No.294 Rainbow Lake (1)
Friday evening. Dang Gyu-young and I set foot in the Dungeon Hall's underground floors, right on schedule.
We rode the elevator openly all the way down to the very bottom of the F floor, and from there Dang Gyu-young took over as our guide.
As expected, this is so much more comfortable.
With a first-year guide swapped out for a third-year club president, the difference was instantly palpable. Shin Byung-cheol, for one, would inch forward with his eyes darting every which way, and the moment he sensed so much as a hint of another presence, he'd double back down some distant side passage. Dang Gyu-young, by contrast, barely bothered scanning ahead as she marched up the spiral staircases without a shred of hesitation—moving at close to a dead run.
Then, whenever she sensed something—
"Come here a sec."
—she'd seize my hand and pull us both into the shelter of the shadows. Moments later, a third-year Disciplinary Committee member would come trudging up the spiral stairs. It was the Hell Ax Senior, someone I'd crossed paths with a few times before.
"……."
Even with us hidden mere steps away, he failed to catch the faintest trace of our presence—which meant Dang Gyu-young's shadow concealment art was every bit as airtight as advertised. We watched the back of the Hell Ax Senior's head until he vanished from view, then stepped out of the shade and moved on.
Dang Gyu-young looked rather pleased with herself.
"See that? Couldn't find us at all. That's my skill for you."
"You're the best, sis."
"Heh heh. Let's keep going."
We picked up the pace again and pressed deeper into the underground levels. Before long, a teleport portal yawned open before us.
Dang Gyu-young and I confirmed with a look that we were both ready, then stepped into the dungeon together. My vision plunged into darkness for an instant before snapping wide open.
The first thing to catch my eye was a sky saturated with crimson sunset—evening was closing in. And when I lowered my gaze just slightly, a vast lake spread out below, tinged red by the dusk yet shot through with subtly different hues that shimmered across its surface. Like a rainbow. This was the dungeon's main stage: Rainbow Lake.
"……."
Dang Gyu-young swept her gaze over the surroundings, then summoned a handful of shadow butterflies and sent them fluttering off in every direction to scout the area. Apparently nothing turned up, because she tilted her head.
"Kim Ho, it's way too peaceful around here, isn't it?"
"I told you—it's quiet."
Rainbow Lake's core rule was [Raid]. Aside from the battle against the boss monster, though, there were no special events to speak of. No mobs swarming out of nowhere, no fireballs raining from the sky.
"Then when does the boss show up?"
"Any second now."
When I pointed at the middle of the lake, Dang Gyu-young studied the spot intently.
- Glub, glub,
Bubbles began rising from the mirror-smooth surface, sending ripples spreading in their wake—and those bubbles and ripples were drifting steadily closer to us.
"……."
"……."
No words were needed. Dang Gyu-young began readying herself for the fight to come. The shadow at her feet deepened and spread outward, and from within it, butterflies fluttered up one by one.
- Glub-glug-glug,
Meanwhile the bubbles surging up from the lake's depths grew more and more violent, until—
- SPLOOOOSH—!
Something enormous and round burst up through the surface. It was a fish the size of a house, its palm-sized scales overlapping from snout to tail so that it looked almost clad in a suit of armor. The boss monster of this very dungeon.
The Elemental Fish.
Two huge eyeballs stared us down head-on. Its face resembled a frog—or a toad—more than any fish, and it kept putting me in mind of someone I knew.
Almost like...
At that moment, Dang Gyu-young spat out the very thought I'd been having, slapping my shoulder as she did.
"Hey, hey—doesn't that thing look just like Kim Gap-du?"
"How can you say that? For shame."
"What? Honestly, it does look like him. Honestly."
"I... can't exactly say you're wrong."
"——!"
Apparently the Elemental Fish took offense at being compared to Kim Gap-du. It loosed a single piercing shriek, and a wave of mana rippled outward from its body. The ground beneath our feet heaved and overturned as if an earthquake had struck.
- KWA-KWA-KWA-KWA!
We picked our way across the shattering terrain, stepping only where the ground remained relatively whole. Even as we moved, I studied the creature's scales: brown, overall.
Earth element.
The Elemental Fish's scales shifted color continuously, and with them its elemental affinity—and the magic it wielded—changed as well. Earth right now, hence the earth magic.
"—!"
The Kim Gap-du Fish let out another sharp cry. This time, machine guns sculpted from packed earth rose up all around it and began spitting out clods of dirt.
- RATATATATA!
Weaving between fist-sized clumps of mud, Dang Gyu-young asked,
"So why's he so mad? Flinging earth magic right in our faces and everything."
"It's his territory, apparently."
I translated the fish-speak for her. The Elemental Fish was ferociously territorial—and by that, I meant it attacked anything and everything that strayed into its domain.
"And where's its domain?"
"The whole lake."
The entirety of the vast Rainbow Lake, shoreline included, belonged to it. That was why not a single monster—hell, not one fish or rabbit—could be seen anywhere nearby.
Dang Gyu-young looked utterly dumbfounded.
"Would you look at that shameless bastard. Did he rent out the whole lake or something?"
"Right? Shall we teach him some manners?"
"Oh, we should."
At a light wave of Dang Gyu-young's hand, the shadow butterflies circling nearby all swooped toward the Kim Gap-du Fish at once. I advanced right behind them, using the butterflies as stepping stones. Wind magic let me stay airborne for a good while, but truly floating and flying freely was still beyond my current specs.
By the time I'd closed some of the distance, my fist had taken on a smoldering dark-crimson flame. I drove the blazing fist forward with everything I had.
Inferno Fist
- KWA-KWA-KWA-KWA—!
The firestorm slammed dead center into the Elemental Fish's face. On top of that, the shadow butterflies that had soared above its head rained down every manner of shadow weapon—daggers, axes, spears, and more.
"—!"
The Elemental Fish shrieked even more sharply in pain. In truth, though, the damage seemed far from significant. I hopped back to Dang Gyu-young's side on the butterflies and, once the flames died down, checked its condition: a few scales singed and scratched on the surface, and that was all.
"How is that thing so damn tough?"
"Our elements don't match."
To deal meaningful damage to the Elemental Fish, you had to strike with its current element. Brown scales meant earth attacks; every other kind of offense had its damage slashed to a fraction. That was how it had shrugged off a dead-on B-Rank Inferno Fist and a full barrage of shadow magic from a third-year club president without breaking a sweat.
"So we can't kill it right now?"
"Not right now."
With it in earth form, hurting it was an uphill battle—but once its element shifted to match my skills, things would get a whole lot easier. If its scales turned red, for instance, Inferno Fist would finally hit for real.
"Still, no harm in having roughed it up a bit, right?"
"Fair enough. Beats doing nothing, I suppose."
"—!"
The Kim Gap-du Fish shrieked again, and earth magic came crashing down around us. Dang Gyu-young slipped through the barrage while flinging out more shadow butterflies; I used them as footholds to close in. I thrust my flame-wreathed fist with all my strength, and the firestorm went streaking across the water's surface.
- KWA-KWA-KWA-KWA—!
"—!"
Once again, the Elemental Fish endured the firestorm and the deluge of shadow weapons without much trouble, glaring at us with eyes brimming over with hostility. But instead of pressing its attack, it quietly backed away and slipped beneath the surface. The churning bubbles gradually died down, and the lake regained its mirror-smooth calm. If the ground around us hadn't been torn to pieces, you'd never have believed a battle had just taken place.
Dang Gyu-young looked at me.
"...It's gone?"
"Gone."
"When's that thing coming back out?"
"Not for a couple of hours, at least."
For all its savagery—attacking anything that entered its domain—the Elemental Fish was also shrewd about using its environment. After every round of battle, it would retreat into the lake's depths to recover its strength, then poke its face back above the water roughly two hours later, over and over. And each time it resurfaced, its scale color—its element—changed, decided at complete random with no pattern to speak of.
"And what if it comes up brown again?"
"Then we waste another two hours."
"So that's why this takes so long."
Opportunities kept presenting themselves, but every failed kill tacked another two hours onto our stay in the dungeon. That was exactly why I'd prepared the Heart Thunder Jade—to minimize the role luck played, so that even if it surfaced with the lightning element, we could still hurt it.
"So what do we do now?"
"We just need to kill time until— hold on, time out."
I raised a hand to stop Dang Gyu-young. Her eyes were sparkling as she reached into her inventory—clearly she'd brought something along to play with—but now was no time for goofing off.
"Let's go see the crow first."
"Oh, that's happening now?"
The dimensional crow would be appearing shortly, so we needed to be waiting at the meeting spot ahead of time. Looking disappointed, Dang Gyu-young smacked her lips and withdrew her hand.
The area around Rainbow Lake was a perfectly ordinary forest with nothing remarkable about it. A short distance away rose a modest hill, and an easy stroll later we were at the top in no time. The summit held a small clearing, and at its very center sat a single flat rock, all alone. It had the feel of a private airport tarmac.
"I'm guessing this is the place?"
"This is it."
"I'm curious. It's my first time seeing one right in front of me."
Dang Gyu-young's eyes gleamed with curiosity. She'd glimpsed the dimensional crow from a distance a few times, but actually trading with one—or even just watching a deal go down—was a first for her. Then again, unless you planned things as meticulously as I did, these creatures weren't the sort you'd stumble across easily.
"The trade is one thing, but can I ask a separate favor?"
"Of course you can. Whose favor?"
Dang Gyu-young answered with a grin. But when she heard what the favor actually was, her expression turned odd.
"...You're sure this is on the level?"
"It'll be fine."
"Ugh, fine. I'll give it a shot."
For a while, we waited in silence, watching the sunset paint the sky. How much time had passed like that?
The empty air began to waver violently, and from within it a black shape burst forth.
- Flap-flap,
The black shape beat its wings again and again in midair to kill its momentum, then alighted lightly atop the rock. It was a crow—and a very large one.
"Caw."
Its bulk was anything but birdlike, and perched on its head was a gentleman's top hat. It wore an aristocratic suit and carried a leather bag—exactly as I'd seen it through replays.
The Crow Tailor.
The Tailor didn't so much as glance at Dang Gyu-young. The moment it spotted me, though, it flapped its wings in place as if startled, then leaned its body forward as if to get a closer look. Being a crow, its expression was unreadable—but one thing was certain: it was very intrigued.
"Caw, Young Lord. What business brings you to seek me out?"
"Isn't it obvious?"
I came to get some tailoring done, obviously.