2nd Floor, Second Gatekeeper
Floors 1 to 5 of the Ascension Tower are a tutorial.
Regardless of difficulty.
The Apocalypse Tower was no different.
Ever since the top ten vanguard rankers all failed and got enshrined in biographies, I don't know if it's right to call this a tutorial, but anyway, the reason it's called a tutorial theme is that the stage quests are simpler than you'd think and the designer's intent is easy to see through.
The monsters that appear on floors 1 to 5 of the Tier 1 Tower are earthworm-level at best. The stage's intent is 'Can you, as a player, attack and kill a living thing?'
The 1st floor just has you take down a giant earthworm that stays still, but from the 3rd floor on, you have to fight back against earthworms that attack you.
Well, even the attacking earthworms aren't that hard, but 'Can you fight a living thing that's after your life?' was quite an important test.
Because, surprisingly, a great, great, great many players got blocked on the Tier 1 Tower's 3rd floor.
The theme of the Tier 4 Tower's floors 1 to 5 was goblins. The tutorial of exterminating intelligent, dirty goblins with your stats reset is rated as far harder than you'd think.
Even now, if it weren't for the guides, the number of people trying to challenge the Tier 4 Tower would probably be cut by more than half.
So, what's my point?
The tutorial themes of floors 1 to 5 usually place similar monsters and slowly raise the difficulty or twist things a little at a time.
“Hm. As expected, it's this place.”
When I arrived on the 2nd floor, the background was familiar.
The same corridor as the 1st floor. When I looked behind me, there was a closed door.
It seemed the stage theme after catching the 1st-floor Gatekeeper and coming through counted as the 2nd floor. There was probably another Gatekeeper waiting.
[Challenge Attempts 10/10]
“Whoa, they're giving me plenty of coins this time too. How many times are they planning to kill me?”
I already knew well that having many challenge attempts wasn't necessarily a good thing. I was a little nervous, but the difference in specs between me on the 1st floor and me on the 2nd floor was clear. My skills and equipment had both been upgraded by several steps.
After I'd walked on a bit, a massive bulk appeared from beyond the corridor along with a clanking sound.
A giant about 4m tall, similar to the 1st-floor boss.
But it had no left arm, and its right arm was bizarrely shaped like a huge flail.
'This buddy's got no arms on either side.'
And what was attached to the end of the one right arm it did have was a flail instead of fingers.
How does it even eat.......
[Lv] 48
[Gatekeeper Gargos]
Iron chains were wrapped tightly around various parts of its body, and even though it had seen me, it was only slowly dragging its body toward me.
At my level, you can roughly guess what type a monster is just from its appearance. I'd been flustered and hadn't observed the 1st-floor boss properly, but now that I had detection-type skills too, it was clear.
'An all-in right-arm-strength type?'
I could tell just from how its legs were thin compared to its bulk, and how it couldn't approach quickly even while showing hostility toward me.
-Krrk.
The thing didn't even shriek in particular. It just swung its right arm wide.
“......!”
There was a reason for it to act like that when there was still more than 20m of distance left.
SWISH! Along with the sound of something breaking the sound barrier and tearing apart the air, it filled my vision. An overwhelming speed that a mere level-15 reaction speed couldn't catch.
But now I had [Sixth Sense]. I could feel attacks even when my eyes couldn't follow them!
[Emergency Evasion]
When I found an opening in that split second and used my evasion skill, my body turned semi-transparent, passed through the massive flail, and dashed forward.
'Insane, its right arm stretches out like a whip?'
Looking closely, the right arm itself was a detachable type connected by an iron chain.
It was good that I'd dodged one attack, but the thing's attack didn't end there.
SWIIISH!!
Once again, the giant flail-whip came rushing from the side.
Dodge, dodge, and back off.
I couldn't block it. If I tried to half-assedly block it, I'd die just like that.
'I see, so this is how it feels......!'
A smile drew itself across my lips.
What way the thing attacked, whether it had intelligence, what skills it might have.
It was taking shape in my head.
[You have been revived.]
“......Ah.”
When I came to, I was back at the starting point.
In the end, I'd run out of room to back off and couldn't dodge the attack.
At a glance, the 2nd-floor boss looked completely hopeless too.
But.......
It was different from the 1st floor.
Now I had a great many 'means.'
***
At least the 1st-floor boss, Gurgorka, was an extreme close-combat type that needed acceleration, so getting close was possible to some degree.
But this time, it was a type that didn't even allow me to approach.
I'd have to be able to get close in the first place to even think about trying something.
Shooting a few crossbow bolts from a distance wouldn't work either. They'd probably get caught in the aftershock of the swinging flail and drop while still in flight.
[Many Celestials look forward to your witty battle.]
You're even looking forward to it now? But what to do. This time I'm going to fight a bit differently from the 1st floor, even more 'dirty.'
Using the skills I'd acquired would be fine too. That way, I'd be able to kill the thing one way or another.
But why bother?
I could create an easier way.
'......As expected, the only option here is to use this.'
Tsss!
I struck a match and lit a cigarette. A short break.
A little pursuit of awesome sensory pleasure is fine, right?
I laid out on the floor the items I'd bought right before entering the 2nd floor.
Signal Arrow Bundle, Flare, Burning Torch Wick, Hunting Firecrackers, and other miscellaneous things.
[Time remaining until challenge 09:14]
There was enough time.
The tip of my blade carefully pried up the flare's metal cap. Black powder came out from inside. Similar to gunpowder but a little different: mana gunpowder.
When a fine, dry scent bloomed up, the corners of my mouth twitched without my realizing.
“What an awesome smell.”
I tapped the powder into a small bowl. I split the firecrackers to collect their powder, removed the small ignition capsules attached to the tips of the signal arrows, and stripped the combustion agent from the wick.
The heavy smell of a fireworks prep room spread out.
The powder I'd gathered was less than I'd thought.
Just about a handful even when I put it on my palm.
I stared at it for a while.
“Tsk, even less than I thought. Well, this should do.”
I took out a small metal tin. It was originally meant for storing food.
I shook out the inside and carefully pushed the powder in.
Behold, the makeshift bomb.
It was a stretch to even call this thing a bomb, but it was better than nothing.
It was something I used back when I was clearing the early part of the Tier 2 Tower, and its power was roughly on the level of a fire-type spell used by a level-20 Mage.
Considering that a grenade is comparable to the finishing spell of a level 30 to 40 Mage, you could say it wasn't bad, but the problem was its high chance of being a dud.
There were times it didn't go off properly, and since it used fireworks gunpowder, there were times it ended with just a little fire spreading.
But through lots of trial and error, I'd become able to make it so it went off with a high probability.
Only at a level usable on the Tower's low floors, though.
[Entering the Round 2 stage.]
Bomb in hand, I quickly ran out. To hit the thing with the bomb in this place, where space was restricted front and back, I needed to move fast.
As expected, the thing was only approaching very slowly from the end of the corridor and didn't even think of running.
Thump!
Just barely before the 20m mark, I set down the bomb and fled again at full speed.
'About here.......'
A sufficiently wide distance.
I waited.
From the moment it spotted me, the thing would chase me to the end to kill me.
'Just a little more.'
Slowly, very slowly. Gargos approached the bomb.
And finally, the moment it got close to the bomb, I quickly sprang forward. As I did, I flicked my cigarette ember to light the crossbow bolt, then aimed.
-Krrk.
As soon as I stepped within 20m, Gargos immediately took a stance to swing its flail.
Just before that, the crossbow fired.
TWANG-!
The crossbow bolt hit the makeshift lunchbox bomb. Soon after, the thing's whip swung, and I used [Emergency Evasion] to dash forward, and.
A beat later.
KABOOM-!!
The bomb exploded.
Gargos staggered heavily, its stance crumbling. There was no follow-up attack. It looked like it would have a hard time even righting the stance that had collapsed from the shock.
It was a relief that the thing had a weak lower body.
Easily latching onto the thing, I first swung my longsword.
KAGAGAK!
The thing was naked, but the iron chains wrapped around parts of its body got in the way of my slashes. I quickly switched to the dagger, stabbed its skin a few times, and moved to its back.
'It has no regenerative ability!'
Its defense didn't seem all that great either. I wanted to keep the thing from getting up, but it quickly came to its senses, righted its stance, and swung its right arm.
It had attacked with the flail, retrieved at some point, by twisting its waist with monstrous force.
Even if it wasn't in whip form, the flail alone was plenty threatening. Hearing the air tear so close made my knees go weak, but.
'It attacks slower than the whip.'
But it was hard to time an attack. It was only swinging the flail wildly, but burrowing into its embrace was nearly impossible.
“Brainless brute.......”
I dodged the flail and tried to find an opening somehow, but even rolling my body this way and that was a struggle.
My breath grew shorter and shorter, and my body grew heavy. My concentration began to blur too. It might be slower than the whip, but reacting to every single brutishly swung flail and using Emergency Evasion at the right moment was also extremely hard.
Thump-!
And so, when my back finally touched the wall, I sensed death.
'Ah, damn it.'
[You have been revived.]
The first thing I did as soon as I opened my eyes was make another bomb.
A bomb like this couldn't inflict a fatal wound on the thing anyway.
I had to stab a vital spot with a cold weapon.
On top of that, I hadn't just been helplessly beaten just now.
'I got a feel for it.'
However wild and brutish its attacks seemed, every living creature had its own rhythm.
After quickly making the bomb, I closed my eyes. I pictured Gargos in my head.
I'd already faced the thing twice. I had enough information.
Shadowboxing.
Anyone in the know already knew that this was a huge help.
Having finished my analysis thoroughly over 10 minutes, I gripped my weapon tightly.
[Entering the Round 3 stage.]
Repeat.
Close the distance, set the bomb, detonate it with a flaming arrow.
Then approach and drive the halberd into the thing's vital spot in one go!
KRRRRUNCH!!
The hide on its chest tore exquisitely, avoiding the protection of the iron chains. But I still hadn't inflicted a fatal wound on a vital spot.
The thing writhed in pain and regained its stance in an instant.
I tossed the halberd and took the dagger and shield in my hands.
Whoosh-!
The flail came flying.
I could have used Emergency Evasion, but I didn't. I didn't roll around unsightly either. I dodged it with minimal steps.
KABOOM! BOOM! BOOOM!
Roars like shot puts exploding rang through the corridor the whole time, grazing past my body, but not a single one struck me.
Stepping in a strange footwork, I dodged the flail, and sometimes deflected it with my shield. Each time, a horrible pain shot through my left arm, as if my bones were cracking, but I endured it.
'Number 7.'
KABOOM!!
'Number 9.'
TWOOM-!!
'Number 10, not yet.'
The flail was being swung so fast it was invisible to the eye. Dodging all of it on instinct would be close to a miracle, but I wasn't dodging them by watching.
'I'm dodging them by memory.'
If I'm given several challenge attempts, I make the most of them.
Shhk-!
The flail grazed past my cheek. My left eye's vision turned red, and my hearing wavered for a moment, as if my ear had been torn.
Two of my most important five senses had been cut in half, but my mind didn't waver at all.
I waited until the opportunity came.
'Number 14...... now!'
The moment the thing's flail came down exactly from top to bottom to split my crown open.
[Emergency Evasion]
Using the dash, I closed in on the thing. Then I leapt up as if I'd fly and plunged the dagger into the thing's chest.
SQUELCH-!
Silence fell.
-......
“......”
Soon, Gargos stepped backward. I stood in place without a word and quietly watched the thing. Was it flailing an arm it didn't even have? It tried to stroke its chest with the hand holding the flail, but soon the thing rolled its eyes back and collapsed.
DING!
[Apocalypse Tower 2nd Floor Clear!]
[You have obtained 600 TP!]
[You have obtained 450 TP as a First Clear Reward!]
[Cleared with 7 challenge attempts remaining. You have obtained an additional 700 TP!]
[You have obtained the 'Box of Five Rings' as a 2nd Floor First Clear Reward.]
Yeah, I figured. In exchange for having a ranged harassment method, the thing was flimsy and had no regenerative ability. It was at a level where a mere dagger could finish it off.
I wiped off my cold sweat.
It was definitely different from the 1st floor. Once I could make a little preparation with TP, the difficulty dropped sharply.
[Many Celestials cannot hide their astonishment at your use of items.]
'Bet you didn't think I'd make a bomb.'
In the Tier 2 Tower, there was even a guy who made guns and missiles. He was quite the engineer. Later on, firearms became useless, and it seems he died somewhere, though.
Returning to the waiting room, I bought just some simple materials from the Shop, then pushed straight ahead.
“Challenge 3rd floor.”
Got to get through the tutorial fast. I plan to free-pass straight through to the 5th floor like this.