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014 Greater
Rat
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Translator : PolterGlast
It's not something to
discuss in a dungeon, but I told Anneliese about Detailed Appraisal. My
personal information can't be disclosed, so I don't have to worry about her
leaking it to others.
I haven't known Anneliese
for long enough to trust her completely after only a week, but even without the
slave restriction, she probably wouldn't say anything to my disadvantage.
What I mean is, that
Anneliese wouldn't betray me. Even if she weren't a slave. I have that baseless
confidence.
"Understood.
Master's unique skills are Item Box and Detailed Appraisal, then. Based on
that, I will assist you with all my might."
Even when she was an
old woman, she sometimes made cute gestures, but seeing them in this form is
dangerous. I might fall in love.
We resumed our dungeon
exploration, but Anneliese's pace was fast. Before, I was matching her, but now
Anneliese was deliberately slowing down to match me. She truly has changed.
I was still the one
fighting. That's natural, as I'm the one leveling up. And thanks to the Mithril
Two-Handed Sword, I wasn't struggling.
After defeating the
fifth Grey Rat, I leveled up. I can't directly compare it since all the Grey
Rats were Level 2, but I think leveling up is faster than when I was a
Villager.
After defeating 12
more Grey Rats and moving forward, we reached a dead end.
"A dead
end?"
"No, this is the
boss room."
What I thought was a
stone wall adorned with an arabesque pattern seemed to be a door.
As we approached
within about 2 meters, the door slowly opened. It seemed to be an automatic
door.
"No one is
inside. Let's defeat the boss."
Apparently, if anyone
is inside the boss room, it won't open.
"Can I even
defeat it in my current state?"
"To be honest,
Master's combat technique is amateurish. Normally, I don't think you could
defeat it."
"O-oh..."
She really is honest,
isn't she?
"However, Master
has me. You won't fall behind the first-floor boss."
That's right. A Level
21 Mage isn't just for show. But, I want to defeat the boss alone here.
"I want to defeat
the boss alone. Give me some advice for that."
"Alone...?"
"It's easy to
rely on Anneliese, but that's not good. So, I want advice on how I can win.
It's fine if you tell me to level up because I can't defeat it in my current
state."
"That's a
splendid idea!"
"Eh? I-is that
so...?"
Anneliese bounced up
and down, repeatedly saying, "As expected of you," and praising me.
She's seriously cute.
"You have the
Mithril Two-Handed Sword, and your armor is solid. You'll struggle, but I think
you can defeat the boss, Master. Its movements are fast, so you need to watch
carefully when you fight."
"Watch carefully,
huh?"
"Yes. Master can
do it! You will definitely defeat the boss!"
Anneliese seems to
have become more proactive now that she's young again. Perhaps she's excited to
have her youthful body back, having been unable to move properly until now.
Now, what to do?
Should I trust Anneliese's current excited words? It's not that I don't trust
her, but I'm worried that she's too caught up in the moment.
"Alright. Let's
fight the boss!"
"Yes!"
Please don't look at
me with those sparkling eyes. You're too cute.
When we entered, no
one was there. Of course, the door wouldn't open if someone was.
"Hm? Something's
on the floor."
There was something in
the back of the room. Is that the boss? No, that's not it...
"It seems the
explorer who entered before us has died."
"Huh?"
"Those are the
belongings of the explorer defeated by the boss."
"Seriously...?"
The bodies of explorers
defeated by the boss are absorbed by the dungeon, but their belongings
supposedly remain.
"I don't think
it's the case on the first floor, but on higher floors, the belongings of
explorers defeated by bosses are sometimes left untouched for a long time, and
their weapons and armor can undergo transformations."
"Transformations?"
"Steel swords can
become demonic swords."
"Demonic
swords..."
I don't think I'm the
only one who wants to get a classic fantasy weapon. I'll get a demonic sword
someday.
Particles of light
rose from the floor.
"The boss is
appearing."
I readied my Mithril
Two-Handed Sword, preparing for the boss's appearance.
As the particles of
light dispersed, a Grey Rat appeared.
"It's a Greater
Rat."
Its appearance was the
same, but its size was about twice as large. So this is the boss.
Its AGI is high. As
Anneliese said, it seems to be quite fast.
Its ATK and DEF are
considerably lower than mine. I should be able to defeat it with one strike of
my Mithril Two-Handed Sword.
Acting quickly, I
instantly closed the distance with the Greater Rat.
"Hup!"
I swung my Mithril
Two-Handed Sword, but the Greater Rat leaped sideways to avoid it.
"What!?"
The Greater Rat
pounced.
"Fast!"
I managed to block it
with my Mithril Two-Handed Sword, but its movements were fast, and this was
going to be a tough fight.
It was all defense. I
decided to get used to the Greater Rat's movements.
Buying armor was the
right choice. A grazing hit only reduced my HP by 1 or 2 points. I could endure
this. Armor really is important.
Grazing wounds
increased, but I could still endure it. I focused my eyes, discerning its
movements. I'm a one-hit kill, so I just need to land one hit. I don't need
many attacks like it does.
I defended like a
pillbug, waiting until my moment came.
My eyes had grown
quite accustomed to it. Still, the Greater Rat's movements remained fast. For
that single hit, I endured and conserved my strength.
"Master, you can
do it! You will definitely defeat the Greater Rat!"
Anneliese cheered me
on from the wall. I wish she was in a cheerleader outfit instead of a robe.
No, no, no. This is
not the time to be thinking about such things.
"Hehehe."
I couldn't help but
laugh.
It wasn't that I'd
gone mad facing a Greater Rat stronger than myself. On the contrary, I laughed
when I realized I could afford to think such silly things while fighting such a
strong Greater Rat.
"Master!"
I even had the leeway
to wave back at Anneliese cheering me on.
I suppose the sense of
security that Anneliese would save me if I got into trouble created this
composure. That being said, I had no intention of relying on Anneliese.
After enduring and
enduring, my moment finally arrived. It was worth all the patience.
The Greater Rat's
movements were monotonous. Up, down, down, up, middle, down, up, middle. Its
attack pattern was a repetition of this. It was different when I attacked or
counterattacked, but when I focused on defense, it repeated its attacks in this
pattern.
Its speed made its
movements hard to grasp, but once I understood this pattern, dealing with it
was easy.
Among the Greater
Rat's attack patterns, there was a wind-up during its first middle attack. It
looked like bait, but the possibility of that was low. Low, but not impossible.
So, in a way, it was a gamble.
"My luck or your
head. Now, which one is better?"
Up, down, down,
up—Here it comes! This is it!
I kicked the floor
without hesitation. If this was a feint, I would take massive damage. But if I
feared that, I wouldn't grasp victory. Summoning all my courage—I launched a
do-or-die attack to win!
"Haaahhhhhh!"
The Greater Rat's eyes
widened. It tried to dodge, but it was too late, and my Mithril Two-Handed
Sword plunged deeply into its forehead.
A shattering sound
like breaking glass. At the same time, the Greater Rat's form vanished.
"I-I won..."
"As expected of
Master!"
"Whoa!"
Anneliese pounced on
me. I caught her, but I fell on my bottom.
My face was buried in
Anneliese's chest right now.
Such happiness
enveloped my face, it felt like I could die like this.
"..."
"Ah, Master.
Master. Master. Master. As expected!"
Correction. I'm dying!
I'm going to die! I can't breathe!
"..."
Tapping with both
hands to surrender to happiness is wrong, I need to breathe fast or I'll die!
"Ah!?
S-sorry!"
"Gasp, gasp,
gasp... I-it's fine. In a way, it was very blissful."
"Eh, what was
that?"
"No,
nothing."
Desire can sometimes
kill a person. I'll remember that.
"Master. This is
the drop item."
Anneliese picked it up
and showed it to me.
"Is this a
tail?"
"It's a Greater
Rat's tail. It's an ingredient for medicine."
"Medicine
ingredient?"
▼Detailed Appraisal Result▼
Greater Rat's Tail: An
ingredient for medicine for food poisoning. A normal drop item from Greater
Rats. The guild exchange value is 1,500 Grill.
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