ocean-life Chapter 428: part 2
Chapter 428: part 2
Once past the 10th floor, the monsters gradually begin to respond more effectively. But there’s still no need for real strategy. I bulldoze through them with my strength and speed alone. Letting this body do the work, even as it drags me along, and just wipe everything out.The girls were different from the Geeks and the Idiots. They trained, they fought, and still, their stats would rise by the next day, so they would keep getting swung around by their own strength. In a world where a single mistake could mean death, they kept fighting every day while being pushed around by the changes, suppressing their fears. They protected each other, helped each other, covered for one another, and fought on without losing a single comrade. They’re true, admirable heroes. As for their daily lives… well, they’re still high school girls, after all.
By the 20th floor, I’ve gradually grasped the feel for my body. I just have to get used to being thrown around by my own power. Since all the sensations are all different, I have no choice but to get used to them until it feels right. That’s what it means to teach it to your body. Yeah, I’m actually really good at that. I mean, every night I’ve been carefully and thoroughly teaching all sorts of things to these bodies, until they’re arching, trembling, panting heavily, and crying out in pleasure, uh, never mind. This is just a story about muscle memory. Huh? You heard me mumbling something like, 『Teaching a lesson to that soft flesh』 while swinging my staff? For real? Then what about『Plowing through that overflowing nectar…』 ? That too? Ahh… well, I am a Highschool Boy, after all?
Got off with just a scolding. Apparently, they judged that my body still wasn’t ready to handle the morning star version of the scolding, so I got away with just sitting seiza-style. Must be thanks to my growing aura of authority as a master.
By the 30th floor, I couldn’t get away with just moving as I pleased anymore. I had to read my opponents, constantly change up my movements. My body creaked under the strain, and while it didn’t break, I was getting yanked around by momentum. Falling mid-fight would be fatal, so I had to suppress and stabilize myself as I went.
Thanks to the newly evolved 『Ultimate Staff Mastery』, I’ve gained way more precision for my attacks, so much so that I could feel the tip of the blade like an extension of my fingers, even the slightest deviations in form became obvious. The effects that brought drastic improvement came with having my own unskillfulness rubbed in my face, so I’m not sure how I feel about this one, but watching Armored Pres-san’s swordsmanship and Dancing Girl-san’s fluid movements right next to me every day, I’ve already been painfully aware of my own clumsiness. The higher peaks are always in sight. I’m also very familiar with the sight of them climbing higher and higher on the ladder of pleasure until they c… Nevermind, I didn’t say anything!
By the 40th floor, I was losing in strength already, so technique became the deciding factor. Stat-wise, I still had the upper hand, but I was just a frail human, and they were hulking monsters. Sharp thinking and the skill to execute it, treading this fine line between life and death is the best possible training. While the training is just getting beaten up. Something felt off about that, but to survive the training, a real combat with my life on the line is necessary.
I feel no fatigue at all. There is the power surging from deep within me. Even last night, I was surging and exploding, utterly tireless, spreading obscene chaos and shrieks, recklessly plunging into the inviting flesh. Must’ve been the effects of 『Bedroom Arts』 and 『Transcendents’ Techniques』.
From the 50th floor onward, I started using『Magic Wrap』. Accelerated Thinking slowed the time to the point it almost felt frozen, and though my body moved sluggishly, it still followed along. I have to control this. Within the blink of an eye, dozens of Skeleton Knights vanished, as if they were simply blown away. I haven’t mastered it, but they couldn’t withstand the brutal speed and power, and ended up reduced to dust.
A crushing victory, but it’s totally no good. Armored Pres-san and others are giving me those 『oh dear…』 looks, so clearly it was nowhere near a passing grade. Yeah, I knew myself how unsightly I was flailing around. In order to avoid self-destruction I kept getting flung and pushed around by the momentum.
Starting from the 50th floor, hidden rooms began to appear more frequently, so our pace slowed a bit, but even so, it shouldn’t be more than one hour. Since I’ve gotten closer to the speed of the Dungeon Emperors, the overall combat time has also shortened. On a Dungeon Emperor level, the upper and middle layers probably feel like brushing off morning dew, just trivial nuisances. In the blink of an eye, a gust of wind sweeps past, and the monsters are already slashed to pieces.
Knowing that only accumulating data (experience) could help, I proceed to the 60th floor. My strength and speed have increased, giving me a surging momentum, though I still lack in control, my raw power has skyrocketed. The mid-tier Floor Boss, 『Strength Gargoyle Lv. 60』, got annihilated. It couldn’t withstand my blows, getting outright overwhelmed by my strength. Up until now, all I could do was slash, but now I could strike and push back. Cutting is faster, but the more options I have, the more my tactics expand, and the harder it is for the enemy to predict my moves. If I can stop or break their rhythm, the ways I can fight are limitless. Potential is directly tied to the number of lifelines one has.
We continue the exploration, aiming for the 70th floor. But even on the 60th floor, when facing faster monsters, I was still getting thrown around by my body. My body was quick enough to keep up, but that made me tense up without realizing it, my form falling apart. I’m used to fighting with a patchwork mess of irregular moves, but being tossed around without breaking down was a first. Yeah, in the past, my arm would’ve gotten ripped off and flung across the room, but now it’s still attached, just being pulled hard. Tripping over my feet and nearly falling is dangerous, but I don’t really want to chase after my ripped-off arm again either?
Spinning around clumsily, slipping, tripping, tumbling across the ground, crashing headlong after charging in, whiffing because I couldn’t control my strength, stumbling with awkward footwork. It’s pitiful, embarrassing, and dangerous, but this is fine. No blood is gushing, no bones are shattering, and most importantly, nothing is getting torn off and launched. It still hurts, yeah, but at least I don’t have to see the worried, pained, and sad faces of Armored Pres-san, Dancing Girl-san, and Slime-san.