I opened my inventory and took out the most recent item I’d received.

It was the shield obtained from the Exchange Meeting.

Clang—

I raised the shield.

[Fortress of a Thousand Years]

With a defense rating of 200, it had higher defense than the Mirror of Transformation, another shield item. It also had a counter-type effect that reflected a portion of incoming magical damage.

Looks like I’ll be using this one for a while.

Now it was time to move on to the 11th floor stage.

But before that, I figured I should properly get things straight about the so-called “Constellations.”

Title: Didn’t they say Constellations only interfere directly from Floor 70 onward?

Author: ㅇㅇ*

—So that means they’re enemies I’ll definitely have to fight someday.

ㄴ Hard Mode climbers already know this.

ㄴ You won’t even see their silhouettes in Easy or Normal.

ㄴ Archmage: That’s right.

ㄴ Archmage: They’re enemies you’ll inevitably fight.

ㄴ Absolute Monarch: Which is why you shouldn’t rely on things like ‘Authority’ from Constellations.

ㄴ Absolute Monarch: If your combat style depends on their boons, you’ll be helpless and die the moment you have to face them.

I’d heard this before, but now I understood why they emphasized it so much.

Plenty of previous Hard Mode climbers probably got themselves killed trying to use the Constellations’ own gifts against them.

— Admin: Another huge issue is that every time a climber achieves something using a Constellation’s Authority, that Constellation’s status—or Star Rank—rises. Their power increases too.

That part was especially infuriating.

The fact that a Constellation could profit from my hard work.

That made me feel just as much revulsion toward relying on their powers.

ㄴ Sword of Light: So you’re wondering how long you should keep showing stage progress to Constellations, if they’re enemies you’ll face eventually.

ㄴ ㅇㅇ: For now, until Floor 20. Just when I feel like it. That should be enough to loot all the useful items.

ㄴ Sword of Light: Sounds like a solid plan.

ㄴ Heavenly Demon: I’ve also blocked them from Floor 21 onward. Couldn’t stand the voyeurism.

ㄴ Creepy that even the Heavenly Demon hates being watched lol

ㄴ Well yeah, a peak martial artist shouldn’t be evaluated by some Constellation nobodies.

ㄴ Archmage: I used to let them observe with mana stones, but once it felt like they were peering too deep with magic, I just cut them off.

ㄴ Sword of Light: So you’re going straight into Floor 11?

ㄴ ㅇㅇ: Yeah. I trained hard before joining the Exchange Meeting, so I’m ready to jump in.

ㄴ ㅇㅇ: Though I’ll have to prepare properly before entering that notorious Floor 13.

ㄴ Admin: True.

ㄴ Admin: Alright, everyone who wants to offer cross-dimensional items, line up!

ㄴ Spear King: Hmm, want to learn spear techniques?

ㄴ ㅇㅇ: I’ve been wanting to try that.

ㄴ ㅇㅇ: I’ll see how far I get. Might consider it if I hit a wall or reach Floor 13.

ㄴ Spear King: Cool. Cross-dimensional cooldown isn’t ready yet anyway.

ㄴ Pioneer: Yup yup. Forget Authority. Just take power from us instead. Not that I’ve got anything to offer, lol.

ㄴ Archmage: We’ve got stuff to give.

ㄴ Ice Queen: Frozen! Yes! We! Will give! Frozen~!

ㄴ Shrine Maiden: Hawawawa~ this maiden has plenty to offer too~

ㄴ Dragon King: Beltui~ I’ll look for something to give~

I closed the gallery and stored the terminal in my inventory.

Today was the day the Exchange Meeting ended, so I planned to train for the rest of the day and enter Floor 11 tomorrow.

After stocking up on plenty of health and mana potions, I stuffed them into my inventory.

I opened the door to the Floor 11 stage and stepped through.

Fwoosh!

『Pandemonium Difficulty – Floor 11 is a Dungeon Type.』

A dungeon stage, huh. Been a while since I had one of those.

『Objective: Clear the dungeon “Minotaur’s Watchtower.”』

Minotaur.

If it’s the same Minotaur from myth, this won’t be easy.

Still, with a clear enemy now, I figured I should ask the seniors about it.

Title: Got a read on Floor 11

Author: ㅇㅇ*

—Dungeon name: Minotaur’s Watchtower

ㄴ A Minotaur on Floor 11? Bruh, Dekkan was a 6th-Rank Knight and he showed up on Floor 10 lol

ㄴ Honestly feels like the training weights are off now. Floor 11 might be easier than Floor 10 wtf

ㄴ And the wild part is, that might actually be true.

ㄴ Pioneer: Minotaur’s weakness is its horns. Break one and its strength drops by 25%. Break the second and it drops by another half based on the reduced value.

ㄴ Gutter Swordsman: Watch out for berserk mode. Sometimes, breaking a horn just enrages it instead of weakening it.

ㄴ Classic tower nonsense—either extreme, totally random lol

ㄴ Sword of Light: Minotaurs usually wield axes or spears. They’re bigger than average humans, so be mindful of the range gap.

The tips kept coming in.

ㄴ Archmage: What’s actually dangerous is the Minotaur’s racial magic. Stronger than you’d expect. That’s about it.

ㄴ Archmage: Overall, I’d place them around 5th-Rank. Should be easier than Floor 10.

ㄴ Dragon King: Beltui~ Cow heads! Minotaur purge! Let’s gooo!

ㄴ Anyway, go on in lol

ㄴ Sword of Light: Sometimes they charge in as a group. Just use an area-cleaving slash to wipe them out.

ㄴ This guy always assumes everyone knows what he does.

ㄴ Well, this climber freak probably does. It’s probably in the Dragonslayer Swordsmanship manual.

I knew exactly which move from the Dragonslayer style Sword of Light was referring to.

I closed the gallery and tucked the terminal back into my inventory.

Then I scrolled through the notification windows on the far-right side of my vision.

There they were—the cries of the Constellations.

[‘Guide of the Starbound Path’ is begging you to lift the block.]

[‘The Crimson Spear Ascendant’ is furious about the repeated rejections.]

[‘Blood Demon’ hastily orders their rage to be conveyed, mouth still open from yawning.]

But these weren’t current.

They were traces from before I shut down the Constellation feed entirely.

Since I blocked them before even entering the stage, they probably didn’t even know I was inside.

They probably didn’t even know which floor I was on.

Apparently, there’s a second-tier block that hides even these notifications.

I planned to activate that full block on Floor 20.

After draining everything I could from the Constellations until then.

Since this wasn’t a narrative quest-style stage, I decided to unseal the block for now and let them watch.

If it’s just a standard dungeon type, there’s no harm in being observed.

As soon as I lifted the block, Constellations flooded in the moment they realized I’d entered Floor 11.

[‘Sword Demon of the Black Typhoon’ shouts: “What took you so long?”]

[‘Giant Who Swallowed the Moon’ beams with joy.]

[‘Warrior Steeped in Wrath’ raises both arms and gazes at you.]

[‘Judge with a Thousand Eyes’ eyes you coolly.]

[‘Saint Who Chases the Light’ claps with a sweet smile.]

I lowered the window again.

If I acted uninterested like this, they’d get annoyed and start offering juicy rewards.

But I couldn’t sit around waiting for that.

Time to enter the dungeon.

Creak!

As I opened the door shaped like a pitch-black slab, red glints flared in the eyes of the towering figures.

Hmm.

I wasn’t scared, but this definitely didn’t count as a beautiful sight.

Bull heads atop muscular humanoid bodies.

The classic image of Minotaurs came charging at me—five of them.

I felt composed.

Reaching 5th-Rank had definitely pushed me across a threshold.

I could clearly read the Minotaurs’ movements.

I could react to their attack patterns.

I stepped forward.

Efficiently. Cleanly.

I twisted left to dodge a vertically cleaving axe soaked in dark red energy.

Then slashed my sword at the Minotaur’s neck.

SLASH!

Scarlet blood sprayed into my vision.

Before it hit the ground, I had already severed the neck of another Minotaur.

I swung upward to intercept a horizontal axe slash, breaking its momentum completely.

[‘Sword Demon of the Black Typhoon’ is astonished by your efficient movements.]

[‘Blood Demon’ senses the calm and confidence in your actions.]

[‘Emperor of Undying Glory’ wants to see your full power.]

[‘Watcher Swimming in the Abyss’ attempts to register a Constellation Quest for you.]

『Constellation Quest Triggered! “Watcher Swimming in the Abyss” has registered a quest.』

Quest: Clear the stage with more effort, without hiding your strength.

The determination of effort level will be judged by “Watcher Swimming in the Abyss.”

Additional condition: Constellation Block cannot be used during quest.

Reward: Authority – Submerged Shadow

Authority Description – A skill of “Watcher Swimming in the Abyss.”

Allows perfect concealment in shadows or darkness. Complete transparency; enemies cannot sense your presence. Usable until mana is depleted.

Note: Automatically deactivates if shadow/darkness disappears.

Pretty useful.

Definitely worthy of being called an Authority.

But I had no intention ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ of accepting it.

If I’m going to fight these things one day, I shouldn’t rely on tools that won’t even work against them.

And giving them something to gain from me? Hell no.

When I’d received a Constellation Quest offering Authority as a reward, I had asked the gallery the night before:

"What’s the best way to reject Authority clearly?"

Almost everyone agreed.

ㄴ Admin: Be firm. They won’t question it.

ㄴ Sword of Light: Act a little unhinged.

I decided to follow their advice.

“That kind of parlor trick doesn’t interest me.”

ㄴ Absolute Monarch: Like someone obsessed with strength.

ㄴ Admin: Isn’t that basically your true self? lol

“Don’t give me cheap crap like that. Offer a real item if you want to be useful.”

ㄴ Gutter Swordsman: Exactly. Those bastards started off like us. They won’t suspect anything. In fact, some might feel a strong kinship.

“Power—comes from my own strength and effort. Nothing else.”

ㄴ Heavenly Demon: A vow they once tried to keep, but ultimately failed.

[‘Sword Demon of the Black Typhoon’ grins slyly.]

[‘Blood Demon’ agrees with you and mocks others for their useless tricks.]

[‘Warrior Steeped in Wrath’ continues to gaze at the warrior.]

[‘Watcher Swimming in the Abyss’ expresses rage toward you.]

[‘Watcher Swimming in the Abyss’ now harbors hostility.]

ㄴ Pioneer: Yeah, the one who made the offer’s gonna throw a fit. Just ignore it. They can’t do jack.

ㄴ Dragon King: Beltui~ ignore ignore~

[‘Emperor of Undying Glory’ laughs at someone and checks his relics.]

And after that, more Constellation notifications kept pouring in, showing who was rummaging through what.