Only I’m the solo player

Chapter 37 – Example

—–CROW—– 

A monster in the form of a statue, radiating a golden light from its entire body.

It wasn’t an ordinary humanoid statue, but one with three heads and six arms.

Judging by its appearance, it also seemed to be a type of Golem, so it might have a core embedded in its chest like the small fry.

– *Thump!*

I kicked off the ground powerfully and jumped straight towards the statue.  Then, two of the statue’s six arms moved.

The arms spread wide, aiming for the spot where I jumped, as if to clap like catching a fly.

Evasive maneuvers were impossible in mid-air, but that’s what skills are for.

I used Sword Charge, a dash skill, to propel myself forward in mid-air.

– *Stab!*

The sword, sparkling with skill effects, pierced the statue’s chest accurately.

But the sensation was strange.  Judging by its appearance, I thought it would be inorganic, but it felt like piercing flesh.

It seemed that the glittering gold fragments only covered the surface, and the inside was made of flesh and blood.

If that’s the case, it’s better to assume that there’s no core acting as a vital point like the Golems.

“Good.”

You might think it’s bad if there’s no weak point, but for me, this is much better.

If there’s a core that needs to be destroyed, the areas I can target are limited.

And creatures of flesh and blood all have a common weak point.  Those three heads over there, for example.

Judging by the feeling of the sword piercing, its durability doesn’t seem to be that high either. I can just slice them all up.

– *Slash!*

I twisted and pulled out the sword I had embedded in its chest. Then, green, not red, blood spurted out.

Judging by the color, it looks like poison, but whether it’s poison or not doesn’t really matter. My Poison Resistance level is what it is.

The boss’s golden hand flew towards me again. I powerfully kicked its chest and stepped back.

– *Crash!*

With a loud crash, the boss’s body tilted and fell over.  Aside from my strength stat, the boss is lighter than I thought.

I naturally assumed it would be a boss that utilizes its large size and durability for destructive power.

Seeing it fall over so easily from my kick, it’s highly likely that it’s not a melee type.

– *Whirr!*

The next moment, my assumption was proven correct. One of the boss’s heads opened its mouth and launched a magic attack.

With a sound like a machine starting up and shimmering heat haze, it breathed fire.

“It’s dangerous!”

Kim Jinah, who was standing a little distance away, shouted.  She seemed to have noticed the power of the magic attack.

Indeed, the flames emitted felt more powerful than the fire attack of the 4th-floor boss, the Salamander.

But, the Salamander’s flames barely worked on me.

– *Whoosh!*

I raised my shield and blocked the flames.

A burning heat was transmitted from beyond the shield, but my flesh won’t burn from just this much.

[Fire Resistance Lv.14]

My Fire Resistance skill, which has reached double digits, is protecting my body.  This much just feels warm.

“Crazy…”

I heard the condescending Paladin cursing under his breath.

He seems quite surprised, but as a tank, is it okay to be so surprised by just this much?

– *Step, step.*

I continued to advance, pushing through the flames with my shield in front.

The distance between me and the boss quickly closed, and the stream of flames soon stopped.

– *Whirr!*

And another head of the boss opened its mouth with a mechanical sound.

This time, what was fired was not flames, but a large icicle.

It seems like it’s trying to catch me with ice since fire didn’t work.

[Frost Resistance Lv.11]

My Frost Resistance level is still lower than my Fire Resistance, so it’s not a bad strategy.

But who said I’d just take the hit?  Does my shield look like a decoration?

– *Crash!*

I swung my shield and shattered the flying icicle, then slid under the boss’s feet and approached it.

At the same time, I stored my sword and shield in my inventory and switched to other weapons.

[+5 Courageous Warrior’s Short Sword]

[+5 Courageous Warrior’s Short Sword]

I held two short swords, one in each hand, the ones I obtained while killing Lizardmen on the 3rd floor.

They’re not my preferred weapons, but it’s the perfect time to use them.

Watch carefully, dual sword enthusiast.

This is how you use dual swords.

**

The boss monster, with its six arms and two legs all cut off, became a wobbling tumbler.

I smashed the golden heads, which could no longer launch magic attacks, with my hammer.

– *Bang!*

[Clear Reward: You have acquired ‘Meteor Stone Fragment x3’.]

[Maximum Contribution Reward: You have acquired ‘Meteor Stone Fragment’.]

It felt refreshing to see such a simple message after always seeing the first clear message.

The boss was, well, nothing special.

The elemental attacks from its three heads didn’t work on me, and neither did the hand-to-hand combat using its six arms.

I could easily overwhelm it even with dual swords, which I’m not very familiar with, and it was even easier after switching to a hammer.

I didn’t time it, but it was over in a few minutes.  This is probably the fastest clear time for this mini-dungeon.

HP: 779/780

My HP, which had decreased when I was hit by the magic attacks, was almost fully recovered thanks to the [Combat Healing] skill.

“Uh, um… so, that is…”

The three party members, including Kim Jinah, were looking at me with different expressions.

Kim Jinseok, the dual sword enthusiast Gladiator, was rubbing his eyes as if he had just woken up from a dream.

Kim Jinah, the mage, was staring at me with wide eyes and a sparkling gaze.

Kim Minhyung, the condescending Paladin, was trembling with a pale face.

“Hey.”

Their appearance was a bit funny, so I approached them and tried to strike up a conversation.

As if they thought I was going to eat them alive, Kim Minhyung jumped back in surprise.  He’s surprisingly agile.

“Y-yes?”

His delayed response was in honorifics.  Anyone who saw this would think I had beaten him up.

“What was that about Warrior-bro?”

“Oh, n-no, nothing, sir.”

He even called me “sir” instead of Warrior-bro.  Does this guy even know my age and call me “sir”?

The atmosphere, and the way he’s cowering, it’s the perfect situation to tease him.

But even though this guy was condescending, he didn’t really cross the line.

Moreover, when I stepped forward to face the Golem, he gestured for me to stop, asking if I wanted to die.

His words were harsh, but you could say he was worried about me.

He was just being condescending because of his male instincts; he’s not a bad guy.

In the first place, who am I to judge whether someone is bad or not?  Someone who lived off his mother’s back.

It seems like he’s come to his senses, so should I just give him a light lesson?

“You’re the tank, right?  Hold your shield.”

“Huh?  My shield?”

“Yeah, hold your shield and put all your strength into it.”

Kim Minhyung held his shield as instructed without asking twice.  His posture is a bit awkward.

I tapped his arms and legs with the handle of my hammer, lightly correcting his defensive posture.

It’s the posture I learned while fighting Lizardmen with only a shield during my secluded training on the 3rd floor.

Just by getting the posture right, you can withstand impacts better than using most defense skills.

“Here I go.”

I stood Kim Minhyung, who had assumed the defensive posture, and cracked my knuckles.

Now that he’s learned the posture, he needs to try it out in practice, right?

I dashed from a short distance and struck Kim Minhyung’s shield with my fist.

– *Bang!*

“Ugh!”

Unable to withstand the impact, Kim Minhyung flew back along with his shield and crashed to the floor.

Ah, that feels good.

**

With the boss defeated, the dungeon was cleared, and we exited through the portal that appeared.

[You have set a new clear record for the Secret Golden Temple (Intermediate).]

A system message appeared, and our names were engraved on a small metal plate hanging at the dungeon entrance.

I had a rough idea, but it really was the fastest clear time.

There’s no special reward for setting a record, but it still felt good to have achieved something.

“Wow, the clear time is almost halved?  That trap must have been a boss shortcut.”

Kim Jinah was jumping up and down with joy again.  As I felt earlier, she’s a person with exaggerated emotional expressions.

She’s like a golden retriever, always happy no matter what happens.

“Thanks to Jinhyuk, we even set a new record.  I really thought we were going to die at first…”

Kim Jinah started chattering about how she felt when we were surrounded by Golems.

Not only her emotional expressions, but she’s also just a talkative person.

I was listening to Kim Jinah’s chatter when I suddenly realized that we hadn’t distributed the rewards yet, so I said,

“Ah, we should distribute these.”

The clear rewards for the mini-dungeon, excluding experience and gold, all go to the party leader.

The rewards given separately to the party member with the highest contribution are an exception, but those naturally came to me.

Even though I practically cleared it alone, I don’t want to be called out in the community for not distributing the rewards.

Besides, I’m not really interested in the other rewards except for the coins to buy gukbap at the stalls.

I should just divide it roughly into four parts and give it to them, right?

I was looking at the interface, searching for the exchange request button when…

“Ah, about that, Jinhyuk.”

Kim Jinah made a suggestion I hadn’t even thought of.

—–CROW—–