Chapter 42

The first to recover from the panic was Carpe.

“Whoa, I was really startled.”

His body had stiffened when the unthinkable actually happened.

But if he thought about it calmly, the giant bug in front of him wasn't a formidable opponent.

Compared to the Minades and the Backling he had encountered in the Pit Dungeon, this bug was embarrassingly weak.

Of course, this comparison only applied to its combat ability... if we consider its appearance, the story would be different.

Unfortunately, the world was still dominated by superficial standards.

“Phew.”

Taking a deep breath, the cold air of the cave filled his lungs, clearing his mind.

Good, now I'm fine.

Looking at the creature with a clear head, it wasn't as terrifying as he had thought, and its sheer size made it seem less real.

It felt more like dealing with a monster than a disgusting bug.

But this only applied to Carpe.

—I closed my eyes. I really did. I'm going to cover my ears too. Damn, being in a soul state means I can't block my ears!

“...Are you watching a horror movie or something?”

—It would be better if it were a horror. This thing is just unplayable!

And Hanjo was in even worse shape than the Demon Horse.

“I... I can't do it. Bugs are just impossible.”

Even as he muttered this, Hanjo was forming seals and dodging left and right with his evasion skills, and Baegyeol was darting around, following her master's every move.

...It felt like a desperate effort to maintain her concept even as her mental state was breaking down.

“Ninjutsu! Cicada Shell Shedding!”

Wrong. He was already in his own world.

The Demon Horse had at least managed some minimal conversation, but it seemed Hanjo couldn't even do that.

He looked like he was suffering from a deep psychological trauma related to bugs.

It seemed he would need more time to regain his composure.

“Now that I think about it, that scream earlier was a bit strange...”

Actually, it wasn't just a bit strange; it was very strange.

The pleasant mid-range voice had suddenly turned into a soprano.

“Let's worry about that later.”

Right now, he needed to get rid of the bug in front of him.

“Hmph. Just this level? Hap!”

Tina was holding the creature at bay with her skills alone.

The giant slater's tentacle attacks weren't difficult for her to deflect with her sword.

It seemed that while the bug had invested heavily in its appearance, its combat abilities were somewhat lacking.

Clang!

However, Tina's attacks weren't very effective either.

The seemingly tough outer shell didn't seem to be just for show; when she struck it with her sword, it only flinched slightly, showing no significant damage. The Lightning Arrow had only left a slight scorch mark.

“Where could its weakness be...”

—Ugh. I'll tell you now, I don't know about this thing. I never even imagined facing it.

“Well, that's what I expected. I'll handle it from here, so take care of your mental state first.”

Fortunately, Carpe had an item that could help him find a strategy.

“Let's check it out.”

When Carpe activated the ‘Dragon's Eye’ on the giant slater, the creature's information was immediately revealed.

Ding.

[Boss: Giant Slater]

[HP: 99% MP: 100%]

[Skills]

-Flash (7-star, Boss-exclusive skill)

-Outer Hard, Inner Soft Shell (6-star, Boss-exclusive skill)

-Body Slam (2-star)

[Equipped Items]

-None

“Oh?”

A boss-exclusive skill.

Now that he thought about it, he had vaguely heard something like this from the Demon Horse.

The abnormal cooldown of the Auto Magic Shield he had seen when facing Minades was probably something similar.

Touching the skill section, the detailed description of the skill appeared.

[Flash Lv. 1 (Master) - 7-star]

-When the Giant Slater's HP drops below 30%, it enters Phase 2, and its movement speed increases by 200%.

-It can move on walls and ceilings.

[Outer Hard, Inner Soft Shell Lv. 3 - 6-star]

-It has a hard outer shell but a soft inner body. While it becomes vulnerable to physical and magical penetration, its physical and magical defense increases dramatically.

-Reduces physical and magical damage by 90%.

-30% vulnerable to penetration damage.

-50% vulnerable to attribute penetration damage.

“Penetration damage...”

He had found the weakness, but it wasn't very helpful.

Carpe didn't have any penetration weapons or skills.

“Sigh. Should I just deal with it with raw damage?”

The 90% damage reduction from the shell skill meant that pure magical damage wouldn't be very effective... but he had to try something.

“Lightning Arrow!”

Boom!

The Lightning Arrow struck the slater's back.

As expected, it only flinched slightly, showing no significant damage. The arrow had only left a slight scorch mark.

“How much damage did it take?”

Carpe had used the ‘Dragon's Eye’ every cooldown during the Sea Cave Dungeon.

Through several experiments, he had discovered a very useful feature of the Dragon's Eye.

Real-time information update.

As long as the Dragon's Eye's information window wasn't completely turned off, it would update the target's information in real-time.

In other words, he could check the remaining HP in real-time.

Right now, for example.

[Boss: Giant Slater]

[HP: 98% MP: 100%]

“Huh?”

The HP had dropped by 1% from the first time he saw it.

Despite the 90% reduction in magical damage, a single Lightning Arrow had done this?

“This might... be it, Hya.”

“Squawk!”

“Ramji Thunder!”

“Squawk squawk squawk!”

Boom!

When the Calling Thunder struck the boss monster's back, the HP dropped by another 1%.

“What is this?”

Even with a 90% damage reduction skill, each attack was still dealing 1% damage.

If there were no damage reduction, it would mean that about 10 magic attacks would be enough to finish it.

Carpe came to a conclusion.

“It seems to have strong defense but a small health pool.”

Given the circumstances, this was the only conclusion he could draw, but in fact, it was a misconception.

The Giant Slater's health pool was similar to or even slightly larger than that of other boss monsters of the same level.

However, the 1% damage from a 90% reduced magic attack was due to another reason.

It still hurts a lot!

This was simply because Carpe and Mokhyang were abnormally strong.

“The cooldown for Elemental Arrow is about 5 seconds...”

100 shots would take 500 seconds.

Less than 10 minutes. He had plenty of MP potions, so mana depletion wasn't a concern.

And with Mokhyang and Tina's attacks, it would actually be much faster.

However, this was assuming the boss monster would take every attack.

“Flash. That skill is the problem.”

A 7-star boss-exclusive skill.

Its ability was terrifying. It was already fast, but in Phase 2, its movement speed would increase by 200%.

“It will be hard to hit it in Phase 2.”

It would move around the walls and ceiling, making it much harder to hit.

‘The best would be to take 30% of its HP in one shot...’

It sounded far-fetched, but there was a plan.

Outer Hard, Inner Soft.

He believed the answer lay there.

“Tina! How long can you hold it off in this state?”

“All day, my lord. I will not allow it to approach.”

“That's reassuring. Good, I'll leave it to you.”

Tina's heroic response made Carpe nod.

First, he needed to reduce the creature's HP to close to 30%. The plan would start from there.

“Lightning Arrow!”

“Squawk!”

Boom! Bang!

The magic was cast every cooldown. The slater's massive size made it easy to hit, even with rough aiming.

“Kiiiit!”

The continuous 1% damage shocks made the creature's nerves stand on end, and it almost turned its aggression towards Carpe.

“Where are you looking?!”

Tina's sword grazed the slater's tentacle, and it turned back to her in rage.

This was different from users who relied entirely on ‘Taunt’-like aggro skills.

“Over here, you!”

800 years ago, she had fought against the Backling at the forefront of the party in a war that decided the fate of the world.

Holding back a monster with worse stopping power than a goblin wasn't difficult, even without skills.

“15 points into Magic Power.”

[Your Magic Power stat has increased by 15.]

Boom! Bang!

With the stat investment, the damage per hit increased from 1% to 1.5%, and sometimes even 2%.

After about 5 minutes, the operation was going smoothly, and the creature's remaining HP was now exactly 33%.

—Phew. Whatever your plan is, it seems to be working.

‘Huh? Is it okay now?’

—Yeah. It's worth watching, even with one eye.

It seemed he still lacked the courage to look directly at it.

—Boss skill is Outer Hard, Inner Soft? Wow, this thing would be incredibly tough without penetration damage... why is its health pool like that?

‘I was a bit scared when I heard 90%, but it seems manageable now.’

—...Yeah. You're right, I guess.

‘Anyway, it's almost over. Watch closely.’

Carpe shouted to Tina.

“Tina! Is there a space between the creature's shell where you can insert your sword?”

“...A sword?”

Tina carefully examined the slater's shell.

She soon nodded.

“It seems possible. However, due to the structure of the shell, it will be difficult to make a deep wound. The tip of the sword might only slightly penetrate the inner flesh...”

“No, that's enough. Keep drawing its attention.”

“I will obey.”

“Phew. Good, then.”

Carpe took out the ‘Green Skin Slayer’ from his inventory and equipped it.

—...Ah. I see. It's worth a try.

The Demon Horse nodded, understanding Carpe's intention.

Carpe took a short deep breath.

Then, from outside the creature's field of vision, he leaped powerfully towards its back.

“Keeek?!”

However, the giant slater was an insect.

It could sense the position of objects with its highly developed antennae, even without seeing them.

The moment Carpe leaped, the subtle vibration in the air was transmitted through the antennae.

And just as the slater was about to turn towards Carpe.

Carpe's gaze was directed not at the boss monster, but elsewhere.

At Hanjo.

More precisely, at Baegyeol, who was darting around beside Hanjo.

“Stop hesitating and shoot!”

Mokhyang, and Lase's pets in general, had exceptionally high intelligence.

This wasn't just about being a smart dog or cat in the real world.

Lase's pets had the intelligence to understand human speech and intentions accurately.

Thus, Baegyeol could accurately perceive what her master's companion was saying and act accordingly.

Whoosh!

The air cannon shot from Baegyeol's mouth exploded right next to the boss monster's tentacle.

“Keeet?!”

The intense air vibration confused the slater's senses, and Carpe took the opportunity to land safely on its back.

“Hap!”

He then precisely inserted the Green Skin Slayer into the gap between the shells.

However, as Tina had said, the sword got stuck halfway and couldn't penetrate deeper.

The tip of the sword only managed to slightly tear the inner flesh.

But that was enough.

Carpe shouted as he jumped off the creature's back, leaving the sword embedded.

“Hya!”

“Squawk!”

Mokhyang activated the Calling Thunder in response to Carpe's signal.

A bolt of lightning struck the sword Carpe had embedded, once again electrifying the giant slater's insides.

“Kiiiiieek!”

The sword acted as a lightning rod, and the Calling Thunder tore through the boss monster's insides.

[The Outer Hard, Inner Soft Shell effect causes 30% additional damage.]

[This is lightning attribute damage. 50% additional damage occurs.]

[The Giant Slater has entered the abnormal state ‘Paralysis’. It will last for 5 seconds.]

The paralysis effect, which caused additional damage and stunned the creature, kicked in.

“5 points into Magic Power.”

[Your Magic Power stat has increased by 5.]

And Carpe invested additional points into Magic Power as a precaution.

“Lightning Arrow!”

“Keeekkkk!!!”

The lightning arrow Carpe fired struck the embedded sword, once again electrifying the giant slater's insides.

Boom.

[You have defeated the Giant Slater.]

[Level up! You have been granted bonus points.]

[You have reached level 20. A Beginner Skill Pack has been added to your inventory!]

A 10-star player, strengthened by luck.