Will had never felt so exhilarated.
Because of his poor talent, he had always been unable to achieve the combat scenarios he envisioned. These were usually executed by his three teammates.
For example, he knew what kind of magic to use and at what power level to strike a certain point.
However, his eyes could see it, but his brain and hands couldn’t keep up. The magic circuit would tell him that the demand couldn’t be met.
It was like during an exam in the past; he had studied advanced mathematics for years but couldn’t solve the problems, while the top student next to him would start writing the solution as soon as they saw the question, without stopping.
But…
Bang bang bang bang bang—
Boom boom boom boom boom—
Instantaneous, high-power Level 2 ice balls!
He didn’t even use his staff—he hadn’t brought it, after all—and fired them directly from his fingertips!
So…
So marvelous?!
Is this the world that talented people experience?!
It felt as refreshing as opening a math test today and finding only elementary school mental arithmetic problems!
Closing his eyes, he could feel Shuna’s palm on his shoulder, transmitting a warm current.
It allowed his mind, heart, and hands to finally cooperate in sync.
However…
Perhaps it was the first time they touched so naturally, but Will realized that Shuna’s hands were also the delicate and soft hands of a young girl.
To deal with such a high-agility, high-attack opponent, his own speed had to keep up. Furthermore, since he had chosen to be a stationary mage here, he couldn’t let the opponent get close.
While hitting the opponent’s body with high-power ice balls, maintaining distance and preventing them from advancing.
On the other hand…
Will’s other hand could charge up a freezing beam—yes, the same kind Shuna had just used.
This dungeon’s attribute was particularly vulnerable to freezing, as could be seen from the three-headed dog that had collapsed moments ago.
Will’s eyes were constantly tracking the opponent’s movements, observing the weakest points on its body. Once its rocky armor was broken, it would pause.
Every ice ball he fired landed squarely on the opponent, perfectly aimed and without any time delay.
Moreover…
After accomplishing all this, he could still quietly charge up a larger attack in his right hand, waiting for an opening.
These were things the old Will would never have dared to imagine.
He felt so good, thanks to Shuna’s blessingly bestowed boons.
“Hiss—”
After a round of attempts to break through and advance failed, the opponent stopped in its tracks.
The rocky outer armor that fell off its body had been reacquired countless times.
“Hoo—Roar—”
After becoming like this, the old BOSS on the other side seemed incapable of communication, only letting out low growls.
It seemed that after realizing it couldn’t break through, it decided not to waste energy and was preparing a big attack for Will and Shuna.
“Little Will, the one opposite is acting strange, be careful!”
Shuna leaned in and whispered in his ear, tickling him, making him shrug.
“It’s fine, I understand, of course.”
As he spoke, the opponent began its charge.
Charging up with its hind legs, it leaped from the ground, placing its arms on the ground as well. It transformed from a bipedal “boxer” into a massive quadrupedal monster, charging directly at him—
Will’s lips curved upwards.
This was exactly what he had been waiting for.
Although he had a buff, he couldn’t accurately estimate how much damage he could deal. After a round of clashes, he realized he couldn’t directly penetrate the opponent’s armor to reach the actual lava core.
Therefore, he needed to seize an opening.
That is…
The moment it broke through the outer rock layer, he would blast it with the beam from his right hand!
Bang—
The ice ball he fired was deliberately deflected. Will had also predicted its dodging trajectory. The deflected ice ball, the moment it bounced, knocked off a piece of rock from its chest—
“Alright, freezing beam—”
He didn’t even need to concentrate on aiming; it was as if he could perform such precise movements just by thinking about it.
The beam shot out from Will’s palm, directly piercing through that small gap, blasting the opponent fiercely!
Smoke and dust filled the entire BOSS room.
The roaring sound that had just echoed in the room was no longer heard.
“This… it’s over now, right?”
Although Will’s ability wasn’t enough for a complete penetration.
He believed he had dealt enough damage to incapacitate the opponent.
He had a rough idea of the HP of the 30th floor… well, maybe *he* was the one who filled in the “rough idea.”
“…What a strange feeling?”
Will looked at his palm, listened to his heartbeat, and felt his remaining stamina.
The total energy consumed just now definitely exceeded that of his childhood’s Extreme Flame Meteor.
Although he had grown up now…
It was still somewhat unbelievable to stand in the same spot, having just fought a major battle, without any fatigue.
He raised his head and looked at the old man in the dust, who had been blasted onto a chair and was lying there. His BOSS armor had been removed, and he was lying there in his original form from the beginning.
Could this truly be something he accomplished by himself?
Oh, of course, it wasn’t entirely by himself; Shuna had been buffing him from behind.
But it was indeed something he had achieved personally.
He had personally realized the fluid combat and strategies he desired.
It was truly… an unprecedented feeling since arriving here.
“Hooray! Will! You did great!”
Just as Will was processing everything, Shuna had already hugged him from behind.
“Indeed, Will, your combat sense is superb! You just lacked the talent to realize it.”
“Mm… my machine performance really isn’t great.”
“Eh? What does that mean?”
“N-Nothing, I’m great, I’m amazing!”
Although…
It was indeed just an “experience card.”
But Will had experienced—the feeling of becoming a hero that she had told him about.
Not as cannon fodder destined to die a year later, but as a true protagonist on the battlefield, and it felt really good.
Oh…
Wait, speaking of this buff, wasn’t that something only “Seers,” who “are watched by the gods,” could use? Why did Shuna…
“Shuna, about your blessing just now…”
Shuna had already run to the BOSS, who seemed particularly pleased with the BOSS sitting amidst the rubble.
The old man had shed his armor again, returning to his kind-faced appearance, the one who told strange cold jokes, leaning on his seat.
“Heh heh, I should thank Little Will. If I had made a move, you might not have had a single drop of blood left.”
“Well… then I really must thank you…”
The fallen BOSS was still being stubborn.
“We’re not really here to clear the dungeon. We wanted to ask you about this thing…”
Shuna took out a fragment of the Green Ghost Stone, wiped clean of blood, from her pocket.
“You must have given this to that dog. Could you tell us about its origin?”
The old man, with his life hanging by a thread, looked up at the object.
“What if I don’t say anything?”
“Then we’ll clear the dungeon!”
Shuna drew a dagger from her thigh holster. The weapon, coupled with her tone, was quite threatening.
“Actually… it’s not something I can’t talk about… I needed this thing to protect my dungeon anyway. Saying it would also protect my dungeon, so there’s really no difference.”
He said this while propping himself up on the ruins of a nearby chair.
“Wait, are you really going to spill everything here?”
“Cough… I was just wondering if I wouldn’t have taken that hit if I had said it earlier?”
Shuna and Will exchanged glances.
They nodded in unison.
“But I guess there’s no way around it…”
“That’s a kind of… activated skill when a challenger enters…”
“An unavoidable recovery skill.”
The old man sighed, gazing at the dungeon ceiling above.
“Say something less lame than that!”
