Ch.48Dungeon Dive

With the successful dungeon dive, we had claimed the dungeon.

That meant there was only one thing left to do.

We needed to defeat the final dungeon boss.

I headed toward the boss room with the children after leaving the secret room.

The boss room wasn’t far from the secret room, so it wasn’t difficult to find.

Standing before the boss room entrance.

Looking through the dented door, I could see the structure of the boss room and the appearance of the boss monster.

Large test tubes filled the entire space.

Inside them floated the corpses of humans, Vampires, and Werewolves, with some appearing to still be moving.

But these were merely simple objects.

Even when I checked through my Mystic Eye, no special information appeared.

I shifted my gaze to examine the boss.

Judging by its relatively small body size, it appeared to be an experimental subject with either a Vampire or Human base, with a grotesquely enlarged right arm.

[Experimental Subject-X1]

Level: 15

Race: Fusion Body

Health 100%

Mana 100%

Emotional State: –

As expected, the boss’s level wasn’t particularly high.

“We’re going in now.”

“Yesss!”

“Yes!”

Was there any need to coordinate further?

We were facing a level 15 boss. This wasn’t a late-episode boss like Fenrir, just an ordinary dungeon boss, so the difficulty wouldn’t be high.

As I rushed through the entrance, the experimental subject turned its head and noticed me.

“Kraaagh!”

The moment it recognized me, the experimental subject charged toward me.

Its threatening weapon was its grotesquely swollen right arm.

It had a wide attack range and each blow would pack considerable impact.

As the distance closed, the experimental subject swung its massive arm.

A loud ripping sound filled the air along with an overwhelming pressure.

Its attack speed was faster than I expected.

But I didn’t dodge. I had withstood even Fenrir’s attacks.

And Fenrir had been level 20.

There was no way I couldn’t handle this experimental subject’s attack.

The shadow beneath me began to respond to the experimental subject’s attack.

Rising from beneath my feet, the shadow formed a wide curtain and blocked the experimental subject’s attack.

Thud-!

A tremendous sound echoed as considerable impact transferred through the shadow.

Usually, experimental subjects with a single hyper-developed body part become powerless once that part is removed.

As long as this world was using Blood Carnival’s data as is, my prediction should be correct.

I thrust the katana in my hand with all my might.

My target was the experimental subject’s enormous arm.

Crunch-!

With a gruesome sound, the black katana dug into the experimental subject’s massive arm.

Immediately after, shadows rose from beneath my feet and wrapped around its arm.

“Kreaaagh!”

When its right arm was sealed, the experimental subject let out a fierce roar and began to go berserk.

With its only weapon sealed, that was all it could do.

Tap-tap-tap!

Tap-tap!

Seizing the opportunity created by the experimental subject’s restricted movement, Aurel and Hwang-gu quickly approached.

The two girls unleashed their soft fists upon the hideous experimental subject.

“Adadada!”

“Achochochochu!”

Small fists rained down with short battle cries.

The experimental subject had no chance to resist and was simply pummeled.

Each punch was strong enough to dent steel—the girls’ punches.

With its frail body unlike its massive right arm, the experimental subject couldn’t possibly withstand the two girls’ punches.

Thudududud-!

Eventually, the experimental subject fell to its knees, beaten to a pulp.

I didn’t even need to summon my subordinates.

Aurel and Hwang-gu continued their soft fist barrage until the experimental subject’s life was extinguished.

The boss battle ended surprisingly quickly, but it was the expected outcome.

“Achoo!”

Hwang-gu delivered a clean finishing punch as if for the finale.

Her fluffy fur-covered fist crushed the experimental subject’s head.

Splat-!

Bright red flesh exploded as the experimental subject’s corpse collapsed to the floor.

The moment it fell, a pure white sword shot out from inside its body.

It was a long sword that seemed impossible to have been contained inside a human body.

Obviously, it was equipment dropped by the boss monster.

[Fusion Body’s Bone Sword]

Level Requirement: 15

Attack Power +35

Strength +5

※Can restore durability by consuming the wearer’s health

“This is…”

I licked my lips and checked the children’s reactions.

Hwang-gu and Aurel were looking at the dropped item with curiosity, but they didn’t seem particularly interested.

The same was true for Firin.

“Congratulations, Charlotte!”

“Congratulations!”

“Looks like something decent dropped.”

All three naturally pushed the dropped item toward me.

With them offering it like this, there was no need to decline.

I put my katana into the shadow and picked up the pure white sword.

The long, pure white blade.

Being made of bone, it lacked the cold feeling typical of metal.

The grip felt good too.

It fit snugly in my hand, suggesting it would be satisfying to wield.

While the sword’s performance wasn’t particularly outstanding, it was much stronger than the shop-bought katana.

Its attack power was satisfactory for now.

As I was examining the sword…

Not far from where the boss had died, a large door appeared.

It was the exit that forms when a dungeon is cleared, a door leading to a different location than the entrance.

“Looks like this is the end?”

Firin muttered with a hint of disappointment.

Judging by how she was looking around, she seemed to be checking if there was anything else worth finding in the boss room.

I examined the scenery visible beyond the exit.

A pitch-black night sky, cracked asphalt roads, the ruins of a city.

While I couldn’t pinpoint the exact location, the scenery looked quite familiar at a glance.

It seemed to connect to somewhere in Seoul.

“Shall we go out then?”

Aurel asked, turning to me as if seeking permission.

I nodded.

Aurel then hopped out through the exit like a bouncy rabbit.

At that moment, a small piece of paper fell onto Aurel’s head.

“Oh?”

Aurel caught the paper that was falling onto her head.

What she held in her hand wasn’t an ordinary piece of paper.

It was a 1,000 credit bill.

“Charlotte! I received credits!”

Aurel jumped up and down holding the thousand credit bill.

Only then did I recall something I had forgotten.

When clearing a dungeon and exiting through the escape route, you could receive a small amount of credits as a reward.

When Hwang-gu followed and went out, she too received a thousand credits.

Next was Firin.

As she gracefully walked out, a thousand credit bill fell onto her head as well.

“Aren’t you coming out, Charlotte?”

I stroked my chin while looking at the exit.

Anyone who entered the dungeon and left through the exit could receive credits.

That means…

“Come out!”

I raised both arms and summoned my subordinates.

Soft girls began to emerge from the shadows at my command.

It didn’t matter if my hypothesis was wrong.

After all, I had nothing to lose.

“Everyone, go outside!”

“Yesss!”

“Yeesss!”

“Aye!”

My subordinates began to rush out following my command.

Their pure white silver hair fluttered, dazzling my vision.

Yeppi was the first to rush outside.

When her body completely exited, a thin piece of paper fell onto her head.

Just like Aurel and Hwang-gu, my subordinates could also receive dungeon clearing rewards.

“Hee, heeek…!”

“D-don’t push!”

“I’m going first!”

The children rubbed their soft bodies against each other, each claiming to go out first through the narrow exit.

Their swaying forms were truly adorable.

I approached from behind and gave them a gentle push.

“Hueek…!”

The children tumbled out at my touch.

As they rolled out through the exit all at once, numerous credit bills rained down from the sky.

“Gasp…!”

Aurel gasped and diligently collected the credits that had fallen to the ground.

How did she know my mind so well without being told?

As I watched Aurel with satisfaction, Hwang-gu, who had been observing, joined in to help her.

“I’ve collected them all!”

After gathering all the bills, Aurel took out a hair tie from her pocket, bundled the bills, and handed them to me.

Then she looked up at me as if asking for praise.

If Aurel had a tail like Hwang-gu, it would have been spinning like a propeller.

I smiled with satisfaction and patted both Aurel and Hwang-gu on the head.

Fortunately, the place we emerged wasn’t far from Yeouido.

However, we couldn’t return to our original location right away.

That was because the sun was rising in the distance.

Before the brilliant sunlight completely pushed away the darkness.

I hid with the children inside a large abandoned building.

Firin also hadn’t invested in the Daywalker skill, so she needed to avoid the sun too.

“This used to be a department store, I think.”

“You’re right.”

I nodded at Aurel’s words and looked around.

As Aurel said, this building seemed to have been a department store.

Various items covered in dust lay scattered on the floor.

This worked out well.

We didn’t have much to do until sunset anyway, so we could explore the department store and do some farming.

I moved forward, remembering my promise to Yeppi.

“Everyone, feel free to look around. We’ll stay here until the sun sets.”

“Gasp…!”

“Gasp…!”

Upon hearing my response, Aurel and Hwang-gu rushed off into the darkness together.

Firin also left on her own, saying she would find a teddy bear that suited her.

I rummaged through various parts of the department store to find crayons for Yeppi.

After spending considerable time exploring the department store, even clearing paths where collapsed ceilings blocked the way…

I finally found crayons for Yeppi.

[120 Colors! Super Children’s Crayons!]

They had more colors and were larger than the crayon set used before.

This should satisfy Yeppi quite well.

I waved the crayon set toward the shadow.

The shadow began to dance excitedly.

As I brought the crayon set closer, Yeppi suddenly popped out from the shadow and snatched it away.

No thank you?

Feeling slightly disappointed, I put my hands on my hips and looked down at the shadow.

After a while, Yeppi showed herself again.

She cautiously peeked out, just showing her face to gauge my reaction.

“Th-thank you…”

After expressing her gratitude, Yeppi quickly retreated back into the shadow.