Chapter 263: Antagonist of Earth (8)

Words : 1732 Updated : Oct 7th, 2025

Chapter 263: Antagonist of Earth (8) [Objective Cleared] “Hm?” While I was thinking to myself, it seemed the stranger completing the Objective had resulted in me also receiving a notification. The first Objective of the Thirty-Third Floor was ‘survive’, just as the Thirty-First Floor’s had been. And yet, without me having taken a single step from the starting location, it was cleared. That means, there was only one possible explanation. ‘Did the Tower register me as that person’s party member? Why??’ Glancing at the striking figure dancing elegantly through the air, my mind paused for a moment before proposing a possibility. “...Huh... Maybe it’s proximity-based...?” That was the only answer I could come up with, but if one thing was for sure, it was that the Tower certainly was being generous. There was no official party system, after all, so I suppose it was only doing its best. This Frontliner was all the way up in the sky, and very far away too, so part of it definitely didn’t feel quite right, but... well, was I going to complain? ‘Nope.’ I’d take all the free advantages I could get. With that in mind, what was the next part? [New Objective: Slay the Leviathan] ‘Simple enough.’ With all the roaring waves and booming thunder going on, it only felt like the weather was growing worse with time, similar to the sandstorm, albeit much less torturous. However, in the following moments, the world proceeded to shake with such vigour that I couldn’t tell what was its cause. Rather than simply a result of the vicious storm wrecking havoc open this open ocean, it seemed blatant to be the case that it was in fact a tremendous displacement of water. A displacement of enough water that it gave an illusion of the world turning on its head. All of a sudden, a truly colossal wave rose up, swallowing half the sky. Craning my neck up from the tiny platform on which I stood to see it, it was undoubtedly something that made me feel insignificant, but at the same time... it was only water, right...? Such a daring thought was only cursory, and was immediately dashed when, before I knew it, two giant, burning red orbs could be glimpsed in its midst. ‘Oh, damn.’ Magic energy surged in the environment all around, and while I continued to simply observe, what bore heavy resemblance to the head of a dragon emerged. “GYHAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHN...!!!” Unleashing a resounding cry, the serpentine monster jumped out from the swelling tides, keeping its mouth open while aiming directly for the pink Frontliner’s overly-conspicuous self. From a distance, it all appeared truly cinematic. Just moments before the figure was devoured by the titanic beast, a swarm of untold pink dots surfaced from who knows where, things that didn’t look any different from meaningless specks from this far away, billowing around their master’s body like a sentient swarm before flying towards the fast-approaching enemy. Sending that pink storm right between herself and the irate Leviathan, the latter didn’t seem to bother to dodge, simply roaring at the oncoming, pitiful horde and swallowing it whole. “...!!” Immediately after, it was apparent that it had made a critical mistake. The Leviathan, rather than continuing on its way to devour the taunting Frontliner before it, twisted its long neck to hurry towards the water below, opening its vast maw without a cry and diving right in. ‘Hm? Wait, did she use all of those things to shred the inside of its mouth?’ I still couldn’t tell what exactly those pink projectiles were from this far away, but clearly, it worked flawlessly enough. In fact, if I thought about it, it wasn’t just the inside of the monster’s mouth becoming victim, either. The Leviathan’s body bore the shape of a snake, so it wouldn’t surprise me if the Frontliner used her ability to grate and mangle its insides all the way through. That’s why it then needed to swallow water to flush it all out, although there was no telling if that would work as it wanted or not. Incidentally, I was hoping that I could just rely on this person to clear the Floor for me and carry me through to the next without me having to expend any energy or effort, but it was for that exact reason that I was a little concerned about her own resources. It was obvious that she had been fighting here for a while even prior to my arrival, so it wouldn’t at all be surprising if she began to run low on magic energy sometime soon. Then again, that must be precisely why she wasted no time in sending all that scary stuff into the Leviathan’s mouth. RUMBLE~~!! While I was contemplating, the Leviathan’s movement grew even more intense, sending shockwaves from its position underwater―snapping my head to one side, I noticed the giant wave it was previously hiding within begin to approach dangerously close. Even though it was an attack aiming for the Frontliner all the way over there, the scope of it was far too large to even think of evading, especially while I was confined atop this narrow platform. “Tsk...!” Seconds before it was about to crash and devour me whole, I grit my teeth, barely recalling something from just before I returned to the Tower a while ago. Hastily raising an arm to face a palm towards the incoming wave, an effective tsunami of unprecedented proportions, I mustered my magic energy and activated a Skill for the first time. ‘Illusory Aegis–!’ Right at that moment, I was swallowed whole. “―――!!” In an instant, the fierce tide encompassed my entire surroundings, its deafening roar rendering everything else silent as it smashed against the shield of magic energy materialised before me―something I couldn’t even raise my head to see due to the tremendous force―and splitting apart to rush past like a heavy waterfall. Thanks to that, I remained standing on firm ground through what should have undeniably flooded me underwater. Just as I felt the recoil of the last of the water slam against the aegis, I sensed it shatter into nothing, evaporating moments before I raised my head again, glancing back to see the previous tsunami already beginning to dissipate behind me. “Haa...” ‘It took a lot more magic energy than I thought... Well, I guess in order to be durable enough to withstand something like that, this much is necessary...’ Although, if I considered it overall, perhaps it wasn’t such a bad thing for my current state. See, while it was true that expending magic energy would make my physical strength that much weaker, it was also true that it had become ‘demonic’ ever since upgrading Mana Corruption―meaning, however, the more of it I expended, the less agony I would be subjected to if it came to pass that I ran out of divine energy. Somehow I hadn’t considered that method to deal with it until now, perhaps because there wasn’t anything I could do to actually expend magic energy until acquiring Illusory Aegis. In the first place, I had only gained the power of magic energy recently. ‘Anyway, that’s not important right now. I still have plenty of divine energy, so it should be fine.’ Scanning the darkened sky with my eyes, I once again found the Frontliner from before, still floating in the air... Or maybe not. Thinking about it seriously, she must have been using a collection of those pink projectiles to stand on as a platform, right? That would also explain why she was jumping and dashing around in the air before rather than simply flying―it was because she couldn’t. In any case, it seemed she had managed to successfully avoid the tsunami by simply jumping over it rather than enduring it like me, and now... ‘She’s still going...? Ah.’ Rather belatedly, I noticed something poking out of the water a certain distance away, only noticeable from my current position due to the intensely rough waves beginning to gradually settle. Dark scales. It appeared as if a part of the Leviathan’s body was curled up to rise just slightly above the water’s surface, directly below the Frontliner’s location and utterly still. Then, I found the pink maiden lowering herself from the air, gently stepping down to land on what turned out to be the beast’s titanic carcass, making for a show that was surprisingly elegant, considering everything. [Floor Cleared] [Obtained Token of Proven Worth (x1)] Surprisingly, that was all, and the Floor was cleared just like that. I hadn’t even done anything, but I suppose being in the proximity of the fight counted as participating. Again, I wouldn’t complain. Part of me expected there to be three or four Objectives total, but regardless, it ending sooner was only a good thing. I knew the Tower couldn’t feel pity, so maybe it was just trying to be fair―after all, how many Challengers would be able to move around freely in this kind of environment, and above all, how many would be able to defeat that Leviathan and withstand that tsunami just by standing on this tiny stone platform? The more I thought into it, the more I realised it was only fair to end it here. ‘Anyway, doesn’t she look quite tired? Maybe that means she’ll head directly to the First Floor...’ I could only squint my magically-enhanced eyes from a distance, but I was guessing purely off of her posture. Thankfully, I had Sneak activated from before even entering the Floor, so I doubted she noticed my presence, and from the way she had been so entirely focused the entire time before to the way she was now standing still as if to gather her breath, it really didn’t feel like she knew there was anyone else here. Nevertheless, after a while, I waited until I saw her distort and vanish. ‘I’ll give it a few minutes just in case she actually does continue to the next Floor.’ If I could help it, I wouldn’t mind if she also cleared the next one for me too, although I understood it would entirely come down to the circumstances. Floor 34... ‘I really need to start locking in now... We’re getting close.’

Chapter 263: Antagonist of Earth (8)

Comments (0)