episode_0108

It’s hot.

It’s stifling.

It feels like the temperature of Korea on August 4th has been directly copied and pasted here.

No, come to think of it, it’s even worse than that.

Should I say it feels like a jjimjilbang (Korean sauna) is maintained all day long?

Anyway.

If the 5th floor was a place with extreme cold.

The 6th floor is exactly the opposite.

As soon as I enter, my breath is taken away by the incredibly hot temperature and humidity.

Lava flows where a river should flow, all the mountains visible in every direction are volcanoes spewing smoke, and something even pops out and falls to the ground intermittently.

Yes. Actually, this much was fine.

Let alone the giant plants that I don’t know how they grow when there’s lava.

Less than an hour after arriving on the 6th floor, rain suddenly pours down like a waterfall, as if the sky has opened up.

If the 5th floor has blizzards blowing all day long, the 6th floor has localized torrential downpours.

Moreover, a torrential downpour falling in a volcanic area is not ordinary rain.

I thought it was strange from the smell and from how the color of a white cloth changed after the rain fell.

As soon as I exposed my bare skin once, the color became strange halfway, so I had to pour a potion.

…No matter how I looked at it, it wasn’t ordinary rain.

“They said all regular iron equipment melts away because of the rain on the 6th floor, so I thought it was an exaggeration, but it was true.”

“I always thought I’d be blocked in the labyrinth because of monsters, but this is the first time I’ve been blocked because of something like this.”

“…There’s a strange smell too.”

“Monsters wouldn’t move around in this situation, right?”

“As if.”

Speak of the devil, a monster appeared even as it rained.

To be precise, a giant black foot.

A black-skinned giant.

I immediately feel it swinging a giant axe.

『Battle Start. Draw 4 cards.』

『Energy 5/5』

『Joker Card – Draw 1 designated card additionally on the first turn.』

[Adjustment(1)] [Terrain Manipulation(3)] [Fusion(4)] [Telekinesis(0)] + [Vortex(3)]

What I designated as the Joker Card this time was Vortex.

It’s a card I haven’t used frequently lately because it no longer exhibits power as an attack card befitting a low floor, but at least here on the 6th floor, it has sufficient value to be used.

Even if it’s just to bat away that rain that melts everything it touches.

[Vortex]

The wind swirling around my body slices away everything nearby, creating a vortex.

This wind is dense enough to bat away all the falling raindrops, but it’s not sharp enough to pierce the skin of that black giant.

However.

Just blocking the rain is enough.

Luca and Adel, confirming the rain had stopped immediately, slash the giant’s body, and Kaylek’s arrow accurately pierces the giant’s forehead.

“Kuooooo!!!”

But a monster that would have collapsed with this much damage up to the 5th floor doesn’t collapse.

The giant, with a huge harpoon-like arrow stuck in its forehead, continues to move.

Moreover, it wasn’t just pushing with its size.

As the giant swings its fist, a shockwave bursts out.

Until now, monsters had used skills or something similar to magic. But monsters of this size usually hadn’t used such things, so I didn’t expect it.

Luca and Adel, who were in front, are greatly thrown back, their bodies trembling.

At the same time, the shockwave reaches Grace and me, who were behind them.

Of course, since it had already passed through the front line once, it wouldn’t cause great damage.

However, I had a penalty that increased damage taken.

“Kuhuk…!!”

Air escapes from my lungs unintentionally with a loud sound.

My concentration was briefly disrupted, a gap formed in the vortex blocking the rain, and raindrops fell.

Chiiiiiik-

As a raindrop fell on Luca’s tail, a faint white smoke rose.

However, it wasn’t the time to worry about Luca.

Because my body was hit by the shockwave and greatly pushed sideways.

Even though I quickly moved my mana to block the additional falling raindrops.

At this rate, I was going to fall.

If I fell while wearing normal clothes instead of boots specially made for the 6th floor, I might be affected by that toxic rainwater.

Fortunately, Grace quickly supported me, so I didn’t throw my body onto the rain-soaked ground.

“Are you okay?”

“…Yeah.”

“It seems we definitely shouldn’t underestimate it.”

Even though the vortex was re-established and attacks were continuously poured onto the black giant, it showed no sign of collapsing.

And the giant raised its arm high again and brought its fist down.

But you don’t fall for the same trick twice.

[Telekinesis]

By focusing Telekinesis only on its fist, I couldn’t make it move as I wished, but I could stop the giant’s movement.

“……?!!”

Luca leaps into the surprised giant’s chest.

Soon, she puts down her two axes and tears the body apart with her wild claws.

『Check your card rewards.』

The status window announces victory.

Immediately after the giant disappears, it spits out a magic stone.

“Just this?”

A reward far too insufficient compared to the effort put in.

But the information this reward tells us isn’t just this.

“It means it’s filled with monsters of this level.”

“Comparing roughly with the 5th floor, they definitely seem stronger.”

A difficult situation from the first monster encountered immediately upon entering the 6th floor.

“It’s not filled with only monsters like this, is it?”

“That would be scarier, actually.”

“…For now.”

The vortex surrounding me disappeared.

Its duration ended, but the rain also stopped.

“Let’s first move around. I think we need to get a feel for the atmosphere.”

I was already prepared for it to be difficult from the start.

We must keep moving forward until I think it’s impossible.

*

Similar to the 5th floor, which was quite tough environmentally, the 6th floor is also tough.

On top of the toxic rain that fell earlier intermittently, strange fireballs rain down from the volcanoes now and then, leaving no time to be idle even for a moment.

“That’s why they say you shouldn’t camp just anywhere on the 6th floor.”

“Is that why they said to camp in forests instead of open spaces?”

In fact, it’s not just for that reason; it’s better to set up camp in a forest. If you camp in an open space, there’s a higher chance that monsters or other explorers will see you and approach.

However. That also seems difficult.

“Wow, this forest is burning too?”

“There’s no proper terrain.”

The forest we reached after walking a bit was already burning.

To the extent that it was difficult even to approach, emitting intense flames.

“If you’re sleeping in a place like a forest and get caught in the flames, it wouldn’t be easy.”

“Then where on earth are you supposed to camp?”

“Usually in such cases, you have to find a cave, or set up a makeshift barricade near a suitable river.”

“Maybe there’s a reason why people travel in clan units.”

“Certainly, if you’re in a clan unit, you could really set up a barracks.”

Well, we don’t have the finances for that right now.

Just then, Grace urgently turned her head.

And then sniff, sniff.

It seems she smelled something.

“It’s the smell of blood.”

“…Human?”

“Yes.”

Generally for explorers, the question that ranks highest among moments of dilemma is when they smell human blood.

Didn’t we almost end up fighting last time on the 5th floor too, after smelling blood and going to help?

That’s one of the really good situations.

There are also bandits who use the smell of blood as bait to lure and kill explorers.

There are also cases where people are fighting simply due to conflicts between clans.

Although it’s best not to get involved in any of that.

“…What should we do?”

“Let’s at least go see what the situation is.”

Everyone agreed to my decision.

We immediately moved forward, guided by Grace.

“It’s here.”

A small pit in front of the burning forest.

We were immediately able to grasp the situation.

Wolf-like monsters were surrounding a group of explorers.

The most common thing that happens when you come after smelling blood.

It’s a similar situation to last time.

However, this time we don’t have to worry about fighting like last time.

“Huh? Kaylek!!!!”

A female warrior who found us and waved.

To be precise, Erica, the leader of Kaylek’s former party, was waving.

“Help us!!!”

“Oh no!!”

Kaylek, unlike usual, fumbles a bit and nocks an arrow onto his bowstring.

He shoots directly at the wolves surrounding them.

However. Kaylek’s arrow wasn’t very precise, so it couldn’t reach the fast monsters of the 6th floor.

It didn’t hit.

Grrrrrr!!

Some of the wolves, having communicated among themselves, turn towards us.

But even that would relieve the burden on Erica’s party.

『Battle Start. Draw 4 cards.』

『Energy 5/5』

『Joker Card – Draw 1 designated card additionally on the first turn.』

[Fireball(1)] [Wave(4)] [Swap(2)] [Freeze(2)] + [Vortex(3)]

Unfortunately, I couldn’t change the Joker card due to the sudden change in situation.

The hand isn’t too bad.

After checking the hand, I immediately look at the approaching wolves.

However, I felt something strange.

Should I say the wolves’ bodies shimmered like smoke?

That intuition immediately proved right.

“Be careful!!! Normal attacks won’t work on them!!”

As soon as Erica’s booming voice was heard, Adel, who was rushing forward, held back.

And then she holds up her greatsword to block the attack.

The wolf’s body coming through the greatsword.

As if an ethereal-like body penetrated the greatsword, right as it was about to bite Adel’s body.

“Uwaaaaaaa!!!”

Luca roars.

Then, the wolves’ heads turn instantly.

It seems [Taunt] worked properly, and the wolves rush towards Luca.

Luca first threw one of the axes she was holding at the wolves.

The axe passed through the ethereal body and pierced the innocent ground.

But when she threw the second axe at the same one, that axe hit accurately.

“…I get it now.”

Whether it was Luca’s beastly instinct or excellent sense. She immediately grasped the weakness of the ethereal wolves.

It feels like they use a skill that nullifies all attacks once.

Instead, there’s a cooldown.

The wolves seem to know this too, grouping up and moving as if individuals whose skill is on cooldown are momentarily waiting for it to refresh.

If so, we have no choice but to target the enemies that are resting.

First, Luca uses her wild nature to create giant claws on both hands and swings them.

Naturally, the wolves that turned ethereal penetrate and bite Luca’s body.

“…Ugh!!”

But that was a lie.

The Luca that the wolves had been seeing until now was her [Clone].

When the real Luca, appearing from behind the clone, sliced the bodies of the wolves whose ethereal form had dropped, they were cleanly cut.

Although that complete invincibility is a tricky mechanic.

It’s more manageable than I thought.

The party members who realized this immediately prepared for battle.

Ranged attack power is important against monsters like these.

First, attacking first to remove their ethereal form is advantageous.

Finishing off wolves after their ethereal form has dropped while engaging in melee is also only possible with ranged attacks.

Conveniently, we have both a mage and an archer here.

[Freeze]

The cold gathered around me.

In the past, I wouldn’t have been able to do anything but blast this forward.

It’s different after learning at the Magic Tower.

I blast the cold directly onto the ground and send it straight forward.

It’s as if the ground freezes.

Of course, this alone doesn’t cause any damage.

The wolves also just lightly jump to avoid it.

But when they land on the ground again, it starts freezing from there.

The wolves are startled and use their ethereal form.

They could probably just break it with brute force.

Seeing that they can’t or don’t, they likely have no knowledge about ice in this area.

The unknown breeds fear.

As the party members finished off the wolves that had been forced out of their ethereal form.

We were able to easily defeat the wolves.

“Whoa, thanks.”

Just then, Erica came out of the pit alone.

“Do you have any potions?”

“Of course. Has someone been hurt?”

Kaylek immediately takes out a potion from his bag.

And goes into the pit.

Following him, I saw injured explorers.

Erica’s party members, whose faces were already familiar, and people I was seeing for the first time.

Of course, Erica’s party members, who are at the beginner stage of high-floor exploration, were fine, but the other 3 people were injured.

“…Who are these people?”

“They’re clients.”

“Clients?”

Although they were bitten by wolves here and there, it doesn’t seem to be life-threatening.

Why on earth would explorers treat clients like this? Just as my opinion of Erica’s party was lowering slightly.

My eyes met with a client.

“…Huh?! You?”

And then the client, who came crawling little by little, grabbed my pant leg.

“I, I’d like to change clients!!!”

What the hell is going on all of a sudden?