Chapter 176 – Experimenting with the New New Weapon (1/2)

I stood there, impressed with the weapon which I had received.

While it was technically just a strangely shaped wand, it turned out to be quite an impressive piece of equipment.

The blade was good, though a bit insufficient for this deep in the dungeon, it was still quite sturdy. Not to mention how effective of a focus for my magic.

Of course that last bit was especially prominent. Despite the weapon's shape, it was obviously a wand first and foremost.

I really needed to thank Aurae for this orihalcum scythe. I really wasn't sure how, considering she had given it to me as a gift.

Maybe I could bake a whole bunch of cakes?

Either way, this thing was quite the marvel, and it was a little depressing that I had never bothered to use a wand up until then. Though I didn't know how things would have changed, it certainly would have sped up my progress though the dungeon.

Ignoring them simply because I didn't know how to use one really made me look like a fool. Though in my defence, it was part of human nature to continue doing something as long as it worked, of if you thought that there was a way to make it work, and that was essentially what I had managed up to this point.

My unaugmented magic worked, and when it didn't, it usually did if I just used more or found a different way to use it. And when even that didn't work, I always had physical combat to rely on.

But the effectiveness of my magic, which I relied on as my first line of attack, augmented by my new scythe shaped wand, I was going to have to work at avoiding using magic exclusively to the detriment of my physical combat.

In the end, continuing to be proficient with physical combat was important, even if it was entirely relegated to a secondary form of combat.

I continued my way through the 142nd floor, trying out various other spells and ways to use my new weapon, each time my lips crept upwards as I slowly learned how to control this new concentration of power.

It was surprising how difficult it was to make the adjustment. With years only getting incremental improvements to my magical output and only having to learn to adjust when I used a new spell, the sudden jump in efficiency was difficult to properly calibrate my brain to.

Maybe a good analogy was spending years learning and driving a common hatchback, only to suddenly switch to a high end sports car.

It definitely was something which required me to relearn my muscle memory, but the results were well worth the effort.

And as a final test to see how well I had adjusted to using my new weapon, I made my way through the large gates to the boss room.

There, in the centre of a large open space, was a single figure.

It stood a little shorter than the weird minotaurs I had faced all floor.

This floor in general had a weird theme of oversized body builder monsters, from the initial minotaur to packs of over muscled wolves. It was frankly a little terrifying being able to see the contours of its muscles right through the monster's fur coat due to its excessive definition.

That said, this boss wasn't really all that different, at least in theme.

On the other hand, it wasn't so insanely overbuilt like the others, but if I had to guess, its total muscle mass was still probably on a similar level if not even higher than the monsters on this floor despite its smaller stature.

The reason was because it had eight arms, four on each side. And every one of them looked like they pumped iron since the creature was in a crib.

Aside from those arms, and the weirdly numerous eyes that dominated its head, the boss seemed to mostly be humanoid. A quick [scan] told me it was called an over-muscled hecatoncheir.

If experience from this floor taught me, it probably fought entirely physically, most likely almost exclusively with nothing but punches considering its figure, but there was no guarantee that it would follow the conventions of the floor that exactly.

As this was the floor which I was exclusively using magic with my new wand, keeping my distance was preferable. With that being the case, I opened up slamming the butt of my weapon's haft onto the ground as I channelled my mana though it.

The ground before me instantly turned white as it was covered in a dense layer of ice. The frost rushed across the floor, but before it could reach and envelope the boss, the hecatoncheir moved.

Rotating its body, it slammed its four fists as one into the encroaching glacier, shattering it into diamond dust.

”Wha?!”

I blinked my eyes.

It wasn't the fact that it countered my spell so perfectly that I was surprised. I didn't actually think that such a thing would be much of an obstacle against the boss. Even empowered with my orihalcum scythe, such an enfeeblement spell tended to only slow down monsters of this level for a few moments at best.

But, right before the boss landed its attack, it looked as if its fists multiplied for a brief moment, like instead of punching with four, it punched with dozens.

My level of alertness rose substantially.

The only thing that was worse than going against something you already knew was strong, was going against something that you lacked crucial information on.

Attacks you didn't understand even after seeing them were troublesome, and for the most part, the only thing that could bring me fear in this dungeon.

So with that being said, I endeavoured to discover the nature of this unknown attack.

Swinging my scythe, I let loose a barrage of hardened icicles, a veritable curtain of them, at the boss that had taken to the air using the momentum of its previous attack. With no significant indication that it used traditional magic so far, there shouldn't have been any way for it to avoid this attack and would have to deal with it directly.

And as I expected, it did.

Spinning its body, the boss wound up and threw a punch once again. And again, I saw it. Not four fists, but dozens, smashing the wall of ice to make a hole more than large enough for it to safely pass through.

While I wasn't sure about the principal behind it, I could guess at the effects, and for the time being that was enough.

And fortunately, the momentum that was sending the boss towards me had been interrupted by its own counter, throwing its trajectory off and causing it to land short of me.

Spinning my scythe in my hands, instead of a single large attack, sending hundreds of icicles as one, I switched to a veritable barrage, sending a dozen icicles at a time in a stream of attacks, a wave being sent out each time my weapon finished a rotation.

Unlike before, the hecatoncheir didn't throw out one large set of punches, but instead it braced its feet against the ground and threw its fists out one after the next, intercepting my spells.

I saw it again. Each time, a wave of ice approached the boss, it punched each icicle, shattering it into a fine mist. One of its fists, together with a dozen or so fists that appeared only for the moment of attack before fading into obscurity as it readied its next attack.

”Gra-a-a-a-a-a-a-a~!”

The hecatoncheir continued this pattern, throwing out punches several times a second as its roar stuttered as if it took a tiny breath in between each punch.

It was an interesting thing to see, and some sort of morbid fascination started to fill me as I watched it compete against my barrage.

But the worthlessness of a monotonous attack showed itself after a few moments. It took me a little bit to notice, but the icicles started to fail reaching as far as it did at first. They were being shattered further and further away from the boss as time moved on.

Somehow, the hecatoncheir's punches were reaching further and further as it continued to roar in its weird, stammering way.

But the instant the icicles failed to reach beyond the halfway point between myself and the boss, I saw a brief moment where the hecatoncheir's movements changed. It took a small step back and wound its fists a bit more than before.

Instinct took over and I kicked off the ground, throwing my body to the side.

My long experience in this dungeon proved its worth as I saw the results from the side.

As the hecatoncheir threw out its punch, an entire row of fists manifested itself, punching the ground in front of the boss. Each fist reached a bit further than the last, and while normally that wouldn't be something to concern myself with, this monster had dozens of fists manifest, grinding all the icicles at once into the ground before enveloping the spot where I stood only a fraction of a second before.

A chill ran down my spine as the fists returned to the aether and the boss turned towards me. It took me a second, but once my mind registered the line of gouged out earth, I understood just how much power was in each of those punches.

I was a little annoyed.

All the while I was testing the boss, it was also testing me.

But the difference was that while it had shown its card, I had yet but do anything but small attacks.

My cheeks rose up as I envisioned overcoming this challenge.

The hecatoncheir launched itself towards me with a quick thrust of one foot.

(It's fast!)

Despite seeing its previous movements, I didn't expect it to be able to move its legs so quickly. Caught a bit off guard, I was forced to be a bit more serious earlier than I expected.

Opening up my pocket dimension, I pulled out a large clay jar and threw it between the boss and myself.

Of course, the monster threw out a set of punches at the object and it burst as if it was nothing more than a water balloon.

But the crimson fluid that the silica container held wasn't thrust towards me as would normally be the case. I took control of it with my mana, redirecting the momentum imparted within it while maximizing the surface tension to keep it all in one piece.

The jets of blood redirected itself while losing as little energy as possible and swung around back towards the boss as sharp barbs.