The Old Man Is So Good at Acting Like a Loser chapter 18

＜ 5. The Strongest Challenger (1) ＞

Kill two more goblins and the cleanup is over. It was a case of finishing the dungeon more easily than any other floor he faced after entering the dungeon.

‘I can’t believe he died here before.’

However, the 8th floor was by no means an easy floor.

The timing of Mandragora’s screams was random, and it was a difficult floor to deal with because of the mix of long and short range monsters.

The reason Andrea was able to easily clear the 8th floor was simple. Having been here before, and…

‘I’ve become very strong.’

…Andrea is stronger than before.

Like any other RPG, ‘Dungeon of Infinity’ was also a gangster level. Even though they ate the ordeal, the level of the goblins on the 8th floor was about 10 at most. He couldn’t be a level 18 opponent for Andrea.

‘Come to think of it, this is the first time I’ve broken the room without summoning Marco since I was able to summon him.’

Read from noble mtl dot com

Now, there was no need to be thirsty for ‘Summoning Marco’ like before. Just like she did just now, Andrea alone can fight against the monsters.

‘…But that doesn’t mean Marco’s value is diminished.’

I had to look to the future rather than the present. Considering that stronger monsters would continue to appear in the future, there was no way that a summoner with the physical ability to smash the head of Cameleos would not be useful.

Read from noble mtl dot com

Now, after only 9 floors, we finally reach the 10th floor. Andrea felt her heart quiver with tension. The 10th floor is where the boss monster appears.

The name Boss is not for nothing. Boss monsters have more vicious and powerful patterns and powers than elite monsters. The elite monsters were also tough, but it made me wonder how to defeat the boss monster with Andrea.

hit. In fact, catching the boss monster with Andrea is also incredibly difficult. Just by reaching the 10th floor, card and item farming was done to a certain extent, so I was able to try it somehow even with a bad character like Andrea.

‘But things are different now.’

The level of the boss monster that appears on the 10th floor is around 15. Even though she has stronger power than her level, it will not be difficult for Andrea, who has been unconventionally farmed and leveled up anyway.

The tension I felt now was tension, including a strange sense of anticipation. How well can he, who is no longer a weakling, fight against the boss monster, and what kind of rewards can he get to become stronger?

‘Let’s not get too excited about it. For now, the ninth floor remains.’

Andrea sighed, left the room, and headed for the next floor.

I didn’t forget to collect the rewards for this floor. The box was a wood-framed treasure chest as it was a floor where normal monsters appeared.

When I opened it, two cards and gold came out.

‘[Normal] Strike (2 cost): The next attack increases the damage dealt to the enemy by 30%.’

‘[Rare] Mana Boost (1 cost): Extinct, Preserve, Gain 3 mana only this turn.’

‘You can get it by choosing only one of the two cards.’

On top of the treasure chest, letters emitting red light came to mind. Due to the effect of the bloody seal, he was able to choose one of the two cards.

The options increased, but Andrea did not worry. As soon as he glanced over, he had already decided which card to choose.

‘Bangta, it’s not a bad card. As long as you reinforce it, you can later use this card to build a slugger deck that goes all-in in one shot. But···.’

Andrea’s hand headed for ‘mana amplification’.

‘I can’t do this card either. It’s the card I need the most right now.’

Mana Amplification was a pretty good card even if it was just used. Andrea, who has a maximum mana of 1, tripled her available mana just by using this card.

However, the true value of this card was in the ‘preservation’ keyword.

Common cards are all gone when the turn passes if you haven’t used them. However, the card with the conservation keyword written on it could still be held even after the turn.

In other words, you can hold this card until you need the most mana and then use it.

Andrea took out ‘Indomitable Will’ from the deck.

‘[Unique] Indomitable Will (3 cost): Extinction, increases all stats by 10 for each enemy facing you during this battle.’

Read from noble mtl dot com

Now you can use Fortitude.

My heart was pounding with excitement. In fact, so far, indomitable will has been nothing more than a curse card. It wasn’t a usable cost, so it only took up space and interfered with the draw.

It was different now. Indomitable Will became the proud key card of Andrea’s deck. Although there was a condition that you must draw Mana Boost first to use it.

Andrea thought in her heart that it would be nice if the monster appeared on the ninth floor. Before facing the boss monster, I wanted to use ‘Indomitable Will’ and experience its performance.

He opened the intermediate map to see which rooms were located downstairs. As I moved along the dotted line from the red circle representing my current location, a question mark was drawn. It was a sign indicating a random event.

Andrea soothed her sorrow. Still, it wasn’t too disappointing. Anyway, after going through the events on the 9th floor, it was the boss monster. It wasn’t bad to experience the performance right away in real life.

The stairs going down from the 8th floor to the 9th floor were unusually long. Occasionally, a faint groan could be heard from beyond the wall.

As the road went far, I had many thoughts. Andrea carefully organized what events could happen on the ninth floor.

‘In the current situation, the best event is an archangel’s blessing or an encounter with a devil. The gambler’s offer has low luck, so it’s better not to come out… It’s not bad to meet an NPC and receive a quest. The worst event when it comes out is, of course, a trap room.’

Unlike the puzzle room, where you can pass safely without solving the puzzle, in the trap room, if you do not solve the trap, you have to get injured or get a big disadvantage.

‘If it’s a trap room that can be solved by rolling your head, there’s no problem. The problem is… a trap room where you have to take damage unconditionally even if you roll your head.’

The design of some of the trap rooms was reminiscent of the murder traps in the movies, which taught us that life is not usually valued.

In the game, important scenes were not directly described because of the sim. However, if Andrea were to enter such a trap room now, she would experience it very vividly and without any censorship.

Just thinking about it gave me goosebumps all over my body. They said that it was inevitable that they would get hurt during battle, but they hated the pain caused by force majeure due to traps.

Andrea inadvertently almost begged me not to come out of the trap room.

‘If you pray not to come out of this damn dungeon, you will definitely come out.’

In order to have a composure that it didn’t matter whether the trap room appeared or not, Andrea made every effort.

The passageway was an ordinary brick passageway with no special features. Andrea hoped that the narration might come in and give information about the ninth floor. I didn’t hear the narration until I passed all the aisles.

Eventually, Andrea arrived at the door without any information. Since they had already arrived, it was meaningless to beg for it to not be a trap room anymore. Andrea opened the door, determined not to be surprised by what came out.

The room was shrouded in total darkness, with not a single ray of light visible.

Andrea hesitated, unable to enter easily. The primal fear of the invisible made it difficult to take a step.

‘What was the event going on in the darkroom?’

I had some guesses, but I wasn’t sure until I went in. Andrea entered the room, feeling helpless.

thud!

The door closed by itself. Complete darkness where not even the slightest light can be seen. Andrea was on the alert for an approaching trap.

Then, blue sparks began to rise from the center of the room.

The spark that spewed tick ticks of fire gradually grew to a larger size. A spark that moves in an irregular trajectory and eventually rotates in an ellipse.

Streams of energy swirling inside the ellipse were revealed.

Andrea knew right away what it was.

‘portal!’

In an instant, my mind went blank. Andrea couldn’t keep her mouth shut and looked at the portal in front of her with devastated eyes.

The ‘portal’ event was an event with an overwhelmingly lower frequency than other events. It only appears once in 15 other events. The reason for the low frequency balance was simple.

Depending on where you arrive by following the portal, the game is completely turned upside down.

Andrea’s plan to advance step by step by catching the boss monster and getting a reward came to nothing.

Still, the developer’s last conscience remained, and the floor beyond the portal was not completely random. The movement range of the portal is plus or minus 10 floors from the floor you are currently on.

That is, if you are on the 9th floor, you will move from the 1st floor to one of the 19th floors.

‘I really don’t want to go in.’

Going back to a floor with a lower number was exhausting, and skipping to a floor with a higher number was dangerous. Andrea thought it would be ideal to proceed without going through the portal.

Fortunately, the portal was not forced to enter. If you enjoy irregular play, you can enter as much as you like, and if you want stable play, you just need to open the door and move on to the next floor.

[Trial stage 17: Certain events turn negative.]

. . . Players below the 17th ordeal level.

There was no exit from the room where Andrea was now. The only way out of the room is through the portal in the middle.

Andrea had no choice but to enter the portal.

‘Please arrive on a floor not far away.’

The feeling of going through the portal was a bit hazy. Andrea thought it was similar to the time she took cold medicine and took a nap.

The moment I arrived, I was blown away. As soon as Andrea got out, the sparks dwindled and the portal quickly disappeared.

Andrea looked around carefully. The surroundings were completely different from the dungeons he had seen before.

The wall, which had been desolate with only bricks piled up, was painted silver-gray, and the opposite side opened like a balcony toward the outside.

A thick misty rain was falling over the railing. I looked down but couldn’t see anything because of the thick fog.

The scenery that could be seen underground was unimaginable. However, the appearance of a wide space where even weather phenomena occur was common as you go higher up.

After walking a little, the passage ended and a grand hall appeared. Andrea entered the arched middle gate and the row of colonnades.

Between the colonnades were stone statues of strange creatures with dog heads and bird wings.

‘As expected… Seeing those guys appear…’

Andrea knew where this place was from the beginning. I just didn’t want to believe that the reality in front of me was real.

He opened the map with trembling hands.

There was a red circle on the regular monster mark on the 19th floor.

A slight vibration arose from the stone statues. As Andrea looked, dust flew and the statues began to move.

Andrea opened the deck. However, he wondered if he would be able to survive against level 30 gargoyles.

＜ 5. The Strongest Challenger (1) ＞ End