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Chapter 240 - Stepping Away. (Thank you for your support, Notlimah!)
🕑 Added 2024-12-07 12:27:32 +0000 UTCThree hours later, we reached the second boss chamber of the labyrinth. At this point in time, there was no need for anything else aside from just heading there and killing the beast.
“Fire attacks are very effective against the boss.”
“Really? Why is that?”
The idea behind the silver golem boss being weak against fire likely came from the properties of silver itself. While silver is a highly conductive metal and excellent at dispersing heat, it has a relatively low melting point compared to many other metals. This means that intense heat or concentrated fire could destabilize its structure, rendering it vulnerable in battle.
The golem’s body, being made of silver, could rely on its metallic properties for durability. Extreme heat from fire-based attacks might cause the metal to soften or melt slightly, compromising its integrity and making it easier to damage.
“They aren’t entirely made of silver, so their insides can melt faster than their outside parts. They become a lot slower after that.”
My guess wasn’t precise… at all. Still, I didn’t mind that. The downside of using such a strategy was the fact that Glacien wouldn’t be able to fight, but that wasn’t necessary and she had to keep an eye on the girl, so it was fine. It was only the second boss of a labyrinth, after all.
We headed to the boss chamber and soon found the creature falling from the ceiling… more than a Golem. The creature looked more like a tall robot. It was three meters tall, and it had silver blades for limbs. They were curved too like Katanas… it was surprising that with this design, no one thought of making them for the swordsmen of this world.
“Be careful. It is quite fast and its blades are insanely sharp.”
I wondered why the girl was that worried. Maybe it was because she was unarmed. In any case, the beast landed and soon leapt toward me. I fired an arcane arrow that the beast tried to chop down, but it exploded and pushed down the monster. It has been a while since I used that, but it was as powerful as ever…
The body of the monster began to glow thanks to the heat, but soon began to run to the sides in order to avoid my arrows. Still, I was able to hit the beast with two arrows out of three, thanks to Rapid Fire. The first explosion slowed down the monster just as the girl had mentioned.
Once the monster stumbled on the floor, its fate was sealed… five more explosive arrows on the body of the monster made the creature explode into countless parts and the beast was destroyed.
You completed a trial. Please choose between the classes: Venom Mage, Dark Acolyte, and Smith (Armorsmith).
You obtained the Armorsmith class.
You improved the Stamina Regeneration parameter.
You unlocked the Aptitude: Master of Protection.
You unlocked the skill: Rapid Reinforcement.
You unlocked the skill: Adaptive Armor.
Master of Protection: Gain bonus experience when enhancing armor and improving its defensive capabilities.
Rapid Reinforcement - Quickly reinforce and upgrade existing armor. This skill allows you to apply temporary enhancements to armor, increasing its defensive properties by 30% and adding bonuses such as resistance to specific damage types or environmental effects. The reinforcement lasts for a certain duration based on the level of the skill or until the armor absorbs a specified amount of damage. Cost: 100 Mana
Adaptive Armor - Modify armor to adapt to various threats. This skill adjusts the properties of the armor to provide increased protection against the most common types of damage. For a limited duration, the armor dynamically shifts to offer enhanced defense where it is most needed, improving resistance to physical, magical, or elemental attacks. Cost: 100 Mana
The skills were a bit weird… They seemed to be doing the same thing, but on further inspection, I realized that the second option was a lot faster and lasted for a short period. The limitations should be different as well, but I had to test it.
‘Hm… it looks like the dark options of classes become a lot easier to appear on higher levels. Maybe it is because they grant more power and knowledge and vampires are, in a way, improved humans. Regardless, it looks like I already have all the skills necessary to make all kinds of gear. The only issue from now on will be where I will find the materials, but I have a decent stock.’
I gathered the parts of the monster since it didn’t shrink… it felt like I was grabbing molten rock, given that it was burning my hand more than usual. It was thanks to the purity of the silver.
In any case, when I turned around, I found the girl staring at me with a pale expression, but soon she looked away. Maybe it wasn’t common for the dwarves to solo labyrinths like this. Even though a good part of my strength was borrowed from my creations, it was still scary for her to think that I had the strength similar to a full party.
“Let’s get going. It is time to set you free,”
I didn’t care that much if people feared me or saw me as a monster. That was actually very convenient. What I was concerned about was how much they knew about my abilities… Mystery and fear walk side by side, after all. Both can be leveraged to make someone look a lot more scary than they are supposed to be.
‘Well now… I can’t just let her walk around the labyrinth with me. I will have to knock her down and leave her away from any dangerous area in order to make sure that no one will be able to tell which direction I am heading.’
I could already see Glacien looking at me with a dubious expression. I wondered why she had to hold me to such high moral high ground when the world was after my sorry ass… I had to do what I had to do to survive, after all.
In any case, I didn’t have any spells that could make a person fall asleep, so it looked like I had to put her to sleep using my physical strength. Then, I recalled a skill that I had never tried before…
Cursed Scribing: Infuse a scroll with dark energy, allowing it to impose negative effects on those who are targeted or read it. When activated, the scroll can cause fear, confusion, or debilitation to the target, decreasing their magical and physical defenses by ten points multiplied by the level of the skill. The strength and duration of these effects are determined by your level of skill. Cost: 10 Mana per minute
‘This seems like it can work… if I make the scroll affect her for a while, making her feel exhausted, this should put her to sleep.’
I felt a bit bad for using her as a test subject, but it was better than strangling her to put her to sleep. After thinking about it for a bit, I decided to put it into practice, but we had to keep moving.
“Glacien, take the lead.”
“Awoo!”
We resumed our trip to the exit of the labyrinth. During the meantime, the girl kept looking at me over her shoulder with a nervous look since I was the one behind now. It seemed that she was waiting for the moment when I would attack her from behind. This sounded wrong in so many ways… Regardless, I just kept drawing scrolls of different types and effects with Cursed Scribbling.
When we reached the exit of the labyrinth, the girl sighed in relief, but soon she felt all the exhaustion and relief taking over her body as she felt all her energy vanished. Before long, she fell forward, but I prevented her fall.
‘It looks like combining a feeling of exhaustion and confusion to work together to mimic that kind of effect.’
The scrolls that I put on the girl’s back were destroyed and then I put her on Glacien’s back. It was time to leave her somewhere and bail out of this land… I wanted more materials, but I can just find other labyrinths that can be used for mining in other places.
I confirmed that the surroundings were fine and that the girl hadn’t been followed and then left her rest with her back against a tree nearby. I also left her with a camouflage amulet that would break soon, so that would be enough protection.
“Satisfied now?”
“Awoo!”
“Now, it is time to…”
While I began to think about the route that we should take next, I noticed that my mana was being drained. I wasn’t attacked and I couldn’t feel anything with my body, so the only explanation was that Clarice was using the Mystic Link tattoos that I left with her.
‘It seems a bit early for her to have to use that… are the dwarves pressuring her side that much already?’
I didn’t know completely about the strength of the dwarves and their tools of war aside from the war towers, but since the elves focus more on their skills with their bows than anything else, they should have had a hard time against such large weapons. Still, they are supposed to have the empire on their side…
I couldn’t help but wonder who in the dwarven territory had heard about me and what could have motivated them to so readily tarnish my name. The idea of someone going out of their way to spread falsehoods about me, especially in such annoying times, was both baffling and annoying.
Had I inadvertently crossed paths with someone influential, or was this the work of a petty grudge? Maybe it was just opportunistic slander, an attempt to discredit an outsider during a time when suspicions were high. The possibilities were endless, and the lack of answers was infuriating.
But I knew better than to act on this impulse. War is no time to chase shadows, and I wasn’t naïve enough to think that poking around for answers in hostile territory would lead to anything productive. Confronting an unknown person in a land filled with tension could easily escalate into something far worse. The truth, for now, would have to remain buried since I couldn’t afford to get into further trouble.
Comments
Sammael
It's tattoo not a scroll so it's undoubtedly Clarice
MagicWafflez
i wonder what clarice is doing with his mana transfer scroll? if it even *is* her. the clairvoyant should know that she has them, and I bet there are ways of tracking him using the scroll that steals his mana.
