Vol. 8 - Ch. 407 - The puny bosses of Beginner-low dungeon

We split into four teams. The three of them headed to the ‹Training Hall›, while the remaining one, Team A, arrived at the ‹Beginner Gate›, and then to the ‹Tropical Forest Dungeon› which was said to be the introductory point for the beginner dungeon from there.Sierra and I were in charge of support. We didn't have the carriage today, but the shortest route instilled in my brain was enough to complete all of it with enough left at hand. After all, it only has 10 floors.

And as of the moment——

"Gahhh......"

"Woah, crazy st'ong."

We had just taken down the boss ‹Bear-cum-Anteater›—a mix of, well, bear and anteater. It was a battle of flash, the boss was down in the sea of effects in just 10 seconds from the moment we started the battle.

Alulu, carrying a two handed hammer on her shoulder, looked surprised as she said, her tone slightly accented.

"Well, this is just a piece of cake."

"Our levels are just a bit away from level cap after all."

Recalling back, it was the same boss that used to take considerable time to defeat. But we could now easily slay it in one shot with our current level. It was hardly something to brag about, so I just casually mentioned. Sierra also replied in the same fashion.

I guess she, too, was comparing our current battle from before. Though, her expressions were slightly tangled. I presume so. It feels poignant when a boss that used to give you a hard time starts to seem weak. We didn't really struggle, though.

Anyway, it was a formidable foe for Alulu and company without any combat skill. Even if puny among others, ‹Bear-cum-Anteater› was still a boss. Alulu stared at both of us with sparkly eyes, and we couldn't help but smile wryly in response.

Speaking of her, she was apparently equipped with work clothes that she had worn in yesterday's party. Only the headgear was a leather-type hat with guards on the sides; the closest example would be aviator head.

"A craftsman soul resides in their equipment after all, don'tcha think so?" At least that's what she said. I had the urge to ask 'isn't it hammer where dwarves soul reside?' but held myself back.

"Hmm. The drop is a ‹Wooden Chest› huh, bummer."

"This is what it is, Nico-kun. We have taken our first step. I am sure there are many encounters awaiting us."

"True, I am looking forward to that time. I also want to level up quickly."

The two members from ‹Support Department› had already started to pay attention to the treasure chest instead of the boss. Because it's their speciality after all, eh? I guess they hardly have any interest in battle.

To be honest, both ‹Collector› Nico and ‹Seeker› Kairi in the team were as good as having none for the dungeon exploration.

‹Collector› was only capable of increasing the drop rate of encountered monsters as they start with ‹Mono-tree›. They started to become important around the time they began with their ‹Twi-Tree› and ‹Tri-Tree›, providing effects like increased boss drops and rare drops.

‹Seeker› situation was even more in a bind in the beginning as the beginner dungeons hardly have any traps. It's not like there were none, but that too involves Beg-high. It was the same case for treasure chests in the wild and hidden doors. The only thing they could do in the beginning was increase the amount of harvested items, map creation and scouting etc, so they, too, were hardly needed at the current juncture. Intermediate dungeons were where they truly took the stage.

Well, the best word to describe them was 'extras'. They were just tag-along. Furthermore, being accidentally caught up in fire during battle could easily incapacitate them, so I have warned them just in case. They just needed to follow the advice, and they were free to do anything.

Speaking of their equipment, Nico was dressed just like a researcher. She was wearing a white robe over beginner equipment for students and a navy beret on her head. Hmm, quite a researcher-like style. She was equipped with ‹Ice Rod› with ‹Ice Ball LV2› as a weapon; a drop from ‹Silver Chest›. It somehow reminds me of Hannah in the past.

The only concerning point was all her equipment was from Beg-low. It won't hold up in the future, so I guess I will get another set soon.

Kairi was lightly dressed. Her equipment was centered around movement friendly fashion; she wore an adventurer-style outfit made of leather, exposing her upper arms, short skirt, shorts, and knee-high socks. Her boots look very easy to move in.

She should be able to till Beg-mid, though she would also need a refresh on her equipment in the coming days.

"What's the current time, Sierra?"

"It's still a little past 5 PM. We've come this far in about an hour and a half on the road."

"All the monsters in the wild were taken down in a jiffy after all. It's really hard to believe we're of the same age, ya know?"

Alulu was having a strange expression, as if he recalled something, hearing Sierra's answer. But well, since it's 5 PM, there's still time.

"Alright. Let's check out ‹Abandoned Stone Bridge Mine Dungeon› since we have enough time!"

"Understood."

"Huh? Are we going to the second dungeon? Right now?" Sᴇaʀᴄh the N0vᴇlFire(.)nᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.

"It's because we still have some time."

"Heh~. A t-top guild really does things differently. I suppose so, it would probably be impossible to hijack top spot unless you clear dungeons with crazy pace."

Alulu was a bit taken back when I explained our next plan. Ah, I have forgotten, but one dungeon a day was the typical scene in this world, huh.

It was a waste though. Time is finite. If there's enough time to clear two dungeons, then why stop at one, right? That's what it means to be a ‹Dungeon Activity› player.

Besides,the three seemed quite excited about having their first 'Conqueror's Proof' and hopped into the suggestion with 'Alright, onward to our second mark—' spirit without any objection.

We collected boss drops and ‹Bronze Axe› from ‹Wooden Box›, took the teleportation circle to return and immediately dived into the ‹Abandoned Stone Bridge Mine Dungeon›.

This time, even Nico and Kairi had their mouths agape seeing Sierra completely annihilating any of the moving stone golems with just ‹Shield Bash›.

While moving-stone golem had high defense, they were weak to strike damage and Sierra surprisingly, who had high STR value, easily one-punched them. Oh, and as I speak, another pitiful moving-stone golem returned to dust taking Sierra's attack.

"This is really not much."

"As expected from our ace."

"Hmm, I really started to wonder if I should be in this guild. When even a tank has that much combat power, then..."

As Alulu dropped her fainthearted remark, we arrived at the boss room on the last floor.

"‹Shield Bash›! ‹Shield Smite›! Come, ‹Counter Burst›!"

"——!?"

Sierra deleted the boss in a few seconds before it could have had any chance to make its move.

She took the initiative with ‹Shield Bash›, accumulated hate with ‹Shield Smite› while attacking, and when the boss instinctively made a move due to the effect of accumulated hate, she hit it with ‹Counter Burst›. It was a splendid combo.

This left our three sub-members in daze of course, even the fellow first-years who had been observing our fight from the safety area had their jaws dropped from the impact.

With her STR attribute value at 200, not even tens of beginner dungeon bosses would trip her.

After acquiring the second 'Conqueror's Proof’, we decided to call it a day, returned with a teleportation circle and disbanded.

Our tomorrow's target was ‹Underground Stillwater Dungeon›.