An Old Man Restaurant Owner Is Unparalleled by Relying on His Old Tricks. It Turns Out, He’s the Legendary Dungeon Conqueror. - 38

Chapter 38:Nishida vs Deep Level Boss

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After realizing the dungeon boss wasn’t on the 30th floor, I immediately sprinted upward at full speed. I learned through my livestream channel that the boss had climbed upward to the lower levels. To be precise, the boss was on the 20th floor, while I was still running on the 25th floor. 

〈The boss is on the 20th floor!〉

〈The examinees are being attacked by the boss monster!〉

〈Nishida, hurry up!〉

〈Will he make it in time? What floor is Nishida on right now?〉

Comments flooded into my livestream channel, mostly from panicked viewers. They were telling me how dire the situation was to me as I continued sprinting upward without stopping. By the time I reached the 20th floor, the two-headed Forest Dragon had evolved into a multi-headed Forest Dragon. Now that the dragon had 8 heads, the dragon targeted Ryoko Hongan first. It seemed the dragon was smart enough to target the healer first. However, I managed to intervene just in time. I countered the shockwave breath attack before it could reach Ryoko Hongan. 

“Phew. That was close.”

〈Nishidaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!〉

〈Nishidaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!〉

〈Nishidaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!〉

〈Perfect timing.〉

〈Almost too perfect.〉

〈Was that on purpose? lol〉

〈You should’ve saved the slime too if it was on purpose!〉

〈For real. lol〉

“Ah, Slime-tan… Even though you’re my very first familiar…”

“Your slime is over there.”

“Huh?”

Shizuku Shimizu turned her gaze toward the direction I was pointing at. There, splattered against the slime, was her slime. Her slime was completely flat against the surface. The slime was in my way, so I ended up kicking it away accidentally. 

“Considering the slime’s high durability, the slime should be still alive. Probably.”

〈Slime-tannnnnnnn!〉

〈It’s alive!〉

〈Nishida is the best!〉

〈As expected of our Nishida!〉

“Ahahaha~ Looks like we’re both still alive~”

“Yeah. Just leave the rest to me.”

“…Are you going to fight that thing alone?”

“It’ll be easier if I fight it alone.”

“Indeed. Considering how strong you are, we’re just going to be in your way. Alright. But at least, let me give you this.”

Ryoko Hongan said before she cast her healing magic on me. All of my fatigue vanished in an instant. 

“Oh, thanks.”

“Then, good luck!”

〈Finally, it’s happening: Nishida vs Deep Level Boss〉

〈And he’s going solo!〉

〈Honestly, the power gap between Nishida and the others is as clear as day.〉

〈Do your best, Nishida… You’re the number one in our heart!〉

“””GROAHHHHHHHHHH!!”””

“I finally found you, but… I’m going to wrap this fight soon. I need to open my restaurant tomorrow.”

〈You know, it’s okay for you to take a break every once in a while…〉

〈I’m a corporate slave, but even I feel bad for you….〉

〈But he’s just doing what he loves to do, so it’s fine, right?〉

〈Exactly. It’s different from being a corporate slave. You guys are being forced to work on job you’re not passionate about.〉

〈Corporate slaves are living day by day for their companies. They have no will of their own. A bunch of mindless drones.〉

〈Corporate slaves getting roasted live. LOL〉

My knife started glowing as I engulfed it with my fighting spirit. 

“Wha-What’s with that aura?!”

“I-It’s on a whole different level from mine…! As expected from my esteemed Master!”

“Hyahahahaha! Getting to witness the old man fighting with my very own eyes?! Today is my lucky day!”

Kicking off the ground, I leaped into the sky to close the distance between me and the multi-headed Forest Dragon. 

Slash!

I cut its body in two in a single strike. 

〈Huh?〉

〈What?〉

〈Wait, what?〉

〈Wha-?〉

〈HUHHHHHHHHHHH!?〉

A long line appeared on the Forest Dragon’s massive body. Then, the Forest Dragon’s body gradually split into two with that said line as the starting point.

“””WHAAAAAAAAAAAT?!?!?!”””

Multiple overlapping screams echoed as the massive body that had been split into two collapsed to the ground. 

〈With just one strike…〉

〈A monster that even five A-rank explorers are struggling to fight against…〉

〈So this is Nishida’s prowess…〉

〈Just how strong he actually is?!〉

〈As expected from someone who reached the 53rd floor of the abyss level.〉

〈People brandished him as a liar, but I believe in Nishida.〉

〈To be fair, there’s no way you can still accuse him as a liar after witnessing this.〉

“Nishida-kun~ Be careful~ The dragon is still alive~”

“What?”

After hearing Ryoko Hongan’s warning, I snapped back to attention. Almost immediately, countless tendrils sprouted from the severed part of the dragon. Within the blink of an eye, the tendrils joined together, reconnecting the cut sections. Eventually, the Forest Dragon was restored back to its original form. 

〈Damn! That regeneration power is insane!〉

〈The-The heck with that thing?!〉

〈Someone tell me who designed this boss! This boss is broken!!!〉

〈Now, what will Nishida do now?〉

“It should have a weak spot somewhere. How about if I try cutting off its head next?”

I tried to sever all eight heads one by one, but the dragon quickly regenerated its head back. Just like before, the dragon returned to its original state easily. 

〈Look at Nishida, casually cutting off the dragon’s heads.〉

〈A normal monster would be dead by now.〉

〈Since Nishida is abnormal, the boss is abnormal too.〉

But then, Ryoko Hongan raised her hand. 

“Hereee! Hereee! I think I know the source of this dragon’s abnormal regeneration!”

“Really?”

“Yeah. Those root-like things that extended from its body? If you look closely, you can see that those roots are connected to the dragon.”

“I see. SO the dragon is getting its energy from the dungeon itself. That’s what powering his regeneration skill.”

In other words, the dragon could keep regenerating as long as the dungeon was still brimming with energy.

“In that case, I just need to cut off those roots so the dragon won’t be able to absorb the dungeon’s energy anymore.”

Since there were multiple roots connected to the dragon, the dragon would definitely regenerate the roots back if I were to cut them one by one. I had to cut everything in a single sweep.

Infusing more fighting spirit into my knife, I slashed the boss’ base with a single strike. 

“””OAHHHHH?!?!?!”””

Of course, the dragon tried to extend new roots to reconnect with the dungeon, but…

“As if I’d let you do that.”

I slashed it again. Every time new roots sprout, I cut it all again. 

〈The cut areas are having difficulty regenerating back!〉

〈Its regeneration speed is clearly slowing down!〉

〈Nishida got this! He only needs to find the right way to defeat it!〉

But then, the Forest Dragon spread its wing-like appendages wide and…

BWOOOOOOOOOON!!

It soared through the sky with its massive body. Gust of winds swirling from each flap of its huge wings. 

〈Huh?〉

〈This is bad!〉

〈It can fly…?〉

〈That thing can actually fly despite its gargantuan size?!〉

〈I mean, it’s a dragon after all.〉

〈And it’s incredibly fast too!〉

〈So that’s how the dragon managed to reach the lower levels so quickly.〉

〈The boss is trying to escape.〉

〈A boss that tucks its tail and runs away from a mere F-rank explorer.〉

Of course, there was no way I would let it escape that easily. I kicked off the ground again and jumped to the sky. Then, I used wind magic to fly after the Forest Dragon. 

〈Can Nishida catch up with the boss?〉

〈The boss is fast!〉

〈Nishida, don’t let it get away!〉

But the Forest Dragon was flying so fast, far faster than anyone would expect from its massive size. The distance between us kept getting wider instead of decreasing. 

“I’m not really good at flying, but… I’m quite good at running.”

And so, I kicked off the air to increase my speed.

〈Whaaaaaaaaaat!?〉

〈Nishida suddenly becomes so much faster!〉

〈Is he running in the air!?〉

〈How is this even possible?〉

〈Well, if anyone can do it, it’s Nishida.〉

〈It’s Nishida after all.〉

〈Alright, he’s catching up!〉

I was gradually closing in on the Forest Dragon. Seemingly panicking, the deep level boss tried to fight me with its shockwave breath attack and shot its branch at me, but I dodged them all effortlessly. 

“This is the end for you.”

Once again, I sliced the Forest Dragon in two. Each halves fell to the ground with a loud thud. However, I didn’t stop there. The dragon might try to regenerate by absorbing the dungeon’s energy again. 

“Just cutting it in half might not be enough to kill it.”

I kept slashing the body into pieces and then, I burned the scattered pieces with fire magic. 

〈Merciless as ever.〉

〈Well, the dragon’s regeneration speed is no joke after all.〉

〈Did he kill it it!?〉

〈Come on, don’t jinx Nishida.〉

The remnants of the Forest Dragon, now almost reduced to ashes, piled up on the ground.

“This should do it.”

…It should be dead, right…?

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