Chapter 281 - Adrift (1)

[Priest of the Storm].

This skill has three main effects.

1. Temporary invincibility.

Until the skill gauge is fully charged, the caster becomes immune to damage.

In some respects, it's a highly valuable skill. Even if you can't move in that state, invincibility is invincibility. Used properly, it could lead to some spectacular plays in the game, too.

2. Increased defensive stats.

Once casting ends, the caster gains an enormous, evenly distributed boost to their defensive stats. Combined with the temporary invincibility, that easily makes it a top-tier survival skill.

But if you ask whether that's all, the answer is no.

3. An area-of-effect attack.

An AoE bombards the area around the caster until [Priest of the Storm] mode ends. It deals far too much damage to call this a mere survival skill.

As they say, the best defense is a good offense.

"It's coming."

As I crouched and raised my shield to just below my eyes, the storm barrier surrounding the monster slowly expanded, enveloping the entire sanctuary.

「100%.」

The change in visual effects signaled that the skill had finished charging.

WHOOOOOSH!

Fierce winds whipped around my entire body. It wasn't like being inside [Eye of the Storm], where I could barely see a thing in front of me.

But...

「The character is taking damage.」

「The character is taking damage.」

「The character is taking dam...」

「...」

As though blades lurked within the raging wind, glowing white, dagger-shaped objects slammed into my armor and body.

This was why I'd sent my companions out first. With this kind of AoE, I couldn't use my shield to take the hits for them.

CLACK, CLACK, CLANG! BOOM!

Arms, back, shoulders, waist, thighs, calves.

The impacts came from so many places at once that I couldn't single out any particular body part. It felt like dozens of people surrounding me and endlessly pelting me with snowballs packed with rocks.

'Hmm. Yeah, that's about it.'

Well, with Physical Resistance and Mana resistance as high as mine, that made sense. This wasn't a single burst of damage. Stacking damage ticks like these barely hurt me.

How was Amelia doing, then? Her Physical Resistance couldn't be as high as mine...

'What the hell?'

Amazingly, she was dodging every single one.

Wow. How much Agility did you need for dynamic vision and reflexes like that?

'I told her to come because she said she could handle it, but she really can.'

Not that I was jealous, of course.

Why would I be?

"You look busy."

Amelia didn't answer. Was she telling me to focus instead of chattering?

[GROOOOOOAR!!]

The one-armed, shell-covered monster charged at me with its most menacing roar yet.

That was my Threat stat at work. If a person had used that skill, they'd have tried to take out Amelia first.

BOOOOOOM!

The instant I caught its massive body with my shield, I was driven backward.

But a big movement like that inevitably left an opening.

SHUNK!

Amelia plunged her dagger into it from behind. With its defensive stats soaring, the blade didn't sink as deep as before.

And...

'It doesn't even flinch now.'

Even after being stabbed, it swung its foreclaw at me without a moment's hesitation.

WHOOSH!

That was what made [Priest of the Storm] mode so troublesome.

As if to prove that the best offense was a good defense, increased defensive stats were effectively the same as increased attack power. It could spend all the time it would have used defending itself on attacking instead.

I quickly darted sideways and put some distance between us.

Earlier, this would have been the moment it used [Ley Line] or [Eye of the Storm]. This time, I didn't have to worry about a follow-up like that.

This was a cruel world where gaining something meant giving something else up. [Priest of the Storm] had a penalty, too.

[GROOOAR!]

Yeah, go ahead and roar.

'You can't use skills right now anyway.'

Skills disabled.

Once Stormgush entered this phase, it had to fight using nothing but physical attacks and that AoE. In the game, the duration was about ten minutes.

'If we can't kill it by then, let's run and never look back.'

The moment it could use skills again, the raid was a failure. Not only would it start using all those bullshit skills again, but once that mode ended, its wounds would slowly start healing, too.

With Amelia as our only main damage dealer, it would regenerate faster than we could damage it.

Therefore...

「The character has cast [Swing].」

I spammed skills without worrying about my remaining MP. I'd decided that normal attacks wouldn't even distract it.

"Amelia!"

Whether we could kill it depended on how well our main damage dealer performed.

"... Tch."

At my shout, Amelia clicked her tongue and swung her dagger again. Her expression made it painfully obvious that she'd rather just run out the clock.

'Tch. This is the problem with people who have everything.'

I couldn't understand it. Like it or not, we had to fight for ten minutes anyway, so why was she only trying to hold out? Killing it would be a jackpot...

'Oh. Even if an Essence drops, she won't get anything out of it.'

I could see why Amelia wasn't enthusiastic. All her Essence slots would already be full.

And with the mages already gone, we couldn't capture an Essence in a test tube even if one dropped. Even if we could, selling it and giving her a share would be difficult. She was from Noark, after all.

She probably hoped we'd never meet again after today.

"If we kill this thing, I won't claim any of Belverson's equipment!"

With that in mind, I gave her a new incentive.

But what was this?

"... You weren't actually planning to claim any, were you?"

Such naive words from Amelia.

What, were you planning to keep it all? When you only showed up at the end to land the final blow?

"... We already agreed that you'd take Camilla's things and I'd take his, didn't we?"

Hmm. I had heard they'd come to that agreement.

But you didn't make it with me, did you?

"I know nothing about that!"

As I shouted while dodging Stormgush's claws, Amelia murmured quietly.

"... I see."

Somehow, I thought I understood what she meant this time. She could probably see all the barbarian-style sophistry I'd use later coming a mile away.

Thanks to that, a little enthusiasm entered her eyes.

As her employer, I couldn't ask for more.

BOOM!

And so our fighting grew a little more aggressive.

We were getting far ahead of ourselves, already talking about loot, but strictly speaking, our chances were fifty-fifty. Either we'd kill it in time, or we'd fail and have to flee, swallowing all our suffering and losses.

It was still too early to say how things would turn out. All I could do was keep moving and hope for the former.

"VEHELLLAAAAAA!!"

Sweat and blood ran down my skin. But there was no time to rest. The harder I worked to harass it, the more help I'd be to Amelia as she walked a razor's edge to squeeze in damage.

SHUNK!

Its claws slammed down into my shoulder.

CLUNK.

With its fastenings gone, my breastplate split apart and fell to the ground.

'Those fucking repair bills.'

My hands trembled, but I decided to stay positive. Wasn't my armor already wrecked beyond belief? Dodging that blow wouldn't have made much difference to the repair bill...

"Amelia!"

Ignoring me where I'd been knocked away, Stormgush swung its tail at Amelia.

Fortunately, she leaped straight up just in time to evade it, but...

SHUNK!

One of the daggers hidden within the storm struck her body.

That was nothing new. At first, she'd watched and dodged every one, but as the fight continued, wounds both large and small had been accumulating on her body.

But...

"Ngh."

This one had hit a bad spot. Her thigh, of all places.

It must have struck a blood vessel, because an unbelievable amount of blood poured from the hole in her thigh.

But the real problem was something else. As she darted away, it became clear that her mobility had suffered.

'God fucking damn it.'

Just as I'd feared, after that injury, Amelia couldn't attack as aggressively as before. That meant our DPS dropped.

'We won't kill it at this rate.'

My thoughts tangled. Should I change our strategy now? Just hunker down and run when the time came?

No, then what about my repair bill? Who was going to compensate us for everything we'd been through?

'... Let's try a little longer.'

I quickly finished weighing my options and made my decision. As bad as our condition had become, the monster was definitely cornered, too.

Its HP had to be close to rock bottom...

[Human.]

Then it spoke for the first time, its eyes filled with a peculiar resentment.

[HUMAAAAAN!!!]

Those were its words. That strange intensity made my body freeze.

'That dialogue... No, did this monster even have dialogue in the first place?'

No matter how hard I thought, I couldn't remember anything like that. Was this another change from the real-world patch?

Anyway, I'd think about it later. That wasn't what mattered right now.

「The character has deactivated [Gigantification].」

「The character has cast [Gigantification].」

I swiftly switched to Gigantification (Normal) mode. I couldn't use [Transcendence] while Gigantification (Transcendent) was active.

「The character has cast [Transcendence].」

We were truly a hair's breadth away. What we needed to bridge that gap wasn't tanking, but damage.

「The next skill used will be enhanced.」

Of course, I didn't have many skills. So which one should I use?

'Leap.'

Not that one, for starters. It might work against squishy ranged enemies, but moving fast wouldn't shave even one percent off this thing's HP.

'Swing.'

Same problem. Using [Transcendence] only increased its range, not the damage itself.

Pointless.

An Essence that had never even been part of my planned build. One I'd happened to absorb anyway, and which, ironically, had helped me countless times throughout my journey.

「The character has cast [Flesh Explosion].」

Yeah. This one might do it.

「The transcendent being's power unlocks the ability inherent in this skill.」

After activating the skill in advance, I ran forward. It was no longer an instant skill.

「Detonates after three seconds...」

A three-second delay.

But in exchange...

「Explosion damage increases dramatically.」

The damage increased. By an absolutely ridiculous amount.

'Hmm. It was about thirty-five times, I think?'

I'd only calculated it once or twice while researching [Transcendence], but my memory was probably right. Even in Dungeon and Stone, skills with damage increases this large were rare.

Of course, its raw damage was still low. The skill was meant to spread [Acidic Bodily Fluid] in the first place; the explosion itself was weak. Even multiplying it thirty-five times would barely shave three percent off a rank-three monster's HP.

Well, that should be enough right now.

I dashed forward once more, grabbed its neck with both arms, and clung to it.

I called this Barbarian Suicide Bomber Mode.

[HUMAAAAAAN!!]

It roared and thrashed, trying to shake me off.

Oh, I hadn't expected it to open its mouth for me, too.

Dropping my mace, I promptly shoved my hand into its maw.

CRUNCH!

As though asking whether this human had gone insane, it immediately bit down with its thick teeth, crushing my hand.

But it had one thing wrong.

I was a barbarian. Not a human.

'Yeah, anyway, time's up.'

As I finished counting down in my head, the hand caught between its teeth exploded.

Sure, it lacked the flames that normally came with an explosion, but...

BOOOOOOOM!

Yeah. If that wasn't an explosion, what was?

* * *

The instant the explosion erupted, my body flew into the air. That was how powerful it was.

THUD!

My massive body slammed into the ground, and I hurriedly raised my head to stare at where the monster had been. I'd already guessed from the way the wind had died down...

SHHHHH...

Stormgush's body was scattering into motes of light.

「Stormgush defeated. +EXP 7」

Yeah. We'd killed it.

「Achievement Accomplished」

Condition: Defeat your first rank-three monster.

Reward: Mental permanently increases by +1.

Was it because I'd spent so long as a barbarian? Winning the battle filled me with a profound sense of satisfaction.

Unfortunately...

"...!!!"

That satisfaction didn't last long. Indescribable pain engulfed my entire body.

The cause was clear.

「All defensive stats are temporarily sealed.」

The side effect of Flesh Explosion (Transcendent).

Ha. I hadn't considered that my Pain Tolerance would disappear, too.

'Oh, fuck...'

It had been so long since I'd felt pain this raw that I couldn't even scream. I could only open and close my mouth.

"Barbarian, are you all right?"

Amelia leaned into my blurry field of vision.

Then...

"Lucky you."

Her words sounded significant. She didn't seem to mean simply that I'd survived or managed to kill the monster.

Wait, could it be...?

"An... Essence... dropped...?"

"Yes, it did."

What, seriously?

I lifted my head a little higher to look up. There it was, a deep blue Essence floating in the air. Apparently, I'd missed it earlier because my eyes wouldn't focus...

'... Hallelujah.'

I immediately dropped to my belly and crawled toward the Essence.

The pain surging through my entire body? What did that matter?

Humans could be blinded by greed in any situation.

"... Wouldn't it be better to get treated first?"

Treatment could wait. It wasn't my first time wrecking an arm.

"Esssence..."

"What a funny fellow."

Pretending not to hear Amelia, I crawled toward the Essence as if possessed.

「[Stormgush's Essence] seeps into the character's soul.」

「Strength increases by +90.」

「Agility increases by +55.」

「Physical Resistance increases by +75.」

「Natural Regeneration increases by +50.」

「Lung Capacity increases by +40.」

「Lightning Resistance decreases by -30...」

「...」

Powerful strength welled up from deep within my body. As I savored that pleasant sense of fullness, Amelia spoke.

"Now drink a potion first."

She opened her subspace bracelet.

It happened at that very moment.

WHOOOOOSH!

Brilliant light spilled from the subspace entrance.

Even to someone as ignorant of magic as me, it was bizarre. Putting something luminous inside a subspace didn't cause that.

Then... what on earth was it?

"..."

Amelia seemed equally puzzled. She quickly reached inside and rummaged around, then pulled out a single object.

"Why on earth is this happening now...?"

It was a stone radiating pure white light.

* * *

「Bjorn Jandel」

Level: 6

Physical: 939.77(New +332.15) / Mental: 503.49(New +1.3) / Ability: 2,175.55(New -39)

Item Level: 4,627

Overall Combat Index: 4,775.56(New +294.45)

Obtained Essences: Corpse Golem - Rank 7 / Orc Hero - Rank 5 / Ogre - Rank 3 / Manticore - Rank 5 / Bayon - Rank 3 / Stormgush - Rank 3(New)