Chapter 33 - Warrior (1)

Monsters fall into four broad categories.

1. Mutant variety.

This means monsters with the same racial stats but different classes, such as goblin archers and swordsmen.

2. Advanced variety.

The deathfiends we encountered in the Land of the Dead belong to this category. Incidentally, this classification is relative. A monster is called an Advanced variety if its rank is even one higher than the average for its floor.

3. Rare variety.

This includes monsters found only in specific ruptures, like the Corpse Golem, or monsters extremely difficult to encounter in ordinary fields, like mimics.

4. Advanced Mutant variety.

These are named monsters with individual names and memories unique to them. Their most distinctive feature is that they possess the power of Essences.

In short, they are much stronger and harder to deal with. After all, what happens when an Ogre, famous for its thick hide, possesses a troll's regenerative ability?

You get an absolute monster.

Which is why...

* * *

I'm running with everything I've got.

"What in the world is that thing? Why is there a vampire in a place like this...?"

"Run instead of whining, dwarf."

Away from the boss room entrance.

"Hah, hah, I can't run any..."

"Excuse me, Lady Raven."

Back through the water pipes we came by.

"We can't leave this place unless we kill it anyway. Wouldn't we be better off fighting?"

"We need to get somewhere with sunlight, at least."

"Sunlight? You mean that blood-red sky?"

"It'll still be better than here."

Even after entering the maze-like dungeon...

"Turn left here!"

...we keep sprinting at full speed.

This is practically its home turf, after all. We have to get outside, whatever it takes. Only then will we have any chance of surviving.

"A-an Advanced Mutant variety as the Guardian... This is unprecedented."

Well, not really. Even the White Temple on the third floor has an Advanced Mutant variety as its Guardian. From the eighth floor onward—the deep floors—you could safely say that was true of every rupture.

Though if she meant only the first floor, she wasn't wrong.

Even I, a nine-year veteran with nearly ten thousand runs under my belt, had never encountered the Vampire Duke. I'd only learned it existed after watching a recording another Player posted on the game's sole community site.

"Oh, right! How did you know earlier, Mr. Bjorn? You told us to close the door!"

Does that damned thirst for knowledge kick in even now?

"Again, run instead of talking."

"But I'm not the one running, am I?"

Sure, you're not. But I am, you know?

"... I just had a feeling."

I cut off the conversation with a vague excuse before she could become any more of a nuisance. But if I were to answer her in my head...

It was the color of the door handle that had tipped me off. In that user's recording, it was the only thing different from the usual Blood-Tinted Castle.

Even after hundreds of attempts under the same conditions as that user, the vampire hadn't appeared. Wondering whether there was some special requirement, I'd watched the recording over and over until I finally found that tiny change.

If I hadn't been so carried away by our string of good luck, could I have spotted it before the door opened?

Well, now wasn't the time to think about that.

"What ill-mannered guests."

The moment we reached the dungeon's second basement level, it appeared.

WHOOOOSH!

It was chasing us not in human form, but as a black mist. This wasn't a vampire Ability. It was Spiritification, one of the dozens of dark magic spells it would possess.

This is why I hate monsters that use magic. Their utility is insane.

"Raven!"

I immediately called for our mage, intending to ask if she knew any sun magic, one of a vampire's weaknesses. But perhaps I needn't have interfered.

"Everyone, close your eyes!"

The young mage had already finished casting.

"Ahesenbert Tu!"

Radiant Burst. A support spell normally used to inflict an area-wide blind effect.

Even with my eyes closed, I could distinctly feel the brief, intense flash.

EEEEEE.

Ignoring the ringing in my ears, I opened my eyes to find the pursuing black smoke gone.

Thank goodness. We'd prevented it from using Realization, the key follow-up to Spiritification. We could safely say we'd bought at least three minutes. By now, it would have awakened back in that worship chamber.

But did good news always have to come with bad?

"Bjorn! The mage's been hit!"

"What?"

At Aynar's words, I looked over and saw Raven unconscious in the porter's arms. Blood was trickling from her mouth, as though she'd suffered an internal injury.

... What? Did that bastard cast something? It shouldn't be able to use attack spells while in Spiritification.

'Could it be the power of an Essence?'

Maybe. In that recording, the party had been wiped out before they could do anything, so I'd never been able to determine which monster's Essence the Vampire Duke possessed in addition to its own powers.

All sorts of possibilities swirled through my head, but I decided to think about them later.

"What are you doing? Keep running!"

"The mage who knows the way has fainted!"

"Don't worry. I know the way."

"... How would you know it?"

I gave the bewildered dwarf a curt answer.

"I memorized it."

"After coming through just once...?"

Actually, it had been hundreds of times. I'd come and gone from this place a ridiculous number of times trying to meet the Vampire Duke. Though I'd never imagined I'd see its face here rather than through a monitor.

"Follow me."

Allowing no further questions, I ran ahead. Would the mage think I was an unusual barbarian when she woke up?

So what?

Surviving came first.

"You really did memorize the route..."

The dwarf marveled as our nonstop run brought us to the first basement level.

"Is it true you two only completed your coming-of-age ceremony last month?"

"Of course! Didn't I tell you? Bjorn is a great warrior!"

"A great warrior... Perhaps he truly will become one someday."

They say praise can make even a whale dance, but I'm not a whale. Please, just please, use that time to run harder.

Because I think it's been about two minutes now.

PATTER PATTER.

Left, right, straight, straight, right, left, straight, straight.

Running without pause as I traced a map in my head, I finally caught sight of the exit. Had it just hit three minutes?

Before climbing the stairs, I checked behind me one last time.

"Huff, huff..."

Everyone was breathing hard, but perhaps thanks to their solid endurance, no one had fallen behind. The problem was the pitch-black smoke I could see chasing us beyond them.

WHOOOOSH!

Should I have made everyone dump their backpacks? We could have put a little more distance between us that way.

Regretting it now wouldn't change anything. Focus on what I can do.

PATTER PATTER!

I picked up the pace. But had it used Realization?

KRK-KRK-KRK.

Behind us came the sound of something assembling itself.

It was do or die now. In a final sprint, I bounded up the stairs two or three at a time.

And...

"We're outside!"

We finally made it aboveground.

Without a single death.

"I was... worried... but it really... doesn't seem... to be following..."

The dwarf muttered between gasps. Yet he still seemed uneasy, his gaze fixed on the stairs leading underground.

Well, he had eyes too. He could see we'd only bought ourselves a little more time.

Not a single problem had been solved yet.

"... How long do you think?"

At the dwarf's question, I looked toward the ridge beyond the castle walls and shrugged.

Well, I didn't know exactly how much time we had...

"I can tell at a glance that it won't be long."

One thing was certain: time wasn't on our side. Soon, that dark-red sky would turn completely black.

We had to prepare before then.

* * *

"What exactly is the mage's condition?"

"She's taken a potion. She'll regain consciousness soon."

"Are you sure?"

"... I'm certain she will."

That's just wishful thinking, asshole.

Whew. So this guy had no idea what had hit her or why she was in such a sorry state either?

I spoke firmly.

"This time, you're going to pull your own weight too."

"But..."

But my ass.

"Do you want us all to fucking die here?"

Sometimes the most direct wording is the most effective. If the rest of us died, he couldn't protect the mage alone anyway.

"... What should I do?"

Since he asked, the truth was that nothing much would change. I just wanted to reaffirm his resolve before the fight began.

"Protect the mage. No matter what, even if it costs you your life."

"... Of course."

His voice sounded considerably more dependable now.

That took care of this bastard. Just one preparation left, then.

"Let's move to the outer wall. Having cover will give us at least a little advantage."

With that flimsy excuse, I led the party toward the outer wall. Ideally, I would've left them all here and hurried off alone...

But if the vampire emerged while I was gone, it would be game over.

"Wait here a moment. I'll take a look around."

"Splitting up isn't a good idea!"

The dwarf shouted something, but I pretended not to hear and ran toward the fountain I'd marked earlier. I was going to retrieve that item—the one I'd had to pass up before because I hadn't wanted to stand out.

CRASH!

CRUMBLE.

The fountain held nothing but dry pebbles. I smashed the statue at its center and searched the rubble, pulling out a small box.

「The character has obtained [Goddess' Tears].」

I checked, and the contents matched the game. And the good news kept coming.

"Where...?"

When I returned after tucking my supplies into a recess in my boot, Raven had regained consciousness.

"The vampire! What happened to the vampire?"

"We managed to escape. But it'll appear after sunset."

"I see."

She furrowed her brow, perhaps still in pain. Now it was my turn to ask questions.

"What exactly hit you?"

First, Raven took a sip of the potion the porter handed her as casually as drinking water, then answered in a half-dead voice.

"Urgh, it's too early to be sure... Agh, but judging by the symptoms... Hss... it's most likely Pain Sharing."

Pain Sharing, huh.

If that was true, it was something of a relief. The Nightfla, which possessed that skill, had low base stats even for a rank-8 monster. If its Essence had been rank 6—no, even rank 7—this would have been much harder.

"Agh... The backlash hit right as I was trying to construct another spell..."

Raven clutched the fabric at her chest, her face contorted in pain. The sight hurt my heart quite a bit too.

Because it looked like she'd need time before she could do her job again.

"How long until you recover?"

"Ugh, a full recovery is out of the question. My circuits are completely tangled."

"Give me numbers, even if they're rough."

"Twenty minutes? By then, I should have recovered enough to use up to five rank-7 attack spells."

Five spells on the level of Flame Barrage.

We really were in deep shit.

"Do you know any other sun magic?"

"Are you aware that asking a mage which spells they possess is extremely rude?"

Of course I knew that from the setting's lore. But right now, I was a barbarian, the very pinnacle of rudeness, from a culture that spoke informally to everyone except the king.

I gave her a look that said, So what? Raven sighed and answered.

"I can use Sunspot Sphere."

"Sunspot Sphere..."

Its basic form resembled a fireball, but it was a rank-6 attack spell that used the sun attribute rather than fire.

We might actually be able to make something work here.

"Can you use Elemental Enhancement along with Sunspot Sphere?"

"... If I gather mana for another ten minutes or so."

"Then that settles it. I'll hold out until then, somehow. Don't try to help. Save your mana."

"Yes, I will... Wait, why are you acting as the leader, Mr. Jandel?"

Was it because she was a mage? She caught on quickly. The dwarf had simply followed along the moment I took charge.

"Is there anyone else who can do it?"

She glanced at the porter, Aynar, and the dwarf in that order, then nodded in apparent acceptance.

"That's certainly... Yes, you're right."

"Hahaha! Sorry! What can I do? I was born this way!"

The dwarf scratched the thick back of his neck in embarrassment. Seeing an opportunity, Aynar joined the conversation.

"Are you admitting barbarians are better than dwarves?"

"Not at all! It's just that, as you said, young barbarian lady, this fellow is special. I've only known him briefly, but I could feel it."

"Special...?"

"Believe it or not, I pride myself on being a good judge of character."

Raven looked curious about what had happened while she was unconscious, but unfortunately, we couldn't spend precious time on that.

"Murad, how many Essences do you have?"

"Four."

"Which ones?"

Firing off questions as briefly and concisely as possible, I assessed the dwarf's combat capabilities. None of his Essences was a trump card that could turn the tables...

Still, a rough strategy was taking shape in my head. If there was one regrettable thing, it was that I didn't have enough time to share that strategy with my teammates.

WHOOOOSH.

A chilly wind brushed past, and the shadows blanketing the ground deepened.

Thirty minutes until everything we needed would be ready.

「Night has fallen.」

There was nowhere left to retreat.

We could only hold out, whatever it took.