No. 8,667 Wilderness Outlaw: As a numbered item carried by the beast warrior of the dwarf team, it did not carry any statistics. That was to be expected from a low number, and it was also relatively cheap. This was because its effect was a bit ambiguous. Physical damage in close combat increased against humanoid monsters and the rate of increase increased along with that number. Surely there was little demand among explorers. Humanoid monsters were rare in the maze and even those did not move in flocks.
Furthermore, the cooling lasted one day.
Actually, unless you were aiming for a doppelganger or that guy on the fifth floor, it was a difficult object to use. Thanks to this object, our odds increased. If it weren't for this, would it have been half and half?
[Seal unlock percentage: 70%.]
Just then, the magic circle emitted another light and announced that unlocking the seal was no longer far away. As the rate increased by 5% for every ten monsters, according to our calculations, the number of clones summoned had already exceeded sixty.
[Current increase rate: 401%].
However, there was still a long way to go. Consequently, we stayed glued to the walls as planned and formed a dense formation.
«Barhatun Wiar.» Raven summoned a stone wall with magic. The assessment was that we could hold out until that time came. However, we did not entrench the entire wall, but rather left a space for about two or three people to pass through on one side. This was Raven's idea. If it was completely blocked, the double would try to penetrate it, but if there was a path, it would head there instead.
It really worked.
I held on here, blocking the only available path. If I hit him with my mace in this state, he would leave this world in one fell swoop, regardless of whether he was in my image or not. I repressed that desire with effort. Our goal was not to hunt the clone.
Bam!
The clones pushed each other as if to protest as they charged at me. Of course, not everyone was like that.
«There's a hole there!» A clone knocked down the stone wall and opened a path. When I turned for a moment to check, the clone was none other than my copy.
«Mr. Yandel, focus on that side! We'll take care of this!»
The hand-to-hand fighters and Iron Bear rushed to form a human barrier to stop the clones, but it was not easy. We had a very big penalty on our side.
«Ah! Don't kill them!»
Block without attacking: a difficult condition for non-professional tanks to perform. From behind, he could hear an arduous battle unfolding, but he couldn't do anything. Going to help them would only turn the plan against them.
Dddddd!
When about two minutes passed like this, the cave shook again.
[Seal unlock percentage: 90%].
The time had finally come to end the game.
«Mr. Yandel!»
The ceiling was not very high, so I jumped on the spot with minimal force: Low Jump.
[Your total weight is greater than 498.951607 kg. The special Reverse terrain effect is applied to the damage range].
The clones, including my companions, flew into the air all at once. As soon as I landed on the ground, I stepped on the clones and quickly launched myself forward.
[Temporarily increases the threat level significantly].
Thanks to the increased threat level, the clones hurriedly rose up and charged like zombies, and tremendous resistance was soon transmitted from beyond the shield.
«Behell-ahhhhhhhhh!» About ten seconds passed. I made my way through the clones like a bulldozer and finally reached my destination.
Pop! Boom!
The main doppelganger was self-replicating as it repeatedly burst its body. There was nothing to see anymore, so I brandished my mace.
Hit!
It felt like hitting tofu, but it was enough to determine that the damage was done.
«Keeeeeek!» The main body ceased infinite self-replication and transformed into me. Since it was in Hysteria Mode, the transformed state was a little different from the previous one. The number of heads growing above the shoulders was two.
Me and Ainar... Damn, why her?
He was a doppelganger with my abilities who also used Ainar's essence.
[The unnamed extortionist has launched a swing.]
[The nameless extortionist has launched Tajo Repetido.]
The impulse itself was different. If it weren't for the Guard Corps token, I would surely have fallen backwards, not to mention that the clones summoned from all sides were attacking and suffocating me.
Whoom!
I ignored him completely and brandished the mace. The two barbarians in the main body smiled mischievously, as if to say: «Do you think it will work?».
I just looked back at them and smiled.
[Current increase rate: 771%.]
You're not the only one who has an improvement. Namely, Barbarian Extreme Damage Mode.
Kwaaaaaaang!
When I launched Swing, the double blocked it with a shield as usual and staggered. With that, an opening had been formed. Without giving him time, I brandished the mace again.
Crunch!
In one fell swoop, Ainar's head was crushed. Since he had two heads, this was not enough to take down the bastard. This was not a problem. I just had to take another hit.
Crunch!
Losing both heads, the double immediately returned to the slime state. Then, it hardened.
[The doppelganger has launched Crystallization.]
This was his frantic last effort before he died. Well, to call it that, it was a considerably complicated pattern.
[Magic damage is reduced by 99%. Physical damage is reduced by 90%.]
He was practically immune to magic damage, a fucking trap ability that also took away 90% of his physical damage. But if he couldn't crush it in time, he would have to repeat it from the beginning again. It was curious, but that was the standard tactic: mass summoning, transformation, crystallization. The clear method was to repeat this sequence and accumulate damage to the crystal to finally destroy it.
Kaboom!
However, everything had to be bet on this single sequence, so the clones were left alone.
«Raven!»
When I screamed, Raven and Parteian immediately used their magic. It wasn't attack magic, but what they used to PK against the dwarf's team before, Mana Shield. Raven shouted urgently: «It won't last long!»
I already knew it. How many clones were there around me right now? Since it was a magic that required a large consumption of mana, in less than a minute, the two wizards would run out of mana.
Kwaaaaaaang!
Relying on the thick mana that covered my skin, I focused solely on destroying the crystalline double.
Kwaaaaaaang!
If it weren't for the Wasteland Outlaw, he would never have used this tactic. Instead, I probably would have cleaned up the clones beforehand before dealing damage to them as a team, while worrying about whether it would be enough to damage them.
Crunch!
With the fourth Swing, the glass was scratched for the first time. It was quite fascinating. Although you had already experienced this Crystallization pattern many times, was it already that strong? How much damage was he taking right now? I couldn't know the numbers, but it was really amazing, because there was still one thing I hadn't used yet.
[You have launched Jump].
Once again, Low Jump.
[Temporarily increases the threat level significantly.]
«Behell-ahhhhhhhhh!» I immediately continued with Wild Burst.
[Temporarily increases the character's threat level by 3 times, and the physical value increases in proportion to that value].
A robust power radiated from my body. Of course, the duration of this high was very short, but my calculations told me it was enough.
[The destructive power of blunt weapons has increased significantly in proportion to muscle strength].
The threat level turned into strength, and the strength into destructive power into a miraculous law of exchange.
[Current rate of increase: 771%.]
Adding Desert Outlaw on top, with 90% physical immunity or not, was quite negligent.
Baaaaannnnnnggggg!
They were copying my damage right now.
[You have killed a double. EXP +6. Guardian death bonus. EXP +3].
How many times did I hit the glass with my mace like a man possessed? I couldn't be sure, but around the time the Mana Shield lost effect and wounds began to quickly build up on my body, the crystal cracked like a broken mirror and soon shattered like a grenade.
Crackkk!
I couldn't say it was close.
About a minute, huh?
It broke much faster than I expected. I even considered the possibility of everyone getting into the damage together. Due to the unforeseen variable at the end, there was no need to even use Plan B.
Yes, there have to be days like that too.
A bitterness invaded me. No one could say that it was good luck that an unexpected incident did not occur.
No, it's still too early to feel relieved.
I shook off my thoughts. After all, four Hans Gs beat the ridiculous odds and appeared right after the battle against the boss began. As in the Bloody Citadel, this could be a variant of the rift.
Shaaaaa!
Just then, fragments of the shattered body turned into light and scattered into the air. The same thing happened with the clones that filled the cave.
Whooooom!
A portal connecting to the fourth floor opened in the center of the cavity. It meant that the crack had actually been cleared.
«Oh! That?! Have we killed him?!»
«Ahh, I thought I was going to die. Arruru, can you give me a potion?»
«Later. It's not even a big wound, is it? We have to check this first! Essence? Numbered object? Crack stone? Something came out?»
Oh right. We had to confirm that too. I was so suspicious of something showing up that I didn't even look closely. Now it was time to collect the flower from the crack, the guardian's reward. I swallowed and looked where I had been twice as long.
There was nothing there.
Could it be the Hans effect?
I came up with the idea, but it wasn't good practice to blame everything on Hans. After all, the percentage of obtaining an essence or a numbered object was only 33%. However, it broke my heart a little that even a crack stone with a 66% drop rate had not come out.
...This is common.
It was often like that in the game. He gave everything to clean a crack and received no reward for it.
«...Mr. Yandel, wake up. These things happen».
«Yes! We have already secured many other things».
When I froze, my companions sent me words of comfort. I wasn't angry or anything like that.
Are PK rewards everything?
It felt a little pointless, but it was fun to be disappointed by this when I thought about it. I couldn't even imagine how much money we would make selling all that equipment. We had also guaranteed ourselves practically our highest income of all time and I even ate the essence of the Manticore.
Yeah. This is already on par with the essence of a doppelganger.
Hmm, was this the effect of positive thinking? I felt more energetic suddenly. «Missha, how's your wound?»
«Hey? Good. It's just a scratch. A scratch!»
«Drink a potion first.» Leaving disappointment behind, I took care of my companions and began to clean up the battle.
Seeing me like this, Raven chuckled. «You are certainly a leader in times like this».
«Are you kidding me?»
«No, this one is sincere».
«Aruru, don't be like that. Bjorn will be embarrassed».
Yes of course. «Then I guess we'll have to go back up.»
Once the cleanup was almost complete, I led the group back to the forest. The doppelgangers above would have already disappeared.
«You are all safe! I'm very happy».
«I'm sorry I kept you waiting, Miss Sarman».
We picked up the female guide and transferred her to the blunt-armed warrior. With that, the matter between us was over.
«Oh, don't forget to take this. It was very good for me».
«Keep it».
«Really?»
Partean gave the Lost Trust to Raven. Although it was uncharged, it was not a worthless gift. After all, there were ways to recharge it. Even selling it would earn hundreds of thousands of stones.
«Thanks for saving us. If you need my help, come find me whenever you want». Just when I was wondering if those were empty words, Parteian gave me a visiting pass with the Narman School symbol on it.
I guess not. I'll save it and go get it as soon as I need it. This seems like he's overcome some sub-mission or something.
Afterwards, we said goodbye to the warrior with the blunt weapon and the female guide and escorted them to the portal.
«But you guys aren't leaving?»
«It's a crack, after all. We want to take a look more and investigate».
«Hmm, is that right?» Partean nodded significantly as if he understood those words and Raven laughed awkwardly. «Then I'm leaving».
Soon, they rode the portal back to their original places.
«They... should be fine, right?».
«Worrying is not like you».
«Wizards always care and care for each other, okay?»
«I meant that you worry about nothing. It's the fourth floor».
Hans G and the fairy archer may have been dead, but in the Tower in Heaven you could hold on as long as you wanted. Those three would probably pass the time like we did in the past before returning to town.
«True... you are right».
Moving away from the forest, we climbed to the top again. There was still something to take us.