Chapter 31
With a loud noise, the stone doors of the boss room opened.
Huh…
Beyond the stone doors was a view similar to that of a painting.
Two mountain peaks standing above the clouds.
It would of been very emotional experience, if it wasn’t for the fact that I was standing on top of one of the peaks which was less than 4m in width and length.
The stone doors disappeared into thin air after leaving me behind on this peak.
What am I suppose to do on this tiny patch of ground.
One misstep and I’ll fall to the floor which I can’t even see from here.
The edges of the peak seemed to have been cut artificially.
There are no branches or gaps on the stone, so it’s just one way down if I fall.
Looking down from the edge of the peak with my hands on the ground, I was beginning to get light headed.
d.a.m.n it, what’s going to happen if I fall?
If I use the blink ability and remove all momentum on my body before hitting the ground, I will survive.
In theory.
I didn’t want to prove it with an experiment either.
Not to mention I can’t see what’s underneath because of the clouds.
This is probably the greatest place in the universe for monks and saints who practice martial arts to meditate,
but for everything else, it’s very uncomfortable.
Extreme winds pushed my body about.
I managed to hold on by lowering my body onto the floor.
Just standing on this place seems life threatening.
Plus, maybe because of the height, it was hard to breath.
As I was sighing at the rediculous environment, the kind boss room message appeared as usual.
[Reach for the objective]
Sorry?
Objective?
From here?
The only ‘objective’ I can see with my eyes is the other peak few kilometres away from here.
The, a tile appeared in the air.
Square tile, identical in length and width.
Each dimentions were about 2m.
The tile which was green at the start, turned yellow, into red, and then fell.
Green, yellow, red, fall.
I’ve memorised the pattern.
After that.
A green bridge formed connecting this peak to the other peak waaay over there.
A bridge in thin air, extending for kilometres high in the clouds.
It was purely made of green tiles, with no pillars to support it.
Wait, can you even call this a bridge?
It’s just tiles arranged in the air.
Even at this moment, the winds blew with the ferocity to drop me down the peak.
[Reach for the objective]
A message with an arrow pointing to the peak far into the distance showed.
You’re kidding right?
Come on, this is too much.
Just think of the difficulty in the 3rd room’s traps.
There’s too much of a jump in difficulty.
I prayed, and prayed again in my mind, but the ‘green’ tile bridge proved what I feared the most in the worst possible way.
The very first tile in front of me turned from green to yellow.
Oh. My. G.o.d.
I think I figured out the theme of this boss room.
It’s very similar to a running game type, often seen in a mobile game.
I must run forward, never stopping, and dodge the traps while I’m at it.
If I were to slow down, I’d be eaten by a monster from behind.
Well for this case, instead of a monster chasing from behind, I’d fall endlessly onto the ground.
Not to mention I have to run thousands of metres above the ground.
Plus, if I fall, I don’t get a retry.
Oi!
Is this how it is!
s.h.i.t, s.h.i.t! I really want to swear now.
I don’t know who it is, but there must be someone who designed, and made this place.
I don’t know if it’s G.o.d or an alien.
I really want to say f.u.c.k you at his face.
Uaaah!
Leaving my anger and irritation behind, I stood on top of the tile.
The yellow tile turned instantly red the moment I stood on it.
It then began to fall.
As I had no wish to enjoy the view below the clouds, I quickly moved onto the next tile.
Standing on the next tile, I could see the clouds underneath my feet.
Just looking at it made me want to collapse in fear.
My heart was pounding with each step.
I can feel my life shortening every time.
One tile after another, they turned yellow similar to the speed I was walking.
And soon, fell after turning red.
d.a.m.n, just standing on this bridge is taking all I have.
Even as I continued through the bridge with shaking legs, the tiles began to fall faster.
What do you want me to do now!
Are you telling me to run facing against the howling winds!
Yep, that’s what it meant.
As if all this was a warmup, the colour change and fall of the tiles became faster considerably.
I had no choice but to run.
[Battle focus]
I ran with the thought that my death was really, really close.
Unlike what I had originally thought, once I started to run, I could hold my balance well against the winds.
This body has gone beyond that of a normal human.
My sense of balance and reflex has reached the realm of extraordinary.
Let’s run!
Uhah,
Uahahahah.
I’m going nuts here.
Is this how an addicted gambler feels when he all ins his entire fortune, or
maybe it’s like pulling the trigger while playing the russian roulette.
The extreme tension and fear became destructive pleasure.
Is it because of the hormones?
Ping!
I blocked an arrow which appeared from nowhere.
Dear, G.o.d.
These shameless b.a.s.t.a.r.ds.
They dare fire arrows in this situation.
If I didn’t have a shield, I have to dodge, and if I dodge, I lose my balance.
Then I’d just end up falling.
Turning around, I could see 5 tiles between where I was and the one falling.
Alright, let’s maintain this speed.
I can block arrows for days.
As I relieved myself with that thought, the bridge suddenly shook.
It began to move up and down.
There were no outside forces causing it.
The bridge itself, as if sentient with the thought of dropping me, moved.
These complete a.s.sholes.
When I see Kirikiri next time, I’ll ask how I can send my swears to the G.o.d of this Tutorial.
[The G.o.d of Adventures pleads innocence]
Because of the shaking, my body flew into air for a moment.
It may have been few centimetres from the tile, but it felt like thousands of metres.
To be honest I’m already thousands of metres in the air!
As my life flashed before my eyes, my feet were back of the tile.
Thankfully, I managed to land without shaking up my balance.
Looking behind after landing, the tile before me was falling down after turning red.
Soon, the tile I was standing on was turning yellow.
d.a.m.n, I had about 5 tiles as safety net before that shaking!
I quickly raised my speed.
Whether I fall because I lose my balance, or fall because I’m too slow, it’s death either way.
Pulling my speed up, I managed to get the Wind Spirit’s Blessing’s 2nd effect.
As I was accelerating from the buff, my body began to fly briefly after each step.
I had to be aware of how I land, trying to match the force of the wind with each landing.
Anyway I managed to hold on.
I can still somehow maintain my balance even at this speed.
It’s thanks to all the growth this body had.
And I haven’t used any of my blinks either.
Even if I lose my balance and fall, I can blink upwards, and get back onto the tile.
I could blink forward if I was starting to fall behind aswell.
Atleast I’m wearing a life jacket.
As long as I use my blinks wisely, I can get past this bridge and reach that peak!
I can do it!
As I keep a.s.suring myself, I ran.
Trying not to look below as much as possible.
At some point, I was getting used to this maddening acrobatics.
As if I was getting numb to the constant fear and tension.
My hesitation for each step became fainter.
Keeping my Wind Spirit’s Blessing, I continued.
It’s been a while since I’ve maintained this speed.
Just from looking at it, it seems I’m close to the goal.
Looking back, there was some distance between me and the red tile.
It seems I won’t have to worry about falling even if I drop my speed alittle here.
At that moment, I could feel small vibrations on the tile.
I’ve felt this vibration many tims now.
After this, the bridge shows 1 pattern.
It will shake, in order to drop me off.
From the direction of the vibration, it will shake sideways this time.
Confident in my prediction, I jump high into the air.
With the speed from the blessing and my supernatural body like that of a superhero,
jumping in the air allowed me to be airborne for many seconds.
The tiles moved left and right as expected.
If I were to stay on the tile, it’s likely I would of fell unable to hold on.
Even if I did manage to stay, the tiles would have caught upto me rapidly.
Jumping in the air was what I believed to be the best solution.
That shaking doesn’t last more than few seconds.
Afterwards, the tiles will arrange in a straight line like before.
And,
the landing!
Landing high in the air is greatly affected by the wind, due to it’s strength.
But, I keep in mind of the direction of the wind before jumping.
I remember the experience of golfing with my father in a windy day.
But this time, I’m the golf ball.
Because of the speed, I land with a loud thud.
Since I know that the tiles don’t shake or fall from large impact, I have no need to think about the force of the landing.
Soon after, I kick the tile and begin to run again.
With a whoosh, an arrow pa.s.sed by.
These arrows don’t simply appear out of nowhere.
All the arrows come from the objective, in a parabola.
And, with the speed I’m maintaining,
none of the arrows can reach me.
The clear, plastic sound the tiles make was turning refreshing.
I’m rather used to it now.
I’m sure that even if any more stages are on cliffs like this, I’ll be fine.
I’ve adapted completely.
As if annoyed from that last thought I had, the Tutorial made another diabolical trial.
Some of the tiles in the bridge are missing.
Quite alot of them.
From rough look, about 30 to 40 tiles are missing in the middle.
Is this really designed to cross.
Maybe it was made to just drop all the challengers off to death.
I could feel incredible malice from it, something I couldn’t feel in the rediculous traps I’ve faced in the Tutorial.
You’re still not falling? Even after this?
That’s how it feels in this boss room, as it tries its best to make me fall.
This boss room trap is rather strange.
But, despite that fact, I am confident I can pa.s.s this boss room.
The bridge is made of tiles 2m long and wide, with 4m^2 in area.
If it wasn’t for a fact that it’s miles above the ground, you can move through it comfortably.
Even the constant wind had a single direction, so I got used to it fast.
And the moment I got used to it, the dangers of this boss room’s trap fell considerably.
Maintaining my speed, I jump as high as I can just before the gap.
Thanks to the growth I’ve had, I do have rediculous jumping strength,
but it’s not enough to jump the giant gap here.
Once I reach a suitable height,
I blink forwards,
I used blink 3 times to be exact, and landed on the tile beyond the gap.
But, I didn’t prepare for the loss of momentum from the last blink I used.
My body began to be swept away by the wind.
Once more, I use the blink forward.
Losing momentum seem like a disadvantage, but it can also be an advantage.
The moment I land, I lower myself and gain balance.
It was easy enough, since the momentum I had from the wind disappeared.
After landing, I raise my head, and look forward.
The objective, the other peak was close now.