Chapter 36: Over-reward (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 36: Over-reward (1)
The scenery shifted as I was transported to the Reward Room.
‘...A Marvelous Clear?’
I didn't even know such a rank existed.
I looked around, feeling a bit dazed. They had mentioned the rewards would be adjusted upward, but this was unexpected.
“...Huh?”
When I saw the skill stone, I froze. It wasn't glowing green—meaning it wasn't Rare or Rare+ grade.
The stone pulsed with a deep violet light, like a polished amethyst. I had never seen that color before. In other words, this was a grade of skill stone that was making its world debut.
I picked it up.
[Skill Stone: Destruction Ray (Epic+)]
Upon use, you will learn the skill: ‘Destruction Ray (Epic+).’
“Oh...?”
Epic grade? And not just Epic, but Epic+?
Until now, no skill higher than Rare+ had ever appeared in the world, so the next tier had remained a mystery. It seemed the grade following Rare had finally revealed itself. Not only that, it had skipped the base Epic grade entirely to jump straight to Epic+.
This reward was a leap of two entire stages beyond anything I had received so far.
“Haha, wow...”
I couldn't help the giddy laugh that escaped me. Destruction Ray? I couldn't tell if it was Physical or Magic-type just by the name. I offered a quick, silent prayer before reading the description.
Please be Magic-type.
[Skill: Destruction Ray (Epic+)]
Condenses the power of destruction and fires it in a straight line. Requires 30 to 300 seconds of mental focus to cast. The longer the focus, the greater the skill's power.
Category: Magic-type
Willpower Consumption: 1,000
Cooldown: 3 minutes
“...Yes!”
First of all, it was Magic-type! I eagerly read the rest.
“Condenses the power of destruction and fires it in a straight line...”
I see. So it was a destruction beam—a laser attack.
One thing that stood out was the flexible casting time. Anywhere from 30 to 300 seconds. The longer the charge, the more devastating the output.
‘It’s a charging skill.’
Another thing that caught my eye was the staggering Willpower consumption. A full thousand. That was ten times the cost of Flame Strike. The cooldown was also quite long at three minutes.
Is this what an Epic-grade magic skill looks like? Since I didn't need to worry about skill costs thanks to my ability, I was actually looking forward to it. I wondered just how powerful a spell had to be to demand that much Willpower.
‘Surely it’s not stronger than that cannon, right?’
The cannon’s Willpower consumption had been 600. Since this skill consumed nearly double that, the thought naturally occurred to me... but no matter how much higher Epic was than Rare, it probably wouldn't be that much. That would be game-breaking. The cannon was, after all, a special item usable only in that specific stage, which explained its absurd power.
If we were judging by Willpower alone, the cannon—which was at least a thousand times more powerful than Flame Strike—had only consumed six times the Willpower. Still, I had high expectations for Destruction Ray. It was bound to be leagues stronger than Flame Strike or Blade Gale.
[You have learned the skill: ‘Destruction Ray (Epic+).’]
I considered testing it immediately, but...
‘Maybe not here.’
If it was too powerful, what if the Reward Room collapsed? No, wait. I was getting ahead of myself again. I shouldn't expect too much. What if it was weaker than I imagined?
I decided to test Destruction Ray later when I re-entered for a repeat clear. I checked the other rewards.
[Item: Celestial Music Box]
A lost holy relic of the Paeli Order. Upon use, it plays a melody that stabilizes the mind and body. Consumes 1 Willpower per second during use.
“...Hmm.”
I had a feeling one of the holy relics would be given as a reward. To think I actually got this one.
♫~ ♪♩~
When I activated the music box, the same clear melody I had heard earlier began to play. It certainly made me feel at peace. It was nice, sure... but where was I supposed to use this? I would have much preferred the holy relic that generated a shield.
But since I had obtained an Epic+ skill, I could afford to be generous. Well, it does make me feel relaxed while listening to it...
[Difficulty: Nightmare]
[Floor: 3rd Floor]
[Level: 45]
[Willpower: 1,250]
[Skills: Destruction Ray (Epic+), Teleportation (Rare+), Sixth Sense (Rare+), Rapid Regeneration (Rare+), Flame Strike (Rare)(+2), Blade Gale (Rare), Exhilaration (Rare), Fairy Light Bullet (Common+)(+1), Lesser Poison Resistance (Common+), Leap (Common)(+1), Swing (Common), Stab (Common)]
My level had jumped by another 5, bringing me close to Level 50 in no time. My body had become far too strong now. If I ran too hard, my shoes would literally fall apart, which is why I had been entering the Tower barefoot ever since clearing the 2nd Floor...
Am I going to have to give up on shoes forever? I really hoped a sturdy shoe-type item would drop soon.
I fiddled with Phligas's Blood Necklace hanging around my neck.
‘By the way, this guy...’
Wouldn't it be about time to try making Phligas my familiar before challenging the 4th Floor? If possible, it was obviously better to try now. He could be a massive help in the next clear. I’d have to decide after testing the power of my new skill.
“Good, very good.”
This 3rd Floor Hidden Route had been a massive haul. A Marvelous Clear. To think such a thing existed. But under normal circumstances, it would have been absolutely impossible. The condition for a Marvelous Clear on the 3rd Floor Hidden Route was essentially the total annihilation of the Great Undead Army.
Are you kidding me? How is anyone supposed to do that? Even a Level 100 would get exhausted trying to kill them all. This kind of cheat-like clear would probably only happen once. Unless, of course, another custom-made broken item like that cannon appeared.
[Would you like to exit the Tower?]
Having finished organizing my rewards, I exited the Tower. As soon as I returned to my room, the door swung open, making me flinch.
“Oppa, help me with my assign— Why are you so startled?”
“...I told you to knock before coming in.”
“Yeah, yeah, I get it. Look at this report I wrote.”
My younger sister strode in and thrust a piece of paper at me as if I owed her. Why hasn't she changed at all, even at twenty years old? I skimmed through the pathetic assignment report she had written. What was this disaster?
“Didn't I tell you to distinguish between subheadings and numbers when writing the table of contents?”
“Huh? Oh, right.”
“And stop ending sentences with ‘~yo.’ You’re jumping between formal and casual styles like crazy. And what’s with the flow here in the introduction?”
“Why? What’s wrong with it?”
“How are you supposed to jump straight to the main point from here? Don't you think there's something more you need to say? Try thinking for a second.”
“Ugh, just tell me already.”
My sister scowled as she forced herself to listen to my advice, then snatched the report back and turned to leave. Her lack of a thank-you was so annoying that I reached out and aggressively ruffled her hair into a bird's nest.
“Ah! You crazy jerk! Stop it!”
“Stooop iiit~ Get out.”
I kicked her out of the room. I could hear her complaining to Mom outside, but did she really think Mom was on her side? She only got scolded again for talking back to her brother. I heard the sound of her bedroom door slamming shut as she grumbled.
“Whew...”
I stretched and stepped out of my room as well. As I was getting water from the fridge, my mother asked, “Did you just get back from the Tower?”
“...Yes.”
“I see. Don't push yourself too hard. Take breaks. Like I always say, be careful, okay?”
“Yes, don't worry.”
I went back to my room. Even though I had my parents' permission, entering the Tower still felt like something I had to be discreet about. Even if they knew in their heads that repeating the 1st Floor on Easy difficulty wasn't dangerous, they were bound to worry.
‘I wish there were some Goblins in the real world.’
Then I could show them directly how I could pop a Goblin's head with a flick of my finger... but that would probably be a bit too disrespectful.
After resting for a bit, I immediately re-entered the Tower. I had to test the performance of the new skill.
[You have entered the Nightmare difficulty 3rd Floor.]
Gwaaaaah—!
The undead came swarming in. I gripped my mace and kicked off the ground. I began to face the horde with just my physical strength, without using magic.
Thud! Crack! Boom!
I leaped around, crushing skulls. When I was Level 30, I needed magic just to have some breathing room, but now I was practically flying even without it. As time passed, the number of undead increased. Explosive Undead and Wolf Undead began to appear. I only used Light Bullets to pick off the Explosive Undead, continuing the fight with raw strength.
Exhilaration was active, and the pace was manageable. I advanced, pulverizing everything in my path. The thought crossed my mind to let an Explosive Undead hit me to test the Rapid Regeneration skill... but I decided against it. There was no death more foolish than that.
I fought for ten minutes, intentionally waiting for the sun to set. As the light faded, the Undead Army appeared on the horizon, marching in dense ranks. Only then did I move to the underground passage.
After collecting all the gems and activating the Sun Emblem, I returned to the surface. I watched for a moment as the undead melted away in the sunlight. Soon, countless remains began to gather and clump together in one spot.
“Now... come on out.”
The fully enhanced Mass Boss that had given me so much trouble. I had intentionally waited for all the undead to appear just to summon this guy. Since I had reached Level 45 and obtained an incredible high-grade skill, I needed a rematch.
This was the creature that had put up a good fight against Phligas, who was recommended for Level 50. This thing was at least a Level 50-range boss. I still didn't know if I could win, but if things turned south, I could always leave.
Gruuuuuuu—
A low-frequency cry vibrated against my eardrums. I tapped my ears and waited for The Mass to roll toward me.
Rumble, rumble!
Without fail, the creature accelerated at incredible speed. This time, I dodged by simply jumping to the side without even using the Leap skill.
Hmm, it’s actually quite easy to dodge now.
Whether it changed directions to roll at me repeatedly or leaped into the air to drop like a meteor, I dodged every single attack. Of course, even if I could dodge, I wasn't yet at the level where I could physically trade blows with something that size.
‘That’s enough warming up.’
Having finished testing my physical abilities, it was time for the main course.
[Skill: Destruction Ray (Epic+)]
Condenses the power of destruction and fires it in a straight line. Requires 30 to 300 seconds of mental focus to cast. The longer the focus, the greater the skill's power.
The Mass prepared to roll toward me again. I stopped time and began my mental focus. Naturally, I filled the entire 300 seconds.
Just how strong would it be? It was Epic+ grade; it should at least deal some significant damage.
After finishing the 300 seconds of focus, I resumed time and cast the fully charged Destruction Ray toward The Mass.
In an instant, a pitch-black sphere, like a miniature black hole, flickered in the air with an eerie, high-pitched hum. Then, a massive, obsidian-colored beam of light erupted, large enough to obscure my entire field of vision.
“...!”
There was no sound at all—a silence so absolute it felt alien. When the beam thinned and vanished, revealing the view ahead once more, I was struck with horror.
A massive hole had been punched right through the center of The Mass’s body, like a giant donut.
Woooooo...
It had pierced the core... though calling it a "piercing" didn't do it justice. The core had been completely obliterated. Unable to regenerate, The Mass simply melted and collapsed into a heap of sludge.
I stood there with my mouth agape before finally uttering a single word.
“Wow.”
...I expected it to be strong. I didn't expect it to be a one-shot kill.