TRPM 384

chapter 384

Elena and Chloe advanced while using only the minimum amount of spirit power.

Through that process, the two were able to objectively grasp the extent of their own strength.

“Turns out, the amount of spirit power we can use hasn’t increased as much as I thought?”

“Well, of course not.”

Crossing the wall did mean they had grown stronger than before.

But that didn’t mean their total amount of spirit power had drastically changed.

Just like when I rebuilt my body from the ground up—it didn’t increase the total amount of my inner energy.

It only improved efficiency, letting me fight longer.

Spirit power wouldn’t be much different.

“The total amount of spirit power can only increase steadily over time.”

“That’s a bit disappointing.”

Elena said that as she casually crushed a monster that came her way.

And then—

“!”
“!”

Elena and Chloe both turned their heads toward the direction we were moving.

Seems they sensed it too.

“Gunwoo. This feeling I’m getting… is that the dungeon boss?”

“That’s right.”

“…If we’d wasted spirit power up until now, we’d probably have had to run, huh?”

Ah, though with Mr. Gunwoo here, our lives were never really in danger.

Elena wiped away cold sweat as she said that.

“Now that you feel it, you understand, right? Just because you’ve crossed the wall doesn’t mean you’re invincible.”

“You’re right. I feel like we could win, but if we let our guard down, it’ll be dangerous.”

While we were exchanging those words…

“What? Someone want to let me in on it too?”

That was Woo Jimin—the only one in the group who couldn’t sense the boss monster.

“The one I mentioned before… the monster that has a high chance of being immune to your attacks, Instructor Woo Jimin.”

“Ah… and that’s what’s waiting up ahead?”

Upon hearing my words, Instructor Woo Jimin pulled out her pistol.

And without preparing the piercing shot function or elemental shot function.

…So she’s planning to handle this without relying on those functions, just out of pride.

No need to stop her.

Thinking that, I kept flying forward.

Elena and Chloe followed behind me, visibly tense.

And before long—

“Wow.”

“…Looks ridiculously tough.”

We were face-to-face with a gigantic hermit crab.

One carrying a filthy-looking shell on its back.

…So that’s why the air in this dungeon was full of toxins—the source was that shell.

The closer we got to the crab, the stronger the poison in the air became.

We, of course, were pushing it away with spirit arts or magic.

Bang!

While I was observing the boss monster, a gunshot rang out right beside me.

“…Would it kill you to give a warning before firing?”

My senses are sharp enough as it is—having a gun go off right next to me almost burst my eardrums.

Though they didn’t actually burst.

“Sorry. But more importantly…”

She was right—it was insanely tough.

Even aiming for the comparatively weak eye, the bullet bounced off.

“…And you still managed to hit its eye?”

“Eyes are relatively weak points on most monsters.”

I nodded inwardly at that.

“Come to think of it… didn’t you aim for the ogre’s eye during the practical exam, Mr. Gunwoo?”

As Elena said—

Because the VR equipment during the exam hadn’t properly measured my physical abilities, I had attacked the ogre with weakened strength.

So I had gone for its eyes first—not just to blind it, but because they were the weakest part.

Of course, there are monsters like this boss whose eyes are surprisingly well-protected.

“Still, unbelievable… I wasn’t even firing seriously, but it still bounced off even when it hit the eye.”

Muttering that, Woo Jimin raised her gun again toward the boss monster.

“In that case… I’ll just have to break through out of sheer stubbornness.”

“Hey—”

Before I could even finish speaking, I felt the inner energy within her puppet body gathering into the gun’s barrel.

More than ninety percent of it.

Screeeech!

The boss monster, which hadn’t reacted to the earlier gunshots at all, suddenly shrieked.

It must have sensed the inner energy condensing in Woo Jimin’s pistol.

“Huff… this should be… about three hundred times faster?!”

“You’re insane…!”

A bullet at three hundred times normal speed—was she kidding me?!

I panicked and quickly pulled Elena and Chloe back.

And then—

Fwip!

The bullet flew.

Boooom!

And a shockwave erupted with its flight.

“Heh… well? Can you still say my attacks won’t work on it?”

“…You did all this just to prove that point?”

I stared at the result of her single shot.

The bullet had pierced straight through the boss monster’s body.

No, more than that—

Flying so fast, it generated a shockwave that tore a hole far larger than the bullet itself.

Screeeeech!

But the boss didn’t die.

Maybe it avoided a fatal hit, or maybe its monstrous vitality was just keeping it alive.

Thud, thud, thud, thud!

Either way, the important part was—

It had survived that attack, and now it was furious, charging at us.

I muttered as I watched it.

“How is it running that fast when the ground’s this soft…?”

“That’s what you’re worried about right now?”

Elena looked at me in disbelief.

But seriously, it was strange.

“The dungeon floor was so soft earlier that Instructor Woo Jimin thought it felt weird and asked me to carry her. But that thing’s clearly way heavier than a human… and it’s still running like crazy. Even with that massive shell on its back.”

“Hmm… now that you mention it, that is bugging me a lot.”

While we were talking, the boss monster had already reached us.

It raised its claw-like arm high, ready to slam it down.

“Aren’t you guys a bit too relaxed right now?”

Seeing that, Chloe Greenwood diverted the trajectory of its claw with spirit arts.

Rather than blocking it with wind, redirecting it was much easier.

Thanks to her, the claw slammed harmlessly into the ground instead.

Boom!

“Oh… that thing’s pretty strong, huh?”

“Well, it’d have to be strong to live carrying that huge shell.”

Woo Jimin and I casually chatted.

“Hey! Is nobody going to help me out here?!”

Chloe yelled at us, clearly annoyed.

Of course, Woo Jimin and I weren’t planning to step in unless it was truly dangerous.

Not that it seemed likely to get that bad anyway.

“Just a moment.”

Elena moved beside Chloe and gathered spirit power.

Then she used the technique she had unleashed inside the nightmare earlier—

Wind Spirit Arts: Annihilating Tempest.

A ferocious storm, conjured by spirit arts, blasted straight into the hole Woo Jimin had opened.

Crraaaack!

The storm forced its way inside the boss’s body—literally shredding it from within.

Screeech?!

Naturally, the boss howled in agony and tried to thrash about—

Mental Interference: Relax.

But Chloe forcibly calmed it, halting its resistance.

Wait, what…?

It wasn’t technically mind magic.

But the result was similar.

Using her succubus powers, Chloe manipulated the monster’s mind, stripping away its will to fight.

Or rather—its very will to live.

Otherwise, even while its insides were being churned by Elena’s storm, it would never have stayed still.

To cut off a living creature’s survival instinct… that’s far too dangerous a power, isn’t it?

I thought so for a moment, but soon dismissed the worry.

There were plenty of mental-type magicians who could do similar things.

Though, as far as I knew, none who could erase survival instinct itself like Chloe just had.

“Oh, it’s dead.”

As I was thinking, the boss monster’s body began dissolving into light.

“Ohhh…!”

“Wonder what the reward will be…”

It was the dungeon reward—the artifact was about to appear.

But then—

“Hm?”
“Huh?”

The light split into two streams and stopped in front of Elena and Chloe.

Both of them looked a little surprised.

…Well, usually when you conquer a dungeon, the artifact doesn’t just appear in front of specific people.

But my case was different.

Because the Awakener System blatantly favored me, artifacts often manifested right in front of me—perfectly suited to my needs.

So now that they’re appearing in front of those two… the Awakener System must be giving some benefits to people close to me as well.

And the artifacts created would surely suit them.

“…A brooch?”

“You too? Mine’s the exact same brooch.”

The reward for the two of them was a pair of beautiful brooches.

A slightly odd prize for defeating a filthy hermit crab, but still.

Naturally, the brooches went to the two of them.

…The reason I emphasize that is because usually, when an artifact drops from a dungeon, the competition over who gets it is fierce.

But since the Awakener System had clearly intended those brooches for them, I didn’t contest it.

Woo Jimin looked a little disappointed, but since it was her first time seeing an artifact choose its owner, she assumed there was some special reason and conceded.

Instead, the dungeon-clearing reward money from the Association would all go to me and Woo Jimin.

And since this dungeon had been officially declared “uncleared,” the reward money was no small amount.

Leaving the Association headquarters, I transferred half the reward money into Woo Jimin’s account, then glanced over at Elena and Chloe, who were discussing the brooches.

“This pattern… doesn’t it look like swords?”

“Yeah. And several swords flying through the sky at that…”

“?”

Just then, the two turned their heads toward me, as if they’d reached a conclusion.

I knew exactly why.

Several swords flying through the air… that’s obviously referring to me, back when I used Sword Arts to unleash countless blades as an Artist.

Not only that—

I could see a message from the Awakener System, visible only to me.

【User Han Gunwoo has exerted positive influence as a Grandmaster upon User Elena and User Chloe Greenwood.】

【User Elena and User Chloe Greenwood have crossed the wall.】

【Guild System has been updated exclusively for User Han Gunwoo.】