Chapter 28
Chapter 28
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 28
Chapter Title: Hidden Class (1)
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“Uh… Bio? Isn’t this a bit much…?”
Just as I was about to ask, the coffins began to open.
*Creeeak— Creeeak—*
Thousands of bats started gathering in the center.
—There's only one enemy, though?
Only one?
The bats gathered in the middle clumped together, forming a massive giant easily twice my height.
The moment two red eyes appeared in what I presumed was its head, its body flashed with a blue light.
So, it's a Floor Boss, all right.
“A human, indeed. I wonder how long it's been since I've had such a special treat.”
Ugh, that sent shivers down my spine.
Its voice sounded like nails scratching a chalkboard.
“You're the special treat, and you're mine!”
No questions asked. The first strike wins!
I immediately raised my sword and charged at it.
“A human who doesn't know its place… Gack!”
*Swish—*
It must have underestimated me, as it didn't defend itself at all, allowing me to easily slash its leg.
…?
It definitely screamed, and black blood gushed out, so I thought I'd landed a solid hit. But then…
The black blood that had spilled onto the floor was absorbed back into its body as if time were rewinding, and the wound healed.
—The Lord of Darkness possesses regenerative abilities far superior to a troll's.
Hey, you could've told me that sooner!
“How dare you, a mere human!”
Dozens of black orbs materialized in the air and rained down on me… but why did they seem so slow?
*Boom— Boom— Boom—*
I dodged most of them with ease, and for the ones in slightly awkward positions, I infused my sword with mana and batted them away one by one.
“What? How did you… all the mana bullets…”
Even the monster seemed flustered.
It must be thanks to my agility stat, which has been massively boosted by my sword and Bio.
Without Hanna, my agility is down by 20, but Bio gives me +100 to all stats, and Kalisina's Fang adds 15% plus 150.
Maybe the reason it let me land an attack so easily wasn't because it was careless, but because I was too fast for it to react.
No, this isn't just manageable.
“You're still just a human! Become my special treat!”
Far more orbs appeared than before, but they were still slow.
*Boom— Boom—*
I dodged them lightly, closed the distance again, and swung my sword.
*Swish— Swish—*
“Gaaah! You little rat! But attacks like that are useless.”
Are they really?
The black orbs kept targeting me, but I didn't back away.
If this thing has regeneration greater than a troll's, then I just have to keep attacking until its regeneration can't keep up.
*Boom— Boom—*
Dodging and deflecting the slow-moving black orbs, I stabbed and slashed at its body.
*Swish— Stab— Swish—*
“Guaaaargh! This rat!”
*Thud—*
It must have realized it couldn't hit me with the orbs, as it now tried to crush me with its massive body, but it was no use.
I was a step ahead in speed—no, ten steps.
Besides, is my gear just any old equipment?
*Swish— Swish—*
[Special effect of Kalisina's Fang, Bleed, has been activated.]
[Special effect of Frost Gauntlets, Freeze, has been activated.]
[Special effect of Kalisina's Fang, Paralysis, has been activated.]
[Special effect of Hollow Emblem, Poison, has been activated.]
As the number of my attacks increased, these notification windows had been rapidly appearing and disappearing.
Of course, the bleed effect didn't seem to last long due to its regeneration. But a faint green hue spread over its body, and frost began to form.
*Whoosh—*
It wasn't fast to begin with, but now it was so slow it was almost yawn-inducing, even pausing intermittently due to paralysis.
[Special effect of Kalisina's Fang, Curse of the Demonic Dragon, has been activated.]
Oh, the Curse of the Demonic Dragon activated too.
*Stab—*
The sword felt like it was sinking in smoother and deeper.
*Swish—*
“Gyaaaaaah!”
Just as I thought, its recovery speed had slowed down noticeably.
—Hey, you're not supposed to fight the Lord of Darkness so… brutishly.
Bio chimed in with what was either advice or a distraction, but I ignored him and focused solely on my sword and the opponent before me.
Does the method matter?
As long as it works, who cares how?
I ignored him and swung my sword again, but huh?
The sensation of that last slash was completely different from the others.
An eerie feeling enveloped my entire body, and the world turned gray.
[Special effect of Hollow Emblem, Instant Death, has been activated.]
Instant Death activated?
Suddenly, a disc appeared in mid-air.
In its center was a black needle, like a clock's hand, and the disc was painted half red and half black.
The disc began to spin, then soon came to a stop.
The black needle pointed to the red section.
The grayness receded, and time began to flow again.
[You have defeated the 50th Floor Boss, Blakey the Lord of Darkness.]
[You have leveled up.]
[You have leveled up.]
[You have leveled up.]
[You have leveled up.]
[You have acquired the achievement: Ruler of the 50th Floor, Slayer of the Lord of Darkness. All Stats +5, Status Effect Resistance +10%.]
I thought the monster had used some kind of skill, but the effect was incredibly unique.
Instant Death had never activated before, so I had forgotten about it.
It must have triggered this time because of the sheer number of attacks. It's fascinating.
In most games, overpowered effects like Instant Death don't work on boss monsters.
Of course, I did swing my sword well over a hundred times, but the fact that it can even trigger on a boss proves Elsia is a truly great game.
“What… what did you just do?”
Bio, who had been hidden until now, revealed himself.
“How was that? I do pretty well even without my companions, right?”
The Instant Death effect made for a somewhat anticlimactic finish, but it was an undeniable fact that I had been overwhelming it even before that.
“It's not about you doing well. I felt the power of the Hell King just now. What in the world did you do…?”
The Hell King?
“Who's the Hell King? What activated just now was an option on this piece of gear…”
When I lifted my head to show him the necklace, Bio frowned.
“One of the Hell King's nasty little toys.”
“So, who is this Hell King?”
I had no idea what Bio was talking about.
The item description didn't mention the words "Hell King" at all.
“There's a piece of trash who cares for nothing but death. Where did you get that nasty toy?”
“I got it while hunting with my other companions. Why is it a nasty toy?”
“It's a trick woven with mana. Throw it away right now.”
A trick? Wait a minute, throw this away?
“What are you talking about?”
Telling me to throw away this amazing necklace that can one-shot a Floor Boss.
He's crossing a line.
“Sigh. Didn't you feel it just now? When the Hell King's power manifested, it must have affected you too.”
Is he talking about the effect that appeared with that eerie feeling?
It was a bit strange, but I didn't feel anything particularly wrong…
“I felt something a little weird, but nothing happened. And just like the item description said, the enemy died in one hit.”
“Nothing happened? If you were unlucky, it would have been you who died, not the Lord of Darkness.”
I would have died?
“What are you saying?”
Bio just shook his head… huh?
He was suddenly right in front of me.
“B-Bio?”
What the…
My agility should be well over 300 right now, but I didn't even see him move.
“Stay still. I'm doing this because I think it'll be faster to show you directly.”
“Show me what… Hey!”
Bio grabbed my necklace, and a violet light burst forth, turning the skull red.
“I've disrupted the Hell King's power that was concealing the necklace's true nature. See for yourself.”
His arbitrary actions were starting to annoy me, but his expression was so serious that I placed my hand on the necklace.
[Emblem of Bahamut, the Hell King (Unique)
A cursed necklace spread across the world by Bahamut, the Hell King.
Adorned with a ghastly green skull, a symbol of darkness.
Special Effects
10% chance to inflict the Poison status effect on the target.
1% chance on attack to activate Roulette of Death.
(Roulette of Death: A roulette spins for both the target and the owner. The one chosen dies instantly.)]
Wh-what is this?
“What kind of garbage item is this…?”
I got goosebumps… No, my whole body is trembling.
If the roulette had landed on me…
The thought alone is terrifying.
“I told you earlier. It's a nasty toy from a piece of trash who knows nothing but death.”
Is it right to call something this dangerous a toy?
No, first, I need to apologize.
“Hey, Bio, I'm sorry. For not believing you…”
I tried to bow my head, but my body wouldn't listen.
“Bio?”
“Don't be gross. Apologizing between us? Forget it.”
“Bio…”
“I've seen plenty of these things, and you didn't even know about the Hell King. I probably didn't explain it well, either. Don't worry about it.”
He scratched his head awkwardly with an unconcerned expression, and I was genuinely touched.
He had every right to be offended….
“Thanks for accepting my apology.”
“I said I'm not accepting it. No need for apologies between companions.”
His calm words and actions made me feel ashamed for resenting him and grumbling about him taking my sword.
From now on, I vowed to trust Bio's word, no matter how absurd it sounded.
“More importantly, aren't you going to throw that necklace away?”
Ah, I was so moved that I'd completely forgotten.
I immediately took it off and threw it on the ground…
“Kkyuing!”
Goldie scurried over and promptly gobbled up the necklace.
“Hey! What are you doing eating garbage like that! Bio, grab him!”
“Kkyuing?”
Bio grabbed Goldie by the scruff of his neck as he tilted his head.
“Kkyuiing…”
He let out a pathetic cry, but this wasn't the time to let him off.
“Hold him tight.”
I quickly pried Goldie's mouth open.
“I think he's already swallowed it.”
Just as Bio said, he must have swallowed it, as not even the chain was visible.
“Hey, you little punk, you just swallow it without chewing?”
Last time, he chewed up the sword…
“Hyeon-ung, what's wrong?”
“You're not supposed to feed a Golden Dragon just anything…”
Alpen had said that the item a Golden Dragon brings back after a month is heavily influenced by the amount of money and the items it has eaten.
I wanted to press its stomach or throat to make it vomit, but I couldn't, since that was supposedly fatal to Golden Dragons…
Of course, I'd fed it plenty of other items besides that piece of junk, but I was still anxious.
What if an incredibly good piece of equipment came out with an option like the Roulette of Death? I wouldn't be able to use it.
After I briefly explained the situation, Bio nodded in understanding.
“Kkyuing! Kkyuing!”
The little brat is driving me crazy.
“Hyeon-ung? You seem really frustrated. Should I let him go now?”
“Uh… no, keep holding him.”
It was already spilled milk, so I was about to tell him to let go, but I changed my mind the moment I saw where Goldie was looking.
“Kkyuing! Kkyuiing!”
He was squawking as if protesting to be put down, but I wasn't falling for it.
“You little punk, have you no shame? You want to eat that too?”
“Kkyuing!”
Goldie's gaze was fixed on the corpse of the Lord of Darkness.
I wanted to give him a good flick on the head, but he's as delicate as a sunfish, so I held back.
I told Bio to keep a firm grip on him and placed my hand on the corpse of the Lord of Darkness.
[You have acquired Blakey's Heart.]
[You have acquired 1x Unique Grimoire: Blood Storm.]
[You have acquired 3x Blessed Weapon Enhancement Scrolls.]
[You have acquired 3x Blessed Armor Enhancement Scrolls.]
[You have acquired the Knight's Stigma.]
[You have acquired the Ghost Emblem.]
…
The notification windows seemed endless.
As expected of a 50th Floor Boss, the rewards are really sweet… Huh?
[You have acquired 1x Tome of Hidden Class Change.]