Chapter 169: Miscalculation
Link: https://ncode.syosetu.com/n7583de/
Author: Hirukuma
Translated by Zzonkedd
Edited by Gumihou
Hyurumi and Kikoyu retreated all the way to the door, where they could make a swift escape even as they kept an eye on the situation.
Ramis, Mishael and Hevoy charged forward. However, instead of preparing for a battle, the Two-Headed Ogre yawned.
In addition to a lack of weapons, the monster had nothing on it but simple strips of cloth wound around its upper and lower body. From its excessively bulging body, it looked like it was pretty confident with its strength. Well, it would soon learn not to underestimate our party.
Mishael was the first to step into range. His broadsword flashed forward, wreathed in flames as it slashed diagonally across the Two-Headed Ogre’s body.
Two spiked iron balls looped forward, crashing into each of the ogre’s heads. [1a] [1] Ramis followed up the attack by ramming her fist into the enemy’s stomach.
How boring. Because it underestimated us so much, it did not even have a lick of chance to defend or evade. Every single attack was a critical hit. Even a floor boss monster would have difficulty recovering from a direct hit from Mishael or Ramis.
“You take humans too lightly… wait. Retreat! Gahh–!”
Just as Mishael’s confident smile faltered, his entire person disappeared from my line of sight.
W-what just happened? The sound of something crashing registered in my ears, but before I could process it, my <Barrier> activated on its own and suddenly, my line of sight dropped by several inches. [1] the floor level had dropped from around Ramis’ feet to her knees. Wait, did the enemy just ram our bodies hard enough that we sank that much into the ground along with the <Barrier>?
I quickly looked up and saw a massive purple fist just above the <Barrier>. There were cracks in the translucent blue wall.
[Your points have decreased by 2222]What the hell?!
Back when I was struck by that monstrous eight-legged crocodile, I only lost 1000 points. To think that a single punch from this Two-Headed Ogre was enough to cause such a massive point depletion?
“Can’t crush.”
“Can eat this?”
The two ogres heads tilted to the side as they looked down at us.
Even though they looked dumb, their strength was off the charts. Despite taking direct hits from all of us, it remained unscathed. Moreover, a single attack from them was more powerful than anything that I had ever experienced before.
“Eh? Eh? Wh-why didn’t it collapse?”
Ramis knew the impact of her punches best. She was now staring up at the Two-Headed Ogre, who remained unscathed despite receiving a direct punch from her.
Was I the one who was too naive? Looking back, this would be my first time going head-on with a floor boss.
We won against the Octo-Crocodile and Flaming Giant Skeleton through schemes and cunning tactics. The Undead King was defeated through a cooperative effort with Ramis. However, since he was actually a subordinate of the Ruler of the Netherworld and not the real thing, I believe that his strength was inferior to the original floor boss.
As for the Elderwood of the Dark Forest Floor, well, we did not even lift a finger against that one.
Because of our past successes, I had assumed that victory was a certainty. It was only then that I realised how naive I had been.
“Too bad too bad too bad”
I don’t have time to properly comb through my syllables to form more accurate words and could only repeatedly call out ‘Too bad’ to show my negative feelings against this enemy. Even so, Ramis was able to understand what I was trying to say and instantly retreated.
“That thing’s strength is off the charts! Please retreat!” Hevoy shouted as he ran towards the door.
The rest of us sprinted with all our might towards the door, our backs to the enemy.
I turned my gaze towards the Two-Headed Ogre. Wicked smiles adorned their faces and they were spewing something that looked like steam from their slacked, fanged mouths.
They were also sprinting towards us at a speed that belied their massive body.
There was no way we could outrun it. I must find a way to stall it somehow. Time to change into the <Kerosene Dispensor> form.
As soon as the transformation was completed, I aimed the nozzle onto the floor at its feet. If it had paused or moved carefully, this would not have worked. However, it continued to dash forward confidently and it was this confidence that was its downfall.
“Ugogah!”
“Slippery.”
It flailed, slipped and fell forward in the best way possible. Flat on its dumb faces. Although it looked vulnerable and full of gaps, it would be best to just escape now since none of our attacks work on it.
That’s right, let us focus on escaping. Oh, wait, what about Mishael?
He took a direct hit from one of those huge arms, surely it could not have been without consequences?
When I looked in the direction where Mishael had crashed, I saw that he was in the process of being gently airlifted by Kuroyata, to be placed onto Botan’s back.
Good, those two managed to retrieve him. Thank you!
Our party squeezed past the door and sprinted down the stairs. I did not forget to spray kerosene behind us as we fled.
The sound of a large body thudding and crashing downstairs could be heard over and over again.
“Kill youuuu!!”
“Get youuuu!!”
Well, those threats just made us run faster.
The ogre continued to follow us. Smashing their huge arms into walls and crushing holes into the ground from traction. Advancing forward like a beast on all fours.
It was rapidly adjusting itself to the kerosene and developing ways to counter the slippage. My friends could not see what was happening behind them, but I had a perfect view of the massively intimidating beast that was chasing us down.
The sight of two gigantic ogre faces glaring down at us and annihilating everything in its path was more horrifying than any horror game in the world!
Whatever traps that had remained on the second floor were quickly tripped, but the Two-Headed Ogre hardly seemed to feel them. The various knives and spikes probably felt like mosquito bites to it.
If you must know, this was how our party made our escape.
As one with the least physical strength, Hyurumi had been quickly scooped up by Ramis in a princess carry while Kikoyu clung to Hevoy’s back.
Shui paused at certain points to fire arrows at the rear, but they all bounced off the body of the ogre. None of the arrows managed to even slow the monster down. Kuroyata’s sonic attack slowed it down slightly, but the effect was minor.
“Hey, Hakkon! I keep hearing a thudding sound behind me. What’s going on?!”
“If you win, you get to go again”
“That’s what you always say when you want to dodge a question!”
“Ah, you’re better off not knowing.”
Hyurumi could see as well with my body in the way, but she must have caught sight of the Two-Headed Ogre now and then. Despite her flippant tone, her expression doesn’t look good.
Deciding that we would get caught eventually if nothing changed, I pulled out a lighter from the vending machine and ignited the scattered kerosene.
My vision suddenly exploded in red as the surprised Two-Headed Ogre also went up in flames. After having slipped and slid all over the place, its body quickly caught fire.
However, I doubt it will die from this. Therefore, we still need to escape.
We dashed through the corpse-littered first floor with the smoking Two-Headed Ogre chasing us down, it looked even more ghastly in its burnt state.
Given the number of bodies on the floor, kerosene would probably have little effect, especially now that it has adapted to it. What should I do? Think! What should I do to stop it?
The ceiling was too low for me to transform myself into the largest <Ice Vending Machine> in Japan. Not to mention, one hit from that creature could instantly reduce my points to zero and leave me as scrap.
Water, ice, flame… none of these are good enough given my current abilities.
What about light? I could max out the vending machine’s light to blind it… not that it would be that useful considering that it’s still daylight and how brightly lit the Desert Pillar is.
Do I have no choice but to cover the floor in tons of lube?
“Much food!”
“Much meat!”
The Two-Headed Ogre that had been chasing us down suddenly stopped. It started scooping up one of the countless bodies littering the floor and began devouring them, bones and all.
I see, the Two-Headed Ogre must have been so hungry that its hunger overwhelmed its anger? Or, was it angry because it was hungry? Was it in a constant state of hangriness?
I know some people would binge eat when they are stressed out, so, maybe it was something similar to that.
At any rate, this was a fortunate turn of events for us. Let us use this opportunity to escape.
Trusting that we would be safe so long as it was feeding, I selected a few different types of barbecue sauces from my product line and sprayed them over the bodies of various monsters.
If it had taste buds similar to a human’s, it should like seasoned food. The barbecue sauce was a product that I often used in the past.
The Two-Headed Ogre sat cross-legged on the floor, fully engaged in its meal. It appeared to have lost interest in us. However, we must not let our guard down yet. We must remain alert until we exit the Desert Pillar.
Ramis pushed the first-floor door, our friends rushed out one after another. When the last of us escaped the door, the tension and fear of death dissipated and everyone slumped to the ground, drained.
It was pitched black outside. We had not noticed that night had fallen thanks to the magical light inside the Desert Pillar. A testament to our lack of composure thanks to all the happenings inside.
“We’re not safe yet. Let’s move along the wall for now, we don’t know whether that creature would burst through the door or not.”
Everyone mustered up the strength to stand and shuffled along the wall, keeping one hand on the wall at all times.
Hevoy had healed Mishael before we started moving. He was now sleeping peacefully on Botan’s back, it looked like he had just fainted.
What a relief.
However, the enemy was much stronger than we had expected. No, rather than that… I was too confident in my comrades’ strength and Ramis’ growth.
After all, a floor boss is an opponent that one should meticulously prepare and strategize against. We had been lucky thus far, to the point that we became completely complacent.
That monster was what a true floor boss should be. A floor boss who must have defeated tens or hundreds of hunters who challenged them. The deeper one goes, the stronger the enemy, this is the logic of a dungeon challenge. Naturally, the floor bosses should be stronger the lower we go.
“What should we do now, Hakkon…”
Normally, I would respond cheerfully with “Welcome” or something, but, really, what should we do? I’m also at a loss.
[Gumihou: Uh oh, hopefully, that monster doesn’t come out to chase people down or attack the village…]
[1] Adjust battle scene [1a] One of the scenes was ‘Then, two sharp, extended spikes from the morning stars he carried crashed in from either side, as though attempting to sandwich the ogre’s head’
Though descriptive, it is problematic because firstly, the ogre has two heads, secondly, it was too wordy, and third, the paragraph just came out of nowhere unnaturally.
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