novelraw Chapter 167
Chapter 167
Chapter 167
We descended to the 11th floor.
In the dungeon of the Abyss, the labyrinth is formed of obsidian-like rock, and overall it's characterized by its darkness. But after passing the 10th floor, it changed into an unusual terrain, like a fortress of black bricks as always. The thick upper and lower structure within the floor seemed unchanged.
"Charred remains, charred remains—"
Snap, snap.
Turning the dungeon French bulldogs into charred remains, I rode on the back of the Norwegian Bakeneko, Norn, and dashed through the dungeon.
"Hm, it seems like you both have recovered your MP by now."
"Gii (Translation: Is it time to get to work?)"
"Kyukyu (Translation: So the real job begins, kyuu... I'm not really feeling it, kyuu...)"
I slashed the wall with the blade of the Metal Trap Room and said "Go ahead," sending Gii-san and the little hedgehog to the EXP factory.
Gii-san used 'Black Swamp's Armament Lv5' to produce the 'Twisted Black Spear', and the little hedgehog used 'Salvation's Scale Armor Lv3', 'Salvation's Swift Wings Lv2', 'Salvation's Spiked Tail Lv2', and 'Salvation's Dragon Shield Lv2' to produce equipment for the Black Fingertips.
For them, this is their main job.
I continued aiming for the depths of the dungeon together with Norn.
——87 hours since dungeon entry
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★Daily Mission★
Let's keep at it steadily every day!
'Aim Correction Week 4'
Manually aimed and achieved One Snap One Kill
1,000/1,000
★Today's Daily Mission completed!★
Reward: 'Tempestbreaker Greaves'
Consecutive days: Day 146
Steady Rank: Platinum ─ Multiplier 10.0x
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Today's daily reward is also from the Tempestbreaker series.
Got another one. Tossed it into the Mugen High-Load.
Currently on the 14th floor.
Hm, I've spotted a monster that's unusually large.
It's not a dungeon French bulldog.
It's a bizarre humanoid dressed in a tight black suit.
As huge as a grizzly bear, with limbs thick like logs.
Its face is hideously deformed, like it's covered in barnacles—or maybe that's just how it's always looked.
Must be a Wandering Boss.
"Well, it'll be charred remains anyway."
In the end, there's no other option.
Charred remains are the universal answer to everything.
I silently raised my arm and took aim.
And at that moment——
"Hm?"
——BZZZZT
A blue thunderbolt tore through the space.
A buzzing electric sound that struck directly into my eardrums and stirred unease.
Bang bang! The hammering of gunfire echoed in rapid succession.
Bolts of lightning pierced one after another into the chest of the hideous Wandering Boss, and the monster collapsed with a loud boom, helpless to resist.
She appeared from around the corner, her silver hair fluttering.
In her left hand, a large silver automatic pistol.
In her right hand, an even larger dark automatic pistol.
Her gear didn't exactly scream intelligence, but her name is "Trigger Happy."
Yes. I'm Happy.
"Well? Pretty cool, right?"
"Those weapons don't exactly exude intelligence."
"Weapons aren't supposed to act smart. 'Magic Gun Silver Cord Lv8.' JIGOKUMICHI pulled some strings to get me a prototype of a gun planned for release in two years."
"Lv8? I didn't even know that gun evolved. What about Pizon, the one you upgraded so much? Not using it anymore?"
"Not ideal for switching between elemental rounds."
Now that she mentions it, she did say she wanted to try something new.
"Poor Pizon-kun, dumped so quickly despite being called cute... Wait, you don't even have 'Shooter of Magic Bullets' anymore? That was a pretty good anomalous substance, wasn't it?"
"I do. It just changed shape a bit."
With that, Happy-san lifted the big, black, ridiculously large pistol.
A bit? That thing's completely changed shape!
"I feel like it used to be a rifle or something."
"'Shooter of Magic Bullets (Fleischkugel).' I had JIGOKUMICHI modify it. I wanna shoot a lot, y'know."
Nope. That reason is incredibly dumb.
"12.7mm x 20mm explosive armor-piercing rounds, custom-made for this gun. 27cm long, 7kg in weight. Only I can handle this baby, nfu-fu."
"Yeah yeah, amazing, amazing."
"Listen properly, Finger Man... This gun is really amazing—the slide's polished like a mirror——"
"Just make sure you don't cause too much trouble for others. If possible, please consider leaving Japan."
She's seriously dangerous.
Happy-san sullenly puts the gun away.
She can talk forever. Especially about guns. About two weeks ago, we went on a mysterious outing to eat ramen at Ichiran, and when I humored her gun talk, she babbled for five hours straight. Ever since then, I've made sure to show disinterest early so she doesn't keep going.
"But I'm glad. I was actually looking for you, Finger Man."
Apparently, Happy-san hadn't taken a break this whole time while diving.
According to her, she wanted to catch me and go outside the EXP factory.
"I'm gonna take a bath, change clothes, eat, and sleep, so can you make a 'door' in 12 hours?"
I'm being used super conveniently, huh.
But I guess it's fine. After all, Happy-san is a guild member.
——99 hours since dungeon entry
─────────────────
★Daily Mission★
Let's keep at it steadily every day!
'Aim Correction Week 5'
Manually aimed and achieved One Snap One Kill
1,200/1,200
★Today's Daily Mission completed!★
Reward: 'Tempestbreaker Armor'
Consecutive days: Day 147
Steady Rank: Platinum ─ Multiplier 10.0x
──────────────────
Finally got the armor.
Now I've got the Tempestbreaker arm, head, leg, and chest gear.
I've got the weapon too, so maybe I've conquered the Tempestbreaker series.
I'll store it in the Mugen High-Load for now, looking forward to equipping it on the Black Swamp monster later.
Oh right.
Now that I think of it, Happy-san had asked me to open a "door."
I scratched the wall in the Metal Trap Room to set up a warp point.
Still riding Norn, I returned to the EXP factory.
Happy-san was nowhere to be seen.
"Maybe over there?"
I opened Na's container in the EXP factory and found Happy-san waiting while gaming.
"Happy-san, your direct-to-dungeon cat taxi is here."
"Meow~♪"
"It's been about thirteen hours. Might be a little late."
"Don't complain. It's plenty convenient, isn't it?"
I brought Happy-san back to the dungeon.
"So, what floor are we on?"
"We've made it to just before the floor boss on the 20th floor."
"......Huh? That fast?!"
Happy-san flinched at the heavy black door shrouded in white mist.
Then she noticed the kneeling Black Fingertips lowering their heads around her and flinched again.
"W-what is this, what's going on? Demon King?"
"I don't know either. Probably the Demon King, yeah."
"So it is the Demon King......"
She approached the white mist.
In faint, flickering letters, it read 'Floor Boss: Sculptor of the Abyss.'
As I traced the letters with my finger, they slowly turned black, and the mist cleared.
We entered the boss room.
The center of the dark dome was illuminated by a spotlight.
The sculptor, a man striking a block of stone twice his height with chisel and hammer, was dyed completely white along with his work clothes, carving away with blank focus.
All around were rugged white boulders—countless ones.
Majestic statues also sat in place—countless ones.
So many trials and errors it felt stupid to count.
He despaired many times, yet couldn't give up.
He couldn't stop until he created something he was satisfied with.
All the statues' faces were consumed by overwhelming rage.
Not a single one bore a peaceful expression.
"What a weirdo."
"Why's he making sculptures in a place like this?"
"Dungeon monsters are invaders from another world, right? There's no way we'd understand the minds of monsters from some other world."
Saying that, Happy-san drew her large-caliber Magic Gun Silver Cord, spinning it around as she strolled forward.
The sculptor noticed Happy-san and immediately stopped his work.
The surrounding statues began to move.
Apparently, the guest's opponent had already been completed.
The statues moved stiffly, lumbering toward Happy-san.
Happy-san scoffed and shot one of the statues in the head. Its stone skull shattered.
The statues stared intently at their fallen comrade, and immediately after, they charged. Their previously stiff motions vanished, replaced by fluid, agile movement.
A stone fist came crashing down at Happy-san.
Two hammer-clicks. The statue was pulverized.
No attacks reached Happy-san.
The statues' relentless assault didn't stop.
Over thirty statues attacked, some wielding spears, axes, or swords, lunging wildly like savage beasts.
Dodging with a dancer's grace, Happy-san unloaded bullets into the statues, shattering them, and after wiping them all out, the sculptor himself lunged at her with just a chisel—only to be kicked away and silenced.
Slammed into his half-finished sculpture, the sculptor visibly took damage and staggered.
"Later."
Vidi——
The sculptor took his last breath.
He turned into particles of light and was absorbed into Happy-san.
"Is that it? Lame. Fuhfuhfuh, maybe I've gotten too strong? You saw that, Finger Man! I'm strong, right?"
"Turning into Braggy Happy-san right away is the first step to becoming Small Fry Happy."
"I-I'm not small fry!"
"Behind you. Something's moving."
"Huh?"
Behind Happy-san, the unfinished statue began to move.
It was the sculptor's incomplete soul-infused creation.
"So that's the real one?"
"Need help? I can jump in anytime."
"Nope! I can beat it alone!"
Saying that, Happy-san put on a confident face and readied her twin large pistols.
The sluggish, massive attacks were far too slow to catch Happy-san's swift feet.
That said, it was still a floor boss.
Its durability was overwhelming.
Happy-san fired her guns nonstop for about three minutes.
At last, the floor boss's giant statue collapsed and ceased functioning.
The statue turned to lime and scattered smoothly across the dome.
Standing in the center of the silky lime dust, Happy-san let out a breath and turned back to face me.
"Good work."
"Thanks. But I probably kept you waiting... I'll give you the drop item from this one, Finger Man."
"You don't want it?"
"You're a guild member. The leader should decide what to do with the spoils. You're my boss, after all."
"I see. Still not used to that."
Well, if that's how it is, I'll gladly accept it.
I collected the boss crystal and picked up the boss drop.
As usual, the crystal was impressive—this time, it was even pumpkin-sized.
The boss drop was the chisel the sculptor had used.
The item name is 'Sculptor's Karma', huh. I wonder what kind of karma is imbued in it.
──────────────────────
'Sculptor's Karma'
A chisel left behind by the Sculptor of the Abyss
Unlocks the skill 'Summoning Art——Statue of the Abyss'
──────────────────────
Sounds like an interesting anomaly.
I stabbed the chisel into my own heart.
"Wha—what are you doing, Finger Man?! That's sudden—hurry, use a recovery potion!"
"It's okay. This is how it should be!"
"......Huh?"
I coughed blood, my heart nearly stopping.
But I could feel a new power pouring into me.
This is, how should I put it... it feels good.
"Uwooooooh! (ecstasy)"
"(This is another one of Finger Man's chronic issues. He must've been too strong since long ago, so he never learned pain. Which means Finger Man is an extreme masochist... It's okay. I can accept him.)"
Happy-san looked at me with gentle eyes.
What is that? Eyes like a kind girl comforting a forest monster.
(A new skill has been unlocked.)
Got myself a new skill for the first time in a while.
────────────────────
Akagi Hideo
Level 290
HP 1,000,741/1,291,200
MP 232,140/235,000
Skills
'Finger Snap Lv7'
'Phobia Syndrome Lv10'
'Surekill Lv10'
'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 Lv9'
'Living Blade'
'Summoning Art——Statue of the Abyss'
Equipment
'Ring of Cthurnia' G6
'Mugen High-Load ver7.5' G5
'Adolphene's Holy Shroud Lv6' G5
'Blue Blood Lv8' G5
'Proof of the Chosen One Lv6' G5
'Metal Trap Room Lv4' G5
'Labyrinth Conqueror' G4
'Bloodstained Comrade' G4
────────────────────
───────────────────
'Summoning Art——Statue of the Abyss'
The sculptor of the Abyss is still creating.
It is an unending pursuit.
Summon a Statue of the Abyss.
MP Cost: 1,000
───────────────────
Oh. Looks like it's finally time for me to learn summoning arts too.
That's wonderful.
"Ah"
The chisel stabbed into my heart shattered into pieces.
Seems like I can only use it once.
"Gii (Translation: What a shame. I was planning to stab all the Breakdancers.)"
"Kyukyu (Translation: Lord Mushi is having terrifying thoughts-kyu...!)"
Truly a Calamity to the core.
Always trying to build armies to wipe out humanity.
"Norn is just too comfortable, so I've gotten too lazy to walk—can I borrow this one?"
"Nyuaa~"
"No. Norn is my cat. Also, I'm too lazy to walk too, so I really can't imagine exploring the dungeon without Norn anymore."
And so, we decided to go together from here on out.
"(Dungeon date with Finger Man. Yes!)"
"Hold on tight, okay?"
"Okaaay!"
I sat in front and Happy-san sat behind me.
The cat taxi dashed off with a meow across the twenty-first floor.