Chapter 81

It felt as if I was diagnosed with final stage cancer from a rudimentary health examination in school .

That’s so out of the blue . Why?

I am dying?

[That’s right . Amplified by the effects of this space, it seemed you focused your consciousness to the extreme . Your body… Your brain to be precise, was not able to endure it . ]

How is my exact condition?

[You are gushing blood from your eyes, nose, mouth, and ears . ]

… What about other openings?

[Fortunately, they are still safe and sound . ]

So, I’m not shitting blood out of my butt yet .

I wonder how long I can endure this?

[About 20 minutes . Instead of straining yourself, leaving the room is an option . You have more than demonstrated your qualification through the first trial . If you go outside and drink a potion to recuperate, you will recover to your previous state . ]

However, if I do, this last room…

[Of course, you will fail the second trial . ]

In that case, the answer was already decided .

Let’s start quickly .

[Count to six in your mind . I’ll start afterwards . ]

One .

I need to roll my brain .

I don’t have time .

I still cannot feel anything .

In this world of no sensory inputs, could I even survive 10 minutes?

I cannot even see the monk’s attacks . There is also no guarantee that I would be able to move my body at will either .

I did reserve a bit of mana .

However, it is not even close to being enough .

I don’t have time to cultivate the mana through the mana circuit either .

Even if I did, the mana I have at the moment is too little to maintain mana growth .

Two .

I have enough to take a quick look of my body . That’s all .

I can’t afford to sit here and hope for and be disappointed about mana that I don’t have .

The key thing at the moment is thinking about how to use this extremely small amount of mana efficiently .

Using it at a critical moment by reading the flow of the battle will be impossible .

If I am to survive 10 minutes with a single move, then there is only one method .

I need to subdue the Master Monk with that single move .

That’s impossible .

Three .

The difference in combat strength is clear .

I recognized this as soon as I entered the 33rd Room .

Since the moment I met him, the Master Monk had been regularly exuding his power .

Because of this, I was certain about this fact .

That monk was unbelievably powerful . It was hard for me to believe he appeared at 13th Floor , even if it was the Hell Difficulty .

Compared to other enemies I defeated easily so far, this monk was most certainly an outlier .

Neutralizing him instantly was impossible .

Therefore, I have to dodge and withstand hits .

My body is dying already, but I am confident about my cockroach-like survivability .

The key is how to endure this .

Four .

I remembered about an experience I had in middle of the first trial .

I had sensed the entire 13th Floor’s Stage by spreading a small amount of mana .

If I could use abilities similar to that time…

If I focus on just the monk instead of the entire Stage…

It is possible . That should be more than enough to survive this .

How?

Let’s think about the conditions during that time .

Because of the trial’s effects, my mind and focus were amplified in addition to an alarming sense of desperation .

Desperation, huh…

When I spread mana, I could not help but feel more desperate .

I felt like I was on the bottom of an infinite pitfall . In despair, I wanted to confirm the world .

I wanted to feel my existence again .

The second condition…

Although the effects of the trial are gone, let’s try to recreate the conditions artificially .

Five .

[Battle Focus]

My mind was accelerated through the Battle Focus .

As I thought, what I experienced was a decelerated world caused by an acceleration of processing speed .

It was like the world caused by the Battle Focus .

Of course, there is a difference .

The degree of deceleration is different .

I need to increase the focus .

I need to focus more, even more .

Battle Focus was originally a passive skill .

When I was in a near-death situation, I was able to achieve extraordinary level of focus, and the skill obtained active choice option . That was all .

I need to focus even more .

The memories of from the first trial in the world of no sensory inputs was helping .

I tried to recreate the sensation from that time .

The Master Monk said my body was dying from excessive thought processing and focus .

In that case, what I’m doing right now, trying to bring my focus to even greater extreme, is no different from suicide .

My brain is already at its limit, and I’m putting it through great strain again .

Still, I chose this path without hesitation . I had a reason for this .

[Perseverance]

The Power Skill from the God of Adventure which increases my combat abilities proportionally to my condition and the power of the opponent…

I already confirmed that the ability to focus is included in one of the increased abilities by the Perseverance .

My body’s toughness also increased with the skill .

I can survive this .

I cannot be certain about this, but I have to withstand this .

Six .

[Soul Steal]

I used the little bit of mana that was left in me .

I couldn’t afford to focus mana in my eyes and ears .

That would have required too much mana .

Also, because I had not used my eyes and ears for so long, I probably won’t be able to follow the Master Monk’s moves anyway .

I shouldn’t spread mana either .

Instead, I sent a part of the mana to my brain .

I accelerated my mind even further .

Afterwards, I kept the rest of the mana .

Like that, I patiently waited .

My focus was throttled to the maximum .

Instead of being anxious, I maintained my focus and waited .

Slowly, very slowly, something was approaching me .

It was will .

A will that wanted to attack me .

To be precise, it was mana that contained will .

I felt it .

My gambling paid off .

The mana inside my body roughly detected the situation outside .

If not for Energy Sensory Skill that I just obtained this time and if I could not maintain a high-level focus, then I would not have detected the attack and be hit by it directly .

Like how the sun that rose from the east disappeared to the west over the course of the day, the invisible attack approached me slowly .

Over a long time, I observed it, and soon, I was able to tell what it was .

It was the knuckles of the Master Monk .

He was using his right fist and targeting my heart .

The monks I met at the 13th Floor all used same fighting arts and had the same anatomy .

Thanks to that, I could be certain where the monk was targeting exactly .

I moved my body and blocked the attack .

I was not certain if I did .

My body, which I cannot feel, moved like I wanted?

Did it block the monk’s attack?

I cannot be certain .

Perhaps I blocked it perfectly like a painting . It was also possible I was rolling on the floor after getting hit .

It could be that my body was almost dying .

However, I didn’t use mana to check my body’s condition .

I just believed that my body blocked the attack successfully and prepared for my next movement .

* * *

I stopped the fifth attack .

Perhaps, about one or two minutes might have passed .

One thing remarkable was that I was blocking them well somehow .

Just before being hit by the Master Monk’s attack, I had been successfully recognizing the attack’s trajectory . However, I still could not feel my body, and I was not certain if I was moving either .

The Master Monk is weaker than I thought .

No, he is not overwhelmingly strong as I worried .

I could relax a little bit now .

As I waited for the next attack, I now had the moment to spare and think about things other than defense .

Before I block the attack, what I detect and feel is the will .

The mana inside the monk’s attack .

Also, the will contained in the mana .

I could feel them .

Perhaps that will could be the clue?

I thought about the conditions of the first trial again .

Extreme focus and desperation .

I am already bringing out extreme focus at the cost of my life span in real time .

In that case, what about desperation?

I’m more desperate than ever or anyone at the moment .

I’m blind, deaf and I’m relying on uncertain sensations from my body… no, using just the Energy Sensory, I was blocking the attacks and enduring the assault .

What’s the difference?

It’s the mana .

There is will contained in the Master Monk’s mana .

The will and mana must not exist separately .

Just like how I spread mana after putting in a sense of desperation, I need to do the same and put will into mana .

I brought back the sensation and memories from that moment .

In a way that feels the same as that time, spread the mana by…

It was at that moment .

I opened my eyes to new things .

[You acquired Energy Sensory Lv . 6]

[You acquired Strengthening Lv . 1]

[You acquired Amplification Lv . 1]

Immediately, I could see the layout of the 33rd Room and Master Monk .

I was still blind, but I could see them through the Energy Sensory .

The monk was slowly positioning to perform his next attack .

Because of the effect of the extremely focused mind, the monk was moving slower than a sloth .

Also, as if he was thinking I would never attack, he had rather defenseless pose .

The best medicine for letting guards down is a beating .

[Talaria’s Wings]

[Iron Wall]

[Blink]

It’s my certain kill body smash move!

Die, Master Monk!

* * *

[Die, Master Monk! How could you say that? Wasn’t that too much?]

I’m sorry… My apologies .

The monk said in calm voice .

[Well, I really almost died . Right . My organs were damaged quite a bit too… My shoulder bones have been cracked as well . This is the end of your trial . The time is up . It is fortunate . ]

After his words, I felt like I could hear him saying I would have died if this continued .

I was excited at the moment and threw the Blink-Body Smash move . However, in the end, it was a bad move .

The monk was attacked as he was off guard, allowing me to damage him . However, the damage I sustained was also as great .

I used Iron Wall and Talaria’s Wings to protect my body as much as I could . However, I came to realize that my body was already in shambles .

It is true that the monk was seriously wounded and that made surviving for ten minutes a lot easier, but…

If I didn’t have the Perseverance Skill, I would not have been able to withstand the impact from my own attack and died instead .

I should reflect on this .

Let’s not get excited . Let’s not get excited . Let’s not get excited .

Now, reflection complete .

[Congratulations . You are the first one ever to clear the 13th Floor perfectly . ]

[Receive your rewards . ]

[You cleared the 13th Floor of Hell Difficulty . ]

[All of your wounds will be healed . ]

[You obtained 3000 points as rewards . ]

[You obtained 3000 points for the best clear . ]

[Many Gods are showing positive responses to you . You obtained 8500 points . ]

[Many Gods are showing negative responses to you . You lost 700 points . ]

[Additional rewards will be given based on your play record . ]

[Instead of an additional reward, the God of Adventure would like to gift you with a part of his power . Would you like to accept it?]

Immediately after clearing the stage, when my stamina and mana were recovered, I spread the mana into the surroundings .

Ugh, I finally feel like living .

I spread mana at will and checked the surrounding and my body .

… My face is full of blood .

The blood on my face is still there even after I recovered .

I’ll wipe it off later .

Things were a little different from earlier, when I had the Energy Sensory open .

As I thought, it is not something I can use any time .

Two conditions, the focus and will, needs to be met .

Now that I know how to use it, let’s diligently practice this from now on .

Moreover, Um…

There is a new kind of message that I had never seen before .

It’s saying I should get a reward for clearing the Stage perfectly .

That’s new . I had never seen this kind of message before .

It appeared to be the special message that appears when the challenger clears the extraordinary challenge that’s beyond the clear condition of the stage .

This is different from the conquest clear that falls in the category of design flaw . I think I can treat this as the real ending for the stage .

Also… the God of Adventure wants to gift me an additional reward?

Hasn’t God of Adventure gifted me a Power Skill to me already?

I’ll accept for now .

[You acquired Talaria’s Wings Lv . Max]

What is this?

[Talaria’s Wings (Lv . Max)]

Description: The original skill was put together in haste by the God of Adventure due to time constraint . The God of Adventure reassembled the parts and recreated the skill .

The weaknesses were addressed and new functions were added .

While recreating the skill, the God of Adventure, the creator of the skill, earned the title ‘fool . ’

What was that just now?

He gifted me the Talaria’s Wings again?

I think I should ask Kiri Kiri for a more detailed explanations .

Well then, now…

Master Monk, isn’t there something you are supposed to give me?

[Of course . First, as the reward promised for enduring the first trial…]

About containing will in the mana and delivering it to another, right?

[That’s right . ]

I guess it will be hard for me to use this right now .

[First . I’ll explain how . It seems you figured out what the technique was on your own . ]

For about ten minutes, I earnestly learned the method from the Master Monk .

As I thought, this is a difficult technique .

I think it will take a while before I can actually use it .

[Next, it is the reward for having cleared all of the trials in the 33rd Room . It is a Holy Medicine . It will permanently fortify your body and increase your capacity for mana . If you promise to give me something in return, I can give you a Holy Medicine that’s a little better than this . ]

Something in return?

What is it? Tell me .

[It’s about the medicines you took before you started the trials . ]

Ah, the medicines that constipates?

[Can you give me a little bit of those? In exchange, I’ll give you superior Holy Medicines . ]

I had total of six medicines left .

The constipation medicines were not as precious as the Holy Medicine the Master Monk was offering, which could not be purchased anywhere, even in the store, so I gave him the medicines without hesitation .

[I guess I’ll be all right for the next six years . ]

What do you mean by that?

[Every year, there is an event where a selected monk challenges the first trial in this room which you had just completed . ]

I guess that means the selected monk had been pooping inside the room every year .

[… That’s right . ]

I wish I bought more of the medicines .

Kuhum .

The Master Monk dry coughed and was about to hand me the Holy Medicine . However, he suddenly stopped his hand .

What is this? You didn’t just change your mind, did you?

[Um… This is a first . The God of Duel told me to give you the highest quality of Holy Medicine . ]

The God of Duel did?

Honestly, we don’t get along .

The monk handed me the Holy Medicine . I put it away in the inventory for now and thought about this .

Could I see this as an olive branch gesture?

[God of Slowness is satisfied . ]

[God of Adventure is laughing at someone . ]

[God of Duel is infuriated at someone who is belittling the god .