The Second Son of the Marquis Wants to Laze Around-Chapter 90: The Predator Boss

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[Side Quest: Defeat the Three Glutton Ghouls with a Flamethrower]

Objective: Eliminate three Glutton Ghouls in under seven minutes. No magic artifacts or modern tools allowed—only the Flamethrower permitted.

Difficulty: ★★★☆☆ (Very Hard)

Rewards: 10,000 Coins, 13 Stat Points, 900 SP

[Quest Status: Completed]

[Time Elapsed: 06:42:38]

[Rewards Received!]

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Satisfied, Eren stored his weapon back into his inventory and resumed walking.

About ten minutes later, he reached the end of the long, winding tunnel—finally arriving at a massive stone gate.

The gate stood tall, ancient and imposing. Runes were carved all across its surface, and, just like the doors on every previous floor, it had a series of small, circular hollows—ten in total.

Oh yes. There was something that was forgotten to mention.

One detail not previously mentioned was this: every floor of the dungeon ended with one of these sealed doors. To open them, a specific number of magic gems had to be inserted into the hollows. The number varied with each floor, but the rule remained consistent.

This was the main reason Eren had kept collecting magic gems from every monster he defeated. And honestly, it was an incredibly annoying mechanic.

He still remembered the first floor—how after defeating just two skeletons, he got lazy and snuck past the rest using illusion magic. But when he reached the door to the second floor, he couldn’t open it because he didn’t have enough magic gems. That meant he had to go all the way back and hunt down every enemy he had skipped. It was such a hassle.

Even now, he could still remember grumbling like a gamer ranting about bad game design of the dungeon, as he had to kill each monsters he encounters on his way.

"Finally," Eren murmured as he approached the last door—the one that would lead to the 30th and final floor. He slowly placed his hand on the ancient stone.

[Master. Do you plan to enter now?]

His system, Useless, asked with a hint of concern in its voice.

After all, behind that gate was the boss room—the final challenge of the entire dungeon.

Eren stayed silent for a moment... and then he stepped back from the door.

"Nope," he replied flatly.

He turned around, walked a few steps away, and casually pulled a foldable bed out of his inventory.

[...Master?] Useless blinked in confusion.

’Was... was he seriously going to sleep now?’

’He had just woken up two hours ago! And now he was going to nap again?!’

And yes—Useless was absolutely right.

Eren began setting up his sleeping area with practiced ease. He pulled out a fluffy pillow, a thick blanket, and even changed into a set of cozy pajamas before flopping down onto his bed.

"We’ll enter the final floor tomorrow," he declared, as if that was the most normal thing in the world.

The holographic screen of Useless hovered in front of him, watching silently, almost as if it were judging him.

Unbothered, Eren pulled out his gaming console and booted up Valoria Legends.

His goal?

To replay the part of the game where the protagonist fought the Aberration Dungeon boss solo. Thanks to his foresight, Eren had already saved a save point right before that battle. free𝑤ebnovel.com

Now, with his console in hand and blanket wrapped around him like a burrito, he prepared to know more of the upcoming fight the way any proper gamer-turned-adventurer would: by cheating with strategy and snacks.

As tomorrow, he would enter the final floor.

But for tonight? He plan to playing his video games with the excuse that he is researching the final boss.

....

....

....

In the deepest floor of the Aberration Dungeon, chaos erupted.

Explosions rocked the crumbling chamber as debris scattered across the battlefield like confetti in a parade of destruction.

Two figures stood in the center of the chaos, locked in a fierce standoff. One was the floor boss—Predator Ghoul, a grotesque monstrosity exuding a dark, eerie aura. And the other... a young man with striking white hair—the protagonist of Valoria Legends, the game’s chosen hero.

Yeah, that’s right. This wasn’t some real-world battle to the death. It was just another in-game boss fight.

Eren, the one controlling the white-haired protagonist, was playing the game while laying on his bed, casually dodging deadly attacks with a focused stare and a thumb that moved faster than light.

—Slash! Slash! Slash! Slash!—

The Predator Ghoul, unlike the other advanced ghouls Eren had faced before—such as the Wraith or the Glutton Ghoul—was built for speed. While the others had been bulky or cursed with gimmicks, this one had a humanoid form cloaked in thick, sinister shadows. Its body was lean and elongated, like a warped predator, with dagger-like claws, stretched limbs, and a long tail. Bony spikes jutted out from its spine like twisted branches, and its movements were so fluid and fast, they were hard to follow.

Eren’s eyes narrowed as he commanded his character to block the incoming swipe—

Then countered with a blast of searing light magic.

—BOOM!

—KRRREEEEEEEHHHHHHH!!

—[Break!]—

The ghoul let out a deafening, inhuman shriek as its HP bar dipped. But more importantly, its defense bar shattered—thanks to the light-element weakness. With its guard broken, the boss was left wide open, unable to retaliate or dodge.

Without hesitation, Eren activated the protagonist’s Special Attack. The hero lunged forward, glowing with radiant energy, and slashed his enchanted sword down with a mighty roar.

—BLAST!

—BOOM!

—KRRREEEEEEEHHHHHHH!—

The Predator Ghoul’s HP dropped rapidly, falling to exactly half.

Just then, the screen transitioned into a dramatic cutscene.

...And of course, Eren skipped it. Instantly.

–Click!

He’d seen it at least a dozen times already. Anyone curious about what the cutscene contained?

Here’s the quick summary:

The Predator Ghoul unlocks its "true form," dramatically stabs the protagonist through the chest with its claws, and nearly kills him. But just before dying, the protagonist gets a power boost from a dramatic flashback. Because, you know... he’s the MC.

And that’s pretty much it.

Back in gameplay, the protagonist had now unlocked his Super Mode, complete with glowing effects, boosted stats, and access to a flashy, overpowered ultimate move called Judgment Blast.

But Eren? He wasn’t interested in flashy finishes.

Instead of unleashing the one-shot attack, he simply watched the boss, dodging its moves with casual ease. He was more interested in studying its behavior—its patterns, tendencies, and quirks.

So here he was, controlling a hero with god-tier buffs, calmly slashing and blocking while dodging like a seasoned veteran.

—Slash! Slash! Slash! Slash!

—Dodge! Dodge! Block! Dodge!—

Phase Two of the fight had officially begun.

The Predator Ghoul’s appearance had changed noticeably. The dark mist that once cloaked its body dispersed, revealing a grotesque, writhing mass of decaying flesh. Its "skin" moved on its own as if something beneath it was still alive—or trying to escape. Its face had no eyes, only a gaping mouth that looked like it had devoured too many nightmares. The claws and back-spikes were now raw bone, sharpened like blades.

Its attacks were similar to Phase One but much, much faster—so fast that Eren had to narrow his eyes while slamming the dodge button in rapid succession.

The monster zipped across the battlefield, vanishing and reappearing like a horror-themed ninja. Sometimes it attacked from the front, sometimes from behind. Other times, it launched feints or spiraled midair before diving in for a surprise strike.

Luckily, the game’s lock-on system helped Eren track its movements. But that didn’t mean he could let his guard down.

—KRRREEEEEEEHHHHHHH!—

With its HP now below 20%, the boss entered its final phase—Berserk Mode.

A red aura exploded from its body as it staggered back and began clutching its head violently, twitching as if about to explode.

[The Boss is about to enter Breaker Mode.]

[Use the Hero’s "Judgment Blast" to stop it!]

A big glowing prompt appeared on the screen, practically begging Eren to press the ultimate attack button, as this was the main story event which the game wants the player to do it.

Of course, it can also be ignored if the player want to try, which Eren did.

Because once the Boss enters a Berserk mode, the battle would be very hard unless the players uses the protagonist’s special new move.

—KRRREEEEEEEHHHHHHH!!—

—BOOM!—

The Predator Ghoul screeched as red energy flared around it. Then it launched toward the protagonist with terrifying speed, aiming to kill in a single hit.

But Eren was ready.

—Whoooosh!

—Perfect Dodge!—

The boss didn’t stop there. It dashed again. And again. And again—each time faster, like a homing missile made of bone and rage.

It repeated its red dash attack in rapid succession—so fast it looked like a giant red laser flickering across the screen every 0.1 seconds.

Eren slammed the dodge button as his thumb turned blur.

—Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

—Dodge! Dodge! Dodge! Dodge! Dodge!—

The sequence lasted six full seconds, feeling more like an eternity. When it finally ended, the red aura vanished, and the boss slumped, completely winded.

Its berserk state had ended. Now, it stood still—vulnerable.

Eren didn’t move right away. He simply watched it. For three full minutes. Just to be sure.

The boss didn’t attack. Didn’t move. It was the same exhausted stance he had seen during all his previous attempts.

With a sigh, he finally clicked the ultimate move button.

—Click!—

The protagonist shouted his signature, and painfully cringey finisher:

"JUDGMENT BLAST!!"

A blinding beam of divine energy shot forward, obliterating the Predator Ghoul in a glorious explosion.

[Victory!]

A triumphant "Congratulations" screen appeared, along with shining text announcing the battle scores and rewards.

Eren paused the game.

That was the 38th time he’d beaten the Aberration Dungeon Boss. And no, he wasn’t farming for loot. It was all part of a plan.

"Useless, are you done analyzing?" he asked, glancing toward the floating green screen beside him.

A loading dot blinked on the screen—then vanished.

[Yes. Analysis complete, Master, just as instructed.]

Useless responded in its usual robotic tone, popping up a new screen panel filled with data—everything from the boss’s stats to the geometry of the battlefield.

It looked like complete gibberish to the average person. An avalanche of numbers, formulas, and weird technical terms that only someone with programming knowledge could possibly understand.

Which, surprisingly... Eren could.

...