NOVEL WEB Chapter 2
The True Value of [Lock-On]
The day after I got a new skill.
I had come to the Cave Dungeon, an E-rank dungeon where orcs appear, to try out the skill I had acquired yesterday.
“Ho!”
I shot an invisible arrow at random. It pierced into an orc’s head.
The orc with the transparent arrow in its head collapsed to its knees without uttering a cry.
“Oh, it does fly where it’s aimed.”
Thanks to [Lock-On] skill, the transparent arrow made with [Mana Bolt] automatically flies toward the orc without me aiming each time.
“[Lock-On] skill …… is pretty useful.”
Until now, I had never been able to hit a monster with a hundred shots, and since I didn’t know what kind of moves the monster would make, I had to keep a certain distance and release [Mana Bolt] before the monster made a move.
But with [Lock-On], I don’t have to worry about that.
The arrow will track the monster’s movement.
And even if I shoot while moving, I’ll always hit the target.
Even if I shoot while dodging the orc’s club, I’ll hit the arrows a hundred times.
But I’ve also learned the usefulness of [Lock-On] skill, although I’ve only used it for several hours.
“Can I do this? To solo defeat of the boss.”
I put my hand on my chin and think about it.
The dungeon I’m in right now is an E-rank dungeon, but the boss of any dungeon is a monster one rank higher than the dungeon’s rank.
So in this dungeon, the boss is a D-rank monster, a high orc, because it is an E-rank dungeon.
The high orc is a boss monster that looks like a larger version of the Orc with a more beast-like appearance, and its defense and HP are extraordinary.
The high orc is a boss monster with a more beastly appearance and larger size, and its defenses and HP are outrageous.
Of course, they are also stronger than ordinary D-rank monsters because of their enhanced status.
How can monsters of such monstrous durability in dungeons of the same rank?
I had to give up fighting in the limited space where the bosses of such enhanced D-rank monsters were located because they’ll target me and I couldn’t hit them with my arrows accurately when I was solo.
“Still, now I can avoid an attack from a high orc or so, and my attack is sure to hit. I think I can do it. If that’s what it takes!”
From the place where I defeated the orc, I walked onward to the boss’s room.
I don’t fight to preserve my MP to make [Mana Bolt], and if I see an orc, I don’t approach it and run to the boss room where the high orc is.
‘All right! I’m here!”
The door is open.
If the door is closed, someone is challenging the boss. The boss is in the healing phase from the damage it received after leaving the boss’s room in the middle of the battle.,] The boss has not been defeated for more than a minute and has not yet popped again.
Well, if it’s open, that’s good.
“Alright, let’s go!”
I rush into the room and quickly ready my [Mana Bolt] as I hear the door close behind me.
The high orc is a monster that looks like an orc with long hair and bigger, longer fangs.
They are about 5 meters in height and have high HP, attack, and defense stats, making them the brute monster.
“Shhh!”
As soon as the high orc is in sight, I use [Lock-On] to shoot an invisible arrow created with【Mana Bolt】at the high orc with my bow.
“Bumooooooo!!!!”
The arrow flew straight at the face of the high orc and hit it.
But, not letting my guard down, I kept moving and kept shooting arrows.
But the high orc, has its status strengthened because it’s a boss monster, did not go down with just a few shots, even though it was a normal D-rank monster.
“Bmoaaaaaaaah!”
“Well, that’s right.”
The high orc will also swing their clubs and arms in an attempt to counterattack while I’m attacking them.
The arrows I shoot don’t pierce, but they do enough damage to wound the high orc.
“……!”
The ninth time I shot an arrow while dodging in this way.
Finally, the high orc’s body showed a change.
“Phew…………finally…”
The high orc’s body finally began to show large wounds, and it was beginning to lose its breath.
After all, it’s outclassing the E-rank monsters I’ve seen.
“Bmoaaaaaaaah!”
Then, the high orc rushes toward me, screaming and swinging its club messily, even louder than before.
“Oops!”
To avoid it, I backstep to get away from it, while grabbing a transparent arrow from my bow.
“……. …….”
But then I realize I’d made a mistake.
First, I backstep with a lot of effort to get away from the onrushing high orc.
And the place where I backstepped was near the door.
Q. What would happen if I stepped back as hard as I could near the door?
A. The door will open and you will be outside the boss room.
“…… You’re lying! Gugh!”
The door opens and my body rolls out of the boss room with the momentum of my back step.
Wait! Getting out of the boss’s room is a bad idea!
The moment you leave the boss’s room, it didn’t count as the boss is defeated, and the door will close and not open until the boss’s HP recovers.
Then I have to start all over again.
I’m not going to let that happen!
”Damn it!”
I hurriedly regrouped and tried to rush into the closing door.
But it was already too late.
The door had closed completely and mercilessly.
“I’ve been screwed.”
I was able to fight all the way there.
I was too careful because it was my first attempt to defeat a boss solo.
When I opened my status and checked my MP, I found that I had consumed 180 MP.
That means I had hit the high orc nine times with [Mana Bolt].
That’s why it was so battered.
“If I had hit it once or twice more, I would have been able to defeat it.”
Well, it is what it is.
“Let’s take a break here and try one more …… yeah? What’s this?”
My vision is blurred, but my senses are not right.
My vision is naturally directed toward the door even though I’m not consciously aware of it, and it feels like there’s something connected to the other side of the door.
What is this?
I’ve never felt anything like this before as an explorer.
“What!? Could it be!”
Then to confirm my theory, I picked up a stone lying near me and threw it at the door.
I would have just thrown it. It would have hit the door and fallen to the ground.
But if my guess is correct.
“I knew it! I knew it!”
As I had predicted, the stone did not fall to the ground but stuck to the door as if it were a magnet, defying the laws of physics.
“I knew it! The must-hit effect of [Lock-On] is still intact!”
The stone I threw was judged to be a long-range attack on the high orc, and although it was a sure hit, the door blocked it. And it physically couldn’t go any further, so it’s sticking to the door.
But if that’s the case!
To test what I’ve come up with, I create an invisible arrow with [Mana Bolt] and attach it to my bow.
My unique skill [Mana Bolt] does not convert into fire or wind-like magic but can create arrows using MP as it is, in other words, the same magical element that is floating in the air in the dungeon.
Because of this property, arrows created with [Mana Bolt] have no substance.
I know this because my arrow slipped through an orc’s club and hit it.
If I remind myself not to hit it, it will slip through inorganic objects, but not living things, so thank goodness for that.
“Okay, …… shh!”
Then I shoot an invisible arrow at the door.
My arrow slips through the door and flies into the boss’s room.
“……How’s that ……?”
[Level increased by 3]
“……!”
I confirm that I hear the system sound of me leveling up. And the stone earlier has fallen to the ground.
Then, as I stare at the door a little nervously, the door slowly begins to open.
“Yes! It’s a success!”
I look into the boss room and there is the corpse of a high orc with a transparent arrow stuck in his chest.
“……! Yesssss!”
I strike a powerful gut punch.
It’s my first time! For the first time, I’ve killed a boss solo!
They made fun of me as a novice guide!
And in a way that no one else could do it!
And since it was a solo kill, the experience was good! My level went up 3 times!
“Maybe this will work in higher-ranked dungeons!”
Oh no! My dreams are growing!
But it seems I can get stronger faster and safer than normal people.
Considering my MP, I guess I can try one more time.
“Well then, let’s collect the corpses.”
I collect the high orc corpse with the [Item Box] and leave the boss room.
“Alright! Let’s use what we just did and try one more time!”
I get back into the swing of things and wait a minute to challenge the high orc one more time before entering the boss room with the door open.