Chapter 62: The Eighth Floor [Pt 3]
"So... I was thinking..."
Rey was currently surrounded by Monkey Monsters, yet the way he was conversing felt like he was pitching an idea to humans like himself.
An excuse he gave himself was that he was simply doing this out of boredom, but Rey failed to consider the possibility that maybe... just maybe he was going insane.
"... Instead of picking up your Cores after killing you, couldn't I just bring a few Hobgoblins with me to do the job?"
"GRRRRRRRRRR!!!"
In response to their loud growls, Rey swiftly raised his hands, as if trying to pacify them and further argue his point.
"Now hold on... hear me out! They'll just be a few. Maybe even one who's very intelligent and quick on their feet."
The rationale behind this was simple.
While Rey was busy exterminating these creatures, the Hobgoblin would be busy harvesting the Cores.
A win-win!
... Well, except for the Monsters being slain.
"ROOOOAAAARRRRR!!!"
The group of Monkey Monsters—about five of them—leaped from their respective positions at the same time, all of them desiring to get a taste of his flesh.
Rey couldn't help but sigh.
"[Blindness]."
The moment he said this, darkness shrouded the bright eyes of the Monkey Monsters.
With their sight—the primary sensory organ they had—gone, they couldn't clearly accurately locate him.
However, since they already had a decent idea of his position, they did not falter.
Hesitation was not allowed in the Dungeon, and as apex predators, these beasts were fine examples of the primal laws.
Unfortunately for them, Rey wasn't quite finished.
"[False Pain]."
The moment he snapped his fingers, every single one of them collapsed on the ground, groaning in sheer agony.
"G-GURAAAAAHHHHH!!!"
"UROOAAAGHHHHH!!"
"K-KURGHHHH!!"
Their screams of the phantom pain they were experiencing was further amplified by the horrors of darkness that overwhelmed them.
These beings were not used to being in pain, or not seeing.
The hesitation they had avoided for so long soon spiked to confusion.
... And then despair.
"Guess you didn't like my pitch. Oh well..." Rey's disconcerted voice was the last thing they heard.
And then, their lives came to an end.
*******
Smoke was still emanating from Rey's fingers as he looked at the deceased creature.
Once again, he could already dread harvesting the Cores.
"I personally don't think it's a bad plan..." He mumbled, thinking about his pitch.
The major problem when it came to this plan was that there was a possibility he couldn't protect the Hobgoblin as well as he could defend himself.
In essence, his Monster Core harvester could die on him.
'The Dungeon is an unpredictable place, so I can't guarantee anything.'
Taking care of himself was a given, but what about others?
"Since Hobgoblins are pretty much expendable, I don't see why I should be too concerned about their well-being, though..."
When Rey said words like this, they made him seem like a monster. However, he had long outgrown those sorts of concerns.
"If I use the females, they should be smarter than the young ones."
The problem was that all the females were pregnant, which meant they would be slow.
'The males are too young and stupid...' Rey sighed.
No matter how he looked at it, either option would slow him down while he was trying to advance in the Dungeon's deeper floors.
In the end, there was only one method Rey could think of that would be most viable.
'Once I'm done with a Floor, I'll assign the Hobs to fetch the Monster Cores.'
He could supervise them the first few times to ensure they got it right and didn't leave any single Core alone, but afterward, he didn't see a problem in letting them do the work while he advanced to a deeper floor.
'That works...'
Rey smiled, glad to finally have that topic behind him.
Right now, he was almost done with the Monkey Monsters, and there was a lot he had learned about them.
'Skills that affect them directly and do not use a tangible wave of Mana are the most useful...'
He had initially thought he would have trouble dispatching them—especially if they came to him in groups.
However, they were easier than he expected.
'The more I know, the easier they become to fight...'
Skills like [Blindness] and [False Pain] came in handy in times like this.
'Once they're incapacitated, they won't have enough focus to activate their Skills, so I can just finish them off with whatever.'
It was that easy!
'Of course, it might take some people a bit of time to get the trick behind it...'
In fact, the only reason Rey could do something like this was due to his wide array of Skills.
If it was some other person, they wouldn't be so lucky.
'Diversity and versatility is the best weapon I have.'
And in the Dungeon—a place where monsters with varying abilities and qualities existed—Rey's weapon was the ultimate kind.
'I just need to keep building my arsenal...'
As Rey had these thoughts, he neared the massive entrance that was the Boss Room.
'What a nice setup...' He found himself leaking a smirk.
Naturally, a bunch of Monkey Monsters were guarding the entrance and instantly reacted to his presence.
"GRRRRRIIII—!"
Before they could even leak out another growl, Rey finished them off.
As their dead bodies plopped to the ground, Rey decided to leave them be.
'The Hobs will handle the rest...'
Instead, he kept his gaze forward.
The gaping entrance to the Boss Room was just a formation of rocks that seemed to naturally construct a doorway.
It was open, and Rey took the liberty of inviting himself in.
Once he entered the inner sanctum of the Monkey Monsters, he found himself assailed by even brighter light than before.
The Mana Crystals in this place glowed incomparably more than the ones he found on his way here.
Not only that, but they were literally everywhere.
The walls were made of the stuff, and the ceiling had spikes of Mana Crystals covering every corner.
It felt like a Mana Crystal Chamber at this point.
"Ohhh!" Rey's mouth opened slightly as his eyes caught the most imposing figure he had ever encountered throughout his stay in this new world.
More imposing than the Kobold Boss.
Far more threatening than the Hobgoblin Chief and the NightWolves.
... Immensely more intimidating than the Monkey Monsters.
This entity was seated on a throne made from Mana Crystals.
The throne didn't seem very comfortable, but it was massive and grandiose—radiating so much light that an average person would have to look away so as not to go blind.
Rey was staring right at it though, feeling his heartbeat increase drastically.
The Boss was at least seven meters tall. That was about five times taller than Rey.
It glared heavily at its prey, its breathing echoing throughout the room like the brewing sound of Thunder.
"So you're the Boss, huh?" Rey felt his lips widening to their limits as he grinned.
Rather than trembling in fear, as he had done before, he could feel his anxiety mix in with profound curiosity.
... And excitement.
"Perfect!"