Chapter 39: Boss
The boss lunged at Nana. Thanks to Hiro's doping skill, she was agile enough to match its speed. As the massive sword came crashing down, she sidestepped effortlessly, evading the attack with ease.
The shield came next, and Nana leaped aside just in time. As the boss chased after her, a fireball struck its head. The spell was especially effective against monsters from this dungeon, but it only served to enrage the creature. Its gaze snapped toward Rebecca.
Nana fired an arrow, but the boss ignored it entirely. Meanwhile, Elysia summoned a wave of skeletons from the ground, attempting to block its march. However, the giant monster mowed them down effortlessly, its sword sweeping through the undead as if they were mere twigs.
As the boss closed in on Rebecca, Cecile arrived just in time to intercept it. Unlike Nana, Cecile lacked speed, but she made up for it with sheer strength. Their weapons clashed—her shield met its shield, her sword locked against its blade.
"Hold it for a bit! I'm preparing a stronger spell!" Rebecca called out.
Hiro sensed that Rebecca was channeling more power than usual into her fireball. A massive sphere of flame, nearly the size of a beach ball, surged toward the monster.
But just as the fireball was about to land, the mouth on the giant's shield suddenly opened. In an instant, the enormous spell was sucked into the shield's gaping maw.
Rebecca gasped as the fireball vanished without a trace, swallowed into the void. Both she and Cecile were left stunned. The boss took advantage of their shock, sweeping Cecile aside before rushing forward, sword raised high.
Hiro reacted immediately. He lashed out with his tentacles, wrapping one around Rebecca's waist and hurling her out of harm's way. The monster's sword slashed through the air, missing her by mere inches. The blade tore through the fabric of her loose magician's robes—if it had been Cecile or Nana in her place, Hiro might have lost something far more important.
As the boss prepared to give chase, its head suddenly erupted in a gruesome explosion of blood and gore.
Everyone turned in shock, eyes wide as they searched for the source of the attack.
All eyes fell on Nana. She had fired one of her special arrows—the ones she had purchased for a gold coin apiece.
"It's still alive!" Rebecca shouted.
But her concern proved unnecessary. The monster staggered, making a few desperate swings before finally collapsing.
A glowing white orb rolled from its corpse and spat out in its final moments. Without hesitation, Cecile stepped forward and shattered the orb, ensuring the dungeon's destruction.
[Cecile has leveled up!]
Level: 21/100
STR: 80 → 96
DEX: 81 → 98
MAG: 4
Cecile had leveled up three times in a row. Not only had her level and stats increased, but her skills had also improved. Hiro cheered as he reviewed Cecile's updated status.
Name: Cecile
Race: Human
Age: 17
Class: Knight
Host Affinity: 85/100
Nutrients: 10/100
Level: 21/100
STR: 96
DEX: 98
MAG: 4
B/W/H: 44/24/35
Skills:
One-Handed Sword Mastery Lv. 5 (↑2)
Shield Mastery Lv. 5 (↑2)
Archery Lv. 2
Spear Mastery Lv. 4
As for Nana, delivering the finishing blow had granted her an even greater boost—she leveled up four times.
[Nana has leveled up!]
Level: 22/100
STR: 30 → 45
DEX: 103 → 165
MAG: 0 → 3
Her updated stats showed that she was no longer just a full-fledged archer. Instead, she had developed into more of a ranger, proficient in both spears and bows.
Name: Nana
Race: Human
Age: 18
Class: Knight
Host Affinity: 99/100
Nutrients: 17/100
Level: 22/100
STR: 45
DEX: 165
MAG: 3
B/W/H: 44/24/35
Skills:
Enhanced Vision
Archery Lv. 6 (↑1)
Spear Mastery Lv. 6 (↑1)
Rebecca was not left behind either. Like Cecile, she leveled up three times.
[Rebecca has leveled up!]
Level: 21/100
STR: 13 → 17
DEX: 17 → 20
MAG: 67 → 85
She was no longer just a beginner mage. Thanks to Hiro's growth enhancement, Rebecca had finally caught up to mages of her level. While her strength and dexterity remained abysmal, her magic skyrocketed, surpassing that of an average mage.
Name: Rebecca Evesys
Race: Human
Age: 17
Class: Knight
Host Affinity: 55/100
Nutrients: 40/70
Level: 21/100
STR: 17
DEX: 20
MAG: 85
B/W/H: 24/24/25
Skills:
Mana Manipulation Lv. 5 (↑2)
Mana Sensing Lv. 3
Fire Mastery Lv. 4 (↑3)
Water Mastery Lv. 1
"Yay! I leveled up a ton!" Cecile cheered, high-fiving Nana. However, both of them suddenly plopped down as exhaustion hit them. Cecile, in particular, winced as pain resurfaced in her arm. Hiro took another look at their stats and noticed that their nutrition levels were dangerously low.
"Eh? Cecile, Nana, what happened?" Elysia ran over.
“Ugh… hungry…” Cecile groaned, clutching her stomach as it rumbled loudly.
"Me too…" Nana muttered weakly.
The entire cave trembled—the Dungeon Death had begun as soon as the core was removed from its pedestal. However, the collapse wouldn't happen immediately; it would take several months before the cave completely crumbled.
For now, Cecile and Nana focused on eating the last of the fruit and sandwiches they had brought from Quantora village.
"This is our last sandwich… Should we head back to Quantora village, or should we press on to the next dungeon?" Elysia asked.
"Ugh… I wanna go back. I don't want to survive on dry bread for our meals," Cecile sighed. "We can go back and return tomorrow, right?"
"Are we seriously going to turn back just because we don't want to camp in the wild and eat dry bread? What about our reputation?" Rebecca groaned.
"I wanna sleep with Hiro…" Nana added casually.
"Not you too, Nana." Rebecca rolled her eyes.
"Yes, yes, I understand. If we go back, not only will our reputation take a hit, but Marissa's reputation will also suffer, right?" Cecile sighed. Despite her childish nature, she still had a good head on her shoulders. Hiro was glad he hadn't completely broken her. "Ugh… but the food. I don't mind the bed—we can all sleep inside Hiro—but the food…"
"Um… how about we search this cave first? If we find rare minerals, maybe we can report them to Marissa?" Elysia suggested hesitantly.
Everyone immediately snapped their gaze toward her.
"Amazing! You're so smart!" Cecile jumped up and hugged Elysia in excitement.
Even Rebecca, who had been the most reluctant, didn't complain further. Hiro knew that, deep down, she wanted to sleep in a proper room and eat a decent meal just as much as the others. Unfortunately, her noble pride wouldn't let her choose the easy option.
"But… how are we supposed to find these rare minerals? Do we even know what they look like?" Cecile glanced around at the ceiling and walls. To her, it all just looked like dirt and limestone.
"... Let's just go to the next dungeon and clear it as soon as possible. We'll suffer less that way…" Elysia sighed, giving up. Since she didn't need to eat or sleep, she didn't care where she rested. As long as Hiro was with her, staying inside a dungeon or outside made no difference to her.
"Don't give up yet, Elysia! Let's think! Our food is on the line!" Cecile whined.
Unable to stand their indecision any longer, Hiro slithered out from the girls and nudged their cheeks. He couldn't speak, but the girls understood what he meant.
"Oh yeah! Hiro can analyze minerals and tell us if they're useful!" Cecile exclaimed.
"Eh? He can do that?" Rebecca raised an eyebrow.
"He should be able to. I mean, he repaired and recycled those farming tools back in Quantora, right? He wouldn't have been able to do that if he didn't know which minerals were important. And Marissa keeps giving him animal remains to convert into materials, so he must have some kind of analysis ability," Cecile reasoned, her motivation soaring now that food was involved.
"I see. Well, let's give it a try. This dungeon is new, so there might not be anything valuable," Rebecca sighed.
Holding Hiro like a metal detector, the four girls wandered through the cave. Most of the cavern floor consisted of dirt or common stones—obsidian, limestone, clay, and the like. However, when Hiro detected some sparkling powder on the ground, a message appeared before his eyes.
[Mana Crystal:
A raw mana crystal formed by dungeon cores. A primary material for magician staffs and magic enchantments.]
Hiro wasn't an enchanter, but based on the description, this seemed valuable. Transforming one of his tentacles into a spade, he dug into the ground. Soon, his makeshift tool hit something solid—a translucent blue mineral emerged from the soil.
"It's a mana crystal! Good job, Hiro!" Rebecca, being a mage, immediately recognized the stone.
"Is it a precious mineral?" Cecile jumped up in excitement.
"Um… this stone is used to craft magician staffs. It's certainly rare, but since there are so few mages to begin with, the demand is low…" Rebecca frowned, realizing the unfortunate truth. Her words quickly deflated Hiro's excitement.
"Well, let's mark this spot. Ugh… this area is in the corner. It'll probably be the first to collapse. We should report it to Marissa immediately," Cecile muttered, barely containing her enthusiasm.
Hiro sighed at how terrible her lying skills were.
"Cecile, stop smiling," Rebecca rolled her eyes.
After a bit more searching, Hiro found traces of iron rust within the rocks. Extracting it, he shaped it into iron ore and handed it over to Rebecca.
"This is iron ore! Yay!" Cecile cheered.
"Hm… I think I saw some rocks like these in the previous dungeon. Could there have been iron there, too?" Nana wondered aloud.
She was right. In medieval times, people didn't know how to extract iron from iron sand. Despite iron being the most abundant metal on Earth, only specific ores, such as hematite, were recognized. Iron-rich sand mixed with clay and other sediments—like what they had just discovered—was often overlooked.
Hiro continued searching and found some coal and then tin. With their ticket back to Quantora village secured, Cecile eagerly offered to carry all the loot. The group retraced their steps, heading home.
"I'm getting hungry again. Let's eat at a restaurant before heading to the next dungeon tomorrow," Cecile said, munching on dry bread. She loathed it, but hunger won out.
"Are you okay eating that much?" Rebecca asked.
"I don't think I've gained weight… Do I look fat?" Cecile asked Nana.
Nana shook her head. "Of course not."
Hiro took several measures to keep their bodies at his desirable levels, even using his skills when necessary. Moreover, their nightly "exercise" ensured they stayed in peak physical condition.
"It's ticklish! Stop!" Rebecca giggled as Hiro teased her ears.
The return trip was dull, and Hiro had nothing to do, so he decided to entertain himself by playing with his girls.
Before long, they arrived back in Quantora Village, where the guards greeted them.
"Huh? You're back already? That was quick. It's only been a day, hasn't it?"
"We finished a dungeon. There were some valuable minerals there that we wanted Marissa to look at. We plan to clear the other one tomorrow," Rebecca replied, showing the guards the mana crystal and ores.
The guard tilted his head. "Huh? Was checking minerals part of your mission? Couldn't you have just sent some miners after you finished?"
"Well, our symbiote is a production type, so they asked us to consult with Marissa about it," Rebecca explained, looking away slightly as she fumbled for an excuse.
"Ah, I see. I completely forgot about that. Your symbiotes are certainly unique. My apologies—I've never met a production-type symbiote before. Please, come in." The guard stepped aside, allowing them to enter.
After reporting to Marissa, she wasted no time organizing a group of miners and soldiers to accompany them as guards.
Once they had rested at a nearby inn, Cecile and her team set out to explore the second dungeon.