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CHAPTER 247 – CURU’S CHALLENGE AND ADVANCED DUNGEON CONQUEST 2

—Curulario’s perspective—

Surrounded on all sides by Killing Leos and Red Goblins—eight in total.

They’d probably all come running after hearing that whistle. Which means, if I try to run from here, they might call even more monsters from the surrounding area…

「So basically, I’ve got no choice but to wipe out every last one of them… Whew, alright! Time to commit!!」

Looking on the bright side, this was the perfect training ground for fighting multiple opponents solo.

In fact, Master Aun might’ve planned this from the start—sending me off on a solo run just for this. No… scratch that, he definitely did!

And if I manage to take all of these guys down, the experience points I’ll get will be insane! In that case, using a return stone to run away now would be completely out of the question!!

「Foooo!! I’m getting fired up!!」

Letting my body ride the rush of pleasure chemicals flooding my brain, I naturally slipped into full-on combat mode.

I don’t feel fear. I can still observe everything calmly.

And with my heart pounding in my chest, I realized I was grinning under the mask without even meaning to.

But considering I’ve already been spotted, there aren’t many choices left to me from this point.

「Still, in a situation like this, there’s only one move—【Existence Misdirection】!」

I shifted my position slightly, cast 【Existence Misdirection】 on my severed tail, and jabbed my short sword at a passing Red Goblin riding a Killing Leo. At the same time, I manipulated my tail imbued with 【Paralysis Poison Attack】 via 【Remote Control】 and rammed it right into the neck of a Killing Leo that had lost track of me and looked confused.

「This sensation of my mind and body working in perfect sync—this feels so damn good!!」

I didn’t quite finish them off, but those two should be effectively neutralized now. Paralysis and poison will take care of the rest over time.

Next… Just as I scanned my surroundings again, I heard the whistle of wind—then a spike of pain shot through my left leg.

「Ggh…!」

A glance was enough to confirm that an arrow had pierced through my thigh.

(That was close. If it had hit my torso or head…)

That sobered me up.

Letting myself get too high on the thrill of battle narrows my focus. I need to stay sharp—eyes wide, mind cool.

And if I start holding back now, I’ll end up gaining nothing and having to retreat. No time to worry about later. I need to give this my all now!

「【Soft Outside, Steel Within】! 【Dancing Tail Blade】!」

I kept an eye on the three remaining pairs—six monsters in total—and used my self-buff skill 【Soft Outside, Steel Within】 to boost STR, VIT, DEX, and INT by 1.8x. My AGI drops to 70% of its base value, but right now offense takes priority.

Then I activated 【Dancing Tail Blade】, using 【High-Speed Regeneration】 to repeatedly regrow and sever my tail, increasing my arsenal to six projectiles. Each one was enhanced with both 【Poison Attack】 and 【Paralysis Poison Attack】. I spin them into motion—feeling my MP drain at an alarming rate.

「Hahh… Hahh… My MP’s vanishing so fast!」

This technique involved chaining multiple skills at high speed to allow for simultaneous control of all detached tails. However, the downside was considerable. It cost 1.5 times the usual HP and MP.

I knew MP depletion was my weak point, so I’d stuffed extra potions into my magic bag. But still—didn’t think I’d be pushed this far on the first floor…

Well, no point regretting now. I can analyze and reflect after I survive this.

「You bastards are all turning into experience points today!!」

The tails obeyed my will and flew out in every direction.

First target: the Killing Leos’ legs. If I slow them down, they’ll be easier to deal with.

If I were just up against Killing Leos, I would have the advantage at medium-to-long range.

The six whirling tails pursued the three Killing Leos relentlessly. In seconds, they struck true. I could see their movements slowing—signs that paralysis and poison were doing their job. The attacks were connecting from multiple angles, and the status effect trigger rate was solid.

Back before I trained under Master and the others, I never could’ve pulled off a move like this. That realization gave me a brief flicker of pride—but the pain in my left leg yanked me right back to the moment.

And that saved my life.

「Gyureeeh!!」

With a short roar, a Red Goblin leaped at me from a blind spot.

And behind it, another one with a crossbow had me lined up in its sights.

A simultaneous attack from behind. I’d been trying to stay aware, but a bit of overconfidence from earlier success made me sloppy. I lost track of some enemies’ positions. My situational predictions still need work.

「Crap—!」

I threw up my arms and used 【Form Shift】 to harden them for defense.

…But something felt off.

(Where’s the last Red Goblin…?)

「Gyaaai!」

The world slowed.

I spotted the missing Red Goblin, hidden behind a bulky Killing Leo. He was charging at me now, dagger in hand.

Three enemies are attacking all at once. And from this angle… I won’t block them in time.

I’ll have to sacrifice something. But taking the hit in a non-armored spot is suicide…

(Dammit! Like hell I’m giving up!!)

I shifted the hardened arm defense into a thinner but stronger membrane, imagining it spreading to cover my whole body. If I screw up, I’ll be taking that dagger and crossbow bolt with my bare flesh… but somehow, I shove that fear out of my mind.

—And then it hit me. That sudden rush. A feeling of omnipotence.

Looks like the poisoned Killing Leos and the first wave of Red Goblins just dropped dead. I got a sudden experience points surge—five B-Rank kills’ worth—and felt myself level up.

And that just so happened to trigger right before the Red Goblins reached me.

A few moments later, something exploded inside me.

――Kiiiiiin!

「Gyai!?」

The Red Goblins, convinced they had me, cried out in shock.

But I’ve got no time to waste on their confusion.

Somehow—miraculously—I survived the attack. Now, while they’re off guard, I have to finish them.

I located all my scattered tails and reestablished control.

Then, as a bluff, I moved like I was launching a frontal attack—drawing their focus. Meanwhile, my tails crept in from behind.

「Gughb…」

「Gyueee!?」

「Gobuuh…」

All three Red Goblins were skewered from behind—tails punching clean through their guts.

I watched them collapse into pools of dark red blood, then scanned the area once more to be sure.

(Red Goblins: four. Killing Leos: four. All of them… down.)

Once I confirmed that, the emotion bubbling inside me finally burst free.

「YEAHHH!! BRING IT ONNNNNNN!!!」