Invisible Stalker

The Invisible Stalker. The Invisible Stalker—the biggest reason why the hero Park Chun-sik got trapped on this floor. There was no reason to go below the 666th floor. And if you tried to climb back up, there was no way to counter them, forcing you to stay stuck. They were said to take the form of something like a mass of air. If you happened to spot a shimmering clump of air, that meant it was coming to kill you. Their true form was invisible. They didn't breathe or eat. Some speculated they were spirits corrupted for some reason. To us, they were just a massive headache. And true to their name as stalkers, they could pinpoint the direction and distance of their prey with perfect accuracy. In other words, the moment we entered this floor, we became the Invisible Stalkers' prey.

Dying to an air spirit after all this time... An invisible hunter with no obvious weak point like a black pudding. Some mages were said to summon and control them, but they usually exploited gaps in their summoner's orders and killed them—proof of their nasty temperament. That was all the known info. No one knew why these spirits came to hate living beings or how they devolved into monsters and ended up in the Magic Palace.

Adventurers who pierced through the black puddings on the slime floor and descended here, finding nothing, would let out a sigh of relief. But what if they dropped their guard? The Invisible Stalker would charge in and slaughter them. It felt malicious, like it was designed to lure you into a false sense of safety. The next floor down was actually a safe floor. Satan must have helped with the design—practically screaming "die" at you. They said everything below 700 was a true demonic realm. I didn't even want to imagine it.

"So, what now?"

Good question. As Larirarion said, we had to run from here. Were Invisible Stalkers fast? Comparable to the wind, so yeah, fast. Their one and only weakness? They were extremely light, being wind-based. That was it. No need to know about how they shredded limbs with wind blades.

I pondered for ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a moment, then summoned the Metal Mimic (Chamber Pot). I had Hyacinth wear a purification mask just in case. I stuffed it full of glow-in-the-dark dinosaurs soaked in ethanol and lit them up. They crackled and burned. All we could do was believe they wouldn't come inside the stairs. After about three minutes with no reaction, I figured it was safe. Of course, I used a skill to retrieve it—couldn't rule out one lurking by the door.

Retrieve, stuff with glow-in-the-dark dinosaurs, burn. Repeat. It seemed pointless, but I kept at it silently. Over the already thick black fog, pitch-black smoke filled the ceiling.

"Does the Magic Palace have ventilation?"

"No idea."

All I could do was pray the air around me purified as much as possible. I flicked out some fried chicken to test. No reaction. Then a buckler tied to a shortsword. Still nothing. Our party crawled into the acrid smoke, hunched low. I didn't stop burning glow-in-the-dark dinosaurs in the Metal Mimic. The toxic fumes from the fluorescent material and rubber thickened, coating the ceiling.

Hunched over, I drew my spirit sword, exposing the blade. The area lit up instantly; the floating black smoke rippled at the same time. Without hesitation, I swung at it—something gave the sensation of being sliced.

"...Did you get it?"

"No corpse, so who knows."

Larirarion grabbed my arm and swung. Her strength split the black smoke like it was cut, but there was only the slicing feel—no way to confirm if the spirit died.

"Do spirits even die in the first place?"

I didn't answer her question amid her coughing from the smoke. Hyacinth drew his pistol-sword and scanned around, but the space was eerily silent—quiet enough to hear our heartbeats. Without Clear Mind, we'd have panicked from the darkness, silence, and invisible monster. Even the goddess was uncharacteristically silent. She knew breaking focus here was dangerous.

Is this even going according to plan?

I tried reading air currents through the smog I'd deliberately created by burning rubber. Time to trust my Forest skill's air purification. I wasn't affected much by the fumes. Larirarion endured, and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Hyacinth had his mask. I could see the wind's ripples. The slash worked, but only the sensation—no death confirmation. It might just be backing off to gauge distance. Cold sweat trickled down my back vividly.

We crept forward slowly, hunched under the smog.

"...Ugh... If I'd inherited a pack leader skill or something..."

"...What's that?"

Blue Jupiter Canidie—that was his upper race name, right? At Larirarion's question, Hyacinth drooped his ears and tail.

"Transforms into wolf form and blasts blue lightning everywhere. That'd solve this... But as you see, I'm pretty useless..."

"Transforms how?"

"Huh? Well... usually with a skill? The pack leader said it's impossible without visualizing the form."

Lightning struck my mind at Hyacinth's words.

...Right. I'd only ever thought of using the skill. Never once imagined the hamster form.

"Radamu!"

She grabbed my dazed arm and swung. The moment I got lost in thought, the Invisible Stalkers attacked like they read minds. Ripples rushed from all sides, wind brushing my skin. Hyacinth fired precise shots into the void despite his fear. Larirarion danced behind me, hugging and swinging her sword. We'd gone from crawling to full sprint. Soon, we burst into a smoke-free zone.

"Damn, wrong way!"

"Let go!"

As she fell back in frustration, she clapped her palms together. Something swelled inside; she forced it down and scattered it everywhere. Glow-in-the-dark dinosaurs sparkled, hundreds rolling around us. Trash-tossing, basically. But they were feather-light—one gust, and as the stalkers approached, they rolled in wobbly arcs on the wind.

Hyacinth fired immediately.

"Splash zone within 3m of glow-in-the-dark dinosaurs...!"

"You're using such a ridiculous skill so effectively!"

I kept spewing them while running. The dinosaurs bobbed on the wind. Hyacinth's bullets and Larirarion's Earth-Shattering slashes cleaved the air nonstop.

"Ngh...!"

But it had limits. A psshk—a hole pierced my shoulder. More through Larirarion's gut and Hyacinth's leg. The dinosaurs shredded invisibly, scattering. They were serious now! Shooting razor wind. We dodged thanks to the spirit sword's light refracting it. Wrapping blades that shredded on touch—terrifying that they were silent and unseen. Even knowing they existed made it hell. Meeting these outside? No survival.

I felt why the hero gave up climbing. At this rate, we'd be pinned, sponged with holes, bleeding out—or blendered like tomatoes by wind blades. Larirarion clutched her gut, kneeling. Hyacinth collapsed, hugging his leg. No choice. That advice that hit my mind earlier. Fear the skill might prevent reverting. But resolve overrode it now. Like superhuman power ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠in crisis.

Lightning crashed. Dazzling light exploded in the Magic Palace floor. The intense bolt struck me; Invisible Stalkers pulled back on the wind. Dust billowed, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠smoke cleared. Something huge rose—2 meters of monstrous beast.

Ah—so terrifying! Beastly, filthy fur! Nauseating stench from who-knows-where! Front teeth to gnaw stone. Beady eyes like abyssal orbs without whites!

"Kieeeek!!"

"Dwarf god, no!! What the hell is this?!"

Cute limbs mismatched to the bulk. A furball built for quadrupedal sprinting! Eyes like black pearls embedded, unmoving.

"Keeek!!"

I could only shriek like a beast! Hamsters couldn't speak human! No hamsters in this world—Larirarion lost it, screaming. How could a giant rat look so creepy? Ratkin had human-like limbs. The berserk Radamu Dice shrieked incoherently. With 10x stats, over 300 total. The backlash hit hard.

Invisible Stalkers first, then allies, even the Magic Palace!! Thoughts from everything poured in unfiltered! Brain-melting noise threatened madness.

Regaining calm, hamster-Radamu stuffed Larirarion and Hyacinth in his mouth. They flailed in panic, thinking eaten, but he cheek-pouched them and bolted. Realizing the monster-Radamu was rational, Larirarion yelled at Hyacinth to calm down.

"He's transformed into a monster right now?!"

"Skill from the constellations! Stay calm! Don't thrash!"

A nimble rat pup had nothing on him. Roach-weeping survival quadrupedal sprint. But the Stalkers chasing were faster. 600-floor kill experts slashed his hide with blades. Fur flew. Big body, mostly fluff...! Still hurt.

"Kyaaak!"

Pain made me scream. But attacks' origins transmitted perfectly. I curled into a ball, rolling for speed. Disaster loomed—monsters visible as tangible wind. Cast Stone Skin for durability, then rolled!

A rampaging stone-rolling hamster. Insane sight. Even Stalkers couldn't dodge, getting crushed.

"Mooom!!"

"Urk, shit."

Cheek-pouch as big as their bodies—Hyacinth's size didn't help. Bouncing off the floor hurt; wild spins added dizziness.

"Kyaaak!"

I spat them out, saliva-drenched. They retched on the spot. Hamster charged, headbutting with stone skull. Bam! They tumbled down stairs. Hamster crammed in after. Stalkers stared dumbly at the wriggling hamster ass. They glanced at each other, then scattered silently.

Light burst from the stairwell again. Reverting to human—miracle. Vomit taste and dizziness hit; I puked on the stairs. Wounds bled. Soon, I collapsed unconscious.

Small mercy: No one saw our vomit-soaked party.

.....Today, I awakened the transformation skill. Intense memory I'd never use again.