First, I'd bash the room completely. Ruin it with just a few punches, just in case.
Then, I stood inside the room, roughly 7 meters away from the doorway. That was where I'd opened my inventory, and walked backwards as I gradually dropped one [Granite Slab (7x7x7m)]. As I reached outside the room, the granite slab covered the entire room, leaving no room to enter. As if someone came with a concrete truck and poured everything into it, sealing it entirely.
I did it so rabidly, I didn't even check the rooms for loot.
I just wanted to kill that thing. A worthwhile item wouldn't break anyway, so I could always enter the rooms again after dealing with that goblin.
One time, I actually found it sleeping. I was right. It woke up from the sound of my armor, killed me, and moved elsewhere to sleep.
And after what felt like a few more days... I'd crossed every single door on my map; filling every single one with the granite slab.
And I could tell that it was stressed and confused.
Instead of killing me 50 - 60 times each cycle, it continued to kill me up to a 100.
It knew.
It knew I closed in on him.
And as I walked through the ninth circle to seal up the rooms, I saw scratches against the granite slabs. The bastard was trying to force its way in. I was right. It was just fast and dexterous.
Now, at the final door that I ended up ripping open (so that he wouldn't hear me open the door to kill him)... he killed me 150 times, 3 times more than he normally does. He was really losing his mind. Losing his sleep... and he was about to lose his life.
And as I walked in the Ninth Circle for the 151st time, I was not attacked again. It gave up, and probably fell asleep in the one room I didn't ruin.
From here, I could keep interfering with his sleep until it died, like the mutt.
But I didn't want to do that anymore.
I wanted to kill it with my own hands.
That's why I returned to the Final Circle, and did something I never imagined I'd do in my life...
I removed my armor. Completely, and stored it in my inventory. I wanted to not wake it up as I kill it.
I was left with my school outfit. I'd forgotten I was wearing it the whole time beneath the armor. It was in pristine condition. It didn't even smell bad. I guess it's because of the times I died and disintegrated, and respawned. Because my body didn't get enough hours to dirty it...
... Although, there was one striking difference.
'I'm bulging...' I thought, looking down at my body. I then wished I had a mirror to see it. How my abs bulge against my shirt. How my biceps almost rip off my shirt every time I flex it. My broader neck; and shoes I've long since outgrown, but repaired themselves around my now-bigger foot.
My vision. I'd also forgotten what it's like to see clearly without my visor hindering my field of view... in some way, I felt freer.
But there's a good chance the rustling of my clothes will alert him, too.
Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.
So I removed and stored them too. Leaving only my underwear on.
Barely an inconvenience. I didn't feel cold at all, most likely due to my Resistance or Vigor; and my legs shattered any sharp rock they stood on.
And as I walked through the corridors of the dungeon, tiptoeing effortlessly in a casual walk...
... this felt like a victory lap. And I'm walking to claim my rightful trophy. I've purposely waited 3 hours. Counting every single second... 10,800 seconds to give it a false sense of security.
That maybe I gave up.
That maybe I walked away.
That maybe it could sleep.
And it will sleep.
Forever.
I could see the final door I hadn't touched yet. Even from afar, even in complete darkness I could see it. I could see him. Curling beneath a table inside that room.
I didn't care about the loot within the room anymore.
I didn't care about anything.
There he was. Green. Fit. Pointy ears and nose; wearing nothing but a loincloth to hide his groin. And as small as a child. Arms and wrists I could restrain with just one palm of mine.
My body moved on its own.
'It's still sleeping. But it's fast. I need to first restrict his movements.' I hurriedly leaped onto him soundlessly, pinning both his arms. It woke up.
I soon pressed my leg against both his legs to restrict them moving too. A dexterous creature like him could surprise me with everything. I will not give him any chance to do that.
"KRYAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!! KRYAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!" It screamed and screeched, looking into my eyes and then away, violently shaking its head. But it was like I was holding a small pigeon in my arms. Its wriggling meant nothing.
I pressed my leg so hard, I could hear his femur bones at the top of both his legs crackling and splintering beneath my weight. That's when it shrieked louder.
"KRYAAAAAA KRYAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!" It begged. I could tell.
I wanted it to keep screaming.
But as I felt his legs go limp beneath mine, most likely going numb due to how I broke them, I decided to end it fast. Who knows what trick a creature like that has up its sleeve.
So I took my other free arm, and just like I imagined in my head, I pinned my head close... so, so close to his eyes as I grasped its neck; holding his head in place; forcing it to look at me.
"Kry...a...." It squealed, until I clenched even tighter.
The more I pressed the more its eyes seemed to roll back, foam and drool leaving its mouth—
%&!)(&^THE SAME DROOL I HAD WHEN THAT MUTT KILLED ME IN AGONY(!!((^&%
The thought interrupted. At that moment, I pressed as hard as I could, instantly snapping its neck.
Killing it.
The way I wished the mutt had killed me.
'This...' I thought, collapsing next to the corpse. 'Was not as fun as I imagined.'
That's when I saw the message.
[You HAVE SLAIN The Guardian of The Ninth Circle
[YOU HAVE LEVELED UP!]
[YOU HAVE LEVELED UP!]
[YOU HAVE LEVELED UP!]
'So noisy...' I sighed, lazily looking up.
[YOU HAVE LEVELED UP x 50!]
[Monster drops automatically moved into your inventory!]
[You have obtained...]
'I ignored it. I will check it later... Right now, I wanted to see where I stood.'
'Status window.'
Name: Makoto Tanaka
Level: 205
Gender: Male
Race: Human
Age: 17.6
Class: Grunt (F Rank)
[STAT POINTS AVAILABLE: 415 >> 665]
[Stats]
500 >> 600 STR.
320 >> 420 INT.
500 >> 600 DEX.
320 >> 420 VIGOR.
320 >> 420 RES.
'Neat, I suppose...' I sighed.
'Hmm? There's... something else...'
[You have passed level 200! You are now eligible for [Job Advancement (F) ]!]