Chapter 169. Double Crisis (5)
[You became level 56. You obtained 5 bonus stats.]
[You obtained the qualification to challenge Beyond's 5th floor.]
[Amazing! You are the first in First Dungeon's history to succeed in soloing the Twin-headed Ogre on the first try! The dungeon will remember you as a Great Explorer. You obtained 2 skill point as a reward. Remaining skill points: 20]
[You obtained the title, 'Twin-headed Ogre Master.' All stats increase by 2. This effect will apply even if the title is not equipped.]
[You defeated the Twin-headed Ogre alone. You obtained the special reward, 'Twin-headed Ogre's Leather Pants.']
[You obtained 350,000 gold.]
[You received the only reward left hidden by the First Explorer. Congratulations! Your luck stat increases by 1.]
[Secret. Twin-headed Ogre's Tattoo]
I was ecstatic that no one had gotten the first achievement for the 55th floor. Not to mention, the reward was a tattoo! I happily chose the reward. Immediately, my arms began to heat up. The Giant Wolf's Tattoo was engraved on my legs, but it seemed the Twin-headed Ogre's Tattoo was for my arms. I took off my armor and checked the tattoo. Streaks of red lines were being drawn on my arms.
[You obtained the Twin-headed Ogre's Tattoo. Your strength increases by 15%, and once per day, you can add 50% damage to a close-ranged skill.]
"I'm… full of power!"
I tried to look cool and made a pose showing off my muscles. Feeling the strength surging through my body, I nodded in satisfaction. Then, I put my armor back on. What reward did Ren get? Since he didn't get the first reward, could it be a single-headed ogre tattoo?
In any case, I had no longer had any business in the boss room. Peika, who had dematerialized and returned to her small dragon form, coiled around my arm, as I walked out of the room. When Loretta saw me from the Floor Shop, she flapped her ears and welcomed me. Though I'd seen it many times by now, the ways her ears flapped were always amusing. I thought, 'I'm curious about elves' muscle structure! Could it be that Elf Queen's had different muscle structure?'
"Shin-nim!"
"I'm back."
"You were really quick. The Twin-headed Ogre shouldn't have been an easy enemy."
"Compared to the Orc Lords, he wasn't anything."
"Hahaha…"
Loretta smiled wryly, then seemed to remember something as she said, "Shin-nim. Now that I think about it, I forgot to ask you. I'm sorry to make Shin-nim even busier, but I think Shin-nim would like it."
"I don't need the lecture."
"Okay. So, if you could fight Floor Masters more than three times per day, would you?"
"Of course!"
I nodded my head vigorously and pushed my face toward hers. Then, feeling embarrassed, I pulled back, but Loretta looked completely unaffected as she took something out of her pocket. It was a stack of glowing golden paper!
"Fighting a Floor Master three times every day, but never get tired! The Floor Shop has specially prepared an item just for you! Ten times! Ten times per day! This entrance ticket for high-ranking explorers is incomparable to the average entrance ticket. It is called, 'Ten Times a Day, You Monster…!' Now, each ticket is only 100,000 gold! Don't miss this chance!"
"I'll buy it, so change the name immediately! Change it!"
Make it a simple combination of adjective and noun! Who's the one that named it! Bring that person to me now!
The entrance ticket's name was quite disturbing, but since it was exactly what I needed, I bought it anyway. Using all the money I had, I bought 400 tickets. Since I got 350,000 gold per raid, each of them would be a 250,000 net gold profit.
If I used all this money on Earth instead of the dungeon, the market would undoubtedly crash. It still felt unrealistic that the gold from the dungeon could be exchanged for Earth's currency.
"You really bought it. I knew my eyes weren't wrong! So many 'Ten Times a Day, You Monster…!'s."
"Change the name!"
"You don't like it? Eleine said it was her best work…"
"Alright, let me go beat her up now."
"Ah, Eleine should be hard for Shin-nim right now, so wait until Shin-nim's level 90! No, since Shin-nim is in Beyond, level 80 might be enough!"
"Thanks for the advice, Loretta…"
That Eleine woman looked frail. To think she would be that strong… Since Loretta chased her away with a single wave of her hand, just how strong was Loretta? As if to stop my train of thought, Loretta stared at my face fixedly.
"Will you be okay? Fighting the Floor Master ten times a day isn't something to scoff at. I shouldn't say this as the seller, but you'll become exhausted…"
"The more time I save on the First Dungeon, the more time I can invest into Beyond. So, of course, I should do it. Isn't that why you brought them to me, Loretta?"
"That's true… but…"
Loretta's ears drooped slightly. I smiled and patted her head.
"Thanks anyway. You can't sell this to just anyone, right?"
"I, I'm the one who asked Shin-nim to do such a difficult task, so it's only right that I support Shin-nim to the best of my ability… Hehe."
"Then, I'm off."
"Eh? Are you leaving? W-Where? Aren't you fighting the Floor Master again?"
"N-No, there's someone I need to meet…"
"… A girl?"
Loretta's soft and flowery eyes quickly turned into the sharp cold eyes of a solitary assassin. It was seriously scary.
"S-She's technically a girl."
"Oh? Meeting a girl instead of fighting Floor Masters. I'm quite curious as to who it could be, huhu."
"Loretta, can you put the battle axe back in the Floor Shop and calm down? She's only nine years old."
"9!? N-No, I'm almost 300 times… K-Kuhum!"
I erased what I just heard from my head and chanted the sentence, 'Loretta's 17 years old,' when Loretta asked with teary eyes.
"Does Shin-nim like younger girls? That's cheap. I can't do anything about that!"
"I'm like a father to her. It's not what Loretta's thinking about, so don't worry."
"… Father?"
"Yes."
Loretta made a radiant smile and took out two giant battle axes from the back of the Floor Shop. Carrying a weapon on each hand! This woman, she's serious!
"Huhu, to deliver another hook punch right after the first. Shin-nim is really amazing. Now, if you obediently tell me who the mother is, you'll only see a single person's blood."
"You mean you're going to kill her, right!? You're killing that person, right!?"
In the end, I didn't say Hwaya's name. I knew Loretta wouldn't really hurt her, but I was worried that Hwaya would be in trouble when she crossed over to the First Dungeon and met Loretta. Although I wanted to trust Loretta, she was clearly not thinking straight with those two axes of hers. I dodged her charging toward me and hurriedly escaped to Marianne's Garden.
"Daddy!"
"Yeah, ina."
As I had already told Hwaya and Ina that I would be back soon, the moment I arrived, I was greeted by Ina's headbutt. She smiled happily and rubbed her face on my cheek. For the record, Ina could use her mana to move extremely quickly. Though, she couldn't teleport like when she was in Ice Castle. She was similar to Hwaya in many ways.
No matter how outstanding her ability was, if she continued moving like that and hunting monsters, she would run out of mana. Fortunately, HP and MP were completely restored when a floor was cleared. As such, Ina was already on the 22nd floor on just her second day. We may have created an unbelievable monster.
I originally planned to come as soon as I finished Beyond's 4th floor, but I ended up taking three more hours because I didn't want to waste Talaria. I made a wry smile at the slight sense of guilt, as I patted Ina's back.
"How are you so fast, Shin? Didn't you say it could take over a week?"
Hwaya appeared behind Ina and asked. Since she was still wearing her battle dress, it seemed she had just come back from the dungeon.
"There's… a reason that I have to hurry a bit more."
"A reason to hurry?"
"Yeah… This is a good chance. I'll tell you first."
"Just me?"
"The others might not be ready for it. I feel like you won't be shaken that much even if I told you."
Hwaya puffed out her chest, apparently happy with what I said. She really was weak to compliments.
"You can tell me anything! I'll hear you out, huhuhu!"
I patted Ina a few times since she was asking for my attention. Then, I messaged Hwaya.
[The enemies we faced in the last Event Dungeon was from the Luka continent's Demon Army. Ludia told me about it, and I looked more into it, so I'm sure.]
[Luka continent…? Where Ludia used to live?]
[Yeah.]
[Eh… Doesn't that mean Ludia knows about this too?]
Why was she sad about that? As Ina kept poking my face, I tickled her for revenge.
"Kiki, I'm ticklish."
[Ludia is from the Luka continent. It was thanks to her that I noticed it so quickly.]
[Ne… Nevermind. Sorry, I know I've been weird lately. It's unlike my usual calm and collected self. I have to fix it soon.]
Strange. Did the Hwaya I know go through cattle mutilation? The Hwaya I knew was always short-tempered and straightforward… Of course, I didn't say it aloud as I worried that the 'cool and collected' Hwaya would burn in rage.
[Hurry and get to the point.]
[It seems our world is getting attacked by two forces right now.]
[…]
[Because of that, we don't have much time. I was told that one of the forces would completely crossover in 2 years.]
Hwaya became silent. I also didn't say anything else. Ina was the only one making a sound, as she kept playing adorably. Without her, the atmosphere would have been heavier. For someone with an ice ability, she sure knew how to warm someone's heart! Could my daughter be the world's greatest daughter!?
Hwaya's silence soon ended. She sauntered up to me and pushed her face up against mine. I backed off a bit, flustered, and Hwaya frowned. I inadvertently froze. For someone with a fire ability, she sure knew how to freeze someone! Could she also be the world's greatest? I asked her slightly panicked.
"W-What is it?"
"… Are you okay?"
Though she was frowning just a moment ago, she was now looking at me with concerned eyes. I shrugged in response.
"Well, that's why I'm diligently climbing the dungeon. I heard I could do something if I conquered the dungeon within two years. Even so, it should be hard with just my strength alone, so— whoah!"
Hwaya suddenly pulled me into her embrace. Flustered, I froze. Ina, who ended up being squeezed between Hwaya and me, laughed.
"W-What's wrong? I'm not the only one in danger! The entire Earth is in jeopardy!"
"But in the end, they're all aiming for you. You're their target, only because an unknown being gave you an unknown power."
"B-But as you know, I'm quite strong… C-Can you let me go? Sorry, but I have someone I'm—"
"That's none of my business."
This woman just cut me off! Just when I took the courage to say it!
"What's important is that you look strained and that I want to embrace you. "
"… Really."
I responded brusquely, but to be honest, I might have slightly fallen for her. No, I fell for her a lot. This woman's uselessly many charms really troubled me.
"Shin, you won't run away, right?"
"Yeah."
There was no doubt in her tone. It was as if she knew exactly how I would act. I couldn't help but break out into laughter. At the same time, she hugged me even tighter.
"Good… Remember, I'll always be by your side. I won't let you bear everything alone… If… If you die, I'll still be by your side. Do you understand what I mean…?
"Why would you… go so far?"
"If you really don't know the answer to that question, I'm going to burn you now… I'm surprised too, but right now, I'm the most serious I've ever been in my life."
"I can't refuse… right?"
"Of course."
How pressuring.
I didn't know whether she was consoling me or threatening me. But, to be honest, the load weighing down deep inside my heart seemed to have become much lighter. I decided to thank her honestly.
"Thanks, I'll be relying on you."
"Good. I'm happy that you know my worth."
"I'm happy because Mommy and Daddy are happy!"
Ina, who was still between us, shot her arms up in the air and shouted. We were taken aback by her sudden outburst, but soon, we met each other's eyes and laughed. Then…
"I inadvertently ended up seeing a beautiful sight. I need popcorn."
"Here's the popcorn, Walker. *nom nom*."
"Is… Is this the time to eat popcorn!? They're acting like a family! I won't allow this!"
"O Earth…!"
All of Revival's members were there. We fell into a panic.
"H-How!?"
"I broke through the 60th floor and came to the guild house to rest when I saw you two filming a melodrama. I couldn't let the others miss this, so I called them."
"Walker, you…!"
When I turned around to look at Hwaya, I caught her hiding her hand after giving Walker a thumbs up. I already saw you, Hwaya! When I was about to lecture them angrily…
[An Event Raid broke out in the First Dungeon! SS+ rank 500-man, 'Power Basilisk.' The guild, 'Desert Scorpion,' has requested for help from all guilds ranked D or above! You can participate in the Event Raid with members your guild who agrees to participate!]
Author's note:
Hwaya's counterattack was super-effective! Kang Shin becomes charmed!
Today's chapter brought to you with worries that Ludia and Ye-Eun are becoming wall decorations! It wasn't my intention as the author, but two people have stood up as the heroines… The popularity contest! The popularity contest!!
Next chapter will feature Revival and Shin becoming involved in the dungeons' competition. Look forward to it!
Chapter 170. What Is Not Allowed for Her (1)
We all froze. First, I calmly took Hwaya off of me, and appeased Ina and put her down, as she wanted to stay with me.
"You're already a father, Son."
"Show of hands. Who wants to go?"
I ignored father and asked everyone whether they wanted to participate. There was no need to explain anything. As it was an Event Raid in the dungeon, we wouldn't actually die. As such, it could only be beneficial. I assumed other guilds and explorers thought the same way. I didn't know whether that would be of benefit or loss for us, but we didn't need to avoid people just because we didn't know them.
"I'll stay out. I'm not strong enough. Maybe when I advance to the Second Dungeon…"
"I'll stay out too, Shin-nim… My defense ability probably won't be useful versus the giant basilisk."
Walker and Shuna were the first to decline. Ye-Eun also raised her hand.
"I can't go either, Shin. Until I learn the technique Master taught me, I'll have trouble with monsters that have large bodies. I'll only damage my pride if I go."
Everyone else was quiet. In other words, Hwaya, father, Ludia, Sumire, Ina, and I would be going. I asked Ina.
"Ina, will you be okay?"
"Un! I got even stronger!"
Now that she was a dungeon explorer, she was undoubtedly stronger than before. The amount of mana she had even rivaled Hwaya's. Regarding mana, Ina was most likely the strongest amongst Earth's Awakened. It was also why she couldn't control her ability for such a long time…
"Un? You're crying, Daddy? Don't cry!"
"N-No, why would Daddy cry."
I patted Ina's head and smiled. Then, I turned to Ludia and asked.
"Will you be okay, Ludia?"
"My ability is supportive, so it'll be okay. I'll focus on supporting you and father."
"Haha, thanks."
"Ludia, don't make Yungoong ajusshi your father on your own. You better support me too."
"Huhu, I'll be expecting your support as well, Palludia."
I didn't need to ask Hwaya and Sumire. Hwaya was the strongest one in the guild besides me, and with her god's true name, Sumire was stronger than Shuna. Plus, with Sumire's unnaturally fast pace, I had the feeling she would cross over to the First Dungeon soon. Although Shuna was working hard with Ludia… Eh?
"By the way, Ludia, do you still party with Ellos?"
"No, I haven't been able to contact him recently. We were also gone for two months, so we're climbing separately. Shuna and I are strong enough on our own now."
… It seemed that clearing Event Dungeons for two months successfully strengthened everyone. With a wry smile, I looked at everyone. Everyone appeared to have made up their minds.
"Alright, then the six of us should go."
"This is the first time I'm seeing the First Dungeon's explorers. I wonder how strong they are…"
"Wait a moment. Let me check if Lotte can come with us."
I messaged Lotte, but she didn't say anything after replying, 'I trust Hero.' It seemed she was still busily training. No choice. If I had to fly, I would just have to use Sharana's ability or take the mana consumption to ride on Peika.
"Let's go then."
Seeing that everyone gathered around me, I clicked the 'participate' button on the window. Then, just like when we entered Event Dungeons or teleported, the surrounding instantly changed.
We found ourselves on a rocky hill.
[The Event Raid communication channel has opened!]
[3 minutes to go! The raid will begin in 3 minutes!]
[Tsk, that's not enough time! Why doesn't the Lord give us more time!?]
[Be content stopping him for 10 minutes, Ralph.]
A communication channel opened the moment we arrived, and voices of explorers flooded us. I first checked the terrain. We were at high altitude, on a hilltop about 3 kilometers in diameter. I could see the cliffs around the edges. Including us, there were about a hundred or so people.
"Eh? There are some new faces!"
"What, is it a new guild? Why are there so few of them for a D rank guild?"
"Oi! What are your ranks!?"
"Everyone's Gold!"
I shouted back at the man wearing an armor and a cape. Although Ina and Ludia are still Silver ranks, Ina was incredibly strong, and Ludia's ability didn't lose to anyone either.
The man's cape had a yellowish brown scorpion. I could immediately tell that he was a member of Desert Scorpion, the guild leading the raid.
"Gold!? Gold ranks are participating in an SS+ rank raid? Hey, don't you know your ranks? You should at least be level 80 for SS+ rank raids! You have to be Platinum, understand?"
"We won't blame you if we die, so don't worry about that."
"Tsk, these newbies…"
"Ralph, stop trash talking and help with straightening up the terrain!"
"I'm going! Ptui."
Ooh, how unpleasant. He spat at us and headed back to the direction of his guild. Father laughed as he took out his spear, but I stopped him.
"What's wrong, Son? I'm just trying to educate someone on basic manners kindly."
"Father, what floor are you on?"
"64th floor."
"You'll catch up soon, right? You can pick up your spear then. They're the raid's host and have the strength to back up their arrogance. Unless we're definitely above them in strength, we can't respond justly to their rudeness."
"Haa… Fine. Since you're our leader, father will listen to you."
"Thanks, Father."
"Kuhum, now that you're a father, I can feel the sincerity in your words."
"That has nothing to do with it!"
Was everyone here Platinum ranked? Indeed, I could feel each of them emanating powerful energies. We weren't inferior regarding stats, but the spirit they were emitting had entirely different qualities. The difference in the league created by levels. With Soul Guard raising my soul's league, I could more easily feel the difference. It was a complicated feeling that was hard to describe.
"Ku…"
"Wow, look at Shin's expression. He looks like he's about to die from anticipation."
"But unni's expression says unni's about to die from loving Shin-nim too much…"
With the female member's looks, we were only getting more and more attention as time went on. Even so, no one openly made a move. It seemed they understood the importance of the upcoming raid.
"Oi, since you won't be able to deal decent damage, try to survive. We were stupid for thinking anyone from the First Dungeon would be dumb enough to join an SS+ rank dungeon without a plan. I'm going to say it clearly. Don't blame us if you die."
"Thanks for worrying about us."
I responded with a smile to the man, Ralph, who talked to us before. He raised his hand as if to say something else, but he soon clicked his tongue and walked away. Meanwhile, Revival's members were talking excitedly. They were forming a plan without me having to say anything!
"The Flame Drake was only a 100-man raid, but he was so powerful. I wonder how strong the Power Basilisk is."
"Don't push yourself too much, Daughter. We're here to get stats. There's no need to overdo it and get ourselves in danger."
"Just call me Hwaya, Ajusshi… Unless you want me to call you Father?"
"Hwaya Eleni Mastiford…!"
"Grandpa, you can call me Ina!"
"Oooh, that has an excellent ring to it. Call me again, Ina."
"Grandpa!"
Hey, you guys talking like a harmonious family! Why are you doing that now!? You had all the chance to do it before!
"Let's at least form a basic plan. I can somewhat guess what kind of attacks the basilisk will make."
"Basilisks are known for their ability to turn people into stone. I hear their breaths also have a petrifying ability."
"You don't have to worry about petrification. With the power of the earth, I can neutralize even the basilisk's petrification."
Ludia declared confidently. I already began to think it was an excellent idea to bring Ludia along.
"It's probably going to be huge…"
"Hwaya and Ina should stay back and attack from a safe distance."
"Un! I'm stronger when I'm with Mommy!"
"Of course, huhu. Mommy is also strong with Ina."
"Father, Sumire, and I will be in the front as usual. Sumire, there's no need to use Athena's power unless you absolutely need to."
"Yes, I'll focus on defense, Shin-nim!"
When I was about to say something father, the earth suddenly began to tremble.
[The Event Raid begins. The Power Basilisk makes its appearance!]
With pounding hearts, we all waited for the Power Basilisk to appear. We took out our weapons, and I also summoned my three elementals. At the same time, I grabbed a Mana Potion. I was ready to drink the Mana Potion and explode with Peruta Circuit at any moment!
It slowly appeared. We couldn't hide our shock. Its body was over 300 meters long. Not only was it bigger than any monsters I've seen before, but it also emitted petrification energy just by opening its enormous mouth. I could see the surrounding turning into stone.
More importantly, its entire body was…!
"A suit!? What are you, the Iron Man?"
"So that's why it's called 'power'!"
Hwaya made an exclamation of surprise as I yelled angrily. It was covered in a strange armor. Across it was several hundred meters long armor with geometric symbols which emanated powerful mana. It was as if it was wearing a power suit.
[Attack! If that mana seal fully activates, we're screwed!]
"I don't know what's happening, but let's first attack!"
Along with the shout from a member of Desert Scorpion, we also used our strongest attacks. Ludia struck the ground with her staff, making needle-like rocks shoot up and hurl toward the basilisk, while I created and threw a huge ice spear with Ruyue's power. Everyone in the raid seemed to have some long-ranged attacks, but only twenty or so had exceptionally powerful long-ranged attacks. The basilisk’s armor easily blocked most attacks.
"Haaaap!"
Then, Hwaya created an enormous white fireball in the air and hurled it toward the basilisk. It landed on the basilisk's head, which was also covered in an armored mask, heating it up greatly. At the same time, Ina playfully waved her hand, freezing the mask with extreme freezing energy and shattering it easily. This daughter and mother combo… Amazing!
However, after being hit, the basilisk realized the attack had come from our guild, as it turned to our direction and shot a breath with a furious roar!
"O Earth!"
Ludia quickly transmuted the rock needles into an earthen shield, while Sumire stood behind the shield as the second in defense. Once exposed to the breath, Sumire's shield and arms began to petrify slowly. However, just like she said, Ludia could easily cure Sumire. The other explorers, who also skillfully dodged the petrifying breath, cheered after seeing the basilisk's bare face behind its broken mask.
[Bravo! We got its mask off with the first wave of attacks!]
[Amazing! Who did that!?]
[It was that Gold rank.]
[A Gold rank did that?]
[…]
[Shit, it's charging! It's going to use its tail to attack afterward!]
The ground began to tremble once again. Seeing that we were unaffected by its breath, the basilisk was charging toward us! Damn, we took its aggro too much! Despite how massive it was, or perhaps precisely because it was so massive, it shortened the distance between us quickly.
"Scatter! Everyone scatter! Hwaya and Ina, go with Ludia far behind the tanks! Everyone else, separate and attack whenever you see the chance!"
Hwaya hugged Ludia from the back and flew into the air. Ina also flew back with Hwaya. Father forcefully kicked off the ground to get away. As for Sumire…
"Sumire, sorry!"
"Shin-nim, i-it's my pleas…!"
With her heavy armor and large shield, Sumire wasn't as mobile as the others. I held her in my arm and flew up with Sharana's power.
Most of the people in the basilisk's path dodged, but there seemed to be slow people even among Platinum ranked explorers, as some could not avoid in time. The basilisk's weight crushed them, instantly making their vitality hit zero. The basilisk was strong enough to one-hit K.O. Platinum ranked explorers. I could only imagine how much it would hurt if it hit me.
"Thank you, Shin-nim. Uu, I don't think I can block it with my shield."
"You just have to dodge its charges, cheer up."
"… Yes! If Shin-nim says so, I'm sure I can do it!"
… Before I noticed, this child's belief in me had almost turned into a religious fanaticism.
After putting Sumire down, I flew back up. Including me, about thirty people were flying in the air. Platinum ranks were certainly different than others.
[Start from the right leg! Right leg, got it!?]
[Oi, long-ranged attackers, go for its left eye first! Its mask is off, so obviously you should go for its head!]
[Ah, I've been curious for a while, but who's the epic witch controlling that fire? I'd like to hire you as my secretary.]
[I guarantee you're going to die in this raid, you shithead.]
The explorers simultaneously began to assault its right leg. The basilisk ignored the dozens of long-ranged attacks hurling toward its eye and breathed its petrifying breath at the close-range attackers closing in on its leg.
Half of the explorers shook off the breath with their high resistance and pierced their swords, spears, axes, and hammers at the basilisk's foot. On the other hand, the remaining half became partially petrified and had to fall back. Of course, with my abnormally high resistance, I quickly overcame the petrification and set its foot on fire with chaos flame. Although the power suit… or rather, carapace blocked the flame; it began to burn up. However, the flame then got smaller. It seemed its carapace had the ability absorb chaos flame's mana to extinguish it.
[Heal!]
[Healers, move! If damage dealers go below half health, it's over!]
[Isn't the blonde girl in the priestess robe the famous crown princess from Luka continent? She was alive!]
[Focus on the basilisk, retard!]
Then, an explorer suddenly shot up into the air. It was a man wearing a blue armor and carrying a large sword. His cape also had the emblem of Desert Scorpion guild. There was only one reason why I paid any attention to him. It was because the amount of mana he was emitting was making me shake.
The Basilisk also discovered him and opened his mouth.
[Kyaaaaaaaaaa!]
"Ice Crash!"
After arriving at the basilisk's right leg in an instant, he slashed down with his sword. He accurately hit the part of the carapace weakened by chaos flame, which then exploded with a crackling noise. Shockingly, his attack didn't end with just that as it froze most of its right leg. Right, froze. The ice he creates seemed incapable of melting, as it weakened the energy being emitted by the basilisk. I instinctively realized that his ice was of similar nature to my chaos flame.
When I raised my head, I saw him grinning at me. It was as if he was saying, 'Your flame got extinguished half-way, but my ice froze him wonderfully!' Sly bastard! If you froze him first, my flame would've broken its carapace and burned its leg!
I just wanted to take the bonus stats from the raid without going all out, but a switch turned on inside me. I didn't want to lose to that bastard even if I died.
Difference in levels? Eat shit! My weapon isn't my level, but this… I'll make you regret provoking me!
Author's note:
Hehehe, aren't we all used to having longer chapters now? … T.T
Actually, there was a place I could've ended the chapter, but it lacked the impact. As a result, 8500 characters… cough.
Chapter 171. What Is Not Allowed for Her (2)
Chapter 171. What Is Not Allowed for Her (2)
With its right leg's carapace broken off, the basilisk let out a furious roar that reverberated across the entire hilltop. Several of the people who heard the terrifying roar then became stiff, and signs of petrification could be seen on their bodies. I also halted for a moment, but I soon snapped out of it with the help of Soul Guard and my mana resistance. I then immediately saved Sumire, who had frozen stiff.
[You can use Athena's power if you want.]
[Really, Shin-nim?]
[Yeah. Let's show them our strength. You also don't want to be looked down on, right?]
[Yes, Shin-nim! I understand!]
I fanned some wind toward Sumire, who was looking at me with respect and flew back into the air. After roaring, the runic patterns on the basilisk's carapace began to shine, and it shot small rock-like things everywhere. These rock-like bullets also petrified whoever they touched.
[Kyaaooooooooo!]
The basilisk's roar continued. Unless there was continued healing, it was easy for people to die. Long-ranged attackers were pouring attacks at the basilisk's exposed face, but the basilisk swung its massive tail and blocked the attacks before they could hit its face. His tail then fired more bullets at all the explorers. I charged toward him as I dodged these bullets.
"Blade Rush!"
Massive monsters had a boundless life force, making them difficult to kill. However, their size also made them easy targets. I easily dodged the basilisk's tail swing and weaved through the rain of rock bullets. Then, I stabbed my spear into its left leg with full force. Chaos flame once again flared up above its carapace, and the blades from Blade Rush also hammered on its carapace. Of course, just this wasn't enough to damage him.
"Dark Thunder Explosion!"
The basilisk's body twitched for a moment, after which black lightning shot up from my body and poured into its carapace. The communication channel instantly became noisy.
[What's that!? Isn't that the 15th Floor Master's skill!?]
[I haven't seen that in 40 years!]
[Can someone explain what happened? That guy isn't wearing something like the Dark Ratman Set in an SS+ rank raid, right?]
[Oi, once that skill hits, it paralyzes its target regardless of the target's strength. Attack now!]
Unfortunately, Dark Thunder Explosion's duration wasn't that long! The moment the skill ended, I once again struck down at the carapace on its leg, then backed off. Immediately afterward, its tail swung past where I was standing just a moment ago.
If it were to hit me, it would petrify the part of my body it hit, which would then be shattered by the following shock. It would be a fatal damage. In fact, one of the other explorers was hit and instantly died. These Platinum ranked explorers weren't all that much! How could they not read such a giant monster's movements?
Regardless, once people began to die left and right, the surviving explorers became more spiteful and poured more attacks toward the basilisk. Almost everyone was attacking its left leg instead of its frozen right leg.
"Haa!"
"Die!"
[Kugyaaaaaaaaaa!]
At that moment, its carapace emitted a brilliant light. I instinctively flew up and avoided the light. Most of the flying explorers did the same. However, several of the explorers on the ground couldn't do so.
These explorers then perfectly turned to stone.
[Damn it, its armor's activating! Priests, hurry!]
[Malph!]
[Its eyes are shining! Attack! Stop it!]
[Damn, was it too hard with 100 people…!?]
[Stop being defeatist and use your damned skills!]
Thanks to someone's shout, bright lights began to shine from the ground. Among them was one particularly brilliant light. A beautiful girl holding an ornate shield was making the basilisk scream in pain… Wait, that's Sumire!
[Look, the basilisk is petrifying!]
[What!? Someone's petrifying the basilisk?]
[A god's power! That girl must have a god's true name!]
[An unknown explorer with a god's true name? What guild is she from? She must be the guild master, right?]
[She's even young and pretty. She's just my type!]
[Hey, you son of a bitch. Who the fuck are you? If we fail this raid, I'm going to kill you. What guild are you from?]
Good, Sumire! Well done!
Sumire had undoubtedly created an opportunity for us to overturn the situation. Although the basilisk possessed a petrifying ability, it was pushed back by the Medusa's head on Athena's shield. Starting from its eyes, which were about to do something, it became partially petrified. The experienced explorers present did not miss this opportunity, shooting powerful attacks at the basilisk. Of course, father and I were among them.
Father contained a powerful shockwave in his spear and successfully dealt a blow that the basilisk could not ignore. He had aimed for its petrified face. Although the petrification was done by a god's power, since the basilisk possessed a petrifying ability, it wouldn't be surprising if it broke out of it sooner. It was better to shatter the petrified parts of its face before it recovered on its own.
However, I aimed for a different place. Several long-ranged attackers were focusing its face, and as its one unpetrified eye began to shine, I avoided its face.
"Haaaaaaaap!"
I descended from the sky like an arrow and surged up the energy of Mad Typhoon. A whirlpool of chaos flame became compressed and gathered at the tip of my spear. With a spirited shout, I struck down at the basilisk's massive tail.
[Critical Hit!]
[Kyaaaaaaaak!]
Good, it was effective! With Twin-headed Ogre's Tattoo, I had gotten much stronger. With the momentum created by my quick descent, my attack successfully shattered the basilisk's tail armor!
[The tail armor broke!]
[There's a crack in its back armor! Attack there!]
[Ah, wait! Stop!]
Two flying attackers charged toward the basilisk's back despite the dissuasive shout. They were both warriors holding a hammer and an axe respectfully. They seemed to be from the same guild, as they simultaneously struck down on the basilisk's back with their weapons filled with aura. Immediately afterward, the basilisk's back emitted a bright light. A message then rang out in my ear.
[Sage Time guild, annihilated!]
"A-Annihilated… They're going to get sage time for sure…"1
I was curious as to who came up with that guild name, but unfortunately, it wasn't all that important right now. I broke out in a cold sweat as I checked the basilisk's back. What took away the Sage Time guild members' lives was none other than a group of flying snakes. There were hundreds of mini-basilisks shooting out from the basilisk's back.
[Damn, this never happened before!]
[They're going to split! Hurry up and kill them!]
The communication channel became noisy with shocked voices and curses. The magicians' attacks became focused on the mini-basilisks, but their magic resistance was annoyingly high. In other words, warriors had to take care of them. The one who stepped up was the man who froze the basilisk's right leg before.
[Magicians, focus on stopping the basilisk's movement! Focus especially on its head! Warriors, kill the small ones and break the basilisk's dorsal armor!]
He was most likely Desert Scorpion's guild master. After shouting out his orders, he charged toward the group of mini-basilisks, followed by about ten flying warriors, all wearing the same fluttering Desert Scorpion cape. As I also didn't want to miss this opportunity, I hurriedly charged forward.
"Sharana, we're going full speed!"
[Yes, Master!]
"Gale Track!"
There were finally guys that could boost my attack power. There was no way I would let others have them! I frantically accelerated and shot past the others.
'No matter how high leveled you are, you won't be able to catch up to my speed! I am the owner of Hermes' true name and the contractor of the unique wind elemental, Sharana!'
[Who's that!?]
[He's that Gold ranked guy.]
[Gold rank? With that speed? You're kidding, right?]
A trail of chaos flame was left in the path I took. I charged toward the mini-basilisks like a comet. The first mini-basilisk that faced me blew up after being hit with my spear. Great! With this…!
"Come!"
[You used Provoke! All enemies in the area will attack you with great hostility!]
In an instant, I was surrounded by mini-basilisks. They seemed to be capable of petrifying people with their gazes as I could feel a ticklish sensation of resistance from parts of my body they were glaring at. Of course, they weren't strong enough to penetrate Soul Guard. I smirked and sent them flying. Most of them were killed in a single strike.
"Uaaaaaaaaaaah!"
[Looks like we won't be needed. Turn! We're attacking its dorsal area!]
[Hm…]
Magic flashed from all sides, while the basilisk's attacks shook the earth. Of course, its armor was being broken by the explorers even now. Everyone present had the strength to threaten the basilisk's life. Perhaps, it was why this battle seemed especially exhilarating. After all, this was the first time fighting with explorers stronger than me!
However, I still wanted to defeat that guild master.
[Master, the wind energy is getting stronger!]
"Gather as much of it as you can! We're going to make a huge attack!"
Even as I ordered Sharana, I constantly changed the direction of my charge and pierced through the mini-basilisks with my spear. Ten, twelve, fifteen, twenty…!
"A bit more…!"
"A god's power!"
"Damn, is that guy a monster!?"
Then, along with the shocked exclamations of a few explorers, the basilisk stopped moving. It’s over 300-meter long armor was completely frozen white! It was undoubtedly that guild master's attack… For a desert scorpion, you sure like using freezing attacks!
[Attack while Scizarnath's power holds it back! It's almost out of stamina! If we can properly break its armor, it will be our victory!]
His confident voice reached all the explorers through the communication channel. The explorers then used their most powerful skills they were saving to break the basilisk's armor bit by bit. The armor that once covered its giant body perfectly was now in a pitiful state.
It was then that I finished the thirtieth mini-basilisk and prepared for Gale Track's final blow. I could feel the wind energy gathering around me from Peruta Circuit's powerful rotational force forming a storm-like whirlpool. With a grin, I shot up. Although I didn't obtain Ogre Power yet, Twin-headed Ogre's Tattoo gave me just enough strength to try this.
[What's that whirlpool? It's flying up!]
[It's that guy.]
[Does he also have a god's true name?]
[No way. It's already surprising that a new holder of a god's true name appeared today. Throughout the entire First Dungeon, there are less than 20 people with a god’s true name!]
'Yeah, keep talking!'
I was already hundreds of meters up in the air. The mighty wind whirling around my spear and body was so powerful that it was hard to see with the naked eye. However, I wasn't done yet.
"Gigant!"2
The pressure on my arms instantly became stronger. Even with the stats, gods' true names, tattoos, and strength from Chaotic Spear, it is hard to use Gigant. I could tell that I could only last about 2 minutes with this enlarged spear.
Thankfully, that was more than enough to finish off the basilisk.
"Sky God's Rage!"
BOOM!
A golden lightning descended on the long and thick Chaotic Spear. The wind energy gathered from Gale Track changed its property through Sharana's influence and began to empower Sky God’s Rage further. The lightning energy instantly became amplified, dying the clear sky in a golden hue. The lightning spear immediately grabbed everyone's attention.
[I knew it, he's a holder of a god's true name!]
[Who is that bastard!? No, what is this guild!?]
[E-Eh…? Wait… The 1st place for guild contribution! It might get stolen!]
[Hey, stop! Getting 1st place over the host?]
[Did anyone tell them?]
[They said they were all Gold ranked! Would you have told them!?]
[Hurry up and kill the basilisk before he attacks!]
[Please, if it were that easy, god's power wouldn't have been necessary!]
It was already hard to just kill it together, but it seemed there was some rule. Explorers sure liked to make things difficult… Of course, it was none of my business.
"Peika, come into the spear!"
[Kyahaha! It has an incredible energy, Master!]
The lightning was strengthened once again. I found it hard to keep my eyes open. However, I couldn't stop now. I forced my eyes open and tightened my grip on the enlarged Sky God's Rage spear. Then, as I descended toward the roaring basilisk, I shouted.
"I'll be the one to take its head!"
[You used Orc Lord's Warcry! All party members are cleansed of negative status effects. All party members' attack power increases by 50 percent for the duration. All party members become super-armored, unfazed by enemy attacks.]
Then, I activated the effect of Twin-headed Ogre's Tattoo, which boosted the damage of a close-ranged attack skill by 50% once a day. Even though I was wearing armor, Twin-headed Ogre's Tattoo appeared above it and glowed with a crimson light. Feeling the incoming threat, the basilisk shot a petrifying breath toward me, but it was blocked by the force of Sky God's Rage.
I became a streak of a crimson comet and shot down toward the basilisk.
As it was the final blow of a charge skill, my armor, and Giant Wolf's Tattoo boosted the damage by 110%, Gale Track boosted the damage by 200%, Orc Lord's Warcry boosted the damage by 50%, and finally, Twin-headed Ogre's Tattoo boosted the damage by 50%. In total, the attack just now was increased by 410%. Of course, as that was just the increase, the actual damage I did was 510%. There was no need to describe its destructive power.
I wasn't done. I added Heroic Strike on top of everything. I scraped together every bit of mana in my body and poured it into my spear. As I swallowed the Mana Potion I had prepared in my mouth, I shouted.
"Divine Speed!"
My already unfollowable speed became not three times, but ten times faster. There was no chance for the basilisk to dodge my attack. I took the basilisk's petrifying gaze without being fazed, and struck my spear down on its forehead!
[Critical Hit!]
It was very fortunate. After all, the basilisk undoubtedly had bones! With Skull Breaker's effect, all critical damage was increased by 50%. As critical hits normally dealt 200% of the normal amount, with the Skull Breaker title's effect, the attack was amplified to 300%! I found it funny that I was playing with numbers so much, but the result wasn't funny in the slightest.
[Kugyaaaaaa!]
Once the spear collided with its forehead, it discharged the lightning of ultimate strength and pierced through its head. The spear, which was dozens of meters long, split the basilisk's head into two! The basilisk barely squeezed out its death throe before it became silent. From its split head, it no longer emitted the petrifying breath or gaze.
Immediately afterward, the armor left on its body detonated. Its body became dust and disappeared.
The SS+ rank 500-man raid boss was finished.
Author's note:
What is a sage time?
It is the short period of time given to the Braves who toiled through hardships and agony, where their brain functions the most rationally, allowing them to answer the most philosophical questions! Unfortunately, today in 2015, the meaning has changed somewhat, signifying the moments where those who suffered a great defeat or unexpected event questions their existence in OTL position.
Also, the popularity contest will open up today! Don't forget!
Translator's note:
Sage time is the Korean term for the refractory period (aka, the period after orgasm).