Evan D. Sherden, Strengthened (5)
[Human stupidity remains the same even after thousands of years.]
You could enter the Hidden Boss Battle Room only by performing special rituals by collecting the ancient mana stones scattered around the 20th floor of the Sherden dungeon.
The gods said this hidden monster had been trapped after committing a terrible sin. The Hidden Boss of the 20th floor, the Blood Orc Warrior, laughed again at Evan and the party who had summoned him without fear.
[The gods have locked me here because humans know they can't handle me. You petty humans don't even know what you have landed yourself in! Your graves shall be dug right in this room as you have chosen a path that could've been avoided!]
It was humongous. From the 16th floor, the party had become accustomed by now to dealing with Orcs, which were now appearing regularly in hordes in the dungeons. However, this one was definitely special among them.
It stood there like a titan with an overwhelming height of almost 2 meters and 30 centimetres. With the aura that emanated from his whole body, quite a few people would have already suffered a heart attack and died.
But the most remarkable thing was that he could talk.
"How can he talk!? I thought all the Orcs could only make strange grunting noises as if they were drunk!"
"Okay. It's a little surprising at first. I understand."
Evan nodded in Shine's direction, who was startled.
The more you progressed into the dungeon, the more intelligent the monsters became, and due to that, even more monsters that could speak like humans appeared naturally.
What did it mean for a monster that could speak like humans? It meant that they had a deep understanding of humans, and accordingly, dealing with them would also be difficult.
"Compared to this guy, all the monsters we've dealt with so far were just being playful."
"He is one of the monsters who start to appear as elites occasionally beyond the 40th floor of the dungeon. How absurd is the Hidden Boss actually!? He just kindly explained it himself."
Of course, Evan, who was serving as their guide, knew all about how smoothly his party had cleared the dungeon so far. In fact, Shine, who was quite nervous after seeing the Blood Orc Warrior for the first time, was already recovering from his initial shock.
"I still think we can win against him. And if we do, can we go down to the 40th floor of the dungeon right now, so we can get achievements there too?"
"Usually, the order of those who speak so confidently are the ones who get taken out the fastest, so you have to be careful."
"The Hidden Boss is right in front of me."
[Well?]
Evan was trying to explain in an easy-to-understand manner about how ridiculous it was to defeat the Hidden Boss every time, and how they took such a feat for granted, but the Blood Orc Warrior became curious as he heard Evan and Shine's conversation.
[Youngling, what do you know about me?]
"Monsters with high intelligence talk like this, and they try to manipulate and taunt you. In particular, Raihan Hyung, who faces the monsters at the front, should be mindful of their clever tactics."
"I will keep that in mind, Master Evan. So basically, I have to ignore whatever the monster says."
[Do you dare ignore me!? How dare you turn your gaze from me!]
Evan was only trying to explain to the party that they should be careful about the monsters' provocation, but this act had provoked the monster!
[Kwaahahahah!]
The furious Blood Orc Warrior raised a massive axe and let out a terrible scream.
This scream was known as the Walk-Rye, which contained a debuff that distracted those who were weaker than the Blood Orc Warrior, but surprisingly, none of Evan's party felt negative changes in their body upon hearing it!
That was because everyone present there was stronger than him, even though he was the Hidden Boss on the 20th floor!
"Aaah!"
[Ohh!?]
In response to him, Raihan raised his shield and stepped forward while yelling loudly, and the Blood Orc Warrior, who was running towards Evan with his axe, stopped dead in his tracks. Shortly thereafter, a double heart lit up in his eyes.
[Your throat is very thick, that's good. I'll rip out your guts first!]
"No matter how intelligent you are, you are still a disgusting orc."
Evan shouted lowly as he saw an orc rushing valiantly without knowing that he had been caught up in the divine cry of Raihan.
Fortunately, the orc, whose eyes had already been turned upside down, grabbed the axe and attacked without even knowing it, and brought it down in a straight line from the air at Raihan.
At that moment, everyone could see the axe flashing red. Evan shouted sharply.
"That's an artefact!? If we kill him, we can get the axe artefact!"
"Evan, why is there no orc with a rapier?"
Arisha, who wanted to get some artefacts from the dungeon too, had also descended with the others to the dungeon's 20th floor and looked back at Evan. She was disappointed at the fact that the weapon-type artefact they had encountered was an axe. Evan shrugged and then replied.
"That's because the rapier is less practical and is used mainly by humans. Hey! Don't stare at me like that!? It's not my fault that the beast isn't using a rapier."
Rapiers were commonly used in self-defence and were one of the ancient weapons in the actual Earth's history, and they were similar in this world.
As such, it was also true that its practicality was inferior to other weapons developed to be used on the battlefield. Even if smelting high-quality materials made a rapier, it wasn't very much handy with a quick attack.
'Since Arisha has the ability for using rapiers, and as she is already learning magical swordsmanship, it is impossible to say that it is not practical for her to be using rapiers.'
However, there were still a few monsters that were equipped with rapiers, so she could still look forward to it.
Arisha was feeling resentful and angry right now, among a few other things as well, but this time, these emotions were all directed against the monsters and not Evan.
"Ha!"
While Evan was still trying to turn his head away from Arisha's gaze, Raihan had easily blocked the axe that the Blood Orc Warrior had attacked him with.
The special abilities of the axe were additionally manifesting, but Raihan's steel-like stance did not falter.
[What is with this guy?!]
The Orc Warrior was astounded, and his eyes widened as if he couldn't believe the reality, but that didn't make any difference.
On the contrary, a small smile was beginning to form on Raihan's face. He was relaxed, almost as if he was enjoying the weight of his shield.
By the time Raihan had solidified his defensive stance, Shine, wearing a shadow cloak, had secretly turned behind him while holding two sharp daggers in his hand.
If you were shorter than the enemy, you would want to target his neck first, but the Orc Warrior was almost 60 centimetres taller than Shine, and it looked like he was still growing. Therefore, Shine aimed for the monsters' ankles, which were protected by crappy leather shoes.
"That's hot!"
[Big uh uh uh!]
Suddenly he attacked! He left a thin line of red blood in his wake. His dagger shone even while it was dripping with blood. He had managed to draw a fraction of the blood as he had passed by and had struck both ankles.
When the Blood Orc Warrior bent over from the pain in his legs, Arisha, who had been looking for a gap in his defences, joined the battle.
[Ahhh!]
Arisha, while using the Wind Step, sharply stabbed him underneath his shoulder, and blood started gushing out again from the wounds. The Blood Orc Warrior seemed to be unhinged due to two people's quick and deadly attacks at once.
[You filthy humans!]
"FoxFire!"
Belois ended the battle with a finale.
The five Fire Foxes she had summoned rushed to him at once, penetrated the wound, and exploded inside them, ripping off a whole arm as the axe fell away from him.
Of course, Evan had taught them to attack and target the enemy's gaps and wounds, but this was the first time they hit the bull's eye with the technique.
"Oh!"
Shine, who was still trying to attack the Orc Warrior, was puzzled by this unexpected situation but instinctively ran, picked up the axe, and threw it back.
'He is the perfect thief, and nobody should even begin to doubt that!'
[You dare touch me!? I'm going to split your head first with my axe!]
While still suffering from the wounds, the Blood Orc Warrior took off on his feet to recover the axe. Someone stepped in his path. It was Raihan!
[Get out of my way, human!? Do you want to die?]
"I would like to see you beat us with your bare fists."
[Ughhh!]
Blood Orc Warriors weren't foolish enough to be distracted by such provocations.
However, any action he caused by being hostile to the party was eventually replaced by a counter-attack on him, thanks to Raihan's guardian's protection. Raihan lifted his shield again and started beating him with it.
[You evil bastard! What are you going to do to me?!]
Raihan ignored his words and silently activated the enduring shield.
The roars of the giant Orc Warriors sounded in the spacious Hidden Boss Battle Room. He was then struck by additional ice arrows followed by attacks from Shine's dagger, Arisha's rapier, and Belois. They did it at last.
So what did Evan do in the meantime? Evan had been cheering for them during the battle and was appraising the axe Shine had stolen from the Blood Orc Warrior.
"This is a typical high-end artefact that suits a Berserker. Whether it's the enemy's blood or someone else's, the more blood is lost in a battle, the more its power gradually improves. It's similar and also different from the scimitar you got last time. Of course, it has its limits too."
Still, it wasn't the sharpest blade, but the amount of mana it could hold was quite enormous, so its value in practice was certain. Anyone who handled axes in the dungeon city would want to have it.
It was better to sell it than waste time on using it.
"It isn't a rapier."
After confirming the Blood Orc Warrior's death, Arisha muttered as she approached Evan while breathing heavily. She was looking at the axe with a deadly look in her eyes. Evan spoke with a bitter smile.
"As soon as I leave the dungeon, I will make your rapier my priority, so you should relax."
"Will you make it?"
Arisha's ears had stood up on end. Would Evan, craft a weapon himself? However, Evan shook his head slightly and gave some additional explanation.
"Of course, I'm not saying that I'm going to do the fieldwork. All I'm saying is that I'll provide the materials. Metals smelted by alchemists not only result in additional strength but also sometimes have a special power. If you find a good blacksmith and ask him to make weapons, you will be able to make objects that match the power of the artefacts."
"Ah."
"Actually, repeatedly smelting it with various alchemy techniques until the material is infused with a certain power is called metal drawing. I'm looking forward to it."
"Evan…"
Arisha whispered. Her cheeks blushed faintly as if Evan's words had moved her heart. This type of reaction was extremely rare coming from her. Evan also felt a little happy.
Of course, Even didn't want to win her heart, but it was still a pleasure to see her so pleased with his gift. Evan felt he should repay her for what he had done wrong.
"What? Why have you all gathered here, watching us like that?"
However, it might have turned into some kind of a scene, as the rest of the party was staring at him while they approached him.
"Master Evan, is it because Arisha's going to be your fiance that you are taking such care of her?"
"Is that really the case, Young Master?"
"Master, it looks like my shield is cracked. I would also like to have a new shield."
"Ah, why are all of you doing that again? And don't lie to me. I just saw you fighting with it right now, and there wasn't anything wrong with your shield!"
Evan couldn't stand the meaningful glances being thrown at him by the four people simultaneously, so he jumped into the Rewards Room. It was time for his final levelling-up in the dungeon.