The Villain is Too Good at Sniping

48. Social Evil (3)

A merciless and fierce sword strike.

The sword’s trajectory was chaotic, scattering the pale green liquid everywhere. Fortunately, the party was steadily moving forward to the lower floor… for now.

“Hey, wait—”

“What’s up?”

When I tried to warn her, it was already too late. Iri’s sword was faster than my words.

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Thud!

“What?!”

“That’s…”

Thanks to that, the gatekeeper was easily defeated, but Iri, who was standing at the front, got splashed with the liquid vomited by the wooden monster.

“Uh, do you have a spare set of clothes…?”

“Do you think so?”

“Ahh…”

“It’s not a big deal since it doesn’t smell, so just wear it. It’s only three days, anyway. We can bear with it for three days.”

Iri sighed and sat down, looking disheveled.

The problem was that she was wearing her school uniform.

The school uniform provided by Arsene had a similar level of durability to the ones used by the Hunter Association, boasting overwhelming performance compared to ordinary protective gear.

Arsene’s school uniform was an item that wouldn’t even flinch against a low-level monster’s claws or 5.56mm bullets. Although it looked like a school uniform, it was stronger than any ordinary armor. Even if it got dirty, it was better for Iri to wear it.

…But it was a problem since it looked bad.

There was a kind senior who offered to help Iri.

“…Do you want me to help you?”

“Senior Edel…?”

“Yes, just stay still for a moment! Don’t move, or the liquid will splatter!”

“Ah, okay… I’ll stay like this!”

“Okay, just for a moment!”

“I’ll clean you up right now!”

At that moment, Edel Di Bison’s last words stuck in my mind.

“Uh, Edel senior—”

“Close your eyes!”

“Yes!”

A small, blue orb appeared in Edel’s palm, and then a powerful water gun was fired. The water pressure was so strong that I felt numb all over my body, even though I was just standing next to her.

As the water jet gradually dissipated, the thick mist that had risen around us began to clear.

“Ah…….”

A faint figure became visible through the mist.

Iri, who was in a daze, was lying on the ground with a half-dead expression. I thought she might have fainted, but her fingers were twitching, so it seemed she was okay.

“Uh, Edel senior—”

“Uh…?”

“What’s…?”

Where should I start?

Strictly speaking, it was my mistake. I should have warned her beforehand.

If I had known Iri would get hurt so quickly, I would have sent Kazuha, our mid-range dealer, instead of Iri.

Unlike the uniform that needed to be washed, the whip could be easily cleaned with a single swing.

“That liquid is hydrophobic, so it won’t dissolve in water.”

“Hmm… then, can we change it to oil instead of water?”

“No, no. Don’t do that.”

If we did that, we wouldn’t be washing the uniform, but Iri instead.

That would be enough. I stopped Edel, who was about to summon a yellow-green orb.

If we tried to dissolve the liquid with oil, Iri’s mental state would collapse first. And if we accidentally got the smell on the uniform, it would be ruined.

“Can I… go home? Please let me go…….”

“…….”

Look at this.

“Just hold on a bit longer. We’ve already come halfway.”

“Is it still halfway left?”

“It’s the start that’s the hardest.”

“I thought I heard you say that if I just waited, it would be halfway done?”

In the end, I took off the outerwear I was wearing and put it on Iri like a cape, then lifted her up.

I heard a snickering sound from somewhere and turned around to see Rian giggling.

I had deliberately placed Rian and Rebecca at the back to exclude them from the party’s combat power, but seeing them do nothing but watch was a bit frustrating.

However, it was hard to say anything, since we had to carefully examine the areas we had already passed through, as there were monster dens scattered throughout the dungeon.

And Rian was unexpectedly doing her part well.

This time, the underground shopping mall Everd was a gimmick-type dungeon. It was an episode that reminded players who visited the dungeon for the first time that it wasn’t just about using brute force to defeat monsters.

Here, there were gimmicks like a collapsing ceiling that would suddenly release monsters, and you could also use ventilation shafts to avoid monster dens.

I wondered if I had accidentally triggered a flag, and my nerves were on edge. I reflexively turned around.

“There’s another one here.”

The sword wielded by Rian cut down a monster that was crawling on the ground. It was a rat-like monster that had been summoned from somewhere.

“So, what’s the plan now? We’ve got the gatekeeper, so all that’s left is the boss, right?”

Rian spoke nonchalantly.

However, even though the monster had fallen, Rian’s entire body was still tense with nerves.

“…Why aren’t you saying anything?”

“No, I’m just a bit surprised.”

Rian clicked his tongue and turned his head. He stepped on the sprouting bud of the monster that was trying to revive.

It was only then that I realized. My [intuition] wasn’t warning me of the monster’s appearance, but was reacting to Rian, who was crushing the monster.

Kazuya, who had sensed the awkward atmosphere, approached me.

“Hey, Shion, is your right hand okay?”

“No, not at all.”

Although it didn’t seem like a big deal on the surface, it was actually quite bothersome.

Since my talent was [marksman], it didn’t make a huge difference which hand I used to shoot, but controlling the recoil of the Glock with one hand was quite a challenge.

Rian didn’t seem to like me very much.

“If it’s that uncomfortable, why don’t you just take a break?”

“…Focus.”

Rebecca, too, clearly disliked Rian’s attitude.

Our party had currently reached the 5th floor of the dungeon, exactly halfway down. The boss room, where the mid-dungeon boss was located, was situated here.

I had expected Kyle to be here already, but surprisingly, this place was spotlessly clean. It was a place that no human had set foot in yet.

“It seems like no one has come here yet.”

“…What do we do? Should we go in by ourselves?”

Airi and Edel were saying different things.

In fact, I had thought of waiting for Kyle’s party to arrive, but since Rian was here, it didn’t seem like a good idea, so I gave up.

“Then, let’s go.”

The magic that had been warned about in the sudden event still didn’t seem to be in effect. Maybe we needed to search from the 7th floor below, where the light didn’t reach.

Thud.

As we approached the boss room, everyone’s watches rang simultaneously.

[Arsen A.C: You have reached the 5th floor of the underground for the first time.]

[Arsen A.C: You have earned 5 contribution points.]

“Then, as I said, get ready.”

The signal was sent to change positions.

In a field with monsters, our current position would be useless, and it would be a ridiculous build against the mid-dungeon boss.

The mid-dungeon boss’s attack couldn’t be handled by Airi alone. We needed everyone, including Rebecca.

Although I felt an unfriendly gaze from behind, Rian still seemed to be aware of the instructors and slowly approached me from the side.

The system, which had been hesitant, responded. The words became jumbled and created another message.

[Boss Room – Abandoned Warehouse]

Appearing Boss: The Floating Necromancer

Difficulty:?

Do you really want to enter the dungeon?

Whether we entered or not, if we didn’t defeat this boss, we wouldn’t be able to go down to the lower floors.

If it were Arsen’s professor-level person, they could dive from the balcony to the lowest floor, but from a student’s perspective, it would only be a quick retreat.

I held my breath and grasped my gun. Then, I slowly lifted the closed door upwards.

The stale air, which had been confined for a long time, burst out in an instant. As the dust settled, I surveyed the boss room with [the Watcher’s Eye].

The first thing that caught my eye was a massive coffin.

Chains were hanging from the ceiling, and the originally storage space had become a vast plain. Only the occasional rusty iron frame hinted that this place had once been a facility for storing goods.

Before taking another step, I turned to look at Airi. After exchanging glances with Airi and the other team members, I stopped in my tracks.

At that moment, “that guy” opened his eyes.

“The Floating Necromancer” had detected an intruder.

The system window turned red and disappeared from view. Instead, a skeleton in a tattered cloak descended from the ceiling, its chains rattling.

I heard the sound of bones clattering. The skeleton’s words were not audible, but rather transmitted directly into my mind through telepathy.

-You will pay the price for disturbing the rest of the dead.

The skeleton in tattered robes floating in the air.

This “Floating Necromancer” was said to have been a renowned magician in his lifetime. I vaguely remembered that.

Purple light poured down from the sky like rain, transforming into a viscous liquid that slowly took shape.

Beasts and humans, as well as various other monsters, were spawned in all directions. Since the boss was a necromancer, they were all skeletons without flesh.

“Uh…”

Airi trembled, her eyes wide with fear.

“Isn’t this a bit too much?”

“…….”

There were too many summoned creatures for our party to handle alone. Even if we managed to defeat them, the necromancer would simply summon them again if we didn’t defeat its main body.

We had to end this in one strike. If we waited for the boss’s magic to dwindle, our party would be wiped out first.

I gripped my Glock. I observed the field with [the Watcher’s Eye], not with my ordinary vision. The necromancer seemed to be wandering aimlessly, but it was always moving in the same pattern. I followed its trajectory and pulled the trigger.

……All my bullets missed.

“What are you doing?”

Lian looked at me with a mixture of disappointment and frustration on his face.

To be precise, not a single bullet I fired missed its target.

The bullets definitely hit the necromancer’s main body. However, the bullet holes only scratched the wall. The bullets had been dodged by the necromancer’s body, which had become intangible and disappeared.

The necromancer repeatedly vanished and reappeared, and each time, my bullets hit the wrong wall. The floating skeleton was mocking us.

-Do you think your mortal hands can touch me?

As a result, I couldn’t deal any damage to the necromancer, not even a little. Rebecca and the other party members were busy fighting the summoned creatures.

I wondered if some sudden event had changed the original setting, but fortunately, this necromancer was just as it was in the original.

“What’s the plan, then? You’re the strategist, right?”

“That’s right.”

Lian’s words were correct. Ordinary bullets couldn’t deal damage to that guy.

To be precise, this boss didn’t take physical damage at all.

Click—

I discarded the empty magazine and inserted a new one.

Then, there’s the problem.

How do we defeat a boss that doesn’t take physical damage? We could use magic to deal damage, but to be honest, it wasn’t very cost-effective.

To put it simply, there was only one answer. We had to give up on physical combat.

Up to that point, something was fluttering before my eyes. It was a faint, spirit-like entity that resembled a spirit, wandering around the empty space like a burning flame.

“What is that?”

As Aira asked cautiously, Edel gazed at it calmly. It was astonishing to see it up close.

“They’re people recorded in the dungeon, like NPCs. Since this is a recorded dungeon… they’re probably the hunters who were sacrificed in this dungeon.”

The entities, which seemed to be on the verge of scattering at any moment, were trying to pull the chain and put the necromancer back into the coffin. However, before the coffin lid closed, the entities began to disappear one by one. In the place where the hunter party had been, only the necromancer’s magic remained.

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That hunter party had failed to defeat the floating necromancer. They had vanished along with the dungeon.

However, the way it was using the chain like a jump rope was clearly giving us a hint.

Lian’s face looked unfamiliar, as if he was seeing this for the first time. His puzzled expression made me add a word of explanation.

“Why is there a coffin here? Senior.”

“What’s going on all of a sudden?”

“I’m saying that someone put the necromancer back in the coffin and left it here.”

“……?”

Lian still looked confused. In that case, it would be faster to show him directly. If we wasted any more time, everything we had worked for would be in vain.

Originally, I was going to let Kyle’s group handle it, but since our group arrived faster, there was no choice.

We couldn’t wait for another group to arrive, so this time we had to do it ourselves.

After all, the score itself was much higher if we defeated the boss of the lowest floor, the “Fierce Salamander”. So, we would take care of this boss, and let Kyle’s group handle the final boss of the dungeon.

That was the plan.

The mid-boss of the dungeon, the floating necromancer.

This boss wasn’t made to be defeated.

We would be facing more of these kinds of enemies in the future, so it was made as a tutorial boss to practice beforehand. In the original story, that was the setting, and Arsene must have intentionally left the necromancer here to train the students’ combat sense.

In reality, we had already found a way to defeat it. The fact that it was unaffected by physical damage and was using the chain to climb down was a clear indication.

Bullets and swords wouldn’t work. However, the chain that it was using to climb down, which was filled with magic, could deal physical damage to it.

I pulled the trigger again. The necromancer continued to appear and disappear, but there was clearly a pattern to it.

“…?”

I pulled the trigger.

To an outsider, it would seem like I was wasting bullets in mid-air. However, Edel’s keen eyes had caught on to something.

…As the old saying goes, “To deceive the enemy, you must first deceive your ally.”

Even Edel’s sharp eyes couldn’t compare to my [Thousand-Mile Eyes]. If Edel noticed something and the necromancer found out, everything would be ruined.

In the original story, the method was to use the chain to create a snare and bind the necromancer. However, there was a faster way to clear it.

First, horizontally four times, vertically eight times.

Each time I pulled the trigger, the metal frames scattered around the area would break, and the chains on the ceiling would entangle each other.

Next, I destroyed the fluorescent light that was swaying on the ceiling. It fell down like a chandelier, wrapping around the chain in a circle.

The chains entangled each other, becoming a single heavy weight. However, this wasn’t enough. I pulled the trigger again, adjusting the angle. The loaded balista-like contraption would fire the moment I pulled the trigger again.

The necromancer laughed. Each time, I could hear the sound of bones clicking together. It must have thought I was wasting bullets in mid-air. Half of that was correct.

Finally, I pulled the slide. The loaded bullet changed from a regular one to a magic bullet.

This magic bullet, imbued with wind attributes, was something I had created for the first time since I fell from the dormitory.

“Mortal, you’re working hard.”

“The moment the bullet falls is the moment you die.”

The necromancer’s laughter echoed in my mind, but I simply raised the gun barrel towards the ceiling.

(Note: I preserved the line breaks as per your request)

That guy seems to be trying to get under my skin, but it’s as meaningless as talking to the boss monster recorded in the dungeon.

Anyway, that guy is the one who disappears and reappears every time this dungeon is reset. Many students must have defeated him, and I, the original player, am no exception.

– Are you giving up?

Don’t be ridiculous.

Instead of answering, I pulled the trigger. The slide moved, and an empty cartridge flew out.

As the cartridge hit the ground…

– You, including all humans here, will die in this place—

Boom! Bang!

The massive weight swung like a pendulum, striking the back of that guy’s head, which was floating in mid-air.

……!

There was no follow-up. Edel quickly closed the coffin lid with her magic.

The sound of knocking on the coffin faded away after a few times. Edel turned around, looking relieved.

“……Did we do it?”

Her face showed a desire for confirmation, but I couldn’t respond.

The sudden exhaustion from magic depletion hit me.

Instead of answering, I weakly raised my hand.

I’ve grown accustomed to the exhaustion caused by magic depletion. It seems I’ll never be able to escape this chronic condition.

[Arsen A.C: Successfully sealed the boss ‘Floating Necromancer’.]

[Arsen A.C: Earned 50 contribution points.]

[Arsen A.C: The path to the next floor is now open.]

The wall crumbled, and the light streaming in illuminated the room. I struggled not to stumble and took a step forward.

The seal on the 6th underground floor, where the final boss of this dungeon resided, was broken.

[Achievement: Speedrun]

◇ Reward – Magic +100