Chapter 14
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 14
Chapter Title: Floor 2 - Lv.70 Solar Griffin (3)
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Shotguns are surprisingly ineffective against large beasts.
Of course, back on modern Earth, you'd have to be talking about elephants or rhinos before anyone would complain about their power.
Against wild animals, they're more than enough for self-defense.
But against house-sized monsters like griffons? They're truly useless.
Even so, guns on the lower floors are cheat keys in their own right.
Fear.
This is another element that didn't exist back in the game's days.
Well, it did exist, but it was more like a systemic status ailment.
The fear I'm talking about here is the primal emotion itself.
Where does fear come from?
It's an instinctive reaction to the unknown.
And now, it exists just the same in monsters that are no longer mere data scraps.
Guns are incredibly rare on the lower floors.
Magic? Obviously even harder to come by.
It's just like what the Aztecs experienced.
The griffon heard thunder and lightning booming right next to its eardrums for the first time in its life.
Thunder roaring from my magic wand.
The Hunter watched as the massive monster—with the upper body of an eagle and the lower body of a lion—leaped back like a startled cat.
Its wing feathers stood on end.
The sight felt oddly familiar, making him briefly wonder if griffons were feline after all.
Of course, his practiced hand movements never stopped in the meantime.
The Hunter's role was suppressive fire.
Regular shots without [Sharp Shooting] wouldn't deal real damage, but the already badly wounded beast would focus all its attention on him.
Of course, this was the leader's Plan B.
For when Plan A failed.
"Hand over the crossbow."
The Hunter passed the crossbow to the party leader who had blinked in beside him without complaint.
In a shooting situation, whether to use the fairy's bow—which was easier to aim—touched on his pride as a marksman.
[Your Agility stat is too low. Your movements aren't precise enough.]
But when she casually sniped a fly perched 300 meters away with a bolt while spouting that nonsense, he had no choice but to swallow his pride.
She'd only meant to clip a wing and failed, apparently.
There were no archers among the fairies like her.
Aim assist on the bow made it feel less humiliating.
The leader warned him.
"If you miss this, we give up on the boss fight and just run."
She wasn't talking about the massive griffon target.
No one would worry about missing that.
The Hunter was a seasoned marksman too.
The real target was the explosive fruits planted before waking the griffon.
The moment the grand explosion rang out, the Girl charged forward.
They were facing a monster way beyond what anyone could normally hunt on Floor 2.
There were no unimportant roles in this.
But Uncle had insisted her role was the most crucial.
[Blinding it in one eye is important. Making it freak out from the gunfire is important too. But those are minor details.]
The griffon was a monster that started at least at Level 50, conservatively speaking.
In their current state, they had almost no effective ways to damage it.
[Explosive fruits and your backstab bonus with real intent behind it?]
It was a weapon issue.
The griffon's feathers and tough hide boasted unrealistic durability matching its size.
Low-quality blades without even basic enchantments wouldn't penetrate properly.
[You're not supposed to encounter it here. As a distant dragon relative, it takes mithril-grade material or magic items for damage to stick. Or just brute force it like you.]
Even then, without active skill bonuses, three of them couldn't dream of taking it down.
Without the Labyrinth's special buffs, no one could sever a griffon's neck in one strike, no matter how hard they tried.
The blade length just wasn't enough.
For something that size, a human sword was like a steel toothpick.
[So first, strip its mobility and neutralize it. Sever the tendons in the hind legs, cripple one wing. One wing's enough to ground it.]
As a non-magic-using monster, its physical prowess was everything.
No matter how tough, beat it long enough and it dies.
Turning it into a sandbag was key.
If they failed, retreat.
They weren't in a position to risk a boss fight.
[If it still hasn't come to its senses after that, mess with the front legs too. If possible, shove an explosive fruit down its beak.]
Uncle probably hadn't expected the last part much either.
The Girl pulled it all off.
"Wow, why'd that even work?"
"Hee hee. There's nothing I can't do."
"I'll give you honest praise this time."
"Didn't you always praise me honestly?"
"Good if you think so."
"Aw, come on. You're embarrassed."
I was satisfied.
We weren't close enough to expect perfect teamwork.
Yet we synced like a veteran party.
Even veteran parties don't pull off clean runs like this every time. No one over Level 20, and not a scratch on any of us.
Not in the achievement system, but calling it a feat wouldn't be wrong.
Of course, the griffon wasn't dead yet. We didn't have the firepower for an instant kill.
But it was completely knocked out, unable to move.
Even with an [Explosion]-level blast in its beak, damage capped at gold-grade, proving the beast's toughness.
Fire-breathing creatures have fire-resistant innards. No burns. But the shockwave was unavoidable.
Timing-wise, the fruit rolled deep into its esophagus.
Detonating there...
Few creatures have guts as tough as their hides.
Left alone, the griffon would die soon.
"Good we didn't use all five fruits. Two left."
"You said they had another use? So we're done after this one?"
"I'd like that. But we can carry them to the next floor anyway."
"Nice."
Even if the griffon woke, it couldn't move now.
The Girl had finished off the dangling tendons on its limp, unconscious form.
Now, just EXP distribution. Even here, last hits get weighted priority.
With all the weirdness on Floor 2, I decided to take the EXP.
Easy enough. It was dying anyway; a solid hit would do.
Unconscious meant constant backstab bonuses.
I pulled out a potion vial to collect blood for later.
The Girl took interest.
"Can you really store it like that?"
"Dragon blood's good for you. Distant kin still works."
"What's the effect, then?"
"Sharp kid."
The Healing Spring water was a spare life in itself, but not all it offered.
This god-blessed spring water was like a concentrate of divinity and mana.
Usable as a potion base for non-healing effects.
Griffon blood mixed in would give a decent all-stats buff.
True dragon blood or world tree ash? Short-term immortality regen, massive stat dopes, bonus damage—insane stuff.
But rare ingredients made it hard.
Hearing that, the Girl gleefully tried to collect some.
"No, don't you do it."
"Why?"
"Mixes ruin the healing. The vial prevents contamination."
The vial itself was artifact-grade.
She pondered, then valued her life more.
She could use my potions anyway; one dope was enough.
The vial warmed from the blood's heat, turning red.
In game days, it'd rename to 'Griffon's Blood'.
The Great Shaman said to his disciple,
"The path in is spotless."
Trap remnants remained.
Disarmed flawlessly, expertly. Recently too.
He assumed a trap specialist. At least one Agility class.
Watch for ambushes.
Party size smaller than expected. Three by footprints.
The Disciple Orc replied indifferently, ignoring his master's pondering.
"Looks like humans were here after all."
The outer carnage wasn't fairy-like. Grove Fairies would've cleaned neater.
This forest was their life.
Orc dig site? An unbearable wound.
"Told you. Listen to an old shaman if you're an orc."
"Ah, yes."
"Tsk."
The Great Shaman clicked his tongue.
A young orc would've gotten scolded.
But reborn as orc or not, this was once a great human saintess.
Powers and divinity lost, but faith and nobility remained.
That's why he took her as disciple despite opposition. Hard to chide now.
Still, wished she'd adapt to orc life more. No progress; just worry.
The Great Shaman sighed, refocusing.
"Kill any humans we see."
"As you wish."
The Disciple Orc smiled coldly.
The betrayed saintess was no longer merciful.
The Great Shaman didn't mind. His human grudge matched hers.
Just plan for the humans ahead.
Then, a horrific cry echoed from afar.
The old orc knew it was the griffon's scream.
"Looks like they handled the ruin guardian. Saved us effort."
Dig site's forces were elites. Made sense.
The Great Shaman stroked his beard contentedly.
Mana gathered in his left hand.
Blue lightning crackled.
The Disciple Orc watched impassively.
A slight miscalculation.
The griffon's vitality was insanely tenacious.
Guts shredded beyond hope, yet the massive body kept pumping blood.
Blood for my potion formed a pool.
Breaths slowing, but it might regain consciousness.
Time to raid the curare-laced orc camp.
No more delay with travel time.
"Just finish it."
"Great! But it was easier than expected. Lots of EXP?"
The Girl perked up, puzzled but pleased.
Hooked on the Labyrinth system, eager to level for stats.
I reconsidered and gave it to her.
To kill in time, she had to strike. Another fruit was wasteful.
Problem: one party member getting too strong wasn't ideal.
Game days, neglect balance and betrayal happened.
But whatever.
She was still a Labyrinth newbie. I could handle her if needed.
Better prep her for kingdom onward.
Newbies wouldn't survive there.
Fast level-ups for system combat familiarity.
Plus, this kid seemed improbably loyal.
I could read her schemes anyway.
97 years of backstabs made me a big data expert; one glance at her eyes told all.
Her bright eyes showed no hint of ulterior motives.
Odd, though.
Was I that trustworthy-looking?
I wiped my blade to check my face.
Then,
a spark of static crackled.
Chilling.