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CHAPTER 249 – CURU’S CHALLENGE AND ADVANCED DUNGEON CONQUEST 4

 

—Curulario’s perspective—

The 40th floor of the Advanced-rank dungeon, the Lion Tower. There, a boss-class monster known as the ‘Aquilaleo’ awaited—a high-tier S-rank monster.

As a general rule, it’s said that even a full S-rank party takes over an hour to bring it down. That’s common knowledge, and something even my masters are well aware of.

However, when Master Drake defeated that disaster-class monster in less than five minutes… it might have given them a distorted impression of its strenght.

「No, that’s not it. Master Aun would never misjudge an enemy’s strength!」

Which means—if even a monster that takes five S-rankers over an hour to kill can be taken solo by me, so long as I go all-out and manage my abilities right… then I, too, can defeat it in under an hour. Alternatively, maybe it’s Master’s way of telling me to ‘reach that level’.

「Exactly! If Master says it can be done, then turning sand into gold isn’t impossible either! Which means—I’ve still got tons of room to grow!」

That thought raised a new question.

Why was I given a time limit of one hour in the first place?

That might be the very gap I still need to fill.

Is it about having enough firepower to finish the job?

Or endurance and MP management to keep fighting for an hour straight?

Or maybe the focus and accuracy to keep landing my hits?

…Honestly, probably all of the above.

Getting hit just means more time wasted, after all. Which means I need the ability to keep up the offensive while also dodging or blocking attacks…

「Hmm… Ah! I think I’ve got it!」

In any case, I don’t have time to keep overthinking it. I’ve already finished all the prep I can do.

And even though I can’t explain it, I’ve got this weird, baseless confidence that things will somehow work out. Acting on that impulse, I opened the door to the 40th floor.

A burst of sunlight greeted me, momentarily blinding, until my eyes adjusted and the sight of a rocky plain filled my vision—huge boulders jutting out everywhere.

「Just as I thought. In this kind of terrain… I’ve got a huge advantage.」

First step—pre-fight prep. I detached my tails to increase my ‘ammunition’. Each of the six tails was infused with status effect skills—【Poison Attack】 and 【Paralysis Poison Attack】. Same routine as always.

Then I boosted my stats with buff skills and topped off my MP with a potion.

「The first move is critical. How long I can keep up an uninterrupted assault will determine whether or not I can beat the one-hour limit.」

This time, I suspected the key to the fight would be one of the challenges Master had assigned me: Magic Barrier.

During the dungeon crawl leading here, I’d taken that concept and added my own twist to it.

Specifically, I modified the barrier to change its color.

It sounds simple, but by using light refraction to alter the barrier’s hue, I created what I now call my 【Camouflage Barrier】. It acts not just as a protective layer, but also as effective visual camouflage against the environment. It pairs especially well with 【Existence Misdirection】, and the synergy has exceeded even my expectations.

The idea came from a monster in a bestiary Master recommended I read. A creature called the Chameleira. It’s not particularly strong or fast, but it’s still classified as B-rank thanks to its exceptional mimicry skills—it can change the color of its body to match its surroundings. The entry even warned that without detection skills, adventurers could be tricked and suffer serious consequences.

We’re both reptile-types, so I’d felt a weird sort of kinship when I read about it. But now, I realize that if I can fully leverage that mimicry ability, I can gain the upper hand not just in dungeon fights, but also against high-level adventurers in PvP.

Combine it with my stealth cloak and the Black Fox Mask of Concealment, and it’s like giving an ogre a club, a tiger wings, or a dragon turbojets.

「Alright then… Let’s begin this delightful little assignment!」

I cloaked all six detached tails with the 【Camouflage Barrier】, then used the boulders to move forward unseen. Eventually, in a wide-open clearing, I spotted my target—Aquilaleo.

Its head resembled a lion’s, its body like an ogre’s, with eagle-like wings sprouting from its back. It wielded enormous weapons in four of its six arms—a massive beast by any standard.

The main threats were its durability and its ability to fly at high speed.

But at the initial moment of contact, that didn’t matter. So long as Aquilaleo doesn’t notice me, it won’t move from its spot in the clearing. That makes this the perfect opportunity to deal a huge blow.

Of course, most adventurers can’t even approach without being detected. Thieves and other stealth specialists might manage to land a hit, but doing so often breaks party formation—and very few can dish out game-changing damage solo.

(But I’m solo. That doesn’t apply to me.)

Suppressing my presence and footsteps, I moved behind a boulder to reach Aquilaleo’s downwind side—ideal for a surprise attack.

(Time to go all out from the get-go! Let’s hit him with something big while he’s just standing there!)

I remotely controlled the six hardened, status-laden tails and spun them at high speed, launching them straight at Aquilaleo’s massive back.

Hearing the rush of wind, it shifted reflexively and managed to swat down two of the tails. But the other four struck true—one of its left arms and a wing were hit.

(No paralysis… but judging by the discoloration around the wounds, the poison definitely took effect.)

In the past, I would’ve let my guard down here. But this dungeon has taught me—naïveté gets you killed.

I already had my next move planned.

He hasn’t pinpointed my location yet. That means my turn isn’t over.

I repositioned quickly while continuing to manipulate the intact tails, creating chaos. I cut off another tail and cast 【Existence Misdirection】 again to prep for the next strike.

Despite the damage, Aquilaleo couldn’t locate me. That meant it would be hypersensitive right now, desperately trying to locate the threat.

So I turned that against him.

I deliberately placed the tail I used 【Existence Misdirection】on behind a boulder upwind from Aquilaleo.

As expected, it reacted to the scent and charged in full force to attack.

(Now!)

That moment—just as it went on the offensive—was the most vulnerable time.

I struck during that opening.

(Once-in-a-lifetime shot. Aim for the legs and wings—right now!!)

Four tails, hidden behind my【Camouflage Barrier】, struck in a follow-up attack aimed at the wings and legs. A deafening roar filled the clearing, and a cloud of dust billowed up, masking Aquilaleo from sight.

A brief pause followed… once the dust cloud cleared up, the sight left me stunned. There was two reasons for my stupor.

One: the parts I’d targeted didn’t seem nearly as damaged as I’d hoped.

Two: the place Aquilaleo had attacked—where it thought I was—was gouged out entirely, as if the boulder and surrounding space had just ceased to exist.

(…Wait. If that hit connects with me directly, I’m gonna get one-shot, aren’t I??)