Chapter 27: Tyrant’s Hammer

“Glad you’re keeping up! Here we are! Eek!”

Dolores, who had been greeting me, suddenly froze in panic.

The reason for Dolores’s alarm was simple.

It had to be because of the hulking figures beside her.

I chuckled quietly and skipped the cutscene.

“Screech!”

“Screech!”

Ratmen appeared immediately.

‘Shall we try fighting again?’

Just as I gripped my sword and got ready,

“Grrrrr!!!”

Boom boom boom!

An Orc charged forward wielding a hammer.

“Grunt? Squeak squeak!!!”

The Cannibal Flower dashed ahead, determined not to be outdone.

I couldn’t just stand by either.

Clutching my sword, I gave chase.

The Orc who charged first collided with the Ratmen, and,

“Grrr!”

[Lv. 5 Ratman Warrior defeated.]

[Lv. 5 Ratman Warrior defeated.]

Thud!

‘Huh?’

With a single hammer blow, all the Ratmen were pulverized.

Not a single scrap was left; they were crushed into nothing but tiny, red droplets of blood.

“Squeak? Squeak squeak!”

The late-arriving Cannibal Flower whined, as if complaining it didn’t get its share.

Was it upset over missing out?

“Hahaha! Haha!”

Boom boom boom!

The Orc charged again.

“Grrooaagh…! Squeak!!!”

The Cannibal Flower chased after it, refusing to lose.

[Lv. 5 Ratman Warrior defeated.]

[Lv. 5 Ratman Warrior defeated.]

Thud! Bang! Crash!

Good grief.

What a pointless fight.

Because of those two overwhelming forces, I was just following behind.

No matter how fast I ran, all the monsters were already dead.

In the blink of an eye, the dungeon was cleared.

[Mission Clear!]

[+150 Gold]

[Pet Bonus!] [+40 Gold]

[Pet Bonus!] [+30 Steel Shards]

Thunk!

And just like that, I returned to the stage.

So this was why users kept singing praises about 5-star cards.

My own battles suddenly felt pointless in comparison.

“Hahaha! Hahaha!”

The Orc laughed, setting down his hammer.

“Squeak squeak! Squeak squeak squeak!”

The Cannibal Flower joyfully hopped around.

‘Do they both enjoy running dungeons this much?’

Well, since it didn’t take long, I just kept repeating the expeditions.

[Lv. 7: Sewer Underground Level 2]

“Grrrr!!!”

The Orc charged with his hammer again.

“Squeak squeak!!!”

The Cannibal Flower thundered after him.

“Screech!”

“Screeech!”

Now even the Ratmen were running away first.

[Lv. 9: Sewer Underground Level 3]

[Lv. 11: Sewer Underground Level 4]

[Lv. 14: Sewer Underground Level 5]

The rest of the dungeons were cleared as well.

Maybe because I was skipping, every dungeon was cleared within about a minute.

I thought about reading the dictionary Diablo gave me in between, but I couldn’t get past the first page.

[Lv. 19: Sewer King]

Still, the next one wouldn’t be simple.

It was a boss fight I struggled with before.

Eagerly expecting my 5-stars, I set out immediately.

Thunk!

“Screech!”

“Squeak!”

***

As soon as I entered the dungeon, a muscular Ratman charged at me.

A Ratman Beast, similar to a werewolf.

These monsters were on a different level than the Ratmen I had faced so far, but, “Grrrrrraaarrr!”

[Lv. 17 Ratman Beast defeated.]

Thud!

The Orc’s hammer was meaningless against them.

[Lv. 17 Ratman Beast defeated.]

“Grrrapp! Grhap hap hap!”

Crash!

The Cannibal Flower tore the beast apart with bare hands.

“Eek! Eek!”

Thanks to that, Dolores, who was following behind, turned pale.

I leisurely read the dictionary as I trailed behind.

Clatter clatter…

Soon, I arrived at a familiar place.

A 4-meter-high corridor filled with a grayish body.

[SKIP]

No need to appreciate it; I pressed skip.

[Boss: Sewer King] Lv. 19

[Boss Monster Appeared!]

“Screeech!!!”

The battle with the giant Ratman began.

“Please save me! Help!”

Dolores was captured again.

Should I just watch?

I spoke to the two hulks while checking the dictionary.

“Flower guy.”

“Squeal?”

“Tyrant.”

“Grrh?”

They turned at my words.

I smiled and pointed at the Ratman.

“Do whatever you want. He’s a pretty tough toy.”

“Hahaha! Kraah!”

Boom boom boom!

At my words, the Orc charged forward.

“Grrap? Grrapapap!”

Not to be outdone, the Cannibal Flower dashed too.

Now that I thought about it, I had given the flower the nickname ‘Flower guy’ because it was kind of cute, and I actually liked it.

“Kraah! Krahk!”

The Orc raised his hammer high and slammed it down.

Thud! Crash!

“Screech!”

‘Oh.’

With a fierce boom, the Ratman’s health dropped.

20% with one blow.

A satisfying hit.

“Squeak!”

Just as the Ratman retreated and drew breath.

‘Was that a tail attack?’

I crouched down watching the screen.

Swish!

The tail swiped just over my head.

No need to dodge deliberately.

Maybe because I was used to it, my body reacted before I even heard the sound.

Smack!

“Grrap!”

Of course, Flower guy took the hit head-on and rolled around.

But on screen, Flower guy only lost 20% health.

And it recovered soon after, returning to normal.

That must be the ‘Rooted Vines’ trait.

I alternated between watching the screen and the battle.

I guess this was how users felt.

[Miss!]

[Miss!]

But above my dwarf, ‘Miss’, ‘Miss’ kept appearing.

‘Did my dwarf dodge when I dodged in the dungeon?’

Hoo!

[Miss!]

Looks like it.

When I dodged the Ratman’s front paw, the word ‘Miss’ popped up.

The battle results seemed to be represented adequately on screen.

“Grrar! Kraha!”

The Orc swung his hammer and roared.

Thud! Bang! Crash!

The Orc didn’t dodge the Ratman’s attack.

He just took it as it came.

[-62]

[-57]

[-49]

But he only lost a small amount of health.

That must be the Orc’s trait.

The ‘Ancient Brass Armor’ trait that reduces physical damage.

“Grap! Squeak!”

The Cannibal Flower didn’t dodge either.

Even after losing a lot of health, it quickly recovered.

[-278]

[+128]

[-110]

[+128]

“Squeak squeak!!!”

The battle continued like this.

This was thanks to the Cannibal Flower’s trait as well.

‘Interesting.’

Focusing on the screen, I noticed things I hadn’t seen before.

Like the health of the two 5-star units.

Their base health was different from mine.

At level 60, I barely had 400 health, but the two of them had twice that.

Were they just naturally tougher, or was it because of their high level?

Anyway, I finally understood why users only used 5-star cards.

As a 2-star, I felt a bit unfair.

“Geeeeek……………!”

***

At that moment, the Ratman on screen groaned.

Its health had dropped to 10%, huh?

[Sewer King is in pain!]

[Finish it with a final blow!]

It was time for the finishing strike.

I pressed the screen to use the strike.

[★★★★★ Wasteland Tyrant: Pangaea Break!]

“Graah! Kraah!”

The focus was on the Orc dwarf on screen.

The Orc ran forward gripping his hammer, and the Orc in front of me jumped in the same motion.

“Grrrrr!!!”

Then came the massive hammer slam.

Thud! Crash!

The Ratman crushed beneath the hammer collapsed.

[Sewer King defeated!]

And the boss fight ended.

‘But why did the Orc use the finishing strike?’

‘Is there a condition for using the strike?’

For example…

The hero who has dealt the most accumulated damage uses it.

I guessed it was something like that.

I’d have to look it up in the dictionary too.

“Hah!”

Just then, Dolores floated up in the air.

Right.

Last time, Dolores was thrown into the filth water.

I tucked the dictionary away and ran to Dolores.

Splash splash! Thud!

I caught Dolores as she fell in style.

“Oh. Haha!”

Clap clap clap!

The Orc clapped and laughed.

“Gruel? Grakak!”

Flower guy danced around happily.

“Phew. Being an NPC is a tough job. We’re done here, right? Good work.”

I set Dolores down.

She blinked at me, then nodded in surprise.

“Oh, yes! Thank you! No one’s ever caught me before… Thank you so much!”

“No problem. Let’s go.”

“Yes! Follow me! Hero, you worked hard! And the monsters too! Amazing, really! Now, to the entrance!”

Dolores led the way with a bright smile.

I smiled lightly and, [SKIP]

Pressed skip again.

Thunk!!

And returned to the stage.

[Mission Clear!]

[+250 Gold]

[Pet Bonus!] [+70 Gold]

[Pet Bonus!] [+40 Steel Shards]

[+3 General Cards]

‘Huh?’

But three cards had appeared on the stage.

”’What was this?’

I hadn’t achieved an achievement.

‘Could it be because of the boss fight?’

‘Did defeating the boss reward cards?’

Maybe there was a way to get cards infinitely.

That thing called ‘farming’?

I’d seen the term in the dictionary too.

[Lv. 22: Green Village of the Evergreen Forest]

As I looked at the next expedition area, I thought.

One thing was clear: even if a dungeon was ‘cleared once’, the boss fight still gave cards.

Of course, it was important to know whether clearing it twice or thrice would yield the same number of cards, but I thought other boss fights might also drop cards.

‘Then, should I repeat this dungeon?’

‘No.’

There might be a more efficient dungeon.

I’d explore all dungeons and find the most efficient one.

“Hey, Tyrant?”

“Grr?”

“The next place is your forest. Your subordinates live there. It might be victims too. Is that okay?”

I asked the Orc.

The usually silent Orc focused on me.

“If it’s uncomfortable, you don’t have to go. Tell our user and they’ll exclude you. If you don’t want to, you can go with another hero. It’s your choice.”

I gestured into the air.

Even if he was a cloned hero, fratricide might be uncomfortable.

I’d be upset if I had to kill my own subordinates.

“Hahaha! Mush! Kaa! Hahaha!”

But the Orc seemed carefree.

‘Did he not care?’

Well, if there was a real problem, some kind of ‘Easter egg’ would probably appear.

I was actually curious about such Easter eggs.

I set out for the dungeon immediately.

Thunk!

“Here we are! Let me introduce you to our village…”

Dolores greeted me as I entered the dungeon.

[SKIP]

I skipped lightly and moved on.

Sorry to the beaming Dolores, but I had no intention of watching the cutscene.

“Gurr? Neck! Marsh!”

“Marsh! Kaa!”

“Kaa!”

***

After skipping the cutscene, Orcs appeared.

Alright.

Those Orcs were the Tyrant’s subordinates.

I was curious what Easter egg might appear now.

Maybe recognizing the King and becoming allies…

Thud!

[Lv. 21 Orc Assault Trooper defeated.]

[Lv. 21 Orc Assault Trooper defeated.]

‘Huh?’

The Orcs were crushed by the Tyrant’s hammer.

“Grel?”

Flower guy scratched his head, confused.

‘What the heck?’

No Easter egg?

‘Killing without a touching reunion?’

I tilted my head at the Tyrant, who chuckled and charged.

“Hahaha! Hahaha!”

It seemed there was nothing to expect.

[Lv. 21 Orc Assault Trooper defeated.]

[Lv. 21 Orc Assault Trooper defeated.]

[Lv. 22 Orc Squad Leader defeated.]

After taking down the second squad leader, “Grrr… Graah!!!”

A red-hot Orc appeared.

Oh, right.

There was a damage reflection enemy here.

I shouted to the Tyrant and Flower guy.

“Damage cut! Don’t hit! Damage reflection!”

“Grrrrra!!!”

But the Tyrant, at the forefront, swung his hammer down.

‘Damn!’

The brass-colored hammer was about to explode.

Good grief.

‘Was this the flashback before death?’

‘Brother! Don’t hit now! Damage cut! Damage cut!’

‘Eek! Damage reflection! Get out! Don’t hit!’

I thought I could hear Gobori and Rose’s voices.

They had panicked when I charged before, hadn’t they?

Now I understood that feeling.

I clenched my teeth and awaited the reflected damage.

Thud! Crash!

[Lv. 22 Orc Champion defeated.]

“Ugh!”

The red Orc crumpled.

[★★★★★ Wasteland Tyrant: Orc’s Chieftain Effect!]

[Immune to special effects used by the Orc race.]

[Achievement: Defeated damage reflection monster in one blow.]

‘Huh?’

But no damage was reflected.

‘What was this?’

‘Why?’

Ah.

The answer was on the screen.

The Tyrant had this trait.

‘Could this be the famed ‘damage suppression’?’

I had defeated the damage reflection enemy in one hit.