Chapter 461: Proof (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 461: Proof (1)
The time limit on this destructive attack pattern was ten minutes, and once those ten minutes were up, Riakis would fully recover, nullifying any damage the player had inflicted on him thus far. Considering the countless ridiculous conditions Dungeon and Stone forced its players to deal with, this one was actually pretty reasonable.
[Purification Rate: 3%]
If you could just land one final blow within those ten minutes, the battle would be over. And there wouldn't be any surprise attack patterns or new phases thrown at you in the meantime.
I tried to focus on being as calm, collected, and cautious as possible without getting too antsy.
Fwooosh!
Erwen shot an arrow at him at full power. Even as it sliced through the air, however, Riakis seemed to spot it with his upgraded corrupted eyes and dodged it.
Please, can't you just die already? I really don't have time to deal with you.
[Purification Rate: 7%]
The more Riakis continued to evade and defend against our attacks, the more anxious and impatient I became. On top of that, I wasn't the only one losing my patience.
"Erwen! Don't you know how to shoot an arrow?!"
"Why don't you try shooting it, then?!"
"Behel—aaaaaah!" Ainar bellowed, leaping into the air like she always did when trying to land a finishing blow. When Riakis was within reach, she drove her sword into his shoulder blade.
Slash!
The cut wasn't deep enough, though. Perhaps that was why Ainar was also getting more frustrated than usual.
Stab!
She steadied herself on his shoulder as she pulled out the sword and jammed it in again. However, no matter how hard she tried, it wasn't doing any damage.
"Argh!" Suddenly, a tail wrapped around Ainar's waist like a tentacle and effortlessly lifted her into the air. Fortunately, Amelia, who was nearby, managed to sprint forward and rescue Ainar by slashing through the tail with her dagger.
"Ugh! Th-thanks—"
"Calm yourself, barbarian. At least while we're in battle."
"Y-Yeah... sorry!"
"Apologize to that kid too. She's been contributing the most to this fight after Yandel."
"Erwen! Sorry! I'm sorry I yelled at you for missing!"
"...I didn't care anyway."
The sight of Amelia scolding Ainar and Erwen awkwardly accepting the apology warmed my heart. I couldn't be prouder as their captain. However, this was neither the time nor the place for all that, especially when we were on a time limit.
"Hey! We just need to land one more attack!" I yelled out in irritation as everyone quickly wrapped up their conversations and concentrated on the battle.
Boom!
Riakis swung his front paw once more. Instead of trying to tank the attack with my shield, I decided to step back to negate some of the impact.
We can still pull this off.
I forcibly reigned in my mounting frustration before it could take on a mind of its own.
[Purification Rate: 9%]
We weren't in bad condition at the moment, though after thirty minutes of nonstop battle, the MP of our DPSers was slowly bottoming out. However, that was the worst of it. This type of boss monster grew easier to deal with the longer you were able to hold it back.
Guoooooo!
The next scream told me his Purification Rate must be at 10 percent.
Not that that even mattered. Who cared about the Purification Rate when the Sawtooth Clan was on its way here?
"Erwen, how long until your next attack?"
"About seventy-five seconds!"
Damn. Then this would really be our last chance.
"Raaah!" I let out a war cry and ran at Riakis. I had to periodically use Wild Outburst to raise my Threat Level stat so his aggro never fell on anyone other than me.
Slam!
It was my job to block Riakis's attacks before he could reach my damage dealers.
[Purification Rate: 15%]
A few good hits from Riakis's paw would break even someone as tough as Ainar to pieces. He was so powerful that if this were Phase Three, even I would have had no choice but to simply draw aggro and run away from him. Luckily, the fact that this was Phase Four made it possible for me to hold my own against him even without the help of a priest or wizard.
"Mister!"
Hm? Did she already finish charging up her next attack? There should still be sixty-two seconds left, though.
"Here!" It was a clause without a subject, but I immediately understood what she was saying.
Just my luck.
It had been less than three minutes since we first noticed them. How did they run here so fast?
Erwen continued her briefing as I focused on tanking Riakis's attacks. "From the right!"
I spared a sideways glance to see dozens of people in the distance quickly approaching.
Thud!
I dropped my shield and hammer onto the ground.
Amelia met my gaze, and her eyes flew wide open as soon as she processed what I'd done. To be fair, the sight of me dropping my weapons and gunning straight for Riakis would shock anyone. Where else would she have ever seen something so wild?
I wrapped my arms around the neck of the giant monster like I was trying to drag him down to the ground.
"Behel—aaaaaah!"
My tight grip on him didn't let up even as he tried to forcibly shake me off. Instead, I strangled him with all the strength I had in my arms.
"Behel—aaaaaah!"
I called this move the Giant Barbarian Choke. It was similar to the move I used when wrestling that Troll on the fourth floor, but there were two key differences. One was that both I and the monster I was choking were several times larger.
What strength...
The second was that I couldn't manage to get a perfect grip on his neck like with the Troll.
Guoooooo!
I was struggling to even defend against his attacks earlier, so of course I'd be struggling to hold onto him now. Just because we were in a similar weight class didn't mean we shared a Strength stat.
"B-Bjorn!"
Rising up on his hind legs, he stood bipedally, using his front paws to grasp at my arms as they continued to clutch his neck in a stranglehold.
Seventy-two seconds.
The monster struggled to throw me aside as I tried to choke him out.
Seventy-three seconds.
Guoooooo!
The next scream told me his Purification Rate must be at 10 percent.
Not that that even mattered. Who cared about the Purification Rate when the Sawtooth Clan was on its way here?
"Erwen, how long until your next attack?"
"About seventy-five seconds!"
Damn. Then this would really be our last chance.
"Raaah!" I let out a war cry and ran at Riakis. I had to periodically use Wild Outburst to raise my Threat Level stat so his aggro never fell on anyone other than me.
Slam!
It was my job to block Riakis's attacks before he could reach my damage dealers.
[Purification Rate: 15%]
A few good hits from Riakis's paw would break even someone as tough as Ainar to pieces. He was so powerful that if this were Phase Three, even I would have had no choice but to simply draw aggro and run away from him. Luckily, the fact that this was Phase Four made it possible for me to hold my own against him even without the help of a priest or wizard.
"Mister!"
Hm? Did she already finish charging up her next attack? There should still be sixty-two seconds left, though.
"Here!" It was a clause without a subject, but I immediately understood what she was saying.
Just my luck.
It had been less than three minutes since we first noticed them. How did they run here so fast?
Erwen continued her briefing as I focused on tanking Riakis's attacks. "From the right!"
I spared a sideways glance to see dozens of people in the distance quickly approaching.
Thud!
I dropped my shield and hammer onto the ground.
Amelia met my gaze, and her eyes flew wide open as soon as she processed what I'd done. To be fair, the sight of me dropping my weapons and gunning straight for Riakis would shock anyone. Where else would she have ever seen something so wild?
I wrapped my arms around the neck of the giant monster like I was trying to drag him down to the ground.
"Behel—aaaaaah!"
My tight grip on him didn't let up even as he tried to forcibly shake me off. Instead, I strangled him with all the strength I had in my arms.
"Behel—aaaaaah!"
I called this move the Giant Barbarian Choke. It was similar to the move I used when wrestling that Troll on the fourth floor, but there were two key differences. One was that both I and the monster I was choking were several times larger.
What strength...
The second was that I couldn't manage to get a perfect grip on his neck like with the Troll.
Guoooooo!
I was struggling to even defend against his attacks earlier, so of course I'd be struggling to hold onto him now. Just because we were in a similar weight class didn't mean we shared a Strength stat.
"B-Bjorn!"
Rising up on his hind legs, he stood bipedally, using his front paws to grasp at my arms as they continued to clutch his neck in a stranglehold.
Seventy-two seconds.
The monster struggled to throw me aside as I tried to choke him out.
Seventy-three seconds.
I fought to hold on with every bit of strength I had left in me, but it wasn't enough.
Crack.
The wrist guards of my already half-shattered lithinum armor buckled in his grip like tin cans, and the arms I had around his neck loosened their hold.
Seventy-four seconds.
But so what?
"It's too late, you bastard."
That was seventy-five seconds. Finally, Erwen was done charging. I couldn't wait to see this wrist-crushing bastard blown to bits.
Seventy-six seconds...
What? Why wasn't she shooting him? My confused gaze darted to where Erwen was pulling the string of her bow taut.
Phew, thankfully I didn't get the timing wrong.
"Shoot!"
The second the shout left my lips, a giant flash filled the area.
Fwoosh!
From this angle, it truly looked like a bolt of lightning.
Kaboooooom!
The massive explosion was enough to knock me unconscious, and when I came to my senses a moment later, I was lying on the hard ground. My ears were ringing, but at this point, I didn't care.
[Lord of Chaos Riakis has cast Corrupted Heart.]
I scrambled to my feet and watched him from a safe distance.
His entire body was pitch-black and he was shrieking in pain, though no sound could be heard.
[The corrupted power within Riakis has begun to overflow.]
Like a water balloon being squeezed, Riakis's body distorted, growing and shrinking randomly. Ainar and Erwen held their weapons at the ready, still on guard, but there was no need for that. It was all over now.
[The ancient Pilgrim has rejected the corrupted power.]
With an unstable pop, the beast's body finally burst in a violent flash of light, like a nuclear explosion. The dazzling rays eventually faded away, and my vision slowly returned. The changes to the entire floor were immediately apparent.
The labyrinth was no longer glowing red.
[You have killed the Lord of Chaos, Riakis. EXP +100]
[Lord of the Floor Kill Bonus. EXP +15]
In the spot where Riakis once lay were instead tens of thousands of light particles, all scattering into the air.
[Achievement Unlocked]
[Condition: Defeat your first Lord of the Floor.]
[Reward: Your Soul Power has permanently increased by +50.]
With this, the hunt was finally over.
[Achievement Unlocked]
[Condition: Defeat the Lord of Chaos, Riakis.]
[Reward: ???]
It was a strange feeling. Even though we'd only really landed the final blow, I'd still managed to defeat a monster that I'd had to run from, helpless, a few years ago. However, there was no time to bask in our victory. With the battle finished it was now time to collect the rewards.
Shaaaaaa.
I stared at the thousands of light particles fluttering away like cherry blossoms in the spring. What ended up dropping?
I fought to hold on with every bit of strength I had left in me, but it wasn't enough.
Crack.
The wrist guards of my already half-shattered lithinum armor buckled in his grip like tin cans, and the arms I had around his neck loosened their hold.
Seventy-four seconds.
But so what?
"It's too late, you bastard."
That was seventy-five seconds. Finally, Erwen was done charging. I couldn't wait to see this wrist-crushing bastard blown to bits.
Seventy-six seconds...
What? Why wasn't she shooting him? My confused gaze darted to where Erwen was pulling the string of her bow taut.
Phew, thankfully I didn't get the timing wrong.
"Shoot!"
The second the shout left my lips, a giant flash filled the area.
Fwoosh!
From this angle, it truly looked like a bolt of lightning.
Kaboooooom!
The massive explosion was enough to knock me unconscious, and when I came to my senses a moment later, I was lying on the hard ground. My ears were ringing, but at this point, I didn't care.
[Lord of Chaos Riakis has cast Corrupted Heart.]
I scrambled to my feet and watched him from a safe distance.
His entire body was pitch-black and he was shrieking in pain, though no sound could be heard.
[The corrupted power within Riakis has begun to overflow.]
Like a water balloon being squeezed, Riakis's body distorted, growing and shrinking randomly. Ainar and Erwen held their weapons at the ready, still on guard, but there was no need for that. It was all over now.
[The ancient Pilgrim has rejected the corrupted power.]
With an unstable pop, the beast's body finally burst in a violent flash of light, like a nuclear explosion. The dazzling rays eventually faded away, and my vision slowly returned. The changes to the entire floor were immediately apparent.
The labyrinth was no longer glowing red.
[You have killed the Lord of Chaos, Riakis. EXP +100]
[Lord of the Floor Kill Bonus. EXP +15]
In the spot where Riakis once lay were instead tens of thousands of light particles, all scattering into the air.
[Achievement Unlocked]
[Condition: Defeat your first Lord of the Floor.]
[Reward: Your Soul Power has permanently increased by +50.]
With this, the hunt was finally over.
[Achievement Unlocked]
[Condition: Defeat the Lord of Chaos, Riakis.]
[Reward: ???]
It was a strange feeling. Even though we'd only really landed the final blow, I'd still managed to defeat a monster that I'd had to run from, helpless, a few years ago. However, there was no time to bask in our victory. With the battle finished it was now time to collect the rewards.
Shaaaaaa.
I stared at the thousands of light particles fluttering away like cherry blossoms in the spring. What ended up dropping?
Ba-dum.
My heart raced in my chest.
There were three rewards that a Lord of the Floor could drop. The first was a Floor Treasure, which was even more valuable than a Numbered Item. The second was a Floor Stone, which could forcibly open a rift on the floor.
Please, please, please be an essence...!
Last but in no way least was a Floor Essence, which in a way, was even more valuable than one from a rank-one monster.
A Floor Treasure would be great, but please be an essence!
As I patiently waited and prayed, the particles of light eventually faded away as our reward materialized.
[No. 9999: Beginner's Luck has been activated.]
...It was an essence. There was no Floor Treasure or Floor Stone to be seen.
"Bjorn... there...! It's...!"
An essence had dropped, but now the problem was...
...Look at their faces.
The Sawtooth Clan had come close enough that even I could see their naked desperation and shock. I assumed they were urgently shouting at me, but unfortunately, I couldn't hear them.
Now, what should we do? There was no need to waste any more precious time. As soon as I saw the essence drop, I moved.
"Erwen!"
Erwen said something to me, but I couldn't make it out over the ringing in my ears either. Therefore I had no choice.
"The... me? But... you...!"
"I'll explain later."
I hoisted Erwen up by her delicate waist and threw her.
"...Eeek!"
I heard her let out a strangled cry as my hearing gradually returned, but I paid it no mind. I had quite a lot of experience with stuff like this by now.
What's with this feeling of nostalgia?
Maybe it was because I fed her the Goblin Archer essence the same way.
***
[The Essence of Chaos has sunk deep into Erwen Fornacci di Tersia's soul.]
***
"Uhhh..."
After absorbing the Essence of Chaos, that was the first noise to come out of Erwen's mouth.
"Wh-why did you give it to me...? Y-You should have been the one to take it, M-Mister."
So that was what she was trying to say earlier. I appreciated the gesture, but there was no need for her to worry about something like that.
"That was an essence I was planning to give you one day."
More precisely, I'd wanted her to have this essence the moment I heard she signed a contract with each of the Four Great Spirits. Only after a character did so did the true value of this essence shine, though I never expected she would be able to obtain it so soon.
"S-Still, this is an essence from the Lord of the Floor, so..."
"Why? Are you planning to ditch me just like you did after I gave you that Goblin Archer essence before?"
"No! Never! I would never do that!"
All right, then it's fine.
The Essence of Chaos didn't suit a barbarian in the first place. Well, aside from the inherent value of possessing such a unique essence, of course. This one was even stronger than a core rank-three essence... However, there was a limit of one Floor Essence per character.
And it's impossible to get rid of one once you take it, even if you go to the temple.
The one I planned to take for myself was upstairs.
"Yandel."
Anyway, I needed to focus on the present. Those bastards happened to arrive at the perfect time.
"Baron Yandel, what the hell have you done?!" Daggers, who stood at the front of the group, launched into a tirade the moment he arrived. "I'm sure I told you to stop what you were doing!"
Oh, was he not even bothering with the whole respectful shtick now?
"Ah, about that. I couldn't hear you."
"That's ridiculous!"
"But even if I did hear you, I wouldn't have stopped anyway."
The moment I pushed back, Daggers shut up and glowered at me.
Amelia then spoke up from nearby. "Yandel."
"I know."
It didn't take long for the other members of the Sawtooth Clan to surround us. Judging by how smoothly they got into position, I got the sense that this wasn't their first time. Maybe Daggers had given them some sort of signal in advance? Or maybe they had done this so often, it was practically second nature to them? Whatever the case, I didn't back down.
"Malid Kevron, the vice captain of the Sawtooth Clan."
"...Speak."
"Do you even realize what the hell you're doing right now?"
He glared daggers at me. "What are you talking about? I am simply asking you a question. Why did you suddenly choose to rob us when we were in the middle of our raid against Riakis? As a former adventurer yourself, I'm sure you know that in the labyrinth, adventurers show no mercy to plunderers."
I sighed. I had expected them to confront us the moment we took the essence right in front of them, but still.
"Even though fighting you won't benefit us in any way," he grumbled, almost as an afterthought.
These guys really needed someone to set their heads straight.
Ba-dum.
My heart raced in my chest.
There were three rewards that a Lord of the Floor could drop. The first was a Floor Treasure, which was even more valuable than a Numbered Item. The second was a Floor Stone, which could forcibly open a rift on the floor.
Please, please, please be an essence...!
Last but in no way least was a Floor Essence, which in a way, was even more valuable than one from a rank-one monster.
A Floor Treasure would be great, but please be an essence!
As I patiently waited and prayed, the particles of light eventually faded away as our reward materialized.
[No. 9999: Beginner's Luck has been activated.]
...It was an essence. There was no Floor Treasure or Floor Stone to be seen.
"Bjorn... there...! It's...!"
An essence had dropped, but now the problem was...
...Look at their faces.
The Sawtooth Clan had come close enough that even I could see their naked desperation and shock. I assumed they were urgently shouting at me, but unfortunately, I couldn't hear them.
Now, what should we do? There was no need to waste any more precious time. As soon as I saw the essence drop, I moved.
"Erwen!"
Erwen said something to me, but I couldn't make it out over the ringing in my ears either. Therefore I had no choice.
"The... me? But... you...!"
"I'll explain later."
I hoisted Erwen up by her delicate waist and threw her.
"...Eeek!"
I heard her let out a strangled cry as my hearing gradually returned, but I paid it no mind. I had quite a lot of experience with stuff like this by now.
What's with this feeling of nostalgia?
Maybe it was because I fed her the Goblin Archer essence the same way.
***
[The Essence of Chaos has sunk deep into Erwen Fornacci di Tersia's soul.]
***
"Uhhh..."
After absorbing the Essence of Chaos, that was the first noise to come out of Erwen's mouth.
"Wh-why did you give it to me...? Y-You should have been the one to take it, M-Mister."
So that was what she was trying to say earlier. I appreciated the gesture, but there was no need for her to worry about something like that.
"That was an essence I was planning to give you one day."
More precisely, I'd wanted her to have this essence the moment I heard she signed a contract with each of the Four Great Spirits. Only after a character did so did the true value of this essence shine, though I never expected she would be able to obtain it so soon.
"S-Still, this is an essence from the Lord of the Floor, so..."
"Why? Are you planning to ditch me just like you did after I gave you that Goblin Archer essence before?"
"No! Never! I would never do that!"
All right, then it's fine.
The Essence of Chaos didn't suit a barbarian in the first place. Well, aside from the inherent value of possessing such a unique essence, of course. This one was even stronger than a core rank-three essence... However, there was a limit of one Floor Essence per character.
And it's impossible to get rid of one once you take it, even if you go to the temple.
The one I planned to take for myself was upstairs.
"Yandel."
Anyway, I needed to focus on the present. Those bastards happened to arrive at the perfect time.
"Baron Yandel, what the hell have you done?!" Daggers, who stood at the front of the group, launched into a tirade the moment he arrived. "I'm sure I told you to stop what you were doing!"
Oh, was he not even bothering with the whole respectful shtick now?
"Ah, about that. I couldn't hear you."
"That's ridiculous!"
"But even if I did hear you, I wouldn't have stopped anyway."
The moment I pushed back, Daggers shut up and glowered at me.
Amelia then spoke up from nearby. "Yandel."
"I know."
It didn't take long for the other members of the Sawtooth Clan to surround us. Judging by how smoothly they got into position, I got the sense that this wasn't their first time. Maybe Daggers had given them some sort of signal in advance? Or maybe they had done this so often, it was practically second nature to them? Whatever the case, I didn't back down.
"Malid Kevron, the vice captain of the Sawtooth Clan."
"...Speak."
"Do you even realize what the hell you're doing right now?"
He glared daggers at me. "What are you talking about? I am simply asking you a question. Why did you suddenly choose to rob us when we were in the middle of our raid against Riakis? As a former adventurer yourself, I'm sure you know that in the labyrinth, adventurers show no mercy to plunderers."
I sighed. I had expected them to confront us the moment we took the essence right in front of them, but still.
"Even though fighting you won't benefit us in any way," he grumbled, almost as an afterthought.
These guys really needed someone to set their heads straight.