novelraw Chapter 118
Chapter 118
Chapter 118
The Knight of the God-Eater (Systeri Noteria) charged toward Finger Man like a bug crawling along the ground, moving her six limbs with beastlike agility.
——Pop
Even in the darkness, it rang with a crisp, cheerful tone.
From the spatial coordinates designated by Finger Man, light burst forth as if being twisted out.
The maximum power that could be triggered with a light snap.
A divine destruction summoned to this world at the cost of precisely 10,000 HP.
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Akagi Hideo
Level 201
HP 44,835/101,741
MP 17,120/21,123
Skills
'Finger Snap Lv6'
'Phobia Syndrome Lv8'
'Single Strike Lv6'
'Steel Spirit'
'Probability Time: Coin Lv2'
'Super Metal Assault Lv8'
'Blue Pulsation Lv4'
'Black Swamp's Severer'
'Super Catcher Lv4'
'Until the Very End Together'
'Silver Shield'
Equipment
'Blue Blood Lv5' G4
'Proof of the Chosen One Lv4' G4
'Labyrinth Conqueror' G4
'Bloodstained Comrade' G4
'Metal Trap Room Lv3' G4
'EXP Lighter Lv3' G4
'Traces of a Dream' G4
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ATK 50 million.
A massive explosion capable of evaporating a skyscraper was not something Finger Man could fully control, but with his evolved form beyond level 200, it was barely possible.
Compressed destruction was about to burst out.
A stellar spark appeared within the darkness.
Now, it's going to explode.
In just a fraction of a second, anticipation surged.
That was when it happened.
"Bu, boo, aah!!"
The dark monster opened its enormous mouth.
So enormous it left one dumbfounded.
And then, the Darkness swallowed the star.
What Finger Man had summoned was an enormous mass of energy.
There was no way anything could just swallow that and be fine.
However, if we're talking about a mythic beast, the story changes.
The next time the monster opened its mouth, it unleashed an enormous torrent of darkness, swallowing up Finger Man and his companions.
"Aaah, aaaaAAAH......!"
"What a helpless naked man."
Swallowed by darkness, driven mad by insanity.
No creature in this world can retain its sanity after receiving the densest stagnation of divine mystery.
Not even sorcerers long devoted to the study of mysticism are immune.
The pain that comes equally to all is the limit of what humans can bear.
Rarely, there are exceptions though......
Finger Man shielded Naked Man behind him and poured strength into his fingers.
And then, the strain was released.
——Pop
HP 12,000: ATK 60 million
Finger Man unleashed the greatest firepower in his history.
Just the glimpse of that destructive spark from beyond the rift in the sky pushed back the surrounding darkness. That alone caused the temperature to spike over 200 degrees instantly, charring the floor of the ruins.
The Knight of the God-Eater (Systeri Noteria) let out a strange roar and once more charged like a beast lunging for a feast.
Chomp—the mouth closed.
The spark smoothly dodged it and reached Finger Man's hand.
With sweat pouring down his forehead like a waterfall, Finger Man said, "Well, savor it," and crushed the spark between both hands with force.
The smell of burning flesh filled the air.
Finger Man endured the immense pain expressionlessly and then raised it up.
A vortex of destruction erupted.
The mass of energy, fated only to explode, shattered like a star breaking on the surface, transforming into countless meteors that raced across the land.
This was Finger Man's newly minted "No Snacking" decree.
Like cluster bombs, a rain of death poured down.
Each of the hundreds of exploding energy bullets had the power to vaporize metal and shatter giant boulders.
The Knight of the God-Eater (Systeri Noteria) couldn't escape and was swallowed by the storm of ruin.
"You could call it Meteor Excalibur."
Finger Man gently lowered his scorched hands and pushed up his slipping sunglasses with his middle finger.
""Gii" (Translation: Master)"
"What's wrong, Gii-san? Ah, it's fine. Shimaenaga-san won't notice. We'll split this experience points just between the two of us."
""Gii" (Translation: Yes, of course. But that's not what I meant.)"
"? Then what?"
""Gii" (Translation: It's collapsing.)"
"Huh?"
Meteor Excalibur, by dispersing Finger Man's already powerful Finger Snap, greatly expanded the radius of its destruction.
As a result, the destruction spread thoroughly and evenly across the ritual chamber's ceiling, walls, and floor... and everything collapsed all at once.
Finger Man felt a sudden sensation of floating.
Instinctively, he grabbed the silver follower he had been shielding behind him.
They were swallowed by a mountain of rubble and began to fall.
Through a gap, Finger Man saw it.
A giant shadow flying off into the sky on wings soaked in black.
The experience points... are trying to get away.
—───
——Trigger Happy's Perspective
Explorers were descending from the upper part of the steeply sloped cedar tree.
They carried supplies, distributing water, food, weapons, ammunition, and what little dungeon equipment they had, all for free.
Everyone here was a B-rank explorer or higher.
Under the instructions of the elegant Receptionist Jiu, the experienced veterans began setting up camp, aiming for the last remaining hope.
They had only one path left.
The path upward was blocked, and now their only chance for survival lay in seeking hope within the black mist.
The B-rank and lower A-rank explorers made preparations to fend off enemies even in despair.
Two magical machine guns, originally brought to defend the 15th floor supply base, were being deployed toward the lower part of the cedar tree. These powerful cannons could fire 800 rounds per minute with an ATK of 80,000 in long-range attacks. Due to their size and weight, they could only be operated when bolted to the ground.
Fortunately, the upper part of the cedar tree had thinner mist compared to the rest of the dungeon.
It was the only place that could be called a safe zone in the Darkness.
"I wonder if we're going to make it out alive..."
"Happy-chan's way younger than us and she's totally calm. No point in worrying now."
The veteran explorers, seeing how incredibly composed Trigger Happy was despite being so young, encouraged each other to follow her example.
The reason Trigger Happy could remain calm, of course, was because of "him."
As she worked to load large stick-glue-like rounds into the magical machine gun's ammo belt, Trigger Happy pondered.
(It's been two hours since Finger Man went in. I wonder if he's already caught the followers of Darkness... or maybe he's doing something I wouldn't understand.)
She fidgeted restlessly.
But not from anxiety.
Though they were apart, her heart was safely guarded by Finger Man.
"Chii-chii-chii."
"Thanks for your hard work, Shimaenaga-san. Looks like you're actually useful for once."
"Chii-chii-chii♪"
The bird who had gone around healing the sick was now being treated like a goddess among the explorers.
"Oh bean pastry fairy, thank you again for before."
"Ah, dear bean pastry, please accept this castella as thanks."
"Bean pastry, we've also got canned pineapple for you."
"Chii-chii-chii (Translation: Trying to bribe me with such cheap stuff? Pathetic, chii!)"
The Calamity Beast, who cared only for experience points, flapped its massive wings to drive away its eager fans.
Trigger Happy widened her eyes at the "crazy popularity" and let out a small laugh.
Now free from her duties, the Calamity Beast began helping Trigger Happy by loading rounds into the ammo belt beside her. It seemed eager to lend a hand this time.
"Chii-chii-chii (Translation: Seriously, chii. It's pitiful getting stuck with all the grunt work, chii.)"
"I volunteered, actually. Right now, it's time for everyone to work together. Can't be picky about the job."
"Chii (Translation: You're a good one, chii.)"
"......Then, please be careful."
"Ah, leave it to me. I won't let anyone die."
Trigger Happy turned her gaze toward the voice.
'Mister," "Pollen Fighter," "Bradley.'
The superhuman explorers were finally about to descend into the thick mist of the giant tower.
Naturally, Trigger Happy still had feelings about not being among them, but she had accepted that this was the current limit of her abilities. That's why she had even declined to descend to Central herself.
"By the way, I don't see that guy called Finger Man around."
Bradley shot a sharp glance at Jiu.
Jiu returned a flat gaze.
"......He's missing."
"Hmph, so he really is the lowest A-rank. Couldn't handle the pressure, huh?"
His blade-like glare shifted toward Mister.
"So that's the true worth of the guy you've placed your hopes in."
"Well, who can say? True nature is never found at a glance. That's something I learned from him."
"Keep telling yourself that."
Bradley didn't like Finger Man.
Until recently, he hadn't cared—just thought there were too many rumors about the guy.
But when Finger Man was chosen for the strike team on Jiu's recommendation, something snapped.
Why did he have to be treated the same as some A-rank bottom-feeder?
For someone like Bradley, who was obsessed with rankings, that alone had already annoyed him—but seeing Finger Man getting chummy with Mister pushed him into outright resentment.
Don't get cocky, rookie.
he thought.
"Waaaah! Fall back! Fall back!"
"It's them! They're coming!"
Trigger Happy and the other top-ranked explorers all turned their eyes to the lower part of the cedar tree.
Two machine soldiers with silver luster were climbing up.