Chapter 84
Chapter 84
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 84
Chapter Title: Undead Dungeon (5)
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‘As expected, it splits.’
Thankfully, the second phase pattern was the same as in the original.
Extinguishing the braziers to blanket the battlefield in darkness, then splitting the greatsword into dual blades.
Wielding those twin swords, Negalrone unleashed attacks that were incomparably faster and more erratic than before.
Especially in the darkness, its attack power and speed surged dramatically, and it even used a stealth-like technique.
The strategy was to relight the fires and drag it back into the light.
Because under the light, Negalrone suffered debuffs that lowered all its stats and increased the damage it took.
And right now, thanks to Aren, we’d secured half the battlefield the moment the fight began.
More than anything, splitting the greatsword was a famous symbol of its defeat.
‘Just keep it pinned in the light.’
Alicia and Mine seemed to read my mind, taking positions along the boundary where the light fell.
That was when Negalrone twisted its bones once more.
A movement far swifter and more agile than before.
Kiririk!
It kicked off the ground and slid toward me like a shadow.
“Eek! Rozia!”
Mine tried to summon Rozia immediately, but the thing’s speed outpaced her reaction time.
Its twin swords traced crossing arcs, aiming for my neck and waist simultaneously.
But.
‘I see it.’
The fruits of my time tumbling through Haribal Dungeon shone here.
In terms of raw speed and attack gaps, even if its power was greater on this side, Malias’s Thousand Knives held the edge.
With the Flower Blooms for Eleven Days buff still active.
Kakang!
I tilted my sword diagonally and leaned forward, deflecting the strike aimed at my neck.
[Just Guard!]
In the next instant, I twisted my waist to parry the rising blow from below.
[Just Guard!]
My body flew back a little, but the impact was incomparably lighter than before.
With the light debuff in effect, the attack’s power had dropped sharply.
Mine’s turn.
Mine hurled her heel at Negalrone once more.
Pung!
The explosion of holy power rattled its shoulder bones.
Staggering, it retreated, clearly scheming to escape the light.
But we had someone who wouldn’t miss that intent.
Alicia’s turn.
“Where do you think you’re running, you bag of bones!”
Shwaaaa!
Alicia swung her fan, draping a curtain of red mana along the boundary of light and dark.
Level 18 Art: Crimson Veil.
An Art meant for defense in the original.
‘She can use it to block movement like that?’
I was newly impressed by Alicia’s Art versatility.
Negalrone’s body, trying to flee into the darkness, bounced off the invisible barrier.
My turn.
Riding the momentum of my flight, I spun in midair.
Twisting my sword, I inscribed a weak point on its ribcage.
[Weak!]
Even so, Negalrone desperately charged toward the darkness.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
I blocked its retreat and inscribed Corner Slash on its ankle once more.
- Booooo!
Roaring, it slammed its twin swords into the ground.
Negalrone’s turn.
‘It’s using it?’
Blue soulfire ignited from within its ribcage.
The precursor to Specter Wave.
Normally, dozens of specters would erupt from the ground and swarm us.
But.
“……?”
Nothing happened.
It had just wasted its power pointlessly.
‘As expected.’
My prediction was spot on.
All the dungeon’s specters were elsewhere right now.
‘Gone to Aren? No, if they had, he couldn’t have lit the torches.’
My mind raced.
Kaisel’s group couldn’t enter the dungeon, and no specter-type monsters were visible.
Someone had deliberately twisted this dungeon’s structure.
Not for our benefit, that much was clear.
‘What’s there to agonize over?’
Realizing Specter Wave had failed, Negalrone looked around in panic.
Its gaze fell on the blazing left torch.
It unleashed a sword gust to extinguish it, but the torch reignited immediately.
Aren’s perfect maintenance.
In the end, Negalrone abandoned attacking and raised its guard.
“Whew.”
Space Slash, torches, twin swords, failed Specter Wave.
I’d confirmed every pattern from the original Negalrone.
I’d seen all its cards.
With a glance at Alicia, she nodded, chin tilted by her fan tip, understanding my intent.
“Let’s end this.”
Mine’s turn.
She gathered all her remaining holy power.
Rozia’s mace and her own resonated, forming a pillar of light over the arena.
“Holy Calling!”
The fused holy spheres became a searing flash that engulfed Negalrone.
- Kyaaaaaaa!
Its bones began melting in the sacred flames.
Even then, Negalrone thrashed wildly, trying to hurl itself into the darkness.
Alicia’s turn.
“Time to sleep, specter.”
Alicia swung her fan.
The Crimson Veil now coiled around Negalrone’s entire body like ropes.
Its desperate struggles within the pouring pillar of light were completely sealed.
My turn.
“Chronodive.”
I kicked off the ground and leaped into the pillar of light.
Inscribing the final weak point on its body, followed by Gale Storm.
Gray winds mercilessly tore through the exposed bones.
Finishing blow.
Condensing all my energy into the sword tip.
“Haribal Break.”
I brought it down.
The descending sword traced a path of death.
Kwaaaaaaang!!
With a sonic boom, my sword shattered Negalrone’s core in one strike.
- ……Kr……
Vast mana poured from the shattered purple core, and the light faded from its eyes.
The skeletal giant crumbled into dust and scattered.
All that remained where Negalrone vanished was a single treasure chest.
Mid-boss: Negalrone.
Subjugation complete.
⁎⁎⁎
“Haa, haa…!”
“Damn…! How long do we have to keep this up…?”
“No rest… I guess…”
The dungeon’s mana blocked their view below the ramparts.
Only the occasional flying sword aura and vibrations traveling through the walls hinted at the desperate battle below.
“This makes… three times?”
“Then… we head to the other side again?”
Aren, Mar, Pasha.
The three were battered from endless fights with swarming monsters.
The biggest issue was having no clue about the battle’s progress.
That sword aura was surely the boss’s.
But no auras didn’t guarantee Haribal’s victory.
They might be getting overwhelmingly pushed, not even needing to attack.
Constant auras didn’t mean disadvantage either.
But they couldn’t leave their post.
Their mission was to defend the torches, not judge the fight.
That was when monsters surged from the passage end again.
“Urgh… No breaks.”
“This much… we prepared for. Look at Aren.”
Aren gripped his saber firmly, advancing toward the monsters without issue.
Seeing his back, the other two gritted their teeth and stood.
“The child of prophecy, huh? Fine. We’ll stick it out too.”
“Yeah… we promised…!”
As the three stood shoulder-to-shoulder, weapons aimed at the monsters.
Shweeeeeek!
A sharp sonic boom pierced from the passage depths, a streak of light flying in.
- Kyak!
The flash incinerated the monster horde.
Soldiers holding torches charged from the darkness, Kaisel at their fore.
His presence here meant Haribal’s victory.
“…Good.”
Aren could finally lower his sword.
⁎⁎⁎
With the mana crushing the arena gone, the desolate old fortress ruins came into view.
They’d reclaimed the outer keep.
In truth, just a portion of the plateau atop Ronwood Mountain.
But no more descending to base camp for sleep and climbing back.
Ahead, Kaisel and the soldiers bowed to Alicia.
How long since defeating Negalrone?
Aren’s group merged with Kaisel’s.
Kaisel’s had charged the passage at full speed the moment the gate opened, linking with Aren and reaching here.
“We entered the instant the barrier vanished. Sorry for the delay, Your Highness.”
“No. You fulfilled your roles admirably. Rather, praise them.”
Alicia’s gaze fell on Aren, Pasha, and Mar.
“Thanks to them, we won.”
Then Pasha approached Mine.
“……Thanks.”
We explained the boss fight to Aren’s group.
Pasha didn’t know the name Negalrone, but knew the bone knight had slaughtered his father and soldiers before.
He quickly realized the monster we felled was his father’s enemy.
“……You avenged… Dad.”
“Pasha.”
Mine pulled a small locket from her bosom and handed it to him.
“Ah…!”
A worn, rusted locket.
Inside was a faded photo of his father, mother, and young Pasha.
The treasure chest from Negalrone held no items, oddly.
No shards, no gear.
Not even the [Bone] series guaranteed from it.
Instead, it contained mementos of soldiers who’d died here long ago, including the locket just given to Pasha.
“……Dad.”
Tears streamed down Pasha’s cheeks.
Watching silently, Mine embraced his shoulders.
“A splendid victory. Everyone, rest well! Tomorrow, we’ll use today’s triumph to conquer this dungeon in one go!”
That night, we set up camp atop the summit.
Three days of assault.
Day one’s goal achieved.
Around the campfire sat me, Alicia, Mine, and Aren.
“Sent Pasha and Mar back.”
Having received the mementos, Pasha thanked us repeatedly and descended with Mar.
Their wounds and mementos aside, their capabilities couldn’t keep up with further assaults.
“Well done, everyone. Especially you, Aren—your contribution was huge.”
“Thank you. But it’s not over yet.”
“Mine, you shattered those past specters admirably.”
Despite the praise, Mine stared grimly at the dungeon.
“Any issues?”
“……No nun’s memento.”
She was right.
The chest had soldiers’ items, but oddly, none from the nun who’d cared for her.
This assault felt off in many ways.
“Senior. Isn’t this weird?”
“Of course it’s weird.”
That unease wasn’t just mine—we all felt it.
“Dungeon bosses always dropped gear or special shards before. Not this time.”
RPGs are designed with stepped farming.
Boss rewards pave the next assault.
You grow stronger with each boss.
But sometimes I wondered.
Why would bosses send minions first to empower players?
That was exactly the unease I felt.
Using Negalrone’s rewards would’ve eased the next fight.
Someone was deliberately blocking that.
“Tomorrow will be tougher than today.”
“I know. Rest well tonight.”
Silence fell with her words.
Tatak. Tatak.
Only the campfire’s crackle echoed on the summit.
⁎⁎⁎
The next day.
We seized the inner keep far too easily.
Without a single casualty.
For some reason, even with Kaisel and all the soldiers entering, the dungeon gate didn’t close.
Kaisel’s soldiers ground the pouring monsters like a mill.
The path to the inner keep was a total rout.
“Maintain formation! Spearmen, advance!”
We just followed behind.
Aside from Mine healing wounded soldiers occasionally, we had nothing to do.
No separate boss in the inner keep meant even less for us.
Amid this one-sided purge.
“Yesterday it blocked us so fiercely, today it’s like the dungeon’s opening the way itself.”
Alicia murmured softly.
“…Feels like we got an invitation.”