Chapter 116
Chapter 116
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 116
Chapter Title: Speed Run
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“Bro. You've been buying up all the antidote potions from the market since earlier. Got someone who's sick or something?”
“No one's sick.”
I flashed the merchant an appropriate smile.
*Soon-to-be sick people, though.*
Then I packed the potion bundles into my backpack.
Standing beside me were Adelin and Luna, each shouldering identical potion backpacks.
The moment I heard Enedor tell me to bring back Dronium yesterday, I immediately grasped what it meant.
*Sudden quest.*
I barely suppressed a grin.
Since falling into this world, this was the first time I'd been so blatantly told to fetch something.
I'd deliberately avoided quests, but that didn't mean I didn't miss events like this when they were absent.
The timing lined up perfectly.
“That old man, seriously. Risking someone else's disciple's life just for some ore.”
“With the instructor along, it won't be life-threatening.”
“Well, true.”
She ruffled my hair with a cheerful smile.
Ever since declaring to her after the meeting with Enedor that we'd take down the mid-boss, she'd been in this excited state.
Dronium, huh.
Dronium was an ore from the original game.
Just not a core material for equipment crafting, so it was faint in my memory.
Still, the moment I heard the name, I could guess why that ore specifically.
*Drone made from Dronium?*
The dev team's agony in shoehorning drones into the worldbuilding shone through in the naming sense.
I'd seen drone blueprints in Enedor's hands yesterday. He probably wanted Ellier to make them.
Cranky artisan characters always pulled the tsundere act with their kids. A cliché. Enedor was following it to the letter.
I didn't know where to find Dronium, but I had a rough idea.
The mid-boss room was the sweetest spot in the mine, richest in ore veins.
Toward the mine's end, the final boss room, the veins dried up more and more.
So he'd basically issued a quest to kill the mid-boss and come back.
No reason to hesitate.
A dungeon we were conquering anyway. Perfect excuse to win over the empire's top artisan completely.
Just as we'd finished preparations and were leaving the market.
*Huh?*
My gaze locked onto a leather stall in one corner of the market.
A palm-sized leather scrap mixed among the others. Reddish haze rising from it.
*That effect... looks familiar.*
The same haze that rose from metal surfaces when my Leatherworking skill unlocked.
“Haribal?”
Leaving Luna behind, I approached the stall as if drawn, touching the leather.
I'd never handled anything like it, but somehow, my mind pictured what I could make with it.
*Is this a special material?*
Small in volume and area, perfect for gloves or bracers.
Improperly tanned, with bits of beast fur still clinging here and there.
“How much for this?”
“Huh? Wouldn't a properly processed one be better?”
“No. This one's good.”
I paid without haggling and took the leather.
*It said weapon, but doesn't feel like for my weapon.*
Gloves, then? Material for Ran's gauntlets?
Or...
Either way, it seemed useful. Better to stock up.
Who knew Leatherworking came with material appraisal like an Appraiser's Eye.
Gave me every reason to hit every shop in every village from now on.
“H-Haribal! Wait!”
As we were about to leave Grabner, a familiar voice stopped us.
Ellier. He came running, breathless, and bowed his head abruptly.
“Sorry! Didn't mean to drag you into my dad's stubbornness. You don't have to bring back that Dronium or whatever!”
He thought yesterday's thing would burden me.
I actually liked it.
Separately, I'd eavesdropped on Enedor yesterday and wondered the same.
Was I just feeding his dungeon addiction and ruining the kid's life?
Maintaining this distance was best for both Ellier and me.
“Not your fault to apologize for.”
I patted his shoulder, and he pulled something from his pocket, pressing it into my hand.
“Not much as compensation, but take this at least.”
Healing bombs, bait bombs, reactive bombs. A pouch full of the various bombs Ellier normally used.
The bait bombs especially drew monster aggro, serving as instant tanks.
I'd worried inwardly, but Ellier had great game sense.
He'd packed nothing but utility bombs, not DPS ones. Exactly what our DPS-overflowing party needed.
“Prototypes still, so this is all, but I'll have more ready by the time you return.”
“Will put them to good use.”
He nodded in relief only after I pocketed the pouch without protest.
Leaving him behind, we headed once more to the abandoned mine.
⁎⁎⁎
Entering the abandoned mine, the sulfur smell greeted us without fail.
We pulled antidote potions from our backpacks and downed them in one go.
The biggest difference between herbs and potions was prevention.
Drinking ahead like this kept us immune during the duration.
The sharp medicinal effect spread through my body, pushing out the sulfur mist trying to seep into every lung corner.
Of course, no room for complacency.
We still hadn't located the third egg, regenerated after hatching yesterday.
This run, we'd approach with a different mindset.
*Speed run.*
At my signal, I kicked off the ground, and Adelin followed seamlessly.
Luna used mana to glide along like skating on flames, matching our pace effortlessly.
With the map complete from yesterday's scout, we headed straight for the first demon egg spot.
Kieeeek!
Imps swarmed us just like yesterday.
Numbers more than double.
Normally, it'd be turn-based combat, picking them off one by one.
╔═════════╗
◈Abyss Core - René◈
╠═════════╣
▸ Equipped Shards: 16/16
◎ ◎ ◎ ◎
◎ ★ ★ ★
★ ★ ◆ ◆
◆ ◆ ◆ ◆
╠═════════╣
◎ = Green Shard III x5
★ = Black Shard III x5
◆ = [Dark Cloud]
◆ = [Black Cloud]
◆ = [Adamant]
◆ = [Adamant]
◆ = [Self-Love]
◆ = [Flying Edge]
╠═════════╣
▸ Ability Bonuses
Attack Power: 1
Physique: 16
Defense: 4
Critical Hit: 23
Agility: 26
╚═════════╝
Before coming, I'd swapped half the green shards for black ones.
Adelin would handle DPS anyway.
I launched toward the imp swarm.
Slash! Slash!
Instant Kill, which fizzled yesterday from low Agility, now triggered like lightning.
“Oh? Movements totally different from yesterday.”
“All thanks to the instructor.”
Buses weren't just for bosses.
The real value was fine-tuning every detail for convenience.
We cleared imps comfortably, barreling down the rails unimpeded.
Finally, the first demon egg before us.
Luna raised her staff toward the flesh mass spewing sulfur mist.
“Fire Scheme.”
Six violet fireballs orbited her like satellites.
Boom boom boom!
They slammed into the egg in succession, bursting the flesh mass.
Screeeee!
The unh hatched monster inside shrieked its death cry and exploded.
The surrounding sulfur mist thinned.
“Good. Next!”
The path to the second egg wasn't smooth.
Growls echoed from the darkness.
Grrrrr...
One, two, three... over ten pairs of red eyes.
Hellhounds, hell's hunting dogs.
They didn't fly like imps, but their pack hunting made getting hit once often fatal.
Imps failed Instant Kill from pure Agility shortage, but these truly resisted it.
We were on a narrow rail. Perfect encirclement setup.
Adelin started serious stretching.
She figured to go all-out against these.
“It's fine.”
I pulled out a bait bomb from Ellier.
“That from Ellier? What's it do?”
“Yeah. These guys will love it to death.”
I yanked the pin and tossed it into their midst.
Roll roll.
It stopped, hissing as red smoke billowed out.
Gah?!
Yap! Yap!
Grrr!
Hellhounds' eyes snapped to the bomb.
Bait bombs amplified unpurified mana from shard fragments.
Mana-addicted monsters couldn't resist, like drugs.
In the original, they pulled even bosses briefly, scaling with Ellier's level.
Sure enough, hellhounds drooled like cats with catnip, swarming the bomb.
“See. Definitely works.”
“So amazing... just like real puppies.”
“Habits are similar.”
Their clustering was our chance.
Adelin's sword cleaved the air boldly.
Boom!
The packed hellhounds turned to dust from one sword beam, all together.
We raced down the clear path to the second egg, where Adelin burst it easily.
One left.
We'd scoured yesterday's recon areas—no egg.
Then I recalled one unchecked spot.
The vertical shaft for ventilation.
Too high, skipped it.
We'd found eggs before climbing anyway.
Normally, mist would've vented there, but it pooled thicker nearby.
“Up there? Smells worse.”
“Only spot left. Perfect exit for mist, ideal for hatching.”
“Maybe.”
Adelin tensed her thighs, kicked off, and leaped dozens of meters up the rock face.
Boom!
With Leap of Trust, she waved from above.
“You were right. Come up!”
Luna and I stared blankly at each other.
*How?*
Bring us too.
“No choice.”
“Kyaa?!”
I scooped Luna up and started climbing the rock face.
Luna buried her flushed face in my chest.
Grunting, we reached the top—mist far thicker than below.
Unbreathable without potions.
Crawling through a person-sized hole awhile, we spotted the final third demon egg.
“Found it.”
As Adelin drew her sword.
Screeeee!
With eerie noise, rocks jutting from shaft walls animated.
“Huh. Not statues.”
“Who installs statues here?”
Gargoyles.
Stone-skinned, winged monsters' eyes gleamed viciously.
Around twenty.
Not great odds.
Narrow space, no footing.
Opponents had imp speed plus hellhound durability.
At least not elites.
“Ugh, seriously. Flying mobs are what I hate most.”
Agreed.
Air mobs, especially tough ones, were poison to swordsmen.
Original required jump attacks and combos, but misses stressed players out.
Adelin could shatter with sword beams, but bad control risked collapsing the shaft.
“It's fine.”
“Again?”
I reached into the pouch again.
“Knew this might happen, so prepared.”
Who? Ellier.
Tossed three bombs upward.
“Blow 'em!”
Luna fired violet fireballs on cue.
Boom!
Struck bombs burst midair, spraying sticky yellow goo like nets.
Sticky bombs.
Kreek?!
Gliding gargoyles got slimed.
Main ingredient: spiderwebs from face-spiders, ground with shards.
Monsters didn't drop mats on death, but harvestable byproducts like webs.
The adhesive that turned Senia into a roll glued gargoyle wings and joints instantly.
Plop plop plop!
“Huh?”
“They're falling!”
Wings bound, they plummeted like fly larvae.
Defenseless falling rocks.
Perfect targets.
“Ha! This stuff's gold!”
Adelin whooped, swinging her sword.
Luna and I added firepower.
Crunch! Boom!
Gargoyles shattered on impact in midair.
No matter their tough hides, tofu against Adelin's strikes.
Meanwhile, I dashed to the egg without missing a beat.
“Luna!”
“Yes!”
Her violet flames flew at the egg.
My sword pierced its core simultaneously.
Stab!
It deflated with a scream.
Adelin beheaded the last gargoyle right after.
“Done?”
Then.
Rumble...!!
Reacting to Adelin's perfect revival flag, the whole shaft shook wildly.
Peering down the rock face, deep darkness's mist cleared slowly.
Sulfur smell vanished like a lie, revealing the mine's deepest depths below.
An iron door, previously fog-hidden, scraped open like nails on chalkboard.
Mid-boss room.
“Let's go. Time to mine Dronium.”