Chapter 17
I wake up in the morning and immediately check Today's Daily Mission.
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★Daily Mission★
Let's work hard every day!
'The Promised Victory at Your Fingertips Part 2'
Snap fingers while shouting Excalibur
0/2,000
Consecutive days: 17th day
Steady Rank: Silver Multiplier 2.5x
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Oh, it's here. Calibur.
I can't afford to act weird or embarrass myself at a hotel where Dungeon Foundation staff and explorers stay, so I walk a bit into the depths of the mountain, finish my 2,000 grateful finger snaps, and return to the hotel by noon.
Looking at the clock, it's still 10 a.m.
I'm finishing earlier than before.
Does that mean the speed of my finger snaps has increased?
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★Daily Mission★
Let's work hard every day!
'The Promised Victory at Your Fingertips Part 2'
Snap fingers while shouting Excalibur
2,000/2,000
★Today's Daily Mission Achieved!★
Reward: Ancestral Wisdom C ×2 (10,000 EXP)
5,000 EXP
Consecutive days: 18th day
Steady Rank: Silver Multiplier 2.5x
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Using Ancestral Wisdom C, I get ready and put on the black brooch and the emerald brooch.
Holding 'Mugen High-Load ver2.0' in one hand, I leave the hotel, nod to the explorers I pass at the front desk, and if they say, "Congrats on C-rank!" or "I always believed you'd make it big!" I return a "Haha" with a smile and walk past.
I enter the dungeon and check yesterday's post.
Shares: 90 Likes!: 256
I'm growing a lot.
In my mind, this already counts as going viral, but I want to dream big, so I'm not satisfied yet.
I open the 'Secret Map' to update the hunting grounds. I finish updating Finger Man's Corner for today's hunting grounds and descend to the 7th floor.
This morning, I spoke with Shurado, and she said that to rise to B-rank, you need at least three months of experience as an explorer.
Also, the evaluation is stricter than moving from D to C, and unless there's a significant exception, promotion is unlikely.
So, I've decided to stop rushing through life.
I felt like I'd end up wiping out all the monsters from the 7th to 9th floors anyway, so I decided to tackle the floors in order from the top down.
Since only C-rank explorers or above can even set foot beyond the 7th floor, there's plenty of monsters left to hunt.
──Some time later
I complete my routine run through the hunting grounds, thinking I've worked hard again today and deciding to head back.
"Hm? What's this?"
I discover a black gate tucked away in a secluded passage of the dungeon.
It's a mysterious object.
I've never seen anything like it before.
The black gate seems heavy, hard, and thick, likely made of steel.
It's dusty and rusted, clearly not maintained.
It looks as though it hasn't been opened by anyone for years, forgotten by time.
A thin mist hangs over its surface.
White letters on it read 'Resource Boss: Guardian of Purity.'
When I trace the letters with my finger, the white text turns black.
Watching the innocent letters slowly turn dark, as if ink is being poured onto blank paper, I can't shake the feeling that something evil awaits beyond this gate.
I push the black iron gate with all my strength.
Surprisingly, it opens easily.
Inside, it resembles ruins.
Torches lined up at equal intervals along the walls illuminate a dome-shaped space.
It's like a colosseum.
Skulls are scattered across the sand.
Many of them don't look like human bones.
It's an arena.
This is a place of battle.
Even I can understand that much.
In the center of the dome, a large fire burns.
It's a bonfire, much bigger than the torches along the walls.
Four logs are laid around the fire, forming makeshift benches.
On one of them, a figure is seated.
The figure is large.
It stands about 3 meters tall.
It's incredibly huge.
It's also about 3 meters wide.
It's incredibly fat.
I approach the bonfire and ask, "What is this place?"
The fat figure slowly turns around.
I hold my breath.
The fat figure's face is so glossy and unnaturally stretched that it doesn't seem of this world. You could even say it looks melted.
Imagine boiling a human head, cooling it, and coating it with wax—would it look like this?
That indescribable texture isn't limited to its face.
Its entire body, wrapped in thick black cloth over bare skin like a primitive man, has the same texture.
The fat figure doesn't answer.
Grabbing a large cleaver and a lantern that were propped against the log it sat on, it slowly stands and charges toward me.
It raises the cleaver overhead.
I realize it's definitely coming to kill me.
Thinking, "This guy's absolutely a boss character," I decide to throw everything I have at what I assume is the 'Guardian of Purity.'
There's no holding back against a boss.
I use 'Blue Blood Lv2' to fully restore my stamina.
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Akagi Hideo
Level 74
HP 3,080/3,080
MP 250/679
Skills
'Finger Snap Lv3'
'Phobia Syndrome'
Equipment
'Blue Blood Lv2'
'Proof of the Chosen One'
'Secret Map'
'Mugen High-Load ver2.0'
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"I might have been secretly waiting for this moment."
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Akagi Hideo
Level 74
HP 80/3,080
MP 250/679
Skills
'Finger Snap Lv3'
'Phobia Syndrome'
Equipment
'Blue Blood Lv2'
'Proof of the Chosen One'
'Secret Map'
'Mugen High-Load ver2.0'
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HP 3,000 ATK 60,000
Currently, the maximum I can unleash.
"If you survive, I'll let you have the win──"
I rub my fingers together.
Pale blue sparks sizzle and overflow from the gap between my touching fingers.
My fingers feel heavy.
Just taking the motion for a finger snap demands tremendous power.
But don't underestimate me.
Who do you think I am──I'm the Finger Man.
"Excalibur"
I murmur quietly and snap my fingers.
A dry sound echoes.
Immediately after, an explosion engulfs the dome.
Part of the ruins evaporates, and the hot wind from the vaporized and expanding air slams into my face.
I lower my stance, endure the impact, and while being pushed back near the entrance of the boss room, I narrowly open my eyes.
The 'Guardian of Purity' is reduced to charred remains by the scorching heat, disappearing without a trace.
Pale blue experience points gather toward me in a burst, seeping into my body.
Pikon Pikon Pikon Pikon Pikon Pikon!
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Akagi Hideo
Level 80
HP 80/3,903
MP 250/780
Skills
'Finger Snap Lv3'
'Phobia Syndrome'
Equipment
'Blue Blood Lv2'
'Proof of the Chosen One'
'Secret Map'
'Mugen High-Load ver2.0'
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It's been a while since I've had a level-up like this.
So, it really was a boss, huh.
That's an incredible amount of experience points.
(A new skill has been unlocked)
Oh?
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'One Strike'
Slaughtering a formidable enemy is no easy task.
Even more so if it's with just a single attack.
Ultimately doubles the calculated damage. Usable once every 168 hours.
Unlock condition: Kill a Resource Boss with a single strike dealing over 50,000 damage
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This is... powerful.
It's incredibly strong, but... is there a use for it? Only once every 168 hours... with my hoarding syndrome, I might hesitate to use it.
Well, it's probably for bosses only.
By the way, that unlock condition is insane.
Does anyone else even have this skill?
I'll ask Shurado about it later.
I repeatedly strike with 'Blue Blood Lv2' while searching through the mound of ashes left by the 'Guardian of Purity.'
Found it.
I can see the item display.
I pick up the anomalous substance (Anomaly).
It's a thick cloth the boss was wearing.
It seems to be called 'Adolphene's Holy Shroud.'
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'Adolphene's Holy Shroud'
A cloth that wrapped the body of a great saint.
Reduces all physical damage by 20%.
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A 20% reduction is huge (gamer brain).
From the description of "all physical damage," does it mean there are different types of physical damage (piercing, slashing, bludgeoning, light hits, heavy hits, etc.), and it applies to all of them?
If that's the case, isn't this incredibly strong?
As expected of a boss drop.
"Oh, this is huge."
I also picked up a ridiculously large crystal.
I tried to see if it would fit in the duralumin case, but the lid wouldn't close, so it was impossible.
Up until now, the crystals were the size I could pinch with my fingers, palm-sized, or at most the size of an apple, but this boss drop crystal is as big as a watermelon.
And its color is beautiful. A sign of high quality.
"I wonder if Shurado will be happy about this."
With excitement bubbling inside me, I wrapped the crystal in 'Adolphene's Holy Shroud' to prevent it from getting scratched, held it carefully, and returned to the surface.