Chapter 46
We continued our march for nearly five hours.
Due to the limited time remaining for Rex, whenever my stamina was about to give out, Trian would carry me, and when I regained some strength, I would walk again, pushing forward tirelessly.
There were encounters with monsters and traps along the way, but they didn’t pose a significant problem. Trian often gave warnings in advance, and taking out the monsters one at a time was not a major issue.
“This is it.”
At the end of our long trek, Trian, seemingly having figured out the approximate location of the treasure guardian’s room, frowned. How do elves manage to discern what lies beyond walls so accurately? It was just astonishing.
“There’s no trace or sensation of monsters nearby. The surrounding area is safe… for now, at least.”
Soon, the sound of thunder would echo, summoning dungeon monsters to this location. Trian wore an expression that sighed in anticipation of the trials ahead.
“…I’ve only seen this in books. The door to the treasure guardian.”
Lir let out a soft exclamation of amazement upon seeing the colossal golden door before her. If I had been seeing such a grand and dazzling door for the first time, I would’ve reacted the exact same way.
“I’ll ask again: is it certain this will be over in five minutes?”
Trian briefly looked at the splendid golden door, then turned his gaze to me with that query.
“It’s certain.”
…Well.
Whether good or bad, the situation would undoubtedly resolve within five minutes anyway.
“We’ll wait for you, General.”
Rex, wiping his sweat-drenched forehead, spoke up.
“Make sure to finish within five minutes. If you finish sooner, come out and give us a hand.”
“That… strength, please. Don’t overexert yourself! Got it?”
Trian and Lir lightly placed their hands on my shoulder, each offering a few encouraging words as we approached the final showdown.
Creeeak…
As I nodded, Rex’s bulky muscular arms pushed the massive golden doors wide open. The scraping sound of accumulated dust against the floor echoed as the surroundings trembled.
I took a deep breath and carefully stepped into the chamber of the treasure guardian. The room was far larger than any other we had encountered so far. Its walls, ceiling, and floor were entirely gilded with gold.
It was somewhat understandable why so many adventurers willingly risked their lives to descend into dungeons like this one.
If someone were to peel off even a small section of the gold encasing these walls, they’d acquire an immense fortune that commoners could only dream of.
“…Close the door, please.”
Rex nodded at me before closing the enormous golden door behind him with a firm “I trust you.”
Bang.
As the door shut, the room was immediately enveloped in darkness.
My senses, overwhelmed by the blackness, couldn’t provide any information to my brain.
“Phew… this is nerve-wracking.”
If I recalled correctly, this dungeon’s treasure guardian was exactly level 60.
To solo a level-60 monster, one typically needed a character at least level 55 or better. Even in a group setting, a well-coordinated party of four at around level 40 would generally be optimal to take it down.
But here I was, alone.
Some might ask, “Isn’t this akin to a suicidal act?”
Well… they’re half-right, but also half-wrong.
There are two reasons for this.
One is that my growth rate has been faster than even I anticipated. Based on tests against twenty marauders at once, my current level is at least thirty or higher. Considering that they were too weak for a thorough test, it’s possible my actual level is closer to forty.
…Though, I’m not entirely sure.
The punch machine can only measure up to 999 points. How would I know if I’m at 1000 or 4000 points?
I just believe my level is somewhere around forty.
What else am I supposed to do?
What am I going to do? Die, that’s what.
“Haa…”
And the other reason is that I’m a “one-shot mage.” An extremely potent one-shot mage who has been storing an entire week’s worth of mana.
While the spell “Blossoming” is notoriously ineffective against minor monsters, it excels when facing boss monsters. My Blossoming spell has advanced to such a degree that it can efficiently handle monsters up to around twenty levels higher.
Being level forty, coupled with a highly refined Blossoming that can take on monsters twenty levels above me,
…this combination leads me to believe I might be able to handle a level-sixty monster.
…Of course, just being able to trade blows doesn’t mean I’m certain to win.
Thud!
A sound akin to an egg cracking echoed from the ceiling, followed by a light hovering around the room. The ceiling of the room, plated with gold, featured a grand illustration of four thieves carrying off treasures.
In the center of the room stood a giant figure that hadn’t been there before the lights went out—a giant with the face of a spider.
“Damn, that scared me.”
Despite myself, I gasped upon seeing the immense spider face.
The moment the pitch-black darkness lifted to reveal that visage was so startling it made me momentarily question whether I’d entered a horror survival game instead of a medieval fantasy one.
I already knew the dungeon’s treasure guardians and monsters had an unpleasant aesthetic, but seeing this for real made it impossible not to exclaim in shock.
“…Ah, so we have a visitor.”
The towering giant with a spider’s head slowly turned its head towards me, as if a robot just powered on, and spoke.
As it opened its mouth, a long strand of saliva slowly trailed down its chin and hit the floor.
The spider’s head held no fewer than twenty-one pairs of eyes.
It’s questionable whether calling them pairs is appropriate, as they aren’t properly symmetrical. A more accurate description would be forty-two eyeballs embedded haphazardly across the face.
“It’s been a while since I’ve seen a human. The last group I played with was a bunch of elves. A human, huh… almost… 300 years?”
“…Whoa, hold on.”
I was already aware that treasure guardians could speak human languages.
Still, seeing this up close rather than through a monitor was far more unsettling than expected. Forty-two eyes blinking and moving erratically on a spider’s face while simultaneously emitting a human voice…
Damn, the genre really has changed.
That giant visage belongs in those idol horror games that prioritize visuals over anything else in the horror genre.
“This time, there’s just one player. Ah well… it’s alright as long as you entertain me…”
The spider-faced giant slowly bent down and drew in a deep breath.
“Do try not to die too quickly.”
Saying this, it surged toward me, using its giant feet to push off the golden floor in rapid strides.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
As the level-60 monster approached, grinding its mighty legs into a sprint to crush me into paste, I closed my eyes.
‘The opponent’s level is sixty. Even if I’m actually around level forty, considering my physical condition, my chances of winning aren’t very high with just regular Blossoming.’
Bruises, fractures, muscle soreness, and mild hyperventilation.
My body was in the same abysmal state as always.
‘…I need to chant a spell here.’
“Mischanting a spell could either weaken a spell or cause it to fail entirely.”
Alters’ warning from long ago pierced through my mind like an electric current.
If the chanting fails, a magic spell’s power typically drops to about half its usual strength. In the worst case, one could expend their mana without the spell even activating.
Furthermore, Blossoming is only usable once per day, and upon its duration ending, the caster immediately loses consciousness. Compared to spells like Volts or Thunderbolts, which allow for repeated attempts to find the optimal incantation in real-time, Blossoming demands perfection—if the chant fails, it’s a matter of life or death.
The risk is immense.
On the other hand, if I were to simply invoke Blossoming without a chant, I could achieve a level of power powerful enough to stand toe-to-toe with a level sixty monster for five minutes.
‘…But standing toe-to-toe isn’t enough.’
The problem is, my body is currently in shambles.
While standing still isn’t an issue, if I move around too much during a fight, hyperventilation could quickly return, clouding my mind. Moreover, who knows what other variables might emerge if the battle drags on?
I had to extract maximum power from the spell to face off against the “Treasure Guardian” as quickly as possible, by any means necessary.
Yes. What I need isn’t the ability to fight the enemy on equal terms with some acrobatics.
What I need is overwhelming power that guarantees victory with the flick of a finger even from a seated position.
“…If I succeed, it’ll be fine.”
I closed my eyes and focused my senses on the mana coursing through my body.
Though my physical state was battered, my mind was sharper and clearer than ever.
The mana within me transformed into electric currents, flowing out of my body.
The currents surrounding me emitted enough heat to melt the gold nearby.
The spider saw the immense amount of lightning enveloping me and opened its mouth wide, revealing a disturbing grin.
I’m not entirely sure, having never had a proper conversation with a spider before, but it seemed excited by the prospect of a bit of fun after such a long while.
“Ah, a storm mage, huh? Melting gold, eh? Not bad firepower there. But with that level of power, you won’t be able to pierce my skin…”
Interrupting the spider giant’s words, I began quietly chanting the incantation to my magic.
The thunder that followed obliterated every other sound in the world.
