Chapter 106 - PK (2)

Jenssia Neyfrin.

It was an alias she mainly used when plundering, but regardless.

She had no particular worries about entering the Glacial Cavern alone. She was confident she could clear it by herself even after killing everyone else.

When she bought the information that Frozen Breath dropped here, she had also thoroughly learned how to clear the place.

But...

["... You won't be dead weight, then. I'm Avman Urigfried."]

Things went wrong from the very start.

["I'm rank six, and Michelle is rank seven. We mainly operated on the fourth floor."]

["I see. I'm rank five."]

A rank-five archer, a rank-six barbarian, and a rank-seven Therianthrope.

'Why are people like these on the first floor at this hour?'

She couldn't understand it. Even if the rupture had opened on the first day, she had expected, at most, one or two rank-seven or rank-eight explorers to enter.

'Anyway, what do I do now?'

Her original plan had been to toy with them and enjoy her "hobby" before killing the Guardian alone and leaving. After all, she couldn't let word get back to the city.

The guild already knew her equipment, skills, and appearance. If anyone discovered she was alive, there would definitely be trouble.

'It's too risky to fleece them on my own. Should I just keep quiet this time and wait for another chance?'

That was her first thought, but it gradually changed. Didn't life sometimes turn crises into opportunities?

'Tsk, it's not like I can't wait three months, but this would be such a waste.'

Her extensive experience in plundering let her estimate their worth with a glance.

'Thirty million for the archer bastard, six million for the barbarian, and that cat bitch over there... Hmm, about three million.'

Thirty-nine million Stones in total.

Getting that much loot in the Labyrinth was no easy feat. All the more so for a solo plunderer like her.

'All right. Let's do it.'

She soon began drawing up a new plan. If she exploited the unique circumstances of being inside a rupture, she thought she might find an opening.

'The problem is this archer bastard...'

The barbarian and the Therianthrope were lower-ranked, and neither particularly frightened her since they were warrior types. They couldn't possibly have detection abilities, so she was confident she could win even two against one.

But the other one was different.

'Why is he so damn thorough?'

He was as seasoned as one would expect from a high-ranking explorer. He avoided revealing his abilities to strangers whenever possible, and every time she tried to slip into a blind spot, his gaze shifted to her as if by habit.

It was the same when they lit a campfire and slept. The archer bastard sat with his back to the wall, keeping her and Karlson within his field of vision.

'Ha. What is he, a security camera? He didn't even care when that cat bitch was behind him.'

Was it because they were both Therianthropes? The archer bastard never left an opening for her or Karlson in particular.

Of course, it didn't seem to be because he'd noticed anything. It was probably just a habit, something that had become as natural as breathing with experience.

'... This is why humans suck.'

She waited patiently.

["And I've absorbed a goblin archer Essence. I've trained as a Scout since childhood, so I know a fair amount about traps and mechanical devices."]

She played the novice she'd claimed to be when introducing herself, wearing down their vigilance.

And eventually, the moment arrived.

["Looks like I'll have to put in some effort this time."]

The archer bastard finally revealed a new ability. She had already more or less identified his four Essences. At last, this was the Spirit beast ability she had been most wary of.

["GRAAAAAH!!"]

A gray bear charged out on all fours with a roar.

The instant she saw it, her lips curled into a grin.

The archer bastard had a Summoning ability. And his summon wasn't a detection type, but a tank that could do nothing except serve as a meat shield.

And as if heaven itself were helping her...

BANG!

The barbarian took a hammer to the head and collapsed.

He had gone down far too easily for a rank-six explorer, but it wasn't incomprehensible considering the Agility reduction from [Hypothermia].

No, perhaps his claim to be rank six had been a lie in the first place.

The barbarian hadn't mattered much to begin with.

「The character has cast [Armament Swap].」

She used the skill to change her equipment. Her worn sword became a fine blade coated in deadly poison, while the rest of her gear transformed into the equipment specialized for fighting people that she'd collected piece by piece.

Then, so equipped...

「The character has cast [Beast Step].」

「Grants advanced Stealth and greatly increases movement speed for 3 seconds.」

She activated Stealth—the ability she usually passed off as a goblin archer Essence during her "hobby."

TAP!

She pushed hard off the ground and charged, but advanced Stealth muted her footsteps to the faintest sound. Distracted by the orcs, the archer bastard hadn't even noticed her moving yet.

「The character has cast [Revenge].」

「Greatly increases Penetration and Cutting Force for the first strike only and inflicts the status effect 'Bleeding.'」

Her sword tore into her target's abdomen.

That was surprising. She had meant to stab his heart.

'He actually reacted to that.'

Of course, his struggle made no real difference. She had felt his innards through the tip of her blade, and she'd coated it in deadly poison beforehand.

Nothing had changed. He would simply die a more painful death.

"Gah!"

She was just about to savor the moment, watching the archer bastard's expression as he coughed up blood.

CRASH!

Something struck her head and shattered, spilling a sticky liquid over her.

"Wh-what the hell!"

She checked and found it was none other than the cat bitch's doing.

"You, what did you just do to me...?"

Feeling that something had gone wrong, she started backing away. Then she saw the unconscious barbarian smoothly rise to his feet.

"What? What the hell...?"

She couldn't understand it. Less than two seconds had passed between her using her skill and successfully landing the ambush.

And her wealth of experience had taught her something.

When ambushed, people generally startled and screamed, their faces full of betrayal. That was the normal reaction.

But what had this cat bitch done? She'd rushed in and smashed a bottle as though she'd been waiting for this moment...

And the barbarian standing there perfectly fine was no different. He didn't ask why she'd betrayed them.

As if there were simply no need.

"VEHELLLAAAAAA!!!"

He merely roared and charged.

From that incongruous behavior, she inferred one thing. No, it would be more accurate to say she realized it.

'Don't tell me... they knew I was going to do this?'

Something hadn't merely gone wrong.

「The character has cast [Beast Step].」

「Stealth is dispelled by Witch's Lamp Solution.」

It had gone very, very wrong.

* * *

「The character has used [Wild Outburst].」

* * *

The moment I cried out to the ancestral god, vigor filled my whole body, drawing the attention of the Ice Orc that had been pounding Karlson.

["O-oink?"]

Of course, that wasn't a problem. I'd taken a blow to the head earlier, and it turned out I could handle it just fine.

With that in mind...

TAP-TAP!

I ignored the orc and dashed forward. As I kept my long, thick barbarian legs moving, the distance closed rapidly.

Jenssia still looked dazed. Well, of course she couldn't understand it. Her ambush had been utterly flawless. How could she have imagined someone had caught on before it even happened?

I smirked.

Even I would probably have struggled to notice. If this bitch had entered a rupture I'd opened, I would have assumed she was an ordinary lower-floor explorer. I'd have thought nothing of the dirt on her shoes or anything else.

Well, I would still have watched my back.

'Why are there so many fucking assholes in this world?'

Oh, could she be from somewhere else?

I dispelled the thoughts rising like a heat haze and kicked hard off the ground once more.

That was when it happened.

"Huh...?"

Jenssia's face went white. Apparently, she'd finally realized her Stealth ability had stopped working.

"Wh-why is this...?"

Stealth was probably her trump card. She must have planned to eliminate Mister Bear first, then use Stealth to kill us one at a time.

As long as there were no mages or people with detection abilities, even intermediate Stealth was tremendously powerful against other people. Warrior types were practically helpless against it even with their eyes wide open.

I had only one thing to say to her.

"Stupid bitch."

If you wanted to hide your identity, you should've watched your mouth, shouldn't you? If you hadn't blabbed about absorbing a goblin archer Essence, even I wouldn't have known about your Stealth.

WHOOSH!

I swung my mace the moment she came within range.

But perhaps she hadn't planned to coast by on Stealth alone. Jenssia nimbly flipped sideways through the air, evading my attack.

Too bad for her. That was where the cat was.

"You damn bitch, nyah!"

"Ngh!"

I hadn't moved, but the Jenssia bitch came right back to me while dodging Misha's sword.

I had a feeling she'd dodge another big swing of my mace.

So...

THWACK!

A shield Smash, for the first time in a while.

I slammed my shield into her face as though returning a tennis ball, sending her flying like a sheet of paper.

Had she invested stats in defense too? Despite the satisfying impact, Jenssia didn't pass out. Instead, she righted herself in midair and landed.

Blood trickled from both nostrils as she shouted irritably.

"You goddamn NPC bastards...!"

So you really were a Player.

She was the first fellow person from my world I'd met since Tarikan Lien, but... that changed nothing.

Player or ordinary plunderer, anyone who tried to kill me was the same kind of "fucking asshole."

"Bjorn! Watch out!"

Huh?

Just as I was about to dash forward again and smash that bitch's skull for good, Misha's shout made me look back. There was the orc.

["Oiiiink!"]

Oblivious to what was happening, it was swinging its axe down to split my head open.

I wasn't keen on taking that on the head, so I tilted it aside. The huge axe blade struck the shoulder of my raitinium breastplate.

CLANG!

It jarred my bones a little, but it wasn't meaningful damage. So I ignored it again and kept charging.

After all, killing this one would bring out the final boss.

But had the sight of me not even flinching at the orc bastard's attack made an impression?

"VEHELLLAAAAAA!"

As I charged with a thunderous roar like a tank shrugging off bullets, Jenssia fled in a panic. Straight toward the entrance we'd come through, at that.

Wondering what she was up to, I followed. Before long, she stopped.

"Huh? Why is there a wall...?"

What?

I'd chased her diligently, thinking there might be some other factor at play. Was she just an idiot?

I smirked. Somehow, it was funny. She went on about NPCs, yet she was a Player who didn't even know this. Once you entered the third chapter, the ceiling collapsed and blocked the way.

In other words, this bitch had run headlong into a dead end without even knowing it.

So I slowed down too. A cornered rat would bite a cat, after all. A little more caution was in order.

I took a slow step forward, shielding my upper body.

The passage was wide enough for two or three people, but I was a big, precious barbarian warrior. It was safe to say there was no gap for her to slip through.

CLANG!

Well, the orc bastard smacked me in the back of the head again even as I did this...

"Bjorn! I'll take this one, nyah!"

But after Misha's shout, that stopped happening.

"Don't kill it."

"Huh? All right, nyah!"

I took another step. Only two meters separated me from that bitch now.

We were effectively within each other's reach, but Jenssia couldn't bring herself to attack rashly. In her mind, the pecking order had already been established.

I took another, more confident step.

Only then did Jenssia cry out desperately.

"Wait! L-let's talk! There's been a misunderstanding..."

Misunderstanding, my ass. She just wanted to buy time.

Judging by the way her sword had glowed red earlier, she seemed to be using [Revenge].

'Was its cooldown three minutes?'

It was, assuming she hadn't built for cooldown reduction. In other words, for the next two minutes, that bitch had no way to break through my shield—

SWISH!

Perhaps her attempt to negotiate had been a distraction from the start. Jenssia cut herself off midsentence and swung her sword.

CLANG! THWACK!

I swiftly blocked with my shield and smashed her wrist with my mace at the same time. Her wrist bent at a grotesque angle, and her sword fell to the floor.

CLATTER!

For now, it looked like checkmate—unless this bitch had another skill or equipment effect that could get her out of this situation.

I couldn't be sure yet. So it would be best to eliminate any variables. She might be hiding something like a self-destruct ability.

"A misunderstanding? Explain."

"Will you really... believe me?"

"If your story gives me a reason to."

At my words, Jenssia's eyes went blank. Apparently, she was trying to think up a story that could persuade me. No, even if she couldn't persuade me, she probably wanted to buy time with something plausible.

"I... You might not bel—"

The instant Jenssia opened her mouth, I slammed my mace into her head.

THWACK!

She'd been fairly nimble before, but this time she couldn't even react before collapsing.

THUD.

Jenssia's body convulsed, her mouth opening and closing. It seemed she had something to say...

I smirked. Looking into her eyes, I thought I knew what it was.

She was probably asking why I hadn't kept my promise.

Like a true barbarian, I answered honestly.

"You believed that? Is there something wrong with your head?"

Of course it was bullshit.