Chapter 96
A stone statue.
As soon as I crossed over to Stage 5, the first thing that caught my eye was a massive stone statue.
It gave off the feeling of a giant soldier, holding a bow in its hand.
The statue stood close to the Door leading to the next Stage...
I shifted my gaze.
I did a Hwak-in that there was also something near the Door I had just entered through.
[A bow...?]
A bow, and six Arrows.
They were left lying alone on the Ground.
This time it's a bow instead of a sword.
More than that, the atmosphere was a bit different from the previous Stages.
Because there wasn't a single Arrow Hole that should have been pierced into the walls all around the Cavern.
All I could see were the stone statue and the bow.
After finishing my observation, I used Time Release.
I approached and reached out my hand toward the bow.
There was no warning from Sixth Sense.
As soon as I picked up the bow...
Phat.
Suddenly, a single red line appeared right in the middle of the Cavern's Ground.
The red line looked as if it had split the Cavern exactly in half.
“...?”
What is this.
A red line? Does it mean I shouldn't cross it?
There was also a change in the statue.
Red Dots appeared on various parts of the statue.
Arms, legs, heart, and head. A total of six Red Dots.
[0/6]
And above the statue's head, the number '0/6' appeared.
I looked back and forth between the bow in my hand and the statue.
Six Red Dots on the statue.
The given Arrows were also six.
Interpreting the situation with the given information wasn't that difficult...
[I have to hit them?]
Anyone could tell this meant I had to shoot and hit them with the bow.
Those Red Dots marked on the statue over there, that is.
The red line on the Ground probably meant I had to shoot the bow from a distance without crossing the line.
This Stage wasn't about dodging Arrows, but being the one to shoot them.
Alright, I perfectly understand.
But here's the problem.
I don't know how to shoot a bow?
I was faced with a serious dilemma.
The distance from the line to the statue was about 50 meters.
The size of the Red Dots was at most the size of a human palm.
There was no way I could hit them.
I used to practice archery occasionally on the 1st Floor half for fun, so it wasn't like I couldn't shoot a bow at all.
But my Skill was naturally nowhere near enough to hit a target tens of meters away.
[No, what kind of archery is this...]
I frowned and pondered what to do.
If I hit them by flying a Magic Skill instead of an Arrow...
That wouldn't work, right?
Using the bow to hit the Red Dots was clearly the rule of the current Stage.
I didn't know what would happen if I broke the rule, but at the very least, it didn't seem like the Stage would be cleared.
...Let's just try it for now.
I grabbed the bow and Arrows and approached the red line.
Standing right in front of the red line, I nocked an Arrow onto the bowstring.
I slowly pulled the bowstring and aimed at the Red Dot on the statue's heart.
Twang!
The Arrow flew with good momentum.
It missed, failing to even hit the statue.
The Arrow that fell on the nearby Ground simply vanished.
[0/6]
The number above the statue's head remained the same.
I figured the number would go up if I hit it.
Seeing the shot Arrow disappear, it seemed the chances were limited to six, matching the number of Arrows.
What would happen if I couldn't hit a single one.
Swallowing my anxiety, I made a second attempt.
I tried my best to get a feel for it by thinking about the trajectory of the Arrow that just missed.
Twang!
I aimed for the heart dot again, but.
This time too, I couldn't even hit the statue.
“...”
I realized it after two attempts.
This... is absolutely not going to work?
It was much harder than I thought. It didn't feel like I could hit even a single shot.
With a feeling of biting the bullet, I picked up the third Arrow.
[Demon Lord.]
I called Ma-Wang.
[Do you know how to shoot a bow? Help me out a bit.]
I thought I might at least get some advice on the angle.
He's Ma-Wang, after all, shouldn't he have some Skill?
Ma-Wang didn't answer.
I pressed him further.
[If I fail, you die with me, Demon Lord. Are you really not going to help?]
Only then did Ma-Wang reply.
- I do not know how to shoot either.
[...]
- Just do it well. How can you not hit a single one?
What a truly unhelpful Yangban...
I let out a sigh and pulled the bowstring.
The third Arrow also missed the statue.
Miss, miss, and another miss.
The fifth Arrow at least hit the base of the statue and bounced off, but.
In the end, I couldn't hit a single Red Dot.
One Arrow left.
“Fuck.”
What really happens if I miss all of them.
Just a straight failure?
Maybe the Door won't open and I'll be trapped here forever...
Since I seemed to be fucked anyway, I decided to try a different approach.
Instead of an Arrow, I flew a Mana Bullet and struck a Red Dot.
Pop!
[0/6]
The number above the statue's head didn't change.
As expected, it didn't work.
I looked down at the red line beneath my feet.
I carefully stuck my foot out over the line. Sixth Sense didn't react.
Nothing in particular happened even when I crossed the line.
I approached the statue closely.
The Red Dot on the statue's left leg.
I stood right in front of it and aimed the bow. Then I shot the last Arrow.
Ting!
The Arrow hit the Red Dot and bounced off.
Doing a Hwak-in to see if the number changed...
[0/6]
As expected, there was no change.
It probably didn't count because I crossed the red line to shoot.
[I'm screwed...]
I missed all six shots.
Just as I was tensing up, wondering what would happen now.
All the Red Dots on the statue disappeared.
*At the same time, Red Dots appeared on both of my arms.*
“...?”
What is this.
Kugugugu-
Then, suddenly, with a loud rumble, the statue Started moving.
I flinched in surprise and stepped back.
The statue raised its bow, pulled the string, and aimed in my direction.
Then, Red Aura gathered and took the form of an Arrow.
Kwaaang!
I threw my body to the side to dodge.
A massive Light Arrow struck the Ground.
Now the statue is attacking?
The statue pulled its bowstring toward me once again.
For now, I counterattacked as well.
After I Stop Time and used Mental Concentration, I Fired a Full Charge Line of Destruction.
The statue, with a gaping hole right in the middle of its torso, tilted and collapsed just like that.
[...Is it over?]
Could fighting the statue be the penalty for missing the Arrows?
Hoping that was the case, I looked at the fallen statue... Huh?
Kugugugu-
I narrowed my brow.
Because the statue stood back up and Started to regenerate.
The perfectly restored statue pulled its bowstring again.
Before the Arrow could fly at me, I launched a Flame Strike first.
Kwaaaaang!
The fireballs smashed the statue into pieces again, but...
The shattered remains rose into the Void.
Then they clumped together and were perfectly restored once more.
After that, I destroyed the statue several more times.
The statue's own combat power wasn't particularly strong, so knocking it down was easy.
But every time, the statue quickly restored itself and simply aimed its bow at me.
I tried interfering with the statue's regeneration, and I even tried turning it completely into dust by using Rapid Fire with Magic Skills.
But the statue still regenerated.
I used Time Stop.
It didn't have a core like the 3rd Floor boss.
It didn't have a weakness like the Frozen Hydra either.
No matter how many times I knocked it down, it just regenerated infinitely.
[How am I supposed to kill it?]
Then, it suddenly caught my eye.
The Red Dots marked on both of my arms.
...Come to think of it, what is this?
Why did the Red Dots that were on the statue suddenly appear on my body.
[...]
Could it be?
I used Time Release.
I rolled up my pants and checked my legs.
There were Red Dots on my legs too.
I pulled up my shirt and checked my chest. There was a Red Dot there as well.
Both arms, both legs, heart, and head.
The Red Dots were marked on my body in the exact same locations they had been on the statue.
I couldn't see it, but there was probably a dot on my head too.
An Arrow flew at me.
This time, I didn't destroy the statue and just let it shoot the Arrow.
I continuously dodged the incoming Light Arrows.
Looking closely, this guy was continuously aiming and shooting Arrows only at my right arm.
More accurately, it was probably aiming for the Red Dot on my right arm.
[Wait a minute...]
An ominous thought suddenly crossed my mind.
Then, could this mean.
It won't end until I get hit?
Because I couldn't hit the statue's Red Dots... the penalty is that I have to get hit by Arrows in return for as many as I missed?
It made sense.
What do I do then.
Do I just have to let it hit me? With that?
[That's a bit much...]
But there was no other way.
At this rate, it would just be an infinite loop. I had to find a way out, no matter what.
...Whatever, let's do it.
I stopped dodging and spread my right arm wide open.
“Come on.”
The statue pulled its bowstring.
I activated Skin Hardening.
And I even used the Aura Skill to protect my right arm as much as possible.
Puuung!
Making my efforts pointless.
The Light Arrow cleanly pierced through my right arm and blew it up.
“Kuaaak...!”
A burning, intense pain.
A scream burst out on its own.
However, having already experienced losing an arm during the 4th Floor hidden route, I immediately grabbed hold of my senses.
[0/5]
“...!”
Looking at the statue, there was a change in the number.
The number had decreased from 6 to 5.
If so, then as expected, this is...
[It really won't end until I get hit by all of them.]
I used Time Stop. The Gotong stopped.
I took a breather and organized my thoughts.
My right arm got hit.
Then that means I have to get hit by five more Arrows now...
[The head is the problem.]
Arms, legs, and heart are fine.
Since I have the effect of the Frozen Hydra's Blood, no matter how badly I get hurt below the head, I won't die.
But the head was a problem.
Having taken a hit, the Light Arrow had a power that was impossible to defend against.
If I got hit in the head, my head would shatter into pieces. That would mean instant death.
...Is there no way?
While pondering, a thought suddenly occurred to me.
[What if I just get grazed and dodge?]
I don't know how the hit detection works for this, but if it counts as a hit just by the Arrow touching the Red Dot...
It didn't seem impossible to just get grazed and dodge.
I just have to time it right, Stop Time, and use Teleportation, right?
It was a method worth trying.
I used Time Release.
Drip, drop.
Blood poured down from my severed right arm.
Perhaps thanks to the Regeneration Effect of the Frozen Hydra's Blood, the bleeding did stop quickly.
Biting my lip tightly and enduring the Gotong, I stared at the statue.
The statue was about to shoot the next Arrow.
This time, I spread my left arm wide open.
With all my nerves focused, I waited for the Arrow to fly at me.
Focus, focus...
The Arrow was Fired.
[Now!]
I used Time Stop.
The Arrow that came to a Stop, slightly piercing the Red Dot on my left arm.
...I succeeded for now.
I used Mental Concentration, and as soon as I used Time Release, I used Teleportation.
[0/4]
Upon doing a Hwak-in of the statue's number, it had decreased.
[It worked...!]
Doing a Hwak-in that the trick worked, I cheered inwardly.
My left arm didn't blow up like my right arm and only ended up with a slight gouge in the flesh.
Fuck, I should have done this from the start.
I blew off my right arm for nothing.
Anyway, I just have to do the same for the remaining four shots.
I dodged the Arrows until the Teleportation Cooldown refreshed, then moved on to the next part.
Right leg, left leg, and heart—I cleared them all in that order.
[0/1]
The last one remaining was the head.
One wrong move with this and I'd be dead, so I had to be careful.
[Stopping early is fine.]
If I Stop Time early and miss the timing, I can just try again.
But stopping time late meant instant death. Let's not overdo it.
[Now.]
The last Arrow flew at me.
I used Time Stop.
The Arrow stopped right in front of my forehead.
...Did it touch? I think it touched.
As soon as I used Time Release, I used Teleportation.
Trickle.
Along with a stinging Gotong, blood flowed down my face.
Hmm, I definitely got hit.
I wiped my forehead and shook off the blood.
It seemed to have dug deeper than I thought, as it bled quite a bit.
Anyway, as long as I didn't die, it's fine.
[0/0]
The number above the statue's head became 0.
Kugugu...
The statue made a Start to collapse on its own.
And it no longer regenerated.
“Phew...”
I let out a breath and flopped down.
This is exhausting, so exhausting.
I did a Hwak-in of my severed right arm.
[...Is it regenerating?]
My arm was completely blown off below the joint.
The severed surface was bubbling, and it did look like it was slowly sprouting anew. It was a bit gross.
Among the effects of the Frozen Hydra, there is an effect that increases regenerative power, but I don't know if it regenerates severed body parts too.
If I used the Rapid Regeneration Skill, it would regenerate immediately, but...
I decided to wait a bit longer. Let's do a Hwak-in while I'm at it.
Even if it took some time, if it just regenerated on its own, there was no need to use Rapid Regeneration, which has a 24-hour cooldown.
It hurt like hell, but Gotong is just something to endure. Saving the Skill was more important.
Kugugugu-
The Door leading to the next Stage opened.
I didn't cross over and kept waiting.
As more time passed, a new arm really did slowly sprout.
It took about 30 minutes for my right arm to fully regenerate.
I tried moving my arm. It was perfectly fine, as if it had never been cut off.
“Good.”
I gained new knowledge about to what extent the Frozen Hydra's Blood possessed a Regeneration Effect.
Perhaps because I used a lot of energy for regeneration, I felt hungry.
I took out some food from my Subspace.
I unwrapped and ate a chocolate bar and replenished my fluids. I also washed my blood-covered body a bit.
After finishing my rest and maintenance, I approached the Door.
The scenery beyond the Door was red.
In contrast to the Caverns so far, which had blue Torches burning.
[Is it the boss?]
The atmosphere felt exactly like that.
I thought this was finally the end... but why am I so anxious, damn it.
Is it because I made it here relatively easily?
Feeling an uncomfortable sensation as if a backstab was still waiting for me.
I stepped through the Door.