Chapter 108 - Baby Barbarian (1)

I had just sent Karlson to the rear and finished our few preparations when—

CRAAASH!

The ice wall ahead shattered, revealing our enemy.

Tyrant Tarunbas.

The Guardian of the Glacial Cavern, based on the rank-seven monster, the lycanthrope.

[ROOOAAARRR!!]

This guy had a few distinguishing features.

A body one and a half times the size of an ordinary lycanthrope. The same basic skill set, but roughly twice the stats.

And above all, that ice club in his hand.

「Tyrant Tarunbas casts [Shatter].」

The moment he appeared, he slammed his club into the floor.

[Shatter].

Normally, all this skill did was grant bonus damage against enemies with the Frostbite or Frozen status.

Inside the Glacial Cavern, though, things were a little different.

CRAAASH!

Tremors spread through the ground.

The floor didn't collapse like it had in chapter two, but a layer peeled off the ice walls, waking fifteen or so Frost Wolves.

"Bjorn! This one's different from an ordinary lycanthrope, nyah!"

Hey, it was supposed to be Byon.

Well, the mafia member was dead. No need to correct her now.

"VEHELLLAAAAAA!"

I used [Wild Outburst] to draw his aggro, then caught the incoming club on my shield.

BAM!

A heavy impact came with a chill that sank into my bones.

Thick frost formed across the face of the shield that had blocked the club.

That wasn't an innate lycanthrope ability. It was all an effect of that ice club.

[GRRRRR!!]

[WOOF! WOOF!]

Meanwhile, the Frost Wolves came to their senses and lunged at me, clawing and biting all over.

Even accounting for [Hypothermia], they were rank-nine monsters, so the damage was negligible.

Well, that would change once the second phase began.

But I planned to finish this in the first phase, so there was no need to worry.

"Now!"

As I gave Misha the order, I pulled the item I'd prepared from a pouch on my belt and chewed it.

「The character has consumed 'thundergrass'.」

「Lightning damage increases slightly for 10 seconds.」

Thundergrass.

A buff consumable that increased all Lightning damage for a very short time.

Before its duration expired, I tore the Lightning Scroll I already held with my teeth, activating its effect.

BZZZT!

A bolt of lightning shot toward the nearest enemy, then chained to the enemies around it.

It was a cheap, low-grade Lightning Scroll, barely strong enough to kill even a Frost Wolf in one hit, but...

「Tyrant Tarunbas is now [Paralyzed].」

That alone was enough to freeze him in place.

After all, this guy's Lightning Resistance was negative.

For the record, that wasn't true of ordinary lycanthropes. This one alone was particularly weak to Lightning.

Why a cold- and beast-type monster would be weak to electricity was a bit of a mystery, though.

「Tyrant Tarunbas casts [Fortitude].」

He soon used his second skill, [Fortitude], to remove his incapacitating status, but...

That didn't change much.

It only removed the status. It didn't grant immunity.

All we had to do was hit him again.

BOOM!

The stone Misha threw burst in an explosion.

Its in-game name was Storm Explosion.

I usually just called it a lightning bomb.

「Tyrant Tarunbas is now [Stunned].」

Misha threw seven lightning bombs without holding back. They exploded in succession, and Tarunbas's eyes rolled back in his head.

Once that happened, even [Fortitude] was useless.

Stun was classified as a mental status ailment, not an incapacitating status like Petrification, Paralysis, or Frozen.

THUD!

The so-called final boss was neutralized in just three seconds and collapsed onto the floor.

What came next was simple indeed.

All I had to do was run over and pound his skull, just as I had with the deathfiend.

THWACK! THUNK! THWACK! CRACK! CRUNCH!

Misha and I attacked relentlessly with our Lightning-enchanted weapons. Before long, his body broke into tiny pieces and scattered as particles.

「Defeated Tyrant Tarunbas. EXP +3」

「Guardian kill bonus. EXP +3」

The whole thing had taken about ten seconds.

The thundergrass's effect had expired just before he died, so that estimate couldn't be far off.

I calmed my pounding heart and checked the spot where he had fallen.

"What in the world..."

Karlson, who had been watching from a safe distance, let out a deep exclamation of wonder.

Misha wasn't much different.

Unlike in the Blood-Tinted Castle, there was no Rupture Stone or Numbered item, but...

"Bjorn... that's what I think it is, right, nyah?"

An Essence had dropped.

* * *

"Huh? You want me to absorb this one too...?"

I didn't know why she was reacting like this again.

We'd agreed the Guardian's Essence would go to Misha back when we negotiated the loot shares with Mister Bear.

"No, I know, but... I thought you were just saying that, nyah. Since we weren't the only two coming in, nyah."

Oh, she thought I'd take it from her later.

... Just what kind of person did she think I was?

"Enough. Just absorb it before it disappears."

"Eek!"

I couldn't be bothered to argue, so I gave Misha a light push on the back, sending her forward.

While she adjusted to her new Essence, I approached Mister Bear, who lay motionless on the freezing floor.

I did feel a little guilty.

Even though I'd prepared for the worst, I hadn't thought she'd actually go this far—

'... What?'

I froze as I crouched down.

"Uhh, uh..."

To my surprise, Mister Bear was still alive.

He wasn't merely clinging to life. He seemed fully conscious, too.

The moment I approached, he desperately tried to say something despite his rigid body.

'It's been at least four minutes... hasn't it?'

When I'd realized Jenssia's sword was Venomous Viper's Fang, I'd assumed he must already be long dead.

And the conversation I'd heard outside had convinced me.

["Karlson! I'll handle things here, so check on him first, nyah! There's bound to be a potion in his bag, nyah!"]

["H-he's already d-dead!"]

I'd heard that exchange outside while I was interviewing Jenssia. That was why I'd killed the orc first, then the final boss, before coming here.

'... How on earth did he survive?'

Over the course of our journey together, I'd more or less identified Mister Bear's four Essences.

Two of them granted Poison Tolerance.

But even without the poison, most people would have died if left this long with their stomach skewered like that.

"P-potion..."

Mister Bear looked at me and spoke clearly.

Had she heard that faint murmur?

"Huh? You're alive, nyah! What a relief, nyah! Hold on, nyah. I'll make you comfortable right away, nyah..."

Misha, who had been savoring the lingering sensation of absorbing her Essence, hurried over in surprise. She rummaged through Mister Bear's bag and took out a potion.

It was a high-grade potion.

"I'm using the best one you've got, so don't complain afterward, nyah."

"Fine... just... pour..."

"Got it, nyah!"

Misha uncorked the potion and poured it onto Mister Bear's wound.

But...

HISSSSS!

Bubbles roiled in the blood filling the wound, but it barely closed at all.

[Poisoning] didn't have that effect, for the record.

'... She must have coated the blade with something.'

I had a suspicion.

I couldn't be certain, but it was probably some kind of Wound Worsening poison that inhibited healing and regeneration.

"H-huh? Why is it doing this, nyah...?"

"K-keep... don't... stop..."

"You're saying not to stop, nyah? O-okay, nyah!"

At Mister Bear's request, Misha kept pouring on high-grade potions.

But when his condition failed to improve even after the second bottle, he seemed to realize something.

"A-antidote... yellow... fang..."

"Oh, th-this one, nyah? The yellow bottle with a fang drawn on it, nyah?"

"Y-yes..."

Mister Bear had Misha help him take the antidote.

As befitted a solo explorer, he seemed to keep plenty of medicine on hand.

But...

'That might work on [Poisoning], but it won't remove a Worsening poison.'

As I'd expected, drinking the antidote didn't do much good.

The wound closed at an ant's pace.

Even as it did, dark red blood continued to flow.

HISSSSS...!

Two bottles, three, four.

Despite the increasing number of empty potion bottles, Mister Bear's condition steadily worsened.

It was inevitable when we couldn't stop the bleeding.

"..."

Mister Bear couldn't even give instructions anymore, his consciousness apparently fading from massive blood loss. He was past the point of even feeling the pain of the potions.

"Avman? Wake up, nyah!"

Misha patted his cheeks and shook his shoulders, but Mister Bear didn't come around.

"W-what do we do, nyah? Oh, the top-tier potion, nyah! Bjorn, let's use that, nyah!"

Misha turned to me, finally remembering the top-tier potion I'd bought.

I took it out without hesitation.

"Move aside."

"Oh, okay, nyah!"

A single bottle cost over a million Stones.

Well, even this wouldn't heal the wound in one go, but it should at least stop the bleeding.

HISSSSS!

As I poured on the top-tier potion, capable of even restoring severed limbs, the wound that had barely been healing began to close at a more meaningful rate.

The bleeding stopped, and his breathing stabilized.

Of course, he was still in danger, so I kept pouring on high-grade potions.

HISSSSS!

One bottle, two, three...

For the record, these weren't mine. They all came from Mister Bear's bag.

I didn't understand why he carried ten high-grade potions but not a single top-tier one.

It didn't seem likely that he couldn't afford it.

"That should be enough now."

By the time I'd emptied another five high-grade potions, the wound was more than two-thirds closed.

So I stopped treating him.

His life should no longer be in danger. I judged it more sensible to finish healing him after the Wound Worsening effect wore off.

"..."

Mister Bear had started screaming in pain midway through, as though his nerves had come back to life, but now he had passed out.

I slowly rose to my feet.

"Th-thank you for your hard work."

Karlson said that when our eyes met.

Hard work? Hardly.

"Come to think of it, we haven't split the loot yet."

With the rupture cleared, I divided up the magic crystals.

"Um, I think there might be a mistake in your calculations..."

After I sorted the magic crystals we'd acquired by rank and handed Karlson his share, he cautiously questioned me.

He was a strange one, too.

I'd given him more, not less, and this was how he reacted?

"Just take it. You didn't get an Essence, did you?"

Karlson's share had originally been a mere five percent.

Well, that had risen to ten percent with Jenssia's death, but...

I'd given him twenty percent of the magic crystals.

It was hush money.

"If it really weighs on your conscience, don't go telling anyone what happened today."

"Oh, yes! Understood!"

I didn't know whether he'd actually keep that promise, but it was better than doing nothing.

"But, um... why did Miss Jenssia do something like that?"

"What reason is there for plundering besides money? From the look of things, this wasn't her first time, either."

"I see..."

That was Karlson's last question. With his share settled, he stepped through the portal and left the rupture. After everything he'd been through, he apparently didn't want to spend another moment here.

I was watching him go with a faint chuckle when—

"Where..."

Mister Bear regained consciousness.