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Evan D. Sherden, Cursed (4)
[Kwoah!]
The Floor Master Goblin Warrior appeared on the 5th Floor of the dungeon. It had a level of attack power and stamina that could not be compared to a general goblin.
It was a being that brought despair to explorers who had not yet adapted to the dungeon.
He had a battle cry that increased all of his subordinates’ attack power, and unlike the existing goblins that did not have proper weapon skills, he had a great sword skill.
“Dang!”
[Kohohohohohoh… !]
Great swordsmanship in itself was of a higher-level talent or skill than general swordsmanship. Those with the proper strength used greatswords.
The performance that came out of learning this weapon skill was said to be truly powerful and could handle a team alone. There were a lot of novice explorers who knelt in front of the overwhelming dignity of the great swordsmanship of this Floor Master.
“But he can’t survive this, I guess.”
Shine had hit it directly. Before it could even swing its weapon properly, it was pierced by two daggers on its neck and laid down on the floor straight away.
Looking down at the monster’s body, Evan began to mutter in a faint voice.
There were quite a few players who admired the power of Goblin Warriors and played the game until they acquired the great swordsmanship aptitude themselves.
“Do you have a right to say that? No, I mean the man who sent the terrifying Goblin Fighter flying from the very first floor is now saying that?”
“What the hell is a Goblin Fighter worth if he was weakened from dealing with other goblins…. Honestly, when you reached level 5, Shine, you became so strong that you can easily kill it. I know this because you are the Silent Night.”
“Well, what’s Silent Night?”
“Isn’t that a bit like a Floor Master’s name like the one who was struck by a Battle Bead!? It’s obvious that the dungeon is weird right now. Something is happening in the dungeon… Something… Something really is…!”
Maybe the gods watching this dungeon would think so too, Shine thought. However, the reason why this was happening was not because of the dungeon, but because of Evan.
Evan thought only Shine and Belois had become stronger as they descended the dungeon. However, that made no sense. The Battle Beads thrown by Evan, who has reached dungeon level 5, had been remarkably strengthened compared to the beginning, and now their power could be compared to that of a meteor!
“Okay, the dungeon feels weird now so I think we should start digging deeper.”
Mana stone was a generic term for a stone containing magical power. They could be collected from the corpse of a monster appearing in the dungeon or in a special environment inside the dungeon. They were mainly used to operate magic tools and were also the main source of income for explorers entering the dungeon.
However, the goblins that originally appeared up to the 5th Floor were too weak to have such a stone in their body.
Therefore, the only way to obtain a mana stone at the entrance of a dungeon was through digging the dungeon wall or the floor, so some explorers were laughed at for doing so by the dungeon entrance. Some called them gatherers or miners who earned their living expenses from digging and mining.
“But these monsters are unconditionally equipped with gemstones.”
“Floor Masters always have a Gemstone. And look, the color is also unique, isn’t it? The Floor Master’s mana stones are summoned by offering sacrifices like these. They are different compared to other gemstones. It is a little bit odd, but their efficiency is high. That is why some people make money by hunting only the Floor Master.”
Evan did not wait for the body of the Goblin Warrior to be absorbed into the dungeon, but searched for the body of the Goblin Warrior and dug out a glowing mana stone. Then, the remaining corpses around him began to melt. The dungeon floor had begun to absorb them.
“If you just do this, you seem to get it quite a bit… Belois, how many have you got?”
“I’ve got six.”
“Oh, now that you have accumulated enough achievements to clear the dungeon, you should never approach the stairs.”
“I heard that story before… Oh, but six?” Suddenly, Shine tilted his head and asked.
“Is there any more work left to do? I think we found and killed all the Floor Masters that already exist on this floor.”
“I think we’ve accomplished quite a few achievements.” Raihan was also puzzled. On the other hand, Belois only quietly stared at Evan’s face. Evan opened the map, showed them, and explained.
“We fell at the beginning around this place, and then made a round trip like this in a counterclockwise direction. Now, is there any empty space left?”
“Curiously, we didn’t go in the middle. Is there a Floor Master there too?”
“Well, to be precise, it must be a hidden achievement. I don’t know what it is, but a monster that can only be hunted when all the Floor Masters are defeated… It’s set up as a hidden boss.”
And, of course, this hidden boss was as twice as powerful as the Goblin Warrior. It was because of this useless reason that only the Rotten Waters achievers of the Yo-Ma Great War series could clear this achievement!
“But if it’s twice as powerful as this guy… You can kill it anytime you want.”
“We will do our best.”
“My shield won’t break that easily, Master.”
He was not vigilant, but he did not underestimate his abilities. And it seemed that Raihan was slowly forgetting that the shield he was holding was a shield that receives twice as much damage as others.
Anyway, Evan was satisfied with the dignified appearance of the party members and declared.
“Let’s go kill the hidden boss.”
[Kaa evil!]
“Ha.”
[Key hack!]
As you went deeper into the center of the dungeon, the number of traps and monsters increased, etc.
The injuries also increased in frequency. It felt as if they were trying to stop them from approaching the center. Only then did Shine feel like they were exploring the dungeon.
[Kee… Kegaek!]
“Wow, this is the end? It was really boring. Was it some attempt to decrease our strength?”
“Do you need healing magic, Shine?”
“No, I don’t need it. Rather, I’m getting more and more excited.”
Shine’s words were never false. The bloody bird he learned through the Jade Dragon Ball also activated naturally through endless battles with monsters, filling his stamina and improving his fighting ability.
“Rather, it’s as if this obstacle was prepared just for me.”
“If blood is insufficient in the middle, tell me. There is a lot here.”
“No, that’s not it.”
The party ran through the dungeon in a hurry. Both the Goblin Archer’s sniping and the Goblin Fighter’s assaults were stopped by Raihan’s shield. Shine, Belois, and Evan dealt with them by thorough killing while conserving stamina and magic.
“Well, now I noticed it. This is proof that we are getting closer to the Hidden Boss.”
Originally, the dungeon floors 1 to 5 were on flat terrain.
The stone wall and the stone floor were connected to each other, but strangely, as they went toward the center, cracks could be seen through the growing grasslands.
Evan warned them all that these were all poisonous and shouldn’t carelessly approach them.
“Do you know the power of environmental change that dungeons have? However, there are cases in which monsters are born with the power of this environmental change. Because of this, they have become more powerful. If you go deeper into the dungeon, you will see that the area around the Floor Master battle room is transformed into a different environment.”
“The dungeon,” Belois suddenly opened her mouth.
“What the hell is it?”
“I can tell you, but you won’t be convinced right away,” Evan replied with a smile.
“Fine, then let’s find out later. It’s the right way, after all.”
“…I see. I see,” Belois silently nodded and walked on.
They soon arrived in front of the battle room where the hidden boss was waiting. However, the moment he reached it, Evan felt like he was suddenly stunned.
“The Knight Commander.”
“If it was Master going into the dungeon, I knew I had to do something new to make sure you are all progressing nicely.”
Evan was stunned as he watched the Knight Commander, Mikhail D. Airock, standing like a king in front of the battle room.
No, according to preliminary research, they knew that no one has ever successfully entered this hidden boss battle room, but how did he predict it?
“Because you are the one who always does things that no one else can do. So the problem of this place may be solved by you, isn’t it natural to think so?”
“I don’t think it’s obvious at all… Will you stop me?”
“Well now? My mission is the same as the other knights I dispatched first. To prevent the Master from defeating the Floor Master and going down to the 6th floor. If you stay, I don’t need to stop you. Even if there is anything other than this, I’m sure that you can go solve it.”
The Knight Commander retreated a little to the side, affirming that he was truly reliable. Then the battle room was visible, a dark hole in the middle of the door appeared.
“If you’re uncertain about it, then you shouldn’t go, Master. I heard that if you go there when you are not ready, a lethal trap is triggered.”
“Of course, the investigation has been done,” Evan responded lightly and pulled out six shining gemstones from his inventory pocket.
Shine made a small noise in protest, “No way, is this a necessary sacrifice… ?”
“This is the only thing we got from the six Floor Masters. Then, of course, these are the only things we can sacrifice.”
“Silly Shine.”
“You have good hair, but you don’t think.”
Shine decided to quiet down rather than ruin it more by talking any further. Even when he heard the story from the side, he realized deeply,
‘No way, we have to hunt all six Floor masters!’
The Knight Commander, who was watching the scene with mixed feelings, spoke up.
“Master, is this perhaps…?”
“Yeah. Because the first time is an important achievement. Sorry to the commander and others, but I have to do it. I need it.”
“You are doing what you need with your knowledge, so who would dare to say anything?”
Evan pushed all six gemstones into the hole.
The changes that took place at the next moment were similar to those in the previous six Floor Master battle rooms.
The door flashed brilliantly in five colors, and soon they began to feel an unusual signal within it.
“One…”
“Right. The Hidden Boss is always alone. What’s inside is…” Evan trailed off with a gulp.
“Surprisingly, the Blood Goblin, the superior species of the goblin, is a fighter among them! He’s incomparable to a typical Goblin Fighter, and boasts surprisingly fast swordsmanship. His whole body is covered in red fur, and he wields a large scimitar.”
“Red hair…”
“The big scimitar…”
Evan spoke without noticing that the atmosphere of the party had changed subtly.
“It’s a monster that only appears on the 20th Floor of the dungeon, but you have to fight that guy here. His stamina was debuffed to some extent, but his attack power was not… Hey what? What are you guys? Why are you suddenly doing that? What…”
“Now, let’s go in.”
“No wait, listen! Of course, I know that it’s easy to kill it with your strength, but just in case!”
“No, sir,” Belois said firmly.
“There is no such thing as a what-if. Not when it comes to us.”
“Lua, you too!?” Evan, who was listening well, suddenly found himself entering the Hidden Boss battle room in a half panic.
But by then, there really was no way back.