On the 69th floor, the sacred relic guarded by the Wave Serpent tribe was the Foam Fang, and most tribe members were snake beast-kin with reptilian scales covering small parts of their bodies.

They weren't blatantly snake-human like lamias or nagas—just scales on the backs of their hands or cheeks, or perhaps reptilian tongues or eyes. There were some lizard beast-kin with tails or webbed hands, but that wasn't what mattered.

The real issue was that the Lightning Spearhead that had flown to me had synergy with my special enhancement stone.

'...Was there a set effect too?'

The Lightning Spearhead, which the Goddess seemed to have force-fed me, was performing better than expected.

Previously, when I bought special enhancement stones with ogre mana stones in the stone dwarf sector, Han Se-ah had taken the fire-attribute stones, leaving me with the lightning-attribute ones.

Since there hadn't been any serious combat afterward, I hadn't really felt the difference, but I had essentially become a lightning-attribute tank. Of course, since it was applied to my equipment rather than infused into my body, I hadn't paid much attention to it.

That is, until the Lightning Spearhead attached itself to me.

"You seem to be enjoying yourself, Roland?"

"I think I can use this more effectively than I expected."

Han Se-ah, who had randomly shouted "The Show Must Go On!" last night as if she'd watched something, had led a group of beast-kin warriors all the way to the 69th floor. I ignored her antics and focused on crackling lightning.

From my fingers to my equipment, from my equipment to my skin, from my skin to the air. Reviving memories of when I first handled mana after arriving in this fantasy world, I was manipulating lightning while Grace and Katie circled around me like children watching an animal at the zoo.

As a result, Han Se-ah was frantically busy filming the beast-kin, the Foam Fang sacred relic, and me as I started handling lightning.

But that wasn't my problem.

"...I wish we'd encounter some monsters or orc scouts."

-Intimidating. Even exceptional warriors would find it difficult to approach

-Woah, what is that? It's, it's really dangerous?

The special enhancement stone and Lightning Spearhead had not only infused my hammer and shield but had also strangely transformed my equipment, which was like an extension of my body. Katie's ancestor casually commented on the menacing energy while the Secret Terror, who had just returned from reconnaissance, fled in surprise.

I channeled mana flowing from my shoulder down my arm into the warhammer gripped tightly in my hand, causing its head to charge with vicious lightning. After observing the blue sparks, I recalled the mana and redirected it from right to left, infusing it into my shield, making its broad surface flash brilliantly.

Was some of the infused mana converting to electricity? It felt like my equipment had been transformed into some kind of converter. Controlling the externally discharged lightning might be difficult with my limited talent and intelligence, but the undischarged lightning seemed completely manipulable.

"This is perfect timing, Roland. Looks like there's a group of monsters ahead. That primate species we saw before."

"I'll handle this by myself this time."

-That's right, warriors grow through actual combat

Like someone walking with their face buried in a smartphone who crosses the street just because others are crossing, I had been trailing behind my companions while creating and erasing lightning. Finally, monsters appeared.

Normally, the agile World Tree tribe warriors would quickly dispose of them, or the Secret Terror and Grace would assassinate them, but this time I stepped forward.

Obviously, I wanted to test my newly acquired lightning in actual combat. With Katie's ancestor continuously dropping comments—either talking to himself or the Goddess giving advice through the voice of the Wesley ancestor—I moved forward.

"Oh, is that man the master of the Lightning Spearhead?"

"Yes. I heard he also wields something called a holy sword. He seems like a truly exceptional warrior."

The World Tree tribe, Stone Hoof tribe, Thunder Bird tribe, and Wave Serpent tribe—combining the warriors from all four villages easily exceeded one hundred. Add the group of mages investigating the gates, and the number approached two hundred.

Of course, beyond the camera, about 980,000 viewers were watching me. Usually hovering around 5 million during quieter times, the numbers had dropped—probably because word had spread through the community that the natural 6★ Roland was now using lightning as well.

It felt a bit pressuring, but on the other hand, the flood of advice-filled donations gave me ideas to try.

"No, isn't Charge Axe when you combine a sword and shield to make an axe? But Teacher Roland's hammer is so big at the end that no matter how well you do it, it would be a pickaxe, not an axe. Charge Pickaxe... well, if you hit something with it, it would be insanely strong."

-A pickaxe still kills if it hits you lol but a lightning-attribute pickaxe? That's just instant death

-So what's the amped-up overhead smashing skill Monster Hunter players love with element discharge called you weebs?

-Let's just check if the reflect damage includes lightning? Didn't Teacher have a ranged reflect skill?

-Just imagine, hit the tank and get paralyzed lol Can't he just charge into enemy lines barehanded?

-A shock tank breaks through the front line while an ice bruiser goes wild? What a conscienceless party lol

The viewers, well-versed in subculture, showered me with all sorts of ideas.

From ridiculous suggestions like "Heaven-Earth Storm" or "Squirrel Thunder" that asked a tank to become a mage, there were quite a few usable ideas. Most advised me to go wild with lightning, trusting Roland's brute physical abilities.

Among them, two were particularly tempting: the opinions mentioning Charge Axe and self-damage.

'Isn't this basically saying to load up two weapons with lightning and then detonate it?'

Combining the warhammer and shield was physically impossible, but I could apply something similar. Whether fire or lightning, gathering it in both hands and concentrating it in the middle would make it intensely condensed.

I pumped mana into the shield to create lightning, and similarly pumped mana into the warhammer to create lightning. Unlike in the past when it couldn't manifest outside my equipment, the current was now converting to lightning and beginning to scorch the surroundings.

Squeak? Squee-squee?

Kyak! Kak!

As I brought the head of the warhammer to the shield, I felt a strong repulsive force in my hands. Like an electromagnet or current coil, electricity began flowing between the shield and hammer head.

'But how do I shoot this?'

Kyek?

Kreek! Kreek! Kreek!

The problem was that while I knew how to emit and gather it, I didn't know how to fire it at range. So I just strengthened my body with the drawn mana and charged forward stupidly.

My targets were naturally the primate monsters who had turned their backs in surprise at the lightning. With stealth and ambush being not just their hunting method but their way of life, even their tree-climbing escape speed was slow. After all, even the shadow fang tiger had less stamina than a priest outside of shadows.

"Wow, there's a lightning sphere on Roland's chest."

-Ferocious. A direct hit would leave no corpse behind

"...But Roland, are you just going to keep running with that thing?"

I continued running while hearing Katie and Grace muttering with confusion behind me.

...I thought I'd gained a ranged attack, but it ended up like this after all.

Bzzt— KABOOM——

KWAAAANG———!!!

Lightning struck from a clear sky.

From the ground toward the sky.

※

Whether due to a lack of talent or because of Roland's character design, I couldn't expel aura outward.

I could freely handle mana inside my body and pump it into equipment held in my hands or armor worn on my body. But unlike knights who refined that mana and expelled it outward to create aura, I could only make my equipment stupidly sturdy and powerful.

But things were different now.

"I'll need to be careful when using this in actual combat."

"It's almost blinding. Give us a warning before you set off a big one."

It was barely 5 meters and more like a self-destruct skill that indiscriminately ground up everything around me, but at least mana had been expelled outward!

At this point, it was more like Charge Bomb than Charge Axe—a self-destructive technique, but with my health stat, I could endure it. As a tank with only reflect damage for offense, I could now leap into the middle of enemy lines and BOOM! self-destruct when enemies tried to ignore me and move past.

And in an extreme scenario, could I use this self-damage to lower my health and enter a berserk state?

"...Oh my, it's the Great Night Bird village."

"It was definitely protected by shadow magic."

"Seems like we stumbled upon it by accident rather than discovering it. The commotion is chaotic and clumsy."

After spending 10 years in this fantasy world and being suited to Han Se-ah's broadcast for about 3 years, I was excited about gaining a mid-range explosive attack while the beast-kin warrior representatives spoke with serious expressions.

The wolf beast-kin, bull beast-kin, deer beast-kin, and snake beast-kin were huddled together talking, and as I finally glanced around, I noticed the chaotic ruins before me.

Shaped log pillars visible between collapsed trees. Huts reduced to ashes as if a fire had broken out, and ground that had been violently overturned. It was clearly a village site that had been pulverized and flipped over by some monster with tremendous strength.

"...So, where is the one who did this?"

"Don't tell me it went to our village instead?!"

"Wait a second. How are we supposed to find this Orc Champion? The Invisibility Helmet he should be carrying is in my inventory right now. Uh, what?!"

The 70th floor ruins we had reached without any interference. The boss monster, the Orc Champion, wasn't there.

...This meant the boss was missing in action.

Enjoy the chappy!