Chapter 589: Boss Run (2)

Translator: RaidenTL

Chapter 589: Boss Run (2)

Amelia Rainwales. A truly talented individual who could use aura and was a capable Guide.

Her class...

I guess she's a Clone Thief.

In any case, she was currently level eight and had one empty essence slot after erasing one before coming down to the first underground floor.

Sociability. This was the essence of Caprabara, a rank five monster, and it meant that monsters wouldn't attack her unless she attacked them first. This was quite useful when she was moving alone, but now that she was moving with us, it was an essence that she no longer needed.

Well, she did have one more in a similar vein.

"Emily, when we go back to the city, erase the essence of Esgen as well."

"The Esgen essence...?"

"Why are you surprised? I said before—your time of moving about alone is over."

"...I'll think about it."

What do you mean, think about it?

If she held onto the Spring of Eternal Youth, priests would continue to not be able to heal her properly.

Why does she want to keep it so much?

With allies around, the essence of Esgen could be substituted by potions and other things. But why was she so intent on holding onto that one?

...Does she still not trust us completely?

Hmm, maybe that was the case. That skill alone would've helped her survive death countless times when she was going around alone. Maybe she needed more time to get used to us.

Eventually, I said, "Sure, think about it. It's not like our clan has a priest yet either." I decided to slowly try to persuade her over time and leave the talk of it there for now.

"Looks like...everything's resolved?" Amelia suddenly said just as we were about to start discussing the boss. When I looked at her to ask what she was talking about, Amelia cleared her throat and continued with a quiet voice, "I'm talking about Missha Karlstein."

Ah, that. I mean, it was true that I hadn't properly told her what happened after that, so she had probably been curious about it the whole time.

"It all worked out thanks to you. I've confirmed that she's not hiding anything—"

"A confession."

I paused. "Huh?"

"I...heard that you received one. From Karlstein."

Uh...

I was genuinely surprised.

"Looks like it's true, judging by your reaction," she noted.

"Ignoring if it's true or not, how do you know about that?"

"I heard it from Tersia."

"From Erwen...?"

"She was going around that day looking for you, and she says she heard the conversation coming from the room."

"Ah..."

When I kept floundering for words like an openmouthed fool, Amelia carefully asked, "So...what was your answer?"

Was it right to talk about that time without getting permission from Missha first? Though the dilemma of it needled me, I decided to answer truthfully for now. I did receive Amelia's help that day, after all.

She echoed my words back at me. "Just friends..."

"Yeah, it ended smoothly with that. So you don't need to worry—"

"This will be a messy fight."

"...Huh?"

"No, just talking to myself."

I asked her what she meant by those ominous words, but even then, she didn't give me an answer.

Amelia changed the topic as if avoiding that one. "Yandel, I'm asking this just in case."

Hearing her sound so serious, I became worried about what she was about to say—

"Do you perhaps like men?"

"...What?"

"Don't worry. I don't judge over things like that. I've met a few people in Noark who had such inclinations as well—"

What the hell was she talking about?

"Watch your words, Amelia Rainwales." I held back the boiling feeling in my core and ground out, "I love women. I love women a lot."

"...I-Is that so? Ah...s-still, I didn't know it was that much—"

"So never say something like that in front of me ever again. This is much more insulting than when you called me 'Hans'."

"...Sorry. I'll keep it in mind. I'll never say something like that again. I promise. I swear on my older sister."

After Amelia gave her quick and serious apology, I let out a sigh and stamped down my temper. It was pretty odd. It wasn't as if I hated people who batted for the other team, so why did I get so angry?

Despite not really understanding it myself, Amelia quietly observed my reaction before continuing to say, "Anyway...that's a relief to hear."

"A relief?"

"You are a noble in this world."

"Huh?" I tilted my head.

She avoided my eyes for some reason. "Well...I don't know how it was in your world...but it's fine in this world...even if you love women, lots of them."

How the hell did the conversation reach this point?

It was beyond my comprehension, so I brought up a sound from deep within me. She may have been my precious ally, but it couldn't be helped. She needed to be disciplined when she deserved it.

Humanitarianism and a Confucianist mentality—I had inherited both of them. Also, I was a pure-blooded Korean who had inherited the surname Lee of the Joseon royal family. Someone who was Korean, Korean, and only Korean. To put it simply, as a Triple-K-Barbarian...

"(Gal!)"

There were some things I couldn't ignore.

"Guh-all...?"

This Confucianist shout in my native tongue was something Amelia had probably never heard before.

As someone who had the mission of making the world a better place, I quickly told her the meaning of that shout. "It's something the people of my world say when we rebuke someone."

"...Are you telling me I said something that deserved to be rebuked?"

Haha, it seemed that she still didn't understand.

I would be justified to go even harder on her, but as she was my ally, I slowly and calmly explained it to her. "Naturally. Our royal family doesn't tolerate such disorderly behavior in our culture."

Amelia was taken aback for a second. "Our royal family...?"

"I haven't told you because I thought it might overwhelm you, but my surname 'Lee' means I am the blood of the Joseon royal family."

"This will be a messy fight."

"...Huh?"

"No, just talking to myself."

I asked her what she meant by those ominous words, but even then, she didn't give me an answer.

Amelia changed the topic as if avoiding that one. "Yandel, I'm asking this just in case."

Hearing her sound so serious, I became worried about what she was about to say—

"Do you perhaps like men?"

"...What?"

"Don't worry. I don't judge over things like that. I've met a few people in Noark who had such inclinations as well—"

What the hell was she talking about?

"Watch your words, Amelia Rainwales." I held back the boiling feeling in my core and ground out, "I love women. I love women a lot."

"...I-Is that so? Ah...s-still, I didn't know it was that much—"

"So never say something like that in front of me ever again. This is much more insulting than when you called me 'Hans'."

"...Sorry. I'll keep it in mind. I'll never say something like that again. I promise. I swear on my older sister."

After Amelia gave her quick and serious apology, I let out a sigh and stamped down my temper. It was pretty odd. It wasn't as if I hated people who batted for the other team, so why did I get so angry?

Despite not really understanding it myself, Amelia quietly observed my reaction before continuing to say, "Anyway...that's a relief to hear."

"A relief?"

"You are a noble in this world."

"Huh?" I tilted my head.

She avoided my eyes for some reason. "Well...I don't know how it was in your world...but it's fine in this world...even if you love women, lots of them."

How the hell did the conversation reach this point?

It was beyond my comprehension, so I brought up a sound from deep within me. She may have been my precious ally, but it couldn't be helped. She needed to be disciplined when she deserved it.

Humanitarianism and a Confucianist mentality—I had inherited both of them. Also, I was a pure-blooded Korean who had inherited the surname Lee of the Joseon royal family. Someone who was Korean, Korean, and only Korean. To put it simply, as a Triple-K-Barbarian...

"(Gal!)"

There were some things I couldn't ignore.

"Guh-all...?"

This Confucianist shout in my native tongue was something Amelia had probably never heard before.

As someone who had the mission of making the world a better place, I quickly told her the meaning of that shout. "It's something the people of my world say when we rebuke someone."

"...Are you telling me I said something that deserved to be rebuked?"

Haha, it seemed that she still didn't understand.

I would be justified to go even harder on her, but as she was my ally, I slowly and calmly explained it to her. "Naturally. Our royal family doesn't tolerate such disorderly behavior in our culture."

Amelia ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was taken aback for a second. "Our royal family...?"

"I haven't told you because I thought it might overwhelm you, but my surname 'Lee' means I am the blood of the Joseon royal family."

"Are you...saying you're royalty right now?"

"...Yes, a collateral line." I felt a little guilty, but I wasn't technically lying, right? I could interpret my lineage like that. As someone of a mono ethnicity, there was a chance that my blood had some of the royal family mixed in it.

"A member of royalty... That's surprising." Amelia accepted it a lot more easily than I expected. However, it seemed that she did have one question. "But didn't you say that the nation you lived in is called Korea?"

"Joseon...is an ancient kingdom that has already collapsed."

"I see...so you have the royal blood of an ancient, ruined kingdom."

Uh... "Yes."

That was also up to interpretation. It sounded cooler than a mere middle-class person who happened to have the surname Lee, though.

"Now I understand why you were so desperate to survive... That must have been the environment you grew up in. You must feel a sense of duty as well."

I just stayed quiet and let her talk. However, it seemed that this conversation had ignited her curiosity a little as Amelia began to ask many more things.

"What a peculiar country this Joseon is. For even the royalty to not be able to have multiple wives."

I had nothing I could say about that. In truth, Joseon was polygamous. And not just wives, they even had royal concubines.

...A lot of them at that.

Maybe polygamy...is actually a pretty foundational social system?

Even as the thought struck me, I quickly shook my head. No, there was no way. The current royal family of Korea, the K-government, had inherited Confucian teachings and was enforcing monogamy.

...But this is a different world, right?

Thinking about it now, even murder was considered an extreme crime in the eyes of Korea, governed by the K-government. And at this point, I was a mass murderer who had killed hundreds of people.

So is there a reason for me to still be holding onto these ideas?

A devil whispered to me from my left shoulder, but I blocked my ears and closed my eyes. There was no need for me to produce excuses like Confucianism or social structures or whatever. It was just because I was born and raised in a world like that that I was feeling a natural aversion to this topic.

But it seemed that Amelia had noticed as well.

"...It seems this was a sensitive topic to you. I apologize."

Her new apology made me feel like I overreacted a little as well, so I accepted it. Of course, receiving that apology did nothing for the questions in my mind.

"It's fine. But why did you suddenly bring that up?" I asked.

Amelia just said it looked like I needed some guidance before quietly mumbling something to herself.

"This isn't going to be a messy fight." She sounded really serious for some reason. "In the end...it'll become a bloody one."

"...What have you been mumbling there?"

"Ah, I'm talking to myself. Don't worry about it."

No, but how could I not?

***

What would fit my Triple-K mindset more?

After finishing my conversation with Amelia, which made me think long and hard about that particular question, we were able to finally get talking about raiding the boss.

"Are you...saying you're royalty right now?"

"...Yes, a collateral line." I felt a little guilty, but I wasn't technically lying, right? I could interpret my lineage like that. As someone of a mono ethnicity, there was a chance that my blood had some of the royal family mixed in it.

"A member of royalty... That's surprising." Amelia accepted it a lot more easily than I expected. However, it seemed that she did have one question. "But didn't you say that the nation you lived in is called Korea?"

"Joseon...is an ancient kingdom that has already collapsed."

"I see...so you have the royal blood of an ancient, ruined kingdom."

Uh... "Yes."

That was also up to interpretation. It sounded cooler than a mere middle-class person who happened to have the surname Lee, though.

"Now I understand why you were so desperate to survive... That must have been the environment you grew up in. You must feel a sense of duty as well."

I just stayed quiet and let her talk. However, it seemed that this conversation had ignited her curiosity a little as Amelia began to ask many more things.

"What a peculiar country this Joseon is. For even the royalty to not be able to have multiple wives."

I had nothing I could say about that. In truth, Joseon was polygamous. And not just wives, they even had royal concubines.

...A lot of them at that.

Maybe polygamy...is actually a pretty foundational social system?

Even as the thought struck me, I quickly shook my head. No, there was no way. The current royal family of Korea, the K-government, had inherited Confucian teachings and was enforcing monogamy.

...But this is a different world, right?

Thinking about it now, even murder ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was considered an extreme crime in the eyes of Korea, governed by the K-government. And at this point, I was a mass murderer who had killed hundreds of people.

So is there a reason for me to still be holding onto these ideas?

A devil whispered to me from my left shoulder, but I blocked my ears and closed my eyes. There was no need for me to produce excuses like Confucianism or social structures or whatever. It was just because I was born and raised in a world like that that I was feeling a natural aversion to this topic.

But it seemed that Amelia had noticed as well.

"...It seems this was a sensitive topic to you. I apologize."

Her new apology made me feel like I overreacted a little as well, so I accepted it. Of course, receiving that apology did nothing for the questions in my mind.

"It's fine. But why did you suddenly bring that up?" I asked.

Amelia just said it looked like I needed some guidance before quietly mumbling something to herself.

"This isn't going to be a messy fight." She sounded really serious for some reason. "In the end...it'll become a bloody one."

"...What have you been mumbling there?"

"Ah, I'm talking to myself. Don't worry about it."

No, but how could I not?

***

What would fit my Triple-K mindset more?

After finishing my conversation with Amelia, which made me think long and hard about that particular question, we were able to finally get talking about raiding the boss.

"Can we really just jump down?"

Finally, we reached the boss room—or rather, the entrance to the boss room.

Swoosh!

Cold bursts of air whipped across a cliff. Below it was darkness that seemed to lead all the way down to Hades.

"Don't get scared. There's no FD."

"Eff dee...?"

"There's no fall damage."

Although I kindly explained it to her, Amelia didn't understand what I meant. She also seemed to have an aversion to falling. That was why I just grabbed Amelia and jumped down.

Most people would've screamed, but Amelia was different. Although she grabbed onto my head so hard that I thought my hair would get ripped off, she didn't make a single sound.

Boom!

With that heavy thud, we arrived at the bottom of the cliff.

After taking a moment to regain her bearing, Amelia got off of my shoulder. She then glared at me before sighing. "I know you can be gentle, so why do you always...?"

"Did you say something?"

She sent me another silent stare. "It's fine, barbarian," she deadpanned finally. "So where is our enemy?"

Seeing how she was calling me "barbarian" and not Yandel, I could tell she was a bit angry at me, but I could solve that problem later.

"It'll soon be here."

Just as I raised my shield, the entire space began to shudder. And then, our enemy revealed itself.

Boom!

A body larger than any ordinary Ogre, and above it, a head with three distinct horns and a singular eye. Its chest area looked rotten and ripped apart, as its ribs were fully exposed to the air.

Slurp.

Then, a monstrous-looking tongue peaked out through it, flicking about unpleasantly. It was as if it were looking at food.

Ah, also, this was pretty good for me.

...So this guy doesn't talk either.

Originally, this guy would run away the entire time the rift was open, and when it was finally caught, it would boast and say that it succeeded in luring us.

"Get ready, Amelia."

"You, that name..."

"It's just the two of us here."

"Yandel, mistakes always happen when you least expect them."

Hey, it's not that serious. I was just calling you your real name for the first time in a while.

"I'm saying all of this for your own sake—"

"Behel—LAAAAAAAH!"

Before she could continue lecturing me, I used Giantization and charged forward. As we clashed and held each other in position, Amelia stopped talking and did what she needed to do as well.

[Amelia Rainwales has cast Self-Replication.]

As expected of a Clone Thief, she activated her clones first before attacking our target from both sides as if filling in for our lacking numbers. Her two selves danced and attacked like twin swordswomen who had trained together all their lives.

[Amelia Rainwales has cast Asura's Kick.]

She kicked the head of the monster that was multiple times larger than herself...

[Amelia Rainwales has cast Power of the Abyss.]

And used aura to cut away at the monster's tough skin.

It was noticeably different from when I fought with Raven by my side. If a wizard attacked by taking their time to channel one huge blast of damage, Amelia continued to output high DPS as a melee damage dealer should.

And since her damage values are bigger, I can expect more from her.

Amelia did more damage when considering damage over time as well. Well, whether or not she could consistently deal her maximum possible damage the whole time was a different matter entirely.

The biggest problem is resource management...

Amelia's burst damage was right behind Erwen's. However, that period of high damage was exceedingly short. Due to the combination of essences she had, it couldn't be helped due to her lacking MP.

In situations like this where she has to do all the damage, those weaknesses are made even more obvious.

The MP usage of Self-Replication was among the highest in the game. When the clone used her skills, the MP usage was five times more than what it usually would be. Until now, she had been able to use her expansive amount of MP along with Power of the Abyss to manage.

But this is a problem that should've been fixed from the beginning.

Honestly, the reason this weakness hadn't caused us any problems was simply because of Amelia's high skill ceiling.

[Amelia Rainwales has cast Substitution.]

She used her clone only to draw attention before attacking with her main body.

While doing that, she consistently aimed for critical strikes and maintained her pace so her MP never fell below a certain value. That was why she only used aura, which required a lot of MP, at set short intervals.

Slash!

At the end of the long ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠battle, Amelia used aura to slice the monster's neck. If she looked tired, I was planning on actively attacking it as well.

Showing a performance like this with a half-baked character...

I couldn't help but smirk.

[You have defeated the Hell Giant Herja.]

[Guardian defeat bonus. EXP +3]

It was always a joy whenever my allies became stronger.

"Can we really just jump down?"

Finally, we reached the boss room—or rather, the entrance to the boss room.

Swoosh!

Cold bursts of air whipped across a cliff. Below it was darkness that seemed to lead all the way down to Hades.

"Don't get scared. There's no FD."

"Eff dee...?"

"There's no fall damage."

Although I kindly explained it to her, Amelia didn't understand what I meant. She also seemed to have an aversion to falling. That was why I just grabbed Amelia and jumped down.

Most people would've screamed, but Amelia was different. Although she grabbed onto my head so hard that I thought my hair would get ripped off, she didn't make a single sound.

Boom!

With that heavy thud, we arrived at the bottom of the cliff.

After taking a moment to regain her bearing, Amelia got off of my shoulder. She then glared at me before sighing. "I know you can be gentle, so why do you always...?"

"Did you say something?"

She sent me another silent stare. "It's fine, barbarian," she deadpanned finally. "So where is our enemy?"

Seeing how she was calling me "barbarian" and not Yandel, I could tell she was a bit angry at me, but I could solve that problem later.

"It'll soon be here."

Just as I raised my shield, the entire space began to shudder. And then, our enemy revealed itself.

Boom!

A body larger than any ordinary Ogre, and above it, a head with three distinct horns and a singular eye. Its chest area looked rotten and ripped apart, as its ribs were fully exposed to the air.

Slurp.

Then, a monstrous-looking tongue peaked out through it, flicking about unpleasantly. It was as if it were looking at food.

Ah, also, this was pretty good for me.

...So this guy doesn't talk either.

Originally, this guy would run away the entire time the rift was open, and when it was finally caught, it would boast and say that it succeeded in luring us.

"Get ready, Amelia."

"You, that name..."

"It's just the two of us here."

"Yandel, mistakes always happen when you least expect them."

Hey, it's not that serious. I was just calling you your real name for the first time in a while.

"I'm saying all of this for your own sake—"

"Behel—LAAAAAAAH!"

Before she could continue lecturing me, I used Giantization and charged forward. As we clashed and held each other in position, Amelia stopped talking and did what she needed to do as well.

[Amelia Rainwales has cast Self-Replication.]

As expected of a Clone Thief, she activated her clones first before attacking our target from both sides as if filling in for our lacking numbers. Her two selves danced and attacked like twin swordswomen ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠who had trained together all their lives.

[Amelia Rainwales has cast Asura's Kick.]

She kicked the head of the monster that was multiple times larger than herself...

[Amelia Rainwales has cast Power of the Abyss.]

And used aura to cut away at the monster's tough skin.

It was noticeably different from when I fought with Raven by my side. If a wizard attacked by taking their time to channel one huge blast of damage, Amelia continued to output high DPS as a melee damage dealer should.

And since her damage values are bigger, I can expect more from her.

Amelia did more damage when considering damage over time as well. Well, whether or not she could consistently deal her maximum possible damage the whole time was a different matter entirely.

The biggest problem is resource management...

Amelia's burst damage was right behind Erwen's. However, that period of high damage was exceedingly short. Due to the combination of essences she had, it couldn't be helped due to her lacking MP.

In situations like this where she has to do all the damage, those weaknesses are made even more obvious.

The MP usage of Self-Replication was among the highest in the game. When the clone used her skills, the MP usage was five times more than what it usually would be. Until now, she had been able to use her expansive amount of MP along with Power of the Abyss to manage.

But this is a problem that should've been fixed from the beginning.

Honestly, the reason this weakness hadn't caused us any problems was simply because of Amelia's high skill ceiling.

[Amelia Rainwales has cast Substitution.]

She used her clone only to draw attention before attacking with her main body.

While doing that, she consistently aimed for critical strikes and maintained her pace so her MP never fell below a certain value. That was why she only used aura, which required a lot of MP, at set short intervals.

Slash!

At the end of the long battle, Amelia used aura to slice the monster's neck. If she looked tired, I was planning on actively attacking it as well.

Showing a performance like this with a half-baked character...

I couldn't help but smirk.

[You have defeated the Hell Giant Herja.]

[Guardian defeat bonus. EXP +3]

It was always a joy whenever my allies became stronger.