Chapter 38

The Boundless Necromancer

Chapter 38: 7th Floor (3)

Like in the tutorial, the golem attacked with its fist first. But the power behind it wasn’t anything like what I remembered. 

Krraaaaaang-! 

The fist smashed the sand, causing a mini earthquake within a small radius. 

And the sandy winds blasted off like a storm in an empty field. 

I didn’t take much damage because I had already taken a step back, but… 

‘Damn, how am I supposed to deal with a monster like this?’ 

I couldn’t help but scowl. 

In such a short amount of time, I couldn’t have gotten strong enough to fight against this monster. 

Our weight classes were completely different. 

Making a single mistake could lead to my death, and not making one would just barely increase my chances of staying alive. 

That intruder was a piece of cake compared to what was going on here. 

‘I don’t fare well against these types.’ 

Humongous monsters like these are supposed to be dealt with using skills. 

But I didn’t have anything of that sort. 

I needed something that could get through its tough outer layer, but my fighting style relied on mobility. 

Crash! Kraang! Crack! Krrrr! 

I ran out of the way of its fist before it could crush me. 

Its range was as big as it looked.  

‘I have to find a way to do something…!’ 

Kraaaaaang! 

The monster continued its barrage, interrupting my thoughts. 

I would get blown away even if a single one of these attacks grazed me. 

I had to stay hyperaware. 

I didn’t know what accelerated regeneration considered ‘critical damage,’ but I wouldn’t just end up with a cut on my arm if I took a hit from that fist.  

I would need to prepare to lose a limb or two. 

‘Accelerated regeneration might not activate then.’ 

What was even more discouraging was that I had two more trials left. 

I didn’t know how much time had passed since this trial started.  

But I’d have to complete this trial in the next ten minutes and figure out what the next trial is. 

‘…Wait, there’s still one more thing I can do.’ 

I guess there was one thing. 

A skill to split this golem in half. 

「 Skill – Triple Laceration (A-) 」  

「 Proficiency – 0% 」  

「 Basic effect – Using mana, strengthen a blade for three attacks. 」  

「 Detailed effect – Upon using the skill, the cutting force of bladed attacks increases by 1.5/2.0/2.5 times after each attack. 」  

I didn’t know if the increased cutting force would be enough, but this was not the time to think about that. 

“Triple laceration.”

All of my mana flooded into my hands as I muttered those words. 

And at that moment, an azure aura blazed out of the sword. 

「 Activating the skill ‘Triple Laceration.’ 」  

「 Your next three attacks are strengthened. 」  

Voooosh. 

It didn’t look very intimidating, but this skill was an A- skill. 

Whether it’s a skill or an item, these things are ranked the way they are for a reason. 

And the effect would be fortified by an additional 7% because of the pendant. 

Cutting through this sand golem wasn’t completely impossible. 

‘No other choice.’ 

The tower didn’t favor the challengers. 

If you wanted to survive and get stronger, you had to work for it. 

Even if it meant gambling your life. 

Tat! 

“Grrrrrrrr…!” 

I propelled myself as fast as I could toward the growling entity. 

I didn’t want to use instant acceleration just yet. 

Mana isn’t an unlimited resource that grows on trees. 

The triple laceration skill had already consumed most of my mana. 

Combining that with the acceleration skill would… 

‘I won’t stand a chance in the next two trials.’ 

This was also to hide my full strength from any enemies that could have been observing me. 

Having all of your cards countered by the enemy is one of the worst-case scenarios. 

Of course, my agility was high enough to keep up with the sand golem’s attacks without any skills. 

Crash! Kraang! Kooorang! Kang! 

The golem noticed that something had changed and kept up its barrage…  

‘Yeah, keep attacking. Show me an opening.’ 

But I didn’t stand down. 

Instead, I took this time to zigzag through the attacks to get closer to the main body. 

Fwoooosh-! 

The giant fist rushed past my face, a gust of wind grazing against my cheek. 

But for some reason, I wasn’t scared. 

It was a million times harder than the tutorial trial, but I was never calmer. 

Right as I faced the sand pillar that was its leg, I swung my sword. 

Sliiiiit! 

The sword slid right through its leg and sliced it off cleanly. 

As I did the same to its other leg, the golem stumbled and fell to the ground. 

Kroooooong. 

Of course, that wasn’t the end. 

“Gr-graaaa…!” 

Although the entity didn’t seem to feel pain, it realized that I had the upper hand now. 

The flustered giant tried to push itself up with its arms, but I wasn’t going to let that happen. 

Slaaaash-! 

「 All three attacks complete. 」  

「 Deactivating the skill ‘Triple Laceration.’ 」  

I shifted my eyes as soon as I cut off its left arm. 

The skill was deactivated, but the sand golem couldn’t do anything to resist now. 

‘This should be enough to destroy the core.’ 

This monster wouldn’t die just because its body was in pieces. 

No matter the environment, it would survive as long as its core stayed intact. 

I scanned him quickly to find where the core might be. 

‘His core should be…’ 

A red stone on its back caught my eye. 

I climbed onto its back and shoved my sword down into the red jewel. 

Crack! 

「 You have proved that you’ve overcome your fear. 」  

「 Ending the first trial. 」  

In an instant, my surroundings reverted back to the dark hallway. 

“Huff, huff.” 

Too bad I didn’t get the chance to absorb the sand golem’s soul. 

But this was neither the time nor place for that. 

‘I don’t have enough time left.’ 

I have to finish the other two trials before time runs out. 

I caught my breath and ran through the endless hallway to get to the second area of the 7th trial. 

Dash! 

***

***

Reaching the next area didn’t take very long. 

「 Entering the second trial area. 」  

「 Prove that you have overcome your wisdom. 」  

The scenery started to change rapidly again. 

I was wondering if it would replicate a previous trial again, and… 

“…I was right, damn it.” 

In an instant, I was standing in the forest from the 2nd-floor trial. 

The only difference was that the first trial was replicated from the beginning of the 1st-floor trial. 

But this time… 

Crackle, crackle! 

The nearby trees were immediately engulfed by flames. 

This was the scene from when I completed the 2nd-floor trial. 

‘Prove that I’ve overcome my wisdom?’ 

A trial that I wouldn’t have been able to clear if the orc hunters hadn’t left their base. 

How was I supposed to overcome the droplet of wisdom I squeezed out from that? 

‘What is this bullshit?’ 

…I wanted to complain, but I couldn’t. 

“Fuck, I’m gonna go crazy.” 

I tend to refrain from cursing too much, but I couldn’t help it anymore. 

“Shieeeek…!” 

My face twitched as I heard the bone-chilling shriek that echoed through the forest. 

I knew who it belonged to. 

“The orc hunters…” 

This was why I avoided direct confrontation with them initially. 

They’re the strongest E-rank monsters. 

How was I supposed to face not one, but ten of them? 

‘…This might be more tricky than facing the golem.’ 

A cooperating squad of orc hunters could be more dangerous than one B-rank monster. 

I hoped that I wouldn’t have to face a hoard of them, but the tower didn’t show mercy. 

“Shieeeeek—!”

An overly-buff orc came out of the forest with blood-red eyes. 

“Just my luck, he went berserk.” 

A phenomenon that occurs in monsters that go into a blind rage. 

I’ve heard that orcs that go berserk can rival even D-rank monsters. 

However, they use up all their strength and can die just days after that. 

If a group of them teamed up against me… 

‘It couldn’t get any worse.’ 

I knew how this would end. 

“Overcome wisdom my ass…” 

As a hunter, it infuriated me that they forced my sneak attack into a direct confrontation. 

The owners of the shrieks didn’t hesitate to walk over. 

And more bloodshot-eyed orcs continued to appear behind it. 

The only thing I could do was laugh at the orcs as they surrounded me. 

“Ha, hahaha.” 

So they expected me to finish these trials in 40 minutes… 

My heart wanted to explode, but my mind was calm. 

“Fwoo, okay. What choice do I have?” 

No matter how much I complained, my reality would not change. 

My only choice was to clear this as fast as possible. 

「 Activating the skill ‘Instant Acceleration.’ 」  

「 Activating the skill ‘Triple Laceration.’ 」  

I looked at my empty mana and smiled dryly. 

“It’s you or me.” 

*** 

「 You have absorbed the souls of the orc hunters. 」 

「 Number of souls in possession – 19/30 」 

「 Proficiency increased by 6% 」  

As I absorbed the souls of all the nearby orcs, the burning forest quickly reverted back to the hallway. 

「 Skill Hunter’s Daggermanship (E+)’s proficiency reached 100%. 」  

「 Skill Hunter’s Daggermanship (E+)’s ranked up. 」  

「 Skill Instant Acceleration (D)’s proficiency reached 100%. 」  

「 Skill Instant Acceleration (D)’s ranked up. 」  

At the same time. 

「 You have proved that you’ve overcome your wisdom. 」  

「 Ending the second trial. 」  

“Ugh, aghhhh.” 

It felt like a copper anvil was crushing my lungs as I gagged on the air. 

I knew that wanting to climb the tower wasn’t normal. 

However, I couldn’t help but curse the harshness of the trials. 

If I were just a tad weaker, I wouldn’t be able to guarantee that I would be standing here now. 

“Fuck…” 

The only good thing about the fight was that I didn’t take a single hit from those orc hunters. 

I couldn’t test out the new necromancy effect though. 

It was because I blocked all incoming attacks with my shield or the leftover orc corpses. 

‘…I can’t reveal all my cards before the end of the trial.’ 

Besides that, both my mana and stamina were at rock bottom. 

‘…There’s no way I can pass another trial in this state.’ 

Accelerated regeneration uses my stamina to heal my body. 

It actually drains my stamina instead of replenishing it. 

Good thing I prepared for this. 

「 Potion of Life 」  

「 Grade: D- 」  

「 A potion created from special water with concentrated life essence. 」  

「 Upon consumption, the potion restores 20% of stamina and mana. 」  

Without hesitation, I pulled off the cap and poured the potion down my throat. 

Glup, glup. 

“Pheww…” 

I finally felt some strength in my body again. 

I also had enough mana to use my skills once or twice now. 

To confirm that I’ve recovered to a point, I opened my status window. 

“Status window…” 

「 Skill – Instant Acceleration (D+) 」  

「 Proficiency – 3.7% 」  

「 Effect – Upon declaring the skill name, one can use mana to temporarily accelerate their body. 」  

「 Skill – Hunter’s Daggermanship (D) 」  

「 Proficiency – None 」  

「 Explanation – A technique made by hunters for effective hunting. 」  

「 Effect – When using a dagger, the weapon’s cutting force is increased by 2.5 times. 」  

‘It doesn’t look like any of the effects have changed.’ 

Nothing special. 

I guess it was interesting that the hunter’s daggermanship skill had reached its growth limit… 

Nothing unexpected though. 

“Fwoo…” 

I closed the window and forced myself to move again. 

There wasn’t enough time to get any more rest. 

Tap, tap… 

I did my best imitation of running as I tried to predict what the last trial would be. 

‘1st, 2nd, so is it time for the 3rd-floor trial now?’ 

The doppelganger was bound to return much stronger than before. 

Seems kind of bullshit, but I can’t complain. 

But…  

「 Entering the third trial area. 」  

「 Prove that you have overcome your hesitation. 」  

“…?” 

I was proven wrong in an instant. 

Shaa, shaa. 

The crashing waves and the floating tiles… 

“The 6th trial?” 

This was reminiscent of the previous floor’s trial. 

The only difference was that all of the tiles were organized into a neat line. 

Seeing four gigantic tiles lined up gave off a strange ambience. 

‘Am I not fighting in this trial?’ 

No matter where I looked, there didn’t seem to be anything special. 

And the line of tiles went on into the horizon without an end in sight. 

It was then. 

“…?” 

Splash, splash! 

I heard something sinking behind me, and the sound got closer and closer. 

I turned around. 

“Ah…?” 

The tiles started to sink into the water one by one… 

And the end of the line was approaching me at a rapid rate. 

I remembered that my stats would be reduced if I touched the water. 

And I realized exactly what the trial was. 

“…” 

It was the start of a crazy race that would be over with a single dip in the water. 

— 

The orcs were so hard that mc took 0 hits and killed them all