Chapter 166: The Wizard of Ice and Clouds
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 166: The Wizard of Ice and Clouds
The Cumulonimbus build excels at area control, can inflict the ‘Wet’ status over a wide area, and uses the resulting status penalties to easily cause Electrocution or Freeze.
Unfortunately, it’s not very efficient for dealing burst damage to a single target.
Especially if that target has a much higher level and superior magic defense than me.
Take the fight with the Glutton, for example.
Most of the damage I dealt back then came from the Focusing Lens's Crushing Ray.
Blizzard, the centerpiece of the Cumulonimbus build, contributed little in terms of damage, aside from inflicting the Whiteout status effect.
One might think, ‘Wow, the Focusing Lens’s damage is insane!’ but it’s not actually a good thing.
It means my Memory Book slots were being wasted in that fight.
So why did Blizzard deal almost no damage back then, while the Crushing Ray was able to unleash such a burst?
To put it in game terms, it was something like this:
Fully charged Crushing Ray: 100 damage to the target.
Blizzard: 50 damage per turn to enemies in the area. (Lasts 3 turns.)
If the mushroom-buffed Glutton's magic defense was around 50, Blizzard's total damage over three turns would be zero.
That was the kind of battle I had fought.
So, what about the Dagger Raptor?
Will it be as difficult to deal damage to this thing with spells like Blizzard, just like with the Glutton?
Probably.
Its level is likely incomparable to the Glutton's.
When I first started using the Cumulonimbus build, the most dangerous enemies I anticipated were, at worst, the Labyrinth's exit bosses.
But things have changed.
If I'm going to keep facing monsters like this, my current methods won't cut it.
I need to modify the Cumulonimbus build.
In a way that can subdue high-level enemies.
[Spellbook: Flash Freeze]
First, I swapped out Frost Ray for Flash Freeze.
Frost Ray is a ranged freezing spell used for Hailstorm or Blizzard, but Flash Freeze is an emergency close-quarters countermeasure for the caster.
[Your turn. Time remaining: 28 seconds]
[Action Points: ■■■■□□]
Once the Hourglass's turn ends and time resumes, the Dagger Raptor will likely be frozen solid.
Getting hit with Flash Freeze at point-blank range while this drenched?
On Turn-Based Master difficulty, it can even freeze the Labyrinth Master.
Of course, the Labyrinth Master would break free in a single turn.
“How many turns will you last, I wonder?”
If it breaks free quickly, all the better.
I still have Action Points left.
[Tome of Binding: Hot Wind, Humidification, Soot, and Flash Freeze acquired.]
When Frost Ray was part of the combination, the Cumulonimbus would unleash a hailstorm, but with Flash Freeze, it's a bit different.
The cloud itself freezes.
『Tome of Ice Cloud』
The result is a heterogeneous mixture of water droplets and ice particles.
An ice prison will be summoned, taking the shape of the Cumulonimbus itself—a vertically stacked tower.
“Ice Cloud.”
In the game, this spell is originally used by wizards for self-protection.
This is in the same vein as Superconduction or Flash Freeze being close-quarters emergency countermeasures.
However, Ice Cloud isn't used to stun a nearby enemy, but to block the enemy's approach altogether.
[Your turn. Time remaining: 20 seconds]
[Action Points: ■■□□□□]
In game terms, Ice Cloud inflicts the Freeze status effect whenever an enemy inside or near it tries to move.
If a wizard sits in the middle of the cloud, melee enemies would be frozen roughly five to seven times just trying to reach them.
So, it's typically cast at the wizard's own feet to block an enemy's advance.
But now, the Dagger Raptor is trapped inside it.
It won't be able to get out without being frozen five to seven times.
Of course, this spell has two drawbacks.
First, it has a long casting time. But freezing the Dagger Raptor will buy me that time.
Second, its range is zero. The tip of the wand becomes the epicenter of the cloud's formation, making ranged summoning impossible.
…Or it was, but I solved that with remote wand control.
And to prepare for this thing's reckless escape attempts, I'll lay down another layer of magic.
Using my remaining 2 Action Points.
“Ice Cloud.”
[All Action Points have been consumed.]
[Ending turn.]
CRACK!
An iron staff, flying with ferocious momentum, slammed into the Dagger Raptor's chest.
“……!”
In that fleeting moment, the monster's wing struck Aimus's shoulder.
‘Steel Veins.’
Aimus endured it.
And the Dagger Raptor couldn't follow up with another attack.
Because the Flash Freeze, triggered at the moment of impact, had frozen its body.
Crrrack! Crack.
An intense chill spread from its temples, stiffening its body.
The wing it had extended toward Aimus froze in an instant.
The Dagger Raptor's body normally repels water, much like how a bird's wings are naturally coated in oil and keratin, making them highly waterproof.
But the water droplets that had accumulated all over its body from the Curse of Absorption were freezing over.
‘Impossible.’
In all his long years, the Inter-floor Lord had never even heard of such magical talent.
‘Controlling a wand from a distance!’
This was beyond the level of mere magical talent.
Such an ability had never been permitted to mortals.
Wizus, Nathaniel, or the Labyrinth Master.
Only Transcendent beings like them could interfere with the physical world through their immense mental power.
What just happened was like an electric current flowing through a severed wire.
A mortal's mental strength shouldn't be able to handle something like this.
In all his long life, the Dagger Raptor had never witnessed such a thing.
And one more thing.
‘Fuck. What is this now?’
Through its freezing vision, it could see hazy clouds and ice particles spreading around him.
Crack! Crack!
The cloud was freezing over.
Like a stream freezing over from the surface during a cold snap.
“Keuk.”
Aimus clutched his shoulder and staggered back.
Amazingly, the monster's incredible strength had pierced his Steel Veins.
It had torn through the steel on the shoulder of his Summer Scale Armor and pierced the skin protected by his Steel Veins.
Blood mixed with iron filings flowed from Aimus's shoulder, a shoulder that had never been fazed by any monster or plunderer until now.
“Aimus!”
He could hear Caleb, Yernil, and Back Attack rushing down from above.
“Are you okay?”
“Ahem. Do not worry.”
Aimus showed them his shoulder.
“It's just a scratch.”
Honestly, he was surprised, but the injury wasn't severe.
It was shocking that his Steel Veins had been sliced through so easily, but the Dagger Raptor had frozen before it could inflict a major wound.
“That…”
A moment later, Yernil and Back Attack stared in horror at the Dagger Raptor.
“What is that…”
Transparent water droplets and hazy ice particles floated, connected by a blue ethereal energy.
It looked like a slushie.
The Ice Cloud emitted a white vapor, like dry ice, and in its center stood the Dagger Raptor.
The Flash Freeze had almost worn off, but it couldn't move.
It knew instinctively.
That if it moved, it would be frozen solid.
Instead, it clicked its beak with a hardened expression.
“What kind of magic is this…”
Even an Inter-floor Lord who had lived for so long had never experienced magic like this.
Fwoosh!
The raptor's wings spread wide.
It seems it tried to use a skill similar to the Blowgun Nymph's—‘Wind Coat’.
But it was too late. You should have cast it beforehand if you wanted to use it.
SWOOOOSH!
Like linemen rushing to tackle a running back, an ice storm converged from all directions, instantly enveloping the monster.
[Frozen]
If this were a game, that message would have probably appeared above its head.
“What…”
The status effect certainly didn't last long. In an instant, the Dagger Raptor's face thawed. But its expression remained rigid.
“What is this…”
“You'll be frozen if you try to move.”
Thump!
The Dagger Raptor tried to escape again.
It was ‘Blink Charge’.
CRASH!
But once again, it was blocked by a mass of ice. The Dagger Raptor, frozen solid, collapsed to the floor again.
“Teleportation-type skills are useless inside it.”
If they worked, a rogue-type could just use a leaping ambush to get in, stab you, and then shadow step out, even if a wizard had cast Ice Cloud.
To get out of there, you need a much higher-tier skill.
For example, something like a Designated Coordinate Transfer Scroll would probably work.
Or, if it could create an Ethereal Lake like the White Lion, it could escape by creating an Ethereal Bud.
But the Dagger Raptor wouldn't have such means.
“Guide of the Specters.”
That is the power I surmise it received from the Labyrinth as a reward for offering up its kingdom.
It's just a puzzle I pieced together from lore found in old texts and stone tablets scattered throughout the Labyrinth in the game.
“Am I right?”
In the age of myths, he was the fastest being, soaring freely through the skies.
The being who guided the souls of the dead to the heavens, and the king of all birds.
The god of death who could fly higher than any other god.
And so, he was extremely arrogant.
A Transcendent who believed only in his own noble and powerful body, never bothering to learn the magic of the Ethereal Galaxy.
The one who was devoured first by the Labyrinth because of it.
“There's no way for you to escape from there.”
“You…”
The raptor's eyes glinted from beyond the cloud.
“What… what are you…?”
For the first time, something akin to tension appeared on the face of the monster that had treated us like fucking chumps.
It cannot fly.
Its wings are completely soaked.
It cannot use skills to shatter the cloud or move through it.
The Ice Cloud will catch it.
And what's worse…
The Dagger Raptor's last resort would be to endure the freezing multiple times to break through with its physical body, but even that is difficult.
“This icy path.”
Because the tidal wave Aimus brought has met the chill of the Ice Cloud, creating an icy path on the floor.
“Did you plan this too?”
The monster struggled even to stand upright on the slippery surface.
“When Professor Dalstream fought the White Lion.”
“……”
“His escape from the Ethereal Lake using another Ethereal Lake was unexpected.”
To catch a demon, you have to consider possibilities beyond the scope of your imagination.
Breaking through the cloud by taking the freeze head-on is insane, but a reckless bastard like that might just try it.
So, I've taken measures to prevent even that.
“Dagger Raptor.”
By now, you must have realized it.
“You will die here.”
It probably never even imagined it.
That he could be defeated by high-floor—no, maybe even mid-floor—adventurer nobodies like us.
“……”
Judging by Yernil's expression, she's still not convinced.
Her face screamed, Can we really kill this thing?
Aimus and Back Attack looked similar.
But the Dagger Raptor was terrified. It was paralyzed with bewilderment and terror.
There was a reason.
[Positive Charge Bullet Scroll]
“This is what you're afraid of, isn't it?”
The White Lion's scroll repository is the very reason I started this fight.
“Scrolls aren't affected by the user's stats.”
And the White Lion's scrolls are uniquely powerful, likely because they are directly infused with the power of the Goddess of Gifts and Scrolls.
That's why even Meldini couldn't do anything about the structural transformation of the Public Security Headquarters' annex, which was created by a scroll during the last Labyrinth Eruption.
In other words, using these scrolls means that even as a 7th-floor wizard, I can wield magic with the power of the Deep Layer.