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Chapter 126 – Increasing Trehobis
――Golden Treasure Hobbit・Hotei.
This guy I met in the Hikarigaoka Park Dungeon must be some kind of bonus monster.
He has agility that is off the charts compared to other monsters and unusual luck that is more than two orders of magnitude off.
It has a unique ability, Random Summoning, which allows it to summon an unlimited number of pets, while Plunder and Steal allow it to steal items from people.
He is a rather vicious monster, but the SP and mana coins gained by defeating him are unparalleled.
However, unlike Hobijinkai (Hobbit Sumo Wrestler) and Gennai (Karakuri Doctor), who were also secret monsters but were dungeon bosses, the Golden Treasure Hobbit is not a boss, just a secret monster.
In terms of fighting power, it is actually inferior to Hobijinkai and Gennai.
Well, Gennai has no more fighting power than Hotei unless it works in combination with UFOs.
So why summon such a subtle monster?
“Hotei! Just call your friends!”
At my command, a golden-clad Daikoku-sama-like hobbit (though quite large) repeatedly raises his hands, palms up.
It’s a gesture as if he’s calling his friends from somewhere.
Where he is calling them from is a mystery.
Soon, several Treasure Hobbits appear around Hotei.
A simple display of their status with a dim view shows “Treasure Hobbit Level 9999 Hobbit Rogue/Treasure Transporter”.
Is it a double job?
As you might expect from a level 9999, the demonic spirit he exudes is different from the level 24 Treasure Hobbit in the Water Park Dungeon.
It may or may not be a heartwarming development that a monster I had fought so many battles against in the past (note: I had hunted them all one-sidedly) becomes a friend and fights together in another world, but he looks like he could be quite reliable.
“Hotei, more!”
Hotei raises his arm again and calls his friends.
The Treasure Hobbit appears again.
“Can’t we get another Hobbit?”
I asked, but he shook his fleshy, round face from side to side.
It seems that Treasure Hobbits are the only Hobbits Hotei can call.
It would have been convenient if he could have called other fighting Hobbits as well.
There were Hobbit Swordsmen, Hobbit Shieldmen and Hobbit Mages in the dungeon of Hikarigaoka Park.
…This guy is too small in his circle of friends, isn’t he?
Well, he probably doesn’t want to be told off by a former shut-in.
“Keep summoning Trehobi!”
Hotei answers my command, sweating and waving his hands in the air.
Meanwhile, the first pair of Trehobi that appeared spontaneously started fighting with the clones of Shadow Roper.
Even the dagger in his hand looks sharper than the ones I have hunted in the past.
However, Shadow Roper’s clone has inherited the main body’s Formless Shadow ability (which almost certainly nullifies any attack by turning the body into a shadow without substance).
Even if an attack hits, it will be nullified nine times out of ten, so…
“Huh?”
In fact, Trehobi’s attacks have been nullified many times.
But the probability seems to be three-quarters or even two-thirds.
In other words, Trehobi’s attack hits every third time.
“Well, Trehobi has high agility and luck, so…!”
In the world of jobs, it’s DEX, AGI, and LCK.
DEX is related to hitting, and AGI is related to dodging.
LCK is mainly critical and drop rate, but the job world also has the concept of “lucky dodge.”
While Trehobi is blessed with DEX, AGI, and LCK as a thief, Shadow Roper’s LCK is quite low.
I guess the extra cost goes to HP, MP, STR, VIT, MND, and so on.
In the job world, I have decent DEX and AGI, but my LCK is pretty low.
Magic swordsmen need more MP, STR, INT, MND, DEX, etc, etc, etc.
It makes sense to think that LCK is low because of this balance.
In this sense, you could say that Shadow Roper and I, who got low LCK by increasing my direct combat ability, are very similar.
However, even though we are similar, I am a human explorer, and Shadow Roper is a floor boss.
Floor bosses and dungeon bosses are far superior to explorers in terms of skill values.
Even in a similar matchup, I would be completely outclassed in terms of ability value.
But that is not the case with the Treasure Hobbits.
They are not the strongest monsters, but they have the sharpest abilities.
The Shapeless Shadow’s attack negation, which was triggered almost 90% of the time against me, is only triggered about 6 or 70% of the time against the Treasure Hobbits.
The probability of 6 or 70% should be close to the low end of the “almost certainly” range.
If it were any lower, the answer would be, “That’s not a sure thing at all!
“…It seems to be a better fit than I thought.”
The Trehobis dodge the tentacles of the Shadow with AGI and LCK.
While 60% of their attacks are blocked by the Shapeless Shadow, they deal a steady stream of damage.
Trehobi STR is low, but thanks to LCK, critical hits are easy to get.
Sometimes, Trehobi gets hit by tentacles, but in the meantime, Hotei calls for more Trehobi.
Random Summoning doesn’t cost MP.
It seems a bit cluttered, perhaps because it is basically a monster skill.
Incidentally, the Random Summoning skill seems to be converted into the Thief King job skill that Hotei has.
“Good job, Hotei! Just keep going with the numbers!”
And I’ll retreat completely and leave the battle to the Trehobis.
Because I can’t hit it with my attack…
In the meantime, however, I’m using magic to prevent attacks on Trehobi and Hotei.
Meanwhile, one of Trehobi’s troops finally destroyed one of the clones.
“FUUU… SHIIIIIIIIIII!!!”
Shadow Roper squeals in frustration.
“Haha, there’s nothing you can do,” I thought to myself, but Shadow Roper hadn’t given up yet.
“BLAAAAAA!!!”
This was not the scream of a Shadow Roper.
It was a chant.
From the magic power released, I could also tell that it was a Blast Nova.
Moreover, it was almost chantless.
“What?”
I hurriedly prepared my magic sword, but then I noticed something strange.
The light bomb magic that Shadow Roper unleashed was not aimed at me.
Nor was it aimed at Trehobi or Hotei.
Blast Nova, which doesn’t seem to have much power, explodes in the middle of the floor boss room.
It has little power as an explosion, just a momentary flash.
It’s used like a flash grenade used by the military or special forces.
“Blinding…?”
That’s how I read Shadow Roper’s intention, but a moment later, I realized I was wrong.
The shadow of Shadow Roper, created by the light of the Blast Nova, rises as a clone.
“I see, so it can feed itself, too.”
Shadow Roper’s two unique bonuses were “a reasonable aptitude for light-attribute magic” and “the ability to activate magic without chanting by sacrificing as much of the magic’s power as possible.
Frankly, I didn’t need to be too worried.
The “reasonable” is a second-level expression, and the Shadow Roper has a low INT.
Activating without chanting is tricky, but if you sacrifice the “as much as possible” (4th level) power, it’s negligible damage.
But given the compatibility with Projective Split, I should have thought about why this guy has such a bonus.
Anyway, Hotei still summons Trehobis.
A swarm of Trehobis will soon attack the newborn clone.
King Roper has been wiped out, but there are still a few Arc Sahagin left.
The increasing number of Trehobis continues to chip away at the clone’s HP.