“My other half, I refrained from interrupting while you were in battle. However... I did not expect you to possess such... interesting little tricks.”
Just as Greg managed to compose himself, Nightmare's voice echoed leisurely in his mind once more.
Her tone held clear amusement and inquiry, obviously referring to the skill Greg had used earlier to bind the monster: Tentacle Entanglement.
“It seems the secrets hidden within you are even greater than I initially anticipated.”
Greg knew she was probing him.
However, given that this Goddess had played the riddler earlier, Greg decided to return the favor in kind.
“Everyone has their own secrets they'd rather not, or cannot, share with others, wouldn't you say, my Goddess?”
Nightmare clearly hadn't expected such a response, pausing perceptibly.
Then, she let out a low chuckle filled with amusement and resignation.
“Heh... You speak reason.”
She seemed to accept his answer and refrained from digging further, though her tone quickly shifted as she brought up another matter:
“Additionally, I can feel that the source of the 'foreign noise' I mentioned earlier... appears to be inside the abdomen of that lizard-like creature. If you harbor even a slight curiosity, why not slice it open to see what is causing the disturbance?”
Without a second thought, Greg flatly refused. “No, I’m not curious at all.”
Because he already knew what was in there.
It was almost certainly that out-of-control Screech magic conduit prototype emitting the specific noise frequency, which had likely been swallowed by the Spine-back Lizard or stuck somewhere inside its body.
Knowing was one thing, but he had zero interest in digging through a monster’s stomach.
“Is that so? What a pity.”
Nightmare’s voice genuinely sounded a bit disappointed, as if she had missed out on a good show.
After all, cats were notoriously curious creatures.
Greg didn't intend to waste any more breath on her. His current plan was simple:
Escort the three terrified upperclassmen safely back to the entrance leading to the middle layers as quickly as possible, find an opportunity to warn them along the way, and then double back with Silvia straight to the room of the layer lord—the Floor Boss at the deepest part of the first layer—to complete his clear quest.
After all, the excuse he had used to convince Silvia to come down with him in the first place was that he was "concerned fellow students might be in danger and in need of rescue."
Now that they had found them, it wouldn't make sense—ethically or practically—to abandon them right in front of Silvia to go fight the boss.
However, just as he had made up his mind and was about to walk toward Alvin and the other two—
Rumble—!!!
Without warning, the entire massive cavern violently shook!
This wasn't just localized, minor shaking—it felt as though the entire deep underground structure was shuddering!
High above, the rock walls groaned under severe strain, sending fine gravel and dust showering down. The ground surged like waves, making it difficult to even stand.
From deep within the distant darkness came terrifying thuds of collapsing rocks and straining earth, accompanied by heavy, thundering vibrations of something impossibly massive stepping forward... rapidly approaching their location!
“W-What’s happening now?!”
“An... An earthquake?!”
“Something else is coming! Something even... even worse than before!”
Alvin, Leonard, and Leah, who had barely begun to catch their breath thinking they were finally safe, turned deathly pale in an instant. The fear that had barely settled seized their hearts once more, even more intensely than before!
They clung to one another just to stay upright, staring in absolute terror toward the direction of the rumbling, where only bottomless darkness and a rapidly approaching, suffocating pressure awaited them.
Silvia stumbled as well, instinctively stepping closer to Greg. Her pink eyes were filled with tension and worry as she looked up at him:
“Senior Greg! What is...?”
Even Greg felt a sudden tightness in his chest.
This commotion... was not right!
Nothing like this ever happened in the original game!
“To think... she would actually leave her own lair of her own accord?”
Nightmare's ethereal voice chimed in right on cue, carrying a distinct note of... intrigue:
“It seems things are taking a rather interesting turn.”
“Who do you mean by 'she'?”
Greg asked hurriedly in his mind, his bad premonition growing stronger by the second.
Nightmare gave a soft laugh before uttering a name that made Greg's pupils shrink:
“Naturally, the lord of this layer, Lady Eight-Legs.”
“What?! Lady Eight-Legs?!”
Greg naturally recognized the name.
She was supposed to be the final Floor Boss he needed to clear on this expedition.
Although she was only the lord of the first layer, her level was as high as LV35, far exceeding the average player level at this stage.
What made matters worse was that, as the lord of the dungeon's first layer, she bore powerful Divine Protections granted by the region itself, making her far stronger than ordinary monsters of the same level.
In the original game, players usually needed to wait until well past the midpoint of Chapter Three, boost their level, gear, and skill proficiency to a certain degree, and form a reliable party with thorough preparations to have a decent chance of defeating her.
During the game's initial release, many players lacked awareness of this, excitedly rushing to challenge this boss the moment their levels rose slightly and they got a few decent pieces of gear.
Without exception, every single one of them experienced what true agony felt like—interminable battles, chip damage, rage-fueled boss attacks, and wipe after wipe.
It was from that point on that the player community truly grasped the absurdly high dungeon difficulty design of the game. They lovingly bestowed various titles upon this boss who traumatized countless players, such as: Sadistic Spider Spirit, Mysterious Eight-Legged Insect, Nightmare Spinner, Newbie Crusher, and so on.
Knowing all this was one thing, but... the boss actively walking out of its own boss room?! What kind of situation was this?!
This was completely outside the normal game progression!
Rate on N.U.
