Chapter 143: Verdure
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 143: Verdure
I carefully examined the scene unfolding within the scroll.
The first thing I saw was Verdure, standing firm, radiating an overwhelming presence.
Of all the exit bosses on the 6th floor, it was the type with the highest defense and resistance.
Facing it were a total of four adventurers.
Richard, Aimus, Yernil, and Back Attack.
From the looks of it, they were having a tough time.
Yernil was clearly dispirited, and Back Attack was…
Why was he looking at the Watcher and praying?
Aimus looked utterly exhausted. His armor was in tatters, suggesting he’d been gored by Verdure’s horns at least a couple of times. He must have survived thanks to his Steel Veins skill.
It was a shame that Dorothy and Kudrum weren't there.
If just one of them had been present, they could have taken down Verdure with relative ease.
Still…
It’s not impossible.
Aimus, Yernil, and Back Attack. If it had just been the three of them, one or two might have died.
But with Richard there, they could mix in skills like Spinal Severing Strike or Charging Mount Ankle Slash to defeat Verdure.
The problem was that Richard was severely injured and couldn't be pushed too hard, and…
Verdure is already about to charge Richard.
Hmm.
I only had 1 Action Point left.
For now, I had to keep Richard alive, so…
[The Hourglass's dominion ability has been expanded.]
[Select a person to subjugate.]
1. Aimus (Trust: 100%)
2. Back Attack (Trust: 100%)
3. Isel (Trust: 100%)
4. Neko (Trust: 100%)
5. Bernard (Trust: 100%)
6. Hyedam (Trust: 100%)
I chose Back Attack.
A rogue’s utility was second to none among all classes.
[‘Back Attack’ has been subjugated to the Hourglass!]
An intense light burst from the Hourglass.
[There are now 2 or more individuals subjugated to the Hourglass.]
[The Hourglass has been affected by ‘Byullant’s Hammer’.]
[You can now issue commands to subjugated individuals alternately. Each command consumes 1 Action Point. The subjugated individuals will carry out the commands of their own will.]
Well, look at this.
Originally, during an Hourglass turn, I could only use 1 Action Point to command Yernil.
But this…
Does this mean I can use all 6 Action Points by alternating commands between Yernil and Back Attack?
If so, that was twice as good.
[Turn-Based Hourglass Cooldown: 21 seconds]
The remaining cooldown on the Hourglass wasn't long. All four of them just had to survive for about twenty seconds.
Then, when my turn came again, I could issue more specific and complex tactical orders.
Until then…
“No one is allowed to die.”
I could speak even underwater.
Even if I opened my mouth, the pond water wouldn't flow in while time was stopped.
“Back Attack. Use Shadow Leap to get Richard to safety. You must keep everyone alive. Stall for time!”
*
Snatch!
Just before Verdure’s horns could impale him, Richard felt the wicked grasp of a rogue grabbing him by the hair.
“You crazy bastard!”
“Shut up!”
Back Attack held onto him and activated a skill.
Shadow Leap!
He evacuated them to the top of a nearby giant mushroom.
“Are you insane?! What are you doing?!”
Horrified, Richard grabbed Back Attack by the collar and shook him.
“I couldn't just stand by and watch you charge in like an idiot!”
Back Attack roughly pushed him away.
“You were making your allies the target!”
Having missed Richard, Verdure slammed into a wall before righting its posture.
“Yernil!” Back Attack shouted as he leaped down from the mushroom.
“Get up there!”
“But Aimus is…”
Yernil spotted Back Attack’s signature move, flying in behind Aimus. Back when she’d faced Back Attack as the 1st floor exit boss, that very technique had nearly killed her and Caleb.
Adrenaline Rush!
It was a special ability that instantly reset the cooldown of one of his Tier 1 skills.
Back Attack grabbed Aimus’s wrist.
Shadow Leap!
Sentinel Reposition!
Understanding the situation, Yernil activated her skill at the same time and escaped onto the mushroom.
But…
“Now what?!” Richard’s anger hadn't subsided. “Hunkering down here won’t change anything, you moron!”
“…”
“And both front-liners are up here! What about Clorence and your precious Caleb, you punk?! We should be thinking about killing that damn deer and getting out to save them!”
“Ah, fuck, I know, so just shut up! You’re driving me crazy!” Back Attack yelled back.
“Let’s try to come up with a plan. If we just charge in blindly, we’ll die.”
He stared intently at the Watcher.
Caleb would never have continued a fight like that.
Escaping onto the mushroom and finding a new approach was the right move.
Back Attack felt a surprisingly strong conviction in the choice he had just made.
“You got any bright ideas?” Aimus asked.
“…No.”
Honestly, he didn't. Not yet.
CRASH!
Verdure charged and began ramming the mushroom’s stalk.
The mushroom would soon collapse.
When it did, they would fall from the air without a proper formation, and Verdure would pick them off one by one, like kicking a ball.
“For now,” Back Attack said, pulling a healing potion from his pocket. “Treat your wounds.”
“God, I miss Dorothy right now,” Richard grumbled, taking the potion and pouring it liberally over his injuries.
*
The most expensive item I got from the last battle was Ingelam’s coat.
That coat was enchanted with the spell ‘Universal Camouflage: Chameleon.’
I had almost fooled Bisan and Mugol with it back at the dormitory, though I was caught when Bisan cast his Omniscient Taoist Art.
You don’t have anything like that, do you?
The Glutton had already used its Void Ink a while ago. It should still be on cooldown.
And even if it tried to feel me out with Void Ink, it wouldn't be able to discern the Chameleon spell.
“Universal Camouflage: Chameleon.”
I cast the spell as I climbed out of the pond.
I had been nervous that I might lock eyes with the Glutton the moment I surfaced, but thankfully, that didn't happen.
The monster was busy. The Gardener’s mushroom army was in the middle of a fierce assault.
And one more thing.
You can have this, too.
I brought the Blowgun Nymph’s corpse out with me.
So, what would happen now?
Become a mushroom host.
In the Pandemonium Mushroom Forest, the map for the 6th floor, airborne mushroom spores would turn any corpse into a host.
But right now, I didn't need to wait for the spores to settle on the body.
The Gardener would take care of it.
“…!”
As I laid the nymph’s corpse out in a conspicuous spot near the pond, the Gardener spotted it and rushed over.
Getting a closer look at the Gardener for the first time, I was slightly taken aback by its condition.
The cap on the Gardener’s head was half-destroyed, and blood was streaming from its entire body.
It must have been on the verge of death while fighting the Glutton.
At this rate, it would never be able to stop the monster.
The Gardener must have reached the same conclusion.
Slice! Slice!
It hastily carved out the nymph’s heart with its garden shears, planted a mushroom spore inside, and aimed its staff.
“Fungal Legion.”
With that incantation, the resurrection was complete.
I carefully moved away, making sure my Chameleon state wasn't spotted by the Glutton.
Thwack!
A piercing bullet fired by the nymph skewered one of the Glutton’s tentacles.
“Screeeeee!”
An eerie shriek echoed through the garden as mushroom spores filled the air.
Let the monsters fight amongst themselves.
Clorence, where are you?
Don’t tell me you’ve also become part of the Fungal Legion with a hole blown through your heart like that nymph.
Please be alive.
I scanned my surroundings with desperate hope. Even after a careful look, I couldn't see Clorence.
There were no bloodstains on the ground, either. All I could see were puddles from Cumulonimbus’s downpour, wet moss, and mushroom fluid.
When the nymph and I did our double dive into the pond, it seemed the last shot it fired had fortunately missed Clorence.
And if he had listened to my command to ‘run for it,’ he probably would have headed in the direction the combat doll had disappeared.
We had to regroup and reform our lines somehow…
“Caleb!”
About thirty meters away, Clorence waved from within a thicket.
He hadn't gone far.
And the fact that he spotted me in my Chameleon state meant he must have used a life-detection spell.
“Gorororo!”
The combat doll was next to him, flustered after Clorence had taken its broken arm.
“I was planning to throw this back into the pond to deploy the combat doll.”
I see.
Clorence must have thought I was trying to take the nymph down with me.
His plan was to send in the combat doll to draw the nymph’s aggro, then use that opening to rescue me.
“Let’s rescue our party members while the Gardener buys us time,” Clorence said.
“Let’s go!”
First, let’s check on Kudrum’s group.
Aimus, Yernil, Back Attack, and Richard were trapped in the room with the Watcher, while Clorence and I were out in the garden field.
That meant Kudrum and Dorothy must be inside the iron-gated wall in the direction the combat doll had headed.
It wasn't far.
“What! Is that you, Clorence?!”
The Dwarf Puppeteer’s voice came from inside.
“Let’s take our time figuring out how to open this door,” I shouted from outside. “For now, just Kudrum, you come out!”
How could he get out if the door was locked?
A puppeteer had a way.
“Got it. I’ll use Phase Shift now.”
It was the puppeteer’s Tier 4 skill, allowing him to swap places with a combat doll within a five-meter radius.
“Wait a minute. I’ll give you some buffs and consumables,” Dorothy’s voice called out.
As expected of the 6th-floor adventurers, they found ways to contribute even in the worst situations.
Dorothy must have been using up all her magic power inside to craft potions, realizing it would be difficult for her to escape.
After stuffing everything into Kudrum’s backpack…
Phase Shift!
Kudrum swapped places with the combat doll.
Next, he dismissed the broken-armed doll.
Then, he took a new combat doll core from his backpack…
“Summon! Ruhabairn.”
A head and limbs grew from the core, forming a female combat doll.
“Let’s go!”
“We have to rescue Richard and Aimus’s group.”
We absolutely had to open the iron gate trapping Richard, Aimus, Back Attack, and Yernil.
“Follow me.”
Unlike Kudrum’s door, there should be a way to open this one.
We just had to kill Verdure.
The Gardener was also at a disadvantage against the Glutton, so if Verdure was eliminated, it would likely open the gate to bring in reinforcements.
“But we can’t get inside the iron gate,” Clorence pointed out.
He was right.
And practical magic like message transmissions couldn't pass through the gate either.
“There should still be a way,” I said.
The ghost tactician method, using the Hourglass.
But starting a fight right now was a bit difficult.
Because Back Attack had moved everyone to the top of a giant mushroom cap.
Actually, that was perfect.
If we used that position well, we might be able to take it down more easily.
I just hoped we could time it for when the giant mushroom breaks.
*
CRASH! CRASH!
Verdure repeatedly rammed the mushroom stalk.
“It’s going to break soon,” Richard said, gripping his zanbato tightly and preparing for death.
Once the stalk broke and the adventurers fell, there was a very high chance they’d be sent straight to the Ethereal Galaxy.
“Hoo…”
Richard ran a hand over his forehead.
The mood was grim.
And in the midst of it all…
“Huh?”
Yernil spotted something moving on the ceiling and cried out.
“Look over there! The Watcher is moving!”
The eyeball slowly drifted over until it was right in front of Yernil.
“Caleb!” Aimus shouted, grabbing at the eyeball. “Is Caleb safe?”
“Caleb!” Yernil cried, rushing forward. “Please help us!”
“What should we do, boss?!”
“Caleb! If you want to give us an order, give us a signal with the Watcher! We’ll look wherever the Watcher looks!”
Watching the three of them clamoring wildly, Richard was slightly taken aback.
They were like a bunch of fanatics. It was a little scary.