Ossan Saikyō Chapter 5 Part 05
The next day, we informed Mariane at the guild of our destination and headed to the E-class dungeon in Euron.
As it happened, Rani had already cleared the riverside E-class dungeon, while the other one was still unexplored for her. This kind of small stroke of luck was always welcome.
Now then, that other E-class dungeon was located at the base of a rocky mountain. It looked like nothing more than a cave opening in a cliff.
With me in front, followed by Freynil and then Rani, we entered. Starting from this run, I decided to have Freynil handle mapping duties. In low-class dungeons, ambushes were rare, but dividing roles was one of the advantages of being in a party.
As we moved deeper through what was essentially a natural rock tunnel, my【Presence Detection】reacted. 7 enemies, quite a lot for the first floor.
What appeared were upper variants of Rock Lizards called Hard Rock Lizards. They were essentially just giant lizards with even tougher outer skin, but apparently posed a serious threat to parties lacking offensive power.
“Casting magic.”
Freynil’s prepared «Sacred Ray» pierced through one and took it down.
“Rani, can you handle two?”
“Leave it to me!”
As I stepped forward, Rani dashed past me using【Dash】, striking two and drawing their attention.
I charged the remaining four and crushed each one’s head with my mace. With the combined brute force of【Strength】,【Stability】,【Might】, and【Heavy Burst】, even their rock-hard hides exploded along with their skulls. It was complete overkill.
Looking over at Rani, she had just killed one by thrusting the flame-attribute magic blade into its open mouth. The other was still behind it.
“Magic ready!”
“Rani, fall back!”
At my shout, Rani leapt back. «Sacred Ray» pierced the last one, ending the battle. That was some solid teamwork.
Rani returned, sticking out her tongue.
“Yeah, I’m not great against tough ones. I mean, you’re… you, Soushi, but Freynil’s magic is seriously strong. I didn’t know there was magic that could pierce hides like that.”
“It’s【Holy Magic】. It’s a skill I obtained during my first joint effort with Soushi-sama.”
Something about Freynil’s phrasing felt oddly heavy… but probably nothing.
“It’s important to cover each other’s weaknesses. Fast enemies will probably be your role, Rani.”
“Yeah, that’s my specialty. It’s nice when the leader understands.”
Rani wagged her tail as she tapped my shoulder. Freynil watched that and seemed about to touch me too, but then suddenly stopped, blushing.
Is she… starved for physical affection? Not that I could exactly initiate that myself.
After that, we encountered Hard Rock Lizards several more times, always in large numbers. That seemed to be the reason behind Rani’s【Jinx】.
Although, more enemies meant more materials and better coordination practice, so it wasn’t a bad thing; that was only because we were strong for an E-rank party. A normal party would struggle badly against seven of them at once.
On the 2nd floor, their numbers increased further, sometimes up to ten at a time, but I handled most of them by smashing through.
Against physically vulnerable enemies, I was practically unbeatable. Freynil kept saying “As expected of Soushi-sama”, and even Rani’s gaze toward me seemed to shine more.
Well, showing capability as a leader was important.
“By the way, Freynil’s «Divine Glory» weakens monsters, right? It worked on the Lich, but does it affect normal monsters too?”
As I collected mana stones and metal chunks left behind by the lizards, I voiced the thought. Her【Divine Magic】consumed a lot of stamina, so I hadn’t been letting her use it much.
“Let’s try it next time enemies appear.”
“You okay on stamina?”
“Yes. I believe I’m stronger than before, and I also have the【Crucible】skill. Moreover, I have this staff.”
So we tested it against eight Hard Rock Lizards that appeared near the stairs to the third floor.
The dungeon was instantly flooded with light and the lizards’ movements visibly slowed.
When I struck one, strangely, its rock-like hide felt softer. What kind of mechanism was that… well, no point overthinking it.
“Rani, you should be able to damage them now.”
“Really?”
Rani slashed one, her red-hot blade cut through the hide effortlessly and severed its head.
“What!? This is amazing!”
Jumping in excitement, she dashed around with【Dash】, decapitating all of them in quick succession.
“Freynil’s magic is incredibly powerful. If people found out, you’d probably get flooded with recruitment offers.”
I meant it as praise, but Freynil immediately clung to me with those puppy-like eyes again.
“I will stay with Soushi-sama forever. I will never join another party.”
“Huh? Ah, well, that works for me too. Don’t worry, I’ll accompany you as long as you want.”
“I will never say ‘I don’t want to’. So we’ll always be together.”
After saying that, she clung to my arm for quite a while.
Rani looked at me with a meaningful expression, but all I could do was shake my head.
On the 3rd floor, a new enemy appeared: a two-meter-tall humanoid made of earth called a Mud Golem.
That said, it was entirely physical in nature, so it posed no threat to me. I’d smash its attacking arms with my mace, then shatter the torso with a follow-up strike.
Its relatively low defense and slow movements made it an easy target for Rani as well. She darted around it, slicing off its limbs with wind-enhanced magic sword strikes.
On the other hand, «Sacred Ray» wasn’t very effective against it, so Freynil only used «Divine Glory» when there were large numbers.
Apparently, Mud Golems could occasionally drop gemstones in addition to magic stones, and thanks to Rani increasing encounter rates, we managed to get one.
When I said, “That’s thanks to Rani”, her tail wagged rapidly, she seemed genuinely happy. It must feel good for what she thought was a flaw to actually be useful.
We continued through the 4th floor, defeating more Mud Golems. Our skill levels and adventurer levels were steadily increasing, but when more than five appeared at once, it became a bit troublesome.
Still, with Freynil’s magic, it was never truly difficult.
On the 5th floor, monsters called Iron Eaters, rat-like creatures, appeared. They came in large numbers and were said to eat weapons and armor, but as long as we killed them quickly, there was no issue.
Against low-defense enemies, Rani’s rapid attack style was extremely effective.
And so, we reached the Boss room with ease.
“This is the first time I’ve reached a boss this easily. Isn’t this party amazing?”
Rani’s tail twitched as she stared at the Boss door.
“It might be my first time reaching a Boss on the first run too. Having Rani helps a lot, and Freynil’s magic is a huge factor.”
“I think Soushi-sama’s instructions were also precise. And you yourself are very strong.”
“Yeah. In a straight fight, the monsters almost feel pitiful. But as a leader, you’re reliable.”
Yeah, I really lucked out with these teammates.
“Alright, let’s meet the Boss. Everyone ready?”
““Ready.””
We opened the door and stepped inside. As usual, black mist formed, but there was a lot of it.
“There might be two Bosses. Stay alert.”
“Wait, that can happen?”
“Yeah, it happened once before.”
As I answered Rani, the mist took shape.
A humanoid made entirely of rock, about 2 ½ meters tall, a Rock Golem. And as expected, there were two.
“Freynil, «Divine Glory». Rani, draw one away. Focus on evasion until the magic takes effect.”
“Yes, Soushi-sama.”
“Got it!”
Rani struck one and lured it away as usual. The golem wasn’t fast, so she wouldn’t get hit.
The other headed toward me, but its target seemed to be Freynil. That meant I had to hold it here.
As I stepped in front, it threw a punch. Easy to dodge, I countered with a strike to the torso. It didn’t shatter in one hit, but chunks flew off and it staggered back.
Rani kept her golem occupied with hit-and-run tactics, though she wasn’t dealing much damage. Wind was supposedly effective against earth, but high defense still made it difficult to cut through.
My golem regained its stance and advanced again, raising both arms before slamming them down like a hammer. I stepped back to dodge, but it pressed forward again.
If I retreated any further, Freynil would be in danger. I stepped in before it could fully swing and drove my mace into its chest. With its arms raised, it lost balance and fell onto its back.
“Casting magic!”
Light filled the boss room as Freynil activated her spell. Seeing the golem slow, I smashed its shoulder as it tried to rise.
This time, half its upper body shattered and it collapsed, motionless. The debuff from【Divine Magic】felt almost too strong.
On Rani’s side, her wind magic sword began to take effect. With a flurry of strikes, she shaved away the golem’s surface until its arms fell off and its head vanished, then it collapsed.
“Whew, all done! I can’t believe I took down something that tough. Freynil’s magic is insane.”
“I can only use this magic thanks to Soushi-sama.”
“You always say that, Freynil. I get that you like Souji, but lines like that work better when you don’t overuse them.”
“I-It’s not like that! I’m just expressing my gratitude!”
Freynil flushed red, flustered; pretty normal for a girl her age when teased like that.
As I idly thought like an old man, new skills came in. Two bosses meant two skills, as expected.
【Paralysis Resistance】and【Grip】. The former was self-explanatory, while【Grip】enhanced the ability to grasp things; even without a proper grip, it allowed you to grab and not let go.
Depending on usage, it could be quite interesting. Not dropping your weapon was a big advantage too.
“I got【Life Magic】and【Poison Resistance】. With two Bosses, we get two skills, right, Soushi-sama?”
“Yeah, seems like it. We were lucky again.”
Beside us, Rani jumped up and down.
“This is amazing! Getting two at once is so lucky! I got【Critical Strike】and【Might】. Both are exactly what I wanted — my attack power might get crazy now.”
My【Bad Luck】and Rani’s【Jinx】might actually create a good synergy. With Freynil in the party, we could probably handle even stronger enemies. This might just be the perfect setup for getting stronger.
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E/N:
Ossan grabbing all those Resistance skills like Po*emon 😂!
Stay tuned!
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Comments
Damn, even though I edited meticulously, I must've missed because of tiredness. As always thank you for reading and keep pointing out any mistakes at all! It would be appreciated!