Dungeon Event (4)

Bwahahahahaha! You were completely fooled, heroes! Unfair? No. In the few games I've played, it was perfectly common for a powerful boss to turn out to be merely the warm-up for a two-battle sequence.

The ones they had mistaken for the bosses were three Unique Monsters and the minions they commanded. Oh, it was quite difficult to scrape together enough points to raise the Royal Zombie's intelligence. I had to reluctantly give up on the puzzle elements I really wanted to include, but since I managed to fool them into thinking it was the boss, giving them up was absolutely the right choice!

The ambush succeeded! You let your guard down at the very last moment! Now, the greatest obstacle is dead! This is where the real boss battle begins, you know? How far can you go without your leader?

"W-We did it!"

"I won't forgive you!"

The women finally began to move, but even I could easily evade swords and daggers swung in anger. And a scythe is a special weapon that can be used even while moving backward, you know?

"D-Damn it...!"

"Kikuno!?"

I stepped backward while swinging my scythe. As a result, the blade slashed straight through the abdomen of the player called Kikuno. She had already been on the verge of death, so that alone finished her off. That's boss damage for you! Now that's a hit!

"You...!"

Oh, this girl was Rose, wasn't she? To have recovered already—she's a remarkably gutsy woman.

"I'll act as the shield! Meg, circle around to her blind spot and attack! Renge, how's your magic?"

"Not yet!"

"Then protect Aina! Aina, prepare your Light Magic!"

"Understood!"

The way Rose rallied them with her instructions suggested that she was the party's vice leader. Good grief, it seemed they weren't going to let me win easily.

"Light Lance... Wha—!"

Was her name Aina? I deliberately waited until the magic that player cast was just about to hit, then dodged it with a large sidestep. That alone left them astounded. And no wonder: Undead were basically slow. Unless they were special monsters, their combat AI wasn't very intelligent, either.

But I'm different now. Among the Undead, I'm a rather speedy Race, and on top of that, a player who was originally a mage is inhabiting me. The thing a mage hates most is having their target make a large movement at the last possible moment. Since spells are guided by 【Magic Control】, they have a hard time hitting when I move like that.

There's a saying, 'Know your enemy and know yourself, and you need not fear the outcome of a hundred battles,' but there is no way magic can hit me when I know my enemy—the mage—better than anyone!

"Rattle, rattle, rattle, rattle!"

I raced all over the boss room while swinging my scythe and fired Dark Balls from 【Dark Magic】 at Rose and Meg. However, these were merely feints meant to keep them in check and slow them down. My real targets were the mage and priest.

I brought my scythe down at the priest. The priest crossed a small shield and club to block the overhead blow. The fact that they could move so quickly on instinct was proof that they were one of the top players.

"Uaaah!"

They blocked it. However, it seemed I had greater physical strength. I could feel myself gradually forcing them backward.

"Get away!"

Well, of course they'd come once I stopped moving. I dodged Rose's slash from behind and put some distance between myself and all four of them. Time to start over.

"Meg, what did Appraisal reveal!?"

"...Skeleton Executioner Lv30."

So they used Appraisal on me. That's right. The Race I chose was Skeleton Executioner. It was a monster that had undergone a special evolution from Skeleton, through Skeleton Warrior and Skeleton Sickler.

There were two conditions for evolving. First, 【Scythe Arts】 and at least one other weapon-based Skill had to be level 20 or higher. Second, you couldn't possess any defensive or vitality-enhancing Skills. In short, it was a Race for attack-specialized scythe users.

It had high damage, high mobility, and paper-thin defenses. That's why I couldn't afford to take a blow from the hero. With less HP than even an ordinary Skeleton Warrior in some cases, I could have disgraced myself by being a boss that died instantly. Incidentally, my Skill setup was as follows.

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Race: Skeleton Executioner Lv30

Job: Great Scythe Wielder Lv0

Skills: 【Scythe Arts】

【Sword Arts】

【Throwing Arts】

【Dual Wielding】

【Strength Enhancement】

【Agility Enhancement】

【Earth Magic】

【Dark Magic】

【Assassination Arts】

【Night Vision】

【Status Ailment Immunity】

【Blunt Vulnerability】

【Light-Attribute Vulnerability】

――――――――――

It was an all-out offensive build: use 【Assassination Arts】 to reliably eliminate one person with a surprise attack, occasionally harass them with magic, then toy with them using power and speed that belied my appearance.

Scythes are extremely difficult weapons to use, but thanks to the Skill, I could wield mine with ease. The game's motion-assist system gave me a general sense of what I needed to do.

It was still difficult, but I was starting to have quite a bit of fun using it.

"Rattle, rattle, rattle, rattle!"

I charged again. My HP was low, but a boss was still a boss. My stats had all been boosted, so if I ran at full speed, no one could catch me.

Whether they knew that or not, Rose's group had formed a tight formation. They were probably planning to have everyone except the mage take my slash, then fire 【Light Magic】 at that instant. Sacrifice flesh to sever bone, so to speak.

Of course, I had nothing but bones, so no matter what they did, it would amount to severing bone... But I'd better stop making stupid jokes. In any case, their efforts were pointless.

I twisted my body as hard as I could from outside their range, storing up power. If I had flesh, my back muscles might have been creaking loudly. I put that much force into it.

"Rattle!"

"What!?"

Then, the instant I had stored up enough power, I threw the large scythe in my hand. It spun through the air in a straight line toward the mage. Hmm, if I could harvest rice like this, it might be convenient. No, collecting the rice stalks afterward would be a pain, so never mind.

"Don't underestimate me!"

Rose knocked the scythe flying toward the mage out of the air with her sword. It took incredible nerve to bat away such a huge flying blade.

Still, of course she would do that. If it hit, that would merely be a stroke of luck. This was exactly as planned.

"Rattle, rattle!"

"Guh...!?"

With the sword I had been gripping in both hands, I slashed apart Rose, who had left herself wide open while dealing with the scythe. They didn't know this, but to meet the evolution conditions, this boss—me—also possessed 【Sword Arts】.

Naturally, I was using an execution sword. It was a flat-tipped sword that had actually been used for executions in Europe. Being able to conceal things like this was another advantage of a robe.

Apparently, the execution sword's flat tip prevented thrusts, but granted an accuracy bonus to slashes aimed at the neck. I intended to go for decapitations as aggressively as possible.

My speed and strength were fully behind the upward slash, and Rose died, turning into particles of light. I released my left hand from the sword, grabbed the fallen scythe, and swung the two weapons at the thief and priest standing on either side of Rose.

The thief dodged the scythe, but the priest chose to defend. However, they were a moment too slow raising the shield. Just as its name suggested, the execution sword severed the priest's neck. Two left!

"Damn it, Holy Ray!"

A beam of light shot from the mage's staff. Whoa, fast! As expected of 【Light Magic】, which specialized in defense but had the fastest attack spells among its few offensive options. If I hadn't been this Race, it would have hit me.

"It still didn't work at this timing!?"

"I'll go!"

The thief charged at me with two daggers held in reverse grips. Oh? Was this Dual Wielding? Her left and right arms moved as if they had separate wills. Just like me!

However, the difference in experience as a frontliner seemed to be significant. She was barely managing to defend herself! The fact that both of my weapons were large was probably one reason. In that case, how about this?

"Rattle, rattle!"

I used Stone Wall beneath my feet. What happened then? I took the high ground at the same speed that the Stone Wall rose.

"Ngh!?"

I leaped from atop the Stone Wall to a position behind the thief and, venting the frustration of having been on the defensive, split her diagonally in two with my scythe. One left.

"Rattle, rattle, rattle!"

"Eek!"

I closed the distance in an instant with my natural speed, then severed the mage's neck and torso with the execution sword in my right hand and the great scythe in my left. That concluded the battle.

――――――――――

You won the event.

You acquired 6 SP.

――――――――――

"All right! I won!"

I raised a victorious cry in the now-empty boss room. Good grief, I was exhausted. Completely worn out. Were frontliners always this tiring? It felt like my nerves had been ground down.

That was far too stimulating for me. Bullying opponents below my level was one thing, but I wanted no part of crossing blades with equals. I was sure I would never understand Jigorou and the others' desire to seek life-or-death battles on the front line.

Still, choosing a Race that tickled my chuunibyou side because it would be used in the PV had paid off. Ah, but could my filthy fighting style really be used in the PV?

I fooled them with a horde of monsters led by three Unique Monsters, ambushed them from behind, then toyed with them using techniques designed to kill people on their first encounter... It didn't seem promising. Well, knowing that goddess, she'll edit it together nicely. ...She will, right?

I should stop worrying about it! Yeah! By now, the hero party was probably posting the structure of my dungeon on the forum. People who read it were sure to come flocking here. I could go wild as flamboyantly as possible against them.

◆◇◆◇◆◇

――――――――――

You won the event.

You acquired 23 SP.

――――――――――

5...4...3...2...1...0

All right, the event is over! In the end, no one besides the hero party made it this far. The hero party posted detailed information, but despite knowing about the traps, they were defeated by the sheer number of monsters. As I thought, even weak monsters could make things difficult for players in the recommended level range if they sandwiched them from the front and rear in a narrow passage.

Oh?

As I was summarizing my thoughts alone, an electronic chime rang inside my head. That was the signal that a notification had arrived. Wondering what it was, I opened the menu, and my vision was dyed pure white.

◆◇◆◇◆◇

"As abrupt as ever, Iifa-sama."

"Heehee, isn't this more fun?"

Sure, the person doing the surprising would find it fun. I didn't say that aloud, though.

"So, if you've summoned me here, does that mean... perhaps?"

"Yes. I thought I would give you the promised reward, Izamu-sama."

I pumped my fist internally. All my efforts had paid off: wracking my brain to find ways to make the most of weak monsters, and predicting when people's attention would lapse so I could set traps.

"I enjoyed myself. Especially the look on the hero's face when he was decapitated... I feel like I might start laughing again just thinking about it."

That was a rather casually monstrous thing to say. Not that I was in any position to criticize her.

"Speaking of the hero, what happened to the player rankings? The results should be out by now, shouldn't they?"

"Oh, are you curious?"

"Yes, of course."

Being able to efficiently clear Random Dungeons, where every encounter was once in a lifetime and you were forced to clear them blind, could serve as a kind of measure of one's resourcefulness. Considering that we might become enemies someday, I couldn't help but pay attention. When I explained that, Iifa-sama smiled and nodded.

"Then the award you're most curious about is probably the Most Dungeons Cleared Award. The party that cleared the most dungeons was 'White Sunshine.' It's the party led by that hero."

I see. They took first place. Actually, this was the first time I'd learned that their party was called 'White Sunshine.' It's a pretty cool name. As for 'Going My Way,' the honorable first victim of my dungeon, they missed out on the Most Dungeons Cleared Award, but still proudly took third place. Congratulations!

"Incidentally, the only dungeons they failed to clear were your 'Cursed Tomb Tower' and Genjuro-sama's 'Insect Paradise.'"

"Oh? Then Jigorou's dungeon was conquered?"

"No. They simply weren't able to challenge it. None of the people we commissioned, including you, had their dungeons conquered."

Whoa! Everyone had pulled it off! That was wonderful. Genjuro, in particular, had presumably fought the hero party head-on and won, which was all the more impressive. Or was I the odd one for relying on underhanded tactics right up to the very end?

"Well, we don't have much time, so let me give you your rewards quickly."

"Time?"

"Yes. Surely you understand that this isn't a place where we can casually invite players?"

"That goes without saying."

Obviously. This was the realm where the gods lived. To put it in more mundane terms, it was like backstage. There was no way players could be allowed to wander into a place like this so casually.

"The longer you stay, the greater the chance that a god who doesn't support us will notice you."

"I see. That would indeed be a serious problem."

In other words, there were gods who were on bad terms with or hostile toward Iifa-sama, and there was a chance they might take notice of us as well. We had to leave as soon as possible.

"I'm glad you understand. Now, please accept this."

――――――――――

God Quest: 'Dungeon Master' cleared!

Rewards will be granted.

Hidden condition, 'Impenetrable Fortress,' achieved!

Rewards will be granted.

――――――――――

At the same time as the announcement, a divine ball of light emerged from Iifa-sama's hands and flew toward me. When I reflexively reached out both hands toward the unsteadily bobbing light, it solidified.

"Is this... an egg?"

"Yes, that's right."

The reward I had been given was an egg about the size of a human head. It looked like an ostrich egg I'd once seen on television. But it couldn't possibly be an ostrich egg... So what kind of egg was it?

"I don't know what will hatch from it, either. That's because this egg will produce a companion suited to you, Izamu-sama, based on your actions."

"A suitable companion? That's interesting."

So it wasn't random; it was determined by my actions. I didn't know which actions it would refer to, but if it would be born based on my behavior, then in a sense, it would be like my alter ego. Fascinating.

"I'm glad to hear that. Now, here is your reward for repelling every challenger."

"A scythe...? Could it be?"

"Yes. As you suspected, it is the great scythe you wielded as the boss, Izamu-sama."

Yippee! What a thoughtful gesture. The scythe was covered in nicks and rust, so it was probably meant as a keepsake, but it had tremendous romantic appeal. This would be more than enough.

"It looks rather shabby, but please reinforce it and put it to use. I'm sure it will suit you perfectly."

"...Understood."

Hmm. If Iifa-sama said so, I'd try reinforcing it. So it wasn't merely a keepsake. In that case, I'd make good use of it. Once I left this place, I would need to acquire 【Scythe Arts】. No problem—I had earned SP by the bucketful during this event. I could afford to splurge a little.

"We're approaching the limit. Izamu-sama, I truly thank you for your cooperation this time."

"There's no need to be so formal. I only thought of it as enjoying a festival, you know?"

Those were my genuine feelings. Whatever their plans might have been, I had simply enjoyed myself. I thought the other four felt the same way.

"Heeheehee, is that so? I pray from the divine realm that good fortune will bless the future of 'Night Parade.'"

Before I could put that reassuring thought into words, my vision began to turn white. Ah, so this audience was over. As everything in my vision was painted white, I idly pondered that.