Chapter 424
When you're playing a game, sometimes you encounter unreasonable situations.
That usually falls into either "crappy game" or "PvP." As for this time...
"Hahaha, OK, I get it. If that's how you want to play, I've got some ideas too."
My patience with this trial's endless fumble streak had finally snapped.
Floor after floor was maliciously designed to wear down weapons, and on the previous 18th floor, I'd finally lost my last weapon.
One potion left, armor heavily damaged—one step away from dying if I took a critical hit.
And right at that moment, the worst possible floor appeared.
'Shururururu'
The hissing of snakes echoed, and the sound of heavy bodies being dragged resonated through a vast cavern.
On top of that, holes about two meters in diameter dotted the walls and ceiling everywhere, with sounds coming from within them, making it impossible to pinpoint enemy movements due to the echoes from all directions.
Add to that the darkness.
There was almost no light source, and the footing was so rough that one misstep would send you tumbling.
If I lit a light, enemies would surely swarm towards it.
But without light, I couldn't even fight properly.
The enemies on this maliciously designed floor were Crawling Dragons.
Class 5 monsters, a floor consisting solely of bosses that only appear if you're extremely unlucky in the trial.
Just one step away from clearing, having made it to the 19th floor, and this is what I get.
If the person who arranged this floor distribution came before me, I'm confident I'd punch them.
You know? Anger, after a full cycle, makes you calm.
This isn't a trial.
I've认定d it as harassment. Some switch flipped in my head.
"Shadow Cloak."
The strategy for the Crawling Dragon trial is deceptively simple: defeat ten Crawling Dragons in this space and reach the goal.
In this environment, prepared with echoes, pitch-black vision, terrible footing, and three-dimensional attacks, while skills are restricted and levels reduced.
Even with Class 3 stats and EXBP, with tattered armor and no weapons, defeating a Crawling Dragon in one blow is nearly impossible.
If an average player attempted this, there'd be a storm of complaints about what a crappy game this is.
But I've攻略d this floor many times before.
So it's fine! ...I can't quite say that.
Even among the master-tier players called addicts, the ones on the razor's edge between genius and madness, no one has found a reliable method to clear this floor under restrictions.
After all, the goal point placement patterns on this floor total one hundred and thirty-seven.
Plus, there are eight terrain patterns.
They're completely randomly arranged, so routes can't be fixed—that's the first and biggest obstacle.
On top of that, the map basics are the same but subtly altered, making it annoyingly obstructive.
Next, there are no safe zones.
The crappy specification of this floor is that despite multiple boss-spec monsters with terrifying night-time abilities roaming around, there are no recovery options.
No rest, constantly needing to stay sharp—for an average person, that's simply impossible.
They're sensitive to sound, sensitive to heat, and use Dark Magic and Poison Mist that you can't see coming from the enemy.
Surpassing crappy, it's at the point where you can only laugh.
"......"
Breathing always quietly, footsteps silenced, cloaked in shadows, merged into the darkness, I recalled sensations memorized from falling countless times, keeping my stride constant, grasping distance perception, and navigating the map by step count.
When I felt a distinctive rock formation with my outstretched hand, I confirmed it to ascertain my position.
I haven't been eating properly lately, so fully operating my nutrient-deprived brain is seriously tough.
But if I don't, I'll die. It's bad for my body, but I'm going all out.
Vision is useless. I rely on hearing, smell, and touch.
Moving ten steps right, fifteen steps left, three steps forward then right—this staccato movement is sluggish, like a crawl compared to my speed on previous floors.
But until I've determined which map pattern this is, I can't risk running around.
Once I figure out the pattern, I can accelerate instantly.
While groping around like this, I felt a change in the airflow—the wind weakened, blocked by something.
No need to speculate what—it's a Crawling Dragon.
A body blocking the wind had obstructed one of the cave passages.
That changed the airflow.
In攻略ing this floor, the airflow is literally a lifeline.
It's necessary not only for locating enemies but also for carrying away poison mist.
I constantly monitored the wind direction, maneuvering to keep it at my back.
That way, I felt a slight dissonance through touch.
There's something ahead.
Whether the Crawling Dragon sensed it too or just happened to stop, I couldn't tell.
With Shadow Cloak active, I don't trigger their smell or sound sensors.
If I stay still without making a sound, they can't detect me visually either.
So, even with the dissonance, they lack certainty.
In gaming terms, they probably have a '?' over their heads, scanning the surroundings.
But because I remained still, they couldn't confirm the anomaly, and just as they started moving again, thinking it was nothing, I precisely pinpointed their head position, kicked off the air, and launched a spear-hand strike at the throat—aiming for the reverse scale.
'Gyaaaaaa!?'
The Crawling Dragon's scream echoed through the cavern.
Instantly, the entire cave became alert.
What had been a quiet cave was now filled with what could only be described as dragon pressure—a killing intent I'd only felt from powerful enemies like Azhdaha since reaching Class 8.
Tough in this weakened state, huh? I smiled wryly.
I locked my legs around the thrashing dragon's neck to stabilize myself, turned both hands into weapons with Magic Edge, and relentlessly pierced the reverse scale.
The time limit was until the dragon threw its head back and slammed me into the ground to dislodge me from under its jaw.
But for once, luck seemed to be on my side.
The fact it was frantically shaking its head trying to dislodge me clinging under its neck meant I'd hit the jackpot in terms of behavior pattern.
This action would draw the other Crawling Dragons nearby into this space.
When that happens, the thrashing dragon would activate Poison Mist, which doesn't harm it, rapidly whittling down my HP.
Having Shadow Cloak doesn't nullify poison.
So, I just kept driving my Magic Edge-enhanced thrusts into the vital spot relentlessly.
Maintaining maximum DPS, I carved away its HP before it could counterattack.
'Guea!?'
My body shook as it thrashed its head, but I tightened my leg grip around its neck and kept pounding. After how many strikes?
I felt it twitch and begin to turn into black dust under my feet. I instantly leaped back and clung to the wall right next to the "ceiling" hole from which approaching dragons would emerge.
'Kishaaaaa!!'
Infuriated from the start, a dragon holding its breath passed right by where I was hiding and burst out of the hole.
From other holes, dragon after dragon emerged. A total of four congregated in what felt like a vast space, rampaging.
In the darkness, they bumped into and threatened each other, but the real enemy—me—was nowhere to be seen.
The ideal scenario would be friendly fire, but realistically, damage wouldn't stack that easily.
I'd already deactivated the glowing Magic Edge.
Leaving it active would be like waving a glowstick in the dark; they'd sense the magic and I'd be a prime target.
Instead, holding my breath, I slipped into the hole the dragon had come from to escape the chaos, blending in with the noise and using Aerial Step to climb rapidly.
Given the dragons' size, these passageways can only accommodate one at a time.
With two, the hole would clog, so they use separate routes.
I had a general sense of the hole sizes, so I moved, occasionally touching the ceiling for support, and emerged into another space quickly.
Connecting space to space, it was forbidden to let my guard down thinking there'd be no dragons beyond the side tunnel.
This floor's system keeps the dragon count constant.
Defeating one doesn't reduce the count; it's replenished immediately.
While they don't increase excessively, they also don't decrease.
Just because there are four in that space doesn't mean there aren't any in this one.
Some would inevitably be coiled, lying in wait, not drawn by the commotion.
Intuitively, I stopped near the entrance and stared into the darkness—I felt like something was there.
Ignoring this intuition wouldn't be wise.
So, I chose a route in my mental map and crawled towards another connecting passage without landing on the ground.
Carefully, without making a sound.
If I fought here now, those four would move in immediately.
The distance was simply too close; fighting here was nothing but risk.
"!"
While crawling, I grabbed a protrusion.
Groping the shape, I felt something bulging, and a grin spread across my face.
Whoever prepared this trial is still naive, it seems.
Despite its cruel environment, this trial had a few救済 measures built into FBO.
But finding them in the darkness was itself incredibly difficult, often mocked as "救済 that isn't救済."
I'd hoped for a one-in-a-million chance, and I'd hit the jackpot among them.
"Hehehe."
With no further need to hide, I unhesitatingly activated Magic Edge on my left hand.
'Kishaaaaa!!'
My laugh and magical reaction simultaneously triggered the dragon lurking below to roar threateningly, but it was too late.
"SEIYA!!"
I drove my Magic Edge-protected hand into the wall with all my might, grabbing an elongated object.
Then, with sheer force, I pulled the object embedded in the wall free.
"Come on! Let's do this, Crawling Dragon! Face to face, fair and square!!"
It was a slightly weathered morning star.
As a weapon, it might be utterly ordinary, but the moment it found its wielder, it began to emit an ominous red glow.
'...Fssshuuu!'
The weapon's glow illuminated the space, revealing a cautious dragon frozen in place, not moving.
Make no mistake, this weapon was a cousin to the dragonslaying weapons I'd once crafted.
It was a morning star with the Indestructible property, said to have been left by a hero who perished in past trials.
And it was imbued with dragon-slaying properties.
What was insidious was its hiding place—right next to the side tunnel near the ceiling that the dragons used, close to the start, with the handle buried. The spiky part looked like rock at first glance, making it even more camouflaged.
"Die already!!"
Its insidious hiding place aside, its performance was so good that even a dragon hit by it would take serious damage.
If you didn't know, you'd never look for it, but finding it instantly turns this floor into easy mode.
You might see the rare sight of dragons waiting cautiously for reinforcements, but unfortunately, I had no intention of waiting. I closed in instantly with Aerial Step.
"Meet your end!!"
Cutting off the fleeing dragon's path, I slammed the weapon into its face with all my might.
As if avenging all the accumulated grievances, I just kept pounding.