Trapped as an NPC in a Dating Sim - Chapter 107: Absolute Defense!

Chapter 107: Absolute Defense!

Soren really was in a pinch here as he saw that he could run nowhere.

Looking at it now, he realized that the only relatively empty and safer place was actually the place he stood on.

All other places were surrounded by monsters, fighting for the bridge leading them to the tree.

It seemed this guy was pretty tough, as Soren saw a number of monsters, like Basilisks, impaled and dead around him, slowly dissolving and disappearing on their own.

Soren noticed that maybe because they were killed by another monster, there was no drop.

’Wait…doesn’t that mean I can…loot them?’

For a moment, Soren suddenly paused slightly in wonder, his eyes widening slowly.

Due to the heavy aura and the brutal fight surrounding him, he never really thought of other things.

In fact, he already noticed that, despite already being at the center, he still didn’t get the prompt from the ’Voice of the World’ that the objective of this dungeon was completed.

Which meant he must step into one of those branches bridging the entire rift to consider having set foot on the core.

Well, there was also the chance that he had to be right below that tree to consider being on the core, but Soren hoped that wasn’t the case, as that was truly impossible.

’But if I can get the monster cores of a level 60 and above?’

Even if he still couldn’t get into the center, reaching those branches in front might not be impossible.

After all, Soren still had one trump card that he hadn’t used yet: his Class evolution.

Unlike before, after class ascension, he could now increase his class ranking to S rank.

Just the A-rank class evolved with the GAP stat was so strong before, what about the S-rank?

Although Soren didn’t think he would be able to kill these high-level draconic monsters, he felt that he might be able to complete the dungeon objective, all the while looting these high-level monsters on the go.

And with his unique skill, Core Infusion absorbing such a high-level monster core, Soren believed that he would last longer in his S-rank form.

“Pah!”

“~~Mmph~~”

“Hey, Elise, come out of the dream and help here, will ya?”

Once decided, Soren didn’t waste time. Before, he was looking to escape this place and hide away in the forest until Professor Lyra found them.

But considering the time passed, it was obviously not as easy as it seemed.

So, while this place was still a bit empty due to the ruckus of the Earth Drake, Soren decided to go through his plan.

For that, though, he needed Elise’s help since she was an S-rank Rouge after all.

“~~Mmm~~S-Soren…k-kiss me~~”

Unfortunately, this girl was still affected by the power of lust as she only moaned while hugging his body all the time. It seemed she liked his warmth more than anything.

Seeing her state, Soren couldn’t help regret a bit that he increased Bond Value above 50.

He just hoped she would return to normal once he snatched that ring out of her hand.

“Sigh…it seems I am all alone.”

If he didn’t remove the Metal Resonance effect of the ring, the ring would continue to affect Elise and induce her lust. In such a state, she possibly couldn’t use any skill.

*Roar!*

And removing the effect wasn’t an option.

*Spirit of Zeyphyr!*

Soren once again used his GAP stat and direclty disappeared from his place, appearing right in front of the dead Basilisk.

*Swoosh!*

Then he used the pointed tip of the Crimson lash, piercing its chest in an instant. After scooping around a bit, he immediately took out a shiny gray bead from its body.

—

[Item: Monster Core (Basilisk)]

[Rank: C]

[Affinity: Earth]

—

’Hmm, affinity?’

This was the first time Soren saw such a stat on the monster core.

’Maybe, due to its high level?’

Soren guessed but didn’t really care. Rather, he direclty used his unique skill: Core Infusion to absorb the monster core in his hand.

After that, he tried to store the body of the monster in his inventory, only to see it fail.

’Size restriction?’

Seeing the error, Soren smiled bitterly. Apparently, his guess about the inventory having limitations before was correct.

Unfortunately, though, he was an archer and didn’t have any solid skills to cut the body into pieces.

And even if he had, he doubted it would be possible to divide such a tough draconic monster fast, especially when there were already multiple monsters rushing to this side.

*Roar!*

Although extremely reluctant, Soren ignored the huge body of a basilisk and quickly came to another dead monster.

Then, he found a soft spot and once again pierced its chest with the whip, expertly taking out the monster core.

—

[Item: Monster Core (Flame Drake)]

[Rank: C]

[Affinity: Fire]

—

Soren noticed that each monster in this dungeon had some ’affinity’ tagged in its monster core.

Although he wasn’t surprised by this, since they were only Rank C cores, what caught his attention was the result of using his unique skill, Core Infusion.

Instead of forming a single mana pool, each core created a different flow of mana inside his body.

They did not merge into one like before. Rather, they stayed separate, forming their own core.

“…Multiple cores?” Soren frowned.

It felt strange but stable.

To be honest, Soren wasn’t too much surprised, as the skill, Core Infusion, was a Unique skill after all. He was just shocked to see the Core getting divided according to their affinities.

Unfortunately, Soren didn’t have much time to ponder, though, as the monsters were already near his location.

So, he ignored everything for now and began to use his Crimson Whip to dig up one core after another, increasing the reserve of mana inside his body constantly.

As Soren began to shuttle through the cliff, taking out one after another monster core from the dead body and absorbing it using his unique skill, the ground beneath him began to rumble once more.

*Roar!”

A cacaphony of roar echoed around once again, followed by the clash of the behemoths.

It had only been a minute since Earth Drake left, and Soren began scavenging, the monsters were already here.

*Boom!*

Once again, Soren felt what it meant to get lost in a storm as their sole clash alone was enough to make him tumble.

*Swish!*

But this time, something was different.

Before, Soren and Elise hid on the body of the Basilisk, effectively dodging the eyes of the Earth Drake.

But this time, he was completely in the open.

Even though he was using the cloak he got from the Shaman Orc to hide both of them, it did little to really hide them from such high-level monsters.

In an instant, Soren felt himself locked in place by a massive lizard, its body covered in countless spikes.

—

[Monster: Thornscale Drake]

[Level: 65]

[Rank: C]

[HP: 38,200/38,200]

[Special Trait:

> Thornburst Armor – Metallic trait, can harden its jagged, thorn-like scales instantly, projecting spikes outward.

—

*Roar!*

The moment its vertical, reptilian eyes locked onto his, those sharp metallic spikes stirred dangerously, trembling along its massive frame before shooting out like deadly missiles.

*Swish!*

In an instant, Soren felt the air stir violently as a razor-sharp shard, almost the size of his head, came hurtling straight toward him, arriving right in front of his face in a blink, close enough for him to feel the biting edge scrape past, threatening to split him open.

—

[The draconic monster, Thornscale Drake, has used its debuff: Dragon’s Dominion.]

[Due to the lower race and lower level, an overwhelming pressure bears down on you, suppressing your movement.]

[Your passive, King’s Grace, has activated: Absolute Composure.]

[The effects of Dragon’s Dominion have been reduced considerably.]

—

The attack was so fast and violent that even the prompt from the “Voice of the World” came a moment too late, and by then Soren found the shearing tip of the metallic spear already at his head, close enough to nearly tear through it.

*Clang!*

Fortunately, at that moment, the Crimson Queen Lash in his hand shone brightly before clashing directly with the metallic spear. Its pink hue perfectly covered Soren from any harm.

*Absolute Defence!*

An attack from a level 65 monster was enough to kill Soren. Thus, the artifact activated on its own, saving him from the fatal strike.

“Fuck!”

But that did not mean he was not affected.

The massive force with which the steel thorn was thrown from the monster’s body was so strong that Soren was launched directly into the sky before crashing heavily into a tree.

He was lucky he was not facing the rift behind him. Still, Soren felt every inch of his body aching badly.