Chapter 150: The Third Floor
Chapter 150: The Third Floor
Our arrival to the third floor marks the situation different this time around. We are now in a place where the surroundings resemble the gymnasium. Another thing to note are the gym equipment scatterred on the altered hallways. There are too many basketballs, volleyballs, tennis balls, and some baseball bats along with other things commonly used during P.E.
Not only that, while the hallway is darker compared to the first two floors, and there is the constant sound of balls bouncing on the floor, making this place a lot more creepier than the rest. Of course, the violet blotches is also present.
"What is that sound?" Anya looked around the hallway to see the source but failed to find where it was.
"Don't bother finding it. It is more likely the work of the monsters here."
"But there are no monsters around at the moment. I can't detect any in our vicinity..."
"But that doesn't mean the enemies are not around lurking. Just don't let your guard down."
Proceeding the dark hallway that is a twisted version of the gymnasium, we tread with great caution. After all, the enemies are lurking in the dark and waiting for us as their unsuspecting prey. Every step we make greatly unsettles me due to how just a single step from our shoes will create a loud echo. Even the slight footstep is enough to cause a loud ruckus.
"Master, I can feel entities staring at us. However, I can't pinpoint their actual location," Yuto said.
"Yuri, can you attract them to come out? That way, we can avoid ambushes in the dark."
"I will try, Master," Yuri clasped her hands and started chanting the lure spell.
The only thing is that... no one came.
"That's odd, the enemies are resilient and immune to my lures! I even tried using some charm magic to enhance the chances!"
"It's alright Yuri, you did great, rest a little bit and recover your mana," I said and focused myself around.
Mapping the place is a little bit harder than the previous two floors. If the two floors will immediately show the whole place's layout, the third floor is the opposite and only shows the parts where we passed by. The rest of the place where we have not explored will just remain black to my Insight ability. It was quite a hurdle even for me since we cannot immediately find the stairwell that will lead to the next floor, if there is ever one here. Though I am hoping this is the last floor and the solution to the blocked exits will be released.
Just as we are on the next turn on the alley, I felt my scalp tingle and without any hesitation, I cast a quick fireball and throw it to the direction in the darkness.
BANG!
SKREEEEEE!!!
A shriek came from the direction I throw the black fireball in. I was able to luckily strike the monster trying to attack us in the darkness. However, that doesn't mean we already managed to get out of the monster whom I just hit. The fireball is not enough to burn a monster to cinders immediately but that was enough to cause a severe burn if an enemy was hit by it.
"Get ready everyone!"
Rumble started to shake the hallway and the bouncing ball sounds started to get really strong that you might mistake the rumbling sounds as earthquake but that is impossible here according to Godou after asking him last time. That means only one thing, this rumbling is caused by a monster.
Slowly, the one causing the rumbling sound is a very big monster. No, he looks more like a muscle man than a monster usually seen in any stories I have seen. This guy looked similar to a guy who drunk a whole factory of protein and continue his exercises without stopping for a whole year. He is so BUFF.
The veins are popping out on his muscles and the muscles no longer looked like muscles, they looked like rocks disguised as muscles. It looks disgusting and even a buff person who usually goes to gym will never want to become this buff.
"GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!"
Without any warning, it punched the ground, causing a strong shockwave occur and destroying floor. There is no point tanking that attack. Before the shock wave can even reach us and convert our surroundings to rubble, I ordered everyone to fall back and to make sure that we won't get caught by the shock wave, I erected the Domain of Balmung.
The Domain of Balmung is also mastered this time. Before, the shields I can erect at that time is the thinnest shields of the Domain of Balmung. Since the Domain of Balmung is specialized to defend from the attacks of dragons, anything below the dragon's strength will be blocked without any problem. My shield before was fairly brittle and will easily be broken but after practicing it for 10 years, I managed to grasp the difficulty of putting the right thickness of the Domain of Balmung in the right time.
Anyways, back to the situation. The protein madman is proceeding to pound the floor like it was pounding dirt. Every pound will release quite a troublesome shockwave that immediately tears down the floor to rubble. Thankfully, the rubble immediately disappear and the floor that was destroyed quickly "repairs" itself, returning to its former look.
However, this is not the time to be admiring the floor's self repair power, we have a bigger problem chasing us down.
"Yuri, can you charm this monster down?! We have to deal with it quickly!"
"I will try, Master!"
Yuri made her cute pose to charm the monster, releasing a pink heart full of charm gases that any monster will be immediately charmed... but...
"Eehhh!? This is the second time it got deflected! How come these monster is not charmed at all?! Even golems do not fair well with my charm magic!"
"GRAAAAAAHHHHHH GOOOOOOOOO!!!!"
"Can you destroy that monster, Anya?!" I asked.
"Brother, that is beyond the scope of what I can do. Also, I don't want to deal with a naked old guy with a muscular body! That is disgusting!"