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Chapter 125 – Growing Shadows
“Damn it!”
Apparently, my first move had been the worst possible choice.
The multiple lights generated by the magic created different long shadows on the Shadow Roper, each from a different angle.
The Shadow Roper must have turned these shadows into his split entities.
An assessment of its status by the Usurper’s skills also yielded another piece of information.
That is,
Job──────────────────
Multiheaded Serpent Rank S
If the world is so big, why don’t we multiply the number of heads by the same amount?
～The symbol of a raging river that flattens the land or just a muddy stream that has lost control.
The monster job “Multiheaded Serpent” is a job that can only be done by monsters that have multiple independent brains, with each brain controlling a part of the body similar to the long neck.
Coordination between the multiple brains is facilitated. As a monster’s rank increases, it becomes possible to use different skills and abilities in parallel for each dominant part of the brain.
While unpredictable, simultaneous actions that confuse the enemy are powerful, the individual actions of each dominant part, which are only a part of the whole, tend to be less powerful.
In addition, the processing capacity of each brain is limited by the need to integrate the processing of multiple brains.
It is important to distract and overwhelm the enemy by simultaneous parallel actions without relinquishing the initiative.
◇Ability
Projective Split
Turns one’s shadow into one’s clone. The clone has the same ability as the main body, and HP is independent of the main body. The same shadow cannot create more than one clone. Also, the clone created by this ability cannot use this ability.
◇Support Ability
Formless Shadow
By transforming the body into a formless shadow, all attacks are almost certainly nullified.
◇Unique Bonus
Compared to the normal “Multiheaded Serpent,”
・Aptitude for Light attribute magic.
・It is possible to invoke magic without chanting by sacrificing the power of magic as much as possible.
・It has unparalleled resistance to all kinds of abnormalities.
・Outrageous resistance to the “instant death” state abnormality.
There is a tendency.
◇Level-Up Bonus
The following bonuses are added to the skill increase when “Multiheaded Serpent” levels up.
HP +3, VIT +3, DEX +1
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This is the job description of the Shadow Roper.
It’s the effect of their Projective Split ability, which turned their own shadow into a clone.
The Multiheaded Serpent job that the King Roper had on the road didn’t have this kind of dangerous ability.
Monster abilities are not fixed for every job.
Just as not every Magic Swordsman has Switching Alone and Strategic Ambiguity, there are monsters with different abilities, even if they are rare.
No wonder the Shadow Roper, the secret floor boss, has special abilities.
The number of clones created by the Shadow Roper is… four?
That’s exactly the same number of Lights I created.
I wondered for a moment if they would disappear if I turned off the lights. I thought for a moment, but I guess things are not that simple.
The description of projective splitting clearly states that the clone has a different HP than the main body.
The only way to get rid of the clone is to cut off its HP.
“Tch…!”
Immediately, some of the clones extend their shadowy tentacles.
According to the description, each of their tentacles has a brain and should act simultaneously.
I manage to dodge the tentacles that come at me in pieces.
I slash at them with my sword and shoot them down with magic to make room for myself.
“This is going to be tricky…!”
If the opponent is a human explorer―or a normal monster with a single head―there is a natural breathing pattern to the continuous attacks.
Slash diagonally from the top, and if that is blocked, flip the sword and slice the bottom…
There is always an attitude to such an attack.
But the tentacles of the Shadow Roper, each with a separate brain, move with independent judgment.
And with the overly flexible body of a shadow tentacle.
One tentacle approaches like a normal tentacle, aiming to bite or grab.
Another tentacle strikes from the shadows on the ground.
Other tentacles reach high above my head and shoot down magic bullets of shadows from there.
It is more of a disorder than coordination.
Rather than a saturation attack, it is just bullshit.
To put it bluntly, it is a wasteful attack.
In any case, it doesn’t matter if the attack hits another tentacle.
But even though there is some waste, there is no gap.
It is a wave attack of four clones combined with the main body.
Roper, who has the agility of a group, even if it is a single body, multiplies its agility by five.
The overwhelming volume of the attack is like a flood of rivers.
What’s more,
“My attack won’t get through!”
Neither sword nor magic nor any other attack can hit the tentacles, which are shadows themselves.
No, to be precise, it is not that they do not hit at all.
At least one out of ten attacks will hit.
But if you can’t hit nine out of ten times, your attack won’t even serve as a deterrent.
Of course, this is probably the effect of the support ability of Formless Shadow.
According to the description, it has the effect of “turning the body into a shadow with no substance, almost certainly negating all attacks.”
The expression of the degree of “almost certainly” seems to be about 90% effective in the current situation.
90% for “almost certainly” is a probability close to the upper limit of this expression.
I don’t know if it’s a matter of the difference in ability between me and it or if this guy is just riding the wave.
“Eeeeii!”
Shadows rush in.
I dodge them with my will.
Without an integrated will, it is impossible to “read” the attack.
All I can do is dodge them with my reflexes.
Even if I try to check them with swords or magic, it’s useless if I can’t hit them.
Besides, as long as the attack doesn’t hit, the Rondo of Magic Sword combo of sword -> magic -> sword… doesn’t work.
I just dodge.
Occasionally, I fire ranged attack magic, betting that a tenth of it will get through.
If I’m lucky, I can thwart a few tentacles, but that’s it.
“Yes, light in the shadows – how about that! Blast Nova!”
Wouldn’t magic that produces light against shadows be powerful?
With such an alarming thought, I unleashed a blast of light magic,
“PUSHIII!!!”
“Damn it, it’s multiplying again!”
A new clone emerged from the shadow of the main body created by the lightning spell.
Projective splitting has the restriction that “multiple clones cannot be created from the same shadow,” but does that mean that countless clones can be created from different shadows?
But just in case, the magic I used earlier had gone through one of the clones.
When I checked with the Judgement skill, I found that the clone’s HP had been reduced to about two-thirds of its maximum.
If the Sword, Magic, and Rondo of the Magic Sword work together, it should be possible to take out one of them with a single combo.
But to do that, you have to pass the tenths three times in a row.
――Roper, who has a lot of moves on his own, will be able to multiply even more.
――And all of them have shadowy, disembodied bodies.
It seems like it’s trying to kill me with everything it’s got.
“One floor boss, and it’s already like this?”
But it’s not like I’m completely outnumbered.
I expected to be outnumbered even before I came here.
After all, I was alone.
Countermeasures against an enemy who outnumbers you are your lifeline.
However, I didn’t expect to face such a formidable opponent.
“Come on, Arc Sahagin, King Roper!”
I pull a card from the void and shoot it around the perimeter like a card thrower.
Throwing a card at a target is a surprisingly difficult skill, but with my current Dex, it’s no problem.
The monster cards I have now are 22 “Arc Sahagin Lv 9536” and 14 “King Roper Lv 9542”.
It would be useless to take out the “Rock Golem Lv 24” in the Black Swan Forest Water Park Dungeon.
I just threw away half of the Ark Sahagin and King Roper 11 and 7 cards.
“UGIIIIIIIIII…!”
“FSHRRRRR…!!!”
Arc Sahagin and King Roper appear here and there in the boss’s room.
I summoned a few of them to surround a single clone.
Now, how are the monsters fighting?
“Surprisingly not too bad…?”
King Roper, which is tentacle x tentacle, is struggling, but Arc Sahagin is wielding a spear and putting up a good fight against the shadow tentacles.
King Roper, which seems to be struggling, is also useful enough, considering that it is attracting some of the enemy’s tentacles.
“PUSHIIIIIIIIIIIIIII…!!!”
Shadow Roper (main body) crying out in frustration (?).
“I’m your opponent!”
I, who had become free from the clone’s attack, was approaching.
As I dash forward, I thrust my left-hand short staff forward,
“Gale Slasher!”
I slash away the tentacles of the main body with the blade of wind.
I use that opening to get into the Shadow Roper’s chest.
Then I flash the magic sword in my right hand.
“PUGIIIIIIII?”
“Now! Magic sword―Storm Crusade!”
Magic → Sword → Magic Sword.
I chose a magic sword with a wind attribute to match the magic sword Stormcaller’s attribute.
If it’s fire or light, it’ll create shadows and make it create clones again.
The power of this magic sword is slightly enhanced by the effect of Rondo of Magic Sword.
Job──────────────────
◇Ability
Rondo of Magic Sword
By alternately chaining sword and magic, the power of all attacks, the speed of magic chanting, and the MP consumption of magic are considerably increased.
This effect is cumulative.
The accumulation of the effect is extinguished by the occurrence of any of the following events: use of the magic sword, failure of the chain, or the end of the battle.
If a magic sword is used during a chain, the power of the magic sword is dramatically increased according to the number of previous chains.
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This time, the number of chains is only 1, but the increase in power is “dramatically,” which is the fourth level in the expression of degree.
I have the impression that the power of the sword increases by about 20% when I use it on the road.
It was inevitable that the Gale Slasher, which produces countless blades of wind, hit, but it was a coincidence that the slash with the magic sword hit the target.
Without missing a tenth of a chance, I activated the magic sword.
A huge tornado blade is swung down on the Shadow Roper.
“PYUGIIIIIIII?!!!?”
Shadow Roper screams out.
The second tenth of the blade passed.
But the response is not enough.
This thing’s HP is more than two million.
With a one-chain magic sword, the HP is not even ten percent.
If anything, I should be surprised that I managed to cut down nearly 10% of the boss’s HP with a single blow.
However, the slash I released for the follow-up attack was nine-tenths.
I move away to resume my efforts to finish him off.
I glance at the battlefield,
“Several of them have been taken out…”
Arc Sahagin and King Roper are struggling, but their numbers are already dwindling.
I had thrown out half of the cards I had, but the damage to the main body was less than 10% of its maximum HP.
“I should have kept more of them…”
It was too late for regrets.
The remaining cards in my hand were 11 Arc Sahagin and 7 King Roper cards.
Rock Golem, which is too low level, is out of strength.
All that remained were the secret monster cards of Hotei, Hobijinkai, and Gennai.
All of them have their own unique characteristics…
“…Hmm? Wait a minute. That’s a good idea.”
Ever since that Secret Monster became summonable, I’ve been thinking, “Maybe I can do that?”
Until now, I haven’t had a chance to try it because it’s often faster to fight by myself than to rely on the Secret Monster.
The tentacles of the regenerated shadow attacked me as if to envelop me.
I use wind magic to block the tentacles and once away from the Shadow Roper.
Then, I took out a secret monster card from the emptiness.
The Hobbit Sumo Wrestler Hobijinkai, who defeated Junko Tozaki with his overwhelming sumo power?
Karakuri Doctor Gennai, who has been raining missiles by rolling a Karakuri UFO?
No, my choice here is neither.
“Come on! Hotei!”
In response to my summons, a hulking, burly, golden Hobbit appeared.