They'd said the longer you stay in the Death God Realm, the less time you get on each visit.
But there was no way I was letting that sloth of a thing be the first to break through *Death's Edge Invincibility*.
One look at it and it was obvious—the thing couldn't do anything except put you to sleep.
The fact that the mob on the floor right before this one had been so pathetically weak was proof enough.
"Can't afford a permanent loss."
So I chose the Fatigue Recovery Potion.
A Fatigue Recovery Potion lets you climb 25 extra floors per day.
Which, put another way…
Means one refills for free every single day.
In other words, unlike Death's Edge Invincibility, it was recoverable.
That said, I wasn't planning on sipping it one step at a time.
I took one gulp while still collapsed on the floor, then gripped the remaining Fatigue Recovery Potion bottle tight.
"HEY—!!!"
I hurled it with everything I had straight at the black sloth's face.
*Whoosh—!*
My shoulder was barely half-functional.
Drowsiness had my eyes half-shut, vision barely there.
And the distance was something no baseball pitcher alive could've hit from.
But I'd long since left human-level physical ability in the dust.
Not quite superhuman enough to kill something by throwing my scythe at it yet, but…
Controlling a single bottle? Perfectly doable.
*CRASH—!*
Success.
The glass bottle shattered dead-on against the Shaman Sloth's face.
The Fatigue Recovery Potion liquid drenched that pitifully dopey-looking face of its.
"…We're both in the Demon Army, after all."
The logic being: Fatigue Recovery Potions stocked for the Demon Army should work on that sloth too.
And that thing's sleep mechanism… I was certain of it. It's a synchronization effect.
My Sense stat was telling me that moronic face was the culprit.
Though I couldn't be completely sure.
There were too many unverified theories mixed in.
So I immediately popped the cork on a second Fatigue Recovery Potion and took a sip.
Then, while preparing to off myself, I watched for the sloth's reaction.
A twitch.
Its body shuddered like a spasm—and then both eyes, which had been sealed shut, snapped wide open.
And at the same moment.
*THUD!*
It fell from the ceiling it had been hanging from.
That was the moment.
*CRACK—!*
The sleep status ailment warning window that had been blocking my vision vanished.
My legs and eyelids returned to normal.
I lightly used my scythe as a cane and pushed myself upright.
The thing, startled and apparently annoyed at having fallen, shot me a single glance…
"…Huh?"
Then slowly settled itself down and laid its head on the floor.
Unbelievably, it had chosen to go back to sleep.
What an insufferable senior.
"You need to get UP!!"
In a situation like this you'd normally shine a flashlight in its face, but…
That didn't seem necessary.
The sloth tossed and turned a few times…
And opened its eyes again.
"…Pfft."
"Wide awake now, aren't we?"
Looked like the Fatigue Recovery Potion had completely chased the sleep away.
It slowly rose.
The moment it moved to do something—
"No cheap tricks!"
I kicked off the floor and launched myself forward.
*Whoosh—!*
Closed the distance in an instant and swung the scythe.
*Shhhk—!*
Split the sloth's head clean in two.
[Floor 51 Shaman Sloth Defeated]
[Promotion Reward: 5,000G Acquired!]
Ten months' worth of salary for a floor-500 Gallery member. Acquired.
After that, the climb was smooth sailing.
Floor 52, 53, 54, 55…
And finally.
[Floor 56 Failed Death Knight Defeated]
[Promotion Reward: 5,500G Acquired!]
[Magitech Cerulean Earring (Charge: 31%)]
*BANG!*
Target achieved.
"The sloth was the hardest one…"
That said, it hadn't exactly been effortless.
31 floors climbed.
A record-breaking sprint.
I'd taken a Fatigue Recovery Potion midway, but fatigue had piled back up and my hands were trembling faintly.
I opened the currency tab on the holographic status window.
[Current Balance: 124,097 G]
"Haah… there it is…"
I was moved.
Checking the hologram's clock, about two and a half hours had passed since I'd set out.
Now I could finally buy what was supposedly the best item from this month's Golden Carriage—the [Jet-Black Knotted Band].
I opened the Gallery and posted a verification thread.
______
Title: Got 120k gold
Author: Anon (56F)
{Screenshot: Current Balance 124,097 G}
Now I just wait for the horses to show up, right?
_______
The Gallery exploded the moment I posted.
[Comments]
Anon (148F): 56F?????????????
Anon (461F): Holy shit I'm dead. Insane.
SSS-Rank Gear Chaser: lmaooooooooooooo
Fenrir: yo this maniac climbed 31 floors in 2.5 hours;;;
Anon (574F): Good job.
One Who Savors a Cup of Black Tea: Heheh. I believed in you. ^^
Anon (312F): Wow, they actually pulled it off…
Anon (741F): The sheer spite is genuinely terrifying lmao is this even a person
└ Anon (312F): Technically not a person anymore lol
Right.
The fact that I was no longer human was something I could feel in my bones.
My body's sensations had completely changed.
There was a comment asking about my stats.
Anon (418F): What are your stats rn?
I took a photo and posted it.
______
Title: (warning: humanoid face) Sharing stats
Author: Anon (56F)
{Photo of a silver-haired girl with blue eyes holding a scythe, doing a peace sign}
[STATUS]
Race: Death God
Floor: 56
Level: 56
Condition: Normal
Strength: 27 (▲6)
Agility: 23
Vitality: 8
Intelligence: 76 (▲31)
Sense: 71 (▲31)
Magic Power: 94 (▲62)
Luck: 10
Defense: 5
Magic Defense: 13
Remaining Stat Points: 0
Trait: Unawakened
Skills: None
Weapon: Death Scythe
Equipped Items: [Ring of Arcane Might], [Obsidian Ring of Insight], [Adventurer's Ring], [Magitech Cerulean Earring (Charge: 31%)]
Magic Power went up a crazy amount.
The earring shows something called Charge—looks like every 1% it goes up, Magic Power increases by 1.
Not sure if 100% is the cap or if something happens when it hits 100%.
Also the Ring of Arcane Might—the interesting thing is, it applies even to the Magic Power stat raised by the earring's stacks.
[Comments]
Anon (377F): Look at those Magic Power and Intelligence stats just sitting there doing nothing lmaooo
Anon (347F): And she still hasn't even used Black Magic yet lmaooo
└ Anon (211F): This genuinely makes no sense.
└ Anon (351F): AAAGH just learn magic already…
└ Anon (644F): Nah "already" isn't even the right word. At this point she should still be meditating to get the 1st circle. That's what's normal.
└ Anon (351F): That's not what I mean, she's still climbing floors in THAT state!!!
└ Anon (644F): Fair point lol
______
There were a lot of opinions about my Magic Power stat spinning its wheels.
But what could I do.
The monsters were all dying just fine without me using any magical power.
I was feeling pretty smug about that internally—
Then I saw the very next comments and got humbled real fast.
Anon (505F): her stats are adorably tiny lol
Anon (351F): Not a single triple-digit number, genuinely embarrassing.
Anon (286F): Double-digit stats means item efficiency is gonna be garbage, ours don't even register a difference.
"…"
It was nothing new, but I realized it all over again.
"These people must be absolute monsters…"
Come to think of it, everyone here was in the hundreds for their level.
Even at level 56 I felt like a superhuman—so what would it be like when your stats hit triple digits?
And on top of that, the stat gains I was actually feeling were based on Strength, Agility, and Sense, which I'd barely even invested in.
It felt like there was no end to the strength waiting ahead.
The people who'd been posting garbage and talking trash in the Gallery all this time, and even the floor-100-range Gallery members who'd been looked down on—every single one of them was in a completely different league from me.
It felt impossibly far away.
And then there was someone even further beyond that.
Floor 800 and above.
A comment from a veteran with a registered username, level 800+.
SSS-Rank Gear Chaser: hnngh…
"……"
*Ah. Give me back my humility.*
└ SSS-Rank Gear Chaser: Charge… a Rare item that takes external stats as a reference value… noted…
└ SSS-Rank Gear Chaser: Thanks for the review!! Looking forward to more from you, newbie!!!
└ Anon (451F): first time seeing this guy use formal speech to anyone other than his registered name contacts
└ Anon (321F): fr
I could practically hear the excited voice through the hologram.
I snorted and typed a reply.
└ Anon (56F) (OP): Feels great to use. I'll write a proper review later when I have time. Gonna go into the carriage and make my purchase first.
I posted the reply and looked up.
And then.
"Oh, they're here!"
Two horses came in through the entrance.
"Now then, where's my Knotted Band…"
Humming to myself, I slung my scythe over my shoulder and walked toward the carriage.
But.
*HRRREEEEEEE—!!*
"Whoa!"
Just as I was approaching the carriage, the black horse reared up on its hind legs with a shriek.
I stumbled back hastily.
It snorted and shoved its head aggressively toward me.
*Clack-clack! Clack-clack!*
The skeleton horse beside it was snapping its jawbone irritably too.
"What's going on, why are they so aggressive all of a sudden."
They were blocking the Golden Carriage entrance with their whole bodies, ready to bite if I took even one step closer.
There was no getting inside the carriage like this.
The timer was still counting down!
Baffled, I immediately posted a question on the Gallery.
_____
Title: guys the horses are mad and blocking me what do I do
Author: Anon (56F)
The black horse and the bone horse suddenly started blocking me and trying to attack;;
They were super calm at first, why are they doing this? Can't get into the carriage rn ㅠㅠ
[Comments]
Anon (418F): Huh.
Anon (333F): ……?
Anon (361F): Both Ro AND Ru are doing that? They're super gentle, what did you do to them??
Anon (741F): tell the truth tell the truth tell the truth tell the truth
______
*I didn't do anything though…*
I hastily clarified.
Anon (56F) (OP): What would I even do… I first saw them on floor 25, that was literally the first time. We were totally fine back then.
└ Anon (361F): How do you get horses that let anyone ride them to try and attack you lmaooo
In the middle of all the confusion.
A familiar registered username appeared.
Fenrir: lol the horses can't help but hate you. Ro especially.
└ Anon (741F): fur-lover squad has entered the chat lol
└ Anon (56F) (OP): What's Ro?
└ Anon (300F): The black horse's name.
The horses couldn't help but hate me.
Why on earth?
Fenrir: Think about what you've done.