Chapter 140 - Awakening (3)

[Swing].

All it did was make you swing hard, so unlike other skills, it didn't require any intense visualization.

WHOOSH!

The skill didn't even have the usual effects, like light gathering over the weapon or a gust of wind bursting forth.

That had bothered me a little when I played the game. Higher-grade skills usually grew flashier and came with cooler names, so why was this one so crappy?

Today, I learned the answer.

'Ogres were efficiency freaks too.'

In real life, flashy effects weren't any help. They only drew attention and exposed information about me to knowledgeable enemies.

This was actually more practical.

And as if to prove it...

「Ligar Vagos has cast [Dark Curtain].」

He used a defensive skill.

I couldn't tell exactly what had prompted that decision. Maybe he thought this would be enough. Maybe he had therefore decided it made more sense to maintain his distance and thrust his sword into a vital spot than to retreat.

But...

CRACK!

The grade-four skill [Dark Curtain] shattered the instant my mace touched it, unable to last even a second.

Of course it did.

It might not have a grand name like [Earthshaker] or [Wrath of the Avatar], but [Swing] was a top-tier attack skill even among grade-three skills.

"...!"

Only then did he grasp what was happening and twist away.

Well, if you were going to do that, you should've dodged in the first place.

THWACK!

I missed the crown of his head, but my mace successfully slammed down on his shoulder.

It must have done some damage, because he let out a short groan and hurriedly sprang back. His dislocated shoulder sagged grotesquely.

He quickly gripped his sword between his teeth and moved his remaining hand toward his pocket.

Probably a subspace pocket. And he was probably reaching for a potion.

'Do you think I'm a fucking idiot?'

I had no intention of giving him time to recover.

"Dwalki! Use Voice Control!"

Since we were fighting a person, I switched on team voice chat first, then charged him and rapidly issued orders.

"Hikurod, Rotmiller! You two protect Dwalki. Misha, stick close behind me!"

Of course, I didn't have time for a lengthy explanation, so I restored our basic formation first, then worked through the details.

Thankfully, my companions accepted their respective assignments without a word of complaint.

Dwalki started us off.

WHOOSH!

The moment our enemy dodged my mace with the movements of an Agility build, curse magic seeped into his body.

「Leor Wuerv Dwalki has cast the grade-nine curse spell [Dulling].」

Honestly, that alone was enough for Dwalki to pull his weight. Our opponent was, after all, an Agility specialist.

"You vermin...!"

No longer hiding his fury, he began fighting at full power. He used his grade-five Essence's [Advanced Acceleration], then [Afterimage] on top of it.

His Agility must have doubled in an instant.

TAP-TAP!

Maybe it was my reduced Perception, but merely tracking his movements made my eyes ache.

'He's this fast even with the stat adjustment and Dulling?'

Once again, I was reminded what a monster he was, but I calmly did what I needed to do.

'His arm isn't healing, so it looks like he doesn't have a regeneration Essence or Numbered item.'

I narrowed down the possibilities with this new information and focused on my assigned role.

Oh, my role was simple, of course.

SLASH! CLANG! SHUNK!

Stand squarely in the middle of the passage and get the absolute shit beaten out of me.

"Don't expect an easy death."

He directed a cold sneer at me.

Now that he was fighting at full power, my Agility was nowhere near enough to dodge him. Blocking his Arc longsword with my shield would be practically pointless, too.

So I simply took the hits with my body.

HISSSS!

In an instant, cuts covered my body, acidic blood flowing from the split skin.

Without my Vampire Essence, these wounds wouldn't heal on their own anymore.

But that wasn't a problem either.

When had I ever needed sound teeth to chew up my enemies and swallow them?

CRASH!

Rotmiller, who was keeping the enemy in check with his crossbow from behind, monitored my condition in real time and threw a potion taken from [Treasure Room].

「Your body is regenerating due to the Recovery (Medium) effect.」

I called this barbarian back-to-basics mode.

'It's been a while since I last pulled this shit.'

While a strange nostalgia filled me, disbelief filled his eyes.

But after seeing my expression, had he realized it wasn't that I couldn't feel pain at all?

He muttered incredulously,

"... Crazy bastard."

Despite all the years he must have spent exploring the Labyrinth, apparently he'd never encountered a bastard like me.

'Well, that's high praise.'

Naturally, I repaid him with my mace.

WHOOSH!

As he nimbly dodged, the dwarf followed up with support.

「Hikurod Murad has cast [Lightning].」

「Hikurod Murad has cast [Unleash].」

The sphere of electricity was fired with exquisite timing, just as our enemy went airborne. He kicked off the wall and leaped again, evading it.

Still, I wasn't particularly disappointed. That wasn't the dwarf's real role to begin with.

I'd asked him to do exactly three things.

"Do you think a bunch of vermin banding together changes anything?"

Provide ranged support with Lightning Unleash.

Protect Dwalki in case anything unexpected happened.

And...

「Ligar Vagos has cast [Seal of Terror].」

Use his item at the right moment.

「Hikurod Murad has used [Guardian's Wristguards].」

[Seal of Terror], the ability of the grade-four monster Nightmare.

It temporarily instilled intense fear in enemies and returned a corresponding increase in Physical stats to the user.

「Forcefully pushes enemies away and temporarily grants allies immunity to all harmful effects afflicting them.」

Before the skill could take proper effect, a gust swept through and my mind cleared.

As expected, Guardian of Balance wasn't dispelled.

It wasn't a harmful effect, after all.

"Behel—raaaaa!"

I even used [Wild Outburst] as I rushed after him while he was being pushed back.

Then I brought my mace down.

WHOOSH!

I didn't use [Swing]. He was obviously going to dodge anyway.

He sprang sideways, twisting his body as he swung his sword at me.

But just then, Misha, who had been sticking close behind me, went for his flank.

SHUNK!

Her blade cut shallowly but unmistakably into his skin.

He flinched and immediately targeted her, but she quickly slipped behind me.

'Nice.'

Exactly the movement I'd hoped for.

He clenched his teeth and muttered,

"You don't know your place."

Judging by this latest round of high praise, thankfully there didn't seem to be anything else wrong with my tactics.

So we kept it up.

「Your body is regenerating due to the Recovery (Medium) effect.」

I served as the meat shield. Dwalki, Rotmiller, and the dwarf provided ranged support.

And whenever an opening appeared, whether he was getting electrocuted or dodging my attacks, Misha darted out and drove her sword into him.

CLANG! SLASH! SHUNK!

As the battle dragged on, the damage steadily accumulated.

"Don't expect any of you to return alive."

Eventually, he used Essences unknown to the city and other Numbered items as well.

But nothing changed. We needed potions more frequently, but it wasn't enough to turn the tide.

All fucking talk.

'... Anyway, he really was level nine.'

All nine of his Essences had been revealed.

I'd worried about another grade-three Essence, but the one we already knew about was all he had.

Then again, even on the eighth floor, grade-three Essences weren't easy to obtain. Maybe that was only natural.

"Bjorn! That glowing blade's coming again, nyah!"

I sensed it was about time to settle this.

We'd confirmed every card he held over the roughly thirty-minute battle. If this continued, he might retreat temporarily and come back with the priest.

And so...

'Now.'

Now that the drawn-out fight had gotten him used to the situation.

"...!"

I dashed forward at full speed and reached out.

He took a light step back, widening the gap.

He wasn't much different from that psychopathic bitch.

Once they felt accustomed to things, they moved only as much as necessary.

Was this some habit shared by powerful people?

How very thoughtful of him.

「The character has cast [Gigantification].」

My body swelled, and my arm lengthened with it.

I seized the opportunity and grabbed him by the throat.

"...!"

For the first time, urgency showed on his face.

Of course, he wouldn't have known I had [Gigantification]. I'd deliberately refrained from using it until now.

It felt like all my suffering was being rewarded.

'Red light.'

A quick glance at his traffic-light ring showed its red gem shining.

And so I raised my mace and shouted without holding back.

"Behel—raaaaaaaa!!!"

All for this one chance.

The decisive move for which I'd patiently waited.

The technique that, from today onward, would be my ultimate finisher.

Namely, while enlarged by Gigantification with my stats inflated by Wild Outburst, using every ounce of strength to—

'Swing.'

I truly put all my strength into bringing my mace down on his head. I was certain that landing this one blow would end everything.

That was why I saw it.

"Naunderz aunzo."

Every change that occurred the moment his lips parted.

「The character has insufficient Magic Power.」

「[Gigantification] has ended.」

Strength drained from my entire body. At the same time, my eye level plummeted and my field of vision narrowed.

BOOM!

My mace came down in an ordinary swing and struck the floor.

"Khegh!"

Having somehow escaped my grip, he vomited blood. Watching him, I could think of only one thing.

This fucking bastard.

What the hell had he just done?

The answer came quickly.

'Fuck.'

The innate skill every Draconic human was born with.

The one he was said to be utterly unable to use because of the Dragon's Curse.

「Ligar Vagos has cast [Draconic Tongue: Silence of the Soul].」

It was Draconic Tongue.

* * *

Guardian of Balance.

This field effect equalized the sum of our base stats.

Yet he had to fight alone against many. One of his grade-four Essences had been sealed, too.

My Ogre Essence had given us an answer to his Arc longsword, the most troublesome part of his arsenal, and we'd spared none of the various consumables obtained in the hidden rooms.

Then there was my finishing move, saved for the decisive moment.

I'd thought that would be enough to defeat even an eighth-floor explorer.

How pathetic.

Despair can strike anyone, at any time.

You might contract a rare disease at an age when you should be running around playing. An accident on a long-awaited outing might take someone precious from your side.

The relatives' home where you've gone to live might suffer a terrible fire.

Your mother, who promised she'd be with you tomorrow, might suddenly vanish without a trace.

All of these things can happen in reality.

Without any warning.

Rain or shine.

Before you even realize it.

That is how despair finds people.

Just like this very moment.

"Ptoo."

He spat blood-tinged saliva onto the floor, then picked up his fallen Arc longsword.

But...

CRACKLE!

Sparks flew from the sword as though it were rejecting his touch.

Frowning, he forced himself to grip it, then put it into his subspace.

And then, with slow, heavy steps, he began walking toward us.

I struggled to raise my mace. What had felt as light as a feather moments ago was now as heavy as an iron bar.

He took another step.

I didn't have to rack my brains to recall what was happening.

「The character is suffering from Soul Exhaustion.」

Soul Exhaustion.

A status ailment that occurred when Magic Power reached 0%.

I'd only experienced it a handful of times even in the game. No matter how recklessly you spammed skills, your Magic Power wouldn't drop all the way to 0%.

「All stats are temporarily reduced by 70%.」

I realized it.

"You've all, suddenly, gone quiet?"

New Plan A had failed.

And the price...

Well, I was about to find out.

THWACK!

His kick sent me skidding far backward.

I'd blocked it with both arms, but the impact reverberated through my bones.

"Bjorn...!"

Misha hurriedly charged, swinging her sword, but she fell far short of reaching him.

"Aagh!"

Like a master of hand-to-hand combat, he wrapped his arm around her wrist and took her sword.

And then...

"Worthless bitch."

He kicked her in the abdomen, sending her flying far away.

The crossbow bolt Rotmiller fired just then?

His sword cut it in two before it could reach him.

"All because of, worthless things like you..."

He stared at us and muttered coldly.

Those words sent goosebumps over my skin, and my heart pounded as though it had malfunctioned.

Even now, though, my mind pieced together the available clues out of habit.

"You probably, have no idea."

He wasn't in good shape either.

Leaving aside the blood he'd vomited earlier, if he'd been at 100%, my arms should already have been broken.

And from the looks of it, he couldn't use his sword either.

"Just how much time I've, fucking thrown away."

There were several positives.

But even so, his condition couldn't compare to ours.

"M-Miss Misha! Please, wake up!"

A tearful voice came from behind me, and he took another step toward me.

"Barbarian, don't hope for eternal rest. Not even death will save you."

That wasn't just a line meant to scare me.

I knew what his sole grade-three Essence was.

He took another heavy step.

The situation was truly hopeless.

What should I do?

At this rate, even running away would be difficult.

My mind was filled with nothing but those thoughts when it happened.

「Leor Wuerv Dwalki has cast the grade-eight attack spell [Ice Spear].」

Ice Spears shot forth with exactly as much power as before.

Two of them, no less.

With Trajectory Adjustment already applied.

FWOOSH!

He hurriedly twisted away, then barely managed to deflect the other spear with his sword and dodge it.

Normally, he would have blocked them with [Dark Curtain] or easily smashed them with his blade. Now he struggled this much to fend off a spell.

"...!"

Then I realized.

I couldn't understand why I hadn't thought of it immediately, but...

Mages didn't use Magic Power.

In other words, Dwalki hadn't suffered the Soul Exhaustion debuff.

Which meant...

"Right. I'll have to kill you first."

We had to protect Dwalki.

"Everyone, snap out of it!!!"

If we wanted to live.