I stood there blankly, just staring at the window.
Then I snapped out of it and hurriedly scooped up the other cores too.
[200P acquired.]
[200P acquired.]
[200P acquired.]
.
.
.
Shop.
Tower defense… upgrade system…
“…haha.”
Fucking hell.
Only then did I finally grasp the gimmick of the 4th floor, and all I could do was laugh like I’d lost my mind.
No wonder sothing had felt off the whole ti.
The level of the golems coming out was way beyond anything other Nightmare challengers could possibly handle.
There’d been a hidden upgrade system, just like in an actual ga.
The intended approach was to upgrade steadily while clearing the stages, and I’d just been muscling my way through on raw stats.
Ugh… the rage is rising…
All the other golems had cores too.
But the wreckage disappeared the mont each new stage started, which ant eleven stages’ worth of points had all just vanished into thin air.
So how much had I lost at this point?
‘Hah…’
My head was spinning, but at least I’d caught on now, which was a relief.
I looked over the shop list again.
[Shop]
– Physical Damage 10% (100P)
– Magic Damage 10% (100P)
– Willpower 10% (100P)
– Attribute Conversion (500P)
– Force Field (50P)
– Slow (50P)
– Stop (100P)
– Special Gacha! (5,000P)
Points held: 4,000P
Damage up and willpower up I got, but Attribute Conversion…?
[Attribute Conversion (500P)]
Converts physical damage into magic damage, and magic damage into physical damage.
Ah, so this was for dealing with red and blue golems.
No use to , since I’d already gotten past them.
[Force Field (50P)]
Installs a force field at a chosen point in the corridor that blocks golem advance. The force field lasts for 30 seconds.
[Slow (50P)]
Slows golems in the corridor by 50%. The effect lasts for 30 seconds.
[Stop (100P)]
Halts golems in the corridor. The effect lasts for 30 seconds.
So these were for blocking the golems’ advance.
[Special Gacha! (5,000P)]
Initiates a Special Gacha draw. The prize list is as follows. (All prizes have equal probability.)
– Skill Effect 300% Scroll
– Ability Nullification Part
– Grand Incineration Switch
And all the way down to the last, most expensive draw.
[Purchased ‘Magic Damage 10% (100P)’.]
My current points: 4,000P.
For starters, I bought one magic damage boost.
[Shop]
– Physical Damage 10% (100P)
– Magic Damage 10% (200P)
– Willpower 10% (100P)
– Attribute Conversion (500P)
– Force Field (50P)
– Slow (50P)
– Stop (100P)
– Special Gacha! (5,000P)
Points held: 3,900P
Once I bought it, the price had gone up by 100.
So upgrades got progressively more expensive each ti?
I had no way of knowing whether the physical damage boost would apply to Plli too, so for now I only bought magic damage.
– The Green Golem will revive once even after being completely destroyedddd… Please respond with cautionnnn…
An announcent played.
Stage 13 was about to begin.
Revive after death? So they had two lives.
I didn’t use the rest of the points yet.
There were only five of them, so I’d feel out the situation first before deciding how to spend.
I’d already taken a huge point loss, so I had to be careful about spending.
The entrance opened and a Green Golem ca out.
I laid down a Scorching Zone at the entrance corridor.
Whoosh, crackle!
The golem burst into fla and marched on through.
I fired off a Fla Strike and hit the golem too.
BOOM!
The mont the near-destroyed golem stepped out of the Scorching Zone, Plli finished it off.
The golem collapsed, shattered.
Soon the broken debris began to rise and reassembled itself.
Okay, so that’s how it works?
I left the revived one to Plli and took on the next golem.
As the stages progressed, not only the special traits but the golems’ base stats went up too, making them harder and harder to destroy.
Still, Green Golems didn’t ignore damage below a certain threshold like the Black ones did, so they were easier to take down. Plus I had a 10% damage boost now.
Five of them were no real trouble to clear.
With the one revive each, it basically ant I’d handled ten.
[250P acquired.]
[250P acquired.]
[250P acquired.]
.
.
.
I collected all the cores and earned another 1,250P total.
So it went up by 50P each ti the golems changed?
I froze ti and ran a simulation for the next stage in my head.
‘If five are this manageable…’
Then ten would work out sohow too.
The one after that might get a bit rough though?
Twenty golems, effectively forty, would probably need more damage upgrades.
‘No, wait.’
[Force Field (50P)]
Installs a force field at a chosen point in the corridor that blocks golem advance. The force field lasts for 30 seconds.
Should I try using this?
If the force field really did block the golems’ advance completely for 30 seconds…
For soone like who could just herd the golems into a single corridor and click off a Destruction Ray, the efficiency was absurdly broken.
I’d try this out later at Stage 15 with the twenty golems.
[Purchased ‘Magic Damage 10% (200P)’.]
Stage 14 begins.
I spent 200P to boost damage by just another 10%.
Ten Green Golems, effectively twenty, cleared without a hitch and without even needing Destruction Ray.
I collected all the dropped cores and earned 2,500P.
The next stage, 15, was twenty golems, effectively forty.
Just as I’d planned, I decided to test out the force field.
Upgrades got more expensive with each purchase, but the force field was disposable yet cheap, giving it great efficiency.
If I set up a force field at the end of Corridor 1 to block the golems, then what?
The force field lasted 30 seconds.
It took the first golem 30 seconds to reach the end of Corridor 1, and it took a full 2 minutes for all twenty golems to co out.
That ant I’d need to use the force field three tis: 150P spent.
Then I’d have to wait another 3 minutes for the revive and for the Destruction Ray cooldown: another 300P spent.
By my math, I could clear the whole stage cleanly with just 450P total.
Actually no, if Plli and I got involved to delay the golems’ advance as much as possible while we used it, we’d spend much less than that.
‘There’s definitely a boss still waiting…’
The fact that Special Gacha was on the shop list nagged at sohow.
Wouldn’t there be so situation where I’d need to use it?
Rather than dumping everything into upgrades, I felt I should save as many points as I could.
I’d already taken a huge loss as it was… ugh, fuck.
The lights turned red and Stage 15 began.
A Green Golem ca walking out.
Plli and I intercepted and delayed the golems’ advance as much as we could, just like we’d done earlier with the Black Golems.
Then, pushed back bit by bit, we reached the tail end of Corridor 1.
[Purchased ‘Force Field (50P)’.]
I used the force field as planned.
A semi-transparent blue force field ford exactly where I wanted, at the end of Corridor 1.
Thud. Thud.
The golem kept ramming its head against the force field, unable to advance.
With the front one blocked, the ones behind it piled up too, just bumping into each other.
As expected, the force field held perfectly for 30 seconds, with no breaking or anything.
Once the 30 seconds ended, the force field vanished.
[Purchased ‘Force Field (50P)’.]
Plli and I struggled again for a bit and, at the right mont, put up another force field.
Unlike the damage boosts, the force field didn’t get more expensive with repeated purchases.
With just two force fields, spending only 100P, I successfully herded all the golems into Corridor 2.
Then I swept them all away with Destruction Ray.
Even my 20%-boosted Destruction Ray punched clean through every single golem again this ti.
Rumble…
The golems, hollowed straight through, all collapsed at once, and then all revived at once.
The rest was just a repeat of what I’d done before.
Hold out until Destruction Ray ca off cooldown while using force fields, then Destruction Ray again.
Using only 200P, I cleared Stage 15 cleanly.
I hurried to scoop up the dropped cores.
[Shop]
– Physical Damage 10% (100P)
– Magic Damage 10% (300P)
– Willpower 10% (100P)
– Attribute Conversion (500P)
– Force Field (50P)
– Slow (50P)
– Stop (100P)
– Special Gacha! (5,000P)
Points held: 12,250P
12,250P.
Quite a solid stockpile.
During the break, I checked the gacha list one more ti.
[Special Gacha! (5,000P)]
Initiates a Special Gacha draw. The prize list is as follows. (All prizes have equal probability.)
– Skill Effect 300% Scroll
– Ability Nullification Part
– Grand Incineration Switch
Looking at the list more carefully, individual descriptions popped up.
[Skill Effect 300% Scroll]
Select any one skill, of any kind, and increase its effect to 300%. Tear the scroll to use. (Stackable)
One skill’s effect increased by 300%.
Exactly what the na said.
[Ability Nullification Part]
Nullifies all abilities of a single golem. Can be used by making contact with the golem.
Ability nullification, also exactly as nad.
It completely nullified one golem’s abilities.
[Grand Incineration Switch]
Press the button to execute a Grand Incineration. A powerful blaze will wipe out all golems. Including you, of course!
Last up, the Grand Incineration Switch.
Wipes out every golem. included.
“Including you, of course!” it says. Cute.
So basically a self-destruct button, though why sothing like this even existed was beyond .
– Yellow Golems cannot be impededddd… Please respond with cautionnnn…
While I was reading the descriptions, the announcent ca on. Break ti was over.
…Can’t be impeded? Hold on.
Doesn’t that an I can’t block their path?
Ding.
The lights turned red and the entrance opened.
A Yellow Golem walked out.
Plli leapt in and ramd it with his body, but…
Thunk!
The Yellow Golem wasn’t pushed back so much as a single inch, it just kept walking. Plli was the one who got bounced off.
I tried Blade Storm too, but it had absolutely no effect.
Wait, don’t tell force fields don’t work either?
[Purchased ‘Force Field (50P)’.]
I dropped a force field right in front of the Yellow Golem.
The instant the force field touched the Yellow Golem, it shattered into pieces, and the golem strode right on through, completely unfazed.
‘You’ve got to be…’
Slow and Stop wouldn’t work either, then, obviously.
It seed like there were no shortcuts, and I’d have to destroy them with pure damage alone.
I hurled magic at them while Plli climbed onto the golems and tore into them with his jaws.
Its actual defense was only a bit higher than a Green Golem’s, so it went down quickly.
All five were handled without much trouble, and Stage 16 ended.
[300P acquired.]
[300P acquired.]
[300P acquired.]
.
.
.
After collecting all the cores, I’d earned 1,500P.
I stopped ti and thought it over.
Just when I thought it might get easier, another bullshit golem had popped up, but…
Honestly, it wasn’t much of a problem.
From my rough estimate, ten of them should be clearable without Destruction Ray with just one more damage upgrade.
And twenty beca effectively fifteen once I wiped out the first five with Destruction Ray.
With twenty golems, just the spawning alone took 2 minutes, so I could actually cycle Destruction Ray one more ti, but… since I had no idea what the next stage might throw at , I was planning not to use it more than twice.
My baseline stats were so solid that with three more damage upgrades I could handle Stage 18 comfortably, no problem. I had more than enough points.
Wow… was it really okay to coast through a Nightmare this smoothly?
That thought crossed my mind, and I slapped myself hard across the cheek.
‘Who told you to get cocky, you crazy bastard?’
The boss hadn’t even shown up yet.
The core gimmick had really pissed off, but… how do I put it.
That special deep-bone nightmare-level bullshittery, I wasn’t quite feeling it yet?
My gut, honed from clearing three Nightmare floors, was worth trusting.
Arguably, I was humanity’s top Nightmare somlier.
So absolutely no letting my guard down until the very end.
Ding.
Stage 17 began.
[Purchased ‘Magic Damage 10% (300P)’.]
[Purchased ‘Magic Damage 10% (400P)’.]
[Purchased ‘Magic Damage 10% (500P)’.]
I spent a total of 1,200P on three more damage upgrades, just as planned.
BOOM!
With my now even stronger firepower, I dispatched ten Yellow Golems easily.
The next stage, 18, with twenty of them, was the sa.
I used Destruction Ray to blast away the first five in Corridor 1, then handled the remaining fifteen.
[Shop]
– Physical Damage 10% (100P)
– Magic Damage 10% (600P)
– Willpower 10% (100P)
– Attribute Conversion (500P)
– Force Field (50P)
– Slow (50P)
– Stop (100P)
– Special Gacha! (5,000P)
Points held: 21,500P
After clearing Stage 18.
My points were now over 20,000.
But seriously… how many stages are there exactly?
Shouldn’t the end be in sight by now?
Just then, an announcent played.
– Our workshop’s greatest masterpiece is malfunctioningggg… All staff are advised to respond with great, great cautionnnn…
…Greatest masterpiece?
‘It’s the boss.’
Sensing that the boss was finally coming, I turned my gaze toward the entrance.
The entrance opened, and heavy footsteps, far weightier than any of the previous golems’, echoed out.
Thud. Thud. Thud…
A massive silhouette erged.
The mont I saw it, I couldn’t help but blurt out:
“…You’ve got to be kidding .”
Its head: black.
Left upper body: red. Right upper body: blue.
Left lower body: green. Right lower body: yellow.
It was a golem that had gathered every color of every golem that had co before, all packed into one body.
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