A Sabertooth Drake attacked with its 30 cm long fangs. It’s a large lizard spanning a total length close to 5 meters. Although it has Drake in its name, it is not a species of dragon.
Gakii! Titan pinned down the Sabertooth Drake with its adamantite alloy-made large shield and swung his mace on lizard’s head.
Bokku!
Zashu!
Kaede matched Titan’s attack, cutting off its tail with her threads.
『Gyaaaaaaaaaa!!』
「Now!」
Zashu! From the left and right of Titan who was restraining the enemy, Sophia and I jumped out and cut off the head of the Sabertooth Drake.
A short while later, the Sabertooth Drake’s corpse turned into a bead of light and vanished, leaving behind a magic stone and two huge fangs.
「The density of monsters sure got higher now that it’s the 19th level. Has no one been here in a long time?」
At my feet were magic stones and 30 cm huge fangs scattered about. Our encounter rate with monsters has been high since coming to this floor. From wolf-type to monkey-type monsters, or insect-type monsters like the Huge Mantis, a 2 meter praying mantis, to reptile-type monsters like snakes and lizards. A myriad of monsters have attacked us.
「It’s a high difficulty dungeon, after all. With the exception of adventurers who have an objective, there might not be anyone who would explore to this level.」
While everyone went to collect the drop items, I checked the map. When the collection finished, we began walking to the probable direction of the stairs leading down.
It’s been 10 days since we began our exploration in the high difficulty dungeon 『Forest of the Beast King』, and maybe because we’re exploring at such a high pace, so far, there haven’t been any attacks from the zealots nor were there any presences tailing us.
Kaede and I detect monsters with Enemy Search, and then start fights with preemptive strikes and subjugate them. We explored the 19th level with a Search and Destroy tactic, and finally found the stairs going down.
The 20th floor had lesser dragon-types like solo Lesser Wyverns and Lesser Drakes, and since it was a straight path to the boss room, we couldn’t avoid battles. When we finally arrived at the entrance of the boss room, we took a break.
「Takumi-sama, please have some tea.」 「Thank you, Maria.」
A quick and light meal to soothe our hunger and to prepare ourselves for the boss fight.
「The strategy is the same as always. Titan will cover the whole area and protect everyone with his big shield. Once we fire our initial volley of magic, Laeva and Maria, you will continue to use long range magic attacks. Kaede, guard them and if there is some leeway, do hit-and-run attacks. And for Sophia and I, we’ll rush in from the left and right like the usual. Is this alright?」
Everyone nodded.
「Alright! Let’s defeat the boss!」 「「「「「Yes! (Okaaay!)」」」」」
Gogogogoooooo!!
When we opened the massive doors and entered, from the thick fog appeared a monster over 20 meters long with 4 thick legs, and is covered in scales that would seem to repel half-hearted attacks. Yes, a dragon appeared.
Spears of ice, fire, and stone, as well as blades of wind assailed the Earth Dragon simultaneously. Furthermore, Titan fired a laserbeam-like 『Light of Judgment』 at it.
『GYAAAAA!!』
The Earth Dragon screamed. Then magic power gathered in its jaws and blew a dragon breath.
Titan defended against that breath with his large shield. The large adamantite shield Titan has is not just an ordinary large shield. It having physical and magic resistance is a given, and when magic power is circulated into it, it is able to put up a physical and magic barrier. Titan protected us from the breath with that.
Having finished its breath attack, the Earth Dragon was bewildered when we didn’t receive any damage.
The fight after that was one-sided. Sophia and I used our magic spears; Titan used Shield Bash on the Earth Dragon’s head and pursued it with a mace; Kaede’s threads obstructed the Earth Dragon’s movement; Maria and Laeva fired magic when they see an opening. I summoned Tsubaki from the Subspace, and everyone went on the offensive.
『GYAAAAAーーーー!!』
Roaring its death throes, the Earth Dragon’s large body went down. 「We did it.」 『Well. Done.』 「Ahh, for us to defeat a dragon-type in such a short amount of time, just what is an “artisan”?」 「Ah! Please look at this, Takumi-sama!」
While Titan and Sophia were appreciating our hard work with me, Maria and Laeva pointed at the Earth Dragon. In the spot where the Earth Dragon, which turned into beads of light, had fallen, a shiny silver chest, dragon scales, fangs, and bones, as well as an enormous magic stone remained.
Inside the treasure chest were several magic items and ingots, as well as plenty of jewels and gold.
A transportation magic circle appeared upon our exit of the boss room, marking the end of our first dungeon exploration.
Unique Skills Appraisal EX Item Box EX ( Concealed )
Passive Skills Superhuman Strength Lv5 ( UP ) Insight Lv8 ( Up ) Poison Resistance Lv2 Paralysis Resistance Lv2 Evasion Lv8 ( UP ) Body Control Lv7 ( UP ) Increased Magic Power Recovery Speed Lv3 ( UP ) High-speed Thought Process Lv3 ( UP )
Active Skills Spear Handling Lv9 ( UP ) Axe Technique Lv5 Swordplay Lv9 ( UP ) Throwing Lv7 ( UP ) Taijutsu Lv10 ( UP ) Fist King Technique Lv3 ( UP ) Matoujutsu Lv9 ( UP ) Enemy Search Lv7 ( UP ) Presence Detection Lv9 ( UP ) Stealth Lv7 ( UP ) Tame Lv3 Enhanced Physical Abilities Lv7 ( UP )
Magic Perception Lv9 Magic Power Manipulation Lv10 Magic Formula Control Lv6 ( UP )
Light Attribute Magic Lv7 Fire Attribute Magic Lv6 ( UP ) Water Attribute Magic Lv7 ( UP ) Wind Attribute Magic Lv7 ( UP ) Earth Attribute Magic Lv8 Ice Attribute Magic Lv7 ( UP ) Lightning Attribute Magic Lv8 ( UP ) Time-Space Attribute Magic Lv7 Bestowal Magic Lv8 Alchemy Lv10 ( UP ) Smithing Lv9 Woodworking Lv8 Carpentry Lv5 Foraging Lv6 Logging Lv5 Dismantling Lv4 Mining Lv4 Metalworking Lv8 Sewing Lv7 Cooking Lv4