Chapter 98 – 15th Floor. Freeze!

The ground descends into the lava at an uncontrollable speed.

The heat grows increasingly intense.

At its center stands a man, burned in various places, laughing maniacally, and a bizarre giant with the head of a tentacle but no face.

“D-damn it! My ales!”

Rumble-

A mere wooden cart could hardly withstand such a catastrophic situation.

As the axle twisted and the oak barrels shattered into pieces, tumbling downward, the dwarf leaped after them to catch them, but was stopped by the knight.

Four barrels of ale disappeared into the depths below.

“Ah… aah… a hundred years of aging…”

“If it’s spirits, they’ll just taste better when they land on the elemental!”

After hastily consoling the despondent dwarf, the knight ran to avoid falling, jumping with all his might between fragments to find relatively stable rock to step on.

But this was merely a temporary measure.

Since it was obvious the platform would soon collapse, he threw off his sweat-drenched helmet and frowned as he looked for another foothold.

“Tsk. Where did they find such a monster…”

Seeing the man facing and standing up to that eldritch aberration—a creature so horrifying that merely looking at it made one dizzy—the old knight clicked his tongue.

A monster whose origins couldn’t possibly be found in any legend, myth, or even fraud.

Boom- Boom- Boom-

Turning toward the rhythm of heartbeat-like pulses that shook the entire abandoned mine, he saw a massive entity staring with rage-filled eyes at the falling man and that monster.

Its appearance seemed to mimic some kind of creature, yet also appeared amorphous due to the flowing lava.

If forced to compare it to something, it might be closest to a long-snouted lizard covered in hard carapace.

An elemental with a body of glowing red lava that dripped continuously, wearing cooled lava like black armor.

It expressed tremendous anger toward the intruders who had entered its domain.

“Heh… It’s like facing what they call a dragon.”

The old knight let out a hollow laugh as he watched the mountain elemental inflating itself to incinerate everything.

***

“Puheheheh! Ah, seriously! Where did the mimic go?!”

Even with my brain consumed by the madness imposed by the crown, I was still aware that the current situation was extremely dangerous.

Due to the nature of this status effect which lowers all stats and concentrates their total into one stat, my health had dropped to the level of a sunfish. Even allowing one attack could be fatal.

Moreover, as the moment when my strength had soared to 63 passed, a feeling of exhaustion washed over my entire body, and time seemed to stretch.

If that’s the case, now’s my chance.

Whoosh!

Whatever happens, in my current state, I feel like I can dodge any attack. I leap up, stepping on the falling ground beneath me, then on the debris belatedly falling above my head.

A path forms in my mind. Strong to the right, weak to the left, weak forward, then strong to the right again.

With superhuman—no, madman-level reflexes and reaction speed, I step on the foothold that’s formed in midair, defying gravity. At the same time, I can sense the tentacle following me to catch me, even though I’m not looking at it.

Swhaaack—

The creature’s tentacle shoots toward me like a spring, aiming for the moment I jump, with enough force to easily grind living beings into pulp.

“Hahahahaha!!!”

I twist my waist and bend my knees, shifting my center of gravity in midair, spinning lightly to brush past the shooting tentacle.

A burning sensation on my cheek. It feels like it’s been torn deeply, but I feel no pain.

If I’m not dead, it doesn’t matter at all.

Shing-

A dagger and an axe are drawn from my waist.

The corners of my mouth rise grotesquely in anticipation of the sensation I’ll feel in my hands momentarily.

Pababababababababababak-

I embed the axe deeply to anchor myself and stab frantically with the dagger. The tentacle’s surface instantly becomes a tattered rag under the shower of dagger strikes delivered at a speed beyond biological comprehension.

Though not deep, the wounds must be painful enough, as the tentacle lurches violently.

Thunk-!

Propelled by the recoil, I leap up high into the air again, spreading my arms and welcoming the sensation of floating.

“It feels like riding a Viking ship! Puhah!”

From far below, I feel the pulsation of overwhelming power.

Soon, compressed lava will shoot up at an unimaginable speed.

“Uhahahah!! This is dangerous! Where the hell is the mimic when you need it!”

I should escape. Despite making this rational assessment, the endorphins and dopamine gushing forth from my desire for manic thrill make my brain feel like it’s melting.

A little more. What if just a little more is fine?

Nonsensical thoughts like ‘What’s the harm in being a little late?’ were steadily infecting the neuron meeting taking place in my brain.

“This time, I’m going for the gyro drop!!!”

KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAK———!!!

The earth dragon responded with a howl.

***

Sparks flying like stars and toxic rock vapors. Through the gaps, skewering in like an awl—tendrils of madness.

The howling of something splashing around violently in the lava, creating a tremendous roar that rattled my brain with its grotesque and repulsive sensation, made me close my eyes then open them again.

Steel-like scales glowing red-hot, and the heat that felt like it would burn everything helped temporarily drive away whatever was invading my mind.

The target was the box that had fallen to the ground as the platform collapsed, its spear shaft broken.

Since it belonged to a human, it would be overflowing with useful items.

Though the human himself had cast it aside and was fighting monsters bare-handed down there, it would still be helpful.

Pabak!

I ran, enduring the pain of my claws and flesh melting.

‘Just a little further…!’

I knew the human and dwarf had escaped, but it was too late for me to flee now.

My lifelong honed instinct told me so.

Soon, that elemental would sweep everything away.

As the box lay just within reach, with a clink-clink of chains, I stretched out my hand as if throwing myself toward it.

‘Did I miss it…!’

My claws barely grazed the surface of the chain.

The box slipped away by a hair’s breadth and fell into the depths below.

“…”

A moment of deliberation. Meanwhile, the box rapidly shrank to a dot.

With a brief sigh, I leaped down.

From below, I could see the human slashing the alien abomination and narrowly dodging cascading lava fragments, dancing.

Beautiful movements. Yet also as bizarre as a madman’s.

Seeing the human enjoying a dance with death as if his life held no value made my blood boil.

Both psychologically and physically.

Swhaaaaaaaaaaaack———

I pierce through the air as if I had become an awl myself.

With each blink, the figure draws closer.

“Hahahahaha!!!”

“HUMAAAAAAAAN!!!”

A shout that could drown out the popping sound of bursting lava.

At that sound, the three monsters momentarily froze their movements.

I twisted my body in midair, swinging my tail to regain balance. Simultaneously, I drew the last spear strapped to my back and aimed at the box.

Crunch- The sound of something crushed in my hand gripping the spear shaft as muscles twisted.

The limit of my range of motion. A strike created with inhuman strength—

PAAAAANG—!!!

Receiving such support, the spear tore through the air, enough to change the trajectory of the falling object.

Chwarrrrrrk-

With the sound of chains fluttering and metal colliding, the box that had been heading toward the lava diverted its path toward the stage where the human was dancing a life-risking dance.

‘Not quite a welcome end, but human, I don’t regret following you.’

My entire body was burning up.

***

KWAAAAANG—!!!

Ụ̶͍͕̩̤̟̩͔͈̋͗̓͌͌̓͜a̵̢̤̪̜̦̒̉̍̍̀̓̈́͘͜ͅa̶̡͛͗͐́ầ̷̙͗̀̀̒̈́̋̋̕̕ͅḧ̷̻̮̝̥̙̳̋̕͜͝!̴̧͚̥͙̥͔͉̻̠̿̍̏̾̀̉͌͘͘ͅ!̵̨̖̠͕͉̖̟̮̫͛̏́̂̚ͅ!̶̰͇̼͇̥͖̮͙͚͚͚̿̋̉̉͝

The Howler, impaled by the vertically falling spear and the box. Its sweet red blood dripping onto my tongue creates another spectacle.

And the thing that fell together with it.

Something burning up as it sank into that red pool.

“…Huh?”

Like an illusion, something vanished.

Having spotted it, my head suddenly cleared, as if everything until now had been a lie.

More accurately, rather than saying I felt refreshed, it would be more correct to say my mind had cooled off.

“Blue Tongue?”

I called that name softly, but there was no answer. Of course not, since it had already sunk below the lava and disappeared.

Whirik—

Taking advantage of that moment, the elemental’s attack shot forward, melting the Howler’s desperate struggle.

『The Howler』Level: 20☆
Health: ???/??? ■■■□□□□□□□
【Ǹ̴͖͖͔̲̲̪̥̣̟̼̖̥͐̆̓͂͝͠ǒ̵͙̞̰̼͍̬̌́̄̌͆͑̒̉̚n̸͕͊͋̀̏̎̿̕̚e̸̢̛̠̫̟̱̬̟̥̘̰̮̎̊͗̔̽̓͋̌̀̄́̄͜】

『Mountain Elemental』Level: 20★
Health: 513/632 ■■■■■■■■□□
【A natural elemental living in the core of the Dwarves’ High Mountain. It has gone mad after being exposed to chaotic magical power over the years.】

“Ah.”

Though I felt the murderous intent of incommunicable monsters pouring down simultaneously, I couldn’t take my eyes off the bubbling foam.

The feeling of flying as if I had wings just moments ago sank down, landing in mud.

“Mimic, frost staff.”

Clank-

The mimic, hanging on the spear, rattled its lid and threw me a staff inlaid with a blue jewel.

The sensation of finished wood perfectly gripped in my hand, along with a cool energy enveloping my entire body despite the hot heat dome.

My current Mental stat is 65, redistributed again.

A figure far beyond the normal maximum of 25.

“It was fun playing with you guys, but suddenly I’m feeling pretty shitty.”

Is this my fault? Or not? My head spun in an instant, but the cool sensation in my hand brought me back to my senses.

Let’s kill them both first, then think about it.

With that judgment, I raised the staff.

Just with that action, cold air began to circulate in the mountain’s core, which should never cool down.

Grruruk-

The elemental, seeming to sense danger, splashed lava around wildly before turning its gaze toward me, but the magic circle was already complete.

“Freeze.”

Crack——

With that brief activation sound emerging in the world, rocks heated for tens of thousands of years, a form of nature that had lived even longer, and an extraterrestrial being of unknown origin.

All of it froze solid.