Worthless Skill Escape (WN)

Chapter 79

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TL: ALT

Chapter 79 – VS Karakuri Doctor

So, how do you see the results of the Appraisal?

“This is another oddball…”

While the Hobbit Sumo Wrestler, who was the secret boss of the B-rank Hikarigaoka Park Dungeon, was a powerful melee fighter, this Karakuri Doctor seems to be a rear-guard or rather a support position.

More specifically, it looks like a non-combatant researcher.

Of course, it is a secret boss of an A-rank dungeon, so its ability value is high.

The drop items are a Conductivity Furnace, a Laser Blade, and a Karakuri UFO Blueprint.

The Conductivity Furnace is a mysterious item, as is the Universal Gear picked up along the way.

I am not sure how rare it is.

If it is in the first slot, it might not be that rare, and if you consider it a drop from the secret boss at level 2941, it might be quite rare.

The Laser Blade is… quite a romantic piece of equipment.

It seems to be able to shoot laser blades, so it could be used not only for sword-related skills but also for shooting skills.

However, the second slot in the drop is a rare one.

Although there is a Treasure Hunt, the probability of getting it is not high.

It is possible to target it using the Loot -> Escape loop, but I am not in a situation where I can take things that slowly right now.

The third slot is a Karakuri UFO blueprint.

The item in the third slot can only be obtained by Steal or Plunder.

However, as the word “blueprint” suggests, it is probably an item that cannot be used on its own.

I don’t know what a Karakuri UFO or something like that is, but it seems to require a skill.

I don’t have that skill yet, but there’s one in front of me that seems to have it.

In the skills section of Karakuri Doctor, there is a skill with that exact name: Karakuri Creation.

As a custom order, the Karakuri Doctor is a secret boss.

Once defeated, it can be summoned with Summon Secret Monster.

So it would be nice to steal this Karakuri UFO blueprint as well, right?

If I take Karakuri Creation into consideration, there is a possibility that I can make Laser Blade as well.

Anyway, I will try plundering, and if I can get the Karakuri UFO Blueprint, then good; if not, then I will escape and start over.

If it is too difficult to get the blueprints, I will have to give up somewhere.

I picked up my longbow with the sub-skills of Archery, Rapid Fire, Plunder, and, just to be safe, Knockout and fired an arrow.

The arrow hits the Karakuri Doctor in the throat.

‘You stole the Laser Blade!’

“That way, huh?”

It’s best to have the Laser Blade and the Blueprint in the first and second rounds.

I turned my back on the doctor and ran away with Escape.

I unsummoned Hobijinkai and Hotei.

I feel bad that I just summoned them, but it can’t be helped.

While I was checking the needle of the escape timer, I looked behind me.

The doctor who took the arrow has jumped off the edge of the gear.

“Eh. Could it have killed itself?”

Hey, if it dies now, I won’t be able to examine the drop items!

I guess it was too early to think that.

A large flying object appeared from underneath the gears.

Inside the transparent windshield was the figure of a doctor holding a joystick with both hands.

There’s a popular anime for young children in which a hero personified as a loaf of bread defeats a villain, right?

The UFO that the villain rides on appears in the anime.

It is a somewhat Karakuri-like version of the UFO.

“Is that the Karakuri UFO?”

I’d like to have one of those.

Well, in reality, it is difficult to ride it outside of the dungeon.

Where would you put such a big thing?

I think I can just about fit it in if I increase the Item Box to 5 (the capacity of the Item Box is S.Lv x 1.5 cubic meters), but I don’t think I can fit anything else in there.

While I was distracted by the UFO, Karakuri Soldiers, Karakuri Captains, and Karakuri Assault Soldiers appeared from behind the gears on the top and sides.

Unlike on the road, they are all level 2941.

With a much sharper movement than before, the Karakuri Soldiers jumped over to the gear I was in.

“This is bad…”

Seven seconds remain on the escape timer.

The Karakuri Soldiers surrounding me would definitely be faster.

I have an overwhelming status advantage, but will I be able to survive with such a large number of them?

Furthermore, there was a change in the UFO that was floating in the sky above me.

The bottom of the UFO opened up, and a rocket pod came out.

There was a muffled launch sound and a puff of smoke.

A dozen or so missiles approached me on a random trajectory.

“Damn, that’s awful!”

Should I give up trying to escape and intercept?

No, I’m in too bad a position.

Was it a mistake to send Hobijinkai and Hotei back?

“Eeii, I’ll just have to dodge them with my mind!”

I zigzagged along the outer edge of the escape area, dodging the flying missiles at an angle.

I was lucky enough to avoid a direct hit a few times.

The missiles that landed near me took a hit, but thanks to the status difference, my HP was reduced by no more than 10 percent.

I should say that it took more than 10,000 damage even though it didn’t take a direct hit.

The smoke from the explosion was cut through, and the Karakuri Soldiers approached.

The spears that were thrown all at once were truly what you would call a spear line.

But for me, this one was easier to deal with.

Although I can’t attack them because I have to escape, my weapon skills, such as Spear Technique and Spearmanship, are also useful in avoiding their attacks.

“Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh!”

For a few seconds, I dodged the Karakuri Soldiers’ spears.

‘You have successfully escaped.’

‘No experience gained.’

‘No SP gained.’

‘You did not receive any money.’

‘Dropped 320911 yen!’

After it got dark, I warped out of the boss’s room and wiped the cold sweat from my forehead.

“Phew… I can’t do this too often.”

This Karakuri UFO would definitely have other means of attack.

The drop item is a Laser Blade, so it’s not surprising that it has a ray weapon.

A laser that hits instantly without any pre-movement can only be avoided by lucky evasion.

The Karakuri Soldiers who have been leveled up to 2941 must have increased their skills and ability values across the board.

I didn’t have time to use Appraisal on them, but I’m pretty sure those moves are Spearmanship 5.

It is also possible that there are other unknown skills that have increased.

“Come to think of it…”

I used the Archive skill to double-check the Karakuri Doctor’s status.

“As I thought. It also has Interference Magic.”

The skill level is 3, but it would be a nuisance if it could stop me even for a moment.

I have a high Mental Strength (of ability value), so the condition should not be that unusual.

I have already taken countermeasures against fatal status anomalies such as Paralysis, Petrification, Electrocution, and Instant Death with my Resistance skill.

But that doesn’t mean they’re completely ineffective.

There are some conditions that are weak and, therefore, have no countermeasures, such as Slowness, which makes your legs slow for a short time, and Blinding, which makes your eyes blind for a short time.

If I wanted to nullify them all, I would have to use a skill like Magic Cancel.

But that would reset the escape timer.

“I suppose it could make other monsters attack at once with Command and Datalink.”

Although only Karakuri Soldiers appeared earlier, it is very likely that Karakuri Drones, Karakuri Drone Swarms, Karakuri Tanks, and other monsters found along the way will also appear.

If I were to be outnumbered and bombarded by a barrage of them, it would be impossible to dodge them all while escaping.

“I see, numbers, huh…”

In previous battles, I had never fought such a large number of monsters at the same time.

Especially since the path in the Kururi Castle Dungeon was narrower along the way.

It was beneficial to gain experience in one-on-one and one-on-many, but I didn’t expect to be forced to fight a large number of them at the very end.

No, if I hadn’t been solo, it would have been normal cooperation, like… where the vanguard builds a wall and attacks the UFO with magic.

If it were a normal dungeon boss that was not a secret boss, the boss would most likely be a Karakuri General.

The information from Haitani-san is that it was a boss specializing in physical attacks with a few minions.

The requirements for the secret boss’ spawn were still unknown.

For me, with Summon Secret Monsters, the secret status is basically welcome.

But I’d like to be prepared.

To tell you the truth, I wanted to finish this dungeon with a weapon skill, but let’s just say I found my next challenge.

Which of my current skills is most effective against a large number of enemies?

“Summoning Phantom Beasts… Well, it’s a wide area.”

That Phantom Dragon―I doubt that the Karakuri Doctor is a “good” opponent for Kudave.

I think I’m having a hard time because I’m trying to examine the dropped items, and I don’t think it’s enough to lose a real fight.

Even if I escape, if I am willing to take the time, I can just try to escape, abort if it looks dangerous, clean up the enemy, and repeat the loop until I can escape safely.

If I keep doing this, I will eventually be able to make that kind of gap.

But right now, there are several Floods.

Even if it’s not enough to rush back home, it’s a problem to take too much time to investigate the situation here.

If the danger of a Flood were so small that it could be ignored, Serika would never have approached me.

Not enough to warrant organized action by a guild or association, but enough of a threat that it can’t be ignored.

That’s what Serika decides.

I think to myself and open my phone.

The push notifications were lined with alerts from the government.

On the Paladin Knights’ guild chat, Haitani-san seems to be streaming the status of the Flood every step of the way.

Chidorigafuchi Dungeon, Kasai Rinkai Park Dungeon, Zoshigaya Kishimojin Temple Dungeon…

Several A-rank dungeons in Tokyo are under Flood.

“It can’t be helped. If the next Plunder doesn’t work, I’ll give up on the blueprint.”

The Karakuri UFO is fascinating, but I don’t think I can practically drive it outside the dungeon.

It would be conspicuous, it would violate aviation laws, and there is no place to put something that big―there are too many problems.

I’m glad I stole the Laser Blade first.

If I put the romance of UFOs first and fail to prevent local flooding, it would be a disaster.

Let’s drop the romance.

Let’s give up greed.

I got greedy because I saw the drop slots for the Karakuri Doctor.

I never saw its drop slot.

Let’s put it this way.

I summoned Hobijinkai and Hotei and entered the boss room again.

I fired my arrow in an instant.

I reinforced my Rapid Fire skill with my Shot skill, a full course of Sniping, Bull’s Eye, Plunder, and Knockout.

This time, with an emphasis on initial damage, I also activated Vanguard’s Knowledge (Attack Power and Magic Power increase by 1.5 times for S.Lv x 10 seconds after the start of battle, but then Attack Power and Magic Power decrease by 2/3 for S.Lv x 10 seconds after that).

‘You stole the Karakuri UFO blueprint!’

“I did it!”

I stole the blueprint with flying colors.

Was it a good thing that I had given up my greed and gone for it?

No, I couldn’t be a fool.

This time, Hotei was at the party.

Maybe the Treasure Hunt for both of us, Hotei and me, is paying off.

It was probably just a coincidence that the first and second rounds didn’t have the same drops.

The arrow that had stolen the blueprint had pierced the Karakuri Doctor’s right eye.

The doctor is holding its eye and staggering backwards.

It must be trying to jump onto the UFO under the gears.

“I won’t let you!”

I quickly used Quick Draw to change my longbow to a Karakuri Lance.

Then, with the Karakuri Lance―Weapon Throw, Spear Throw, Throw, and Bull’s Eye.

The Karakuri Lance hits the doctor’s forehead and shatters.

The Weapon Throw has a lot of firepower in exchange for breaking the weapon.

I do another Quick Draw.

I took out another Karakuri Lance.

I got so many from the Karakuri Soldiers along the way.

I have dozens of Karakuri Lances in my Item Box.

Sorry for the repetition, but the second one was also a Weapon Throw.

This time, I activated Quick Draw before hitting the target and threw the third Karakuri Lance.

After checking the remaining HP of the Karakuri Doctor with Appraisal, I did another Quick Draw and threw the fourth Karakuri Lance with the Weapon Throw.

Instead of three hits, it was four hits to the head.

If this were baseball, this would be a violent throw that would inevitably result in a huge brawl, and the doctor’s HP is reduced to zero.

The Karakuri Doctor falls backward and disappears as a black particle.

“…Ah, I should have just let it spawn the Karakuri Soldiers and hunted them down.”

I had a chance to level-raise them.

Well, I don’t have much time at the moment.

The Karakuri Doctor didn’t have the ability to summon small fry, so the spawn in this boss’s room must be a gimmick.

If I come back when things have calmed down, I’ll have more time to earn some SP.

‘You have defeated the dungeon boss!’

‘You won’t get any experience from the dungeon boss.’

‘You have earned 1830062 SP.’

‘You have gained 15587300 yen.’

‘You have obtained the Conductivity Furnace!’