Ossan Saikyō Chapter 7 Part 04
The next day was another run at the D-class dungeon.
Up to the 3rd floor, there were no particular issues (though not completely without injury), and we descended to the fourth.
According to the guide, the number of Assault Tigers would increase, but perhaps thanks to Rani’s【Jinx】already pushing spawn rates near the limit, more than 8 never appeared at once.
A small problem became clear in front of the stairs leading down to the 5th floor.
“Hey, we can’t carry any more materials, can we?”
Rani said as she set down her fully stuffed backpack.
“Yeah, you’re right.”
My bag and Freynil’s were just as full.
This was a side effect of Rani’s【Jinx】skill causing monsters to appear at near maximum numbers almost constantly.
“From here on, we’ll have to give up everything except mana stones. If anything valuable drops, we’ll prioritize that.”
“I wish I could carry more…”
“No, Fray, with your build that’s not possible. It can’t be helped.”
Rani and Freynil both had the physique of average girls. There was a limit to how big a pack they could carry. Something like a carrier frame would help… maybe I should check the tool shop later.
“For now, today’s goal is to clear this dungeon. Let’s move on.”
“Yes, Soushi-sama.”
“Okay, let’s do this.”
The D-class dungeon we were currently tackling had 5 underground floors, just like the previous E and F-class ones.
However, the other D-class dungeon had 15 floors; in that case, our party would absolutely need the【Item Box】skill we’d heard about before.
As it happens, that【Item Box】skill is said to be acquired in D-class dungeons and above. It would be nice if my【Bad Luck】skill actually did its job here.
The 5th underground floor had a unique layout; unlike the maze-like corridors before, it was a single wide passage stretching ahead, over ten meters in both width and height.
The reason for this layout lay in the monsters that appeared here. The new enemy, Hunter Crow, was a flying monster that looked like a giant crow.
“Finally, a chance for my【Vault】skill to shine!”
Rani said enthusiastically. It was true that in dungeons,【Vault】didn’t get many opportunities to be useful. It would be nice to let her show it off here.
As we proceeded, ten Hunter Crows approached us.
Though crow-like, they began hovering in midair once they got close, typical of aerial dungeon monsters.
“I’m using «Sacred Ray»!”
Freynil’s opening magic shot down two of them.
The Hunter Crows retaliated by launching feather-like projectiles at her all at once. A troublesome combination of flight and ranged attacks.
“Fray, get behind me. Rani, you’re up.”
“Understood.”
“Leave it to me!”
While I blocked the feather barrage with my shield, Rani used【Dash】and【Vault】to leap high into the air, instantly cutting down two birds.
The Hunter Crows spread out and continued their attacks, but my great shield, mace, and【Steel Body】formed an impenetrable defense.
Rani, repeatedly making high-speed jumps, took them down one by one. The final two, in desperation, charged straight at me, only to be blown apart by a counterattack from my mace.
“Nice moves, Rani.”
“Thanks. All that practice paid off. With【Vault】, I can handle flying enemies easily. As expected of a rare skill.”
As expected, Rani and【Vault】worked well together. Giving it to her had been the right choice.
We encountered Hunter Crows several more times afterward, but aside from me taking a few feather hits, we progressed without issue.
Eventually, we reached the deepest part, where the boss room door stood before us as usual.
“The Boss is a Minotaur, right?”
“Yes, Soushi-sama. That’s what the guide says. A giant with a bull’s head wielding a large axe.”
A monster famous even in the myths of my previous world. At about two and a half meters tall, it wasn’t enormous, but taking a direct hit from its axe would mean instant death.
And in our case, there was something else we needed to be cautious about.
“If it’s an upper variant or if multiple appear, be ready for that too. Either way, Fray, prepare『Halo』immediately. Use【Crucible】as well.”
“Yes. I’ll get ready.”
Since we didn’t have to worry about other parties watching in the boss room, we could use『Divine』attribute magic freely. Fighting weakened Bosses might not be ideal for gaining experience, but that could come later.
“Alright, let’s go.”
As we stepped through the door, the Boss room looked as usual. Though… the amount of black mist forming seemed unusually dense.
“This looks like a two-boss pattern, doesn’t it? Lucky!”
Rani’s optimism was reassuring. Getting two skills at once in a D-class dungeon was certainly welcome, but…
“Soushi-sama, that Minotaur… it looks a bit different from the illustration in the guide…”
As Freynil said, one of the Minotaurs looked as expected, bare upper body, but the other wore reddish-black armor. Clearly an upper variant.
I hadn’t expected both patterns at once.
The two Minotaurs let out ear-splitting roars and charged at us with axes in hand.
“Fray,『Halo』! Rani, draw the normal one’s attention and focus on evasion, don’t overextend!”
(E/N: I believe 'overextend' here refers to a chess term where a pawn is pushed too deep into enemy territory that they become vulnerable to opponent moves.)
“Yes! Casting now!”
“Got it, leave it to me!”
«Divine Glory» flashed, and Rani struck the Minotaur with【Dash】, drawing its attention.
So far, so good. Now the question was how strong that armored variant was.
I stepped in front of it to keep it away from Freynil. The real issue was whether I could withstand its attacks, even weakened.
BUMOOOO!
With a roar, the armored Minotaur brought its axe down. I retreated slightly and tested it with my shield. This much… I could handle.
“Come at me again!”
I provoked it. The Minotaur swung horizontally; I stepped in and blocked with my shield. The impact was tremendous; the shield bent, and I was nearly blown away.
But with【Stability】and【Might】, I held my ground and countered with a strike from my mace, aiming for the arm holding the axe.
The moment my mace made contact, the Minotaur’s log-like arm exploded along with its gauntlet. At the same time, it coughed up blood; the shock must have traveled through its entire body.
Even to me, that level of destructive power was abnormal.
As it staggered, I brought the mace down onto its head. The giant body collapsed forward, head destroyed.
“Soushi, over here too!”
Rani dodged a Minotaur strike and ran toward me.
“Soushi-sama, I can use «Sacred Ray»!”
Perfect timing.
“Rani, jump sideways!”
“Kay!”
Rani leapt aside, and in her place, Freynil’s «Sacred Ray» pierced the Minotaur’s chest.
BUMOOOooo!
The Minotaur groaned and dropped to one knee.
Seizing the moment, Rani dashed past and sliced its neck. Blood sprayed from its carotid artery as it collapsed.
“Soushi-sama, are you alright?”
Freynil approached, looking worried. I had taken that blow head-on with my shield.
“Yeah, I’m fine.”
“Fine? Your shield is completely destroyed.”
Rani looked at me, half exasperated.
“I didn’t want to drag it out, so I forced it a bit. More importantly, both of you did great.”
It felt like a quick victory, but without Rani’s distraction and Freynil’s weakening magic, it would have been dangerous. We needed to properly analyze that.
“Hehe, well yeah. Knowing I just had to stall until you took one down makes it easy.”
“That helps me focus on one target. Fray, your magic’s as strong as ever. Did «Sacred Ray» get stronger too?”
“Yes, it seems to have increased in power again. It’ll keep getting stronger.”
When I praised her, Freynil smiled brightly.
“The real question is what skills we get! There was a rare boss too… oh, here it comes…!”
At the same moment Rani spoke, knowledge of new skills flowed into my mind.
One was the long-awaited【Item Box】. It seemed my【Bad Luck】had finally done its job.
The other was【Shockwave】a skill that converts a weapon’s destructive force into a pressured shockwave. If I used that with my mace… wouldn’t that be ridiculous? I was actually looking forward to trying it.
“I got【Barrier Magic】and【Dual Cast】. Amazing… it seems I can cast two spells at once!”
【Dual Cast】was probably the rare one, and it sounded incredibly powerful. Freynil’s presence would grow even more though… using it in public might be dangerous.
“I got【Sever】and【Airstride】. I really wanted【Sever】. And【Air Kick】… what’s this? Looks fun!”
Lani immediately jumped, and instead of landing, she kicked off empty air and jumped again. It was basically a game-like double jump. Depending on how it was used, this could be extremely powerful, especially combined with【Vault】.
“Soushi, you got【Item Box】!? That’s amazing! Now we can handle deeper dungeons easily. Our party’s getting way too strong!”
“As expected of you, Soushi-sama. I’ll continue training so I can be of even more help.”
Not just me, both of them were getting skills perfectly suited to their fighting styles. Was that my【Bad Luck】at work too, or just their own talent?
Either way, it felt like we had become far stronger than our current rank.
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E/N:
Bad Luck-sensei name change petition 😂!
Stay tuned!
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