"Kuuwooooooar!!!"
Grit
I clenched my teeth as I watched Behemoth roar at the sight of me.
About three minutes.
Considering the speed at which the wall was advancing, I had to hold out for at least that long.
As long as I survived for three minutes, the wall of fire would reach this place and completely burn down the forest, Behemoth included.
Long if you call it long, short if you call it short.
Three minutes was not an especially long amount of time.
It was a mere three minutes I had barely earned by lasting ten hours. The sort of time anyone would normally consider short.
The problem is that bastard killed me in just seconds.
I quietly looked up at the creature that had bellowed so thunderously.
It still had not budged from in front of the exit. It was blocked anyway, and there was no way out, so I had no idea why it was guarding it.
Was it simply because that spot was exactly at the center of the forest?
Maybe it thought that once the wall of fire closed in, I, being outside it, would move first.
"..."
For some reason, its expression as it watched me felt like a sneer.
Just like when it had grabbed me upside down on my first try.
It could have charged me ages ago. Was it planning to toy with me?
Fine by me.
I did not care whether that monster sneered at me or looked down on me.
I knew perfectly well that my skills were only at that level.
I had no intention of acting tough for no reason or getting angry over how it treated me.
I just wanted to see that disgusting smile turn into shock.
That thing could be an anomaly, too.
It might be the reason the wiki's guide kept bugging out.
It was not undergoing an enormous anomaly like the Tower of Wisdom or the Tower of Fate, but the wiki only acted strangely whenever I entered an event related to that thing.
I might be able to just ignore it and clear the floor without landing a blow on it, but—
"There's no reason not to check, right?"
There was no need to jump to conclusions without even trying.
I would come back even if I died anyway.
"Kuhuu..."
Whoooosh!!
It felt like my body was burning.
Even though I was not that close to the wall, just being near it made my head spin.
Breathing was becoming harder as the space shrank.
"..."
When was it going to move?
Was it going to keep waiting until the wall forced me to approach it?
Not moving is fine by me.
About thirty seconds had already passed.
The heat at my back grew stronger.
It was getting dangerous enough that I had to start moving soon.
Step
Ninety meters.
Eighty meters.
It still did not move.
All it did was glare at me with its vicious red eyes and sneer.
Seventy meters.
Sixty meters.
The distance at which it had charged on my first try.
At full speed, it was a distance it could cover in under ten seconds.
A distance from which it could leap and smash me down in just one or two seconds.
And yet, it still did not move.
Fifty meters.
Just as I had covered half of the hundred meters—
"Kuuwoooooar—!!!"
"...Right. This is where it starts, isn't it?"
The beast that had been sitting all this time rose to its feet, lifting its enormous body as it roared.
Boom!!
Craaaack...!
When it stomped its foot, burning trees toppled to the side.
Two minutes until the wall of fire swallowed us.
I did not know whether it was confident it would not burn, or whether it did not care about anything as long as it killed me.
"Squeeeal!!!"
"...!"
At that moment, a boar burst out from the other side.
The few creatures still left in the forest, unable to endure the heat, were rushing toward Behemoth.
Crunch!!
Thud!!
With one wave of its hand, they were crushed, and with one kick, they were sent flying beyond the wall of fire.
Swipe.
I checked the wiki one last time.
The guide had not changed. Neither had the warnings.
Blink.
The once-vast forest had been reduced to less than the size of a sports field.
In a space where thousands of living creatures had breathed and lived, only Behemoth and I remained.
"...Isn't this one perfect ring?"
"Krrrgh..."
I let out a hollow laugh at the ring of death visible in every direction.
When I first saw the event appear in the forest, I had hoped I would at least not have to fight that vicious bear one-on-one in a cramped space.
Now, I was about to fight a creature that made a bear look insignificant amid the flames of the apocalypse.
What was more, this was a battlefield I had wanted and created myself.
Though it will probably just be that bastard's usual slaughterfest.
Whoooosh—!!!
Unable to endure the heat against my back any longer, I gripped my sword tightly.
About a minute and thirty seconds remained.
From here on, I had to do it entirely with my own skill.
Maybe I should be grateful I had cut the time in half without doing anything.
"Hup...!"
There was nothing more to think about.
I had to grit my teeth, stubbornly hang on through this filthy ordeal, and burn alongside it in the flames.
"Aaaaaaah—!!"
That was my goal, and the only way I could bring it down.
Flash!!!
Thanks a fucking lot, wiki...!
My vision turned red.
The parry light was so red and enormous that I almost mistook it for being trapped in the flames already.
It was so bright that blocking it was impossible—so bright I could not even think of blocking it.
"Come at me, you animal bastard—!!!"
Even so, I charged.
To find out whether I could parry it with my sword and shield.
To find out exactly when I had to throw myself aside if I wanted to dodge.
Whoosh.
"...!!!"
Why was it already right in front of me?
An attack too fast to handle came at me, even though I could see the parry timing.
At least the shield—
Eyes wide, I moved my arm toward the creature's fist as it came right up to my face.
Kraaaaaang—!!!
I tried desperately to avoid it, but I could not.
I tried to swing my sword and parry, but I did not even have time for the windup.
Thud—!!!
"Kuhuk...!"
I barely managed to force my shield up, but it shattered instantly.
It seemed I had timed it right, but the shockwave alone sent me flying a long distance and smashed me into a tree.
Hot.
The wall of fire was already closing in right behind me.
Move...!
I clenched my teeth hard enough to draw blood against the pain screaming through my body. Just as I desperately braced myself against the ground to stand, refusing to burn here like this—
Grin.
"...Ah."
The creature that had forcibly smashed through the rock wall blocking the cave held up a massive boulder like a baseball and smiled at me.
Crunch.
.
.
.
Flash.
"Ghhh—!!!"
I groaned the instant my eyes opened.
I covered my mouth with my pillow, twisting my entire body as I endured the pain crashing over me.
"Huff... huff...!"
I felt like I was dying. No, I had already died, but I felt like I was going to die again.
My eyes, nose, mouth, limbs, fingertips, and toes were all perfectly intact, but it hurt.
"Haha... Hahaha..."
Yet the worse the pain got, the more absurdly my fighting spirit blazed.
The thought that I could not be the only one to suffer through this fucking experience filled my head.
A wiki bug? An anomaly?
That was all secondary now. Even if only because I was pissed off, I wanted to inflict the same pain on that bastard.
Clench...!
I had not expected to succeed on the first attempt in the first place.
I was not stupid enough to fail to realize just how enormous the gap between it and me was.
Just you wait...
When I say I'll do something, I do it.
I knew well that if you only endured it, you were fucked—and that if you did not pay it back, it would make you sick.
No matter what, I would watch you scream and thrash in agony with my own eyes.
*
Fiftieth Floor of the Tower of Trials.
Third try.
"I dodged it... You fucking..."
After taking the fist head-on, I died when the incoming chunk of rock grazed me.
1 minute 51 seconds.
Fourth try.
"That fucking tail is as strong as its fist...?"
Dodged the chunk of rock and closed in.
Read the parry timing and dodged the second punch, only to be struck by its tail when it spun its body and die.
2 minutes 7 seconds.
Fifth try.
"My body... My body...!!! Aaaaaah—!!"
Successfully parried the tail with the steel sword. I was pushed back by the impact for a moment, but recovered my stance.
I tried to dodge its attack as it raised both hands, but it grabbed me and threw me into the wall of fire.
Confirmed the temperature of the flames. Far hotter than expected.
The outside of the wall was also completely engulfed in flames.
At this level, it should work.
2 minutes 20 seconds.
Sixth try.
"Heh... Hehehe..."
Half-dodged its two-handed slam. My leg twisted, but I landed my first attack.
Its skin was tough, but when I brought the steel sword down on it, I managed to leave a wound.
Confirmed that it bled just like I did, and that it felt pain as it frowned.
"So you can feel pain too?"
2 minutes 26 seconds.
Seventh try.
Its eyes are magic-resistant too.
Perfectly dodged its slam.
Perfectly seized the counterattack timing and wounded the back of its hand.
Threw a Low-Grade Magic Stone at its eye. No damage, as expected.
2 minutes 31 seconds.
Eighth.
Ninth.
Ten, eleven, twelve.
Thirteenth try.
"..."
Pattern identified.
Strategy memorized.
Step.
Confirmed the moment its body was swallowed by the flames.
2 minutes 58 seconds.
Fiftieth Floor of the Tower of Trials.
Fourteenth try.
[Survive]
[00:00:01]
"Whew..."
The ten-hour wait, repeated for the fourteenth time.
After checking the stopped timer, I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.
Ding!
[Tower of Tri$ls]
- #@`#!th Run, 5%th Floor Gui&: Temporary [Real-Time Mapping] activated.
[Warning]
- The exit will be permanently sealed.
- [Mark of the Prey] will be reapplied.
- [Flame of the Apocalypse] will be reactivated.
Grin.
The wiki's anomaly, which never changed.
The wiki's warning messages, which I had likewise seen over and over.
"Kuuwooooooar!!!"
"Just wait a little longer, you prey bastard."
I smiled broadly at the roar that soon echoed throughout the entire forest.
Let's see just how desperately you'll howl.
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