Chapter 27
"Alright, preparations are complete. We will now commence the operation to defeat Count Clermont."
After pulling up the tools that had been soaking in a bucket and finishing the preparations, I gave the order to start the operation.
It felt a bit strange to give the order in front of the ghost that had been staring at us this whole time.
"Dent, Amina, are you ready?"
"Yeah."
"Ready whenever!"
Dent and Amina were holding both ends of a net. Dent was holding it with his hands, while Amina was ready with her feet.
The net was laid out on the floor in front of the dungeon entrance.
"Nell, are you ready?"
"Ready whenever!!"
Next to me was Nell, holding a grappling hook.
"Alright, let's begin the operation!!"
I then lifted the rice cake and got into a full throwing stance.
Behold!
This is the "I" throwing technique honed through gaming!!
I raised my leg vertically, pushing the limits of my hip flexibility, and then stepped forward as if falling forward. I timed it perfectly and hurled the rice cake.
It was more like dodgeball than baseball.
The thrown rice cake flew out of the dungeon with unrelenting momentum, heading straight for the Count's protruding face.
The Count continued to stare at us, as if to say that such an attack would never hit.
Right after I smirked at his reaction...
"*Hego!?*"
"Strike!!"
The rice cake didn't pass through his ghostly form and instead hit him square in the face.
It was a bizarre sight—a ghost's face being blown away.
Shocked and realizing that he could be harmed, the Count quickly retreated into the pile of garbage.
"It really hit him."
"Though it did almost no damage."
The rice cake had struck the ghost directly. There was a trick to this.
All monsters have attributes. In the game, there were eight attributes: the four elemental attributes of earth, water, fire, and wind, plus light and dark, thunder and ice, which were opposing attributes.
Monsters always have one or more of these eight attributes.
And surprisingly, the rice cake had the rare light attribute.
Ghosts are usually dark attribute, and the Count was no exception. Light and dark deal double damage to each other, and light nullifies a ghost's ability to phase through objects.
There was once a legendary player who, at level zero, with no equipment and only rice cakes as weapons, managed to defeat a ghost through a deadly game of dodgeball. They uploaded a video of it, and it went viral.
It takes time, but the rice cake has enough power to deal significant damage.
"Now, before the Count comes out, let's move to the next phase. Nell, you're up!"
"Got it!! Here goes!!"
The dungeon created by the key takes on the attributes of the monsters from the original dungeon.
In other words, this dungeon, though the weakest, is imbued with light attribute magic.
We added salt to the water in the dungeon and soaked the grappling hook in it. The hook then flew in a parabolic arc, catching onto a piece of garbage left at the entrance.
"It's hooked!!"
"Good! Pull it in!!"
What was hooked was a small, tattered piece of cloth—whether it was a handkerchief or a piece of clothing left to rot, I couldn't tell.
At least to me, it looked like trash.
The garbage was dragged in, caught on the grappling hook.
"Who dares steal my treasure!?!!!"
At that moment, a wailing cry echoed from inside the mansion.
"Keep pulling it in!!"
"I know!!"
As soon as the cry was heard, Nell increased the speed at which she was reeling in the hook.
"Hurry!! We're running out of time!!"
Would we manage to drag it into the dungeon first, or...
"Return my treasure!!!!!"
...would the Count, now in a frenzy after having his treasure stolen, fly out and snatch it back first?
The Count's hand reached for the grappling hook before we could pull the garbage into the dungeon.
"Ahhh!? Light!?!!"
However, the moment he touched it, a faint spark of static electricity flashed, causing the Count to flinch momentarily.
"Got it!!"
"Alright, run!!"
In that moment, Nell retrieved the garbage. She then turned around and sprinted full speed into the depths of the dungeon.
"!? Give it back! My treasure!! My precious treasure!! I won't forgive you!!!!"
Seeing this, the Count was momentarily stunned, but his face quickly turned red with rage as he tried to chase after Nell.
"Miss!!"
"Yes!!"
The Count charged into the dungeon, completely focused on Nell and ignoring everything else. He came straight at her like a wild boar, but Dent and Amina suddenly raised the net, leaving him no room to dodge.
"Ahhh!? Why!? Give it back! Give it back! My treasure!!"
The Count let out a scream as if he had been electrocuted, and the net, which he should have been able to phase through, trapped him instead.
The momentum carried him into the net, where he became entangled.
"Heave-ho!!"
"Here we go!!"
Amina flew over the net, while Dent ducked under it, wrapping the Count up in the net.
"Ahhhh!!!"
"Dent!!"
"Got it!!"
The net, soaked in light-attribute water, seemed to cause the Count pain all over his body. He struggled, but his movements were halted.
"Ghosts are light, so it's easy to carry him!! Even I can do it!!"
Dent lifted the Count, now wrapped in the net and able to be held.
"It's bath time, Count!!"
He then threw the Count into the bucket.
"Gyaaaaah!? Light!? I hate light!!!!"
"Kid!!"
"Ready!!"
I picked up the nearby lid and placed it on the bucket.
"Liberta!!"
"Here!!"
Amina then used her foot to hand me the latch rod, which I inserted into place.
"Done!"
"Thanks, miss!!"
"Open it! Open it! Open it! Give back my treasure!!!!"
The Count pounded and thrashed violently inside the bucket. As a Class 4 monster, even after Dent added a second latch in a cross pattern, he could only hold on for a few minutes.
"Amina, go ahead!!"
"Got it!!"
"Don't just stand there, kid! Let's move!!"
Dent called out to me as I was still on top of the bucket, and he started running. I followed close behind.
"Hurry, hurry!!"
Amina, flying ahead through the dungeon, occasionally looked back to urge us on.
"Whew!! I envy you flying girls!! Kid, you okay!?"
"I-I'm fine!!"
Since I had no levels, my body only had the stamina of a child.
Even running at full speed, I couldn't keep up with Dent or Amina.
But I had run this route many times and knew the best path. I also knew my stamina would hold out.
"Those who steal my treasure!! Where are you!!!!"
"Has the seal already broken!?"
"We'll have to bet on half the time!!"
The bucket was breaking faster than expected!? That bucket seller sold us a defective product!?
According to calculations, the bucket should have broken around the time we reached the boss room and started fighting!!
We took the correct path at the fork, and now it was just the final stretch.
"Ah! We're here!! Hurry!!"
"Miss, open the door!!"
Dent then accelerated rapidly. He drew the short sword from his waist and dashed forward like the wind.
He overtook Amina, who was flying, and blew past Nell, who was opening the door, like a gust of wind.
"We don't have time to waste on small fry!!"
He then charged into the boss room and attacked the Kagami Mochi stationed there.
Though it was the weakest boss, Dent, who had levels and proper combat experience unlike us, took down the orange mochi one by one and was already attacking the last remaining mochi by the time I reached the room's door.
"Liberta!! Behind you!!"
"Did we miss the half-time mark!?"
Right after that...
"I found you!!!! Give back my treasure!!"
I felt a horrifying presence behind me. There was no time to look back.
Nell and Amina also entered the boss room.
And just before I could enter the boss room...
"Damn you!!!!"
"Crap!!"
I miscalculated.
My body was slower than I had anticipated!?
The Count was within reach, closing in on me to attack.
I had thrown mochi at him, trapped him in a net, and latched him in a bucket, so I was clearly recognized as an enemy.
And now I was about to be attacked.
"Liberta!!"
This was really bad.
There was nothing I could do.
"Light!?!!"
But it seemed the gods hadn't abandoned me.
"My luck isn't so bad after all!!"
Miraculously, the treasure chest dropped by the boss was rainbow-colored.
The intense light from the chest stopped the Count in his tracks.
"Ah, a rainbow!?"
"Stop gawking and let's escape!!"
"Miss!! Kid, hurry!!"
There was no time to open it. Amina grabbed Nell's arm, who was reluctant to leave, and jumped into the escape magic circle. I slid headfirst past the treasure chest and dove into the magic circle.
"Ah!! My treasure!!"
The last thing I saw was the Count desperately reaching for the treasure chest, his face distorted as the light blocked him.
"Ugh!!"
And that terrifying expression was soon overwritten by the taste of dirt.
"Owwww!!"
Thanks to my awkward landing, I failed to cushion my fall.
I rolled around on the ground, trying to disperse the pain.
"You seem lively, kid."
"Do I look lively to you?"
"Don't cry, you're a man. Here, drink this."
"Gulp."
I was aware that my eyes were teary from the pain. What was poured into my mouth was a potion, I guess?
"It's bitter."
"Good, that means you're alive."
In the game, potions had no taste, so I was impressed by this bitterness. Gradually, I felt the pain subsiding.
"Are Nell and Amina... okay?"
Once the pain faded, I sat up and checked on Nell and the others.
"Can we really call that 'okay'? Nell seems pretty down."
"She's upset about missing the rainbow treasure chest."
"I get how she feels, but it's just a mochi chest, so it's not a big deal, right?"
Nell and Amina looked so dejected that Dent was worried they might collapse under the weight of their disappointment. But well, he could say that because he didn't know what was inside the chest.
"What about the Count?"
Let's not touch on that for now and focus on confirming our results.
"The fact that we can sit here safely is proof enough. And here, take this."
"What's this?"
"Trash, picked it up from there."
"Ah, then it seems we're fine."
Looking around, the terrifying ghost of Count Clermont was nowhere to be seen. Dent tossed me what looked like a piece of an old picture frame, and I caught it in a panic.
To Count Clermont, this was undoubtedly a treasure, even if it was just trash to us. The fact that Dent and I could hold it without being attacked meant...
"Still, I never thought we'd defeat him like this."
"We had to give up on experience points and drop items, though."
"If we can get results like this, I won't complain."
The Count had been successfully vanquished.
The method we used was called the "Dungeon Draining Tactic." The dungeon key can create dungeons anywhere, even inside other dungeons.
And these dungeons can draw in not only players but also monsters. This is the essence of the Dungeon Draining Tactic.
When you clear a dungeon and escape, the dungeon disappears. Even if you combine the key with the Mark of the Weak, the dungeon resets after clearing and escaping.
By applying this, if you lure a monster you want to defeat into the dungeon, defeat the boss, and then escape, what happens to the lured monster?
It doesn't count as a defeat, but it can be erased. I had asked the developers and received an official answer, so I knew it would work in this world too.
The only concern was if the monster escaped through the entrance, but the Count was the type to chase after us.
So he followed us all the way to the end. He chased us into the boss room with the escape magic circle, allowing us to use this tactic.
"Right, now we can safely explore this mansion."
"...Ah, right. This is just the beginning, isn't it?"
In a way, we've overcome the biggest hurdle. Now it's time for the quest rewards.
Though, it's going to be a hell of