Chapter 110: The Admin-Landlord Deleted the Drop Items
Not all of Tower of Druaga's items were beneficial. Poison that reduced health and produced purely negative effects was also part of the catalog.
After a complete clear of all sixty floors, every item obtained along the way could be assigned to the Magic Backpack in whatever configuration was needed before the run ended.
The "Gilgamesh" template currently mapped onto the Skeleton Warrior had a Magic Backpack stuffed with carefully selected magic items. Things like the Dragon-Slaying Spear, too specialized to be useful against anything other than its designated targets, had been swapped out this time around. Instead, a collection of negative-effect items like the poison bottle had been packed in.
Under normal circumstances, this kind of poison would need to actually be swallowed to take effect outside of Tower of Druaga.
But since the current Secret Realm scene adhered as closely as possible to real-world physical rules, when the bottle shattered and the liquid vaporized and spread outward, accidental inhalation would also be enough to trigger the effect.
Of course, this was indiscriminate. Anyone, friend or foe, who inhaled it would theoretically be poisoned. The unit Ross was controlling, however, was an undead creature driven by dark magical power, entirely immune to poisons that required functioning biological organs and blood circulation to work.
As for Feitan...
Jump back. Jump back. Keep jumping back.
The title of fastest in the Phantom Troupe was genuinely earned. As the member responsible for interrogation, Feitan was experienced in various methods that couldn't be written down, and he had a working familiarity with poisons as a result. Just from catching the faintest trace of the toxic substance spreading in the air, he held his breath almost on instinct and put distance between himself and the source.
But just as his body was about to clear the BOSS battle zone, his back slammed into an unknown obstacle.
Feitan's reactions were instant. Nearly the moment his back hit the obstacle, he spun and swept horizontally, trying to shatter it with his umbrella.
The result:
Under Nobunaga's surprised gaze from a short distance back, Feitan's umbrella swung into what appeared to be empty air, then connected with something like an invisible hard metal plate and had every ounce of force reflected straight back at him. Feitan immediately furrowed his brow and shook his hand hard, working out the numbness from the rebound.
[Secret Realm Rule 3: When a player officially triggers a zone's BOSS battle, they may only leave the BOSS battle zone through normal means after killing that BOSS. If multiple players are present, after one player triggers the BOSS battle, other players may still enter the BOSS battle zone voluntarily, but must comply with the same rules.]
The BOSS room was not a place you could walk into and out of as you liked.
Once the BOSS rose, invisible walls sealed the surrounding area. Unless you had some form of special teleportation ability, only killing the BOSS unit would release the "players" and allow them to leave or go deeper.
"...Do you need a hand?"
With a few light hops, Nobunaga landed neatly at a position just at the edge of the BOSS battle zone, one hand tucked into his lapel, watching Feitan shake out his hand with an openly amused expression.
"Shut up."
Feitan, clearly embarrassed and furious in equal measure, shot Nobunaga a glare.
At this moment, the sound of bone on metal came from directly behind Feitan's head. For the size of the thing, the movement speed was admittedly more than Feitan had expected.
The rushing sound of something being swung hard went past. Feitan still evaded the attack at the back of his head with a nimble small hop.
Ross's shield strike completely missed.
Sigh. Even with the Gilgamesh template temporarily mapped, the Skeleton Warrior was not a powerful BOSS to begin with.
Even with only bones remaining and the resulting ultra-light body weight, the relatively large frame combined with the Golden Armor, Hero's Sword, and Hero's Shield it was equipped with inevitably dragged down its movement speed, canceling out the Winged Boots' movement bonus entirely.
To put it plainly: even with the few cheap shots landed earlier by exploiting information gaps, actually killing Feitan using the Skeleton Warrior was completely impossible. The agility simply wasn't there.
Feitan, meanwhile, could use his umbrella to frequently slip past the Hero's Shield, which had mediocre close-range physical defense at the best of times, and land hits on the Skeleton Warrior's Golden Armor. The health was ticking steadily downward.
The Golden Armor, it should be said, was not what it sounded like in terms of physical protection. It was considerably more appearance than function. Its main purpose was insurance for the player who forgot to raise the shield at a critical moment.
[Golden Armor: When in a non-shield-raised state and receiving a lethal evil curse, the Golden Armor shatters in exchange for ensuring at least 1 HP remains.]
After all, this was an item designed for fighting the Demon King. Physical defense was never really the consideration. It was built to handle the Demon King's various curse attacks.
What was interesting, though: Feitan was deliberately avoiding the Golden Armor, specifically targeting other exposed areas instead. Ross picked up on something from that.
So Ross revised his current objective.
Irritate and wear down the opponent as much as possible. Create conditions for the real play later.
If possible, draw Nobunaga in as well, and maybe use him as the instrument for something...
The Skeleton Warrior went down. But under Ross's control, it had accomplished its mission perfectly.
Feitan's umbrella-sword had been cut in two by the Hero's Sword.
The Hero's Sword was legitimate: real attack enhancement, quality materials. Even with Nen reinforcement, Feitan's umbrella, essentially in the rapier class, had been sliced through by the Hero's Sword, which was effectively in the broadsword class.
Part of the responsibility rested with Feitan himself, though. Because he had his eye on the Hero's Sword.
Not just the Hero's Sword. The gleaming Golden Armor. The Hero's Shield, whose design told you at a glance it was a matched set with the Hero's Sword. Feitan had mentally tagged all three as his before the fight was over.
Nobunaga staying outside was exactly what Feitan wanted. It gave him every justification to claim all three of these visibly valuable and practical Nen tools for himself.
It was precisely this greed that had made Feitan exercise unusual patience, carefully avoiding damage to the Golden Armor while grinding the Skeleton Warrior down to nothing.
Bones scattered. The soul-fire in the skull went out.
Feitan exhaled. He had to admit this was one of the most aggravating fights in recent memory. Since when did he have to think about a monster's equipment?
And then, in what was a complete surprise to Feitan and an entirely intentional choice on Ross's part, the following occurred.
The Hero's Sword, the Hero's Shield, the Golden Armor: all three practical and valuable items, right in front of Feitan's eyes, pixelated and blurred out and dissolved into nothing.
Needless to say. Ross did it.
As the current Castlevania sub-landlord, Ross technically had the authority to offer "players" a small reward after his BOSS units were killed. Drop items. The original game, in fact, provided a soul after a BOSS kill that would restore the player's health to full.
If Ross chose, he could insert any item he had on hand as the drop. Creator Authority also gave him the power to delete drop items entirely.
No items dropped. No health-restoring soul either.
Feitan stood frozen. He watched, helplessly, as the thing his desire to fight had been built on, the prize he had even sacrificed his umbrella-sword to win, became nothing.
"Pfft!"
Nobunaga, who had been watching the entire thing from outside the barrier, let out an involuntary laugh.
Seeing Feitan eat it was genuinely rare. Nobunaga was truly, openly delighted.
This was, as it happened, the equivalent of pouring oil directly onto the fire of a man who had no outlet for his fury.
"...Ah. Bad idea."
The moment Nobunaga saw Feitan's gaze, thick with killing intent, shift directly to him, he shut his mouth immediately and began backing up, scanning for an exit.
When this one went berserk, it was genuinely life-threatening.