Chapter 197: Many Spikes!

In the gray world, a tiny man and a literal gigantic mountain of iron were facing each other. Such a Titan would have intimidated anyone, but not him. He was even taunting it recklessly. 

"Hey, big guy. For your sake, I hope that you can't feel pain. As they say, the bigger they are and the more fun they are to dice apart! Or, the harder they fall, I guess, but whatever." 

"Die...CRUSH!" The monster bellowed in a cavernous voice. 

It was time for Josh's signature move: the magical equipment changing! He promptly wore his spider set and dashed toward the enemy fearlessly: he was just missing a transformation scene. 

"CRUSH!" The creature shouted as it attacked. 

Just as the creature's iron arm was about to slap him away, Josh sprung in the air and landed on it. He then began running at full speed on its limb akin to a god of war. But that's when he felt the monster's gaze on him. 

He activated his Piercing Eyes and managed to notice the creature's eyeballs that were, in fact, big clear expensive-looking sapphires. Still, compared to the monster's body mass, they looked so minuscule! He could feel killing intent oozing out of them as the big guy locked onto him. 

Was this the monster's weakness? He'd have to get up there somehow. But, following the stare, he felt a magical surge spread his way. That is when he sensed tremors as iron spikes began disorderly erupting toward him.

The spikes would raise up and down on their path in a vast AoE wave. Each looked like a sharp huge metallic needle with thorns on the side, and he didn't want to touch any of them! These would skewer him easily! 

But that's when he noticed that in the chaos, there was order to be found. The needles followed a weird, peculiar rhythm with a tempo that seemed to be 3-2-4-2-6. It reminded him of an old MMORPG he used to play. 

He would have to get the timing perfectly right as he slipped into the safe zones amidst death. Somehow, this made his blood boil in excitement. He was ready to overcome this new challenge.

"1…2…3…here goes nothing!" 

Josh confidently dashed forward. He would rely on his sense of danger to guide him, akin to an experienced captain navigating a storm. The killing intent in the attacks helped a ton with that.

He felt alive. The thrill combined with the ample mana coursing through his body made it even better. He scaled the arm with the same zeal he had been climbing the Tower with. 

The creature grunted as it tried slapping him. Oh gosh, right at the worst timing too! He was already busy dodging an iron spike wave, and he could see the undefined hand approach. Was this how a mosquito felt? He threw himself sideways as the creature's slap resounded SLAP! 

But now, he was falling. It was time for an old MVP: Vine necklace! He used the vines to grab onto the arm and pulled himself back up. Sadly, all of the magical plants instantly perished right afterward. Their sacrifice would be remembered. 

He resumed running with the determination of a professional marathoner. How great would it have been if he could have ridden Nightmare here! Meanwhile, the creature was slowly dragging its gigantic limb back in the air. 

Soon would come another round of slapping. What if he did that? He made himself as small as possible and invoked Nightmare a distance away. The poor horse had only spawned that a gigantic palm was landing on it. Talk about a great decoy!

With a despairing neigh, Josh's pet disappeared as soon as it had appeared. It had taken too much damage. But, it had survived, albeit barely. One had to remember that it had an ability that made it extremely resistant too. 

Josh was almost up to the creature's shoulder. He only had one more attack to endure before he reached his destination. As he saw the giant prepare for its assault, he felt like trying something. This enemy could talk! What if it could show human-like reactions too?

Josh summoned his rat before picking it up. "There we go, catch!" He threw it right in the titan's face.

That's when the creature reacted on instinct and blocked it with its free arm. This bought Josh the time he needed to creep up to its eyes. He turned his weapon into a pickaxe, enhanced it with as much mana as he could, and plunged it deep into the eye sockets!

The sapphires shattered into a thousand pieces as the creature bellowed in rage. It fell on its knees as it blindly swung its limbs all over before toppling over entirely. The colossal creature was down! 

"How does that feel! Hahaha!" 

Just as he was celebrating, something changed. The atmosphere of the entire realm became oppressive as the creature suddenly disappeared, merging into the ground. Its voice was heard once more. 

"All souls…die….ANNIHILATE!"

The Floor had been shaking when the monster had initially appeared, but now it was even worse! Just keeping his balance was challenging. That is when he saw appear at the horizon what looked like a damn tsunami! 

Once more, it was an iron spike shockwave. But, these ones were so tall and big that they would have made Nightmare look like a very small poney at best. He had to somehow deal with this, but how? 

Josh would have loved to have the ability to fly right about now. The only good news was that his mana was now higher. He could afford to use his abilities longer than in the past. He steadied his heart for the fights to come. 

To escape these ones, he would have to jump extremely high, but how? He would need to use something to propel himself. That is when he got an idea. He resolutely activated his accessory set. It was Big Chungus time!

His body instantly inflated like a balloon. The increased size would make it even harder to dodge, but he was now tall enough to reach the narrower top of the needles. His bigger hands would allow him to wrap his hands around it too. 

He then summoned Navi. It probably wouldn't be able to do much, but it was better than nothing. "Survey the surroundings and tell me if there is any weak spot in the enemy's attack. Also, do you have any information on this Boss?" 

<No information in the database, but this model will comply with master's order.>

How great would it be if he could fly away on the fairy's back? It could carry a watch, but a human was pushing it a bit. It would risk getting destroyed too. He wasn't even sure if he'd be able to buy another one with Ouroboros having been robbed. Anyway, he had to focus. 

The first attack appeared, the frightening iron skewer going up and down. He equipped gauntlets, grabbed the side of the spike, and flung himself above the danger.

As he reached the other side, his hands were bleeding, his gauntlet was falling to pieces, and he already had a new wave of attack to endure. At least, his hands were already getting healed by his Devouring passive. He then directed mana toward the item, the purple energy repairing it.

This would be a long fight. He could only hope that his endurance would last him. He didn't mind the pain at all. The problem was his energy and mana. With every subsequent wave, he felt like he was getting closer to death. 

This couldn't keep going for long. He had to find a solution. Should he try and use his dimensional belt to escape? This was so very annoying. He had trashed the smaller golems, and he had completed the first part of this fight easily, but he now felt helpless.

"Spikes, spikes, and more fucking spikes! Give me a break!" He grumbled. 

Logic said he should have left long ago, but he felt like he could resist one more wave safely every time he survived the previous one. He bled and wasted mana to no end. That is when he decided to try one last method that honestly probably wouldn't work. 

He summoned his rat back and readied himself. Even he realized that this was madness. He planted his feet solidly on it thanks to the spider set and used it to surf above the AoE directly!

"Holy shit! This was a bad idea! A fucking bad idea!"

"Nononono, that was close! This one almost tore me a new ass!" 

"This is endless! Give me a break!" 

"Oh crap, gotta rotate, gotta rotate now!" 

"Please pray for this lost soul that is just trying to survive!"

He was akin to a man riding a surfboard in a lightning storm deep at sea. Playing in a literal giant meat grinder would have probably been safer than this. He missed the solid ground so much! 

The spikes would push both of them in all directions as they randomly came in and out. It was crazy and stupid, but he wouldn't give up that soon! He was so focused that he almost panicked when he felt himself fall to his death. 

What was happening? But then he realized it was over. The spikes were gone. Oh god, this had been the worst! He plopped on the ground and remained there, unmoving with his eyes closed. 

[Mission Accomplished. First clear! Please choose your reward!] 

"Give me a second. I'm dead, so fucking dead." He complained, out of breath and completely dizzy. 

[Please select two: Iron Elemental Soul | True Iron Pickaxe | Iron Sacrificial Manual | Shattered Sapphire]

Josh slowly opened his eyes, a sharp glint in them. Selecting two rewards, was it? Also, what the heck were these options?! It was time to make a choice...

Creator's Thought

Multipurpose rat sure was useful against the non-sentient bosses and skills. Well, such a thing wouldn't have worked well for the higher Floors. The monsters were already starting to talk. It wouldn't take long for more messed-up things to happen. Well, of course, it was worse for Hellish.