＜ 10. There are no bad dogs (7) ＞
In conclusion, I was stuck.
The iron grate and the earth crusher’s hammer were assimilated into one, like a modern art installation.
It was a glitch I’ve seen from time to time. When it was freshly updated, there were often cases where the textures overlapped like this because the bugs were not caught. Andrea went from the first floor to the waiting room on a similar principle.
There was only one big difference between then and now, and it was that the stuck object did not fall out.
Even when she first saw it, Andrea thought complacently, ‘This is how it works’. However, when I made the Earth Shredder’s hammer into a card again, I couldn’t help but be embarrassed to see it still stuck in the middle of the grate.
“Uh… what is it? What do you do with this?”
Even when I hammered the card again, it was stuck, and when I turned the hammer into a card again, it was stuck. Andrea’s complexion grew darker and darker.
“What is it?”
Tricia came over after watching her bewildered for a while. She, too, couldn’t help but be taken aback by the surreal sight of two seemingly unrelated objects merging.
“…How the hell did this happen?”
“Hmm… it’s because the spirit of experimentation was a bit strong.”
Of course, Trisha couldn’t find the right solution either.
‘I gave this to Mr. Marco as a gift… If I lose it like this, how will I look at Mr. Marco’s face?’
Let alone getting the treasure, I couldn’t just donate a valuable rare piece of equipment and leave. Andrea thought that for a while, she shouldn’t summon Marco so that he wouldn’t notice.
Andrea frowns and agonizes over the cause and solution.
‘Considering that equipment and objects did not overlap in normal cases, I think that bar is probably the problem… Because it’s under magic? It doesn’t seem like that… Then maybe it’s because it’s an object that disappears when the puzzle is solved?’
Since the bar is a moving object, not a fixed object, I didn’t know that it could overlap with normal background objects when the equipment is summoned.
Thinking so, the solution was simple. All you have to do is make the bars disappear. And there was only one way to make the bars disappear.
To solve the puzzle by hitting the ball into the bowl.
Suddenly, the pressure multiplied several times. Andrea overturned the jars and counted how many balls there were in each.
6 red balls, 8 blue balls, 3 green balls, and 11 miscellaneous colored balls.
Other than that, the green ball was a bit of a problem. Even if you put all the other balls in, if you can’t put the green ball in 3 chances, it’s a joke.
Andrea rolled her hair.
“Tricia, could you thread a ball through the tip of an arrow and put it in a bowl?”
“Uh… But then you can’t retrieve the arrow, right?”
“ah.”
It was an unreasonable method because the number of arrows that Trisha had was not that great. I don’t know if it will work or not, and considering that I had to shoot quite a few arrows just to get a feel for it, it was a very costly method.
‘If it were a swamp, I would have just frozen it in the polar dawn and put the ball in, but it’s an acidic solution, so that doesn’t work…’
Even if the sword body didn’t melt completely, it was obvious that it would be damaged considerably. Andrea eventually came to the conclusion that direct throwing was the only answer.
“Tricia, come here. I think you’ll throw better than me…”
Shooting an arrow and throwing a ball were two completely different things, but the sense of distance would be better anyway, so I called Trisha. First, I tried to practice with balls of various colors so that I could learn the sense.
“Oh.”
“ah!”
“Um… ah, this isn’t easy.”
Only 1 out of 4 attempts went into the bowl. It was not a bad success rate for the first time, but considering the stakes, it was an uneasy probability.
However, thinking about it, I didn’t know if I didn’t have to leave it to Trisha.
‘Wait, isn’t it the most important thing to feel how much the ball is tilted in the end and what trajectory it will reach?’
Unlike the game, Andrea judged that she had lost the sense of throwing the ball, but in fact it was not. His senses are so developed that he can sense the tracks of monsters even in normal times, and he even has a way to amplify that sense.
‘It’s kind of funny to borrow the power of the Shadow God just to throw a ball, but…’
It was so big that I couldn’t help it. Andrea opened the deck and took out the shadow imprint and used it.
The pain digging into the back of my hand, I’m used to it now, so there was no way I wouldn’t mind. Tolerance to pain is usually not a numbness, it’s just a deepening of patience. Andrea closed her eyes, swallowed a moan, and picked up the ball.
I felt it when I opened my eyes.
How far the ball will extend when you throw it with the current angle and current power. The throw trajectory and landing area didn’t appear as kindly drawn as grenades do in some games, but Andrea could definitely feel it.
‘This is enough.’
Andrea confidently picked up the red ball and tossed it toward the red bowl. The ball settled into the bowl drawing a smooth parabola.
Andrea felt impatient. It had to be finished before this sharp concentration wavered. As soon as you pick up the blue ball, throw it again.
The blue ball also entered the bowl, drawing a nearly identical trajectory to the previous parabola. Trisha glanced at Andrea with an admiring glance from the side.
“What, why did you make me do it when you’re going to do it so well?”
I didn’t even have time to answer. Andrea immediately picked up the green ball and threw it at the green bowl.
The trajectory of the ball is almost the same as before. Andrea was pretty sure the ball would go into the bowl, and his prediction was right.
However, the green ball did not land in the bowl and bounced out. The green balls that fell into the acidic solution melted as they were, producing bubbling bubbles.
‘what? Is it a bug?’
It wasn’t a bug. It’s just that Tricia hit the ball she put in first when she was practicing and the ball bounced out.
‘No, what a dog-like coincidence…’
Andrea let out a sigh and rubbed her forehead. There were only two chances left. Andrea picked up the green ball and aimed it carefully at the bowl.
If I did it with the same sense as before, there was a risk of being thrown out again. As if adjusting the zero point, he finely adjusted the position and power of his fingers holding the ball, and fired a shot with the determination that this was his last chance. Trisha’s eyes followed the ball as it flew across the acid.
Fortunately, I didn’t have to pick up the last green ball. The green ball did not bounce and landed neatly in the bowl.
Tsurreung –
The iron grate opened. Andrea immediately turned her head. What was more important than the unknown reward was what happened to the hammer.
Fortunately, the hammer was safely separated without being accompanied by the iron bars.
“Whew…”
Andrea was able to let out a long sigh of relief.
I learned a valuable lesson thanks to you. Sometimes you have to learn to be patient even if your curiosity boils over. It was a lesson that made me question whether I could keep it in the future.
I exchanged the Earth Shredder’s hammer for a card and retrieved it, and opened the treasure chest. Quite salty gold, some combination materials, and a card appeared.
‘[Rare] Arrow of Explosion (3 Cost): Creates an arrow that causes a small explosion.’
Trisha, who was watching over her shoulder, was ecstatic as soon as she saw the card.
“Oh, this was the card I used the most!”
‘Explosive Arrow’ is a very useful card. This is because it is one of the few range skills of hunters that can only have a single attack, and it can be used in combination with other arrow enhancement cards. If you use this card well, you can blow a blow of enormous damage or an area of status abnormality.
The only problem is merciless cost. Because of the high cost of 3 cost, it was actually a card that was not easy to use alone, let alone stacked, without reinforcement. As of Trisha’s current situation, she won’t be able to use it unless it’s for one turn to get extra mana from the rainbow lantern.
Trisha looked closely at Andrea, as if she didn’t want to give up on this card. Andrea struggled for a while and eventually handed the card over to Trisha.
“Write carefully. Unlike when you were fighting alone, Marco and I could be damaged by the explosion now.”
“Are you afraid I’ll close my eyes and shoot?”
“…I’m saying this out of an old woman’s heart. Hmm… Right now I don’t have many opportunities to use it because of the cost.”
Trisha put the cards into the deck, humming a song that seemed to be in a good mood. All of the recently acquired cards had ambiguous performance, and Andrea had made it impossible for them to be added, but they seemed proud of their income after a long time.
‘What kind of cards did you have a hard time collecting…’
If he was in the game, he would have completed one of the achievements of collecting cards faster than anyone else. Andrea shook her head and examined the ingredients in the box.
The leaves of the radish plant, the horns of a gray-white goat, and the meat of a bear beetle. These were pretty rare ingredients. When I saw these materials, one thing came to my mind.
Most players don’t even think about making it, but Andrea has made it and carried it with her many times. With just a couple of ingredients added, ‘the thing’ could be made.
‘I wonder if I have to make it even now.’
There were minor incidents, but if you did this, you could get a decent reward. Andrea put on a satisfied expression and headed for the exit. Trisha also chased after Andrea.
The next floor was an elite monster. Now that he had the Earthshatter’s hammer back, he could call on Marco without hesitation.
Andrea summoned Marco, gave an evasive explanation about what had happened in the puzzle room, and informed him that he was going to hunt elite monsters.
Marco nodded and asked a question.
“Didn’t you figure out what kind of monster it was?”
“Um…well. I can roughly guess, but…”
The speculation, which had only been guesswork, became closer to certainty the closer to the 35th floor. The heat, which had only been slightly warm, grew hotter and hotter as we went deeper, and in front of the entrance it became hot enough to burn our fingers even if we touched the wall.
Tricia said while fanning her palms.
“It is really filthy hot. What, is a fire spirit coming out?”
“Fire spirits don’t appear on the 30th floor. The only spirits on the 30th floor are the spirits of thunder.”
“Then do you know what the monster on this floor is?”
“Everyone knows.”
I knew what was going to happen and I already knew how to attack it. Andrea couldn’t hold back her laughter.
‘To meet this elite monster here, you’re incredibly lucky.’
Once inside, Trisha and Marco looked at Andrea, waiting for instructions on what to do. Contrary to their expectations, however, as planned, there was actually no specific instruction on this floor.
‘No, but… I’ll have to prepare for the case that this strategy doesn’t work.’
I had to think carefully. Because reality and games are not completely the same. There was a simple solution in the game, but nothing bad in case it didn’t work.
Andrea summoned Trisha and Marco and gave them a rough description of the monster. The two nodded nervously as they listened to Andrea’s explanation.
However, after Andrea had finished all the explanations, with just one word, she made the previous statement useless.
“But, Marco-san, I don’t think there will be any particular summoning of Marco-san. Once Trisha enters, don’t do anything and stay still.”
It’s not just a monster, it’s such a powerful elite monster, how can you stay still?
Both of them were bewildered by the unknown request, but nodded anyway. Andrea must have a reason for saying that.
Andrea reverse summoned Marco and opened the door. The blazing heat from the 35th floor poured into the aisle like water.
＜ 10. There are no bad dogs (7) ＞ End