Chapter 592: Boss Run (5)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 592: Boss Run (5)
The unique rift of the fifth floor, Fortress of Souls, featured the maze-type boss monster Guardian Soul Keeper Hauciel.
This guy's phase two wasn't all that dangerous, really. It depended on the character's luck stat, but you could usually find the mana stone and proceed to the next phase after opening around 500 boxes.
There's no guarantee that would happen for me, though.
It was the reason I brought Sven Parav with me. What you needed to clear the rift wasn't the ability to find gold but, instead, the ability to avoid garbage. And from what I could tell, this guy specialized in avoiding disasters.
That's why I wasn't expecting anything special...
But what was this? Was I being pranked right now?
My mind blanked as I stared at the golden light flowing out of the box. "Sven Parav..." I said warily.
"Pardon? Ah, yes, Lord Baron."
"Did you get any odd feeling before you opened this box?"
"No...? I felt the same as usual..."
Hah, then did that mean we just got lucky?
Just thinking about it had me reeling in disbelief. A character with both the ability to avoid misfortune and a miraculous level of luck. At this point, they should make a new numbered item for this guy. For its name...
Parav's Golden Goblin Mask, No. 7777. Or in the single digits.
Yeah, that would make it balanced.
"So...what is this?"
I took a moment to shake myself out of it at his question. Sven had cautiously walked away from the opened box and was now looking at me for guidance. I honestly wanted to kiss him on the face, but I passed on it since that would only revive the unfortunate rumor that I had just barely suppressed.
"While clearing Hauciel, this is a chest you can find with a very low probability," I explained.
"Is it good?"
As expected of an adventurer. "It's good. It's very good."
At my short answer, the look in his eyes changed, then slowly filled with curiosity and greed as he looked back at the chest. He seemed to wonder what could be in there to make me say such a thing to him.
But it wouldn't be that enticing for him.
The worth of the item inside the box depended on who got it. For some, it could be worth more than a single-digit numbered item while it would be useless to others. Paladin Parav was in the second group.
I reached inside the glowing box and grabbed something round with my hand.
"...What is it?"
I smirked and explained the use of this item. Since I needed to act like a native, I needed to use words like "accomplishment" and the explanation ended up getting longer...but honestly, this could be explained in two words.
Experience Potion.
Level 11 was now possible.
***
[You have consumed Dreaming Soul.]
[When you reach level 10, 10,000 EXP will be obtained.]
***
Dreaming Soul—a super rare item that could only be obtained while fighting the boss Soul Keeper Hauciel.
It was an item required to reach level eleven, the maximum level of the original mode. Even if you defeated every type of monster, you needed around 14,000 experience points to reach level eleven. It meant that after defeating all the monsters, you needed to fill the rest by doing multiple portal runs and rift runs, but that was close to impossible.
So...this is how I got it.
To be honest, I still couldn't believe it. That was just how rare obtaining this item was.
Back when I opened the Gate of the Abyss, that final character was level ten. However, that character had a smooth life from the beginning, and I had maxed out my gear and essences to what I needed at the end.
In any case, I glanced to the side after drinking the potion in one go to see Parav's slumped shoulders. It was understandable. What he was currently feeling was something close to thinking he had just won the lottery, but learning that his number was the winning number of the previous lottery.
That was why what he said afterward surprised me.
"Still, this is great. You'll be able to climb even higher, Lord Baron."
I could immediately sense that he wasn't saying this to be polite, but because he truly believed it. There was disappointment in his voice, but there was no jealousy or hatred.
"Don't look at me like that," he said, laughing. "It wasn't even useful for me, and didn't you also say that it'd be impossible to take it out of here, even if we used distortion magic on it?"
"That's true..." But because he said it first, it felt like I now owed him something. I decided to take care of him first when something good happened to me later. "Then let's keep moving."
The longer we spent here, the harder the boss fight would become, so we quickly reorganized our things and began searching again. We continued to talk while Parav opened the boxes.
"Lord Baron, I'm curious about something..."
"Go on."
"What happens when we open that box you're so worried about?"
Ah, that? "It's simple."
The moment the box was opened, you would lose 5,000 experience points. Naturally, it would drop you by at least one level, and an essence slot would be forcibly locked for each level dropped.
"What an insane curse..." Parav mumbled. "To erase all the accomplishments..." He didn't seem to suspect where I had gotten the information. He only tilted his head with an expression that seemed to say, "Why did I not know about this?"
I added, "But the curse is secondary. The Guardian is what ends up being the real problem."
"The Guardian...?"
"Yes."
The Guardian would gain the experience lost by opening the box and become even stronger. And trying to defeat something like that with one less essence slot? Even I couldn't guarantee I would survive.
"So that's another reason you brought me here. It's a curse that doesn't do anything against a paladin."
"Well, it's not as if that wasn't a reason. But don't worry," I reassured him. "Comparatively, the Guardian is much weaker after you find the Dreaming Soul in the box."
As we continued to diligently open more boxes while conversing, I got a clearer idea of what Sven Parav's intuition was like.
Given that it doesn't activate when the box contains a weak curse or monsters...looks like it really only activates when he'll be in real danger. Even if that isn't the case, this is truly a mystical ability...
No, maybe it was something that actually transcended human limitations. Didn't he receive that oracle before as well?
"Ah, I think we found it."
After opening boxes for a while, we were able to find the box holding the mana stone and proceed to the next phase.
Crack!
So...this is how I got it.
To be honest, I still couldn't believe it. That was just how rare obtaining this item was.
Back when I opened the Gate of the Abyss, that final character was level ten. However, that character had a smooth life from the beginning, and I had maxed out my gear and essences to what I needed at the end.
In any case, I glanced to the side after drinking the potion in one go to see Parav's slumped shoulders. It was understandable. What he was currently feeling was something close to thinking he had just won the lottery, but learning that his number was the winning number of the previous lottery.
That was why what he said afterward surprised me.
"Still, this is great. You'll be able to climb even higher, Lord Baron."
I could immediately sense that he wasn't saying this to be polite, but because he truly believed it. There was disappointment in his voice, but there was no jealousy or hatred.
"Don't look at me like that," he said, laughing. "It wasn't even useful for me, and didn't you also say that it'd be impossible to take it out of here, even if we used distortion magic on it?"
"That's true..." But because he said it first, it felt like I now owed him something. I decided to take care of him first when something good happened to me later. "Then let's keep moving."
The longer we spent here, the harder the boss fight would become, so we quickly reorganized our things and began searching again. We continued to talk while Parav opened the boxes.
"Lord Baron, I'm curious about something..."
"Go on."
"What happens when we open that box you're so worried about?"
Ah, that? "It's simple."
The moment the box was opened, you would lose 5,000 experience points. Naturally, it would drop you by at least one level, and an essence slot would be forcibly locked for each level dropped.
"What an insane curse..." Parav mumbled. "To erase all the accomplishments..." He didn't seem to suspect where I had gotten the information. He only tilted his head with an expression that seemed to say, "Why did I not know about this?"
I added, "But the curse is secondary. The Guardian is what ends up being the real problem."
"The Guardian...?"
"Yes."
The Guardian would gain the experience lost by opening the box and become even stronger. And trying to defeat something like that with one less essence slot? Even I couldn't guarantee I would survive.
"So that's another reason you brought me here. It's a curse that doesn't do anything against a paladin."
"Well, it's not as if that wasn't a reason. But don't worry," I reassured him. "Comparatively, the Guardian is much weaker after you find the Dreaming Soul in the box."
As we continued to diligently open more boxes while conversing, I got a clearer idea of what Sven Parav's intuition was like.
Given that it doesn't activate when the box contains a weak curse or monsters...looks like it really only activates when he'll be in real danger. Even if that isn't the case, this is truly a mystical ability...
No, maybe it was something that actually transcended human limitations. Didn't he receive that oracle before as well?
"Ah, I think we found it."
After opening boxes for a while, we were able to find the box holding the mana stone and proceed to the next phase.
Crack!
Once we crushed the mana stone, we moved to what looked to be the inside of a huge worm.
Ba-dump!
The floor was smooth, undulating and wriggling in waves as if it were alive.
[Soul Keeper Hauciel's Defense System becomes stronger.]
Sticky substances began to flow out from the ceiling, floor, and walls.
"Looks like we'll need to get moving before it fills up completely."
We moved faster than ever before to clear the boss's phase three.
Even the best tanks needed to breathe. In the game as well, it was immediately game over if that liquid filled the entire area. Of course, after completing the map once, I never drowned again.
Straight ahead, then a left turn when the path splits into three, and then move straight forward for two more intersections before taking the next right...
Although I hadn't memorized the entire map, I still perfectly remembered the path needed to get to the mana stone.
Step, step.
We destroyed the constant barrage of monsters that got in our way, running through the stomach acid that had risen to our thighs until we reached our destination.
Ba-dump!
The mana stone was shaped like a heart and pulsing as if it were a living thing. Without thinking much about it, I swung my hammer to destroy the stone.
Vwoong!
With that, we finally reached the last phase.
After we closed and opened our eyes, we arrived in a place that seemed to emulate outer space. In the center, there was a pyramid made up of glass-like, transparent stairs, and at the top of the stairs, there was a huge mana stone floating there like an eye.
It was the true body of Soul Keeper Hauciel.
No words this time either.
As soon as we arrived, its eyes flashed open before monsters began raining from the sky like the rainy season on Basement Floor One.
Hundreds of monsters reminiscent of an entire army flooded in.
[Soul Keeper Hauciel's Defense System becomes stronger.]
Still, because we had arrived pretty early and opened the golden box as well, the ranks of the monsters weren't that high.
The highest is rank four from what I can see...
Ah, for reference, if you arrived here after losing your experience, monsters could range all the way up to rank two. The main body would be much more powerful as well.
"Move quickly!"
Before the monsters landed, we quickly ran up the stairs, and when they did land, we fought as hard as we could to continue climbing.
As expected of a fifth-floor rift, it wasn't easy with just the two of us. It would have been much easier if we had a wizard who could use area-of-effect magic to open up the way.
But it couldn't be helped, so what?
"Behel—laaaaaaah!"
We continued our desperate fight up the stairs.
Boom!
Honestly, the main body was more difficult for us to deal with than the monsters, if that mana cannon that it continued to fire at me was taken into account.
Once we crushed the mana stone, we moved to what looked to be the inside of a huge worm.
Ba-dump!
The floor was smooth, undulating and wriggling in waves as if it were alive.
[Soul Keeper Hauciel's Defense System becomes stronger.]
Sticky substances began to flow out from the ceiling, floor, and walls.
"Looks like we'll need to get moving before it fills up completely."
We moved faster than ever before to clear the boss's phase three.
Even the best tanks needed to breathe. In the game as well, it was immediately game over if that liquid filled the entire area. Of course, after completing the map once, I never drowned again.
Straight ahead, then a left turn when the path splits into three, and then move straight forward for two more intersections before taking the next right...
Although I hadn't memorized the entire map, I still perfectly remembered the path needed to get to the mana stone.
Step, step.
We destroyed the constant barrage of monsters that got in our way, running through the stomach acid that had risen to our thighs until we reached our destination.
Ba-dump!
The mana stone was shaped like a heart and pulsing as if it were a living thing. Without thinking much about it, I swung my hammer to destroy the stone.
Vwoong!
With that, we finally reached the last phase.
After we closed and opened our eyes, we arrived in a place that seemed to emulate outer space. In the center, there was a pyramid made up of glass-like, transparent stairs, and at the top of the stairs, there was a huge mana stone floating there like an eye.
It was the true body of Soul Keeper Hauciel.
No words this time either.
As soon as we arrived, its eyes flashed open before monsters began raining from the sky like the rainy season on Basement Floor One.
Hundreds of monsters reminiscent of an entire army flooded in.
[Soul Keeper Hauciel's Defense System becomes stronger.]
Still, because we had arrived pretty early and opened the golden box as well, the ranks of the monsters weren't that high.
The highest is rank four from what I can see...
Ah, for reference, if you arrived here after losing your experience, monsters could range all the way up to rank two. The main body would be much more powerful as well.
"Move quickly!"
Before the monsters landed, we quickly ran up the stairs, and when they did land, we fought as hard as we could to continue climbing.
As expected of a fifth-floor rift, it wasn't easy with just the two of us. It would have been much easier if we had a wizard who could use area-of-effect magic to open up the way.
But it couldn't be helped, so what?
"Behel—laaaaaaah!"
We continued our desperate fight up the stairs.
Boom!
Honestly, the main body was more difficult for us to deal with than the monsters, if that mana cannon that it continued to fire at me was taken into account.
[Soul Keeper Hauciel has cast Designate Target.]
Because it would repeatedly break out of its aggro, the allies that followed after me also needed to be strong enough to withstand the monster waves.
Vwoong!
Also, while all this was happening, it would periodically send out waves of force that could push back even me while I had Giantization active.
"What are you doing?" I shouted at Parav. "I'll break through and make a path so follow me! Don't dawdle!"
"Y-yes...!"
Although I was being harsher than usual, it couldn't be helped. If he got knocked back or pushed by the monsters down there, he would certainly die. Even if I could solo the boss monster, I needed to withstand the wave here until we both got up to the top of the stairs.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
I swung my hammer as hard as I could and swiped the monsters off the side. Most of them lost their balance and fell down the stairs, but a few unlucky ones disappeared off into the endless darkness below us. Even with that, more monsters appeared than those that disappeared.
...Damn it.
As I continued to fight and climb the stairs, I noticed that Sven Parav had fallen behind. And during that moment, the monsters filled the gap between us.
I think it'll be faster if I go and kill the main body rather than go save him...
The first thought my gamer brain had was to kill my emotions and think of the most logical plan. The waves of monsters were only distractions. If I could get to the main body, defeating it would be trivial. However, the question of whether abandoning my ally here was the right call or not stirred my mind.
...What do I do?
"I'll hold on! You go ahead...!"
He shouted that as I hesitated in that moment of deep contemplation, and I was able to move up thanks to that.
[You have cast Swing.]
[You have cast Swing.]
[You have cast...]
After arriving at its main body, I swung my hammer in a frenzy. Even though it had a weak body, with a tank barbarian's damage, I felt like I swung at it hundreds of times.
Crunch!
However, soon enough, the mana stone was shattered into a million pieces and disappeared into light.
[You have defeated Soul Keeper Hauciel. EXP +6]
[Guardian defeat bonus. EXP +3]
The monsters numbering easily over a thousand also disappeared into light, and their light illuminated the area.
Afterward, I quickly went to look for Parav.
I saw him doubled over on the midsection of the stairs and panting to breathe while looking terrible. "I-I'm alive..."
Hah, I really needed to take good care of him in the future.
***
After the boss fight was over, the portal opened, and the rainbow essence dropped.
Hah... I'll need to leave this behind.
Calling it a "waste" wasn't enough to describe what I was about to do. This essence was just that expensive—not for anything either, but a single passive skill.
Soul Contract.
The effect of this passive skill was simple. It would immediately raise you to level 8, but you couldn't gain any more experience points.
It was an essence that must never be eaten if you wished to go higher. However, it still sold for an absurd price. Even in reality, it was famous for being sold to a marquess for billions of stones a few years ago.
I heard that he gave it to his wife and his wife filled seven slots all with beautifying essences...
It wasn't even funny, but absurd things like that happened every day in reality.
I've earned enough money after coming down to this floor, so let's prioritize getting out of here first...
After reining in my greed, I stepped through the portal with Parav to the outside. The people would now run up to us and say they had been waiting and ask us how it went.
But it was different this time.
In the still silence, everyone around the stone statue was looking in one direction. I also quickly turned to look at what they were looking at.
The door already opened...
Perhaps because we had taken our time after the portal opened, the stone door had already opened wide and revealed to us what it had been hiding.
"A portal...?"
An ominous red portal made us feel uneasy even at a glance.
Seeing this, a familiar wizard mumbled, "This isn't a normal portal. Judging by the frequency it's producing... A rift... It's a rift!"
The rift of Basement Floor One had opened.
[Soul Keeper Hauciel has cast Designate Target.]
Because it would repeatedly break out of its aggro, the allies that followed after me also needed to be strong enough to withstand the monster waves.
Vwoong!
Also, while all this was happening, it would periodically send out waves of force that could push back even me while I had Giantization active.
"What are you doing?" I shouted at Parav. "I'll break through and make a path so follow me! Don't dawdle!"
"Y-yes...!"
Although I was being harsher than usual, it couldn't be helped. If he got knocked back or pushed by the monsters down there, he would certainly die. Even if I could solo the boss monster, I needed to withstand the wave here until we both got up to the top of the stairs.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
I swung my hammer as hard as I could and swiped the monsters off the side. Most of them lost their balance and fell down the stairs, but a few unlucky ones disappeared off into the endless darkness below us. Even with that, more monsters appeared than those that disappeared.
...Damn it.
As I continued to fight and climb the stairs, I noticed that Sven Parav had fallen behind. And during that moment, the monsters filled the gap between us.
I think it'll be faster if I go and kill the main body rather than go save him...
The first thought my gamer brain had was to kill my emotions and think of the most logical plan. The waves of monsters were only distractions. If I could get to the main body, defeating it would be trivial. However, the question of whether abandoning my ally here was the right call or not stirred my mind.
...What do I do?
"I'll hold on! You go ahead...!"
He shouted that as I hesitated in that moment of deep contemplation, and I was able to move up thanks to that.
[You have cast Swing.]
[You have cast Swing.]
[You have cast...]
After arriving at its main body, I swung my hammer in a frenzy. Even though it had a weak body, with a tank barbarian's damage, I felt like I swung at it hundreds of times.
Crunch!
However, soon enough, the mana stone was shattered into a million pieces and disappeared into light.
[You have defeated Soul Keeper Hauciel. EXP +6]
[Guardian defeat bonus. EXP +3]
The monsters numbering easily over a thousand also disappeared into light, and their light illuminated the area.
Afterward, I quickly went to look for Parav.
I saw him doubled over on the midsection of the stairs and panting to breathe while looking terrible. "I-I'm alive..."
Hah, I really needed to take good care of him in the future.
***
After the boss fight was over, the portal opened, and the rainbow essence dropped.
Hah... I'll need to leave this behind.
Calling it a "waste" wasn't enough to describe what I was about to do. This essence was just that expensive—not for anything either, but a single passive skill.
Soul Contract.
The effect of this passive skill was simple. It would immediately raise you to level 8, but you couldn't gain any more experience points.
It was an essence that must never be eaten if you wished to go higher. However, it still sold for an absurd price. Even in reality, it was famous for being sold to a marquess for billions of stones a few years ago.
I heard that he gave it to his wife and his wife filled seven slots all with beautifying essences...
It wasn't even funny, but absurd things like that happened every day in reality.
I've earned enough money after coming down to this floor, so let's prioritize getting out of here first...
After reining in my greed, I stepped through the portal with Parav to the outside. The people would now run up to us and say they had been waiting and ask us how it went.
But it was different this time.
In the still silence, everyone around the stone statue was looking in one direction. I also quickly turned to look at what they were looking at.
The door already opened...
Perhaps because we had taken our time after the portal opened, the stone door had already opened wide and revealed to us what it had been hiding.
"A portal...?"
An ominous red portal made us feel uneasy even at a glance.
Seeing this, a familiar wizard mumbled, "This isn't a normal portal. Judging by the frequency it's producing... A rift... It's a rift!"
The rift of Basement Floor One had opened.