Chapter 8
“Kyaaaaaah!!!!!!!!!”
Clink! Clang!
I threw the scythe away.
“I can't, I can't…”
There was no way I could.
How could I cut my own throat while in my right mind?
I was too arrogant.
No one could do this while in their right mind.
And I was relatively sane.
“Okay. Fine. I admit it. I'm not that far gone.”
The gallery members kept hyping me up, and I almost got carried away, but I was a long way from being some eccentric lunatic.
My creed had been safety from the very beginning.
I mustn't forget the original reason I wanted to climb rapidly past Floor 100.
I hadn't skipped training and sped up my climb because I was a speed freak, but to avoid the hero.
‘…Hmm.’
‘Being of sound mind… safety, huh.’
“…!”
An idea flashed through my mind.
A situation in which I wasn't in my right mind.
Pursuing safety.
I thought of something where those two things lined up.
'Would it work?'
I wrote a post.
______
Title: But, What If…
Author: ㅇㅇ(9F)
It seemed like something I could use in a fight.
If I kill myself and go to the Reaper realm…couldn't I use it as an 'invincibility move'?
If I decapitate myself first when the opponent attacks, wouldn't their attack be nullified?
Once I wake up after obtaining the instant-death ability, couldn't I kill the enemy right in front of me, too?
What do you think?
_____
[Comments]
ㅇㅇ(412F) : What kind of headache-inducing nonsense is this, newbie…
ㅇㅇ(331F) : At least he didn't die, thank god lol
ㅇㅇ(351F) : Look at that imagination lol
ㅇㅇ(338F) : Why the hell are you trying to do circus tricks? LMAOOOO
ㅇㅇ(431F) : You mean right before a monster kills you?
ㄴ ㅇㅇ(9F)(Author) : Yeah.
ㄴ ㅇㅇ(431F) : You think that'll work?
ㄴ ㅇㅇ(710F) : How about learning regular black magic even now? The Reaper race's curriculum is fucking brutal.
______
‘Wouldn't work?’
Just as I was thinking that, Teacher left a comment.
ㄴCaptain Death Note : …It is possible.
ㄴCaptain Death Note : How astonishing… You have awakened to Death's End (死絶境) on your own.
ㄴ ㅇㅇ(710F) : There she goes with the talent-monster moves again lol
ㄴ ㅇㅇ(621F) : Why is a Reaper who hasn't even learned an instant-death ability inventing techniques already? LMAOOOOOO
What could Death's End be?
Teacher continued explaining.
ㄴCaptain Death Note : Death's End is a secret art of the Reaper race developed by one of the primordial Reapers. It can nullify an enemy's attack for an instant.
It was exactly what I had thought of.
It was amazing that it was already an existing technique. I guess there really is no such thing as an entirely original idea.
Teacher continued.
ㄴ Captain Death Note : However, that technique cannot be used repeatedly.
ㄴ Captain Death Note : The amount of time one can remain in the Reaper realm grows shorter with each visit. There is a greater chance that your opponent's attack will still be in progress when you awaken.
ㄴ Captain Death Note : In other words, it becomes harder to use each time.
ㄴCaptain Death Note : That is why most Reapers who relied on Death's End met miserable ends.
ㄴ Captain Death Note : There was a reason I did not tell you about it. Ignorance is bliss when it comes to Death's End.
ㄴ ㅇㅇ(9F)(Author) : Ah… I see.
Suicide invincibility.
The technique called ‘Death's End’ that I had thought of seemed to have addictive properties, like a drug.
'That makes sense…'
Once you used a ridiculously overpowered technique called an invincibility move, you'd keep wanting to use it.
But eventually, the shortened invincibility window would get me killed twice over.
It was just as I had accepted that and resigned myself to it.
ㄴ Captain Death Note : However, I will permit you to use Death's End.
ㄴ ㅇㅇ(341F) : ???
ㄴ ㅇㅇ(9F)(Author) : Huh? I'm allowed to use it?
Permission I hadn't even expected had come back to me.
Why?
ㄴ Captain Death Note : It is said that even now, the Reaper who first devised Death's End makes frequent use of it.
ㄴ Captain Death Note : In other words, Death's End belongs not to those who learn it but to those who awaken to it.
ㄴ Captain Death Note : The fact that you reached it on your own means you already possess the vessel to bear its price.
ㄴ Captain Death Note : Therefore, I will not stop you.
I was dumbfounded.
I had received permission, but it still felt like a forbidden technique, so I was intimidated.
But.
“Killing myself without anesthetic is scarier.”
Either way, I couldn't decapitate myself while in my right mind.
It was something possible only on the brink of death.
ㄴ ㅇㅇ(574F) : That's fucking sweet, then. From now on, just fire it off whenever you get stuck lol
I saw Floor 574's comment too.
ㄴ ㅇㅇ(574F) : Guess you should mix in Senses from now on, too. You need to react to an attack to kill yourself.
ㄴ Captain Death Note : Senses, you say. I agree. You will need it for black magic later as well.
Yeah.
This was the first time I'd seen these two agree.
The comment section reacted the same way.
ㄴㅇㅇ(731F) : What the hell happened all of a sudden? Why are these bastards forming an alliance? This is no fun, keep fighting.
ㄴ Knowing the Leisure of a Cup of Tea : It's nice to see. Keep getting along. ^^
The policy had been decided.
1. Keep climbing the tower as I am.
2. Kill myself when it looks like I'll lose.
3. Obtain the instant-death ability and escape the crisis.
The problem was that No. 2 seemed a little difficult to pull off, but that was only a problem if I got greedy.
It wasn't like I had to play aggro ping-pong like in a game, nor did I need to wait until I had 1 HP left before attempting suicide.
If I could tell I was going to lose just by looking at their face, I could cut myself down.
I'd try it at a relaxed, safe moment.
‘Though saying “kill myself safely” does sound a little strange…’
Anyway, now no one could stop me.
“I'm going full throttle until I park at Floor 100.”
I wrote one last post.
______
Title: I'll Keep Doing Promotion Matches Until I Hit a Wall
Author: ㅇㅇ(9F)
It's a combo of an instant-death ability and an invincibility move, so I don't think there's anything to be afraid of.
But how should I allocate my stats?
[Comments]
ㅇㅇ(574F) : Put 1 point into Senses every time you level up.
Captain Death Note : From now on, distribute one point each to Magic Power, Intelligence, and Senses.
ㄴ ㅇㅇ(9F)(Author) : Do I not need to increase Strength and Agility?
ㄴ ㅇㅇ(574F) : Don't. You need to use black magic after obtaining the instant-death ability.
ㄴ ㅇㅇ(431F) : Looks like you got hooked on the Strength-Agility-Senses high, going on about it lol
___
The stat points gained upon leveling up were 3.
1 to Magic Power, 1 to Senses, and 1 to Intelligence.
I committed it firmly to memory.
ㅇㅇ(9F) : I'll be going now.
ㄴ Captain Death Note : Take care of yourself.
ㄴ ㅇㅇ(433F) : Take care of yourself (from the guy who recommended suicide)
I closed the hologram and headed for the next floor.
“Apply for a promotion match.”
The staircase descended.
The long-awaited Floor 10.
It begins.
Creakkk-
With a heavy grinding sound, the door to Floor 10 opened.
In the center of the floor.
[Defender: Skeleton (Floor 10)]
There stood a skeleton clutching a battered greatsword.
‘Finally, a real monster.’
Clack.
The skeleton clacked its jawbone and raised its greatsword.
“Oh.”
It was different from the insignificant creatures before.
It had taken a stance for battle.
As I admired it, it began to charge.
Swish.
The greatsword of the creature that kicked off the floor covered my field of vision as it came crashing down toward the crown of my head.
Fast.
But.
I'm faster.
Kaaaang-!
I twisted the scythe's handle and knocked the greatsword off course.
My wrist tingled slightly.
For a pile of bones, it packed a fair bit of strength.
But I was the superior version.
I wasn't just bones…
Swoosh-!
I had muscles, too.
I slipped into the opening left by the deflected greatsword and spun my body.
The scythe blade, loaded with centrifugal force, rushed toward the skeleton's waist.
Thwack!
Crack!
With a splitting sound, the skeleton's upper and lower halves separated and shot up into the air.
The bones that fell to the floor crumbled helplessly.
One hit.
It was still completely an early-game monster.
The power of the Strength and Agility stats I'd stacked through Floor 5 was still effective.
[Successfully defeated the Skeleton of Floor 10]
[By winning the duel against the master of the floor, you become the master of this floor.]
[You have received 900G as a promotion reward!]
[Level up! Lv. 9 → Lv. 10]
[You have gained 3 stat points!]
I opened the stat allocation window.
[Magic Power has increased by 1.]
[Intelligence has increased by 1.]
[Senses has increased by 1.]
It was a contradictory allocation.
Since I wasn't using a single spell or skill right now.
But it didn't matter, since everything hinged on the late game.
I slung the scythe over my shoulder and headed for the next staircase.
Floor 11.
Floor 12.
Floor 13.
Still one-hit kills.
The pattern repeated: cutting them down with the gap in our innate stats.
Every time the door opened and closed, monster remains were scattered.
[Level up! Lv. 12 → Lv. 13]
[You have gained 3 stat points!]
[Magic Power has increased by 1.]
[Intelligence has increased by 1.]
[Senses has increased by 1.]
“Oh?”
When I raised Senses for the fourth time, I experienced my vision opening up.
It felt as though sounds and signs of presence had become clearer.
In terms of how it felt, it came after Strength.
On the other hand, I still couldn't feel any effect from Intelligence or Magic Power.
“These bastards better earn their keep later…?”
With that hope in mind, I climbed the tower.
“Apply for a promotion match.”
And so, my footsteps climbing the tower without hesitation were…
[Defender: Mini Stone Golem (Floor 20)]
greatly delayed after I opened the door to Floor 20.
“Oh, come on, seriously…”
Thud! Thud!
A golem made of enormous chunks of rock slammed its fists down.
It was slow.
Its trajectory was obvious to my eyes now.
But its durability was the problem.
Clang! Clink! Clang-clang!
I battered it mercilessly with my scythe, but sparks flew and it did not get cut.
“Die! Just die!”
Boom!
I decided to strike its joints and focused relentlessly on that one spot.
Even so, it wasn't easy.
Boom!
I jumped lightly again to avoid the golem's stomp, then shoved my scythe into the gap between the rocks at its knee joint.
Another failure.
Even though the golem was slow, it was difficult to target the gap in the joints of something moving in real time.
It was probably because my Agility stat wasn't that high.
But this was my only option.
I swung the scythe without stopping.
Scritch.
“Success!”
At last, the weak point in the joint was torn away, and the golem dropped to one knee.
That revealed the back of its head.
“Is that its core?”
I leaped up onto it and brought the scythe straight down toward its head.
Kwoooom-!
The enormous rock shattered into pieces and transformed into a cube.
[Successfully defeated the Stone Golem of Floor 20]
[By winning the duel against the master of the floor, you become the master of this floor.]
[You have received 1,900G as a promotion reward!]
[Level up! Lv. 19 → Lv. 20]
[You have gained 3 stat points!]
Stat allocation.
[Magic Power has increased by 1.]
[Intelligence has increased by 1.]
[Senses has increased by 1.]
“Huff… huff…”
I sank down onto the floor and breathed heavily.
It wasn't dangerous. I hadn't been in danger of taking even one hit.
But it had taken far too long.
It was the first time I had expended stamina.
“Sweat?”
The frilled dress clung heavily to me.
After resting enough, I stood up again.
“I'm going farther.”
Floor 21.
Floor 22.
Floor 23.
[Level up! Lv. 20 → Lv. 21]
[Level up! Lv. 21 → Lv. 22]
[Level up! Lv. 22 → Lv. 23]
A relentless advance.
And then Floor 24.
[Defender: Orc (Floor 24)]
“Oh… I might die here?”
A creature that suddenly looked much stronger appeared.
A brown-skinned orc.
The moment it saw me, it charged while swinging an ax.
“You're slow when you run, huh?”
From outside its attack range, I swung my scythe toward the back of its neck.
Slaaash-!
Its head should have flown off right then.
“Huh?”
Blood splattered, but I hadn't cut through the bone.
‘It didn't die?’
At last, the effectiveness of the Strength and Agility stats I'd gone all-in on at the start was wearing off.
Gwaaaar!
The orc roared and brought its ax down.
I retreated sharply and struck up under its jaw with the scythe's handle.
Taking advantage of its stagger, I slashed its neck once more.
Scritch.
Two attacks.
The orc slammed into the floor and collapsed.
“I'm finally getting some impact…”
I was no longer killing them in one combo.
But it wasn't time to kill myself yet.
I didn't feel my life was in danger.
The problem was that my fatigue had skyrocketed to a degree incomparable to the previous floors.
‘The Vitality stat wasn't even mentioned…’
I couldn't put points into anything else.
In the end, right after I opened the door to Floor 25 and cut down the monster.
[Successfully defeated the Red Wolf of Floor 25]
..
.
.
After allocating my stats, I collapsed.
I sprawled flat on my back on the marble floor of Floor 25.
Lying there, I turned on the hologram.
I took a picture and checked my stats.
___
[Status]
Race: Reaper (死神)
Floors: 25
Level: 25
Condition: Fatigue
Strength: 18
Agility: 23
Vitality: 7
Intelligence: 43 (▲16)
Senses: 38 (▲16)
Magic Power: 32 (▲16)
Luck: 9
Defense: 3
Magic Defense: 13
Remaining Stat Points: 0
Trait: Unawakened
Skills: None
Weapon: Death Scythe
___
“I really did raise them a lot…”
I felt proud.
But ‘Condition’ said Fatigue.
“Ugh…”
Only after seeing that diagnosis did my muscles begin screaming as if they had been waiting for permission.
I didn't even have the strength to twitch a finger.
My vision grew hazy.
“The gallery… I have to tell them before I sleep….”
I raised my heavy arm and tried to summon a hologram in the air.
My fingertips, hovering in the air, dropped limply to the floor.
My heavy eyelids closed.
***
Slurp!