episode_0024

Adventurers leaving the dungeon late at night.

I loosened up in full gear.

“Well then, shall we start moving? Let’s make sure we haven’t forgotten anything.”

“Nothing left behind.”

Krisha said.

She had left her original armor back in Brigal and borrowed something suitable through my connections.

Even though what she wore now might be slightly different from her usual gear, there shouldn’t be much concern since she possessed defense equivalent to armor even in plain clothes.

Of course, the armor itself is quite high-end.

“Are you really okay?”

I turned to Rinde.

“I-I’m fine. I’m just going to watch over things anyway…”

In case of any unexpected situations, like if that guy on the 50th floor comes.

Although Rinde is a skilled witch, her main offensive magic is fire, which isn’t ideal against the 10th-floor boss with strong resistance to flames.

While cutting off a dragon’s breath might differentiate it from regular fire or provide a means to break through resistance.

“Let’s go.”

We set off into the dungeon.

To avoid the crowd of adventurers leaving work, we took a slightly longer route, but they were still scattered around.

The dungeon expanded after defeating the boss on the 5th floor a hundred years ago.

This neighborhood, once a simple village, has now transformed into a renowned metropolis in the world.

So, what happens when we defeat the boss on the 10th floor?

I’ve always been curious about that.

And tonight, I’ll find out the result.

“…Have you arrived?”

“Hello.”

At the back entrance of the adventurer guild, where civilians are not allowed, there were Spect, Buarno, and Misty.

“Oh, so you’re here too.”

I greeted Misty warmly.

“Were you feeling lonely lately due to your busy schedule?”

Misty poked my breastplate with her finger.

“Does the busiest receptionist in this city have time to feel lonely?”

“Who is this person…?”

Krisha asked.

“Our backup, like insurance.”

“Insurance?”

“He’s the one who defeated the boss on the 5th floor a hundred years ago.”

I draped my arm around Misty’s shoulder and pulled her closer.

“What?!”

Rinde, who had occasionally crossed paths with Misty, was visibly surprised.

“Shh, keep it down.”

“O-Oh, sorry… But really?”

“Hehe… It’s a secret, alright?”

As Misty lightly brushed her ear, her pointed ears were revealed.

“An elf…!”

“In terms of adventure experience, this kid has been around longer than me.”

When I first settled in this city, Misty was working as an adventurer.

Back then, the dungeon wasn’t as it is now, and the meaning of being an adventurer was closer to an archaeologist rather than a specific profession.

“If you think about it, she’s like the mother of this city that we have now built.”

As opportunities arose with bosses falling and the excavation of mana stones, people flocked in, causing Misty to retire from adventuring.

And I received training as an adventurer from the retired Misty.

I owe her a lot in many ways.

“Hmm, well. Of course, we can’t deny Misty’s contributions, but this city rightfully belongs to Maze Viscount.”

Buarno cleared his throat.

“Anyway, now that everyone’s here, let me explain the plan. Krisha, Spect, and Rashwood will directly defeat the boss monster on the 10th floor, while Rinde will stand guard. If you don’t return by tomorrow morning, we’ll send Misty immediately.”

“Got it.”

“Will you return safely?”

Misty asked with a smile.

“Of course.”

Rinde, Krisha, Spect, and I entered after enough adventurers had left.

There might still be adventurers inside the dungeon, but if there are any, they would likely be deeper than the 10th floor.

Since the 50th-floor guy is targeting only me, there should be no worries, and he’d be working without any concerns.

“Hmm… This is the labyrinth…”

Entering the labyrinth for the first time, Spect surveyed the surroundings.

“No need to be tense. There’s nothing special near the indicators anyway.”

Just as I had said, we descended to the 10th floor without any difficulty.

We simply ignored the slimes along the way, and Spect effortlessly dealt with the skeletons that aggressively approached us.

It was truly a clean swordsmanship fitting of a champion of past battles.

If swordsmanship alone were to be evaluated, Spect would be on par with me and Krisha.

…

However, the atmosphere felt heavier now compared to when we first entered.

From now on, it was a battle for our lives.

While we managed to win easily, there was no guarantee of victory.

There was always a certain level of risk when facing a boss monster.

Misty, who had defeated the boss on the 5th floor, had warned us about this.

Moreover, even though the underground creature was despicable, it still exerted influence near the 10th floor.

“Here is the boss room.”

The boss room was located either in the middle of the left or right wall from the entrance of that floor.

Of course, we already knew the location of the boss room on the 10th floor.

The entrance was clearly visible, but the interior was shrouded in black mist, giving an ominous appearance.

“When you enter, the boss will react almost immediately. This is my first time seeing it in person, so I can’t offer detailed advice. Just give it your all in the fight.”

“Then I’ll wait here… You… Good luck.”

Linde bowed deeply.

“Yes. Your role is not useless, so don’t feel too guilty about not fighting alongside us.”

“Thank you…”

We left Linde behind and walked through the black mist.

Describing the interior of the boss room as a ‘shrine’ would suffice.

The walls were covered with strange characters never seen before, and large braziers illuminated the room.

At the far end, there was an altar, and on top of it…

“It’s coming.”

A skull about 3 meters in size, as large as its own body, on its right arm.

Realizing it was the same as what we had heard before brought a strange sense of relief.

Despite its size, the boss swiftly charged towards us.

Swinging its massive right arm.

“Ha!”

Krisha stepped forward, wielding her dark sword in a defensive stance.

A moment of intense shock and noise reverberated as if the ground trembled.

But Krisha stood her ground without flinching.

Does that even make sense?

Taking advantage of that moment, Spect rushed along the boss’s right arm and struck with the sword towards its head.

The sharp sound of air splitting followed by a slicing noise echoed.

A long, slender wound appeared on the boss’s head.

Not too deep, but not easy to cut through.

I targeted the boss’s left leg on the opposite side.

If it moves with such a massive right arm, naturally the right leg would be stronger.

Typically, the left leg would be relatively weaker, but there was no guarantee.

The boss staggered heavily.

Fortunately, it had an effect.

Although I didn’t leave as deep a wound as Spect did, the reaction was more than expected.

It was a good decision to bring a mace instead of a sword, thanks to Misty teaching me various techniques beyond swordsmanship.

Since I didn’t have exceptional talent in any one weapon from the start.

“Hah!”

Creating a significant opening, Krisha swung her dark sword with almost full force.

More focused on sheer power and destruction rather than swordsmanship.

Indeed, techniques meant for humans might not be very effective against colossal beings like dragons.

“Ugh…”

As the dark sword collided with the boss’s knee joint, it let out its first groan.

Following that, Spect precisely inserted the sword into the gap of the knee joint.

Sliding in smoothly with graceful trajectory.

Then, like a lever, raised the handle of the sword.

The sword shattered, a satisfying act, but even then, there was no sound like a blade piercing through something ordinary.

The boss with its legs severed collapsed to the side.

This time, I rushed forward and swung the club with all my might towards the wound on the specter’s face.

I felt it in my hands.

The boss’s skeletal face completely crushed.

From within, black mist rose, and the boss’s bone-made body began to crumble.

“Is it done…? Quite exhilarating.”

I thought there might be more of a struggle.

…No, considering this group, it could be considered natural.

The Dragon Slayer wielding the cursed sword.

The victor of the previous swordsmanship competition.

And me.

The three of us engaging in coordinated attacks, the boss on the 10th floor wouldn’t last long.

“Everyone!”

At that moment, Rinde burst in from behind, cutting through the black mist.

“Oh. Just defeated the boss…”

“R-Run away!”

“What?”

“That! That is…!”

“If it’s a doll, you deal with it. Nothing special.”

“No, it’s not that…! Eek…!!”

Rinde ran towards us.

The black mist behind her slowly dissipated, revealing the outside.

“What on earth…?”

It’s a doll.

But it didn’t quite resemble the girl-shaped doll I had seen before.

For starters, it was larger.

About 2 meters tall.

And its entire body was grotesquely twisted as if stretched and contorted like a piece of taffy.

On that note, its head was just like that of the girl.

“…!”

Seeing it, I broke out in a cold sweat.

“Found you…”

The doll spoke.

“Rasi… Wood…”

Approaching, it spread its arms wide.

“Come… play with me…”

In that moment, Specter leaped like an arrow and sliced the doll’s neck.

The severed head rolled under my foot.

Our eyes met.

The doll smiled.

I crushed it underfoot.

“Just go away… please.”

Nearly 20 years have passed.

Yet this little devil still pursues me.

The damn ‘game’ isn’t over yet.

“Was that the doll you mentioned earlier?”

Krisha asked.

“No… It’s gotten stronger. It was just an ordinary doll before…”

Could it be?

Could it be because we defeated the boss monster on this floor?

If so, it’s the worst kind of self-inflicted punishment…

“Rasiwood. I won’t abandon this sword after all.”

“What?”

“I… have to protect you. So, I guess I still need this sword.”

Damn it.

“No. I’ll make you get rid of it. Not now, but someday, or better yet, as soon as possible.”

Seeing them willing to carry the cursed sword for my sake, anger and guilt surged within me.

I can’t let a kid, much younger than me, do such a thing because of me.

There’s such a thing as shame for a person.

“Specter.”

“Yes.”

“Do you have any other plans after this task is done?”

“…Not really. If anything, I’d like to go back and challenge Rasiwood and the Dragon Slayer there. And I was interested in boss monsters, but now, not so much…”

“Instead of these scarecrow-like things, how about facing a real brute, someone so strong that even the three of us together couldn’t defeat? Are you interested?”