Thankfully, the second use of Glancing Steps-X was easier than the first, and I sent another giant slab of meat past a different set of pillars. This time, there was considerably more wariness in the eyes of the dragons, though their stomachs would eventually get the better of them.

Do we have enough time to wait for them like this? Diane asked, pointing out my limited supply of scrolls. However, I simply nodded my head, sending a message back as I watched the group.

We don't need all ten of them to go. If we can get enough to leave that we can fight the rest, I'll consider that a win. If one of them actually manages to find its way into the secret passage, that would be the best case scenario.

Diane hesitated, sending another message as one dragon began to coil up, preparing to spring forward. As it did, another dragon let out a low roar to stop it, and they both approached the pillars together. How many do you think we could take?

Your gun could immediately eliminate one, but you can only fire two shots without risking serious injury. Still, if you take out two, I should be able to keep the attention of three more long enough for us to finish them off.

While I was typing that message out, the two dragons seemed to come to a consensus. Instead of one of them charging out to eat the meat on their own, they were preparing to rush out, grab it, and then retreat to eat it in piece. At least, that seemed to be their plan. They did indeed rush out past the pillars, creating a murky cloud in their wake as they grabbed the meat.

However, when they turned to swim back, the giant mouth appeared again, swallowing both of them whole. That left a total of seven starving, frightened minibosses. Unfortunately, the next time I sent out a piece of meat, they didn't even give it a second glance. The moment that they saw it, their bodies stiffened, and they looked away in fright.

I was surprised when I saw this, having not expected their fear to so effectively overwhelm their hunger that even just the sight of food scared them. They've started to identify the food as bait, probably assuming that the Sea God itself was leaving it out to lure them in, like an anglerfish.

I clicked my tongue when I heard that, realizing that I needed to get them to toughen up if I wanted to lead them to their deaths. Did that sound wrong? Maybe. Taking my projected bubble with me, I walked back towards Diane, and deployed another piece of meat. This one, I sent directly to the middle of their group. Maybe they'd see the meat, and get into a fight over who got to claim it?

That was my initial thought, at least. Instead, the giant, serpentine monsters looked down at the meat below them and roared in fright. Their bodies shot back out of sheer terror, as if they couldn't get away from it fast enough. They weren't even paying attention to where they were going. Of the seven remaining princes, four of them fled past the range of the pillars, only realizing their mistakes as the giant heads of the sea dragon gobbled them up.

This time, I even managed to see two heads appearing at the same time. Were there multiple entities trapped beneath the palace, or did it simply have multiple heads? I wasn't sure either way, but at least there were only three princes left. Not how I planned for it to happen, but I wasn't going to complain about the results…

Let's get started. You get in position to take out the most vulnerable one. I told Diane, readying myself to take the attention of the other two. Diane nodded, her figure vanishing as she activated her Ghost-X skill.

I steadied myself, preparing for battle when suddenly, I felt the roar of Diane's gun, which shot down into the head of a Sea Dragon Prince that she had been flying over, sending it down to the ground with enough force to shatter both the dragon's head and the floor.

A moment later, I deactivated the bubble surrounding me, dropping my stealth and letting out a roar. I fired off my Provoke skill at the remaining two minibosses, wanting to give Diane the time she needed to get into position for her second attack.

The two dragons looked at me, and a dark shadow fell over my body. I felt a fast crunch, and suddenly found myself standing back on the island outside the dungeon. "What just happened?" I blinked, thinking aloud.

My eyes widened, and I opened both my inventory and my skill window, wanting to see what I had dropped. It didn't take me long to find what was missing, my Scout skill no longer listed.

Shaking my head, I abruptly dived back into the water, activating another scroll and turning my Dragon Form and Ghost-X back on. However, as I entered the water, I found that it was far darker than it had appeared when I entered it earlier. Now that I no longer possessed the Scout skill, the water seemed cloudy, and I was only able to see a few dozen meters around me in any direction.

Although annoying, this didn't make my return to the palace impossible. I created platforms and utilized Glancing Steps-X, traversing as far as I could with every step. Even still, it took me two full minutes to return to the palace, and another minute to make it to the second region. I didn't know if Diane would still be alive at this point, but she hadn't sent me a message yet.

When I arrived, I found three monsters remaining in the area. Two of them were the dragon princes that I had previously attempted to taunt. The fourth, meanwhile, was far larger. Its body extended far beyond what I could see in the current murky conditions, and it was clutching a blue pearl in each of its clawed hands.

Stolen story; please report.

On the spot where I had previously stood, a large chunk of the ground seemed to have been gouged out. All that remained of my body was a single leg that had fallen off to the side. I slowly crept my way over to the arm, looting it to recover my lost skill.

With my vision returning to me, I suppressed a small sigh of relief, not wanting to alert the new boss that had joined the fray. Instead, I slowly typed out to Diane, making sure that I didn't make any sudden, harsh movements. Where are you?

Pillar three, left. Mana almost gone. Diane responded, and I looked over, identifying which pillar she must have meant. I used Glancing Steps-X to send myself over there quickly, but then heard a loud crash behind me, the water sending me against the pillar.

Looking back, the giant dragon boss had attacked the space where I had left just moments ago. You still alive? Diane messaged.

Yeah. I should be next to you. I responded, before reaching out and feeling around the pillar until I found her clawed hand. I activated my stealth field, and she turned off her stealth, her body relaxing. What happened?

As soon as you roared, that thing charged in from above. It killed you in one bite, just like the Sea God. Since I didn't know anything about this opponent, I wanted to wait for you to get back, though I almost didn't make it…

I nodded my head apologetically at that. Sorry. My Scout skill dropped, so it took a bit longer for me to find my way back. After I said that, I turned towards the trio of bosses, appraising the newcomer. It's a level one hundred and twenty Sea Dragon Queen. It should be a major boss in this dungeon.

Diane hesitated when she saw that message. I know the final boss is the Sea Dragon King, but I didn't read anything about a queen. Do you think it's a hidden boss?

I don't know. It could just be a result of the dungeon being oversaturated for so long. I answered, though honestly the answer could be either one. Once you recover your mana, do you think you could assassinate the queen?

Maybe? If it's starved like the others, one good shot might be able to kill it. I'll just have to get close enough to fire point-blank at its head. Can you send me over like you did the meat?

Sensing her gaze, I shook my head. I don't think so. In order to get the modification to the skill to work, I had to keep stacking on restrictions. I can only send inanimate objects. Besides, even if I carried you directly, that thing is able to sense the shift in water pressure.

To prove my point, I focused, using Water Projection to hide some projected water amidst the dungeon's natural environment. This allowed it to operate invisibly, and I moved it near the dragon, before having it make a jerking motion to the right.

Immediately, the queen roared, firing a torrent of water at the spot where my projected water had moved to. Sure enough, my connection with that projection was immediately severed. It's in defensive mode right now, and won't hesitate to attack at even the slightest disturbance.

Diane nodded grimly, before looking up. It charged in out of nowhere from above. That should be where the hidden passage is, if we want to bypass the fight entirely. However, it might not count as a full clear for the quest if we leave a major boss here.

I grimaced, looking through my skills and equipment to see if there was anything that could help us. The Assassin's Storm enchantment wouldn't be able to do anything here, and would completely give away our location. The same could be said for any of my other Martial skills.

As I thought about that, I widened my eyes, creating a projected barrier around Diane and myself. When she saw this, her body tensed up, looking around for signs of danger. Seeing nothing, she cast her gaze towards me. What are you doing?

Having a really dumb idea. I answered honestly, extending my hand towards the three bosses. In all of my skills and other assets, I could only think of one trick that could give us an edge, even if it wasn't a big one.

With that in mind, dark clouds formed in the water, sparks coiling around them. Diane's eyes widened, and she began rapidly typing. However, before her message could be sent, lightning bolts began to spread in all directions in an uncontrolled manner.

The Sea Dragon Queen roared in pain as one of the bolts hit her, firing a water breath at the cloud to disperse it. However, the cloud reformed only a second later, just as big as before. More and more lightning shot out, and although I was trying to make it target the bosses, I had absolutely no control over where it went this time.

Just then, Diane's message finally came through. Saltwater conducts electricity way better than what you're used to! If you do it like this, you'll at most be able to stun them for a few seconds.

Then, I'll have to take you to finish the queen off while she's stunned. I responded, moving the cloud closer to the queen. She roared again, firing off another breath, but one bolt of lightning snaked its way into her mouth, causing her body to briefly stiffen.

Seizing the chance, I grabbed Diane and used Glancing Steps-X to appear on her head. Diane was already aiming her pistol, firing it into the queen's eye as soon as she had her shot. The eye burst, blood spewing out as she let out a pained cry. Surprisingly, it seemed that she wasn't entirely dead, though her body was moving more sluggishly as she swiped at us with her tail.

The recoil from the blast itself gave us the propulsion we needed to dodge her slow strike, and I immediately created the barrier around us again to protect against the next round of lightning strikes. Although I couldn't aim them, I could at least designate when they fired.

The two princes were frozen, looking at their queen as she whimpered and slumped to the floor, unable to muster any strength with the lightning continuing to pelt against her. Unfortunately for me, this lightning didn't seem strong enough to put her out of her misery, even with Diane having shot it before.

Are you good for one more shot? I messaged Diane, and she nodded her head firmly, preparing to release the final attack to defeat the Sea Dragon Queen. We appeared on its head once again, and Diane fired another shot. This time, the boss monster didn't even have the strength to roar, its entire body going limp.

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