novelbin Chapter 125 : Chapter 125
Chapter 125 : Chapter 125
Chapter 125 : Adaptation
"You're doing well, Sal."
Chatfield praised him as they passed the scene of the recent Vampire massacre.
Sal didn't respond, instead replacing three bullets in his revolver.
The past few hours had been pure hell, and he was determined to end this situation somehow.
Any thought of going home before clearing the dungeon completely was just a pipe dream.
Chatfield made it very clear that Sal was here to overcome his fear of monsters.
Judging by Upgrade's complicated expression, even she hadn't expected Chatfield to be this ruthless.
She had suggested calling it quits several times, but Chatfield opposed it every time, proposing different training methods for Sal to adapt to the dungeon environment.
After the experience of Vampires ambushing from overhead, Sal had become much more vigilant.
His shooting became unhesitatingly brutal.
Hesitation vanished, and fear turned into a strangely calm composure.
'The breastplate alone can kill them. One hit from a bullet and they're done for... but still.'
"Don't overdo it."
Concern seeped into Upgrade's voice, and Sal shrugged lightly.
He had to end this situation no matter what.
Wallowing in self-pity wouldn't get him out of here.
Sal gritted his teeth, checked the revolver again, and moved forward.
He was now much more accustomed to the visor and revolver.
At first, they felt like separate pieces of equipment, but as time passed, he began to feel the synergy between the two.
Until now, he had to correct his aim manually, but now the visor took over that role, making his accuracy much sharper.
Chatfield approached his side and smiled.
"You've taken down about twenty so far. Excellent performance. Your stance is getting better, too. But your adaptability is still lacking. You aren't a stationary cannon just firing away. You can move around the battlefield and take down enemies, so don't try to face them standing in one spot. You'll just make yourself a target."
As if demonstrating his words, Chatfield rolled forward, sprang up, and drove a blade that popped out of his right sleeve into the wall.
"A moving target is much harder to hit. But always check your surroundings. You'll naturally get a feel for it over time."
Sal nodded blankly, watching Chatfield pull the blade from the wall.
"If I do a roll, will you let me finish for today?"
He asked in the calmest voice he could muster.
Chatfield looked at him and burst into laughter.
"Salvatore, all of this is for you. But you talk as if we're forcing you. Think about everything that happened today. How much you've learned."
Chatfield glanced at Upgrade for agreement, but the response he got was quite different.
She was looking only at Sal with worried eyes.
Sal looked back and forth between the two for a moment, then fixed his gaze on Chatfield again.
"All I learned is that a revolver is useless in this dungeon. It would be better to make an automatic rifle equipped with monster-tracking bullets myself. Just scream loudly at the entrance to draw them out and wipe them out, and it'd be over."
Upgrade's laughter strangely matched Chatfield's dumbfounded expression.
Sal felt the corner of his mouth twitching upwards, threatening to break into a smile.
He was still annoyed and extremely tired, but above all... he wasn't as afraid as before.
"Still, I have to admit it. I think I'm getting a little better. Though my nerves are still on edge, and fear creeps in whenever they get close."
Chatfield burst out laughing, then looked at Upgrade and shook his head.
"Your crafting prodigy is disappointed he didn't conquer the dungeon strategy in a day. Will you tell him the truth yourself, or should I?"
Upgrade approached Sal and shook her head.
"Most people carry those feelings. The important thing is seizing what you can control in each moment. For a first experience, you're doing very well, Sal. You can be proud of your achievements so far."
Sal sighed and looked at her sideways.
"Are you feeling better now that I've caught twenty Vampires?"
It was meant as a light joke, but somehow it sounded resentful.
Upgrade nodded without being shaken at all.
"Yes. This expedition wasn't what you wanted, but it was absolutely necessary. As a mentor, I have a responsibility to prepare you for the future. This mental barrier against monsters would have festered if left alone. That's why I showed you the cold Upgrade today. Tomorrow, the warm Upgrade will appear and talk you out of that ridiculous automatic rifle idea. How does that sound?"
Sal burst into laughter and felt relieved seeing Upgrade accept his laugh with a smile of her own.
She pointed to the other side of the tunnel.
"There are still a few left for you to deal with. In the future, when you enter a dungeon, you'll also learn how to take them down without destroying their cores. If they stick to the wall as sludge, harvesting materials becomes nearly impossible."
Upgrade laughed and rubbed her foot against the subway rail to shake off the Vampire residue stuck to her heel. She gestured at the sludge and grinned.
"Even you couldn't restore that into anything usable, right?"
Chatfield cleared his throat to draw their attention.
"Can I stop playing the nice guy now? Pretending to be cheerful and positive all this time has been torture. There's still work to be done, so if we finish quickly, we can mine some materials for Cooper and head back at a reasonable time."
He paused to look around, then continued.
"Actually, Upgrade, I was thinking you could take Salvatore to mine while I handle the rest."
Sal's fatigue vanished instantly as he shot Upgrade a look full of expectation.
Upgrade laughed and shook her head.
"No. We can't leave a job half-done. He needs to clear his first dungeon on his own today. He's already got that look of wanting to run away after dealing with a few Vampires; how will he handle a Prowler later?"
Sal was amazed that Upgrade could deliver disappointment and fear with a single sentence.
Did she really hope he would hunt a Prowler alone someday? Chatfield frowned as he stared down the dark passage.
"Alright, then we need to speed things up. Salvatore, we're going to cut down the time between stops. What I've taught you so far should be enough to last you to the end of the dungeon. We'll be nearby, so call for help if you need it."
The moment he understood Chatfield's words, Sal froze.
He glanced at Upgrade, but she also looked like she agreed with Chatfield.
Sal's mind raced to find the missing piece.
"Don't tell me... you're not coming with me?"
Chatfield nodded.
"We'll stay here. You're equipped with top-tier gear that even full-fledged heroes would struggle to get, and we haven't even needed to intervene so far. You flinched much less in the last two engagements. You've found a rhythm now. Stick to the basics, watch your surroundings, and you'll finish quickly."
Sal was speechless. He felt a tremendous sense of betrayal at being dragged to a dungeon and then thrown alone in front of Vampires.
He was confused whether he should be proud that they trusted him to handle it alone, or angry that they were driving him into unnecessary danger.
'No choice. If I walk out of the dungeon now, it's admitting their trust was misplaced.'
Sal sighed deeply, turned around, and stepped into the darkness.
What was most painful was the fact that if he couldn't endure here and just made excuses, he would be admitting to himself that he couldn't do it.
His achievements in the dungeon so far were all by his own power, so now all that remained was to finish it.
Before leaving, Sal couldn't resist leaving a sarcastic remark.
"If I die, Captain, you won't get your armor set... and your boastful accident-free record will be over, too."
Chatfield's voice echoed down the tunnel behind Sal, who grinned as if talking to himself.
"No one knows I came here, Salvatore. We didn't even register at the entrance. As for the armor set, Dr. Ameier will make me a new one in no time. Good luck."
Before Sal could reply, an ear-splitting whistle echoed from all sides of the tunnel, rushing towards him.
Sal gritted his teeth and gripped the revolver tighter.
Reflexively activating his armor to envelop himself, he tried to calm his mind.
Watching his surroundings through the visor, he forced himself to ignore the plants still marked as threats.
In the top corner of the screen, a counter displaying the number of remaining Vampires in the dungeon floated.
Threat Detected (Active): Vampire
Remaining Count: 16
Sal moved forward carefully.
A group of Vampires was approaching him.
He had to deal with the group in front of him first, then hunt the rest.
The problem was, Sal didn't know how to whistle.
If he screamed unnecessarily, Chatfield and Upgrade would think he was in danger.
He paused for a moment and looked down at the revolver.
"Idiot."
He cursed himself, shaking his head, and resumed walking.
A gunshot would surely be louder than any shout he could make.
Part of him wished, 'Maybe the monsters will just rush me and end it quickly...' but reason cut that thought down instantly.
When the group revealed itself in the distance, Sal took his stance and raised the gun as instructed.
The newly prepared bullets were chosen to make this engagement easier, but their actual effects were yet unconfirmed.
Sal exhaled a shallow breath and pulled the trigger.
A dazzling beam of light shot forward rapidly.
The effect was called Solar Scatter, and Sal guessed it would scatter shards of light to weaken the Vampires and make them vulnerable to follow-up attacks.
This bullet was from a cartridge he had left untouched until now.
'Please work.'
If it didn't work, he intended to use a bullet with a Fire attribute effect next.
Just then, the light exploded instantly in front, scattering in multiple directions.
Each scattered shard erupted with blinding light, causing small explosions.
Sal was grateful for the visor protecting his eyes from the sudden flash.
He was also glad he had kept his left eye closed.
When he opened his eyes again, he was stunned to see every single Vampire in that spot lying on the ground.
Threat Detected (Active): Vampire
Remaining Count: 12
Sal stared at the remains of the Vampires for a moment, then raised the revolver and spun the chamber to align the Solar Scatter bullet again.
Putting experiments aside for a moment, he chose the ability that could definitely wipe out the Vampires.
Seeing the corpses remaining intact without any damage, a bitter smile tugged at the corner of his lips.
Unexpectedly, he had found the perfect harvesting method.
Sal quickened his pace a little, scanning his surroundings for any Vampires that might ambush him.
Ahead, the remaining group was gathered together.
Checking the revolver again, Sal suddenly stopped walking and frowned.
Ammo Material - Shot Effect - Status
1. Lux Crystal - Solar Scatter - Recharging (28%)
2. Magma Claw - Spiral Flare - Charged
3. Voider Eye - Magnet Scythe - Charged
4. Gloomhusk Fang - Soul Killer - Charged
5. Vorpal Membrane - Gravity Slam - Charged
6. Volt Metal - Shock Lance - Charged
Sal frowned upon checking the recharge time.
The situation wasn't ideal, but the effect was worth the wait.
He had selected abilities that mostly seemed like area-of-effect attacks, with the exceptions being Spiral Flare (Fire attribute explosion attack) and Shock Lance (Lightning spear attack, paralysis effect).
The former was chosen because Vampires were weak to fire, and the latter was the lightning spear attack used previously to paralyze Vampires.
Magnet Scythe (enemy binding effect) was a bullet to group them together, but he had absolutely no idea what effects Soul Killer (Soul attack effect) and Gravity Slam (Gravity impact attack) would produce.
The names seemed quite powerful, but Sal decided to test them separately later.
He intended to avoid fighting and wait until the Solar Scatter effect returned.
At least, until a loud shriek erupted from ahead.
It was a sound he hadn't heard since entering the dungeon.
Having never heard Vampires make a crying sound until now, it was even more bizarre.
Sal's stomach tightened hard.
He smirked as if the situation was ridiculous.
Wasn't this exactly why they sent him ahead alone in the first place?
Feeling he had nothing to lose, Sal turned his head and shouted toward the path he came from.
"I think there's a Dungeon Boss ahead!"
But what returned wasn't their answer, but a deep, rough roar echoing from the front.
This time, from a much closer distance.