NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 43: Slippery Cleaner
After I took the spiral staircase to the second floor, I was met with a big door, as if a boss were waiting behind it.
I knew what awaited me behind those doors, and frantically, I was ready and not ready for it at the same time.
I stretched my body a little because, even though I could turn back time, the memories of getting exhausted weren't pleasant to carry. I ate something while getting a little rest and then took out a bottle of potion from my [Inventory].
The potion inside the bottle was green with some shades of blue. The potion I was holding was [Deep Lily Oil], which I created by mixing some common items along the way.
[Deep Lily Oil] is considered a rubbing medicine for small cuts, but it has a characteristic that makes it stand out from its counterparts… it's slippery.
"Haha—God knows how many times I pranked NPCs." I laughed after remembering one of my old memories.
[ Skill "Potion Apply" Activated ]
[ Item "Leather Boots" Acquired the temporary Enhancement "Slippery" ]
I poured the potion on my shoes, which I'd bought with my clothes. The boots were stained with a greenish outline all over them, representing the Enhancement.
When I entered the Mana Crevice Dungeon, my agility was quite low, and I knew that as well. My speed was too low, and I didn't have the required materials to create anything to counter that. That was why I used [Deep Lily Oil].
With [Deep Lily Oil], I could increase my Speed, but in return, I would lose Control while running. One may ask, "Why do you need speed?"… well, you'll see.
As I was walking towards the door, I began to regret my decision to use [Deep Lily Oil]. Balancing myself was as hard as killing the Acidic Slime without any Potions. I wasn't scared, nor was I going to change my mind.
Eeerr—! I pushed the door with my shaking legs, and it began to open with a creaking sound. The door opened to a tall room with nothing but walls, and at the very end of the hall was an already opened door.
I took a deep breath and entered the room with nothing but pure concentration on my mind… and then, the door behind me shut!
[ >Danger< ]
[ Dungeon Quest: Risky Path
Difficulty: C
—————
> Reaching The Other Door 0/1
—————
Time Limit: 10 Minutes
Upon Failure: Death
Reward: Entry to the 3rd Floor ]
Right after I saw the window, I ran—or should I say, I skied. I was increasing in speed with each passing second, thanks to my past life experience as a skater, even though my shoes were more slippery than an ice skate.
The problem of speed was resolved, but that wasn't the main part I was worried about…
Chling, WFOOSH—! I dodged the flame that came from the wall by an inch.
The path to the other side of the room was filled with trap-like obstacles that you couldn't avoid activating once you reached their range. In normal circumstances, dodging the deadly traps wouldn't be hard for me, but balancing made it difficult, no matter the Sense Stat.
Crang, BROM—! Suddenly, a big boulder appeared in front of me without me noticing it, as I was too focused on skating. Time felt slower as I was about to get hit by the rock.
I can't remember it clearly, but I knew that I unknowingly said, "[Reset]"
[ Skill "Save & Reset: Reset" Activated ]
[ Restarting From the Recent Checkpoint ]
Then I was back to the starting point.
"Ugh, I was close." No, I wasn't. I was a bit angry at myself, but that didn't stop me.
I quickly regained my wits and began to do the repetitive tasks one by one.
I killed slimes and brewed potions. Then went and killed the Acidic Slime. The interesting part was that I did it all more smoothly than before.
[ Level Up ]
[ Level Up ]
And then, in front of the door, I poured [Deep Lily Oil] on my boots and began to glide like a natural… of course, I met my demise and did another [Reset].
[ Skill "Save & Reset: Reset" Activated ]
[ Restarting From the Recent Checkpoint ]
Restarting all over again might be a bit frustrating for a normal person, but I was a bit different. In my past life, countless restarts in [Doomed Fantasy] made me numb to these kinds of feelings. To put it nicely, being able to restart from a Save Point was FAR better than restarting all over, so I was thankful.
Of course, being numb to any frustration didn't mean I wasn't unhappy about not being able to clear the second floor.
Due to focusing on simultaneous actions, finding the exact pattern of those traps was a bit hard, so all I could do was trial and error to act accordingly.
I also distributed my Additional Points in the meantime.
[ Sense Stat Increased by 6 ]
[ Skill "Save & Reset: Reset" Activated ]
[ Restarting From the Recent Checkpoint ]
And after numerous Resets, I was finally able to reach the end of the room.
[ Dungeon Quest: Risky Path, Completed ]
[ You are Able to Enter the 3rd Floor ]
After I saw the message in front of me, I sighed in relief and said, "[Save]"
[ Skill "Save & Reset: Save" is currently under Cooldown and cannot be Activated ]
It was funny. I knew my skill was under Cooldown, but I wanted to do it. Although it took me more than a week to pass the second floor, only a couple of hours had passed in the real world.
I sat in a corner and took out a bottle of water and a piece of bread to eat. My boots were covered with [Deep Lily Oil], but I had gotten used to it to the point that it wasn't bothering me anymore.
I cleaned my shoes with a fabric and began to climb the staircase to the third floor… or should I say, the Main Floor.