“Bloodlust!”
I radiated as much hostility as I could summon, directing it at the tower.
That’s it!
The sniper in the distance turned my way with a smile. That was the image that flashed through my mind.
“Shadow Runner!”
No sooner had shadows enshrouded me than the boss fired again. A bullet passed through empty air where my head was mere milliseconds ago. If I’d been the tiniest bit slower, my skull would’ve been perforated. But I didn’t have time to breathe easy just yet.
Please tell me that was the last one...
My hopes were crushed by the animosity still radiating from the tower. The boss was now targeting where I’d land after using Shadow Runner.
“A fourth shot!”
I couldn’t change direction mid-leap. The moment my feet touched the ground, I’d be met with a bullet.
Can I evade it somehow? No... I’m only human. I can’t simply ignore the laws of physics. But what am I supposed to do, then? Just die?
I couldn’t accept that. We were well on our way to conquering the dungeon. I refused to give up the ghost here. I had to think. There had to be a way to survive. I had a fraction of a second before I hit the ground—that was all I had left to come up with a plan and execute it. Before my brain could process anything, I was drawing my dagger.
Are you sure this is the right answer, Note? Can you really do this? This isn’t a mistake, is it?
I didn’t have time to hesitate. Even if I’d made the wrong choice, the only thing I could do now was follow through.
Hone your eyes. Watch for the right moment.
I stopped blinking so I could keep my eyes glued to the incoming bullet. First, I had to line it up. Then I had to hit it with my blade in a gliding motion. My body would move on its own. All I had to do was watch.
“Now!”
Before I knew it, my right hand swung to deflect the bullet. The numbing impact left me with no sensation in my arm, but I hadn’t gone flying. All four of my limbs were still intact too. It was a miracle.
I’d managed to survive by using the thief art Ricochet, but I wouldn’t be so lucky the next time. A fifth shot would definitely kill me. My prayers were answered, however, as the animosity coursing from the tower subsided. That multi-shot stunt just now must have been a special move.
“Note, are you okay?!” Force drew his second blade, Purgatory, and skidded along the ground to put himself between me and the tower.
“Yeah, somehow...” I sighed.
The Arrivers were now back in formation. If a fifth round came like this, Force would be able to deflect it.
“What?! What just happened?! All I heard was something explode in front of me, then Note went flying!”
Everything had unfolded too quickly for Erin to keep up. My plan to take the sniper shot myself was a little rash—okay, extremely rash—but it was ultimately the right call. If the boss had continued to target Erin, she wouldn’t have been able to react fast enough.
“Don’t let your guard down yet, Note,” Force warned.
“I know.”
This floor was truly nasty. It was unleashing its next threat on us before we could fully regroup. A tremor rumbled through the earth. Far in the distance, the ground split open as a giant battleship rose into the sky.
“The mid-boss is here!” Neme shouted.
Indeed, this was most likely the mid-boss of floor 23. Mechanical soldiers dropped from the battleship as it sailed toward us.
“What terrible timing...”
The Arrivers were barely together. Force, Erin, Neme, and I had managed to group up again, but Sofie and Roslia were still deep behind enemy lines. We could recall them, but we’d still be under fire from the nearby soldiers.
“Leave this to me!” Erin rallied. She launched a spell from her staff, but just before the flames reached the battleship, they were extinguished by a barely visible barrier. “Not this again!”
As Erin stood there biting her lip in frustration, the battleship turned its mounted machine guns on her.
“Erin!”
“On it!”
She immediately responded with a defense spell to block the incoming spray of machine gun fire, effectively locking her in place. She couldn’t do anything else while protecting us like this. We were basically sitting ducks now.
“It’s been four and a half minutes since the last sniper shot!” Neme warned us.
Of course. And now it’s time for the boss to attack.
It was unclear if the boss would take another five minutes to fire after its four-shot combo, but we had to prepare for it either way. The barrage from the battleship and Erin’s spell were evenly matched. A high-powered round from the tower would be enough to break that stalemate and shatter her barrier. When that happened, we’d all become a giant honeycomb of bullet holes.
So, what? We’re screwed now? What do we do? What can we do?
We were taking constant fire from a mid-boss that was invulnerable to magic, mechanical soldiers that were putting midrange pressure on us, and the boss that was sniping at us from a great distance. With all of that working against us, we were slowly being driven into a corner.
“Whoa!”
A purple light trailed through the air. It was the trajectory of a magic bullet—a sight we’d grown quite accustomed to since reaching this floor. It hadn’t been five full minutes yet, but the projectile sailed over our heads...
And pierced the flying battleship.
“Huh?!”
The sniper shot hadn’t come from the direction of the tower. It had come from behind us—in other words, from the entrance of floor 23.
Each and every one of the Arrivers was astonished by the appearance of a second sniper from the complete opposite direction. As I watched the battleship sinking in the sky, I noticed new presences behind us and grew even more confused.