novelraw Chapter 69 : The Sewers (1)
Chapter 69 : The Sewers (1)
Chapter 69: The Sewers (1)
What an enormous size.
A Double-Headed Serpent.
A boa constrictor over fifteen meters long, with two heads, revealed itself.
“Shhhheeehhht!”
“Chweeeek!”
Bursting out of the water, the Double-Headed Serpent devoured two people at once, flicking its tongue as it eyed its next prey.
Upon its appearance, both [Stiffness] and [Fear] effects were triggered.
With the water already up to their waists, this was truly the worst possible enemy.
‘An adult specimen… and it only eats grown men, forming a special variant.’
It had 90% resistance against physical attacks.
Unless one could wield Sword Aura or Aura Blade, normal strikes or cold weapons were useless.
But Gluttony wouldn’t have any knowledge about raising monsters.
Even the Requiem Cult, as well-versed in monsters as they were, would not have managed something like this.
Something was behind it.
Something quite ominous.
“B-behind us!”
“Damn it! Tanks, move now!”
Screams erupted in every direction.
The serpent had chosen to strike the rearmost line, where the Dealers and Supporters were positioned, causing heavy casualties.
[Gibson activates the skill ‘Delicious Smell’!]
[Lee Youngwook activates the Unique Ability ‘Indomitable Shield’!]
Provocation and defensive abilities triggered one after another.
Tearing open scrolls and gulping down potions, they fought desperately to protect the rear line.
“Kahahaha! That’s a nice texture!”
Rodbrock unleashed [Double Strike], swinging his axe madly at the serpent’s body.
The sheer power from his muscles exploded in full force.
However—
Puff!
Puk!
His axe slid off uselessly.
“Rodbrock! Axes don’t work on that thing! Focus on defense!”
“If it doesn’t work, that just means I’m not hitting hard enough! And when strength is lacking, I’ll make up for it with grit and passion!”
No, seriously. That’s not how it works!
The Double-Headed Serpent, seemingly annoyed, swung its tail violently.
Kwaaaang!
“Guhhhaa!”
Rodbrock was sent flying, half-embedded into the sewer wall.
Seeing his limbs twitch, at least it didn’t look fatal.
Still, a throbbing headache was already coming on.
“Uwaaaahhh!”
In that chaos, a precious Healer was swallowed whole into the serpent’s gullet.
If this kept up, it would be over soon.
Yohan summoned both Fireball and Ice Spear simultaneously.
He then enhanced the spells through Blood Reinforcement—
—and fired.
Pupupupuff!
The fireballs and ice spears struck both of the serpent’s heads directly.
“Keeeeeek!”
It might have near-immunity to physical damage, but it was instead vulnerable to magic.
For the first time, the serpent writhed violently in agony.
“Magic! We need to use magic!”
“Don’t waste arrows—start casting now!”
The magic-type Hunters immediately counterattacked.
Waves of colorful mana surged, filling the dark sewers with radiant light.
Pupupupung!
Kwaaaang!
Direct hits.
However—
“Kiiiiii…”
“Keeeeeh…”
The effect was still faint.
Even for magic attacks, results varied greatly depending on which part was targeted and with what element.
‘The left head is weak to fire, and the right has low resistance to cold.’
Thanks to the ‘Bleeding’ effect limiting its natural regeneration, they could keep up.
Still, every small effort added up.
With over ten people unleashing magic continuously, weak spots began to show.
At this rate, they might finish it off without it transitioning into Phase 2.
“Push it!”
“Just a little more! Hold on!”
Dozens of Hunters moved with desperate precision.
Kwaaaang!
Tu-kwaaaang!
“Gaaaaaahhh!”
“S-save me!”
Even in the chaos, the damage continued to grow.
Already, more than six had died, and over ten others suffered serious or minor injuries.
“Let there be light!”
“May the blessing of nature be with you.”
Healers and Priests chanted with sweat dripping down their faces.
No matter what else happened, if the Tank line fell, everything would be over.
‘Not yet.’
Yohan’s gaze swept across the Hunters.
That persistent sense of unease he had been feeling—
He had deliberately been controlling his damage output to identify the cause, but at this rate, they were about to enter Phase 2.
And at that moment—
Shiver!
The air shifted violently.
The Double-Headed Serpent, its entire body now dyed red with blood, had finally decided not to feast, but to eradicate the nuisance before it.
Phase 2.
Upon entering this phase, the Double-Headed Serpent would, without fail, activate its Unique Ability.
[The Double-Headed Serpent activates its Unique Ability ‘Acid Breath’!]
Pzzzt!
Green spheres began to form in both of the serpent’s mouths.
He didn’t want to face that breath attack in such a narrow passage, but there was no avoiding it now.
“Damn it all!”
“B-breath? Isn’t that a Dragon-only ability?”
“Uwaaaa! We have to dodge!”
Terrified screams erupted from the solo Hunters.
Of course, compared to a true Dragon’s Breath, this was nothing more than an inferior imitation.
Even so—
The serpent’s breath was powerful enough to kill even those who possessed February’s Constellation Rank.
It seemed the Twin Sword Guild was preparing something, but there was no time to pay attention to that.
“Everyone, gather over here!”
Yohan quickly rallied the group together.
“Kuhahaha! Gathering up like that before a breath attack… what a disgrace for warriors—”
“Brother, just shut your mouth for once!”
[Equipping ‘Acid Raincoat’!]
[Resistance against Acid Attacks increases by +50%!]
An item more overpowered than most mid-level traits or skills.
Against acid-based attacks, it was practically A-rank.
It was like the combined blessing of the Saintess and all the Priests had been imbued into it.
Then, Yohan brought out the items he had taken from the three Tamers in the Ice Cave.
[Using ‘Goblin’s Sewing Set’!]
[Using ‘Repetimune’s Silk Cloth (1kg)’!]
[Summoning ‘5 Low-tier Leprechaun Workers’!]
When used together, these three items temporarily expanded the size of ‘cloth’ and ‘leather’ equipment by 500%.
This required speed and delicate craftsmanship.
‘Let’s see if I still have the touch.’
The 444th run.
That was when he had dreamed of conquering the fashion industry with sheer design power.
Under André Kwon’s tutelage, he had learned everything—from threading needles to attaching wings to shoulders.
Of course, it had been useless for clearing any episodes, and he had been eliminated early on. But that experience hadn’t been for nothing.
‘All experiences and memories from every run are inherited.’
For the final run.
To survive, and this time, to see the end of this world.
Snip! Snip!
The scissors danced swiftly.
The Acid Raincoat expanded in an instant to a size that could fit six or seven people.
The first line of defense was complete.
Next—
[Retrieving ‘Shield of the Cave Troll Tribe’!]
A massive barrier woven from the shields once used by twenty-four Cave Trolls.
“Rodbrock!”
“Leave it to me!”
Rodbrock, positioned at the front, gripped the shield tightly and flexed every muscle in his body.
A Tanker’s virtue was aggro control and rear protection.
The Viking warrior, blessed with Lagertha’s Primitive Blessing, let out a fierce battle cry.
And at almost the exact same moment—
Kwakwaaaang!
The breath engulfed the entire sewer.
An overwhelming pain struck—an inferno hot enough to sear through his throat and lungs entirely.
1 second… 2 seconds. 3 seconds.
The breath didn’t stop.
[The durability of ‘Shield of the Cave Troll Tribe’ decreases by 50%!]
[‘Acid Raincoat’ suffers severe damage.]
10 seconds. 20 seconds….
“Ghhhhh….”
“Aaaaaahhh!”
Screams began to fade one by one.
Those who had died trying to flee, of course, but even those who had somehow endured using abilities and items began to melt away one after another.
The destructive power of this Phase 2… even thinking about it again was absurdly overpowered.
How long had it been?
Only after an eternity did the hellish moment finally end.
＊＊＊
Chiiiiik!
All the water had evaporated.
A 46-member raid party.
Only 17 survived.
“This way! We have to run before the Double-Headed Serpent moves again!”
Through the thick smoke, Samuel’s shout could be heard.
It seemed they had managed to survive somehow as well.
Just as he said, after firing its breath, the serpent would enter a 30-second downtime.
Sometimes, fools driven by pride tried to charge in during that time, but that was nothing short of suicide.
Touching the serpent during its rest phase would trigger its [Berserk] trait.
In short—don’t touch it. Retreat and regroup.
“Kuhahaha! Retreat? Nonsense! While that snake-head sleeps, now’s our chance!”
Rodbrock grabbed his twin axes.
And there was the idiot he was looking for.
Kaang!
Without hesitation, Yohan smacked him across the head, knocking him out cold, and dragged him along by the collar.
After winding through several tangled tunnels, they finally found a place to catch their breath.
“Please rest for now.”
“We’ll secure the surroundings and return.”
The Rangers left to set up traps and alarm wards.
Grrrrrgle.
A thunderous rumble came from everyone’s stomachs.
They were starving and parched.
The hunger that came after an intense battle was enough to twist one’s insides.
Rodbrock, being the biggest of them all, looked like he was about to foam at the mouth, and the others weren’t much better off.
“I brought something to eat.”
Vivian rummaged through her bag and took out various foods.
Emergency rations brought from the Yokai Train.
Bacon, sausages, boiled eggs, cheese toast, orange juice, water, and milk appeared in sequence.
“Much appreciated! But—may I ask one thing?”
“What is it?”
“Why is every bit of food piled up in front of him?”
“I’m not sure. I don’t really see what you mean.”
Vivian shrugged innocently.
Anyone could see it though—the imbalance was ridiculous.
In front of Rodbrock sat a single boiled egg.
Meanwhile, in front of Yohan, there was a mountain of food—perfectly balanced in protein, carbs, and fat.
“Honestly, you’re not a kid. You could just take some yourself, you big oaf.”
Yohan clicked his tongue and handed him a handful of bacon.
“W-what? Did you just call me a petty, muscle-bound Viking man-child with a heart the size of a fly’s rear end?”
No, that’s… not exactly what he said.
Anyway, enough of that nonsense. Eating came first.
Everyone began shoving food into their mouths like starving beasts.
Only after their lips gleamed with grease did they finally sigh in relief—it felt like they might live again.
Until now, there had never been a run that ended with starvation, but it had nearly happened this time.
And then—
“Is everyone alright?”
Samuel approached.
Beside him were two warrior-type Hunters.
Hiss. It felt a bit awkward to eat like this when others weren’t.
“Would you like some?”
Yohan offered out of politeness more than sincerity.
But—
“No, it’s fine. You all seem quite hungry; don’t mind us. More importantly, we need to discuss something.”
A discussion, huh….
Chewing on a strip of bacon, Yohan glanced at Rodbrock.
Chew.
Rodbrock, chewing bacon as well, gave a slight nod.
“What do we need to discuss?”
“It’s about the location of the Boss Monster….”
Samuel sat down beside Yohan.
At that moment—
Vwooom!
Rodbrock swung his massive axe.
Crack!
The head of one of the warriors standing behind Samuel exploded on the spot.
“W-what the—?!”
The other warrior, panicked, drew his sword—but before he could act, Lagertha drove a dagger straight into his neck.
“That won’t do.”
Thuck!
Right through the carotid artery.
Blood spurted like a fountain.
“What in the world are you doing?!”
Samuel shouted, unable to comprehend why his supposed allies had suddenly attacked.
But—
“Strange. Why are you the only ones who don’t seem hungry?”
The last battle had burned enough calories to drop them on the spot.
Anyone offered food would have pounced without hesitation.
Yet these three had calmly refused.
There was only one explanation.
They had sided with the Boss Monster, avoiding the hunger penalty entirely.
“Well? Any excuse you’d like to give?”
Yohan looked at him while casting a spell.
Then—
“T-that’s because…”
Samuel pulled out a crumpled wrapper from his pocket.
“We were fighting while eating high-calorie bars and hydration jelly!”
…Huh?