Antagonist Protection Service-Chapter 187 - The Augury Tower (14)
187: The Augury Tower (14)
187: The Augury Tower (14)
[New Objective: Defeat the Floor Boss]
“…”
Staring at the notification for a while, my expression naturally soured.
I didn’t want to admit it, but the likelihood was only increasing.
‘I’ll have to kill one of those things, won’t I…?’
Recalling the sheer size of that gigantic foot that almost crushed me outside, I couldn’t even picture the full body of what one of those giants must have looked like.
Or perhaps, because it was a Floor Boss, it would be even bigger than that.
“Like the Boss in the cave on the Floor with the forest…”
Muttering, I shortly shook my head.
Something like that would be just ridiculous―a too-big jump from the kind of enemy found on the Sixth Floor.
I wasn’t entirely certain on how strong the average Challenger would be around this Floor, but considering the speed at which Floors were cleared in the past, even John Pierce can’t have had an easy time.
‘…Let’s just go.’
Again, there was no time limit placed on me by the Tower, but I still couldn’t afford to waste time dawdling about.
Stepping forward, I made sure to activate Sneak and progress deeper into the colossal passage.
‘If the Boss is going to be anywhere, it’s through here.’
I figured the intended progression for this Floor was linear, like most of the others.
“Go to this place, do this thing”, or “do this thing, then go here”.
Most of the Floor Objectives seemed to be in either order, and whether it was for one Objective or both, I could tell it was being lenient.
‘Everywhere it’s wanted me to go has been pretty straightforward to get there…
except for the desert and the jungle, I guess.
To get to either of those target locations in time, the pyramid or the ancient relic and back to the temple, most people would need to think outside the box if they didn’t have any abilities specialised for fast traversal.’
The pyramid was debatable, as depending on where you went during the first Objective of survival, you could be either closer or farther away from the pyramid when it spawned, but either way, the Fifth Floor’s jungle was definitely devilish.
‘Anyway, it’s probably the same here.
It said “reach shelter”, but I wouldn’t be surprised if this was the only shelter on the whole damn Floor, and it just so happened to be in a straight line from the spawn point.
Following the giants would have led you here, too…’
I did hear the sound of other giants walking around when I was outside, but they must have been much further away, their purpose to lead anyone who got lost in the snowfield to this place.
‘Guess it’s only the tutorial after all.’
When I reflected and realised just how straightforward these Objectives were designed to be, at least on paper, I suddenly thought this Floor Boss might not be such a big deal after all.
Of course, I was talking about difficulty, not literal size.
After a long while of walking, following the cold, dark and absolutely humongous corridor, I passed many branching paths, relying on nothing but my instinct and senses to take me to where the Floor Boss lied.
Eventually, I came across a door.
A door made of stone, but more importantly, one I could only barely seem to glimpse the top of even when I craned my neck all the way up.
“Hm…”
‘Now this is a boss room alright.’
With my comparatively tiny self, would I even be able to make it budge?
I sincerely doubted so, but I couldn’t simply stop here.
Approaching it, I placed a hand on each side, only able to determine that by the slim crack that ran down the middle.
‘Open…?’
Exerting strength into my arms, I wasn’t sure what I expected, but I still found myself surprised when the door moved with just a bit of effort, opening until there was enough room for me to slip through.
What lay beyond was a vast hall, a dozen or so colossal pillars stretching into the impenetrable darkness above, so dense it wouldn’t let me see either the top or the other end of the hall.
That didn’t last for long, however.
Fwoosh~!
On every pillar, great torches lit up in pairs, beginning with those at my end of the hall and progressively illuminating the space further and further in.
As the final pair of torches sparked and ignited on their pillars, everything was illuminated, including what lay right at the opposite end of the hall.
A throne of such proportions I could hardly conceive, and sitting within…
“…”
Without a doubt, it was the Floor Boss.
A typical giant, tattered clothing draped over its dark blue body―an emaciated, hollow appearance that made me doubt whether it was even still alive.
Donning a dull, rusted crown atop its head, where long, ashen hair fell down to its shoulders, it sat still on the throne as if dead, leading me closer to that belief even more.
Of course, I knew for certain that that wasn’t the case, and I was soon proven right.
The giant lord’s eyes, or rather, where they should have been, were quite literally empty and soulless, but not for long as the sockets abruptly ignited with small flames just as the torches had done.
Scanning his whole body, I then noticed something significant.
‘It’s got no legs…?’
That’s right―from where the frayed, ripped and overly worn clothing came to an end at the bottom of the monster’s waist, there was nothing.
In my head, I immediately recognised it and clenched my fist.
This was how they balanced the Floor Boss.
Noticing the giant beginning to shift in its stone chair, moving its gigantic limbs to lift itself from the slumped posture in its throne, I acted quickly.
Summoning something from Storage, a weapon soon entered my hands, its body slender and pristinely white.
Swiftly getting into position, I aimed the barrel of the White Death right at the head of the giant.
Right at that moment―
“YAAAOOOOOGGHHHRR…!!”
―It opened its mouth, unleashing a ferocious roar unlike anything I had ever heard.
“Gh!”
Gritting my teeth and flinching, it was almost enough to make me hunch over with how it hurt my ears, seemingly trying to disorient me, but I held on, tightening my grip on the White Death even more, unyielding.
Opening my squinted eyes, I took aim, and before it had a chance to go again, pulled the trigger.
In the next moment, the giant’s head was thrown back with a great force, almost slamming it back into the throne as I confirmed a hit, readying another shot.
‘Not enough…’
Its mouth open, the giant seemed wanting to cry again, yet rendered unable by the shot―lowering its face to look in my direction, I spotted the wound.
Just like I wanted, the bullet connected directly with one of its eyes, but as I suspected, it was too big a creature to be taken out just by that.
‘Huh…?
Wait, what is it–‘
Then, rather than roaring, it moved surprisingly fast, pushing itself off its throne and throwing itself towards me.
Naturally, because it had no legs, it crashed straight into the ground rather pitifully, sending a large tremor to shake the ground beneath my feet and causing my eyes to widen.
‘Is it stupid?
Why the hell…’
For a moment, I wondered if it forgot it couldn’t walk, but quickly dismissed the thought.
Details like that didn’t matter―I was only here to clear the Floor as fast as possible.
If the boss itself wanted to make things easier, then who was I to complain?
Raising the White Death again, I aimed at the giant which had become a sitting duck.
Staring down its massive, ugly mug from the opposite end of the hall, I noticed it stretching its lanky arm towards me, realising its reach was still extraordinarily far without needing to walk.
Pulling the trigger again, I watched the magic bullet impact the boss’ remaining eye, ripping right through its possibly ancient skin, muscle, and even bone.
With such devastating damage wrought upon it not once but twice, there was no way even such a physically overwhelming thing could survive, and almost immediately, it collapsed, the giant’s death easily proven by the fact of its reaching arm suddenly falling to the ground like a marionette with its strings cut.
Of course, it’s not like that was the only way to prove it was dead.
[Floor Cleared]
“…”
In the end, it felt more like putting down a sick dog than defeating a boss, and I wasn’t sure how to feel.
