“What… is your proposal?”
Kiting stared at Rough warily.
It was only natural. The proposal had come from an uninvited stranger whose intentions he could not read.
“Let’s hear it first.”
Kiting reluctantly agreed, though he still had not lowered his guard.
“I’ve been watching for a while, and you seem to be struggling a little. How about we work together?”
‘It makes sense that he would be.’
Rough smiled leisurely.
From what he had seen, Kiting appeared to be in a hurry, as if something were chasing him.
It was as though he were searching for something inside this Dungeon.
But the boss monster stood in his way.
If he wasted any more time here, other users would begin arriving one after another.
To obtain what he wanted right away, he needed to cooperate.
That was Rough’s judgment.
“Before I answer, there is one thing I want to confirm.”
Kiting slowly spoke, narrowing his eyes.
“What is it?”
“That boss monster. As you can see, its Defense is considerable. How are you planning to deal damage to it? On top of that, the Level gap is no joke, so the penalty should be severe.”
“Take a look at my Status Window. And this too.”
Rough held out his weapon.
The Rare weapon he had obtained near the end of the Tutorial.
‘Oh? Its options are pretty good.’
And because he had only skimmed through Rough’s information earlier, Kiting had missed it at first. But now that he looked closely, Rough was wearing the title ‘David and Goliath,’ which reduced penalties from Level differences.
His Combat Power was impressive as well.
‘That isn’t an easy title to obtain. At this level, he will not hold me back.’
Convinced, Kiting decided to cooperate with Rough.
“Fine. Let’s do that.”
Once they had finished talking, the two turned toward the Juvenile Basilisk before them.
“Kiiiiii…”
The Dungeon’s master, the Juvenile Basilisk, covered its weak spot as it warily kept its eyes on Kiting.
Since Kiting was the one who had threatened it until now, it paid no attention to the newly arrived Rough.
“What are that boss monster’s attack patterns?”
Rough asked without taking his eyes off it.
“Maybe because it is still a juvenile, but they are simple. It only swings its forelegs or tail.”
“I was worried it might breathe fire or something, so that is a relief. How much damage does it do?”
“I have not been hit, so I do not know. But avoid it if you can. It never hurts to be careful.”
“If we can deal damage consistently, it is definitely possible. I’ll go in first. Cover me well.”
Rough kicked off the ground and dashed forward.
Only then did the Basilisk turn its gaze toward him.
“Kiiit!”
It raised one foreleg and attempted to crush Rough beneath it.
“Not happening.”
Kiting did not miss that brief opening. He fired the arrow he had already nocked.
The arrow flew from his hand and struck precisely where the scales did not cover.
“Kiiiiit!!”
Pain shot through the creature as the sharp object pierced its flesh, making it stagger and sway.
Rough did not miss the opening either.
“Heavy Blow!”
A faint blue effect scattered from Rough’s sword as it flashed.
Slash!
The creature’s tail was deeply cut.
It was nearly severed, hanging by a thread.
“Kii! Kieeeeeek!!”
Overwhelmed by the agonizing pain at the end of its body, the Basilisk began thrashing violently.
Boom! Boom!!
Like a drunken beast gone mad, it repeatedly slammed into the cavern walls.
Its remaining HP was now only around 15%.
Watching it, Kiting smiled in satisfaction.
‘If it is going to thrash around like that, I am only grateful.’
The reason Kiting had struggled against the Basilisk—
Once its HP had fallen below half, it had focused entirely on defense.
It covered its weak spots with its tough hide and did nothing but defend, making it nearly impossible to break through.
But Rough’s intervention had created an opportunity.
And Kiting was not foolish enough to let it pass.
He calmly nocked another arrow and aimed at the creature.
Whoosh!
The arrow tore through the darkness and buried itself in the creature’s mouth.
“Kiee… Khehk!!”
The Basilisk convulsed briefly before collapsing limply like a puppet with its strings cut.
“Is it… over?”
The words slipped from Rough’s mouth like a groan.
‘It still had only half its HP left, but it took longer than I expected. How did he take away half its health by himself?’
Kiting had a similar thought.
The two reached the same conclusion.
‘That person’s help was huge.’
Soon, messages announcing the Dungeon’s completion appeared.
[You have defeated the Dungeon’s master, the Juvenile Basilisk!]
[You have cleared Basilisk’s Nest!]
[Your Level has increased!]
[Your Level has increased!]
[Your Level has increased!]
.
.
[1st Contribution: Kiting]
[2nd Contribution: Rough]
[You have received the Poison-Infused Revolver as the 2nd Contribution reward!]
‘Poison-Infused Revolver?’
Rough grinned broadly as he looked at the notification.
Just from its name alone, it sounded like a good weapon.
He already felt great.
[Poison-Infused Revolver Lv. 30]
[Grade: Rare]
[Classification: Equipment Item]
[Durability: 2,000/2,000]
[Attack Power: 98]
[Description: The weapon of a hunter who was devoured while attempting and failing to subjugate a Juvenile Basilisk in the past. Having remained inside the Basilisk’s stomach for a long time, it has permanently acquired the Poison attribute.]
[Special Option: On a successful hit, there is a 5% chance to Poison the target. Their HP decreases by 0.2% at 3-second intervals, and the effect lasts for 30 seconds. This effect does not stack and does not affect boss monsters or Named NPCs.]
Its listed grade was Rare.
But considering its Special Option, it would not have been lacking even if it had been Epic.
It dealt continuous damage.
In other words, it was DoT damage.
‘Fuck, I struck gold! This could fetch a high price if I sell it somewhere like the Auction House!’
Rough cheered inwardly.
On top of that, he had fulfilled one of his weapon’s growth requirements: clearing a Dungeon.
This Dungeon had been profitable in more ways than one.
“Excuse me.”
Having checked his reward, Kiting approached Rough.
“What did you get?”
“Ah, here.”
At Kiting’s question, Rough shared the item information.
“Hmm.”
Kiting nodded indifferently.
“Did you get what you wanted too?”
“I got this.”
Kiting, beaming brightly, casually held out the item he had received as his reward.
‘He was the top contributor. How good of an item did he get?’
Rough eagerly checked its information.
[Basilisk’s Heart]
[Classification: Miscellaneous Item]
[Grade: Rare]
[Description: The heart of a Basilisk.]
‘…What is this?’
After checking the item information, Rough cocked his head.
Kiting was the top contributor to the Basilisk subjugation.
That meant Basilisk’s Heart was a reward worthy of that contribution.
And yet—
‘What could you even use that for?’
To Rough, the reward looked unimpressive.
‘No, am I missing something?’
As Rough focused his gaze on the heart, his Personal Trait provided new information.
[?? ??]
[Classification: Consumable Item]
[Grade: Epic]
[Description: Within the Basilisk’s Heart lies…]
Swish.
Noticing Rough’s stare, Kiting quickly placed the heart in his Inventory.
‘Ah. I had not finished reading it yet.’
Rough smacked his lips in disappointment.
‘An Epic item! I want it so badly! Damn it! I should have dealt more damage… No, wait. He had already reduced its HP by 50%, right? It would have been impossible anyway.’
Rough squeezed his eyes shut in regret, but there was a way.
Kiting did not know it, but Jaar, Rough’s companion, was somewhere in this Dungeon right now.
If they joined forces and attempted to PK him, there was a possibility.
But it was only a possibility.
Besides, neither Rough nor Jaar was the kind of person who would do that.
And a skilled person like Kiting would surely cross paths with them again someday.
If Rough became enemies with him here, blinded by a small profit, it could lead to enormous losses in the long run.
“Now that we have killed the boss, there is nothing else to do. Let’s head out.”
“Yes, let’s.”
The moment Rough and Kiting turned their backs on the Basilisk’s corpse—
The sudden notifications that appeared forced them to stop in place.
[1. Clear the Dungeon while three or more people are present within it.]
[2. Clear the Dungeon after taking five hits or fewer.]
[3. Remain in the boss room for a certain period after clearing the Dungeon.]
[You have fulfilled all conditions for the appearance of the Hidden Boss.]
[The Hidden Boss will appear!]
A chill ran down their spines.
“…?”
Rough slowly turned his head like rusted scrap metal.
What entered his view was another Basilisk of enormous size, presumed to be the mother of the one they had just killed.
Its eye level was impossibly high compared to the Juvenile Basilisk.
Its pupils were vertically slit like those of a predator.
Sticky saliva dripped from the tips of its sharp fangs.
Rough was completely overwhelmed by the creature’s gaze as it looked down at him.
[A Hidden Boss Monster, the Adult Basilisk, has appeared!]
[Adult Basilisk]
[Lv. 60]
[Title: None]
[Classification: NPC]
[Affiliation: None]
[Disposition: Evil]
[HP: 10,000/10,000 MP: 1,500/1,500]
[Strength: 100 △▽ Agility: 35 △▽]
[Intelligence: 28 △▽ Luck: 15 △▽]
[Total Combat Power: 15,000]
“Total Combat Power… fifteen thousand?”
Rough gave a hollow laugh.
The Basilisk that had entered the nest looked around before discovering its offspring.
Its tail was nearly severed.
Arrows were embedded across its body, and its breath had long since stopped.
“Kieeeeeeeeeek!!”
Having lost its reason, the Basilisk let out a furious roar at the two of them.
At the same time—
Notifications began to appear in rapid succession once more.
[The canceled linked quest will be regenerated with different content.]
[Linked Quest Title: Subjugate the Adult Basilisk]
[Grade: Epic]
[Description: The Basilisk has lost its reason after the death of its beloved offspring.]
[Objective: Subjugate the Hidden Boss, the Adult Basilisk, and stop its rampage!]
[On Success: Massive experience, 1,000 Gold, and a Rare-grade item or higher]
[On Failure: You will revive at the nearest Safety Zone, and the Adult Basilisk will leave the Dungeon and head toward a nearby village.]
“A nearby village… Asente? Then we cannot run away even if we wanted to.”
[Your Pain Synchronization Rate is temporarily fixed at 35%. It will return to its original value once the event ends.]
[If you leave the Dungeon or forcibly log out, the quest will be considered failed.]
At this point, they had no choice but to see this through.
If the two of them fled, this monster would be unleashed outside.
And that would lead to terrible consequences.
Besides, both of them wondered—
What rare item would drop if they defeated that monster?
“…”
Rough and Kiting swiftly exchanged glances.
Reading each other’s thoughts, the two smiled and gripped their weapons tightly.
“This should be fun. I’ll go first, so make sure you deal damage well from the back like before.”
The instant Rough leaped toward the creature—
“Kuaaaaaaah!”
The Basilisk pulled its head forward from where it had drawn it back and spewed out a massive torrent of fire.