Chapter 76

Tutorial 13th Floor (4)

[19th Room]

[That was a great duel, Challenger . ]

I don’t think I can agree to that .

The duel ended in just ten seconds after I started to use Skills .

Could this really be called a good duel?

[I have learned a lot from fighting this duel . I think I’ll be busy for a long while . ]

The monk was breaking into laughter as I looked at his face, dumbfounded .

Unbelievable…

The monk collapsed to the floor, gushing blood from his chest .

Although the knife went halfway into his chest, it seemed that he was not having any trouble carrying on a conversation .

“You will be busy for a long while you say? Is there a reason why you are certain I won’t kill you right now?”

[I do not . However, that won’t be bad either . ]

What a crazy bastard .

“What a crazy bastard . ”

I mumbled curses as I walked past the monk .

The monk already acknowledged defeat and no longer wished to fight . It does not feel right to kill him .

If I was like my usual self, I would have killed anyone and anything on sight, saying it is for the experience points .

It’s strange . I’m making a different decision than the usual .

Is it because the monks looks similar to humans?

I remembered Idy strongly advising me not to judge others based on appearances .

Someone’s life was not more or less precious because of one’s resemblance to a human being .

However, I don’t think that’s why I’m feeling like this .

It is not the first time that I met enemies who look like humans .

I already had killed some of the monks in the 13th Floor Stage as I progressed to the higher rooms with 19 wins .

I think I killed about five of them .

I am not sure .

It didn’t feel right . I walked past the monk . I opened the door and was about to leave the room; at that moment, the monk said,

[Challenger, you should be careful from the 20th room and beyond . Let me give you an advice . I recommend that you close your eyes . ]

… Seriously, geez .

“In the middle of the battle, try predicting the opponent’s movements and thoughts . You guys are too obsessed with perfecting the form of the moves . However, in the end, isn’t your art of fighting built for the sake of fighting the opponent?”

[Uuhuhuhu . Thank you for that reply . I am grateful for the advice . Unlike the Master Monk’s words, you are not completely lacking in manners . ]

I left the 19th Room, and the message appeared again .

[Would you like to continue?]

Yep .

I closed the 19th Room’s wooden door and took a moment at the corridor to think .

Am I insane?

Was I attacked psychologically?

I felt around the wall and checked the response from the mana .

The ceiling, walls, floor… There was no response .

This place was a Stage inside the Tutorial .

Everything was going to be reset when the next Round began .

The dead monks would be revived, and they would also lose all of their memories from the last round .

So, why am I doing something so meaningless?

I had told myself this before .

I told myself that I would not treat life carelessly even if they are monsters and that they are going to be revived after the round restarts .

I told myself that I should not enjoy killing them like a video game .

My vow was not about being a pacifist .

If it was for clearing a Stage or for further developing my power, I have been killing enemies without hesitation plenty of times .

Many times, I repeated the challenges and killed the same enemies over and over .

Back then, when I was fighting and slaughtering them, I never felt any sense of regret or sympathy toward them .

However, what was that earlier?

[The God of Adventure is paying attention to you . ]

[God of Slowness is paying attention to you . ]

… I don’t know .

Perhaps I am simply being whimsical .

Damn it all . I think I should go find a player who used to be a psychologist .

* * *

[20th Room]

[Welcome, Challenger . You must have gone through a lot to get this far . ]

The 20th Room’s monk welcomed me .

The further the room, the monks seemed to be stronger and more welcoming .

Could it be that this Stage’s theme calculates increases in strength and politeness in conjunction with the room number?

[Sit for a while . It will take you some time to get used to this as well . ]

As the monk said, I just plummeted to the floor .

The 20th Room’s environment was very strange .

The rooms so far were all enveloped in utter darkness without a single candle light .

However, the darkness inside the 20th Room was a little different .

This is no ordinary darkness .

Something is blocking my view .

Is it magic? I don’t sense any magical energy response .

This is as if… It feels similar to the sensation from a Power Skill .

This is my first time experiencing such extreme darkness .

I rubbed my eyes and looked forward .

The monk must be within a few steps, yet I cannot see him .

I focused on my sight and stared for a while, but I couldn’t see the monk at all .

Let alone the monk, I couldn’t even see my hands very well .

This must be why the last monk said I should just close my eyes .

I tensed my mana .

I activated the Detection Skill, allowing me to see the monk’s appearance and location .

It would be hard to fight him with just this .

[You don’t need to cringe so much . I am in the same condition, aren’t I?]

“You must have stayed her for days . How is that the same condition?”

[Uuuhurhur . That is the fate dealt to you, Challenger . ]

Did I say something funny?

I thought about how I carefully observed the surface of the target of the detection with mana when I was training on the Detection Skill .

By doing the same thing, I could see the monk’s location and appearance, and even the fine detail of his clothing and facial expressions .

I was quite used to the mana operation now, so I was able to do it without difficulty after focusing my mind for a moment .

The problem was that carrying out a combat while maintaining this was a whole other matter .

I got up .

[Will you be all right? You are probably not used to this yet . I can wait a little longer for you . I want to have the duel after you have completely adapted to this room’s environment . ]

“I am sorry, but let’s cut the chit-chat . I need to maintain focus . ”

Having heard what I said, the monk got up silently and took a stance .

I focused on the monk’s appearance and brought out the backsword .

I think this will be tough .

Too much of my mental focus is being spent on the mana operation for the Detection Skill .

I need to finish this by focusing on using Power Skills, which do not drain my mental focus .

First, I closed my eyes .

I can’t see very well with my eyes at the moment anyway, so it is just disrupting my focus .

It would be better for me to close my eyes and focus on things being detected through mana .

I felt somewhat angry at the 19th Room’s monk’s advice, which was frustratingly correct .

[Soul Steal]

As soon as I applied the deteriorating effect of the Soul Steal on the monk, I used Blink, emerging next to the monk’s side .

Because I couldn’t be certain about the distance measured, instead of the front, I chose the side .

I swung the sword, aiming at the monk’s neck . The sword cut through the air .

Damn it . In a space like this, he can sense my movement which was done through Blink?

Through the mana operation, I focused on the monk who lowered his body and dodged the sword’s edge . Watching it gave me severe dizziness .

Desperately holding on to the mana operation, I squeezed out all of my mental focus .

The monk’s knuckles were flying in .

It was too late to dodge it .

I raised my shield and blocked it .

Kwang~

It sounded like a cannonball drop . My body was thrown against my back and collided with the wall .

Kuuuuuhec…

I was shocked again when my body collided with a wall .

As for my shield… I cannot see it, but it was probably shattered .

[Challenger…]

The monk opened his mouth again .

He is probably going to say something like we should fight after I got more used to this darkness .

I put the shield and backsword in the inventory and raised my mana .

[Talaria’s Wings]

I summoned the Talaria’s Wings and motioned them to surround my entire body . I raised my arms and crossed them to protect my head .

[Blink]

Like that, I used the Blink and collided with the monk .

Talaria’s Wings absorbed the initial shock . However, I had to withstand the secondary shock in full when my body collided with Talaria’s Wings .

Damn it . I don’t remember when the last time I resorted to this kind of suicide method was .

I was shocked, but it was far better than what the monk must have gotten .

I got a grip first and threw the knife at the monk who was thrown off to the distance .

Surprisingly, despite being in middle of all this, the monk precisely struck the knife with lower edge of his hand .

[Blink]

However, he was not able to block my hand which I thrusted at him after using the Blink again .

The mana, which was surrounding my hand like a sharp knife, tore through the monk’s skin .

The monk twisted his body and kicked .

This is dangerous .

[Battle Focus]

Damn it . I even used the Battle Focus… Let alone dodging it, I cannot even block it .

I saw it too late .

It appeared to be a reverse kick .

I didn’t even get to see most of his motions .

Because I was trying to sense such twisting movement through mana, I was unable to immediately identify the target point and respond .

It was not that there was a problem in operating mana . After I successfully attacked the monk, my mental focus faltered .

[Iron Wall]

My waist was about to be struck by the monk’s kick . I focused mana on the area .

I just need to endure this .

I disengaged Battle Focus .

This is no time to be maintaining Battle Focus for long .

Kwang!

I was thrown to the back again and collided with the wall .

Wuuuuaaaaac .

A fluid ejected from my mouth . I wiped it off and focused on the monk and my body again .

First . My body… the ribs are cracked .

Soon, the pain will slowly emerge .

Other than that, I don’t have any injuries that would hinder my movements .

The monk is charging toward me .

He is already infected by the Poison Energy from the mana earlier .

I can win . I just need to hold out .

I flipped the grip of the knife on my left hand . On my right hand, I held the backsword .

I have not used dual wielding that many times .

Instead of using both arms offensively, I am going to use the left hand, which is wielding the knife, as a replacement for shield .

I am an expert at this .

There probably are only few people out there who can use an arm as the broken shield as well as I can .

[Huuuuaaaap!]

Shouting, the monk was charging at me . I thought about trying to get used to this space as I watched him run toward me .

* * *

Huuuuuu .

As I thought, this is the best method for getting used to things .

Once the situation has been created in that being unable to adapt would result in certain death, the body will always adapt to the condition in order to survive .

Infected by poison, the monk was running amok and charging at me to end the duel before the poison could be fatal .

To block and parry his attacks, I had to adapt to this space somehow and accurately detect the monk’s movements .

Of course, I succeeded .

“With this, the duel is decided, right?”

[That’s right . It was a great duel, Challenger . ]

Do you think so?

You were poisoned, and your opponent was gutlessly avoiding and blocking your attacks to draw out the fight . You were chasing me like a madman, and now, you ended up in a pathetic state of being unable to move .

If I was that monk, would I accept this as a good duel?

Thinking that, I put the empty potion bottle back in the inventory .

The monk coughed and threw up blood .

The poison is probably quite strong .

I brought out an antidote from the inventory .

“It’s an antidote . If you answer my questions, I’ll give this to you . ”

[If it is something I can tell you, then…]

You are in that state, yet you are adding a condition while sitting around?

Wait, you are lying around .

“How many rooms are in this place?”

[There are 33 rooms . The Master Monk will be at the very last room . ]

33…

That’s more than I thought .

[Is that the end of your questions?]

“No . I have one more . ”

Actually, this is the reason why I’m putting the antidote up as the reward .

“How do I adapt to this space? Tell me . ”

[Challenger, it seemed you were already pretty well-adapted?]

“Not as well as you have . I want to hear your method . ”

[In other words, you want me to summarize the fundamentals of my art and hand them over to you . ]

“If you don’t want to, then fine . In that case, no antidote for you . ”

[Uuhurhurhur . I’ll tell you . If you are intending on challenging the next room, then you will have to learn this properly . ]

I poured in antidote to the monk’s mouth .

Before long, having drunk the antidote, the monk sat down and checked his body .

You sure recover quickly .

Your body really is unbelievable .

[Now then, shall we start?]

You want to start right away?

“Let’s start after resting for a bit . ”

[Won’t it be better to move right away? It would be easier to master this while you still have the same sensation you felt during the battle . ]

I know what you are saying, but…

I can’t right now .

“It’s time for me to eat . ”

* * *

[You acquired Mana Circuit Lv . 12]

[You acquired Detection Lv . 7]

[You acquired Battle Focus Lv . 20