NOVEL NEXT Chapter 23
Chapter 23 – Trial Tower 3rd Floor
—–CROW—–
I dodged the spear thrusting towards me and swung my shield.
– *Clang!*
I followed up with a sword swing towards the Lizardman, who staggered from the heavy impact.
However, even while staggering, the Lizardman accurately swung its tail, striking my ankle.
My balance crumbled, causing my attack to miss. In that moment, the Lizardman regained its footing and struck me with its spear shaft.
– *Whack!*
The spear shaft wasn’t made of a hard material, so the damage wasn’t severe, but it hit my temple squarely, making my vision blur momentarily.
The Lizardman seized the opportunity and thrust its spear again. Its transition from swinging to thrusting was incredibly fast.
I swung my shield to deflect the spearhead and, in a surprise move, extended my foot and kicked the Lizardman’s knee.
– *Crack.*
With a snapping sound, the Lizardman stumbled, and its previously slightly high neck lowered to just the right height.
I immediately thrust my sword toward its neck. But the Lizardman dodged with a jerk of its head and, in return, swung its leg.
Even with a damaged knee joint, the force of the low kick, whipping into my thigh, was considerable.
“Ugh.”
I saw the leg coming, but I didn’t know how to block or dodge it, so I took the hit head-on. Annoying.
I let go of my thrusting sword, grabbed the Lizardman’s shoulder, pulled it in, and smashed its face with my shield.
*Wham!* It was a powerful sound, but not a fatal blow. Simultaneously, the Lizardman shortened its grip on the spear and thrust it towards my abdomen.
The timing was bad for blocking. Smashing its face with my shield put me too close to dodge effectively.
“Tch.”
I pushed the Lizardman away with all my might and leaped back, creating distance.
Despite taking two hits from my shield to the face, the Lizardman still seemed lively.
**
The main monsters in the 3rd floor area of the Trial Tower are, as you can see, Lizardmen.
The 3rd floor area has a vastly different atmosphere from the 1st and 2nd floors. The entire map is a swamp inhabited by a Lizardman tribe.
This area doesn’t have many safe zones, the village is very small, and while the monster-infested field is vast, the number of enemies that appear is small.
And because of their small numbers, each individual Lizardman that appears possesses incredibly high combat ability.
Normally, you would form a party of at least three people to gang up on these monsters, but as you can see, I’m currently engaged in a one-on-one duel.
Of course, my stats and equipment are overwhelmingly stronger than other challengers on the same floor, so struggling like this shouldn’t be happening.
“This is tough.”
I muttered softly and looked down at the sword and shield in my hands.
[+5 Worn Steel Straight Sword]
Attack Power + 25 (Slashing)
Critical Hit Damage: x 1.8
Durability 250/250
Available Enhancements: 0
[+5 Dirty Round Shield]
Defense + 15
Toughness + 3
Durability 300/300
Available Enhancements: 0
Compared to the items I usually use, these are trash items with less than half the performance.
Even challengers on the 1st floor of other towers wouldn’t use this equipment unless they were truly desperate.
They are enhanced to +5, but all the enhancements are focused on [Durability], so their actual performance is worse than store-bought items.
I’ve currently replaced all the items that contributed to my specs with these trash items.
After the near-death experience during the 2nd-floor boss battle, I realized my fundamental skills were lacking.
To compensate for that, I’m purposely lowering my specs and fighting with self-imposed restrictions.
If I equipped my original items, I could take down a Lizardman like this in an instant.
Of course, thanks to my level and passive skills, which are very high for this floor, my specs are still high.
It feels like, even in this state, my strength, speed, and durability are superior to this Lizardman’s.
Despite that, the reason I’m struggling is that the Lizardman’s close-combat skills are superior to mine.
The Lizardmen, the main monsters of the 3rd floor, are a warrior tribe where every member is a fighter.
They train themselves in endless battles, actively enjoy fighting, and consider dying in battle an honor.
As such, each individual possesses exceptional combat skills.
I don’t intend to go up to the 4th floor until I surpass these Lizardmen in skill.
– *Chirp! Chirp!*
As I took a moment to catch my breath, the Lizardman chirped and beckoned me with its hand as if to say, “Come at me.”
That damn lizard-headed bastard.
The Lizardman tribe, as mentioned, are a warrior tribe, and as such, they are said to be very serious about fighting.
They respect warriors, even those of other races, and consider it a virtue to face stronger opponents with all their might.
For them to openly provoke me like this means they consider their opponent to be several levels weaker.
In other words, that bastard thinks I’m a pushover.
“Alright, lizard bastard. You’re dead.”
Objectively, my skills are inferior to his, but being looked down upon so blatantly is naturally infuriating.
I gritted my teeth, grabbed my sword and shield, and charged again.
**
I took a large bite of White Troll meat, chewed, and gulped down a potion.
The wounds on my arms and shoulders healed quickly, and the HP displayed on my status window returned to maximum.
It was a bit of a struggle, but I won.
Honestly, I don’t feel like I surpassed it in skill. From the midway point, it was purely a battle of endurance.
Perhaps because they’re reptiles, Lizardmen tend to have trouble regulating their body temperature when battles drag on.
When their body temperature rises, their skin visibly flushes, and their movements become noticeably sluggish.
This Lizardman, too, fought evenly until the middle of the fight, then the tide turned in my favor as its movements dulled due to the rise in body temperature.
In the end, it was no different than winning with superior stats. I still have a long way to go.
“I guess I really am a pushover.”
I slowly looked down at the Lizardman’s corpse as it turned into light and disappeared.
On the shoulder of the fallen Lizardman was a single white stripe, as if painted on with dye.
This stripe represents rank among the Lizardmen. A white stripe signifies a low-ranking warrior.
Even among low-ranking warriors, they are further distinguished by the number of stripes, and this one had a single white stripe.
Except for Lizardmen with no stripes at all, or yellow stripes indicating they haven’t been recognized as full warriors, this is the lowest rank.
It’s roughly equivalent to a Private First Class in the military. I couldn’t even beat someone of that level with skill.
It’s quite a blow to my pride, but having a long way to go also means there’s plenty of room for growth. Let’s not get too discouraged.
I organized my items and chewed and swallowed the remaining White Troll meat.
**
The 3rd floor’s village is so small that calling it a village is embarrassing.
Since the entire swamp is Lizardman territory, the places where humans can live are extremely limited, according to the setting.
There are shops where you can sell items, blacksmiths where you can enhance and repair weapons, and everything else you might need.
However, there are also drawbacks, such as the extremely small number of NPCs and the very poor and cramped accommodations.
“Oh, you’re back! I thought you were dead!”
As I returned to the village, a man with a rough beard waved and called out to me.
Similar to Nora, whom I met on the 2nd floor, he’s an NPC who shows human-like reactions. His name is Windsor.
“Are you alright? It seems you’ve been good at avoiding the Lizardmen. That’s good.”
The 3rd floor’s village is conceptually a temporary camp set up by an expedition dispatched to explore the ruins in this swamp.
Windsor is the leader of that camp, and he’s very knowledgeable about the Lizardmen’s ecology, so he plays the role of providing various information to challengers.
Almost all of my knowledge about Lizardmen habits and ranks comes from this man.
“Anyway, get some rest now. You’ve worked hard!”
Windsor slapped me on the back as he said that. I ignored him and went to sit alone in a corner.
Just like the shepherdess on the 2nd floor gave me a special quest, this guy also gave me a special quest.
[Find the Treasure of the Ruins – Expedition Leader Windsor]
Description: The 12th Alcataia Ruins Exploration Team followed the records of a certain artifact and entered Lizardman territory. The artifact spoke of ruins where a “weapon that controls lightning” slumbers.
No one knows exactly what kind of object it is, but if the artifact’s records are accurate, it must be an incredible treasure.
Of course, the expedition team, now isolated in Lizardman territory, must worry about whether they can leave this place alive, let alone find treasure.
Cooperate with Expedition Leader Windsor to find out what the treasure of the ruins is. That treasure will surely be of great help to you.
[Quest Objectives]
Join the expedition team (Completed).
Explore the ruins.
Discover the identity of the treasure.
Since the reward for the quest given by the shepherdess was so great, I naturally intend to complete this quest as well.
And once I clear this quest, Windsor will probably become a normal NPC too.
In that case, there’s no point in getting attached by talking to him.
For the sake of protecting my mental state, it’s better to just ignore him for now.
“By the way, have you been to the ruins I mentioned? If you’ve seen anything, please let me know!”
But this guy, he talks a lot.
—–CROW—–