Ossan Saikyō Chapter 12 Part 14
The Boss room was a spacious area surrounded by the same marble-like stone as the passageways. There was something vaguely majestic about the room.
Now, this was where things could become a problem for me. Depending on how hard Mr.【Bad Luck】worked, all sorts of troublesome things could happen.
Just as I was thinking that, mist began gathering. Judging by the amount, it seemed there would only be one monster. The question was whether it would be a normal Boss or not...
“Soushi-dono, that is probably a rare Boss. You got a tough one.”
Hershville frowned, while Lady Meldorza readied her staff.
The Boss that appeared before us was an enormous pitch-black, two-headed dog. Its appearance was exactly as the information had described, something resembling a Cerberus, but if Hershville called it a rare Boss, then that was probably what it was.
It certainly radiated something like a dark-red aura from its entire body, giving off an unmistakable air of a formidable opponent.
“I'll test it out for now. If it looks dangerous, please support me.”
Since I didn't know the extent of either of their abilities, I gave them a fairly general instruction. They should be capable of taking the appropriate action themselves.
As I slowly advanced with my shield raised, the Dark Cerberus lowered its body and prepared to attack. Even with its heads lowered, its red eyes were still above my head.
GAF!
It charged in for a biting attack with a high-level【Dash】. I blocked it with my shield and swung my mace, but it dodged using the characteristic movements of someone possessing【Whiplash】.
The Dark Cerberus retreated and opened its mouths, firing dark-red fireballs at me. Its two heads alternated, firing them in rapid succession like machine guns. As I defended against them with【Shockwave】, it began moving sharply from side to side while bombarding me with fireballs.
While I was concentrating on blocking the fireballs, one of the dog's heads had somehow already gotten right up close to me. I see. It had been closing the distance while using the fireballs as a distraction.
Its foreleg, thick as a log, came toward me as if to grab me. Just as I was about to block it with my shield, a mithril spear pierced the Dark Cerberus' head.
The Dark Cerberus retreated while the spear remained embedded in its head. The spear then pulled itself free and flew toward Hershville, and without a moment's delay, a whirlwind of snow engulfed the giant dog.
As expected of former A-Rank adventurers, that was excellent timing for support. However, the Dark Cerberus that emerged from the blizzard didn't appear to have taken much damage. Its resistances seemed to be extremely high.
The Dark Cerberus charged toward me again while firing a succession of fireballs. It looked as though it was going to attack me with its forelegs at close range, but instead it leaped into the air, presumably to avoid the spear.
It then brought both forelegs crashing down from above.
But that was a bad move against me.
“OOOOH!”
With a roar rising from the depths of my body, I swung my mace upward with all my strength.
My mace struck the foreleg that was about to tear into my body in a perfect counterattack. The limb was crushed together with its sharp claws, and a large portion of the Dark Cerberus' foreleg simply disappeared.
Goh!
At the same time, bodily fluids sprayed from both mouths. Even an A-Rank rare Boss couldn't withstand the shock that had traveled through its body.
Even so, it didn't lose consciousness. It came down toward me and tried to bite me as it fell, which was impressive in its own right.
I felt a certain amount of respect for it as I slammed a Saul's Strike into the hellhound.
(E/N: Saul's Strike here is a metaphor I guess)
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The pitch-black giant dog, now missing its head, disappeared into the dungeon floor, leaving behind a golden treasure chest.
Lord Hershville and Lady Meldorza also approached and stared at the chest, almost dazzled by it.
“Soushi-dono, that was an impressive battle. But I never expected a rare Boss to appear. And a golden treasure chest on top of that.”
There was a slight excitement in the young man's voice. Perhaps encountering such a rare occurrence had gotten him somewhat worked up.
“Are golden ones really that rare?”
“Yes. They say that even after defeating 10 A-Rank Rare Bosses, you might only see one. You must be extremely lucky, Soushi-dono. Of course, your abilities are more than sufficient as well.”
“Fufu, we've seen all sorts of interesting things this time, but I wonder if what's inside this chest will be the last of them. I want you to open it soon.”
Lady Meldorza urged me on with sparkling eyes, so I placed my hand on the lid of the golden treasure chest and opened it in one swift motion.
The chest quietly vanished, revealing a huge, crude rectangular shield. It was so thick that rather than a shield, it looked almost like a simple lump of metal. Its flawless surface had a faint golden sheen, giving it the appearance of a precious metal.
When I lifted it, it was incredibly heavy. In fact, if I found it heavy, an ordinary adventurer probably couldn't even lift it. I didn't know who had made it, but this shield was something that could hardly be called sane.
“This is a shield made entirely of… orichalcum... is it not? I've never seen equipment of this caliber before.”
“It seems to be a shield called the《Indomitable Bastion》. To think a new『Named』weapon has been discovered... Fufufu~, interesting doesn't even begin to describe this.”
Apparently Lady Meldorza also had【Appraisal】. But it was made of orichalcum and was a『Named』weapon. It really did feel somewhat like a game, but if that was the case, then this shield must be an extraordinarily powerful piece of equipment.
Although I couldn't imagine a weapon whose performance was more obvious just from looking at it.
After leaving the Boss room, we found ourselves in a safety zone that also served as a teleportation room.
Apparently, in the Royal Keystone dungeon, there was a way to return to the entrance every 5 floors. That was another feature that distinguished it from ordinary dungeons.
When we returned to the entrance, Chancellor Julios was nowhere to be seen. Instead, two knights were standing there. Of course, there was no way the Chancellor or the Chief Steward would spend several hours waiting for us to return.
The knights greeted us with astonished expressions, and one of them went to call Raylott.
“We returned rather quickly. I doubt it even took us an hour and a half. Considering that this was supposed to be a three-person party, yet Soushi-dono practically cleared the dungeon by himself, calling it abnormal doesn't even begin to describe it.”
Judging from the slightly strained, sardonic smile on Hershville's face, he seemed to genuinely mean it. After this incident, I did feel that I had finally gained a better understanding of my own strength.
“On top of that, a rare Boss, a golden treasure chest, and a『Named』piece of equipment... It was a wonderful experience. But what I find even more mysterious is how naturally you seem to accept all of this, Soushi-dono. Don't you think so?”
Lady Meldorza leaned in from the side and peered at my face. There was suspicion in her golden eyes... or rather, it seemed to be nothing more than intense curiosity. Still, the fact that she could sense that I had secrets just from this was frightening.
A woman's intuition really was something else.
“No, no. It's simply that I haven't had time to be surprised. But finding out that I can hold my own even in an A-Rank dungeon is quite significant.”
“I believe it is a considerable loss for both the Kingdom and the Adventurers' Guild that Soushi-dono is still a B-Rank. I would like to see you rise to A-Rank as soon as possible.”
“I understand what you're saying, but I have party members as well. For now, I'll take things one step at a time.”
As I answered Hershville, one of the knights returned with Raylott.
What caught my attention was that the usually capable Chief Steward's complexion looked somewhat pale. My intuition immediately told me that a troublesome event had been triggered.
“Oh, Soushi-dono. I didn't expect you to return so quickly. Were you able to make it down to the 5th floor safely?”
“Yes, without any problems. We also defeated the Boss. More importantly, has something happened? You don't seem to be looking well.”
“I'm still not quite as skilled as I should be, it seems. However, I'm afraid I cannot tell you the circumstances due to the situation. I ask for your understanding.”
That wording made me immediately understand.
“If something has happened to Her Majesty the Queen's health, there is something I may be able to do to help.”
The moment I said that, everyone's expressions froze.
I should have dealt with the matter of the《Elixir》beforehand.
At this rate, am I going to look like some unpleasant guy who was just waiting for the right moment to advertise himself?
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E/N:
Now we need an Orichalcum Mace, an amazing ass mage staff and bow, and an Orichalcum Magic Sword I guess. Ah also a powerful dagger or knife for Mariane!
Now, it's time for Ossan to shine!
Stay tuned!
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