Reincarnated With The Degenerate System-Chapter 221 - 16th Floor Part 2

I glided just above the toxic waste, stepping lightly over jagged rocks and patches of mold that squelched under the faintest pressure.

The sight made me smirk.

’Nice floor, though a bit sticky. Could’ve warned me it’s a spa,’ I muttered aloud.

From the corner of my eye, the boss finally moved. Its head tilted to the side, as it studied me like prey.

I came closer to it, and the floor started vibrating. A series of small platforms, each able to fit at least five people, rose up, and the green bubbling liquid rose higher.

The green liquid was about four feet deep. A quick jab with my spear confirmed it.

With this much, bringing a hundred-man team would be difficult. We would even need a boat made of the hardest metal at this point.

It was probably better for me to take on the boss with just a few selected people—those nimble enough to make full use of the platforms.

Rolling my shoulders, I began circulating my Qi. To increase our chances, I needed to force the boss to show its attack patterns and skills as much as possible.

"Moonlight Extended Strike - Phantom Overload"

My spear vanished from my hand and reappeared a hundred meters away. The initial momentum carried it another five hundred meters in a blink of an eye.

But instead of jumping away, the boss simply tilted its body slightly and let it hit a wall.

What a fucking showoff.

I resummoned my spear and observed its next move.

’It’s coming’

The first attack came. Hyper-velocity toxic spit streaked across the air.

I sidestepped and copied its movements—had to prove I could look just as cool.

The boss probably understood my message, because it shifted gears and started spitting rapidly, like a Gatling gun.

Each glob was strong enough to dissolve a chunk of metal in seconds.

Thanks to the quality of my spear, though, I managed to break the attack, using a combination of kinetic rotation and my wind-based ability.

Still, the more I tried to tank it, the more I began to struggle under the sheer power of its attacks.

Any S-Rank here would have already been dead.

blink!

I teleported short distances, weaving between the rising platforms, letting the spits splatter harmlessly into the bubbling green below.

"Not bad. Your aim’s a little sloppy though."

I launched my signature spear throw attack. The impact was strong enough to send a tidal wave, but the distance gave the boss plenty of time to dodge.

Changing tactics, I teleported in bursts, closing the gap.

The boss jumped back, keeping distance. Its pattern was clear: attack from afar and spam attacks like it has unlimited ammo.

I chased it, dodging spit, flipping and teleporting while letting my spear chip on its defense.

Each hit staggered a limb, twisted an arm, or forced a minor stumble—but the boss healing factor was insane. Still, seeing it wobble slightly gave me hope.

Then it changed tactics. Thick green smoke poured out, filling the space. I tried moving through it using the Nano suit’s air filtration, but after just five seconds, warnings flashed on my helmet. The suit’s defense dropped from 100 to 80.

That wasn’t a viable way to fight, so I quickly pulled back and created distance. I started launching long-range attacks instead.

I even used my shadow to form countless flying spears to counter its rapid fire.

Green and darkness crashed into each other head-on, but I knew I couldn’t keep this up.

A boss’s stamina in its own domain was almost endless. The only way to weaken it was to deal enough damage to surpass its regeneration speed.

But it was a boss for a reason. Unlike the last one, this wasn’t just tough—it was smart. It either dodged my strikes or used its toxic spit to break my rhythm, keeping me from gaining any real advantage.

I stepped up my game and began sending stronger attacks at it.

From time to time, it shot out its jelly-like web to block my vision. And every time I tried to teleport, it jumped immediately, almost like it had some kind of spider sense—which I probably should have expected, considering how it looked.

’Another attack.’

A thick green spit shot toward me, but to my surprise, it exploded before reaching me, splitting into many smaller globs.

I teleported at the last second—but the spot I reappeared on erupted in a sudden explosion.

My nano suit hissed as the toxic substance reached my skin. It burned.

Taking a deep breath, I forced the toxins out before they could do more damage.

Then, I planted my spear into the ground and used it to steady myself. My eyes narrowed. I could have sworn it was grinning at me.

Damn it... how did it know exactly where I teleport?

Before I could completely get my composure back, it attacked again.

This time I dodged normally, gliding with my shadow, but I still got hit. My nano suit reached its limit already.

As I traded blows with it, the reason became obvious. Those hexagonal eyes... I heard insects see the world in slow motion. If that applied here, its reaction time was faster than even mine.

"Alright. Time to get more serious." I growled, and fur erupted over my body.

Fangs extended, claws sharpened, and my eyes glowed green.

Werewolf form. Speed, strength, and regeneration spiked instantly. The Nano suit barely kept up, humming and glowing as it tried to adapt.

The boss roared, sensing the threat, and unleashed a full barrage.

From a distance, it looked like a volcano had erupted, raining down boulders—but these were arching streams of green slime, capable of dissolving even metal.

With my transformed physique, I closed the distance faster, and teleporting in bursts.

The boss tried to leap back, but even in midair, my speed was too much for it. Or so I thought.

It reacted instantly, swinging all six arms with lightning speed. I froze for just a split second—and that was enough.

My spear clashed with its arms, deflecting its blows, but the force sent me flying backward.

"Shit," I muttered, shaking my head as I came to a stop. "Here I thought it was weak in close combat... but it was just baiting me."

I caught my spear mid-roll and sprang back up, landing on a small platform.

"Good thing I came to test this monster myself," I brushed off green splashes from the toxic liquid. "Otherwise, my guild would’ve taken a real beating."

Seeing that I had no way of defeating it alone, I fought it with everything I had until my transformation time ran out.

Then I vaulted away. With my speed and teleportation, I slipped past it and made it back to the surface without trouble.

I was probably the only person in the world who had faced a sixteenth boss floor alone and lived to tell the tale.

***

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***

Back at the camp, I called for a meeting right away.

Adam, Alexa, and a few A-Ranks stood in front of me. Each of them had proven useful enough for a boss raid.

I looked around once, then spoke.

"Listen up. Change of plan. We take down the Sixteenth-Floor boss before this place opens to the public."

Alexa frowned first. Her arms crossed as she shook her head.

"That’s too rushed. We don’t have enough data. Boss patterns, terrain, and damage thresholds."

The others agreed with her statement.

I understood where they were coming from. Still, I wanted to finish this quickly before the Association showed up.

My plan was to take the boss on with just a thirty-man team which would practically reveal our true strength. I liked attention, sure, but not that much.

To earn their trust, I told them I had already fought the boss. I explained that it was a creature we could take down with just a small team.

Thankfully, a solid presentation of my plan won them over. They agreed, and we decided to set out immediately after stacking up our supplies.

None of the other members knew about the plan. The fewer people who were aware of it, the better.

Soon, we reached the same entrance. I briefed them on what to expect and the patterns the boss would use.

If everything went according to plan, we could take it down faster than the previous one.

"Are we really fighting that thing?" Alexa asked, her voice tight. She looked as stunned as me.

The boss had changed since the last time. It was a bit bigger, and the green fur had darkened. Its scythe-like arms had also grown longer, sharper, more menacing.

Not just that—the aura it was emitting was so thick, we could see it from a distance.

’Is that... freaking Qi? Don’t tell me it evolved after fighting me,’ I muttered under my breath.

There had never been a record of a boss evolving in the Tower. Normally, they just reset after every failed raid attempt.