Read Novel Full Chapter 277
Chapter 277
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Chapter 277 – I’ll Come Again
(How the hell do you win this with a normal raid party?)
Gritting my teeth, I latched onto its neck and fired off the most advantageous magic I could think of in this situation: Lightning Magic.
“Haah… Scorch every inch of flesh and blood from the neck. Explode! Thunder Blast!”
“Gwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”
“Nggghhhh!”
Two screams mingled and echoed.
I’d underestimated this boss, but it was quite competent.
I thought the lightning wouldn’t travel through the body, but when I entered the third stage, I was suddenly struck by lightning that felt like it pierced my skull.
It wasn’t a one-time fluke. Even the second time, when I braced myself, the lightning bounced back at me.
The only possible cause was a skill called Mirror Water.
Had the flesh inside melted or shrunk? Was it a mistake to reach in and grab its bones?
Even with Magic Detection, there’s a moment when magic condenses upon activation. It must have created Mirror Water in that brief moment.
Still, thanks to my Thunder and Paralysis Resistance, I sustained minimal damage and shook off the paralysis quickly.
“Freeze the surrounding water and plateau…”
I said this to prevent Gargouille from diving back to the bottom of the lake.
I needed to seal it while it was paralyzed and slowed, dodging damage with only Immobility wouldn’t suffice.
As it entered the third stage, water gushed up from the bottom again, swirling and churning. I had no intention of pulling my thrusting arm out, though.
If I did, it could escape to the depths of the water.
So, acting instinctively, I froze the water to prevent Gargouille from submerging.
However, water still gushed up relentlessly from below. I repeatedly created layers of ice, freezing the ground beneath Gargouille and its lower body, immobilizing it.
With its neck locked in place, the only attack Gargouille could make was to fire water spears in all directions.
“Ugh, guh… Annoying… Generate a solid stone wall… around me.”
Trying to protect myself from the increased barrage of water spears, I created multiple stone walls around me. Without pausing for a moment, I paralyzed Gargouille, unleashed magic from my feet, and continued freezing the area around it from below.
And then—
“Finally… stopped?”
The steadily rising lake surface came to a complete halt. Before me lay Gargouille, more than half of its body encased in ice. It shook its head sluggishly as it struggled.
Seeing no point in continuing to unleash self-destructive magic, I pulled my arms free from its neck. I used Ignition to melt only the parts buried in ice, freeing myself from the frozen world.
My entire body was freezing, but I couldn’t afford to care about that now.
Gargouille had only its long neck and head above the ground. Its movements were sluggish and its breath labored, but its eyes were far from dead. It glared at me piercingly.
“Precisely because it’s the boss, it has value and meaning. That’s what makes it so difficult.”
Muttering to myself, I retrieved the longsword I had stored away.
“Power Blade.”
“Gwoaaah… Ahh…”
“You’re already near death, aren’t you?”
If the goal was to kill it outright, there were other ways.
I could have burned it from within or used Spatial Magic to erase the frozen, immobile parts.
However, I was particular about how I won, keeping an eye on materials I could reuse for future equipment.
In the end, severing the head was the best option in the long term.
―Soul Armor―
“Well then, I’ll come again.”
“…Gwaah…”
―Power Blade―Whirlwind―
‘You have leveled up to 59.’
‘You have leveled up to 60.’
‘You have acquired Devour Lv6.’
‘You have acquired Circling Water Lv1.’
‘You have acquired Circling Water Lv2.’
‘You have acquired Circling Water Lv3.’
‘You have acquired Circling Water Lv4.’
‘You have acquired Circling Water Lv5.’
‘You have acquired Magic Detection Lv5.’
‘You have unlocked Magic Envelopment.’
‘You have acquired Mirror Water Lv1.’
‘You have acquired Mirror Water Lv2.’
‘You have acquired Mirror Water Lv3.’
‘You have acquired Mirror Water Lv4.’
‘You have acquired Water Resistance Lv7.’
‘You have acquired Formless Water Spear Lv1.’
‘You have acquired Formless Water Spear Lv2.’
‘You have acquired Formless Water Spear Lv3.’
‘You have acquired Formless Water Spear Lv4.’
‘You have acquired Formless Water Spear Lv5.’
“Haaah… Perfect.”
▽ ▼ ▽ ▼ ▽
I retrieved Gargouille’s corpse, along with the surrounding ice. While it burned brightly white, it rapidly melted the ice.
Down in the underground—or rather, as far as my Investigation could tell, the drainage had caused the water to flow into the hole—the greatsword that I had discarded in order to be unarmed was still lying there.
If some teleportation warp resets the space…
Losing the weapon that Lodge made for me would not be a laughing matter. Reluctantly, I sprawled out on the ice and leisurely checked my spoils while heading underground.
(Are only Mirror Water and Circling Water usable?)
Those flying, spear-like attacks would probably turn the enemy into a beehive if they lacked proper resistance or magic defense. They seemed effective against multiple foes, though.
Well, they seem to be usable only in that special spherical field environment. If they don’t work, I’ll just have to accept it.
Besides, I feel like I could achieve something similar with Water Magic, albeit on a different scale.
The real issue is the two usable ones. Checking the detailed descriptions made me sigh involuntarily: “Man, these have some serious quirks.”
Circling Water Lv5: Forcibly circulates water over a wide area. Range and speed depend on skill level. Magic power consumption: 70 every minute. ※Cannot be activated in areas without water.
Mirror Water Lv4: Automatically defends against and reflects magical attacks using water. Reflection accuracy depends on skill level. Magic power consumption: 30 every 10 seconds. ※Cannot be activated in areas without water.
How should I put it? Both require water to activate, which makes them incredibly inconvenient.
They’d probably be amazing if I could limit the location, though.
Circling Water seems to pair well with skills like Felin’s Terrain Manipulation. If you need to move water on a scale beyond what Water Magic can handle, this is the skill to use.
The fact that it doesn’t require a long chant and activates quickly is probably a strength of the special skills possessed by bosses and monsters.
But seriously, where would I use this?
Compared to that, Mirror Water seems more practical and usable.
It also requires water, but the amount needed is much less.
To put it bluntly, I could scatter water in advance in case I need it. Thinking that way, the usage requirements seem much lower.
The downside is that, despite being automatic, it requires prep work and isn’t constantly active. Therefore, it can’t serve as a self-defense mechanism.
Even so, if used well in combat, it should be powerful. Today, I’ll have Zeo cast some light spells to confirm the finer details, such as whether the Earth Magic and Ice Magic material generation types are effective.
Also, the result of the Soul Armor challenge was an Intelligence of 620.
It’s numerically neither great nor terrible. I could’ve probably gotten a better one elsewhere.
Still, I achieved my immediate goal of equipping two boss types with exceptionally high stats. Self-enhancement is going smoothly.
Haaah… but still… mmm.
Skill Points: 133
I can’t stop grinning about leveling up twice this time, which gave me extra skill points.
Now, what should I spend them on next?
I could level up Soul Armor one more time to prepare for the next boss and boost my weak Agility stat.
Yeah, that’s definitely a good idea.
‘You have acquired Soul Armor Lv3.’
Plus, when I saw the old lady use the Magic Envelopment technique that I unlocked this time, I felt a longing.
Lost in such blissful daydreams, I arrived at the lake bottom before I knew it; the ice had melted away.
There are several holes I can drop things into, so I generate light orbs and drop them inside.
I can see the greatsword further back. Which hole should I put it in?
―Presence Detection―
―Investigation: Light orb―
“Hmm… Is this place connected inside?”
All the entrances were about 1.5 meters wide holes, and the light orbs I’d dropped into different ones all seemed to be heading in the same direction.
Worrying about it was pointless.
I stood at the entrance of a downward-sloping hole. I grimaced at the smell of the wind blowing up from below for a moment, but then I plunged straight inside to retrieve the sword.
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