Hell Mode: Volume 3, page 21
The Adventurer’s Guild was aware of how many parties were challenging Rank A dungeons at any given time. Five to ten such parties resided in Academy City, and they supposedly only went back to fight the bosses on the deepest floors once or twice each week. When Allen and his friends had participated in the Auction for the first time this month, they found that all the items dropped from dungeon bosses were worth far more than they had expected. It made sense, of course—the supply itself was extremely limited.
The Auction venue had been bursting with people, many of whom were merchants from the royal capital and other major cities. Before every Auction, the Guild would use communication magic tools to share the catalog between its branches. This way, merchants who saw items they were interested in would know to head over via magic ship.
This same communication technology was used for Ratash-Giamut diplomacy as well. In fact, it could even be used to reach countries on other continents, such as Baukis and Rohzenheim. When he first heard this, Allen marveled once again at how crucial Baukis’s technology had become for the world at large.
In any case, the No-life Gamers were on track to clear their second Rank A dungeon before the end of the month. Along the way, Allen had finally obtained Strengthening Lvl. 7, which raised two stats by +1,000 for each card. His Summons could now last even longer against Rank B monsters, so he now had Summons Squads constantly roaming about in the Rank A dungeon.
Allen’s Strengthened Summons now fared much better against any traps that might suddenly surround them with a horde of monsters, as well as against abyss boxes, Rank A monsters that looked like wooden chests but were far more powerful than mimics. The party also sported much better gear compared to three months ago. At the end of the day, equipment truly was a major factor in getting stronger.
Allen’s Equipment
Hihiirokane Sword
HP Ring (+100 HP)
Attack Ring (+500 Attack)
Krena’s Equipment
Hihiirokane Greatsword
Attack Ring (+100 Attack)
Attack Ring (+100 Attack)
Cecil’s Equipment
Rod of Light Magic
HP Ring (+100 HP)
Intelligence Ring (+100 Intelligence)
Dogora’s Equipment
Adamantite Ax
HP Ring (+100 HP)
Attack Ring (+100 Attack)
Keel’s Equipment
Rod of Judgment
HP Ring (+500 HP)
HP Ring (+100 HP)
Oftentimes, the party was not sure of the effects of items they had picked up. In such cases, they simply had to take the item in question to an analyst in town. Analysts were professionals who appraised magical gear such as rings and armor for what sorts of effects they provided. Their service fees were based on the rank of the dungeon and the type of chest the item came from; for example, an item from a wooden chest in a Rank A dungeon cost one gold to analyze, an item from a silver chest in a Rank A dungeon cost three gold to analyze, and so on and so forth. Analysts could find out rather detailed information, making their service indispensable. The Analyze skill was a major deal.
Since the No-life Gamers had largely gathered all the equipment they needed over the past three months, they decided to begin putting their excess drops up for sale at the Auction.
＊ ＊ ＊
“That’s a dragon,” Dogora observed out loud.
“That it is,” Allen agreed.
Today was a school day, so the No-life Gamers were once again on the deepest floor of a Rank A dungeon as part of their daily quota. Before their eyes lay what looked like a Western dragon, complete with wings and reddish-brown scales. It stood on its thick hind feet and had front claws that looked tiny in comparison. For now, it stood in place unmoving, its head drooping slightly. Up until now, the Gamers had killed a total of seventy-five Rank A dungeon bosses, fighting every other variety of boss monster. This, however, was their first time encountering a dragon.
So, we finally got to meet one. I guess that makes the probability of spawning a dragon somewhere between two and one percent.
According to records, dragons possessed significantly higher Attack and Defense than any of the other types of Rank A dungeon bosses. There were accounts of these monsters thoroughly decimating parties filled with experienced adventurers.
“How should we do this, Allen?” Krena asked. It was now second nature for the party to turn to Allen for instruction whenever they encountered something new.
“This is the most powerful boss that can spawn, so I’ll make the first attack. We’ll leave four Steelys on standby to protect against AoE breath attacks.”
The party had come up with multiple strategies for fighting dungeon bosses and was still in the process of testing out new ones in the never-ending search for ever-greater efficiency. As such, they always made a conscious effort not to only use the same one, instead adopting different tactics to suit differing situations. Of all the strategies in their arsenal, the ones that ended fights fastest involved Allen dealing the first attack.
“All right, start things off with a bang,” Dogora said with a grin before getting into position like everyone else, ax in hand.
The first order of business was to gauge how powerful this dragon was. This time, the party was going with a defensive formation that made the most of Stone Cs. Allen’s grimoire flipped furiously as he Unsummoned all three Summons Squads and altered his distribution of cards.
“All right, let’s do this.”
All five Bird Cs they were riding activated their Awakened Ability. As usual, from front to back, it was Krena and Dogora together as the vanguard in the front, Allen in the middle, then Cecil and Keel together bringing up the rear providing support.
The five of them inched forward cautiously. The timing of the first attack was very important.
“Go, Wally Bombers!”
Ten Stone Es materialized in a tight circle around the dragon and exploded in one massive boom. A while back, Allen had stopped calling this maneuver “Meteor,” since it was a part of the name of Cecil’s Extra Skill. He was not someone who stole or appropriated from other people.
From within the billowing cloud of smoke, the dragon slowly reared its nearly ten-meter-long body to its full height. It roared angrily, “What do you think you’re doing?!”
Cecil’s eyes widened with surprise. “It talked!”
The five teenagers stopped their advance to observe their opponent. Soon, the smoke cleared away, revealing the dragon glaring their way.
“A measly five humans? And you think you can beat me? Hah! I’ve never seen a funnier joke! All this time, you’ve had it easy not encountering me, but now your luck’s run out. Ignorance truly is a sin. Out of respect for that hubris of yours, I shall grant you an agonizing death squirming in my hellish fl—”
“Wallys, Explode.”
Before it finished its speech, another ten Stone Es appeared in a circle around the dragon and exploded once more. Right after the first round, Allen had already started making replacement Stone E cards.
Having been interrupted mid-speech, the dragon now looked even more furious than before. “How... How dare you! None of you are leaving here aliiive!”
“Uh, now it’s angry at all of us, isn’t it?” Cecil’s laser stare bore holes into Allen’s back.
“Well, y’know...collective responsibility and all that, right?”
Combat in this world was not turn-based. If one side did nothing during a fight, the other side could simply whale on the first using whatever skills were at their disposal. In fact, if one side was fast enough, they could get in more attacks within the same period of time. The dragon choosing to stay still and deliver a monologue was one example of this.
I hope that whittled down a significant chunk of its HP.
Since the group had no idea how powerful the dragon was, they had no choice but to focus solely on dealing damage. The damage dealt by Summons with attack-oriented Awakened Abilities received a significant boost now that Allen had reached Strengthening Lvl. 7—with Stone E and its Explode being one such example.
The enraged monster bared its ferocious teeth and barreled toward the party.
“Krena, let’s get in there!” Dogora shouted. “Maintain formation!”
“Okay, let’s go!” Krena replied.
The two tightened their grips on their weapons and charged forward, not cowed by the dragon in the slightest. In the next instant, both sides clashed. Krena landed the first blow, slamming her greatsword into the dragon’s foot with every ounce of her strength. However, her blade barely broke the skin, despite her having 3,000 Attack. Dogora’s attacks did not seem to do any serious damage either.
Through masterful maneuvering of their Bird Cs, Krena and Dogora desperately dodged the barrage of attacks from the dragon’s front claws, jaws, and tail. While doing so, they continued piling on the attacks.
Oof, the two are having trouble hurting it. By the looks of things, it doesn’t just have high Defense; it’s definitely also resistant to physical damage.
How much damage someone could deal to a target was generally affected by four main factors: the attacker’s weapon, the attacker’s skill levels and stats, additional stat boosts from items such as rings, and the defender’s Endurance stat. At times, however, there were more forces at play. Some beings had resistance against physical attacks, with Spirit C being a good example. Allen suspected that the dragon did as well, meaning that what little damage it would normally have taken with its high Endurance was now almost completely nullified.
Several minutes into the fight, Allen noticed a red glow forming deep within the dragon’s throat and climbing up to its mouth. The next moment, the beast raised its head high and reared back.
“Breath attack incoming!!!” Allen roared.
Immediately, two Stone Cs stepped forward to protect Cecil and Keel as the other two Summons used their Awakened Ability, Sacrifice, to cover the entire party. When this Ability was activated, the Summon took on all of the damage for every party member within range until its HP ran out. How much damage it suffered was based on the Stone C’s own Endurance stat, not that of the targets it was protecting.
The dragon’s mouth gleamed with bright light, then an incredible heat assaulted Allen’s group.
Ugh, this attack is lasting so long.
A torrent of fire enveloped Krena, Dogora, and Allen, which meant that the two Stone Cs using Sacrifice had to endure the damage that three people would have suffered. They did not last long, quickly disappearing into glowing bubbles and therefore forcing Allen to immediately Summon two more to take their place before making replacement cards.
The instant the dragon’s breath fizzled out, Krena and Dogora resumed their assault.
“INSOLEEEEEENCE!!!”
Once again, the dragon’s throat began to glow. Everyone braced themselves for another breath attack, but it did not come.
Wait, is it...?
“Oh no! It’s building up to a big one!”
Some monsters were intelligent enough to gather their strength for an exceptionally powerful attack. Naturally, these were far more devastating than regular moves. Krena and Dogora continued doing as much damage as they could, but the dragon was clearly not going to fall before its next attack was ready.
Soon, the charged-up breath attack burst forth in a blinding stream of destruction, only this time broader and farther than before. The newly Summoned Stone Cs as well as the ones protecting Cecil and Keel all disappeared in the blink of an eye.
Right after the breath let up, the dragon’s throat started glowing once more. The monster had clearly figured out that this would be the effective way to defeat Allen’s party. The third breath attack, in all its punishing grandeur, arrived all too soon.
Allen could not create new Stone Cs in time. He was barely able to keep Cecil and Keel protected, as they would likely die immediately if they took this attack head-on. That was how formidable it was.
That left Krena, Dogora, and Allen exposed, and they paid for it as the torrent of flames washed over them and sent them flying. The Bird Cs that they were riding collapsed into glowing bubbles and disappeared underneath their riders. Maria, who had been floating in midair, rushed over in a fluster to heal the party up with recovery items.
It did not take long for the dragon to build up for another breath.
Ugh, I can’t make Steelys fast enough.
“Allen, another breath attack is coming! What’re we going to do?!” Cecil cried out.
“Everyone, line up!” Allen replied in the form of a command. “This is gonna be a drawn-out fight!”
“Okay,” Dogora nodded. “Otherwise we’re gonna get wiped out.”
Based on what they now knew about the range, strength, and timing of the dragon’s breath attacks, Allen had concluded that a full-on assault was a bad idea. They needed to work out a different tactic. However, while Dogora had acknowledged the order, Krena simply stood in place, her sword arm hanging limply at her side.
“Krena! Fall back!” Allen repeated, but then noticed his companion’s blank stare. “Krena?”
Wait, no, I’ve seen this somewhere bef— Ah, is she?!
Suddenly, Krena let out a loud cry, and a heat haze burst out and surrounded her body. The next moment, she was charging forward at an impossible speed.
The dragon set its sights on the girl and let loose a particularly gigantic breath attack that instantly swallowed her up in blinding, scorching flames.
“ROOOOAAAARRRRR!!!”
“KRENA!!!” Just as Allen was about to rush forward with a recovery item in hand, however, he witnessed a greatsword severing one of the dragon’s claws.
Krena had charged into the flames and come out the other side. Her movements were now a far cry from mere moments prior. The dragon shrieked with pain and bled profusely as her tiny figure ran circles around it, launching a frenzied assault.
There was no telling how long Krena could remain in this state. Allen took advantage of this time to reconfigure the party’s formation and create as many Summons as possible.
Can we keep this up and end the fight in one push? Krena’s stats are now through the roof. Whoa, her HP is recovering at a rate of one percent per second!
Krena’s Status was showing numbers higher than anything Allen had seen before. The burns on her body from the dragon’s breath attack she had taken were also healing at a visible pace.
* * *
Name: Krena (Massive HP Regeneration)
Age: 13
Class: Sword Lord
Level: 58
HP: 2,360 + 3,900
MP: 922 + 3,000
Attack: 2,360 + 3,900
Endurance: 1,654 + 3,900
Agility: 1,594 + 3,900
Intelligence: 942 + 3,000
Luck: 1,155 + 3,000
Skills: Sword Lord {5}, Slash {5}, Flying Slash {5}, Pyroblast {5}, Thunderous Sword {5}, Toughness {1}, Sword Mastery {5}
Extra Skill: Limit Break
* * *
“YOU LITTLE PIECE OF SHIT!!!”
The dragon’s composed and pompous manner of speaking was quickly devolving into little more than vulgar insults. It was absolutely consumed with rage. Deep gashes marred its body from head to toe, and they bled profusely. Its thick tail managed to slam squarely into Krena and smashed her against a far wall, but she immediately got back to her feet and started running back at the beast.
The dragon’s throat began to emit the brightest glow of the whole fight thus far. The monster apparently thought it had bought itself enough time when it had batted Krena away, but it was dead wrong. Before it could finish charging up its attack, her greatsword plunged into the glowing part of its throat.
“YAAAAAAH!!!”
“ROOOAAAARRRR!!!”
Flames burst from the throat like a bomb detonating, enveloping the dragon. Its massive body fell over, crashing to the ground with a shuddering boom.
Damn, Krena just took out a dragon! And that amount of XP—since we got 1.6 million fighting it as a group of five, that means someone soloing it would get 2 million. That’s two to three times the amount that the other Rank A dungeon bosses give.
The next moment, the dragon was reduced to nothing but a Rank A magic stone.
“Krena, you all right?” Allen asked as he and the rest of the party ran up to Krena, who was no longer enveloped in an aura.
“Yep! I beat the dragon! Yaaayyy!”
Seriously, Extra Skills are way too overpowered.
Allen recalled the time when Krena had beaten up Vice-Captain Leibrand when she was five years old. Now that Allen fully understood what had happened back then, he could not help but feel sorry for the man.
Effect of Krena’s Extra Skill “Limit Break”
Recovers HP at 1%/second
All stats +3,000
“WHOOOOO! It’s a gold chest!!!” Keel shouted, jolting Allen away from his thoughts.
Everyone cheered at getting their first-ever gold chest. It glittered even more magnificently than the silver chests did. Krena opened it, revealing a single ring resting inside.
“It’s a ring!” she exclaimed. “Is it an MP Recovery Ring?!”
HERE WE GOOOO! IT’S A RING! This has got to be an MP Recovery Ring. It’s gotta be!
Allen was beside himself with excitement. Because Krena had just used up a lot of MP, he asked her to put it on. He checked his grimoire, but her MP did not go up.
