Chapter 57
Chapter 57
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 57
Chapter Title: Gotta Eat to Survive
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“Huh? Where’s the boss?”
Right as I was looking around in confusion.
Rumble rumble rumble-!
Suddenly, the entire ground rumbled with a low vibration.
The heavy footsteps of something massive moving.
The sound grew closer.
The location was right behind me!
I hurriedly leaped out of the way.
Crash!
At the same time, with a deafening roar, a massive rock wall collapsed.
“Cough, cough…. Damn, dirt got in my mouth….”
An enormous cloud of dust obscured my vision.
Beyond it, a gigantic shadow revealed itself.
The boss of the 25th floor.
I stared at the scene before me, momentarily speechless.
“What the hell is that? Who even made something like this for?”
One of its arms had a gear attached.
A ridiculously huge gear, like something from a bucket-wheel excavator.
Supporting its body weren’t tank treads, but six enormous mechanical legs that looked like an insect’s.
All over its body, bizarre fusions of heavy machinery like claws, drills, and conveyor belts protruded.
It looked like a kid had gathered every toy from a construction site and slapped them together.
Did they plan to open a department store on a single machine?
But I couldn’t laugh at its ridiculous appearance.
Just judging by size, it was on par with the World Tree I’d faced on the 20th floor.
Red lights flickered on simultaneously from its numerous mechanical eyes.
The target was solely me.
Equipment meant for smashing mountains swung toward me.
The oncoming pressure was no joke.
An auto-barrier wouldn’t cut it.
I immediately drew up my mana.
“Block it!”
I poured out the accumulated orihalcon in my body without restraint.
A thick, pinkish sand barrier surged up.
Boom-!
The moment of impact unleashed a shockwave that shook the entire cave.
Rocks rained down from the ceiling.
“This is just a normal attack?”
What kind of power was this? It rivaled my ultimate move, God’s Staff, in sheer force.
I clicked my tongue and prepared my counterattack.
“Since it’s so huge, bullets won’t be efficient.”
Poking a few holes wouldn’t stop it.
That left only one option.
I extended my hand forward.
A rapidly spinning blade floated in the air.
“Longer, even longer….”
I focused my mind.
Far bigger than the diamond cutters I usually made.
The longer the blade grew, the harder it was to control.
Like holding one end of a rubber band that could snap at any moment.
Finally, I created a rotating saw several times my height.
I released it like letting go of that rubber band.
The slash shot forward.
Slash-!
A satisfying tearing sound.
At the same time, the massive blade cleanly severed two of the boss’s six legs.
Its enormous body tilted to one side.
“Got it!”
Right then.
Crackle!
From the severed stump, something flashed.
It was too fast to follow with my eyes.
I only understood what happened after seeing the result.
Pop, pop!
With sparks flying, an auto sand barrier appeared in front of me.
Pure white electricity writhed atop it.
The current hit the barrier, lingered for a moment, then got absorbed and vanished.
I stared blankly at the sight.
It didn’t take long to grasp the situation.
“You bastard…. You shot lightning?”
At a speed invisible to the naked eye?
Was it insane?
A chill ran down my spine.
If not for the auto-barrier, or if it had been even a bit slower.
I’d have been fried chicken right there.
“Good thing I’m an earth mage….”
I let out a sigh of relief.
Sand had great synergy against electricity. Lucky.
“If I’d been a water mage, I’d have been electrocuted straight to the afterlife.”
Earth magic was the best, after all.
No counters against it.
I finally caught my breath.
Now I had its weakness figured out.
With two legs destroyed, its balance was visibly shaken.
One more, and it wouldn’t even be able to stand properly.
I shaped another massive blade.
This one was far faster and more precise than before.
The thing wobbled as it tried to reposition its legs and regain its stance.
“One more!”
With my shout, the second slash flew.
Slash-!
Just like the first, another leg was neatly sliced off.
Now only three legs remained.
Screeech-!
The machine let out a scream-like roar as it lost balance.
Its massive body swayed precariously, then finally succumbed to its weight and toppled.
Now, just approach the immobilized thing and finish with petrification.
Certain of victory, I moved the ground beneath me to approach it.
I aimed the tip of my staff at the fallen machine’s body.
Petrification.
The contacted metal began crumbling into sand from the point of touch.
“It’s a bit slow today….”
It felt like trying to light wet wood.
I soon realized why.
This machine’s body wasn’t steel—it was mithril.
A metal with powerful resistance to magic.
“Wow, the design is seriously filthy.”
I couldn’t help but praise the malicious monster engineering.
Nothing ever went smoothly.
I prepared the final blow.
The largest, sharpest blade I’d ever made.
My ultimate attack, concentrating all my mana.
“Split in half and die.”
The massive slash tore through space.
Slash-!
The enormous body split perfectly in two.
Through the gap, I saw its core still emitting red light.
Destroy that, and it’s over.
But hesitation flickered for a moment.
The Mountain’s Heart heating up in my pocket came to mind.
This was a machine core too—maybe it’d work?
Since I was destroying it anyway, it was worth a shot.
I didn’t waver.
I dove straight into its innards.
Reaching into the bisected machine, I grabbed the pulsing hot core.
Snap!
Yanking out the connected cables and pipes by force, I clutched the core in my hand.
Beep-.
As the core was pulled free, all lights on the machine died, accompanied by a scream-like sound.
“It works?”
I pulled out the Mountain’s Heart from my pocket.
I pressed the freshly extracted hot core against it.
Sizzle-.
Just like the others, it melted like liquid and got sucked into the heart’s cracks.
The heart’s red glow intensified.
“It’s this hot?”
At the same time, black smoke rose.
The sand encasing the item melted instantly, turning into a transparent glass bead.
“Why do all these hidden piece items turn out like this?”
Grumbling, I shook off the now-glass sand.
The World Tree seed was like that, and this lump too.
Every single one was a pain to store.
My gaze suddenly fixed back on the fallen boss’s body.
A very bizarre thought crossed my mind.
“Could I… eat this?”
The idea hit me, and I shook my head like I disgusted myself.
“Nah, even I wouldn’t go that far.”
A heap of scrap metal covered in oil and grime.
Too dirty and dangerous.
What was I even thinking, putting that in my mouth?
“…But it’s mithril.”
I swallowed dryly.
Mithril.
A metal with such strong magic resistance it withstood even my spells.
“Just one bite?”
In the end, pragmatism won over disgust.
First, I had to deal with the filthy exterior.
Like peeling an apple, I sliced off the outer armor with a blade.
Scrape scrape.
As the shell peeled away, smooth, faintly glowing innards—no, framework—emerged.
I squeezed my eyes shut and took a bite from the very edge of the exposed frame.
Crunch.
The familiar sensation spread through my body.
“Definitely mithril.”
The precious metal I still desperately needed, hard to buy even for money.
The moment I confirmed it again.
I abandoned any shred of human dignity.
I squared my shoulders and began devouring it in earnest.
Time was short.
I’d cleared the floor— the system could kick me out anytime.
Before that, I had to eat every bit of this massive mithril hunk.
Faster than anyone. Differently from everyone.
Mithril processed by diamond cutter into bite-sized chunks.
Crunch crunch crunch crunch.
“If anyone saw this, they’d think I’m totally insane….”
Even with that self-mocking thought, I didn’t stop eating.
No one was watching anyway—what did it matter?
Better to swallow one more piece of mithril than worry about face.
I buried myself in it, gulping down the metal.
In the midst of this mindless feast.
I noticed another change in my body.
No matter how much I ate, my stomach never felt full.
Like my gut was a dimensional pouch with infinite space.
Come to think of it, I’d barely felt hunger lately.
I could probably go days without eating now, no problem.
Maybe I was gradually shedding human physiology.
That reflection lasted only a moment.
I refocused on the meal before me.
Plenty of time to think later.
Right now, eat.
How much time passed?
Finally, mithril filled my body to the limit.
I let out a satisfied sigh.
“Phew…. Thanks for the meal.”
At that instant, my body was enveloped in faint light, and my vision blurred.
The familiar sensation of exiting the tower.
Patting my full belly contentedly, I headed home.
The moment I arrived, exhaustion hit like a wave, and I collapsed onto the bed.
Food coma?
Digesting the mithril must’ve been why—my body felt unusually languid.
***
A scorching heat jolted me awake.
My whole body was drenched in sweat, my damp pajamas clinging uncomfortably.
“What the…. Why’s it so hot….”
This kind of weather in autumn?
Had the Earth really gone to hell?
Grumbling irritably, I sat up in bed.
But just as I thought to grab the remote for the AC.
I realized something was off.
The heat was rising from the basement.