The Villain is Too Good at Sniping

49. Social Evil (4)

To be honest, it wasn’t that difficult to get this far.

Even a newbie who corresponds to a beginner could explore carefully and find the weakness of the mid-boss ‘Floating Necromancer’ with enough time.

It wasn’t difficult at first, but this boss was originally treated as a pushover. It’s not a physically demanding boss, but rather one designed to be defeated through gimmicks.

As a result, this boss is defeated in various ways with each repeated playthrough. As long as you put it in a coffin, it’s done, and people have played with all sorts of outrageous concepts.

And I was one of them.

Just looking at my strategy, it’s called the ‘Bowling Ball Meta’ in the community. Depending on the situation, it was even possible to completely crush that necromancer.

Unfortunately, this time, I only managed to put it in a coffin due to lack of magic.

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

[Arsen A.C: Additional 10 points earned as a last-hit bonus.]

The score obtained from defeating the boss is 50 points.

With this score, I’ve surpassed the points accumulated by other parties so far.

In this episode, the player becomes the main character. The main characters are scattered and assigned to different dungeons, and it’s purely luck who they’ll meet inside.

However, since I’ve confirmed that Kyle Ivanstein’s A-team is in the same dungeon, I need to adjust my initial plan slightly.

As there are unpredictable sudden events, the main characters need to grow accordingly. When an opportunity arises, I’ll give them a massive experience boost.

It’s not bad for the main characters to become stronger.

“First, the score for defeating the mid-boss is 50 points.”

And when you defeat the final boss of this dungeon, you’ll get a whopping 200 points. Since we’ve already taken care of the mid-boss, we’ll let Kyle handle the final boss.

Initially, Kyle’s group had entered quickly, but now our group is leading the way. We’ve been given three days to clear the dungeon, but we don’t need to spend that much time here.

We’ll finish the dungeon today.

After reaching the 7th floor underground, we took a short break to recover our magic.

“Shion… is that you?”

“I’m a bit later than expected.”

“Yeah, but our group has been working hard too…”.

The second group to enter the 7th floor was, of course, Kyle’s A-group.

Other group members, who had been keeping a low profile, began to emerge. They all looked like they’d been through a lot, covered in dust and dirt. Fortunately, no one had dropped out.

“It’s almost evening, why are we stuck in this gloomy place? Can’t we even light a fire?”

But I shook my head, pointing to the rusty sign that read “No Camping” in small letters. It was a subtle hint left by the developers.

“We can’t light a fire here. It might provoke other monsters.”

“Provoke monsters?”

“You should know that by now. The lower we go, the more humid it gets, and the monsters’ attributes change.”

Kyle scratched the back of his head.

I’m not doing this for fun. If we light a fire here, we might trigger a full-scale attack from the monsters in the vicinity. The humidity is stronger down here, and monsters that thrive in humid environments are more likely to appear.

And the representative monsters that thrive in humid environments are mostly small to medium-sized insect-type monsters.

The Hunter’s Association also calls them “Chungwangjong.” Not all Chungwangjong are like that, but most monsters that thrive in humid environments get excited when they see fire.

A prime example is the “Anticus” monster, also known as the “Fire Moth.” It’s an ant-like, winged monster that’s relatively low-level, but its sheer numbers make it a formidable foe.

“So what about food?”

“Well, that’s…”

I’m sure other groups that entered the dungeon are also struggling with this issue. After all, we’ve realized that the underground monsters react to fire.

“We’ll either have to cook our food quickly and be prepared to fight, or hunt on the upper floors, or catch small insects like winged ants.”

“…Wait, you mean we have to eat insects?”

“What choice do we have?”

Other groups might choose to starve or drop out early rather than eat insects.

But that’s not an easy choice either, because when you’re attacked by monsters, the Watch inflicts a corresponding amount of pain.

I don’t know the details yet, but considering what happened to Aileen and Kazuha… it’s not going to be a walk in the park.

Most students at Arsen are in the realm of the superhuman, so their tolerance for pain is naturally high.

To subdue them, you’d need an excruciating amount of pain, like having your limbs numb and paralyzed.

“Anyway, we need to be prepared to face the monsters if we want to light a fire.”

So be careful, you too.

As I said that, I turned around to see Lian smoking a cigarette in the distance.

…Wait, a cigarette?

“Lian, senpai.”

“Huh?”

Just as I was about to scold him, my entire nervous system went on high alert. I saw a group of people marching in the darkness, shrouded in shadows.

Kyle looked like he’d seen something strange, and I quietly drew my Glock, aiming it at Lian’s face. Only then did Lian seem to realize the situation and turned around, cigarette still in his mouth.

Whooooaaa—!

“What the X?!”

Lian’s face turned white as a small, insect-like monster the size of a human palm stuck to his face.

Lian struggled to remove the monster from his face with both hands, then stomped on it and crushed it. He spat out the cigarette he had been holding in his mouth.

Whoosh……!

As the cigarette smoke dispersed, dozens of insect-like monsters appeared in the air, their eerie and thrilling presence making my brow twitch.

“X, what’s going on? Get lost!”

Lian wildly swung his sword, his panicked movements somehow still managing to unleash a tremendous amount of destructive power. The monsters in front of him were cut down four at a time.

But as I said, this dungeon is a gimmick-type dungeon. There are multiple gimmicks hidden throughout the dungeon. I, for one, used the dungeon’s gimmicks to quickly descend to the lower floors.

And the place where our team is regrouping is a location with a vertical passage that leads directly to the floor below.

……Click.

From noble mtl dot com

A mechanical sound came from somewhere, and a faint tremor began to spread from beneath my feet.

“What’s going on…….”

A faint magical reaction was detected from Kail’s feet.

I rushed over to him, pushing him away from the spot.

Kail, who had been unable to dodge, fell to the ground. The floor where Kail had been standing caved in, and if I had been a little slower, he would have fallen into the pit.

Kail got up, grasping his sword. It seemed like he was about to join forces with Lian, but that wasn’t Kail’s role. Right now, there was someone else who needed Kail.

“This side is taken care of, so go to your team.”

“What about this side?”

“This side is something we can handle on our own, so hurry—”

At that moment, my instincts reacted. I reflexively turned around, sensing an ominous aura that I had never felt before.

“……?”

The sound of high heels clicking to a halt came from behind me. A small whirlpool had appeared beneath Rebecca’s feet, who was approaching this way.

Rebecca also sensed the anomaly and tried to dodge, but the trap beneath her feet refused to let her escape. It was like an antlion’s pit, rotating fiercely and pulling her down.

No matter how exceptional Rebecca’s abilities were, she couldn’t exert her strength in this situation. She couldn’t even step on the ground, let alone jump away.

I instinctively leaped towards her. I was like a bullet, shooting towards her.

But before I could reach her…

Whoosh……!

Rebecca fell into the activated trap and disappeared into the ground. The collapsed ground continued to rotate fiercely for a while before slowly coming to a stop.

Rebecca was gone. The surreal scene unfolding before my eyes made me feel a momentary sense of unreality. But that was only temporary.

I checked the party member list on my watch.

[X Team] – Total Contribution Score: 68 points

Sion Illeonhart: Alive [Leader]

Airi De Sugamond: Alive

EDEL Di Bison: Alive

.

.

Rebecca Von Anastasha Grandeur: Alive

…Fortunately, there was no elimination mark. Rebecca was still fine.

I didn’t know how much damage she had taken, but Rebecca hadn’t been eliminated. I was relieved, thinking that Rebecca wouldn’t be defeated so easily. After all, Rebecca was one of the top authorities among the students currently residing in Arsene. She wouldn’t be so weak as to receive an elimination judgment just like that.

That’s why Rebecca was the person who took charge of our party’s rear, and she was the only one who could respond to unexpected events.

However, there was a catch.

The gimmick of descending to the lower floor was true to its name, sending the target to the lower floor. Whether it was one floor down, two floors down, or even a mimic-filled monster’s den, it was all up to luck. Even the developers might not know.

Of course, the probability of falling into a monster’s den was extremely low.

Even if we did fall, this gimmick was focused on surprising the players, so it wouldn’t summon a deadly monster. Moreover, since our opponent was Rebecca, we could definitely overcome it.

But there was a variable in this dungeon.

If Rebecca were to encounter a mine, the situation would likely become uncontrollable.

Even if we suffered damage from a boss or monster, it wouldn’t affect our physical bodies. At most, we would be sent back and penalized.

However, if the mine itself was an irregular existence that didn’t follow the dungeon’s records, then the story would be different. The mine could inflict physical damage on us.

That’s why we started the speedrun, thinking that we could finish it before another student encountered the mine.

I turned to look at my teammates.

The cigarette had gone out a long time ago, and Iri, along with the X team, was fighting against the suddenly appearing monster horde.

Communication using the watch was fundamentally impossible. Due to its limited functions, we could only adjust the party’s settings.

And Rian was still fighting against the monsters.

Behind Rian, who was retreating, a large crater created by the gimmick was looming.

Just as Rian’s foot was about to step into the air, I reached out and grabbed Rian’s arm.

“……!”

“Be careful, senior.”

In a situation like this, every team member was precious. That included Rian Font Hildegarde.

[Arsen A.C : Acquired 3 points for team work bonus]

Moreover, the professors were watching us. The blinking alarm on the watch proved it.

Rian had a bewildered face, as if they didn’t expect to receive help from me.

Rian might have been trolling, but this wasn’t the time to worry about it. Kazuha and Iri were scattered and fighting on their own. This chaos couldn’t continue. We needed to reorganize the party first.

I pushed away the flying monsters with my right hand and looked at Iri. Since we had talked before at Etlangere, I thought we could understand each other quickly.

“Iri.”

“Yes! Just a minute, Shion!”

Iri came running towards me, her footsteps light.

Iri shook off the blood on her sword, and I reloaded my Glock. Just from that action, Iri seemed to have caught on.

“Do you remember what we talked about at the restaurant?”

“You mean the story about the party leader’s role?”

“Ah, that one.”

She nodded silently.

Now that Rebecca was absent, the only person I could trust was Iri De Sugamond. Although Iri didn’t seem to be in a good mood when we talked before, she was the only one.

“……How long do you think it’ll take?”

“I don’t know. It might take around two hours if it’s long.”

“Two hours?”

“Assuming the worst-case scenario, it’ll take around two hours.”

So, it wouldn’t really take two hours.

I tidied up my Glock and brushed off the dirt on my right hand. This gimmick was more annoying than I thought.

I manipulated the watch. The target I had to monitor was Iri De Sugamond, currently designated as the squad leader. I operated the panel with my gloved hand.

[Are you really going to entrust the leader role of X Team to ‘Iri De Sugamond’?]

Before pressing the panel, I looked at Iri. Iri still had an uncooperative expression, but silently nodded.

“Instead, if I really need help after this experience, I’ll ask for your assistance no matter what mission I receive. You can’t just abandon me then.”

“Of course.”

In case I couldn’t fulfill the leader role, Iri would take over.

In return, I would help Iri with their tasks on the upcoming request board. When we discussed it at the restaurant, it was just a hypothetical conversation.

Still, it was fortunate that we had discussed it beforehand. If not, it could have led to great confusion.

Next, I looked at Rian.

“Senior Rian.”

“……”

“I’ll ask for your help while I’m away.”

“……”

Rian still seemed unfamiliar with the situation. However, as a person, they would surely feel a sense of responsibility.

Rian didn’t respond, but I decided to take it as a sign of agreement.

“Then, I’ll be off.”

“Come back quickly.”

“I’ll try my best.”

Lastly, I looked at the other team members. They were now gathered and would soon merge with Team A to venture into the lowest floor together.

I would bring Rebecca, who had wandered off somewhere in the dungeon, and immediately use all my magic to attack the mine as soon as I discovered it. If I attacked from a distance where the mine couldn’t detect me, it would be a feasible task.

I took a deep breath and grasped my Glock.

I looked down at the dark, deep abyss below where Rebecca had disappeared. Even with the [Observer’s Eye], I couldn’t see anything.

It was indeed a gamble. It was like putting my body into a random box, not knowing what would come out.

……But as the old saying goes, “A single spark can start a prairie fire.”

There was no meaning in regretting a decision that had already been made.

I narrowed my shoulders. The stiff grip felt uncomfortable.

With that, I threw myself into the deep, dark abyss.