WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Irevi

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◈ Alone Against the Tower ◈

Chapter 81: Emerald Wyvern

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No one knew the Emerald Wyvern's stats.

Naturally. It wasn't a monster meant to be killed.

It was part of the dungeon's mechanic, a stage prop that had to be avoided.

Still, considering the stats of wyvern-type monsters that appeared on higher floors, I could make a rough estimate.

First, it definitely had enough mana to fire combined-attribute beams that powerful indefinitely.

The amount of mana I could feel from each beam was roughly equal to my total mana.

I was a warrior class, so I didn't have much mana, but even so, that was an enormous amount.

My base stats had already far surpassed the eighth floor's level. If its mana alone was similar to mine, it was practically unfair.

And wyverns were lesser creatures than dragons, but their physical toughness was no joke either.

Still, if their bodies were made of green crystal like the other monsters I had encountered on the way here, that changed things.

That meant their defense couldn't surpass the limits of green crystal.

In other words, they might be glass cannons.

Of course, judging an enemy based on nothing but hopeful assumptions was ridiculous.

Still, I had a good chance. If it was any attack other than the beams, I was confident I could take a hit and endure it.

“Looks good enough.”

After confirming that my exhausted body had recovered to nearly full condition, I immediately started moving.

Toward the place where I could feel the Emerald Wyvern's mana.

* * *

The spring where the Jade Elixir had pooled sat in the center of a vast cavern.

A burrow had been dug into every corner of the cavern, and an Emerald Wyvern rested inside each one.

If someone recklessly ran toward the elixir, the wyverns would snipe them from every direction.

Normally, you were supposed to pass the wyverns through bypass routes that avoided their detection, then activate the dungeon's mechanic to draw their attention elsewhere.

But since I couldn't use the mechanic, I would only use the bypass routes.

The wyverns here periodically fell asleep, then woke and began moving once they detected an intruder.

If you entered their burrows through the dungeon's bypass routes, you could move without waking them.

They woke the moment a Challenger touched them or left the bypass routes and burrows, entering their detection range.

Conversely, that meant they wouldn't wake until I left the routes or touched them.

Perfect for landing the first hit.

Instead of cautiously sneaking past the wyverns, I strode right up to one and raised my sword.

“Come on, you pterosaur bastard.”

Crunch!

I drove my sword into one wyvern's eye with all my strength. It sank in deeper than I expected.

Grrrrroooar!

The wyvern woke with a massive roar, and the air around me changed in an instant.

Mana overflowed from its awakened body, and the mana scattered throughout the area began resonating with it.

The enormous amount of mana I could feel so clearly was enough to overwhelm me.

Holy fuck, this was supposed to be a wyvern, not a dragon?

Not only did it have an absurd amount of mana stored inside its body, it was even controlling the mana in the air.

Whoever thought it was a good idea to put six of these insane creatures here was out of their mind.

Whoever designed this Tower had to be crazy to make a level like this.

Kiiiiing!

While I was briefly stunned, mana gathered in the wyvern's wide-open mouth.

* * *

Naturally, I had imagined several things the wyvern might do after getting hit first.

But this was slightly outside my expectations. Not completely unimaginable, but still. What the hell?

Since I was at close range, I thought it would obviously come at me with its claws or teeth, but it was trying to fire a beam directly into my face.

It was like firing a missile to kill a bedbug.

Boooom!

Of course, as a quick bedbug, I easily dodged the missile.

Attacks with a wide area were easier to avoid up close than from far away. Launchers had clear blind spots.

As I dodged beside the wyvern's jaw, I swung my sword again and cut around its neck.

Slash!

Just as I thought, it cut more easily than expected. Its defense wasn't that impressive.

At this rate, I could probably kill it just by staying close and continuing to cut it.

The problem was whether it would let me do that.

Grrraaaah!

The wyvern roared and swung the claws at the ends of its wings.

It was quite fast, but still manageable compared to Mercedes's attacks while using Mana Enhancement.

Its movements were also huge due to its unique body structure, where its arms and wings were fused together.

Skreeeech!

The swinging claws and wingtips scraped against the wall, shredding it apart.

Right after I dodged the claws, its massive jaw came at me. Of course. If I came this way, it would use its teeth.

These things really relied on their endless long-range bombardment for their strength.

That didn't mean they were weak without it. An ordinary eighth-floor Challenger wouldn't have been able to react to those claws before being torn apart.

But if you had stats high enough to react and dodge them, there were very few patterns left to deal with.

It couldn't fly in this terrain, and it couldn't freely bombard me at close range.

That only left close combat, but that awkward body structure wasn't suited for close-range fighting at all.

It probably had a body like that because it could win every fight just by flapping its wings, flying up, and bombarding everything.

This was like a fight between a Tyrannosaurus and a human.

Normally, there was no way a human could face a Tyrannosaurus. But what if the human got to choose the event?

A Tyrannosaurus couldn't beat a human in a boxing match with those pathetic little forearms.

I had made this a one-on-one close-range brawl, and a wyvern's body wasn't built for close combat.

That was all, but it increased my odds of victory exponentially.

* * *

The wyvern's body structure was unsuited for close combat, but it wasn't lacking in intelligence.

As the close-range battle continued and it realized that only it was getting hurt, it made a wise choice.

Grrroooar!

It struggled to get out of the burrow. It wanted to change the environment it was fighting in first.

But this flying-lizard bastard wasn't stupid, though it wasn't especially smart either.

If you wanted to get out, you should've done it from the start. Did you think you could escape after getting cut up everywhere?

You came in as you pleased, but leaving was another matter.

Thwack! Thunk!

I pulled a large spear from my inventory and threw it, pinning the wyvern's wing to the floor.

It was already badly injured, so it wasn't moving very fast as it tried to rush out of the burrow. On the other hand, I had plenty of time.

Even if it tried to tear out its pinned wing with brute strength, I could throw another spear and pin it down again faster.

Graaah!

The wyvern's roar now sounded like nothing more than a scream.

Ah, come to think of it, didn't that roar have the Fear effect too?

But maybe because of Paralysis Resistance, I didn't feel any effect at all. Raising resistances was always worth it.

Thud!

The wyvern's body, studded with green crystal, soon became a ragged mess, and it collapsed to the floor as though its strength had finally given out.

Now all that remained was to finish it off.

It wasn't a monster meant to be hunted, nor was it a boss, so I wondered what reward it would give. I was quietly looking forward to it.

I stepped on the sprawled-out wyvern's neck and raised my sword.

At that moment, I felt a huge amount of mana gathering in the wyvern's mouth.

“Still pulling this shit at the end.”

Thinking it was trying to fire one final beam in a last-ditch struggle, I quickly moved into its blind spot.

But the wyvern didn't fire a beam. The gathered mana turned into a glowing orb and flew out of the burrow.

What? Was it too exhausted to fire anymore? But why had it sent it outside?

“Ah.”

The moment I realized why, it was already too late.

Mana Detection caught a violent torrent of immense power.

Grrrrroooar!

Woooooar!

Graaah!

Roars that shook heaven and earth, and waves of mana that sent chills down my spine.

The Emerald Wyvern's final choice had been a call for help. Through the orb of light, it had asked the wyverns in the other burrows for aid.

I didn't know whether these things had any affection for their own kind, but all the sleeping wyverns had woken up.

If it had a method like this, I had no idea why it had tried to crawl out of the burrow. Only the wyvern itself would know.

Maybe it wasn't a call for help. Maybe it had desperately forced the others awake.

Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!

I heard the footsteps of five wyverns, and soon sensed an enormous concentration of mana gathering at one point.

Just as before, they were about to fire beams in a straight line at the intruder the moment they woke up.

All five at once.

Fuck.

I couldn't dodge this.

A moment later, a light too bright to even open my eyes filled my entire vision.

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