Chapter 171
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You won the battle.
You defeated the Dungeon Boss, Thunder Triceratops.
You receive a reward and 3 SP.
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The boss was defeated by Kanna and Raga. Goodness, even watching from the sidelines, that was an overwhelming battle. You don't often get to witness a giant dinosaur and cavalry charge straight at each other.
"That was good training."
"Sorry for making you indulge my selfishness."
Their ferocity during battle was nowhere to be seen now. The two spoke to us in their usual gentle tones. They switched gears incredibly quickly.
"No, no! I'm thrilled! You rarely get to see a triceratops and a human go head-to-head! That clash was far more spectacular than anything in recent movies!"
"You two were so cool!"
"Good work!"
Two of them were more excited than I was. Eiji was snorting excitedly, while Shifune hopped up and down on Wool's head to express her excitement. Despite their inhuman appearances, they were just as expressive as Iris and Ruby.
"I'm glad you enjoyed yourselves. Then let's get out of here."
"All right. Should I post the strategy information on the forum?"
Although we had successfully cleared the 'Dread Beast Wilderness,' the Random Dungeon had a dedicated forum. Apparently, Random Dungeons were one-time encounters, and it was impossible to enter one again. However, the monsters that appeared in dungeons apparently existed somewhere in this world. Therefore, regardless of whether a dungeon was cleared, there was a forum for sharing information about the monsters that appeared and the items they dropped.
In other words, somewhere on one of the five continents said to exist in this world, there were monsters in a category called Dread Beasts that looked just like dinosaurs. There might even be a continent covered in fern-filled jungles. Or perhaps it was a wasteland like the Dungeon? We had no idea, but one thing was certain: it must be a paradise for dinosaur lovers.
"That was the forum where you couldn't post anonymously, right? As long as you keep our location secret, I have no objection."
"Then I'll put something up, more or less."
Kanna and Raga weren't the sort to carelessly leak information about us. Besides, the two of them apparently had some fame, so they might become a topic of discussion in forum circles. That sounded rather interesting in its own way!
As we thought about that, we left the 'Dread Beast Wilderness.' I was already looking forward to seeing what we could make with the dropped items!
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The day after we cleared the 'Dread Beast Wilderness,' the time finally came to challenge the 'Black Death Ice Forest' again. Everyone had equipped a 'Black Lantern Amulet,' renewed their equipment, and raised their levels into the fifties. I hadn't assigned anyone a quota, but apparently, they had naturally leveled up while fighting out of necessity.
Shio had evolved from Birdian Sharpshooter into Birdian Sharpshooter Hawk. Apparently, once a Birdian reached level 50, it became clear what kind of Birdian they were. His stats had risen, of course, but he was especially pleased that the reticles for his bow and gun now tightened faster than before.
Eiji had evolved from Orc Heavy Warrior into Boar Orc Heavy Warrior. He was an ironclad shield tank with an imposing build, the kind we had seen several times in Bigdaleio. It was astonishing that, immediately after evolving, he managed to block Jigorou's kick with his shield during a sparring match. Needless to say, Jigorou then cheerfully pummeled Eiji with throws and all manner of other techniques.
Toji had evolved from Gula Laksart Saif into Gula Laksart Saif Rahab. Apparently, the Gula Laksart Saif was a Race attained by those versed in fire-element magic. Its combination of high firepower and low defense remained just as extreme as ever. She would surely continue to make good use of it, as she had until now.
Shiitake had evolved from Venom Needle Mushroom into Venom Large Needle Matango. She had grown from a small girl to about the average height of an adult woman. Her arms and legs were still short, and she was about as frail as I was. However, the amount of items such as mycelium she could produce in a day had increased dramatically. As a result, we could obtain powerful poisons much more reliably. That was a great help.
Nanoka had evolved from Summon White Crow into Summon Shine Crow. In appearance, he was a crow with magnificent, softly glowing feathers. In terms of performance, he had become more specialized in 【Summoning】 and 【Holy Magic】, while his bonuses to other elemental magic were apparently lower than those of front-line Jobs. He had apparently been training 【Summoning】 until now, but since the 'Black Death Ice Forest' was filled with Undead, we expected his ability to use 【Holy Magic】 to be a great asset.
However, despite possessing the same Titles as I did—'Angel Slayer' and 'Aruru's Nemesis'—he looked exactly like one of that goddess's minions. It was simply a matter of elemental affinity, so there was no actual connection, but Nanoka had laughed and said, 'Wouldn't that goddess go berserk if she saw me?' He was one of the sensible ones in the clan, but apparently, he had quite a good sense of humor after all.
Moss-san had evolved from Big Blood Fighter Bat into Four-Wing Blood Fighter Bat. As the name suggested, he now had two pairs of wings, four in total, and could use them skillfully for both flight and close-quarters combat. He had struggled to control his additional limbs at first, but many of our companions, myself included, had avatars with multiple arms or legs. With advice from those who had gone before him and the system's assistance, he could now zip through the air along completely nonsensical trajectories.
Shifune had evolved from Bloody Sword Spider into Bloodlust Sword Spider, making her appearance even more vicious. Along with that, she had apparently gained a Skill called 【Blood Frenzy】, which was similar to 【Berserk】. If she dealt more than a certain amount of damage to enemies in a single battle, it forcibly put her into a berserk state. Her base stats were extremely high, and the Skill was even more powerful than ordinary Berserk, but its forced activation was troublesome.
However, Wool solved Shifune's problem. He had evolved from Nightmare Sheep into Nightmare Song Sheep, allowing him to use more powerful cries. His Job had also advanced into a higher-tier Bard-type Job, enabling him to calm not only allies with encouragement but also Fear and Berserk. The two of them could neutralize each other's drawbacks, making them a formidable duo no less impressive than Kanna and Raga.
Sei had evolved from Buenkou into Bukonenkou, while his familiars had evolved into Ice Edge Wolf and Phantom Pure Fairy. Bukonenkou was apparently a Race specialized in staffs—in other words, 【Staff Arts】. Ice Edge Wolf was a wolf with blade-like horns wreathed in cold air, a Chimera created by Shiitake, while Phantom Pure Fairy seemed to have evolved in a straightforward manner.
Incidentally, when I asked Sei whether he intended to add any new familiars, he said, 'I can't seem to find one that clicks with me.' It didn't look like his ranks would be growing anytime soon.
In any event, we had made even more painstaking preparations than last time. This time, we would be advancing on the assumption that we would challenge the boss. We would defeat it and make our way to the Dragon God!
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Around the time Izaam and the others were preparing to begin their conquest, a cave somewhere on the Luxresia Continent was being attacked. It was one of the hideouts belonging to an antisocial NPC organization, located in a remote corner of a field far from any city.
From here, even if the city guards learned of it, the organization's troublesome dealings would be difficult to uncover, and anyone approaching could be spotted immediately. The entrance had also been disguised to make it difficult to identify from outside, so discovering it should have been extremely difficult... or so it should have been.
"Damn it! Nick's been taken out!"
"Is he dead!?"
"No, he's alive! But he can't stand! His leg's broken!"
"Damn it! Right in the middle of the executive meeting...!"
That very day was the date of the organization's regular meeting between its boss and executives, and all of its central figures who normally stayed in the city had gathered together. If the attackers broke into the meeting room in the back and started rampaging, their lives would be in danger. At worst, the organization itself might even fall apart.
So they had gathered the organization's best men as guards. Of course, defeating city guards who had undergone extensive training and evolved into High Humans or the like in a head-on fight would be difficult. However, items prepared by the organization could make killing them possible, and they were more than capable of easily killing ordinary people or novice players. Yet those very men were being driven into a corner.
"Die, you monster! Heavy Axe Slash!"
"Fatal Thrust!"
A large man wielding a battleaxe and a smaller man hiding behind him launched their attack. While the powerful axe strike drew the attacker's attention, the small man silently sprang out from behind the large man and drove his dagger into a vital point. That was their surefire strategy.
"Oops, that was close."
However, their attacks never reached the attacker. They were deflected by two round shields, and at the same time, the two men were struck hard by a hammer. They were blown away and slammed into the wall, then curled up and writhed in agony. Apparently, the battleaxe wielder had broken his arm, while the dagger wielder had broken his leg.
"T-those two..."
"We can't win against this..."
Even if they were called skilled, they were nothing more than thugs from a frontier town. As such, they lacked the resolve to stake their lives against a superior opponent, and most of them had already lost their nerve.
"Of all times, the boss isn't here! What rotten luck!"
Their bad luck was compounded by the fact that the man who was both an assassin dispatched from headquarters and the organization's only High Beastman was away on another assignment. If he had been there, they surely would have defeated the attacker instead of being forced entirely onto the defensive.
"So, are you unable to put me in touch with him?"
"Shut up! Don't talk when you're a monster! It's creepy!"
"You lot! Surround him and take him down!"
Those who were still conscious mustered their courage and charged forward, even as they struggled not to give in to fear. There were two reasons they continued fighting despite trembling with terror.
The first was that they knew escaping would only lead to the organization hunting them down and purging them. The organization they belonged to was merely one small branch of a massive organization with influence in most of the cities on the Luxresia Continent. In fact, the boss in the back of the cave was merely a man entrusted by headquarters with a frontier city in the Kingdom of Lichtesburg.
However, that also meant the boss had earned headquarters' trust and been entrusted with this territory. If the organization were a country, their boss would be its lord. If he abandoned that post and fled, he would naturally become a target of the organization's purge.
The second reason was that the attackers were monsters. They were not devout worshipers of Aruru, but they had grown up within her cultural sphere, so the belief that 'monsters are enemies of all humanity' had been ingrained at the very foundation of their thinking. They did not believe it was possible to communicate properly with monsters, and even if a monster wished to communicate, they would judge it to be an even more dangerous monster with advanced intelligence.
"...This is troublesome. This place isn't any good either?"
Seeing the thugs surrounding him with undisguised hostility, the monster let out a weary sigh. He was reluctant to kill NPCs indiscriminately, so he had deliberately broken their bones and rendered them unable to fight. But holding back was difficult enough, and with no way to get through to them, he was genuinely fed up.
"I only want to ask how to get to Vetus Floating Island..."
"Yaaaaah!"
"Eat this!"
The thugs charged at him, shouting battle cries without even listening to the monster's muttering. Watching them with his many eyes, he swung his shield and hammer.