Seeker 215

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Chapter 215. The Boss Room (Happy Set)

The double doors creaked open and swung apart on their own. 

From the other side of the doors, we feel a scorching heat filled the air, like the heat of a blazing inferno. 

Of course, it was nothing life-threatening. 

We stepped through the doors without hesitation and moved forward.

It appeared to be a vast chamber, perhaps even larger than a high school gymnasium with an incredibly high ceiling. 

The terms "seemed" and "probably" were used because the chamber was strangely litly dim.

The far end was shrouded in darkness, making it hard to see. 

While the space was extensive, the footing we stood on was not as broad. 

The depth seemed substantial, but the pathway was only about as wide as a four-lane road.

As for what lay outside of this footing, it was a sheer cliff. 

If we were to step beyond it, we would plummet headlong. 

There was a rattling and boiling sound throughout the room as if something were simmering. 

It was a familiar sound from the room with the suspension bridge. 

From the bottom of the cliff outside the footing, an orange light illuminated. 

We could see a pool of molten lava when we're peering down into the abyss, w.

We proceeded along the path that meandered gently towards the back. Then, a thunderous sound! 

Magma erupted like fountains from the left and right, outside the cliff.

These magma fountains rose to a consistent height and remained stable. It was designed with our safety in mind; molten lava didn't splatter toward us.

As we continued forward, magma fountains erupted consecutively on the left and right of the path. 

It felt like an extravagant display. 

Just because it's a boss battle setup doesn't mean you have to make it overly flashy, in my opinion.

The magma fountains that had erupted in sequence from the vicinity of the entrance soon increased in speed and passed us by. 

Eventually, magma columns erupted even in the depths of the chamber.

The orange light they emitted illuminated the back of the chamber, revealing what was there.

At the very back of the footing, there were two massive figures. 

They sat there on both sides as if they were the guardians of the grand door in the back.

One  was a dragon with red scales

The other was a giant with red-black skin.

The dragon, aside from the color of its scales, bears a striking resemblance to the Aerial Dragon I battled in the Valley of Dragon. 

It's similarly massive, where it almost seems like a joke to take on something of that size. 

However, the giant standing next to it isn't any less colossal. 

Although it's lounging now, I can imagine it would surpass the roof of a two-story house in height when it stands up.

The giant has hair that resembles flames, wears sturdy black iron armor, and has a massive sword thrust into the ground at its side. 

While it might seem similar to Bargamund-san, the difference in size is striking.

Upon seeing this, Kazane-san, Yuzuki, and I couldn't help but burst into semi-nervous laughter.

"Well, here it comes."

We were wondering what kind of boss would appear in the special 100,000-point mission, and it turns out to be a double boss, with one of them being a dragon. 

It's like a dragon bargain sale, isn't it?

Yuzuki grabbed my hand and pulled me along.

"Senpai, I have some bad news."

"What's up, kohai? Let me hear it."

"That giant over there is called Fire Giant, and its stats are almost on par with the dragon next to it."

That means the giant is also nearly as strong as the dragon next to him. Two dragon-class enemies!

"That's certainly some unpleasant news. By the way, is that dragon slightly inferior to the Aerial Dragon, except for its agility?"

"No, it's not. They're on equal footing. If anything, except for agility, that Fire Dragon is subtly stronger."

It seems that there's no holding back, and we indeed have two dragon-class foes to contend with. Hooray.

Aria-san was a reassuring secondary support in our Aerial Dragon battle in the Valley of Dragon, which allowed me to move more freely.

But it won't be as straightforward this time. 

I'll need to be more strategic and have a better grasp of the overall situation, making it more challenging than before. 

Additionally, this time there's another foe, a giant of equal stature to the dragon, joining the fray.

"Would you like to accompany Fire Giant as well? No, thank you. Well, don't be so quick to say no. I'll include it as a service. Yay!"

However, there's a trade-off. 

This time, we have a very strong ally in the form of Yusefia-san.

She's like a cat and troublesome NPC who doesn't do what you want but is undeniably powerful.

Furthermore, our levels have increased somewhat compared to when we challenged the Valley of Dragon. 

There's nothing we can't handle, or so we hope.

Just like in the boss rooms, the bosses had their entrance scenes during which they were invulnerable. 

In these scenes, the giant would slowly stand up and draw its sword from the ground, and the dragon would raise its head and both would roar together. 

During this time, we cast our usual support spells like [Protection], [Quickness], and [Fire Weapon] on everyone.

By the way, Yusefia-san doesn't have that kind of support magic. 

She has debuff spells for enemies, but when I tried one of them, it was deflected by an invincibility barrier.

During this time, I examined the monster data carefully that Yuzuki provided and formulated a strategy in my head. 

Fire Dragon, apart from some differences in attributes and stats, seemed to be quite similar to the Aerial Dragon. 

The battle scene from the Valley of Dragon would be a useful reference.

Fire Giant had a special ability called [Rock Throw], and a melee two-hit attack skill called [Double Slash]. 

The exact effects of the latter ability were unknown without checking the Monster Encyclopedia.

But there didn't seem to be any rocks or similar objects around, so it might be an ability that wasn't useful in this setting. 

If that were the case, it could be a straightforward physical attack-type monster with high attack power and HP, making it an easier target to deal with when I compare it to the dragon.

We had already finished casting our support spells when the time for the boss monsters' ended their entrance scenes.

We were preparing to unleash attack magic as soon as the invincibility wore off. 

We had positioned ourselves about halfway along the footing that traversed the chamber, and the distance between us and the two boss monsters was less than fifty paces. 

Our magic attacks would reach them immediately, and the distance for close combat battle wasn't too far either. 

Yuzuki had moved back slightly, but she still wasn't too far from the front line.

Our positioning allowed us to absorb the dragon's breath attack together.

But being too far apart would bring its own set of problems, so this arrangement was ideal.

As we maintained our preparedness for spellcasting and waited with anticipation, the moment we had been waiting for finally arrived. 

However, I hadn't been paying much attention to the possibility of "it.". That is, just before the boss monsters began to move, several will-o'-the-wisps appeared on the battlefield. 

One for each of the 2 boss monsters. 

Furthermore, in the airspace near the magma fountains lining the outer footing, one appeared to the left and one to the right.

All 4 of these will-o'-the-wisps soon transformed into monsters. 

They became 2 large Fire Lizards, Salamanders, and appeared before the dragon and giant.

In front of the magma fountains on the outer footing, there were Flame Eagles, large eagles enveloped in flames.

"Seriously? Give us a break, a Happy Set!?" 

I muttered involuntarily.

The 4 newly arrived monsters, although we could consider them as regular enemies, were no pushovers. They had pushed Kazane-san into a tight spot in the suspension bridge room.

"No time for complaining, Daichi-kun! The invincibility has worn off—they're coming!"

"You're right!"

I considered revising our strategy in my mind.

But there was no time for leisurely internal discussions. 

The active monsters began moving all at once.