Chapter 53: 4th Floor Hidden (4)

– Starting fusion reaction.

The Magic Core was now filled with Mana to 100%. As Isca manipulated the device further, thin, thread-like strands of light erupted from the core and began to coil around the surroundings.

“How on earth did you do it?”

I answered Isca’s question. “There’s always a way.”

“…Well, thank you regardless. Because of you, I can finish this properly.” Isca’s expression looked somewhat transcendent, yet relieved. “You should get out of here quickly. It will detonate in exactly eight minutes. The Guards will be swarming this place soon.”

I checked the timer on the Warp Device.

[7:36]

So, if I stay hidden for seven minutes and then warp out, is that success? I asked Isca, “Can’t people come and stop the explosion?”

“The reaction has already started inside the core. Even if they tamper with the device, it cannot be stopped. Do not worry.”

“…What about you?”

“I will remain here and watch.”

“Why? Is this the only Warp Device?”

Isca shook his head. It seemed he had no intention of fleeing elsewhere from the beginning.

“There is no reason for you to concern yourself with me. I am also a researcher of this Workshop who has conducted countless experiments and killed many people. Now, go. Thank you.”

Isca pressed a button to open the laboratory door. I started to head out but turned back to look at him one last time. The Strategy Guide was likely over at this point, but I was still curious about the reason.

“In the end, why are you doing this? Since it’s the last time, tell me.”

Isca glanced at me, then looked back at the core. “Have you ever raised a dog?”

“…? No.”

“Neither have I.”

What the hell is he talking about?

“I have spent my entire life devoted to the study of Magic Cores. In the process, I conducted many experiments, and many people died.”

“…”

“The reactions of the test subjects brought here are usually similar. At first, it’s fear or hostility, but as experiments are repeated, their emotions wear down until they become like dolls. Then, once they outlive their usefulness, they are disposed of.” Isca continued his story dryly.

“One day, a new subject arrived. A small child, a war orphan from the now-ruined South. When first captured, the child trembled, but when I showed a little kindness, they would beam with smiles. I only did it because the subject’s cooperation was important for the upcoming experiment.

The experiment went on for a long time. Progress was smooth, and during that time, the child came to follow me well. If they listened, I would pet them or give them a reward… I imagine that’s how it feels to raise a dog. Yes, it was no different from a pet dog.

However, as the experiment reached its final stages, the child was ordered to be disposed of. All subjects who have served their purpose end up that way. I suggested alternative treatment to the higher-ups, citing various reasons, but it was not accepted.

Ultimately, the child was disposed of. Research continued afterward, achieving brilliant results. I became a chief researcher thanks to those achievements, and after much time, I finally created this core. I am now promised the title of Count certified by the Emperor himself and all sorts of wealth and honor. I could even establish my own Workshop if I wished. But suddenly, I grew tired of it all.”

Isca turned his gaze back to me. “That is all. There is no other reason.”

Having heard this rather absurd conclusion to the story, I asked, “So… you’re getting revenge on the Workshop because a test subject you were close to died?”

“Perhaps, or perhaps not. Even having come this far, I still do not know for sure.” Isca murmured, his voice trailing off. “Is it ridiculous? Doing all this over a single dog.”

I shook my head. Since Isca kept mentioning dogs, a certain movie came to mind.

“I know a killer… an assassin who wiped out his entire organization because of a dog.”

Isca let out a small laugh. “…An assassin? He’s more of a Crazy Bastard than I am.”

“Yeah. But it wasn’t an ordinary dog; it was a gift from his late wife. To that assassin, the dog was like family.”

“…”

“Maybe it was the same for you. And stop comparing them to a dog. You could just say that child was precious to you.”

Isca’s eyes widened.

[2:37]

I checked the remaining time on the Warp Device and headed for the entrance. “Well, I’m off.”

Behind me, I heard Isca’s voice. “Make sure you escape safely.”

When I looked back at him, his face seemed a bit more relieved than before. I nodded and stepped out of the laboratory. As soon as I exited, Isca closed the door again.

Two of the Golems that had come out earlier stood guarding the laboratory entrance like sentries. Feeling the sound of footsteps drawing very close, I hid myself. Soon, the Guards appeared at the other end of the hallway. I moved against the wall to avoid bumping into them as they rushed past.

[1:16]

About a minute left. I just had to stay hidden until then, and once I warped out of the Workshop, it was over. By the way, I wondered what the Reward for the 4th floor would be. Surely it wasn’t just this Warp Device?

The hallway became noisy as the Guards began fighting the Golems at the laboratory entrance. Ignoring them, I moved down the long hallway. Scraps of destroyed Golems were scattered everywhere.

However…

‘…!’

The moment I spotted someone running from the opposite direction, I used Time Stop. A woman in a platinum suit. The Master of the Workshop’s guard.

…Why are you here? Where did you leave the Workshop Master? Did she come because of the emergency?

‘Damn it, of all people…’

This person was dangerous. If I entered her range, she would definitely notice my hiding. The problem was that this was a narrow, straight hallway. Recalling when I was with the Workshop Master… the distance at which this guard noticed my hiding was about 20 meters.

Stepping to the side wasn’t enough to avoid her. There was no way to get a 20-meter gap, whether to the side or above. Even if I went back, it was a dead end at the laboratory. And right behind me, the Guards were fighting the Golems.

There was about a minute left until the Warp Device activated.

‘I only need to hold out for one minute, but the timing is…’

I shouldn’t have talked to Isca for so long. I should have left sooner. I was filled with regret, but I couldn’t undo the situation.

…Should I try to leap over her as fast as possible? If it’s only for a moment, maybe she won’t notice. Or maybe she’ll just ignore it, feeling unsure.

‘Fine.’

There was no other way. I resumed time. The guard approached, and I ran toward her. Timing it perfectly, I jumped. Drawing a parabola that almost touched the ceiling, I leaped high over the guard’s head.

…Did she notice? Or not? The guard was still running. Just as I thought I had made it and was about to land on the floor—

The alarm of my Sixth Sense went off. I hurriedly looked back and used Time Stop. There was the guard, having already drawn her Sword, and a terrifyingly fast bolt of blue sword energy flying toward me.

Ah, damn… she caught me.

My body was still in mid-air. If I waited to land and then dodge, it would be far too late, so there was only one choice. After finishing my Concentration, I used Teleportation to the maximum distance diagonally backward.

Crash!

A massive wave of sword energy split the center of the hallway in half. I dodged the energy, but using the skill broke my hiding. She had already found me anyway, so it didn’t matter. I immediately used Time Stop again.

After Concentration, I cast Flame Strike. As soon as the fireball appeared in the air, I stopped time again, concentrated, and cast Fairy Bullet. In that manner, I poured out every magic I had—Flame Strike, Fairy Bullet, Ice bolts—all at once toward the guard.

Boom!

A cramped hallway. With no space on either side, there was only one place to go. Through the smoke, the guard’s body soared high into the air. And that was exactly what I was aiming for.

Attacking me while I’m in the air is bad manners? Well, you try it too. Toward the guard suspended in the air, I cast a full-charge Destruction Line boosted 729 times. No matter how strong she was, surviving a direct hit from this was impossible.

The pitch-black beam engulfed her and tore right through the ceiling.

“…”

But then again, it doesn’t matter if it doesn’t hit. The guard landed below. One of her arms was gone. Blood poured from the stump. What happened was that the moment the Destruction Line flew at her, she kicked off the air and twisted her body. She couldn’t dodge completely, so her arm was taken, but she avoided a direct hit.

Wait… using Leap in mid-air is cheating. Reacting to and dodging a beam that fires instantly proved she was a Monster after all. Even with only one arm, the guard showed no change in expression. The blood dripping from her arm soon stopped.

“…You are human, right?” I asked just in case, since she was so nonchalant. Jokes didn’t work.

I immediately activated Skin Hardening, spread a Burning Zone across the hallway, and turned to run. I hoped she would give up on me and just go to the laboratory where Isca was.

Rumble!

Losing an arm and then letting me go—perhaps that was too much to hope for. I threw my body just in time to dodge another flying wave of sword energy. The guard, who had broken through the Burning Zone while maintaining a magnetic-like force field, chased me like a maniac. She was terrifyingly fast.

I hastily took out an Ice Dagger and used it. Frost covered the passage. It seemed I succeeded in slowing her down momentarily as the pursuit stopped. Using the Leap skill, I cleared a long flight of stairs in a single bound and threw myself toward the door.

Emerging onto the first floor, I rolled once in the hallway and looked back. As soon as I did, I used Time Stop. The guard was already right in front of me again, holding a sword swathed in blue energy.

The difference in Physical Ability was overwhelming. Fighting up close was suicide. I had activated Skin Hardening, but it didn’t feel like it could stop this monster’s attacks at all.

[0:31]

The timer on the Warp Device in my hand had about 30 seconds left. Teleportation was still on cooldown, and I couldn’t summon Fliya. Could I survive by dodging her attacks until then? I wasn’t very confident. If my life were truly in danger, I could use the emergency exit, but…

‘Ah!’

The shop came to mind.

Points Held: 500P

I had 500 points left after the five consecutive draws. This was enough to use Force Field ten times. But could a Force Field be used here? I’d know once I tried.

The moment I resumed time, I used a Force Field between me and the lunging guard.

“…!”

The guard slammed into the suddenly appearing Force Field. Not missing the split second the Force Field bought me, I scrambled away.

‘It works!’

With this, holding out for 30 seconds might be possible. The descriptions for Slow and Stop said they only applied to Golems, so they likely wouldn’t work. But Force Field alone was enough. I fired another Magic Bullet backward and ran, intending to put more than 20 meters of distance between us to hide again.

I broke through a hallway window and escaped outside. The guard followed immediately, and I used Force Field again. This time, the guard swung her sword. A wave of sword energy flew, cutting the Force Field in half. I used the Leap skill to throw myself out of the way.

By intermittently obstructing the guard’s movements with Force Fields, I did my best to run away. The guard was stubbornly persistent. I just needed to gain enough distance to use hiding, but she doggedly followed. As soon as the cooldown was up, I scattered Flame Strikes in all directions. As she emerged from the smoke, I used another Force Field and ran toward the edge of the Workshop.

[0:05]

The Workshop was floating in the sky; its edge was a precipice. I leaped toward the empty air. Then, after using a Force Field, I used it as a foothold to leap once more with the Leap skill. A massive wave of sword energy flew after me, but I dodged it easily with Teleportation, which was finally off cooldown.

[0:05]

Only 5 seconds left. I fell downward, having reactivated my hiding. Phew, it was close, but I won. All I had to do was wait for the warp to activate while falling. Turning my body to look at the guard standing at the edge of the cliff…

“…Uh.”

She was preparing another attack. The guard thrust her sword repeatedly at a terrifying speed, her arm a mere blur. Like a machine gun firing, sharp bolts of sword energy rained down toward me.

I used Time Stop. Because I was hidden, she couldn’t pinpoint my direction, so it was an indiscriminate attack. But with rotten luck, one bolt was flying straight toward me.

…What should I do? I couldn’t dodge it completely. If I twisted my body, I might be able to get away with only losing an arm. Fine, then. Injuries are fully healed once the strategy is cleared anyway. I even have Rapid Regeneration. Should I take this chance to see if Rapid Regeneration can regrow a severed limb? I’d used Rapid Regeneration boosted 27 times, but I didn’t know the extent of its original effect.

After recovering all my spent Willpower, I resumed time and twisted my body.

Slash!

“…!”

Skin Hardening was indeed useless against that monster’s attack. My left arm flew off before my eyes. Blood sprayed, and a surge of intense pain hit me. It hurts! It hurts like hell… but I can take it! Compared to the pain of my whole body being seared by fire, this was mild. I guess experience really is important for everything.

I gritted my teeth and used Rapid Regeneration immediately. Then I checked the remaining time on the Warp Device.

[0:01]

As the time ran out, the space before my eyes distorted. When the distortion returned to normal, I was suddenly back on the ground.

“Ugh.”

I pushed myself up and looked down at my arm. My severed left arm was rapidly growing back as if it were boiling. Soon, I clenched and unclenched my fully regenerated left hand.

“It regenerates just fine.”

Rapid Regeneration can even regrow severed body parts. New knowledge acquired.

Rumble…!

Just then, the sound of an explosion reached me from afar. Looking toward the horizon, a massive explosion was taking place. I realized that the Workshop I had been in just moments ago was right there.

Phew… that was a lot of work. As I stood watching the explosion, messages appeared.