Chapter 48: Nightmare 4th Floor (4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 48: Nightmare 4th Floor (4)
What the hell is that monstrosity?
There was no mistaking what those five colors represented. It seemed the boss possessed every single ability of the golems that had appeared so far.
- Allow me to introduce the crowning achievement of our workshop: ‘Titan.’ It boasts 99% physical damage immunity, 99% magic damage immunity, complete immunity to all damage below a certain threshold, a one-time resurrection, and finally, the ‘Unstoppable’ status... Employees, we advise you once again to exercise extreme caution when responding...
What is this, a home shopping ad?
As the helpful announcement finished, I pulled up the Shop window.
[Special Draw! (5,000P)]
Performing a Special Draw. The draw list is as follows. (All probabilities are equal.)
[Ability Nullification Parts]
Nullifies all abilities of a single golem entity. Can be used by bringing the parts into contact with the golem.
This was exactly what had come to mind the moment I saw the boss. Ability Nullification—it was clearly meant to be used on that thing.
Points Held: 21,500P
With my current points, I could attempt the draw four times. Since the probabilities were equal, the chance of pulling the Ability Nullification Parts was one in three.
I stopped time for a moment to crunch the numbers.
The probability of not getting it even once in four tries is...
16 out of 81. Less than a 20% chance.
In other words, my chance of pulling the Nullification Parts was over 80%. It was high—high, but...
The problem was that if I failed to pull it, I had absolutely no way to defeat that boss. 99% immunity to both physical and magic damage meant it was 99% immune to everything. It even ignored damage below a certain threshold and could resurrect once.
It was basically invincible. There was no way to kill it.
Eighty percent...
When you consider that life and death hang in the balance, that percentage doesn't feel quite high enough. But this is ridiculous. Am I really supposed to rely on pure luck for the final stretch?
...Surely, it'll come out at least once.
If it doesn't, the Tower is definitely rigging the results.
[You have purchased 'Special Draw! (5,000P).']
I resumed time and immediately started the draw.
Ring-ding-ding—
The roulette began to spin before my eyes. The animation was unnecessarily long. The boss was constantly moving; the roulette should have just given me the result instantly, but it kept spinning.
I tried stopping time. Of course, the spinning roulette stopped as well. I cursed the Tower under my breath and resumed time again. Seriously, every little detail is designed to be malicious...
[Winner: 'Skill Effect 300% Scroll'!]
"...!"
That was the result after wasting ten seconds. A single paper scroll plopped out of thin air. Without a moment's hesitation, I started the next draw.
It's fine. I still have three tries left.
[You have purchased 'Special Draw! (5,000P).']
Ring-ding-ding—
[Winner: 'Skill Effect 300% Scroll'!]
Another scroll plopped out of the air.
...It's fine. I still have two—two more tries.
[You have purchased 'Special Draw! (5,000P).']
Ring-ding-ding—
[Winner: 'Great Incineration Switch'!]
"Fucking..."
A string of curses almost burst out of my mouth. A switch with a red button plopped out of the air.
I stopped time for a moment. No, seriously... stop messing with me. My head started to spin, and it was hard to keep my heart from racing.
Whew...
Now, I only had one chance left. If I didn't pull it now, it was over. Everything depended on a one-in-three chance. My life, and the fate of the world.
Here goes.
I steeled my resolve and resumed time.
[You have purchased 'Special Draw! (5,000P).']
Ring-ding-ding—
The roulette spins.
Please.
Please, seriously, please. You're telling me it won't show up once in four tries? That makes no sense. I glared at the spinning roulette with desperate intensity.
And then...
[Winner: 'Skill Effect 300% Scroll'!]
"..."
I stopped time immediately. My thoughts ground to a halt. No matter how long I stared at the result window, nothing changed.
...No. No, seriously. How can this happen?
It was 80%. A whopping 80%. How could it not show up...
It was a reality I simply couldn't accept.
It's rigged.
It was definitely rigged. Hey, you rigged this, didn't you, you Tower piece of shit?
I felt like I was going to lose my mind. A surge of indignation welled up inside me, followed quickly by despair and futility.
...I failed. The raid was a failure. The outcome had already been decided. There was no way to defeat that boss without Ability Nullification.
I ended up like this because I couldn't overcome a mere 20% probability. Because that tiny bit of luck didn't follow me, I'm going to die, and the world is going to end. To think it would end so absurdly like this, and not even because of a penalty.
God dammit...
In the frozen time, I just stood there blankly. If the odds had been 20% in my favor, I wouldn't feel so cheated, but this... Sigh.
After standing there dazed for a long time, a thought occurred to me.
...Is there any other way?
There wasn't. How was I supposed to defeat that invincible boss? Still, unable to give up, I desperately continued to think. I thought of the items I had just pulled.
[Skill Effect 300% Scroll]
Select any type of skill and increase its effect to 300%. Can be used by tearing the scroll. (Effects can be stacked.)
[Great Incineration Switch]
Press the button to carry out the Great Incineration. Powerful flames will eliminate all golems. And you, too!
Three Skill Effect 300% Scrolls. And the Great Incineration Switch.
They were all useless. What was the point of tripling a skill's effect? The boss was invincible with 99% damage immunity.
...Wait.
What if I used all the 300% scrolls on Destruction Ray?
Since they stack, the damage would be multiplied by 27. On top of that, I had my 50% magic damage increase—no, if I used my remaining points to raise it by another 20%, it would be 70%. That would make it a total of 45.9 times the damage.
Even if the boss reduced damage by 99%... that meant a whopping 45.9% of the original damage would still go through! With Destruction Ray, wouldn't that much damage be enough to kill the boss?
My thoughts reached that point, only to sink back into frustration. Dammit, so what if I kill it... that bastard resurrects once. By the time the cooldown for Destruction Ray finished, the boss would have long since reached the exit. And since it's Unstoppable, I can't even slow it down.
Wait, or can I?
[You have purchased 'Slow (50P).']
[You have purchased 'Stop (100P).']
I resumed time and tried purchasing Slow and Stop with my remaining points. I hadn't personally confirmed whether the Unstoppable effect also blocked Slow and Stop, so it was a last-ditch hope, but...
Thump. Thump. Thump.
The boss kept moving without even a moment's hesitation. Fuck.
KABOOM!
I unleashed a Flame Strike as if venting my anger. Phli also clung to the boss and bit at its head, but there wasn't even a scratch.
I stopped time again.
[Great Incineration Switch]
Press the button to carry out the Great Incineration. Powerful flames will eliminate all golems. And you, too!
The other item from the draw. ...Would this kill the boss too? It said it would eliminate all golems, so maybe it counted as a kill regardless of abilities. But what good would it do if it worked? I'd die too.
'...'
Then, suddenly, an absurd idea flashed through my mind.
[Skill: Rapid Regeneration (Rare+)]
Consumes all currently remaining Willpower and instantaneously amplifies the body's regenerative power beyond its limits in proportion to the amount consumed.
Category: Physical-Type
Willpower Consumption: All currently remaining Willpower
Cooldown: 24 hours
Rapid Regeneration. The skill I had obtained as a reward on the 3rd floor.
I didn't know exactly what would happen during the Great Incineration... but basically, wasn't it going to roast both me and the golems with fire? If I dumped all three 300% scrolls into Rapid Regeneration, the regeneration effect would be multiplied by 27.
I had never used the Rapid Regeneration skill before. I didn't know how effective it was. However, it was a Rare+ rank recovery skill that consumed all available Willpower. Its effect was bound to be extraordinary.
And I would be boosting that by 27 times. With that much, wouldn't I be able to endure the Great Incineration without dying instantly...?
If that boss died in the Great Incineration, and the raid ended with the boss's death... and if I could just stay alive a little bit longer than the boss...
Reaching that conclusion, I let out a hollow laugh.
You're insane.
Is this right? Is this even possible? But whether it was possible or not wasn't something to debate. There was no other way right now. Other than this idea I'd just come up with. Even if it was a thread-thin possibility... I had no choice but to try.
Still, it was such a crazy gamble that I spent a long time trying to think of any other alternative. The conclusion was the same: there was none.
...Fine, let's give it a shot. Nothing would be solved by just keeping time stopped.
I resumed time. I immediately picked up the scrolls scattered on the floor and tore them.
[You have used a 'Skill Effect 300%' scroll on 'Rapid Regeneration (Rare+).']
[You have used a 'Skill Effect 300%' scroll on 'Rapid Regeneration (Rare+).']
[You have used a 'Skill Effect 300%' scroll on 'Rapid Regeneration (Rare+).']
The boss had reached the middle of the second course. I looked at the boss and toyed with the switch in my hand.
"..."
They say burning is the most painful way to go. It's probably going to hurt like fuuuuuck, isn't it...?
I placed my slightly trembling thumb on the button. Just as I was about to press it, I let out a sigh and summoned Diul.
"Diul, do you have anything...? Any ability to deal with that boss?"
I felt Diul looking at me with a sense of pity. Right... if you don't, you don't. After sending Diul back, I placed my finger on the button again.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
I stared straight at the boss walking toward me. I let out a laugh like a madman. Whatever. If I can't endure it and die, at least it'll be a spectacular death.
"...Let's both die together."
I pressed the button.
Whirrrrrrrrr.
Then, along with a mechanical sound, the ceiling opened. Complex mechanical devices emerged, filling the entire ceiling. One thing was clear: countless muzzles, like fire vents, were aimed downward.
My Sixth Sense screamed, ringing alarm bells as if to announce I was a second away from death. The moment I felt it, I activated the 27-times-boosted Rapid Regeneration.
Immediately after stopping time, I refilled all my Willpower and activated Skin Hardening.
Phli!
In addition, I had Phli wrap around my body and even used the Sherburn's Ice Shard Dagger I had been saving on myself.
At the same time, my vision was dyed bright red.
KABOOOOOOOM!
Phli and the ice that had wrapped around my body evaporated in an instant. There was nothing but flames everywhere.
Aaaaaagh...!
It hurts, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts.
I flailed my body while feeling an indescribable, horrific pain, then I stopped time. Once I was free from the pain, I was finally able to think properly.
...I couldn't believe it. That such pain could even exist in this world. The pain of bones breaking or an arrow piercing my stomach was like a pleasant breeze compared to that.
After failing to recover from the shock for a long time, I steeled my mind again. Let's... do this in one go. Stopping time was just like taking a beating in slow motion.
I resumed time again.
"...!"
The pain sizzled through my brain. Crimson flames. And my body, endlessly regenerating within them. In an instant, I turned to ash, and in the next, new flesh sprouted—over and over again.
Through my fading consciousness, I saw the boss golem. The already melted boss was resurrecting once. But while I was regenerating endlessly, that was the end for him. Unable to endure even for a moment, he soon melted again.
Had my brain broken from the extreme pain? A laugh escaped me as I saw the messages appearing before my eyes.
I... won...
[You have successfully cleared the Nightmare difficulty 4th floor.]
[Absorbing the power of the floor.]
[Level has increased.]
[Level has increased.]
[Level has increased.]
.
.
.
[Level has increased.]
[You are the first to successfully clear the Nightmare difficulty 4th floor.]
[The 4th Floor Hidden Route is now open.]
[Moving to the Reward Room.]