Rank E Dungeon (2)
Eyeing the large scythe that had returned for another swing, I leaned back to avoid it. But just enough so that it would still leave a scratch when it swung across my arm which I moved out to block and test out my theory.
And just like I predicted, the scythe passed through my arm harmlessly. I didn't receive any loss in HP, nor did I feel any painful sensation on my forearm. Very interesting.
Here were the facts that I knew:
1) My attacks phased through them twice.
2) The first time they tried to attack me, I could feel the weight behind it and hear the sound of the blade parting air – meaning that was real.
3) However, the one that just hit me phased right through me.
4) There were three figures of the Bosses, yet I could see no chakra being used to create illusionary clones nor do I feel like I have been trapped in a genjutsu.
5) When I threw out experimental shuriken to test their abilities, two of the cloaked figures avoided them while the last had to physically deflect.
With these observations, there could only be a few possibilities:
1) I am stuck in a genjutsu so advanced that I couldn't see through it even with the Sharingan.
2) They could use the ability of intangibility like Kamui but very poorly.
3) Or the most likely scenario – the boss had a skill that produced intangible clones that did not use chakra. Which also meant that only one out of the three could physically harm me while the others were just phantoms used for distraction.
As I reached this conclusion, the second of the cloaked Boss reached my back and swung its scythe down vertically. This time, I confidently let it's blade slice into me.
Again, the blade of the scythe pass through my body harmlessly, as I expected because even with my [Heightened Senses], I could sense no real weight behind the attack. There was no sound of air being parted nor any rustling of its cloak.
I turned to look at the last remaining Lesser Shinigami, letting out a knowing grin, "Checkmate."
Once I figured out its trick, the rest of the fight became simple. Since I knew the two of the three beings were just chakra-less illusions and thus posed no threat to me, I could focus my attention on the last remaining tangible boss.
And despite its high level, the boss was a veritable amateur when it came to wielding its scythe in combat. The large, clunky weapon was laughably easy to see through even without a Sharingan. Its speed, while fast, could not compare to my own when I went all out. All it had was a basic attack pattern consisting of large swings of the giant scythe. I easily slipped through those and landed deadly lacerations through its heavy cloak.
Sure enough, a few minutes later, the Lesser Shinigami with its cloak torn up and shredded apart with my blade, collapsed to its knee. Even with the cloak being ripped apart, the inside revealed nothing but darkness and shadow. Even now, I could not see through the openings to make out its face nor any part of its body.
Regardless, with a final swing of Kotetsu no Ryuu, I landed the decisive blow that turned the Boss into a plume of dark smoke.
[+1850 EXP]
It left behind a glowing blue loot orb which I grasped immediately.
[Loot Gained:
+16780 ryo
Skill: Basic Scythe Mastery
Cloak of Veiled Shadow – Rare
Eye of the Dead – Rare]
[Congratulations! Skill: Basic Scythe Mastery has been synthesized by Skill: Myriad Armament Fiend, evolving into Intermediate Scythe Mastery!]
[You have eliminated the Boss!]
[Rank E Dungeon cleared!]
You may now exit the dungeon!
Saying "Exit Dungeon" will allow you to leave.
Otherwise, you will automatically be removed in 60 minutes.
[Cloak of Veiled Shadow – Grade: Rare]
Durability: 50/50
Item skill: [Veiled Shadow] (Passive)
When equipped, the cloak hides the user's face and body in darkness even when shone in the light. Not even chakra sight nor any other abilities can see through the cloak's obscurity.
[Eye of the Dead – Grade: Rare]
Durability 10/10
Item skill: [Eye of the Dead] (Active)
A necklace that allows the user see the lingering souls of the recently deceased once a month. Spirits can only be seen an hour after the person has died. However, user can only see them. Interacting with them requires the use of another skill. Durability reduces by 1 every time it is used. Unrepairable.
I cringed slightly at the cloak which seemed to have been named by a teenage edgelord, although its effects were undeniable. A robe that shrouded the wearer's face and could not be seen through with any chakra sight like the Sharingan or Byakuugan was immensely valuable if I was ever involved in any espionage-like activities.
However, the other two rewards were less than substantial in my opinion. Although it was a pleasant surprise that [Basic Scythe Mastery] evolved into [Intermediate Scythe Mastery], what was the point if I had no scythe to use it with? Even then, I wouldn't be using a cumbersome weapon like a scythe in the first place. Unless the skill applied to the sickle part of my kusari-gama, it was simply unnecessary.
Next, the skill [Eye of the Dead] sounded pretty cool, but upon reviewing the skill description, it was next to useless. What was the point of being able to see the spirit of the dead without the ability to interact with them? All it could do was perhaps confirming the death of an individual by evidence of its soul, and even then it needed the skill to be used within an hour of that person dying. Furthermore, I could only use it ten times at most before it broke.
The EXP and ryo rewarded was also slightly disappointing, only barely more than the previous boss in the last dungeon. Which I guessed made sense since the last dungeon had a double EXP and loot buff, but still it was just dissatisfying. Granted, the fight wasn't all that difficult after I figured out the trick of the Boss, I at least wanted an item or skill with the ability to create clones that could not be seen through with chakra sight like the ones the Boss made.
I took a moment to examine myself, satisfied that I didn't receive even a single injury from the Boss fight. Neither did I expend too much chakra during the fight, which would be advantageous for the next fight with the Hidden Boss. Speaking of…
I looked around the cemetery, hoping to find another clue to discover the Hidden Boss. Previously, the Hidden Boss fight was triggered when I unearthed the box containing the Dullahan's head. However, this time there were no blade-shaped tombstone that demarcated such a clue. Which meant my search for the Hidden Boss was going to be more difficult. And with the time limit of 60 minutes hanging over my head, I had to hurry.
Systematically searching through the cemetery, I tried to find any discrepancies that stood out with little luck. All in all, the cemetery looked completely normal and unassuming for a graveyard that housed Bosses and Hidden Bosses in a dungeon.
I was starting to panic until I noticed a patch of vines covering a part of a wall with something reflective behind it. Smiling, I went over and parted the vines to find a full length mirror that had been hiding behind them.
I excitedly started to slice off the vines covering the mirror with a kunai, and soon the mirror was revealed. I examined it quizzically, trying to find some sort of a mechanism or something that would trigger the Hidden Boss fight. However, little did I know that it was unnecessary.
[Congratulations! You have discovered the Hidden Boss!]
[Warning: You cannot leave the dungeon until after the Hidden Boss has been eliminated!]
Just as I was looking over the message in surprise, I felt a sharp pain from my abdomen.
[-735 HP]
Startled, I looked down only to find a kunai buried deep in my gut, and the hand that held the handle of the kunai came out of the mirror! I glanced back up to see my reflection grinning madly back at me.
Gritting my teeth, I jumped back and felt the kunai dislodge from my torso. Now that I had a full view of the mirror, I could see my reflection had remained in place and it even began stepping out of the mirror into the graveyard.
Ah, I realized, the traditional fight scene with an evil clone/doppelganger/mirrored version of oneself. How banal.
[Rank E Dungeon Hidden Boss: Shinji Ikari (Doppelganger) Lv23]
HP: 6765
CP: 6765
The doppelganger had my name, my face and it also had the same level and HP/CP as me. I could probably also assume that it had all the same stats and skills that I did. This… this was going to be a tough fight.
The doppelganger's Sharingan flared to life as it got into the [Shinkyoken] fighting stance while holding on to the kunai that still dripped with my blood with the other hand. Thankfully, it seemed, the Hidden Boss had no access to my inventory, and thus it could not retrieve Kotetsu no Ryuu nor Jinchu-Maru which I had stored in there. The only equipment it had available was the kunai in its hand and the possibly the other ninja tools I kept in a pouch strapped to my, or rather, his thigh.
I returned the mad grin while removing Kotetsu no Ryuu from my inventory. With the stat boost the weapon gave me, my DEX and STR would exceed his. Which was good since I would need every advantage I could get in order to defeat the doppelganger that equalled me in nearly every respect.
The evil clone frowned slightly at the sight of me equipping my katana, before my Sharingan eyes caught it using [Chakra Enhancement] to reinforce its bodily strength, the layer of chakra coated its outstretched and steel like fingers threateningly. I had no choice but to do the same, but I added on [Chakra Flow] to my katana as well, a luxury he didn't bother mirroring as it held no weapon made of chakra metal.
For a moment, all we did was watch each other, trying to find a weakness in our stance. But I knew that to be a futile gesture – there was no point in trying to find a flaw since I made sure there was no such weakness, which meant neither did the doppelganger. However, I was grateful nonetheless for the lull in battle as it allowed my HP to slowly regenerate from the sneak attack it delivered in the beginning.
While I was tempted to use medical ninjutsu to heal myself up, I didn't want to open myself up for an attack with the superfluous distraction.
It seemed that the clone reached the same conclusion as me, as it refused to allow a single additional second for me to regenerate my HP by charging forward. Its movement was quicker than my own, thus I assumed it had activated [Whirlwind Steps].
I tightened my grip on Kotetsu no Ryuu, bracing myself for my opponent to use [Flash Step] at any moment. In a fight between two forces of equal strength, being on the defensive and patiently waiting for an opportunity to counterattack would edge the advantage towards my side.
And just as I predicted, half way before the doppelganger reached me, it vanished in a burst of speed, but it wasn't something my Sharingan eyes could not catch up with.
My katana swiped at where I knew the clone would reappear, only for it to disappear once more in another consecutive usage of [Flash Step]. I cursed. This time, my body could not react fast enough and turn on the attack, a spearhand utilizing [Shinkyoken] sharpened with chakra, that was coming at my back. However, I too could use [Flash Step]. Which I did, avoiding the second slash and reappearing behind the enemy.
I thrust my sword at the doppelganger's back, intent on severing its spinal cord in one swift strike but was treated to an unexpected parrying of my blade by the Hidden Boss' kunai. I immediately realized that the doppelganger had already predicted I was going to avoid its second attack with a [Flash Step] of my own and was thus ready to deflect my katana. With its other hand, it chopped towards my neck, the layer of chakra flared furiously around its hand.
Without a doubt, that knifehand, if it landed, had the potential to slice through my jugular or worse. But that was only if it landed of course. Though both of my hands were busy gripping the handle of my sword, I still had the time to shift an elbow forward to intercept its knifehand.
Flesh met flesh as my elbow impacted its knifehand, both appendages reinforced with chakra.
[-288 HP]
Even with [Chakra Enhancement] augmenting the durability of my elbow, the [Shinkyoken] knifehand of the doppelganger still managed to injure it, landing a gash that opened up the thin layer of skin on my elbow. However, the doppelganger still lost in the exchange.
Not only were my stats higher, due to Kotetsu no Ryuu's item stat boost, an elbow was just inherently tougher and sharper than fingers. If the clone hadn't used [Shinkyoken] to toughen its fingers, my elbow might have shattered its hand. However, with it, I merely broke one of its fingers.
Regardless, a broken finger represented a drastic drop in combat potential in a struggle between two equal combatants. The doppelganger realized this as well, as it immediately retreated with another usage of [Flash Step]. Mentally, I was counting the number of times it used [Flash Step] consecutively.
When the skill was still at level 1, after just the fifth time it was used in a row without rest, I suffered from the excruciating [Ruptured Muscles] debuff. Now that I had raised the skill to level 8, as well as an increase in my VIT, [Flash Step] could be used up to 15 times in succession without penalty. I checked.
[Flash Step] represented not just a way to rapidly increase our movement speed to launch an attack, it could also be utilized to escape from an unfavourable position as demonstrated just a moment before. They could be thought of as precious, lifesaving tools that had to be utilized in moderation. So far, I had used one while the other used it three times, meaning I had two more of these 'extra lives' than my opponent.