Chapter 136: Somehow, My Luck Was Too Good
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 136: Somehow, My Luck Was Too Good
“Something’s strange…”
Arriving at the fountain, I was confused.
“How can this be?”
I hadn't encountered a single monster.
There was the one mushroom I met right after falling from the trap past the 5th-floor stairs.
Then the two mushrooms near the treasure room.
That was it.
After that, I didn't run into a single monster on the way to the fountain.
‘Is this even possible?’
Let's say it was just incredible luck that both the treasure room and the fountain were relatively close to where I fell onto the 6th floor.
But for the monster frequency to be this low is statistically improbable. It's too strange to be explained away as just ‘good luck.’
“But hey, isn't that a good thing?”
I guess so, but I couldn't shake this uneasy feeling.
Still, for now.
“Let's first check if we can acquire skills from the fountain.”
“Then I'll go first.”
Aimus approached the fountain and plunged his head into the water.
A moment later…
“Puha!”
Aimus lifted his head, looking slightly confused.
“It's offering me one of three skills, but I don't know what to do…”
Just like in the game.
He was likely presented with ‘Iron Staff Lightning Rod,’ ‘Earth Piercer,’ and ‘Horn of the Rhinoceros.’
“But none of the monks I know from Mount Dalai have ever learned these skills.”
Since Strength Monks were rare, Aimus had no information on these skills.
Unsure what to choose, he asked us for advice.
“According to the voice from the fountain…”
I double-checked the knowledge I had.
Iron Staff Lightning Rod is a skill where you plant the staff vertically to create a 15-meter control zone and cause a lightning discharge.
Earth Piercer is a skill where you strike the ground with the staff, shattering it, causing an earthquake, and knocking down nearby enemies.
Horn of the Rhinoceros is a technique that increases movement speed by 200% for a charge of up to 100 meters, with damage increasing based on the distance traveled.
“Which one should I learn?”
After listening carefully, I helped him with his build.
“Horn of the Rhinoceros.”
It wasn't a teleportation skill like Yernil's Sentinel Relocation or Back Attack's Shadow Leap, but it could compensate for a Strength Monk's greatest weakness: mobility.
“Understood.”
Aimus learned Horn of the Rhinoceros.
Next was Yernil.
She also got to choose one of two skills, just as I'd told her.
“I learned a skill called Marking Arrow.”
Yernil activated the skill to test it.
A complex pattern, about the size of a rice bowl, appeared at the tip of her arrow.
It was a resistance-nullifying mark.
If you hit an enemy with it, it leaves a mark on the impacted area, and any attack on that mark will treat the target's resistance as zero.
The way you use it in the game is…
“You hit them with that, then hit the same spot again with a Magic-Tipped Arrow.”
Then the scroll on the Magic-Tipped Arrow will activate with 100% certainty, since the resistance of the impacted area is zero.
This allows you to ignore level differences and inflict status effects on relatively high-level enemies with no chance of failure.
It's a seriously awesome ability. In the game, whenever I played an archer, I always used it.
That's also why you invest in the Dexterity stat for archers—to expand the range of scrolls you can use with Magic-Tipped Arrows.
I even got great results with it when fighting Labyrinth Masters.
“Caleb. The 6th floor… maybe we can handle it?”
Yernil, cocky with her new skill, was talking nonsense.
“No.”
The only reason we were still alive was because an abnormally small number of mushroom monsters had been appearing, just one or two at a time.
“Normally, they're the type of monster that swarms you.”
Besides, their type was also a problem.
So far, we'd only encountered the slowest type, the Steel Mushrooms, but usually, different types appear mixed together.
“If we get into a real fight, they'll tear us to shreds.”
“I see…”
Yernil reverted to the coward I knew.
But honestly, I was starting to feel a little optimistic.
When we first fell into the trap, it felt completely hopeless, but now I thought we might just be able to make it to the stairs leading back to the 5th floor.
“You said the stairs back to the 5th floor would be on the opposite side from here, right?”
“Yes. In a labyrinth, the stairs to the previous floor and the next floor are usually located at opposite ends.”
The 4-5 stairs and the 5-6 stairs would be on opposite sides, and since we fell right after passing the 4-5 stairs, our destination should be quite a ways from here.
“Should I go now?”
Back Attack headed to the fountain with an excited look on his face.
“If I get a few options, I'll discuss 'em with you guys before choosing.”
Back Attack buried his face in the water.
And a moment later…
[Back Attack has learned ‘Mirror Rogue’.]
It was a clone technique.
It disappeared after one hit, but until then, its attack power was identical to the original.
And you could swap places with the original exactly once.
Hmm.
All three of them were starting to shape their builds like proper mid-level adventurers.
“My turn at the fountain.”
Normally, wizards can't acquire skills from the fountain, but I'm a bit different.
I wonder.
Now that I've visited the Ethereal Galaxy with the Hourglass and gained more subordinates…
I wonder if a new skill has been unlocked.
*
It worked.
[You can select an Hourglass Introductory Skill. Choose one of the following.]
① Memory Book Editor: During your turn, you can open your memory book and swap spell slots. Swapping one slot consumes 1 Action Point.
(This skill can be activated during an Hourglass turn. Cooldown: 1 hour.)
② Mind Controller: Consume 2 Action Points to issue a command to a party member of a lower level than the player, regardless of their trust level. If the command goes against their disposition, they will obey but enter a temporary ‘Madness’ state.
(This skill can be activated during an Hourglass turn. Cooldown: 1 hour.)
The remaining two introductory skills I already knew about were presented.
And…
[You can select an Hourglass Adept Skill. Choose one of the following.]
An Adept Skill was presented.
Its contents were rather shocking.
① Ranged Direction Adjuster: Consume 1 Action Point to gain control over a wand that has left your hand. You can adjust the wand's direction and cast any spell from your memory book.
(This skill can be activated during an Hourglass turn. Cooldown: 1 hour.)
② Paradoxical Time Trader: Consume all 60 seconds of the Hourglass's time to regress real-world time by 60 seconds.
‘No, this is crazy. What the hell is this?’
It seemed the Adept Skills were evolved versions of the two introductory skills I had already acquired out of the four.
The two skills I had learned were ‘Direction Adjuster’ and ‘Time Trader.’
The former was a skill that let me adjust the direction of the wand in my hand without consuming Action Points, and now I could use it at a distance.
And the latter was a skill for trading cooldowns or status effect durations, but now…
‘Regression?’
I was speechless at the appearance of such an outrageous word.
There was something similar in the game. ‘Undo a Turn.’
It was an option only available on the Classic difficulty when you first start the game.
I'd always thought it was just a convenience feature for people who found turn-based strategy combat difficult…
‘You can really undo a turn?’
Regressing 60 seconds in a critical battle is an absurdly powerful ability, but the handicap is also significant.
(This skill can be activated during an Hourglass turn. Upon activation, the Hourglass will be destroyed.)
“…”
No, it wasn't just significant, it was enormous.
A 60-second regression was an ability that could save the party from the brink of annihilation.
However, if the Hourglass was destroyed, we'd be finished by a much smaller crisis.
‘Is there no way to restore a destroyed Hourglass?’
The Hourglass is a special ability, but the fountain also classifies it as a wizard's ‘weapon.’
In the game, some skills have immense power but often destroy the weapon upon use.
For example, for a Puppeteer, the doll itself is considered a weapon, and one of the Tier 5 Puppeteer skills is Doll Self-Destruct.
It can inflict tremendous damage, but the doll is lost.
That's why they prepare several backup dolls and use them like consumables.
Wait a minute. When I went to the Ethereal Galaxy, there was a massive hourglass, wasn't there?
This means the one I have might not be the only one.
What if I could secure a backup Hourglass, like a Puppeteer's backup dolls?
It's entirely possible.
And the fact that this is an Adept Skill is another piece of evidence suggesting that possibility.
For instance, if a Puppeteer could only ever use one doll in their entire life, wouldn't a skill like Doll Self-Destruct be a final ultimate ability that appears around Tier 8?
But…
‘I have no idea how long it would take to get another Hourglass.’
This option has too much uncertainty and no safety net.
That's too fatal a flaw.
But isn't the regression skill itself a safety net for my life?
No. Which one should I choose?
*
“If he stays in there any longer, he's gonna grow gills.”
Back Attack muttered as Caleb kept his face submerged in the fountain, showing no sign of coming out.
Then, as if he'd heard him, Caleb lifted his head.
“Puha!”
“Speak of the devil.”
“Just a little longer.”
Caleb made an apologetic gesture with his hand and buried his face in the fountain again.
Back Attack nudged Aimus in the ribs.
“Did you see that? He's starting to grow gills.”
“Do you remember the first time we found a fountain?”
“You mean the first time with this party?”
“Yes. Caleb had his face in the fountain back then, too.”
“That's right.”
“The water in the fountain isn't just water. I heard it's actually connected to the Ethereal Galaxy.”
“Really?”
“Caleb is so talented that even the professors are amazed by him, so maybe he can see something in the fountain that we can't.”
“He's such an enigma, it makes me curious sometimes,” Back Attack said.
“Remember that guy, Bipa or Heopa or whatever, who said he was in Caleb's old party?”
Aimus and Yernil nodded.
“That white-haired guy said it, right? That Caleb was someone who met a Labyrinth Master and survived. He threatened us, asking if we could handle him when he was already being ‘digested’.”
“He did.”
“That's right.”
The two of them nodded again.
“Caleb rarely talks about himself, so I can't help but be curious. Of course, I don't care what that white-haired geezer said, but I am curious if it's true that he met a Labyrinth Master.”
“Everyone has a past they don't want to talk about. Like your time in the West.”
Back Attack flinched at Aimus's sharp remark.
“Okay, I get it in one shot. I won't be curious again, yep.”
“What? You're from the West?” Yernil showed interest.
Back Attack waved his hands dismissively.
“It's a hundred times better if we don't know about each other's pasts.”
“But I'm still curiou—!”
Suddenly, Yernil stopped mid-sentence and snapped her head up.
“What is it, Yernil?”
Aimus reflexively raised his iron staff.
“There's… there's a sound.”
“What kind of sound?”
“…A person. No, a metal plate? The sound of something like that running.”
“Is it a mushroom?”
“It's different from the sound of them moving by extending their mycelia. It sounds more like a warrior in heavy armor. There are two of them. I hear human footsteps, too! The stride is identical, this is…”
Suddenly, an old memory overlapped in Yernil's mind.
The time she fought the plunderer Sally's team. Yernil had misjudged the number of enemies.
Why? Because she had mistaken a running combat doll for a person.
Experience truly is the best teacher.
And Yernil was now a mid-level adventurer. Unlike back then with Sally, she was now experienced.
“It's a combat doll!”
Yernil raised her bow high.
And what appeared from ahead was…
“Pant! Pant!”
A terrified Dwarf Puppeteer.
“Y-You there, please help me.”
His combat doll was missing an arm, and its core armor was in tatters. It looked as if it had been ‘chewed on.’ The steel plating was ripped apart in the shape of teeth marks.
“We have to find our party member.”
The puppeteer whimpered and collapsed to the floor.
“Don't come any closer!”
Yernil, having been tricked by a similar repertoire before, was on high alert, but Aimus reacted more gently.
“Calm down and tell us what happened, slowly.”
Unlike on the 1st floor, Aimus was relatively composed because the chances of encountering plunderers on the 6th floor were very low.
Generally, any party that makes it this far has proven both their skill and their character.
Although, since this was Aimus's party's first time on the 6th floor, even if he heard a name, he wouldn't know who it was…
“C-Clorence.”
Surprisingly, it was a name they knew.
“We're Clorence's party. The wizard Clorence is our leader, and I'm Kudrum, a puppeteer, as you can see. And our other party member is Richard.”
“Richard!”
Back Attack's eyes went wide.
“That rude bastard who uses that ridiculously huge fucking sword?”
“You know Richard?”
“I know Clorence, too!” Yernil finally lowered her bow and shouted.
“Really!”
“What about Clorence?”
Caleb suddenly appeared from the direction of the fountain, wiping the water that was dripping from his face.
“What's going on?” he asked, his expression extremely anxious.
“An Eccentric Boss appeared.”
An Eccentric Boss. Yernil had heard of them before. Caleb had taught her about them back when they dealt with Gildal. It's a boss that ‘opens the door to the exit room and comes out on its own.’
Exit bosses that, true to their name, commit eccentric acts.
“But even so, that shouldn't be enough to half-wipe your party, right? You must have come prepared to raid a boss…”
“It's the 7th-floor boss,” Kudrum answered, trembling.
“It came up the stairs.”
Silence fell before the fountain.
“Ah. Shit.”
Caleb buried his face in his hands.
*
Finally, everything made sense.
Why had we encountered almost no monsters since falling right after the 4-5 stairs?
It was the same principle as how goblin mobs don't gather near a crying Black Hornet larva.
If the 5-6 stairs are on the opposite side of the 4-5 stairs, doesn't that mean the 6-7 stairs are on the opposite side of the 5-6 stairs?
There must have been stairs leading down to the 7th floor near where we fell.
And some Eccentric Boss came up from there.
In the game, users called it ‘Stairing.’
The strange phenomenon of a monster taking the stairs.
“No wonder my luck was so good.”
So, our appropriate level was the 5th floor, but now there's a 7th-floor exit boss roaming around nearby?