Mesugaki Tank Enters The Academy

Chapter 173

The boss of the 10th floor of Menesteil Dungeon is a rough-looking golem formed from the rocks of the dungeon.

As the first stair boss encountered in the dungeon, it doesn’t possess any special abilities. Instead, it has high basic stats.

Its attack power is strong, and perhaps due to its large size, its attack range is wide. Its defense is incredibly high, so unless you're performing a specific gimmick, you won’t be able to whittle down its health at all.

During the height of Soul Academy's popularity, it was often referred to as the "Newbie Cutter" of the Menesteil Dungeon, making it quite challenging to tackle this monster head-on.

The patterns themselves are simple and not difficult, but the need to execute gimmicks means it takes a long time to defeat it.

You have to smash through its ridiculously thick skin to hit the core at least five or six times.

Given the nature of Menesteil Dungeon, where health continuously decreases in real-time, if you accidentally take a hit from it, the game genre instantly shifts from RPG to survival horror.

But this was all before we entered the 10th floor without any knowledge of what lay ahead.

If you know the trick to defeating the golem, then it’s a different story. Naturally, as a seasoned player in Soul Academy, I know that trick.

“Alsetin. I’m counting on you.”
“Information dealer. I hope you're not as useless as you seem.”

“Don’t worry. I won’t make mistakes in situations like this.”

After finishing the briefing, I handed Alsetin a magic-enchanted arrow and opened the boss room door.

From the outside, it looks like an ordinary cave.

Lava streams flow here and there across the floor, and countless quartz spikes hang from the ceiling, ready to skewer us.

The temperature inside is so intense that it can take your breath away.

But there’s one crucial thing to note:

The boss of the 10th floor doesn’t appear in its completed form right away.

As soon as all three of us step inside, the door to the boss room slams shut, and a magic circle is drawn in the center of the cave, from which a core floats up.

That core is the heart of the 10th floor boss, the golem.

Right. The boss of the 10th floor doesn’t show up in its full form at the start.

It merges together after the players enter the dungeon!

And surprisingly, that golem’s core has no hitbox.

What does that mean? It means we can attack while it’s merging!

“Alsetin!”
“Information dealer!”

“Understood!”

Before I could shout, Alsetin had already pulled back his bowstring.

Although he’s weaker than my sword, Alsetin is still much stronger than I am right now.

His shot will not miss its target.

The magic-enchanted arrow struck precisely at the golem's core.

Since this information can be gathered from various NPCs within Menesteil, it seems that the developers intended for attacks to be possible at this stage.

Given the high difficulty of the golem for a 10th-floor boss, they must have created this trick to aid players.

However, what they didn’t know is that the ideas of players always surpass those of developers.

Shortly after the arrow struck, an ice flower bloomed from its tip.

The magic enchanted on that arrow is called "Infectious Snowflower."

It’s an ice-based damage-over-time technique, and that flower spreads gradually, dealing damage.

There’s also a bonus for freezing the entire enemy, which deals significant damage.

To be honest, that magic is trash.

Perhaps due to the strong bonus damage, the damage-over-time is minuscule, and if the enemy has even a slight resistance to ice, the flower’s spreading slows down considerably, making it impossible to inflict bonus damage.

It’s essentially a technique for entertainment or for seasoned players who enjoy challenging themselves.

However, when dealing with this golem, the story changes.

This golem’s core has no resistance to ice at all.

Moreover, its surface area is small, so the time it takes for the infection to complete is also brief.

And the most crucial point: the golem's core has extremely low health.

It was already challenging to break the rocks surrounding the core, but the core itself can be shattered with just a few successful hits.

The golem’s core, which appears sturdy, will be obliterated the moment the ice flower completely infects it.

It means that before it even completes its form, the golem is already on a timer.

Now, there’s only one thing left for the three of us:

Wait until the golem, oblivious to its impending doom, collapses.

In the game, about a minute was sufficient, but what about in reality?

It would likely take longer than in the game, perhaps.

Shortly after the arrow struck the golem's core, the massive stones scattered throughout the cave began to float into the air.

They clustered around the core and eventually formed the shape of the golem.

Wow, it looks grand. I thought it was cool when I saw it in the game’s cutscene, but witnessing it in reality feels like watching a robot merge.

As it finished forming, I couldn't help but laugh at the sight of the golem stomping down with its enormous legs, exuding an air of majesty.

It certainly looks impressive, but thinking of it as a dying creature trying to show off makes it seem quite pathetic.

“Hello, empty tin can?? Are you posing like that because you think it looks cool?? Haha, how funny!? You’re the kind of trash that wouldn’t even be picked up in a garbage dump!?”

As I taunted, the golem’s gaze shifted toward me, but neither Karl nor Alsetin moved.

This was a pre-agreed tactic before entering the dungeon.

I had told them to let me handle stalling for time against that thing.

Why would I willingly take on such a burden?

I want to see how much I can block with my shield.

So far, the opponents I’ve faced have typically been one of two types:

Either they are creatures that I’m confident I can block any attack from without difficulty, or they can easily smash through my shield.

In either case, it’s hard to objectively assess my skill.

I know my shield is quite thick.

However, I don’t know exactly what kind of attacks it can withstand.

This is reality.

If that pathetic creature had granted me a status window, it would be a different story, but unfortunately, our pathetic creature is stingy. It won’t easily give out such a cheat feature.

So, the best way to assess my abilities is to extend my shield in front of a golem designed to attack by evading all its own attacks.

I want to see just how much my shield can endure.

This golem is one I’ve fought repetitively, so I can gauge the damage from its attacks fairly accurately.

Now, let’s see how it feels to take a hit.

I watch the golem lift its arm.

As it raises its arm high, preparing to strike down, I brace myself for its attack.

Though its attack is certainly threatening, it’s also slow.

It’s easy to dodge and simple to parry.

I enveloped myself in divine energy as I braced for impact.

Boom!

As its fist connected, I felt a surge of confidence.

I had successfully parried!

The moment the attack hit my shield, the shock was noticeably reduced, confirming that I had indeed parried it.

“Guh!”

However, despite the success, absorbing the golem’s attack was quite taxing.

With gritted teeth, I managed to deflect the fist, biting my lip in concentration.

<Are you okay?>
‘No problems here.’

I had no issues facing this golem.

I was confident I could parry all its attacks.

As long as I succeed in parrying, I can handle absorbing the hits one way or another.

In other words, if I fail to parry, I’ll take a hit straight on.

Is this really my level right now?

It’s true that this golem is fundamentally designed to evade all attacks while countering.

That’s why it possesses an abnormal attack power not suitable for a boss of this level.

Even according to the game’s standards, for a character who just completed the first semester of their first year, blocking this golem’s attacks is quite an achievement.

But now I have to descend further into the Menesteil Dungeon.

Being satisfied with this much is unacceptable!

After withstanding another strike from the golem, I took a deep breath and readied myself again.

In fact, I don’t need to hold on this long.

I could easily rely on Karl and Alsetin.

With their strength, most issues would be resolved.

But this is reality. Any variable could arise.

To avoid the worst-case scenario, it’s best if I can contribute at least one person’s worth of effort.

It’s getting complicated.

As I grimly realized my weakness, Grandpa spoke up.

<Girl.>
‘What is it, Grandpa! I’m busy right now!’
<I’ve been holding back a technique I thought you weren’t ready for.>
‘Suddenly?!’

While listening to Grandpa, I kept my gaze fixed on the golem’s movements.

It raised its foot. Is it a pattern that drops sharp stones from the ceiling?

Instead of moving my shield, I constructed a wall of divine energy above my head.

Its strength is lower than my shield, but it’s enough to block any falling rocks from above.

I could observe the golem’s next move without taking any damage.

<Think about it. If you can imbue your mace with divine energy, surely you can do the same with your shield. It means you can utilize divine martial arts for defense as well.>
‘Why are you telling me this only now?!’
<I was waiting for you to get accustomed to handling divine energy.>

I’m not yet highly skilled in divine martial arts.

If I wield the mace, I would have to forcibly expend half the divine energy, which is my reality.

Even if I were to utilize divine martial arts for my shield, the outcome would be similar.

It would provide some effect, but its efficiency would be terribly low.

<It’s fine for killing blows. If you can take out the enemy in one hit, you don’t need to worry about what comes next. But if you pour all your energy into defense, what’s the point? You’ll just expose yourself to the next attack.>

That seemed to be why Grandpa chose not to share this knowledge until I reached a certain level.

<However, seeing that golem’s attack made me reconsider. Stronger foes will certainly appear. If you can block one attack, there will be others who can deliver a killing blow. It’s better to get used to using this now.>
‘How do I do that?’
<The method remains the same. You can do it.>

I saw the golem clenching its hands.

It raised its arms high above its head to deliver a devastating blow.

This was the strongest attack in its arsenal.

Typically, I should dodge this.

<Good. The opponent is going all out. You should go all out in defense as well.>

Let’s give it a shot.

If things go wrong, my brooch will take the hit for me.

I imbued my shield with divine energy.

Last night, I practiced in training mode with Grandpa using the mace.

While this is more difficult than using an already enchanted mace, I can manage this much.

As the divine energy gathered, a warm light emanated from my shield.

Before long, the golem slammed its fists down.

It was a strike filled with the intent to crush me.

The moment I saw it, I was confident.

I could block that attack.

Grandpa speaks.

The shield reinforces itself.

I make my judgment.

I raise my shield high!

Boom!

“Grandpa, how nice it would have been if you had told me this sooner.”

Beyond my shield, I could see the golem’s enormous hand.

It was so large that it cast a shadow over the area around me.

That fist, intended to crush me, was now—

“Pathetic empty can!? Weak!? So weak!? All designs of lousy trash are like this!?”

With such absurdity, it halted against my shield.