Chương 64: Chapter Sixty-Four: I Need to Get Stronger

I will die. The second this realization settles into my mind, it's like every single ounce of weight that had been weighing on my shoulders, any chain that had been linked to my consciousness, all connections I have to this world have been dropped. My mind is expanded in a way that I have never thought was possible before as I stare out at the dark horizon awaiting us. This feeling of euphoria throws my body into a fit and I can't stop the laughter from erupting from my mouth. This is what I've been looking for.

This is something that I had never thought was possible before coming here. It might be a completely different environment, and it might be a completely different situation, but this feeling running through me, pushing me forward, is the exact feeling that engulfed me as soon as I had emerged from the cave on Floor One. Pure freedom. To my own surprise and partial desperation, I realize the only thought ringing through my head is one singular idea: I need to get stronger.

This divine realization was accompanied by another truth that had been hidden right under it. The need to get stronger was not something that came forth from the face of the enemy in front of me, but rather from the opportunity that they presented. If I survive this, if I can make it to the end of floor two, what other heights can I reach? How strong will I be by then? Will I be able to decimate a town, or maybe an entire city?

It's like the monster wave was a creation just for me, something that I could use to springboard myself to heights that I had been desperately wanting since before The Pillar ever even began. Taking a quick glance around, I find that I'm the only one who's still on my feet and ready to fight. I didn't realize it before, but everyone around me has become silent and I, so overwhelmed in my own thoughts, hadn't even noticed that even the strongest people around- the Veil Guards- are cowering in the face of this enemy.

As much as I hate to admit it, I do need these people to support me because if it's just myself versus this seemingly infinite wave of Freylith, then I doubt I'll be able to survive and reach the heights that beckon me forward. deciding that I'll not hide myself any longer, I began to <Emit> mana like I never had before.

Releasing my tight hold over the radiation and mana in my body, I quickly link myself up to the Flare Loop behind my back before beginning to reach toward my deep mana pools to create tiny constructs that spark into existence like tiny stars.

With the tiny mana tubes extending from my back and connecting to the Flare Loop, I make a few quick adjustments before I begin to fill the flare loop with even more radiation than I had before; not even bothering to restrict my energy at all as it pours into the storage device. Since my mind runs amok due to the silence that encompasses the entire Veil, I began to imagine things that I had remembered from Earth. What is the easiest weapon of mass destruction I can create right on the spot?

What would be the most effective weapon for me with my current mana production rate, factoring in the knowledge that building bigger and better mana reserves as I begin to level whenever the fight begins? The choice seems fairly obvious and as the sparks of my mana continue to spring into existence, I begin to form them into the most familiar thing I can remember: Bullets. I could make some large-scale bomb.

In fact, I could probably re-engineer the Flare Loop and then fill it with enough energy to level the entire field in front of me, but that won't help anyone right now and wouldn't achieve much. I need to work together with everyone else to build my level up slowly but surely and not risk myself. I can tell this fight is going to last a long time, which means that I need to measure my output to match the enemies' numbers.

The pools of energy in my body yearn to be released, so I funnel all of the bullets that I create and move them next to my whirling construct as I let them spin alongside the rampant energies inside. Spinning the bullets faster and faster, I prepare for the incoming horde while letting kinetic energy build up between all of my constructs.

Just like a mini-gun from back home, I use my new archaic powers granted by the System to formulate the technique of an old weapon of war that was created to wreak devastation on the battlefield. Funniest of all is that it's not even hard! With my current mental state, the revolving pellets of death practically birth themselves into the world and join their whirling buddies, just waiting to be fired.

If I had to guess, the beasts will probably be upon us within the next minute or so, but I don't see the higher-leveled monsters attacking anytime soon. I, as well as everyone else, am wondering what they're doing lining the entirety of the Veil, but as of right now it really doesn't matter. With my new makeshift mini-gun and the seemingly infinite creatures coming forward, all that matters is making sure that the Veil doesn't go down and that I don't die. Did you know this text is from a different site?

Read the official version to support the creator. With my preparations coming together, I take one more glance at everyone else while my mind continues to override my mouth, letting it spew out thoughts that I try not to let anyone hear. To my surprise, before I can even check on anyone else, I hear a ringing voice come out from who I know is Vince.

His authoritarian tone pulls together the rest of my team, and I watch as the remaining group members approach the platform's edge as well, visibly trying to prepare themselves for the upcoming battle. I'm thankful that they were able to pull themselves together, and soon I also began to hear Tobias and Brian shout out at the troops lining the walls. Before I know it, everyone else is stirring and moving toward their cannons and other positions.

A rush of exhilaration runs through my body as I realize that everyone else here is ready to fight too. A large part of me wants to jump off this wall right now and engage the monsters before they even arrive but I know that that would be foolish. It hasn't escaped my attention that sometimes whenever I get a little too into battles, I seem to lose myself. I can't let myself fall victim to this again or else I risk death.

To keep my thoughts straight I engage fixation at full throttle and use it to focus on the oncoming enemy, trying to derive any sort of weakness from their movements, body signatures, or any other sources. Wait a minute, I just remembered that I'm not fighting alone here!

"Kathryn, can you call out where the most frequent weak spots are on the creatures whenever they approach?" I call out. The woman doesn't hear me at first and I repeat myself while tapping on her shoulder. As if my finger had shocked her into action, I watch as her entire body jolts for a moment before turning toward me with wild eyes. Ah I see. Despite her readiness to approach the platform's edge and meet the enemy ahead underneath Vince's commands, she still seems to be paralyzed with fear partially.

grabbing her shoulders, I bring her face to face with me and stare directly into her terrified eyes.

"Kathryn, I need you to use <Prod> on the Freylith so we all know where to target our attacks. Can you do that for me?" I ask seriously, fully aware that the enemy will be within range at any second. Finally, it seems that my words get through to her, and she nods numbly while trying to make her mouth work. Satisfied with her silent answer, I turn away from her and don't even bother trying to engage with the rest of our group mates. The only pep talk they need is from Vince.

No matter what actions I take here, whatever words I say, or whatever type of reassurances I can offer before the fight begins, it's all for naught. Actions will forever speak louder than words here; this battle won't be won through comforting lies. This is the moment where everything changes. If we all survive at the end of this fight, then I will give them my trust and respect. But if any of them die here I will not shed a tear at their loss. Everything from here on is up to the individual.

Teamwork will get them far, in fact it might even keep them alive, but at the end of the day, what they do as individuals will be the line between life and death here. I, for one, plan on living through this and becoming all the stronger for it. With mana flooding through my muscle fibers and the spinning wheel of death that hovers right behind my back, my mind finally settles into the flow that shall last for the entirety of this fight.

There is no room for hesitation here and I won't let anyone else get in my way, much less the NPC commanders that think that they can order me around for this fight. I didn't forget my promise. Brian will most likely be dead by the end of this, or at the very least, I'll be taking him with me before I go. The excitement brimming in my gut continues to work its way along my skin like a drug. I can feel my breath coming faster and faster and my nasal cavity opens wider than it ever has before.

At this point, I can smell every single drop of sweat that trickles down the fearful necks of the people around me. The feeling is delightfully addicting and blood rushes through my veins while my skills stand ready, screaming for me to activate them and channel every bit of my lust for levels into a beautiful rain of destruction on the enemy. For now, the floor objective, the quests, the future, and the System itself falls to the wayside as I ready myself for what is likely to be the best brawl of my short life.

This is what it has all come down to. Regardless of whether this is supposed to mark the end of the floor or the end of something else; I don't mind. I can tell that this is what The Pillar has wanted us to do all along. The reason it gave us so much time to prepare under expert tutelage with practically free reign to farm levels. It wants us to kill. It wants us to be stronger. It needs us to be stronger.

For some reason it's like something in the back of my mind- maybe even The Pillar itself- is speaking directly into my head. I don't know why our time was cut short to prepare for the wave. This feeling of pure understanding rippling through every cell in my being tells me that there are other forces at play here. The only avenue of suspicion I can follow is that the 'gods' or someone else has twisted this Floor beyond its original purpose.

The Freylith are barreling down on us, only seconds away from arriving within range, yet I can't help but continue to converse with this seemingly foreign presence in my head. It might just be my own mind reflecting some suspicions I buried deep in my subconscious, but this mysterious intent speaking to me feels so familiar to The Pillar that I can't stand it.

Only a couple of beats have passed, yet I feel as if time slows to a crawl all the way up until I finally decode what this intent had been trying to tell me all along. And to my surprise; for once, we agree. I need to become strong enough that these alien… interferences … never affect me again.