Chapter 42: Killing the Boss

"Welcome to this humble abode." 

This was the first sentence the monster in front of me spoke to me. 

Although it claimed to be a humble mage, the concentration of mana I could sense within its body was nothing to scoff at. It was slightly less than that of the lord of our town, a true elite-ranked warrior specializing in mana.

This was the monster that ruled over the dungeon, having killed several adventurers with its subordinates. It was a unique being within its race, capable of wielding mana, and I was prepared to face whatever challenges it threw at me.

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Monster: Shaman

Title: Anamoly

Tier: 2(elite)

Skills: [Shamanic Body] [Fire ball] [Leader] [Shamanic ritual]

Anamoly of the ogre race. How did the race known for their brute strength give birth to the ogre that had magical affinities on par with humans🤔!!

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The stats page presented to me was true as the mobster in front of me literally was an anomaly of a monster whose tier might be at the rank of transcendent, its mana and physical body were literally in the ranks of the elite.

'' I can take over this monster by myself." I was just trying to boost up my confidence looking at its stats page when... 

" Don't you enjoy killing, Human?" Listening to the sentence did I realized I had freaked up as the monster in front of me slightly waved its wand towards me before the ground started to shake. The ferocious roars of the monsters within the corridor started nearing, their chaotic steps started echoing in the hall right behind me. 

He had used the skill [Leader] as it had the ability to influence the minds of other ogres and make them his minions that would do anything to his bidding.

"Should have dealt with the Ogres outside." This was on my mind as I listened to the thundering roars of the Ogres that were nearing us.

Crack…

Even the Ogre seated on the throne stood up, its body towering over any ogres I had encountered within the dungeon. The robe that once appeared oversized struggled to cover its muscular frame, barely holding itself together. With even a slight movement from the monster, the robe threatened to tear apart.

The throne it was seated upon, it was no more. It was destroyed into oblivion, leaving nothing behind.

I couldn't relax after seeing the monsters surrounding me, each one was a mid-transcendent ranked ogre with one among them(Shaman) at the peak of the rank. Their formidable physical strength placed them on par with peak transcendental beings. As for the boss, it stood at an early Elite rank in terms of physical prowess, with its magical abilities slightly inferior, at the peak of tier-2 making it somewhat tough to deal with.

The only thing that would give me a hard time was the Ogres who were ready to tear me up for challenging their authority; their leader, and destroying their god's statue today.

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"Shall we start, my dear adventurer?" The shaman flung a huge fireball towards me while smiling. The pressure emanated from it was suffocating, even the air was getting hotter as it neared me.

The fireball was another headache that was going to make this battle even more chaotic and dangerous. I was going to be battling against around 125 ogres that were surrounding me, blocking my path to escape with fireballs ready to burn me whenever I was distracted. 

So, It was finally the time to activate the [Armor of Runes] and get myself protected from the attacks as much as possible. I was going to use the element of 'Poison' to materialize the armor for me as I was first going to deal with the minn ions before dealing with the boss who was smiling towards me.

Shingg…

A pale yellow knight's armor materialized over my body, covering me from head to toe. The armor was adorned with scales resembling those of a poisonous viper, giving it a predatory aura. Although it was made for mana from the surroundings, it felt like the one made from the real hide of the viper, which had been crafted by the 'master at their work' with fine details intricately strewn all over the armor.

My face was covered by a mask giving me a domineering look. The whole armor felt like it had been made while thinking about the attack rather than defense in the first place. Several fang-like protrusions were adorning the armor, coated with poison that could injure the monsters in front of me.

Any contact with the armor would expose you to its poisonous effect, inducing dizziness while gradually corroding your body. If this poison entered your bloodstream through a wound, it would lead to a dreary consequence, as it would slowly corrode you from within until it claimed your life.

It was the terror of the armor that had materialized in my being. With a long sword in my left hand and a shield attached to my armor on the right, I was fully prepared for battle. I had specifically designed this 'Runic shield' to seamlessly attach itself to my armor, giving me the flexibility to use my other hand when needed. And, it was already giving me the edge I was looking for when inscribing the 'Rune of Defense' into my being.

The nightmare wasn't outside yet, it wasn't the time for the dagger to show itself to the boss. I was well prepared to tackle the ogres that were outside the chamber with both the armor and shield ready to poison anyone who touched me.

Swoosh...

Bangg...

I easily dodged the fireball that was coming towards me before getting ready to deal with the brutes outside. The Shaman was powerful but I had enough confidence to deal with it in one-to-one combat just with my brute strength, without using any runes. So, I rushed outside into the hall that was filled with Ogres that were roaring towards me.

" Heed my call, Oh wonders of the universe, protectors of the realms. Grant me with the power to destroy the human for he has destroyed the gift from our deity." It was somewhat mystical to listen to this chant or whatever the Shaman was spewing while sitting in the same pious position as the statues outside were sitting.

As he swirled the wand in his hands, the aura of vitality suddenly started permeating in the hall where the monsters were standing, ready to kill me.

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Monster: Brown Ogre

Buff: Vigor of the ancients

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Even buff had been added to their panel. This status boosted their basic attributes while doubling the regenerative abilities of every ogre that breathed in the aura of vitality permeating the environment.

The atmosphere suddenly became more brutal as the aura of dominance that had once been like a child's play started affecting me, it was trying to suppress me with the vigor that their body was exuding.

Clang...

It wasn't the time for me to get affected by their aura, so I swung my blade, ready to kill the monsters that were staring at me with their pitch-black eyes.

My blade moved, creating a beautiful arc in the air, ready to slice through any enemy in its path. It cut through the ogre's body in front of me but failed to kill it as the blade got stuck in its rapidly regenerating flesh.

The buff was showcasing its remarkable effect, making it difficult for my blade, which could easily dispatch these monsters before, to do so now. Their rapid healing surpassed the speed at which my blade could slice through them.

Spurt…

It might have buff but I wasn't going to give it a chance to heal. I yanked my sword from its body and swung it again at the ogre, surprising it with my strength and speed. Despite being buffed by the shaman who continued to chant to its deity inside the chamber, I cleaved the ogre's body into two halves.

The ogres were relentless with their attacks, their clubs swinging towards me from every direction. And I was ruthless, exchanging the injuries from their clubs to swing my sword at them, killing them in the process. They were regenerating fast but my swings were getting faster. My runes were healing me as the battle progressed.

'Rune of Vitality' was filling me with vitality while ' Rune of Blood' was absorbing the vitality from the slain Ogres that were falling right and left as my speed increased.

My armor had changed from pale yellow to scarlet red, increasing my defense by absorbing the blood of the ogres slain by me. This armor was suitable for battling such bloody battles as it would increase my defense while also disrupting the blood of the monsters touching the armor in the process.

The 'Rune of Insight' was working to its max as I battled the monsters. Their weak points with the least mana fluctuations, their attacks, and the monsters that were weakened, everything was known to me, making it easy for me to kill the weakened monsters while dodging the oncoming attacks.

I hadn't manipulated the blood yet, as there were still many ogres left to deal with, and I wasn't going to deplete my soul power just yet.

After about thirty more minutes of battle, I finally ended the fray by killing every ogre in the hall. Despite massacring about 123 Ogres all by myself, I stood tall. My breathing was slightly chaotic, but I was alright for now.

" Hoho… You are ruthless for a human, Aren't you?" The monster was still in the mood to talk with me.

"Why do all the monsters that had some intelligence bother talking crap and look at their subordinates get mercilessly killed before attacking the adventurers?" It was a question worth researching as even the blood mother was crapping when I was battling it and now the Shaman in front is me was also doing the same.

I didn't bother listening to its nonsense as I was pumped up, covered from head to toe in the bloody armor, with a shield of the same color in my hand, ready to protect myself from the monster's attacks.

This shield was exceptionally sturdy as even it had absorbed the blood from the monster strengthening itself in the process. It could now easily block the attacks from tier-3 monsters without any problem.

Although the monster in front of me was an Ogre with magical abilities, the time and resources it gave me to strengthen myself would be the very reason it would die today. If it had joined the fray earlier, throwing fireballs at me instead of giving the buff to its subordinates while I was still using the poison armor and shield, it might have been able to overwhelm me with the aid of its minions. But now...

"I could crush it like nothing."

I did say that but the battle was slightly hard due to its fireball that could be conjured by it anywhere within the chamber. It felt like the whole chamber was its domain in which it could conjure a fireball from any corner it wanted to.

"If it hadn't given its all to buffing its subordinates I would have been the one to get killed in the dungeon today." It was the thought in my mind as I looked at the monster that was dead in front of me, as its ability to conjure fireballs from anywhere was overpowered if I had to deal with the Ogres and fireballs at the same time.