In the Name of God - Chapter 16.1
At the end of the path that Lee Sunho and I were heading toward, there was, as expected, the boss room.
The round dome-shaped clearing reeked of smoke and blood, leaving only traces of the battle that had just ended.
Thud! Boom!
The humanoid lizard monster wielding a massive greatsword fell to the ground. A cloud of dust rose with the dull thud of impact.
The heavily built Lizardman Warrior, with holes pierced through its head and neck, no longer moved.
I quickly scanned the surroundings with Hawk Eye to confirm there were no remaining threats, then opened the cylinder of my revolver.
Clink.
The hot spent cartridges rolled to the floor. Perhaps because the cave clearing was so wide, the metallic sound of metal hitting stone echoed faintly.
Checking the empty chambers, I loaded new bullets one by one with practiced motions. The clicking sound filled the silent dome each time a bullet was inserted.
‘The boss difficulty itself really wasn’t much different from F-rank.’
Despite being a Lizardman Warrior with a greatsword, its sheer size was overwhelming compared to the other Lizardmen, but since it was humanoid, it was easy to target vital points and defeat it without much trouble.
I wiped the cold sweat from my body, which had nothing to do with exertion but with my current physical state.
“Echo, can you check the status of the other boss rooms?”
Though my voice was very quiet, Echo immediately understood.
-Yes, I can. Just a moment!
Echo was my personal assistant module, an AI program designed to aid in general actions including combat. Despite appearing as a talking AI, it felt more like a person somehow stuffed into a dog’s body.
Not omnipotent, but some of Echo’s auxiliary functions were very useful.
One of them was the ability to analyze environmental information and detect lifeforms within a certain range.
-Party 1 is just clearing the trash mobs and heading to the boss room, and Parties 2 and 3 are in combat with their bosses!
Party 1 must have been the team led by the party leader who had looked down on us earlier.
It was no surprise that the arrogant ones who belittle others rarely perform well.
I felt a wave of satisfaction as I pulled out the core from the chest of the Lizardman Warrior with my dagger.
‘Then let’s go take what we can.’
It was always the most fun to mess with someone I didn’t like.
I lowered the corners of my mouth and turned my head, only to find Lee Sunho now standing right behind me.
A cold sweat ran down my spine.
‘I didn’t sense him at all.’
Even though my attention had been elsewhere, I hadn’t noticed him approaching so closely.
I reflected briefly, realizing my awareness had dulled.
At the same time, I admired Lee Sunho’s skill at moving silently. It seemed his gaze had landed on my hood where Echo was crouched.
I subtly turned to hide the hood, and Lee Sunho smiled. Had he not noticed?
“You’re heading to the other boss room, right?”
“Yes. Depending on the situation, we’ll either assist or take it for ourselves.”
“Good.”
Smiling, Lee Sunho followed as I exited the boss room.
“It’s better to move quickly.”
“Excuse me?”
“I have a bad feeling.”
Despite mentioning a bad feeling, his expression seemed unusually pleased.
***
We retraced our steps and quickly made our way to the branching path that Party 1 had taken.
Before long, the air thickened with the stench of rotting blood. Every step sent a chill over my skin, like a strong current brushing past.
I exchanged a glance with Lee Sunho and cautiously entered Party 1’s boss room.
“Oh, no.”
I heard Lee Sunho sigh softly.
“We might be a step late.”
The floor was covered with the horrific aftermath of slaughter.
One of Party 1’s members lay dead, pale and dismembered, while the party leader, missing a leg, groaned painfully next to a mostly crushed skeleton.
The party leader, seeing us, crawled with all his strength, reaching toward me.
“Sa…ve…me…ah…ah…”
Crack!
A massive shadow brought a greatsword down on the party leader’s torso in a single strike.
As the greatsword was lifted, the dying leader’s body dangled like a ragdoll. Red blood poured heavily to the floor.
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