Garami's PoV:
...The rumbles have subsided... *Bonk!*
Ouch! Okay, now they've subsided. Stupid rock...
I'm currently on the 4th floor. The entrance to the 2nd floor was on the opposite side of my location when the bombs were starting to go off after all, so I went the opposite way. It worked, and it was a good thing. I'd most likely not reached the exit before the bombs had gone off. I barely managed to reach deep enough into this floor to escape the blast.
I'm just glad the whole place didn't collapse on me. Think I've used up all my luck for the rest of my life this time around.
I didn't even have the time to look out for monsters while I ran down here! It's a good thing they must have fled from the imminent explosion. You can't diss animal instincts... or is it "monster instincts"?
*Clonk*
And something suddenly appeared in front of me. What's this? Some kinda treasure chest...?
SYSTEM MESSAGE:
You have acquired your quest rewards for the quest: [Cutting the Water-Knot, Part 3].
You have acquired the skill: [Dreamlike Form Lv.1].
Conditions confirmed. The bonus reward has been acquired.
You have acquired "Lusalki's Selected Potion-Set".
The quest reward...oh! Now I get it. The chest must be that MVP-ish reward for the 3rd-floor quest! Yeah, I guess I am sorta responsible for pushing the button and making the whole place go sky-high. Does destroying the whole floor give you bonus points?
There is nobody nearby, so I do have the chance to have a look at this stuff. First things first: the skill.
Skill: Dreamlike Form Skill Type: Passive Skill Skill Tier: 1 Attribute: --- Effect:
* Prevents disfigurement of the user's bodily shape.
* Prevents the user from growing fat, loss of muscles, unclean skin, and more.
* Higher skill levels grant more protection against these kinds of stagnations.
Hmm...a diet warrior's best friend? I'm not that busy on such stuff, but it doesn't hurt having it, I guess.
Then there's the treasure chest. The "Lusalki's Selected Potion-Set". After opening it, I saw that the inside of the chest is divided into 10 "slots" or "sections", each with what I can only call a potion bottle inside. Each of them had a nameplate that listed what I'd guess be the name of some potion, plus some numbers.
I tried picking up one of the bottles and saw that the number changed. Oh, now I get it. It's showing how many bottles there are in each section. There's also something that looks like an "upper-limit" value next to the number showing the total amount. As for the contents of the chest, we got...? Hmm? Am I seeing this right?
1. Lesser HP Potion: 10/100
2. Lesser MP Potion: 10/100
3. Lesser SP Potion: 10/100
4. HP Potion: 5/50
5. MP Potion: 5/50
6. SP Potion: 5/50
7. Beautification Cream: 10/20
8. Diet Drink: 10/20
9. Blister Remover: 5/20
10. Distilled Hydra Poison (Small): 3/3
...okay, the first 6 entries are easy enough to understand. The beautification cream seems to be a beauty product of some sort. I don't use that stuff. I mean, I'm a demon, remember? And I can distinctive remember that I didn't use it in my last life too...I think.
As for the diet drink, it seems to be something that helps you lose weight, but do I even need that when I got my newest skill? Besides, even if I can use the Kigal-Note to get the basic info about this stuff, I don't know their "Quality", the stat that shows how well the item performs. The Blister Remover seems good..., except that I have an exoskeleton. Can I even get blisters?
And finally, it's you! Suspicious beverage #1!! Heck, can this stuff even be drunk!? It's the poison of a goddamned hydra!! Why's this part of the reward?! Even the Kigal-Note's saying it's a dangerous substance that could give you a life sentence just by carrying it!!
...w-well, it's not like people can see what I have in my Storage...right?
Let's forget those bottles of hazardous, biochemical (natural) goop and decide what I should do from now on. No doubt that the upper floors are completely impossible to travel through now. That is if someone starts digging up the place again. And seeing as several groups have visited already, it's a fair chance that those on the outside may do the digging job for me if I give them time...
Yes, let's play the slacker and wait. It's better than doing it myself. I'd need the blister remover for real if I tried moving all those rocks on my own. Exoskeleton or no skeleton.
In the meanwhile, let's take a look at the quest related to this floor. Better than doing nothing.
Quest: Cutting the Water-Knot, Part 4 Quest giver: World System Administration Quest Description:
The 4th floor of the "Water-Knot of Glavras" doubles as a special water transportation pipeline. While the intent behind its existence is still unknown, it can't be any good. Crush it just to be safe.
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Quest Content:
1. Destroy the waterwork tunnels of the "Water-Knot of Glavras" Dungeon's 4th floor.
2. Bonus points are obtained based on the level of destruction.
Rewards:
* Skill: [Riding] (participation prize)
* 5 AP ("Great Destruction" bonus prize)
MORE DESTRUCTION!? Just how much does this "World System Administration" group hate this Dungeon? Rather, how's a weakling like me supposed to blow up a... K-N, can I use those bombs I snatched before? They've not blown up inside my Storage or something?
Answer. The bombs taken from the Machinerz are likely usable if they receive a big impact.
Bashing them into the walls? No, throwing them is better. I'll stay clear from the blast range by doing that. The question is, where should I go if I wanna maximize these things? ...K-N?
Answer. This unit does not have access to maps of this floor.
Maaaaan. An auto-mapping function had been golden now.
Suggestion. It is not necessary of locating any weak spots in the floor's construction. Instead, it is more recommended to look for areas where owner Garami can safely launch the bombs without getting caught in the destruction-
...fair point. Let's go and search for safe boom places! Ya-hooo!!
---
...hello again. It's been six days since the "big bang" of the 3rd floor and I think I know where to slam the bombs at. A big hive.
No, seriously! The roaches from my first time on this floor have made a new nest! It's a huge cave such as the first one they were inhabiting, with random entrances at the very top of the place even when the roaches aren't able to reach here. I still don't get the meaning behind this construction, but once again, it's gonna be helpful for me. And no, it's not the same place as before. I'm not that stupid. The wall that those water-spiders broke (after I weakened it) isn't here, for one.
And the roaches have evolved. The small types I saw before are still there, but now they got some macho-looking humanoid-shaped ones that seem to be 2 meters high at the very least. And no, I'm not gonna take a closer look at them! They're disgusting even from this distance!!
And the worst is the truck-sized, queen-ant-like roach. I'm dubbing that one the "ugly queen". It feels like it's a queen-type bug. And I'm gonna lose my breakfast...ugh...
Yeah, I'm gonna blow this place into the next week. Even if I don't clear the quest, I'll still feel like having done the world a favor. And I should be getting some EXP from blasting these guys into pieces...okay, that's a disgusting thought.
And how am I supposed to get rid of these abominations? Getting the roof to fall onto them. I've prepared an escape route from my viewpoint to the roach nest, so getting outta here's not a problem. The only thing that's needed now is-
*Thump*
TOO DAMN CLOSE!! What the-!? How did-!?
*THUMP!*
And back-step! Speed always beats macho any day!
In case someone's not following, I almost got ambushed there. It's one of those macho-roaches. Ugh, it's more disgusting up-close.
I quickly Identified the bug while it was busy looking at its fist in confusion and saw it owned some hiding-type skills. You know, like my own [Lurk] and [Optical Camoflage] that I'm using right now. His skills seem to be more related to the passive [Lurk] than the active [Optical Camoflage]. That must be the reason why I didn't notice it until now. Too bad his "presence" turned too thick when he tried to attack me.
The musclehead finally realized that I wasn't squashed and went onto a rampage! Hey, this tunnel's not big for that kinda mess! Go to a dance hall if you want to bust out some moves!
Argh, how am I supposed to beat this guy? He's got STR and VIT up in the 200s! And all its other stats, except for the magic-related ones, are over 100 at the very least! He's beating me in SPD. This is a new challenge, fighting something that I know is faster than me.
...but it's not better than me when it comes to INT...
I ran to the opening to the roach cave and threw a small rock I'd picked up at the muscle roach. The roach took 0 damage! I hate my weak self...
But I got his attention, so I did something I'd normally consider crazy: I turned off the stealth skills.
Oh-no. I-was-spotted. What-ever-should-I-do?
...yeah, I'm not getting any Oscar prizes. But the bug's coming at me, just as planned. ...yes, I DO have a plan! Just watch! Spider-web, go!
As the bug rushed at me, probably boosted by that [Rush Tackle] skill I saw on his skill list, I threw some webbing on the floor. You see, there's a funny thing regarding this [Spider's Thread] skill. It lets you customize the silk you spin to a certain degree. I can't make it start emitting electricity or make it fireproof or something, but altering its stickiness is quite possible. To the point where I could reverse it.
The bug kept on charging and stepped onto the "slippery threads" I'd painted the floor with, causing him to lose his foothold and stumble. I moved out of his way and let him fall to whatever was behind me. And while doing so, I created sticky threads to compensate for the stuff I used on the floor and slapped them on his face. Along with three special presents.
Yup. You guessed right. Those were the bombs. And they're away! Or rather, heading down!
Since the macho-mass of muscles was so kind to me and brought the bomb for a head-on collision course with the ground, I decided to leave the job to him and flee the scene before the big-
*BANG!!*
Crap, that was faster than I...the cave's starting to collapse. Were the bombs too powerful, or was this place too weak?
Not that it mattered, since I can already see the exit. Away I go!
I did a diving jump out of the tunnels and got out to safety. A few minutes later (why did I even bother with that jump before...), the entrance started to crumble and collapse. Eh. ehhhh~? Were the tunnels that fragile?
SYSTEM MESSAGE:
Karma Value has decreased drastically.
----------------------------------------
Your level has increased. You have gone from Lv.5 to Lv.22.
You have earned a total of 3.4 Aether Points.
Due to the Blessing: "Champion of Alvatria", an additional 3.4 Aether Points were earned.
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Acquired title: [Daredevil]
Acquired skill: [Fear Resistance Lv.1].
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Acquired title: [Monster Slayer]
Acquired skill: [Health Lv.1].
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Acquired title: [Insect Slayer]
Acquired skill: [Speed Lv.1].
[Speed Lv.1] has been integrated into [Speed Lv.17].
----------------------------------------
Acquired title: [Destroyer]
Acquired skill: [Destruction Reinforcement Lv.1].
Seems like the bugs were fragile too! Who-hoo! I can almost evolve now! And all those titles! People are gonna think I'm some crazy person if they take a look at them!!
...oh, that's right. I'm not a person, but a demon. And I'm constantly talking to myself, so my mind's not the best one out there.
SYSTEM MESSAGE:
You have acquired your quest reward for the quest: [Cutting the Water-Knot, Part 4].
You have acquired the skill: [Riding Lv.1].
Conditions confirmed. The bonus reward has been acquired.
You have acquired 5.0 Aether Points.
Due to the Blessing: "Champion of Alvatria", an additional 5.0 Aether Points were earned.
AND NOW I'M GETTING JACKPOT ON THE QUEST REWARDS TOO!? ...is something bad's gonna happen to me soon? I mean, this kinda windfall can't be happening before the worst setback one can imagine, right?
Better get moving. This much luck can't spell good news to me. And yes, you can call me to miss paranoid. Happy? Besides, there's no way there won't be any monsters on this floor who are not curious about the collapse of the tunnel over here, so I better go and hide. Like, since yesterday! ...and every other day of my life.
...huh? Wait, is my good luck now something to compensate for all the bad stuff I've been through until this day? Hmmm??