"—!? Hinata-san!? Everyone!?"
Immediately after the Kobold King let out its roar, Hinata-san and the others screamed and collapsed to their knees.
I reflexively looked back, stunned. What on earth had happened?
They all looked like they were in agony, unable to even stand. As I stood there wondering what was going on, Saito-san provided the answer.
"It is an intimidation-type skill, de-gozaru!!"
"—!!"
So that was it.
No wonder it hadn't affected me—I had Equanimity.
But everyone here was over Level 40. Hinata-san was even Level 50. How could an intimidation-type skill work so easily on them? It wasn't like our opponent was Headshot Yakuza. For a mere skill to do this...
Wait, could it be!?
The answer to my doubt surfaced immediately. In a normal dungeon, a Kobold King doesn't possess intimidation-type skills. It only has three: Leadership, Army as One, and Kobold King’s Order.
Among those, Army as One was a cheat skill that allowed it to use its subordinates' skills, but none of the subordinate Kobolds had intimidation-type skills either. That meant this was a Special Variant Kobold King with abilities it didn't normally possess.
The skill had to be incredibly powerful. That was the only logical explanation for why the Intimidation had worked even on someone of Hinata-san’s level.
"—Refresh! Tsk!! This is bad, de-gozaru!!"
After curing Hinata-san's status ailment with the recovery magic Refresh, Saito-san clicked his tongue and headed toward the rear.
I looked over and saw why. The Kobolds that had been chasing us were now flooding into the Audience Chamber from the entrance.
"Fire Arrow!! Hinata-dono, cast Lionheart on yourself before treating the others! Junkie-niki-dono! I leave the Kobold King to you, de-gozaru!!"
Saito-san shouted while repelling the encroaching monsters with Fire Arrows.
"Got it!!"
"Y-Yes!!"
I nodded and turned back toward the Kobold King and its group.
Meanwhile, Hinata-san nodded and cast Lionheart on herself. It was a spell learned through Holy Magic that temporarily granted resistance to spirit-type status ailments.
Even if the effects of the Intimidation were temporarily removed with Refresh, they would be reapplied immediately unless we defeated the source. It was a necessary precaution.
While Hinata-san was healing Mayurin-san and the others, Saito-san was stuck dealing with the reinforcements. That meant for a short while, I would have to face the Kobold King alone.
A Special Variant Kobold King, a Special Variant Kobold General, and their elite subordinates.
They were formidable.
But... it was okay to kill them, right?
"Heh! A bunch with low defense... are nothing but prey for meeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!"
I swung my sword and sent blades of aura flying.
Mighty Blade Great Flying Blade!!
One shot! Two shots!!
Since we were indoors and the space was narrower than the monster rooms on the lower floors, I refrained from using Explosive Blade. Saito-san was busy behind us, and Mayurin-san was still frozen by the fear status ailment. There was no one to block the shockwaves.
However, against Kobolds crowded together like this, I didn't even need Explosive Blade. The Great Flying Blades, boosted to 144x power, easily sliced through the group, shields and all—even those held by the Royal Guards in the front row.
The Kobolds collapsed to the floor, their bodies split in two, scattering massive amounts of fresh blood and entrails. But then...
"Huh!?"
I was certain they were lethal blows, yet two of them were still there.
The Kobold King and one of the Royal Guards that had been shielding it.
The guard looked no different from the others, but somehow it had survived. Its shield and armor were shattered to pieces, and a single large laceration crossed its torso, revealing the flesh beneath. It was bleeding profusely and looked ready to die at any second, yet it remained standing.
No way. It endured my attack?
『The Royal Guards' defense isn't low—wait, what?』 『Wha-!?』 『It endured Junkie-niki's attack!?』 『What's up with that Kobold!?』
It was uncanny. Even so, I didn't stop.
I unleashed another Mighty Blade Great Flying Blade. The flying aura easily sliced through both the mangled Royal Guard and the Kobold King behind it.
『Huh!?』 『This time it died normally!?』
Then I realized. These were all Special Variants. It wouldn't be strange if some of them had indomitable-type skills.
Regardless, now that the defenders were down, all that remained was to destroy the core.
"—Junkie-niki-dono! Hurry and destroy the core, de-gozaru!!"
"!?"
Saito-san's shout sounded almost panicked.
I hadn't intended to let my guard down, but I didn't waste time asking why. Driven by his urgency, I unleashed my next skill.
Mighty Blade Flying Blade.
The blade of aura flew toward the Dungeon Core at the very back of the chamber. It struck the crystal pillar without obstruction.
"—Huh!? Seriously!?"
My eyes widened.
The slash definitely hit the Dungeon Core directly. A deep mark was carved straight across its surface, but the core didn't shatter.
This thing was incredibly hard. I hadn't been told about this!
And failing to destroy it in one hit was a mistake. I finally understood why Saito-san had been in such a hurry.
The corpses of the Kobolds scattered across the floor vanished, turning into particles of light instantaneously. Immediately after, the particles gathered in the air as if a video were being played in reverse.
『Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!?』 『They repoped!?』 『Wait, the repop is too fast!!』
The group led by the Kobold King was resurrected—no, it had repoped.
"Kuh, Junkie-niki-dono! Switch offense and defense with sessha, de-gozaru!!"
Seeing that I couldn't destroy the core, Saito-san made the call.
Looking back, I saw that the treatment for Mayurin-san and the application of Lionheart were complete. It would be difficult for Mayurin-san alone to hold back the monsters flooding into the room, but if I joined her, stalling them would be easy.
But—
"Don't underestimate me!! Leave this to me!!"
I wasn't about to switch roles.
"Heal! Takeo-kun, what are you going to do!?"
Hinata-san, who was monitoring my HP, asked while casting recovery magic. She probably sensed that her turn was coming up.
I looked at her and said, "Hinata-san, no more heals from here on! Once I take down the Kobolds again, we're doing that! Please get ready!!"
"—!! That thing, right!? Got it!"
『!?』 『That thing!?』 『No way, is he going to do it!? Now!? Here!?』
It was our trump card.
The viewers of Hinata Channel reacted immediately.
"!? Does Junkie-niki-dono have some sort of secret move!?"
"Yes! Don't worry—just watch!!"
I replied while unleashing more Mighty Blade Great Flying Blades.
One shot! Two shots!!
Like a replay of before, I sliced through the group of Kobolds all at once.
『Again!?』 『They survived!?』
Whether it was a new set or the same ones resurrected, once again, two Kobolds—including the King—survived. A Royal Guard on the brink of death and the King behind it.
If they were going to keep respawning, I didn't have time to keep killing them. I would blow them all away along with the Dungeon Core!
"Hinata-san!!"
"Monster Summoning—Gobuo!"
Perfect timing.
Hinata-san summoned a Level 1 Normal Goblin—Gobuo.
『A Normal Goblin!?』 『What are you going to do with a guy like that!?』
Those who didn't know our strategy were baffled. Comments like that flooded in from Saito-san's and Mayurin-san's drones.
Meanwhile, as soon as he appeared, Gobuo raised his club and directed his hostility toward me. I had trained him specifically to target me the moment he was summoned.
With Gobuo hostile toward me, Goblin Genocider activated. Furthermore, I had adjusted my HP with the two previous attacks.
HP: 78 / 480
With my HP below 20%, the second stage of Blood Vengeance triggered.
Combined with Hinata-san's Holy Bless, plus my own Fighting Spirit, Berserk, and Asceticism, my stats exploded:
———————————————— Strength: 1135 Constitution: 1010 Intelligence: 210 Spirit: 576 Agility: 1010 Dexterity: 718 ————————————————
But that wasn't the only reason. In a normal battle, Gobuo was so weak he would die just from the shockwave of an Explosive Blade. His true purpose was different.
"Gugyaa!!"
"Hmph! Here we go, Gobuo!! Are you ready!?"
I firmly grabbed the neck of the charging goblin with my left hand. He swung his club at me, but the attacks of a Level 1 monster couldn't deal even a single point of damage to me now.
I lifted Gobuo with one arm, drew back with all my might—
"Goooooooooooooo!!"
And hurled him toward the Dungeon Core at the far end of the room.
Gobuo flew through the air in a perfect arc. The wary Kobold King and the mangled Royal Guard looked up as he soared toward them.
The moment the Dungeon Core, the falling Gobuo, and I lined up in a straight line, I made my move.
"Take this!!! Super Goblin Attack!!!!!!!!!"
I swung my sword, unleashing Mighty Blade Great Flying Blade: Explosive Blade.
The aura blade headed straight for Gobuo. Since Gobuo was a goblin, any attack aimed at him benefited from the Goblin Genocider effect: a 4.0x damage multiplier against the Goblin Race.
Our Super Goblin Attack was a collaborative finishing move designed to exploit that.
After Hinata-san learned to summon goblins, I had wondered if there was a way to use the attack multiplier against other monsters. When I consulted her, she had answered instantly.
"Why don't you just aim at a goblin and involve the other monsters in the attack?"
We had tested her theory against an Orc on Floor 11. The result confirmed it: once an attack was unleashed toward a goblin, its power didn't decrease even after it vaporized the target.
With Hinata-san's help, I had obtained a finishing move that pushed the limits of Goblin Genocider.
The Explosive Blade, now boosted to a 576x damage multiplier, slammed into Gobuo. It didn't even explode—it instantly cleaved through him. His constitution was so low that there was zero reduction in power.
The blade continued its flight, carrying that massive momentum straight into the Dungeon Core.
The Kobold King's eyes widened as it tried to move to protect the core, but it was too slow.
The Explosive Blade struck home.
Then, the blue flames erupted.
"Mayurin-san!! Cover us with a barrier!!"
"Huh!? Y-Yeah!?"
Immediately after the strike, I shouted to Mayurin-san. Though startled, she quickly enveloped us all in a protective wall.
A split second later, the shockwave of the explosion hit. The barrier cracked instantly, but Mayurin-san’s level had increased since her fight with Metal Oishi. She managed to hold it together.
"Guh!? A-Again!? Ugh, aaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!"
The blue flames of the aura swallowed the Dungeon Core, the Kobold King, and the Royal Guard. The light was so intense I couldn't even keep my eyes open.
Slowly, the radiance began to fade.
Mayurin-san had endured.
『W-Did we win...?』 『The Dungeon Core is gone.』 『There's a literal crater now.』 『Hieee.』
After the flames cleared, a massive, glowing red crater remained at the back of the chamber. The air shimmered with intense heat.
There was no sign of the Kobold King, the guard, or the core. Crystal fragments were scattered around, but they were already dissolving into particles of light. No more Kobolds were repoping.
"Phew..."
I relaxed my stance. This time, for sure, the core was destroyed.
"Oh, right, the others!?"
I remembered the monsters chasing us and spun around.
I stared at the entrance, stunned.
The Kobolds that had been charging into the room were standing perfectly still, as if their souls had been snatched away. Their bodies were gradually decomposing into light.
"It is likely, de-gozaru, because the Dungeon Core was defeated," Saito-san explained. "It seems every monster on this floor will disappear now. Well, that is just sessha's guess!"
Saito-san gave me a carefree, admiring smile.
"Regardless, that was magnificent, Junkie-niki-dono. We did it!"
I flashed a relieved smile and started to reply, "No, it was thanks to you and—"
"—SOOOO GOOOOOOOOOOOOODDDDDD!!!!!!!!!!"
I leaned back in a full Ina Bauer, my body twitching with euphoria.
"Why!? What is the matter, Junkie-niki-dono!?"
Saito-san was bewildered, but I couldn't answer him.
Inside my head, the notifications were echoing.
—Level up. —Level up. —Level up.
Three times at once.