Chapter 16: Dungeon conquest?
"--!"
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"Hmph!"
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AAAAAAHHHHH!!?
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Gyua!?
Geh gya gya!
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My arrow, fired in a surprise attack, hit the Newt Dragon. However, because I was in a bad position and couldn't aim at its vital point, I wasn't able to kill it in one hit, the holy fmes are burning down its back, but it was still alive... Perhaps the effect was weakened by the Newt Dragon's water attribute.
The rge amount of holy water that Uru threw was also extremely effective, and the monster house was transformed into a hell of screams and chaos.
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"Uru, let's retreat!"
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"I know."
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The monsters that had escaped our initial surprise attack noticed us and started chasing us with a roar. Up to this point, everything was going according to pn.
However, the strengthened monsters were faster than expected, and I was on the verge of being caught.
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"I won't let that happen!"
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When a goblin tried to reach out its hand to my back, Uru kicked it away just in time. She didn't just hit that one monster, but also kicked the monsters behind it, giving us some time to run.
Thank you! I didn't have the time to say it out loud, so I thanked her in my mind and continued running to our destination.
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"Rion, just a little bit more, keep running!"
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With Regulus' encouragement, I somehow managed to run through the stone block passage safely. Uru followed soon after, and as a monster gave chase, Liese stabbed it in the head with her spear.
However, a monster contaminated by miasma would not die from just that much. Liese was shocked and frozen as the monster continued to move even after losing its head. But Regulus quickly came to her aid and everything ended fine.
Regulus was still cking in many areas, but it seemed he was steadily learning. I'm kind of happy about that.
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"Liese, they're pretty tough, so go for the magic stone if you can!"
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"Y-yes...!"
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I gave her a warning, taking a deep breath to calm my breathing that had become irregur from sprinting, while reconfirming the situation.
The nd route ahead seemed fine. The narrowing of the passage was worth it, as only two goblins could get in at once. We were able to deal with them with Regulus's and Liese's spears, which had been coated with holy water. Occasionally a worm would attack from above, flexing its body like a whip, but I would shoot it down with my bow, and while it stubbornly started thrashing around on the ground, Liese would finish it off.
As expected, the archerfish were coming from the waterway, but they charged forward without noticing the net and got tangled up in it, before they could move, and Fricka used magic to unch them up, which I shot down. However, because they are strengthened, the net looked like it was about to tear. Let's set it back up and... Now it's okay.
Several monsters were approaching from behind, but they were all monsters with low miasma, and were easily crushed by Uru's bare hands.
Yep, everything was going smoothly.
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Was it taking advantage of the opportunity I took to take a sigh, or was it just a coincidence?
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Goooaaaahhh!
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The Newt dragon, whose enormous size prevented it from passing through the narrow passageway, spat out poison with the force of a pressure washer, taking its allied(?) monsters with it.
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"Ugh?!"
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"Ahhhh!"
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"Regulus! Liese!"
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The two who were fighting the monsters in the front were hit head-on.
The monsters were acting as shields and the power of the poison was reduced, but no matter how much they had taken measures to protect themselves from the poison, the damage would still be great with that force. They couldn't withstand it and colpsed.
What's more, the miasma-contaminated monsters were able to move as long as their magic stones were intact, even if their arms were torn off or holes were torn in their bodies. Some of them seemed to be dead, with their magic stones shattered, but many were still able to move, and now that the obstacles in their way had stopped moving they have the chance to seize the opportunity to unch a pursuit attack
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"Wind Wall!"
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Just in the nick of time, Fricka managed to deflect the blow them away with a wind wall she had cast.
In the meantime, I threw out an LP potion and an antidote potion, then switched from my bow to a spear to fill the gap and stood in the monsters way to protect the two.
At that moment, the Newt Dragon came into view, seeming to be irritated and about to spit another poison breath.
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"If I can see it, there's no way that I'd let you!"
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I took out many stone blocks crushing the goblins in the process, to use as makeshift shields. Though they were just stone, they were quite thick, and although there was a loud scraping sound on the other side of the stone wall, it wasn't enough to penetrate the blocks.
As I was defending myself, I heard the sound of Uru dragging the two backwards.
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"Uru, how are they?"
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"They don't seem to be able to move right away, but I don't think they'll be fine."
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That's good. I can breathe a sigh of relief.
I throw more LP potions behind me and stab the monsters that are trying to climb over the stone wall.
Oh no, the Newt dragon hasn't given up yet, I can hear the scraping sound again. Let's put some more stone blocks down. However, this is a double-edged sword that will draw in more monsters, and it's getting to the point where there are almost no monsters left other than the Newt dragon.
But I can't afford to be leisurely, I have to defeat it before it does something unthinkable.
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"Fricka, please begin chanting the Sacred Earth Lance spell. I'll put the stone blocks away as soon as you activate it."
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"Understood. Oh, Holy Light--"
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As the name suggests, Sacred Earth Lance is a magic that fires a spear imbued with earth and holy attributes. Since earth is a strong attribute against water, I'm hoping this will be more effective than Sacred Fire.
But even so, Fricka has really grown a lot, too. When I first met her, a single Sacred Fire spell would drain her MP to zero and she would pass out, but now, although she can't use it repeatedly, she can withstand a few uses and she no longer loses consciousness easily.
That's because I overworked her? Yes, that's right, I'm sorry.
Oops, while I was thinking about other things, the incantation is about to finish. I need to get the timing right.
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"--Become a steel spear that pierces evil power. Sacred Earth Lance!"
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GAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!
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The spear, glittering with holy light, was fired, beautifully creating a hole in the upper body of the Newt Dragon!
Great! Just as I was about to cheer with joy, Uru warned me.
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"He's still alive!"
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"Damn... The magic stone is in his lower body...!"
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Even so, without his head he can't spit out the poison, so his threat level should be greatly reduced. I ran towards the Newt Dragon to find the location of the magic stone and deliver the final blow.
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"Rion!"
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However, before I could reach him, Uru's voice stopped me, and a chill ran down my spine, causing me to instantly stop and jump back.
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GRUAAAAAAHH!
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A small Newt Dragon -- probably one that hadn't yet turned into a boss -- spat poisonous liquid from above.
That was close, if I'd kept running I would have been hit...!
Luckily, it was within reach of my spear, so I stabbed it down, and after gncing around above to make sure there were no other ambushes, I headed back towards the Newt Dragon, being careful of the poisonous liquid that was scattered along with its body fluids... well, it took a while, but my poison resistance negated it, and although it was clumsy, I stabbed the sacred fire arrow directly into the magic stone with my own hands, killing it for sure this time.
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Once the guardians were gone, the rest was easy.
Still cautious, I approached the core, purified it with the holy stone, and sprinkled holy water on it to complete the purification.
... Haa, I am gd that it didn't end up being a painful purification challenge like when we faced Zephyrus. This is underground, so I can't just drop a lightning here.
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As the core was purified, the miasma ceased to occur, and the dungeon was conquered.
