The Goddess's Grudge and the Hidden Weakness
It is a common phenomenon for bosses to deliver lines of dialogue when shifting phases. And seeing everyone freeze for a moment the second the boss spoke, I instinctively knew the situation had taken a turn for the worse.
‘Wait… do they usually not talk? …Did something go wrong?’
My anxiety spiked suddenly.
“Is this supposed to be making me nervous?”
Seo Ian, seemingly feeling the same way, stopped her attack and backed away from the statue. She glanced at Park Siwoo and asked, “Isn’t it because you’re hitting too hard? I’ve never heard of a boss in a special floor talking.”
Even Park Siwoo, the Association’s veteran enchanter, shrugged as if he’d never heard of such a thing. His eyes remained fixed on the statue’s next move.
“Hey. Hong Jehun is the one in first place right now, so why is this my fault?”
Her voice had grown rough; clearly, she wasn’t happy with the current situation. Since I had my own suspicions, I decided to play the part of the newbie—the one who knew nothing—and kept my mouth shut.
‘Could it be because of the defense-ignoring damage…?’
Along with various elixirs, I had downed two bottles of Defense-Ignoring Damage 50% potions. Thanks to my Weakness God skill, I was dealing 100% defense-ignoring damage. The statue’s line, “To think you would pierce the defense of a goddess,” was bothering me.
“Hey! Park Siwoo! Get ready to toss a high-grade recovery potion!”
“You act like it’s my only job!”
He complained, but a bottle of high-grade recovery potion was already in his hand. Seeing that, Seo Ian swung her sword forward with a massive roar.
A sword aura tore through the ground in a straight line.
“…….”
“What the hell. I think this bastard messed up his lines.”
The statue’s phase hadn’t changed. If a phase shift occurred, there should have been some kind of transformation, but there was nothing of the sort. Just like before it spoke, it simply stood there, taking the hits.
“Agh, damn it! I was worried for nothing!”
At her words, everyone seemed relieved and resumed their attacks. Me included.
But.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
"You lowly humans! To think you would dare pierce the defense of a goddess!"
“…I guess it’s a bug.”
Hong Jehun reached that conclusion and continued his assault.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
"You lowly humans! To think you would dare pierce the defense of a goddess!"
Whoosh! Whoosh!
"You lowly..."
This is insane….
When I stopped attacking for a moment, the statue shut its mouth. When I resumed, it started the “You lowly…” line all over again.
‘So it is talking because of me, isn’t it?’
It had to be the 100% defense-ignoring damage. ‘No, it’s just noisy. I don’t need to feel guilty… probably.’ I convinced myself, not stopping my hand from pulling the bowstring. I couldn’t just stand there doing nothing, could I? I had to earn my contribution points. I wanted to properly taste the rewards of this legendary special floor!
One more shot. Even 0.01% more contribution.
Just as I was reaching the state of Shin-Gun-Hap-Il—where I couldn’t tell if I was the crossbow or the crossbow was me—
CRACK-BOOM!!
Suddenly, the sound of stones being shattered echoed, followed by a clear voice ringing through the temple.
“Ah! Sorry! My apologies!”
“Ah, damn it, Hong Jehuuun—!”
I knew exactly who the culprit was. Hong Jehun apologizing, and Seo Ian sealing the deal.
“I’m really sorry! It wasn’t intentional! Everyone, I apologize!”
The giant ice-dragon-shaped construct had been rampaging through the temple for a while now. But one of them had just grazed three massive stone pillars. As the dragon vanished, the truth was revealed: the pillars were now hollowed-out shells.
As the situation registered, the centerless pillar fragments began to collapse. Thankfully, no one was standing in that area, so it seemed unlikely anyone would get hurt, but—
“Hey! Watch out for the flying debris!”
Hwang Gyubeom, who had rushed behind me, took a position in front of me and turned his back to the danger. He raised his greatsword, its flat side facing the incoming debris. As I’ve said before, this is why I’ve grown so fond of this man. A fact no one else knows.
Anyway.
THUD!
The fallen pillar shattered again, sending small fragments flying. Everyone paused their offensive for a moment. Those with sturdy armor took the hits and kept dealing damage, while those with questionable armor crouched down to minimize potential damage.
As the secondary damage from the stone fragments subsided, another ambush appeared.
“Ugh! *Cough!*”
A choking dust storm bloomed in the area. In an instant, everything turned a dark, yellowish-brown. It was like a high-concentration yellow dust storm; naturally, my eyes, nose, and throat began to sting.
And.
“…Hng?”
As I burst into a fit of coughing, I also triggered 250 ticks—1.75 million won in cash.
High-grade recovery potion effect applied!
I didn’t need the system to tell me. I felt it burst in my mouth, and the bitter taste stinging my tongue was enough to know. Ah…. To waste a high-grade recovery potion just because of a cough….
Still, it was worth the money; my eyes, nose, and throat, which felt like they were being pricked by tiny needles, were refreshed all at once. And immediately, I felt the loss of the money in my bones.
‘Ugh… if I’d known, I would’ve waited until the dust settled….’
My eyes, nose, and throat were starting to sting again. Still, I could at least fire my crossbow again. My contribution points!
But what was the last thing I saw? It was the back of Hwang Gyubeom, who had stepped in front to cover me. I looked ahead, worried I might accidentally shoot him. I had to aim around him.
But could I see anything? The front was entirely filled with dark, yellowish-brown dust. I blinked, trying to see better.
And then.
—*Flash!*
A single red light flickered within the dust.
‘What’s that?’
The red light shone proudly in the same spot without moving. It wasn’t a gathering zone. Gathering zones always look like spreading light, not a sharp, piercing glow like that. Then, in an instant, the light vanished.
‘Seriously, what was that…?’
As I pondered, the dust settled, and my vision began to clear.
“What the f—, *cough!!*”
I saw the silhouette of Seo Ian, clearly suffering from a coughing fit while trying to curse.
“Four minutes remaining!” Park Siwoo shouted. The Awakened began their attacks before the dust had even fully settled.
“Don’t scrape the bottom, just the top! If that bastard Hong Jehun knocks down another pillar, we’ll have another dust storm like before!” Seo Ian yelled. I couldn’t tell if she was looking at the statue or at Hong Jehun. All I knew was that she had a murderous look on her face, like she was ready to devour someone.
Anyway. I blinked twice at the statue. The Hawk’s Eye skill. Blinking twice quickly allows you to see something about the target for three seconds. For people, it showed their current feelings; for tower intrusion windows, it showed the tower owner’s remaining time.
‘…As expected, for a boss monster, I can see that red light from earlier.’
There were two possibilities. It was either the boss’s weak point or its most armored part. Well… I’d know once I hit it.
I didn’t trust my accuracy, so I stepped forward. To keep track of the red light that would disappear in three seconds, I kept blinking as if I had dust in my eyes.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
I fired my crossbow. The first shot missed narrowly, but the second one hit.
Someone has touched the boss's reverse scale!
🎁 Effect: Damage dealt to the boss increased by 1.5x!
Shock was etched on everyone’s faces. Even I, who knew the reason, was surprised. Hawk’s Eye on a boss, red light, reverse scale, 1.5x damage increase. Note to self.
“What’s a reverse scale?”
“Who hit the reverse scale, anyway?”
“There are so many people here, how would we know?”
“Just own up to it!”
The place turned into a commotion in an instant. The atmosphere was better than ever. Everyone had smiles on their faces, joking around while never stopping their attacks.
But. For a split second, I made eye contact with Park Siwoo. Everyone was focused on the boss, so why me? When I tilted my head slightly, he just curled up the corners of his mouth as if it were nothing. Must have been a coincidence. Don’t read into it. The only thing I needed to care about was my contribution points.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
‘By the way, just how big are these contribution rewards that even sick Awakened are trying to participate?’
‘What should I do if I get the rewards this time?’
‘Stat enhancement? But I’ve already raised them, so it costs too many ticks!’
‘Ah! First, I need to get to the surface! Thinking about it, I can’t live with those cockroaches anymore!’
‘No, if they were going to move in, they should’ve paid rent. The cockroaches are definitely in the wrong! They even look scary!’
My mind was on autopilot, repeating the same actions. But then, my brain snapped back into focus.
The durability of your 'Light Crossbow' is below 10%!
Damage reduced by 50%!
“Huh?”
If durability drops below 10%, stats decrease by 50%. If it hits zero, it turns gray, is forcibly stored in the inventory, and cannot be equipped until repaired. ‘Ah… I should’ve asked Seo Ian to let me use the hammer when she was grabbing Park Siwoo by the collar….’ It was too late for regrets. I slowly backed away without stopping my attacks.
The statue’s stone eyes seemed to follow my movements, but I decided it was just my imagination. Otherwise, it would be a bit creepy.
“Where are you going! There’s only about two minutes left!” Hwang Gyubeom shouted, having spotted me.
“Two minutes?!”
“Yeah!”
“Damn it!!”
I turned around and ran, forgetting all about attacking. I wasn’t afraid of stone eyes following me. My courage, tempered by cockroaches, feared no stone.
“Enchanter Park Siwoo!!”
“Yes?”
Park Siwoo’s eyes widened in surprise as I rushed toward him, but I didn’t care. I got straight to the point. In truth, I was more surprised than he was, so I didn’t have the luxury of considering his shock.
“Hammer, hurry!”
“What?”
“Here’s the advance payment!!”
I quickly opened my inventory and shoved the bundle of advance payment I’d received from Seo Ian toward him. I’d learned something very good from him.
“What hammer… Ah! Here you go!”
Park Siwoo, who had scanned me up and down, immediately handed me a golden hammer. No armor. No accessories. Just the light crossbow he’d lent me in my hand. He must have noticed.
“Thank you!!”
I bowed deeply to show my gratitude and pressed the hammer against the light crossbow.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The sound of the hammering felt slow today.
Durability restored!
I cut off the rest of the notification, closed the status window, and aimed my crossbow at the goddess statue again.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
The arrows flew in a magnificent trajectory once more.
"You lowly humans, you’re quite something! But how about this!"
The statue delivered another line. I couldn’t just ignore it; the entire statue began to glow with a slick, oily sheen.
The Goddess of the Forgotten Temple's HP has dropped below 50%!
📍 Effect: All Awakened stat restrictions are lifted!
The notification slammed into everyone’s ears.
“This is actually better.” Hong Jehun, who had dumped everything into Intelligence, smiled as he felt the restrictions lift. “Right? This is way better than before!!” Seo Ian, who had dumped everything into Strength, began to cackle savagely.
Compared to them, I had ambiguous stats, so I didn’t feel much of a difference other than my body feeling lighter and my hand pulling the crossbow feeling more comfortable. The only reason I could think, ‘Hey, I’m actually pretty good at this?’ was….
I saw this right before being kicked out of the special floor due to time expiration. ‘I’m 3rd…?’ Overall, it seemed to be thanks to my newly acquired S-rank skill, Weakness God. Since the goddess was a boss monster, I dealt 40% more damage. Plus, having 10 Intelligence while stats were fixed at 1 during Phase 1 must have been a huge help. The 100% defense-ignoring damage must have played a part, too.
Ah, for reference, I couldn’t meet Rackcho on the special floor. I was kicked out of the tower the moment 10 minutes passed.
“Anyway, S-rank skills are amazing, aren’t they? And Hawk’s Eye was super useful for the boss!”
Touching the boss’s reverse scale to increase boss damage by 1.5x. It was great to use alone, but it also seemed useful for helping others like an area-of-effect buff. When I first got it, I was anxious about how to use it, but now that I knew, it was a skill that fit perfectly with my Intrusion trait. I was a bit impressed by the system’s arrangement.
I was enjoying the inner joy when—
Look at those sweet rewards for the 1st place country! But I felt a slight sense of regret. Third place. I’d actually thought I might take 1st place and get a loot box. It’s common sense that high-defense bosses appear in time-attack formats. Since the special floor boss with a 10-minute limit obviously had high defense as well as high HP, I thought the 100% defense-ignoring damage would have a huge effect.
‘I was just hammering away at it, ignoring all that defense, right? And my rate of fire is fast, too.’
But the rankers and high-grade Awakened were dealing damage as if my rate of fire was cute. The number of hits they landed in a single skill was different. Mine went whoosh whoosh!, theirs went du-du-du-du-du-du…!
‘I really do need a flashy attack skill….’
To soothe my disappointment, I looked at my inventory window. Inside, the “Special Floor Reward Box,” rumored to be incredible, was shining brilliantly.