Chapter 134
Eye for an Eye: Clear the 2nd Floor with Only Ballista After Encountering Dwarves Hidden in the Forest
—
“Come here, you monster that has devoured my family!”
“This forest is filled with tasty snacks. The flesh is tender, and the juices are abundant; there are plenty of easy prey just for you.”
“A massive harpoon that can pierce your skin, and a large bow to shoot it—everything is prepared just for you. Everything in this forest was made for that.”
“When you are mindlessly filling your belly, that moment will be your last.”
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The 2nd Floor of the Tower of Trials was a dark forest. It was so vast that if one intentionally wandered around, they could easily spend an hour lost. Along the way, unarmed ballistae were stationed everywhere.
And the Ogre roamed through the woods.
This floor had unfortunate incidents where some students unfamiliar with the forest got lost inside.
In the early days of the Tower, the Ogre’s position was thought to be random, so achieving a clear time was left to fate, and they had to depend on prayer. But now, with a bit of analysis completed, they could easily find the Ogre’s position; the Ogre was always directly “beneath the sun.”
So they just had to look up at the sky and run in the direction indicated by the oddly close sun.
There were a total of three ballistae in the forest, but only one was loaded. The attack power of the ballista was insufficient to take down the Ogre in one shot.
Among the Academy students, the standard strategy was to get the sun’s location, rush in and simply beat down the Ogre, while a side strategy involved burning the whole forest down, digging a tunnel, and hiding to wait it out. (Having a magician from the Blue Tower around would make it more comfortable during the wait.)
However, during these strategies, they had never heard of anyone encountering a Dwarf.
They had searched through the forest extensively in the beginning, so if there was indeed a Dwarf using invisibility magic, there would have been at least some witness testimony.
Envers and Selvier crouched down to plan their search for the Dwarf.
“Let’s invite a magician from the Blue Tower, freeze the Ogre to prevent it from dying, then set the forest ablaze and slowly search.”
“That… that sounds like a good idea. How about asking Lady Baeksul for help?”
“That’s a big no-no.”
“Ah…”
But wasn’t the only one powerful enough to freeze the Ogre the one they were talking about? Uncertain, Envers thought if they brought her along, he’d be out of the party for sure. Just as they were bickering…
Luna quietly raised her hand and said, “I know where it is.”
“You’ve known all along?”
“Yup. It’s the key tactic.”
“………?”
Luna briefly explained her shortcut methods for recording times.
Faced with an Ogre, it was hard to engage directly, and since there was only one shot in the ballista, they couldn’t take down the Ogre. Luna decided to adopt the strategy of burning the whole forest.
And to 1) make the Ogre ripe quickly and 2) find a location that was good for digging a tunnel, she took a shovel and started digging the earth.
Then she discovered an underground cavern.
“An underground cavern? There’s such a thing?”
“What do you mean… Did you dig through that vast area one by one?!”
“V.”
The underground cavern had a considerable height, and inside, Dwarves were living off mushrooms. Seeing the hidden piece, Luna thought, “If I drop the Ogre down here, will it die?”
So she did just that. Luna lured the Ogre right above the underground cavern and induced it into a jump attack pattern. The ground crumbled, and the Ogre fell, letting out a scream—and miraculously, it had a 25% chance of breaking its neck and dying.
“………”
“What about the Dwarves living down there?”
Luna clenched and then stretched her fist. It meant they had become battered flat.
Envers and Selvier stepped back, distancing themselves from Luna. Regardless of how they ended up finding it, they had now located the Dwarves.
“For now, let’s go meet the Dwarves.”
Luna attracted the Ogre’s attention, and Envers and Selvier decided to visit the Dwarves.
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Covered in dirt, with hair and beard long and unkempt, the Dwarf resembled a mining slave as he shouted mixed with the sounds of metal.
“Get lost, humans! This is my forest! You filthy, ugly races, spit out-!”
“……….”
Luna shrugged her shoulders. It was a message of ‘I told you so.’
Faced with discrimination right in the face, Envers was frozen in shock, while Selvier, accustomed to personal attacks, calmly surveyed the surroundings.
The surroundings looked far from human habitation.
From a corner, there were heaps of mushrooms showing signs of being harvested. That was their food.
Two large ballista arrows leaned against one wall. So this is where they were hiding. She naturally picked up the arrows.
“Old man, do you have something to tell us…?”
“What I have to say to you is simply to get lost! You filthy, lying race… Are you even stealing now?! Put that down immediately, human girl!!”
“Don’t be petty. Are arrows worn out from being used a little?”
“They are worn out!!”
The Dwarf foamed at the mouth and writhed.
However, how could a Dwarf, who had been barely surviving underground without adequate nutrition, defeat an Academy student trained to fight?
Selvier recalled an old saying that quietly circulated in her hometown.
“Dead men’s belongings are public property.”
She slightly modified it to say “The belongings of the soon-to-die are public property.” Looking at the Dwarf, who seemed to have little time left to live, she decided to take the arrows without hesitation.
In the meantime, Envers was caught in the middle, unsure of what to do. He chose to persuade the Dwarf rather than Selvier.
“Excuse me, Dwarf elder. We are taking the arrows due to unfortunate circumstances, but we will definitely use them for good.”
“You crazy thief brats!—!!”
“If we catch the Ogre with these, you’ll be able to safely come out of the forest, Elder. After that, you could see some sunlight…”
“………What?”
His tone was slightly different. It wasn’t the anger-filled “What?” but a sincere question filled with curiosity.
After thinking for a moment, the Dwarf asked again, “Are you saying you’ll use that to go catch that guy?”
“That guy…?”
“The Ogre! The one with a scar on its left eye!”
“Well… if I remember correctly, the Ogre doesn’t have such a scar—”
Crunch. Snap.
Boom—!!
Everything happened in an instant. The ceiling collapsed, and a massive shadow fell from the sky, crushing the Dwarf. It was the falling Ogre.
Luna was sitting on the Ogre’s back.
“………”
“Late, huh?”
“We were just about to have a conversation…”
“Well, we can do that again.”
Envers looked at the Ogre’s corpse with a grimace. It was time to start over again. Dig a tunnel, meet the Dwarves, and this time they could have a proper conversation.
As he took one final glance, it was confirmed: the Ogre’s face had no scars.
2nd Floor, Normal Clear.
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The trigger was hunting the Ogre. The irritable Dwarf changed his attitude upon hearing the mention of taking down the Ogre. He became quite cooperative.
“So you mean to say you’re going to catch the Ogre? With my ballista?”
“Yes.”
“Well, even if I have to rely on human strength… if my ballista will be the one to take its head off, then that’s acceptable…”
The Dwarf appeared to harbor a strong hatred for the Ogre. He wanted to achieve revenge with his own power and willingly provided arrows for the group’s purpose.
Thus, they gained two ballista arrows through a gentle approach.
Now it was time for the challenge. They had to take down the Ogre with a total of three arrows.
—
First Attempt
Tank: Luna
Ballista Operators: Envers, Selvier
Luna clearly directed with her fingers and voice.
“I’ll hold it. You two shoot.”
It was a sensible operation plan, so there were no objections. The party decided to proceed with Luna’s strategy.
“We’ll give it a go.”
“I’ll calculate the firing angle, so you just put in the strength!”
Luna controlled most elements. Based on the sun’s position and the surrounding terrain, she estimated the position of the nearest ballista to the Ogre.
She instructed Envers and Selvier to load the first arrow and, syncing with the timing, lured the Ogre toward the ballista.
Unlike the Orc from the previous floor, the Ogre was rather ordinary. It wasn’t twice the size, nor could it use magic. That alone was enough to create a difficulty spike.
An experienced adventurer like Teardrop Guy had to prepare carefully to tackle this formidable foe.
Its height varied but was approximately 3 meters. Aiming for crucial points like its neck was tough, and the inherent reach difference pressed down on them. The thick wooden club in its hand was nothing less than destructive by mass alone.
The green skin was tough and thick, making it hard to penetrate with sharp weapons. Blunt attacks were out of the question too. Perfect attributes—this was why the Ogre ruled the forest.
“Uuuaaaaaah—!!”
“Simple.”
And Luna lightly danced with the forest’s king.
※ SYSTEM_INFO ———–
[Lost Ogre]
Health: Normal
Mana: Not Used
Strength: 4 / 10 (Upper mid-tier among students)
Agility: 2 / 10 (Lower mid-tier among students)
Intelligence: 1 / 10 (Lower tier among students)
Traits: Blood-soaked skin
=> The robustness of the skin increases as HP decreases.
※ —————————
To avoid entanglement in attacks or obscured vision, Luna wore lightweight clothing that fit snugly against her body.
It fluttered chaotically. The thick wooden club swept through the air, accompanied by the sound of wind being sliced. Luna’s card was flexibility.
She spread her legs wide and pressed flat against the ground. Flexibly bending at the waist, she escaped the attack range. The curve of her body was blatantly displayed.
Her smooth movements evoked images of a ballet dancer.
As Envers was captivated by the lovely arcs drawn by the girl, Selvier discreetly kicked his shins with her toe. He quickly regained his composure and spat out an excuse.
“I… was just watching the movements. Watching the movements.”
“Just shoot.”
“Luna, I will shoot when you signal!”
Luna nodded at Envers’s words and whistled, but instead of a whistle, it sounded more like a deflating balloon. Her whistling success rate was 50%.
After guiding the Ogre to the next pattern, she finally gave a verbal signal.
“…….Beep.”
Ting! Swoosh—!!
The ballista fired. As Selvier had calculated, the huge arrow precisely pierced the Ogre’s head. The Ogre staggered and fell backward.
“Got it!”
“Hit!”
Envers and Selvier rushed out to confirm the results.
As they checked the pulse, the Ogre’s breath had indeed ceased. Success. Selvier draped Luna’s discarded coat over her as they waited for the results.
When they achieved the challenge on the 1st Floor, they witnessed something peculiar.
A bright light emanated from the corpse of the Orc, and a luminous sphere floated into the sky before bursting into a brilliant display—celebrating their achievement.
Once they stepped outside, they could confirm a star etched at the bottom of the ranking board. So something similar should happen this time as well.
But—
“………?”
“There’s nothing. No star.”
“Could someone have touched the Ogre?”
Strangely, there was no news at all. While the group fell into confusion, they heard rustling sounds from the bushes. It was a Dwarf hiding underground.
The Dwarf, packing up his telescope, said, “This is invalid!”
“………?”
“If someone lured it and stalled before shooting, even a fool could land a shot. I can’t accept that! You were supposed to kill the Ogre solely with my ballista!!”
As the Dwarf spat out old hatred with anger, a faint light flickered weakly from his chest.
“No! What kind of bullshit—”
When Selvier was about to lose her temper, bright light engulfed them, and the world went dark.
2nd Floor, Normal Clear.
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“We only used the ballista?! Are you kidding me right now—!!”
“………”
“………”
Selvier kept stamping her feet in pent-up frustration at the floor.
Envers focused on her, marveling at how the red magic tower mage had a temper like a burning fuse. Meanwhile, Luna analyzed the gimmick.
“Light. Dwarf. Transcendence.”
“………What does that mean?”
When they properly took down the Orc, the challenge was achieved and a luminous sphere floated from the Orc’s corpse.
The same effect as the light that had flickered from the Dwarf’s chest at the last moment.
And the Dwarf had wanted to achieve his revenge on the Ogre using only his own equipment… Luna came up with a hypothesis along these lines.
The “challenge tasks” of the Tower of Trials, it seemed, existed to grant someone’s wishes on each floor.
“If you fulfill the wish, maybe it gets achieved.”
“……….So, what you’re saying is we have to take down the Ogre according to the Dwarf’s stubbornness?”
“Somehow without drawing attention, no traps or lures, just… just with the ballista?”
“A sniper shot. Likely.”
Luna held up three fingers and shook them. It was a lamentation of ‘no wonder they gave us three arrows.’
The 2nd Floor proved to be more challenging than expected.
