The Rise of the Winter Wolf - Book 8 - Chapter 9 - Interview and the Trolling Floor

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Wolf

My first thoughts?

I frown at that question as I try to remember how I felt back then. When the Administrator Dungeon first started.

“I think I was mostly just a little annoyed and exasperated,” I answer honestly with a slight shrug. “Nothing more than that though, because I was just sent to another world before that with the Initialization. So it wasn’t the first time I was forcibly teleported somewhere dangerous.”

It also wasn’t the last time either. Which is even more annoying.

What with me being sent to the Beta Dungeon and all.

“Yeah, that sounds just like you,” Mikaela says with a chuckle. “Doesn’t it?”

An annoying wave of agreements run throughout the entire audience watching us. Which I can’t help but feel irritated by despite saying it myself.

“Onto the second question!” Mikaela continues while still chuckling. “Do you like ice? We all know you like the cold, but what about ice? Were you happy when you first got your ability at the start of the Initialization?”

I nod my head and answer, “Yeah, I was.”

Although part of that was also just because the ability was incredibly powerful compared to the abilities of everyone else around me. Not just because it was an ice ability.

The questions continue one after another, with me answering each one. And all the questions are about my early days in the Administrator Dungeon, and even a couple about my earlier days in the Beta Dungeon.

How I felt after defeating my first mini boss, how I felt after defeating my first boss.

What I was thinking when I first heard about Vulcan, the man who was hunting other Competitors, along with what I was thinking when I met him. And what I thought when I ended him. Which wasn’t much, since I kinda killed him to deal with the problem without thinking much of it.

After that, there were questions about how I felt when I was sent to the Beta Dungeon out of nowhere. Making everything significantly more difficult for me.

Then there were the questions about the Beta Dungeon itself. What I thought of the War of the Progenitors, the Progenitor Games where the Progenitors started entering the dungeon as clones, and so on.

One question after another, with the fans seemingly loving this.

But everything comes to an end at some point, leaving me returning to the Beta Dungeon. At which point I continue hunting monsters in my attempt to clear the six hundred and ninety-eighth floor.

Attempt being the key word there, of course. Since I end up being reset over and over again during it.

Which is just as infuriating as it was the last several floors.

The entire floor theme, in fact.

The only bright side is that it’s making me stronger with every reset. Since I’m devouring the monsters with my Domain, making my physical strength grow more and more with every monster devoured.

And since I’m resetting the floor so many times, it’s like every reset is a different floor of monsters devoured. Significantly increasing my own power both in level and in sheer strength through the devouring.

Eventually I manage to clear this floor as well, rewarding me with another mini boss chest as the exit appears.

As for what appears from the mini boss chest?

I… don’t know what it is.

But I’m guessing it’ll help me in the final battle?

I can’t help but tilt my head in contemplation as I stare at the item’s description.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Item | Chaos Chaos Chaos Fragment | Tier 10

This item can only be used by the Progenitor of Lunar Ice and the Blue Moon.

Chaos Chaos Chaos.

Gather nine fragments together to form Chaos.

System Favor: This item is not harmful to the user in any way.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Yeah, I really have no idea what this might be. But it should help.

Hopefully.

I just need one more to form this Chaos thing.

Maybe it’ll absorb all the chaos energy on a floor or something? I hope.

And speaking of chaos energy, when I enter the six hundred and ninety-ninth floor, I find the floor completely flooded with it. In fact, it has so much chaos energy that even I’m having to deploy my Domain around me to devour it and stop it from affecting me.

Of course, the only effect it would have is damaging me a bit. It still wouldn’t mutate me.

But still. It’s dense.

To make matters worse, another System Notification appears in my vision with new rules.

Beta Administrator Dungeon Notification

The timer has shortened for every potential variation of the timer.

Please clear the floor as quickly as possible.

The following is a message from the Progenitor of Chaos, Eris:

“You’ve got this, Wolf! Just keep charging forward and you’ll eventually meet me!

I know you can do it!”

Can I punch her? Just once?

I really want to punch her.

That thought has me letting out a sigh.

Well, at least I’ll get to punch her clone when I fight said clone.

Too bad it’ll be punching back.

Anyway, time to see how bad this new reset timer shortening is…

I quickly begin to hunt through the floor, only to be reset within ten minutes of starting. And when I go back to hunt some more, I find myself reset within five minutes. Then twenty-two minutes the next time.

I feel a potentially imaginary vein throbbing in my forehead every time my progress through the floor is reset.

This is getting incredibly annoying.

So, without any further hesitation, I begin trying to clear the floor in earnest. Being reset dozens upon dozens of times in the process.

And after an entire month of trying and resetting, I finally manage to kill a mini boss, opening the exit in the process and getting the mini boss chest.

Only for the floor to reset right as I’m about to touch the chest, making me find myself staring blankly ahead in the freshly reset floor with no mini boss chest or exit in sight.

“Fuck,” I mutter after blinking in genuine shock once.