Infinite Competitive Dungeon Society - Chapter 167

Chapter 167

Chapter 167 . Double Crisis (3)

Because it’s been so long since I entered the dungeon, I’ve almost forgotten what monsters appeared in the 50th floor range . Regardless, I met the giant humanoid monsters of the 54th floor head on and broke through in just one hour .

“… Eh?”

This was the first time I had broken through a dungeon floor in one hour . When I reached the Floor Shop and saw that Loretta wasn’t back, I realized just how quickly I had broken through the 54th floor . Flustered, I looked back .

[Huhu, this is my power, Master!]

“Yeah, Peika is really amazing . ”

[It’s a good thing my seal was released!]

It seemed like the biggest reason was that I charged through the floor by riding on a materialized Peika . When I materialized Peika, I didn’t have the spare power to summon Ruyue or Sharana . I simply drank Mana Potions whenever they were off cooldown and scorched monsters in our way with chaos flame . It was fine to use Peika’s ability from time to time, but I was still lacking in mana to ride her and rush forward for dozens of minutes .

This method would not work in Beyond . Just five stacks of Orc Lords’ Warcries would turn our quick charge into a shortcut to death .

“Regardless, I need to clear the First Dungeon as quickly as possible . After all, Beyond inadvertently takes up more time . ”

I first dematerialized Peika and circulated Peruta Circuit to restore mana and relieve fatigue . Now, climbing the First Dungeon wasn’t so difficult . If it was, I would be troubled . I only had 2 years left . The less time I spent in the First Dungeon, the better . I needed to focus my time on conquering Beyond .

“Alright, let’s go once I’m fully revitalized! My goal is to break through in 4 days!”

[Master can do it if Master is with me! Master doesn’t need the others!]

I smiled at Peika’s declaration and patted her head . ‘Sorry Peika, but I’m going to need Ruyue and Sharana’s power too for Beyond . ’

On Beyond’s 4th floor, both Orc Lords and Wraith Queens were waiting for me . I already knew how fierce Orc Lords were, but the Wraith Queens’ mental attacks couldn’t really affect me . Since the only physical attack they could do was shooting ectoplasms arrows, I felt that I could just ignore them . Of course, things didn’t go as I expected .

The Orc Lords’ warcries affected all allies . In other words, the Wraith Queens were also strengthened . Their mental attacks weren’t strengthened by much, but their ectoplasm arrows were extremely scary . Just a single one of them could break through my armor and shake my soul . If that wasn’t enough, they were shooting hundreds of them at once, which bounced around and got strengthened further . It was like I was in hell .

[Human! A human with a shining soul!]

[Kuoooooo! Eat him!]

[Handsome men are all enemies!]

“You bastards… including personal enmities…! Have a taste of my crossbow bolt!”

My Spear Technique couldn’t do much on Beyond 4th floor . Since the Wraith Queens shot hundreds of ectoplasm arrows at me whenever they saw me, I didn’t have the chance to run into them and create whirlpools or whatnot . What I relied on was the Epic-grade crossbow, Perfect Hunter .

[Perfect Hunter (Epic)
Durability – 351/360
Attack – 3,750
Equipment Requirement – Strength, Dexterity, Magic +150 . Mid-rank Crossbow Marksmanship
Option – Strength +15, Dexterity +15, Magic +15 . Adds wind attribute to bolt-based attacks . Attack speed +20% . Automatic reloading . Uses 10 mana to create mana bolts when the user is out of bolts .
Skill – Invisible Shooter: Makes the bolts invisible and removes sound and presence from bolts . Adds 30% bonus to speed and attack power . ]

Thankfully, Perfect Hunter already had a wind attribute bonus . When Sharana was infused into it, the wind attribute was strengthened even more, maximizing the speed and piercing power of the bolts . In addition, one couldn’t see the bolts Perfect Hunter shot out . As a result, it was hard to dodge them and many only recognized the bolts once they were hit .

[Kuaaaaaaaaang!]

[Cowardly human!]

[Kuaaaaa! Kill that human!]

No matter how much they struggled and tried to kill me, they couldn’t catch up to me in speed . The only thing they could do was to use Warcries and shoot out the strengthened ectoplasm arrows . But since ectoplasm arrows exploded upon contact, it was possible to shoot them down . I left Ruyue to this task . The countless ice crystals Ruyue created was perfect for blocking the ectoplasm arrows .

[Elemental! Kill the elemental!]

[Girls prettier than me should all die!]

[Kill all the girls hanging around guys!]

… And the important thing was to purposefully let a few ectoplasm arrows go through .

After I dodged them with acrobatic maneuvers, they would bounce around the walls and kill Wraith Queens or Orc Lords . It was similar to how I was dealing with them before .

[Kyaaaaaak!]

[My soul is being purified…!]

“How are you being purified by your own arrows… You’re going to put exorcists out of business . Haat!”

I busily maneuvered around, dodging their attacks and shooting out bolts . With my stats increased over the last month, I felt much lighter . It was why clearing the 4th floor was quicker than the 2nd floor . If I could control the ectoplasm arrows with Ruyue, the 4th floor was a piece of cake . That said, I couldn’t continue this hit-and-run tactic forever . As I had to continue onward to find the pathway, it was possible that I had reached a dead-end .

[Kuaaaaaang!]

As expected, when I found myself in a dead-end, the Orc Lords shouted and charged at me, as if they were waiting for this moment . The Wraith Queens also shot out a countless number of ectoplasm arrows as they flew toward me . I ordered Ruyue to create a whirlpool of ice and used it to strike away the ectoplasm arrows . Then, I shouted .

“Peika!”

[Thunder Ground!]

A black dragon appeared in the air . A thick bolt of lightning flashed through the crowd of monsters . When the powerful lightning joined the ice crystals, it became stronger and spread out in all directions . The monsters all screamed in unison .

[Kuaaaaaaaak!]

“Next up . . !”

I hung the crossbow on my waist and took out the Chaotic Spear from my back . Because the monsters were super-armored, they continued to run at me even as they screamed in pain . If I didn’t kill them now, I would be trampled to death by them .

“Elemental Tempest!”

Elementals gathered in my spear while chatting noisily . Peruta Circuit spun vehemently and covered my entire body in a whirlpool . I tamed the whirlpool of mana that seemed to want to explode and trapped it at the tip of my spear . As more elementals gathered, the spear shone with more and more brilliant light .

[Die, humaaaaaaaan!]

“Sorry, but I can’t die even once…!”

The moment they arrived in front of me, I released the storm of elementals . Almost as if I shot a cannon, a giant back blast pushed me backward and made me hit the wall behind me . I groaned and checked my surroundings . If any of them were alive, I had to get them before they got me .

However, after the storm passed, the pathway was still . Just like always, the monsters all disappeared without leaving a trace . Although they would respawn soon, there were currently no monsters within my detection range .

“… Good . ”

After confirming that no monsters survived, I put my spear away on my back . Then, with a deep sigh, I took out and drank a new Mana Potion . The highest-grade Mana Potion was delicious no matter how many times I drank it!

“Peika, I’ll call you again . ”

[But I want to stay with Master . ]

“Sorry . It’s okay during battle, but it’s hard to keep three elementals out at all times . ”

[Pii . ]

“Sorry, sorry . ”

I sent Peika back and quickly moved on . When I wasn’t in battle, I infused Sharana into my body instead of the crossbow, so I could maximize my movement speed . If I used more mana, I could even fly . Talaria’s usefulness had somewhat disappeared . Though, if I summoned Talaria, my speed would increase even more!

[It looks like Master is very used to flying . Most elementalists have trouble when they fly for the first time . ]

“I have something called Talaria . It lets me fly for a fixed period of time every day . I was using it when I was fighting Pesina, too . ”

[Wow! Now that you mention it, you really were flying back then! You really are special, like having three elementals isn’t enough…]

While listening to Sharana and flying through the pathway, I shot a bolt toward the ground . The bolt then bounced around from the ground to the ceiling multiple times like a bouncy ball, then struck a corner of the wall with a mountain-crumbling force . Immediately afterward, a boom rang out along with a scream .

[Kuaaaaaa!]

“Good . This zone is taken care of . ”

Using Mana Detection, I had detonated a trap I discovered and even killed an Orc Lord that was waiting around the corner . It was truly a satisfying feeling .

[Kiaaaaaaaaaaa!]

The Wraith Queens that were outside of the trap’s range came out and began to shoot ectoplasm arrows . However, if they weren’t strengthened by Warcries, I didn’t even need to dodge them .

“Ruyue, shield!”

[Crystal Guard!]

I took out my spear and charged at the crowd of Wraith Queens . At the same time, Ruyue’s ice crystals enveloped me like a cloud . I circulated Peruta Circuit and activated Mad Typhoon . The whirlpool of mana mixed with the ice crystals disintegrated all ectoplasms arrows it touched .

[Kyaaaaaaaak!]

[Kill that human!]

“Haaaaaaap! Blade Rush!”

Before I reached them, I activated Blade Rush . Blades then immediately protruded out from my mouth . I bumped into a Wraith Queen, tearing her to shreds . Then, the blades shout out and tore apart the rest of them . Chaos flames swept over those that survived .

[Critical Hit!]

[Kyaaaaak!]

“Huu, how long do I have to listen to your screams?”

I muttered and erased all traces of the Wraith Queens . The moment the monsters disappeared, complete silence once again arrived . I had gotten used to it by now . In Beyond, it suddenly became loud, then suddenly became silent . It was truly a capricious space .

However, even though everything was proceeding smoothly, I couldn’t be happy . Two days had passed since I entered Beyond’s 4th floor . I was confident that I was advancing quickly, but I still hadn’t seen a straight pathway . Though, I knew I was rushing things compared to my last Beyond explorations .

It seemed Ruyue had seen through my impatience, as she cheered me up .

[Don’t worry! Shin is very strong!]

I wasn’t sure what being strong had to do with it, but I knew she was trying to console me . I patted Ruyue, who materialized on her own accord and hugged me . Sharana, who was infused in my body, also added .

[Even if Master doesn’t hurry, Master is already very fast!]

Her words were much more meaningful than Ruyue’s . I made a bitter smile and nodded .

“You’re right . If I rush too much and die, it would be a true disaster . Thanks . Let’s keep going at this pace . ”

The two year time limit was extremely stifling . I could no longer climb the dungeon solely based on my desire to improve myself . The fact that I had to save my friends and family continued to push me .

Perhaps, it was acting as a poison . When the spear held up to protect freedom was weighed down by responsibility, it would lose its sharpness and swiftness . That would be truly foolish .

“Alright… Snap out of it and go!”

I slapped my cheeks with spirit and flew up again . I even summoned Talaria . I wanted to push away some of this stifling feeling .

“Let’s go!”

[Un!]

[Yes, Master!]

20 minutes after that, the straight pathway opened, and I broke through the corridor filled with Orc Lords and Wraith Queen using Crimson Roar and Elemental Tempest . I had broken through Beyond’s 4th floor in two days . It was a pleasant surprise .

Damn, I should’ve waited a bit more! I wasted Talaria!