What Is Las? (3)
Eila and Harsus, despite their constant bickering, actually made a formidable team. While Harsus drew aggro and tangled with the Andras, Eila would strike from the flank, driving her iron sword deep into their vitals. Her sword ki, aimed precisely at throats and hearts, was nothing short of ferocious. She was a 5-star, after all.
"Though she's only level 26."
"Master, that’s going to hurt her feelings if she hears you."
"She probably heard me. But I have to keep saying it. That’s the only way she’ll know her level has gone up."
Levels were ultimately just metrics dictated by Solomon’s system, but for those who had become part of the dungeon, there didn't seem to be much doubt about their validity.
"Solomon provided the standard. I’m at 75, you two are around 35, and Eila is at 26. If you have any complaints, you’ll have to go take it up with Solomon. Eila, can you win against those stud-hunters?"
"......."
Eila flushed red and stabbed her sword into Andras's thigh. She seemed to be taking her frustration out on the wrong target because I’d hit a sore spot, and I just shrugged my shoulders.
"Still, thanks to that, we at least know the level of the enemies we're facing."
"That is true."
Since these numbers provided a clear, objective measure of strength, Harsus and Eila fought the Andras while gauging their own levels. For instance, if the enemy was level 22, Harsus could handle it 1-on-1. If it was level 24, Harsus couldn't manage alone and needed Eila's help. And if it was level 26 or higher, they knew they had to combine their strength to have any hope of victory. Their coordination improved steadily, and they eventually succeeded in taking down level 28 Andras.
However, that coordination had finally hit a level-based wall.
Kieeeek!!
A crazed Andras raised its claws and began spinning like a top, a whirlwind of blades. Harsus and Eila dodged the attacks and retreated; their claws and swords lacked the power to stop that claw-whirlwind.
"Ugh?!"
Kkeureureuk...
Harsus stood in front of Eila, who had fallen to the ground, and blocked the Andras's claw-whirlwind. His arm was shredded, flesh flying, but thanks to him, Eila remained unharmed.
"Master."
Finally, Ryun stepped forward. Since it was too much for the two in the 20s, it was only natural for Ryun, who was in the 30s, to step in. However, I was worried because Ryun had pushed herself hard in bed.
"Ryun, I appreciate the sentiment, but don't use your bow. I only brought you along to watch today."
"Are you worried I might hit the kids? Don't worry."
Ryun pulled out her bow with a confident voice. The bow, now shimmering with a darker, blacker hue than before, had a much higher luster than when she was a 2-star. Ryun raised the bow in a perfect stance and drew the string.
'The bow has gotten stronger, but will her archery really change just because she evolved?'
And that worry wasn't mine alone. Eila, who had been parrying claws with the flat of her blade, stepped back significantly and shouted toward us.
"D-don't shoot! Ryun! We can win this!"
Kkeureureuk!
Harsus, who had been rolling on the ground, also waved his hands, refusing the support. Both of them were clearly doubting Ryun's archery.
"Just trust me for once!"
But Ryun was clearly brimming with confidence. I decided to trust her just this once. If she was this confident, it must be because she was certain of her own abilities.
"I can do it!"
Ryun held the drawn string, staring straight at me, waiting for permission. 'It's a straight shot, so she shouldn't miss, right?'
As soon as I nodded, Ryun turned her head away from me and released the string. It was a short aim, but her shooting posture was reminiscent of an Olympic gold medalist.
Paa—ang!!
With a piercing sound, a wind arrow tore through the Andras. Ryun's arrow hit the Andras's weak point with pinpoint accuracy, and the creature couldn't even scream; it rolled its eyes back and slammed its head into the wall.
"How was that?! I did well enough, right?"
"...Ryun."
I pointed to the spot where the Andras had bled out and collapsed.
"Did you aim for that on purpose?"
"......."
Ryun avoided answering. I would have preferred it if she had hit it by accident. If she had aimed for that spot on purpose, it was proof that Ryun had become quite twisted during her evolution.
"Uh, well, it's a weak point, so isn't it okay to shoot it?"
My god. Ryun had aimed for it. I silently offered my condolences to the Andras that had buried its beak in the wall. 'Sorry our kid is a bit rough. But you were going to die anyway, so you don't need to spread your seed anymore, right?'
The wind arrow Ryun fired had become much more destructive. The range itself was also much wider than before. Thanks to that, the Andras had completely lost one of its "marbles." The Andras fainted from the shock of its marble being shattered, and Harsus and Eila cautiously approached to finish it off.
Kkeureureuk.
Then Lime stepped forward to collect the feathers and magic stones. There was no real way to utilize the Andras's carcass.
"Ryun, did you aim for that on purpose?"
"N-no. I was just in a hurry and shot it randomly..."
Ryun looked away. To verify, I led the group forward.
"Then try aiming for that one."
About 100 paces away, an Andras stood perfectly still, head tilted back toward the ceiling.
"Should I shoot that one dead?"
"Yes."
Since we’d caught a male Andras, it was only natural the next would be a female. Even from a distance, her physique was clearly visible, and her chest was much larger than Ryun's—
Paa—-ang!!
The sound of wind rang out. And the Andras fell backward in the exact same pose. Harsus and Eila rushed over to finish her off.
"......You're telling me this wasn't on purpose?"
I checked the Andras's carcass. Earlier, it had lost one marble; this time, one of its breasts had vanished. Ryun pointed to the wind-hole she had created with a serious face.
"I shot the heart!"
"Y-yeah. You did blow away the heart."
Along with a breast, that is. I conducted a few more tests to see if Ryun was really aiming for those spots on purpose, or if it was just marksmanship tainted by the malice of the world.
Piyung, Pyung-pyung.
Starting with the two level 30s that died earlier, Ryun shot down a total of eight Andras, up to level 33, with her bow. We took turns directing Ryun to different shooting positions, and like a master marksman, she created wind-holes exactly where we pointed. Only then did we realize.
"See! I told you I wasn't aiming for those places on purpose!"
According to Ryun, when she drew the bowstring, she could feel something like a red dot, and she was just aiming for that. Eila called it a weak point.
"It is a common topic among knights who have reached a certain level of mastery. They say that when the world seems to slow down, they can clearly see where to stab or slash to make the opponent fall."
"You haven't experienced it yourself, have you?"
"...No! But I will soon! I’ll get stronger under Master!"
Eila huffed, her face turning red. Still, she had managed to reach level 27 while fighting high-level enemies alongside Harsus. Harsus had reached 22.
"So, Ryun, can you use that freely now?"
"If I concentrate a little, I can shoot right away."
Ryun had finally mastered aimed shots. Along the way, she’d also gained the skill to identify weak points. But it was an incredibly dangerous style of shooting. No matter how good it was for hitting weak points, the fact that some of those sniping locations were... well, let's just say they were "unfortunate" spots, was a major problem in many ways. A weak point is a weak point, but couldn't she send them off a bit more gracefully?
"Ryun, you have many weak points to choose from, you aren't aiming for those on purpose, right?"
"I'm not. Are you doubting me too, Master?"
Ryun stopped in her tracks. Just then, on the other side, an Andras, presumably a male of level 34, was standing on one leg.
"Watch. I'll make a wind-hole in its neck."
Ryun drew her bowstring. Even with the sound of the string being pulled, the Andras noticed our presence and came charging at us with a screech.
"Hmph."
Ryun released the string, and the wind arrow flew in a straight trajectory toward the exact center of the Andras's neck.
"Not on purpose, then."
"That seems to be the case."
And just before the wind arrow could make contact, the Andras suddenly rolled on the ground and leaped into the air.
Kkiyoooooot!!
It spread its arms and lifted its knees. As if it were a real crane, the Andras jumped a full 1.5 meters into the air and sharpened its claws. But, because of that.
Piyung.
The wind arrow that had been flying toward its neck pierced through yet another "unfortunate" spot. A fist-sized hole was punched through the Andras's crotch, and it slowly closed its eyes in the exact pose of holding its crane-leg.
Kkiyooooot....
Thud.
The Andras fell forward the moment its feet touched the ground, like a scarecrow with a broken support. I was more surprised by the Andras's leg strength than anything else.
"No, really, why..."
If it had just kept running, it would have only been pierced in the neck. Ryun fiddled with her bow, looking like she’d just bitten into a sour persimmon.
"I didn't do that on purpose."
No one said a word. Ryun trembled as she held her bow, and for a while, the only sound in the corridor was Lime farming materials from the Andras.
* * *
After a short break, I checked the time remaining for the dungeon's grade increase.
"In about two hours, we can clear the boss room and head back to the dungeon."
"What kind of existence is this boss? The Slime Dungeon had a Slime Dragon."
"Two demi-human Andras. Ah, you haven't seen them except for Ryun."
The Andras we’d caught in the dungeon were adult Andras, not demi-humans. Since there was a clear difference between an adult and a demi-human, it was faster to see them in person.
"Five are coming out in front."
Right in front of the boss room, five Andras were positioned. Unlike when I first entered the dungeon, they were all female types, shaking their breasts and running wild.
"Whoa."
"Master, why are you turning your eyes away?"
"Things like that are a bit hard to look at."
If you only looked from the neck down, it might be different, but seeing bird-headed creatures acting like they were high on drugs was definitely not a pleasant sight. Ryun stepped forward.
"Ryun, if you snipe them, you'll just draw unnecessary aggro—"
Pababababak!
Ryun began firing arrows wildly without even aiming. Most were blind shots, but since there were so many, the Andras’s bodies were covered in scratches.
Kieeeeeeek!!
After one Andras had its heart blown away, the others shrieked and turned their bodies to flee, avoiding the arrows. Ryun tried to chase after them, but I stopped her.
"The battle is over."
"Yes?"
"You'll know when you go see."
I led the group to the door in front of the boss room. As I expected, the Andras were dead in front of the dungeon door, stuck beak-to-back in a train-like formation.
"......That's a bit much."
"They were a bit dim-witted."
"If this keeps up, we can just set up tower shields and advance to catch them all."
Eila clicked her tongue and shook her head. I was genuinely impressed by Eila's idea.
"That's a good idea. Let's try that later."
"But where would we get tower shields?"
"We'll get them from somewhere. For now, let's think about that later, and open the boss room."
Before opening the boss room door, I gave my subordinates strict instructions.
"Do not enter, under any circumstances. Two of them will jump out, and they are incredibly strong. It's dangerous, so don't come in."
"But."
"No buts. You’ll need to be at least level 50 to stand a chance, so just catch 25 more and retreat."
You didn't necessarily have to catch the boss to clear the sub-dungeon. I hadn't verified it, but Meari had confirmed it for me.
"Watch me fight. See how scary these guys are."
Kkiiiiik.
I pushed the iron doors open. And just like the first try, two demi-human Andras were on the bed, pressing their bodies together and hugging...
"Oh my, such nice muscles. Even if the belly is a bit lacking, it’ll be fun to Las with."
"That orc, I wonder what he's like in bed? Ufufu."
Two muscular demi-human Andras, males, were hugging each other and glaring at me. I closed my eyes for a moment.
Kkiiiiik.
I closed the boss room door again. I had taken significant mental damage from the unexpected sight, and the other subordinates were the same.
"M-Master. You said you already cleared it earlier. Surely... that's not it, right?"
"It is not."
I understood Ryun's feelings of being misunderstood perfectly. I swallowed hard and opened the door again.
"Oh my, you opened it again. Ufufu, come on in."
"You can come in whenever you want, but leaving... Ohoho, honey. Who wants to be the top?"
"If you're stronger than us, we're the bottom. If you're weaker, obviously we're the top. Ohohoho."
"......."
Then I'm not going in. I closed the iron door again.
"Guys, let's just go eat dinner."
That day, for the first time, I gave up on clearing a sub-dungeon boss.