Chapter 89: Battle with the Dungeon Boss

By the time the sun rose the next day, the constantly growing nervousness and unease had built up to the point of spilling, drowning out the whole building in a wave of nausea anxiety. Everybody was nervous. They were stressed, they were hungry, they were desperate, but most of all, they were scared.

The morning started with a quiet lull.

It was unbearably early. The sun barely broke through the horizon, but nonetheless, everyone had already gathered in a particular classroom. There was no real reason why everyone had gotten up so early. When the light of the sun barely touches the deeper interiors of the school where the Dungeon Boss resided, the time of day was of little consequence. It was a pointless endeavor that only served to further tighten the taut string of tension that had already built up around us. But nonetheless, it couldn’t be helped.

It was too early, yet everyone, even those not fighting, were filled with an uneasy excitement. You could see it from the way they moved, to the twitch in their faces. It was the sort of thing that you would notice without even trying to notice. It was an unmasked, unhindered excitement that bordered on insanity.

With this type of mood permeating throughout the school, it was no wonder everyone was awake. Be it by their own will or by some external driving force, nobody dared to miss the start of this important day.

Unlike previously when we gathered in this room, we did not join together to eat or to do other mundane and idle tasks. Instead, the time now was invested in preparation.

With the solemnity of the classroom firmly in place, nobody bothered speaking, which made it a bit more convenient for me. I sat at the front of the room, an old, and badly managed desk separating me from the classroom. With all eyes focused solely on me, I began to recap what we already knew about the Dungeon Boss.

****

[Reeflech].

The End Boss of this hell hole called a dungeon. Based on what we’ve gathered thus far, its hideout is at the nearly dismantled refuge beneath the rotting old school building. The refuge was sparse, with little furnishing and consisted of a small square space that spanned 500 meters by 500 meters. It wasn’t much, but in the end, its importance was unparalleled. After all, this was where our final battle would take place.

The place has two entrances. The first was the front entrance, a set of imposing double doors that were designed to lock from the inside. This was the most direct way of entering and probably the intended way. The second was the old underground passageway that connects the refuge to the east building bomb shelter. This was where we first encountered the boss, and also where the main group will attack from. There also exists a third entrance, but this one was kind of special.

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The third entrance was the one we intend to create for ourselves.

As for the Dungeon Boss itself, the information we’ve gathered is limited. Reeflech the [Cursed] Subterranean. Aside from its name, the only things we’ve been able to discover were that it has tentacles and it has an affinity with fire.

Despite what little we know though, the information we do have is enough to justify the fear and nervousness that currently seeped through every crack and crevice of the room. Most notably, the ones that were going to actually fight today could not hide the ugly expressions that formed on their already pale faces.

Its tentacles… going by the approximate distance from the Refuge and from where we had our first encounter with the boss, then its tentacles can stretch out for more than 50 meters. This sort of range was immensely terrifying, to say the least. Not only did this make dealing with the Boss much, much more dangerous, but it also made the prospect of retreat a near impossibility… That’s not even to mention that that 50 meters was by no stretch of the imagination, just the bare minimum.

Its true strength and danger could only be properly determined through first hand experience.

As for the Dungeon Boss’s fire attribute… depending on how the battle plays out, it may end up being a more dangerous factor than the Boss’s tentacles. Just from that one time encounter alone, the danger of its immense power has already plastered itself deep within my heart. Reeflech was capable of producing incinerating columns of fire that had the capability of turning clothes to near ash just from its passing heat. With a range of more than 50 meters, if an attack of similar caliber were to rage across the battlefield, then… much less winning, surviving turns into a near impossibility.

Aside from these two factors, we knew pretty much nothing else. From its level, attack pattern, HP, skills, all these important aspects were in the dark for us. We were practically going in blind, knowing only that the cave we were about to enter was in actuality, the jaws of a dragon.

If there was anything of importance, then it would be the [Cursed] title that I managed to identify on that day. Unfortunately, I knew nothing about this. What its effects were or how it would play out during the battle were all mysteries to me. At most, I could only make vague predictions based on my past experience. Rather than helping, the sheer fact that I know it even exists in the first place only served to plant another seed of doubt and worry within my heart.

As for our plan of action for the day, it was rather simple. A two pronged assault that served with the main intention of seizing the flow of the battle even before it started.

After recapping all this plus the basic battle plan, I then distributed out the two groups.

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There would be two groups. One group was aptly labeled the Assault group. This group would comprise of our man fighting strength and would be the group that entered from the passageway. The other group was called the Infiltration group, and would consist of a smaller group of people with the Wizard Hat girl’s [Explosion] skill at its fundamental core.

“The Infiltration group will only consist of three people; Wizard Hat, Kido, and me.” As I boldly spoke these words out into the room, I shoot a quick glance at Kido, hoping to observe some sort of change in his disposition.

Unfortunately, I was met with disappointment. His expression stayed even, going so far as even nodding in ‘compliance’.

Though Kido’s reaction was rather lackluster, the girls that gathered around him could not help but chirp out in dissatisfaction.

“Three people aren’t enough!”

“Let me join the Infiltration group! There’s no way I’m going to let Kido go alone!”

“I-I don’t think it's very safe for Kido to go with so few people…”

Going in order, the Transfer student and Kido’s childhood friend all voiced their dissatisfaction. And although she wasn’t part of the combat group, even the small one that looked like a twelve year old could not help but chime in as well.

They unhesitatingly complained about how dangerous it was, and how the Infiltration group should contain more people. Without a doubt though, the most annoying aspect of their outburst was their insistence to join the Infiltration group.

As for Kido, who was without a doubt the main focus of their pleas, well, he put on quite a convincing act. Kido’s lips curled up, while his brow creased. His expression turned helpless as he tried to quell the girls’ outburst. Without a doubt, for all intents and purposes, Kido was truly at a loss.

“G-girls, girls please… Saya, Mindi, Amy, calm down! Arguing like this won’t bring us anywhere…”

While Kido played the role of an incapable man, I discreetly swept my gaze across the rest of the room. Ignoring the previous ruckus, I took a glance at the President. His face was scrunched up in consternation. He did not voice out his complaints though, merely letting out a quiet and subtle sigh as he helplessly placed his palm over his face.

My gaze continued until it stopped at my own group.

Because I had already informed the girls of my earlier misgiving regarding Kido the night before, Cielle, Hina, and Cher did not pay the commotion much attention, nor did they show any significant reaction to the arrangement of the groups. If anything, the probably already guessed that the reason why I placed Kido within the same group as me was purely to keep an eye on him.

It was truly fortunate that they did not know my real goal. For both them and I, it was better that they stayed in the dark.

After a minute or two of their unceasing commotion passed, I grew tired of it all, and directly asked Kido what he thought of the group formation.

He paused for a moment before he began to briefly explain, “... I think the group arrangement is good. I’m at least satisfied that I can protect Miki with my own hands.” As he spoke, he shot a reassuring glance at the girl with the wizard hat, to which she replied with a lovestruck expression.

“....Having a small group will be beneficial for our purposes.” I explained with a tired solemnity intermixed within my voice. “This will allow us to bypass through monsters more easily, as well as sneak through the vents more quickly.

Wizard Hat over here is a no brainer, I’ll be going because I previously mapped out the building, and as for Kido… he is one of the few melee fighters we have available, so he is pretty sturdy.” My neck craned to glare at Kido. With extreme bluntness, I uttered, “If worse comes to worse, rather than fighting, your role in this operation will be to act as Wizard hat’s meat shield. You might be decent at fighting, but you don’t have her skill. In the end, for this battle, you are not as important as her.”

As my cold words left my mouth, the girls that huddled around Kido momentarily blanked out before their faces paled. Even Wizard Hat could not help but go slack jawed as she lifelessly stared at my indifferent expression.

After a second or two passed, clarity returned to their eyes, and they simultaneously opened their mouths to protest. But just before they could say anything, Kido stepped up and spoke first. “That sounds about right. My goal is to protect Miki and nothing more.”

With an ambiguous smile, Kido readily agreed.

I paused for a moment before I lightly dipped my head in a small nod.

Ignoring the wave of dissatisfaction emanatingemenating from Kido’s group of girls, I then went explaining the details regarding the Assault group.

They were to enter the passageway beforehand and stop directly at the border where the Boss’s lair officially started. Going by the distance from the Refuge to the East Building bomb shelter that Hina calculated, the boss’s sphere of influence should extend past 50 meters outside of the Refuge itself. That meant that once the Assault group hears the final explosion, they needed to rush past these 50 meters and make their way straight for the boss and initiate combat upon arriving.

This way, the explosion and resulting collapse would at best injure the Boss to some extent, or at worse, keep him occupied just long enough for the Assault group to safely make it to the Refuge without any incident.

The important part of this operation stressed on timing. To bring down the floors above the Refuge, it would take a series of explosions. Previously, we agreed on a specific number of explosions to occur before their group could rush forward. If we, on the Infiltration group, collapse the Refuge before these specific number of explosions were met, then the Assault group would not rush in. If we don’t manage to complete our objective by the time we met these specific number of explosions, then the Assault group would be charging into a virtually unharmed Boss. Without a doubt, that would lead to their deaths even before they make it to the Refuge.

Likewise, if the Assault group doesn’t move forward at the right time, then all the effort done by the Infiltration group would become meaningless.

What made this situation even worse was that we had no more operational walkie talkies left to coordinate with. And even we did, the resulting blast from the explosions would make verbal communication impossible.

This first part of the battle was the most important, and the one that stressed the most on teamwork and timing. One mistake on either side could lead to the utter failure and instant death of both groups.

If mistakes on our calculations regarding the amount of explosions that were needed to bring down the upper floors happened, or if the passageway was to collapse because of the explosions, then all the same, the plan would fail.

It was a plan chalked full of holes and uncertainty, but nonetheless, it was all we had. Even knowing all this, even when they fully comprehended the danger, everyone still readily agreed. The common goal of escaping was too hard for individual fear to snuff out.

After I finished explaining, everyone within the room dispersed so that they could prepare and don on their equipment.

In ten minutes, the final battle was about to start.

****

Through the same hole I used when I brought Cher along last time, I led Wizard Hat and Kido into the main building.

Unlike with Cher though, our route this time was different. Back then, when we made our way to the gymnasium, our route was a bit more direct, maximizing on speed with the sole intent of leading the horde towards us. Right now, we can’t do that. If we ignored the horde and simply took the fastest and most direct route, then, if the horde stays unobstructed, they will catch up almost instantly, leaving us no time to set up and prepare.

Rather than the destination, it was the path that we needed to concern ourselves with the most. We needed to buy enough time for our plan to succeed. By making use of the school’s innate infrastructure while at the same time benefiting from the ventilation system’s winding tunnels and far reaching network, we can accomplish that.

Since I’ve already mapped out and tested the route we would be taking today previously, as far as this phase of the plan goes, there should be no problems or complications.

After entering the threshold of the old school building, our first destination was to be the third floor. This stemmed from the basis of our plan, which basically constituted of blowing up all three floors of the building and forcing it to collapse onto the underground refuge below.

By blasting the third floor first, the subsequent weight of the rubble and destroyed concrete would put pressure onto the 2nd floor. Then, when the 2nd floor collapsed and all that concrete and rubble fell to the first floor, the task of collapsing the 1st floor becomes significantly much easier.

Finally, through the combined weight of all the accumulated rubble from all three floors, plus Wizard hat’s explosion as the final catalyst, the whole thing should contain enough force to break through the shelter’s stripped ceilings and completely decimate the roof of the refuge.

Of course, bringing down the whole school building was an impossible task. After all, even if it was originally made mostly with wood, it was still reinforced over the years by concrete and steel wiring. The plan did not intend to collapse the whole floors, but rather to detonate and blast through areas on each floor that would hopefully bring down a good section of the space directly over the Refuge.

With Hina’s prediction, Mr. Tei and the teacher from the President’s group’s insight, and with my earlier endeavors in scouting, we’ve managed to locate a few key points on each floor that either held structural importance or have been weakened beyond repair.

Finally, taking into consideration the current strength of each of Wizard Hat’s explosions, we needed a total of 5 explosions. 2 explosions to bring down the 3rd floor, 2 for the 2nd, and finally 1 for the 1st. According to her, she can produce 3 explosions at max mana. Under normal circumstances, with her current mana supply, casting 5 explosions is an impossibility. Luckily, out of all the accumulated drops from the dungeon that I’ve acquired, including my most recent scouting/training trips, I’ve managed to collect 2 mana potions.

Since each mana potion can’t fully restore a person’s mana back to maximum, Wizard Hat needed all two to cast five explosions. While it’s a shame that such a precious commodity has to be wasted before the real fight even starts, I couldn’t be too stingy. After all, those five explosions were all important parts of the plan. Missing even one would bound the whole operation to failure.

Traveling through the ventilation system, we slowly and methodically made our way to our first destination. On our way there, we took a detour and led the ensuing horde towards a small corner in a hallway on the 1st floor. From previous experience, it would take the horde at least 7 minutes to make it from here to the 3rd floor. In comparison, by making use of the vertical incline within the vents, it would only take us at most 3 minutes, buying us 4 minutes of time to set up for the first explosion.

As we drew closer and closer to the third building, and subsequently, closer to the Dungeon Boss, an abrupt metal thud rang out from behind me. I was leading the group within the metal confines of the ventilation shafts, so as I took a quick glance behind me, I could see Wizard Hat directly behind me followed by Kido who was behind her.

Wizard Hat’s neck was also craned towards the back and her attention was completely focused on Kido. Glancing down, I could see Kido crawling on the metal coffin. Underneath him was a distinct puddle of sweat, while even in the darkness, his face was noticeably paler than usual. His head was lying face down on the cold metal floor, while his arms shook fiercely in an attempt to right himself.

“Kido? W-what happened? Are you okay?” Wizard Hat’s voice vibrated through the metal coffin, a heavy dose of concern interlaid within her voice.

Not even a second passed before Kido raised his head back up and forced a smile on his face. For a moment, his eyes passed over me before they immediately fixated on Wizard Hat.

“I’m fine.” He responded back, his voice filled with mock vigor. “I just slipped on my sweat. I didn’t know it would be this hot in here….”

“Well it is summer right now….”

“You’re right, haha… crawling through here is like willingly jumping into an oven.”

“At least it’s not as bad as-”

“You guys.” I immediately interrupted the two, at the same time my face immediately swiveled back to face the front. “Shut up and start crawling. We don’t have any time to waste.”

Leading by example, without another word, I resumed my crawl forward. I did not voice out how pale Kido was or the obvious consternation that had been written on his face. It was a small incident yet lingering unease was unavoidable. As I continued to make my way forward, I forced this seemingly miniscule feeling of trepidation down and silently crawled.

A little while later, we finally reached the 3rd floor and made our way out of the vents. Using [Echolocation], I could tell that the horde was still a fair distance away from us. They might even still be on the 1st floor. If this was the case, then we had more than 7 minutes remaining. At this rate, Wizard Hat might be able to safely cast two explosions before we have to escape back into the vents.

As we made our way forward, we drew closer and closer to the intended location. Soon, we were completely under the refuge. Shooting a quick glance back, I observed the other two behind me. Wizard Hat’s face was drenched in sweat while her clothes were wet and clinged to her skin. At first, I worried whether or not she had the stamina to make through the whole thing, but seeing the look of determination that plastered itself on her face, these worries quickly subsided.

As for Kido, his countenance was a bit pale, and his eyes had a livid glint to them, but otherwise he was okay, and continued to move without uttering a single word.

As soon as we arrived at the 1st location, a giant explosions erupted, shaking the building down to its very foundations. Small chunks and pieces of the 3rd floor immediately loosened and fell, but otherwise, the integrity of the floor stayed relatively intact.

Seeing as how the horde was a lot slower than we originally expected, we quickly made our way to the next location where Wizard Hat once again used her skill. Another deafening explosions rang out through the building, and almost without delay, the whole third floor began to quake, as large chunks and pieces began to fall to the 2nd floor.

Before the whole place could completely sink in, I latched the grappling hook onto the ceiling, and hauled myself upward. The other two followed in short succession, but they did not make it in time. Before they could reach the overhanging rafters like me, the whole floor began to cave in.

Quickly, in the span of less than 15 seconds, a space of around 700 meters in diameter caved in and large pieces of concrete and rubble directly fell to the 2nd floor. Wizard Hat and Kido dangled from above the destruction, their eyes wide and their faces pale.

Originally, we had predicted that only about a space of 300 meters would come down, but unexpectedly almost double that had caved in. I guess the combination of old rotting wood floors as well as constant 300+ horde stampedes had contributed to the breakdown of the building’s structural integrity.

Looking downward, I could see fresh monster corpses sprawled along the 2nd floor. They had been caught in the middle of when the building collapsed, and as a result numerous monsters died. No small amount of them were injured as well, a series of pained and mournful howls resonated through the building.

Without hesitation, I directly dropped from the rafters and down to the 2nd floor.

Luckily, as a result of the cave in, one section of the hallway was completely blocked off, separating us from the rest of the horde that had yet to die. In comparison, for the monsters that had been caught in the middle of the incident, about 2 dozen of them had been directly killed, while numerous were heavily injured. They did not pose much of a threat, so I deemed it was safe.

With difficulty, Wizard Hat and Kido quickly followed and soon they too entered the 2nd floor. The moment Kido descended, his face grew noticeably paler while his breath quickly shortened. Of course, when Wizard Hat asked him about his complexion, he merely cited nervousness and anxiety.

Seeing as how the monsters that did survive were slowly recovering, I did not have the leisure of questioning Kido and immediately led the others to the next location. In the end, I did not worry that much, after all, Kido’s death was already something I planned for.

As we proceeded forward, Kido quickly killed off a few of the heavily injured monsters while I led Wizard Hat to the next location. It took less than a minute before we arrived at the next location, and without hesitation or pause, another earth shaking explosion rang throughout the building. Large chunks of concrete and wood collapsed, as cracks and splinters appeared numerously throughout the walls and floor.

Luckily, the floor stayed intact, allowing us to rush to the next location without incident.

Before the 4th explosion took place, Wizard Hat consumed a mana potion. When she finally did use the 4th explosion, her face grew noticeably paler while cold sweat dripped down from her brow. Already, she was showing signs of [Mental Strain].

Unlike Hina or Cielle, Wizard Hat did not use her skill often. Because of that, unlike those two, she did not have as much mental fortitude, and was more easily affected by constant mana use. Still her role in this operation was vital to the point where I could do nothing but ignore the obvious strain and difficulty she currently went through.

As the 2nd floor caved in, I immediately fed her the last mana potion as the three of us ran back and escaped the sinking floor. Despite the strain she forced herself through, Wizard Hat’s explosions worked properly, and another giant hole on the floor was carved out.

This time, the caved in portion of the 2nd floor was slightly smaller than the hole on the 3rd, but it was still a bit above what I had originally anticipated.

When the dust finally settled and the floor stopped quaking, the three of us gingerly approached the edge of the hole. Peering down into its depths, I could see a large collection of slag and concrete sprawled along the first floor. Beneath that concrete there were a few fresh bodies, but the kill count was undeniably lower than what it was before. Rather, unexpectedly, a majority of the monsters seemed to have fled, and even now after the 2nd floor caved in, I could not detect the horde that had previously been unceasingly following us.

We dropped down to the first floor, and almost instantly, I could feel the fragility beneath my feet. It was almost as if I was standing on thin ice.

While the shaking on the 2nd floor had ceased, that was not the case with the first. It wasn’t large or eye catching, but rather, a quiet tremor that could be barely detected even with my enhanced senses. Under all the weight of the rubble and broken concrete, the 1st floor was giving in.

Under normal circumstances, such a situation would be regarded as good, or lucky, but due to the nature of our plan, if the floor were to cave in before the fifth explosion, then the only thing remaining would be failure.

With haste, I extended my senses in preparation, first making sure there weren’t any stray monsters that could pose a threat during this critical point in the mission.

As I did so, rather than monsters, what had caught my attention was something right next to me. Kido, whose complexion gradually worsened as we neared the refuge, finally took a turn for the worse. His skin was almost as white as a sheet of paper, and the veins and tiny capillaries under his skin throbbed grotesquely. His eyes were bloodshot and his breath was uneven.

He was currently doubled over with his chest heaving in difficulty. The usual ambiguous expressions he wore were now completely gone, only to be replaced by a pain filled grimace.

Wizard hat, who, after casting four consecutive explosions was far too fatigued to notice Kido’s current condition, but I was not. Unease filled my mind and I could not help but to shoot a prodding glare towards him.

It was not that I was concerned about him, but rather, his sudden change filled me with a sense of dread and uneasy trepidation. What was happening to him? Why did he look like that? Although I was already prepared to kill Kido, I was not prepared for the change that occurred with his body.

As my thoughts whirled in rapid succession, a flash of insight took hold of me.

-Could this… could this have something to do with his title…?-

But just as I came to this conclusion, another change occurred next to me. Wizard Hat, whose eyes were already cloudy in fatigue and whose mind barely functioned under the effects of [Mental Strain], raised her hands up in front of her. 30 meters ahead of her, a bright light blinked into life. It intensified with each passing second, and almost in conjunction, Wizard Hat’s complexion rapidly deteriorated. Veins violently throbbed on her forehead, while her hazy eyes grew bloodshot. The mix of blood and mucus that seeped out from her nostrils did not go unnoticed.

“Oi! Idiot, not yet!” I immediately yelled in frantic haste.

She was already charging up her fifth explosion!

Because of her fatigue, my frantic voice ultimately went unheard, and the glowing ball of light only grew in intensity.

I glared at her for a second, caught in a moment of indecision, before my glare swept across the whole floor. My eyes momentarily met with Kido, who, despite his body’s current state, had an excited glint hidden deep within his irises. Kido noticed my glare and met mine with a simple smile. He did not say anything, but merely continued to smile a teethless smile.

All of that happened in the span of less than a second before my eyes rested back onto Wizard Hat’s uneasy constitution.

Almost instantly, the white light, whose intensity had been continually building up finally couldn’t take it anymore and snapped. A deafening explosion shook the whole building, and soon, like cracked ice, the floor beneath our feet cracked and caved inward.

As a result of the blast, Wizard Hat’s body flew threw the air as she drifted of into unconsciousness. My ears buzzed and the blinding light that ensued momentarily disrupted my vision, but through the recesses of fading imaged that passed through my head, there was a distinct scene that filled me with indescribable dread.

Before the explosion detonated, I saw Kido’s silhouette rush towards that blinding light. He seemingly flung himself forward as the light swallowed him whole. Kido, who I had planned to kill the moment after the last explosion occurred unexpectedly flung himself into the explosion.

Whether out of desperation or some other driving force, I had missed my chance.

Unfortunately, I did not have time to worry about this. Even in this state of near blindness and deafness, I could not rest. The floor as caving in rapidly, and if I did not do something soon, I would soon be engulfed by falling concrete and stifling debris.

I scoffed lightly, as I immediately moved into action. Basing my movements off pure memory, I rushed towards the place where I saw Wizard Hat’s body fly to. After 5 seconds of stumbling around, I finally made it to her location, but at the same time, these mere 5 seconds had already resulted in a space of 100 meters completely caving in, and the signs of collapse were far from over.

With Wizard Hat’s unconscious body slung beneath my arms, I immediately ran. I sprinted through the hall, outrunning the collapsing floor that continually gave in beneath my feet.

By the time a space of 400 meters collapsed, the floor had finally settled. I had managed to escape, and my vision had returned. Although my ears were still buzzing, I could now see the resulting destruction caused by the fifth explosion.

A column of dirty smoke, dust, and debris filtered through the air.

This column seeped out from the open hole in the floor, completely masking hiding what lay beneath. Whether the Dungeon Boss had been affected by the falling debris, or whether Kido survived his reckless stunt, those were all mysteries hidden beneath the splendor of the dust column.

The sight of destruction was almost breathtaking, but considering the schedule I was in, I did not have the luxury to enjoy it.

I scanned the first room, and upon seeing a small crevice that had been created by concrete and slag, I immediately rushed forward and quickly pushed Wizard Hat into the small space. I pushed another large slab of concrete in front of the entrance of the crevice, completely hiding her from sight.

“Stay here until the battle ends and absolutely don’t attract any attention.” Although she was fully unconscious, I could not help but utter, before I once again walked towards the edge of the newly created hole.

The imposing column of dust from before had lasted for merely 15 seconds before it started to disperse. At the same time, the buzzing in my ears gradually lessened to the point where I could finally hear sound once again.

Almost immediately, a pain filled screech from below entered my ears. It was a guttural, almost primal noise that sent tremors shivering down my spine, inadvertently causing my face to scrunch up in consternation.

Peeking through the settling dust, I could see a wriggling form in the center of the room. An obsidian black body stood out from underneath the collection debris and concrete. From all around the room, the sea of concrete shivered, as if something were moving through them. I did not know why, but the shivering concrete made my own body shiver in slight trepidation.

At the same time, I could see the Assault group making their way out of the Passageway. Luckily, the resulting explosions from before hadn’t caved in the passageway, resulting in the main group coming out relatively unharmed.

They trepidly approached the room, observing the scene before them.

Meanwhile, as more and more dust settled, my probing eyes finally found Kido. Contrary to my expectations, he had not died. He was hiding in a crevice, a mere 2 meters away from the Dungeon Boss. Even from this distance, the paleness in his face was indistinguishable. His body was covered in dust, and the armor I had given him was scratched and dented. The veins that throbbed violently on the surface of his skin were like malicious, red tattoos, almost glowing with vile energy.

Although he was so close to the Dungeon Boss, strangely enough, it did not attack him. Whether that was because the Boss himself was too busy recovering, or whether it chose to willingly ignore him, I had no clue, but seeing Kido’s crouching figure, I could not hide the urge to kill him.

I wanted to attack, I really did, but the immediate site before my eyes made me hesitate.

The dust had completely settled by this point and the Dungeon Boss had completely risen from the rubble and concrete, and roared with a ground shaking howl. The air vibrated with his screech, and the Assault group beneath all violently took a few steps back. Even from this distance, I could feel my heart palpitating in anxiety. [Pyschopath]’s innate fear reduction trait could not completely mask the terror that currently welled up in my heart.

Almost instinctively, the moment the dust settled, I used [Identify].

<Reeflech - The [Cursed] Subterranean - Lv 65

HP: 15,000/15,000>

“Level 65…” My face subconsciously grimaced upon seeing its status panel. Even with me being the highest leveled person in our group, there was still a level difference of more than 20. That’s not even to mention the fact that there were a few people on our side whose level did not even surpass 20. That was a level difference of more than 40!