Hidden Piece! This Time Will Be Different
Hidden? A hidden piece! This time, things would be different. That was what I thought.
A semi-boss couldn’t possibly be the same as a regular monster. With that in mind, I swore I would properly savor the power of my equipment this time and reached out to tap the system window floating in the air.
The moment I made my choice, the arena floor began to tremble faintly.
Then the iron gate on the opposite side rose with a deafening roar. Thick clouds of dust billowed forward, and from within that dust a massive silhouette emerged.
“Shiiiiiiiek—!!”
Semi-boss. As if to prove it, the creature’s very skeleton was on another level. A hulking frame nearly three meters tall, muscles covering every inch of its body without a single gap. The bizarre tattoos typical of warrior orcs only made its ferocity more blatant.
Above all, the enormous battle-axe gripped in both hands. Just looking at the weapon made me think it was terrifying.
An Orc Warrior. It truly was the apex predator that reigned over the ecosystem of the lower floors.
The instant it spotted me, its eyes widened and it snorted aggressively. This one was different from the idiots that had charged straight at me in a mindless line.
The Orc Warrior kept its weapon low, stepping side to side as it began to measure the distance. Those movements coming from such a heavy, muscular body were utterly efficient. Its eyes gleamed like a predator stalking prey.
“Hah, yes! Now this is how a fight should feel!”
I couldn’t hide my excitement and broke into a grin. Then—
“Let’s have some real fun!”
I fiddled with the ring on my finger and chanted the spell with everything I had.
“Lightning Bolt!”
Crackle-crackle-crackle-crackle—!
Splendid blue lightning erupted from my fingertips. The amplified bolt had grown in volume, scorching the very air around its trajectory as it flew.
The Orc Warrior must have sensed the danger; it let out a roar and thrust its massive battle-axe forward like a shield.
Oh, that was good. An excellent instinctive defense. I genuinely thought it had responded well. But—
KWAAAAAAAAAAAANG—!!!
The explosion filled the entire arena. A flash of light bleached my vision white.
I braced my legs against the shockwave and stared ahead.
Come out. Come out and swing that weapon at me! Swing it!
Dense dust swallowed the arena. I breathed roughly, eyes fixed on the acrid smoke.
I waited for it to clear, expecting a fierce exchange of blows. At the very least, I pictured the creature bursting out of the fog in a rage and charging at me.
Yet as the smoke slowly dissipated, the scene that appeared completely betrayed my expectations.
“…Ha.”
Another dumbfounded sigh slipped out.
Where the Orc Warrior had stood, only a deeply gouged crater remained. Not a trace was left of its prized battle-axe or its intimidating, ferocious body. Nothing but ashes.
In the end, it was over with a single strike again.
“Are you kidding me?! A semi-boss…!!!”
I clutched my head in utter despair and screamed.
If it was going to die like that, why had it bothered with the footwork? Why the roar? Was that just a death dance?
15th Floor Semi-Boss Stage Cleared!
Clear Time: 00:00:07
An incredible achievement! You have set a new world record for the fastest clear of this floor!
My face as I stared at the string of message windows was utterly rotten with disappointment.
“You’ve got to be joking…”
Combat intelligence? A worthy opponent? A fierce battle?
Yeah, none of that meant anything in front of overwhelming firepower. No matter how excellent the enemy’s patterns or preparations were, it didn’t matter.
What could they possibly do if you crushed them with a one-shot before their pattern even began?
I pressed a hand to my forehead and let out a long sigh.
“…Why did I even bother getting the equipment?”
I was about to slump to the floor when the system window flickered again with a new message.
15th Floor Clear Rewards Will Now Be Distributed.
Right. I should at least take the rewards.
The 15th floor was technically part of the fifth stratum. That meant the reward would be a skill or equipment.
With a flicker of anticipation, I watched two cards materialize in the air. When the brilliant light faded, the color of the cards before my eyes was a dull brown.
“…Excuse me? Bronze?”
For a second I doubted my own eyes.
No, I had just killed a 15th-floor semi-boss, not even a regular 5th-floor one, and I get bronze cards?
“…Maybe it’s actually gold and my eyes are just blurry. Weird. Why does it look like crap brown?”
Even if I had cleared it by basically farming, wasn’t this too much?
Anger surged and I was about to point an accusing finger when a sound effect rang out and an update message appeared.
The System is re-evaluating your new record achievement.
Additional effects activated for breaking the 15th-floor record.
Reward grade has been increased!
The dull cards spun rapidly before transforming into silver cards that glowed with a soft light.
“…It’s still just silver, System dude.”
Even though the reward grade had risen, I felt zero satisfaction. After tasting gold and black, this common silver color was nothing special.
“Well, what can you do? Even if it’s trash, I still have to take it.”
With no real expectations, I simply reached for the right-hand silver card out of habit, following the sacred male truth that the right side is always better.
The moment my fingertip touched the card, silver powder scattered and the skill name appeared before my eyes.
Weight Control(Silver)
A utility skill that allows the user to freely increase or decrease the weight of their own body or any object they touch by consuming mana. The degree of weight change is proportional to the amount of mana invested. Activation and deactivation can be controlled at will. Duration: 2 hours.
“…Weight Control?”
The somewhat plain skill name made me tilt my head slightly.
I hadn’t expected much, but what the hell was this skill?
I held the card and quickly read through the detailed explanation.
…Yeah, I get it completely. It’s a utility skill.
Was it telling me to become a porter or something?
It had the advantage of being able to lighten objects to reduce bag weight, but that was it. Changing my own body weight? Was I supposed to start doing close-quarters combat now?
There was no way a natural-type awakener like me would ever fight enemies by smashing into them with my own body. I had no idea what synergy it could possibly have with my firepower-focused combat style.
In short, it was useless.
“No wonder it was silver. They should’ve just given me equipment instead.”
I grumbled and was about to close the system window when—
Shweeeeee—!
A chilling wind blew from somewhere, sweeping away the thick dust that had settled inside the coliseum.
As the dust gradually cleared, the sight that appeared ahead was so bizarre it instantly silenced all my complaints.
The source was directly in front of the arena—beyond where the Orc Warrior had stood, the massive rock wall that had blocked the way.
When I turned to look, my eyes widened.
“Oh ho.”
Maybe the Lightning Bolt I’d fired had been too strong. It had not only vaporized the Orc Warrior but completely shattered the rock wall behind it as well.
Crack. Craaaack.
The already fractured wall completely collapsed.
Beyond it, a rectangular passage shrouded in deep darkness revealed itself.
“A passage?”
The normal structure of each tower floor was that rewards appeared the moment you cleared it and you exited the tower. The only times a physical passage was hidden inside a stage were usually for traps, or…
“…Hidden!”
My eyes sparkled as I stepped over the debris of the collapsed wall and approached the entrance.
The passage was narrow enough for only one person to pass through and stretched so far that I couldn’t see the end. Geometric patterns densely engraved on both walls created an unpleasant sense of unease.
Secret passage. Hidden piece. Magical words that made any hunter’s heart race.
I had no idea what lay at the end, but I was certain it wouldn’t be an ordinary reward.
Because it was hidden.
“This is jackpot material.”
Without hesitation, I took my first step into the passage. But the very moment my foot came down—
Shweeeeee—!
Something brushed right past the tip of my nose with a spine-chilling sound.
“Eek!”
I flinched and fell backward.
If I had moved even an inch farther forward, my nose would have been gone.
I quickly regained my balance and peered inside the passage, only to witness an unbelievable sight.
Fwoosh! Shweek! Thud-thud-thud!
Countless tiny holes drilled across the entire left wall were firing a relentless barrage of blue-glowing arrows toward the right wall. It was literally a wall made of arrows.
Hundreds, thousands of arrows shot from left to right without a single gap of even a second, embedding in the opposite wall. The embedded arrows then shattered into light, regenerated from the left wall, and flew again in an endless, bizarre cycle.
A physical barrier of arrow rain woven together like an infinite loop.
“Are you insane? How the hell am I supposed to get through that?”
It was so absurd I couldn’t even laugh.
I tried calculating the arrows’ trajectories and speed to see if dodging was possible, but it was pointless. This wasn’t something you could pass by matching footwork and timing.
Maybe block it with a shield? Or use something solid to push through? I considered every idea, but none seemed feasible.
While I was grumbling for a long while, a powerful realization suddenly struck me.
“Wait a minute. Am I actually stupid?”
I lifted my head and stared down the passage.
“Physical attack. Arrows. A passage that cannot be passed through physically.”
Muttering as if in a trance, I looked down at my own hands.
“I’m a natural type.”
Laughter burst out of me.
A natural type was essentially an irregular that embodied the very nature of an element. In other words, I was not a human with an ordinary flesh body.
The advice the gallery ghosts had shouted that first day I encountered the gallery, when I was trying to control my rampaging mana, echoed in my ears.
Abandon the fixed idea that the body must be made of human flesh.
Your body should be seen not as a vessel, but as a conductor.
Imagine electricity flowing through your veins instead of blood, lightning forming your spine instead of bones.
I slowly rose to my feet and stepped right up to the entrance where the arrow storm poured down.
I took one deep breath and closed my eyes.
“Lightning Form.”
Crackle. Bzzzzzt.
Blue sparks began leaping from my body. A strange floating sensation swept over me.
When I opened my eyes, the height of my vision had changed slightly, and my body had lost its solid shape, transforming into a flickering mass of blue lightning.
I raised a hand. Where bone and flesh should have been, only strands of crackling electricity existed.
“Yeah. Perfect.”
Maintaining complete Lightning Form, I stepped into the passage without hesitation.
Shweeeee—!
A single arrow brimming with blue mana flew straight toward the center of my chest. However—
It passed through my lightning-formed chest as if cutting through empty air, embedding itself in the right wall with zero resistance.
The only reaction was a slight ripple in the current that made up my body.
“Hahaha!”
The exhilarating feeling made me throw my head back and laugh heartily.
I was lightning itself. I was the great power of nature itself.
I puffed out my chest and strode confidently down the passage.
Fwoosh! Thud-thud! Shweek!
Dozens, hundreds of arrows continuously pierced my arms, legs, and head. Every time arrows from all directions passed through my lightning body, brilliant sparks exploded outward.
Even while walking through the middle of that deadly infinite loop, I was humming a tune.
“I’ve got a cheat, you see~ I’m an overpowered unit, you see~”
The feeling of leisurely passing through a place no one else could traverse was an indescribable pleasure.
This was the true privilege of being an irregular.
The long, long section of the arrow barrier finally began to end. Beyond it stood a massive stone door firmly shut, with faint light leaking through the cracks.
I let the final arrows pass behind me and settled into the safe zone in front of the stone door.
“Whew.”
When I released my concentration, the Lightning Form dissipated and I felt my original body return. The firm sensation of stone beneath my feet, the cool air rushing into my lungs.
“Natural types really are the best.”
With a huge smile blooming across my face, I approached the stone door.
Hidden. Reward. Something of immense value.
That reward was waiting for me.
I swallowed hard.
Then I carefully ran my fingers over the patterns engraved on the stone door’s surface and pushed.
Rumble—!