chapter_0174

Mesugaki Tank Enters the Academy –
174

Mesugaki Tank Enters the Academy –
174

The boss on the 10th floor of
Menestail is a rough-looking golem formed by the rocks of the
dungeon.

As the first Floor Boss
encountered in the dungeon, it doesn’t have any special abilities.
Instead, its basic specs are very high.

Its attack power is incredibly
strong. Maybe because it’s so large, its attack range is wide as
well. Its defence is extraordinarily high, so unless you perform a
specific gimmick, you can’t even scratch its health.

Back when Soul Academy was
popular, this creature was even called the Newbie Slayer of Menestail
Dungeon, indicating how tough it is to tackle it using
straightforward methods.

Its pattern itself is simple
and not particularly difficult, but performing the gimmicks takes a
lot of time.

You need to break through the
golem’s incredibly thick skin and hit the core around five or six
times.

Due to the characteristics of
Menestail Dungeon, in a real-time situation where your health is
being chipped away from the heat status effect, getting hit by that
guy even once would change the genre of the game from RPG to
survival.

But all this is relevant only
if you enter the 10th floor without knowing anything.

If you know the trick to
attacking the golem, the story changes. And as a veteran of Soul
Academy, I know that method.

‘Alsatine, I’m counting on
you.’

“Information Seller. I hope
you’re not a sloppy amateur who can’t handle even this.”

“Don’t worry. I won’t make
any mistakes with something like this.”

After finishing the briefing,
I handed Alsatine an arrow enchanted with magic and opened the door
to the Boss Room.

Inside, it looks like an
ordinary cave at first glance.

Streams of lava flow across
the floor, countless quartz crystals hang from the ceiling like
deadly skewers, and the heat is so intense that it takes your breath
away. There’s one thing to pay attention to here.

The 10th floor boss doesn’t
appear in its complete form at the beginning.

As soon as the three of us set
foot inside, the Boss Room door slammed shut, and a magic circle
appeared in the centre of the cave with a Magic Stone floating above
it.

That Magic Stone is the core
that forms the centre of the 10th floor boss, the golem.

Yes, the 10th floor boss
doesn’t appear fully formed from the start.

After the players enter the
dungeon, it dramatically assembles itself!

And surprisingly, that golem’s
core can be attacked during its formation process.

What does this mean? It means
you can attack it while it’s forming!

‘Alsatine!’

“Information Seller!”

“Got it!”

Even before I shouted,
Alsatine had already drawn his bowstring.

Although he might be
considered weaker than Karl, Alsatine is much stronger than I am at
the moment.

There’s no chance he’d
miss his target.

The arrow, enchanted with
magic, hit the golem’s core precisely.

Considering that various NPCs
in Menestail provide the information that it’s a very difficult boss
for level 10, it’s clear this is something the developers intended.

Given that the golem is quite
difficult for a boss on the 10th floor, they must have created a
loophole for it.

However, what the developers
didn’t anticipate is that players’ ingenuity always surpasses their
expectations.

Shortly after the arrow lands,
an Ice Flower blooms from its tip.

The magic enchanted in the
arrow is a contagious Snow Blossom.

With the Ice-type DoT (damage
over time) Technique, that flower gradually spreads and causes
damage. There is also a bonus that deals significant damage when the
entire enemy is frozen.

To be frank, that magic is
considered trash.

Because the bonus damage is
strong, the DoT damage is minimal. If the enemy has even slight ice
resistance, the spread of the flower slows down drastically, making
it impossible to deliver the bonus damage.

In reality, it’s a technique
meant for show or for veterans’ restrictive playstyles.

However, the story changes
when dealing with this golem.

This golem’s core has no ice
resistance at all.

Moreover, the surface area is
small, so the spreading finishes quickly.

And the most crucial point:
the golem’s core has ridiculously low health.

Initially, it was difficult to
break the rocks surrounding the core, but the core itself is fragile
enough to be destroyed with just a few successful attacks.

Despite its appearance, the
durability of this golem’s core is weak, and it shatters the moment
the Snow Blossom fully spreads.

In other words, this golem is
doomed even before it fully forms.

There’s only one thing left
for the three of us to do.

We just have to wait for the
doomed golem to collapse.

In the game, about a minute
was sufficient, but I’m not sure in reality.

It’s probably going to take
longer than in the game.

Not long after the arrow
struck the golem’s core, the huge rocks scattered around the cave
began to float in the air.

They gathered around the core,
eventually forming the shape of a golem.

Wow. It’s grand. Even when I
saw it in the game cutscene, I thought it was cool, but seeing it in
reality, it feels like watching a robot combine. It’s no joke.

As it completed its form and
demonstrated its grandeur by stomping its immense leg on the ground,
I couldn’t help but laugh.

It certainly looks impressive,
but knowing it’s on the verge of dying, all that posturing just
makes it look so pathetic.

“Hello, empty tin can? Are
you posing because you think you look cool like that? Haha, it’s
hilarious. You look like trash that wouldn’t even be taken if
thrown out in a dump.”

Provoked, the golem’s gaze
shifts towards me, but Karl and Alsatine remain still.

We had discussed this
beforehand. I told them to leave the time-wasting to me when dealing
with that thing.

Why go through such trouble,
you ask?

Because I want to test the
limits of my shield.

So far, the enemies I’ve faced
fall into two categories.

Those who I am confident I can
easily block no matter the attack.

And those who can shatter my
shield effortlessly.

Neither type was suitable for
objectively evaluating my skills.

I know my shield is quite
sturdy now.

But I still don’t know
exactly what kind of attack it can withstand.

This is reality, after all.

If Armadi had granted me a
Status Window, things would be different, but unfortunately, our
miserly Armadi doesn’t give out such cheat-like functions easily.

So, instead of dodging every
attack, I decided to face the golem and raise my shield.

To gauge my current level in
wielding the shield.

I’ve fought that thing
countless times before. I should be able to judge based on the damage
I take.

Alright. Let’s see what you’ve
got.

As I watched the golem lift
its arm, I cast multiple buffs on myself internally.

Then, seeing the golem’s fist
hurtling towards me, I raised my shield.

Its attack is certainly
threatening, but it’s slow.

It’s easy to dodge and simple
to parry.

Spreading divine energy
throughout my body, I braced for the hit.

Boom!

The moment its fist connected,
I knew for certain.

I had activated [Parrying].

The clear reduction in impact
as it struck my shield was undeniable; it felt just like a parry.

“Ugh!”

Despite successfully parrying,
withstanding the golem’s attack was still quite a challenge.

Gritting my teeth, I managed
to deflect the blow and then bit my lip.

‘No problems.’

There’s no issue in dealing
with that golem.

I was confident I could parry
all its attacks. If I can just succeed in parrying, I can somehow
handle the incoming attacks.

In other words, if I fail to
parry, I’ll be blown away instantly.

So, this is my current level.

It’s true that the golem is
designed to avoid and counter all my attacks by default.

Therefore, it possesses an
abnormal attack power that it shouldn’t have at this level of a boss.

Even in game terms, it’s quite
impressive for a character who has just finished the first semester
of the first grade to block its attacks.

However, I now need to head
down the Menestail Dungeon.

I can’t afford to be satisfied
with just this!

After withstanding the golem’s
pounding fist once more, I took a deep breath and got back into
position.

To be honest, there’s no need
to push myself this hard.

I could just rely on Karl and
Alsatine to carry me through.

With their strength, most
problems would be easily solved.

But this is reality. You never
know what variables might arise.

It’s better for me to be able
to hold my own in such situations.

This is becoming troublesome.

I clenched my teeth in
frustration over how weak I felt, and then Grandpa spoke up.

‘What is it, Grandpa? I’m
busy right now!’

‘Now?!’

Even as I listened to Grandpa,
I didn’t take my eyes off the golem’s movements.

It lifted its foot. Is this
the pattern where sharp stones fall from the ceiling?

Instead of moving my shield, I
constructed a barrier of divine energy above my head.

Its strength is lower than my
shield, but it was enough to block the falling rocks.

I could observe the golem’s
next pattern without taking any damage.

‘Why are you telling me this
just now?!’