My Dungeon Life – Chapter 1617-1619

Chapter 1617

We began to move at a brisker pace. After going so long without running into a mob, I became a bit bolder with our progress. I kept the map and Life Sense running just in case, but I no longer kept my eyes out for traps or ambushes. We quickly made our way to the S class boss room, and after it opened thanks to Cici, the group of us prepared for the fight.

Before this, we had been walking in suddenly and without preparation. After the last fight, which had been a bit difficult, it was time we started making plans. Of course, it seemed like the Titan’s Fall and the church didn’t plan to work together very much. It wasn’t that they were necessarily antagonistic to each other, although the Osterian women typically had larger chests that offended the small-chested church, a source of continuous contention.

I decided that it would be better if the two teams were given different jobs. Thus, I assigned the Osterian girls a tanking position. Their job would be to keep the monster on themselves. The church would focus on heavy damage, while I and the girls would focus on providing the two groups support. That support started before the battle began. I cast various armor and shield spells on everyone to support them before the fight. There was a time back in the day where I couldn’t go a single battle without buffing everyone in my party. It was funny how things changed.

The group entered the S-class boss dungeon room. I was very curious about what we were going to end up fighting when the first step into the room told me this fight would be a bit different. That’s because this boss room was physically different than the ones we had been in earlier. My shoes instantly became wet as we stepped into a wet swamp-like area. This was the boss I was planning on facing on my own.

“Where is it?” Chance asked, looking around cautiously.

“I… don’t see… i—aaaaah!” Cici was speaking when she suddenly was pulled away.

I leaped forward and jumped into the water only to find that on this level, it went a lot deeper. The first few steps into the boss room from our door were only a few feet deep, but after coming out a meter or so, the ground fell off into murky water below. As I quickly swam forward, a large tail struck me in the stomach and I found myself flying out of the water and back onto the shoreline.

The others were moving forward into their respective positions, but after snatching Cici, the creature appeared to have swum down. I didn’t wait to see what happened. Every second Cici was down there, she was only in more danger. I only regretted that I hadn’t noticed the red until it had sprung up right under us and it was too late. Leaping back into the water, I began to swim at a frantic rate down into the murky depths.

I wasn’t swimming blind though, I was swimming toward Cici’s position. Underwater as she was, she wouldn’t be able to breathe. I couldn’t breathe either, but I wasn’t thinking of that as I swim after her. That was when I saw a large figure swimming in the distance, its tail whipping back and forth. It appeared to be a giant crocodile. I could also see something in its mouth, and that was Cici!

Chapter 1618

Seeing the lifeless Cici in its jaws, I created a platform and pushed off toward it immediately. Of course, I wasn’t in the air, but I was underwater, and so I didn’t make nearly the distance that I did before. The resistance was far greater, and even moving like a torpedo felt slow as the Crocodile seemed to content continuing to drag Cici around in its mouth. It didn’t even appear to be eating her at this point, but perhaps it was trying to taunt me.

I pulled Alysia out and then tried to cut through the water. The cut sliced through a dozen meters, but it didn’t create any kind of assistance. At best, it disturbed the water enough that the crocodile realized I was there. He shot me a glare, but rather than rush me, he turned around and started swimming deeper.

This was a diabolical boss. Its goal was to pick you off one at a time by dragging you down and drowning you. How could you fight something faster and stronger than you in water, and also had no intention of fighting you directly? If things kept progressing in this matter, Cici would be dead soon. I could see her life force weakening on the map even. I worked furiously to try to come up with a solution. That’s when I remembered a trick I had used once before.

I turned around and started heading back up to the surface. When I broke the water, I headed toward the shoreline as quickly as possible. The rest of the party hadn’t jumped in after me. It looked like Chance had wanted to, but was held back by the Titan’s Fall girls. I would have to thank them later.

“Where is Cici?” Chance called out worriedly.

“Did you leave her behind?” One of the paladins asked. “Tsk… shouldn’t have left it up to you.”

Cici was a bit older, and although she was still well-liked by the paladins, she didn’t have quite the same pull as Chance. Had it been Chance that was grabbed, they clearly would have all leaped to their deaths trying to save her. It didn’t occur to them that if Cici died, then we wouldn’t be able to progress any longer on this Champion’s Gauntlet. It was responding specifically to Cici’s mana which closely matched the native fairies of this world. As I stood back up, I immediately selected Cici’s diminishing lifeforce on the map and then began casting a spell.

“What are you doing?” Anne demanded with her hands on her hips. “You’re just standing there while…”

As she was trying to condemn me, a portal opened to Cici. When I was at a party with someone, I could pinpoint them within a certain range perfectly. When I opened a portal, it would also open right in front of them. Of course, the crocodile could ignore the portal, and if I jumped through it, he could be swimming away before I even had a chance to catch up. That would have been the case if they weren’t underwater. I had once opened a portal underwater, and the result was that water came flowing through in a flood. Anything near the portal would be drawn into it like a waterfall and come flying out the other side.

I was ready for it, and as soon as the portal formed, I leaped out of the way. A giant wall of water burst out, slamming right into Anne before sending her flying off into the swampy water. I went to my feet as soon as I landed, looking at the flood of water. At the moment a massive green scaly form when flying through, I leaped forward, sending Alysium crashing down on the unexpectant Crocodile. I poured a great deal of power into it, even activating the powerful skill Final Blow. Like that the Crocodile was split into two.

{True Dungeon Diver has increased to level 85.}

{True Hero has increased to level 62.}

Chapter 1619

Final Blow wasn’t named for being the killing blow for my enemy, but because the blow essentially took every ounce of mana and stamina I had and converted it into a single strike. With Alysium’s sharpness, I was able to use that strength to bisect the crocodile in a single blow. I had been right in my guess that the crocodile didn’t have the insanely high defense that the boar in the previous dungeon had. Instead, it depended on speed and its stealth-like drowning trick to earn its status as an S-class boss. Even then, I wasn’t certain I would have been able to do it if I wasn’t all being enhanced by ½ of the complete blessing the dungeon was strengthening me with.

I had fallen to one knee, using my blade to keep myself from collapsing. Of course, I had already pulled out a vial full of waters of life and was drinking it to replenish the damage I had done. While this was happening, I felt for the first time that I was fortunate to have the church with me. The paladins were fishing Anne out of the water and thus picked up Cici while they were at it. They immediately began using church healing spells and potions on her.

Cici was young, but those faeries were pretty tough. She wasn’t on the verge of death, but I was still glad to see that she was being healed. I had given all of my energy into performing that instant kill. Had the crocodile gotten away and managed to submerge again, I feared my portal trick might not work so well a second time. By the time we came up with another way to get Cici, I worried she’d be seriously hurt by then. That’s why I couldn’t hold back.

“So much for talking to this boss…” I muttered to myself after finishing my vial.

This was not the boss I would have been able to negotiate terms with. It seemed like all of these bosses were wild animals without a thought to them. I supposed it made things easier for the trial portion of this dungeon, but it didn’t give me any room to try to figure out more about the dungeon. Furthermore, I had already seen the result of this dungeon mural here, so we didn’t need to stay any longer than we had to.

Cici’s eyes popped open and she coughed up some water. It was the Inquisitor who had been using the healing spells on her, meanwhile, Anne was cursing and yelling. I realized some of it was in my direction, but I was getting good at ignoring her. A few of the paladins were glaring at me for getting Ann wet, but I was used to that too.

I used my slowly returning strength to walk over to Cici and kneel next to her. She looked up at me, and then turned away, a sudden expression of shame on her face.

“What is it?” I asked.

“I… came to support Master, and yet, I only ended up becoming a burden.” She responded with a depressed voice.

“My lord, I’m supposed to be your guard, but I’ve also found myself unable to protect you through anything!” Chance added as well.

They weren’t necessarily wrong. They had both insisted on coming along to protect me, yet I hadn’t just gone off by myself multiple times, but I had even had to rescue and protect them, as they weren’t high enough levels for this dungeon. In the next two battles, this discrepancy would only be worse.

This would have been a good time to put them in their place. I could finally crush their hopes of being my travel partners, and they would remain safe in the mansion from thereon. However, looking into their forelorn expressions, I just couldn’t do such a thing. I reached out and patted each of their heads.

“I need both of you by my side.” I declared. “You’re here to help me emotionally. You are here to keep me calm. Can you do that?”

Both girls looked a bit confused for a second, but then they gave nods. I felt glad that children were much easier to trick.