After our not-so-great encounter with the 3rd floor's boss, we returned to the 2nd floor's save zone and went through our usual routine—having dinner and cleaning ourselves up. I bought another schoolgirl uniform for Verdra so she could wash the one she was wearing. Even if she didn't sweat, grime and dirt still built up over time. She said her clothes started to feel uncomfortable because of it.
We continued slaying Yetis for the next 2 days until I finally reached my max Lv. During that time, we also brainstormed several solid strategies to deal with the Yeti Shogun.
By now, Verdra was strong enough to decapitate a Yeti without even using Minotyrant's halberd.
As for me, I could kill one solo by stunning it with Electrokinesis and then burning it down with Pyrokinesis until it stopped moving. Sometimes, I still had to finish the job with my halberd, though.
"Are we really gonna blast that small Yeti with this?" Verdra asked, staring at the vial in her hand.
"Yeah. Hopefully." I nodded. "I paid 30k Currencies for these. If they don't work, we're doomed."
Right now, we were hiding at the corner of the ice cave, right before the area where the Yeti Shogun resided.
Each of us held an Agility boosting potion (High). Those potions would increase our Agility stats by 75%. With this, I hoped we'd have a much better chance of beating the crap out of the Yeti Shogun who forced us to retreat 3 days prior.
"Alright. This is going to put us in a pretty dangerous situation—especially for me." I glanced at Verdra. "You failed, I'm dead, keep that in mind."
"Mm." She nodded, determination clearly written on her face.
"I'll go first to draw his attention. Follow me once I reach him."
We downed our potions and prepared for a quick fight.
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Name: Yanagi Yuu (Human)
Lv: 187/187
Agility: 561 + 420 (Expired in 300 seconds)
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Name: Verdra (True Dragon)
Lv: 187/3401
Agility: 1774 + 1330 (Expired in 300 seconds)
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"We'll make this quick. No room for errors!" I said firmly.
"Got it!" she replied curtly.
"Alright. Let's go!" I declared, breaking into a sprint toward the Yeti Shogun.
The moment the Yeti Shogun noticed me emerging from the corner, he slashed the air in front of him in a swift motion, launching a barrage of ice straight at me.
There was something I had completely overlooked in our last fight—the Yeti Shogun's ice barrage was, well… made of ice. In other words, my specialty.
I'd missed that fact because Cryokinesis had been not so useful against the regular Yetis. It was a clear sign of my inexperienceness, just like Verdra had said…
My Cryokinesis was now at Lv5. I could manipulate ice at a range of up to 15 meters.
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Cryokinesis(Lv5): Ability to manipulate cold and ice through the power of mind. Lv5 effect: Range Increased (Mid) | Cold resistance (Low) | Lighten brain load (Low)
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The moment the Yeti Shogun's ice barrage entered my Cryokinesis range, I halted the incoming shards in midair and reshaped them into a solid ice shield, large and dense enough to cover my entire front.
The shield blocked my direct view of the monster, but that wasn't a problem—I had another set of eyes. My 3rd-person view skill hovered about 2 meters behind me, giving me a clear view of his movements without needing to look at him directly.
As I closed the distance, the Yeti Shogun stopped his ice assault and shifted his stance, readying his katana to cut me down the moment I entered his range. I dissolved the ice shield and converted it into dozens of sharp shards, launching them straight at him.
The Yeti Shogun looked momentarily surprised, but he recovered instantly, skillfully slashing apart every shard before they could reach him. While he was occupied, I struck him with a powerful lightning strike from my Electrokinesis the moment he entered my range. Once again, he blocked it with the same crescent-moon sword motion he'd used yesterday. That, however, gave me the opening I needed.
While I'd been charging toward him, I'd continuously heated the blade of my Hunter's knife with Pyrokinesis until it glowed bright red. I'd also attached a chunk of ice to the end of its hilt, allowing me to control its trajectory more precisely once thrown.
The advantage of psychic abilities over magic was that they didn't require visible casting motions—though Verdra could do that too, she was a special case, anomaly even.
As the Yeti Shogun focused on blocking my lightning, I hurled the knife with all my strength, further accelerating it by manipulating the ice on its hilt and forcing it forward with added momentum.
Using all these psychic abilities at once placed a massive strain on my brain load, but I had to endure it and push through.
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Brain load: 79%
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I aimed for the Yeti's small left eye, visible through the narrow slit in his mask. The knife pierced cleanly through.
He froze for a brief moment, stunned—but he didn't panic. Keeping his composure, he reached up with his left hand and gripped the knife lodged in his eye, trying to pull it free.
That however, was the opening my partner had been waiting for.
*Woosh* *slash*
The Yeti Shogun's right arm was severed at the shoulder, crashing to the ground with a heavy thud, rendered him weaponless.
It was Verdra. She had flown in at incredible speed, swinging a Minotyrant's halberd wreathed in an even stronger Hellfire. Her downward strike sent her body rolling forward through the air like a blazing wheel.
As she passed him, she stabilized herself using the halberd's special effect to halt her momentum, then spread her wings wide and turned midair to face the Yeti Shogun once more.
But of course, the Yeti Shogun wasn't idle doing nothing. He attempted to leap sideways toward his severed arm to retrieve his sword—but just as he bent his knees to jump—
"Don't think I'll let you escape!" I shouted.
I unleashed the highest-voltage Electrokinesis strike I could muster. Now that his sword was gone, he couldn't block it.
"Gyeeeeee!!" he screamed as the lightning tore through him.
It was a powerful attack—and one that came at a steep cost.
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Brain load: 94%
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Yetis were weak to lightning, and it seemed this one also shared the same weakness.
Verdra surged forward, pulling her Hellfire-wrapped halberd back before swinging it horizontally into the Yeti's thigh. The first one was severed cleanly. The blade stopped briefly upon hitting the second—but the halberd's special effect triggered, slicing through it as well, followed by a violent burst of blue flames.
"Gyeeeeee!!!" another agonized wail tore from the monster.
The Yeti Shogun collapsed flat onto the ground at the same moment Verdra's halberd shattered.
She had used a far more potent version of her Hellfire slash—the halberd, which normally endured 5 uses, had only withstood 2 this time. That was how overwhelming her attack had been.
Verdra landed beside me, folding her wings as I knelt on the ground, clutching my head and fighting back a splitting headache from pushing my brain capacity past its limit.
"Urgh!" I groaned. "I really need to stop using this 'overloadind my brain before winning' fighting style. It's bad for my health."
"You look fine to me." came the usual nonchalant commentary of my ever so dependable partner.
"Uuh… cut me some slack. I worked really hard this time."
"Hehe." She giggled. "You're right. Your ways of using your power are clever… honestly, I'm a little scared of your future potential."
"Thanks—ugh… my head hurts." I winced. "Verdra, can you cut off his other arm and blind him or something? And lastly… could you button your shirt back up? I don't know where to look."
I averted my gaze after my last phrase.
Her shirt and blazer had slipped slightly off her shoulders in order to let her wings out without damaging her clothes, leaving her cleavage and white upper undergarment partially visible.
Her cheeks flushed red at my final words. She hurriedly fixed her clothes and crossed her arms over her chest out of embarrassment.
"So you finally found your sense of decency. I'm so proud of you." I smirked while enduring my excruciating headache, reminding her of her shamelessness during her first human transformation attempt.
"Ngnnn…" She clenched her teeth. "Looks like I really should burn you after all." Her eyes welled slightly as she pouted.
"Instead of burning me, could you do what I asked? We'll be in trouble otherwise." I pointed at the still-wailing Yeti Shogun.
"…I'm getting expensive sweets after this," she huffed.
"Anything for you, Your Majesty." I replied with a sarcastic shrug.
Verdra resummoned her gauntlets and sword, coating the blade in Hellfire. She severed the Yeti Shogun's remaining arm and pierced his still functioning eye with a small Hellfire arrow—Lv2 Fire Arrow + Lv10 Hellfire.
She didn't finish him off—on my request. I needed to be the one who land the killing blow to raise my maximum Lv. If not for that, she actually could've decapitated him on her first strike.
Once my brain load subsided slightly, I walked over to retrieve his weapon.
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Koori no Tsurugi
Lv: 260
Class: Epic
Special effect: Chills everything this blade cuts and creates an ice structure with every swing.
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"Wohoo! This sword is literally made for me!" I yelled. "Aaah… the dopamine rush from loot drops is real even in real life."
I bet my face looks really stupid right now.
The katana had a gentle curve, its clear sky-blue blade reflecting my face. The hilt was black with intricate bindings, and the guard matched the blade's color. It was a beautiful sword.
"What are you even talking about? I don't understand a single thing you just said." Verdra tilted her body sideways to peer at my face—cute.
"Don't you get it? This sword makes ice on its own! ICE!" I emphasize the on the ice.
"What so special about it? I can create all the ice you'll ever need."
"Well… I can control this one myself?" I scratched the back of my head.
"That's good then." She puffed her cheeks. "I can allocate my mana for something else. Hmph!" She facing away sulkily.
"Oh, come on. I'd never have beaten that guy over without your help." I rubbed her head from behind. "And I barely used Cryokinesis on this floor anyway. So cheer up, please."
"Gwehehehe…" Her face melted into pure bliss.
Easy. Too easy! She scolded me for being immature, but look at her now.
Well, I liked her because she's like this, so I won't complain.
"Hehehe—no! That's not it!" She snapped back to reality and pointed at the Yeti Shogun. "Just kill him already—before my mana runs out keeping my Warmth active!"
She wasn't wearing her Yeti cloak since it restricted her wings, so she'd been relying on a Warmth spell.
"Haha. Alright, alright. Go grab your cloak before you froze to death." I stopped rubbing her head as she went to grab her cloak.
I swung my new katana at the Yeti's neck. It took several strikes before he finally stopped moving and disappear.
< You have slain a Yeti Shogun. exp+xxxx >
< Lv up x19 >
< Maximum Lv increased to 252 >
< Hp and stamina is fully recovered >
< You received 2520 Currencies >
The drop Items were a magic stone, his kabuki helmet, and the katana's scabbard—no Yeti pelts. I retrieved my knife and strapped the scabbard to my waist, it's perfect fit for my height.
I ignored the helmet. It was ugly as hell and looked annoying to wear.
"This katana is incredible…" I muttered. "It somewhat freezes his neck every time it cuts through—even with his ice resistance. Koori no Tsurugi… meaning the Sword of Ice. Why's it in Japanese, though? Because the Yeti was a shogun? And why does it create an ice arch each time I swung it? It's kinda annoying."
Each swing left a thin arc of ice trailing behind the blade. The effect couldn't be disabled—annoying, and not magic stone friendly.
It's manageable, I guess. Since I had plenty of magic stones anyway.
Magic weapons usually followed their wielder's will. This was the first one I'd seen that ignored it completely.
"We're going to the 4th floor now, right?" Verdra asked after putting her cloak back on. "We worked really hard for it."
"No. Not yet." I replied curtly.
"Why!?"