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...
"Roar!"
A furious roar ripped through the air above the water's surface.
Simultaneously, the previously calm water erupted violently.
"Mika has found the Amphisbaena and initiated the attack! Everyone, prepare yourselves according to the plan!" Mellie shouted, her voice carrying over the commotion.
"Understood!" the others responded in unison.
...
Beneath the surface, the Amphisbaena thrashed in a frenzy of pain and rage.
Mika's spear had pierced its thick hide, lodging deep within its flesh.
The searing pain ignited its fury.
It quickly spotted Mika's silhouette in the water.
"Did I miss? I was aiming for the head!" Mika thought, analyzing his attack.
"But throwing underwater feels different than in the air. It's normal for there to be some deviation."
"So, time to run?"
Having launched his attack, Mika deactivated his Circle Border ability.
The Amphisbaena had locked onto him.
Mika turned and swam towards the shore with all his might.
The Amphisbaena pursued relentlessly, its massive form cutting through the water with surprising speed.
"Hold on, it's that fast despite its size?"
"It seems a fight is unavoidable."
The thought of facing the Amphisbaena underwater filled Mika with dread.
He knew the dungeon's floor boss was incredibly powerful.
The evidence was clear: the tail of his thrown spear still protruded from the Amphisbaena's flesh.
That spear was a Level 2 weapon crafted by Mika himself, specifically enhanced for sharpness..
Yet, even with Mika's Nen enhancement, it hadn't fully penetrated the creature's hide.
This demonstrated the Amphisbaena's extraordinary durability.
"A normal Level 2 weapon probably wouldn't even scratch it."
"So this is the Amphisbaena in its aquatic domain..."
As Mika pondered, the Amphisbaena closed in, its massive jaws opening wide.
"Trying to eat me?"
Mika swiftly drew the two spears strapped to his back.
One was a Level 2 weapon of his own creation, the other the demon-slaying Gáe Dearg (Crimson Rose) he had acquired from Diarmuid.
"Let's see who eats whom."
As the Amphisbaena lunged, Mika executed a Water Breathing technique, narrowly avoiding its gaping maw.
Simultaneously, he channeled Nen into both spears, driving them deep into the Amphisbaena's neck.
A torrent of blood erupted, engulfing Mika.
But the swirling water quickly washed it away.
"Roar!"
The searing pain in its neck only enraged the Amphisbaena further.
Mika's Nen-enhanced attacks were heavy, but they barely fazed the monstrous creature. In fact, they seemed to fuel its fury.
Enraged, the Amphisbaena's speed increased dramatically.
In the blink of an eye, Mika was trapped in its coils, unable to escape. He could only parry the relentless onslaught.
"Damn, it's so agile!"
Despite its massive size, the Amphisbaena moved with incredible dexterity in the water.
Trapped in its coils, Mika couldn't maneuver.
Just as he was searching for an escape, his Transparent World skill revealed a surge of heat building within the Amphisbaena's body.
"It's going to use its dragon breath!"
Mika instantly formulated a plan.
He sheathed Gáe Dearg and grabbed the large shield from his back.
With spear and shield in hand, he charged towards the Amphisbaena.
Using his exceptional skill, he positioned himself perfectly just before the Amphisbaena unleashed its fiery breath.
"Roar!"
A torrent of flames erupted, slamming against Mika's shield.
The force of the blast propelled Mika into the air, sending him soaring towards Mellie and the others.
He didn't forget his objective.
Mid-air, using Sense he locked onto the Amphisbaena's position in the water and hurled a short spear, aiming for its exposed flesh.
"Roar!"
Hearing the pained roar from below, Mika knew his attack had landed.
He then threw two more short spears, further enraging the Amphisbaena and drawing it towards the surface.
As gravity pulled him down, Mika landed smoothly on the shore.
"The Amphisbaena is coming! Prepare for battle!" Mellie shouted, seeing the creature emerge from the water.
On the shore, Mika discarded his shield, shedding the extra weight, and retreated, giving the Amphisbaena room to emerge.
As the Amphisbaena's upper body rose from the water, Mika continued his retreat, throwing his crafted spear, striking one of the creature's heads with pinpoint accuracy.
"Roar!"
With a final roar, the Amphisbaena fully emerged onto land.
"Phase one complete. Now for phase two. Shakti, Tsubaki, block its retreat!"
"Understood!"
As Mika reached the shore, Shakti and Tsubaki, leading Alise and the others, charged towards the Amphisbaena.
Following Mellie's instructions, they positioned themselves between the creature and the lake, preventing it from returning to the water.
Meanwhile, Alise, Airmid, and the others engaged the Amphisbaena in combat, their attacks raining down upon the monstrous creature.
"How can I miss out on such an exciting battle?"
"Fufu!"
Responding to Mellie's call, Fufu materialized from her body.
To conceal the presence of Nen, Mellie had disguised Fufu as a magically summoned creature, sustaining its physical form with her own magic power.
"Grow bigger, Fufu!"
As Mellie channeled her magic into Fufu, the creature's size increased dramatically, eventually rivaling the Amphisbaena in size.
"Go, Fufu!"
Following Mellie's command, the gigantic Fufu charged towards the Amphisbaena, unleashing its own dragon breath.
The Amphisbaena retaliated in kind, its fiery breath colliding with Fufu's.
The clash of their breaths resulted in a massive explosion.
"Magnificent!"
Mika, having recovered from his earlier ordeal, watched the battle unfold with a smile.
He held the remaining two spears in his hands: Gáe Dearg (Crimson Rose) and Gáe Buidhe (Yellow Rose), the unstoppable spear of mortality.
---
"The Floor Boss!"
"The most remarkable thing about these powerful creatures is their incredible vitality."
"Their bodies are impervious to weak attacks, they have no obvious weaknesses, and they possess high-speed regeneration. Their resilience is terrifying."
Mika walked with a leisurely gait, observing the battle unfolding before him.
He traced a line in the dirt with the spear in his right hand, while the spear in his left spun continuously.
"It's already regenerated?"
Mika clearly saw that the wounds he had inflicted on the Amphisbaena with his thrown spears had completely healed.
The weapons he had launched were now expelled from the Amphisbaena's flesh.
"While I'm glad those weapons weren't lost in the lake, that regeneration speed is rather disheartening."
"It seems I need to bring out the big one."
A predatory grin spread across Mika's face as he charged towards the Amphisbaena, dual spears in hand.
A dense white fog now enveloped the Amphisbaena, rendering most ranged magic attacks ineffective.
This was the realm of close combat.
Even Mellie had her summoned beast, Fufu.
Although Fufu, empowered by Mellie's magic, rivaled the Amphisbaena in size, it was far inferior in terms of raw power.
Their clash was brief; Fufu was quickly pinned beneath the Amphisbaena, unable to retaliate.
Fortunately, Shakti and the others were nearby.
With a coordinated attack from Tsubaki and Shakti, Fufu was freed and rejoined the fray.
"This isn't good," Finn muttered, shaking his head as he observed the battle from his vantage point on a nearby rock face.
"It seems the three members of the Astraea Familia are struggling to make a significant impact against the Amphisbaena."
"You mean their weapons?" Riveria, Finn's partner, instantly understood his concern.
"Exactly. Their weapons aren't powerful enough for combat on the forty-ninth floor."
Finn's keen eyes didn't miss a single detail of the battle.
He had clearly seen the extent of the damage inflicted by Alise and her companions.
Their attacks weren't weak; they managed to create substantial wounds on the Amphisbaena.
However, against a creature of the Amphisbaena's caliber, those wounds were merely superficial.
If their attacks could only inflict minor damage on a Level 5 Amphisbaena, they would likely be completely ineffective against the Udaeus.
"It can't be helped. The Astraea Familia is still a relatively new Familia," Riveria said, defending the Astraea Familia members.
As she mentioned, the Astraea Familia was still in its nascent stages.
However, their members were exceptionally talented.
Everyone believed they had a bright future.
That was precisely why Finn had included them in this expedition.
He saw their potential and wanted to nurture their growth.
But their lack of resources was a significant handicap. The three members participating in the expedition wielded only Level 2 weapons, insufficient for deep-level combat.
Unlike them, Shakti, a Level 4 adventurer and captain of the Ganesha Familia, Orario's third-strongest Familia, wielded a Level 1 weapon.
Even her armor was of Level 1 quality.
As for Tsubaki, the captain of the Hephaestus Familia, Orario's premier smithing Familia, she had no shortage of top-tier equipment.
Then there was the Yahweh Familia.
As a healer, Airmid's equipment wasn't a primary concern.
Similarly, as a mage, Mellie's equipment wasn't as crucial.
That left Mika.
And at this moment, Mika was engaged in close combat with the Amphisbaena.
...
"Gah!"
Using his spear to block the Amphisbaena's powerful strike, Mika wielded the short spear in his left hand like a sword, carving a long, deep gash into the creature's flesh.
Blood flowed freely from the wound, but it showed no signs of healing.
"Roar!"
"What's going on?" Shakti, noticing the unusual wound, was immediately drawn to the anomaly.
She turned to Mika, her eyes filled with curiosity.
"It's nothing. Just a wound that can't be healed," Mika replied with a smirk.
He was wielding Gáe Buidhe (Yellow Rose), the unstoppable spear of mortality, imbued with a powerful curse.
Its effect was incredibly potent against Floor Bosses.
With this spear, the adventurers had a significant advantage in terms of attrition.
"A cursed spear?"
Shakti's eyes widened in surprise. She instantly grasped the significance of this weapon.
Its existence could drastically reduce the difficulty of their expedition.
"Mika, you take the lead! Tsubaki and I will support you!" Shakti declared.
"I'll gladly accept your offer!"
With a chuckle, Mika charged towards the Amphisbaena once more.
Compared to its aquatic form, the Amphisbaena's strength was significantly reduced on land.
After all, it had lost the advantage of its inherent Level boost.
In the water, Mika couldn't match the Amphisbaena in speed or power.
But on land, they were more evenly matched in terms of strength.
Despite being Level 4, Mika possessed base stats comparable to a Level 5 adventurer.
Coupled with his Nen and magic enhancements, he could hold his own against even a large-bodied Level 5 Floor Boss.
"Roar!"
"Gah!"
Planting his spear firmly into the ground, Mika braced himself against the Amphisbaena's charge, halting its momentum with sheer strength and endurance.
He then followed up with a flurry of attacks with his short spear.
His masterful dual-wielding technique was a sight to behold, a whirlwind of speed, power, and precision.
He darted around the Amphisbaena, leaving a trail of unhealing wounds in his wake.
However, the Amphisbaena's power was undeniable.
Despite bleeding profusely, it continued to rampage.
But with Airmid's healing abilities, Mellie's strategic guidance, and Fufu's support, they managed to avoid any casualties.
Everyone returned safely.
...
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