Chapter 38: All Alone
Chaos! Absolute chaos — these were the only words to describe the furious engagement of monsters and humans on the second-to-last floor of the dungeon.
Unlike previously, there was no chance for teamwork. Plus, these boss monsters were several times stronger than before. All this led to the desperate situation they were in now.
But regardless, the crew showed resiliency and grit, their attacks raging with wild, brutal abandon. The high-level hunters displayed their apex skills, battling these boss monsters with chilling efficiency. They had to survive — regardless of the cost.
Trading injuries for fatal damage, or rapid strikes leaving no room for retaliation — they employed everything in the books.
Roy’s eyes gleamed fervently as he began employing skills in ways he never thought possible before. Indeed, under pressure of death did one grow. His skills were all in full synergy as he took out foes with chilling efficiency.
Hisssss!
Another beast was upon him, and in a swift motion — not waiting for the monster to reach him — he reached it first. His ether stirred, forming a suction pull towards the ground. At the same time, a spring-like push from the ground — the two opposing effects worked in synergy to boost his speed far beyond stat limits. In a flash, he was before the behemoth.
His silver baton arced dangerously, and before the creature could react, he delivered a brutal compact blow. His buff skill exerted its influence as much as possible. Right now, he had reached the level of being able to command 13x out of 100x. It was little in comparison, but in a battle like this? It was more than enough.
Boom!
The attack ripped through unimpeded, ending the creature at once. His left hand drew his assault rifle, and in a swift motion, pointing at a blind spot, he unleashed furious fire unrelentingly.
A stealthy beast revealed itself — now riddled with holes. The sneaky bastard wanted to strike unexpectedly, but could this act escape Roy’s all-seeing Eyes of Truth?
In a swift motion, he was on to the next, decimating the boss creatures as they came...
It was the same on Dio’s end — his fiendish claws coated with a sanguine hue, he ripped through the monsters left and right. His maw wide in a crazed smile as he moved wild with furious frenzy.
His Slaughter Unit showed its full effect as his killing prowess was enhanced in leaps. He raged through the floor with glee. These were boss monsters — and he was a hunter. Normally, regular hunters couldn’t compare to such beasts, talk less of matching one.
While he could dispatch one as easily as a regular monster, from this one could deduce how terrifying his talent for battle was. His battle efficiency was comparable to Roy and Vera — if not more — and those two were Lords!
Though the others had it somewhat tougher, they still hung on, pairing in twos as they took care of their foes...
Thankfully, this floor had no final boss, so the moment they finished dispatching all beasts, it would be over.
Spurt!
The final boss monster was beheaded by Vera, as they all collapsed exasperatedly — too fatigued to even care for drops.
Roy winced in pain. Yes, he raged through the battle with valiant fervor and dominating victory, but that came at a cost. The minor injuries he had accumulated were too much, coupled with a few internal bleeding and near ether exhaustion.
He panted heavily, his chest rising and falling, each breath bringing with it sharp pain. The clash had raged for hours, so their plight was understandable.
And so they lay helplessly fatigued, armors in tatters and weapons almost worn out. Well, Roy’s clothing still remained straight and unharmed, save for the series of caked blood all over.
Same could be said for Dio — his prisoner wear still remained stubbornly intact, apart from the same stains of blood here and there.
And so they remained. Roy took his time replaying the whole battle in his head. He had eidetic memory, so it wasn’t that hard.
He analyzed the whole thing over and over again, taking his time to spot his mistakes, spot useless movements, and come up with more efficient methods to go about his previous actions. Though he found a lot of flaws, he also came up with improvements.
He really didn’t regret coming to this dungeon. Not only did he rapidly level up, he also gained countless experience and information. He was pleased.
After a long, drawn-out rest, they finally mustered the strength to get on their feet and went to pick their loot.
[Congratulations! You have leveled up!]
[Congratulations! You have leveled up!]
[Congratulations! You have leveled up!]
[Congratulations! You have leveled up!]
Even after absorbing 20+ cores, he only went up by four levels. He realized that as he went further, the requirement for leveling up became greater.
But regardless, he kept the remaining 16. He still had others who would need them. If he just used them, he ascertained he would go up another level or two — which wasn’t worth it compared to the benefits it would provide his close aides.
"Guys, I think we should take it slow... we shouldn’t brave the last floor just yet," Vera spoke out of concern and fear.
If this floor was this tough, how much worse would the last floor be?
While others agreed, Roy found this to be useless. What would further waiting do? Their ether had already fully recovered and they had consumed their gains. Waiting more seemed pointless.
But when he saw her next moves, he understood. With her Absolute Exchange skill, she began using drops to perform equivalent exchange — using drops to recover worn-out armors and other items.
With time, everyone was naturally ready eventually, and they made their way into the final floor, ready to meet the final boss.
And when they stepped into the room, they were met with nothing — their minds dissolving into darkness, seeing nothing, feeling nothing, thinking nothing!
It was as though they had gone brain-dead, staring vacantly into the empty void — all except for one.
Roy burst into a scowl. This... this was definitely an illusion tricking the brain into a comatose-like state. But thanks to Eyes of Truth, which allowed him to remain indifferent to illusions and tricks, he remained clear-headed. Trembling, his eyes scaled the six-headed hulking mass of an abomination before him.
It seemed he was all alone on this one... "Fuck."