I threw some useless items and tested their attack power . It wasn’t as strong as I thought . It was just enough for the troll’s bones I obtained on the 51st floor to become dust by touching their weapons .
… If I get hit even once, I’ll die! I’ll definitely die!
Once I ran into them once, Orc Lords suddenly began to appear from all pathways . Once I got surrounded, it would be the end . I realized I had stepped off the wrong foot . I should have killed them the moment I saw them . This wouldn’t have happened if I didn’t run away!
“Kuaaaaang!”
“Yeah, yeah, I got it, you bastards! Eat this!”
Confirming that an Orc Lord appeared in the path I was trying to charge through, I threw out a Heroic Strike . Although I managed to kill him, five more Orc Lords appeared behind him . Now that it had come to this, there was no other choice!
“Uwaaaaaaaaak!”
[You used Crimson Roar . Everything blazes as flames . ]
Although I had not thought about it, the flames that began to burn everything continued to get stronger . It seemed the reflective property of the dungeon’s walls had strengthened the flames . Of course, as the flames were created by Crimson Roar, they did not harm me, while they served as poison for the Orc Lords .
“Kuaaang!” “Hu, Humaaaaaan!”
However, even after taking Crimson Roar, which could be said to be my strongest area of effect skill, a few Orc Lords were still alive . If they were the same Orc Lord as the one on the 5th floor, it would not have been possible . It seemed their defense was much higher as well .
Even so, Crimson Roar was still a powerful skill . After inhaling the smoke, the few that survived the flames staggered, and were then easily killed by Peika’s Thunder Spears . Each of them gave 1,000 gold . It was the same amount as what the 5th floor’s Orc Lord gave . Even though Beyond’s Orc Lords were much stronger, they still only gave 1,000 gold . It was very infuriating .
“Huff, huff… It’s been a while since I ran so hard . I didn’t even have my elementals summoned… Peika, Ruyue!”
[Ugh, it smells burnt . ]
[Meat? Are you eating that?]
“You’ll get sick if you do, Ruyue . First, materialize . ”
[Okay!]
Telling Ruyue not to eat the Orc Lords once more, I checked the corpses of the Orc Lords, which were disappearing into particles of light . After gifting me gold, they were disappearing completely . I gritted my teeth at the sight .
I could only use Crimson Roar once per day . As it was the same for Floor Master skills, I had to come up with a way that relied on my own strength only . No matter how confident I was in my spearmanship, against the Orc Lords, I couldn’t continue to attack and retreat repeatedly . I could toy with just one or two Orc Lords, but since more Orc Lords always arrived when I found one, doing so would be foolish .
“No choice then . I have to use my crossbow . ”
Silver Bone Crossbow, obtained on the 30th floor . I thought that I was too strong to use it now, but with Spirit Aura, any weapon would become powerful, regardless of its quality . Plus, I could use the 51st floor’s troll bones as crossbow bolts for additional damage . It would be nice if I could use Flame Cartridge as well, but it only added the flame attribute and small explosions . As Peika’s ability was much stronger, it wasn’t useful at all now .
“It would be ideal to shoot crossbow bolts at their mouths, so they can’t use warcry…”
[I can bait them!]
Peika shouted with confidence . With Spirit Aura’s increased level, she could now control the trajectory of projectiles as well . I patted her head to thank her for letting me know . With this, I may have found a way out .
“Kuaaaang!”
“I’ve already killed dozens of them… Just how many of them are there? Alright . Ruyue, Peika, let’s go!”
[Okay!]
[Run? Do I run?]
“Yeah, run!”
[Auuuuuuuu!]
Ruyue kicked off the ground . With a potion in my mouth, I raised my crossbow .
“Peika, I’ll give you as much mana as you need, so put lightning into the bolts like they’re Thunder Spears . ”
[Huhu, okay! I really like Master lately . It feels like Master is filled with lightning from head to toe!]
[No! Every strand of hair on Shin is ice cold!]
That’s a compliment right? You were trying to compliment me, right? It seemed elementals thought of me strangely as my affinity to different elements got higher . As I broke through the pathway, I shot a bolt at an Orc Lord’s head .
“Kuak!”
“Nice, Peika!”
The bolt went directly into the mouth of the Orc Lord as it flickered with lightning . There was no need to doubt Peika’s ability . With that, I just had to raise my reaction speed so that I could attack the Orc Lords the moment they appeared .
“Kuaakuk!” “Kuaaaakak!”
“I won’t stop shooting until you guys shut up!”
Ruyue continued to run . Once they used Warcry, they would continue running regardless of whether I shot a bolt in their mouth or up their ass, but as long as they didn’t use Warcry, they didn’t have the temper to withstand the pain and shout .
If other Orc Lords didn’t appear, I could simply use Elemental Blade to cut them down . If they did, I just had to shoot bolts into their mouths too .
“Kuaaagaaaga!”
“Elemental Blade! Can you stop making those weird noises!?”
[Critical Hit!]
Shooting, slashing, shooting, shooting, slashing . Although simple, I had to make sure the bolts I shot did not miss their targets . If one accidentally hit the wall, it would change trajectory and fly back . If it hit me, even I would feel pain .
[Twenty two up ahead!]
“Damn, there sure are a lot of them . ”
Beyond’s maze had a completely different structure than the First Dungeon’s . Unlike the First Dungeon, where I could just hunt monsters and move forward, Beyond had multiple pathways that twisted and turned . Monsters appeared in the pathways, but there were also spacious areas where a large number of monsters were gathered . The worst part was that they respawned rather quickly . In other words, if I got lost and went back to where I was, the monsters I defeated would have respawned . However, as I said before, my intelligence stat was preventing that from happening .
“Agh, damn it!”
“Kuaaaang!”
[Orc Lord used ‘Warcry’! All orcs are cleansed of negative status effects! All orcs temporarily become super-armored . Their attack power increases by 50%!]
If even a single Orc Lord succeeded in using Warcry, like just now, I had to stop using my crossbow to shut them up . As they became super-armored, it was impossible . I had to take my spear and aim at their vital spots, as I weaved through them on Ruyue . It was the start of an exciting fight of cat and mouse . That said, if their number went over 30, I couldn’t handle their increasing numbers with my crossbow or with elemental magic .
As a result, I had to do what I had not done for a long time .
“Peika, materialize!”
[I’ve been waiting for those words!]
Confirming the number of high-grade Mana Potions (379) in my possession, I materialized Peika . The elemental magic of a materialized elemental was incomparably stronger than when the elemental was unmaterialized . Of course, there were downsides to it as well . When materialized elementals got attacked, they would lose mana, and excessive damage might reverse-summon the elementals .
“Kuaaaaang!”
“An elemental, it’s an elemental!”
After appearing in midair with her elegant dress, Peika did not even have the chance to show off her beauty, as she swung around a lightning whip . Although Orc Lords charged toward her, as Peika could fly, they were unable to catch her .
“They can’t get paralyzed, so you have to just damage them!]
[I know!]
Peika’s whip was strong enough to instantly burn the Orc Lord’s defensive equipment, and it was fast . Her whip, which was condensed from her elemental power, weaved through the Orc Lords as it damaged them . Meanwhile, I secured our escape route and knocked down the Orc Lords that stood in its way . This damned area was half made of air and half made of Orc Lords .
[Master, the walls have amplification and reflect enchants!]
“Oh, so those things are called enchants!?”
I pretended to thank Peika for her currently useless piece of info, and continued to swing my spear . Then, a strange voice rang out in my ear .
[Alright, with this, I’ll take care of them at once! Thunder Dragon Wave!]
“Mm?”
When I looked up, Peika’s powerful lightning whip shot up past my head diagonally from below . Frightened, I jumped back, and the whip hit the ceiling, bouncing to the ground with greater strength, bouncing again and going through my legs . At the lightning whip’s destination was an Orc Lord that was about to strike her .
“Kuaaaak!”
The lightning whip easily tore through the Orc Lord’s head and continued to fly forward . After hitting the wall again, it bounced back and hit another Orc Lord’s arm . The whip continued to bounce around, hitting an Orc Lord’s leg, then hitting Peika’s body . Surprisingly, Peika looked even stronger!
[Huu, it got more energy!]
The lightning whip then went through Peika’s body, having gotten even stronger, and burned or detonated the Orc Lords one by one . It didn’t matter that they were super-armored . The whip, which endlessly strengthened itself, pierced through them without ever giving them the chance to counterattack . When it sometimes pierced through Peika’s body, it only became stronger before continuing on to annihilate the Orc Lords . Me? I was frantically dodging Peika’s whip!
After some time, the Orc Lords gathering here to attack us dwindled until not many remained . Eventually, when I could no longer hear Peika’s spirited shout and the flickers of her lightning whip…
[Done!]
Peika put down her whip refreshingly, like she just finished doing her laundry . The whip that had been bouncing around struck Peika’s body and was completely absorbed by her . Peika’s face was sparkling even brighter than when she first materialized, as she looked at me and winked .
[Didn’t I do well, Master!?]
“Y-Yeah . Since you don’t get injured by your own weapon, you can even do that… Amazing . ”
[Huhuhu, right, I’m amazing!]
[Chii, I can do it too!]
To be honest, I was surprised seeing Peika utilize the environment’s special trait in her attack . Although I knew attacks got stronger when the walls reflected them, I didn’t think to use that property as I needed to calculate the trajectory . After all, it wasn’t my forte .
However, after seeing it once, I could understand it more easily . It was just that I had not thought about it before . Now that I did, I understood how to reflect my attacks three or four times to amplify the damage . Any more could be a bit tricky as I would need to dodge the attack and calculate the trajectory again, but it wasn’t impossible if I tried it once or twice . In fact, I already had a few trajectories in mind .
I finally realized . If I didn’t try to use my brain, it wouldn’t be used! I was underestimating my intelligence too much . With all the bonus stats, my intelligence stat was now at 76 . If I wanted, such calculations should be a piece of cake .
“Peika, you helped me realize something important . Thanks . ”
[Really?]
“Yeah . ”
Until now, I thought I had fought rather intelligently . However, that wasn’t the case . I had mistaken using the techniques I learned with my body and my reaction speed with using my intelligence .
Right . Until now, I was able to get by with no problem with my superior ability . Rather than intelligence, technique and strength were more important in fights . However, from now, in Beyond, that was no longer the case . If it wasn’t for Peika, I would have had difficulty fighting them just now .
The hint had been given to me already . The stacking Orc Lord’s Warcries . The dungeon wall’s power of reflection and amplification . I had wasted my effort when the answer was already there . To defeat the Orc Lords, I had to do the same thing they were doing . Using the wall’s property, I had to amplify my attacks . Luckily, I even had a long-ranged weapon .
“Hu… Good . Let’s use my brain . ”
I felt quite awkward saying it, but I ignored the awkwardness for now . What was important was to clear Beyond’s 1st floor . It was important to utilize my potential . For a long time, I did not apply my intelligence stat in battles . Now was the time to right that mistake .
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