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Chapter 56: Ninth Floor
🕑 Added 2025-03-04 14:31:31 +0000 UTC“Well, the portal is here, but let’s take a break on this floor and gather some supplies,” James said.
This floor was a good floor. James wouldn’t have camped on this floor before because of the open terrain, but with the three teammates taking turns on night watch, he felt secure.
“Eh? Let’s just go through! It’s only two floors away, right?” Kaina said.
“No. We don’t know what will happen on the next floor. It’s better to be prepared,” Sanders countered. Anderson also nodded. They wanted to finish this dungeon as soon as possible, but reason told them otherwise. The next floor could be like the previous floor, where even stepping outside put you on a timer before death.
“Should we hunt some more elk and butcher them, James?”
“Yes, we should,” James nodded.
Kaina could finally show her prowess in archery, hitting her target from forty meters away with her bow. Nevertheless, the elk didn’t die. But thanks to the unique dungeon mechanism, the monster didn’t flee. It came to them in rage.
Kaina switched to her spear, and the three brought down the elk together after a series of weapon skills.
James then helped them wash the kill. Then the four of them lit a bonfire and cooked the steak over a flame.
“If I kill three or four more monsters, I think I will have enough coins to buy that Shop Level 2,” Anderson muttered.
“You will have your fill on the next floor,” James muttered.
The sun had begun to set, and James didn’t want to hunt these elk at night.
“I have bought a magic core, but I have yet to buy the magic principle. I wonder what magic I should take,” Kaina muttered.
“I am going with the fire principle once I have enough coins!” Sanders said.
“Hm… I think I will go with the life principle once I have enough coins. I want to become a healer,“ Kaina muttered by the campfire.
James wasn’t good at this sort of social talk, so he remained silent. However, he volunteered for the night watch. Of course, nothing attacked them during the night.
Soon, the sun rose, and the group packed their stuff for the next floor.
“Alright! We have frozen meat in the bag. We are ready when you are, boss!”
“Let’s go!” James said, and the group was transported to the waiting room when they touched the golden portal.
The ninth floor was inside a wide warehouse with a gargantuan robotic boss in the middle. The robot’s head was just shy of the ceiling of the warehouse, and its red eyes were aimed toward James' group.
Even though it was inorganic, James could feel its killing intent through the red beam shining from its eye. James quickly activated his skill and threw his Lightning Axe when the mecha’s fist propelled toward them. The fist and the axe bounced off each other when they clashed.
“Was that a rocket punch?!” Kaina commented.
“Oi! I thought we were battling medieval fantasy creatures with swords. Why is a huge robot our opponent this time?!” Sanders ran toward the corner where various boxes lay around.
James paid attention. The fist that had clashed with his axe had a small tear. Since there was no purple flash, James knew this was a boss monster and was meant to be defeated.
James raced toward the boss monster as it drew its blade. Using his new tail, James picked up the Lightning Axe that was on the floor and threw another Lightning Axe before his tail could reach it.
The mecha raised its arm to shield itself. The golden meteor crashed down onto the mecha’s arm and embedded itself deep inside. James cursed as the lightning enchantment on his axe seemed to have little effect on it.
The giant robot opened up its chest, and from it, a blue light flashed brightly.
James’ gamer instinct knew that light was bad news, so he rolled to the side as a bright laser pulverized the spot where he had stood before.
“I wonder if I can plunder that skill,” James muttered as a golden glow shone from his sword.
The Gundam brandished its sword, and it clashed with James’s weapon skill.
It held on. James widened his eyes as the scene reminded him of when he fought those stone golems in the trial dungeon before. Even though golems had hands and could wield swords, they couldn’t use sword skills. However, the monstrous power of its robotic body was enough to defend against weapon skills.
“Shit!” James was thrown back as the golem completed its swing. This golem was a lot stronger than the one in the trial dungeon. In the trial dungeon, James didn’t lose so one-sidedly.
“Missiles are coming! Take cover, James,” Sanders shouted from the corner.
“Where?” James cursed at the unhelpful advice. They were inside an empty warehouse. There was no place to take cover except for some wooden boxes strewn haphazardly on the floor. Mere wooden boxes wouldn't defend them from missiles, and there were no pillars in sight.
The missiles began launching from its back. James raised his mana and made ice spears around him. Then, he launched dozens of them toward where the missiles were. Explosions rang through the warehouse. A purple flash shone from the windows of the warehouse, keeping it intact. Some of the missiles went through, but they missed him by several meters.
James was fireproof, not explosion-proof. The explosions threw him against the wall. The shock knocked some air out of his lungs. James reoriented himself. Luckily, that missile strike seemed to be a one-time skill. The mecha began to run toward James as it brandished its sword.
Using his new tail, James propelled himself away from the Megazord. The sword struck down at the place where his body had been, raising smoke and dust as debris shot out from the impact.
James quickly leaped and lashed his new tail toward the sword, grabbing it. As the sword was pulled up, so too was James' body, and he threw himself toward the mecha as a golden glow shone on his Lightning Axe.
James thought he had won. Yet the golden flash hit nothing but air as the mech used its thrusters on its feet to dodge backward. The warehouse was cramped for the mech, and it inevitably tripped after doing such a stunt. It fell on its back as its legs hit one of the boxes. But it was better than getting smashed with an axe.
“Guns!” Anderson shouted. From its shoulder, a gatling gun popped out. Then, golden sparks flashed intermittently as bullets rained down on James and his team. James raised the shield on his left. Pinpricks, like being stabbed by hundreds of needles, tortured his left arm as some bullets hit it.
Blood started to seep from his legs and body. The small buckler on his left couldn’t protect all of his body. Some of them penetrated his skin, but not deeply, thanks to his fur and stats. James could feel he was going to suffer from massive bruises tomorrow.
A distinct gunshot rang from Sanders and Anderson as they fired their guns in unison toward the robot’s eyes. The robot panicked as its view suddenly turned dark. It flailed its arms, and the turret on its shoulder began to fire haphazardly, spraying bullets everywhere.
It tried to stand up, but Kaina happened to be at its back. Using her spear skill, she lunged toward the giant mecha’s knee from behind. The spear pierced the metal, hitting some important gears, and the mecha fell to its knees as it stumbled again.
James capitalized on the opportune chance and delivered a deadly blow. The mecha opened its chest, trying to vaporize his existence. But the golden glow from his axe hit it faster. It embedded itself deep inside the mecha’s core.
An explosion burst forth from the core, shredding the mech to bits. Its head flew in a parabolic arc toward James and bounced on the floor twice before rolling toward his feet. A system message soon appeared before him.
[Congratulations. You have earned 50 coins. Your attacker class has leveled up to level 21.]
“Shit. No Chimera skill for this one,” James cursed. However, contrary to his expectations, the Chimera skill offered him something.
[Would you like to modify your body? Y/N]
[Available Body Part:]
Mecha Lord’s Ear (Skill: Radar, Negative Trait: Mana -100, Magic -20, Deafness, Repairable) (Ear Slot)
“Hmm? I have no idea why you would offer that to me. I thought golems were out of reach for Chimera.” James wondered what the prerequisite for Chimera was.
[Since you have a golem core, you may attach golem parts to your body thanks to Chimera Level 2. However, every golem or inorganic part requires mana to maintain. Golem parts are immune to life leeching and paralysis. However, they will be unaffected by health potions.]
“That wasn’t in the skill description,” James muttered. He smirked as he jabbed fun at the system’s oversight.
[We have reviewed the skill description and updated it accordingly. It is now possible to attach golem parts to your body.]
“Nah. Deafness is a major setback, and I have no extra slot to place this mecha ear into,” James shrugged off the offer. He then scanned the surroundings and found two chests in the corner of the warehouse.
“Ugh… that was horrible. My ears are still ringing,” Kaina groaned. The explosion had been close to Kaina, and she was thrown back as a result. She was not as resilient as James. Luckily, the wooden boxes cushioned her momentum. Anderson and Sanders came to her aid. James spared a glance, and when he found out that she was okay, he continued toward the chests.
“I am still on manual looting, right?” James muttered as a golden glow shone from his side. The portal to the next floor spawned.
[Yes. Would you like to switch back to automatic looting?]
“No. Keep it on,” James muttered as he approached the chest. Using his usual unorthodox method, he opened the chest from afar after nudging it with his ice magic. Inside the two chests, he found coins and several blue gems.
“What are these gems?” James asked as he inspected the blue gems. There were about 20 of them inside a metallic briefcase. James scoffed at the necessity of putting these gems inside a briefcase inside a chest protected by the system.
[These gems are called System Gems. They can be sold through Shop Level 2. Each of these blue gems is worth about 10 coins.]
“Why would you have two types of currency?” James asked. They already had coins before. Why would he need these gems if their sole purpose was to be sold back to the shop?
[Gems can be carried physically and do not expire.]
“I see,” James twitched. However, he found a great flaw in the system's logic. “I need Shop Level 2 for that? Won’t Shop Level 1 cut it?”
[You need Shop Level 2 to sell the gems, and the coins earned will automatically be deposited into your status. You cannot unclaim those coins and give them to someone else.]
The system explained it clearly. James then understood that Shop Level 2 was now a necessity for all survivors. He couldn’t save on coins by offloading the supplies to Anderson’s Level 2 shop.
After inspecting his stats, he called Anderson to share the coins. In total, there were 800 coins inside. James decided to split the reward equally so Anderson could buy his Shop Level 2 quickly.
[Name: James]
Age: 35
Sex: Male
Level: 45
Coins: 902
Stats:
STR: 145
DEX: 142
MAGIC: 98
MANA: 960
Skills:
Novice Axe Mastery Level 5 (Powerstrike, V-slash, Boomerang)
Novice Sword Mastery Level 1 (Hurricane, Vorpal Lunge)
Beginner Bow Mastery Level 7 (Quickshot)
Beginner Dagger Mastery Level 1
Magic:
Mind Flay
Sense Alteration
Mana Sonar
Class:
Attacker (Level 21) (10% bonus when attacking, STR & DEX +1 per level) (↑1)
Unique Skill - Chimera Level 2:
Goblin Stomach (Iron Guts) (Stomach Slot)
Mana Core (Water Spells: Ice Spear, Water Manipulation, Magic +60, Mana +1000) (Extra Slot)
Minotaur Leader’s Left Arm (STR +25%) (Left Arm Slot)
Eyes of Mana (Mana Sense) (Right Eye Slot)
Golem Arm of Valhalla (STR +30%, Physical Resistance +30%, Negative Trait: Repairable, Mana -200) (Right Arm Slot)
Ratking's Legs (STR +25%) (Leg Slot)
Flaming Tiger’s Fire Lung (Fire Breathing Skill, Negative Trait: Mana -100, Magic -10) (Lung Slot)
Golem Core (Poison Resistance, Negative Trait: Mana -250, Magic -10, Repairable) (Heart Slot)
Orc’s Torso (Torso Slot)
Orc’s Head (Head Slot)
Shadow Snake Fang (Intermediate Life Leeching) (Mouth Slot)
Jumping Spider’s Spinneret (Thread Creation) (Extra Slot 2)
Flaming Tiger Lord’s Firefur (Fire Cloak Skill, Fire Resistance, Physical Resistance +15%, Negative Trait: Mana -100, Magic -10) (Skin Slot)
Kraken’s Arm Tentacle (Reach: 5 meters, Negative Trait: STR -10%) (Extra Slot 3)
Rock Crab Shell (Physical Resistance +90%) (Extra Slot 4)
Land Shark's Ear (Echolocation: 10 meters) (Ear Slot)
Equipment:
Leather Armor Set (+10 DEX)
Lightning War Axe (x2)
Longsword
Crossbow (×6)
Mask of Identity
Leather Bag
Sphere of Fethusiane
Cloak of Dark Night
Frag Grenade (x1)
Flashbang (x1)
Blue Gem (x5)
