SPENDING MY RETIREMENT IN A GAME

Chapter 931: Dark Forest Dungeon (3)

Eisen and Brody were standing in front of the boss room together. According to Bree, it was most likely to be some kind of massive worm, and considering the amount of mana that should be gathered on this floor, and the overall density of the mana that could be sensed, more than 80% of this floor's area was taken up by the boss 'room'. Rather, it was more accurate to call it a 'field', since it was apparently pretty massive. The rest of the floor that they had traversed so far was as big as the 9th floor after all, though the monsters were a bit easier to deal with.

It was likely that this pattern would proceed just like that with the other zones of the dungeon as well. After all, if someone managed to get past the first 9 floors, it was unlikely that they would be stopped by simple regular monsters on the 10th floor. Instead, it was more reasonable to make an extremely powerful sub-boss. At least, if your goal was to prevent people from diving deeper like it was with the dungeon master.

"So, what kinda strategy were you thinking?" Eisen asked, and Brody looked at the gate in front of him with his arms crossed.

"Well, I don't know if we need much of a strategy. The worms're stupid as fuck. The only problem is that they're as big as they're stupid. But, man, I've killed a mountain, this thing's not gonna be a problem," Brody scoffed, "Just stand back and let me take care of it for now."

Eisen laughed along slightly, nodding, "Sure, sure. But just in case, we should still figure out a plan B or C. Bosses tend to have some kind of 'gimmick' connected to them, it's how the whole dungeon system is set up."

"Hm... do you think it could be one we can't deal with?"

"Not necessarily, but if it is something more annoying, we should be prepared," Eisen explained, "I don't expect anyone to end up dead, but I would also prefer to avoid any injuries to the group. We have potions, but if we're struggling now already, then it might be a bit rough to get to the bottom of this dungeon."

Fiddling with his tusks, Brody stared at the gate, "Fine. In that case, you guys just stand back and act defensively. You make sure to keep an eye on any big attacks that could be troublesome, but focus on moving those guys out of the way rather than blocking. And then, just make sure to listen to what I'm saying."

"Alright, sounds like a plan," Eisen smiled. He would pass the info on to everyone else in a second before they got ready to head into the boss room, but for now, he had something to give to Brody, "Just take this, then. It's going to make communication easier."

It was a small metal ring. Brody was about to put it onto his fingers, but it didn't fit, "Huh? These usually adjust, right? This ain't a ring?"

"No, no, it is," Eisen said, pointing at his canines. Basically, the same teeth that were enlarged into tusks for Brody, "It just goes onto your tusk. It's going to smooth out and blend into your tusk, so it shouldn't bother you too much. Just think of it like a microphone, by the way; your voice is just going to be sent to everyone else in the group."

Curious, Brody pushed the ring onto his right tusk, watching as it tightened around the tooth. He tried to say something as a test, but it didn't work yet, "Right, sorry," Eisen apologized with a laugh, "Since you don't have mana, it has a compressed battery in it, so it needed an activation signal so it doesn't run out right away. Basically, just use your tongue to push against the small button at the front for one second to turn it on or off respectively."

"Urgh, with my tongue?" Brody asked, giving it a try. From where Eisen was standing, it was barely visible. He could only tell what was happening because he already knew what Brody was trying to do right now.

The old man sighed, "Stop complaining. There's not a ton of ways to let you use this sort of magic item. Or did you want to use your hand to fiddle with your tooth? Or do you want some kind of headset microphone instead?"

The demon-orc halfling groaned lightly, practically waving the idea away with his hand, "No, no, it's fine. I'll get used to it, I guess."

"Alright. And by the way, it's on right now, so I can hear you," the old man explained, pointing at his own ear. He himself had a new small piercing on his ear, right on his tragus in front of the ear cannal. It was just a small stone that currently acted as the receiver for this 'message' network. As for the other members of the team, they either had a small headphone they were wearing or had Eisen make them a small piercing if they either already had one in a good position or were ready to get a new custom piercing done by the old man.

Of course, piercings were already painless, and with the access of particularly healing magic, the process was done in just a few moments without the threat of infections. Eisen could remember when he got his first earrings as a young'un, over on earth. Hygiene around piercings wasn't quite up-to-par to what it was nowadays, so he ended up with a messed up ear for a while until he met someone that could help him out. It was actually a good friend of Eisen's; a jeweller's apprentice who seemed to get a new piercing whenever Eisen blinked.

"Huh. And that works well? Others can't hear it?" Brody wondered. Since it was basically an open-ear thing, there was always the threat of others somehow overhearing it, especially using magic, but there was no need for concern.

"It's an item infused with sound-based magic. There's this spell called 'Private Room', which blocks specific sounds from escaping through the barrier that's created. So this exact thing is happening here. Sound from the outside is let through, but sound from the ear-piece is blocked from moving away from your ear canal. So it's literally impossible for others to hear it," Eisen explained, crossing his arms with a smile, "Now you just have to decide whether or not you want a regular plug, or if you want a piercing as well."

Brody hesitated, "... What would you recommend?"

"Well, you can lose the plug, but the piercing is pretty safe in there. It would also open the way for new accessories that I could make you with some special effects... like a permanent sound amplification device for when you're out on your 'hunt'," the old man explained, "I could just make it a magic item, but accessory effects like that can interact with one's personal abilities in unique ways."

The half-orc sighed, turning his head before leaning toward the old man, "Fine, just do it, then."

Eisen smiled, taking out a small item out of his bag. It was a small needle that was cleansed with different magic whenever he put it back into the casing. It basically reconstituted itself a new, so it was like using a totally new needle every time. It also had special effects that made piercing the physical body easier, in exchange for doing absolutely zero actual damage. Which was a wanted effect, in this case.

With a very swift motion, Eisen pierced through Brody's tragus and quickly pushed the piercing into place. With a swift activation of a small healing item, the ear was basically healed past the point of infection, and Brody clearly didn't even feel that it happened.

"Huh. How does it look?" Brody wondered, touching the piercing a little curiously.

"Pretty good. You should get more," Eisen smiled, patting the demon-orc halfling on the back, "Anyway, we should just get started already. We've been standing here, just chatting for far too long."

Brody nodded his head, cracking his knuckles, "Gotcha. Okay, everyone. Test, test, can you hear me through your ear pieces?"

Everyone nodded their heads.

"Good. During the battle, I might call on you to do something specific. Try to follow through to the absolute best of your ability. The most important part is to just trust in my plan, so even if what I tell you sounds weird, just trust me, okay?" Again, everyone nodded, "However, while I'm not telling you anything, just act as you usually would, and as we have practiced on the way down here. We don't know exactly what the boss is and what the area will be like, so I will give an initial command and then you all do your thing. Alright, let's get in there."

Brody pushed open the boss room's door.

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