The Villain is Too Good at Sniping

53. Trial and Reward (4)

Underground 7th floor.

This place was swarming with monsters, including the Chungwangjong.

On the way, they encountered Sion’s X team, causing a huge commotion due to the smoke bombs. Even though they tried to help, Sion stopped them and sent Kail back.

-You guys go to your team.

As all the Chungwangjong awakened and charged, Sion Illeonhart remained calm. It seemed that this was what it meant to be a leader.

The monsters swarmed Sion’s team, leaving the 7th floor empty. Kail headed straight to the floor below.

Sion stayed behind to ensure their safe passage, a sacrifice that couldn’t be wasted.

As soon as they descended, a pungent smell assaulted their noses, but they suspected it was due to the monster’s lair and ignored it.

-Hey, Kail. Is there a path here?

-It looks like one person can pass through here.

Fortunately, the 8th floor had a ventilation shaft that connected to the floor below. Thanks to that, they were able to descend without unnecessary battles.

Unfortunately, a spider-like monster awakened and destroyed the ventilation shaft, leaving other teams with no choice but to break through using brute force, but that was unavoidable. At this moment, Sion’s team was still fighting above. Time was running out.

The 9th floor had a maze. They wasted most of their time here, and one team member got lost and disappeared.

However, they couldn’t go back to rescue them. If they did, they would get trapped as well. That would go against Sion’s will.

-Sorry! I’ll come back for you!

-Elly, you bastard! You’re really going to leave us behind?!

-Sorry! I’ll remember!

In the end, they had to sacrifice one member and head down.

They finally reached the 10th floor.

The bottom of the underground shopping mall, Everd.

There were no monsters, traps, or mazes here.

“Wow…….”

Only one enormous boss room stood before them.

Silvia Repurd cautiously approached and opened the door, and the result was… utterly devastating.

“Senior! Don’t go that way!”

“What?!”

In the dark, narrow corridor, Kail stretched out his hand. However, before Kail’s hand could reach Silvia, flames erupted.

Whoa—!

“What?!”

As the intense breath dissipated, Silvia’s shadow disappeared. The watch vibrated, and a dry message appeared.

[A team. Silvia Repurd: Eliminated]

“Eliminated……?”

“Hey! Kail! Snap out of it! This isn’t the time to zone out!”

“Just a minute, if we’re left with only one person…….”

The tank, Silvia, got hit by the breath and was eliminated in an instant. This made her the fourth person to be eliminated.

One supporter + one person trapped in a maze, effectively eliminated.

One magician had fallen.

And just a moment ago, one close-range dealer had fallen.

Now, only three members were left.

Kyle Ivanstear.

Ellin Beonard.

Kai Almar.

……It was a desperate situation.

The party’s balance had been broken long ago. Now, only three dealers were left. But could they even deal significant damage to the boss, the ‘Fierce Salamander’?

“Is that… taking damage?”

They had sacrificed Silvia Reperfud to attack, but the Salamander was still alive. Kai Almar had been trying to find an opening, but the Salamander only twitched its body a few times.

Every time it twitched, it spewed flames from its scales. Each scattered spark dealt damage.

“…To catch this lizard, we need to deal internal damage.”

Kai Almar, who had stopped moving, finally came up with an answer. However, there was no way to deal internal damage.

If they could stab the sword deep into its muscles, it would be possible. On the other hand, even if Kai Almar, a martial artist, punched it a hundred times, it would be useless.

Perhaps they could use their inner strength to attack like a master.

…But for now, it was all in vain.

“What’s the point of that now!”

Kaang—

Ellin, who was receiving the Salamander’s front paws.

However, one knee hit the ground due to the force. She was only barely enduring. Since all her attention was focused on the front paws, she couldn’t even notice the tail that was flying towards her from behind.

“Ugh?!”

In the end, she was hit by the flying tail. If she hadn’t been wearing her school uniform, she would have received a damage judgment like Silvia.

Ellin, who had been blown away, finally stopped after crashing into a pillar. It felt like her spine was paralyzed. She barely managed to get up, but her right hand was empty.

“My sword… where’s my sword?”

She adjusted her glasses and looked forward, seeing her sword stuck in the Salamander’s paw. Now, she couldn’t even retrieve it.

However, if they timed it well, they could definitely recover—

……Pwak!

“Ah, damn it! This is ridiculous!”

The Salamander seemed to be annoyed by the shattered sword fragments and swept them away with its front paws. Ellin’s expression, which had lost its spirit, reflected off the sparkling fragments.

“Ha, haha…….”

In the end, Ellin collapsed. She had finally reached her limit.

It wasn’t a physical limit, but a mental one.

Just like during the entrance exam, her mental strength had a limit, and it was here.

From noble mtl dot com

“Well, that’s that…….”

No matter how hard they tried, they couldn’t compete with monsters like Serin Anett. Extras should know when to exit the stage.

The Salamander, which had opened its mouth, was about to breathe fire onto the collapsed Ellin.

Kwaang!

The rough sound of the door opening.

Busy footsteps echoed from somewhere, and something grabbed Ellin. The Salamander’s flames poured down where Ellin had been.

“Uh……?”

“Is it okay?”

As I opened my eyes, which had been closed for a while, I saw unfamiliar people in front of Ellyn.

“Wh, who are you?”

But before I could even greet them, a long tail swished and swept across the area. The entire area turned red.

In Ellyn’s tear-filled eyes, a familiar face appeared.

“Yo, yo…?”

“I’ve come to help!”

“I’ve come to help you!”

It was Airi De Sugamon, standing at the forefront, along with other members of X Team.

As only three members of A Team remained, we couldn’t help but be thrilled by this turn of events.

“Hey… Kyle? Why are you like this?”

Only one person, Kyle Ivanstear, looked gloomy.

“Where’s Zion?”

“He… Zion has some business to attend to, so he’s not here yet…”

Airi, who had been tense, waved her hands, but Kyle’s expression only darkened further.

“Did you get eliminated?”

“Yes, of course!”

“Then it’s a relief…”

Leaving Airi, who was muttering to herself, Kyle looked up.

“That lizard’s skin is tough. It’s hard to even scratch it.”

“Is it an undead creature that’s immune to physical attacks?”

“Undead? What are you talking about?”

“Ah…”

Airi seemed to have made a mistake, covering her mouth. Since we had taken down the mid-boss ourselves, Kyle’s group hadn’t encountered the necromancer.

“…It’s just that the damage doesn’t stick. The damage does get through, but the healing speed is faster, so it’s like this.”

Kai Alma, who had arrived late, cracked his knuckles.

The damage we had dealt so far wasn’t meaningless. It’s just that the lizard’s healing speed was faster, making it an endless battle of attrition.

“Kai’s right. The damage gets through, but we can’t land a critical hit because we can’t pierce that skin.”

No matter how much we beat up an opponent that couldn’t be hurt, our stamina would only dwindle.

In the end, to deal significant damage to that salamander, we would have to follow Kai Alma’s advice and aim for internal injuries.

But that salamander was about to breathe fire. We couldn’t get close carelessly, and even if we used our party’s full strength, internal injuries would be…

“I think we’ve been too narrow-minded.”

A Team only had three close-range dealers. Our actions would be limited no matter what we did.

But now, X Team had joined us. Although Zion Illeonhart and the student council president were absent, X Team still maintained its full strength.

A gentle breeze blew, and an unclear magical energy radiated. Edel Di Bison, who had quickly read the field, calmly gathered her magic.

“That’s… just for a moment. This entire field is… somehow. It’s, the atmosphere is off.”

“The atmosphere is off?”

“What should I say… The magical energy coming from the leyline is similar to that lizard’s aura…”

“Ah! So, this entire field is under that boss’s influence?”

(Note: I’ve kept the line breaks as in the original text.)

“Ah, yeah! That’s right! That thing!”

As for the so-called “dungeon boss” monster, it settles in one place and lives. If it continues for a long period, the magic from the boss monster’s power and the leyline will eventually merge.

“That salamander… since it’s been staying here for a long time, its influence has already taken over the leyline’s magic, I suppose… In any case, it’s not good news.”

“Does that mean the regeneration ability ultimately comes from the leyline?”

“Yes, that’s right! To sum it up, that salamander has infinite health and magic…”

“What did you say?”

“Yes…?”

There was a moment of silence.

If the boss stays for too long, the leyline will become contaminated, and eventually, the entire area will turn into a monster-infested dungeon.

Since the leyline spreads like tree roots, if one area becomes contaminated, other areas will also be affected. If this situation solidifies, the contamination will gradually spread to other regions, creating similar circumstances.

For example, if Area A turns into a dungeon, and you leave it alone, Areas B and C, which are connected, will also gradually turn into dungeons.

The Hunter Association calls this phenomenon ” leyline corruption.”

This is also why the Hunter Association takes immediate action whenever a gate is discovered.

If you close the gate before the dungeon break occurs, you can minimize the damage. However, if you fail to clear it and a dungeon break occurs, monsters will pour out, and the entire area will turn into a dungeon.

…And the monster that was once the dungeon boss will reign supreme.

It’s not a very hopeful story, so Edel carefully chose his words and continued explaining.

“Anyway… the name is…”

“Kai Alma.”

“As you said, it’s okay to deal internal damage! External wounds will heal quickly, but it’ll take some time to recover from internal injuries…”

The pressure of the gaze was too much, and the last sentence was barely audible.

To summarize Edel’s words: “In the end, there’s a way to catch it.”

It’s not an easy method, but it’s worth trying since there’s a way.

“I said it before. If we just catch the boss, it’ll be fine.”

“No, it’s not that easy! How do we do that?!”

With X-Team joining, the lack of manpower was supplemented. However, the unfulfilled gaze remained the same.

“As the senior said, the easiest way is to deal direct damage to the inside of its body. For example, the inside of its mouth.”

Kai pointed to the inside of his mouth with his finger. Of course, there was a reason why they couldn’t try this method.

“Are you saying we should attack the inside of its mouth while it’s breathing fire? Are you crazy? Didn’t you see Silvia senior fail?”

“I was just assuming, okay? Assuming.”

The salamander’s breath is powerful. Even if you’re wearing a student uniform, a direct hit will result in an instant knockout.

However.

“It’s not like the salamander, or rather, the lizard, will keep breathing fire continuously, right?”

“If that were the case, it would be called a dragon, not a salamander.”

“That’s right. For example, if we set its mouth on fire, it would deal significant damage to the lizard…”

Kai Ivanstear patted Kai Alma’s shoulder. Kai Alma’s expression turned sour. Before it turned into action, Aira said.

“But… didn’t we have one more person on our team?”