allendalepharm Chapter 175: Reflections
Chapter 175: Reflections
[Time Limit Reached.]
[Preparing Transfer to the Next Floor...]
[All Stream Hunters currently residing on the Seventh Floor will now be teleported.]
[Destination: Eighth Floor.]
The moment the notification appeared, Adam felt a familiar sensation wash over him.
The world around him began to distort as the colors around him stretched unnaturally.
The floating islands, the dark waters below, and the countless Stream Hunters around him all blurred together into streaks of light.
Within that brief moment of time, Adam felt weightless.
Then the sensation vanished as his vision cleared.
The first thing he noticed was how small the room was.
Hundreds of Stream Hunters had been gathered into what looked like a simple stone chamber no larger than a meeting hall. The space should not have been able to contain so many people, yet somehow it did.
The walls around them were smooth and reflective to a point that even the ceiling shined like polished glass.
Every direction reflected countless images of those standing inside.
Adam frowned as he turned toward Xel’Shaar, he immediately asked,
"Have you contacted those individuals?"
Xel’Shaar nodded.
"Yes. They agreed after learning the request came from you."
Adam quietly sighed in relief.
At least that part had gone smoothly.
Before he could continue speaking, a series of notifications appeared before every Stream Hunter.
[Welcome to the Eighth Floor.]
[All viewers of "The Chosen Conduit" have been rewarded 8x their donated coins.]
[8th Floor — The Hall of Infinite Reflections]
[Description] A labyrinthine world composed entirely of reflective surfaces stretching endlessly into the horizon. Distorted energy permeates every corner of this floor, warping sound, vision, and perception itself. Every surface—the walls, the floors, and even the sky—reflects not only who you are, but countless versions of who you could have become.
[Story — The Fractured Self] Long ago, a mage sought to uncover the secrets hidden between parallel realities. Driven by arrogance and curiosity, he shattered the boundary separating countless possibilities. His experiment failed and the resulting catastrophe trapped this floor within an endless cycle of fractured realities. Now, every visitor is forced to confront alternate versions of themselves. These are versions who made different choices, walked darker paths, and versions who have become stronger, crueler, wiser, or more desperate. And among those countless possibilities, the floor will always choose the one most capable of surviving.
[Boss Monster] :
[Mother of Reflections] The ruler and embodiment of this fractured dimension. She does not engage within the fights, but instead manifests reflections drawn from infinite possibilities, forcing challengers to confront the strongest versions of themselves.
[Objective] Form a party consisting of exactly six Stream Hunters. Defeat the manifested reflection of every party member. Only after all ten reflections have been destroyed will the path to the next floor reveal itself.
[Game Mechanics]
[Party System] Progression is locked until exactly six Stream Hunters form a party. Groups containing fewer or more than six members will be unable to begin the trial and will remain trapped within the endless mirrors.
[Manifestation]
- Upon entering the trial, the Mother of Reflections will examine the souls, memories, potential, and possibilities of every party member. One reflection will be summoned at a time. Each reflection represents the strongest version of that individual that could theoretically exist within the countless possibilities of the "existing theory of existence".
- It is the version of yourself that made all the right choices, obtained all the right opportunities, and fully realized its greatest potential. Defeat it.
The moment the explanation ended, the atmosphere around the gathered Stream Hunters became noticeably heavier.
This floor was obviously quite different from a lot of the other floors.
Due to the fact that the Eighth Floor would force every party to fight the strongest possible version of themselves, some were scared at the possibility of defeat.
While a few others were excited, wanting to see what sort of "version" of themselves were the strongest.
Of course, this meant that the difficulty of this floor solely depended on how far "one’s" existence could become, which meant that the floor would be relatively easier if you were destined to be "weak".
Of course, these were only the "theoretical" possibilities that the [Mother of Reflections] was able to reach, hence there was truly not such thing as the reflection being your "guaranteed" strongest version.
Because of that, Adam had spent a great deal of thought organizing the parties before entering.
The first party consisted of Xel’Shaar, Kareth Zul, and four other Stream Hunters.
As former Floor Bosses, it was impossible to predict what the Mother of Reflections would create from them. Their strongest possible selves could be monsters far beyond what ordinary Stream Hunters could handle.
For that reason, Adam deliberately paired them with individuals who possessed survival-oriented abilities.
If things truly became impossible, their party could choose to fail the floor and escape rather than die. It was a safer arrangement.
The second party was led by Miya and Raiden, along with Kristoff joining them on.
Several other carefully selected Stream Hunters joined them. Most of those individuals were people Adam remembered from his previous life.
They would eventually become important figures for humanity’s future.
Some would lead powerful guilds while others would become famous explorers, researchers, and defenders.
Losing them here would be a massive blow.
More importantly, Cael was currently weakened.
Placing him in Adam’s group would be unnecessarily dangerous.
Because of that, Adam entrusted Kristoff, Miya, and Raiden with protecting him.
If anyone could keep that group alive, it would be those three... especially Kristoff since his own life depended on Cael.
As for Adam’s own party...
It consisted of Adam, Guin, and four other Stream Hunters.
The first two members were a pair of sisters.
At first glance, they looked almost identical.
The older sister possessed an ability centered around healing and restoration. Any injury, disease, or damage she repaired could be converted into a form of stored energy.
The younger sister could then release that stored damage onto enemies.
A wound healed from one target could become a wound inflicted upon another.
It was a rare combination ability that became frighteningly effective when used together.
The third member was a tall man with long dark hair tied behind his back.
One look at him, and one could tell that he was someone who could calmly and naturally take charge during discussions.
Definitely a "leader" type of person.
His ability allowed him to transform into a shadow.
While in that state, physical attacks passed through him, allowing him to scout dangerous areas and survive situations that would kill most people.
The final member was a thin, scrawny-looking man wearing a strange mask.
Unlike the others, he rarely spoke. He was a shaman who specialized in strange rituals and curses.
Many of his spells seemed nonsensical at first, but Adam knew from experience that they could become terrifyingly powerful in the future.
In his previous life, all four of these individuals would eventually become executives of the famous Rustfang Dogs.
At the moment, however, they were still relatively unknown.
The four of them looked at Adam with varying levels of curiosity and nervousness.
After all, they would be entering the floor alongside the man who had just defeated the Seventh Floor.
Although traveling with Adam carried immense danger, Adam had complete confidence in handling whatever the Eighth Floor threw at them.
As for Guin...
She stood beside him with determination visible on her face.
She had insisted on joining his group...
According to her, she wanted to prove herself.
Adam personally thought such a thing was unnecessary.
Guin had already done more than enough during the battle against Zephiron.
Still, denying her was difficult.
She was stubborn, earnest, and surprisingly brave despite her age.
Besides, her defensive abilities were extremely useful.
As long as Adam remained alive, he was confident he could protect her.
The six members of the party quietly stood together inside the small waiting room.
For a moment, nobody spoke.
Then the long-haired man let out a sigh and crossed his arms.
"So you’re really The Chosen Conduit."
His tone was calm, but there was still a hint of disbelief.
Adam nodded as the man chuckled.
"I expected someone taller."
One of the sisters immediately smacked his shoulder.
"Don’t start."
"Ouch."
The older sister turned toward Adam and gave a polite bow.
"Sorry about him. He does this whenever he’s nervous."
"I’m not nervous," the man quickly replied.
The younger sister rolled her eyes.
"You spent the entire Seventh Floor talking about him."
"That’s called gathering information."
"That’s called being nervous."
Watching the three argue, Adam immediately understood that they had known each other for quite some time...
Meanwhile, the masked shaman stood slightly away from the group in complete silence.
Adam glanced toward him.
The first to speak up was the man with the pony tail.
"You’ve been awfully quiet."
The masked man tilted his head, the way his head posed with the mask on his face made him look a bit creepy.
"I only speak when necessary."
"...I see."
A brief silence followed.
The younger sister suddenly stepped forward.
"Are we actually going to fight the strongest versions of ourselves?"
Adam nodded.
"Most likely."
The group’s expressions became serious as the long-haired man frowned.
"So if the reflection is truly the strongest possible version of us.... would it also hold our memories? Or are they just shallow fighting puppets that the floor boss has summoned to take care of us..."
The older sister swallowed nervously.
"That’s terrifying either way..."
"It is," Adam admitted.
The masked shaman finally spoke again.
"But not impossible."
Everyone turned toward him.
"The strongest version of yourself is still yourself after all, is it not?"