If it were in a game and he encountered the "Grafted Scion" Godrick, Ron would definitely want to test his composition. After beating him, he would even step on his head and ask, What rank do you think you are, daring to wield a Great Rune in the Lands Between?
But unfortunately, this seemed to be reality.
After the Mimic War Shadow absorbed the blood of the Soma Familia adventurers, its body began to undergo uncontrollable mutation, turning into a monster through and through.
"Me… fighting this thing?"
Judging purely by size, this thing even surpassed a Goblin Guard. The key difference was that the former could barely still be considered a "David," but this thing—there was no choice but to call it an abomination stitched together.
After the mutation, within that extremely bloated, gigantic body, one could even see the faces of the Soma Familia adventurers. Their eyes were filled with resentment,
as if they wanted to tear him apart completely.
"Floor Boss."
A rough guess quickly surfaced in Ron's mind. Primarily because his Dungeon exploration during this period had been unusually smooth.
However, upon seeing the final monster,
he did not feel the panic he had experienced during his first encounter with a Floor Boss. Although his stamina had been heavily consumed, the two uses of the Revival skill gave him a strong sense of security.
"I was still worrying whether, after maxing out my ability values, I could smoothly break through the level."
Ron's eyes were filled with anticipation. "As long as I can solo this Floor Boss… I should be able to gather enough achievements for a level ascension, right?"
"…"
Don't ask where that confidence came from.
Just the two slashing techniques—Seppuku and Ash of War: Bloody Slash—were already enough for him to rely on his high mobility to fight flexibly and secure victory against a mass of flesh.
However—
When the DanMachi-style "Grafted Scion" before him began, little by little, to pick up various weapons from the ground, Ron's mouth still twitched uncontrollably.
"You want to learn my Weapon Mastery too?"
He murmured softly.
As long as he escaped the current area, Ron believed that with the bloated size of the gigantic monster before him, it would definitely be unable to catch up to him. But what about the consequences?
It would implicate the innocent adventurers on this Floor.
That was something he did not want to see. More importantly, it could also trigger an inspection by the Adventurers Guild. No matter how he looked at it, he only had one choice.
Battle.
Ron did not immediately use the Combat Art Seppuku. Although the existence of magic allowed him to lock his HP at the brink of death, the side effect would directly weaken him.
He couldn't possibly prepare an All-Healing Potion for every Boss fight, could he?
If that were the case—
Setting aside equipment damage, the consumption of healing potions alone was already something he absolutely could not afford. Just as Ron was considering how to maneuver around the situation, the surrounding environment quietly began to change.
What could be considered a cramped cave environment for a Grafted Scion was expanding at a speed visible to the naked eye. This was the Dungeon creating a dedicated arena for himself and the monster before him—an exclusive coliseum!
"That works."
"At least this way, I'll have room to kite…"
Ron briefly loosened up his body, adjusting his exhausted physical state as much as possible, and planted the greatsword Great Fortune into the compacted earthen ground beside him.
The Farron dance was a bit lacking when facing a Floor Boss.
What he could think of was to make use of the bleed abnormal status effect, pairing it with fast-attack tactics to chip away at the Floor Boss, accumulating damage until it could be completely detonated.
As for the cost, that could be set aside for now.
The youth gripped two weapons in both forward and reverse holds. While his tone was filled with emotion, the gaze he cast toward the "Grafted Scion" burned with intense fighting intent.
"In this life of mine, I really have been walking on thin ice!!"
...
After finishing the day's work, Ryuu, as a waitress, finally had some time of her own, even though it was extremely brief for her.
Still, she had to try to look.
After all, the area where the "abnormal situation" had occurred was only in the shallow layers. As long as she moved quickly, she would definitely be able to return before the restaurant became busy.
That was what Ryuu thought.
She had asked the adventurers who evacuated that day about the reasons. As long as monsters on a given Floor exhibited abnormalities, it meant that an uncontrollable crisis had appeared on that Floor.
This method could be used for rapid investigation.
After she slipped into the Dungeon, she quickly arrived at the 1st Floor area, randomly selected a "lucky one" to kill, and confirmed that it was merely an ordinary roadside mongrel.
The girl cloaked in a gray-brown mantle that obscured her appearance then swiftly passed through the area.
She continued to explore deeper and deeper, but the results were always the same—every monster was one recorded in the Adventurers Guild's registry, with no abnormal state whatsoever.
It was not until she returned to the 7th Floor again....
Repeated failures to find anything gradually caused Ryuu's eyes to grow numb. She had clearly chosen to forget the past, yet now she was still stubbornly searching.
"Does this kind of behavior really have any meaning?"
"Even…"
"Even the Adventurers Guild thinks it was just a coincidental incident. Could it really be like that?"
The girl did not believe that her actions were so-called "justice," nor was she helping the Adventurers Guild to screen for danger. It was purely for revenge—the continuation of a revenge that had not been fully completed many years ago.
However, Ryuu, very rarely, felt doubt toward her own actions. She stopped in front of the 7th Floor area, and just as she was considering whether to give up next—she suddenly felt vibrations coming from the ground.
"…"
The girl's previously numb and indifferent gaze became sharp once more. She briefly surveyed her surroundings, and what truly made Ryuu tighten her grip on the wooden sword was what writhed out from the wall—a Giant Killer Ant, several times larger than ordinary Killer Ant monsters!
She inexplicably recalled what Ron had said to her earlier today while helping him train: as long as one was willing to put in effort, there would definitely be gains.
"That makes sense."
No matter what, Ryuu felt that to uncover the truth behind the "abnormal situation," if it was related to Evilus, then she had to spare no effort to completely eradicate them!
However, before searching for the truth, the girl did not forget to eliminate these mutated monsters that might cause trouble for passing adventurers. After all, it was something she could do along the way.
What's more—these Giant Killer Ants only possessed strength comparable to a Lv.2 adventurer. As for how to describe it, even Ron would probably be able to deal with them easily…
Ryuu's agile figure swiftly darted through the current Floor.
Following the faint vibrations lingering in the air, as well as the unavoidable commotion caused by battle, she quickly arrived at a wide, open tunnel area.
Like a "coliseum" specially crafted by the Dungeon?
Immediately afterward, what entered the elf girl's field of vision was the Grafted Scion—a bloated, gigantic monster so grotesque that merely looking at it directly with the naked eye would cause physical discomfort.
"…"
"This is a specialized… Floor Boss!"
But what truly caused her pupils to contract sharply was the figure of the boy confronting the Grafted Scion, and Ron's intensely focused posture.
So, why did she have to run into him in a place like this?
The girl tightly gripped the wooden sword, Alf's Lumina. In her azure eyes, the cold hatred in her heart intertwined and struggled with reason.
This problem—Lady Astrea had never taught Ryuu how she should answer it…
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