Chapter 178
Chapter 178
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 178
Chapter Title: Sparring Review
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Gulp, gulp!
As soon as I handed over the water conjured by magic, my comrades chugged it down like they’d been waiting.
I watched them pitifully for a moment before opening my mouth.
“What on earth happened?”
“Huh? Nothing much. We just sparred like the number one guy said.”
“So how did the sparring leave the surroundings like this...?”
I said that as I glanced around.
Just like before, the place was a total wreck.
It was covered in blood spilled by my comrades and traces of battle.
The silver lining was that, despite the amount of blood, none of them seemed seriously hurt.
Noticing my gaze, Thompson spoke up.
“Ah, that... Don’t worry too much. We’re all fine.”
“How did you end up spilling that much blood?”
“Well... that black bastard only attacked me.”
“What?”
So, Thompson had taken on all of Erebos’s darkness by himself?
Meaning all that blood was his?
With those questions in mind, I turned toward Erebos.
But.
“Ha! Now he’s even lying! Contractor, I didn’t attack him—it was that guy charging at me every time I used my darkness! Why would I single him out?”
Instead, Erebos flew into a rage.
As if he’d been greatly wronged.
‘He’s right—there’s no reason for Erebos to target only Thompson.’
It was a pretty credible claim, so I looked back at Thompson.
He clamped his mouth shut, his face answering for him.
Still fuming, Erebos shouted from behind.
“In my hundreds of years of life, that was the most brutish human I’ve ever seen!”
“Alright, calm down already.”
“Hmph!”
Erebos whipped around with nimble movements, and only then could I talk to Thompson.
“What happened?”
“The black guy’s telling the truth. Every time he used darkness, I charged in.”
“Why? You can’t just block his darkness at will.”
“Because that’s my role.”
“Your role?”
Thompson nodded once and slowly began explaining.
To sum up his words briefly.
Our party lacked a close-range tank, and he thought he was the best fit for that position since he’d learned [Flesh Transformation Magic].
“You get it, right, number one guy?”
“Yeah, I understand your intentions.”
Hearing the full story, I could see why Thompson had acted so recklessly.
It was true that our party desperately needed a close-range tank.
However.
“But that method won’t work.”
I firmly vetoed Thompson’s actions.
“Why? You said you understood.”
Thompson asked with a face that showed zero acceptance.
Explaining wasn’t hard.
The reason was simple.
“Our ultimate goal is Baal. You can’t block Baal’s attacks.”
Erebos’s darkness could be withstood with endless effort, reaching that level eventually.
In fact, Thompson had succeeded in blocking it, even if he’d bled profusely.
The others hadn’t been hurt.
But if it were Baal’s demonic energy, it was a different story.
“Baal’s demonic energy has a corrupting property. Simply put, the moment you take even one hit, your life is in jeopardy.”
Blocking Baal’s attacks was extremely inefficient.
One mistake could render all prior efforts useless.
“...Even if I train as hard as I can?”
Thompson asked lowly, as if he couldn’t believe it.
After a moment’s thought, I nodded.
“Yes, it’s utterly impossible.”
It was a lie.
It wasn’t actually impossible to block.
‘That zombie swordsman I raised is proof.’
My zombie swordsman character had blocked Baal’s attacks in the game.
Even in a 1v1, he’d fulfilled the tank role perfectly.
But that was possible only because of the mythic trait [Immortal Warrior] it possessed.
Every time it was exposed to Baal’s demonic energy, it severed the corrupted parts and regenerated them using [Immortal Warrior].
Obviously, that wasn’t feasible for Thompson without [Immortal Warrior].
No—even with it, it wouldn’t work.
‘It’d be better to just die from the pain.’
Severing your own body every time it corrupted, fighting for days like that.
Holding onto your sanity amid it all.
How could any normal person endure that?
Even I wouldn’t have the confidence to pull it off if it weren’t a game.
So.
“Absolutely not. Instead, spend that time researching effective ways to attack from range.”
I stopped Thompson even more firmly.
Staring him down, he finally nodded reluctantly.
“...Fine. I’ll do as you say, number one guy.”
“You promise?”
“I said I got it.”
With his firm agreement, I finally tore open what I’d been holding.
Pop!
A crisp sound, followed by a faint, vibrating fragrance spreading everywhere.
‘Good thing we had this.’
It was the special elf recovery potion Ervehim had given me.
“Drink up. Down it in one go if possible.”
“Mm.”
Gulp, gulp!
Thompson chugged the potion as requested.
A soft light seeped from his wounds, healing them in an instant.
‘Elf potions really are the best.’
As I admired it, Thompson shuddered in satisfaction.
“Whoa, this is amazing? If we have stuff like this, I can take more hits from now on...”
“Don’t talk nonsense.”
“Aw, you’re so prickly...”
With that, the mess of the area was settled for now.
What remained was the most important part.
Clap!
After feeding recovery potions to each comrade, I clapped my hands and said.
“Now, shall we check the sparring results?”
“What? Right now?”
“Of course. We need to review while our bodies remember it most vividly.”
It was time to see how effective the late-night spar with Erebos had been.
***
Thump! Thump! Thump!
My heart raced from the awakening effect.
It had become so familiar I barely noticed it anymore, but today felt different.
Because I was fighting comrades, not enemies.
More anticipation than tension welled up.
‘Let’s see how much we’ve improved.’
Of course, I wasn’t expecting miracles.
No matter how brutally we’d sparred with Erebos, it was only day one.
‘It’ll show just that much progress.’
As I thought that.
Thud thud thud!
My comrades’ attacks finally began.
Thompson charged first.
Grrr!
Letting out a low growl, he lowered his horns.
I sent strands of [Light of Swimming] to stop him, but he didn’t halt.
Boom boom boom!
He pressed on, tanking the explosions on his body.
‘So this is what it was like?’
Since they’d trained this way with Erebos all day, I permitted taking hits in this spar.
Experiencing it myself, I could imagine how Erebos had felt.
Like watching a broken bulldozer?
Flash!
I hastily cast [Teleport] before it got worse.
Then.
Roar!
Swoosh!
Intense flames and sky-blue sword energy assaulted me from the front.
Attacks from Kayla and Barundel, who’d been waiting.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
In the precarious moment, my heartbeat quickened further.
‘...Barrier.’
I calmly wrapped myself in [Barrier] for protection.
Clang clang clang!
Flames and sword energy battered the barrier.
Crack, craaaack!
Just two attacks, and the barrier began to fracture.
I was impressed anew.
My comrades’ attacks had reached the power to shatter secret magic.
Of course, there were still shortcomings.
‘It’s not enough to overwhelm me.’
My main defenses were [Teleport] and [Barrier].
To break through both, they needed relentless bombardment.
Enough to shatter [Barrier] and prevent [Teleport] casting.
If they couldn’t...
Ssssh!
I created an opening to counterattack.
But.
The moment I drew up darkness, someone lunged from behind.
[Pruuuh!]
Thompson.
He’d somehow turned direction and reached my teleport spot already.
“...You’re fast.”
Flash!
In the end, I dispelled the darkness magic and cast [Teleport] again.
And.
Roar!
Swoosh!
Intense flames and sword energy surged at me once more.
‘...Barrier.’
Clang clang clang!
The two attacks damaged the [Barrier].
As I prepared to counter.
[Pruuuh!]
...Thompson lunged from behind again.
Flash!
‘This is insane.’
Their coordination had fewer gaps than expected.
All I could do was dodge.
Maybe it looked pathetic, because Erebos cackled from afar.
“Hahaha! The contractor looks like a scurrying rat!”
“...Shut it.”
I needed to revise my strategy.
From defense to offense.
Roar! Swoosh!
This time, facing the flames and sword energy, I skipped [Barrier].
Instead, I cloaked myself in light magic and crouched low.
Swoooosh—
The attacks barely missed overhead.
And those two strikes hit Thompson charging from behind me.
Boom!
[...Like this.]
Thompson shook his head in surprise.
But his legs kept moving.
Thud thud thud!
Truly monstrous durability.
‘No wonder he wants to tank.’
Skipping [Barrier] gave me room for other magic.
That was my aim, so I cast instantly when the gap appeared.
Ssssssh!
Space magic.
I opened a rift in Thompson’s path.
If he kept straight, he’d be swallowed into it.
...Huff!
Sizzle!
Thompson snorted and braked hard.
Confirming that, I twisted my waist back and hurled a spear.
Swoosh!
Crack crack crack!
The much sharper [Spear of Light] pierced through the flames and sword energy.
“Eek!”
Roar!
Startled, Kayla raised a pillar of fire to counter.
Rumble!
Barundel used his artifact to veer off the spear’s trajectory and rushed me, seizing the chance.
Tatatatata!
The distance closed in a flash.
But unfortunately, Barundel’s judgment was wrong.
This was exactly the moment I’d targeted.
Flash!
“...!!”
Just before his axe cleaved me, I [Teleported], grabbed the woman in front, and pressed a light sword to her throat.
Gulp.
I heard Kayla swallow dryly.
She could use flame transformation magic, but it wouldn’t matter.
My [Sword of Light] would move faster than any explosion.
Sensing victory, I murmured lowly.
“One side’s exposed.”
My comrades, strong in unity, had scattered?
An irreversible mistake.
If this were real combat.
“Heh heh heh, you haven’t grasped the contractor’s style yet.”
“...Damn it.”
Erebos grinned unpleasantly, and Thompson, releasing [Flesh Transformation Magic], bit his lip in frustration.
No wonder he was frustrated.
They’d sparred with Erebos all day and drank recovery potions, yet lost 3v1 in top condition.
It must sting badly.
But that didn’t matter, as Thompson said.
“...Again.”
“Huh?”
“Let’s go again. Spar.”
Stunned by the unexpected demand, I clamped my mouth as Erebos sneered.
“I told you. He’s a freak.”
“...”
Somehow, tonight felt like it would drag on quite long.