arc4 · 073-ch73

Episode 73: Area Boss of Floor 1, District 5

Note: Contains graphic violence with large amounts of blood. Please proceed with caution.

Area bosses are the strongest monsters in their area. Each district has its own area boss, and in District 5, five area bosses were waiting for explorers to challenge them.

Cunning Demon Ape Monkey: Level 120

The enormous ape currently standing before Suzuka was one of the five area bosses of Floor 1, District 5.

It had six thick, long ape arms growing from its body, and its muscles bulged so impressively that you could tell even through the hard fur covering it. It had three faces to match its six arms—the front face wore an expression of having grown bored with everything, the right face was tainted with madness like that of a madman, and the left face had a sneering look that looked down on opponents.

Facing an opponent that would be impossible to dodge even with two arms, this creature had six arms growing from it. If it were to move those arms freely in every direction, there would be nothing to be done.

Suzuka retreated step by step, putting distance between them. The ape monkey approached Suzuka slowly. Due to the vast difference in body size, just a little movement closed the distance rapidly.

Even though it walked on all fours, it was so huge you had to look up at it. If it stood up on two legs, it would probably be over five meters tall.

Size connects to strength. The greater the mass, the greater the weight of a single blow. There's no way Suzuka could receive an attack from arms thicker than his own torso.

The pressure was tremendous. It was pressure of a different quality from that of the Sword God or the clergyman. Those two hadn't held hostility toward Suzuka. They were simply non-human—their auras just happened not to be directed at him.

But the ape monkey was different. It clearly recognized Suzuka as an enemy.

No, calling him an enemy was presumptuous. It probably recognized him as a toy.

That's why the pressure directed from the ape monkey was extraordinary. Even breathing was difficult, and the very legs he stood on felt like they were about to tremble.

The ape monkey approached Suzuka carelessly. He probably couldn't do anything anyway. Even if he tried something, it wouldn't amount to much.

A face that seemed bored and emotionless approached before his eyes. The face of a giant ape was eerie enough to make his spine shiver just on its own, but on top of that, this creature contained strength beyond measure.

Just a little while ago, he'd been beaten to a rag like a worn-out towel even by the other monsters that appeared in District 5. If not for the auto-recovery from his garbled skill, how many times would he have died? There was the disadvantage of not being able to hold weapons, but whether he had weapons or not didn't matter anymore.

This creature was a monster of such a level that even the other monsters of District 5 would flee from it. Compared to this, even those strong District 5 monsters were several tiers inferior.

Suzuka's victory condition was to escape from here. For level 52 Suzuka to win against the area boss and level 120 Cunning Demon Ape Monkey—it would be impossible even if he tried standing on his head. Even escaping would be miraculous enough.

The ape monkey, who seemed unlikely to let him escape, looked down on Suzuka as if enjoying his despair. But because Suzuka had his head bowed, the ape monkey couldn't see his face. The ape monkey, wanting to see what kind of amusing expression a cornered human would make, brought its face closer to Suzuka with a look of enjoyment.

But the ape monkey didn't understand.

Before its eyes was an existence that had obtained a skill that "heals almost any injury instantly."

A madman who would strike at monsters with his bare hands just because he couldn't hold weapons.

Even though it healed, he still felt pain. He had just received attacks that made him feel like he was dying countless times, experiencing pain that nearly made him go into shock again and again.

The emotion currently dominating Suzuka wasn't fear of the ape monkey, nor terror of pain, nor despair at the treatment he was about to receive.

"...Bastard."

Suzuka muttered quietly. The ape monkey, grinning as if expecting a scream of terror, saw Suzuka's face dyed in blazing rage.

"Don't you look down on me, you damn ape, you BASTAAAAARD!!!!"

He slammed his full-powered fist into the face of the approaching ape monkey. It was a blow that poured all his mana into body reinforcement, and even though it was Body Arts level 1, it contained considerable power.

A shock sound echoed through the area. But the ape monkey didn't move a muscle. The front face, which until a moment ago had looked bored, changed into a maniacal smile.

The face of the ape monkey, which had received Suzuka's all-out attack, wore an expression that said it hadn't taken any damage, let alone been injured. Rather, looking at Suzuka who had gone on the offensive here, it had the face of someone who had obtained the best possible toy.

Unlike the ape monkey which took no damage, Suzuka lost to the ape monkey's excessively hard hide, and his fist that had attacked was shattered. His fist recovered immediately, but the ape monkey wasn't lenient enough to allow a follow-up.

A fist swung at a speed Suzuka couldn't even follow with his eyes hit him directly, and he was blown away at a terrifying speed. Without losing momentum, he continued to be blown away at a tremendous speed and crashed into a wall. He embedded himself so deeply into the wall from the excessive impact that even a crater formed.

Blood sprayed radially from his body, which was crushed like a tomato, staining the wall. As his body repaired itself with bumps and bulges, he crawled out as if being vomited from the wall he'd embedded in.

"URGGGGHHHH!!"

The blood that had flowed backward from his crushed internal organs spewed from his mouth like a fountain. Even though he'd lost enough blood to be a lethal amount long ago, he wasn't even anemic. The only thing was the unpleasant feeling of blood remaining in his mouth.

He somehow managed to stand up, but already the ape monkey was standing before his eyes. Without sound, without presence—it had approached at a level that even Suzuka couldn't detect. That fact alone seemed to demonstrate the difference in their abilities.

The ape monkey's interest was directed at Suzuka. Just from that alone, he felt so much pressure it was as if space itself were distorting, and he felt like he was about to go mad.

Suzuka glared back at the ape monkey looking down with a cackling laugh, but in his current state where he couldn't even visually track the ape monkey's attacks properly, even escaping was difficult.

Suddenly, his hands and feet went numb and started convulsing. For a moment he thought it was trembling from fear, but it wasn't trembling at that level.

He didn't know what had been done to him, but this was clearly an attack. As he intuitively understood that, by the time he comprehended it, the convulsions had already spread throughout his entire body, and he couldn't even move properly. It was as if electricity were being run through him—he started shaking on his own, and even standing was dangerous.

What kind of attack was it? At the moment he thought that, he saw countless water blisters like burn blisters forming on the palms of his hands. The instant he became conscious of that, a fierce itching attacked his entire body. An itching so intense that just the friction of his clothes against it nearly drove him mad.

Without even minding the shaking from the convulsions, unable to suppress the impulse, he scratched and clawed at himself, and the blisters burst. From the burst areas, his skin began to rot as if festering, and from the rotting flesh, new blisters began to pop up here and there.

"GAAAAAHHHH!! Itchy itchy itchyyyyyyyyy!!!!"

The rotting flesh spread throughout his entire body, and a sharp pain assaulted him as if he were rolling on a bed of needles. It hurt yet it itched, and if he scratched it would fester and rot along with intense pain. Suzuka clawed at his own body with his own hands, dyeing his entire body in blood.

The ape monkey's attack—it was probably poison or something—but Suzuka, who couldn't deal with it, could only dance a bizarre dance like a possessed thing, writhing helplessly on the spot.

The ape monkey, looking on with enjoyment, clapped its hands and laughed.

The rotting skin also recovered, likely due to the skill's effect. However, the rotting spread faster than the recovery.

When did he notice it?

It was so unbearably itchy, and to relieve it even a little he'd been scratching, yet no matter how much he tried to scratch, he couldn't anymore. When he looked, his arms from the wrists down had melted and disappeared, and the collapse progressed to his elbows, then to his shoulders.

Both legs were crushed, his vision was lost, and little by little but certainly, the poison continued to eat away at his body.

"...Huh..."

His vocal cords were also damaged, and he couldn't even produce a proper voice.

In the one eyeball that remained undissolved, a terrifying rage blazed as if boiling. But for Suzuka, who had lost his limbs and could only crawl on the ground like a bug, there were no means left to attack the monster before his eyes.

The wriggling movement eventually ceased, and around the time he lost his last eyeball, Suzuka's life met an anticlimactic end.

◇

His vision was covered in darkness, and when he slowly opened his eyes as if blinking, a round table was before him.

There were five seats at the round table. Four people were already seated. Behind each of them stood a person like an attendant, so excluding Suzuka, there were eight people in this place. The seats were spaced equally like a pentagram, and the empty seat was the one located at the top of the pentagram from Suzuka's perspective. Suzuka stood opposite the round table, facing that empty seat.

Suzuka couldn't read the situation, but there was one thing he understood.

That was that Suzuka was the weakest in this place.

The appearance of many people wasn't that of ordinary humans. They had wings, horns, were covered in scales, covered in fur. They were people who had undergone physical changes, probably proof of having obtained existence evolution. But that probably wasn't the existence evolution that happens at level 100.

The four people seated at the round table. All of them contained pressure that exceeded even the Sword God. They were people who lightly surpassed the realm of human, just like that clergyman. They possessed such transcendent power that just having their gaze directed at him made it difficult to breathe.

It wasn't just the seated people. Those waiting behind them too. The seated people were so exceptional that the people behind them seemed overshadowed, but even those waiting behind them were as strong as the Sword God.

Just with the people gathered in this place, enough military power to easily crush any country had assembled.

Click. Along with the sound of a door opening, two people entered the room.

"Sorry, sorry. I kept you waiting."

The person who said that as he entered was someone Suzuka knew—the clergyman. The clergyman, as usual, wore his hood deep over his eyes, and took the empty seat along with an apology. This time too, the inside of the hood was blurred as if out of focus, and he couldn't see his face. The other person could see his face, so it was either the clergyman's ability or perhaps only Suzuka couldn't see—the answer was unknown.

While being genuinely relieved that seat wasn't meant for Suzuka, from the clergyman's manner of not even glancing at Suzuka, who was clearly an outsider, he understood that no one in this place was recognizing Suzuka.

In that case, is this inside the clergyman's memories or something? He talked about inheriting power and such—maybe that's the influence?

"Even the church bigwigs seem busy."

A beast-like man seated at the table complained. No, judging by his tone, he was probably teasing. The clergyman who received it just grumbled back and didn't seem to find it unpleasant. Apparently, their relationship wasn't bad.

Thank goodness. I'm confident that just them glaring at each other would kill me from the aftermath.

"Now, let's get straight to the main topic."

A man who looked exactly like what you'd imagine a prince to be, with angel-like wings growing from him, spoke up.

"It's not a fun topic so I'll say the conclusion right away, but we're not aiming for Sepia Log class. Azanholus class. We'll end our exploration there."

"Eh?"

The only one who showed agitation at the prince's words was the clergyman. Whether the other three had predicted the content of the conversation, or whether they held the same thoughts—why?

"Why? We should be able to reach Sepia Log class too."

"...That's right. One of us probably will."

Saying that, the prince raised two fingers, making a peace sign.

"There are two reasons to give up. One is a request from His Majesty. Apparently, the country wants heroes but doesn't seek transcendents."

Country. Is this Earth? The atmosphere of the place and each person's clothing felt different from Earth, but because dungeons appeared, the explanation "it's because it's a dungeon" could handle everything from appearance to clothing, making judgment difficult.

"Just achieving Azanholus class is a great feat. Looking at neighboring countries too, Azanholus class, let alone Catrena class, would probably be too heavy a burden."

"Recently, someone who achieved Catrena class appeared in the Empire, didn't they?"

"You know it too. That's his limit in the Empire. I'll state it clearly. Before we die, there will be no one who reaches Azanholus class."

At those words, the clergyman fell silent. The prince's words were probably correct.

"There's no need for us, who are already Azanholus class, to risk danger to reach Sepia Log class. With us here, this country is safe. They're probably afraid of carelessly losing something by challenging Sepia Log class. That's the wish from His Majesty, and also from the Pope."

Suzuka, who had no prior knowledge due to the many proper nouns, found it difficult to understand, but in short—it meant he was told by the king that "you're already strong enough, so you don't need to become any stronger." Apparently thanks to them, peace was maintained in their country. It was probably something like nuclear deterrent. No idiot would think of attacking a country with monsters like this.

"But that's the outside's opinion. Even if it's His Majesty or the Pope, there's no reason we have to obey."

"That's true. There's no reason for us to be swayed by the opinions of ordinary people. It's a request from His Majesty, after all."

The prince folded his middle finger and stated the next reason.

"The second reason is that if we challenge Sepia Log class, more than half of the people in this place will certainly die."

The only one shocked by those words was Suzuka. And then, receiving an even greater shock at the fact that everyone except Suzuka accepted that as fact.

Even transcendents like them would die!? What on earth do they intend to fight? Does something like that exist? Is it allowed?

Suzuka didn't know what Sepia Log class meant, but at the very least, there existed beings on par with or surpassing the people gathered here. Suzuka was shocked by that fact.

"You have my magic, don't you?"

"You mean 'Fool's Miracle'?"

At those words, the atmosphere changed. Tension, a guilty conscience of not wanting to touch something, such an atmosphere flowed through the place.

"We were saved at Azanholus class. I sincerely thank you for the decision to use that magic on me. I wish you wouldn't call yourself a fool and would change the name to Saint's Miracle."

The prince looked at the clergyman seriously.

"But as the leader of this party, I order you. Never use that magic again. A coin doesn't keep showing heads forever."

Those words were more of a wish than a command.

"Besides, you're not guaranteed to survive either, are you? It's different from Azanholus class. At Sepia Log class, half are certain to die. As leader, I can't permit a battle where death is certain."

A battle where you might die, and a battle where death is certain. In a hopeless situation, one thing, but if they have options, there's no need to choose a path of death.

Overturning this opinion would be difficult. Even the prince himself who stated it had his agonizing feelings transparently visible. It was probably a decision after struggling with it. As party members, they should be able to understand his distress even more.

"...Fool's Miracle, huh. If only I were immortal, I could have challenged it."

The clergyman muttered quietly.

It was a small voice, but in the quiet round table room, it could be heard clearly.

That was probably amusing. Everyone seated at the round table laughed uniformly. Even the prince had a bitter smile floating on his face. Before he knew it, the gloomy atmosphere from earlier had disappeared.

"Haa~~ really, you who don't use weapons or attack magic, support-only and gentle clergyman, you're the most messed up of all, aren't you——Renoa."

The clergyman's name. The moment he understood that, his eyes met the clergyman's—Renoa's. The haze covering his face lifted, revealing his full appearance. A terrifyingly handsome face, and from his forehead grew two horns. What was impressive were his golden eyes that shone as if glowing. Those eyes had completely captured Suzuka.

"You are——"

Just as Renoa was about to say something, the world was dyed white.

◇

"Ah!?"

What reflected in his vision wasn't the round table but thickly growing trees. When he realized it, Suzuka had returned to the dungeon.

"Haa, haa, what was that just now?"

Unable to catch up with the phenomenon at all, Suzuka had been left behind since earlier. First, he tried to confirm the situation, and immediately noticed the abnormality in his own body. An abnormality that was normal.

"Eh, it's healed? My hands are back too... is this also the skill's effect?"

In his fading vision, the last thing he saw was his hands and feet melting and disappearing. But now, his hands and feet were back. It was probably the effect of the auto-recovery skill. If it could even restore missing parts, it really was becoming an extraordinary skill.

"That's right, that ape was——"

Suzuka had been fighting the area boss of Floor 1, District 5. No, he was being tortured. Where was that guy? When he thought that and turned around, the ape monkey was right before his eyes.

"HHHGGG!!"

He immediately jumped back from that spot, but the ape monkey didn't move. It just stared at Suzuka. That gaze, as if observing him, looked incredibly eerie.

Can I do it!? Can I escape now!?

Suzuka took immediate action. He ran with all his might to get away from the ape monkey. But if he advanced even a few meters, he'd just get punched by the ape monkey and make a new splash of blood on the wall.

Was the observation time over? Or was it angry that Suzuka had tried to escape? The ape monkey made attacks to kill Suzuka.

When the ape monkey breathed on the fallen Suzuka, this time perhaps because the inside was rotting, intense pain and vomiting blood wouldn't stop. Unless the ape monkey stopped scattering its breath, even if the skill's effect healed him, he would immediately fall into a poisoned status abnormality and continue vomiting blood. With Suzuka's status abnormality resistance skill level, he couldn't nullify the ape monkey's poison at all.

He didn't know how long it continued. Vomiting blood, clawing at his own body, running away, getting punched and staining the wall.

The ape monkey wasn't just watching that either. Had it questioned why Suzuka wouldn't die? It breathed further poison on the struggling Suzuka, continued punching with its six arms, pulled him trying to tear him apart—it was trying with all its might to destroy an unbreakable toy.

That continued for a full day.

His function to feel pain was already paralyzed, and even the fear of death had dulled. By constantly recovering to full health due to the garbled skill, the pain brought by the ape monkey always became fresh pain and continued to assault Suzuka.

Even when the ape monkey tried with all its might to tear Suzuka apart by pulling, since it recovered immediately after tearing, the pain of muscles and skin continuing to be torn forever continued to assault only Suzuka. When he was wrung out like a towel, the sound of his spine twisting echoed in his skull, and blood and body fluids soaked the earth to no end.

That continued until it welcomed the night, saw the morning sun, and then until the evening sun shone again.

He couldn't sleep or eat anything. Even so, thanks to the skill, his body continued to move, and the ape monkey continued to attack Suzuka, who wouldn't die no matter how much he attacked.

But that was coming to an end too.

Thud.

The Suzuka who had been smashed into the wall fell to the ground like a doll, not even taking a defensive fall. The wall was so stained with Suzuka's blood that finding an unstained spot was harder.

The ground where Suzuka lay was the same. Due to Suzuka's blood, which wouldn't die but kept flowing, the ground was stained with so much blood that parts had turned to mud.

Because the ape monkey had rampaged to kill Suzuka, the surrounding terrain had changed. Trees were broken, the ground had collapsed, rocks were crushed, and plants contaminated by poison had withered. A battlefield of that extent wasn't the trace of two people fighting. It was probably the tantrum of the ape monkey, who had become increasingly irritated at Suzuka who wouldn't die despite receiving all its attacks, showering Suzuka with attacks that changed the terrain.

During that time, Suzuka tried to escape countless times, but advancing even a few meters was his best record. Suzuka's all-out escape probably looked to the area boss ape monkey like nothing more than toddling.

He was beaten again and again as if being blocked, bathed in stronger poison, and even if he escaped, he was subjected to the ape monkey's tantrum, which was irritated at the unbreakable toy.

As his fear of death faded and he stopped feeling pain, Suzuka's emotions also thinned. Even receiving any attack, he could only let out muffled groans, and like a true toy, he didn't even have the willpower left to stand up.

Suzuka lay on the filthy ground. The ape monkey looked down at him with a bored expression. Both the ape monkey's irritation and its interest in Suzuka faded along with the setting sun.

"Buurururururu..."

A voice from the ape monkey, like it was sighing. Not the raging voice until now, nor the taunting voice, nor the voice of a madman possessed by something.

There was disappointment, exasperation, pity. All together, the voice of something that had lost interest.

As if responding to that voice, Suzuka looked at the ape monkey. Even though Suzuka, who hadn't moved, moved, the ape monkey only glanced at him. There was no interest there, like looking at a stone by the roadside.

The ape monkey immediately averted its gaze and started walking, perhaps returning to its nest. Even though Suzuka wasn't dead yet.

The relentless torture by the Cunning Demon Ape Monkey, the area boss of Floor 1, District 5, came to an abrupt end because the ape monkey got bored. Suzuka just stared at it with emotionless eyes.