00008 [Part 1] [Return] ------------------------------------------------------------------------=
"Hik...."
Chocomint died. Groumal slowly walked toward Neurotic. He stepped back. The strength left his legs. He collapsed with a thud. He forced himself to push against the ground with trembling legs. That was all he could do. And his existence was denied. His head fell off with a thunk, and his body turned ashen before vanishing.
"It's too far...."
With people dying, this was no situation to continue hiding his strength. However, there was far too little time for his sword to reach. He could launch a ranged attack, but with the low ceiling, there was no telling what might occur.
I'm sorry.
"Shine Arrow."
That was when it happened. An arrow of light shot from Aran's hand toward Groumal. While some had lost their minds at the sight of death, there were also those who, conversely, had snapped to attention.
[Grrrrrr.]
But it lacked both power and speed. Groumal reached out and crushed the arrow of light. The creature bared its killing intent in the direction the arrow had come from, then finished off the Aggriman and turned.
"Shine Arrow! Eagle Eye! Double Arrow! Shine Arrow!"
Aran fired arrows in rapid succession, but Groumal twisted its body, easily dodging them. Knowing that widening the distance would make it harder to aim, the gap between her and Groumal gradually narrowed.
[Grrrrrrk. The... end... is... near....]
For the first time, Groumal spoke in human words. But what meaning did that hold now? Her death, too, was right before her eyes—.
"Well done."
While Groumal's attention was turned to Aran, Caron—who had approached while erasing his presence—blocked the club with his sword. His appearance allowed no time to react, and Groumal made a surprised expression for the first time. But soon, baring its killing intent as if to kill him, it gripped the club with both hands and pushed against the sword.
"Not a chance."
But what was pushed back was not the sword, but the club.
It wasn't the sword he had been using, so the sensation was unfamiliar, but it was enough to face Groumal. As he exerted a bit of strength, cracks began to form on Groumal's club. The creature jumped back in surprise once more to avoid the attack.
"Caron Oppa...."
"...It's because my items are good."
To Aran, who was staring at him blankly, Caron offered an unconvincing excuse.
"As expected, Oppa really is...."
"Hmm?"
Groumal discarded the club and charged on all fours. Its primary weapon seemed to be its claws. Its nails grew instantly, and ten blades sought to tighten around his neck.
"Sorry, but that won't work."
The speed was fast, but overall, it was light. The ten attacks were chaotic, leaving far too many openings. He deflected the nails with his sword and kicked Groumal in the abdomen. Though it was wearing armor, Groumal was sent tumbling as if it had taken a massive impact.
"And I knew."
If it was detection, he had been using it ever since Chocomint used Magic Missile. He had noticed four or five presences nearby, but since they showed no signs of attacking, he had merely tolerated them. Without panicking at the attacks coming from both sides, he rotated his body and delivered counters to two of them. One took a critical hit and died on the spot.
"Kyaaak...!"
At Aran's scream, Caron quickly raised his head. A Level 63 Giant Vampire Bat was holding her, flapping its wings in the air. It was a clever one. It had maintained a distance to avoid falling within detection range, then rushed in while she was distracted by the surprise attacks.
"So that's what it was...."
The monsters' intelligence was incredibly high. He marveled at how much the monsters' intelligence had risen over the past two years. The Giant Vampire Bat had likely been hiding near the stairs and secretly following them from behind. It seemed to have been coordinating with the Groumals by sending signals in low frequencies. The reason Groumal's level had been absurdly higher than the monsters they had encountered on the first underground floor was now perfectly understandable, knowing that the vampire bat had been secretly following them near the entrance.
"Kyaaak! Uk...!"
The bat's fangs dug into Aran's slender neck. Her HP decreased instantly. Realizing this was no time to be marveling, Caron urgently leaped into the air.
"Let Aran go...! Kuk...!"
The remaining three Groumals fell from the ceiling. They had been hanging from it. He was pushed down by the three and fell onto his back.
"O... ppa...."
"...Kuk...!"
Aran's body turned to ash and vanished. Irritation welled up within him at himself for having dealt with the monsters so leisurely. Hadn't he learned never to underestimate his enemies since his beginner days? He felt disgust toward himself for underestimating this world, intoxicated by the sentimentality of having returned after two years.
"...Thank you."
He truly came to his senses.
In the air were three Giant Vampire Bats, and four Groumals were targeting him from all directions. Soon, the bat that appeared to be the leader gave a signal, and six of them charged simultaneously.
"Graveyard of Swords."
He muttered. Faster than the charging monsters, mana swords created instantly in mid-air flew toward their backs. Believing themselves strategically advantaged, they had let their guard down, and all six fell in an instant.
"It's over."
A sword strike imbued with mana felled the bat that had been giving orders.
"Hua.... Inventory."
Caron opened his inventory and changed into the equipment he had been wearing at the Polaris Guildhall. His stats rose, and the dignity of one once called the strongest seemed to manifest.
"Then, shall we break through the rest?"
Don't let your guard down. Aim to finish this quickly and decisively.
Caron entered the main dungeon as he was. Traps activated, but each time, he avoided all of them with pure defense and sometimes evasion skills. The deeper he went into the dungeon, the stronger the enemies that appeared, but without taking a single scratch, he killed them outright.
There was no one who could stop him. Wherever he passed, monsters' blood pooled thickly on the ground.
Before long—.
He stopped before the iron door he had seen from the stairs.
When he opened the firmly shut iron door, a deep voice that was neither Grumen nor Groumal echoed from within. Beyond the door, in the darkness, two large red eyes glared at him.
[Would you like to enter the boss room?]
He didn't hesitate. Gazing at the red eyes, he boldly stepped inside the door.
"Yes."