Chapter 118 – 17th Floor. Let’s Exercise

Slash—

What ended the sinister tug of war was a sharp noise cutting through the air.

Like a flash of light, the thrown dagger flew precisely toward the handsome man’s brow, making a crack sound as it shattered bone and penetrated his skin and brain.

His head jerked back, and his body wavered with it.

A fatal wound that no living being, no breathing life, could possibly survive.

Yet a radiance chased after him like a wolf who had found its prey, colliding with the frail body of one who had spent years researching in confined spaces.

Kwaaaang—!!

Crushed flesh and spraying blood.

The thick scent melted into the air, too hot to inhale.

“Freeze!”

The owner of the brilliant golden hair, now stained with viscous blood, didn’t stop there but issued a command that was almost a shout.

And as if expecting this, a pale beam flew forth, different from the pure white line that had incinerated the corridor earlier.

【Ice Beam】

The extreme cold beam shot from the Everchanging Staff, which had devoured four different types of magic staves, retaining all their spells and charges.

It instantly turned the world white.

The air is white. Even the exhaled souls are white.

The cold that beautifully encroached upon the world arrived with a fierce, stinging wind, as if the scene had suddenly changed.

Crack— Crack—

The raging cold.

In the artificially induced ice age, I couldn’t help but click my teeth and curse.

“Shit..! It’s freezing as hell!”

The reason was simple—it was fucking cold. But it couldn’t be helped.

It’s more efficient to use Ice Beam or Chain Lightning to restrict movement than to incinerate him with Flame Beam’s firepower.

‘This aspect hasn’t changed from when it was a game.’

Levand, who had been directly hit by Severa’s Ice Beam and turned into a bright red ice statue with his head shattered, wasn’t recovering as quickly as when he had been roasted with the Lich.

“Did we get him?”

“..!”

Those four short syllables from Severa, who was still pointing the Everchanging Staff that continued to drip white cold onto the floor, made my face contort like a grotesque vengeful spirit.

“YOU STUPID BITCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

“Eek!? W-What are you doing all of a sudden?!”

Severa might have shrieked in a high-pitched voice, but having created a mess of this wide corridor with just two spells, that mistake was simply unforgivable.

But I am the sweetest man in the world.

It would be right to gently inform her of this mistake so it doesn’t happen again.

“You fucking idiot!”

“Why?!”

Unfortunately, I had no time for that.

Crack— Crack—!

The ice statue shook violently, fissures spreading rapidly until it collapsed, spewing out its contents.

What was inside was, of course, Levand, who casually brushed back his hair as if nothing had happened, which was irritating.

“Ah, shit~! Die! Straight to the solar plexus!”

Thud—

With no time to squabble with Severa, I rushed in and once again planted a full-force punch into his solar plexus.

The sensation of skin tearing, bones crumbling, muscles twisting, internal organs being crushed.

The impact was driven in so deeply that my fist crunch broke through his solar plexus and burrowed inside.

‘Ugh… it’s cold.’

Normally, this would have been an appallingly horrific sensation, but the corpse-like cold blood circulating through his body signaled that this wasn’t a living being.

“My, you’re too aggressive. It’s difficult to even have a simple conversation…”

Despite having my hand through his ribs and gripping his heart, Levand maintained his attitude as if it were no concern at all, merely finding it troublesome.

He’s currently in an immortal state anyway.

Since he was a special gimmick-type boss, I wasn’t disheartened. Rather, I welcomed this time.

“Is gold not enough? Then I’m willing to pay with magical items.”

“You’re still on about that?”

I have no intention of selling Severa.

Of course, a mountain of gold is a little bit tempting… just a tiny bit!

Even so.

“I intend to continue indefinitely. I’m not foolish enough to let go of a rope descended from heaven.”

If that’s the case, there’s nothing more to discuss.

If we’re going to run parallel lines indefinitely, dialogue as a means is useless.

“Don’t regret it when you wish you could die.”

And I clenched my fist.

Boom— Boom— Boom— Boom— Boom—

A massive vibration shook the art gallery artificially filled with death.

“Haha! Can you believe that shit?”

“So what are we going to do now?! I’ve used up all my magic!”

Despite my boasting, unfortunately, Severa and I were the ones being chased, not the chasers.

Whoosh— Whoosh— Walls discolored in a blur, and grotesque, skeletal arms reaching out from bizarre paintings tried to grab me, but I ignored them, feeling the fierce presence chasing from behind.

Kwaaaaaaaang—!!!

The wall exploded behind me, and debris pelted my back.

I couldn’t help but mentally click my tongue at the sight of that thick wall instantly breached by enormous power.

“Seriously, how is he not dying no matter what we do?”

I really tried everything possible, but killing him by ignoring the gimmick proved truly impossible.

I’ve burst his heart, cut him in half, crushed his head, and minced his entire body, yet he still won’t die—I’m starting to think he might be stronger than that tentacle squid.

‘Though killing him itself wasn’t that difficult…’

Basically, Necromancer Levand has an HP value of 0, so he dies with just one hit.

The problem is that he resurrects about 1-2 turns after dying.

That’s why the mini-boss battle on the 17th floor naturally became centered around escape and exploration.

‘Get caught, kill him with normal attacks, kill him with area skills if blocked by enemies…’

Given the game genre’s turn-based combat rather than real-time, there was plenty of time to think things through, which made it manageable. But facing him in person, the impact is no joke.

“Get in now, Severa!”

Having used up all the Everchanging Staff’s magic, Severa is just a cute little Severa-hedgehog now, so staying out any longer would only meaninglessly drain her Fuel meter.

As if understanding my intention, she pressed her lips together as if her pride was hurt, but obediently returned to the mimic.

The moment the mimic’s mouth closed with a clang, thin, grotesque, discolored arms shot from the paintings on the walls, instantly filling the corridor.

Being caught wouldn’t lead to anything good.

“Hup!”

I kicked off the floor and jumped high enough to almost touch the ceiling.

Thanking my body that allowed such impossible movements even while carrying heavy baggage, I lightly leaped over the marsh of arms. What followed were statues flying from the front.

“Whak!”

Whoosh—

I sharply twisted my head to avoid the statue hurtling toward my face at considerable speed.

Behind it, I vaguely saw a bluish, semi-transparent ectoplasm carrying the statue and flying.

“HEY BASTARD!!! THIS IS FUCKING COWARDLY!!!”

“If you had just handed her over peacefully, it would have been good for all of us.”

Levand caught one of the hands extending from a painting, lightly kissed its back, and continued walking.

‘Should I just use a Scroll of Excavation?’

Dropping him down would at least tie up his feet while he fights the mushroom creatures, though I can’t kill him that way.

‘I need to find the source.’

The condition for defeating Levand is destroying the source hidden in a concealed shelter at the center of the floor levels.

If successful, Levand’s immortality gimmick disappears, and only then does the proper boss battle begin.

One might wonder why I bothered to summon Levand now, but there was a separate reason.

‘Blue Tongue and the old man would have 100% died if they encountered this guy.’

Thinking about what happened in the game, he was probably splitting his forces to kill Blue Tongue and Albert.

Moreover, since both of them were burning with fighting spirit against the Necromancer, maximizing their survival probability required focusing his attention on me.

Of course, the thought of being caught and running the 100-minute death marathon makes me dizzy, but what can I do?

This fucking dungeon has always been like this.

“My time may be infinite, but that doesn’t mean I enjoy wasting it. Let’s end this.”

“Bastard. Acting all high and mighty!”

Ominous, viscous green magical power rippled in his hand.

If I had to compare it to something, it’s similar to Severa’s magic “Inevitable End,” which deals fatal damage to living beings.

If I’m touched by that, I’ll probably die or something close to it.

His hand extends.

Fortunately, there’s one thing in my favor.

“You’re trash at close combat, you bastard!”

I grabbed his wrist, redirected the force to pull him, and shifted his center of gravity forward.

Waver— His body tilted greatly forward.

A series of movements flowed naturally as I opened my palm and struck upward at his chin.

Albert, Blue Tongue, Cali.

Combat techniques learned from these warrior heroes, who wouldn’t lose to anyone in terms of person-to-person combat skill, once again demonstrated their value by smashing the face of this guy who looked like he’d never properly exercised.

Crack——

“Keck-“

“Try chasing me again like a dog.”

Watching him fall backward with a thud, I threw a painting at a stone statue flying to crush my skull, shattering it, and threw a jeering look at him.