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055 7th Floor
Boss Runs
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Translator : PolterGlast
It was the 63rd day
since my reincarnation, and it was time for 7th-floor boss runs. Bath had
changed to Adventurer, and Solidia to Necromancer, so they were both Level 1.
Keeping that in mind, I positioned everyone to ensure safe hunting. Gandarvan
would draw aggro, so attacks would rarely go to the two low levels.
"Rarely" doesn't mean "never," though.
"How's the
bow?" I asked Bath, who was clad in leather armor, checking his weapon.
"My accuracy is
still low, but I'm managing," he replied. Bath's weapon was now a bow. It
was impossible for him to be a master archer in just a day or two. As long as
he didn't hit our allies, it was fine.
Bath switched to a bow
to avoid being close to monsters. The Adventurer job apparently couldn't wield
swords. Since swords felt heavy to him, he tried various other weapons like
spears and axes. Then whips, bows, and daggers felt right. An Adventurer with a
whip sounds like a movie protagonist, but he didn't choose a whip. Bath wore a
dagger at his waist and decided to primarily attack with a bow. It was perfect
since we didn't have any soldiers who used bows. Of course, I was paying for
the arrows. Even if arrows were expensive, stone arrowheads cost 6,000 Grill
for 100, iron arrowheads cost 15,000 Grill for 100, and arrows with sharp front
teeth (rare drops from Grey Rats) cost 6,000 Grill for 10. The sharp front
tooth arrows were a bit pricey, but not an amount I worried about. I had bought
100 stone arrowhead arrows, 200 iron arrowhead arrows, and 20 sharp front tooth
arrows to start.
Considering the
exchange value of the items dropped by the Light Lizard, the 7th-floor boss,
consuming arrows was well worth it.
"Solidia, are you
ready too?" I asked.
"Always
ready," she replied. I was also paying for Solidia's catalysts. As their
master, it was my responsibility to provide the weapons and armor my
subordinates used. For a Necromancer, catalysts are like weapons.
"This time, four
people have different jobs than before, so I'm counting on you,
Gandarvan."
"Leave it to
me!" he affirmed.
"Alright, let's
go!" Jojok and Bath opened the boss room door, and everyone entered.
Today, my main job was
Sword Master, and my sub-job was Hero of the Two-Handed Sword. Sword Master is
openly known, so leveling it up was fine, and Hero of the Two-Handed Sword has
the Command skill. Command boosts Gandarvan and the others' abilities by 20
percent, making it a perfect skill for this time, with two Level 1s.
"Summon!"
Solidia took a catalyst from her waist pouch. Since Solidia was a Necromancer
Lv1, she could only summon skeletons. The catalyst she took out was a skeleton
model small enough to fit in her palm. It looked like a skeleton model that
would break easily if kept in a pouch.
"Summon, Skeleton."
Solidia dropped the catalyst to the floor, where it shattered with a clink, and
particles of light drew a magic circle on the ground. It still looked cool. A
skeleton's head emerged from the center of the magic circle, slowly rising
until its entire body was revealed, and then the magic circle vanished.
The skeleton was about
180 centimeters tall and held a club about 80 centimeters long in its right
hand. A club seemed to be its standard equipment.
"That's so cool,
I wish I was a Necromancer!"
"You're
persistent, Master. Now, please focus on the battle," Anneliese
admonished. She gives honest opinions, which is helpful.
At Anneliese's words,
I straightened my posture and took out my Mithril Two-Handed Sword from my Item
Box.
"Open with Bath's
bow and Anneliese's magic!" I commanded. At my instruction, Bath nocked a
stone arrowhead arrow onto his bow and drew the string taut. Bath took aim. His
arm was shaking a little. I shouldn't laugh, but I almost burst out.
The arrow flew towards
the Light Lizard, which was unmoving in the center of the boss room. The arcing
arrow hit the Light Lizard near its backside but bounced off without piercing.
That's probably all you can expect from a Level 1 ATK value.
"Firestorm!"
Immediately after the arrow bounced off, Anneliese's magic activated. The Light
Lizard's massive body was engulfed in a vortex of flames. The Light Lizard
writhed in displeasure. Its angry eyes glared at Anneliese.
The Light Lizard
charged. Gandarvan rushed forward.
"Anger
Lock!" A dull thud echoed. The Steel Shield that blocked the Light
Lizard's tackle seemed to scream.
I also dashed, quickly
circling to the side of the Light Lizard and slashing. On the opposite side,
Jojok was also slashing. As expected of a Sword Master. A spear emerged from
Jojok's side. It was Lin. Her figure was completely hidden by the large Jojok.
Rosalina attacked from
behind, dodging its tail. I was impressed at how well she landed her hits.
Beside her, a skeleton was swinging its club at the Light Lizard, but it dealt
no damage. But this was fine. If the skeleton joined the attack, Solidia would
also gain experience. Experience seems to be distributed evenly, so just one
attack is enough.
Rose wrapped thorny
vines around the Light Lizard's body. It not only slowed its movements but also
steadily drained its HP, making it a troublesome attack. I was glad it was on
our side.
Our attacks steadily
reduced the Light Lizard's HP.
"Alright,
now!" I had been watching its HP decline and commanded everyone to use their
skill attacks.
"Skill: One-Point
Breakthrough! Double Slash!" I activated One-Point Breakthrough, which
sets the enemy's DEF to 0 and nullifies defensive skill effects, then unleashed
Double Slash. The Light Lizard's HP dropped significantly.
"Rush-nanodesu!"
Rosalina's attack count tripled, and the Light Lizard's HP was further
depleted.
"Power
Attack!" Gandarvan's Power Attack exploded.
"Triple
Slash!" Jojok, the Sword Master's skill attack, hit.
"Lightning
Lance!" Lin, the Lance Saint's skill attack, struck.
"Booster! Mana
Slash!" Anneliese's magic finished it.
With all these attacks
hitting, the Light Lizard's HP plummeted to zero and it vanished.
"Is anyone
injured?" I asked.
"No!" (All
of them) The close-combat fighters replied instantly.
Bath and Solidia
weren't attacked, and I collected the breath attacks with Item Box Hoi-hoi, so
no one except Gandarvan should have taken damage.
I checked the Level 1
duo with Detailed Appraisal. Oh, their levels are going up. Good, good.
"Alright, let's
keep this up!" I declared.
We continued our Light
Lizard runs, and not just the two newcomers, but all of us gained levels.
Bath, now an
Adventurer Lv25, still had questionable accuracy with his bow, but its power
was definitely increasing. His attack power wasn't that high, but he started
piercing the Light Lizard halfway through. Before, his attacks wouldn't deal
damage even if they hit, but now, the Light Lizard's HP decreases if hit, so I
guess he needs to work on improving his accuracy. Practice makes perfect. Also,
the Adventurer job learned Item Box at Level 5. It's a huge help to have more
people who can carry luggage besides me.
Solidia, who became a
Necromancer Lv25, learned not only Bone Kin Summon (skeleton-type summons) but
also Corpse Kin Summon (ghoul-type summons) and Ethereal Kin Summon (ghost-type
summons). After boss battles, we take a short break, and during that time, she
makes catalysts and can summon ghouls and ghosts as well. As the proficiency of
Bone Kin Summon increased to (Low), she could summon not only club-wielding
skeletons but also sword-wielding Skeleton Soldiers. Furthermore, at (Medium)
proficiency, Skeleton Knights could be summoned, and they were even dealing
damage to the Light Lizard. As Solidia's level increases, the levels of her
summoned familiars also increase, so she constantly resummoned them, leading to
a fair amount of MP consumption.
"One more Light
Lizard, then we'll head back for today. This is the last one, so stay
focused!" This was our 20th Light Lizard battle today, with one other
party entering the boss room in between. Each battle didn't take more than 10
minutes, but with breaks, it must be a good amount of time.
If I had a clock, I'd
know the time, but I don't. People in this world consider "morning"
the dim period right after sunrise, "day" when the sun is high, and
"night" when the sun sets. They only have that much of a sense of
time. But Anneliese's internal clock seems to be quite accurate; every time she
says we should wrap up, and exit the dungeon, it's evening. Is this just
Anneliese?
***
The last battle of our
7th-floor boss run. As we entered the boss room, the double doors closed as
usual. Particles of light rose from the center of the boss room, and the boss
appeared.
"Hm? What's that?"
The boss that appeared was pitch black.
"A Dark Lizard,
it is?" I read its race name from Detailed Appraisal. While the Light
Lizard was Level 35, this Dark Lizard was Level 37. It seemed to be a rare boss
monster, stronger than the Light Lizard.
"Dark Lizard
Lv37. It has physical and magic resistance. Its breath attack corrodes not only
weapons and armor but also human bodies!" Gandarvan warned. "What a
troublesome monster," he added. Its defense was impenetrable, and its attacks
were insidious. A true boss monster that makes explorers cry.
Bath and Solidia were
Level 25. I was Sword Master Lv31, and Reincarnated Hero Lv33. Everyone else
was Level 35. If we fully utilize our skills, we should be able to defeat it,
though it would be a struggle.
"Summon, Skeleton
Knight!" Solidia commanded. Three Skeleton Knights appeared from three
magic circles. They were skeletons, yet they wore armor and even carried
shields. Their stats were good enough that if their levels were a bit higher,
they'd be perfectly useful as tanks. And as long as Solidia had catalysts and
MP, she could summon any number of them. Truly convenient and good.
"But we will
win!" I declared.
"Understood!"
(All soldiers)
"Yes-nanodesu!"
Rosalina affirmed.
"Victory to
Master!" Anneliese chimed.
Bath's arrows and
Anneliese's magic began the battle. We all ran to our assigned positions. We
had practiced our positioning many times, so there would be no mistakes.
"Rose, I'm
counting on you," I said. It floated softly around me, and thorny vines
wrapped around the Dark Lizard's body. The Dark Lizard thrashed in discomfort,
but the three Skeleton Knights absorbed its attacks. Was it the sound of
grinding bones? It was a very unpleasant sound.
Our bodies moved
naturally, and we attacked the Dark Lizard. My usual position was to
Gandarvan's left. I was in this position for a specific reason.
"Here it comes,
the breath attack!" Gandarvan warned.
---Item Box!
Yes, this was why I
was in this position. This spot, where I could see the breath attack directly
in front of me, was the best.
The Dark Lizard's
breath attack seemed to be sucked into empty space right before my eyes. Since
Gandarvan's Anger Lock had its aggro firmly fixed, using Item Box Hoi-hoi was
easy.
If everyone played
their part, the results would naturally follow. The Dark Lizard was tough, but
if we blocked its breath, it wasn't a problem. It took time, but not enough
time to lose focus.
The 7th-floor boss run
concluded with the Dark Lizard. Our earnings for this run were as follows:
<Light Lizard
Drops>
Light E-rank magic
stones: 13 pieces for 1,300,000 Grill (Guild exchange value: 100,000 Grill
each).
Light Lances: 10
pieces for 2,000,000 Grill (Guild exchange value: 200,000 Grill each).
Light Treasure Magic
Stones: 4 pieces for 2,800,000 Grill (Guild exchange value: 700,000 Grill
each).
Total Exchange Value:
6,100,000 Grill.
The Dark D-rank magic
stone that dropped from the Dark Lizard was rare, according to Anneliese, so I
didn't sell it. It might be useful for something, and I could sell it anytime,
so it's currently stored in my Item Box.
However, boss runs are
incredibly profitable. I've earned half of an Honorary Baron's annual stipend.
Even after distributing hazard pay to Gandarvan and the others, a large sum of money
will come into my pocket.
I can't stop doing
this. Hehehe.
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