Chapter 89
Chapter 89
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 89
Chapter Title: Ice Crystal Tower, 'Ice Ogre King'
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Hop.
I leaped from Chris's arms, landing in the snow.
Then, I looked up at the massive ice crystal standing proudly in the center of the snowy mountain basin.
"The Ice Crystal Tower."
[Entry Level: 45]
[Solo Dungeon]
[Ice Crystal Tower]
You could call it the second version of the Tower of Training.
Players who conquered this tower would gain new strength.
Of course, at the current moment, that seemed physically impossible.
"Well, I'm off to level up."
"Okay. Good luck."
I looked up at Chris as she briefly stroked my hair.
"I know you'll be fine, Rain, but don't push yourself too hard."
"...Okay."
This time, I answered while facing the Ice Crystal Tower, my back to Chris.
The reason I didn't look at her was because I had just lied.
If she saw my eyes, she would see right through me.
Nine times out of ten, at the top of this tower today.
I would push myself too hard.
[Ice Crystal Tower - 1st Floor]
As I stepped into the tower, the first thing I noticed were the walls on all sides, made entirely of ice.
The magical torches embedded here and there in the walls, casting a soft glow on the surroundings, were quite impressive.
"At least I have a safety measure."
There was a reason I had scheduled my challenge of the Ice Crystal Tower for today, Chris's day off.
If Iseulbi were to collapse while Chris was at work, it could be more dangerous.
I apologized to Chris in my mind.
*I'm sorry, Chris. For not telling you beforehand.*
*You'd be so shocked if Iseulbi collapsed, wouldn't you?*
*But I'm much healthier than before, so even if I die a few times, it probably won't get too serious.*
At the top of the tower, there was a high chance I would face 'it' again.
A ghost from the past that I had to overcome.
I've grown much stronger, too, but it wasn't something I could defeat while taking it easy. It wouldn't be easy this time, either.
I fiddled with an item hanging from the waist of my outfit. It was a custom-made gift from Chris. I wasn't sure why it had such a round design, though.
It was a sort of emergency beacon. Pulling the cord at the end sent a signal directly to Chris. It was supposedly linked to her smartphone in the outside world, so she could receive an emergency signal even while working.
You could call it a safety measure for the frail 'Iseulbi'. If things got bad, I could just use the messenger or leave the capsule and send an emergency message with my phone, but I ended up carrying it because Chris insisted.
Anyway, Chris worries too much.
I was lost in thought in the first-floor hall of the tower for only a moment before the expected entity appeared.
From the darkness of the ceiling, a red form plummeted down.
Thud.
A giant, red mass of flesh appeared before my eyes.
Kaaaaah!
[Level 50 Bloodmaw]
[HP 10,000,000 / 10,000,000 (100%)]
The structure was the same: named monsters from elite dungeons, reconfigured for a solo dungeon.
Just like the Tower of Training.
In that case, what awaited at the end would also be the same.
Shing.
Flick.
I drew my beloved sword, Astaroth, and flicked it to the side. A silver trail followed the path of the blade.
Kaaaaah!
My body, trailing silver light, shot toward the screeching mass of blood-red flesh in a single burst.
[Ice Crystal Tower - 8th Floor]
[Level 50 Ancient Golem Fallen Angel Valiel]
[HP 2,967,056 / 12,000,000 (24%)]
Boom, boom, booom!
Giant swords of darkness plunged down from above. I moved swiftly, dodging all three blades.
Clang!
After parrying the dark blade of the charging Fallen Angel Valiel, I glanced behind me.
The area-of-effect left by the large swords of darkness was fading quickly. As expected, all the special patterns were the same.
There was no special mechanic that required neutralizing dark and light swords by overlapping them, nor did I have to face the Archangel and the Fallen Angel at the same time.
The being before me was just a single, rather sturdy Fallen Angel golem.
I forcefully pushed back the Fallen Angel's blade and retreated. At the same time, I lowered my stance, positioning my sword at my waist.
The stance for Flash.
Flash!
My silver form became a flash of light.
Ooooooh—!
Valiel, a long silver line now carved into its body, let out a bizarre sound.
Thwip.
After slicing through Valiel, I made a sharp turn.
Again, a second Flash.
Flash!
Twisting my body, a third.
Flash!
Ooooooh—!
Rumble.
From the three Flashes, executed using cooldown resets, the body of the Fallen Angel Valiel was sliced to pieces and scattered across the floor.
I immediately headed for the stairs leading to the ninth floor.
[Ice Crystal Tower - 9th Floor]
"Oh."
So that's him.
[Level 50 Ice Ogre King]
[HP 15,000,000 / 15,000,000 (100%)]
A colossal ogre, its face displaying beastly instincts. Its mouth, revealing massive fangs, looked ready to tear an enemy apart at any moment.
Its massive fists were covered in white fur. The sharp claws at their ends gleamed. It wasn't holding any weapons. It would likely try to rip me to shreds using only those monstrous fists.
Grrrk.
Cold air flowed from the monster's slightly open mouth.
According to information from players who had faced it before, this monster spewed a freezing breath that could encase players in ice. And it did so repeatedly.
This was the infamous 'Ice Ogre King,' said to be unbeatable with the current players' stats.
The notorious gatekeeper of the ninth floor.
But to me, the Ogre King was just a stepping stone.
Well, without Astaroth, even I would have had a tough time, I suppose.
You could say I'm carried by my gear, but that's part of my strength.
To be precise, it's Chris's financial power.
Schlick.
I drew Astaroth.
And smiled.
"Coming through."
Of course, I couldn't get past it as quickly as I thought.
It was the 'Ice Ogre King,' the so-called Wailing Wall, the gatekeeper of the ninth floor. It was no pushover.
Whoosh, clang!
Meeting the Ogre King's double-armed swing, I leaned back slightly before immediately raising my sword and closing in. A strategic use of my block skill to get a perfect guard and receive the vitality buff.
The Ogre King spread its arms wide to the sides, as if to crush me for having slipped into its guard.
The clap pattern. Here, I use Counterattack.
Shhhk, papapapat!
Having gotten behind the Ogre King, my Astaroth flashed with silver and starlight as it tore into his back.
Grrrk!
The Ogre King let out a guttural cry and turned to face me. Its movements were rather slow.
Whoosh!
The Ogre King's massive body shot into the air, then plummeted down as if to crush me.
Tap-tap.
Craaash!
I turned around at the perfect moment and used 'Backstep.' The Ogre King's slam left a massive shockwave, but thanks to the invincibility frames of Backstep, I took no damage.
By turning and using Backstep, I could get behind the Ogre King again, skipping the need for an approach skill. It was a different league from using Counterattack to maintain my position—a method of using invincibility frames to get behind a boss when soloing.
I glanced at the Ogre King's HP.
Still at 87%.
Its HP was definitely dropping much slower now.
This was the penalty from the level difference.
It even had an enrage timer.
The boss's patterns themselves weren't difficult. The only threats were the looming pressure of its enrage timer and the 8-hit consecutive frost breath pattern that appeared below 60% HP. Success depended entirely on how much a class could maximize its damage potential.
It was, in essence, a boss designed to test the limits of an individual's DPS. The message was clear: if you couldn't deal enough damage to kill it before it enraged, you weren't worthy of challenging what lay beyond.
Since it was a giant boss, all my attacks landed. Its patterns were slow and simple. For someone like me who maximized agility for high-speed combat, this was actually a boss that narrowed the gap between me and other players. My advantage—creating a huge difference with nimble movements against multiple opponents or bosses with complex patterns—was diminished here.
However, if I consistently executed a perfectly measured damage rotation with Astaroth, I could definitely deal enough damage to avoid the enrage timer.
My eyes widened as I continued the razor-thin battle, trying to squeeze in even one extra sword strike between invincibility frames and counters.
[Level 50 Ice Ogre King]
[HP 8,970,551 / 15,000,000 (59%)]
Grrrrrk!!
Whoosh!
Suddenly, the Ice Ogre King let out a roar and leaped so high it almost touched the ceiling.
The precursor to its special pattern, the frost breath.
Thooom! Rummble.
Crash, crash, crash!
The Ice Crystal Tower shook from the impact of the Ogre King's massive body slamming into the floor. At the same time, huge ice crystals began to fall from the ceiling.
The fallen crystals shattered into shards of ice, forming frozen patches on the ground.
There were a total of eight frozen patches on the floor.
Shwaaaak!
I identified a straight path clear of the patches and used an approach skill to close in on the Ogre King. My body shot forward like an arrow, trailing silver light as I began to hack away at the Ogre King's body.
The free damage window was longer than I expected. Thirty seconds? Forty? Even as I relentlessly swung my sword, I glanced at the tower wall where the torches were embedded.
I had already gathered information on how to break the mechanic using the 'torch objects.' The idea was to use this time to pull out a torch and throw it to clear the frozen patches. But at my current level, I couldn't afford to stop dealing damage for even a moment. I could enjoy the luxury of handling mechanics at a leisurely pace later.
Woooo.
The Ogre King, which had been crouched and taking my attacks for several dozen seconds, finally spread its body wide and opened its mouth.
Grooooar!
Inside the Ice Crystal Tower, where there should have been no wind, the flow of air changed.
All the cold air inside was being sucked into the Ogre King's maw.
Even the eight frozen patches scattered around.
Fwoosh!
After beating its chest several times, a burst of cold erupted from the Ogre King's body.
The beginning of the 8-hit consecutive frost breath pattern.