Underground waterway #5

 

Loot obtained by hunting Ratman.

Two bottles of healing potion.

Three bottles of poison potion.

And there are three types of scrolls.

Scroll of Protection.

Increases the party’s defense and magic resistance for a short period of time.

Scroll of Terror.

Causes enemies with low fear tolerance to run away in fear.

And lastly, the random teleportation scroll I was desperately looking for.

‘I’ve been waiting for you.’

The teleportation scroll is a key item for conquering the underground waterways.

It is no exaggeration to say that the reason I hunted ratmen all over the waterways was to obtain this one scroll.

Now the preparations are complete.

Flora and I headed to the last blank area on the map.

“Senior, just follow the plan we discussed earlier.”

I recalled my caution once again.

The dungeon boss hidden deep within the underground sewer, “Ratman Shaman”.

According to the calculations, there is an over 80% chance that we can hunt him with our current party power.

However, this is only true if the operation is flawless.

If you’re really unlucky or something unexpected happens…

‘It’ll be total destruction.’

It’s okay if I die, because I can come back to life.

But it’s not just me who dies.

Flora dies.

If my wrong judgment ends this kind girl’s life…

I wonder if I can handle it.

Can I just move on without a care, like when I was clicking the mouse across the monitor screen?

Now, there is no such thing as ‘starting over’.

The burden weighs on my chest.

“Hey, are you scared? Why are you acting like this, which is so uncharacteristic of me?”

I shook my head vigorously.

Let’s not shrink back here.

When you are caught up in negative thoughts, your vision narrows and your reactions become slower.

Suddenly, my hands became warm.

Flora placed her hand over mine.

“Ms. Estelle.”

Flora nodded vigorously, as if trying to reassure me.

“Everything will be okay. I’m pretty strong now, right?”

“⋯Right. What you said is right.”

I forced a faint smile.

I was the strongest player in “Nine Stars”.

There’s no way you’ll get frustrated in this early dungeon.

After taking a deep breath, I started walking again.

***

“We have entered the deepest part of the underground waterway, the final waterway.”

“Warning: The Ratman Shaman awaits adventurers.”

A long road stretches out before my eyes.

On both sides of the road, murky water continuously falls like a waterfall into the depths of the ground.

At the end of the path, a room with a faint light is visible.

It’s like the temptation of a small light that attracts moths to a flame.

The boss of the underground sewer, Ratman Shaman, is inside.

This is probably the biggest challenge when attacking a sorcerer.

The structure of the deadly boss room.

‘This is so fucking tricky.’

If you go in defenselessly without prior information, you will experience hell.

A narrow path built to fit the Ratman’s body type, making it difficult for a person to walk with their shoulders straight.

The first thing the adventurers encounter upon entering the room after passing through that path is…

Here are 10 ratmen fully prepared to fight.

A dungeon of ratmen that you encounter before you can even grasp the situation.

In addition, the attacks of the Ratman Shaman standing behind continue, so I can’t hold out.

‘It’s just a blatant design that beginners are doomed to die.’

Of course, this is just a setup to fool beginners.

If you don’t know, you will suffer, but if you know in advance, you will naturally come up with countermeasures.

I held Flora’s hand, and in the other hand I held the teleportation scroll.

“Shall we go, senior?”

“Okay-”

Why does Flora seem less nervous than me? Perhaps she’s surprisingly strong in real combat?

I tore a scroll with intricate patterns on it.

“You used the scroll of teleportation.”

Shuaa—

The magical power stored in the scroll spreads out in a circular pattern, spraying smoke around it.

And then nothing happens.

But from now on, we have to hurry.

The random space movement scroll’s effect takes effect after a certain amount of time after use.

I counted in my head.

5, 4, 3, ⋯.

“now!”

We entered the boss room without hesitation.

—Kishishit!

—Human, without fear⋯

The red eyes of 11 Ratmen all look at us.

Sharp claws rained down from all sides, and behind the ratmen, a sorcerer began to chant a spell.

At that very moment.

The scroll’s effect was activated at the precisely calculated timing.

Random space movement scroll

—Order items

—Transfers all nearby creatures, including the caster, to a random location.

Shushu shu.

Space was distorted, and I, Ratman, and Flora all lost their complete forms and were sucked into a dimensional rift.

“Senior, don’t ever let go of my hand!”

I shouted with all my might.

But my voice is distorted and slurred, so I don’t know if it will be conveyed properly.

“%@@#4⋯.”

Flora opens her mouth, but it’s hard to understand what she’s saying.

I gave up on communicating and instead tightened my grip on the hand I was holding.

And after a while.

Suddenly, the scenery before my eyes changed, and my body was thrown onto the bottom of the waterway.

“senior!”

I started looking for Flora right away.

“⋯Ah, my head hurts. Where am I⋯.”

Flora looked around, clutching her forehead.

‘Fortunately, it landed in the same place as planned.’

The mechanism of the space movement scroll.

If your bodies touch each other at the moment of moving, it is considered a ‘companionship’ and you are moved to the same place.

‘The location is good too.’

While Flora was confused, I quickly checked the surrounding terrain.

Looking at the map, it’s not far from the boss room.

You’re in luck.

“Can you move?”

“Oh, yes! I’m okay now.”

“Let’s move. From now on, it’s a race against time.”

We started running towards the boss room.

The random transmission effect of the teleportation scroll can be easily resisted with just a little bit of magic resistance.

So where is the line between a well-to-do and a well-to-do enemy in the underground waterways?

The answer is this.

The Ratman Shaman resists,

That they are not ratmen under his command.

In other words, this means that the Ratman Shaman is left alone in the boss room.

This exquisite boundary is the key point of this dungeon raid.

The ratmen who were suddenly scattered throughout the underground sewer are probably returning to the boss room in confusion by now…

“We have entered the deepest part of the underground waterway, the final waterway.”

Sorry, but I’m faster.

I ran the shortest route according to the map, and I was near the boss room from the beginning.

—Kishishit⋯!

The Ratman Shaman’s beard trembled in anger.

Since we’re already familiar with each other, there’s no need to say hello again.

“Senior, proceed according to plan!”

The battle begins.

phut!

Flora calmly opened the attack by firing a magic arrow.

—Kiss, you’re so clumsy, human⋯!

The Ratman sorcerer waved his hand as if swatting away a fly, and swatted away the magic.

The blow doesn’t even reach the ground.

Well, as expected.

I didn’t even expect it.

However, from the beginning, my goal was only to interrupt the bastard’s spell casting.

No matter how insignificant Flora’s attack was, it was certain to be effective in distracting the bastard’s attention.

During this gap, I took out the reliquary from inside my cloak.

“—Ability Unlock: Take out the abilities stored in the reliquary and strengthen your body for a short time.”

“⋯ Stamina increases by 4.

⋯Magic power increases by 12.

⋯Physical ability increases by 3.

⋯Magic ability increases by 6.」

My fighting power almost doubled in an instant.

There’s no time to relax and enjoy the experience. The effects of unlocking abilities don’t last long.

I focused my magic power right into my fingers.

“Magic Arrow: Estelle Style”

Magic Arrow: Attribute Granting (Cold)

Dismissal—

The target is between the bastard’s eyebrows.

The laser, amplified by the power of the holy reliquary, blasted the Ratman Shaman’s forehead.

—Kyaaaak!

The Ratman Shaman’s eyes rolled back into a white glaze.

However, the magic arrow hit him directly, but he did not fall in one hit.

‘As expected, it’s sturdy.’

A monster that is as big as a dungeon boss is no easy feat.

Even within the game, there were a lot of adjustments to abilities such as toughness and magic resistance.

If you hit a vital point but it doesn’t penetrate…

Dismissal—

Phagejik—

Just hit it several times and it’s over.

I continued to shoot the second and third magic arrows into various parts of the bastard’s body.

“A fatal blow! The magic arrow pierces the enemy’s abdomen.”

dump.

The Ratman Shaman knelt on one knee.

Even though it was a boss, it seemed like it couldn’t withstand critical damage, as a large hole was ripped through its stomach.

‘If that thing got into my head, it would kill me instantly-’

It’s a bit disappointing, but I’m still satisfied that the crit exploded.

—Kshaak⋯. Lord, I will kill you⋯. I will definitely⋯.

The Ratman Shaman’s eyes gleam with a mixture of pain and hatred.

But one of the blood-soaked hands of the man is secretly moving…

‘for a moment.’

It wasn’t just that he was writhing in pain.

The Ratman Shaman completed a strange hand seal while avoiding our eyes.

As expected, he is a rat at heart, so his cunning is top-notch.

“Senior, keep attacking!”

I shout to Flora and prepare to attack again, but…

It’s already too late.

—Kissish- Blood and flesh again in this body⋯.

The spell “Regeneration”.

The gaping wound began to fill up again.

A unique skill for shamans that greatly increases natural healing power until all stamina is restored.

In addition, the Ratman Shaman used another spell.

—Kisha⋯ Sha- krrrr⋯ Grrr!

Sorcery: “Unleash the Wild”.

The face of the Ratman sorcerer, who had been shaped like a cunning rat, was distorted horribly.

His body, which was only about the size of an adult male’s waist, swelled in an instant, transforming into a giant with muscles so taut they seemed ready to burst.

“You idiot, are you just going to sit there and watch?”

I approached the Ratman Shaman, dagger in hand, as his body underwent a ferocious mutation.

“Frost Sword”.

I struck the bastard’s head with all my might with the white-glazed sword, but…

Kkagagak—

An unpleasant grinding sound of bone scraping continues.

The blade that tore through the skin was blocked and unable to penetrate the bastard’s skull.

The pupils of the ratman sorcerer, with the dagger embedded in his forehead, shake for a moment, then slowly stop convulsing.

Then the guy slowly got up and glared at me.

It’s so big that I have to stand on tiptoe and crane my head to look at its face.

Damn. It’s gotten so big.

“Ms. Estelle, there are ratmen outside⋯!”

Flora shouted urgently.

—Kishik-! Help the captain!

—Tear him to pieces, gouge out his eyes, yikes—

The subordinates who had scattered in all directions were slowly returning to the boss room.

“D-don’t come in! We’re closed right now…!”

Flora blocked the path with her magic shield without being told to do so.

That might get you through for a while, but it won’t last long.

“Senior, that’s enough. Now attack the sorcerer first.”

“But the magic arrows don’t work at all-”

“It’s okay. It doesn’t matter, so whatever.”

The ratman sorcerer, who had been reborn as a muscleman, suddenly relaxed his shoulders.

After a while, all his wounds will heal,

If a full-scale counterattack begins, we will not be able to withstand it.

We have to decide the outcome now.

I straightened my hand and covered it with magic power.

“Frost Sword”.

The feeling in my hands is fading away, as if I had put them in ice water in the middle of winter.

I don’t have a dagger right now, but I can use the Frostblade with my bare hands.

If you delay too long, your body will not be able to withstand it and will die.

And, going one step further,

If you pour everything out without even thinking about the consequences.

Frost Sword: Estelle Style Modification

“—The destructive power of magic is increased.

—The sword lengthens significantly.

“Use all remaining magic power. For the first strike only, the destructive power is doubled.”

The white ice sword stretched out as long as my body.

How is it?

This will work.

—Kiyat⋯! What the heck, that is⋯ an arrogant human⋯!

The Ratman Shaman’s eyes changed.

Did he instinctively feel a sense of crisis?

It seems like they realized that if they allow this attack, they’re screwed.

Even though his body had not yet fully recovered from his wounds, the Ratman Shaman forced himself to move.

Shaak—

The creature swings its claws wildly, accompanied by the sound of a rippling wind.

What the fuck.

Just a little bit, just one second and it’ll be ready.

At that moment, I had no choice but to fight back with my frost sword.

Whoosh.

A glass bottle flew from behind me.

—Kishaak?

Both I and the Ratman Shaman stared blankly at the glass bottle for a moment.

Immediately afterwards, a magic bullet flew in and struck the glass bottle with exquisite skill in the air.

Clang!

A blue liquid poured over the Ratman Shaman’s head.

The sorcerer blinked his eyes with a dumbfounded expression for a moment.

Then the bastard’s eyes slowly narrow.

—Kuaaaah! Kkua⋯!

The Ratman Shaman squeezed his eyes shut and groaned in pain.

Poison potion.

And the magic arrow combo.

Also known as ‘eye terrorism’.

Although I had taught it to Flora, I didn’t have high expectations for this combo, wondering if it would work in real life.

“Senior, you’re the best. That was really cool just now!”

“Now, Estelle! Finish it!”

I think so even if you don’t say it.

As I rushed forward, Flora’s magic shield appeared right in front of my eyes.

Nice assist.

I jumped up with all my might, using the shield as a running start.

The field of vision suddenly becomes higher.

The giant body of the Ratman Shaman is visible below the jumping feet.

Just raise the frost sword.

Seo-geong—

I was struck down like a bolt of lightning.