Volume 5 Chapter 5 Rare Boss
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
”You guys might not make the cut due to the entry limit. Give it a shot, but if you can’t come along, just head back first, okay?”
Inside the boss room, I can’t summon the Pii-Piis. If that’s the case, what if I summon them before entering? I try calling Pii-Pii and Salamander in front of the boss room.
Pii-Pii can boost my agility, and Salamander can enhance my attack strength with their support magic. Ah, even if they can’t come along, can I still bring the buff effects? I’d retreat without fighting if a normal boss showed up, but I’m happy for their cheering.
It’s support magic that slightly raises my abilities, but depending on the combination, the effects can accumulate, so it can surprisingly boost my overall fighting strength. It’s a quietly important magic that can sometimes turn the tide of battle. I can even apply it before fights like this.
As for me, relying on strength beyond my actual might feels a bit like cheating, and it complicates my feelings. To make it easier to imagine my improved abilities, I think I’ll use Ants when training.
Back in Japan, I used them normally. I’ve had some bad experiences with enemies using special attacks to strip away the buff effects, but there weren’t any particular downsides.
I wonder why I’m getting so hung up on strange details lately. The borrowed strength that comes so easily in this world seems kind of sketchy… but since the Pii-Piis have given me their magic, I should be grateful and make good use of it.
I’m teleported to the boss room with Ms. Nina. She seems to have gotten quite used to it after a few times. I wanted to see more of the astonished Ms. Nina. Then again, this isn’t a game, and I can’t afford to let my guard down.
”It seems we’re the only ones after all.”
The Pii-Piis seem to have been left behind at the door. Apparently, only dolls and their handlers can enter this boss room. That’s the rule, it seems.
Dungeon entrance restrictions like this aren’t uncommon. Inside a dungeon, the Dungeon Master’s rules are absolute.
The type of dungeon changes depending on the Dungeon Master’s goals. The Valley of Trials dungeon is for training, but this one seems to be for item distribution?
A famous item distribution dungeon is the Dragon Slayer Cave. Clear it, and you’ll get a Dragon Slayer weapon, which is effective against dragons. The Dungeon Master, probably with a grudge against the dragon race, is likely running it for fun.
The Dungeon Master’s goal here is definitely to strengthen the golem. But why? I don’t see what they gain from it. It’s not like they’re giving strength out of camaraderie among golem users or anything.
As expected, the typical boss appears with all the usual flair. This egg-shaped golem looks kind of humorous, so I’ve decided to call him “Hampy.”
”Are we retreating?”
”No, I still have some things I want to try out.”
Hampy’s slow, but he’s strong. His top speed when swinging his long arms is pretty impressive. He lacks muscle, though, so he has no real sense of timing, and suddenly starts moving, which makes him a bit scary. He’s not exactly a tough opponent, but I want to fight a bit for the experience.
I cautiously close the gap, holding my mithril hatchet. At the last moment, I dodge as his right arm swings down, and strike his body with the hatchet.
Looks like this attack isn’t enough to leave a scratch. Since I didn’t even gain any skill points, it seems it didn’t count as an actual attack.
After the lesson from the Valley of Trials, I’ve made sure I can pool my skill and experience points together.
The summoned hero has a level cap of 60, so I used that as a reference to build it with the editor skill. Normal level caps just waste experience points, but mine can be saved. If I level up, I’ll stop being human, but removing the cap in an emergency might be an option.
For instance, you could use the fact that leveling up fully restores HP and MP as an emergency recovery method, raising your level one by one when needed.
Conversely, you could hoard experience and level up in one go. The experience needed for each level increases absurdly as you go higher, but if you bulk-level, it’s calculated from the first level, making it quite cost-effective. In terms of calculations, this method could easily get you to level 60──or even break through skill caps and go beyond. Whether you can survive breaking through the limits is still unclear, though.
Personally, I’d like to keep living at around level 4. I should still have the strength of a level 12, more or less. If I level up and become a superhuman, it seems like it’d cause all sorts of issues in everyday life. It’d be more reasonable to just get strong during battles, like a transforming hero.
* * *
Mr. Hampy turns to face me, swinging his arm down once more. His attack is monotonous, but it’s got power. I try to deflect the mithril hammer’s blow at an angle.
There’s a dull sound on contact, and the hammer’s edge chips a bit. Unlike real mithril, the damaged part won’t repair itself──it’s recycled mithril, after all.
Mr. Hampy’s arm gets a small cut, but it seals up right away. His armor doesn’t seem to be mithril, but it looks like it has some self-repair ability.
I managed to deal some damage, so I guess I’ve gained a decent amount of proficiency.
I see, so this level of attack is effective. If the rare boss has the same defense strength as Mr. Hampy, I should be able to take it down. The rare boss is said to have only 1 HP, so as long as I can land a one-hit kill, it’s doable. I’ll call the unseen rare boss “Mr. Dumpedy” for now.
Mr. Hampy’s iron fist drives into where I was standing. There’s a big opening when his arm extends. It’s the perfect time to strike. I use my crafting skill to slam the hammer down. This time, the mithril hammer doesn’t chip, and it sinks a few millimeters into Mr. Hampy’s back.
I’m not bragging, but that strike should be on par with a level 20 warrior. When it comes to raw power, my Crafting skill is way higher than swordsmanship. After all, I’ve crafted both the sword and armor myself.
To only leave a scratch… that armor’s unreal. How did they even craft this golem?
I dodged Mr. Hampy’s slow backhand with a quick backstep, then hit him with a surprise 3-shot burst from the Indra Gun. The iron crossbow bolts slammed into his face with incredible force, but only left minor scratches before bouncing off.
Looks like the Indra Gun’s damage still gets through. But it’s dangerous if I get hit by a bouncing bolt… if it flies toward Ms. Nina, it could be a real problem.
As I fired the third shot, I think I heard a nasty sound. I hope it’s not a malfunction… After all, it’s still a prototype, and it’s rare when it works perfectly.
”Alright, time to pull back!”
I’ve tested everything I wanted to for now. I feel like I’m forgetting something, but since we’ll be repeating boss attacks endlessly, I’ll try again when it comes to mind.
After confirming Ms. Nina’s escape near the exit, I follow her out.
Above us, the clear blue sky stretches out. It’s another beautiful day. Whenever we retreat from the boss room, we always warp to the same spot.
I had the salamander burn the ground to mark a spot. Ms. Claire and the others are waiting nearby, and I’m planning to have them take us to the hatch. It’s just a few minutes on foot, but every little bit adds up.
It took longer this time since we fought, but if we retreat without extra fights, we can complete one round in about 10 minutes. Taking breaks, that’s 5 attempts an hour, around 50 a day. If riding with Ms. Claire shortens each round by 3 minutes, that saves 150 minutes in total.
In rare hunts, it’s only natural to aim for better efficiency. If you’re praying, you’re wasting time you could use to try again. Solo’s fine, but in a party, the human dynamics can get tense. But with Ms. Nina’s life at stake, I’m afraid I’ll have to keep everyone in until the end.
According to the records, the rare boss appears after a lucky person has tried dozens of times. Some people say it took over 5 hundred tries, but in the end, they got it, so you can’t really say they were unlucky.
With this kind of feeling, I’m wondering if the appearance rate is one in a hundred or maybe one in 256… It’s starting to feel like I’m losing hope. If it’s completely random, that’s fine, but if the conditions are tied to a specific day or time, that’s going to be a problem.
My luck shouldn’t be that bad. I got a +1 luck bonus from the summoning, after all. Maybe next time I’ll get the rare boss.
* * *
”The rare boss… still hasn’t appeared today.”
The day was already starting to fade, and it was the umpteenth time we’d gathered around the campfire for dinner. The menu was the same as always: roasted quail meat sandwiches. I’m honestly getting tired of it by now.
”We have 3 days’ worth of food left. Even if we stretch it, it might last us ten days.”
Ms. Claire said apologetically. The centaurs eat 3 times as much as humans.
”Food’s not a problem. If it comes down to it, I’ll use my trump card.”
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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