Ossan Saikyō Chapter 9 Part 04
The next morning, we headed for the dungeon first thing after breakfast.
Since it was a ten floor dungeon, we planned to spend one night inside, but having Sphenia with us, who had experience staying overnight in dungeons, was reassuring.
Incidentally, Sphenia had already conquered every dungeon around Euron, but this was her first time entering the one in Tolson.
About an hour later, we arrived at the D-Class dungeon.
It resembled a small pyramid with a flat top, its stone entrance built into the structure, giving the impression that we were about to enter an ancient tomb.
The corridor on the first floor was unusually wide.
The reason became obvious the moment the monsters appeared.
17 Guard Mummies, bandage wrapped mummified warriors, emerged all at once.
Even with Rani's【Jinx】, this was the largest group we'd encountered so far.
So this dungeon's opening challenge was overwhelming numbers.
“That's a lot. I've never seen so many at once.”
As she spoke, Sphenia raised her staff.
Freynil had already begun preparing «Dual Sacred Ray».
(E/N:【Dual Cast】-ed «Sacred Ray», fyi)
“Our party tends to attract extra monsters, so be ready for that!”
Rani said as flames enveloped her sword.
“Here comes «Sacred Ray»!”
Two beams of light shot forward, cleaving through five Guard Mummies and erasing them.
“Two beams of «Sacred Ray»... that's the【Dual Cast】skill. Wonderful.”
Sphenia sounded slightly envious.
Fireballs burst from the tip of her staff, vaporizing four more mummies.
“My turn!”
Rani dashed past them with【Dash】, decapitating two Guard Mummies in a single pass.
She circled behind them and continued cutting them down one after another.
In the end, only one made it as far as me.
“So you're accustomed to fighting large groups. I see now. This is one of the secrets behind your party's strength. I'm honestly excited to see what else lies ahead.”
“Hehe. I don't think you'll be disappointed. Let's grow stronger together.”
Rani and Sphenia exchanged cheerful smiles, with Freynil joining them, making the whole thing feel almost like a picnic.
As the middle-aged leader, I figured I'd better remind myself to stay focused.
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After that, we spent the first two floors relentlessly slaughtering Guard Mummies.
Normally, they would extend their poison infused bandages to attack, but they barely had a chance to fight back against Freynil and Sphenia's opening magic bombardment and Rani's lightning fast assaults.
Collecting magic stones and the cotton-like cloth they dropped as materials, we descended to the third floor.
From the third floor onward, Mummy Hounds began appearing.
They were large mummified dogs that spat fireballs from a distance before closing in with poisonous bites, making them particularly troublesome monsters.
Up to 10 could appear at once.
A simultaneous volley of fireballs from that many enemies should have been a nightmare...
...until I discovered that my【Shockwave】could simply blow the fireballs away.
The moment I realized that, they instantly became little more than fodder.
Rare skills really were unfair.
Their material drop was a red crystal used to create magical tools related to fire.
Starting on the fifth floor, spellcasting mummies called Mummy Shamans appeared.
They showed up alongside Guard Mummies in formations of up to ten frontliners and seven spellcasters, making for an annoying combination.
But once again, their stone projectile spells...
...well,【Shockwave】handled those too, so they posed no real threat.
Needless to say, even in magical exchanges, Freynil and Sphenia completely overwhelmed them.
Their drop material was a yellow crystal, also used for magical tools.
Taking occasional breaks along the way, we reached the Boss door after about 5 hours.
“I noticed this back when we entered the dungeon together in the Elf Village, but your pace is simply unbelievable.
…
Even among D-Class dungeons, 10 floor dungeons are significantly more dangerous, yet we've advanced this far with such ease. It's honestly astonishing.”
Sphenia looked less astonished now and more exasperated.
This was my first 10 floor dungeon, so I couldn't really appreciate what made it so different.
Still, it was best to listen with an open mind to someone with experience.
“If the boss is proportionally stronger, then we'd better stay sharp. Fray, charge up『Halo』with【Crucible】.”
“Yes, Soushi-sama.”
“So Fray can use【Crucible】as well? She really has so many valuable skills for a mage. I'm rather envious.”
As Sphenia said that, Rani grinned.
“Don't worry, Sphenia. Now that you've joined our party, I'm sure you'll get the skills you want too.”
“Is that so? Well, if you're saying it, Rani, there must be a reason. I'll look forward to it.”
“I don't think you'll be disappointed. But first... treasure chests. Soushi, make sure we get something good.”
“It's not like I get to choose what's inside.”
While chatting like that, we finished our preparations and opened the door.
◇◆◇
The Boss chamber was much larger than the previous rooms, about the size of a gymnasium.
After waiting for a short while, black mist began gathering.
“Give us two!”
Rani shouted something outrageous.
Beside her, I heard Freynil quietly mutter, “Please come...”
...Were my girls slowly turning into muscle-heads?
“I've heard that two Bosses can appear, though it's extremely rare...”
Sphenia tilted her head.
Just then, the amount of black mist seemed to increase.
Surely it wasn't actually responding to Rani's request...
“Yes! Soushi, we got two!”
Just as Rani said, two Gravekeeper Dragons appeared.
They were called dragons, but in reality they looked more like gigantic tsuchinoko nearly ten meters long.
(E/N: Tsuchinoko on Wiki! Here's english version!)
The thickest part of each body was covered in countless massive spikes, giving them an unmistakably murderous appearance.
“Casting『Halo』.”
“Following up with «Flame Bolts».”
Weakened by Freynil's «Divine Glory», one of the dragons was immediately struck by ten flaming spears from Sphenia.
Starting the battle by heavily injuring one target gave us a huge advantage.
“The spikes are coming. Freynil, put up a «Dual Barrier» outwards to act as a wall.”
“Yes, Soushi-sama.”
Apparently, the Gravekeeper Dragon could launch the spikes protruding from its body at will.
With no cover in this chamber, ranged attacks were troublesome.
Normally, we'd have to dodge or block them.
But if we could simply create our own cover, that was even better.
“Casting «Barrier».”
While I blocked several spikes with my shield, Freynil erected the strengthened «Barrier» in front of us.
If she'd surrounded us completely, we'd be trapped as well.
This way, it functioned like a transparent wall.
“Rani, finish off the wounded one when you see an opening. I'll handle the untouched one. Freynil and Sphenia, provide support.”
“Got it! Leave it to me!”
“Yes, Soushi-sama.”
“Leave it to me.”
With Freynil and Sphenia safely protected, all that remained was to crush them in close combat.
Using【Dash】,【Nimble】, and【Airstride】, Rani weaved through the rain of flying spikes before closing the distance.
She slashed deeply into the already wounded dragon's massive head before immediately retreating.
Since it had already taken heavy damage, its defeat was only a matter of time.
As for me, I advanced toward the other dragon, batting away the spikes with my shield.
Perhaps frustrated that its spikes weren't working, the Gravekeeper Dragon slid its massive body sideways and charged straight at me.
Exactly what I'd been hoping for.
I shattered the incoming spikes with【Shockwave】, killing the momentum of its charge before bringing my mace down from directly overhead onto its enormous body.
The impact blasted apart almost its entire torso.
The explosive shock traveled through its whole body, killing the giant tsuchinoko in a single blow.
The other one was struck by Freynil's «Dual Sacred Ray» and Sphenia's arrows.
As it writhed in agony, Rani finished it by diving from above and driving her sword straight through its skull.
That was a much more conventional way to fight.
“I think we fought really well that time. It was so much easier thanks to Fray and Sphenia.”
Rani came back, breathing heavily.
She'd clearly become much more adept at three-dimensional combat by making full use of her skills.
“Rani, you're amazing. I couldn't even follow how you were moving.”
“Fray's right. Not only are you fast, but your attacks are incredibly precise.”
Praised by both Freynil and Sphenia, Rani's tail wagged furiously.
“I'm still nowhere near Soushi, but I feel like I've gotten pretty strong. I still haven't mastered all my skills though, so I've got to keep working.”
“I'll do my best too. I need to increase the power of my magic.”
“I feel the same. This is no time for me to become complacent.”
While the three of them motivated one another, the giant tsuchinoko corpses were absorbed into the dungeon.
Two large magic stones appeared.
Along with them, two picture perfect treasure chests materialized.
“One chest for each boss... I've never actually seen that before.”
Sphenia looked genuinely surprised.
Meanwhile, Rani walked over to one of the treasure chests and looked back at me.
“Hey, Soushi. Can I open it?”
“Yeah, go ahead. As for the other one...”
“Please open it yourself, Soushi-sama. You're the one who defeated it.”
Freynil said, with Sphenia nodding in agreement.
So I walked over to the remaining chest.
“Oh! What's this? A bracelet, maybe?”
Rani opened hers first and stood up holding a wide bracelet.
Equipment counted as a lucky find, so it seemed we'd gotten off to a good start.
I opened my own chest.
With a soft click, the lid swung open.
The chest quietly vanished, leaving behind a shortbow decorated with white feathers.
“This one's a shortbow. Sphenia, think you can use it?”
After handing it over, Sphenia carefully inspected every part of it.
She then drew it, nocked an arrow, and even fired a test shot.
The arrow sparkled with shimmering particles as it flew.
Apparently, it had some kind of special effect.
“This is the《White Heron Bow》. It's considered quite a rare weapon for a D-Class dungeon. If I remember correctly, it briefly stops a monster's movement. May I use it?”
“Of course. The person who can make the best use of it should be the one to wield it.”
“Thank you very much. I'll gladly use it.”
It seemed to be more of a support weapon than anything else.
Still, even briefly stopping a monster's movement sounded extremely powerful if used well.
“Hey, what about this bracelet? Sphenia, do you know what it does?”
Rani brought it over, but Sphenia shook her head.
“For accessories like that, you either need the Guild to appraise them or wear them yourself to discover their effects.”
“Huh? Really? Then can I try it on?”
“Go ahead.”
The moment I answered, Rani slipped the bracelet onto her left wrist.
She spent a while running, jumping, and swinging her sword to test it before suddenly saying, “Ah!”.
“I think... my sword swings got a little faster. It feels like they speed up midway through the swing.”
“That's probably the『Speed Blade』effect. Since you use a sword, I think you're the best person to wear it.”
Everyone agreed with Sphenia, and the bracelet was officially given to Rani.
“Hehe. Now I know for sure that Soushi really does care about both me and Sphenia.”
Rani said with a happy smile.
Sphenia smiled as well.
“Yes, I think so too.”
Meanwhile, Freynil gripped her Staff of the Dead tightly and looked at me as though she wanted to say something.
Surely she isn't feeling left out after that...?
When I gently patted her head, her expression immediately relaxed, so I figured everything was fine.
Beyond the Boss chamber lay a wide open area.
It was apparently a so-called safe zone where adventurers would spend the night.
Since other adventurers would likely arrive later, we chose a spot along the edge and decided to camp there.
Once again appreciating just how useful【Item Box】and «Barrier» were, we turned in early to prepare for the following day.
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E/N:
Oh man, Freynil so well groomed without Ossan's knowledge! It's criminal but I love it! (No I don't want to be in Ossan's shoes 😂)
Stay tuned!
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