Chapter 209: Desperate Battle on the 9.5th Floor
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 209: Desperate Battle on the 9.5th Floor
Can I win this fight?
Let’s slowly calculate the strength of both sides.
On their side is a four-man party of Inter-floor Lords.
The White Lion, the Lancer of Black Gloom, the Gunner Shark, and the Mushroom Beetle.
I’ve already fought the White Lion once.
I’ve also personally witnessed the Lancer of Black Gloom and the Gunner Shark in combat, so I have a rough idea of their capabilities.
It’s my first time meeting the Mushroom Beetle, but I know it’s the one that absorbed Bearhim’s abilities.
Our forces consist of me, Yernil, Aimus, and Back Attack.
And Bipa and Mugol. Let’s assume the Eastern Emperor has no combat power.
It won’t be easy for a six-man party to take down all four of them. So, as I thought…
‘I’ll have to wake the Spider Doctor.’
The Spider Doctor wasn’t dead.
The moment he collapsed with a dagger in his head, Bipa and I examined him.
Of course, I’m a combat wizard, so I don’t know the details, but a ‘Taoist’ in Wyndham is like a priest.
Bipa had said:
‘He’s in a state of suspended animation.’
From that, I could make a quick deduction.
The White Lion had used a Tier 7 dagger-throwing skill: ‘Deadly Dagger Throw.’
It drops the target’s health to zero in one hit but doesn’t kill them.
One more hit, and they die.
If someone uses a healing potion or recovery magic, they’re revived.
That was his condition. It’s a rather annoying skill, as the one doing the healing must also spend Action Points.
It would be simple for Bipa to heal the Spider Doctor, but he deliberately left him be. Though they were temporary allies, Bipa clearly disliked the Spider Doctor.
He’d be better off dead.
That’s probably what he was thinking. According to Bipa’s plan, he could just summon the Spider Doctor from the Ethereal Galaxy faction later by sacrificing the possessors.
But I need to bolster my forces right now. The Spider Doctor will surely cooperate to get his own body back.
There are several ways to wake him.
Which method would conserve the most Action Points?
‘Pour a healing potion on him.’
It would be difficult to take off the bag on my back and pull out a healing potion. That would probably use up all six of my Action Points. I’ll have to use my psychokinesis wand.
Of course, I’m not confident I could manipulate the bag on my back with psychokinesis, sight unseen, and unzip it.
But I can see a healing potion on Aimus’s belt.
“Move.”
Aimus had drunk a few healing potions when he was injured by the Lancer. Thanks to that, a few empty bottles and one unopened healing potion are still stuck in his belt.
I move it above the Spider Doctor’s forehead.
[Your Turn. Time Remaining: 52 seconds]
[Action Points: ■■■■■□]
The four-man party of Inter-floor Lords is not only intelligent and powerful, but they also know me well.
They know I have High-Speed and Chantless Casting, Transcendent Perception, Psychokinetic Teleport, and remote wand control.
They also have a general idea of my magic build. Seeing as the Lancer and the Gunner Shark have joined them, they probably know about ‘Lightning Judgment’ as well.
The fact that the White Lion chose ‘Forest of Death’ for his Tier 9 scroll is worth noting.
Why?
Because that magic has a dehumidifying effect.
The fairy forest outside this citadel has been entirely transformed into a monster army.
Each and every tree has become a separate monster, surrounding the citadel, trying to attack us by forcing their roots through windows and cracks in the doors. And those roots absorb water.
Even if I were to summon a massive downpour with Cumulonimbus, those trees would absorb it all.
It’s like Pokémon. Grass-types are strong against Water-types, after all.
‘He used a troublesome spell.’
The White Lion has prevented the risk of getting wet by cutting off the rainwater at its source. This greatly reduces my options.
Unless I can submerge my enemies in a puddle of water, my electric magic can only hit one target at a time. If I can’t create clouds, it’s difficult to aim for chain damage amplification using lightning strikes.
So…
‘A magic circle or freezing magic.’
In a way, I’ve been guided into choosing one of the two.
To go with a magic circle build, I’d have to use the Memory Book Exchanger to change one Tier 1 spell into Rapid Scribe.
Not a bad choice, but for now…
“Blizzard.”
I’ll use the area-of-effect freezing magic first.
The snowstorm created by Blizzard will freeze all the tree branches entering the citadel.
[Your Turn. Time Remaining: 44 seconds]
[Action Points: ■■□□□□]
Next.
How do I deal with the White Lion behind me?
His leaping ambush failed. Back Attack’s level is quite high now, so it won’t be easy for the White Lion to break through and kill me.
There’s a high probability he’ll use ‘Shadow Leap’ to escape.
But it’s not 100%.
Why?
Because the White Lion has a rather reckless personality.
This is the same madman who, back at the Public Security Headquarters annex, charged at Dalstream with a scroll in his mouth even after losing an arm trying to kill him.
Therefore…
“Superconduction.”
I shove my wand under Back Attack’s side and cast a spell.
The White Lion isn’t wet, and his level is still higher than mine, so it might not cause a full electric shock.
But it will cause a temporary paralysis. That will leave him no choice but to retreat with Shadow Leap.
[Your Turn. Time Remaining: 35 seconds]
[Action Points: ■□□□□□]
Around now, I should use Time Trader to reset all my skill cooldowns.
That way, I can cast Blizzard again if needed after my turn ends.
And…
‘Should I use the Memory Book Censor?’
After a moment of thought, I decided it was better to save it. I can use the Censor to increase my Action Points when I get a Temporary Hourglass.
I don’t have an hourglass right now, but I can make one.
Should I stop here for now?
It would be better to see how the enemies move before deciding my next move.
However.
“They’ll try to get rid of the Blizzard, won’t they?”
Forcing me to use either freezing or magic circles means they’ve also prepared a counter for it.
The White Lion still has eight scrolls of Tier 8 or lower. One of them must be a counter to Blizzard.
A few possibilities immediately come to mind. But reviewing every single one would be foolish. Instead…
“Yernil.”
I need you to do something for me.
*
Academically, the phenomenon of heavy snowfall in winds exceeding 18 meters per second and temperatures below minus 7 degrees Celsius.
That is called a blizzard.
However, the conditions mentioned above are the minimum requirements. Depending on the region, the wind speed and temperature can reach insane levels.
Blizzards in the Arctic often reach speeds of 60 meters per second, with temperatures dropping to minus 40 degrees Celsius. Exposure means instant death.
CRACK!
A massive snowstorm suddenly raged.
‘Whiteout’ is a status effect created by the magic, Blizzard. The White Lion’s team momentarily lost their vision.
And the White Lion felt one more thing.
‘…!’
A tingling current spread from his chest, loosening his motor nerves.
‘Since when?’
The wizard, who had been looking straight ahead until the very moment he used his leaping ambush, now had his wand pointed this way, past Back Attack’s side. He had cast Superconduction in an instant.
‘So it’s this bastard after all.’
As he cast Shadow Leap, the White Lion’s suspicion was confirmed.
‘He has an hourglass.’
He’d suspected it ever since the rumors of chantless, high-speed casting started, and he was right. And he could even control his wand remotely?
CLANG!
The sound of Back Attack’s dagger hitting the floor rang out.
But the White Lion had narrowly dodged it. He took refuge behind the Lancer.
“Hold your positions!” the White Lion roared at the Lancer and the Gunner Shark, who were about to charge into the vision-obscuring wind and snow.
‘Just as I expected.’
He knew a spell like Blizzard would come. And the White Lion had a counter for it. He drew a new scroll from his left hand.
‘Long, Long Summer Day.’
Contained within was a spell used by Wyndham’s Taoists or shamans, making it closer to a talisman than a scroll.
To the Wizard King, who had once mastered all magic, there was little difference. And the God of Gifts could imbue any magic onto such a parchment.
He would summon a scorching summer to eliminate the Blizz—
THWACK!
An arrow flew in and struck the scroll.
Unlike Blizzard’s freezing effect, ‘Whiteout’ doesn’t distinguish between friend or foe. Caleb’s party had also lost their vision.
But the ears of a sound-mapper had precisely pinpointed the sound of a scroll being drawn.
‘…!’
A scroll bestowed by the God of Gifts can normally be used even if it’s pierced, so he had admittedly been careless. The problem was that the arrow shot by the elf archer was no ordinary arrow.
‘Ignition.’
The magic arrowhead, with a Tier 1 scroll attached, set the White Lion’s scroll on fire.
“You… you….”
THUD! THUD! THUD! THUD!
The sound of something charging through the snowstorm echoed.
“Protective Talisman, envelop him!”
At Bipa’s voice, a beast, shielded by a protective barrier, was charging with its sword drawn.
Its gleaming eyes locked onto its target, even through the Whiteout.
“White Lion!”
The Lancer leaped in front of the obvious target.
“Draw another scroll!”
He roared and charged head-on toward Mugol.
VWOOOOOM!
Unable to wait any longer, the Gunner Shark began to channel magic power into his main cannon.
“Monk! You hold your ground!”
The beastman warrior’s roar thundered.
The blazing fire, glowing like the cannon’s blast furnace, was clearly visible even in the snowstorm. As was the direction it was aimed.
“Don’t worry!”
Aimus stood ready with his steel parasol.
CRASH!
Mugol and the Lancer collided head-on. Both were figures who could be called the strongest vanguards of the surface and the underground, respectively.
In terms of level, the Lancer was higher, but there was one crucial difference between him and Mugol.
‘Fierce Tiger’s Forest-Leaving Draw.’
Mugol could not be frozen or slowed.
WHOOSH!
A horizontal slash erupted from the scabbard, cleaving the air before him. The Lancer dodged instead of blocking with his shield—proof that the monstrous strike could leave a mark even on his shield of black gloom. It also meant that despite his massive frame and slowed state, he was agile enough to evade Mugol’s attack.
KRRRRRACK!
The sword energy sliced the citadel’s staircase in two.
The wall cracked.
And above it all…
‘Barrage Shot!’
Dozens of arrows fired by Yernil rained down.
“Tch.”
The White Lion drew another scroll.
‘Gaze of the Void.’
It was a spell that wizards couldn’t store in their memory books, as it was a unique skill used by the Glutton.
But just before he tore the scroll…
‘Sentry Reposition.’
A chilling killing intent made the White Lion turn to see what had arrived.
Yernil was standing right behind him.
An arrow, now retrieved, was in her hand.
‘Barrage Shot.’
Normally, a ranger fights from a distance, but under the cover of the Blizzard, she had boldly approached the White Lion from behind.
She intended to fire Barrage Shot at close range, like a shotgun.
BOOM!
Hundreds of arrows erupted from point-blank range.
RIIIP!
The White Lion tore the scroll, aiming it at the Blizzard’s core.
*
THWACK! THWACK-THWACK!
The hundred or so magic arrows embedded themselves in the body of a mushroom that had suddenly appeared.
The Blizzard’s snowstorm was now subsiding.
‘He used Gaze of the Void.’
The White Lion had used two scrolls. Gaze of the Void is Tier 7. That means his Tier 7 and Tier 9 slots are empty.
The one Yernil destroyed with the ignition arrow was likely a Tier 6 spell.
It’s common sense to use lower-tier spells first, and there’s no spell of Tier 5 or below that can eliminate a Blizzard.
BOOM!
The Gunner Shark swiveled his main cannon and fired at Yernil.
But Yernil wasn’t hit.
‘Shadow Leap!’
A stealthed Back Attack had pulled her away.
CRASH!
At the same time, Mugol was sent flying back this way. The Lancer had slammed him with his shield. Mugol rolled, leaped to his feet, and corrected his posture.
“Are you alright?”
“I’m fine.”
As the two exchanged a brief back-and-forth next to Bipa…
“Ugh…”
The Spider Doctor regained consciousness.
Brushing off the shards of the broken healing potion, he pushed himself up.
“Look at all these familiar faces gathered here.”
“Tch.”
The Beetle clicked its tongue.
I learned one more thing.
The Beetle is a puppeteer.
It uses fungified combat dolls. However, mushrooms are vulnerable to freezing, so it seems he was reluctant to bring out his dolls while the Blizzard was active. But he must have had no choice if he wanted to protect the White Lion.
[Fungal Combat Doll]
“Just let nature take its course and blow it away,” the Spider Doctor said.
“Of course.”
I gained something else, too.
The White Lion noticed it as well.
“Did you destroy that window?”
During the snowstorm, one of the windows had been completely blown out. Originally, there was only a small hole for tree branches to enter, but he had blown out the entire frame.
I used a Dust Explosion.
“To think you could do that in a whiteout…”
The White Lion briefly marveled at my aim before something dawned on him.
“No. You used the Watcher.”
Correct.
I saw through the whiteout with the Watcher, took aim, and shattered the window with a Dust Explosion.
The 60-meter-per-second wind pressure that had filled the citadel’s lobby then rushed out through that opening, freezing one of the Forest of Death’s trees solid.
[Temporary Hourglass is now available]
And my hourglass returned to me.
You lost your Tier 6 and Tier 7 scrolls.
“Blizzard.”
And I had already reset Blizzard’s cooldown during my first turn.