Chapter 292: Leap of Faith
Thump thump thump thump!!
I run. Without thinking about collapsing, just thinking only about going up, I run.
"Watch out for the third one!!"
Lune gives instructions from behind. I stepped on the second stair and jumped high.
’Illusion.’
The third stair was an illusion that looked like a black stair. If I’d stepped on it, I could’ve lost my balance and fallen down.
Thump!
But I stepped on the next stair and jumped again. Below, the sound of fluttering wings started echoing.
"Duck to the side!"
Gremory, hugging me from the front, reached toward the sky. I ducked my head slightly, and a silver laser shot from Gremory’s hand.
Screech!!
Black feathers scattered from above. Gremory probably sniped a giant crow trying to swoop down on us. Probably, because I don’t have time to look directly.
I run.
I’m just running up the stairs. Sometimes running up close to the wall in a spiral, sometimes running straight to the opposite side.
A height where falling wouldn’t just end with broken legs.
No railings, no safety measures whatsoever, and rather full of traps meant to screw over anyone climbing the stairs—but stairs are stairs.
’There’s a basic rule for making dungeons.’
The Seizure Battle portal opens at the place farthest from the dungeon’s deepest point. And if that path is blocked, the Demon King Solomon set the system so the portal opens in a position where the attacking side can go straight from the portal to the enemy dungeon’s deepest point.
In other words, there’s definitely a path from the bottom to the ceiling—where Halphas’s summoning facility would be at the deepest point. That path is none other than the stairs, and if I just watch out for traps, I can climb all the way up.
"Master, they’re all lined up from the second one!"
"Huh?!"
If I just watch out for traps. I briefly stomped my foot and jumped high.
"How far?!"
"Up to the tenth one!"
"Fuck!"
Traps on all nine stairs. I jumped far and high with all my might. But there were too many trapped stairs for that.
’This shameless bastard!’
You should set traps in moderation—what the hell are you doing setting them up to unconditionally kill enemies like this?
’Though I guess that’s the right approach.’
My foot slightly grazed the edge of a stair. The moment my foot touched it, the stair immediately collapsed downward. At this rate, I’ll tumble down headfirst.
"Uaaaah!!"
I threw Gremory forward and stretched both arms to grab a stair that wasn’t trapped. My body swung like a pendulum, and I used that momentum to do a back flip, stepping on one stair.
"Phew, made it."
"Hey!"
Gremory, flapping her white wings, started kicking at me.
"At least say ’Gremory, I’m throwing you!’ before throwing me!"
"Lions originally push their cubs off cliffs."
"That’s not even a real thing! If I couldn’t fly, I’d be dead right now!"
"It’s fine. You survived like this."
I held Gremory again and caught my breath. I’d used more arm strength than expected, so I needed some time to recover my stamina.
"Huff, huff."
"Are you okay? Should I get down?"
"No. Can’t do that. You guys need to conserve your stamina."
In the process of climbing the tower, I’m purely a means of transportation. Lune and Gremory had to use divine power minimally, and that minimum should naturally be poured into that damn Corpse Hawk.
"We’re just past halfway now. Phew."
"And they all caught up too."
Screech, screech—!
The giant crows started flying up from below, thinking this was their chance. Even though we’d reduced their numbers along the way, there still looked to be easily double digits. Including the gargoyles clinging to the sides, easily over a hundred.
"So damn persistent. Even wasps wouldn’t swarm like this."
"They’re trying to make us fall to our deaths."
"What do you want to do? Change tactics here?"
"Can’t do that."
I examined the stair I was standing on. And climbing just a bit higher, annoyingly, there was a section that turned at a sharp L-shape in the middle.
Us having to change direction at intervals versus the flying monsters rising vertically. No matter how much I used shortcuts and ran at full speed, it was natural we’d eventually get caught.
"Is this the end...."
***
"Yeah, that’s the end for you."
Lucifer cheered at the orc who couldn’t go either way. Even without giving separate orders, the Corpse Hawk made good use of the gargoyles and giant crows—Killer Ravens—to corner the orc.
"Idiot. The standard way is to kill them all as you go."
To climb the stairs to the end, naturally you have to kill all the interfering gargoyles and Killer Ravens. Not doing that and using tricks to focus only on climbing—how could he not laugh at that?
"Don’t need to worry about the surface. Underground though...tch."
Lucifer clicked her tongue at the cockatrice squad dying one by one.
"Underground’s done for."
The rear disruption force that should’ve ravaged surface floor 1 and climbed to surface floor 2 to attack the troops climbing the stairs from behind was being thoroughly ravaged by a perverted orc and a traitor.
"Blue can’t win alone."
Not because it’s dirty. Shax was originally a Blue-level fighter, and the orc, though low level, is using the cheat ability of divine power.
’Should’ve gotten out of the lake quickly.’
With all sorts of filthy things being scattered around, the cockatrices climbing on the island was basically the same as choosing to die. The Thunder Lord was holding out by scattering mana, but that wouldn’t last long either.
’Shax keeps drinking something in between. Her mana recovers each time. What is it? Did she make mana potions?’
Vomiting, drinking something, drawing up mana again and vomiting. Having made up her mind, Shax was pulling stuff from her stomach and firing it, determined to kill the Thunder Lord and cockatrice squad.
That mana should have limits as long as Shax is a demon, but Shax kept pulling something from her chest, putting it in her mouth and swallowing.
At first he thought it was poison, but looking again, Shax was recovering some of her consumed mana and vomiting stomach acid again.
"From the surface...need to send reinforcements underground."
Just resummon the Pale Riders and make them run down the stairs. Since the gargoyles will drag down the interfering orc in the middle, the Pale Riders can run straight underground and hit Shax and the orc from behind.
"Then...what?!"
Lucifer was shocked.
"He jumped from the stairs?!"
***
I activated my tattoo one more time. Using it continuously like this will make me suffer from muscle pain later, but right now it was very important to enhance my body with the tattoo’s power.
Screeeech!!
The crows started surging upward as if to smash even the stairs. I ran at full speed up the straight stairs.
"Uooooo!"
Some gargoyles climbed all the way up and blocked the stairs. If I turned and went up from here, I’d definitely get sandwiched front and back.
"Operation J!"
So I use the only operation planned assuming this situation. Though I’m not really deviating from the operation’s big framework, I didn’t think I’d actually do it.
"Lune, you trust me?"
"Of course."
"Right. Then let’s go."
"What about me?"
"You can fly in the middle. ...Alright, alright. Hold on tight."
Holding both women, I ran straight. I should’ve turned 90 degrees to go up the stairs, but I ran forward unconditionally.
"Here we go, leap of faith—!!"
From the edge of the stairs, I jumped. Forward. Toward a place with no stairs whatsoever, nowhere to step whatsoever.
There’s nothing. There wasn’t even a single gargoyle or giant crow, maybe because no one thought I’d jump straight forward.
Naturally, my body starts falling downward, pulled by gravity. With Gremory and Lune attached, the acceleration is tremendous. My body falling in a parabola started dropping at a dizzying speed.
"Now—! Lime—!!"
Boooom!!
The wall collapsed. And a mass of red slimes burst out from the wall. I curled my body into a ball toward the hole in the wall.
"Let go!"
Gremory flew up to the sky. Lune jumped off my back. I curled my body into a ball and fell toward the hole in the wall.
Thump—!!
I rolled three times after entering the inside of the hole. The slimes waiting in the wall became cushions and caught me. It hurt like hell but I didn’t die.
"Phew. Thought I was gonna die."
My whole body aches. The tattoo’s light faded, and I can’t put strength in my body.
"Master!"
"Talking about a leap of faith. You just smashed yourself into a hole."
"Hey hey hey, I’m hurting so don’t hurt my heart too."
It was a reckless challenge, and actually an act risking my life, but I didn’t die. If you don’t die, that’s enough. I lifted the slimes that became cushions with Lune’s support.
"Hehe, those guys are stunned right now."
Isn’t this exactly what it means to pull the rug out from under someone? The gargoyles, giant crows, and Corpse Hawk were blankly staring at the hole I fell into. I raised my middle finger toward the guys huddled near the stairs.
"You bird-brains, I brought a technological revolution to your dungeon."
Glug, glug!
Right above me, the slime dragons stuck out their tails. I grabbed them with my hands. I wanted to hold him, but the muscle pain was worse than expected, so Gremory held Lune.
"You thought I just climbed the stairs?"
To catch birds, you need appetizing bait. I became the bait myself, and all the work was finished in the meantime.
"Ah, this is called a lift."
Glug, glug!
Two slime dragons clung to the wall and started crawling up. I was sucked into the hole they made ’vertically’.
"Slime lift."
The slime dragons cling to the wall and crawl up, and I get pulled up holding their tails. The speed wasn’t as fast as me running up, but it was already too late for the strange birds to respond.
"Hehe, hehehehe!"
Over 4/5 of the way up. When we reached the hole Lime had dug in advance, the slime dragons stopped ascending. I put the slime dragons on both shoulders and jumped out of the hole.
"Hey, you’re supposed to be Red, right?"
The Corpse Hawk—Vulture—was glaring at me, its blood-red eyes glinting in black feathers.
"What are you gonna do when you couldn’t use any of the landmines you laid?"
"...Foolish one. Do you think you can kill me before your subordinates come up?"
The Corpse Hawk pointed down with its wing. On the floor accessed from the stair level, there was no one except the Corpse Hawk standing with both feet on the ’ground’.
’Almost like a mid-boss room.’
Number 2 of Halphas’s legion. Red Corpse Hawk. The final guardian protecting the entrance to Halphas’s nest.
"There’s one thing you’re mistaken about."
I clenched my fists and aimed the slime dragons on both arms toward the stairs.
"I’m gonna kill you and kill all your subordinates too. It’s a good opportunity for magic stone farming."
Red spread its wings and emitted bloodlust. I turned my body from Red Hawk toward the bottom of the stairs.
"Lune, Gremory, ...and Lime! Feel free to hunt the enemies! In the meantime, I’ll take down the subordinates!"
Click.
The slime dragons moved their mouths and lowered their heads down. Having gone through trial and error conquering Vapula’s dungeon, now I can shoot more efficiently.
"Half water, half fish...guess I can just shoot carelessly."
"Are you mocking me! How dare you show your back!"
"Yeah, I’m mocking you. I got a bit hurt earlier so I’m not gonna play with the likes of you—play with my guys for a bit."
I raised my middle finger toward my back, then aimed the slime dragons at the gargoyles and giant crows.
"Slime rains from the sky!"
Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat.
Hardened slime lumps like baseballs began pouring down like rain.
Not toxic substances that melt everything, not sharp thorns attached, but hard slime that definitely has mass.
"Even hail hurts if it hits your head."
Let’s see if they can dodge and get through. Of course, since the ceiling is blocked, there’s only one route they can take.
Only the stairs.
"I’ll send you to hell in order of arrival! First come, first served!!"
Both gargoyles and giant crows started frantically running up the stairs. Pleased by the crazy popularity, I stretched out my arms.
"Do you know how many crow heads I’ve buried?"
I killed over 666 Andras while conquering Andras’s dungeon.
"Let’s try hitting 1000 today, you fucking bastards."