Monster Hunt (1)
“……The weather’s ridiculously nice.”
After a quick tune-up, I stepped back into the 50th floor of the Tower of Trials.
My heart felt considerably lighter. Just realizing that it was okay to die had changed my whole state of mind.
The Jutak said not to take life lightly…
Well, I’d never really been the sort of person who went around treating life like some sacred treasure in the first place.
I might end up with all kinds of damage, aftereffects, PTSD, and God knows what else, but I still wasn’t sure. Maybe if I died dozens of times on the same floor, that kind of thing would start creeping in.
But I’d already been through harsher realities than this, so I was strangely detached when it came to psychological shock.
Grip…!
The sword should’ve been lost, but it was still in the Hideout.
I tightened my grip on the iron sword and stared at the blade. It was exactly as I’d left it. Come to think of it, my phone should’ve ended up in that bastard’s mouth, too, but it had come back as well.
Maybe if I consumed or destroyed something myself, that was the end of it, but if I lost it in the tower or died by some other means, it got restored.
The mana stone didn’t get restored, though.
If there was one thing bothering me most right now, it was this—
[09:58:13]
“Ten hours is fucking long.”
That was all I had time to think about—the fact that so much time still remained before I could meet that monster again.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Slash—!!
“Phew.”
First event cleared.
In my previous life… no, was it even right to call it a life?
The hours I’d spent grinding during my first run had definitely paid off. My swordsmanship felt sharper, like my proficiency had gone up another notch. And since they said the body was restored when you died and came back, all the fatigue I’d been stacking up seemed to have vanished in one sweep as well.
My body felt lighter than I could have imagined.
That doesn’t mean everything I’ve built up disappears, though.
If I’d been reset to the body I had when I first entered the tower, that would’ve been hell, but thankfully that wasn’t the case.
To put it bluntly, if I worked my ass off and then died and came back, I could keep getting stronger forever without the fatigue.
There’s definitely some maniac out there doing exactly that, right?
Which was probably why the Jutak had told me not to take life lightly.
I still wasn’t thinking that way, though.
Because dying and waking up again was a sensation that felt even more fucked up than I’d imagined. And right after revival, the pain was worse than I’d expected, too.
[05:57:46]
The next one was the elf transformation, right.
This time, maybe I should catch one of the hunters and have them draw what I looked like.
I still had far too much time before I’d face Behemoth.
I also wanted to find out exactly how the tower’s effects were applied.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Step—
[03:32:12]
Second event. Shape of the One Who Is Hunted.
Drawing on the memory of my first run, I caught the bastard who’d been playing escort. I sent the rest of them to heaven.
“Older brother?”
I couldn’t even turn my eyes toward him, not when he was calling me big brother with that same friendly voice as last time.
[You have moved beyond the designated range]
[Remaining time until return: 56]
“……”
“Older brother? What’s wrong?”
It was just a simple question.
Where did the elf hunters come from, and where did they go? How exactly was this world put together?
In order to solve that, I’d been following the hunter out of the forest—only for the warning to pop up before I even made it out.
I didn’t want to think about what would happen when that timer hit zero.
I didn’t need to think about it to know.
Slide—
[Designated range──]
The warning vanished the moment I stepped back.
So this was the line.
When I checked Real-Time Mapping, my location was pinned to the edge of the forest.
“Older brother!”
“……It’s nothing. I just remembered something I need to do.”
“Something you need to do?”
“What else? You should stay here like a proper elf, shouldn’t you?”
“Just a moment ago you were smacking my head and saying we had to leave──”
“You want another hit?”
“No, older brother!”
The hunter hurriedly shook his head as I raised my fist.
I’d heard all sorts of things about the forest’s ecology and the world beyond it, but nothing seemed particularly suspicious.
The hunter kept feeding me proper nouns I’d never heard before until I was sick of them. He looked stunned whenever I told him I didn’t know them, but I just made the excuse that, being an elf, I hadn’t had any reason to learn them.
It feels less like I’ve entered a fabricated world the tower created and more like I’ve stepped into a world that actually exists.
That was what the 50th floor of the Tower of Trials felt like to me.
“Older brother, I really should be going now….”
“Yeah, go on. Start living like you actually have a job.”
“Yessir! Please be careful too, older brother…!!”
[03:30:52]
I snorted softly as he bowed over and over before finally leaving.
We wouldn’t have been able to stay together much longer anyway. Even if I’d gotten out of the forest, something would have happened soon enough.
My appearance is about to change.
To my eyes, I still looked the same, but to the hunter, I was an elf. Once the event ended, I’d return to my original form.
So I’d had him try a bunch of things—describe me, draw me—but he had no talent for sketching. And because he wasn’t much of a talker either, he couldn’t describe me properly.
I was wondering if there was some better way…
Slide—
“No matter how I look at it, you’re a real elf.”
The me captured on camera was a perfect elf.
I blinked at the elf in the photo album. I couldn’t tell that much difference from normal, but it was definitely an elf. No wonder they called them the race of beauty.
So the camera takes an objective view.
Or maybe it was because the person taking the picture was the hunter.
I didn’t know which was which, but at least my curiosity had been satisfied.
“I should post this in the Gallery later.”
I could only imagine how they’d react if I pretended to be an elf afterward.
I didn’t know whether they’d believe me, but it sounded fun.
[03:26:48]
All the events I’d wanted to finish early were done now, and it was time to prepare for my meeting with Behemoth.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Crackle—
[02:24:45]
“Ugh….”
About five minutes after the third event began, I deliberately made my way to the edge of the forest and looked up at the wall of fire.
This is the maximum range, then.
Even though I was still some distance from the boundary, the heat was so intense I couldn’t approach it. I could feel the water I’d soaked my clothes with beforehand, and the mask covering my face, drying out fast.
Crack…!!
Rumble…!
The grass and flowers on the ground caught fire.
Tree after tree collapsed helplessly, crushing the earth beneath them.
The flames hadn’t even reached the barrier yet, but just by drawing near, they were already transforming the ecosystem around them.
Slide—
“Water Ball.”
I tossed out one of the mana stones I’d bought before entering the tower.
“……”
Before I knew it, the mana stone had changed into a sphere of water, then immediately evaporated and vanished in midair.
It hadn’t even touched the barrier, and yet it disappeared that easily.
“Water Rain…!”
This time I grabbed a mid-grade mana stone and hurled it as hard as I could, with everything I had, even shouting the chant that wasn’t necessary.
Ssssshhhh….
The rain that started falling in front of the barrier instantly turned to steam.
It rose like pale smoke. Not a single drop reached the ground.
So this really is the Flame of the End.
Nothing could stop that fire. Unless you were some true archmage or something, there was no way ordinary magic would hold it back.
Just getting near it, you could feel the overwhelming heat. No normal living thing would ever make it through those flames.
There was nowhere to run. Once it started burning, you couldn’t get out of the forest.
I grinned.
“Okay.”
Wait for me, Behemoth.
One by one, nice and slow, I’ll make all the preparations just for you.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
“Kwoooooooh—!!”
Rumble…!
“That’s one hell of a loud voice.”
I let out a dry laugh and started walking, the cry sounding both familiar and strange.
[00:38:52]
About ten minutes remained until the Lord of the Forest event began. The mapping didn’t show the location of the exit or Behemoth, but it would be in the center anyway.
It wasn’t impossible that it appeared somewhere different each time, but either way it didn’t matter much.
Thinking about how the cave was blocked off, the structure will probably open up once the event starts.
Before the first event began, I’d checked the exit again as soon as I re-entered the forest, but the cave had been sealed by a sheer cliff face.
I’d thought about smashing through it with brute force if I had to, but gave up because the inside probably worked the same way.
And Behemoth wasn’t anywhere nearby back then either.
Step—
“Phew.”
Crack…!
Hiding behind a tree, I watched Behemoth in the distance near the cave as it ripped a tree out of the ground.
Because it hadn’t finished pulling the tree free yet, the distance to the cave was fairly short. Maybe if I sprinted the moment the event began, I could clear it.
…No, I could probably definitely get away.
It was only about thirty meters.
Remembering how frustratingly close I’d failed last time, this should absolutely be a success.
Though I don’t actually plan on escaping.
[Tower of Se$]
-#@`#! Cycle 5% floor & : Temporary [Real-Time Mapping] activated.
I casually checked the wiki again, just like last time.
The first three events had been fine.
They’d been fine, but a bug had occurred in the final event.
It’s the same again.
Once could be written off as a coincidence, but twice was no accident.
That meant either Behemoth itself was some kind of anomaly, or this floor of the Tower of Trials was currently bugged in the same way as the Tower of Lasting Malice 50th floor.
If I kill it, if I bring it down, something will change. I didn’t have any real certainty of that, but it was worth trying at least once.
And honestly, the feeling of being eaten by that bastard had been disgusting enough to justify it.
Besides, I have infinite coins.
If it really didn’t work out, I could just clear it normally later.
Right now, I felt like I had to hit it back, if only because I was pissed off.
Slide—
[Behemoth battle impossible. Survival chance: 0%.]
[If escape fails within the time limit, the exit will be permanently sealed.]
[If escape fails within the time limit, Predator’s Mark will be reapplied.]
[If escape fails within the time limit, Flame of the End will be reactivated.]
That was why I’d come to check the wall of fire in person.
This life… no, this run had come in with the intention of dying from the start. I was here to learn more, to check everything I could.
Though if I’m lucky, maybe I can end it in one shot.
I wasn’t really expecting that, though.
Expecting things never seemed to work out for me.
Click—!
Got myself a commemorative photo.
After taking a picture of Behemoth hoisting up the uprooted tree, I snorted and shoved my phone back into my pocket.
“Wait just a little longer.”
I’m going to give you a very hot experience.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Rumble…!!
[Survive]
[00:00:01]
Staring at the words hanging in the air, I let out a dry laugh.
So that’s how it is?
It had told me to survive, so I’d survived for ten hours, and somehow the timer had stopped.
It was frozen at one second, no longer moving forward.
For a moment I thought I might actually clear it just by satisfying the condition “survive,” but no—of course I had to get out through the exit.
Rumble-rumble-rumble!!!
“Kwoooooooooh!!!”
Far away, from the center of the forest, I heard Behemoth’s roar.
I didn’t know whether it was celebrating victory or meant something else, but it wasn’t exactly pleasant to hear.
Beep—!
[The exit will be permanently sealed.]
[Predator’s Mark will be reapplied.]
[Flame of the End will be reactivated.]
The wiki’s warning text changed.
At the little trinity of messages telling me to die quietly, I smiled faintly.
I know I’m going to die too, Wiki.
A pale pink mist-like thing drifted out of my body.
Seeing the wall of fire behind me start moving again, I pushed myself upright.
Blink— blink—
I’ll be coming for you soon, so wait.
Behemoth was still blinking from the center of the forest. Whether my pheromones hadn’t reached it, or it simply assumed I’d come there anyway, it didn’t move at all.
“Kwoooooooooh!!!”
It just kept roaring over and over until the whole forest seemed to shake.
Step—
“Phew…!”
One goal.
From here on out, the place I was heading was right in front of Behemoth.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Rustle—
Crushing the grass as it collapsed helplessly beneath my feet, I headed toward the forest’s center.
“Hah….”
The exit had crumbled away.
Seeing Behemoth sitting there in front of it, guarding the spot, I let out a bitter laugh.
What is that, about a hundred meters?
It felt much farther now than it had a few dozen minutes ago.
If I really had intended to escape, sprinting the moment the event began would’ve been the safest bet.
Though I don’t particularly intend to escape.
Crackle!!
Feeling the overwhelming heat pressing in from behind, I took another step forward.
Now it wasn’t just behind me; the wall of fire could be seen in every direction.
By rough calculation, the circle’s diameter had to be around three hundred meters.
Honestly, I couldn’t say for sure how big it was, but I could tell one thing well enough—the circle was absurdly small.
Blink— blink—
The number of blinking life forms on the mapping was small enough to count on both hands.
Hop! Hop!
“Kwoooooh!”
Crunch—!!
Well, make that one less, because another one had just been killed.
Rustle—
“Hey there.”
“……!”
I stepped onto the ground where the trees had already all been ripped out and offered a small greeting.
Seeing Behemoth’s eyes go round as saucers, its mouth opening like it was smiling, I snickered.
I didn’t know whether it was because of the Predator’s Mark effect or because it had been waiting for me from the start, but it sure looked happy to see me.
“Been waiting?”
Clutching the iron sword tightly, I walked toward it at a slow pace.
Feeling the wall of fire closing in behind me, I smiled as broadly as it did.
Even if I swing this thing at it, I doubt I’ll leave so much as a scratch.
My strength and technique were laughably inadequate. I couldn’t even begin to guess how thick that hide was.
The mana stones would be the same. I’d already hurled a few last run, and tossing more of them now would be meaningless.
So if I can’t do anything with my own power—
Rooooaaaar──!!!
“Then let’s have some fun, nice and hot.”
Since I’m going to come back even if I die, let’s dance in hell together.
A little fireplay like this? I’m already dead used to it.