Chapter 229: Scenario Dungeon (5)
Chapter 229: Scenario Dungeon (5)
I scooped up Iris, whose short legs made her a slow runner, and kicked off the ground.
"Let’s go!"
I had the buffs from Helena, the Blood Force I’d finally managed to use—albeit crudely—and on top of that, standard enhancement magic and potions.
Thanks to those two factors, my current running speed had been pushed to a considerable level.
Carla was being carried by Helena, and Elisha by Iona, both following closely behind me. As for Gilbert, he was a high-ranking Holy Knight and wasn't carrying anyone, so his speed went without saying.
After sprinting like mad for a short while, we arrived at the scene of destruction created by Iris and Iona.
Blood crystals were embedded everywhere, chunks of flesh were scattered about, and the heat of the magic still lingered in the air.
Since they had followed my request to clear out only the monsters, finding the side path in the corner wasn't difficult at all.
"Over there!"
Iris and Iona’s magic had been stronger than expected, so there was no need to worry about being followed.
We veered off to the side, leaving the central area where the Chimeras were swarming. Before long, a small cave entrance appeared.
The inside was a complex, maze-like place, but if one knew the right path, it was possible to reach the vicinity of the fortress in one go with minimal combat.
And thanks to my Excellent Memory trait, I had the maps created by H&A players completely memorized.
I confidently took the lead, guiding the group through the cave. I chose our path at several forks without a moment's hesitation.
The narrow, dark passage suddenly widened, revealing a large cavern. And there, dozens of pairs of eyes were staring back at us.
They were likely creatures that had wandered in recklessly, gotten lost, and ended up trapped.
While it was true this cave minimized combat, it didn't mean we could avoid it entirely.
Helena’s eyes narrowed slightly as she confirmed the presence of the monsters.
"It would be inconvenient to fight like this. My Lord, bring Your light here."
Whoosh—
Her Holy Armor glowed brilliantly in response to her short prayer.
It was bright enough to illuminate the entire cavern, yet strangely, it didn't sting the eyes. Thanks to that, we could clearly see the Chimeras glaring at us from the darkness.
"...What a disgusting sight."
"You can say that again."
As I nodded at Helena’s remark, Iris wiggled down from my back and spoke.
"Is that not the nature of a Chimera? They may not be as bad as the Undead, but they are still existences that defy providence. It is only natural to feel revulsion."
"Is a mage who reaches for the impossible allowed to say that?"
"Turning the impossible into the possible and defying providence are similar, yet different. I have much to say on that, as confusing the two can lead to one being consumed by magic... but I suppose that will have to wait. It seems those things over there have no intention of waiting patiently."
Perhaps her body felt stiff from being shaken around while clinging to me; Iris stretched her short limbs to loosen up.
A few Chimeras approached her, drooling.
They must have been starving, trapped in a place like this. Iris, looking like a perfect bite-sized snack, was enough to make their eyes roll back.
Of course, it wasn't a very wise choice.
"Hmph."
Iris snorted and raised her staff. The gesture was strangely reminiscent of Elisha.
The Chimeras seemed to have reached an agreement, as they split into small groups and licked their chops while eyeing different members of our party.
Naturally, there were those targeting me as well.
One had the head of a Greenskin that looked like an Orc, and a torso made of various hides stitched together to crudely mimic a bear.
While the base materials for each monster differed slightly, they all shared the same carapace covering their vitals and a metallic, blade-like tail.
A dark purple fluid oozed like stains from every part of their bodies; that was undoubtedly the source of the stench.
These were made by appropriately synthesizing casualties commonly found during war—specifically, monsters that were barely clinging to life or those already dead.
Most were crudely made, as if they were just being recycled, but a few masterpieces existed that had been crafted with genuine care.
"Kieeeeeeeek!!"
The hideous thing opening its maw in front of me didn't seem to be one of those masterpieces.
Despite having the head of a highly intelligent Greenskin, it couldn't even speak properly, as if something had gone wrong during its transformation into a Chimera.
However, its screech acted as a trigger, and the Chimeras in the cavern began to charge all at once.
Relying on their constitutions specialized for regeneration and defense, they rushed forward, leading with their massive bulks.
I felt a sense of pressure, as if a giant wall were closing in... but that didn't mean they were without weaknesses.
"Thunderbolt!"
I fired a bolt of lightning straight into the maw of the creature that was stupidly screaming as it charged.
Zap!
The pale flash of lightning sizzled through the inside of its mouth.
"Grrrrk..."
The Chimera collapsed on the spot, foaming at the mouth.
These things could fight for quite a while even if their bodies were cut in half, but there was nothing they could do if their brains were fried.
The Alchemists knew this well, so they protected the head—the only weakness—with multiple layers of carapace like a helmet... but that didn't matter if you could penetrate it with electricity from the inside.
I looked away from the twitching creature and swung my dagger at another Chimera that had closed the distance.
Since it wasn't a cultist, there was no guaranteed follow-up attack, but the Shining Lion Dagger was a fine weapon in its own right.
At the very least, it was more than enough to slice through the flesh between the plates of the carapace.
"Kyaaaaak!"
The Chimera grew even more enraged as it felt the pain. It raised a massive fist—belonging to God knows what monster—but I was faster.
"Gale Tornado."
The mana projected through the dagger stirred up a violent wind inside the wound.
Fwoosh!
Though its skin remained intact, its internal organs were turned to mush. The creature collapsed, vomiting dark purple fluid from its eyes, nose, and mouth.
Thud.
In an instant, two of the Chimeras charging at me were dead.
I might have become an Intermediate Magician, but since it still took quite a while to cast Intermediate Magic, I had tried using Low-grade Magic instead... and it turned out to be sufficient as long as I aimed for the weaknesses.
Thanks to my increased physical stats and buffs, I could stay one step ahead even in close-quarters combat.
Since I had dealt with all the Chimeras that had lunged at me, I turned my head to check on the others.
Carla was handling the Chimeras in a textbook fashion.
First, she backed away behind the others to create distance, then she bound their feet with earth magic before systematically finishing them off one by one with fire magic.
She seemed to be struggling a bit more than usual, likely because her combat style wasn't suited for fighting in such close quarters.
On the other hand, Elisha was practically flying.
As if she had decided to prioritize speed over power like me, she was firing off Low-grade Magic in rapid succession.
No, this went beyond having no delay; it was almost at the level of multi-casting.
No matter how tough a body was or how good its recovery, anything would die if it kept getting hit.
the sheer barrage of magic acted as a deterrent, leaving the Chimeras unable to do anything as their bodies crumbled and burned until they could no longer move.
Both of them were fighting well, following my advice to use either poison or fire.
Iris was using magic that combined the elements of fire and earth to bind and attack simultaneously.
Chimeras were either trapped in stone prisons rising from the floor and burned to death, or blown to pieces by exploding fragments.
She looked impressive, not moving a single inch from her spot as if this were all too easy.
In contrast, Iona was using weapons made from her Blood Manipulation Technique to personally carve through the Chimeras one by one. Surprisingly, she sliced through thick muscle and carapace as if they were soft butter.
Furthermore, thanks to some kind of magic, a thin film of blood adhered to the cut surfaces, hindering regeneration and causing them to die quickly.
Gilbert was also fighting at the front, just like Iona.
Well... there was no need to even mention the combat prowess of a high-ranking Holy Knight of the Church of Righteous Light.
Gilbert swung his greatsword as if this were nothing, cleaving through Chimeras in a single stroke.
Since these Chimeras were mass-produced based on the Authority of Confused Unity, an Evil God, the holy power imbued in Gilbert’s greatsword acted like a poison.
Every time his blade cut through the air, the pile of Chimera corpses grew. It was quite a sight.
Finally, there was Helena. She had awakened as a Saintess, and recently, she had even been learning combat techniques from Gilbert—not for self-defense, but to strike down enemies.
While I trusted her significantly improved skills, I had been a bit worried about her lack of experience...
"You motherless monster born in a cold laboratory! Hurry up and die!"
Helena shouted surprisingly harsh insults in a calm tone as she brought her mace down on a Chimera’s skull.
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!
The carapace was so hard that it seemed to hold up at first, but after several strikes, it couldn't withstand the accumulated impact and the carapace—softened by the infusion of holy power—shattered.
Naturally, the Chimera’s head was crushed along with it.
After sending that one back to the earth, she grabbed the wrist of another Chimera that was struggling to break through her holy shield.
"How dare you! Where do you think you're putting your hands!"
The Chimera tried its best to escape, but it couldn't overcome Helena’s physical strength, which had been reinforced to an absurd degree by holy power.
"Kieee..."
The creature let out a weak sound in its helplessness... but Helena showed no mercy and brought her mace down without hesitation.
Boom!
"You profane thing!"
As if she had gained some kind of enlightenment from cracking the previous skull, this time the head shattered in a single blow.
Even considering the bonus damage from holy power, was this even possible? These things were supposed to be tank-type Chimeras...
Helena, who was suspiciously good with a mace, began to look around.
However, the one she had just killed was the last Chimera in the cavern.
Losing her target, Helena let out a slightly disappointed sigh and looked toward me.
Then, with a face splattered with Chimera blood, she gave a slightly bashful smile.
"Ahem. Just as the Righteous Light said, the mace does have a very satisfying feel to it."
"Yes... so it seems."
It was good that Helena had grown stronger. But...
Uh... is this really okay?
Yandel has no clue...!!