Chapter 49
Chapter 49
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 49
Chapter Title: 21st Floor (2)
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A thunderous roar like lightning striking.
The entire mine shook as if hit by an earthquake, except for the area around me.
Dust and rock fragments poured down from the ceiling.
Soon, the mine right in front of me collapsed in a heap.
I murmured with a satisfied smile.
“If it stays like this, the 20th floor will really be a cakewalk.”
Was this the power of a legendary-grade staff?
The sensation of freely dominating the cave sent thrilling shivers through my entire body.
Clearing the map itself before any monsters even appeared?
But something felt off.
Even after a long while, once the cave's collapse settled, the familiar clear message didn't appear.
“…?”
I made a puzzled face.
What was this? A bug?
Or could it have survived that kind of collapse?
Did that even make sense?
I tilted my head and activated Insight.
My vision swept the surroundings, tracing flows of mana.
Yet, no signs of life could be felt anywhere.
“This is weird…. From what I know, the early 20th floor is all kobolds.”
Even if it was Extreme difficulty with some variables, no monsters appearing at all was strange.
I fell into thought. What could I have missed?
That was when it happened.
Rumble rumble rumble!
With a sudden vibration, the ground beneath my feet erupted upward.
“What the—?”
There was no time to dodge.
Of course, no need to either.
Just before the surging mass touched my body, a thick sand barrier automatically formed, blocking the sharp attack.
Clang!
A dull metallic clang echoed.
Only then did I confirm the identity of what had attacked me.
“…A machine?”
What burst from the ground wasn't alive.
A massive drill attached to the front, shaped like an armadillo—a machine.
It showed no vital signs or mana flow.
Which meant this was a pure 100% mechanical thing.
The single yellow lens embedded in the center of the unnamed digging machine moved up and down, then locked onto me.
Whirr, click.
With mechanical noises, the lens color shifted from yellow to red.
A clear enemy.
“Take this!”
I fired a familiar sand bullet.
The compressed sand shot like a bullet and collided with the machine's armor.
Klang!
With a clear, crisp sound, the sand bullet bounced harmlessly away.
“It bounced off?”
I was dumbfounded.
My attack blocked by some 21st-floor trash mob?
It wounded my pride.
“This is why I kept begging for just one attack skill…!”
I grumbled at the Tower while channeling mana into the staff.
At my will, the surrounding space collapsed once more.
Boom!
Huge boulders crushed the machine's body from all sides.
The drill was pinned, unable to move an inch, like it was caught in my grasp.
“Not quite enough power to smash it flat….”
The pressure from the surrounding rocks could suppress the enemy, but lacked the force to crush and destroy.
From surviving the initial collapse, this machine's durability seemed pretty high.
It had even deflected my bullet.
Probably designed to dig through even if the entire abandoned mine collapsed.
Even buried under the rock pile, the machine fiercely spun its front drill in resistance.
Whiiiiiir—!
The drill's rotation pierced my ears.
The machine began wriggling its body bit by bit.
At this rate, it'd escape its trap in no time.
I needed a different approach.
Then, a sudden idea flashed in my mind.
“…Should I try Wind Erosion?”
Wind Erosion. The skill that turned everything it touched into sand.
Previously, I'd never even considered using it on living beings.
Because it consumed an insane amount of mana.
Even now, with my mana pool doubled, it was the same.
But the thing before me wasn't alive.
Insight showed no mana flow at all—just pure inorganic matter.
“This might actually work.”
I took one step closer to the thrashing machine.
Then, I carefully pressed the tip of my staff—about as tall as me—against the furiously spinning drill's point.
Shraaala—!
Starting from where the staff touched, the drill's tip began slowly turning into sand.
The sturdy steel lost its strength, crumbling into fine particles that scattered.
Wind Erosion spread across the entire drill in an instant.
Finally, the machine's most threatening weapon fully disintegrated into sand.
Screeech!
The machine let out a scream-like noise and flailed, but it was futile.
Soon, only a pile of sand remained there.
I smiled in satisfaction.
“This should make the next floor a breeze too.”
At that moment, the awaited message appeared before my eyes.
[Tower 21st Floor (EXTREME) cleared. Congratulations.]
“About time for a level-up….”
My level-ups happened roughly every 5 or 6 floors, with minor variations.
This floor or the next at latest—A-rank top-tier, level 6.
And by the time I hunted the mid-20s boss, I'd reach S-rank entry, level 7.
But no skillbook appeared despite the wait.
Instead, the familiar message popped up.
[First Clear bonus applied!]
[Ranking 1st bonus applied!]
[Acquired Heart of the Mountain.]
Something heavy dropped into my palm.
A stone about the size of a fist.
But not just any stone.
The black rock was cracked in several places, with red light pulsing through the fissures.
“Huh, this…?”
The moment I saw it, cold sweat trickled down my spine.
***
A short while later, in the cluttered living room of my apartment, packed up in preparation for the upcoming move.
I sat on the floor, staring blankly at the item before me.
The 'Heart of the Mountain'—a black, rough stone.
Yeah, I knew it.
I'm not an idiot. I could tell at a glance.
This was obviously something like the World Tree seed.
The key to activating the 20s hidden piece.
Nurture it right, beat the 30th-floor boss, and it'd spit out an Extreme-exclusive reward.
That wasn't the problem.
I recalled when I first got the World Tree seed.
At first, it was just a curious orb.
But by the late stages, how much chaos had it wrought in my home?
Vines bursting through walls—cops showing up was a real close call.
I glared at the stone before me.
This guy….
Right now, just a featureless black rock, but it'd definitely grow.
And when it did, it'd trash my house in some insane way.
I was already dreading that day.
“Haa….”
That was when I lay on the bed, letting out a deep sigh.
Suddenly, something soft touched the top of my head.
“What, Chohogi?”
It was Chohogi, who'd been left in a flowerpot since the 20th floor.
“Where do you think you're wandering off to?”
I reached to stick it back in the pot.
But it dodged my hand and lightly landed right in front of my face.
Then, at eye level, it stared at my drooping mouth corners.
It extended its tiny hands.
And as if trying to force a smile, it carefully pushed up my mouth corners.
Scratch, scratch.
The rough, sandy texture on my lips.
“Trying to comfort me or something?”
I couldn't help but chuckle at the sight.
To think it'd grown this much already.
I felt oddly proud.
I gently stroked its head, careful not to crush it.
Gotta upgrade its pot soil to premium later.
And bump its phone time to 10 minutes.
Yeah, time to buck up.
No more pointless worrying.
I got up and turned on the computer.
“Guess I should ask the gallery first.”
I booted up the computer and logged into the Mage Gallery as usual.
Even after meeting Beetle in person a few days ago, our online dynamic hadn't changed a bit.
He knew where to draw the line.
Even when Pkkachuu hounded him about my identity after learning of our real-life meetup, Beetle said nothing.
Thanks to that, I could browse the gallery as comfortably as before.
I snapped a photo of the stone and posted a new thread.
[Title: Got 21st Extreme reward]
Author: Anon (33K.3K3)
Looks similar structure to the World Tree seed from before.
Anyone know a similar item?
(Heart of the Mountain photo.jpg)
As always, right after my post, Pkkachuu showed up first.
Just not about the post's content.
└ Pkkachuu: Why only meet Beetle? Reveal your info already.
└ Anon (33K.3K3): Ahh…. That? Not the right time yet….
└ Pkkachuu: (This isn't it… *crying Conan*)
The usual WWE with Pkkachuu. After humoring him a bit, a helpful reply came.
└ Fridge: Looks like the 25th-floor boss core.
I added more details about what I encountered in the replies.
└ Fridge: What you fought was the Hard 25th-floor boss.
└ Fridge: Took it down with one skill?
└ Anon (33K.3K3): Good matchup.
└ Magic is Firepower: Next time, don't erase them all—try half. Might combine into something if you get the core.
Machine cores, huh?
Plausible guess.
If the 20s theme was abandoned mine machines, requiring their parts felt natural.
Soon, other mages chimed in agreeing.
I nodded at the monitor.
“Hmm, precisely half-erasing with Wind Erosion sounds tricky…. Maybe not as breezy as I thought.”
Definitely needed another attacker.
I looked at the sand bullet hovering over my hand.
And the staff.
As I drew more power from the staff, the sand bullet turned to rock.
But was this really enough?
It suddenly hit me—could I turn it to steel?
But my attempts only made hard rock. No steel bullets.
“Too hard, huh….”
I infused power into the staff again.
This time, for control.
Yet, the metal scraps scattered everywhere refused my will.
“Isn't earth affinity supposed to let me handle metal too?”
If I could use metal, I'd be firing titanium or tungsten bullets nonstop.
Even outside combat, churning out gold or diamonds from sand to get rich.
“Such a shame….”
I smacked my lips.
But I didn't give up.
“Maybe my proficiency's still too low.”
I recalled my first time realizing Reverse Wind Erosion.
Turning something to sand and back required tons of practice.
Handle enough metal, and maybe I could control it.
Or maybe raw ores or gems.
“I'll test it out next run.”
With my thoughts sorted.
I habitually logged into the Hunter Gallery.
Perfect way to kill time before the movers arrived.
“What? Padak's dead?”
The gallery was in full festival mode.