Chapter 26: Townsperson A Conquers the Labyrinth of the Wind Mountain

I decided then and there: as long as I had the Saiga, I didn’t need anything else.

Having made its practical combat debut today, the Saiga had performed so spectacularly that I couldn't help but feel that way. Its range was short, but a shotgun that could hit its mark even if my aim was slightly off was the ideal tool for hunting.

Thanks to the weapon, I was making steady progress and had already reached the 28th floor. In this labyrinth, every floor ending in the number eight was a "gimmick floor," requiring the use of Wind Magic to proceed.

The layout of this particular floor consisted of ten small floating islands that had to be crossed in sequence. To reach the next island, one had to hit a small, apple-sized target floating above it with a Wind Magic spell. Successfully hitting the target would trigger a teleport to that island.

By navigating these islands in the correct order, a traveler could eventually reach the next floor. Of course, if you messed up the sequence, you were either warped back to the start of the floor or sent plummeting into the abyss.

It was notorious as a "crap-tier" dungeon back in the game, and in all honesty, clearing it without the help of a Wiki would have been nearly impossible. Since falling meant an immediate Game Over in the original title, I assumed that falling now would mean a literal Game Over for my life.

With that grim thought in mind, I cautiously navigated the islands. I used the Saiga to blast every monster that dared to attack me out of the sky, though it was a bit depressing to watch the fallen creatures—and their loot—drop into the endless void.

Eventually, I reached the fifth island. This was where the hidden gimmick was located.

On the northern side of this island, there was a concealed entrance leading into its interior. The developers had been so spiteful that the entrance was only visible as a tiny, distant speck if you turned around after finishing the entire island-hopping sequence. I felt a surge of nostalgia for my previous life as I recalled the sheer malice the production team must have felt when designing this.

Now, the intended strategy was to use a grappling hook and rope to scale down the cliff face to the entrance. However, I possessed the paid-DLC cheat skill known as Alchemy.

By using the Transmutation sub-skill to create a stone staircase leading downward, I bypassed all the danger. Of course, this was a tactic that players could only pull off in the game if they had spent real-world money.

I easily infiltrated the island's interior. Inside was a straight corridor that opened into a small, altar-like space. There, resting upon the altar, was a pair of Rings of Substitution.

In the game's story, there was a famous scene where a capture target would have the heroine, Amy, equip one of these rings. “Next time, I want to give you the real thing,” he would say. Every capture target had a unique event still for that moment.

Since this was a location meant to be visited after the "Villainess Condemnation Event," whatever happened with that plotline was none of my concern. My own safety was my absolute priority, so I gratefully pocketed both Rings of Substitution.

After slipping one of them onto the middle finger of my left hand, I hurried along. I had officially secured insurance against the worst-case scenario.

Finally, I arrived at the doors to the boss room.

The creature waiting inside was the Blizzard Phoenix, a dangerous monster I wouldn't dream of fighting in the open air. I checked my weapon's condition and swapped the Saiga’s ammunition for slug rounds. These were the "bear-killers" of the shotgun world; they didn't have much range, but their stopping power at close quarters was immense.

Furthermore, since I expected to take some hits during this encounter, I used Transmutation to craft a sturdy shield made of polycarbonate.

Alright, preparations complete.

With that, I charged into the room.

The boss chamber was a massive dome with a radius of roughly one hundred meters. At the center stood the Blizzard Phoenix, a divine, awe-inspiring creature clad in a mantle of living ice.

"Kyuiiiiiiiii!"

The moment the doors swung open, the phoenix unleashed a violent blizzard without hesitation. It wasn't aiming specifically at me—it was targeting the entrance itself.

Even though I was hidden as usual by my Stealth skill, the boss's AI dictated that it would attack the doorway the moment it opened. That seemed to be the Blizzard Phoenix's standard opening move. I weathered the frost with my shield while quickly scrambling out of the blizzard's line of fire.

Immediately after, a hail of ice arrows rained down on the spot where I had just been standing.

Using the distraction, I crept closer to the bird and hammered it with the Saiga.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

I got four shots off, but the phoenix realized my position the moment the first slug connected and flew back to create distance. Still, the impact felt solid. Blue blood began to drip from its body, and to my surprise, the droplets froze solid the instant they hit the floor.

I attempted to reset the situation by activating the "golden combo" of a smoke screen and my Stealth skill.

However, the Blizzard Phoenix immediately retaliated by blasting another blizzard in my direction. I used the shield to block the brunt of the freezing wind and moved out of the line of fire again.

Yet, as soon as I escaped the wind, a barrage of ice arrows followed. It seemed that being clipped by the blizzard before I could fully vanish meant that my Stealth hadn't taken hold properly.

I tried to dodge by sprinting sideways, but the arrows were too numerous. I instinctively thrust my shield forward to intercept the barrage.

Clang-clang-clang-clang!

The ice arrows hammered against the shield with a deafening racket. While the polycarbonate held up against the physical impact, the shield was becoming freezing cold in a matter of seconds. If this kept up, the cold would become too intense to hold.

Realizing I was in a losing battle of attrition, I made my next move.

"Transmutation!"

I transmuted a boulder large enough to serve as cover right next to me, abandoned the frozen shield, and dove into the rock's shadow. Once there, I transmuted a fresh shield, re-equipped it, and activated Stealth before moving to a new position.

The Blizzard Phoenix realized I had vanished and began circling the room, searching for my location. I wanted to draw it in as close as possible and go for a headshot.

Growing frustrated at its inability to find me, the phoenix began firing blizzards at random. I was nearly caught in the blast and hurriedly transmuted a new rock in front of me to block it.

"Damn it."

The bird spotted the sudden appearance of the rock and sent a volley of ice arrows flying my way. It was utilizing its overwhelming long-range firepower, but I wasn't about to lose in a contest of range.

I swapped the Saiga for the Nikov. Bracing my shield in front of me, I began to return fire.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

I ducked back behind the rock, then leaned out from the other side to point the muzzle at the phoenix and fire again. I repeated this cycle tirelessly.

.

.

.

Suddenly, the barrage of ice arrows stopped.

I activated Stealth and peeked out from behind my cover. The Blizzard Phoenix was lying on the ground, its body twitching in violent convulsions. It looked like one of my shots had finally hit a vital organ.

I hurried over and used the Nikov to put a bullet through its head, finishing it off.

"Whew. That was close, but I managed it."

I began the butchering process. Up close, the Blizzard Phoenix was truly a beautiful creature. However, most of what I had assumed were ice-blue feathers turned out to be made of actual ice. I tried to harvest one, but it began to melt the moment it was detached.

A bit of a waste, but it seemed those wouldn't work as materials.

Left with no other choice, I began carving the bird up the same way one would a chicken—albeit a massive one. I located a Magic Stone near the heart and set it aside. As I watched the icy feathers continue to melt away, I noticed something.

Wait. Are those... real feathers mixed in with the tail? And the wings, too!

Once the ice had finished melting, I was able to recover one beautiful ice-blue tail feather and two primary flight feathers. As for the meat... it was a sickly, unappetizing color, so I decided to pass. The game had never mentioned it being edible, anyway.

After harvesting the wing bones, I headed toward the back of the boss room. There, I found a familiar Labyrinth Core, a treasure chest, and a pedestal.

I opened the chest and retrieved the Sword of the Sky Knight.

As for the pedestal, it was the Magic Stone Synthesis Device. The existence of this specific machine was the entire reason I wanted to grind this dungeon. To put it simply, this was a cheat device that broke the fundamental common sense of this world.

The device allowed a user to synthesize multiple Magic Stones of the same type to increase their size. In the game, two stones of the same size could be combined into one stone of the next tier. This meant you needed two "extra-small" stones to make a "small," four for a "medium," eight for a "large," and sixteen for a "giant" stone.

To put the economics into perspective: a common Goblin dropped an extra-small Magic Stone, which sold for about 1,500 to 2,000 Cent. However, a "large" stone traded for 30,000 Cent. By using this device, I could take 12,000 to 16,000 Cent worth of raw materials and turn them into an item worth 30,000 Cent.

I had been hoarding Goblin and Orc stones for exactly this reason; I planned to synthesize them all here before selling them off.

After placing the stones I’d gathered on the way here onto the pedestal and completing the synthesis, I stepped into the light and teleported back to the entrance.