Unfairly Fired From the Healer’s Guild After Five Years of Dedicated Service - CH 222

Episode 222 – Boss of the 15th Layer

“I see it. That’s the staircase to the 15th layer.” (Rosalie)

“Lewin. Are you really going to be okay alone on the vanguard?” (Aruna)

After we found the staircase that led to the layer below, the two looked at me, slightly concerned. At first, they had refused my request to allow me to fight in the vanguard simply because they had wanted to fight, but now they seemed more worried that I was going to lose.

“I’m fine. Please leave it to me.” (Lewin)

“Mm. That’s good then. I’ll cover you properly.” (Aruna)

“I’ll also use the Medical Herb Pills you gave me to provide healing!” (Rosalie)

“Having both of your support is reassuring! Well then… Here goes.” (Lewin)

With that, I unsheathed my sword and proceeded down the staircase with my sword at the ready. The sound of our footsteps echoed off the walls of the Dungeon as we descended, the eerie silence amplifying our nervousness.

Once we reached the bottom of the staircase, we were confronted by four tall walls that enclosed an area that bore a resemblance to a cage. From those tall walls hung countless white threads, glimmering suspiciously in the dim space.

“Where’s the Boss?” (Aruna)

“Aruna-san, Jade-san. Look up.” (Rosalie)

I followed the direction Rosalie’s finger was pointing, but all I could see were the glimmering threads; I couldn’t make out the shape of any monster―Ah, I see it.

A gigantic monster was crawling along the tall walls, its eight legs moving in a bizarre manner. It looked exactly how I had seen it on the Dungeon monitors, with its body camouflaging with the walls and the design on its back that resembled a frowning face with four red and black eyes. Its name, “Demon Arachnid”, came from the fact that it would savagely devour any prey it caught.

“The Magic Mantises were gross, but this Demon Arachnid is even worse.” (Rosalie)

“It’s still somewhat better than the Gamura Parasites. Do you hate bug-type monsters, Rosalie-san?” (Lewin)

“I’m going to be fighting it now, so please don’t say that… You’ll at least be able to handle long-range attacks, right?” (Lewin)

“Yeah, I’ll use my bow.” (Aruna)

“That’s good then. Then let’s fight the Boss.” (Lewin)

Ending our conversation there, I took a deep breath and carefully drew closer with my sword at the ready. In this fight against the Demon Arachnid, the thing that I had to watch out for the most were the countless threads crisscrossed throughout the stage.

The threads were barely two fingers thick, but its tensile strength was terrifying. They were impossible for an ordinary person to cut, and even if they tried to, they would get stuck due to the strong stickiness of the threads.

Even worse was the fact that as soon as you touched a thread, the vibration would immediately alert the Demon Arachnid of your position. Tobias told me that although the Demon Arachnid was extremely near-sighted, it relied on the vibration transmitted through its threads to pinpoint the location of its enemies.

These threads thus served two purposes: to block enemy movement and determine the enemy’s position. Therefore, the key was to get as close as possible without being detected while also paying utmost attention to the threads.

While keeping my eyes peeled for the reflective white threads, I inched my way closer to the Demon Arachnid, which was still crawling along the wall.

The scuttling of the Demon Arachnid as it crawled was the only sound that echoed throughout the stillness. Wiping the sweat off my brow, I proceeded onwards until I finally reached the wall below where the Demon Arachnid was. It was a rather boring start to a so-called Boss Fight, but it was important for the battle to go well.

“…….Huuu.”

I put my hand on the wall, took a deep breath, and pulled out 2 bottles of gray slime from my pocket. This grey slime liquid had a component in it that could dissolve the threads of the Demon Arachnid, making it an essential item for taking down the Demon Spider.

Visually marking out the position, I signaled with my eyes to Aruna, who was on standby near the floor entrance, then threw the bottles on the floor.

“[Power Shot], [Shine Arrow].” (Aruna)

Aruna was ready with a Skill-imbued arrow, which she sent towards the Demon Arachnid’s leg on my cue, landing a direct hit. The Demon Spider lost its balance and fell to the floor right beside me.

As for the grey slime vials that I had thrown, the liquid splashed out and stuck to the threads. Those places soon began to melt, and, before long, all of the threads in the immediate area were gone.

The Demon Arachnid had fallen to the ground, and we had secured plenty of space to fight. It was perfect to this point, but this was where it got tricky.

Currently, all we had managed to do was even the playing fields. Before the Demon Spider could get up, I synthesized a Quickgrass and tossed it into my mouth. Along with the mild bitterness, I felt my body lighten, and my body began to slightly shiver in short bursts.

This was not a shiver of fear, but a shiver of excitement with a rise in body temperature. If I become like this in front of a formidable foe, I can’t keep making fun of Aruna and Rosalie for being battle maniacs anymore.

My heart was burning, but my mind was calm. Thinking about how I should defeat this enemy in front of me, I readied my sword.