40 Chapter 4O ~ A Two-Person Team - P1 (1/2)

[ Vlad-san, your magic can locate anything in the dungeon, right? Is it right to assume that you also have already located the lowest floor? ]

[ That's right. ] Vlad casually answered.

There was no way for him to hide his skill now. He had unconsciously mentioned to her that he was able to locate anything in the dungeon in the heat of the moment when they had fallen and Alicia had asked him if Caiden and the others were alright.

But not hiding this skill actually had given him benefits since Alicia had became less worried and he also now has an excuse why he was able to casually walk the dungeon as if he had already been there.

[ What does it look like? The lowest floor, I mean... ]

[ Hmm... On the lowest floor, there's a large room filled with unknown materials. There is only one figure of a chair and one of a table's in it so I guess there's only one person who manages this dungeon... ]

Vlad did not check the lowest floor until now. The reason being he's too busy checking out the routes, floors, and monsters of the dungeon. Additionally, he was also constantly checking the status of Caiden and the trio, hence why he didn't have time for checking out the main room. But now that Caiden and the trio had finally regrouped, he finally removed his guard to them and he has now the time to check the room where the dungeon boss is.

He had originally guessed that there should be two dungeon bosses inside seeing how well it was being managed. But now that Alicia's curiosity reaches his, and now that he has the chance, he decided to also check it out and it turns out there were only two beings inside it: a large snake-like monster, and a huge human-like figure with horns.

( Haah... All I can see are figures and outlines though... )

Effective and useful his skill might be, it is not all that powerful. Vlad was only able to see everything inside the room as mere outlines. The furniture, the pillars, the walls, and the two beings that were inside the room, they are all only appears as thin outlines at Vlad's view.

There are three limitations to Vlad's appraisal skill when combined with his mapping and locating skills:

- Won't work if the item or person being appraised is not in the view of the user.

- Using it with a mapping or locating skills, the user will be able to appraise everyone in the range of those skills, but won't be able to appraise their race, job classes, and total health.

- Using mapping and locating skills, Vlad won't be able to see the view, looks, and state of the person or item he hasn't seen before, they will only appear as black shadows outlining the real structures of their body - this includes any items, furniture, and any non-living things within the range ( This means Vlad will only able to see the outlines of the creatures or items he hasn't seen before in the game or in this world. )

With his continued use of this skill, he figured out both all of its advantages and downsides.

( I wonder if the boss really is a vampire... I've already seen all the races of Vampires in the game. Does this mean the boss is a creature I've never seen before...? Then what about those rumors about the boss being a Vampire...? ) Vlad was in deep thought.

[ Vlad-san...? ]

[ Hmm...? ] hearing her calls his name, Vlad turned his head to her direction and made a questioning look.

[ Just for me to get ready in the final fight... Can you tell me what is the boss's race...? ] she asked the question Vlad was figuring out what was the answer.

[ I actually don't know... There are limitations to my magic... ]

[ Is that so...? ]

[ Yes. That's why it's better for you to prepare for the worst. ]

( The highest level I detect here with my appraisal is 103. That's definitely the boss. There's no way Alicia and Caiden would win against someone of that level. )

A level that is higher than the hero, Hana. Vlad was expecting that the boss's level would be high, but he never thought that it would be higher than the being that is called the 'hero' of this world.

That was why, despite him still not to the agreement of having Alicia and Caiden as his guide, he was still thankful that he was the one who was to subjugate the boss. It would be dangerous if the hero's party had gone to this dungeon by themselves; they just might not be able to survive.

[ Prepare, huh? I've been prepared for everything this whole time. ] Alicia confidently answered his words.

( Does that include the time you fell into the trap...? )

***

[ Alicia... There're enemies coming. Prepare yourself. ]

[ Yes! ] answering his call, Alicia gripped her staff tight, and as Vlad had mentioned her to do, she had prepared her self.

Slowly, the footsteps of the monsters grew close to where they are.

The sound of steel rods and chains colliding with another. The sound of strings being pulled and loosed. The sound of footsteps cracking on each step. All those sounds resounded in the room of the dungeon they're currently in.

Slowly, they revealed themselves to Alicia and Vlad.

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