章 47: Rank E Dungeon (1)
The sickle of my kusari-gama, Jinchu-Maru, whizzed through the air, before the blade buried itself in the skull of a zombie. With minimal effort, I ripped it out of its embedded place and retrieved it by pulling on tis chain, barely holding down the bile threatening to be regurgitated up my throat.
Said zombie wavered slightly before falling on to its knee and collapsing into black smoke, leaving behind a glowing white orb. I grimaced at the sight before reluctantly approaching the loot orb to collect my rewards.
The rank E dungeon might just be the most difficult thing I have ever encountered…
-----flashback-----
I entered the rank E dungeon same as before, through the panel of options that appeared before me as I approached the Uchiha Clan compound. As expected, the rank F dungeon which I had previously cleared was no longer an option, having a line struck through it and the word 'CLEARED' superimposed on it. The rest of the dungeons, however, held no such restrictions.
Upon selecting the rank E dungeon, just like before, the world around me shattered into pieces before being replaced by a different one. Once again, day turned into night in an instant while my immediate surroundings, previously empty, now contained motionless bodies of what I assumed to be zombies.
[You have entered the [Uchiha Natural Dungeon] rank E dungeon!]
[Clear Condition: Eliminate the Boss.]
Grinning, I retrieved Jinchu-Maru from my inventory. For the purposes of mass slaughter in a dungeon, the chain-sickle was an excellent instrument of precise yet widespread lethality. The weighted end given enough inertia could crush skulls and shatter bones with ease, while the sickle reaped lives as easily as it would for wheat. Not to mention the chain connecting both ends that allowed for medium to long range combat, letting me kill from a distance without worry for my own safety.
Just as I started swinging the weighted end of my chain sickle while activating my Sharingan, the enhanced visual acuity provided by my kekkei genkai showed me something horrible.
If the theme of the previous rank E dungeon was civilians, then the theme for this one was… academy students and freshly graduated genin.
-----flashback end-----
For the past three hours, I was functionally forced to slaughter zombie children. It was difficult, not to mention mentally scarring, to say the least. I could only give a bitter laugh at the cruel joke the system was playing on me.
It got easier as time went on, since I already had the unfortunate experience of killing zombie children in the last dungeon which also contained some but few and far between. The rank E dungeon, however, was all zombie children. Without a single adult zombie in sight.
I was sure that without the mental clarity provided by Gamer's Mind, I might have already descended into deeper insanity than Mizuki did last night. The mental toll of having to look those children in their cold dead eyes before killing them was indescribable. I was able to perform some mental gymnastics, justifying my actions and rationalizing that these children were not real; it was impossible for there to be this many Uchiha academy students or genins.
I had already gone through well over a hundred of them, and it seemed implausible for there to be this many children in a clan with hardly over a couple thousand members in their clan. At least, that was how I was able to rationalize it to myself for killing them. Regardless, it was still sickening to do so.
Once again, I could only laugh bitterly at the system for tasking me with such an inhumane and seemingly sadistic venture.
The EXP was good though, as were the loot drops. I already levelled up once since I came in to the dungeon, which was an insane speed considering I took usually Uncommon items dropped less frequently than it did before, which made sense considering that the previous dungeon was under a double EXP and loot buff because of a first time dungeon bonus.
Each zombie killed gave an average 150 EXP, which seemed adequate considering the zombies ranged from level 10 to 20 and dropped roughly 300 ryo each depending on their level and on occasion some miscellaneous loot. Uncommon loot, which were items that had a special effect, dropped few and far between.
So far I had managed to accumulate four of them:
[Minor Dexterity Elixir – Grade: Uncommon]
A low quality concoction that is poorly made.
When consumed, permanent +2 to DEX.
[Plastic Vampire Fangs – Grade: Uncommon]
A set of vampire teeth made of plastic meant for cosplay purposes.
Durability: 10/10
+10% Lifesteal
[Rogue's Pants – Grade: Uncommon]
A black pair of pants that is commonly worn by shady individuals.
Durability: 30/30
Stealth +1 LVL
Item set effects:
(3/5): Footsteps are soundless
(5/5): Becomes invisible in the shadows
[Demolishing Sledgehammer – Grade: Uncommon]
A sledgehammer generally used for construction and demolition purposes.
Durability: 150/150
+50% damage to structures and creatures made of inorganic material.
They weren't totally useless, even the sledgehammer I could foresee having some usefulness somewhere down the line in the future. The only one I was cautious about were the vampire fangs. It was something I would only equip in the dungeon, and even then I was wary anyone would see it. Bluntly speaking, it looked utterly ridiculous. While its effects were admittedly incredible, giving me the ability to recover HP whenever I dealt damage, it was not something I would be caught dead wearing.
The Rogue's pants I gladly equipped, however. Now that I had three of the Rogue series items in my possession, I would be able to activate the first of its set item effects which turned my footsteps soundless. However, since I was already wearing another pair of footwear that was simply better for combat, the Rogue's sandals that would've been the third of my equipped Rogue series items were left in my inventory.
Thus far, I was only half way through the Rank E dungeon which had a similar layout as before. I could only assume that the Boss was going to be located in the same area as before – the Uchiha Clan cemetery.
----------
I spied the cloaked figure standing motionlessly in the centre of the cemetery from the edge of the graveyard perimeter. Under the effect of my Sharingan, despite the darkness, I could see as my foe as clear as day.
The features of the figure, who I assumed to be the Boss of the dungeon, was hidden under a long and heavy cloak that covered it from head to toe, thus I could not make out any details that would be helpful in a fight. The only thing that stood out prominently was the giant scythe it held loosely with one hand.
Ignoring a stray thought that wondered why the Bosses in this dungeon absolutely adored giant weapons, I started planning my approach.
A sneak attack was, as proven last night, an extremely effective method of dealing with an opponent stronger than me. The problem was that the Boss was in a clearing devoid of any foliage or tall trees that would grant me a location to hide and attack from. Considering my options, I decided on a course of action.
Skirting around the perimeter of the graveyard, all the while reducing my presence to prevent detection, I moved all the way to the opposite end of the cemetery. The plan was to sneakily move to its blindspot and subsequently stealth up to it and deliver a crippling strike as I did on Mizuki. I was under no delusions that I could end the battle in one strike, thus I intended to cut off a limb or something similar in order to severely diminish its fighting capabilities.
Once I was in position at the other end of the cemetery, I cast [Observe] as I got within range.
[Rank E Dungeon Boss: Lesser Shinigami Lv25]
HP: 13,000/13,000
CP: 5,000/5,000
An intern Shinigami who had come to reap the souls of the massacred Uchiha clan. After doing his duty, the intern decided to stick around the mortal realm. He enjoys the peace and quiet of the cemetery.
He has no opinion of you.
Seemed doable, I concluded. It was a weirdly detailed backstory for the boss of a dungeon, but I didn't give it too much thought. I still couldn't be sure of its abilities, but based on its level, I was 50% sure I could take it. But constant vigilance was paramount, so regardless of my preconceived notions, I had to remain cautious.
As I slowly snuck up on the Boss, I removed Kotetsu no Ryuu from my inventory. I only had one shot at a sneak attack, so I could not afford to be careless.
Once I was just 5 metres from the reaper, in an instant, I activated all of my buffs. [Chakra Enhancement] to strengthen my muscles, [Chakra Flow] to sharpen my sword, [Power Strike] to increase the damage I was about to deal and finally [Whirlwind Steps] to double my movement speed. Following which, I immediately used [Flash Step] to instantly get within range and swung my katana diagonally downwards with deadly intent. In that singular moment, my speed was boosted all the way up to near high chuunin levels.
The razor sharp edge of Kotetsu no Ryuu sped through the air and went right through the target. I widened my eyes as it did, however, as I felt zero resistance to my slash. Alarm bells screamed in my mind and it was pure instinct that prompted me to duck down in fright. The sound and wind of something cutting through where my head would have been had I not moved tore through the air.
I flashed away and looked back at where I had been standing just moments ago. Not one, not two but three cloaked figures of the Boss surrounded where I stood last. I strained my Sharingan, desperately trying to see through this illusion, but to no avail. Whatever it was, even with my eyes' ability to see chakra, seemed perfectly real to me.
"The rat finally shows its tail." The middle one spoke with a raspy, gravelly voice; its cloak still concealing its face as well as all other features.
"Pity it scurried off so quickly." The one of the left added.
"No matter, it's soul will be ours soon enough." The last Shinigami remarked.
What in the world was going on!? Even [Observe] revealed nothing. All it showed was three identical bosses with identical levels, names, and descriptions. Had they been clones, there would have been signs of chakra making up its form, and thus be seen through with my Sharingan. Similarly, if it were an illusion I was under, my eyes would have pierced through its falsehood all the same. However, there was nothing that indicated to me that there weren't three bosses directly in front of me.
My fingers tightened the grip I had on my sword, as I tensed my body. Apprehension was slowly creeping in. I was cautious, I was prepared, I was not at all careless, and yet…! Something this ridiculous was happening in front of my eyes, my vaunted legendary eyes, and despite all that I was still clueless as to what exactly was going on.
The three figures seemed content just watching and waiting for me to make a move. However, I didn't have that luxury. What I did have was a time limit that was unceasingly ticking down, roughly 14 hours to go before I would be booted out of the dungeon should I not have cleared it by then.
My hand swung forward, and a flurry of shuriken flew towards my opponents. It was an experimental move, a testing of the waters so to speak. The two cloaked figures easily moved to the side, avoiding the shuriken while the one in the middle brandished its giant scythe and in one smooth, wide motion, battered away the throwing weapons.
The other two bosses didn't stop at just evading the shuriken, they continued moving towards me. Their movements were fluid, as they seemingly glided towards me. The cloaks were hiding their feet, so for all I knew, they were actually gliding rather than running with feet.
They cocked back their scythe, and from opposing sides, swung them at me hoping to bisect me with a single swing of their weapon.
Not that I would ever let that happen of course, as I turned to one of them and sought to close the distance before evading its attack and landing one of my own. The problem with using such a large and unwieldy weapon was that its attacks were easy to read, even without a pair of Sharingan eyes. Not to mention they were slow and clunky to use in real combat unless they were extremely skilled. Though the scythes looked threatening, their users didn't seem like accomplished experts at their handling of the giant weaponry. Rather, it was almost like they were recklessly swinging them with no prior experiences of actually engaging in combat.
I cleanly avoided the large blade and stepped into its guard to deliver a deadly slash across its neck. Yet, once again, I felt no resistance to my strike, and I fell through the figure as though it was merely an illusion. My face scrunched up in confusion and dejection.
The first thought that came to my mind upon recovering from the failed attack was Kamui. Specifically, Obito's Kamui that granted him the distinct ability of intangibility which allowed objects to pass through his body unharmed. And for a moment, I despaired at the insane difficulty of the dungeon Boss. How could it reasonably put me against someone who could utilize Kamui, arguably the most versatile and useful of the Mangekyo abilities, and call it a fair challenge?
However, a sudden realization wiped that thought from my mind. The moment I avoided the swing of its scythe, something felt off. The attack had no weight to it. There was no sound of a blade cutting through air, even as I narrowly dodged it and the scythe passed inches from my ear. It didn't make sense for the Shinigami to activate its Kamui as it was attacking, because what was the point of the attack if it intended to phase right through its target.
Furthermore, with my [Heightened Senses] perk that I received upon achieving 100 DEX, which sharpened my five senses of sight, sound, smell, taste and touch, I had some confidence that I wasn't wrong.
I was starting to conceive the nascent form of an embryo of a theory. However, at this stage I still lacked too much information to make a definitive conclusion. I had to test it out.
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