Giant Water Slime on the 28th Floor

“Clear…?”

“…Did I fail?”

I didn’t die, but…

I didn’t Clear it either.

“Haa…”

Damn it.

Still, the Golem was neutralized.

‘Let’s be thankful for that, at least.’

More importantly,

‘I managed to survive.’

“That was half a gamble.”

Americano got up.

It was a struggle.

There was a Magic Sword where she had been lying.

The Blue Flame Magic Sword.

The Magic Sword, forged with Gusta’s clumsy skills, leaked Magical Power like a sieve.

The first one she made had flames blazing fiercely, but as she increased the quantity, she gradually became more skilled.

Now, flames didn’t even appear anymore.

But she still couldn’t stop the Magical Power from leaking.

The leaked Magical Power became the warmth of the Magic Sword.

That warmth melted her freezing body and became her lifeline.

“Thank goodness…”

If I had woken up dead and had to start over, I would have been dizzy.

“Haaa…”

Some of her stamina had returned.

She still felt exhausted and her body ached all over, but it was better than before she had fainted.

She didn’t Clear it.

The Golem was still intact…

…Well, she couldn’t say intact, but it was neutralized and unable to move.

“But, cough.”

My throat hurts.

My trachea stings.

“To not Clear it even after all that.”

Americano checked the time.

A grueling 18-hour raid.

Including the time she slept.

Even after tearing off its limbs, it didn’t die… Well, since it’s a Golem, calling it dead is strange.

Anyway, she started investigating the Golem to find the cause of the failed Clear.

The Golem’s torso didn’t stop twitching even after losing its limbs and head.

It shook the slightly remaining parts of its severed limbs and wriggled, but it couldn’t turn its body over or move forward.

Since the limbs and head remained motionless after being separated from the torso, the engine that operated the Golem was in the torso.

While examining the Golem,

She found something unusual.

The Golem was an Iron Golem.

Golems were generally bumpy and uneven, so there was hardly any artificial feel to them other than their appearance.

But here.

This was touched by human hands.

[emeth]

“Emeth?”

What is this?

A phrase written on the Golem’s neck.

This was the only trace of human touch.

It was suspicious.

Then,

Grrr.

The Golem’s steel fragments gathered and grabbed her ankle as she stood on its back.

She didn’t care.

She drew her sword.

Swish.

Swish.

She carved out the area where [emeth] was written.

With the levels of [Slash] and [Enhancement] raised, it wasn’t difficult to carve out the surface shallowly.

She took out the area with her hand.

Looking inside to see what was there…

Rumble.

The Golem’s appearance collapsed.

And,

[27th Floor Ultra Iron Golem – Clear]

[Rank] [SSS]

[First Clear Reward] [Demon King Stone ×27]

[Solo Reward] [Wish Stone ×27]

[Reward] [13,500 Gold]

I Cleared it.

“What…”

She felt incredibly empty.

This feeling is just my imagination, right?

Isn’t it?

‘Me, was I doing useless things all this time?’

“Haha… Haa…”

I’m drained.

She recovered her physical condition with the floor Clear.

But her mental fatigue wasn’t relieved.

“Haa…”

The fragment with [emeth] written on it turned to dust and disappeared.

She opened the [Loot] storage to see if it had been transferred to the Tower’s [Loot] storage, and it was there. Looking at the [Description], it seemed to be the core of the Golem.

“Sigh.”

I’m drained.

She looked at the [28th Floor] staircase entrance.

Go?

She hesitated.

She decided.

‘I need to see what’s there to prepare.’

If she had prepared and challenged the [Ultra Iron Golem] in advance, she could have finished it faster.

With the mindset of not repeating the same mistake, she climbed the [28th Floor] stairs.

She got tired climbing the stairs.

“Hec… Hec…”

It was understandable.

Americano was still exhausted.

Mentally.

Her lazy self, deep inside, grabbed at her feet climbing the stairs, wanting to rest.

She struggled to climb the stairs,

[28th Floor]

Arrived.

She supported herself by leaning against the wall, panting with her hands on her knees.

She looked into the [28th Floor].

Water was pooled there.

Water.

Is the boss this time a water-type monster?

When it comes to water, it’s electricity.

The thought that the Awakened Ability would be advantageous against the monster made her tired mind sparkle with energy.

She came here expecting to die anyway.

Once you enter the boss battle, escape is impossible.

But,

“If I can win, there’s nothing better than that.”

Splash.

Splash.

Splash.

The puddle was shallow.

Splash.

Splash.

Swish.

It got deeper.

She stood still and looked down.

The surface of the water gradually became calm.

Showing what was inside,

Her instep was visible.

The water was clear.

“It’s clean.”

As clear as the water was, the [28th Floor] was, at first glance, the cleanest of all the rooms she had seen so far.

A dome-shaped room. The structure was such that the floor gradually deepened towards the center.

When she got about halfway to the center, the water level, which had barely submerged her instep, now reached her knees.

Americano, thinking it was dangerous to get any closer, backed away.

As she backed away, she used her Awakened Ability.

Electricity sparked in the water.

Bubble.

And,

Buburururu.

The entire surface of the water began to boil.

Americano was surprised by the sudden change and [Leaped] back.

The water…

…Gathers in the center.

As if the liquid had a will of its own.

The water gathered in the center and formed a pillar, becoming a giant wave.

She hurriedly used the wall as a foothold and [Leaped].

She jumped to the opposite side of the wave.

She knew what that was.

“Slime.”

The worst monster during her Unawakened Hunter days.

Even if Slimes were weak, guns and magical weapons didn’t work well against them.

The only thing that worked was firepower.

Mainly bombs.

But there was no way to use bombs in a Dungeon.

It was the worst monster she could imagine, one that Unawakened Hunters could never defeat and had to run away from immediately upon discovery.

There was no way to defeat a Slime except by destroying the Slime’s core hidden in the water.

If only the core was visible.

‘I can’t even see it.’

The core was not visible anywhere in the mass of water bulging against gravity.

The Slime’s core was transparent.

Above the mass of water,

[28th Floor Giant Water Slime]

Black letters.

Only the information window was floating.

Hail struck.

Whirlwind.

Waterspout.

Tornado.

A pillar of water rose in the center of the [28th Floor], connecting the ceiling and the floor.

It was a very talented Slime.

“Wow… I really hate this.”

Without even daring to use [Slash],

She was swept away.

She dodged with [Leap], but the water covered the entire floor, walls, and ceiling, rotating them.

That’s really cheating.

‘Give me a chance to avoid it.’

Water was the Slime’s hands, feet, eyes, and everything.

The moment she touched the water, it stuck to her body.

She couldn’t tear it off.

Because it was water.

Just as she was being swallowed by the Slime, starting from her feet and wrapping around her neck,

She used it.

Awakened Ability.

Electricity.

I used it!

She was about to die now.

There was no room to think about the aftermath.

She came here expecting to die anyway.

It didn’t matter if she died from this.

‘You die and I die.’

Maximum discharge.

‘This is my maximum output!!!!’

She detonated an overcurrent.

Was water surprisingly an insulator?

So?

It didn’t matter.

If the electricity passed through, it would directly attack the core.

If it didn’t, it would just evaporate it.

Americano thought that the heat generated by the electricity would evaporate the water.

But,

Crackle.

The water rapidly froze.

Icicles with the shape of electricity spread throughout the Slime’s body in the direction of the electricity’s path.

The pillar of water, resembling a tornado formed by the Slime, froze into a pillar of ice in an instant with the maximum discharge.

The electricity of the Awakened Ability is made with [Magical Power].

Her [Magical Power] was deeply affected by the cold due to the [Nine Yin Severed Meridians].

Electricity formed with cold [Magical Power].

If used normally, it would be no different from ordinary electricity, but maximum output meant maximizing the effect while ignoring efficiency.

Wasted [Magical Power].

Cold [Magical Power].

Her electricity was as cold as the wasted amount.

It was frozen solid.

[28th Floor Giant Water Slime – Clear]

[Rank] [SSS]

[First Clear Reward] [Demon King Stone ×28]

[Solo Reward] [Wish Stone ×28]

[Reward] [14,000 Gold]

Some of the ice broke.

Americano, trapped inside the ice, [Enhanced] her body and broke out of the ice.

She collapsed on the floor.

She put her hands on her shoulders.

She hugged herself.

“Ugh…”

It’s cold.

Frozen solid, she shivered from the cold.

Her skin was pale.

“A-am I freezing?”

She was bewildered by the unexpected result.

‘I thought it would be electrocution or evaporation?’

For a moment, her mind reflexively thought about what principle was at work.

I don’t know.

‘Well, I guess it doesn’t matter.’

Because I won.

Since it froze, it was probably related to the [Nine Yin Severed Meridians], she guessed vaguely.

“Still, it was black letters.”

The compatibility was good.

It must have been luck.

If she didn’t have the Magic Sword, the [Giant Mist Spider] would have been the worst opponent, and the [Ultra Iron Golem] was, without a doubt, the worst and toughest guy.

In comparison, she could freeze the [Giant Water Slime] to death even with her bare hands.

I’m lucky.

“Haa…”

‘I feel like I’ve been rewarded instead.’

That’s how much the [Ultra Iron Golem] left her with the worst experience.

It was terribly hard to inflict damage,

It was terribly hard to scratch,

It dragged on terribly.

She strongly felt that the [Giant Water Slime] was a reward for that.

Is this the effect of [Beauty’s Tragic Fate]?

Haa…

‘Whatever the reason, who cares.’

“I defeated it, so that’s enough.”

Full Dive pursues realism.

Even if there were numbers on the health bar, you could die instantly from a stab with a dagger if you hit a vital point.

Americano’s electricity accurately hit the [Giant Water Slime]’s weakness.

A full-powered strike.

Refreshing.

Exhilarating.

Invigorating.

I feel great.

Americano looked back and forth.

Front [29th Floor]

Back [27th Floor]

Go back?

“Am I going to go?”

She groaned and got up.

She stretched as well.

She tensed her whole body.

She spread her arms to the left and right and bent them at 90 degrees, taking a pose that gave her strength.

I can still go further.

“I’ll go until I die.”

Even though her voice trembled from the cold, she gritted her teeth and declared to herself.

Self-hypnosis.

Don’t do things half-heartedly.

If you’re going to do it, either do it to the end or don’t start at all.

Resting,

Hungry,

Weary,

Sleepy,

“Haa…”

Sigh.

She slightly flushed her face.

“It’s fun.”

Fighting without thinking about the consequences was a thrillingly enjoyable thing.

Americano is a coward.

She wanted to come to a world where she didn’t have to be afraid because she didn’t want to be afraid.

Her efforts for that have come to fruition like this, and every day is… um… there were some not-so-good experiences in the middle… yeah, overall, it’s the best!

She finished resting and headed straight for the [29th Floor].

The [29th Floor] was a narrow room.

There was a frog there.

A frog small enough to fit in the palm of your hand was sitting on a rock.

Its appearance was just an ordinary frog.

But,

[29th Floor Dream Frog]

Black letters.

Was it because of the gap?

A chill ran down her spine.

The [Dream Frog] scattered Magical Power.

The swirling Magical Power instantly put her to sleep.