Chapter 62
[Defender: King Centipede (101F)]
A gigantic body. Countless grotesque legs.
“That's right.”
The giant centipede. It was one of the gallery's monsters.
Sssshaaak-!
<Intruderrr…>
A metallic sound leaked from its mouth.
It was speaking a language. Clearly, it was different from the monsters below Floor 100.
“I'm not an intruder. I'm an inspector. Has an intruder ever come here?”
Thinking I had nothing to lose, I tried the method I'd used on Treasure Keeper.
But.
Sssshisssik!
The answer came in the form of an attack.
“Barang, dodge!”
<Krrrraaang-!>
Barang flapped his wings, shot into the air, and evaded the charge.
Just as the gallery users had said, it didn't seem interested in talking. They'd said it wasn't very communicative, either.
This seemed normal. Just how unusual had Treasure Keeper been?
‘They said fire was its weakness.’
Normally, I would have avoided burning the corpse, since I needed to preserve it as much as possible for the Blood Spirit Tea Ceremony, but I had not the slightest intention of turning this centipede into an undead.
‘I really don't want to drink centipede juice…’
Sssshisssik-!
It moved what looked like hundreds of legs and crawled up the wall.
I made use of my divided consciousness.
I stretched out both hands and simultaneously drew two magic circles in midair.
‘Fire Wall!’
‘Fire Wall!’
Fwoooosh-!
Fwoooosh-!
Two huge walls of fire surged up toward either side of the ceiling, blocking the centipede's escape routes.
<Kieeeek!>
Startled by the heat, it fell.
I didn't miss the opening.
I used double-casting once again.
‘Fireball!’
‘Fireball!’
Fwooooom-!!
Two huge spheres of flame slammed into the centipede's head.
“Kyaaaargh!!!”
With a death cry, its carapace began to burn away and turn to ash.
[101st-floor King Centipede defeated]
[Promotion reward: 10,000G acquired!]
[Experience acquired.]
It was easy. Having its weakness listed in the strategy guide made things convenient.
Though I probably could have handled it with just my scythe.
It was my first time fighting one of the gallery's monsters, so I'd tried exploiting its known weakness.
I jumped down from Barang's back and approached the wall, smoke billowing from it.
I adjusted my grip on the scythe.
It was time to check whether the 101st-floor wall was normal.
I brought the scythe down hard against the wall.
KWA-AAAAAANG-!
“……”
The result was exactly the same as before.
The marble surface was deeply gouged, but the wall known as the first layer was untouched.
A dark-gray cross-section.
It was the ‘fourth layer’ the gallery users had mentioned.
“...”
Before the centipede's corpse disappeared, I took a picture of it together with the wall.
And posted a thread on the gallery.
______
Title: Conclusion Reached.
Author: ㅇㅇ(101F)
{A photo capturing the marble-gouged wall and the corpse of the giant centipede burned to death in one shot}
The wall is dark gray, just like on the 100th floor.
The monster was the same as in the gallery's information.
Looks like it really is a different tower…
______
I hit refresh.
[Comments]
Fenrir : …What the hell is going on??
ㅇㅇ(279F) : It was weird from the start that only Newbie started on Floor 1. The irregularity began back then anyway.
ㄴ ㅇㅇ(487F) : Still, thank goodness the monster's the same.
ㄴ ㅇㅇ(751F) : It's fine as long as only the monsters are the same.
ㄴ ㅇㅇ(267F) : No, that's the problem—the guarantee that they'll keep being the same is gone now lolololololol
ㄴ ㅇㅇ(643F) : Exactly. Feels like things might get tangled up somewhere along the way;;
ㄴ ㅇㅇ(566F) : For real, that's the problem. Are you idiots?
There was concern that, later on, a monster not listed in the strategy guide, or monsters appearing in a different order, might pop up.
But.
These facts didn't feel all that bewildering to me.
ㅇㅇ(101F)(Author) : I haven't fought monsters based on gallery information so far, so it's fine…
ㄴ ㅇㅇ(605F) : Either way, you won't really be at a disadvantage lololol
ㄴ ㅇㅇ(397F) : What a trooper.
If you asked whether this was troublesome, naturally it was.
But I had to add, ‘As if this is anything new.’
Starting on Floor 1. Intruders appearing. Encountering an unidentified giant hand.
I had always been experiencing things different from the gallery users.
It had been one strange experience after another from the start.
‘A slightly different tower wall is nothing.’
Deciding to think of it that way and let it go, I asked Sword Venerable Jihee.
ㄴ ㅇㅇ(101F)(Author) : Sword Venerable Jihee, does this mean I can't train by breaking walls for the time being?
ㄴ Sword Venerable Jihee : …That is so. At present, the only thing you can break is exceedingly soft marble.
‘Isn't marble plenty hard…?’
ㄴ ㅇㅇ(101F)(Author) : Then what should I do?
ㄴ Sword Venerable Jihee : If it isn't walls, there is one thing you can break. Train by cutting and tearing apart the monsters.
“Ah.”
There were about 900 things waiting above me to cut down.
ㄴ Sword Venerable Jihee : Given the circumstances, we shall omit the test. Let us replace it with training by cutting down the tower's monsters until you can break a fourth-layer wall with your scythe.
ㄴ ㅇㅇ(324F) : So she's telling you to keep doing promotion matches lolololololol
ㄴ ㅇㅇ(549F) : Is this really okay? lololol
ㄴ ㅇㅇ(369F) : If you kill them with a scythe, they get banned from reviving. Is that really okay?
ㄴ Fenrir : It should be fine in the early 100s… They're weak anyway.
‘Oh…?’
It was quite interesting that the regular who had always tried to stop me from climbing had changed their position.
They seemed to place enormous importance on the difference between having monster information and not having it.
The reason we'd had to be cautious until now was that we didn't know what monster would appear on the next floor.
ㄴ ㅇㅇ(397F) : Your climbing speed is fucking insane;
ㄴ ㅇㅇ(643F) : We should start getting used to it too, yeah. We climbed 100 floors in a week, so stop making such a fuss~
ㄴ ㅇㅇ(249F) : Why is this bastard acting so smug when he's not even climbing the tower?
ㄴ ㅇㅇ(643F) : He's level 120 now and has acquired two artifacts from Floor 100, so there's nothing to fear for a while, yeah.
ㄴ ㅇㅇ(249F) : That's true…
Opinions were coalescing around continuing with the promotion matches.
ㄴ Sword Venerable Jihee : However, before that, you must lay the foundation for handling a scythe, so read carefully the forms and formulas I am posting now. And be sure to apply them in your next battle.
ㄴ Sword Venerable Jihee : Magic is forbidden from this point on. Fight using weapons alone.
ㄴ ㅇㅇ(324F) : Excuse me?
ㄴ Seol Harin : Good grief. Who do you think you are to ban magic?
ㄴ ㅇㅇ(312F) : Banning magic seems a little dangerous.
ㄴ ㅇㅇ(461F) : It's fine; Newbie has Wrath of the Sun God.
ㄴ ㅇㅇ(643F) : Newbie isn't an idiot; he'll use it when things get dangerous.
ㄴ ㅇㅇ(236F) : For real lol. You think Newbie won't use it just because Sword Venerable Jihee said ‘banned’ lol?
ㄴ Fenrir : If a monster different from the strategy guide appears, you have to fight at full power immediately.
ㄴ ㅇㅇ(101F)(Author) : Of course.
After that, I checked the post Sword Venerable Jihee had uploaded.
[Title: The Five Forms of Hooked Sickle Art (鉤鎌術) and Moon-Wheel Scythe Art (月輪鎌法).]
‘Whoa…’
The title alone looked like a formidable barrier to entry.
I steeled myself and clicked the post.
The introduction was her self-introduction, which I was hearing for the first time.
______
Title: The Five Forms of Hooked Sickle Art (鉤鎌術) and Moon-Wheel Scythe Art (月輪鎌法).
Author: Sword Venerable Jihee
I came here from a world called Murim.
Over the long years, I have devoted my time to discerning which martial arts accord with the principles of this Demon King's Tower and which do not, then refining and practicing only the techniques that work in this world.
What my homeland called ‘qi (氣)’ had been replaced here by something called ‘mana.’
You already wield that mana freely, so it is no different from having fully formed your dantian and opened all the meridians throughout your body.
Therefore, we can omit basic conditioning, and I shall immediately pass on the forms.
First, combat techniques using a scythe are called Hooked Sickle Art.
Among the various sickle arts, the one best suited to a large, curved weapon like your scythe is Moon-Wheel Scythe Art.
It was given that name because the scythe's curved blade resembles a crescent moon, and its trajectory forms a moon.
I shall pass on these five forms to you.
…
..
.
______
I slowly read through the post.
My impression was.
‘…It's incredibly specific yet simple…’
It was overly detailed, down to the angle of the elbow and the relative speed of each segmented movement, making it difficult to understand at a glance, but once organized, there wasn't much to it.
A downward slash, a horizontal slash, an upward slash, a block, and a combination.
In the end, they were just those movements.
Because of that, I couldn't really feel that doing them would make me stronger.
In the end, it was just swinging a scythe.
That was also why I was puzzled.
I couldn't tell how they were supposed to activate.
Beneath the movement descriptions was an explanation called a formula, which sounded important, but it was so abstract that it would have been better omitted.
So I asked a question, but.
ㄴ ㅇㅇ(101F) : Does an effect or something appear when it activates?
ㄴ Sword Venerable Jihee : One action is worth a hundred explanations.
That was all I got in reply, like something a martial-arts-novel master would say.
“…I guess I have to try it first.”
After downing a fatigue-recovery potion, I headed upstairs.
*
[Defender: Kardok (102F)]
A demon-type monster with bat wings and horns.
<Intruderrrr!!! Die!!!>
The monsters in the 100s seemed to judge me as an intruder by default.
‘I do look human…’
It seemed Treasure Keeper's intellect was exceptional, since it had recognized me as a demon the moment it saw me.
The necessary condition for becoming stronger through training seemed to be related to intelligence, after all.
I stopped thinking and got down from Barang.
I gripped my scythe and stood directly in front of the monster.
Swoooosh-!
It immediately charged toward me.
Shaaaak-!
It crossed the spikes on both arms and slammed them down.
Tap-!
I dodged to the side.
And at the instant it brushed past me, I rotated my waist and thrust out the scythe.
“Second Form: Half-Moon.”
Though I called it that, it was merely a large horizontal slash.
I tried it for the first time.
Swoooosh-!
Its wings and torso were severed cleanly as one and slammed into the floor.
It was easy.
‘So this was the physical stats…’
It was the moment I once again felt the power of the Strength and Sensory stats.
[102nd-floor Kardok defeated]
But a question arose.
‘Did the form activate…?’
I wasn't certain.
*
The 103rd floor, then the 104th.
I performed the movements in sequence and cut down the monsters.
Shrrrk-!
Fortunately, none of the monsters that appeared differed from the gallery's information.
‘Even though I'm only using my scythe, it feels easier…’
Knowing what would appear definitely reduced the burden of entering battle.
*
The 105th floor.
[Defender: Elite Ghoul Knight (105F)]
<Who are youuu!!!>
A knight-shaped demon charged at me, swinging a rusty longsword.
Ka-gang!
“First Form: Falling Moon!”
A downward slash.
Swoooosh-!
I dispatched it in an instant again.
But.
‘…Am I really performing it correctly?’
I still couldn't tell.
I was imitating the movements Sword Venerable Jihee had taught me, but it was unclear what exactly was happening.
As expected, unlike magic, it wasn't showing whether it had activated through an effect.
I couldn't distinguish whether the form had activated and the technique was taking effect, or whether I had simply cut it down.
‘It would be nice if I could at least tell whether I'd performed the movement accurately.’
With my current Agility stat, the movement ended in an instant, so I couldn't be certain of my own movements.
‘Maybe I'll get the feel for it if I keep doing it…’
For now, I headed to the 106th floor.
[Defender: Granite Targion (106F)]
A giant made entirely of black stone.
It was a typical heavily armored tank monster.
It brought its fist down like a hammer.
It was hurtling toward my head, but it looked incredibly slow.
In that case, there was a movement I could try.
“Fourth Form: Veiled Moon.”
The only defensive technique.
It was a movement that raised the scythe's shaft and covered my entire body with the scythe's broad side.
“Ghk…”
Ka-ga-ga-gang-!
Sparks flew as the blow glanced off.
Clatter-
Even though my Strength stat was over 100, the impact traveled through my body.
This form had clearly not activated.
And it seemed Wrath of the Sun God had narrowly failed to activate as well.
There was no real tension because of Wrath of the Sun God.
It looked dangerous, but it wasn't dangerous at all.
When things were truly dangerous, Wrath of the Sun God or Time God's Oblivion would activate.
“First Form: Falling Moon.”
Swoooosh-!
I then switched to offense, drove the scythe into a gap in its thick rocky carapace, and split it in two.
Thud!
[106th-floor Granite Targion defeated]
I headed to the 107th floor.
*
Kki-gi-gik-
[Defender: Shade Specter (107F)]
An assassin-type monster wielding twin swords. Just as described in the gallery's information.
Ssshhk-
As soon as the door closed, it disappeared into the darkness.
I wasn't flustered.
I knew it had a stealth skill.
With the heightened senses from a Sensory stat of 100, I felt out the airflow around me.
Sssshk-!
Behind me.
<Die!!>
Its twin swords flew toward the nape of my neck, crossing over each other.
I hurriedly twisted my body.
“Fourth Form: Veiled Moon.”
I tried the defensive movement once again.
But because my movement was awkward, I was a beat too slow.
“Gah…”
Before I could properly raise the scythe's shaft, the twin blades came rushing in—
At that moment.
Beeeep-iiiiiing-!
It was followed by a sound like ringing in my ears.
My vision turned bluish.
And then, for an instant, I heard a sound like a pendulum swinging.
At an incredibly slow tempo.
Tick
.
.
.
.
Clack-!
The trajectory of the flying twin swords became like something from a high-speed camera.
Even a tiny speck of dust appeared to be suspended in midair.
[Time God's Oblivion]
Stretches out time immediately before being hit.
The artifact had activated.
This had activated before Wrath of the Sun God.
“……”
Within the stretched-out time, I slowly tracked the trajectory of the twin swords with my eyes.
‘I can dodge it if I move in closer…’
Judging that, I instead stepped toward it.
“…!”
It was incredibly slow.
A sensation similar to running in a dream.
But it was steady.
Each bundle of muscles and every joint in my legs moved according to my commands.
Once I had fully closed the distance and escaped its attack range.
Tick
.
.
.
.
Clack!
Time returned to its normal speed, and.
At that same moment, I.
“Third Form: Moonrise.”
I slashed the scythe upward from within its guard.
Swoooooosh-
Blood sprayed into the air.
[107th-floor Shade Specter defeated]
I exhaled while looking at its corpse.
I clutched my head.
“This is crazy… No, this…”
First, I had to calm my excitement.
Because I had realized two things.
Time God's Oblivion.
“Underwhelming? This??”
A hollow laugh escaped me.
SSS-Rank Item Abuser had definitely said this about Time God's Oblivion.
- It may feel underwhelming. You will only feel as though your Sensory stat has risen slightly just before you are hit.
That was impossible.
There was no way I could call this feeling underwhelming.
It was absurd.
“Is this what counts as underwhelming to someone at Floor 800 or above…?”
…From my perspective, it felt almost like I had become a god.
Once again, I realized just how weak I was.
And the second thing.
‘…If I use Time God's Oblivion, I think I can properly learn the movements.’
That thought occurred to me.
When time had stretched out, I had been given enough time to issue commands to every muscle bundle.
If I could swing the scythe in that moment.
I felt I could accurately reproduce the movements required by the forms.
And I had a skill that could make that possible.
“Let's give it a try.”