. Do I make myself clear?"]

Even more terrified by the voice that penetrated his mental defenses without seeming to disturb them at all, Lin wanted to nod his head vigorously. However, just the sound of the voice in his head made him feel like his head would explode at any minute. Luckily, that feeling did not last too long, as he could feel the presence that penetrated his mental defenses leaving just as easily as it came.

["Oh, and one more thing…"] The majestic female voice said just before completely exiting Lin's mind. ["If you tell anyone about me speaking to you, I'll kill you."]

With those final words, the presence completely left Lin's mind. And although he felt like falling to the floor and gasping deeply for air, he did his best to restrain that feeling. He would not know how to explain it if anyone saw, after all. Luckily, his brief interaction with that being did not last long. So, neither Tatsuo nor Loretta noticed his unusual state.

"Anyway, now that you've grasped it, my work is done here." Lin said, turning away so that neither Tatsuo nor Loretta would be able to see his face. "I'm going back now. I've got some work to finish."

Then, without allowing Tatsuo or Loretta to respond, Lin vanished from the 9th Floor Shop, leaving Tatsuo a bit regretful that he had not had the chance to thank him for his guidance. Loretta, on the other hand, felt that something was different about Lin. But at the same time, that was the way he normally acted. So, she was not sure what was going on.

Despite her apprehension, Loretta turned back to Tatsuo with her professional smile back on her face.

"So, will you be proceeding to the 10th Floor right away, Tatsuo-Sama?" Loretta asked.

"Nah." Tatsuo replied while waving dismissively. "I'm tired as all hell. So, I'm gonna go home and get a good night's… Uh… some good sleep."

With that, Tatsuo smiled once again. Then, he waved Loretta goodbye as he disappeared from the Dungeon while muttering something about his sense of time being all screwed up, Leaving Loretta to smile at him warmly.

'I wonder if Tatsuo-Sama and Shin-Nim would get along if they met.' Loretta thought to herself as she stopped controlling the puppet on this instance of the 9th Floor Shop.

The next day, after getting about ten hours of sleep and spending around six hours to circulate his [Energy] through his heart, Tatsuo returned to the Dungeon. And when he did, he was greeted by Loretta as he always was. Then, after exchanging a few pleasantries and declining all of Loretta's attempts to sell him items to make his Floor Master raid easier, Tatsuo quickly climbed to the 10th Floor.

ICDS Universe, 1st Dungeon, 10th Floor.

About six hours later, Tatsuo arrived outside the door leading to the Boss Room. And like the first time he reached the Orc Lord's Boss Room, a prompt appeared, asking him if he wanted to enter a party. However, just like last time, Tatsuo opted to take on the boss solo. Then, Tatsuo pushed the door open confidently.

When Tatsuo entered the room, the door closed behind him. However, he was unconcerned. Instead, he was paying attention to the thirty or so wraiths filling the hall. And even more than the normal wraiths, he was staring at a 9'10" tall female wraith floating at the back of the hall above a raised platform.

"A human?" the tall female wraith, the Wraith Queen, asked in a menacing tone. "For daring to enter this place, I shall extract your soul and make you suffer for all eternity."

Hearing the Wraith Queen's words, all the other wraiths let out screeches before charging towards Tatsuo. Meanwhile, Tatsuo, who was unconcerned with the approaching Wraiths grinned savagely.

"Go ahead and try!" Tatsuo shouted at the top of his lungs as he charged into the horde of wraiths.

As soon as he reached the front most wraith, Tatsuo punched at its neck, the [Energy][ wrapping his bladed knuckle dusters ripping right through it. Then, he took a step back to avoid the claw swipe from a second wraith. In the next instant, he swiped the blade of his left knuckle duster across its throat before leaping into the air and spinning. As a result, his blades cleaved through the heads of three more wraiths, causing them to dissipate into motes of mana.

Then, as soon as he landed on the floor again, Tatsuo dashed forward once again, moving straight towards the Wraith Queen. Along the way, he slew every one of the wraiths that were in his path while also avoiding the ectoplasm arrows they shot at him.

Eventually, after killing nearly twenty of the thirty wraiths in the room, Tatsuo arrived in front of the Wraith Queen, who had not moved from where she stood at the start of the battle. Instead, she was moving her arms in a strange way.

'it looks like she's trying to summon more wraiths.' Tatsuo thought to himself as he flipped the bladed knuckle duster in his right hand so that it was held in a normal grip. 'Not gonna let that happen.'

In the next instant, Tatsuo activated [Spatial Slash] and the blade of the weapon in his right hand was covered in purple tinted black [Energy] as it was swung down at the Wraith Queen's torso.

{Critical Hit}

"Nice, a crit!" Tatsuo exclaimed excitedly.

"Kya~~~~~~!" The Wraith Queen screamed in agony as the blade tore through her translucent body.

At the same time all the remaining wraiths in the room went into a frenzy, spitting out ectoplasm arrows at Tatsuo in an attempt to get him away from their queen. However, instead of panicking, Tatsuo only smiled. Then, in the next instant, he vanished from in front of the Wraith Queen. As a result, many of the ectoplasm arrows hit her, damaging her even more.

"Kya~~~~~~~~~~!" The Wraith Queen screamed in pain once again. However, there was more to her scream than just a painful tone, this time.

{Wraith Queen used [Vengeful Spirit's Wail.

-All party members fall under a state of confusion.

-All party members fall under a state of fear.}

At the same time, after using [Blink], Tatsuo reappeared behind the Wraith Queen. However, he found the [Vengeful Spirit's Wail] quite grating on his ears. And considering that he knew the weakness of this technique, he was planning to use his equipment set's Skill to counter. But he was quickly stopped in his tracks thanks to the next Notification.

{You attempt to resist. With 297 Charm and 151 Luck, resistance chance is 97%... Resist successful.}

"Huh?" Tatsuo exclaimed in confusion.

Despite his confusion, Tatsuo once again slashed his right bladed knuckle duster down, cleaving into the Wraith Queen's unprotected back. At the same time, he flipped the blade in his left hand, as well before he sent a barrage of slashes into the Wraith Queen's back.

In response, all the Wraith Queen could do was scream and screech in pain as she tried to turn around to strike Tatsuo. Unfortunately for her, Tatsuo moved with agility, sticking to her back as he continued his attack. On top of that, he managed to dodge attacks from the other wraiths in the hall while killing them with his counterattacks. Not to mention, many of the evaded strikes from the wraiths ended up landing on the Wraith Queen, causing her to take even more damage.

By the time all the regular wraiths had been disposed of, The Wraith Queen had used [Vengeful Spirit's Wail] twice more. However, thanks to Tatsuo's unusually high Charm and Luck Stats, he was not once affected by its negative status effects.

"*Sigh* I guess it's time to end this." Tatsuo muttered in a disappointed tone. "If I had known it would be so easy, I wouldn't have rushed to modify the [Orc Lord's Set]. I thought I would have needed [Orc Lord's War Cry's] Super-Armored state to deal with [Vengeful Spirit's Wail]. *Sigh* What a waste of effort."

In the next instant, both of Tatsuo's bladed knuckle dusters were covered in the same purple-tinted black glow as when he used [Spatial Slash]. Then, he crossed both his blades, their edges positioned on either side of the Wraith Queen's neck before he swept his arms in opposite directions.

As a result of Tatsuo's attack, the Wraith Queen's head was separated from her body before a fan fare rang out in Tatsuo's ears.

{A Grand Achievement! You defeated the Floor Master, Wraith Queen, alone! Amazing.}

{You obtained the Title: Wraith Queen Slayer.

-All Stats permanently increase by 1.

-This effect will apply even if the Title is not equipped.}

{You defeated the Wraith Queen alone. You obtain the special reward: [Wraith Queen's Shirt].}

{You obtain 3,000 Gold.}

{You obtain the qualifications to challenge the 11th Floor. You gain 5 Stat Points.}

{You are now Bronze Rank 5.}

{Choose your reward!

[Spatial Mastery Magic Book]

With the Notifications finally ending, Tatsuo could not help but smile proudly while staring at the rewards screen.

ICDS Universe, 1st Dungeon, 10th Floor Shop.

At the same time, in another instance of the 1st Dungeon, a handsome young man, standing at about 6'2" tall, appearing to be about eighteen years old with Korean facial features and the body of a well-trained martial artist, and wearing an unmodified version of the [Orc Lord's Set] just came out of the 10th Floor's Boss room and was greeted by the Shop Keeper, Loretta's, puppet.

Unlike every other time she greeted him, however, Loretta was not wearing her professional smile. Instead, she was scowling in discontent. But the young man, kang Shin, the protagonist of this world, knew exactly why she was doing so. So, instead of speaking to her immediately, he allocated his available Stat Points while he approached the shop counter. However, he was surprised by something he saw on his Status window.

"Huh? There's another Explorer from Earth ?" Shin asked in a dumbfounded tone.

In response, Loretta looked at Shin skeptically while somehow maintaining her scowl. Then, she shook her head, having come to expect such oblivious behavior from him.

"It's been more than a month since the new Customer-Nim arrived in the 1st Dungeon." Loretta said in an exasperated tone. "How are you just noticing it now?"

In response, Shin scratched the back of his head while smiling sheepishly. Then, he looked at Loretta and spoke in a slightly embarrassed tone.

"I didn't really think to look." Shin said as he turned away. "I mean, there had only been five Explorers ever since I became an Explorer, you know."

"*Sigh* I don't know what I'm gonna do with you." Loretta replied while shaking her head. Then, she finally put away her scowl and asked a question cheerfully. "Anyway, are you going to head up to the 15th Floor immediately to face the Dark Ratman?"

"Not yet." Shin replied while shaking his head. Then, he stared at Loretta with narrowed eyes. "Not until you give me my reward, Loretta-Noona."

"Aguhueforkuralo." Loretta said in a language that was not translated by the Dungeon.

"Uh… Can you say that in a human language?" Shin asked. "I don't think I have mastered any alien languages yet."

"Waah! You really did it!" Loretta shouted as she burst into tears.

The reason for this reaction was simple, Loretta had made a bet with Shin before he first challenged the Wraith Queen. She said she would give him a reward if he could defeat the Wraith Queen alone. And naturally, Shin accepted. Unfortunately, Loretta was not specific enough when she stated the win conditions.

Though she meant for Shin to challenge the Wraith Queen and defeat her at Level 10 or 11, she never mentioned that. So, Shin took advantage of the loop hole in her conditions and climbed all the way up to the 15th Floor before heading back down to grind the Wraith Queen for its equipment and Elixirs before eventually defeating it alone. And now, she somewhat regretted making the bet with him. At the same time, because of her crush, she's secretly happy that he succeeded, as the item she planned to give him would be able to increase his strength.

Eventually, after Loretta cried for a while longer, Shin was able to calm her down with a promise of bringing her some ramen from Earth. At the same time, Loretta handed over the item, a seemingly broken pocket watch with only one hand, which greatly disappointed Shin. However, little did Shin know, that pocket watch would become one of the greatest contributors to the formidable strength he would wield in the future.