Chapter 6
Chapter 6
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 6
Chapter Title: Labyrinth Conquest Starting from the 50th Floor (2)
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You could’ve just told me!
I had the feeling he was deliberately messing with me, but I pushed the thought aside and had no choice but to roll away from the incoming fist.
*CRASH—*
With a thunderous roar, the spot where I’d been standing caved in.
If I’d been even a little slower, I would have been turned into a pancake.
—When Berserker Mode activates, its strength and speed increase. In exchange, its defense drops even further, so it’s not all bad.
Not all bad, my ass.
It could already slice through my arm like tofu; what difference does its defense dropping even more make?
The werewolf’s eyes were completely crimson, and a red aura was now flowing from its entire body.
*Grrrrr—*
It growled, glaring fiercely at me. It seemed it couldn’t speak in its berserker state.
As it charged at me once more, I narrowly dodged and swung my sword, but unfortunately, it seemed it wouldn’t fall for the same trick twice.
*Swish—*
Instead, its claws caught my clothes… no, it wasn’t just my clothes. My arm stung.
A quick glance revealed beads of blood welling up.
“What’s the point of its defense getting lower?”
—Well, you have a point there. But it’s not so fast that you can’t react, is it? Your previous attempt was pretty decent.
Ugh. I felt like talking to him further would be pointless, so I gripped my sword with both hands.
I had managed to dodge somehow until now, but honestly, I didn’t know how much longer I could keep it up.
I felt like it wasn’t just skill, but a bit of luck too.
Its stamina was likely far greater than mine, so time wasn’t on my side either.
The only thing I could trust right now was my legendary weapon.
They say the best defense is a good offense, after all.
The werewolf, which had been circling me, looking for an opening, charged again.
Its fist was aimed at my shoulder.
The motion was large, and I thought I could easily dodge it, but that was a miscalculation.
The werewolf’s claws extended, embedding themselves in my shoulder.
*Stab—*
The sensation of them digging into my bone.
A tsunami of pain washed over me, but I gritted my teeth and endured it.
My right arm was powerless, but with my remaining hand, I sliced off its arm.
“I’m left-handed, you wolf bastard!”
*Slice—*
The arm was severed, but its claws were still lodged in my shoulder, and the pain was relentless.
But I couldn’t make the same mistake twice.
Sacrifice the flesh to take the bone.
I kept my teeth clenched so hard I could taste blood, but I paid it no mind and swung my sword once more.
Aiming for its neck.
*Slice—Thud—*
[You have defeated the Gold Lycanthrope.]
[First Kill Achievement Reward for Gold Lycanthrope: Agility +2]
[You have leveled up.]
[You have leveled up.]
…
[You have leveled up.]
Perhaps because I had killed a high-level monster, the level-up notifications appeared endlessly.
I think there was an achievement in there somewhere, but I was in no state to check properly.
Unfortunately, it seemed Elsia didn’t have a feature where your wounds healed upon leveling up.
The pain grew worse, the world turned yellow, and I felt dizzy…
—I thought it would be difficult for you, but this is unexpected. You’ve got spirit. You’re not without your problems, but at this rate, you might be worth teaching.
****
—You’re holding your own against three of them now, huh? Shall we increase the number?
“What do you mean, holding my own? I’m dying here, so cut the crap.”
I said that, but I actually had some breathing room.
If I hadn’t, I wouldn’t have been able to talk in the first place.
When I faced that first Gold Lycanthrope and my eyes started to close, I really thought I was going to die.
But when I woke up, the claws in my shoulder were gone, and the wound had healed cleanly as if it had never been there.
Apparently, that guy Bio had healed me. I never knew he had healing abilities.
Seeing things like this, I guess a Mythic-grade is a Mythic-grade. That was good news, but…
I never imagined that this esteemed Mythic-grade companion of mine would break his promise to return to the 1st floor after I killed one and would instead keep summoning monsters on the 50th floor.
*Stab—*
Dodging the claws of the lycanthrope in front, I advanced and plunged my sword into its chest.
*Slice—*
As I slashed upward, it collapsed, spewing a fountain of blood.
The other two, already in their berserker states, were still swinging their claws at me, but I had anticipated it.
*Shhlick—*
I leaned back slightly, intending to cleanly sever the claws of both, but unfortunately, I only got one.
*Shhlick—*
But since I’d also taken the head of the one that lost its claws, there was only one left.
[You have leveled up.]
Leveling up is good.
This one was a bit stronger than the others, so it lasted a little longer than expected, but its defeat was only a matter of time.
I quickly gathered the loot, put it in my inventory, and sat down to rest when Bio appeared with a presence.
“This won’t do.”
What now? Why is he making me anxious again?
“What won’t?”
“You are relying far too much on me right now. And on your weapon.”
He hadn’t lifted a finger to help, but he wasn’t wrong.
I didn’t know because I had never played Elsia and wasn’t taught during the basic training, but summoning a companion grants a stat bonus based on their grade.
[Oh Hyeon-ung - 34th Wave
Level: 13
Class: None
Title: Pioneer (50th Floor), Gold Lycanthrope Slayer
Strength: 146 Magic: 143 Stamina: 151 Agility: 296 Luck: 147
Remaining Stat Points: 13
Trait: Failed Game Master (EX)]
These stats were absurd in Elsia, where you only got one point per level-up.
While they were inflated by the effects of my legendary weapon, mount, and wings, the biggest contributor was the succession.
Summoning my Mythic-grade companion, Bio, boosted all my stats by a whopping 100.
A slight disappointment was that it didn’t stack with the 15% stat increase from my weapon.
The wings and mount effects seemed to apply, but the +150 agility on my weapon didn’t seem to be in effect. I’d have to study the mechanics later.
Well, my stats were already ridiculously overpowered anyway.
The reason I, someone who had never even set foot in a taekwondo studio as a kid, could read and react to the Gold Lycanthrope’s movements was all thanks to these stats.
When he first dragged me to the 50th floor, I thought he was insane…
But it seems that guy Bio, who had assessed my level with just a handshake, was truly incredible.
“That’s why I’m working hard. Let’s take a break for now.”
“I never said you weren’t working hard, did I?”
The way he spoke so damn condescendingly was a definite minus, though.
“Then what do you want me to do?”
“Hmm, I don’t think your skills will improve this way.”
That damned ‘improvement’.
Anyone would think he was my master, not my companion.
“So?”
“…I think it would be best to move to a lower floor.”
Huh? That doesn’t make any sense.
He said he brought me here because it suited my level. Why the sudden talk of going up to a lower floor now?
I thought maybe my whining had gotten through to him, but that wasn’t it at all.
He suddenly picked up Kalishna’s Fang, which I had set aside, and dropped a bombshell.
“I’ll be holding onto this for now.”
“Hey, if you take my weapon, what am I supposed to fight with?”
“You have another sword, do you not?”
“That’s a normal sword. It can’t even pierce a Gold Lycanthrope’s hide. My agility stat will drop so much I won’t be able to react.”
“Did I not say we would be going up?”
I was speechless.
I didn’t like him taking my legendary weapon as if it were his, but if we were going to a lower floor like he said, it wouldn’t be a huge problem.
Even with an ordinary sword, my base stats were still monstrous.
“Alright. Then send me to the 8th floor.”
The level cap for the 7th floor was level 9, so I couldn’t gain any experience there.
“I was planning to. And I shall add one more restriction.”
He’s already taking my sword, what other restriction could he possibly add?
“What is it?”
“It would be best not to summon me.”
I thought he was going to make me wear sandbags or something, but this was even more troublesome.
It was essentially a debuff of 100 points to all my stats.
“What are you talking about?”
It would be one thing if I never had it, but giving it and then taking it away was too much.
“Did you not say my power was influencing you?”
I’d been so excited when I realized the stat bonus from having a companion that I’d told him. Now, I really think I shouldn’t have opened my mouth.
I should just sew this mouth of mine shut…
I tried everything from gently persuading him that it would be too difficult, to outright whining, but it was no use against Bio’s stubbornness.
“Didn’t you say you have many other companions?”
“Even if I have a lot of companions, you’re the best! There’s only one you!”
It was true I had many companions from the 1000-pull, but Bio was my only Mythic-grade.
“…Somehow, that’s both touching and disgusting. I am not fond of men.”
“No, don’t misunderstand. I like women!”
“Then that is a relief. In any case, this is all for your growth, so please understand.”
“Understand what…”
I was about to retort, “Understand *my ass*,” but Bio flicked his hand, and my vision began to change.
A vast, green meadow with lush grass stretching out before me.
The sun was shining brightly.
The 50th floor had been dark and musty, a true labyrinth, but this 8th floor didn’t feel like a labyrinth at all.
Well, it was a game setting, so that made sense, but it was still a little strange…
Bio was nowhere to be seen.
I called out, but there was no answer. Was he unsummoned?
Even for a Mythic-grade, being this willful was too much.
Just in case, I gripped his card and called his name.
[The Master of the Forgotten Space, Bio Rein, has refused your summon.]
So it really doesn’t work.
It’s a bit disappointing, but it can’t be helped.
They wouldn’t be as good as the Mythic-grade Bio, of course, but I still had five Hero-grade companion summon cards.
And since I was over level 10, I could summon up to two companions.
When Bio was around, he handled healing and everything else, so I never needed to summon anyone else.
I took all five Hero-grade companion summon cards out of my inventory.
The red cards each had a name and a portrait of the companion.
[Karkas, Master of the Frozen Castle]
[Rina Alsmeyer, High Priestess of the Dyna Order]
[Hanna Pogani, Knight of the Golden Flash]
[Timi Elise, Sorceress of the White Flame]
[Milli Bright, Master Archer of the Seven-Colored Falcon Eye]
Hmm, I deliberated for a moment on who to summon, then decided to use the process of elimination.
First, I put Karkas’s card back into my inventory.
Because, aside from Karkas, all the others were beautiful women.
Ahem, I’d had a rough time with Bio, so there was that…
Alright, honestly, just as I told Bio, I like women too.
All things being equal, I’d rather travel with pretty and beautiful companions.
They were all Hero-grade, so their abilities wouldn’t be that different.
Well, even if my companions were a bit weaker, my stats were already incomparable to others at my level.
After about ten more minutes of deliberation, I finally made my choice.
I decided based on their class, not their looks.
A healer was essential, and since I was using a sword, it would be better to learn from a knight.
“Hanna Pogani, Knight of the Golden Flash. Rina Alsmeyer, High Priestess of the Dyna Order.”
Perhaps because they were Hero-grade, a red light flashed, and the two companions materialized.
Rina, just like in her portrait, wore pure white vestments and held a holy book. She was quite short.
She looked like she was barely 150 cm tall, with a round, youthful face that made her seem cute and someone you’d want to protect.
Hanna, on the other hand, was incredibly tall.
Though I was a gym newbie who was still pretty scrawny, I was proud of my 180 cm height, but she was barely any shorter than me. She must have been in her late 170s.
Just like her portrait, she had fiery red hair and striking features, but seeing her in person, I also sensed an air of innocence about the beautiful woman.
Especially her very impressive…
“Are you the one who summoned… wait, where are you looking?”
Her eyes were filled with utter contempt.
Hey, I can’t help where my eyes instinctively go…
“At your beautiful face, of course, Hanna. My name is Oh Hyeon-ung, the one who summoned you. You are both so beautiful.”
“Oh my, you flatter me…”
Hanna blushed, looking embarrassed.
I thought I’d gotten away with it, but there was still one more hurdle.
“Liar. You were looking at Hanna’s boobs, mister!”