Surviving in a Frozen Dark Fantasy as a Genius Mage - Chapter 77

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Mordor

◈ Surviving the Frozen Dark Fantasy as a Genius Mage ◈

Chapter 77: Floor Master

──────

Hey guys, quick announcement before the chapter! We're hosting an original webnovel contest with a $1000 prize pool, a chance to publish your novel on WeTried, and lifetime free reading access for the top two winners!

There's also a participation prize of 500 coins for everyone participating.

If you've got a story sitting in a folder somewhere, or have been wanting to try writing one, we'd love to read it. You only need your first 10 chapters, and you have until 1st January 2027 to submit. New writers are welcome too!

Full details, rules, and how to enter here! https://wetriedtls.com/announcements/webnovel-contest

Feel free to send this to anyone you know who writes. Enjoy the chapter!

If you have any questions, please join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried

──────

Iromis, a sixth-floor Expedition Party member. A Priestess of Lu, the God of Justice, with the abilities of a fifth-floor Expedition Party member. Another fourth-floor party that had become fairly well known in the city.

Along with them, experienced third-floor veterans had gathered for a meeting.

No, in truth, it was closer to Iromis sharing information with everyone.

"The third-floor Floor Master is the Star Watcher."

Other than Iromis and me, almost no one knew anything about the Floor Master.

"Given our current situation, it's the worst enemy we could face."

"Why?"

Elena voiced the question everyone had.

Iromis briefly explained just how dangerous it was.

"That thing is immune to magic."

More precisely, it nullified every spell within its sight.

But because it had eyes all around its body, its Magic Nullification might as well have covered every direction.

In other words, it was the natural enemy of every mage.

"..."

"But wasn't it your spell that shot it down earlier, old man?"

Sharp-eyed Elena remembered the Star Watcher appearing, then being shot down by a Frost spell fired from below.

"That's right. I did it. But that was nothing more than luck."

When a Floor Master was first summoned, it underwent a period of environmental adaptation.

It was slightly weakened during that time.

Knowing this, Iromis had struck the Star Watcher with his strongest spells the moment it was summoned. That had bought enough time for the Expedition Party members to gather.

But that was all.

Since he hadn't finished it with that one strike, we were now on the defensive.

Why?

'With its recovery rate, it'll be back in perfect condition within thirty minutes.'

'And Iromis is the strongest person here, but he's a mage!'

"If it had only just been summoned, perhaps. But it has already learned. An ambush won't work again."

Third- and fourth-floor Expedition Party members couldn't deal it any meaningful damage.

Put simply, in an already disadvantageous situation, our strongest damage dealer had been sealed away.

"Do you understand the severity of our situation now?"

"..."

"Fuck."

The other Expedition Party members' expressions stiffened as they listened.

"My throat is dry..."

With that, Iromis took a drink.

Every second mattered now.

Iromis looked at me, so I explained in his place.

"The Star Watcher is a monster with the Aberrant, Mystic, and Floating attributes."

We were currently surrounded by a wave.

It was highly mobile, so it would fly over here in an instant and devour us all.

Then a warrior offered a suggestion.

"Then, um... what if we split up and search for an Escape Portal?"

Since we had no chance of winning anyway, the warrior meant we should leave our survival to luck and fend for ourselves.

Idiot.

That was only because they knew nothing about the Floor Master.

"That would be fine for me, but would the rest of you be all right?"

Iromis spoke with apparent concern.

He wasn't actually worried. He was mocking them.

"Pardon?"

Iromis and the Priestess might manage, but the rest wouldn't be able to break through the wave if they split up.

It wasn't just the ordinary third-floor monsters. The Abyssal Tentacles scattered by the Watcher would soon appear as well.

"Tentacles?"

"They are its familiars."

Those tentacles could even parasitize corpses.

That was why I had burned the bodies of Klaus and his party.

If those fifth-floor Expedition Party members were corrupted and revived as hosts, it would be no different from adding several low-floor boss monsters to the fight.

'It can also suppress the mind, seal portals, and cast all kinds of Arcane spells.'

The already pale faces around us darkened further after I finished speaking.

"What kind of monster is that...?"

"That's a Floor Guardian. That's what a Floor Master is."

A raid boss.

Of course, now that it was real, it felt deeply unfair for us to have to face one.

What little hope remained faded further.

U-uuuuuuuu!

A strange cry echoed from beyond the pale forest.

It was an ominous sound that made my heart pound and my spine tense just from hearing it.

"...!"

It had regained its senses.

And it was furious.

There wasn't much time.

Everyone looked desperate.

"All right, then. Give your opinions. How can we overcome this situation?"

The Expedition Party members who had been lucky enough to be near a portal when this began must have escaped.

They would have reported to the Guild, so reinforcements would come if we could hold out a little longer.

That was the first suggestion.

"Setting aside the assumption that we can trust those Guild bastards, it is reasonable. Except that we all have more than enough time to be torn apart and digested by that thing within the next hour."

Iromis answered sardonically.

"What about waiting for mid-floor or high-floor Expedition Party members? There may be others like Lord Iromis."

"It won't be easy. Most high-ranking Expedition Party members don't come down to the third floor."

Forces capable of facing a Floor Master.

Most high-ranking and Deep Floors Expedition Party members had ways to skip the portals of the lower floors. They didn't regularly travel as low as the third floor.

That wasn't all.

The Priestess, her eyes half-closed, spoke while trembling in fear.

"There is a saboteur. The one who scattered our party. The evil one who killed Brother Klaus, Brother Durin, and Brother Agio, then summoned the Floor Master, is targeting us."

The three bodies from Klaus's party that we had encountered.

It seemed the murderer who had cut them down had also summoned the Floor Master.

That person might carry out further sabotage.

-Aaaah!

-Push them back! Don't retreat!

At the wall on the outskirts, Expedition Party members were still struggling for their lives.

"So what, we're supposed to tell those people we're all going to die and they should pray for our souls?"

Elena sneered.

Senior Mage Iromis and the Priestess had both fallen silent.

"..."

"Then splitting up is still..."

Someone spoke in the hopeless silence.

I thought about it.

'Iromis and the Priestess gathered the Expedition Party members to fight the Floor Master.'

But there were no useful strong fighters among them.

In that case, they would move on to their second plan.

'They intended to use the lower-floor Expedition Party members here as bait, then escape through a portal.'

As mid-floor Expedition Party members, they had a higher chance of survival than the others.

But they couldn't suggest that right away, so they were pretending to gather opinions first.

'Kulkin wouldn't have done this!'

'What a bastard of a senior!'

Leaving aside his character, it was a highly rational, logical judgment befitting a mage.

'It is efficient!'

But if this happened, my companions and I would die for certain.

So I had to change their minds.

"We don't necessarily have to kill the Floor Master."

"What?"

"If we deal it enough damage, we can force it to return."

"Isn't that right, Senior?"

I asked Iromis.

He had been about to say that there was no helping it and we should just run, but he quietly looked at me instead.

"...That's true. But that is impossible under the current circumstances."

If I showed him even a possibility, Iromis would cooperate.

Besides, even if he used the lower-floor Expedition Party members as bait, he wasn't guaranteed to escape.

'If he survives, all eyes will be on him.'

Because of his social standing, there were too many risks involved.

'The Watcher is only immune to spells.'

It was currently 5:50 in the morning.

It looked like I could Memorize before it arrived.

After checking the time, I let out a sigh.

'Whew.'

Was that really my only option?

I asked Iromis.

"Senior, do you happen to have any White Parchment?"

You do, right? You're a sixth-floor Expedition Party member.

"Why do you ask?"

"I have a plan."

I really didn't want to do this again, but I had no choice.

At the mention of White Parchment, my companions flinched and looked at me.

"Ian, don't tell me...!"

"Y-you!"

They remembered what had happened in the Secret Dungeon.

'I have to roll.'

The only way to overcome this grim situation.

Yes, the only thing I could trust now was dimensional gate gacha.

* * *

"You're going to use a dimensional gate spell to summon a neutral monster, make it fight the Floor Master, and have them destroy each other?!"

"That's insane!!!"

Ordinary people could never follow the thoughts of a genius.

Everyone who heard my plan shook their heads, saying it was impossible.

"Have you ever even handled a dimensional gate? Rocks, scraps of cloth, slimes, half-eaten bread. What comes out of it is literally something random."

There were Arcane mages here, even if none of them were geniuses like me.

"What?! Are you saying Ian is lying right now?!"

Elena shouted.

"Ian is different... As Meia said, Ian has always found an answer no matter the situation."

Daisy defended me.

"Come on, let's at least hear him out..."

Hans and Gimlius spoke up for me too.

It was touching, but it didn't convince anyone.

Those veteran bastards and the fourth-floor Expedition Party members shouted.

"What are you third-floor newcomers talking about?!"

"Enough."

The one who stepped in was the fifth-floor Expedition Party member, the Priestess of the God of Justice who accompanied Iromis.

But she shook her head as well.

"Lord Iromis is one of the strongest pillars holding this line."

White Parchment, which allowed someone to engrave a spell and use it immediately, was a precious resource.

With it alone, Iromis could unleash several times more firepower.

"We cannot casually hand over such an item in a situation like this."

When I asked them to invest in such a gamble, their response was understandably negative.

"Ian, you have done something similar before, haven't you?"

But Iromis, the person concerned, was different.

This experienced mage, who also managed the School's mages whenever its Master was absent, realized that I wasn't talking nonsense. Before I knew it, he was watching me with a serious gaze.

"Yes. I survived an outer dimension using this method."

I summoned a Drake, made it fight the Dimensional Guardian, and induced mutual destruction.

"W-what did you say...?"

Unlike the other Expedition Party members, who were shocked by my words, Iromis shook his head.

"You were lucky. But we cannot be certain luck will favor you again. As they said, it is difficult enough to summon a monster from a dimensional gate with limited resources. Even if you are fortunate enough to summon a neutral monster, it will match your level. It would be useless against a Floor Master."

"..."

"Or do you have grounds that can persuade me, other than the uncertain factor of luck?"

Iromis's sharp eyes fixed on me.

If my reasoning was lacking in the slightest, he would use us as bait and escape.

Of course, I had grounds to persuade him.

The Coin, an ability only I possessed, which caused misfortune to appear when a flip failed.

What if I stacked misfortune as I had before?

Of course, I couldn't reveal that to others.

'Besides, that alone isn't enough to face a Floor Master.'

But what if I had this?

"That is...?"

"Oldimara's Dice. You know what this is, don't you?"