138 – Tower Of Trials 5Th Floor_Explosive Knot -2
The appearance of the Explosive Knot accelerated the conquest of the 5th floor.
Sometimes an unintended rocket punch would come out, but it was a risk that could be taken in the Tower of Trials. The important thing was that it could keep up with Jay’s speed.
The radical acceleration made it possible to preempt the aftermath. It wasn’t the result of some mysterious martial art principle, but the result of using rocket propulsion…but it could almost certainly block Jay’s first move.
After that, it was a matter of tactics.
It was necessary to break down and analyze the pattern, deal with the movement, and find a sophisticated series of actions that would accumulate damage while blocking the draw.
And the master of such tactics was here. Luna Sterry, the queen of the Tower of Trials, with her overwhelming analytical skills, tenacity, and first-class mindset.
“One more time.”
“I understand!”
“I’m dying…”
But oh my!
Luna could enjoy it even if she had to repeat it for ten hours, but the weak pseudo-martial artist and the Red Tower wizard did not.
As time passed and the tries were repeated, about fifteen hours had passed in real time.
“One more time.”
“Oh, oh, I understand. We’ll do it one more time.”
“…I’m dying…”
My colleague is broken.
Luna put her hands on her waist with a full of dissatisfaction and made a heartbroken expression, but that doesn’t mean that her broken colleague will be repaired. They needed a break.
Or, they needed something to replace the break.
Luna’s brain was logically fitting together. Judging from the progress of the conquest, it was worth a try if the specs could be supplemented a little more. It would be nice if I could pick up a free artifact rolling around on the street.
I needed a combat supplement that even a poor student could easily get, and Luna knew where to buy it.
“Doping.”
“…What are you talking about?”
“Let’s take medicine.”
It’s the academy black market.
—- —-
Three people walked side by side in the basement of the academy.
Luna led the way in the middle, Envers’ heart pounded with boiling adventure, and Selvia thought that if she used explosion magic in such a narrow space, everyone would die.
A damp cave where moisture seemed to seep out of the walls when you ran your palm over them. The only light source was the occasional lamppost.
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“…There was such a place.”
“Who on earth made such a cave?”
“Senior. Maybe.”
It must have been a very distant senior.
There are many secrets in the academy.
Not only is it special, but it is also a place where all kinds of eccentrics gather, so there are many accidents and incidents. This is especially true because most of the fables are accompanied by mental illness.
When crazy people get together, something happens.
Among the many secrets born in this way, there was also a secret bar built in a damp underground cave. It was originally a place for moonshine during the prohibition era in the academy.
It has now been transformed into a place that sells various drugs with low reliability but also low prices.
“You said you sell medicine. What kind of medicine do you sell?”
“Almost everything.”
Luna pointed here and there with her index finger to give an example. Night vision drugs, mana amplification, increased thinking speed, increased strength, and aphrodisiacs.
Envers jumped up.
“…Don’t point your finger at my crotch!”
“Like this?”
“Don’t point with your palm, just don’t point anything this way.”
“You’re annoying.”
While Luna’s point that it doesn’t wear out if you point it out a little, and Envers’ skit that my mind is wearing out, Selvia tilted her head slightly and said.
“Isn’t there an alchemy shop upstairs? Do you have to buy drugs in such a damp place?”
“Quality, this is better.”
“Hmm…”
If so, it was even more suspicious. It seemed that there was some evil and creepy intention to hide and sell good quality drugs, no matter how you thought about it.
And also.
“…It smells similar.”
It smelled like home.
Selvia’s hometown, Sanjebi Village, was never a good place. There was no such thing as friendship or bonds between neighbors, and many things were happening under the name of custom. It can be summed up in the word evil.
There are two things a human being who falls into a black lake can do. Drown or become a water ghost.If it hadn’t been for her childhood friend, whose whereabouts are currently unknown, Selvia would have also become a ‘villager’. However.
With a strange sense of reluctance, Selvia accompanied her with an uncomfortable feeling.
Perhaps sensing her mood, Luna spoke to her in a soothing voice.
“Don’t worry, it’s fine. The person running it is a high-ranking person.”
“…?”
“The owner of the dungeon, the Third Prince.”
“…!!”
The Third Prince of the Empire, who is currently enrolled in the academy, Sredo Crown. Is he saying that he is the owner of this place?
Luna seemed to want to say, ‘Since it’s a facility run by such a high-ranking person, even the suspiciously cheap drugs are probably just a rich man’s whim.’
Envers also seemed to relax strangely, and the tension in his shoulders eased. However, Selvia smiled as if she understood──but she was convinced that she had to tell someone.
The woman running the secret tavern was wearing a hood over her head. Despite being covered, she had a voluptuous figure and a seductive voice that was tinged with coquettishness.
“Oh my, welcome. It’s been a while since you’ve visited…?”
“Doping. The kind that enhances physical abilities.”
“I understand that the academy’s performance evaluation is next month… Are you going to take on a commission? Or are you planning to take care of someone in the dead of night?”
The woman tried to subtly find out what it was for, but Luna waved her hand. It meant to bring the goods. She nodded.
“I just happened to get some good stuff in…”
She took out the drugs from the shelf and lined them up on the table. Selvia gasped in surprise. Sure enough, the quality here was even better than the alchemy shop at the academy.
It was comparable to the alchemy workshops in the capital, which were so expensive that she couldn’t even think of buying them.
Catching her reaction, the woman smiled under her hood and handed her a small box. It was a pillbox that was just big enough to fit a thumb.
“If you’re looking for something a little more effective, how about this one? It’s excellent. It’s something that a famous alchemist produces in small quantities as a hobby after retiring⋯⋯.”
“I don’t need it. Give me this.”
“…Yes, thank you for your purchase.”
Luna cut off the woman’s sales pitch and bought the doping she had originally intended to buy. Then, as if her business was done, she coolly left the passageway.
Envers, who was obsessed with strength, was carried away by the talk of a special drug, but he couldn’t take his eyes off the pillbox.
Selvia felt an inexplicable sense of nostalgia from the ‘special drug’ and left the place with a shiver.
The three fish had escaped from the fishing line.
However, the bait would still be dangling.
—- —-
It was a transaction that looked like they were buying something they shouldn’t from a drug dealer, but what Luna brought back was a proper doping agent. It was made mixing by various beneficial potions, and it increased overall physical abilities.
It could cause some mild hallucinations, but that was a debuff that would disappear cleanly after visiting a priest once. It was a good drug with almost no risk.
However, Envers became addicted to doping.
“This… is the power of drugs? I’ve been living without this good stuff, I feel like I’ve wasted half my life!”
“Control yourself.”
“If I keep taking drugs like this, then I’ll be able to return to the mansion sooner than expected!!”
“I said, control yourself.”
Envers’ excitement didn’t seem to subside. Luna and Selvia looked at each other. If they left him alone like that… it seemed like he would go downstairs and buy the ‘special drug’ right away.
Luna regretted it a little.
She wanted to buy something good for her body cheaply and feed it to her party members, and run through the Tower of Trials for 25 hours without rest. She didn’t want to make anyone addicted to drugs.
Of course, she thought that anyone who wasn’t an idiot would be wary of drug abuse and consume it in moderation, so she introduced him to the black market. In retrospect, Envers had a bit of an idiot in him.
“What should we do?”
“…Let’s clear the 5th floor when the drug wears off and think about it then? We’ll take turns watching him.”
“…Okay.”
Luna looked at Envers with worried eyes.
He was someone who could match her desire to conquer about half the time, so it would be a shame if he were to ruin himself. He usually hated doing the 12-hour consecutive challenge.
If possible, she would like to continue to be close to him in the future.
“Call out to Jay! I fear nothing-!!”
“Oh dear.”
For now, the priority is to conquer. Hoping that he would find his composure while fighting, Luna jumped into the Tower of Trials with her party members.
“‘Explosive Knot’!”
Paang──!!
Envers’ right arm shot out and blocked Jay’s sword draw. All tactics stem from this point.
The clear conditions are as follows:
1) Block the sword draw.
2) Capture.
So the first goal is always to block the sword draw.
In the early stages of the trial, there was a time when we split the roles of ‘blocking the sword draw’ and ‘dealing damage’. Envers and Selvia were in charge of the attack, and Luna was in charge of blocking the sword draw .
There were incidents such as the ally’s death or Selvia’s fireball turning Envers into a Halloween party, but repetition leads to stability. In the end, the sum was correct.
Nevertheless, there was one thing missing. It was the problem of changing direction.
To block the sword draw, you need to be in front of Jay as much as possible. It was difficult and difficult to block the sword draw from behind.
This is because the Explosive Knot was a linear martial art.
If you try to use the Explosive Knot’s explosive acceleration in a clever curve, you could see the magic of your arm instantly becoming a rag. That’s why it was more stable to hit it head-on.
If Jay turns around, there’s a problem. To face him, Envers and Luna have to run at least four or five steps.
Even without that, there was a speed gap between Jay and the students. In a situation where even the movement is unfavorable, there is no way to catch up.
So the tactic that was born was.
Sword draw blockade, damage: Envers, Luna
Long-range firepower projection: Selvia
Hit.
The person in front somehow blocks the sword draw and holds on. The person in the back restricts Jay’s movement, and at the same time, puts pressure on him and hits him.
The only way out was a hit that interlocked like gears.
“…!!”
When you hear your elbow, it’s a sign of iron mountain collapse. The strange power that gushes out of the skinny body is enough to push away the person who was hit.
If you are pushed away, you cannot block the sword draw. So Luna, who is in the back, has to help.
“‘Explosive Knot’.”
Toong──!!
Luna’s low kick accelerated Envers’ Explosive Knot, which was more stable than his. He kicked Jay’s chin and knocked down his lower body balance. If the lower body collapses, the iron mountain collapse will not be effective.
Puck!
Envers was pushed back slightly. Jay shook him off and tried to draw his sword, but the distance was within the Explosive Knot’s cover range.
The advantage of the Explosive Knot is that it can be fired even if your posture collapses.
Envers reached out his palm while being pushed back and aimed at Jay’s sword handle. And he exploded his magic power to break the joint.
“‘Explosive Knot’──!”
Bang──!!
Envers’ arm was fired, and his body, which was connected to his arm, was dragged away. The flesh of his shoulder and elbow was torn from the inside, and blood flowed out.
Turup.
However, the sword draw was definitely blocked.
It was a poor technique compared to Luna, who fired the Explosive Knot with almost no damage due to the rough use of magic power, but it was the best for Envers, whose magic organ was damaged. And it was enough.
Thanks to the doping, I could fire seven more times in the future──!
Jay turned his back. He judged that he could not draw his sword if he was in front of Envers.
But it was a bad move. Luna had a prepared technique.
“‘Explosive Knot: Chain’.”
It’s like a trick to hit with the power of your whole body. However, all the rotational force of the joints is added to the thrust of the Explosive Knot.
Bang. Bang. Bang!!
Accelerate with a small explosion from the tip of the foot.
From the ankle, knee, pelvis, waist, and shoulder, he punched with an unimaginable amplification rate. It was a wonderful uppercut that was shot at a speed that made his fist look blurry.
Ugh──!!
Jay’s jaw was forcibly closed and snapped upwards.
Groggy.
A momentary stagger caused by a powerful blow. Here, Selvia spits out the last syllable of the spell she had memorized in advance.
“Explode and die, ‘Peony Bomb’!!”
Kwang――!!
Envers and Luna simultaneously lowered their postures. Selvia’s fire arrow hit Jay’s head directly and exploded. A hot heat rose.
This ends one cycle.
Through the smoke from the explosion, Jay’s eyes, who was not yet dead, flashed. His stamina was still quite high. So the battle must continue.
“──Run away from me!”
Jay of the swordsmanship revealed his fangs and put strength into his hand holding the katana. It was impossible to tell whether he was trying to draw his sword or put it away.Ooh-ooh.
But after the katana let out a loud cry.
Hee-hee.
The katana’s blade slightly emerged with an eerie sound from its scabbard.
Kwoong-! Clack!
Luna applied the Explosive Seal, kicking the katana back in as if she were stomping on it. Jay reached out to grab Luna’s ankle.
Enbus wrapped his arms around Jay’s bicep from behind. However, Jay’s strength was far superior, and he could not stop his advancing hand.
So, it’s a reverse thrust.
“Kyaaa── 『Explosive Seal』!!”
Bang, boom──!!
He detonated the Explosive Seal in the opposite direction, while holding onto Jay’s bicep. He exchanged his strength for the resulting propulsive force.
That created a 1-second stalemate.
Luna used the katana’s handle as a footrest and kicked Jay in the jaw. Her attack power was lacking, so she repeatedly targeted only his vital points.
They clashed. Continuously, relentlessly.
Jay’s fate, caught in the gears of an infinitely challenging machine, was one of two things. Either he would endure the rotation and live, or he would eventually be crushed to death.
They fought fiercely for 20 minutes.
When Enbus and Luna had one of their limbs disabled, Jay fell to his knees, bleeding profusely.
“…Th, thank you.”
Because his jaw had been repeatedly targeted and crushed, Jay could not properly utter the words, ‘Thank you for freeing me from the cursed sword.’
However, thanks to the crazed magician’s desperate acting, his feelings were conveyed. Barely⋯⋯!
Cleared the 5th floor of the Tower of Trials.
—- —-
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Selvier looked at the 6th floor and said firmly.
“This is it. Call someone.”
“W, what if we take some kind of special medicine.”
“Quack.”
“Do you think you’ll beat Bennett if you dope yourself? No, you won’t. And Bennett couldn’t even break the top floor of the tower. Get a grip!”
Enbus was depressed by the baptism of merciless facts. Luna tried to give him a comforting pat, but instead raised her middle finger as punishment for Enbus’s obsession with drugs.
While Enbus was sulking, Selvier approached Niole.
After hearing that there was some hidden content in the Tower of Trials, and that its theme was to relieve the grudges of those trapped in the tower, Niole immediately reported it to Bennett and Tara.
The Saintess’s party gathered in front of the Tower of Trials, fully armed.
Their equipment had been significantly upgraded.
As they had been gradually expanding their position in the Goddess’s Order, they had looted the Order’s warehouse each time and used it as their party’s assets.
Because Niole was wrapped in the Order’s confiscated goods, she looked like an ominous black magician in some ways. She also carried a large skull staff.
The visuals of the magic she used were also designed to ‘demoralize the enemy’ under the influence of the session, to the extent that rumors spread that the Saintess’s party included a reformed black magician, and that she was a busty woman.
In addition, she was able to speak frequently through a small skull summoner. However, the sound quality was not very good, so when the three of them were talking, they still used the telepathy tool.
Bennett was surrounded by paladin artifacts, giving him the appearance of a hero from any angle. His pure white armor went well with his glowing sword, Guardian.
Tara’s outfit had not changed. However, several accessories had been added, making her look a little more vulgar. She knew it herself. She was also embarrassed.
However, in order to win the appeal contest against the demanding Niole, some sacrifices were necessary.
“Are you the ones who found the Hidden Piece?”
“Y, yes, yes…”
Enbus shrank like a firefly in front of the sun. Bennett spoke to Enbus’s party with a lively expression.
“Explain it to me. Tell me what happened in detail.”
“We’re not your subordinates, Bennett.”
“…I apologize. It’s just a habit. I don’t think of you that way. However, this matter is very important to me. Please be respectful. Will you explain it to me?”
-Bennett, you’re getting good at sweet-talking! You look great today too.
“It’s only natural for the Saintess’s escort knight. You look really cool today too.”
Ogle, ogle.
Selvier frowned. She was about to say that they were just being annoying, but she held back because they were stronger than her. It was so sad to be weak.
Please make them pay four times the taxes. Selvier prayed in her heart, then went on to tell the story of the Tower of Trials.Veneto thought with a serious expression and then blurted out.
“This is not fake.”
“…Do you also think that illusion magic is real?”
“On the contrary. You guys are mistaking reality for illusion magic. Because that’s the crazy wizard’s trick. I also thought it was just a training facility at first…”
Veneto thought that the crazy wizard, a dimensional wizard, had reconstructed the faces he had encountered while traveling to other dimensions. The residents of the tower, who repeated the same lines, felt similar to golems.
However, now that the beggar on the 8th floor was influencing the academy students and sharing knowledge of the other world.
Can’t you see the clear intention?
Just as the crazy wizard had sent Veneto’s party to save the other world / and crush the evil spirit summoning that was about to happen at the academy.
This time too, has it not been connected to a new other world? Isn’t this a sign to fend off a threat? That’s what he came to think.
Veneto looked at the crumpled Envers.
“…”
“…”
…Are you okay?
No, yes, there must be something. He has a distant way of thinking that transcends the category of human. Just as he had chosen Veneto, who was a black wizard, that guy must also have something hidden.
Then I’ll help.
“I’ll help until we leave the academy.”
At Veneto’s words, Selvier tilted his head.
“…Huh, Niole. Where are you going?”
-Ah, I was invited to the Eastern Front. By the 1st Princess…
The temporary party member joined the Trial Tower attack team.