Now that no players were coming to the boss room anymore, I was training hard.
And finally, what I'd been waiting for arrived!
"Lord Balak, here it is."
"Ooh!! Finally!!!"
"Uh, are you sure you're okay with this?"
"Of course I am!"
What I was talking about was a gravity belt that could apply invisible pressure to my own body!!
It reminded me of something I'd seen in wuxia novels in my past life, and something the old man had taught me—it felt similar.
By adopting training methods from wuxia novels and comics, I'd managed to make thick stars descend onto my fists.
So this time, I'd go with a training method from a comic too!
In that comic, the protagonist trained by adjusting gravity from 1 to 100 times normal.
So!!
Woooong!!
Kwaaaang!!!
"Eek?!"
"This is it!! This is exactly it!!"
It's coming!!
It's already coming!!
The muscle stimulation I'd only barely felt after exercising for dozens of hours on the mountaintop—it was hitting me now!!
"Hahaha!! With this, I'll get even stronger!!!"
Training really is all about the gear—that's the truth!
This would be on a whole different level from my mountaintop sessions!!!
"Graaaah!!"
"Oh, you're here too?"
I got so excited I forgot about the skeleton merchant right next to me.
Whoops, looks like his bones nearly got shattered?
But since I've bought so much from him, boosting his sales big time, he probably doesn't hold a grudge.
"Hey, you okay?"
"Ugh... Y-Yes, I'm fine."
"Tch, must be bad osteoporosis. You should exercise more."
"What kind of nonsense is... Ahem! More importantly, I brought that huge cylindrical iron pillar dripping with slippery oil as ordered, but where should I install it?"
"Ahh... It's so big and beautiful."
Soon after, the most important training tool from my order was set up.
I could sense the skeleton merchant thinking, "Why the hell here...?" So, as a commemoration of telling him to exercise, I figured I'd share my training method.
"Heh heh heh... Let me teach you one of my secret training techniques."
"Yes?"
First, I draw out the strange power within me.
"Grrrooo!"
"Ah, no! Not when I'm right next to youuuu!!"
Fwooooosh!!!
First off, following the truth from a comic: the smaller the water gun's hole, the farther the water shoots!
So, I concentrate the strange power inside me at my fingertips and toes.
Just like when I stuck to the dungeon ceiling to move before!
I slap right onto the cylindrical iron pillar with oil endlessly flowing down!!
Slap!
With slippery oil constantly flowing downward, sticking to this pillar requires extremely precise control of my strange power.
That's why going up and down this round iron pillar with no handholds is my main training method!
This should help me wield this strange power—also called mana—freely.
And that's not the end!
Woooong!!
"Hahaha!! Everything's going according to plan!!"
Now, activate the gravity belt!
As the invisible force presses down on me, my body weight surges dramatically.
That makes climbing this slippery, oil-flowing iron pillar insanely tough, boosting my training efficiency even more!
This is intermediate-level training!
And finally!
"Got it!!! Skeleton merchant!! This is my secret training method!!!"
"You're climbing it... upside down?!?!"
Feet to the sky!
Hands to the ground!
I'm gonna climb it upside down, handstand-style!!!
"Ahh... It's coming!! The muscle stimulation is insane!!"
Am I a genius or what?!
If it gets too easy later, I can crank up the gravity for more intensity or switch positions periodically!
This method trains mana, strength, stamina, and endurance all at once—it's the ultimate training technique!
With this, I'll become an even better being!!!
"Hahahahahaha!!!!"
And so, thrilled by his own ingenuity, Balak laughed so hard the boss room shook.
Karian, who had been blankly watching Balak bizarrely climb up and down the iron pillar, couldn't close his bony jaw.
As a result, Karian—
*...I wanna go home.*
Just wanted to get away from this lunatic as soon as possible.
*****************
At that moment, when the bosses on other floors were also dumbfounded by Balak's ultimate training method.
Finally, some from the hero party broke through the madhouse.
"Huff— Huff—"
"Damn... This is brutally tough..."
"Grrrrr!!"
They barely survived the golems in the narrow path charging headfirst without distinguishing friend from foe.
They unwittingly stepped on an arrow trap, but nearby golems took the arrows for them.
The other traps had been triggered by prior hero parties, so they passed during cooldowns.
They were pure lucksters.
The hero party felt joy at being the first to break through, but only briefly.
They thought the door ahead led to Balak's boss room and steeled themselves.
But there were currently three rooms to pass before challenging Balak.
"It's not the boss room?!"
"Then this room is like the one we just..."
"M-Maybe similar?"
The hero party was speechless at the dark path ahead.
Arriving at the second room, with no way back but death, they cautiously advanced into the unknown path.
"This feels like the dungeon before it changed?"
"Narrow paths aside, just a trap-filled maze?"
"Phew... Yeah, two in a row like that last one doesn't make sense."
This room Balak designed closely resembled the pre-remodel dungeon.
Except—
"The walls are metal, and scratches or white chalk marks auto-repair?"
"Looks super thick too—smashing straight through's impossible."
"Guess we have to loop around and map it?"
"That's the standard for breaking a labyrinth like this."
This iron labyrinth blocked all cheats—you had to find the path forward.
But would Balak make it that tame?
"Uh...?"
"What's up?"
"This one... Wasn't it open a bit ago...?"
"Nah, everything looks the same here—must be your imagination."
The hero party dismissed their comrade's words as imagination, but eventually learned the labyrinth's true nature.
Rumble...
"Th-The wall moved?!?"
"No way... This labyrinth is alive?!?"
"Oh god, then our map..."
This iron labyrinth had walls that randomly opened and closed paths at whim!
In identical corridors, with walls shifting freely, cognitive dissonance was inevitable, making navigation hell!
But it was still too mild!
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Balak, considerate of intruders dying of hunger and thirst from getting lost, had placed labyrinth guardians!
"Whoa..."
"Shit! It's just like the last room!!"
"H-How do we even catch that...?"
Soon, guardians appeared: massive full-plate armor golems, forged by supreme beings, nearly filling the paths, wielding enormous iron maces.
"For now, quick retreat... Huh?"
"Th-The path's blocked?!?"
"Damn, it's coming!! Battle stations!!"
Upon encountering an armor golem, the hero party's retreat auto-sealed.
Thus, to break the labyrinth, they had to defeat the massive armor golem ahead—no choice.
The first room filtered those with middling skill who lucked through.
KABOOM!!
"Uwaaaak!!"
"Kraaaak!!"
It was pure misfortune for the lucky ones.
****************
Watching an armor golem turn a hero party into mincemeat, Balak nodded.
"Daring to clear this dungeon on luck alone? No way, nope."
To pass the second room—the iron labyrinth—three things were needed.
Intelligence to track your position and remember the maze's starting layout.
Patience to not panic at shifting paths, waiting for walls to open or constantly updating your map.
Finally, martial prowess to handle guardians scattered throughout.
With all three, you could pass. Luck only reduced golem encounters slightly.
Only those who'd grown steadily could proceed.
If that place pissed you off, level up and come back, players!
"Alright, now time to create new techniques."
Thud!!!
I'd finished training and exercise on the oil pillar—now for techniques.
While exercising, I'd pondered how to become the most memorable boss for gamers.
Shitscottboss?
The one that spazzes out constantly in fights with no fun in killing it—memorable, sure, but I wanted fame, not infamy.
Sexy woman boss?
That works too.
But I'm a guy.
Boss with a unique gimmick?
Also good.
But I couldn't recall anything topping incest-hypno-gay-boss, and I'm straight anyway.
Various bosses flashed in my mind, but one final boss matched my concept perfectly and was unforgettable.
"Indeed, Sword Spear Gun Lord. It's you and only you."
Despite his title Sword Saint, he used not just swordsmanship against players, but GUN arts too.
Or yanking a spear from the ground and blasting sword energy—total GOAT.
His patterns were insanely cool, so blending in awesome patterns from other bosses?!
Ahh... This is romance.
I, Warrior Balak, will carry on all bosses' legacies!
So, players!!
From now on, I'll train with these super cool patterns!!
Get stronger together!!!