Chapter 27. Dungeon Double Booking (3)
Kuguung. The heavy stone door ground open with a deep frictional rumble.
Jeonghun and the skinny man entered the boss room with considerable leisure. They'd looted plenty of useful spoils from their former comrades' corpses. Especially handy were the bomb items that unleashed powerful explosions and gear that synergized well with their skills.
The skinny man had Throw, while Jeonghun possessed Stealth, which completely concealed him for 10 seconds. Neither skill was great against groups of enemies, but they shone against a single boss.
Given the level of monsters so far, the boss shouldn't be that tough.
The skeletons hadn't had any special skills; their durability was so low you could beat them with a baseball bat. As long as they landed the first strike properly, even the boss should be manageable for two people.
But the moment the space beyond the door came into view, their relaxed expressions froze solid.
"...Why are there two bosses?"
"Damn it."
In the center of the room stood a skeleton shield soldier gripping a massive steel shield and a skeleton archer wielding a longbow the size of an adult man, side by side.
They hadn't even imagined this. Every dungeon so far had exactly one boss, so they'd assumed the same here.
But Jeonghun didn't panic. He immediately activated Stealth. It was a skill that lost most of its effect if used after being spotted anyway.
Srulk—his body melted perfectly into the shadows.
Take out the archer first.
With only 10 seconds of duration, Jeonghun held his breath and deftly circled around the skeleton shield soldier's field of view, slipping behind the archer positioned at the rear. He planned to eliminate the annoying ranged attacker first.
He was just about to jam his sharp dagger into the seam of its neck vertebrae.
The sound of Jeonghun kicking off the ground to thrust hard echoed out.
That single frictional noise made the bulky-looking skeleton shield soldier's head whip around at a grotesque speed. It swung its shield like a bludgeon in the same instant.
Puaak—!
"Kuhuk!"
Before the dagger could connect, the absurdly huge steel shield sliced through the air and smashed into the invisible Jeonghun's side. The impact shattered his Stealth, sending his body crashing into the stone wall.
A massive shock hammered his skull, his brain ringing, vision spinning.
"D-Damn it!"
The skinny man waiting in the rear immediately used Throw. A spear looted from a comrade's corpse flew from his hand like a bolt toward the skeleton archer's forehead.
Chaeng—!
But even that ferocious spear throw was casually blocked as the skeleton shield soldier raised its shield. Sparks flew as the spear ricocheted away, and the archer hiding behind it immediately drew back its bowstring taut.
Ki-gigik!
Piuung—!
"Aaaak!!"
A thick arrow pierced straight through the skinny man's right palm. He collapsed, writhing on the floor, screaming as blood poured out.
It was a mistake. If he'd known, he should've let them clear the boss first before killing them.
Trembling, the skinny man dug into his pocket with his left hand and pulled out a black bomb.
Originally, he'd planned to toss it at Jeonghun's unguarded back after the boss was down, blowing him to bits. But now wasn't the time to be picky.
"Die, you bone bastards!"
Spitting curses, he hurled the bomb item at the feet of the skeleton monsters.
Kwaaaang—!
A massive explosion rocked the entire boss room. Thick dust and bone fragments scattered everywhere.
"D-Did they... die?"
"...Shit."
Coughing as they barely lifted their heads, shock filled Jeonghun and the skinny man's eyes.
As the dust cleared, the two boss monsters—who'd taken the blast head-on—still stood firmly on their feet. The shield soldier had lost one entire arm, and the archer's ribs were half-shattered into a gruesome state, but both glared at the men while upright.
...We can still win.
The two gritted their teeth, eyeing each other warily. There was a way to win. The monsters weren't attacking first, perhaps recovering from the blast's aftershocks. If one drew the shield soldier's attention, the other could use Throw or Stealth to blow off the archer's head.
But a fatal problem held them back.
How can I trust that bastard?
If I tank the shield soldier, I might die.
True to form as backstabbers who'd knifed their own allies, neither was willing to play sacrificial bait.
Yet as they hesitated, the recovering skeleton archer raised its bow.
Just as distrust and selfishness thickened the air in the boss room—
Thud, thud.
Heavy footsteps echoed from the opposite side, near the boss room entrance.
Emerging from the darkness was a youthful-looking girl with a massive toothed flail slung over her shoulder.
"...Who?"
Jeonghun and the skinny man quickly exchanged glances.
Someone from the trading post? Entering the dungeon solo?
Questions swirled in their heads, but one thought ultimately settled in both men's minds.
...An opportunity, maybe?
The same idea flashed in their eyes. They'd fear a fellow Awakener crashing in and stealing their relic, but a naive-looking young girl alone? Completely different story.
They could use this gift-wrapped girl as a meat shield to take down the bosses.
As if on cue, both men began feigning agonized expressions.
"Urk...! Hey! Help us out!"
"Just draw that shield skeleton's aggro for 10 seconds! We'll handle the archer somehow! Otherwise, we're all dead!"
The girl looked down at them. Her face was a chilling, emotionless blank slate.
The men swallowed hard, cold sweat beading as unease gripped them.
What’s she thinking?
No way—
As anxiety built, the girl silently advanced straight toward the massive skeleton shield soldier.
...Jackpot!
The shield soldier, spotting the new intruder, clattered its jawbone and charged fiercely, raising its remaining arm's shield.
"Now!!"
Jeonghun and the skinny man seized the opening. Deal with the girl and shield later—neutralize the archer first.
A sharp spear left the skinny man's hand, slicing the air viciously, while Jeonghun's dagger targeted the archer's neck seam precisely from the flank.
Deprived of its sturdy shield ally, the skeleton archer couldn't dodge the dual strikes and crumbled to ash on the spot.
"Got it!"
Having successfully felled the archer, they sighed in relief and turned to check the girl.
She was probably dead. To them, the shield soldier felt more like the true boss than the archer—its reaction speed and power were no joke.
But the sight that met their eyes was worlds apart from what they'd imagined.
"...How?"
The hulking skeleton shield soldier lay scattered as white bone fragments across the floor. Amid the wreckage stood the girl, casually brushing off her absurdly heavy toothed flail, staring down at the two men with cold, sunken eyes.
It had taken mere seconds to pulverize the shield soldier to dust.
The girl wasn't a normal Awakener.
And from her expression, they could tell.
"...She hates us, doesn't she?"
"..."
As the three locked eyes, a weathered coffin tucked in the graveyard corner like mere decoration rattled open.
A lustrous orb floated up from within, gleaming ethereally.
Everyone in the room instantly knew: that was the relic the Constellations sought.
Tension thickened with the relic's emergence.
Without hesitation, Jeonghun activated Stealth, vanishing.
"...That bastard."
The skinny man scowled. Obvious—he was either sneaking off with the relic or coming to eliminate the competition.
The skinny man suddenly felt a jolt of déjà vu looking at the girl with the massive toothed flail over her shoulder.
Toothed flail... girl... where have I heard this?
Such a unique combo had stuck deep in his mind, but he couldn't place it.
...The Gallery?
It overlapped with some post he'd skimmed in the Survivor Gallery.
Just as he tried piecing together the hazy memory—
Weeeeng—
A bee?
A massive hornet-like wing buzz came from the dark ceiling corner.
Puk! Puk-puk!
Unfamiliar spewing sounds followed in rapid succession.
"Uwaaak!"
Blood sprayed from thin air amid a scream. Jeonghun's form, clutching one arm and howling in agony, shimmered like a heat haze before his Stealth forcibly broke, revealing his blood-soaked figure.
Only then did the skinny man spot the drone clinging to the ceiling, barrel trained downward. His face drained of color.
Shit, I remember now...!
The girl with the toothed flail, commanding drones.
He finally realized she was that girl who'd briefly lit up the Gallery.
Odds of beating gun-toting drones were slim. Especially since the girl herself had smashed the shield soldier.
The man quickly abandoned the fight, forcing a smile and raising both hands.
"W-Wait! Misunderstanding—I'm not here to fight. Just for that relic, yeah? Take it!"
She didn't know his skill yet. When she went for the relic, he could Throw his weapon—
The girl gave no such reprieve. With an emotionless flick of her finger in the air, like signaling the drone.
Finish it.
Instinctively grasping the gesture's meaning, the man's face twisted in rage and despair.
"You damn bitch!"
Spitting curses, he twisted his whole body to hurl his weapon.
Just before Throw activated—
Kwaaaang—!
A cannon shot boomed through the dungeon.
The man's dynamic motion froze in place.
He slowly looked down at his chest.
Where the sniper round had mercilessly punched through, a massive hole gaped in his torso.