Chapter 19, Boss Battle Begins

Translator: Lizz

  

“What an insanely beautiful lake…”

 

At the place where the boss is supposed to be, I find myself strangely moved.

 

Living a normal life, you don’t get many chances to see a lake this beautiful.

 

But I don’t see any sign of the boss at all.

 

I make my way to the altar for now, and looking closely, it’s shaped like a square – kind of like a pro wrestling ring. Definitely feels like a stage set up for a boss fight.

 

“Huh? Something’s… there.”

 

I feel like some kind of presence, or maybe bloodlust, is being directed at me.

 

<Boss battle begins. Giant Squid ‘Evolution’ appearing from the front. Beware of attacks from its two tentacles.>

 

“W-whoa!?”

 

As I stay alert and watch my surroundings, something huge, white, and long suddenly bursts out of the water.

 

I dodge with a sideways spin, and then another one of the same thing comes flying at me. I avoid it with a backstep, but I’m already at the edge of the stage and barely made it!

 

Maybe sensing that its attack was dodged, the monster rises from the water and reveals its face.

 

Ah… it’s real. It’s seriously a squid. But for some reason, it’s wearing something like a crown on its head. Is that the evolution material or whatever?

 

Still, this thing is way bigger than any squid I’ve ever seen. I want to say it’s basically a kaiju.

 

“It’s huge! How many meters tall is this thing!?”

 

<The next attack is coming. Beware of the two tentacles.>

 

No time to be surprised. The giant squid’s legs – no, arms – glare at me with full intensity and slam down with a crushing force. It unleashes a rapid barrage of slams – bam! bam! – like it’s trying to flatten me.

 

: Giant Squid?

: Isn’t this bad?

: Fighting a Giant Squid solo is brutal…

: You should run.

: I think besides the two tentacles, if you get close, the eight arms will attack too.

: Huh? Doesn’t it look different from a regular Giant Squid?

: Wasn’t it called something like ‘Evolution’?

: It’s got a massive crown on its head.

: This stream is like a rare monster clearance sale.

: Just dodging that rush is amazing!

: This is impossible!

: Run, run, run!

: Watch out—!

 

Chat is probably going wild. Not that I have time to look; I’m honestly just barely managing to dodge everything.

 

<In this battle, be mindful of how you use your summoning cards. Coordination between summoned monsters is also effective.>

 

But the Giant Squid doesn’t keep attacking nonstop. Apparently, it follows a pattern of attacking for a while, then taking a short break.

 

So when the boss pauses, I try to pull out a card from my pocket, but which one should I use first?

 

The cards I brought this time are: Club Goblin, Pixie, Heal Bird, Ogre, and Baby Dragon.

 

I’ve already used Pixie, so I’ve got four left. Let’s start with the Goblin; I’m most used to summoning him.

 

“Go! Goblin!”

 

I toss the card, and the summoned Goblin charges bravely at the Giant Squid, swinging his trusty club with all his might.

 

But the Giant Squid just looks unfazed, like ‘So what?’, then it sweeps the Goblin away with a wide horizontal strike. And for the record, I get caught in that same blow too.

 

“Whoa!”

 

I roll across the stage, barely dodging the follow-up attacks. My health might be in serious trouble!? Thinking that, I summon Heal Bird next.

 

After somehow recovering my HP, I watch as Goblin and Heal Bird vanish. I take advantage of the opening and slash at the squid’s long arm with my battle axe.

 

It leaves a few cuts, but this is rough. Doesn’t feel like I’m doing much damage to that massive arm. Probably the same if I go for the main body.

 

<Fire magic attacks are effective against the Giant Squid.>

 

“Fire… oh, that!”

 

If that’s the case, then magic it is! Or so I think, but the squid, now wounded, launches a furious flurry of punches with a rage-filled expression.

 

“Ah shit shit shit!?”

 

I manage to block it somehow, but wow, this move is insane. I’ve got no chance to cast any magic at all.

 

: Whoa…

: What is this rush!?

: This thing’s way stronger than a regular Giant Squid

: The fact that the player’s still moving after taking that—insane

: The AI’s way too calm about this!?

: It’s going all out now

: You’re gonna die, seriously!

: Just run for real

: Ruuuuuuuuuun!!!

 

After I manage to block the rapid rush, the tentacles’ movement changes. Now they’re trying to grab me.

 

Looks like it’s getting tired – this might be my chance. I play my next card.

 

“Ogre! Hold down its arm!”

 

The one I summon is the Ogre who gave me a hard time before. But as an ally, he’s surprisingly reliable – he grabs one of the tentacles and holds it firmly.

 

“Dragon!”

 

Next, I summon my only SR card, Baby Dragon. From the thrown card appears a small, adorable yellow dragon.

 

Wait, is this little guy gonna be okay?

 

“Piiiii!”

 

It lets out a chirpy bird-like cry, then suddenly arches its body and starts charging something. Then it flaps its wings, floats into the air, and unleashes a ferocious blast of fire from its mouth.

 

Totally not what I expected! That flame breath is insanely intense.

 

Even the Giant Squid writhes in pain. It tries to retreat into the water, but the Ogre, still gripping one of its tentacles, pulls it back, preventing an escape.

 

<Kagetora-sama, cast Fireball.>

 

“Okay!”

 

The Ogre’s about to vanish soon, so I need to finish this now. I use the altar as a springboard and leap high into the air.

 

“Uoooooh! Take this!”

 

After Miria pointed out my mistake before, I learned the proper technique from a video. I focus all my magic into my right palm, and a pretty hefty fireball forms.

 

I hurl it with everything I’ve got.

 

The fireball grows unusually large and slams into almost the entire body of the Giant Squid, finally dealing a fatal blow.

 

Moments later, the Ogre and Baby Dragon fade away, and the boss monster disappears too.

 

All that remains is an absurdly huge crown.

 

<Congratulations. You have defeated the boss. The dungeon is now cleared.>