Chapter 7: First Beginner Upper-tier Boss! That Smug Face—Time to Slice It Off!
The time was 4 p.m.
Beginner Upper-tier dungeons had more floors, tougher monsters, and wider gathering routes. By the time we finally reached the 20th floor—the boss's room—it had gotten this late.
"Finally here~"
"Ugh, I’m wiped out."
For the backliners Hanna and Lana, all that travel had been rough.
The moment we stepped into the <Safe Zone>, they dropped down back-to-back in exhaustion.
We’d tried to stick to the shortest possible routes between gathering points, but even then, we’d been trekking across every floor.
We took breaks between some levels, but the monsters here were nastier than in Beginner Mid-tier dungeons. The girls were clearly more worn out than before.
Still, the payoff was worth it. We’d gathered a ton of materials. Just like last time, once we passed the 10th floor, gathering spots didn’t vanish as quickly. We made the rounds and stocked up. I wonder if the upperclassmen skip gathering once they get deeper?
And—just as planned—we hit all three hidden doors.
Exactly the same as in the game, untouched by anyone else.
Sierra gave me this sharp, suspicious glare every time I pointed out another hidden door, but I just pretended not to notice and carried on. Whew.
The others were too fixated on the treasure chests to care. Go stare at the loot, Sierra.
By the way, hidden door chests are always <Silver Chest> or higher—no <Wooden Chests>. That means guaranteed rare items. Too bad <Gold Chests> are so few. Even here in the <Isolated Island Flower Garden Dungeon>, every hidden door only held <Silver Chests>.
Inside, one was an item, the other two were equipment. Useful for dungeons, sure… but compared to <Princess Job> strength? Yeah, not so much. They’d help a lower-rank team or one missing resurrection support, but for us, they’re kinda meh. We’ll see if we actually use them.
Anyway—next is the boss fight! Our first Beginner Upper-tier boss!
But not right this moment. Hanna was down for the count.
"We’re about to fight the boss, but are you okay?"
"Yes~, but… I don’t think I can do multiple runs…"
"I’m fine! Even if Hanna collapses, I’ll cover for her with everything I’ve got!"
Sierra’s concern met Hanna’s weak reply, while Lana was fired up and raring to go.
Relax, I’m not about to push Hanna until she keels over. This isn’t the game—here, stamina matters. Plans don’t always pan out.
Originally, Hanna was supposed to use 『Alchemy』 here in the <Safe Zone>, then we’d use those items in the boss fight. But judging from her condition, no chance.
Well, it happens. Still learning how this world works.
"Let’s rest for an hour, then take on the boss. After that, we’ll decide about farming runs based on how everyone feels."
"Yes. We have no objections."
Ester answered for the group while setting up camp.
No need to rush. We’ve already hit today’s goals. The party’s condition comes first.
One hour later—after plenty of rest and snacking on the sweet treats Hanna had made—the backline was revived, and it was time.
We passed through the stone gate entwined with vines, and there it was, looming huge in the center of the boss room.
Not a rare boss this time, apparently. A little disappointing.
"What is that green thing?"
Even though I gave a quick explanation during the break, Lana still asked, eyes wide with wonder. Can’t blame her.
Its presence was overwhelming enough to blow all memory of my lecture away.
"That’s the boss of the <Isolated Island Flower Garden Dungeon>. The cactus-type boss monster…<Sabottender>."
"Sa… bot… ten… der?"
"Hold it, Lana. You’re not allowed to split the name. He is <Sabottender>. Nothing more, nothing less."
Even the nickname-happy <DanKatsu> players never dared mess with this one. Take it seriously.
And no, I’ll say it now—he’s got nothing to do with that famous fantasy game monster with a similar name.
This guy is a giant, five meters tall, shaped almost like a haniwa clay figure.
Its round eye and mouth holes made it look even more like a haniwa… if a haniwa were green and covered in spikes. A cactus-haniwa fusion—that’s our boss.
Oh, and its eyes and mouth can shift to make goofy expressions. That alone made it a surprisingly popular monster.
On top of that, a big red bud grows at its crown. When it bursts—pop—it summons <Chimi Sabottenders>. Those little pests can move, and they love inflicting poison, so you’ve got to take them out quick.
The main body doesn’t move, and its size makes it easy to hit.
Its attacks are simple: just firing off spines. A long-range boss, basically.
But this is our first time facing poison attacks combined with wide-area damage.
It’s not like before, where a tank could soak up single-target hits. If the whole party doesn’t raise defense, we risk a wipe. This is a strong one.
And since it specializes in ranged attacks, you can’t cheese it with defense skill counters either. Annoying.
Even my 『Defense』 skill just blocks damage here. For a tank, this boss is a pain.
Still, sometimes it slacks off on the job—its attacks stop for a while.
That’s the moment to unleash everything you’ve got. That’s the key strategy for beating <Sabottender>.
The boss battle against <Sabottender> in the <Isolated Island Flower Garden Dungeon> begins!
"Fuu, fuu, fuu!"
I had no idea how it was breathing, but it let out a weird wheezy noise that was supposed to be intimidation.
But with those haniwa eyes and mouth, it wasn’t scary in the least. Totally pointless intimidation.
If this were a certain game, the text box would just say: "But nothing happened."
If there were a commentator around, they’d be shouting: "Ohh! The boss Sabottender opens with an intimidation attack! …But it seems to have no effect!"
"Fuu, fuu, fuu!"
"Yeah, so what!? 『Shine Lightning』!"
"Fwaaa!?"
My opening strike pierced right into <Sabottender>!
…Or so I’ll claim. Truth is, I didn’t want the fight to turn into a stalemate, so I let it rip. Totally not because I got startled and fired back on reflex. Definitely not.
The cactus took the brunt of my crackling lightning magic—and just stood there, totally fine. Figures. Grass-types don’t take much damage from electricity.
"Fufufu~!!"
I couldn’t understand a word of it, but it was clearly saying something like: "That tickled, try harder!"
That smug haniwa grin… I’ll carve it right off your face!
"Hey, Zephyrus! You’re rushing out too far ahead! At least wait until the aggro’s been drawn first!"
"Guh!?"
Lana’s sharp command cut through the air. …What? Did I, of all people, just get lectured by Lana!?
Damn you, <Sabottender>. Wipe that smug little pfft-snicker face off right now!
"Zephyrus, don’t get carried away. Calm down. 『Provoke』!"
"Honestly, you’re the guildmaster—you need to keep it together! 『Blessing of Protection』! 『Blessing of the Lion』!"
…Unbelievable. Getting scolded left and right today. Is this some kind of unlucky day!?
But wow, Lana’s really holding it together. She’s unusually focused. It’s like—yeah, when it’s boss time, she’s on a whole other level. There’s an aura about her… is this the power of a princess?
"I’m not done yet! 『Blessing of Holy Magic』! 『Blessing of Magic Resistance』!"
She kept stacking buffs on the whole party. Using 『Magic Resistance』 meant she was boosting our <Magic Defense>. <Magic Defense> is tied to RES, which also bumps up our resistance to status ailments. <Sabottender> doesn’t really use magic attacks, but it does inflict Poison, so I guess it was at least a small hedge against that.
…To think Lana was considering things that far ahead. She’s grown.
"Oh, oops, I accidentally cast 『Magic Resistance』. Does <Sabottender> even use magic?"
I take that back. It was just a mistake.
Classic Lana. That’s exactly how she should be.
"Fuu-fuu-fuu! Fuuuuuuu!"
"It’s going to attack! Everyone, be careful!"
Sierra’s warning rang out. <Sabottender> was finally making its move.
Since Sierra was holding the hate, the first attack flew at her.
"Fuuuu! Fuuuuu!"
For some reason, instead of from its body, countless needles shot straight out of its mouth, raining down on Sierra.
She brought up her massive kite shield, covering over seventy percent of her body, bracing for impact.
Clangclangclangclangclangclang! A sharp metallic chorus rang out as every last needle was deflected.
The hits didn’t have much punch to them individually, so Sierra didn’t falter no matter how many landed.
"A single-hit attack! Now’s our chance—everyone, strike back!"
Perfect. With a single-target move, we had a window for a counterattack. I gave the signal to everyone except Sierra.
"『Fireball』! 『Flare Lance』! 『Ice Lance』!"
"『Blade of Light』! 『Pillar of Light』!"
"『Long Thrust』! 『Precious Thrust』!"
"『Sonic Sword』! 『Brave Slash』!"
"Fwaa!?"
All our attacks rained down, slashing off a huge chunk of <Sabottender>’s HP.
"Fuu-fuu-fuu!"
This time, its face twisted in rage. It cut off its assault and began charging up.
I’d seen this before—an area attack!
"AOE incoming—watch out!"
"Fuuuu!!"
In an instant, needles erupted from its entire body, shooting everywhere.
"Kyah!"
"W-whoa!"
"『Cover Shield』!"
"『Defense』!"
Needles scattered across the battlefield, cries of pain and panic echoing.
Sierra quickly used 『Cover Shield』 to protect Lana, while I threw myself in front of Hanna and cast 『Defense』. Between us, we managed to block the worst of it.
But one person still took a direct hit.
"I-I’m poisoned…!"
That weak-sounding voice belonged to Ester. A poison icon blinked on her gauge, steadily nibbling away at her HP. The AOE itself hadn’t packed much of a punch, and with Ester’s high VIT, she looked fine otherwise. But left untreated, the poison’s slip damage would drain her fast. She needed recovery, and quick.
By the way, poison in this world only shaves away HP—you don’t feel any pain at all. Which makes it extra dangerous, since careless players sometimes don’t notice until their HP bar hits zero.
That’s why we set a rule beforehand: whoever notices has to call it out.
Still… hearing Ester’s voice like that for the first time? That’s a rare one.
"Ester, I’ll fix you up! 『Prayer of Purification』! And 『Prayer of Healing』!"
Lana immediately removed the poison with 『Prayer of Purification』 and restored Ester’s HP to full.
Not a bad response at all for the first AOE attack.
"Hanna, you okay?"
"Yeah. Doesn’t even look like I took damage. Totally fine."
"Good. Then strike back!"
"Leave it to me! 『Fireball』! 『Flare Lance』!"
"I’m moving in too. 『Sonic Sword』!"
"I’ll grab the aggro again. 『Provoke』!"
"Thank you, Lady Lana. I’m going in as well—『Long Thrust』!"
"Fwaa!"
Now that was a clean bit of teamwork.
Everyone was starting to get the hang of <Sabottender>’s patterns.
It threw out three more AOEs afterward, but we held steady, clearing poison instantly with my 『Recovery』 or Lana’s 『Prayer of Purification』. Our prep had paid off—this fight was stable.
Then, once <Sabottender>’s HP dipped below thirty percent, its movements suddenly changed.
It convulsed in pain, and the giant bud on its head began to open.
The dreaded sign of Sabottender’s minion summon.
I wanted to stop it, but just like in the game, there was no known way to interrupt it. All we could do was watch.
Right before the bud fully opened—Paan! A loud pop rang out as the bud burst apart.
"Kyah!?"
"What the—!?"
"It’s summoning! The <Chimi Sabottenders> are coming!"
Nine <Chimi Sabottenders> dropped from the exploded flower, landing with a thud and rising to their feet.
For some reason, they were haniwa-shaped cacti with legs. I could swear I’d seen something like them outside of <DanKatsu>, but… no, probably just my imagination.
As for the parent <Sabottender>, the explosion from its head left it dazed, almost like someone had just blown off its luscious hair. That shock must’ve hit hard.
Now was our chance—to cull the little ones.
"Fufufu."
"Fufufu."
"Fufufu."
Unlike the parent, the <Chimis> could move, and they charged us.
If we let time drag on, the parent would recover and start firing ranged attacks while the kids mobbed us in melee. That’d be chaos. The only tactic was to wipe the Chimis out fast.
"Everyone, use AOEs and finish them quick! It’s a race against time! 『Shine Lightning』!"
"I’ll gather the aggro! 『Guard Stance』! 『Shield Bash』!"
"Got it! 『Pillar of Light』! 『Blade of Light』! 『Prayer of Healing』!"
"『Flare Lance』! 『Fireball』! 『Ice Lance』!"
Sierra drew all the aggro across the room, while Lana unleashed short-range bursts to hit them all, and Hanna’s spells nailed them one after another.
But with all nine Chimis swarming her, Sierra’s HP plummeted faster than ever before.
Of course—there was no way to handle nine enemies at once. Lana kept her alive with her medium heal,『Prayer of Healing』, just barely holding the line.
"Haah! 『Legion Thrust』! 『Lance Charge』!"
Ester had been waiting for the perfect moment—her powerful skills detonated. She unleashed a flurry of small-AOE thrusts, then followed up with a charge that bowled the Chimis over like dominoes. Five went down at once! Ester, you monster!
That’s the strength of a 【Knight】’s ultimate arts—already terrifying on foot, and with a mount? The scale and power would multiply even further. No wonder it’s considered both the basics and the pinnacle of their job.
"『Flare Lance』! Got the last one down!"
"Good, that’s clear. Now focus on the parent!"
"Yes!"
"Fuh…"
I glanced back—the big <Sabottender> was… slacking off again. Maybe losing its head-bud had killed its motivation. Really living up to its name as the ‘slacker cactus.’
In other words, a golden opportunity.
"Charge! Finish it off! 『Brave Slash』!"
"Fwoahhh!!??"
With my shout, everyone poured out their strongest attacks at once.
Caught off guard, <Sabottender> couldn’t recover before its HP hit zero. Its body dissolved in a shower of extravagant effects before vanishing completely.
A bit anticlimactic at the end, but still—the first Beginner Upper-tier dungeon, the boss fight…
Victory was ours!
"We won!"
"Victory!"
"Uh, um… yay, yay?"
Our first boss fight in a Beginner Upper-tier dungeon ended in success, and Lana and I raised a triumphant cheer. Hanna tried to copy us, which was honestly kind of adorable.
"You really do look like you’re having fun, don’t you?"
"Would you like to join in too, Lady Sierra? I’ll follow your lead!"
"Sigh… I have a feeling that one day I will end up joining, and that worries me."
Sierra let out a sigh, while Ester gave a wry smile.
What, they’re not joining in? But victory chants are actually pretty fun, you know.
After the three of us finished celebrating, it was time for the usual tradition.
"The treasure chest!"
"Another <Silver Chest> this time."
"There’ve been a lot of <Silver Chests> today. I feel like we haven’t seen anything else. Is it really supposed to drop this often? That’s not what I heard."
"As long as Lady Lana is happy, I don’t care what it is."
Lana and Hanna’s excitement shot through the roof, while Sierra tilted her head in confusion.
Of course, it’s thanks to <Lucky Cat-sama>’s blessing.
<Wooden Chests>? Who needs them?
If you just make your offering of fine meat to <Lucky Cat-sama>, oh-so-mysteriously… <Silver Chests> come rolling in! (Disclaimer: there is no such fact. It’s just superstition.)
"Oh, Sierra, you’re still down on HP. 『Prayer of Healing』!"
"Thank you, Princess Lana."
Sierra had taken the brunt of that last focused assault, her HP dropping more than ever before—so much that even Lana’s 『Prayer of Healing』 couldn’t fully restore her. As expected of a Beginner Upper-tier boss, things were really starting to get tough.
Still, thanks to 『Status Ailment Resistance Lv.10』, Sierra’d managed to tank all that poison without being afflicted once. If she had been poisoned, the slip damage might’ve finished her. Slip damage ignores defense since it’s percentage-based.
Even wearing mid-grade gear doesn’t change that—you have to be careful. Good thing she’d maxed out resistance skills ahead of time.
"Was it rough this time?"
"Well, it was my first time being surrounded by nine enemies, so it caught me off guard. I let my guard down… so I’ll need more practice."
That reminded me of the swarms of <Minis> back in the <Ghost Cave Dungeon> with <Debubu>. But that time, their attacks were mostly ranged—much easier to block or dodge.
The <Chimis>, though, had Sierra completely surrounded. She should’ve handled it before they closed in. Looks like she got overconfident in her defenses.
And now, Sierra was eyeing me like she wanted to run the dungeon again.
Another round? Yes / Yes.
Well, maybe later. Not really something we need to decide right now.
Anyway, Hanna was still waiting eagerly by the <Silver Chest>.
"Sorry to keep you waiting, Hanna. Shall we open it?"
"Yeah! It’s my turn this time!"
Ah, so that’s why she was clinging to the chest so tightly.
"Our first Beginner Upper-tier boss drop. Wonder what we’ll get."
The loot grade should be higher than Beginner Mid-tier dungeons, though, since it’s still Beginner-level, it’s often nothing special. But sometimes, you hit the jackpot.
Which would it be this time?
Hanna bowed her head and said a quick prayer before grasping the chest.
Mm. Always pray before opening. Very important. And of course, the one you pray to is <Lucky Cat-sama>.
"Please, let something good come out."
Yes, please!
I silently prayed alongside Hanna.
She opened the <Silver Chest>, reached inside, and carefully pulled out a one-handed staff—black and purple as its base colors.
Ooh. I see. Maybe it was drawn to Hanna’s witchy-looking outfit? It really suits her. The performance isn’t amazing, but it’s not bad either. Definitely usable—not a dud at all.
"Zephyrus-kun, it’s a staff! So, what is this one?"
"Ah, that? …Wait, come to think of it, didn’t we grab a <Medra> along the way? Try using that to 『Appraise』 it."
As always, Hanna tilted her head up at me with a curious look. The gesture was so irresistibly cute that it made me want to tell her everything on the spot, but this time I thought I’d mix it up. Better to let her try out that appraisal item we’d picked up on the way.
"Oh, that’s a great idea!"
See? New items are exciting to use, right? Especially for someone like Hanna, who’s basically an expert when it comes to items. No wonder she was practically bouncing with excitement.
She hurriedly pulled out the <Medra> and got ready to appraise. The method was simple: just peer through the lens, and like a game interface, a display or comment would pop up.
Since Hanna had once used the appraisal tool <Know-it-All> at Marie-senpai’s place, this was her second time. I made sure the <Princess Job> girls were watching closely too—better to have them try it later. After all, if I’m not around or if they end up at a different party, the experience will come in handy.
"Oh, I think I see it. <Staff of the Young Witch>?"
That’s right. What Hanna had pulled was the <Staff of the Young Witch: Attack 2. Magic Power 17. 『Dark Shoot Lv. 6』>.
It was basically the dark-element counterpart to the <Flame Rod>, belonging to the same weapon line. But while the <Flame Rod> was a rare drop from a Beginner Low-tier dungeon, the <Staff of the Young Witch> dropped from a Beginner Upper-tier dungeon—so the gap was significant.
"Hmm? Zephyrus-kun, is this a good one?"
"If we’re calling it a hit or a dud, then it’s a hit. Dark-element attacks are rare, you know? It’s the kind of attribute you almost never see outside of dedicated mages."
In <DanKatsu>, lots of jobs could pick up light-element skills, but very few could use dark. Ester’s 【Princess Knight】 had 『Precious Thrust』 as a light-element skill, but there was no such thing as a dark-element thrust. And while 【Knight】-type jobs often picked up holy or light attacks, the only one that could wield darkness was the 【Dark Knight】.
So yeah, its value was definitely high. Pretty rare drop.
The problem was, Hanna already had the <Manalite Staff: Attack 7. Magic Power 28>. That thing was a two-handed, gold-chest drop, complete with a rare "empty slot." Even a Beginner Upper-tier rare drop couldn’t quite compete.
"So… straight into the <Item Bag> then?"
"What are you talking about, Hanna? There’s a much better use for it."
Normally, yeah, it’d go to storage or get sold. But like I said, her current weapon had an empty slot. And since this staff granted access to dark-element magic, there was no reason to hesitate.
"Once we get back, let’s have it converted into a <Ability Orb>. Then we can slot it in, and you’ll be able to use dark magic too."
I promised her that.
We ended up running the <Sabottender> three times before calling it. Mostly for Hanna and Lana’s stamina, but honestly, time was the bigger issue. Not that I’d planned on farming too hard today anyway.
Still, everyone’s job levels had climbed by two or three each in just this session. Beginner Upper-tier dungeons really did hand out a ton of EXP.
As for the drops: one <Wooden Chest>, one <Wooden Chest>, one <Silver Chest>.
Weird. A <Wooden Chest>? Did our meat offering run out?
From the <Silver Chest>, we got a <Basic Job Change Ticket>. Not super useful right now, but I figured I’d hang onto it—who knew when it might come in handy?
"Good work today~"
"Thanks, really. As always."
"Hm? Oh, you mean the material stuff? Don’t worry, it’s nothing. Leave it to me."
As we exchanged the usual parting words, Sierra lowered her eyes a little and thanked me. Guess she felt guilty about always leaving the selling of loot to me.
But it wasn’t a problem at all, so she shouldn’t worry. Back in <DanKatsu>, selling loot after a dungeon run was just part of the routine.
Forget to sell before heading in, and your <Item Bag> would overflow mid-dungeon, forcing you to throw out treasures on the spot. Brutal.
I’d suffered that more times than I could count. Took me ages to get into the habit of selling properly.
Really, the dungeons were too tempting for their own good… Every time you cleared one, you just wanted to dive right back in, bewitched. And that’s how you forgot to sell.
Somebody please give me a 『Prayer of Purification』. (Though honestly, no idea if it would even work on me.)
<DanKatsu> had this quirk where item drops were ridiculously high in volume.
The <Item Bag> could hold thousands of items, but once you got into the deeper floors of higher-level dungeons, it wasn’t unusual for it to overflow.
Selling loot was absolutely mandatory—you couldn’t forget.
And since selling was usually done through other guilds, their shops weren’t open late at night or early in the morning.
Which meant the only real chance to sell was right after returning from a dungeon. That alone required some planning. Well, if worst came to worst, I could just dump it all in the storage room.
But if I stockpiled too much and tried to sell it all in one massive batch, Marie-senpai would definitely give me the scariest look. So yeah, better not forget for that reason too.
For the girls, though, the "sell right after returning" rule was a bit rough.
After a whole day of trekking, fighting, and sweating, they were often drenched and covered in grime. Naturally, all they wanted to do after getting back was hop straight in the shower. Which is why I’ve taken full responsibility for handling sales. Besides, I’m good at sorting materials anyway.
Of course, the little secret is… if I just activated 『Clean』, one of the 【Hero】’s spells, it would solve part of this problem.
Lately, I’ve been seriously debating whether I should pick it up.
Didn’t give it a second thought back in the game, but in reality? This dirt is really annoying sometimes.
But spending SP… on 『Clean』? Ugh. That’s where I hesitate. It’s kind of my current dilemma. For now, I’m faking it by using disposable <Sukkirin> items to get that fresh, squeaky-clean feeling. Still, what should I do?
Mulling this over, I stepped onto the transfer circle, and in the blink of an eye, we were back at ShouDan.
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