arc3 · 187-ch187

Chapter 187: The Poison Needle Might Be More Useful Than I Thought

Anyway — even while my Parallel Thinking self was attending the press conference, my real body's dungeon attack carried on. I steered Gekkou around behind the Ferocious Wolf, easing it closer without being noticed.

If I attacked from my end, the beast would start moving all the more wildly, so I'd made a point of sticking to pure defense. I dodged the Ferocious Wolf's claw swipes, and caught its bite attack on my katana. At that instant, the Ferocious Wolf's movements froze.

Psh!

Right away, I sent Gekkou charging in, jabbing the needle mounted on the drone's belly into the area around the Ferocious Wolf's rear.

"Gyau!?"

Startled, the Ferocious Wolf let go of my katana with its mouth — but it being such a thin needle, the damage seemed to be nearly nonexistent. Yet while the Ferocious Wolf apparently hadn't noticed a thing, a green blot was slowly spreading outward from where the needle had struck. Looks like I'd managed to inflict the poisoned status.

I can't see the enemy's HP, but judging by appearances, it was clearly taking damage. Just how much effect does it actually have? Might as well test that out.

I kept from dealing any damage myself, devoting everything to evasion and defense. I wanted to see whether I could beat the Ferocious Wolf like this.

"Mmm-hmm. It looks like the poison spreads faster when it's moving hard than when it's sitting still."

Over the course of the fight, the way the blot spread started looking different to me. I'd noticed that when it held still and did nothing, the blot crept along slowly, but when it was moving hard to attack me, the spread sped up.

In that case, why not get the thing moving even more? I deliberately left openings and let the Ferocious Wolf press its attack — then dodged each one at the last possible moment, over and over. Before several minutes had passed, the Ferocious Wolf's movements had dulled, and by the time the green blot had spread across its whole body, it had stopped moving entirely.

【You defeated the Ferocious Wolf】

(Ooh! It went down to the poison alone!)

I'd wondered if I might need to land the finishing blow at the end, but that worry turned out to be needless. Against an evenly-matched opponent — no, an opponent a rank above me — my odds of winning should have gone up a good deal.

That said, there'd surely be enemies the poison doesn't work on. The wraith-type and undead-type monsters of Tokyo Mouse Park Dungeon, above all — and the Living Armor types. Ahh, and it might not work on the spirit-type monsters in the Inari Dungeon either.

Meanwhile, Hayate's side of things: the press conference seemed to be going strong. Our memories are shared, so I know exactly what's happening over there. A strange feeling, as always.

Anyway, I'd like to keep testing a bit longer. Next, let me see whether the results change depending on where the poison goes in.

I used the Mana Detection Radar to hunt for my next prey, and two monsters popped up on it. Ferocious Wolves again, same as before. Convenient for testing.

I deliberately walked right up to the two Ferocious Wolves, bold as you please, and drew their attention onto me. While that was happening, Gekkou flew along near the ceiling and swung around behind them. And apparently because it makes no sound, monsters of this level don't sense it at all.

I struck from behind: one hit near the back, one into the head — both poison shots landed. And now, dance time. I flowed gracefully around the two beasts' attacks while waiting for the poison to take hold — and the Ferocious Wolf shot in the head slowed down dramatically once the poison had spread through its face and head.

The Ferocious Wolf shot in the back, meanwhile, was slower to dull — but the moment it did dull, it simply died.

So: to kill fast, shoot somewhere close to the heart; to slow the target's movements, aim somewhere close to the head. That's what I learned. The effects of poison run surprisingly deep.

With a decent amount of testing done, I decided to push on from here. Once I hit floor twenty-five, C-rank attribute wolves show up, and I wanted to try it on them too. Sweeping aside the ever-present Ferocious Wolves, I made for floor twenty-five.

"Whew — finally made it."

By the time I reached floor twenty-five, a level had gone up thanks to the EXP Shiden had racked up. That put me at level 34, and the drones' level had reached 30. And just as I'd predicted, the skill points that came in were 30. So it seems the points equal your level with the ones digit dropped — if 30s give 30 and 40s give 40, I might be earning quite the pile of points going forward.

I don't know how high the drones' levels can climb, but there may be far more units to choose from than I'd figured. Heh heh heh — now it's getting fun!

After a short break on the staircase, I stepped onto floor twenty-five.

(The first monster's an Aqua Wolf, huh. If I recall, it isn't as bad as the Werewolf, but it had a self-regeneration skill. Alright — let's see whose power wins, my poison or its recovery!)

I hid Gekkou behind my own body, and the moment I caught its sharp fangs on my katana — leaving my chest wide open — I sent Gekkou charging in at it.

Bushu!

Unable to cope with Gekkou emerging from its blind spot, the Aqua Wolf ended up with a green blot spreading on its chest. But that blot wouldn't spread at all. Could it be the Aqua Wolf's recovery power and the Poison Needle's damage were evenly matched, canceling each other out?

(This might be a case for taking it down with the katana myself... hm? Hold on — what would happen if I stabbed it one more time?)

Watching the Aqua Wolf whose poison wouldn't spread gave me the idea. If one strike isn't enough, what would happen with two, three strikes?

I sent Gekkou around behind it once more and injected poison into its back. The poison near the heart never spread — but the poison on its back began to spread little by little. So a second strike boosts the effect beyond what one strike alone can do.

Armed with this new discovery, I kept hunting right up to the last minute of the day — and with one more level gained, I called an end to today's hunt.