The Villain is Too Good at Sniping

57. Conclusion (3)

The boss room door closes automatically after a certain amount of time. It rarely opens by itself.

There are cases where monsters break in, but that’s unlikely.

Luckily, the person who opened the door was Lian, the upperclassman from Team X, who had fallen behind.

“Eh?!”

The tightly wound Ira stumbled. Anyway, I had to add power. If this center collapsed, one of the three people attached to my head would definitely get hurt.

In an instant, Kyle and Ira looked at Lian simultaneously. Kyle was the first to speak.

“Senior.”

“……?”

“Can I ask for your help with the conclusion?”

Rian still had a bewildered expression on his face. He couldn’t understand the situation and could only tremble his lips.

It was inevitable.

Kyle, Edel, and Ellyn Bernhardt, who was lying far away in the corner.

Each of them had a different role, but they were all stuck in this situation with Salamander.

Thanks to this, Salamander, the dungeon’s boss, was unable to use its powers and was completely restricted. Even to the 2nd-year students who had entered first, this was an unfamiliar and bizarre scene.

Moreover, Rian had deliberately arrived late at the boss room.

He planned to join in when the other party members and the boss were exhausted and grab the final blow.

The camera that was filming this scene only showed the inside and outside of the boss room, not the entrance. Therefore, the entrance of the boss room was a perfect blind spot.

…Originally, he was going to pretend to get lost and wait for the right moment to sneak in.

“Only 1 minute left!”

“We can’t hold on anymore!”

“…!”

What was this? The juniors had set a trap.

The boss couldn’t move, so if Rian just finished it off with one strike, all the credit would go to him. Whether it was good luck or bad, Rian’s actions were quick.

“Should we attack its mouth?”

“Yes! Senior, we need to deal internal damage!”

It was quite unfamiliar to see the guy who was just throwing punches a while ago speaking so calmly.

The situation was like this, so there was no choice.

A colleague’s help in a crisis was always right. The acting was perfect, and the setup was well-prepared.

With this achievement, the penalty points would be cancelled, and the pressure from the family would also disappear.

‘Internal damage…’

In reality, by the 2nd year, it was easy to penetrate Salamander’s shell. However, there was no reason to refuse the already set trap.

There were various types of internal damage, but poison and burns were the most effective. Even if Salamander had resistance to fire, it couldn’t withstand the explosive flames from within.

The sword Rian had brought out also had a fire attribute. This was a great opportunity.

The enchanted magic was an explosive slash.

It was a technique that caused a small-scale magical explosion when striking the target, and could annihilate any monster with one hit. Moreover, in this completely defenseless state, even the boss could be finished off with one strike.

Rian took his stance.

He charged forward like a bull, unleashing his sword technique.

The target was the mouth.

With one attack, he could pierce through the Salamander’s internal organs. However, in the next moment, Rian felt a strong sense of unease.

“What, what’s going on? It’s already reviving!”

“What? Already?!”

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“Be careful, senior!”

Salamander twisted its body. The subsequent actions were completely unexpected by Rian.

A strange flame burst out from the half-cut tail of the lizard, and it spat out a flame pillar.

Fortunately, the widespread flames didn’t reach the other party members. The three were stuck together, and Kazuha and Edel were a bit far away, while Ellyn was already unconscious.

However, Rian Font Hildegarde, who was approaching from a medium distance, was caught in the flames.

‘Could it be, me? In this situation?’

His center collapsed, and Rian, who was charging forward, fell over.

The pain came late. The watch that had detected the damage sent out a warning signal.

Lian’s eyes, fixed on the warning from the Watch, were gruesome.

[Detected critical injury.]

[Measured damage: 3rd-degree burns or fractures]

Both legs were paralyzed.

In reality, the pain was secondary; what Lian couldn’t accept was the fact that the carefully set table had been overturned.

“Get up, damn it.”

Feeling frustrated and resentful, Lian thought about pretending to faint, but if he got eliminated, it would be even more humiliating.

Moreover, if the rumor spread that a 2nd-year student got eliminated in the dungeon where 1st-year students went, Hildegarde’s reputation would plummet.

“……”

Lian, who had been briefly lost in thought, sat up. In the end, he had to put on a show to save face in this situation.

The easiest way was to naturally pass the baton and shift everyone’s attention to the next player.

Lian grasped his sword. The sword’s magic formula still lingered. He was just handing over a loaded gun.

Even if someone else pulled the trigger, the credit for setting the stage would remain.

“Take it.”

Lian held the sword with his reverse grip. Kail’s pupils dilated for a moment.

Tch-

The sword, thrown into the air, barely missed Kail’s face. Kail, who had received the baton, grasped the sword hilt.

‘…Enchant?’

Kail’s gaze faltered, and the aura on top of him, Kai Alma, also dissipated. With a mighty leap, they escaped the range.

The salamander, which had been fiercely trampling the ground, was now the only one binding the boss.

But even that was about to expire, and they had to retreat slowly.

The salamander opened its mouth. Flames inevitably erupted.

Kail gritted his teeth, anticipating the flames that would spew out of its mouth. The outcome would be decided in an instant, and the faster one would win.

Snap!

The salamander’s head was caught by the whip.

Thanks to that, the angle was lowered. This time, there was no hesitation. Kail drew his sword to counter the incoming flames.

Kwajik—!

……A brief silence flowed, followed by a massive shockwave that swept the area.

***

As the explosive sound subsided, Kail opened his eyes.

“Ah……?”

He had lost consciousness for a moment due to the shockwave. Kail sprang up, surveying the situation.

The boss monster, the salamander, had been defeated, and the other party members were gathered, supporting each other.

Kail finally lifted his head.

A message floated before his eyes.

[Congratulations. You have defeated the boss monster.]

[Clear conditions have been met, and the gate is closing.]

“……Is it really over?”

It was an unfamiliar feeling.

It’s hard to decide whether to be happy or not. Elin approached Kail, who was in a daze.

“…Did you wake up?”

“Yeah, but… is this the end? Is it really over?”

“The clear message has been sent out. That means it’s over.”

Just looking at the boss’s corpse, which was about to disappear, proved that the dungeon conquest was over.

“What about the others?”

“What about the others? They’re all fine.”

“Not the people here, but the ones who aren’t here.”

Elin glanced at his watch at those words.

“In cases like Senior Silia, they’ve been eliminated, and as for the others… I don’t know. Those who aren’t in this boss room might have already been recalled.”

Kail checked the list. The party members who had survived were already grayed out, indicating that they had been recalled.

As Elin said, all the students who weren’t in this boss room would have been recalled to the Geord Observatory. Among them would be the party members who had been trapped in the dungeon, as well as Sion Illeonhart.

In the end, defeating the boss was the correct answer.

Maybe he wouldn’t have been able to do it alone. If X-group hadn’t arrived in time, there would have been another elimination, following Silia.

A large treasure chest appeared in the spot where Salamander had disappeared. At the same time, the watch vibrated.

[Arsen A.C: You have successfully defeated the dungeon boss ‘Fierce Salamander’.]

[Arsen A.C: You have earned 200 contribution points.]

[Arsen A.C: Recall will proceed shortly.]

Kail approached Rian first.

Rian was leaning against the wall, separated from the group. As Kail approached, Rian scowled.

“You’re a hero, great. Really great.”

Rian’s face looked somehow empty as he said that.

“…….”

“What’s wrong? Go get your reward.”

Kail forced Rian to stand up and walked towards the treasure chest.

“Actually, we cleared it thanks to our senior.”

“So what?”

“I think it’s only right that our senior gets the first reward.”

“Stop talking nonsense and let go—”

But the next moment, the treasure chest opened. Rian squinted at the light pouring out.

“No, this…….”

It’s said that the best treatment is financial treatment.

Looking at the countless artifacts overflowing from the chest, even Rian’s anger subsided.

It was then that Kail turned around, leaving Rian, who had lost his spirit.

“……?”

Kail narrowed his eyes at a faint figure in the distance.

“What’s going on, Kail? Aren’t you going to receive it?”

“Yeah, I’m good. I’ll go first.”

“You’re a weird guy. I don’t know.”

Elin muttered to himself as Kail walked away.

The faint, ghostly figure seemed to be leading the way, gradually moving further away, and Kyle’s footsteps behind it grew faster.

“…What’s going on?”

Kyle arrived at another space in the Boss Room.

The faint figure stood still for a while at a distance from Kyle, then silently vanished. Kyle approached the spot where the figure disappeared and picked up something that was caught on his foot.

It was an old, worn-out bag strap. As he followed the strap, he reached something covered in dark, black soot. Kyle realized it was the remains of a Hunter.

He stood still for a moment, paying his respects, then crouched down.

A rusty iron ring came into view. It was the emblem of the Hunter Association, no longer in use. As soon as he picked it up, someone’s memories began to flow into him.

……The Gate incident that occurred long ago.

The Gate that appeared in the heart of the city contaminated the entire area, turning it into a desolate, otherworldly landscape. Just like the early Gate incidents, the city was overwhelmed by magic, becoming uninhabitable.

The location where the Gate occurred was precisely this commercial building.

It was a place where an event was being held to celebrate the first anniversary of its opening. Over a hundred people were swept up in the Gate, and a team of Hunters who were resting nearby were urgently dispatched.

The situation was dire, and the conditions were unfavorable.

Salaman’s skin was tough, even resistant to knife blades.

Despite this, the danger of the Dungeon Break drew near. The dispatched Hunters had to make a decision. In the end, they sent out all the other Hunters and left only one behind.

The method the Hunter chose was a forbidden technique – self-destruction.

The explosion was massive, shaking the entire underground shopping mall, and the Gate was destroyed along with the boss.

Everything happened beneath the surface. The Hunters who arrived late found themselves facing a ruined underground shopping mall.

The thorough excavation began years later. The discovery of an artifact-level relic in a Hunter’s remains was the catalyst.

Originally, it was meant to record the Hunter’s party, but it ended up capturing the most gruesome moment.

Since it recorded the Gate incident and its clearance, it greatly contributed to the relaxation of the Hunter Association’s regulations.

However, the name of the sacrificed Hunter remained unknown for a long time due to internal conflicts within the Association. It was as if they were reluctant to reveal their own shame.

In the end, the name of the dispatched Hunter was announced much later.

‘…Everd.’

A man who had spent 17 years as a Hunter, and was about to retire on that day.

He remained a Hunter until the very end, and it was precisely because of that the Dungeon Break did not occur.

The dungeon recorded on the artifact was named ‘Underground Shopping Mall Everd’ after him, and was later recovered by Arsen and used as a teaching material for Hunter training.

It will likely continue to be so.

“…Hey! If you don’t come now, there’ll be nothing left!”

“What’s this, the last one left? Whose is it?”

“No! Leave it there! Look, it matches the number of people. Kyle!”

The shout from behind caused Kyle to stand up. He unconsciously placed the emblem beside the remains.

Kyle bowed his head in respect towards the remains and the emblem, then turned to head towards where the other party members were waiting.