Chapter 8
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 8
Chapter Title: 5th Floor
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Unable to resist Little One's persistent nagging, I'd hit the purchase button in a "whatever" frame of mind, and that outfit arrived right at my doorstep just before dawn this morning.
"...Hah, seriously? They expect me to wear this?"
The moment I opened the box, out popped a flashy pure white one-piece dress.
It was the textbook example of an outfit that screamed "innocent girl designed to trigger protective instincts" to anyone who laid eyes on it.
Just a few days ago, I'd been a twenty-something guy with a cigarette dangling from my lips, and now the thought of slipping into this made my nape crawl with discomfort.
But Little One was tapping my calf insistently, urging me to try it on. Those big, expectant eyes made it impossible to say no.
I squeezed my eyes shut and changed into it.
"...Huh?"
There, in the mirror... stood a beautiful girl.
A wave of self-loathing hit me, but when I actually moved around, it felt far lighter and crisper than the bulky hoodie.
Above all, seeing Little One circling me excitedly, clapping and beaming with joy, strangely didn't feel bad at all.
...Well, as long as it's easy to move in. Fits perfectly, too.
Rationalizing it to myself, I slung yesterday's mini bag over the dress.
"...Alright, let's go, Little One. Time to check out the 5th floor."
I put on a deliberately solemn expression and stepped out the front door.
The fluttering hem brushing against my legs felt utterly foreign, but now an inexplicable sense of satisfaction—this body's instincts, maybe?—was quietly welling up inside me.
[Entering the 5th Floor.]
As the blinding light faded, what came into view was a massive stone plaza.
The wide-open sightlines let me take in the entire expanse all the way to the edges at a glance.
And at the far opposite end stood a gigantic silhouette.
A physique worlds apart from an ordinary goblin. It was the Goblin Chieftain.
It hadn't spotted us yet, sitting on the ground gnawing away at something with its enormous greatsword propped nearby.
Crunch, crunch.
The sound of bones being ground echoed across the plaza.
"...It's huge, for real."
Little One on my shoulder immediately tensed to leap out. I urgently grabbed its hem.
"Hey, hey. Hold on a sec. Let me try out a new skill first."
Little One stopped, nodding as if it understood.
I drew in a deep breath and recalled the Hero-grade skill I'd learned yesterday. A purple afterimage flashed across my mind.
"...Summon!"
Quietly. But solemnly.
I pictured the Knight Commander materializing and cleaving the chieftain's head clean off.
But nothing happened. Silence blanketed the plaza.
"Huh? Summon! Knight Commander! Come on out!"
I raised my voice once more, but it echoed emptily into the void.
Panicking, I turned to Little One, who stared back at me with utter pity.
It wagged its index finger no-no style, then patted its own belly before mimicking a motion like drawing something upward from bottom to top.
"Eh? What's that supposed to mean? Pull something up from my belly?"
My confusion hadn't even cleared when—
ROOOOARRRRR!
A ear-splitting roar reverberated through the plaza. Our chatter must've irked it.
The Goblin Chieftain glared our way, greatsword in hand. It immediately surged forward with terrifying momentum, hauling its massive bulk.
Boom, boom, boom! The ground shook.
"Eek! L-Little One! Block that thing first! I'll handle this!"
Before my scream-laced order could even land, Little One was already leaping into action.
It poured mana at the boss's feet, instantly conjuring a sheet of ice.
As the hulking chieftain slipped and stumbled, magic projectiles poured nonstop from Little One's fingertips.
Boom boom! Boom!
Explosions rang out, thick smoke billowing up.
But the beast shrugged it off unfazed, parting the smoke and stomping forward again.
Crack!
The ice shattered. With one powerful stomp from the chieftain, Little One's frozen trap crumpled like paper.
While Little One fought valiantly, I desperately focused on the sensation deep in my abdomen.
Thinking back, it felt just like this when I first summoned Little One.
Back then, it was a frantic yell born of desperation to survive, but there'd definitely been that strange sensation of something draining out from inside me.
I desperately dredged up those memories, concentrating my mind.
Across the plaza, Little One waged a desperate struggle.
It unleashed ice magic without pause, dedicating itself to binding the Goblin Chieftain's feet.
But it seemed insufficient to fully halt the chieftain's brute force. Every swing of its greatsword sent shards of ice flying.
Impatience surged within me.
Just as cold sweat trickled down my cheek, a voice echoed in my head.
[Don't be impatient. Slowly feel the mana inside your body.]
System help? No time to wonder whose voice it was. I focused as instructed.
I sensed a flow distinct from the blood circulating through my body in time with my heartbeat.
A hot yet clear, utterly alien pulse.
This... is mana?
The moment I recognized the invisible energy filling my body, it was as if blocked channels burst open—mana roiled wildly within me.
I clenched and unclenched my fingertips. Then pictured the Black Knight in my mind.
"...Summon."
This time, there was no echoing into the void. Instead, a thick shadow spread from my feet like a swamp.
The plaza's temperature plunged sharply, a chill permeating the air.
From the heart of the shadow rose a massive helmet wreathed in purple mist, followed by a knight clad in heavy abyssal plate armor materializing fully.
The Hero-grade active skill, [Summon - Black Knight Commander (Hero)], had finally taken solid form upon the ground.
Little One raced back to me, panting heavily with exhaustion plain on its face. Holding the boss back alone had drained a ton of mana.
In stark contrast, the summoned Black Knight Commander stood utterly motionless, without so much as a twitch.
Overwhelmed by the unfamiliar sight, I had no idea how to issue a command and simply watched in stunned silence.
The chieftain seized that split-second opening, hoisting its massive greatsword high.
BOOM—!
Destructive force capable of shaking the entire plaza crashed down atop the Knight Commander's head.
Yet the Commander didn't so much as budge backward—not even the slightest tremor.
It absorbed the monstrous blow and maintained perfect statue-like stillness.
Snapping to my senses at last, I bellowed at the top of my lungs.
"T-Take that thing down!"
The instant my order dropped, a cold gleam flashed through the slits of the Commander's helmet.
The knight reached into empty air, and black mana swirled within its grasp, coalescing into form.
A massive mana lance.
The Knight Commander's launch off the ground was too fast for the eye to track—an unnatural leap defying the weight of that heavy armor.
Before the Goblin Chieftain could swing its greatsword again, the black lance tip sliced through the air in a dead-straight line.
Thud—!
With a dull sound, the enormous mana lance pierced straight through the chieftain's chest.
The blade that impaled its heart clean thrust out through its back.
Denied even the chance to roar, the chieftain convulsed with eyes bulging before slamming into the ground.
As the Goblin Chieftain dissolved into dust, only silence remained in the plaza.
No time to savor the thrill of victory—the Knight Commander, standing far off, began striding toward me with heavy clanks of armor.
The overwhelming pressure of its approach defied imagination. My shoulders hunched instinctively, and I backpedaled.
Meeting the glow flickering through its helmet visor choked the breath from my lungs.
But the Commander halted before me and did something wholly unexpected.
Clank—.
Amid the heavy metallic sound, it dropped to one knee. Laying its massive mana lance aside, it bowed its head deeply in salute.
[The Black Knight Commander expresses deep respect to the Summoner.]
Only upon seeing the system message floating before my eyes did the tension finally drain away. That's when it truly sank in—this overwhelming monster was my summon.
Awkwardly, I reached out and gently stroked the Knight Commander's cold helmet, which came down to my chest height.
"Uh, uh... Yeah. Good job. You worked hard."
It was mumbled praise, embarrassment making my words slur.
The moment my hand made contact, the Commander's body began to vibrate faintly.
Its crude armored form blurred, then dissolved into thousands of black petals that scattered into the air.
The sight of those black petals drifting was strangely mesmerizing in its intensity. And with that ebony flower rain as its farewell, the Knight Commander returned to the abyss.
Little One, who'd been watching from the side, swatted at the air in fascination, trying to catch the drifting petals.
I stood alone in the center of the now-empty plaza, quietly savoring the lingering aftertaste of that heavy mana presence.
[Congratulations! You've cleared the 5th Floor Nightmare Difficulty!]
[First Clear of Nightmare Difficulty!]
[Clear Reward List]
- Mana Stones 1.5kg.
- [Item: Chieftain's Earth Pulverizer (Hero)]
- Type: Two-Handed Greatsword
"Oh! A Hero item!"
Totally awesome.
It sucked that it was a two-handed greatsword I couldn't wield myself,
but Hero-grade item? That made it plenty worthwhile.
I could fetch a fortune selling this thing.
With trembling hands, I scooped up the mana stone the chieftain had dropped, too.
A whopping 1.5kg. This crystal was twice as hefty as what I'd gathered on the 4th floor and gleamed like a massive jewel in its own right.
But the real trouble came next.
"Ugh, uuuugh...!"
I gripped the hilt of the greatsword lodged in the ground with both hands and threw my body back as far as it would go, teeth gritted.
But the blade might as well have taken root—it wouldn't budge an inch.
Only when I strained my slender arms until veins bulged did the tip finally scrape the ground and drag ever so slightly.
Just a few days ago, my old body could've handled this easily... well, not that easily, maybe.
Point was, I could've moved it no problem, but now I had to turn beet red like my face might burst just to inch it along.
"Ugh... uuugh... uuuugh...!"
Little One watched my pathetic struggle for a moment before letting out a deep sigh and taking action first. It stretched out its short arms and clamped onto the hefty 1.5kg bag of mana stones.
Nngh...
Hugging a bag as big as itself, Little One's tiny frame swayed wildly side to side.
Lips pursed tight, it threw every ounce of strength into dragging the bag backward. Short legs tensed to the max, it retreated one resolute step at a time—looking downright heroic.
"Oh, Little One...! Yeah, let's do this together!"
Buoyed by its support, I hoisted the greatsword's hilt over my shoulder like a burden and dragged it along.
My wrists throbbed, and my shoulders felt like they might pop out of their sockets.
Little One, red-faced and hauling the bag ahead of me; me, staggering behind clutching a sword taller than I was—we made quite the sorry pair.
But the heavy scraping of that greatsword behind me sounded just like gold bars grinding across the floor.
Sweat-drenched, we leaned on each other and took it one laborious step at a time.