kscans

Chapter 938 - The 100th Floor

The 100th floor of the Key Tree Maze, just before the deepest part.

Before us stood a grand door leading to the floor boss's chamber, a sight we had seen ninety-nine times before. But this one was far more lavish than the others, and it exuded an indescribable pressure.

"—And that's the gist of it. Is everyone prepared?"

This was the big one, but by now, we were more or less on the same wavelength.

For the past two weeks, we had met in this maze every single day, sharing the battlefield. We had grown accustomed to understanding each other's condition without the need for words.

So, I didn't think a last-minute meeting was necessary. Instead, as a bit of a jest, I relayed what I had gleaned about the difficult future ahead from the reports of the second and third-place teams…

"Let's do our best…!"

…and the first to respond was my partner beside me, clenching her fist with determination.

The faces of my comrades were free of fear, hesitation, or dread. Gen-san, who loved a strong opponent for the sake of training, had a tense and fidgety expression, but other than that, everyone was calm.

It was something I'd thought thousands of times between the 50th floor and here, but they were so reliable it almost made me let my guard down.

In that case—

"Alright… let's go."

"Yes!"

"Yeah."

""Let's go."

I placed both hands on the massive door that made my neck ache just to look up at it, and instead of looking up, I looked back. I received acknowledgments from Sora, Gen-san, and both Sho and Ren.

""—""

And of course, since her gaze was always, always on me, my eyes naturally met Sayaka-san's, and we exchanged a small smile…

I put strength into my arms.

As if by some form of thought manipulation, the 'gate' seemed to sense the will of the visitor, the challenger—the player. Rather than being pushed by my hands, it opened inward, as if inviting me in.

And as the way forward opened—

"…Yikes."

That was my first word. My eyes instantly scanned the ridiculously designed giant figure that jumped into my view, and I let out a bitter sigh at its sheer presence and the premonition it gave me.

What kind of premonition? Well, that's simple.

"…Whoa…"

"Seeing it in person, it's even more…"

"…This looks like it'll be a pain."

Sora's thin voice, which escaped at almost the same time as mine, and the sigh-filled exchange between Sho and Ren, accompanied by a textbook wry smile, said it all.

This was going to be an absolutely, positively, unbelievably annoying pain in the ass.

It was a premonition that bordered on certainty.

"…"

A silver body easily exceeding ten meters in height. Even from a distance, its skin had a strange texture, a mixture of the organic and the inorganic, that gave off a distinctly 'unpleasant feeling'.

It was a faceless goddess statue. Both of its primary arms were wrapped around its own body as if in a self-embrace, while ten more arms—five pairs—sprouted from its back, like a Kannon statue.

In place of legs, it had a single, tree-like limb rooted to the floor. And… a single, pure white wing floated in the air, shining like darkness without emitting any light.

Just as the intel suggested, it was a parade of deliberately monstrous features. And just as the two brothers had said, seeing it with my own eyes was something else entirely.

"It has the complete presence of a final boss…"

As was the norm in the Key Tree Maze, the floor boss wouldn't attack as long as we didn't step into the room, even after opening the door. Those with reason would watch you with still eyes, and those without would simply stand there quietly. This was a common trait.

That allowed for strategic, pre-battle observation—but to be honest.

"Uh… does anyone have any ideas besides 'the arms on its back are probably going to stretch'?"

"They do look like they'll stretch, don't they…"

"Those are definitely going to stretch."

"They're the kind that will stretch, without a doubt."

"…They'll stretch."

"I predict it will also have regenerative abilities, like the immortal Hydra of legend."

Well, we were all in agreement. That was about the limit of our analysis.

Since its 'foot' was rooted to the floor, the main body probably wouldn't move around. Tying into that, the plethora of arms on its back would likely be the ones attacking us with vigor.

That was all we could easily imagine just by looking. We were tackling this with a 'no spoilers for any team' rule to gain valuable first-time experience, so there was nothing more we could glean.

In other words… we'd have to deal with whatever special abilities it probably had on our first try.

Okay, I get it.

Fine by me. Bring it on.

"Sora, double front as usual. For the start, take a step back and provide support."

"Yes!"

"Gen-san, you'll be in the mid-guard, basically. Move forward or back as needed; I'll leave the judgment to you."

"Got it."

"Sho, Ren, you're on guard duty for Sayaka-san. I'll be counting on you to jump in if there's an emergency."

""Leave it to us."

"Sayaka-san."

"Yes."

Just like always. I gave the same orders that had gotten us through forty-nine floors without stopping, but I had a reason for turning back at the very end.

Well, it was a simple matter.

"Depending on the situation, I might have to rely on the Saintess's divine might. Be ready for that."

"…Hehe. In that case, I'll have to give it my all."

If the opponent warranted it, we might need her to go 'all out'—

"Sora-san."

"What is it?"

"Stop grabbing my side."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

One last bit of banter to lighten the mood, and that was that.

Of course, I had already shared the matter of the Narrator's Armament with Sora. And just like Nia and Alicia, I had received the expected 'do as you please' from her.

So this jab in my side had nothing to do with that.

It was simply a well-deserved punishment for me instinctively looking away from the beaming Sayaka-san, who was clearly thinking something like, 'I'm so happy you're relying on me.'

She was right, it was my fault. Sorry.

…And with that out of the way.

"Alright then… Team B—"

I gave the jealous angel's head a gentle pat. Apologies and making up for it would have to wait. As I stepped forward… I summoned crimson daggers to both hands.

Since the 90th floor, its power had finally been unleashed. It goes without saying that my favorite weapon, which had piled up success after success with trusted reliability, was also at my hip.

────────────────
◇Status / Restarted◇
Title: Acrobat
Name: Haru　 Lv: 110
STR: 100
AGI: 200
DEX: 0
VIT: 0 (+100)
MID: 500 (+350)
LUC: 300

◇Skill◇
・Naraka Gandharva
《Mistlurade》
《Volcanate》
《Lumina Raygust》
《Exchange Implode》
《Basket of Greed》

・Water Magic Aptitude
《Aqua》
《Flood》
《Current Haken》
《Maelstrom》
《Laevateinn》
《Water Enchant》

・Active
《Reflect Explode》
《Flash Traveler》
《Shadow Leaf》
《Eyes Oculus》
《Altera-Notis》

・Passive
《White Dragon's Blessing》
《Assign's Fate》
《Rega-Lielta》
《Attentive Limit》
《Gigant Figure》
《Goma Soten》
《Talaria Record》
《Starrest Mine》
《Trickster of Zenith》
《Fatal Closer》
《Unfaltering Conquest》
《Dias Lunaria》
《Master of Magic》

《Reject Sentence》
《Shadow-Surpassing Death》
《Four Pillars' Embrace》
《Water Spirit's Blessing》
《Four-Sided Blessing》

◇Arts◇
【Kesshiki Ittoryu】
《Hisui》
《Uchigane》
《Amayuki》
《Karehomura》
《Ekou》
《Nanahoshi》
《Hourai》
　Oral Tradition: 《Yuikaze》

【Shifu Ittoryu】
《Hayate》
《Shizuku》
────────────────

Facing us was the master of the 100th floor. [Apocryphate Vermicane]… With one step forward.

"—This is the last battle. Let's have some fun!"

Now, we would bring our true, full power to bear.

---

Could it be? Has it been over a hundred chapters, Mr. Rabbit Dagger?