The Achievement Junkie

Chapter 518 Enter the 99th Floor

"That sounds more like a threat than an argument." Moranti squinted and shook his head. "Are you that desperate already?"

Halmut didn’t respond to the God of Space. Instead, Halmut continued speaking to the king, "I’d rather we not become enemies, Brobit. I wish that we can ally together and eventually free the world of the scourge that is the Leisure Gods. During the war of the past, did they do anything to protect Trodar or their followers? No. They abandoned everyone and hid themselves from history until now.

"If you want to mention track records, I’ve proven myself capable of winning a war among gods. All you have to your name are failing gods that hid among the cowards which refused to save their own people," Halmut reasoned. "Tell me how you’re more qualified to protect them? Go on, I’d love to hear it."

Vixus kept his calm smile showing, despite his rush to gather an argument. Eedaj scanned over Halmut, searching for the best counterargument. Choron was silent but kept his sharp gaze fixated on the Sun God. And Moranti sighed while shaking his head.

Everyone else present was too curious. They were on the edge of their seats in anticipation to hear the response of the leisure gods.

*****

Sitting in pitch-black darkness, Jack sat cross-legged. He had already spent ten minutes in thought but struggled to come up with something.

His dungeoning speed was too fast. Jack’s digging tactic proved too successful. At first, Jack was able to pass five floors a day with his minokawa form. But by utilizing his centipede form and minokawa form together he had doubled that, passing ten floors a day.

This was incredibly useful, allowing Jack to reach the ninety-eighth floor in a time that would leave speedrunners in a heart attack. However, there was a single downside to that. That gave Jack less time to ponder his strategy for the ninety-ninth floor.

The ninety-ninth floor’s design wasn’t anything special but it was still the most intimidating. It was the smallest of all the floors with only a single monster living there. Also, there was a vast staircase carved into the ground of floor ninety-eight yet no mobs of that floor dared to go near it.

Jack was currently sitting on the steps leading to the ninety-ninth floor. All that remained was descending and getting past Duorda.

But doing that wouldn’t be so simple. To find the tomb regularly, Jack would need to use the chant and ritual to let his poorly crafted ring guide him. Such a tactic would get Jack caught by the crypt lord. Sneaking down while invisible was an option as well, but there was no telling how Jack would find the tomb otherwise or allow its entrance to appear.

The thought of whittling down the crypt lord no longer made sense to Jack. Now that they would be fighting in real life, there was no telling what Duorda would do or if Jack could kill him on the first try. Such a strategy relied on the ability to respawn and try again, something that Jack no longer had.

Nothing he thought of made sense. Jack couldn’t come up with a logical plan to guarantee his success on a single attempt. But the promise Daruun made was clear in his mind.

"... I can guarantee you that there is a way and it will make itself known, given who you are..."

With that phrase replaying over and over in his head, Jack heaved one last sigh before beginning his descent down the seemingly endless stairs.

The hero didn’t rush, moving as quickly as possible while remaining silent in his human form. He didn’t dare to underestimate the greatest boss’s ability to sense an incoming foe.

After a few minutes of hurrying down the steps, Jack finally saw the bottom. In total, Jack spent almost fifteen minutes running down the stairs to reach the ninety-ninth floor. And when Jack arrived, he was left with a slack jaw and eyes wide open. He couldn’t believe his eyes.

Items, weapons, scrolls, and more littered the outskirts of the giant open space. Jack could faintly see the other end of the round chamber, proving that it was much smaller than the other dungeon floors. However, such a space for a single monster said a lot about the boss and how monstrous he was.

Looking further, Jack discovered something strange. Crypt Lord Duorda was nowhere to be found.

After a moment of wonder, Jack remembered how the encounter would usually go. The crypt lord would appear after an enemy makes itself known and immediately attack. It both comforted Jack and left him unsettled. This left Jack safe for the moment but with little anticipation for what might happen if he was caught.

Trying to come up with a plan, Jack kept his eyes wandering about the chamber. He still was in awe of how many items and treasures were strewn about.

Jack then noticed that no item present shared an owner. Each and every item originated from a different ancient hero, proving to be the motherload of treasures and loot as well as the ultimate graveyard for adventurers.

He searched and walked about the room. Sadly, he found nothing along the walls or on any surface hinting at an ancient tomb. Apart from the fairly flat ground and the round walls, there was only a single change in the architecture of the floor.

Opposite the entryway, there were a few steps that led down to two closed doors. That small area was crafted entirely from roxite, making it impenetrable.

Still struggling with his mind, Jack failed to think of anything new in terms of strategy.

With only one option left, Jack decided that he might as well take some treasures while he was left unguarded. Almost everything was lv. 85 with the weakest items at lv. 75, which were a rare find among the other treasures. Jack even spotted some legend-tier weapons. How could Jack leave such a thing behind? It would be too much of a waste to consider.