Chapter 160: Strategy(5)
Chapter 160: Strategy(5)
A desolate dungeon.
A gloomy fog served as the backdrop for the wraiths' unsettling screams.
Amidst it all, Lina stared at the Archmage's Pendant in her hand.
A wistful emotion flickered in her eyes.
Kerry watched her.
What's this? Does this pendant have some backstory from her past life? This could be a problem.
Kerry desperately needed that pendant. He had gone to great lengths to obtain it. He’d come here with the expectation that no matter which of his companions got it, he could persuade them to give it to him.
If it has a history from her past life... she must know what it does, right?
If Lina knew the pendant's function, she would also know that it was better suited for Kerry than anyone else.
It was a tense moment. What would Lina decide? What was she thinking right now?
Lina stood frozen, staring intently at the pendant. She looked as if she were lost in old memories.
Breaking the silence, Lina moved.
She strode toward Kerry.
"I believe you should have this, Kerry."
"Its exact properties will have to be appraised, but... it seems to be a very useful item for a mage."
"!"
That's our Regressor! I knew I could count on you.
"Is that so? But I'm not sure if I should accept this... I was just lying here the whole time."
The unwritten rule of Koreans. You have to refuse at least once, even if you don't mean it.
Lina shook her head and said, "No one would deny that you were the one who put the most thought into clearing this dungeon."
"That's right! You should take it, Husband. I'm all for it!"
"If it's an item for a mage, then of course Kerry should have it."
"I'd like you to have it, too, Kerry!"
"...."
Honestly, he felt like his eyes were about to pop out of his head from wanting the Archmage's Pendant so badly, but Kerry feigned hesitation for a moment longer.
Then, as if he had no choice but to accept, he took the pendant Lina held out to him.
"Very well. In return, I will not accept any rewards from the rest of our dungeon clear."
This was the right way to do it.
Frankly, as long as he got the Archmage's Pendant, he didn't much care for any other rewards. Of course, the loot from a legendary-grade dungeon wouldn't be trivial, but he had already obtained the one item he needed most.
Besides, the stronger his party became, the safer he would be.
"Thank you all for letting me have this."
At Kerry's words, Lina gave a small smile.
The blonde regressor's pure smile made his heart flutter unexpectedly. Lina. Don't smile so close to me. It's bad for my heart.
Kerry put the Archmage's Pendant around his neck.
Niiiice! I finally got it! Now I'm on track to become an Archmage!
He felt an overwhelming urge to show off this cool pendant to the White Witch as soon as possible.
Kerry didn't forget to tie up the loose ends. The Saintess, who had been pretending to heal him, spoke up.
"Phew. I have finished dispelling the curse on Sir Kerry."
"Is he fully recovered?"
"Yes, Hero."
Lina let out a huge sigh of relief. The rest of the party also looked relieved at the Saintess's words.
"That's wonderful news. You've worked hard, Saintess. Now we can proceed with the rest of the dungeon."
"Sir Kerry, please take care of yourself as much as possible..."
"I don't think we'll need to go looking for it, Lina."
"Pardon?"
Lina immediately understood what Kerry meant. A shadow was visible in the eerie fog.
The fog was so thick you couldn't see an inch in front of you, but a chilling killing intent was radiating from beyond it. The presence felt different from that of an ordinary monster.
Kerry pushed himself up and shouted to the party.
"Everyone, boss battle formation!"
The party members around Kerry instantly scattered, forming a perfect line. Not a single person was out of place.
Victoria, at the very front to meet the boss, tightened her grip on her shield.
What incredible killing intent... this is no ordinary foe.
A shadow was visible through the fog. It was a humanoid figure holding a scythe-like weapon.
Kerry yelled, "Confirmed, it's a humanoid boss! Just stick to the training!"
It was no exaggeration to say that all their training up to this point had been specifically for this bastard. A monster with all sorts of debuffs and fraudulent stats. Whether it was getting a boost from the dungeon or something else, it was a monster that even the hero's party would struggle to defeat without taking damage.
A voice like scraping metal echoed from within the fog.
[You dare... to release... my soul without permission... was it your doing...?]
It seemed to be referring to the Archmage's soul passing on. That was why the boss had come here in person.
Of course, Kerry already knew. That was why he had rushed to tell the party that his curse was lifted.
"A debuff is coming, Saintess."
"Leave it to me."
The dungeon boss, the Executioner, emerged from the fog.
It was a skeletal figure draped in a tattered black cloak riddled with holes. Holding a giant scythe, it looked like a classic grim reaper.
The moment the Executioner revealed itself, a wave of energy spread through the area. It was a passive skill that applied its debuffs.
Mental curses like fear, confusion, and hallucination, plus a debuff that causes physical abilities to atrophy by creating a sense of pressure.
The debuffs were one of the biggest reasons the Executioner was so tricky.
But they had the Saintess.
Just as the ominous violet wave spread out, a brilliant golden light erupted from the Saintess's body.
"How dare you extend your filthy demonic claws in the presence of Elena's sacred light, you wretched darkness."
[...]
The Executioner paused for a moment when its debuffs failed to take effect. However, the Saintess was sweating profusely, indicating that blocking the debuffs wasn't easy for her either. Had her divine power been at its peak, she would have blocked them with ease.
The Saintess has done her part.
The rest was up to the party.
Just then, Natasha, who had been holding her position, asked in a trembling voice, "Is that... is that the one who cursed my Husband?"
Is that how this is playing out?
Kerry had certainly let the Saintess say as much. 'This is likely a curse cast by the dungeon boss.'
Natasha muttered something to herself. It was a murderous whisper, something along the lines of 'I'll kill you.'
A red haze began to shimmer and rise from her body. She hadn't gone berserk yet, but she looked to be on the verge.
"...."
With Natasha's words, the atmosphere in the dungeon shifted strangely.
An aura even more overwhelming than the dungeon boss's erupted from the hero's side.
The party was furious. More furious than ever before.
"I see. You said a moment ago that Sir Kerry collapsed because of that boss's curse, didn't you?" Lina said, her head bowed low. Her face was hidden by her hair, but her voice was colder than he had ever heard it.
"You will pay dearly for laying a hand on Kerry, heretic."
Victoria's rage was just as palpable. Her eyes, visible above her shield, flashed fiercely. You could almost feel her intense resolve.
"That thing... that thing... did this to Sir Kerry!"
The spirits around Arwen shrieked in unison, "Kieeeek!" Their chilling screams echoed through the dungeon. The spirits, their emotions synchronized with Arwen's, were enraged.
If you were their enemy, the sight would have made your legs give out.
"....."
Kerry had nothing to say. It wasn't like he could now claim it wasn't the dungeon boss's curse.
The situation itself wasn't so bad. Morale was important in battle, after all. No, wait. This was too much. It might be better if they calmed down a little.
Kerry spoke with concern. "Everyone, don't get worked up. You have to stick to the training. Letting your guard down is absolutely forbidden."
The party nodded at Kerry's words, but the fury in their eyes didn't diminish in the slightest.
Right. I said don't get worked up.
Then, Victoria spoke. "Kerry, do not worry. Right now, I feel as if I could face anything and not lose."
Everyone else seemed to agree with her.
He looked at the dungeon boss before them. Its intimidating presence from its first appearance was gone, replaced by a look of bewilderment at their party's extraordinary spirit.
Hang in there, buddy....
This was the first time he'd ever felt sorry for a dungeon boss.
After a brief standoff, the battle began.
*
To get straight to the point, Lina's party was victorious. The dungeon boss before them had been utterly and brutally smashed to pieces.
In particular, a berserk Natasha was relentlessly pounding on the dungeon boss's corpse.
Boom—! Craaash—! Pow—!
"Graaaah! Don't... touch... Ke...rry!"
The dungeon shook with every blow Natasha rained down on the corpse. With a red haze rising from her body, Natasha's indiscriminate assault was truly terrifying.
And it wasn't just Natasha.
The others didn't go as far as desecrating the corpse, but they had been unnecessarily aggressive during the fight.
It was true that the battle had been difficult enough to warrant Natasha going berserk, but it was also a fight that never felt like they were going to lose.
[The dungeon has been cleared. Calculating rewards.]
"Natasha, it's over. Stop and come here."
At Kerry's single command, the rampaging Natasha froze. Then, as if she had never been on a rampage at all, she grinned and ran over.
Kerry hugged the approaching Natasha.
"Ke...rry! Happy!"
"Yes. I'm happy with you too, Natasha."
The party rested for a moment. As expected of a legendary-grade dungeon boss, it had not been an easy opponent.
There was one reason they had been able to defeat it with almost no injuries.
"I realized it this time. We benefited greatly from your preparations for this clear, Sir Kerry."
It was just as Lina said.
Of course it was effective; he had checked the dungeon boss's information and prepared accordingly. If they hadn't been prepared, they might not have lost, but it wouldn't have been strange if someone had been seriously injured. The boss was that strong.
It had wide-area debuffs, an unavoidable area-of-effect attack, and even a special defensive skill where it raised undead to use as shields. The Executioner possessed many tricky skills that would have been a nightmare without prior knowledge, but they had prepared for all of them through training.
Of course, if Lina had unleashed the power of the Spirit Sword... all that prep work might have been unnecessary.
But Lina hadn't unleashed the Spirit Sword's power, even at the end.
She probably didn't use it because she wants the party to grow stronger.
The reason Lina was gathering companions was simple: the enemy was too powerful to defeat alone. It would be strange for her to gather allies and not let them grow.
"It should be about time for the rewards to be calculated."
[Calculation complete. Distributing rewards.]
As the message appeared, a light materialized in the center of the party. When the light faded, a pair of dual swords was revealed.
"Just what we needed."
Natasha had no idea that a great item had appeared for her; she was too busy licking Kerry's face.
Lick, lick—
"Natasha, they're dual swords. This time, they're your share."
In the last dungeon, Victoria's shield had dropped. Before that, it was Lina's boots. And Lina also had the Spirit Sword.
Only Natasha had nothing. But now, she had obtained a decent weapon. And a legendary-grade one at that.
[Name – Twin Dragon Swords]
[Grade – Legendary]
[Summary – The final masterpiece of a renowned master craftsman. Forged in the likeness of a dragon's claws. Its attack power is amplified when the dragon emblems engraved on the swords are completely dyed red.]
A reward worthy of a legendary-grade dungeon.
Lina picked up the Twin Dragon Swords and handed them to Natasha.
"Natasha, these are yours."
"...."
Natasha looked up at Kerry, as if seeking his permission.
Why is she asking for permission for this?
"It's okay to take them, Natasha."
"Heehee!"
Only then did Natasha accept the Twin Dragon Swords.
When she was in her berserk state, Natasha fought bare-handed, without weapons. But recently, she had started to speak and show higher intelligence while berserk, and it seemed she had developed a concept of weapons.
Natasha held the dual swords, still a bit awkwardly.
Lina nodded.
In her past life, she had never seen Natasha use a weapon while berserk. But if she could learn to use weapons in that state, she would become a tremendous asset.
Kerry, knowing this, was trying to help Natasha realize how to use them.
"Now that we've got what we came for, let's move. We need to cross the border before Astria's soldiers discover the dungeon has been cleared."
The party nodded in agreement.
Lina's party exited the dungeon. The moment they did, they saw the unknown power that had blocked the valley disappear, turning it into an ordinary valley once more. The eerie fog that had filled it also began to lift.
The Valley of Screams was no more.
"Let's hurry."
Lina's party prepared to run across the border. With Arwen's spirits, they could move even faster.
At this rate, we'll cross the border in no time.
He had no problem crossing the border into Astria. But there was something bothering him.
I want to meet the Goddess one more time before we leave.
She was a pain-in-the-ass goddess, but Astria had no temples to Elena. From what he'd heard, Astria worshipped a different goddess, which was why their relationship with the Empire was so poor. If he had business with Elena, it was best to handle it before crossing the border.
Not that he thought Elena would give up just because they crossed the border, as long as the Saintess was with them.
Is the Goddess really going to send her daughter across the border just like that?
What a heartless bitch!
He knew she had a rotten personality, but he never thought she'd abandon her own daughter.
Just as Kerry stepped out of the dungeon.
"Stop, Hero. Let us speak before you go to Astria."
It was the Goddess Elena.
It seemed she had heard that Lina's party had entered the dungeon and had been waiting for them.
The Saintess covered her mouth, looking as moved as if she had just been saved.
But then she saw it. She saw Kerry's lips curl into an ominous smirk.
Hey, barkeep. A refill of divine power over here.