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＜ 14. Unclean Creature (7) ＞ Since he was equipped with the
‘ Ring of Eternal Training’, it was clear that Vinemouth would have superior stats than when he just faced it. Because of this, Andrea decided to approach with caution. As in the previous room, the strategy of shutting up and ripping off the head was to be avoided .
Once I checked the drawn card. Mana boost,
Defensive strikes, strikes, card collection. Let’s use the card collection first, and with the effect of ‘Ring of Beginning’, we were able to see 4 additional cards .
So what came out was Leap, Strike, Fortitude, and Defense. Only cards that weren’t that important came out, but I decided to be content with compressing the deck. Andrea simply used fortitude .
“ Skin of steel !”
Emilia’s buff that increases resistance. Trisha also used a card and fired a series of arrows at the flowers .
Wedge! Wedge !
puck! Puck !
A creeper that stretches out vines to protect flowers. Originally, Trisha’s strengthened arrows would have pierced the vines at once, but the resistance increased so much that they only got stuck in the stems .
Meanwhile, Andrea was diligently pruning the vines around her .
‘ To attack the weak point, you have to approach it with the flower bud, but if you do that, you’ll risk two people who are vulnerable in close combat. Let’s focus on arranging the vines until we can call Marco .’
The vines were clearly moving to tie their hands and feet together, rather than rushing at them randomly. Proof that the intelligence of the Vine Angler, or the nature as a predator, is by no means low. Andrea tore off the vines to avoid the target .
‘ Even though it’s a bit tough, it’s not something I can tear off with my own strength …’
The problem was that the vines began to regenerate as soon as they were plucked. Green juice seemed to flow from the torn off section, and soon a new vine grew from within. The regenerative power of this vine was the main culprit that made Vine Maw’s strategy difficult .
’ There is no limit to the amount of magic that can be regenerated like a shadow beast on this vine. If you just pluck it out blindly, you’ll just become a human weeder who can’t rest forever …’
Players usually assumed that if a section was burned, it would no longer play. Given that the opponent is a plant, that is the most intuitive and common sense strategy .
However, the developers have dug a rather malicious trap. When dealing with Vinemouth’s vines, no matter what, fire was not to be used. Because if you burn the sap in the vine, it burns creating deadly poisonous vapors .
There was only one way to safely suppress the vine’s regeneration. Admiral Yidok (以毒制毒), solidifying the cross section of the vine through ‘Bleeding Poison Potion’ .
Andrea had given Emilia instructions in advance .
“ Priest !”
“ Yes !”
Andrea put the whole vine that had been torn off between her forearms and pushed it towards Emilia. Emilia carefully poured the hemorrhagic poison potion over it. The vine trembled as if salt had been sprinkled on a wound, but soon it calmed down and stopped regenerating .
‘ It’s been a long time. I’m finally using this .’
It was a blood poison potion obtained by killing a ghoul on the 33rd floor. I didn’t know if I might face a vine angler, so I didn’t use it and stocked it up, but it was a moment when I thought I did well .
I took advantage of the gap where the vines were organized to some extent and pulled out a card. Summon Marco, Curse of the Necronomicon, Shadow Strike, and Defense. Andrea was reluctant and used it to summon Marco first .
“ Crush the remaining vines, Mr. Marco !”
“ No problem .”
Marco swings his hammer at the vines with furious momentum .
bang! Kwa-ang! bang !
Actually, sharp weapons are more likely to be eaten than blunt weapons, so the compatibility wasn’t very good, but it wasn’t a big problem because Marco almost crushed the vines as if to squeeze green juice .
In the meantime, Andrea rushed toward the bud. Seeing the ground wriggling, I leaped lightly to evade the vines rising from the ground, then grabbed the vines that were approaching to grab my waist and tore them off .
“ Kyrrr! Koo-wook, Ku-uk .”
Between the lump of the vine and the flower bud, the part that would have been called the neck of the neck if it were an animal gurgled .
“ Aww! Aww !”
“ Kirrr! Key !”
Soon, tentacle-like young vines protruded from their snouts, like mollusks. It was a bizarre breeding method that was hard to find without a monster, no, even among monsters .
‘ What should I say about that… To put it bluntly, should I call it the budding method ?’
“ Keee !”
As soon as they finished walking, the little vine anglers open their mouths and fearlessly run towards Andrea. The one that came first kicked it away, and the one that came next grabbed the petals and tore them in half .
Trisha’s help followed one after another. The arrow that flew through the vines was stuck in the muzzle of the young vinemouth. It must have been a bad situation to shoot arrows because of the many obstacles, but Trisha’s skill at shooting at an angle through the gap was also unusual .
As the youngsters fell helplessly, Vinemouth swung the vine like a whip and attacked Andrea in a pincer attack. It seemed that he had given up on the method of restraining himself with vines as he would be torn apart as he approached .
However, Andrea avoids the vines lightly as if jumping rope and limbo. It was so big that it moved as much as its size, so it was clear how it would move without the shadow imprint. His foot got twisted in the middle and he got hit, but even that was nullified by the ghosting effect, so Andrea didn’t get a single minor injury .
It came to the front of the flower bud before I knew it. Up close, it was even bigger and more hideous. Andrea was not intimidated at all. If the flower buds came, it was no different from the angler of the vine revealing its weakness .
‘ The crevice of the flower bud, this is the first weakness of Vinemouth .’
Andrea raised the blade of her hand through the gap and inserted it like a dagger. This part was so tender that even a weak attack could cause fatal damage. Andrea thought that if she pierced her hand with her own level of strength, it would be no different than piercing a giant greatsword, so she would be able to penetrate it completely .
However, Andrea’s fingertips stopped digging shallowly. Andrea’s body froze for a moment with embarrassment. Taking advantage of that opportunity, the Vine Angler opened its reddish snout and tried to bite it .
Thanks to ghosting, I barely evaded again. Thinking it would be impossible to dodge all of the consecutive attacks, Andrea stepped aside .
‘ I didn’t expect this again. I never thought that the strength of the weak points would increase .’
In the game, even if an enemy’s stats increase, there is no such thing as a weak point being strengthened together. It was an embarrassing moment for Andrea, who thoroughly followed the strategy of the game .
However, it wasn’t long before Andrea regained her composure, as she was not unaware that this world was not exactly the same as the game .
‘ Actually, the weaker point than the flower bud gap is the protrusion on the inside of the snout… It won’t be easy to open the snout without being bitten by those teeth .’
Marco’s hammering, which helped the shadow beast’s extraction, would solve it smoothly, but unfortunately, Marco couldn’t leave the rest of the party .
‘… But that doesn’t mean there isn’t a way .’
Andrea first ran behind the big tree behind the vine. The vines swayed and chased after them, but thanks to Marco and Emilia’s hard work, there were quite a few vines that were blocked from regenerating, and the number of them was not so large. By tearing it apart as you can see, a gap was created to take a breather .
I drew a card. Two divinity cards glowing pitch-black were drawn in quick succession .
I drew 12 cards from a deck that only had
14 cards, but these two were lying underneath, so I had no luck with draws. If I had these two cards out from the start, maybe I would be able to immediately destroy the Vine Maw without wasting time .
Andrea used Shadow Imprint and Shadow Concealment without delay .
Pain digging into the back of the hand and the sensation of the whole body sinking into the shadows. The power of the shadow god enveloped Andrea. In particular, the one with more concentrated power was his own hands .
Andrea’s gaze turned to her fist. As if to show off, the gauntlet began to show strange changes .
The iron plates surrounding the fingers became even thicker, and cone-shaped spikes protruded from the knuckles. The iron armor that was padded beyond the wrist area seemed to be rearranged, and then the tip soared up, creating a certain gap. Like open gills .
Soon, black flames fluttered out from the gap. The heat, like a dragon exhaling, transferred along the solid iron plate. Even if he swung lightly, the flame accelerated and his fist extended at high speed .
This is the special effect of ‘Nara’s grip’ caused by shadow imprinting .
It was the true form of the weapon Khalisis bestowed upon his faithful apostle .
‘ Anything like this, it’s almost like a rocket punch .’
Andrea clashed fist and fist. Right after that, he confidently rushed towards the Vine Maw .
Thanks to shadow hiding, I was able to approach the flower buds right away without being hindered by the vines. Andrea took a breath and threw her arms back wide .
The compressed power exploded at once. A rushing punch that draws an oblique line of flame in the air .
Kwagwagwagwa and !
Quaang !
“ Kyareuk, keek, keek !”
It was a shock like being hit straight by a bullet. The lump supporting the bud was dented, and the large body of the Vine Maw fell completely backwards. Dark green bodily fluid flowed from the mouth of the vine that fell to the ground .
Andrea leaped high into the air. It settles easily on top of the flower buds. Vinemouth tried to protect its snout by closing the petals, but the petals quickly turned into rags from the rough tearing .
bang – !
A series of attacks leading to the muzzle. As expected, the resistance was quite high, so it was difficult to break all the teeth at once. Andrea continued to punch .
bang! bang! bang !
“ Kyaar, kyahaak ….”
As expected, he didn’t have the talent to withstand the repeated hits. The strongest predator in the jungle suddenly became a toothless tiger .
Without hesitation, he thrust his hand into his snout. The sticky and unpleasant moisture unique to huge plants rose up quickly, but if you endured it for a while, it would end soon .
Andrea grabbed the protrusions on her snout and concentrated her strength to eject shadow flames from her gauntlet. Literally, the burning pain in his throat caused Vinemouth to go mad and start to go mad .
“ Queueek! Quack !”
Even so, Andrea did not let go of her hand holding the bump. Black steam rising from the snout. Later, it almost became a vine-mouth spewing black flames .
For a while. Soon the flames in the gauntlets died out. If you engrave the shadow imprint, ‘Narak’s grip’ shows explosive output, but the drawback is that it does not last long and only activates when you first imprint it .
‘ To be honest, if the duration was long or it could be used consecutively, it would have been too much of a loss of balance .’
But right now, it didn’t matter. It was after the vine had already turned into a charred briquette .
Finally, he removed his hand from his snout and looked around. Numerous vines growing from the lumps were also turning yellow and crumbling. Evidence that it has definitely cut off its breath without any room for regeneration .
Andrea rubbed the bodily fluid from her gauntlet on the flower petals and slowly walked towards the party .
“ Is anyone hurt ?”
“ The priest is slightly injured, but not serious .”
“ Oh, I’m fine! If you use this tidy treatment card, you will get well soon .”
Except for a slight bruise on Emilia’s forearm, fortunately no one was hurt. Compared to the previous rooms, I was worried that someone would get hurt because the level of difficulty rapidly increased, but it was a very good result .
‘ If elite monsters are at this level, I’ll be able to fight them with the Ring of Eternal Training in the future .’
After checking the injured, Andrea took out her status card to see how much her level had risen .
[ Name: Andrea ]
[ Class: Shadow Apostle ]
[ Level : 65]
[ Max Mana : 2]
[ Strength : 105 + 76]
[ Magic Power : 76]
[ Resistance : 71 – 5]
[ Luck : 68]
[ Quirky: None ]
At level
63 , the level went up by 2 at once, probably because the experience was filled right before the level up. Considering that it was after the second job change, it was an incredible growth rate .
‘ Performance sure. It’s worth raising the difficulty level .’
For a while, this record-breaking growth would not stop. Andrea put the status card back in with a satisfied smile .
‘ I’ll have to check the reward once .’
The reward was also expected as it was for catching an elite monster. Andrea and the others recklessly approach the treasure chest given to them. However, the reactions of the three people who opened the treasure chest were different .
Embarrassment for Andrea, puzzlement for Emilia, and admiration for Trisha were displayed on each face .
＜ 14. Foul Creatures (7) ＞ End