Chapter 304: Quest Preparation
Chapter 304: Quest Preparation
In the end, I wasn't able to level up to a satisfactory degree that day either.
If there was one silver lining, it was that I had properly counted the number of Saint's Waves it took for the skill to affect the Ogre Transcendent Species yesterday.
Thanks to that, running into another Transcendent Species wasn't much of a problem.
The Saint's skills still didn't work on them in a single hit, but I now had a rough idea of how many times I needed to use them.
Thanks to my long years of gaming experience, I was pretty confident in this kind of damage calculation.
“Guwon, now!”
“Okay!”
Having already hit it with a few Saint's Waves in advance, I fired the final one at Miriel’s signal.
The Troll Transcendent Species flinched as the skill took full effect and looked at me, but it was cut down by Alicia’s attack an instant later.
“You didn’t flinch this time.”
“Well, I’m a fast learner. Unlike someone who can’t manage a single feminine smile no matter how many times they try.”
“What did you say, you bastard?! Are you done talking?!”
“Hmph. If you’re so upset, why don’t you try showing me a feminine side that’ll make my heart pound?”
“You… you bastard…”
Even as she said that, Alicia seemed to lack the confidence to actually act feminine and couldn't argue any further.
Nice. Should I ride this momentum and mess with her a little more?
“But this is strange. A Troll Transcendent Species acting alone.”
However, as if waiting for the perfect moment, Miriel joined the conversation.
Tch. That Alicia is one lucky girl.
“So Trolls don’t usually act alone, even the Transcendent ones?”
“It’s not just that they don’t… this is the first time I’ve ever seen a Troll acting by itself. There might be others from its group nearby. Let’s stay sharp.”
It seemed she’d come over to tell us not to let our guard down.
And just as Miriel predicted, another Troll jumped out at us not long after.
For a monster, it was surprisingly clever. It even waited for us to be off-guard while collecting the magic stone from the Troll’s corpse before launching a surprise attack from the side.
“Hah!”
Not that it mattered. Jinny, who had been silently holding her position, blocked the ambush with her greatsword.
But as its attack was blocked, the monster launched itself upward, leaping clean over Jinny.
Then it dove straight for me.
Of course, with Silvia standing firm between me and the Troll with her shield raised, I wasn't particularly scared.
But this Troll was clearly a little different from the others.
It swung the club in its hand not at Silvia’s shield, but at the ground right in front of her.
“Kuh!”
Caught off guard by the Troll’s unexpected move, Silvia couldn't react in time. Her center of gravity shifted forward, and she started to fall.
“Watch out!”
I grabbed Silvia from behind and helped lift the shield she was still gripping tightly even as she fell.
At that exact moment, the Troll’s club smashed into the shield.
“Ugh!”
Because Silvia’s posture was unstable, it was almost as if I had blocked it all by myself.
I had expected a massive impact, but the damage wasn't as great as I thought.
Of course, the Troll’s unstable posture had caused the blow to be a glancing one, and I was still pushed back quite a bit, but that was it.
Ah, I see. Was it because I raised my Durability yesterday? So raising my Durability was worth it after all! I knew it would pay off someday!
And with that, the Troll’s ambush was over.
The members of Arachne rushed in and instantly butchered it.
It seemed this Transcendent was a female, so the fight ended without me even needing to use Saint's Wave.
“Strange. At first, it looked like it was trying to aim for you, Guwon.”
“Y-Yeah. Does it have a grudge against me or something?” I replied, avoiding Miriel’s gaze.
The truth was, I had a guess.
Earlier, while I was pre-emptively firing Saint's Waves at the male Troll, one of my shots had accidentally gone wide.
This was just a hypothesis, but if that stray shot had hit this female Troll, then its actions just now would make sense.
Of course, one hit wouldn't be enough to make it instantly enraged and blindly target me, but if it hadn't drawn aggro from anyone else and I was the one who hit it, it would naturally come after me first.
I should be more careful when using Saint's Wave from now on.
Still, thanks to it targeting me, I learned one thing.
My current Durability was high enough to withstand a glancing blow from a Transcendent Species, as long as I defended properly.
After safely overcoming the crisis on the third day, I was finally able to properly level up by controlling the power of my skills when I held Silvia at night.
As expected, by moderately adjusting the skill's power, I could keep bringing Silvia to climax without knocking her unconscious.
But wasting the first two days was still a painful loss.
In the end, I arrived at the location of the Layer Boss with my level still in that ambiguous range where I wasn't sure if Saint's Wave would work on it or not.
“Is that the 5th Floor’s Layer Boss?”
“Yes. This will be a tougher opponent than anything we’ve faced so far. That thing is on par with a Transcendent Species from the 6th Floor. Be extremely careful.”
Don't try to scare me. I can already tell it's incredibly strong just by looking at it.
It was a reptile with grayish-green scales and wide wings.
“Is that… a dragon?”
“It’s a Wyvern. No matter how deep you go, I’ve never encountered a dragon in the dungeon.”
“R-Right?! I thought so!”
“You little shit, you got scared again? Don’t worry. Your big sis will protect you.”
I wasn't scared!
I was just thinking that if it were a dragon, it would be using a ton of magic, and I’d be screwed if I messed up the timing of my skill.
My trusty Durability stat had been giving me peace of mind lately, but it only raises physical defense, so it’s useless against magic attacks.
Well, it’s a relief that it’s not a dragon.
I guess that makes sense. After facing monsters like Trolls, Ogres, Cyclopes, and Garudas, suddenly having a dragon as the boss would be way too unbalanced.
“Yeah, okay. Alicia. I’m counting on you.”
“Uh, uh… why are you being so honest all of a sudden?! What’s gotten into you? They say people act strange when they’re about to die.”
Alicia said, looking slightly bewildered.
“Nah. It’s just that even though you practiced the whole way here and still haven’t gained a shred of femininity, I can at least trust your fighting skills.”
“Are you trying to pick a fight?! You bastard!”
“Shall we go then? Guwon, I need you to wait a bit further back. That thing has some flashy area-of-effect attacks. I’ll call you when it’s time to use your skill.”
“Oh, uh, right? Okay.”
This is bad. If I’m too far away, I can’t even hit it with pre-emptive Saint’s Waves!
But regardless of my inner turmoil, the vanguard members of Arachne charged toward the Wyvern.
What do I do now?
While leveling up with Silvia, I’d gotten strong enough that a Transcendent Species would be affected by my skill after just three or four Saint's Waves.
But this was a Layer Boss. I had no idea how strong it was or how much it would resist my skill.
It would be easier to guess if the Layer Boss was just a strengthened version of a regular monster, like on the 1st Floor.
But since a completely new monster had appeared, I had no feel for it at all.
However, while I was lost in thought, the Wyvern subjugation progressed steadily.
The vanguard had secured its aggro, and now even the rear guard was beginning to join the attack.
I guess I should at least observe the Wyvern’s attack patterns. See what these so-called AoE attacks are.
The creature’s attack patterns were quite diverse.
First, it would beat its wings in mid-air to create gusts of wind and throw everyone off balance, then it would fire some kind of energy blast from its mouth.
It looked rather pathetic compared to something like a dragon’s breath, but its power seemed considerable. I could see the Arachne members getting pushed back steadily even when they blocked the blasts with their weapons.
Should that be considered a magic attack? Or a physical one?
Based on the visual effect alone, it looked more physical than magical… but I couldn't be sure.
No, it’s ridiculous to even think about this, since getting hit would mean the end anyway.
Furthermore, unlike the Garuda, the Wyvern’s wings didn't seem to be a weak point; it paid no mind to attacks on them.
In fact, it even seemed to be using its wings to block attacks.
It even landed on the ground and swung its wings like giant blades, and when they clashed with the Arachne members’ weapons, they made sharp Clang! Clang! sounds, like metal striking metal.
Its long tail was also a nuisance, whipping around like a scourge to attack in a completely different direction from where its head was facing.
And its most threatening attack was, of course, its bite. Even the members of Arachne were dodging that attack rather than trying to parry it.
It’s true. Its area attacks are strong.
No, to be more precise, most of its attacks are area attacks.
And I have to fire Saint's Wave at a creature like that, without knowing at what timing it will activate.
If there was any consolation, it was that the thing was so big there was no way my Saint's Wave would miss.
I steeled my heart and gathered my essence.
Goddess. You’re watching, right? The Saint you sent is in a crisis.
Please, grant me a miracle!
Then, trying not to be obvious, I began to secretly fire off Saint's Waves one by one.
I was terrified. My body flinched every time the Wyvern’s head turned in my direction.
But I clenched my buttcheeks and endured, continuing to fire the Saint's Waves.
But when I thought about it, if the timing wasn't right, it was better to be late.
If I was too early, I’d be attacked immediately and die.
But if I was too late? We could just wait for the Wyvern to reappear and hunt it again.
Considering the quest period was until we obtained the Wyvern’s penis, and that a Layer Boss takes even longer to respawn than a Transcendent Species, we’d have to wait here for quite a while. But it was still much better than dying.
Miriel would find out my level was too low, and the chances of things going wrong would increase significantly, but…
Ugh. Still, my girls would probably think that’s better than me dying.
As that thought crossed my mind, the rate at which I fired Saint's Waves naturally slowed.
Now, I was only tossing one out occasionally, as if I’d just remembered.
“Kuuuwoooar!”
Just then, the Wyvern’s scream echoed from the distance.
Is it over?
No. On the contrary, the Wyvern was firing energy blasts in all directions.
It was what you’d call a berserk state.
So its health was finally starting to run out.
Thinking that Miriel would be shouting for me any second, I prepared to unleash a barrage of Saint's Waves.
And then, one of the Wyvern’s seemingly indestructible wings was finally severed.
“Guwon! Now!”
The moment Miriel shouted, I unleashed a torrent of Saint's Waves.
It would be great if the skill worked, but if not, so be it!
“Kuweeeaaak!”
Did the Goddess really help me?
After being hit by the Saint's Waves I unleashed, the Wyvern showed a clear reaction.
However, the already-berserk Wyvern’s movements grew even more violent as it completely ignored the Arachne vanguard and charged straight at me.
But the Arachne clan members, who were getting used to this kind of trouble, didn't panic.
“Stop it, no matter what it takes!”
As Miriel shouted, she leaped onto the creature’s head and stabbed it with her sword. Alicia latched onto its wing and Jinny onto its tail, blocking its ferocious assault.
It seemed that completely stopping such a frenzied attack was overwhelming even for members who weren't specialized tanks. Blood began to fly from the bodies of the Arachne members, who had remained mostly unscathed until now.
Yet, none of them showed any sign of pain as they desperately blocked the Wyvern, preventing it from reaching me.
But then, the Wyvern made a move it hadn't before.
It used its hind legs to jump into the air.
Then, supporting its body with its sturdy tail, it began to flap its one remaining wing.
A powerful wind blasted us head-on, making all of us, including me, stagger and breaking our formation. At that moment, the Wyvern’s body crashed back down to the ground with a thud.
The shockwave forced everyone to their knees.
“Block it!”
In that opening, the Wyvern tried to charge toward me, but Miriel, who had immediately gotten back on her feet, jumped onto its head again to attack. The wing that was swinging toward me like a blade was blocked by Alicia.
And with that final wing attack, the Wyvern’s body slowly began to collapse.
However, even as it fell, the Wyvern squeezed out its last bit of strength and fired an energy blast from its mouth toward me.
“Guwon!”
“Nooo!”
From either side, Silvia and Matilda rushed toward me.
Was it because I was facing death? The scene seemed to play out in slow motion.
Silvia and Matilda were definitely in a position to protect me.
They would probably be able to get in front of me before the energy blast reached my body.
However, both of them seemed to have dropped their shields from the earlier shockwave, as their hands were empty.
Are they planning to block it with their bodies?
Even for them, taking that blast head-on with their bodies would be a gamble with their lives.
Especially since they were running and had no defensive stance whatsoever.
I stretched out both my hands and pushed Silvia and Matilda away by the chest.
The hand I extended toward Silvia felt a hard sensation. It wasn't because she was flat-chested. She was just wearing armor.
But the hand I extended toward Matilda felt a soft, supple sensation.
As a Cardinal and not a Holy Knight, Matilda was wearing priestess robes.
In that instant, a possibility flashed through my mind.
Yes. This might just work!
Filled with gratitude for Matilda’s breasts, which had sparked this idea, I gave them a few more gentle squeezes before pushing her away.
Was I trying to get one last feel before I died?
Of course not!
Watching the energy blast approach my abdomen, I did a small jump.
It wasn't enough to dodge.
But this was enough. The preparations were complete.
It doesn't matter if the energy blast is a physical or magical attack!
When my thing gets hard, its defense against all attacks skyrockets!
Witness the power of Iron Penis!
The moment I felt the Wyvern’s energy blast collide with my 'thing', my vision went black.
“Guwon!”
“Kyaaaaaaak!”
Even as my consciousness faded, I could hear screams erupting from both sides.
With the last of my strength, I gave a thumbs-up with the hand that had touched Matilda’s breast.
“A fine breast.”