Chapter 35
[Entering Floor 4, the Floor of Golems.]
[This floor consists of a single room!]
[Speedrun conditions are revealed. SSS:15 minutes, SS:18 minutes……]
Golems.
I remembered the conversation I had with Sera after clearing Floor 3.
“Ah, they should be showing up soon. Those annoying bastards.”
“What?”
“Golems.”
“What are they like?”
“Hard.”
“That’s it?”
“Yep.”
“…Nothing else?”
“Their attack power is high too, but as long as you don’t get close, that’s manageable. The real problem is the terrain and the mobs covering their backs.”
Newly awakened abilities are still lacking in firepower at the start.
That’s why monsters like golems are the greatest enemies of early-stage awakeners.
“I went in solo and had a rough time, so I brought a mage and beat it.”
Sera was a swordswoman.
Because swords don’t really go into stone.
“What about the reward?”
“We split it N ways.”
Sorry, but that’s impossible.
The rewards are all mine.
Of course, there’s no way I’d have teammates to clear Hell difficulty with me.
Even if there were, it’d probably only be Aris or Robert.
But can they even enter the Tower?
“So, if you run into a golem, take out the supporting mobs in the back first, as much as possible.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
I let it go in one ear and out the other, but nothing Sera says is ever useless.
Especially Hell difficulty, where hardly any information is even available.
The guilds keep it in a tight grip, and information on the upper floors in particular apparently sells for a very high price.
I don’t plan on sharing Hidden Piece information either, so it’s the same either way.
‘There it is, just as expected.’
I was on a hill in the middle of the grasslands.
The backdrop of Floor 4 was a vast grassland.
The hill was lush with grass, yet there wasn’t a single insect chirping anywhere, which felt strange.
As soon as it started, I ran to this high ground.
And when I looked down below,
something like a forward base had been set up.
I activated my Dragon Eyes a little more.
When I looked farther away, as if zooming in, I could see the monsters inside.
At a glance, there was a huge rock monster and green monsters.
They were golems and goblins.
“Hmm. So I just have to smash all of this?”
In theory it was simple, but I had no idea how strong the enemy force was, so charging in head-on would be rough.
So in the end, I’d have to storm in and fight.
Goblins shoot poison arrows.
Because of [Hundred-Poison Immunity], the poison wasn’t a problem, but the arrows were a bit annoying.
“I’ll manage somehow, I guess.”
I sprinted across the grassland.
A goblin scout tried to shout something too late, but—
“Casting, Bullet, Triple.”
My magic was much faster.
—Keek!
The three shots of magic pierced cleanly through the goblins’ brows.
The scouts had failed to do their duty, but their corpses would make up for it.
It was cleaner to finish them before that.
I decided to climb the palisade straight up.
But I made a slight mistake here.
“Wait, why is this so slippery!?”
Those goblin bastards had smeared oil all over the tall palisade!
Thanks to that, my plan to climb over it in one go was ruined too.
I was planning to slip over the palisade and pick them off from the inside.
“Damn it.”
By the time I found the scouts’ bodies,
I had to come up with another method quickly.
Hmm.
But did I even need a method?
“Let’s think about it.”
I thought as I watched the goblin scout party creeping toward me.
A dozen-odd goblins and one golem.
If the scouting party was this much, there would be even more inside.
“Kieeeeeeeek!!!”
The goblins screamed all at once.
It was a scream loud enough to hurt my ears.
“Shut up, you bastards.”
I drew my sword.
This was the Tier 2 sword I’d brought to Swordmillia at the crack of dawn this morning and finished enhancing with [Enhancement Glaze].
I remembered what that old man said.
‘I don’t know where you got this oil, but it’s very high-quality! It even contains mana!’
And then he said he’d do it quickly, but it ended up taking hours.
But it was worth it.
“Kieeeek!!”
Three hulking goblins rushed me all at once.
Their muscles were so swollen they looked like bodybuilders, as if they’d mainlined steroids or something.
The goblins behind them were snickering, apparently certain of victory, and weren’t even joining the fight.
“That’s a bit much.”
For such hideous monsters to try to ravage one pitiful girl.
“You’ll have to die, right?”
My red vision lit up.
A smile naturally spread across my lips.
Love it or hate it, it had been a while since my last fight.
“Casting, Shield.”
A translucent barrier formed around me.
I slashed horizontally.
—Kkrrk!
One goblin’s head flew off and it died instantly.
I ignored another goblin’s attack and pushed forward.
—Kaaang!
Normally I would have blocked it, but with defensive magic up, there was no need.
Defensive magic worked far better than I expected.
The defensive magic lets my attacks through and blocks only the enemy’s.
No wonder it’s harder than basic attack magic.
“Gh, grk?”
Rising slash.
With a slicing sound, a long line opened across the goblin’s belly.
Hmm.
I could feel it catch on bone. It wasn’t dead yet.
Ignoring the goblin as it collapsed, I drove my sword into the heart of the one waiting for an opening behind it.
This time I pierced it properly.
“Ki, kikkek?”
I withdrew my sword and surveyed the battlefield with blood-red eyes.
The goblins were rattled.
They were now hiding behind the golem.
A body made of rock, with a core tightly hidden deep inside its thick chest.
A gigantic rock golem that walked on all fours like an orangutan.
It stepped forward like some big boss.
The rock-faced golem opened its mouth and roared.
—Kwooooooo!!!
Then the goblins seemed to regain their confidence and started chirping again.
“Aren’t you getting a little ahead of yourselves?”
What would they do if they got wiped out in one hit like that?
I was curious too.
Just how tough a golem really was.
“Should I fire one big shot?”
I gathered mana into my staff.
Golems were slow as hell anyway.
Faster than it looked, but there was still plenty of time to cast.
“Casting, Bullet, Pierce.”
The piercing enhancement spell that punched through the wall of the Level 2 practice room.
A whopping two seconds spent casting.
Light exploded.
—Kwaaaang!!
The golem’s upper body shattered to pieces.
Fragments of what had once been a golem rolled across the ground.
“Oh? It’s weaker than I thought?”
My gaze turned toward the goblins behind the pile of rocks.
The goblins all flinched at once.
The ones left were five with crossbows and five with bent swords.
“Casting Bullet, Penta.”
Five mana bullets flew out in all directions.
The five who hadn’t managed to close in died instantly.
I cast again and brought down the other five.
“Now I should probably infiltrate the other side… wait. But do I even need to do that?”
I was in perfect condition, and my mana usage was practically nothing.
Even after using magic that much.
Come to think of it, when there’s a power gap between me and my opponent, this is how I fight.
In the end, I was always the side without abilities and without mana.
I rip things apart from the inside, disrupt them, and lure them while staying just out of reach.
That was how I’d won.
“But do I even need to do that right now?”
I took out one of the five potions Isabelle had given me and drank it.
The effect was simple.
It boosts the caster’s mana beyond its maximum.
“Kya, now this is doping!”
I could feel my mana pool swelling up.
Watching the horde of goblins and golems surging toward me, I realized it.
That was probably their main force.
They’d rushed over in a hurry after seeing the scout party wiped out.
But even so, it didn’t matter.
Only five or six golems.
There were plenty of goblins, but no matter how many of those came at me, one shot would do the trick.
I realized it.
I was no longer on the weak side.
I raised my staff and shouted.
“Time to crush the weak!! Casting Bullet, Explode!!!!”
An explosive-type add-on spell.
It burns mana almost like a beginner spell, but the effect is killer.
—Kwaaaang!!
“Kieeeeeeeek!!!”
Every time I cast, goblin flesh scattered everywhere.
Will this work too?
“Casting, Bullet, Explode, Penta!!”
My staff moved on its own and spewed white light.
My mana was drained away in a rush.
—Kwakwakwakwaang!!!
“Gyaaaak!”
I was swept up in the blast’s recoil and pushed back.
Even so, I managed to keep my balance by a hair.
—Kwooooo!!!
—Kieeeek!!
I got excited and fired off a few more shots.
The goblins had become unrecognizable, and the golems were all either completely wrecked or half destroyed.
Just as I was spraying magic everywhere, a message popped up.
[Floor 4 - Floor of Golems, cleared! Check your rewards!]
I shouted while scooping up the countless magic stones scattered on the floor.
“Hahahaha!! Now this is what mana power looks like!!”
I’d wanted to try this at least once myself!
I used to envy this when other hunters were clearing Easy Mode.
Just bulldozing everything with mana or raw ability.
I couldn’t because I was short on mana.
But now I could.
“Now then, let’s take our reward.”
First, the Floor 4 reward.
I opened the shining box wide.
[Status Enhancement Selection Ticket(SR+), Observer(SR), Overclock(R)]
For now, I hurriedly pocketed the status enhancement ticket.
“Oh? Observer showed up as SR?”
[A trait has been added!]
[Observer(SR)]
You can now add party members! (Currently 0/3)
You can voice-chat remotely with party members for a set amount of time!
You can spectate party members for a set amount of time!
Hmm.
It’s a solid, well-rounded trait.
The only problem is that I don’t do party play.
Still, the description makes it seem like I can make use of it somehow.
“Next…”
[An ability has been added!]
[Overclock(R)]
Overcome the body’s limits with mana!
All stats increase by one level!
Lasts for 1 minute, and if your mana runs out or the minute passes, you fall unconscious!
“…That’s kinda iffy…”
I’m the type to run away rather than end up unconscious.
Still, I guess it means I can at least struggle against an opponent I can’t beat.
Better than having nothing, I suppose.
Still, the higher the floors go, the more worthwhile the rewards become.
I wish they’d all turn out like this.
Now all that’s left is…
[Hell Difficulty Special: Speedrun!]
[Speedrun Rank:SSS! Speedrun rewards are granted! Choose your reward!]
Seven cards appeared before my eyes.
And two new cards appeared again, bringing it to nine.
I took a look at the last batch.
I didn’t need little things like mana-boosting earrings or the Fire Demon Orb anymore.
Aura Manifestation or a staff were the only things that seemed even remotely useful…
[Red Moon Grimoire(SSR)]
What on earth is this thing actually for?
The grimoire that popped up last time.
But I got burned after previewing it, so I just chose something else.
[Would you like to preview it?]
The moment I looked at it, a message appeared.
As if it were telling me to keep reading.
No, I’m not reading that.
Last time I read it, my brain went into a groggy haze.
But thinking about it, last time I previewed it, it gave me a trait for free too.
Even though it was trash and I had no idea where to use it.
“Should I try one more time?”
I opened the book.
“Gyaaaaaaah!!”
I regretted it again.
[Too much information was input!]
[The user’s magic studies level is remarkably low! More burden than necessary is being shifted onto [The Mathematician of the Magic Circle]!]
[[The Mathematician of the Magic Circle] is entering an overloaded state! Reuse cooldown: 1 day]
[Trait [Red Moon Breathing Method(SR(4-))] has been upgraded to [Red Moon Breathing Method(SR(3-))]!]
“Eek…!”
It seems like it gave me something.
But I still don’t even know how to use that trait.
Should I keep boosting it?
But taking that along also feels like a nuisance.
For now, let’s look at the new Arcana.
[A trait has been added!]
[Observer’s Eye(SR)]
Allows you to inspect information on others and on items!
Inspecting targets above a certain level is restricted!
“Hmm. Pretty simple and good.”
Honestly, even when looking at school market items or artifacts, I need to be able to tell what’s good.
It says Tier 2 is good too, but I’m not sure.
And since we’ll probably be doing herb-finding practice in herbalism class soon, this will be a big help.
What about the second one?
[An ability has been added!]
[Riding the Wind(SR)]
Generates wind that you can ride!
Affected by weather conditions!
“A movement skill, huh…”
A movement skill was definitely a good choice.
But….
I feel like I’d find movement magic if I looked in the library.
The library had just about every kind of magic.
Hold off for now.
I chose [Observer’s Eye].
Since the card count was now eight, I finished by discarding the ridiculously useless [Drill Footwork] card.
[Speedrun bonus! HP and mana fully restored!]
“This time, let’s see how far I can climb.”
I’d finished upgrading my specs at school, so maybe now I could at least make a name for myself in the Tower.
I boldly headed for Floor 5.
[Entering Floor 5 - Boss Room.]
[Speedrun has been deactivated.]
[The Chimera Duelist awakens.]
[User’s authority over the Tower has increased. Difficulty is increasing!]
Huh.
Why are you making me nervous again?