Chapter 23

Now, what do I do?’

I needed to make a decision .

A very fast one .

Not a second to waste .

Even now the extreme heat was making my body into leather .

‘Can I survive if I turn back?’

The traps I had already passed should not activate again on the way back .

But, this heat would remain .

Could I survive the way back to the Waiting Room while this heat remained?

It was doubtful .

My body was deteriorating quickly .

‘Perhaps I'm having a heatstroke . ’

‘I never thought that heat would be so harmful to the body . ’

‘I thought it would be just more of a nuisance . Damn it!’

I marched forward .

The probability that I would escape this heat before my body collapsed wasn’t high .

In fact, it was very low .

I’d come too far to turn back now .

And the body was in critical state .

‘Now that the decision has been made, let's move . ’

Sweat was pouring all over the body, and severe dehydration came with it .

Not to mention the muscles began to alternate between convulsion and rigidity as well .

I may not had much medical knowledge, but even from my perspective, this was a very, very serious situation .

"Inventory . "

Losing count on how many water bottles I had opened, I drank furiously, and poured the remainder on my body .

Next, I took out a potion .

[Freezing potion]

Description: Potion which chills an area for an extended period of time . Is harmful when touched onto skin . Oral administration is not recommended .

This potion was Kirikiri's recommendation .

‘I have to say thanks when I return . ’

The liquid within the bottle had a sticky, jelly like texture .

It didn't even pour out well from the bottle, being so tightly packed .

I took out a large cloth from the inventory .

It was originally intended to be used as a blanket when I bought it .

Cutting an edge of the cloth, I quickly made a suitable shape with it, and poured the potion on one side of the cloth .

It quickly soaked into the cloth .

Some of the heat dissipated after wrapping the cloth around me like a hairdresser gown .

Next I took out a towel, wet it with water and poured the remaining freezing potion on top .

Putting the towel on my head, I could finally breathe again .

‘Now, let's continue onward . ’

In order to replace all the salt I've lost with sweat, I put some of the salty jerkies into my dry mouth, and walked while chewing on it .

I maintained the minimum speed at which the Wind Spirit's blessing triggers .

To go as far as I could, while I still had some stamina .

But I quickly reached my limit .

The cloth and the towel were doing their job, but the body was too exhausted in the first place .

Muscles trembled repeatedly, and the mind couldn't keep its focus anymore .

‘On the bright side, the extreme heat and humidity which tortured me has disappeared . ’

Instead, the air was dry like that of a desert's .

‘Wait, that's not a good thing . ’

The high temperature and high humidity before had placed both physical and mental exhaustion on me .

But with the sudden change into an arid environment, I could feel my body turning extremely dry .

I took out a stamina potion and drank it like water .

This was really expensive too . . .

It cost 400 points to buy just 1 bottle .

It was a ridiculous price, considering most status effect potions cost below 100 points .

In fact, this leather armour I was wearing was worth 350 points .

I wasn't keen on buying it due to its price, but Kirikiri made her recommendations .

‘Better say thanks for this too . ’

‘If I can meet her . ’

"Cough, cough . "

The lungs didn't seem right .

I could feel a ripping pain on my chest, continuous coughs, and the breathing became heavy and rough at times .

I tried to regain normal breathing, but it wasn't happening .

It was turning difficult to even keep moving, let alone maintaining the speed .

The hands were shaky and cold, with skin color turning white .

‘How can the body turn cold in this heat?’

‘Is that even possible?’

‘Damn, this is not just another visit to my ancestors beyond the Styx . ’

‘I'm moving over there for a place of my own . ’

My sight began to spin about .

I couldn't even tell whether I was walking straight anymore .

Just the fact that I could still stand in this situation was amazing .

A normal person would have collapsed a long time ago .

The sweat which was pouring like a waterfall had stopped .

I thought it was the effect of the freezing potion, but I was mistaken .

It was abnormal for me to not sweat at all .

Unlike before, my skin felt like it was burning .

[You have received Burn Resistance Lv . 2]

‘Burn Resistance?’

‘I'm getting burns now?’

It was certainly as hot as hell here, but not to the point of burning .

The environment had the climate of a desert, but unlike a desert, this tutorial didn't have a sun .

Yet I still got burned .

Maybe just like how meat was cooked slowly in low heat, my body was getting slowly cooked underneath .

I quickly took out another freezing potion .

I applied it on my hands, feet and any part of the body not covered by armor .

Just as the description said, as soon as the potion touched my skin, I could feel the chill and pain .

Perhaps because of the pain, I could see a little more clearly .

‘Seems like I'll be getting Frostbite resistance too . ’

‘But now's not the time to worry about the pain or side effects on my skin . ’

The outside of my skin was turning cold extremely fast, but the core temperature remained .

I could feel the heat coming out from within as if I had eaten fire .

My consciousness began to fade .

I forced myself to swallow the freezing potion .

I could feel the stomach freeze .

I could feel the extreme cold burning and causing ripping pain in my organs .

With pain added on top of my fading consciousness, my vision began to spin uncontrollably .

I had to move forward .

There wasn’t much time .

I ran, shaky and exhausted .

With all that remained of my strength .

The legs were heavy like steel, while my lungs screamed in pain .

But, I couldn’t stop now .

There must be an end to this heat .

Now, forward .

Ping-

‘Fuck, sakes!’

‘You bastards! Fucking scum of the world!’

I threw myself onto the floor after hearing the arrow, without even checking on it .

Stab- stab-

I no longer had the strength to stand in this situation, and could only get hit by the following arrows .

Stab- stab

There was only one thing I could do against these arrows and poison darts on my way .

To curl my body and raise the shield on top of my back .

Many arrows were blocked by the shield, but some landed on my back and the sides as well .

Stab- stab-

‘Just, how many are coming this way?’

‘Let's think quickly . ’

‘Shit, I feel like I'm about to die anytime soon . ’

‘Let's open the inventory as soon as these arrows stop . ’

‘Then take out the antidote, stamina and healing potions . ’

‘Then run again . ’

‘Forward . ’

‘Then…’

‘Can I do it?’

‘Scratch running, can I even take out and drink a potion, in this situation . ’

The situation was too grim

Maybe I was too excited .

Did I lose my awareness because of the newfound strength from the 1st floor .

These were very, very doable traps .

All I had to do was raise my Heat Resistance slowly, with a few trips back to the Waiting room .

But, I was too careless .

To not even realise the rising temperature until it was too late .

The arrows stopped at some point .

But, unlike my plan, the body could not move .

‘Am I dying here?’

From bad decisions, coupled with carelessness .

I guessed it was the price you paid in Hell difficulty .

‘But . . . But, am I really…’

[Level up]

[Strength increased by 2 . Dexterity increased by 1 . Heightened Senses skill increased by 1 . Pain Resistance improved by 1 . Heat Resistance improved by 1 . Paralysis Resistance improved by 1]

‘Level up…’

‘It's a level up!’

The body moved again .

I stood as fast as I could .

The level up didn’t simply heal my wounds but restored my body back to its peak performance, just like the Waiting room and Healing fountain .

The arrows on my back fell on the ground, while the pain from the poison, heat and the freezing potion dissipated .

The extreme heat was still there, but at this moment, my body was renewed .

‘Now, let's move before my body falls to the heat again . ’

‘Forward . ’

There was no time to even think .

It wasn't just a fast walk, but a run instead .

I could feel the Charge skill and Wind spirit's blessing's effects fuse with my body .

I quickly became short of breath from moving so fast in a hot environment, but my body, which was on it's way to becoming superhuman, could withstand for now .

[Battle Concentration]

I even turned on the Battle Concentration while running .

It may not have much of an effect, but I wanted to put all my focus onto this run .

Just a little faster, more efficient .

‘Damn, it would've been nice if I was on the track team for school now . ’

Ping!

The arrows again!

I tilted my head slightly to dodge the arrow coming at my face .

The arrows continued afterwards, but I didn't slow down and kept running .

Only forward .