I had come to the Cave Dungeon, an E-rank dungeon where orcs appear, to try out the skill I had acquired yesterday.
âHo!â
I shot an invisible arrow at random. It pierced into an orcâs head.
The orc with the transparent arrow in its head collapsed to its knees without uttering a cry.
âOh, it does fly where itâs aimed.â
Thanks to [Lock-On] skill, the transparent arrow made with [Mana Bolt] automatically flies toward the orc without me aiming each time.
â[Lock-On] skill âŠâŠ is pretty useful.â
Until now, I had never been able to hit a monster with a hundred shots, and since I didnât know what kind of moves the monster would make, I had to keep a certain distance and release [Mana Bolt] before the monster made a move.
But with [Lock-On], I donât have to worry about that.
The arrow will track the monsterâs movement.
And even if I shoot while moving, Iâll always hit the target.
Even if I shoot while dodging the orcâs club, Iâll hit the arrows a hundred times.
But Iâve also learned the usefulness of [Lock-On] skill, although Iâve only used it for several hours.
âCan I do this? To solo defeat of the boss.â
I put my hand on my chin and think about it.
The dungeon Iâm in right now is an E-rank dungeon, but the boss of any dungeon is a monster one rank higher than the dungeonâs rank.
So in this dungeon, the boss is a D-rank monster, a high orc, because it is an E-rank dungeon.
The high orc is a boss monster that looks like a larger version of the Orc with a more beast-like appearance, and its defense and HP are extraordinary.
The high orc is a boss monster with a more beastly appearance and larger size, and its defenses and HP are outrageous.
Of course, they are also stronger than ordinary D-rank monsters because of their enhanced status.
How can monsters of such monstrous durability in dungeons of the same rank?
I had to give up fighting in the limited space where the bosses of such enhanced D-rank monsters were located because theyâll target me and I couldnât hit them with my arrows accurately when I was solo.
âStill, now I can avoid an attack from a high orc or so, and my attack is sure to hit. I think I can do it. If thatâs what it takes!â
From the place where I defeated the orc, I walked onward to the bossâs room.
I donât fight to preserve my MP to make [Mana Bolt], and if I see an orc, I donât approach it and run to the boss room where the high orc is.
âAll right! Iâm here!â
The door is open.
If the door is closed, someone is challenging the boss. The boss is in the healing phase from the damage it received after leaving the bossâs room in the middle of the battle.,] The boss has not been defeated for more than a minute and has not yet popped again.
Well, if itâs open, thatâs good.
âAlright, letâs go!â
I rush into the room and quickly ready my [Mana Bolt] as I hear the door close behind me.
The high orc is a monster that looks like an orc with long hair and bigger, longer fangs.
They are about 5 meters in height and have high HP, attack, and defense stats, making them the brute monster.
âShhh!â
As soon as the high orc is in sight, I use [Lock-On] to shoot an invisible arrow created withăMana Boltăat the high orc with my bow.
âBumooooooo!!!!â
The arrow flew straight at the face of the high orc and hit it.
But, not letting my guard down, I kept moving and kept shooting arrows.
But the high orc, has its status strengthened because itâs a boss monster, did not go down with just a few shots, even though it was a normal D-rank monster.
âBmoaaaaaaaah!â
âWell, thatâs right.â
The high orc will also swing their clubs and arms in an attempt to counterattack while Iâm attacking them.
The arrows I shoot donât pierce, but they do enough damage to wound the high orc.
ââŠâŠ!â
The ninth time I shot an arrow while dodging in this way.
Finally, the high orcâs body showed a change.
âPhewâŠâŠâŠâŠfinallyâŠâ
The high orcâs body finally began to show large wounds, and it was beginning to lose its breath.
After all, itâs outclassing the E-rank monsters Iâve seen.
âBmoaaaaaaaah!â
Then, the high orc rushes toward me, screaming and swinging its club messily, even louder than before.
âOops!â
To avoid it, I backstep to get away from it, while grabbing a transparent arrow from my bow.
ââŠâŠ. âŠâŠ.â
But then I realize Iâd made a mistake.
First, I backstep with a lot of effort to get away from the onrushing high orc.
And the place where I backstepped was near the door.
Q. What would happen if I stepped back as hard as I could near the door?
A. The door will open and you will be outside the boss room.
ââŠâŠ Youâre lying! Gugh!â
The door opens and my body rolls out of the boss room with the momentum of my back step.
Wait! Getting out of the bossâs room is a bad idea!
The moment you leave the bossâs room, it didnât count as the boss is defeated, and the door will close and not open until the bossâs HP recovers.
Then I have to start all over again.
Iâm not going to let that happen!
âDamn it!â
I hurriedly regrouped and tried to rush into the closing door.
But it was already too late.
The door had closed completely and mercilessly.
âIâve been screwed.â
I was able to fight all the way there.
I was too careful because it was my first attempt to defeat a boss solo.
When I opened my status and checked my MP, I found that I had consumed 180 MP.
That means I had hit the high orc nine times with [Mana Bolt].
Thatâs why it was so battered.
âIf I had hit it once or twice more, I would have been able to defeat it.â
Well, it is what it is.
âLetâs take a break here and try one more âŠâŠ yeah? Whatâs this?â
My vision is blurred, but my senses are not right.
My vision is naturally directed toward the door even though Iâm not consciously aware of it, and it feels like thereâs something connected to the other side of the door.
What is this?
Iâve never felt anything like this before as an explorer.
âWhat!? Could it be!â
Then to confirm my theory, I picked up a stone lying near me and threw it at the door.
I would have just thrown it. It would have hit the door and fallen to the ground.
But if my guess is correct.
âI knew it! I knew it!â
As I had predicted, the stone did not fall to the ground but stuck to the door as if it were a magnet, defying the laws of physics.
âI knew it! The must-hit effect of [Lock-On] is still intact!â
The stone I threw was judged to be a long-range attack on the high orc, and although it was a sure hit, the door blocked it. And it physically couldnât go any further, so itâs sticking to the door.
But if thatâs the case!
To test what Iâve come up with, I create an invisible arrow with [Mana Bolt] and attach it to my bow.
My unique skill [Mana Bolt] does not convert into fire or wind-like magic but can create arrows using MP as it is, in other words, the same magical element that is floating in the air in the dungeon.
Because of this property, arrows created with [Mana Bolt] have no substance.
I know this because my arrow slipped through an orcâs club and hit it.
If I remind myself not to hit it, it will slip through inorganic objects, but not living things, so thank goodness for that.
âOkay, âŠâŠ shh!â
Then I shoot an invisible arrow at the door.
My arrow slips through the door and flies into the bossâs room.
ââŠâŠHowâs that âŠâŠ?â
[Level increased by 3]
ââŠâŠ!â
I confirm that I hear the system sound of me leveling up. And the stone earlier has fallen to the ground.
Then, as I stare at the door a little nervously, the door slowly begins to open.
âYes! Itâs a success!â
I look into the boss room and there is the corpse of a high orc with a transparent arrow stuck in his chest.
ââŠâŠ! Yesssss!â
I strike a powerful gut punch.
Itâs my first time! For the first time, Iâve killed a boss solo!
They made fun of me as a novice guide!
And in a way that no one else could do it!
And since it was a solo kill, the experience was good! My level went up 3 times!
âMaybe this will work in higher-ranked dungeons!â
Oh no! My dreams are growing!
But it seems I can get stronger faster and safer than normal people.
Considering my MP, I guess I can try one more time.
âWell then, letâs collect the corpses.â
I collect the high orc corpse with the [Item Box] and leave the boss room.
âAlright! Letâs use what we just did and try one more time!â
I get back into the swing of things and wait a minute to challenge the high orc one more time before entering the boss room with the door open.