Lonely Attack on the Different World
Chapter 392 - 363

Day 85 – Daytime, Dungeon, 81F

Now then, the girls were clearly fired up to make money, which meant swimsuit production was officially starting today. I'd like to wrap things up quickly. I've already developed the materials and finished making school swimsuits for Fish Girl and Nudist Girl, and I even made competitive swimsuits for Armored Pres-san and Dancing Girl-san. So you could say I've built up quite a bit of production know-how. But apparently, the girls are aiming for bikinis this time! Which means I'll have to start everything over from the design stage again, and some of them are in their growth period, with bust sizes already changing over those days, so remeasuring is necessary. What exactly do these girls expect from a Highschool Boy!? It's pretty tough, in more ways than one?

「GUGYAAAH!!」 (*Thud!*)

Sure, this side job is profitable, but taking all their money would be kinda heartless, so pricing becomes an issue. If it's too cheap, they'll just keep placing order after order endlessly? I'm not even joking.

「GYUWAAAUHH!!」 (*Thunk!*)

Well, this is all before the real yukata production begins, and if I get the measurements right now, the adjustments later will be minimal. With them now being over Lv100 their stats make off-the-shelf clothing not quite suitable.

「GAAAAAAHHH!!」 (*Slash!*)

「Too loud! I can't concentrate! I'm trying to seriously and diligently compile all the stages of the side-work process, okay? Could you not scream every five seconds? It's distracting? And annoying?」

Normally, monsters that aggressively attack on their own tend to gather in one place, but these ones love setting up ambushes, so it's a pain. I mean, they never show up when you're posing cool and waiting. No, they wait until you start walking before popping out. Their sense of timing is the worst. The 『Ambush Bear Lv81』 tries to be sneaky, camouflaging its body, suppressing its presence, and waiting in ambush, but its location is obvious from the start. Basic Presence Detection may not be able to spot them, but with 『Rajingan』, they are plain visible. And the girls all have high-level『Presence Detection』 skills too, so the 81st floor wasn't a problem.

It swings its claws down with surprising speed and accuracy for the size. I deflect the strike with a shoulder shield, step in close, and slash upward in a reverse diagonal cut to take it down. I'm test-equipping the 『Aegis Shoulder Guard – ViT PoW 50% UP, Auto-Protect, Physical/Magic Protection(EX), Reflection, Absorption, Shield Slash, Shield Bash, +DEF』Surprisingly, shoulder guards are pretty useful. With my HP and ViT, taking hits is risky, but being able to deflect them is a different story. Let's make an elbow guard when I get back. Using the shoulder, elbow, and gauntlet to deflect attacks with the upper body's side gives a lot more options in battle. The Idiots always did that with their armor, but it's so effective that I can't really make fool of them for it. Well, they are still idiots though?

「I mean, even if I manage to block properly, it still shaves off HP unless it's perfect, which is kind of annoying? Well, this is the first real battle test, and with some practice it could be usable. It does work as a last-resort defense option, but the looks are a bit? Edgy?」

I tried to strike a conversation, but a quiet and shy type bear-san remained silent, so apparently, it had already passed on. A black cloak, a black shoulder guards, it's the kind of setup that makes you go, 「Wait, what class even is this?」 But since I'm still Jobless it's a bit of a strange feeling. But well, it's usable.

Armored Pres-san and others had recommended it, so I tried it out as a test, and so far, even when wrapping it in『Magic Wrap』, there hasn't been any signs of self-destructing, nor does it feel particularly awkward. Actually, it's way more comfortable and maneuverable than I expected.

「GROAAAHHH!!」 (*Thwack!*)

Still, why do these guys yell when they're supposed to be hiding and ambushing? Maybe they're trying to use『Intimidation』, but if you're trying to sneak up on someone, yelling kind of ruins it?

(Jiggle-Jigggle!)

I must've taken too long, because I was the last one, everyone else was waiting. To wrap this up quickly, let's just push all the way to the 90th floor, our target today.

Or so I thought, but we hit the last stop at the 87th floor. It's the Dungeon Master. Sometimes one shows up on an odd floor, so I guess it's still in its growth phase? At least it seems well-developed.

Sitting there and glaring down at us from the center of the 87th floor is the Dungeon Master: 『Polyphemus – Lv87』, a single-eyed giant. But no a standard Cyclops, a named one. I'm pretty sure he's that nasty NTR-type giant from Greek mythology. Supposedly Poseidon's grandson, but that family tree's a mess. Basically, ones of those 『Oh yeah, there was that guy』. A huge, jacked-up giant.

When he stands up, his head nearly scrapes the high ceiling of the floor, massive, even by giant standards.

Which means he can't really raise his arms properly, and swinging wide is impossible. The Dungeon's too cramped. So I just walked along the ceiling and started smacking him on the head. At a glance, a giant tall enough to reach the heavens seems terrifying, but in a space this small, it's hard for him to fight. He can stomp just fine, but with arms too high to swing properly, he's got limited options. I always think this, but honestly, giants are just not suited to dungeons. Out in the open, with that stride and reach, they'd be overwhelming in an open battle. But inside here, they just end up awkwardly flailing around, stuck on the architecture. His fighting style leans more on brute strength and physical size than actual skills, but in this tight space, there's not much he can do. He's getting slashed from below and clubbed on the head from above. All he can do is thrash. He's monstrously strong and durable, but that's all. If fighting carefully and patiently, even the girls could take him down. Though, yeah, it'd probably take a whole day.

The real pain is his 『Absolute Reflection (EX)』. With the level gap, you can't just attack recklessly. Still, it seems that effect only applies to his fur clothes, his arms, legs, and head are fair game. The problem is, he's so tall that most people can only reach his legs. It is only because his head is scraping the ceiling and I have the ability to walk on it, that I have the option to attack the head.

If this guy had made it outside, we wouldn't have been able to stop him. The damage caused before we could bring him down would've been catastrophic, and taking him down at all would've been a nightmare. Something this massive and strong would tear through even a city wall. That's why we have to kill him here for good. I mean, he's just a giant middle-aged man!

He minimizes incoming damage using 『Hardening』, and recovers with 『Super Regeneration』』, a massive giant with four-digit HP. If we fought him normally, it'd be a long, grueling battle. So I aim carefully at Polyphemus' head and fire off 『Atomic Manipulation』 within controlled limits. Messing up someone's brain on an atomic level sounded kind of awful, so I thought I'd give it a shot, and sure enough, he's clutching his head and writhing in pain. But watching a huge, one-eyed old guy squirm isn't even remotely entertaining, so we shift into an all-out assault. 「I mean, he's a giant, right? So of course 『Divine Chains of Prometheus』 could bind him, since they once bound Prometheus himself. But seeing a groaning old dude in chains gives me nothing but sadness, so let's just finish this fast, okay? I mean, there is nothing fun about it, and obviously, there won't be any tentacles! No one wants this content!」

A giant tough enough to withstand repeated attacks from three 『Dungeon Emperor』-class fighters and not die instantly. Even with his brain being atomically rattled, his 『Super Regeneration』 keeps him alive. His durability is insane. If he weren't stuck in a Dungeon, he'd actually be a huge threat. But tight spaces aren't his forte, so he chose the wrong career? He wasn't suited to be a Dungeon Master.

「Nice work, everyone. Fights like this are such a pain? I wish there was a cleaner way to deal with them. We have enough firepower and tricks to handle it in any way we please, but if it were Pres and the others, this'd be a full-on desperate slog fest.」

(Nod-nod, nod-nod, nom-nom)

No, munching doesn't count as a reply? And it's not like he looked very appetizing. I really don't want adorable Slime-san absorbing middle-aged man essence. That said, with all those abilities like 『Super Regeneration』, 『Absolute Reflection』, and 『Hardening』, he probably had a lot of chew to him. Being this gluttonous, is it trying to collect every single skill? Though I'm not sure it should be acquiring skills like Hikikomori, NEET, or Loner. I've never seen a monster with such depressing traits, but eating it surely doesn't sound like a good idea..

Still, the whole point today was to test the shoulder shield, but with a monstrous brute like that, a single glancing hit could've killed me, so I didn't even get to try. And as for the 『Auto-Defense』 function, I have no idea how close to death I need to be before it kicks in. Since it works on its own, I'd need to get used to it to trust it, which is a little scary. 『Shield Slash』 and 『Shield Bash』 look like semi-autonomous attacks, but they seem to need precision control too. I wanted to test them, but once I started using 『Atomic Manipulation』, there was no room for anything else. Managing『Teleportation』 and『Gravity』from『Magic Wrap』, controlling them all through 『Wisdom』, coordinating every single skill manually, it's way too much. I'm working overtime like some kind of overburdened black-market skill handler. At this rate, one of them is gonna strike back someday!

「Mind if we hit another dungeon? I want to practice for a bit. If I try this back at the inn, I can already see myself getting battered, along with the should guards, so I was hoping to test it out somewhere safe and peaceful like a dungeon. That's fine with everyone~?」

(Nod-Nod, Nod Nod, Jiggle-Jiggle)

Apparently, it's fine, wait, you already finished eating that giant thing!? But I bet Slime-san will still eat dinner later too. And yet, it always returns to its original size. If the girls found out, they'd probably want to join the Church of Slime-san! Let's bounce-bounce together?

Anyway, Slime-san handed over the magic stone. Looks like we got a drop, too. That giant, who seemed to be wearing nothing but fur, apparently had 『Polyphemus's Leather Armor – PoW ViT 30% Up, Regeneration (Greater), Reflect All (Greater), Hardening, +DEF』 Looks like it really wanted to show off its name! Probably upset its appearance was so short-lived.

On the way back, we stopped by a nearby Dungeon. It's shallow, and we are starting from the first floor, so it's just playing around.

But actually, a swarm of weaklings turned out to be perfect for testing. The supposed main feature, 『Auto-Defense』, was surprisingly underwhelming. It's really meant for emergencies, a last-ditch save function. Relying on automatic activation is not a good idea. Since it triggers without control, it's hard to use intentionally. Still, it could be life-saving in a real crisis.

Ironically, the real stars were 『Shield Slash』 and 『Shield Bash』. Sure, slashing is faster, and I've got 『Random Attack』, 『Dimensional Slash』, and even 『Fire Bullet』for long range. But this is actually the main feature.. Because this is a funnel-san! [1]

It's so fun! The Shoulder Guard floats midair, providing offense and defense support. Its weaknesses are mana drain and control complexity, but by connecting it with 『Magic Thread』 I made with『Magic Hands』, the mana usage drops dramatically. The thread can also be used for slicing or restraining. I leave the fine-tune control to 『Wisdom』, while visually tracking it with『Rajingan』all the time, so I can control it just fine.

If I can master it like my own limbs, it'll directly increase my attack and defense options. With the magic-thread connection, it can even fire spells, allowing for Fire Bullet Crossfire. I really wish I had this back during that nightmare siege at Murimuri Castle. It'd be perfect against snipers or self-destruct types. Against monsters? A little situational.

In most dungeons, it won't get much use, because the『Staff of the World Tree』is just so ridiculously powerful, that just hitting mobs with it would be faster. Honestly, most monsters go down if you just keep hitting them? That said, they are exceedingly convenient for breaking traps or disrupting technical tactics, plus they should be very effective for harassment in duels. I mean, funnels are totally cheating, right? You can't seriously call it a one-on-one if funnels are involved, can you?