“When you go out to the sea, ocean monsters are just everywhere. There’s nothing we can do about it. The dwarves do sell combat suits that can be used underwater, but they’re so expensive that any hunter can only dream of affording one.”
“Those dwarves are terrible. All they care about is money, money, money. They just want to live well.”
“Well, there is some greed involved, but they say it takes a lot of materials and time to make them. Besides, even if you have that combat suit, you’d still need to develop the right abilities to fight underwater.”
“Then can’t we just avoid going into underwater dungeons?”
In response to Ah-rin’s question, Yeon-hee shook her head.
“I want to experience every dungeon.”
“Oh… you’re surprisingly brave? Are you thinking of going to the ‘Sky Garden’ after this?”
“N-No! That place is just as dangerous as the ‘Giant’s Dungeon.’ I can’t even dare to think about it. It’s just… dungeons are cool in their own right. And who knows, there could be a great flood later! I want to be prepared.”
Yeon-hee’s determination to be ready for any environment was commendable.
But usually, like Ah-rin, people wouldn’t bother putting themselves in such situations.
“Well, it’s true that there might come a time when we might have to go to Jeju Island.”
“Isn’t that a place you can only challenge when you’re A-rank or so?”
“That’s true… but are we really that strong? It feels overly optimistic, doesn’t it? We’re barely C-rank.”
“What are you talking about? With our speed of growth, we might well be able to make it this year.”
“Getting from B to A-rank is incredibly difficult. Do you really think that’s possible? Anyway, I do want to try ‘Nando’ once… I heard there’s a new route that bypasses the underwater part!”
“Oh? Really?”
Even the giant dungeon ‘Nando’ features underwater battles in certain sections, but most of the fighting happens on land, which is why people are willing to brave it.
‘Now that Yeon-hee recognizes her shortcomings, maybe next summoning will yield something from that category?’
Hunters tend to grow in the areas they desperately wish to, so it was reasonable to expect good results from the next summoning.
We continued our exploration.
In this dungeon, there were no artifacts to collect, nor was there any special event to occur.
We just pressed on through combat.
A few hours later, we reached a point where we could see a distant, majestic waterfall cascading down.
Since we first encountered the pastiche, assault turtles had been almost non-existent, and were crocs still hadn’t shown their faces.
However, Hamari-shu continued to appear consistently, and our collection of ‘Hamari-shu’s little orbs’ had reached three digits.
‘Only 220 of these… Should I write a market purchase order for them?’
Hunters often discarded everything except the small horn on their heads that serves as a mark when they catch Hamari-shu.
So it would be wise to post a buying intention in the market for materials, just in case some weirdo had hoarded a bunch of orbs.
Kwahkwahkwahkwah—
“Wow, that’s awesome!”
“This might be the last picture I see before I die!”
“Ah-rin, don’t say such unlucky things!”
“It’s amazing──!!”
“Wowowawa!!”
It was truly breathtaking.
The scale dwarfed even that of Niagara Falls.
Even with enough hunter experience, my companions were left in awe.
Hunters in small boats were crowding toward the center of a deep pit that dropped steeply, where a boss battle would commence just before plunging into the waterfall below, creating a unique structure.
Once the boss battle was cleared, you would fall below and escape the dungeon, although the sensation of doing so was notoriously terrifying.
Sensing a party riding boats toward the waterfall, about 7 km away, was faintly recognizable to me.
Currently, my sensing range exceeded 7 km.
So the width of the pit visible was at least over 7 km.
The depth was difficult to estimate.
What could be at the bottom… Even Jo Gi-man, living his seventh life, wouldn’t know that.
“Ahhh!! Something huge is coming!!”
A different kind of gasp slipped from Ah-rin’s lips soon after.
A giant golden pastiche was majestically rising right before the cliffs.
It stood about 7-8 meters above the surface, meaning its actual length was significantly greater.
At a glance, one could believe it was a water-type drake, its overwhelming presence undeniable.
‘Has it grown larger since the last time I saw it?’
Zuuuu——
It spotted us as soon as it emerged and sprang into action without delay.
“Wow, it’s coming! Get ready!”
“Everyone, prepare!!”
The attack of the golden pastiche wasn’t anything remarkable.
It simply used its strong mouth to suck the river water in and attempt to swallow us.
That was all it did.
‘But that’s intimidating.’
What it was sucking in wasn’t just river water.
Perhaps it also had the ability to draw in mana. When using abilities, it required a much higher level of mental fortitude.
In short, mana exhaustion would strike sooner than expected, so managing skills effectively was essential for a successful clear.
Surrounding it were ordinary pastiches densely gathered.
‘Disperse the damage…’
So how would we take down that beast?
The racial characteristics of those creatures often worked to our advantage in such cases.
We would beat the little pastiches to reduce the golden pastiche’s health.
Eventually, there would come a moment when the golden pastiche’s body noticeably turned blue.
That would signal that it had cut ties with its companions and would be the moment for a decisive blow.
The small boats could withstand the golden pastiche’s attack for a limited time, but that was only for 20 minutes.
Within that 20 minutes, we had to either kill the monster or concede.
If we hesitated and got swallowed, our bodies could be quickly dissolved in the digestive fluids inside it.
Shaa——!!
The golden pastiche threw its head back, letting out an unearthly roar.
The vibrations hitting our chests signified the start of the battle.
“Ugh, this is not a joke seeing it up close?!”
“I absolutely don’t want to be sucked in there!!”
My companions shivered at the horrifying vision of the monster’s pitch-black mouth.
Then they raised their mana as high as they could and unleashed every skill they could muster toward the crowding pastiches.
Of course, I had already sent out the Gori Squad, and my adorable minions were on top of the golden pastiche, swinging their hooks wildly, draining blood.
“Biiiii!!”
The Gori Squad was cleverly drawing the golden pastiche’s attention, seemingly offering food to their comrades.
The golden pastiche didn’t seem to mind the bats landing on its head until Yeon-hee’s flying summoned creatures and the sword dragon attacked it, startling it and halting its water-gulping.
“Ah! It’s hiding!”
“Even so, once it goes underwater, the sucking speed seems to have slowed down a lot.”
“It can’t both breathe and suck in water at the same time.”
“Phew, it’s definitely taking longer to recover mana, and it’s strangely tiring.”
“Think of it as training.”
We continued attacking the small pastiches, piecing together the current situation based on the information we had.
Soon enough, the massive golden pastiche revealed itself once more, this time with a horde of Hamari-shu piled onto its head.
As soon as the over fifty Hamari-shu surfaced, they spread their arms wide, ready to unleash their skills.
“How many are there?!”
“Oh wow, good thinking there!”
“It looks like Hamari-shu can endure outside of the water too!”
It was surprising that a fish head could think that, but it worked.
Splash, splash, splash──!!
The Hamari-shu, full of water, unleashed whirlwinds of blades into the air, putting pressure on the flying monsters around them.
Chehwa and Nefie dodged effortlessly, but the bats from the Gori Squad, moving in formations, were taken down one by one as they crashed into the river.
Amidst the chaos, the Shadow Drake, watching silently, flapped its grand wings and hovered in place, its throat bulging.
Kwahaa——!
The breath of the sword dragon burst forth once more, but the golden pastiche raised its thick tail high to defend against the powerful breath.
While the area presumed to belong to the tail got wiped clean, it soon exhibited regeneration properties.
However, the nearby pastiches thrashing around suggested they were suffering considerable damage.
[… …]
The sword dragon specifically targeted the main body, yet only the tail had been removed, leaving it snorting in displeasure.
Still, we were steadily eliminating small pastiches, and the golden pastiche’s health was visibly diminishing.
“Ahhh— it’s pulling me in!!”
“We’re still okay!!”
Although we were a bit far from the golden pastiche, facing such a scenario felt more threatening than it actually was.
I kept an eye out for my companions, allowing them to fight freely while I supported them for a few minutes.
‘I don’t have to fight myself. It’ll be done in 5 minutes… no, maybe 4.’
With the Gori Squad displaying their prowess, my contribution in this battle wouldn’t fall short.
However, I wanted to level up today, and instinct told me I could achieve that from this battle. So I had to step in myself.
With great speed, I launched myself toward the golden pastiche, coming down from the air and plunging my sword deep.
[Joint Attack – Flame Cut]
Fwoosh──!
Infusing strength into the deeply embedded great sword, I struck hard downwards until my legs sank beneath the river water.
“──!!”
The enormous mountain-sized fish writhed in agony.
Yet I clung tight with [Adhesion] and landed four more [Flame Cuts] using my dagger before returning to the ship before the time limit ran out.
Five small flame marks arose on the seemingly fishy portion of the monster, slowly swirling around.
Surprisingly, the golden pastiche seemed to recognize them, staring blankly at the marks.
‘Time to burst.’
As my will manifested, the center of the enormous fish’s body erupted into a brilliant light, instantly spewing a massive column of fire skyward.
Kwahhhaaa──!!
– Hamari-shu has been defeated.
– Hamari-shu has been defeated…
The messages about the defeat of the Hamari-shu flooded in along with the fire explosion, and soon, the golden pastiche’s body turned pale, indicating a change.
The limit of damage dispersion had been reached.
At that moment, a huge ice spear hurtled toward it from behind me, coinciding perfectly with the sword dragon’s breath to engulf it.
The monster, trying desperately to suck us in with its huge mouth, finally met its end with the last attack, its body tearing apart.
Boooom──!!
Before long, it swelled like a pufferfish, exploding massively and vanishing.
The summoned creatures and the Gori Squad stood in front of us just before it exploded, as Joo-ah’s spells cast walls, neatly blocked the last assault.
– You contributed significantly to defeating the golden pastiche!
“It’s done! We took it down!”
With my companions cheering, an assist message popped up.
– You earned some experience points!
‘Oh, even though it’s a boss, the experience point message is here.’
– Your level has increased!
Finally, the level-up I had eagerly anticipated arrived.
‘Yes!!’
– Please choose three stats to increase.
– Would you like to proceed with the job change quest?
Without hesitation, I decided to postpone the quest challenge.
‘I’ll think it over at home.’
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