(122)
＜ 20. In the name of my father (3) ＞
The fire spirit did not intend to sit still and face death .
The spirit’s body glowed with an even redder light. The flames leaking out between the half-shattered bodies blazed as if they would consume everything at any moment. It was a sign that a pattern of berserkness was about to begin .
“ Kurrr !”
Andrea snorted. It was a pointless outburst. The power gap was so obvious that no matter how much the fire spirit struggled, it couldn’t be narrowed .
However, there was a risk that Trisha and Emilia would get hurt if they were left to scatter the sparks at will. Andrea accelerated her approaching steps and concentrated her strength into her fiery fist .
Unlike the flames of the spirits, the black flames of shadows did not emit light, but rather absorbed the surrounding light. The energy of the shadows converged into a black dot and pulsated as if it would explode at any moment. Andrea threw a clenched fist at the fire spirit at once .
Black flames spread like fireworks !
Quagaceae family –
Fur-huh !
“ Cruck !”
The flames of the shadow consumed the flames of the spirits. The armor had already melted beyond recognition. He struggled to subdue the flames attached to his body, but it was too late. A fire spirit that is gradually being engulfed in darkness .
In the end, fire spirits die by burning, and for a spirit made of fire, they met a very strange death .
After a while, the effect of the ‘Shadow Imprint’ wore off and the flames subsided. A battle that ended before even playing with hands. I expected it to be like this after seeing the increased ability, but the feeling was different when I experienced it myself .
‘ With this much strength, I’m sure there won’t be any hardships in the dungeon from now on .’
I had to let you know that the job was done. Andrea smiled proudly and waved at the party. The bright appearance was contrasted with the appearance of mercilessly slaughtering the spirits, causing a sense of discord .
Trisha, who was watching the scene from a distance, laughed half in amazement and half in vain .
“ It turned… I don’t even know who the monster is now .”
“ I, I, decided. Ah, I will not be rude to people with big fists in the future …”
Trisha turned her head and glared at Mimic .
“… Does that mean you’re going to keep flirting with me ?”
“ A wild man, at least he’s easygoing. Seo, if you had a bad personality, the Mimic would already be powdered .”
Mimic runs away with her long limbs struggling, and Trisha chases after her and fires an arrow. Emilia was breaking out in a cold sweat and holding back Tricia .
Andrea let out a small laugh because it was absurd. Without looking at it, I could clearly guess what had happened .
*
‘[ Unique] Necklace containing flame (equipment card): Necklace containing the pure energy of flame (Immune to frostbite and ignition status ailments )’
‘[ Unique] Arrow of Heat ++ (3 Cost): Creates an arrow that causes a massive explosion when hit .’
Just because you caught it easily didn’t mean the reward was bad. Emilia and Trisha received a reward worthy of capturing the fire spirit. However, since it was a reward obtained without doing anything, I felt sorry for Andrea .
Still, unable to give the card to someone else, Trisha had no choice but to put the reward into the deck. On the other hand, Emilia stubbornly insisted that Andrea should have this necklace .
“ Andrea-sama… No, Andrea, it’s you who goes out and fights every time. I didn’t do anything on this floor, and I think you’ll need it more than I do .”
“ So even if you don’t need it… I’m immune to damage three times with ‘Lunar Eclipse Hermit’s Outfit’, and my resistance is already over 200. Emilia, what resistance do you have right now ?”
Resistance is an ability that covers not only physical damage, but also immunity to various status ailments and elemental damage. Since the resistance was 200, it was clear that Andrea would not even nod in the slightest abnormal condition .
Emilia, who secretly took out her status card and looked into it, had a sullen expression. Her resistance was extremely low compared to Andrea’s .
“113…”
“ Oh my God, 113? Because 50 went up thanks to Arpan’s iron cage, isn’t it originally 63? If it’s that low, you’ll catch fire just by eating hot soup in a hurry? Don’t talk nonsense, put it on quickly .”
“ Huh . . .”
Even after saying that, Emilia hesitated while holding the necklace in her hand. Andrea had no choice but to snatch the necklace and put it directly on Emilia’s neck .
It was only after Andrea walked away that she felt like Oops. It was because of walking right in front of her, as if she were hugging Emilia. When I looked to the side, Trisha was making a bad expression .
“ What are you doing to the priest, Andrea !”
“ No, uh… Damn it. I’m sorry, priest .”
Embarrassed, as in the old days, honorific words came out. Hearing those words, Emilia also said honorifics to Andrea at the same time .
“ Oh, no. Thanks, no, that’s not it… it doesn’t matter… Oh no. I’m okay. It doesn’t matter, Andrea .”
Emilia hurriedly hesitated for a long time before finally finishing her words. Both cheeks were already flushed red. Later, while fiddling with the necklace, I lowered my head and couldn’t even make eye contact. Andrea also shamelessly scratched the back of her head .
Tricia, who was looking at that scene, opened her eyes wide open as if she was displeased with something .
“ By the way, since when did you become close with the priest over words like this? You spoke with respect until just a short time ago .”
“… Trisha. You were the first among us to talk to Emilia .”
“ What? When will I . . .”
Tricia blurts out her words as if she’s picking something up while trying to argue. The memory of being drunk on the 79th floor after drinking whiskey and wine vaguely flashed through my mind. Mimic interrupted the conversation, perhaps at this point .
“ I heard it too. He said that since he is older, you can talk comfortably, frostbite .”
“…”
“ Wow, I even asked people with big fists if they were handsome and in good shape .”
“…”
“ A bowman, a human special, shuts up when he is at a disadvantage .”
” Hey, dog …”
Andrea interceded just before Tricia and Mimic were about to go after them once more. It seems like that’s what it’s like to fight each other, but if it was like that every time, it would be too much of a waste of energy .
Anyway, at the end of the twists and turns, I was about to finish the reward distribution and go to the next floor, but Mimic was staring at Andrea. Inside the box, her round eyes shone exceptionally brightly. Her eyes were full of anticipation that she might be given something for herself as well .
Andrea burst out laughing and took out the gold coin she got as a reward .
“ Yeah, you too
Read from noble mtl dot com
Now that we’re in our group, we’ll have to give them something when they clear the floor .”
“ Go, thank you .”
“ Did you know how to say honorifics ?”
“ Three, isn’t life like that …?”
Ignoring the ridiculous stares, Mimick began chewing on the gold coins. A mimic that chews gold coins well with its razor-sharp teeth. In fact, Andrea intended to give Mimic all the gold coins Gregory had left for Mimic, even if it wasn’t a reward .
However, Andrea’s eyes narrowed at some point while looking at Mimic. Andrea staring at the Mimic with her chin on her chin. Mimick wondered if he had done something wrong, then chewed on a gold coin and asked .
“ Why, why do you do that ?”
“ No… Um, wait .”
Andrea took out a handful of gold coins from her subspace pocket. Mimic’s eyes widened as he saw the brilliant light .
“ Would you like some more of this? I have something to check .”
“ You can double-check .”
“ No, once is enough .”
Mimic regretted it, but as if she couldn’t help it, she licked her lips and chewed on the gold coin she was handed to her. Andrea’s stare continues again. The moment Mimic finally chewed up all the gold coins, Andrea approached Mimic .
‘ It wasn’t an illusion either .’
It’s a subtle difference, but the blade teeth grew more. The limbs were also slightly thicker than before eating. Actually, Mimic was confused as to why he was suddenly touching himself .
‘··· In the game, the mimic didn’t get stronger just because it gave more gold coins, did it ?
Like a deceased person who has committed all sorts of eccentricities, Andrea had the experience of throwing away all the gold she had on the Mimic because she was curious if there was going to be any special event. As a result, for a long time, all I could see was the Mimic happily eating gold .
‘··· The same goes for the number of floors you skipped, and it certainly doesn’t seem like an ordinary mimic .’
In any case, it was certain that giving this mimic a gold coin would make it stronger. However, the gold I fed to Mimic was only about 2,000 gold. If you can only see a little change with this much investment, it wasn’t very cost-effective, but .
‘··· Later, if the gold rots and becomes useless, I can give it to Mimic .’
It’s unfortunate for Mimic, but right now, I’m not rich enough to waste gold like that, so I promised the future. Without explanation, as Andrea kept making a serious expression, the anxious Mimic asked in a trembling voice .
“ What, is there a problem ?”
“ Well, it’s nothing. Never mind .”
Having said something that made her nervous, Andrea tapped the cover of the Mimic. Somehow, I felt like I had obtained the final content that I could continue to nurture even after doing everything I could .
*
“ Um, this place… I don’t know what floor it is on …”
Emilia looked at the map and grumbled. There was no fork in the road, and there was no special indicator, so Andrea and the others ended up in an unknown space on which floor they were on .
The bricks, the floor, and the surroundings were examined carefully, but Andrea could not get any clues. The door to enter is also an ordinary wooden door. So I had no choice but to go in and check it out for myself .
“ Let’s go for now .”
Andrea took the lead and entered first. What greeted him was an unexpected fork in the road .
“ Hmm ?”
“… Huh ?”
Trisha and Emilia, who had followed, also made absurd expressions like Andrea’s. Trisha looked back at the door she had just passed through to see if there had been a mistake .
“ Andrea, uh… is this not a door leading into a room, but just a door in the middle of the aisle ?”
“… that’s not going to happen. There has never been a door in the middle of the aisle before, right ?”
If so, the fact that there was a fork in the road itself must have been an event in this room. Andrea also had never experienced an event like this in the shape of the room. Andrea carefully examines each entrance .
The same pattern was painted over both entrances. A mark representing an elite monster, and the number 2 next to it. As soon as Andrea saw it, she knew what kind of event this was .
‘ This can’t be …’
If his predictions are correct, this was a really bad event. Andrea told the party, hoping that her prediction would be wrong .
“ Everyone, follow me .”
Everyone followed Andrea as she entered the right entrance. However, Trisha went inside without incident, but Emilia and Mimic couldn’t go inside as if they were blocked by an invisible wall .
Andrea realized that her prediction was correct .
‘··· There was no multiplayer in the game, so there was no way I could have experienced an event like this .’
Andrea came out of the entrance again and told the party what she had found out .
“ See the picture over there over the entrance ?”
A nod in agreement .
“ The elite monster mark literally means that there are elite monsters, and the number next to it will limit the number of people who can enter there .”
Realizing what it meant, everyone in the party widened their eyes. Tricia throws a question in a slightly trembling voice .
” So you’re saying we have to split in half ?”
“ It is .”
Andrea had predicted that an event like this could someday appear. It was a thought I had while preaching about the dangers of giving rewards to one challenger when I met Crusader Johanna in the arena before .
‘ Considering the viciousness of the dungeon, it’s an event that should have happened. Considering the intention of making multiplayer possible, I wouldn’t want a picture where one overwhelmingly strong challenger keeps carrying the entire incompetent party …’
The standard way to get through such a room would be to split the party in half according to abilities and roles. However, the more I thought about it, the more sophisticated the room was .
Read from noble mtl dot com
Not all parties have the right balance of power. In a party where the balance of power is greatly tilted, the weak will try their best to be with the strong, and even the strong, who have monopolized the rewards so far, can vomit on the weak .
It is not an exaggeration to say that the malicious intentions of the design are clearly revealed .
The problem was that Andrea’s party was also on the side of the balance of power .
Of course, abandoning someone in the group is an option that Andrea doesn’t even consider. If so, how should the group be divided ?
Read from noble mtl dot com
Needless to say, the greatest power of Andrea and the others is Andrea. As we experimented earlier, the Mimic was also recognized as a challenger, so the weakest party would have to go with Andrea .
Only one conclusion could be drawn .
“ Tricia, Emilia. I guess the two of us should do it together. I’ll go with Mimic .”
＜ 20. In the name of the father (3) ＞ end