Awakening to a Special-Grade Explorer

Book 2: Chapter 59

The Second Boss Area

Chapter 59.

The light purple boss area door has strange figures painted on it.

From the researcher's point of view, the figures had a meaning, and they seemed to represent the characteristics of the bosses that would appear ahead. However, it was pretty challenging to identify them, and most explorers didn't have any knowledge about their shapes and figures.

Many explorers believe that as long as they know the grade of the dungeon, it doesn't matter.

However, one man here was serious about joining a higher guild, even though he was not a student at Japan Explorer High School.

"I see. Beast form, hairs like needles, gray body hair, weakness is the head............ Gufu."

Mizue muttered as he crawled his fingers over the figures, trying not to touch the handprint indentations in the door.

Apparently, Mizue has the knowledge to read features from shapes and figures. Rikka and Tenji had surprised looks on their faces.

"Wow......."

"Yes, I didn't know you could decode it," Tenji said.

"When you are an elite explorer, fighting new kinds of monsters is an everyday thing. As someone who aspires to be an explorer of that higher grade, I've learned the obvious. But it took me some time to learn how to decode......."

Now, they were even more impressed with Mizue. He was able to say such amazing things without hesitation.

He meant what he said, so there was no one here making fun of Mizue. And people here also respected the aspiration to become an explorer. Mizue wondered about it and turned back to the two of them as if he was troubled.

"...... not laughing?"

"Huh?"

"Hmm?"

"No,...... it's nothing. Forget it."

They both tilted their heads simultaneously to Mizue, who didn't know what he wanted to say.

Maybe, he said those things because he was never in a situation where people understood what it was like to be an explorer.

Mizue also thought there was no point in leaving things unsaid here, so he turned back in embarrassment and began sharing his story.

"People around me always laughed at my dream of becoming an explorer. I was always mocked for knowing dungeons and callings. They told me not to waste my time on swordsmanship, not to acquire useless knowledge, not to be serious, and go to college. As far as I was concerned, there were no good people around me. My classmates, teachers, and even my parents demolished my dreams. I had only one childhood friend who supported me when no one else did. That's all."

[TLN: This is just an AI generated picture of Mizue vs the rest of the world.]

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After hearing this sad backstory of Mizue, Rikka burst into tears.

"Ugh...... you did very well in that kind of environment. I'm a little impressed."

"I have the same opinion. Well, it might not help, but I assure you that you will be a great explorer."

"No, don't...... talk to me like I want to be cheered up. And...... I don't want you to cry."

Mizue patted Rikka on the head with an age-appropriate shyness.

This was probably his way of saying thank you.

"It hurts. You can't hit your sister!"

"If you're my sister, you'd better show me some sisterly strength."

"Mizue-Kun is an unpopular boy, after all," Rikka said as if teasing Mizue.

"I've never wanted to be popular. Come on, let's get going."

Perhaps he couldn't stand this atmosphere any longer. Mizue quickly turned around and let his right hand gently touch the hollow of the boss door.

The three quickly stepped back when they heard a clang and a lock opening.

The door pushed open by itself. It was all mechanical.

Through the gap in the door, the sight of the boss area was slowly becoming visible.

They all strengthened their grip on their weapons a little more and took the boss fight seriously.

"Tenji, I'm counting on you. You're our only hope. Get us out of here safe."

"Yeah, I got it."

"It's probably Gufu. If I can follow Fukuyama-san's teachings, Tenji should have enough time to finish it."

Mizue and Tenji share brief exchanges without looking at each other.

The three of them walked towards the magic circle in the center of the boss area, carefully keeping an eye on their surroundings. They were all alert.

This boss area was decorated the same way as the rest of the space.

The pillars of the old temple surrounded the perimeter, with a few glimpses of luxurious gold and blue decorations. Even so, they were peeling in places, perhaps due to age and deterioration, creating an odd atmosphere.

There was also an old throne sitting in the back. It was pretty broad and had an evil aura about it.

"Let's do it."

"Yeah."

"Okay."

Mizue closed his mouth for the last time with that shout and stepped into the magic circle.

Then the black crosses began to gather, building up a boss on top of the old throne. This was already the third time they'd seen this scene, so the three of them focused even harder that it was about to begin.

After a few seconds, the boss's form was visible to them.

"I knew it. It's Gufu."

"The rest is yours, Tenji."

"Yeah, I'll give it a shot anyway."

Tenji replies lightly and holds the Red Demon Sword in the middle position.

There, he silently summoned two Goblins and gathered power in his body.

And so the boss made himself visible.

"--GHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

The creation phase of Gufu was complete, and a high-pitched yell of joy echoed through the air at its composition.

With that timing in mind, Tenji launched a preventive attack, leaving no stone unturned.

He kicked the ground hard and approached Gufu instantly. When a thud sounded as the floor caved in a bit, Tenji's body was already near Gufu's chest.

On both sides, the Goblins were chasing after him a little later.

Even as he caught it out of the corner of his eye, Tenji held the hilt of his red Demon sword behind his shoulder so that he could point it at his enemy.

]First of all,...... head!]

He threw the Red Demon Sword as hard as he could.

"Guffffff!"

Gufu had managed to catch it, but it couldn't handle Tenji's attack speed.

With ease, the hilt of the Red Demon Sword had struck him directly in the head with a thud.

Gufu's head is its weak point. Gufu's eyes roll back in its head from the strong impact, and it falls backward, staggering unsteadily.

[The head was softer than I thought it would be.]

Tenji quickly returned the Red Demon Sword, which was spinning in mid-air after finishing its task, to the 'Book of Enma.'

Without a pause, he ran to Gufu, who had fallen on its back.

And then, it was the Goblins who attacked Gufu first.

"Oni."

"Oni"

However, the Goblin's attack power did not seem to be fatal. Gufu's stomach just shook like the water's surface as they punched it. It did not seem to have much effect.

[Can't these Goblins be good enough against a third-grade boss?]

The Goblins had easily defeated the fourth-grade NeedleMouse, but NeedleMouse was known to be relatively weak among fourth-grade monsters.

So while it may not be a good enough comparison, Tenji thought that the limit for Goblins is likely to be combated at the third grade or lower.

"Then how about the Red Demon Sword!"

"Guffuuuuhhh!"

The Red Demon Sword is quickly thrust into the side of Gufu.

As expected, he felt more resistance than NeedleMouse, but by slashing at it with brute force, Tenji had dealt a fatal blow to Gufu.

"Guffaw!"

So Gufu spun around dexterously as if angered and launched a tail-swinging attack on Tenji, who was nearby.

The corners of Tenji's mouth turned up in a grin.

[Diagonal Backstep!]

Tenji had used the tail attack evasion method that Fukuyama had taught him and had easily avoided the ground cracking attack from the tail attack.

And after the tail attack, there will be a tiny gap.

"Here!"

This time, he held the tip of the Red Demon Sword so that it was pointing at Gufu. He put all his strength into his arm and launched a violent and messy throwing attack.

The projectile, luckily piercing Gufu's head with sharp wind noise, was left to its own devices. The projectile did not stop there but went through, piercing a massive hole in the head. Then it plugged into the wall in the distance.

[Wow,...... that's some serious strength.]