The Villain is Too Good at Sniping

54. Trials and Rewards (5)

As Aira said, they looked around and realized that one person was indeed missing.

I counted the numbers and checked the list. The one who’s missing is probably…

……2nd year, Rian Fon Hildegarde.

A person who couldn’t possibly be absent had silently vanished. Kazuha gazed at Airi with a sense of despair.

“Did they run away?”

“How could they…?”

Until now, it was as if they existed and didn’t exist at the same time, but still, Rian is a 2nd year.

It’s unforgivable, but they’re not a coward who would flee in front of 1st years who are watching.

Airi’s Rian Fon Hildegarde was that kind of person.

For now, the survival signal is still on. Maybe they’re just lagging behind, but in this situation where the boss monster is right in front of us, we don’t have the luxury to worry about that.

Why did Shion entrust the leader’s role to himself, of all people?

It’s time to show true leadership. Airi gripped his sword handle with both hands, determined.

“But is there a way to catch it?”

“…We need to get close first. But if it’s going to keep rampaging like that, we can’t catch it.”

Kai muttered in frustration.

The Salamander was still wreaking havoc in the field, and to do anything, we had to slow down its wild movements first.

“Senior, the Salamander has fire attributes, right?”

“Ah, yeah! That’s right?”

“Is there a way to weaken it? Even if it’s not for long, just enough to create an opening…”

Kai and Airi were at a loss, while Edel, standing between them, felt helpless. It was unclear how things had come to this, but everyone was looking only at themselves, which was unsettling.

“Hmm… just for a moment…”

Suddenly, Edel felt a sense of unease. Shion had said something similar before.

-“Please take charge of our team’s strategy. You may be weak in actual combat, but you’re great at magic analysis.”

Had Shion predicted this situation from the start?

If he had anticipated that he would be absent and had chosen Edel to fill the gap…

Edel shuddered at the thought.

In theory, it was perfect, but in reality, the one who had seen further ahead was Shion Illeonhart.

That young junior.

A freshman who had just entered Arsene…

Anyway, since we’ve made it this far into the boss room, we can’t back down now.

“If it’s a fire attribute, then we have water and earth attributes… and ice attributes are rare, so realistically, it’s just water and earth.”

Water and earth.

The rare ice attribute was practically nonexistent, leaving only water and earth.

“Marsh… yeah, that’s it! It exists!”

Something sparked in Edel’s mind. Yes, that method was possible.

“If we can just stop its movement, we can approach it.”

“Yeah, just for a moment is enough.”

“Then… let’s wait and see!”

Edel, with a resolute expression, closed his eyes and focused his magic.

A faint, pale light gathered around him, swirling into a muddy brown sphere on the tip of his sword. The surface of the sphere, a mix of water and earth, quivered.

“From now on, I’ll create a swamp under Salamander’s feet. Even if it’s only for a short time, I can stall for at least 2 minutes. During that time, we can approach.”

“Two minutes is plenty. That’s enough, right?”

“Why are you looking at me? I’m not going. See, I don’t even have a sword.”

Elin Beonard waved his hands and retreated.

At that moment, Elin felt someone’s gaze and turned around. Behind him stood Kai Almar with an unpleasant expression.

“I don’t have a sword either.”

“No, you’re just using your fists to fight, so that’s different! I originally had a sword as my weapon!”

“That’s your own fault for not being able to take care of your own weapon. I think it’s unfair to make excuses for running away.”

“No, that’s…!”

…Elin felt bitter inside.

To be precise, dropping his weapon was the mistake from the start, but who would have known it would fall at that guy’s feet and break?

“If you don’t have a sword, fight with your body. As a student in the combat department, you should be able to do that much.”

“No way!”

“Just hold on for 30 seconds, no, 15 seconds. Just distract him for a moment, and that’ll be enough.”

“Why is this conversation going like this…?”

Elin looked around.

But everyone kept silent, and no one took Elin’s side. Their faces showed implicit agreement.

“…Is this how it’s going to be now?”

In the end, Elin gave up and turned around.

“Hold on for 20 seconds.”

From noble mtl dot com

“…You increased it from earlier.”

“I recalculated, and it seems like that’s the minimum required.”

“Sigh…”

It seemed like he had chosen the wrong party members. If this was the case, it would have been better to join Serin Anetter’s party.

“Let’s start now. Everyone, get ready.”

According to Edel’s instructions, the A-team and X-team scattered in all directions.

Kail Ivanstear and Kai Almar stood at the left and right ends, respectively, while Airi waited in the middle.

Elin Beonard stood at the north, looking uncomfortable, with Kazu, the supporter, stuck to Edel’s side.

There was only one chance. If they missed it, they would be wiped out… or rather, sent back to the starting point.

Elin held his breath until Edel’s signal.

“Go! Now!”

And then, Edel threw a gray orb. The students rushed in from all directions, their voices loud.

Salamander raised its head, opening its mouth to prepare for its breath attack.

But when Elin looked around, he saw people everywhere. They weren’t charging in as a group like before, but rather, each one came alone.

This way, only the surrounding area would be reduced to ashes in one blast. Of course, Salamander didn’t have the intelligence to think that far. It would just open its mouth towards the most visible opponent.

Whoosh—

“Wait, just a moment… Why me?!”

The direction Salamander was looking at was Elin Beonard in the north.

The sight of Elin charging in bare-handed was like begging to be eliminated quickly.

Elin closed his eyes tightly.

Even if I were to take a direct hit from Breath, I would be sent flying before I could even feel the pain. I would use that as my only solace, recognizing the flame that was about to engulf me.

Kkuudeuk— Thud……!

The orb that Edel had thrown exploded, and Salamander stumbled.

It scratched the ground with its front legs, but instead of gaining strength, it collapsed to the ground with a thud.

The concrete floor, which had been solid, began to crumble, and Salamander was swallowed up.

“Kuek! Kueeek!”

Normally, I could get out of this kind of swamp in no time. That’s because I’m a snake.

But Edel’s swamp was a trap that combined two or three different properties.

The more I struggled, the faster my strength would drain, and the faster I would sink.

But if I were to give up like this, I wouldn’t have become a dungeon boss in the first place.

Salamander’s long tail swept the entire area as it sank into the ground. The range of its attack would reach the entire east, west, south, and north. The first one to be hit would be Kai Alma, who was charging from the east.

However, Kai Alma, who was supposed to be the first target, didn’t notice this. He was already off balance, with his fist raised and his body leaning forward, so he couldn’t dodge in time.

And to make matters worse, our close combat had already ruined our school uniforms. Now, Kai Alma would be sent flying with just one hit.

“…Damn snake!”

My thoughts were cut short.

Ellin Beonard immediately threw herself at the tail. She grabbed it and pulled it towards her.

“It’s okay! I’ve got it……!”

“Ellin! No!”

“What?”

As Kail Ivanstear shouted, a sense of unease crept in late.

‘Wait, was this snake……?’

At that moment, Ellin’s body was lifted into the air. By the time Ellin realized what was happening, it was already too late.

Salamander had chosen to cut off its tail, and Ellin was hit by the severed tail and slammed into the wall.

“Hey, Ellin. Are you okay? Hey……?”

Thud……

The tail that had fallen from the wall.

Ellin Beonard, who had been underneath, collapsed weakly to the ground. Since there was no indication of her being knocked out, she was probably just unconscious.

Either way, she was unable to fight.

‘One person down…… effectively eliminated…….’

Kail Ivanstear looked around.

Kai Alma and Aire had already successfully approached.

Now all that was left was to open Salamander’s mouth and blast Edel’s magic into it. That was the only way to deal immediate damage.

Kail, who had turned around instinctively, found Salamander right in front of him.

“Eh……!”

The wide-open mouth looked like it was about to bite down at any moment, but before that, Kail raised his sword.

However, when he saw the flames raging beyond the mouth, his eyes widened in shock.

…He was going to be eliminated.

That thought slowed down Kail’s sword. Salamander was about to bite down on Kail with all its might.

But Salamander’s head turned to the side, and the flames that were about to spew out also died down.

Kai Ivansteer lifted his head. When he took a closer look, something like a rope was wrapped around Salamander’s head.

“I can’t hold on anymore! Catch it! Hurry!”

Before he could even get flustered, Kai and Airi rushed towards Salamander.

The two of them grabbed Salamander’s neck, clinging to it like an alligator, but they still lacked the strength. However, in that moment, a chill ran down Airi’s spine. It wasn’t just his imagination that his shoulders felt numb.

“Kazha-ssi! Go that way!”

“Yes…?”

Giving up on dealing with the nearby enemy, Kazha, who had wrapped his arms around his own neck, gazed at them with red eyes.

Salamander opened its mouth. This was the situation they had been hoping for, but if things continued like this, Kazha would be eliminated.

However, Salamander suddenly breathed fire in a strange direction. It was as if Kai Alma, who had rushed over, had added his strength.

…The fierce flames that engulfed the ceiling.

Just as the flames died down, Salamander’s head crashed to the ground. Kai Alma’s kick had struck Salamander.

Salamander, who had been struggling, turned its head. There, Kai Ivansteer was standing.

“Grab it!”

“Okay!”

Kai’s hands swiftly grabbed Salamander’s head, and Airi, who was standing opposite, did the same.

The breath had already been fired once, so all Salamander could do was bite or swallow whole. If they were alone, it would be difficult, but now there were two of them. Now, they could do it.

The forced-open mouth.

Salamander, which was struggling, looked pitiful, but because of this creature, four students had already been eliminated. Maybe more.

“Just for a moment! The resisting force is too strong!”

“What do we do?!”

“I’ll hold on! You handle it from there!”

At Edel’s desperate cry, Kai stretched out his left hand. The black sword was far away. In that moment, Salamander trembled.

“…It doesn’t seem like it’s going to work?”

“We have to attack to finish it off, but we can’t even hold on for a moment?”

“We can’t hold on with just two people. We need three.”

If their strength wavered for even a moment, Salamander’s mouth would close, and at least one of them, either Kai or Airi, would be caught.

“Then…”

But it was impossible to stay like this.

Someone had to deliver the finishing blow to this creature.

However, Kazha was holding Salamander’s neck with his whip, and Kai Alma was pressing down on Salamander from above.

Edel was suppressing Salamander, preventing it from escaping, and Kai and Airi were barely holding on. If one person let go, the balance would collapse.

“It seems like we’re going to lose anyway…!”

Airi’s lips trembled.

It would have been better if Shion had been the leader. Regret was useless now.

Kkiiik….

Without any warning, the boss room door opened.

Airi and Kai looked at the opening door with tense eyes. It was unlikely that another team had come down. It was more natural to think that the monster had opened the door and entered.

They had said there were no monsters on the 10th floor.

Since there were strange traps scattered throughout the dungeon, it seemed likely that a hidden trick had been triggered again.

Thud- thud-

However, what entered through the open door was surprisingly a person. A man walking slowly with a trembling mouth.

“…What are you doing? You guys.”

It was a situation where it was unclear whether to welcome him or not, but there was something that needed to be said before that.

“Senior.”

“……?”

“Can I ask you to wrap it up for me?”