Super Bamboo Spear: Everyone's Equal! (2)
Of course, I'm not some berserk warrior who dives headfirst into life-or-death battles without a second thought, so there's no way I'd charge into the 10th floor blind.
Before going in for real, I decided to do a quick check on what the Hardcore 10th floor had in store. Sure, now that I had my trusty Alabong, most monsters would get vaporized in one shot anyway...
"The 10th floor is a boss fight, and once you clear it and climb up, you can only move between floors 11 to 20 from then on, right?"
From the various posts I'd seen before, this was my last chance to freely go back and forth between floors 1 to 10 due to the Tower's mechanics. So, to prepare for any contingencies, I needed to scout ahead.
And that's how I spent about an hour digging through the Hunter community forums, gathering intel.
The Hardcore 10th floor boss is an Orc Great Warrior, but thanks to Hardcore mode, it's not your average one—think tribal chieftain level. For climbers tackling floor 10, that's roughly top-tier B-Rank to low A-Rank by Management Bureau standards, so watch out ^^
Weapons are completely random, but it's a pro at wielding them. It always carries the Turtle Shell Shield from floor 9, so don't forget that ^^
The structure from here on mirrors the early 1-10 floors, so take note. If you can't handle the 10th floor boss, you won't clear the mid-bosses later—straight-up impossible. Don't try weird strats; go for the clean, frontal assault.
"Got it."
For low-tier(?) hunters like me, ExplainerMan's walls of text—minus the earache—were like rain in a drought. The 10th floor boss was meant to make you feel the difficulty spike.
I held a moment of silence for the poor anon who baited out even more details, then shoved the Eye-Opening Flowers I'd chewed up on floor 5 (and stashed in the fridge ever since) into the pockets of my Wanderer's Coat from floor 9.
I also slapped 50 rounds into each weapon that had burned through its Infinite Magazine ammo. Full prep done, I popped one Eye-Opening Flower and chewed it to mush as I stepped into floor 10.
And obviously, thanks to ExplainerMan, I knew exactly what boss awaited on floor 10.
The moment I entered, swirls of light gathered like a magical girl transformation...
Hardcore Difficulty Floor 10 - Boss Battle Entry!
Objective: Eliminate the Boss Monster
Thud! With that curt message, about 40-50 meters away, just like the post described: a massive turtle shell shield, and a musclebound Orc Great Warrior hefting a spear that looked short but perfect for thrusting or swinging.
"Kreeeek!"
"No talk, first strike wins!!"
The instant I spotted the boss, it locked eyes on me, bellowing its guttural orc roar.
I swallowed the mushy Eye-Opening Flower and leveled my mounted Alabong, finger on the trigger.
But even rotten fish have their merits—this thing wasn't hyped for nothing. The orc, who shouldn't even know what an RPG was, saw the flaming trail streaking toward it...
Instead of blocking with its shield for a safe 1-damage-2-health trade, it gripped its spear, hurled it like a pro, and intercepted the warhead mid-flight. Dead-on hit, too.
Too bad for the orc: this wasn't some ancient RPG-7. Modern anti-tank rocket, impact fuse unfazed by a spear...
BOOOOM!!
"Whoa."
The spear clipped the warhead, and it erupted in a spectacular fireworks show.
My first-strike gambit flopped, but the orc's only weapon got shredded on impact. Tough spear or not, the blast charred it black; it crumbled to ash on the ground like brittle charcoal.
I watched the orc's eyes shake as it stared at the wreckage.
But it was still a Hardcore 10th floor boss—S to A-Rank hunters called it "chieftain-tier" for a reason. It quickly hardened its gaze with murderous intent...
Whoosh! Thud!
"Oh? Oho?!"
"KREEEEEK!!!"
It slammed its shield down assertively, then charged me shield-first in a brutal body slam—straight-up shield tackle.
Distance saved my ass; I barely dodged. But its full-speed rush pulverized a log thicker than my waist in an instant.
"Whoa..."
It blew its weapon early due to bad judgment, but this proved its physical prowess could mince a normie like ground meat.
No room for cocky close-range bullshit. I yanked out a machine gun to hose it down.
But mid-dodge, a plan clicked.
Alabong warhead was reloading, couldn't fire yet. But like on floor 9, machine guns and Wilson could crack the shield eventually.
Instead of going straight Wilson and Vladimir, I mounted 7.62mm and 5.56mm LMGs first.
Then summoned two more LMGs—one in each hand, dual akimbo style—and unloaded a bullet storm.
It'd turtle behind the shield, thinking, "That first thing was nasty, but these peashooters can't touch me."
With its speed, dodging Alabong might let it close in. So, bait complacency with small-arms fire until the shield shrugs off pistol rounds like nothing.
Then whip out Wilson and Vladimir to turn its meaty ass into ground beef.