Chapter 456: Raid (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 456: Raid (1)
Dungeon and Stone was, at its core, a farming game. The main goal was to strengthen your character by amassing experience points, consuming essences, and acquiring equipment. Normally, you had to build up your stats by consuming essences so you were strong enough to go up to the next floor and get more XP. You only earned XP the first time you killed a new type of monster, after all. The natural consequence of that was that if you couldn't get your hands on higher-quality essences, you wouldn't be able to farm for new points on the next floor.
But oddly enough, even though I'm already level seven, I haven't gotten stuck once.
That was largely due to the fact I'd had the rank-seven Corpse Golem, rank-five Vampire, and Orc Hero essences off the bat. Those alone made it a breeze to clear the lower floors and amass XP. By the time I reached the middle floors, I'd been lucky enough to upgrade to an Ogre essence through the Labyrinth of Larcaz. Ah, and it also helped that the royal family was at war. Otherwise, I would have been busy farming for the Bayon and its Transcendence ability right about now.
In that sense, this is actually the first time my progress has been stalled...
It had nothing to do with a lack of ability on my part, though. It was just that I needed to get past the seventh floor to get stronger, and that place had turned into a war zone. Honestly speaking, if I invested just a bit more time and effort in the clan, it wouldn't be long before we would be capable of farming for a Bellarios.
"Bjorn, how much longer do we have to wait? The monsters here are too weak! This is boring!"
The majority of our expedition this month would be a low-rank raid. I'd thought it through over and over again, and every time, I arrived at the same conclusion. We would use this time to hunt the monsters that we didn't have under our belts to make sure everyone on the team was on equal footing. Any essences we found along the way, we would consume. All of us had one empty essence slot at the moment.
"Be patient. Like I told you earlier, this is where the essence you need appears." The monster we were currently hunting would drop a useful essence for Ainar. It wouldn't be the best one to have come the home stretch, but for the time being, it would help her become 30 percent stronger.
"But still..." Ainar hesitated, not entirely convinced. Well, it was probably hard for her to believe that a second-floor essence would be of any use to her now, so— "Isn't it just a rank-five monster?! Why can't we keep going up instead? I want to show you just how strong I am now, and I can only do that if a stronger enemy appears!"
Ah, so that's the issue.
I ignored her whining and carried on chewing my jerky.
Amelia was taking a break from auto-farming a group of monsters when she suddenly called out to me. "Yandel. We have company."
"Yeah," Erwen jumped in, "I can also sense them coming this way. There are—"
"Twelve of them."
I sighed. It was a pain to listen to these two constantly cutting each other off. Why they felt the need to compete over something so trivial was beyond me.
"They'll be here in about two minutes."
"All right."
With that update, we waited until the team of twelve adventurers slowly emerged from the darkness, though they were more of a clan than a team. On top of that, they were well-equipped for adventurers wandering around on the second floor.
The man I assumed was their captain stepped forward to speak the moment our eyes met. "...So there are others here."
It looked like they had the same goal we did. The monster we were hunting was certainly famous enough to warrant more interested parties. However, since we were both after the same thing, the solution to our problem was simple. "Yeah, we were here first. So get lost."
We'll be taking these grounds as ours now.
When I claimed ownership of these hunting grounds, their leader shifted his eyes to our party, looking at each of them in turn. In the past, if I had seen someone do something like that, I would have been on high alert. Now, however, I wasn't worried in the slightest.
"That's a shame."
Well, you being disappointed isn't my problem.
"I guess we should just consider ourselves lucky that we got to meet a celebrity. May the blessings of Rafdonia be with you, Baron Yandel." They turned around without another word, just as the three parties we had run into before them had done.
With that, our hunt resumed.
[You have killed a Sandworm.]
[You have killed a Sandworm.]
[You have killed a Sandworm.]
[You have killed...]
Once we'd killed all the Sandworms, a monster unique to the Rock Desert, the conditions were finally met.
"Whoa, the ground is shaking!"
The entire desert started to shake like there was an earthquake.
Shwaaaaaa!
A sandstorm whipped up, blocking our escape route, and in its center, a massive worm burst from the ground with its gaping maw wide open.
[A Death Worm has appeared.]
The rank-five Death Worm was a monster that was unique to the lower floors. I always made sure to hunt it down for the much-needed experience points.
"Gyeeeeeek!" With only its upper body out on the surface, it let out a terrifying roar.
"Behel—aaah!" Ainar leaped high into the sky with a roar of equal ferocity. Unfortunately for her, she was a beat too late.
[Amelia Rainwales has cast Power of the Abyss.]
[Erwen Fornacci di Tersia has cast Rupture.]
Before Ainar could strike, Amelia's dagger and Erwen's arrow pierced the Death Worm, causing it to collapse in the sand.
[You have killed a Death Worm. EXP +5]
[High-rank Mutant Bonus. EXP +1]
I had no idea we would defeat it in less than a second.
"It was weaker than I thought?"
"Mister! I killed it for you!"
"What are you talking about? Didn't you see my blade cut it down before your arrow even hit it?"
"But it was my arrow that blew its head off."
"Aghhh! What the hell was that? I've been waiting all this time for this?!"
I sighed. The essence didn't drop.
***
After defeating the Death Worm, we exited the Rock Desert and returned to the Crystal Cave on the first floor for one reason and one reason alone. It had already been three months since we'd entered Green Coal Mine. This would be our chance to enter a rift on the first floor.
Come to think of it, I haven't looked around here yet.
It suddenly struck me that I hadn't explored every corner of this place. In fact, I'd basically skipped the entirety of the lower floors. The only other rifts I'd been in were the third floor's White Temple and the fourth floor's Doppelganger Forest. The second floor had practically been a footnote in my quest, to the point where I hadn't even opened or gone into its rift yet.
We'll be taking these grounds as ours now.
When I claimed ownership of these hunting grounds, their leader shifted his eyes to our party, looking at each of them in turn. In the past, if I had seen someone do something like that, I would have been on high alert. Now, however, I wasn't worried in the slightest.
"That's a shame."
Well, you being disappointed isn't my problem.
"I guess we should just consider ourselves lucky that we got to meet a celebrity. May the blessings of Rafdonia be with you, Baron Yandel." They turned around without another word, just as the three parties we had run into before them had done.
With that, our hunt resumed.
[You have killed a Sandworm.]
[You have killed a Sandworm.]
[You have killed a Sandworm.]
[You have killed...]
Once we'd killed all the Sandworms, a monster unique to the Rock Desert, the conditions were finally met.
"Whoa, the ground is shaking!"
The entire desert started to shake like there was an earthquake.
Shwaaaaaa!
A sandstorm whipped up, blocking our escape route, and in its center, a massive worm burst from the ground with its gaping maw wide open.
[A Death Worm has appeared.]
The rank-five Death Worm was a monster that was unique to the lower floors. I always made sure to hunt it down for the much-needed experience points.
"Gyeeeeeek!" With only its upper body out on the surface, it let out a terrifying roar.
"Behel—aaah!" Ainar leaped high into the sky with a roar of equal ferocity. Unfortunately for her, she was a beat too late.
[Amelia Rainwales has cast Power of the Abyss.]
[Erwen Fornacci di Tersia has cast Rupture.]
Before Ainar could strike, Amelia's dagger and Erwen's arrow pierced the Death Worm, causing it to collapse in the sand.
[You have killed a Death Worm. EXP +5]
[High-rank Mutant Bonus. EXP +1]
I had no idea we would defeat it in less than a second.
"It was weaker than I thought?"
"Mister! I killed it for you!"
"What are you talking about? Didn't you see my blade cut it down before your arrow even hit it?"
"But it was my arrow that blew its head off."
"Aghhh! What the hell was that? I've been waiting all this time for this?!"
I sighed. The essence didn't drop.
***
After defeating the Death Worm, we exited the Rock Desert and returned to the Crystal Cave on the first floor for one reason and one reason alone. It had already been three months since we'd entered Green Coal Mine. This would be our chance to enter a rift on the first floor.
Come to think of it, I haven't looked around here yet.
It suddenly struck me that I hadn't explored every corner of this place. In fact, I'd basically skipped the entirety of the lower floors. The only other rifts I'd been in were the third floor's White Temple and the fourth floor's Doppelganger Forest. The second floor had practically been a footnote in my quest, to the point where I hadn't even opened or gone into its rift yet.
I wonder if I'll be able to go this time...
It was hard to say. Even though we made plans to enter the second floor's rift, there was no guarantee we'd be able to. After all, rifts weren't something you could simply enter whenever you pleased.
"Hahaha! It's been a while since I've been here!" Ainar exclaimed the moment we arrived at the Great Sage's statue in the center of the Crystal Cave. "It's kind of nostalgic! Don't you think, Bjorn?"
It was no wonder she felt like that. When I came here three months ago, I had that very same feeling. This was the place where I had entered my firstrrift with Ainar and met Raven and that dwarf, not to mention the place we'd suffered for days under Noark's onslaught.
But I guess that was all three years ago now...
While I'd been trapped in the past for most of it, even I could sense just how much time had passed. Nevertheless, to me, it felt like it all happened only a few days ago.
Clink.
As soon as we placed the rank-eight mana stone we got in the Rock Desert on the altar, the portal opened and we hurried inside.
[You have entered the first-floor rift.]
Beyond the portal was the final rift on the first floor, the only one left for me to clear.
"This is the Iron Grave..."
Erwen used one of her spirits to illuminate the dark corridor before us. It felt as if we were entering one of those pyramids from those documentaries that always played on random channels late at night. It went without saying, however, that this was no pyramid.
The walls of this place were all made of metal.
"Mister, what language is this?"
"I have no idea."
"Hahaha, don't you think Aruru would have loved this place?"
"Let's stop chatting and keep moving."
There was no reason to waste any more time. As we moved forward, Ainar suddenly insisted on leading the way. Amelia and Erwen also pushed for her to stand in the front alone, as they were eager to see her new skills in action. To be honest, I wanted to see them myself.
"Behel—aaaaaah!"
Ainar took point and quickly cleared the way. Usually, the Iron Grave was supposed to be cleared by dismantling the traps along the corridor, but all of that was meaningless against someone like Ainar. As long as you had the strength to pull it off, simply running over each trap was much easier than dismantling them one by one.
"Ainar, take a left!"
"Raaaaaah!"
I yelled out directions from behind while Ainar pressed onward. She stepped over all the traps as she sliced the monsters up with her sword.
Crash! Wham! Slam!
It was the kind of incredible performance you'd expect from a greatsword master.
[Ainar Fenelin has cast Repeated Slash.]
[The same area has been struck twice. Blast Scars has activated.]
It was a basic combo that used Repeated Slash to its fullest potential, and showed just how much she'd grown over the past few years.
[Due to Mandel Oil, Blast Scars' firepower has been doubled.]
On top of that, she threw in a fire-type passive skill from the rank-five monster Smug's essence.
[Residual Heat has activated. Additional damage will be dealt in proportion to the damage done.]
I wonder if I'll be able to go this time...
It was hard to say. Even though we made plans to enter the second floor's rift, there was no guarantee we'd be able to. After all, rifts weren't something you could simply enter whenever you pleased.
"Hahaha! It's been a while since I've been here!" Ainar exclaimed the moment we arrived at the Great Sage's statue in the center of the Crystal Cave. "It's kind of nostalgic! Don't you think, Bjorn?"
It was no wonder she felt like that. When I came here three months ago, I had that very same feeling. This was the place where I had entered my firstrrift with Ainar and met Raven and that dwarf, not to mention the place we'd suffered for days under Noark's onslaught.
But I guess that was all three years ago now...
While I'd been trapped in the past for most of it, even I could sense just how much time had passed. Nevertheless, to me, it felt like it all happened only a few days ago.
Clink.
As soon as we placed the rank-eight mana stone we got in the Rock Desert on the altar, the portal opened and we hurried inside.
[You have entered the first-floor rift.]
Beyond the portal was the final rift on the first floor, the only one left for me to clear.
"This is the Iron Grave..."
Erwen used one of her spirits to illuminate the dark corridor before us. It felt as if we were entering one of those pyramids from those documentaries that always played on random channels late at night. It went without saying, however, that this was no pyramid.
The walls of this place were all made of metal.
"Mister, what language is this?"
"I have no idea."
"Hahaha, don't you think Aruru would have loved this place?"
"Let's stop chatting and keep moving."
There was no reason to waste any more time. As we moved forward, Ainar suddenly insisted on leading the way. Amelia and Erwen also pushed for her to stand in the front alone, as they were eager to see her new skills in action. To be honest, I wanted to see them myself.
"Behel—aaaaaah!"
Ainar took point and quickly cleared the way. Usually, the Iron Grave was supposed to be cleared by dismantling the traps along the corridor, but all of that was meaningless against someone like Ainar. As long as you had the strength to pull it off, simply running over each trap was much easier than dismantling them one by one.
"Ainar, take a left!"
"Raaaaaah!"
I yelled out directions from behind while Ainar pressed onward. She stepped over all the traps as she sliced the monsters up with her sword.
Crash! Wham! Slam!
It was the kind of incredible performance you'd expect from a greatsword master.
[Ainar Fenelin has cast Repeated Slash.]
[The same area has been struck twice. Blast Scars has activated.]
It was a basic combo that used Repeated Slash to its fullest potential, and showed just how much she'd grown over the past few years.
[Due to Mandel Oil, Blast Scars' firepower has been doubled.]
On top of that, she threw in a fire-type passive skill from the rank-five monster Smug's essence.
[Residual Heat has activated. Additional damage will be dealt in proportion to the damage done.]
Now came a rank-four skill that resulted in a 50 percent bonus to Damage Resistance if fire damage was dealt to multiple enemies in a short enough time frame.
Boom! Smash! Clash!
Each swing of Ainar's sword brought with it dozens of explosions. I trailed after her, watching with pride.
I didn't expect her to actually gather all of the essences I mentioned.
I felt like a teacher watching my students come back from vacation with all their homework done. I had recommended essences to her that would raise almost all of her Resistance stats evenly. That was why she was completely fine even after stepping on the traps or getting attacked by monsters, and even if she did get hurt, the wounds healed quickly.
[Ainar Fenelin has cast Wings of Greed. Her Natural Regeneration has significantly increased.]
Because of the way Ainar was built, most of her damage dealing came from her passive skills, meaning she didn't eat up much Soul Power. The notable exception, of course, was her finishing move, Repeated Slash. But as a result, even if she had to constantly heal herself, she had very little risk of draining her stores entirely.
[Ainar Fenelin has killed a rank-eight monster. Her Soul Power is restored in proportion to the monster's rank.]
Thanks to the Satiation ability granted by the third stage of the Slayer Imprint, she was able to replenish both her MP and HP as she fought. And by the looks of it, she'd even reached the sixth stage.
[Ainar Fenelin is currently fighting a rank-eight monster. Her Physique increases in proportion to the monster's rank.]
I never expected her to have Combat Study already. It made you stronger the more you fought—an ideal ability for barbarian warriors who were constantly trying to grow more powerful.
...It must be fun being able to fight like that.
I watched Ainar cheerfully throw herself at monsters on the front lines and felt jealousy creeping in, but I quickly squashed the feeling before it could grow. Shield barbarians were incredible in their own right. After all, Dungeon and Stone was a home for anyone who mained as a tank, since you couldn't get anything done in-game without a proper tanker. You could do a raid without priests, wizards, or archers, but a main tank was irreplaceable.
"Behel—aaaaaah!"
We continued to follow behind Ainar, left with nothing to do. As time went by, the experience we gained from hunting began to steadily pile up.
[You have killed a Mummy. EXP +1]
[You have killed an Iron Cavalry. EXP +3]
[You have killed a Viridian. EXP +2]
[You have killed the Eyes of the Guardian. EXP +2]
[You have killed an Iron Lizardman. EXP +3]
[You have killed a Riddler Gatekeeper...]
[You have killed...]
As we ran through the rift, I made sure to gather any hidden items to share with the rest of the party.
[You have taken a Mercurial Liquid. Your Mana Resistance has permanently increased by +3. This effect cannot be stacked.]
[You have taken an Iron Blessing. Your Physical Resistance has permanently increased by +3. This effect cannot be stacked.]
Since this was only a rift on the first floor, the stat increases were minor, but they would grow considerably as we continued to farm for them.
[You have entered the Iron Tomb.]
Even after taking the time to gather all the hidden elements, it didn't take long for us to make it to the boss room—only about three hours in total.
Only three hours to reach the boss room while soloing in the front... That's definitely fast.
Ainar had more than proved herself, but she wasn't satisfied and demanded to fight the boss alone.
[You have killed the Iron Ildium. EXP +4]
[High-rank Mutant Bonus. EXP +1]
[Guardian Kill Bonus. EXP +3]
The boss battle wrapped up quickly, and the moment it ended, everyone honed in on the light that began to shine as the monster's body disappeared. At the end of the day, we were all greedy adventurers, after all.
Shaaaaaa—
There was no essence, and the same went for any rift Stones, which could be sold for a good chunk of change.
"...A flower?"
"Huh? Is there a Numbered Item that's a flower?"
However, in an incredibly rare event, a Numbered Item had dropped—No. 9999: Beginner's Luck.
Now came a rank-four skill that resulted in a 50 percent bonus to Damage Resistance if fire damage was dealt to multiple enemies in a short enough time frame.
Boom! Smash! Clash!
Each swing of Ainar's sword brought with it dozens of explosions. I trailed after her, watching with pride.
I didn't expect her to actually gather all of the essences I mentioned.
I felt like a teacher watching my students come back from vacation with all their homework done. I had recommended essences to her that would raise almost all of her Resistance stats evenly. That was why she was completely fine even after stepping on the traps or getting attacked by monsters, and even if she did get hurt, the wounds healed quickly.
[Ainar Fenelin has cast Wings of Greed. Her Natural Regeneration has significantly increased.]
Because of the way Ainar was built, most of her damage dealing came from her passive skills, meaning she didn't eat up much Soul Power. The notable exception, of course, was her finishing move, Repeated Slash. But as a result, even if she had to constantly heal herself, she had very little risk of draining her stores entirely.
[Ainar Fenelin has killed a rank-eight monster. Her Soul Power is restored in proportion to the monster's rank.]
Thanks to the Satiation ability granted by the third stage of the Slayer Imprint, she was able to replenish both her MP and HP as she fought. And by the looks of it, she'd even reached the sixth stage.
[Ainar Fenelin is currently fighting a rank-eight monster. Her Physique increases in proportion to the monster's rank.]
I never expected her to have Combat Study already. It made you stronger the more you fought—an ideal ability for barbarian warriors who were constantly trying to grow more powerful.
...It must be fun being able to fight like that.
I watched Ainar cheerfully throw herself at monsters on the front lines and felt jealousy creeping in, but I quickly squashed the feeling before it could grow. Shield barbarians were incredible in their own right. After all, Dungeon and Stone was a home for anyone who mained as a tank, since you couldn't get anything done in-game without a proper tanker. You could do a raid without priests, wizards, or archers, but a main tank was irreplaceable.
"Behel—aaaaaah!"
We continued to follow behind Ainar, left with nothing to do. As time went by, the experience we gained from hunting began to steadily pile up.
[You have killed a Mummy. EXP +1]
[You have killed an Iron Cavalry. EXP +3]
[You have killed a Viridian. EXP +2]
[You have killed the Eyes of the Guardian. EXP +2]
[You have killed an Iron Lizardman. EXP +3]
[You have killed a Riddler Gatekeeper...]
[You have killed...]
As we ran through the rift, I made sure to gather any hidden items to share with the rest of the party.
[You have taken a Mercurial Liquid. Your Mana Resistance has permanently increased by +3. This effect cannot be stacked.]
[You have taken an Iron Blessing. Your Physical Resistance has permanently increased by +3. This effect cannot be stacked.]
Since this was only a rift on the first floor, the stat increases were minor, but they would grow considerably as we continued to farm for them.
[You have entered the Iron Tomb.]
Even after taking the time to gather all the hidden elements, it didn't take long for us to make it to the boss room—only about three hours in total.
Only three hours to reach the boss room while soloing in the front... That's definitely fast.
Ainar had more than proved herself, but she wasn't satisfied and demanded to fight the boss alone.
[You have killed the Iron Ildium. EXP +4]
[High-rank Mutant Bonus. EXP +1]
[Guardian Kill Bonus. EXP +3]
The boss battle wrapped up quickly, and the moment it ended, everyone honed in on the light that began to shine as the monster's body disappeared. At the end of the day, we were all greedy adventurers, after all.
Shaaaaaa—
There was no essence, and the same went for any rift Stones, which could be sold for a good chunk of change.
"...A flower?"
"Huh? Is there a Numbered Item that's a flower?"
However, in an incredibly rare event, a Numbered Item had dropped—No. 9999: Beginner's Luck.