Chapter 77
Chapter 77
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 77
Chapter Title: Purgatory (6)
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Second day.
Still in the comfortable white room, I woke up early and began gathering tools from the luggage Cheondo had brought.
-Clink.
From minor artifacts to potions, I planned to pack everything I could for a smooth clear.
I was determined to clear this dungeon as quickly as possible, no matter what it took.
'Five potions, two strength buff artifacts. One spatial transfer ring...'
-Rustle.
Was it too cluttered? Hwangdo, awakened by the clinking potion bottles, rubbed her eyes and sat up.
The mistletoe sprouting from her neck had grown considerably overnight. It had been just a sprout before, but now it was about the size of a small sapling.
Even so, Hwangdo flashed a bright smile and crawled from her bedding into my arms.
"Waking up to my statue in the morning~ Hehe."
She rubbed her cheek against me, then yawned sleepily.
I knew well from Cheondo that the exhaustion from her life force being drained was a side effect of the mistletoe.
I gently tugged at Hwangdo's cheek and asked in the softest voice I could muster.
"Sis sleepy?"
"Kinda sleepy, hehe... But I wanna see my statue."
"Sleep tight. I'll finish up quick."
Hwangdo gave a lukewarm smile. In a voice still heavy with sleep, she comforted me.
"...My statue."
"Yeah?"
"If it's tough, it's okay to give up. If my statue suffers, sis gets sad too."
Then Hwangdo would die. We hadn't known each other long... What a funny person.
But who wouldn't like someone who worried and comforted like this?
I put on my mask to hide my expression. Hwangdo's drowsy hair gradually turned snow-white.
"...Disciple."
"Yes."
"Get off my body."
I pushed her away readily. Baekdo, rubbing her temples sleepily, furrowed her brow and then glared at me before declaring boldly.
"I don't want to die. Especially not for you. I absolutely refuse."
What a perfectly Baekdo-like answer. It was so her that I nearly burst out laughing without thinking.
"So succeed."
Her serious voice, brimming with the will to live, made me nod repeatedly. Seeing that, Baekdo seemed to remember something and raised one finger with a smile spreading across her face, tossing out a joke.
"I want honey water. Give me honey water."
"You always pick the lamest jokes. Like those nerds who tell jokes no one gets."
"W-What? You little...!"
"Thanks anyway. Get some sleep while you're drowsy."
It was genuine gratitude, so I pulled Baekdo into a tight hug.
Hwangdo had told me that hugging her like this helped her sleep deeply due to her body's nature.
"...Ugh, seriously."
Baekdo grumbled but slowly closed her eyes. Cheondo... must be sleeping from yesterday's exhaustion.
I placed pillows under the heads of the sleeping Peach sisters and took a deep breath.
"Suuup—"
Now it was time to tackle the trial again.
"Haa..."
The breath exhaled from my lungs—was it a breath of resolve or a sigh of sorrow? It wasn't clear, but I had mustered enough courage to move forward.
I would fight and win. I had to burn everything I had to overcome this trial.
-Hummm!
I placed my hand on the gate.
*****
Outside the gate, where I arrived with my tools, a single Ent sat on a rock, breathing raggedly.
"......"
The pure white Wood Person knight said nothing.
Her body covered in bruises, she slowly lowered her head, her emotionless eyes fixing on me.
Thorns bristled across her entire form, and despite being shattered, the white armor perfectly guarded her chest.
Her deeply sunken eye sockets were blackened, drawing in the surrounding light.
[S-Rank Hunter Seren]
Her name, embroidered on her chest. It reminded me of a hunter whose name I'd seen somewhere, one who failed to clear the trial.
I stared at the motionless Ent and slowly channeled mana into both hands.
That's when words emerged from her mouth.
"...This is the king's domain."
A man's voice, utterly mismatched with her feminine form, spilled from her lips. A voice I'd heard once before. I furrowed my brow slightly at the familiar echo in my ears.
It was very similar to the eerie voice that had threatened me on the first day.
"The lowly roots of withered old trees believe this to be a trial ground. But it is not—"
"Not my problem."
I cut off its words abruptly and voiced my question.
"Who are you?"
It gave no reply at first, then slowly opened its mouth as if having made a judgment.
"...The king's vassal."
"One day, awaiting the king who will drive out the rotten old trees."
Inscrutable words, but I held my silence without probing further. It scanned my face once, then smirked as if reading my thoughts.
"I warn you again. Leave this place. The World Tree's power does not work here."
World Tree's power. By its words, that must be the power I gained through my status window upon arriving in this otherworld.
Only then did I roughly grasp the situation.
The king's vassal, opposing the divine World Trees. It made sense that this dungeon was built by that king.
But then why was this place known as a trial ground?
If it was disguising the king's domain as a trial to fool people, why had I reached the king's domain now?
As my thoughts reached that point, it growled a warning, its voice turning menacing.
"Think no further. Remember that I spare you only because you have received the king's grace."
"I don't know what that king's grace is, but can you lift the restrictions?"
"Impossible."
Then I guess we fight.
I pulled a hidden magic tool from my pocket and fired it at its head.
-Bang!
The streaking fireball bullet lodged into its head.
-Boom. But the bold shot inflicted no damage on its body.
Realizing my intent from the attack, the Ent before me trembled in rage, emitting harsh mechanical noises.
⚠️ WARNING ⚠️ [I warned you clearly.]
[You are a lowly human unable to escape the withered old tree's roots.]
[What a waste of the king's grace.]
Judging me from above with its condescending gaze, deciding on its own. Its words about me being unable to escape the withered old tree's roots really grated on me.
It felt like it was treating me as the World Tree's puppet.
-Creak, clank clank creak.
The Ent began to move. Goosebumps rose on my skin at the flow of its mana.
S-Rank Hunter. The combat-type Ent parasitic on her body. Its power was not to be underestimated.
The tip of the white knight's broken spear shaft turned toward me.
-Swoooosh.
The pressure crushing my body. The oppressive presence of a true expert.
Every nerve screamed to flee.
Veins burned red across my body, and I took a deep breath, steeling myself.
'Wood Fist Technique... No.'
I shook my head.
Martial arts weren't needed now.
In this situation where my stats, skills, everything lagged behind, how could I win by relying on my own prowess?
My goal was solely victory.
By any means, no matter the method, I had to win.
"Kiiiiiek!"
The Ent charged at me with terrifying momentum, spear thrust forward.
A speed where even a moment's lapse in focus would mean missing it. I tapped the ring on my finger.
Body enhancement. Top-tier artifacts packed with all sorts of buffs.
Yet still insufficient, so I devised one trick.
All the shop points I had left.
Using them to draw weapons and talents indiscriminately, seal the weapons in artifacts, then summon them here with spatial magic artifacts.
-Whummm!
A black magic sword rose into the air.
Gripping the one with black veins like pulsing blood vessels, I winced at the stinging pain.
-Clang!
The Ent's swung spear clashed with my magic sword. Numbing pain jolted through my arm.
Sparks flew from the impact, and my cheek was sliced by the blade, blood trickling down. It felt like I'd be pushed back any second, and indeed, sensation dulled in my right arm.
I'm being overpowered. Continuing this strength contest would surely break something.
But even if my bones shattered, I had no intention of stopping.
-Whumm!
I reverse-gripped a white sword dagger that appeared in the air and struck down at its shoulder.
-Crack!
"Kiiiiiek!"
The monster shrieked strangely.
It reached out with both hands.
-Crash!
For some reason, the magic sword and dagger shattered in an instant. Shards rained down like sleet.
⚙ SYSTEM ALERT ⚙ [The World Tree's power does not work here.] "Kiiiiiek!"
It lunged again. I summoned another weapon from the air.
A flaming blade whip.
I realized after exchanging one clash with the sword.
Indeed... in any single field, I couldn't beat it.
But if I had enough weapons.
And the berserk talent to use obscure weapons aptly, even a weakened me could hold my own.
Exploiting luck and potential to the max.
My eyes turned bloodshot from artifacts laden with penalties.
-Crunch!
The wooden stem ground against the whip's blade. Ignoring it, its advancing leg triggered another sonic boom, shattering the whip.
This time, a second magic sword.
"Kahahahaak!"
I parried the spear and outright released the sword hilt. The sufficiently twisted spear trajectory missed me, piercing empty air.
I dove into its embrace and thrust my hand forward.
Magic bomb.
-KABOOM!
I planted it and kicked its chest hard, creating distance.
The explosion detonated at point-blank range. Covering my face, I was blown back by the blast.
Bomb shrapnel pierced through gaps in my armor and clothes, embedding in my muscles.
-Whoooosh!
"Giiiiek."
Yet it still wasn't dead.
Repairing torn tendons with potions and authorities, I slowly whittled down its armor.
Sixth weapon.
"Kiiiiiek!"
-Thud!
Ninth weapon.
Broken swords and weapon fragments littered the ground, and my spilled blood painted red patterns on the dirt floor.
Traps, crossbows, bows, halberds.
But things didn't go as planned.
Despite seizing initiative and landing solid hits, all weapons were eventually destroyed.
My battered body, with organs and skin mangled, was worse than a torn rag.
Had it been an hour since the fight began?
Artifact side effects, perhaps—my vision started blurring faintly.
"Kiiiek."
The Ent still looked composed. The strength of an S-Rank Hunter hit home again.
No one could guarantee victory now.
Naturally, my cadet body had long reached its limit.
'Ah.'
My legs trembled, mouth refusing to close.
Seeing my palm unable to clench a fist, I stomped the ground and spat blood to snap myself alert.
"...Aaargh!"
A shout closer to a scream now, as I gathered mana in both hands.
-Rumble!
The ground shook—probably it coming.
Just this once, even just once, I had to block it.
I raised my powerless hands and lifted my hazy eyes.
From straining so hard, had my stamina hit zero?
Consciousness flickered out briefly from exhaustion.
'Ah.'
My drained body toppled. Countless thoughts flashed through my mind.
Dizzy. Heart pounding, ears ringing—in that gap, I repeated dozens of times.
Move.
My mind raced as its approaching form loomed.
Just a moment would suffice. If my body would only move...
-Tick.
Then, a faint strength entered my slack jaw.
'Ah.'
In that sliver of time where even a short sigh was impossible.
Without hesitation, I bit my tongue.
-Crunch!
The sound of my tongue being bitten jolted my brain harshly.
Time accelerated with the awakening pain, and in one breath, I shifted my eyes to manipulate the World Tree's power.
-Whumm!
A bottle of mineral water appeared in the air.
It was helplessly impaled by the spear.
Faster—its black eyes reflected my bloodshot glare.
I wrenched my head to its limit, barely dodging the spear.
-Thwack!
The plastic bottle in the air split, spilling its contents.
Ignoring the blood flooding from my mouth, I invoked the World Tree's power once more.
-Whummm!
A single dagger emerged from the air.
An utterly ordinary dagger, but it was enough.
I gripped it tightly. Veins bulged painfully, twisted repeatedly.
A handful of swirling black mana. I stabbed the dagger into the nape of its visible neck.
One strike.
-Crunch!
Bark splintered. Branches fell, mistletoe flowers withered.
The white knight dropped to its knees, hollowed out inside.
"Kahak, cough."
-Clang!
Victory assured, I dropped the dagger and collapsed to the ground. Blood still poured from my mouth like water.
...I won.
Vision gone, hearing lost, but for the first time, a proper victory.
Arms on my knees, I buried my face in them and used healing authority to mend my wounds.
-Rumble!
With restored hearing, I heard the gate behind me opening.
Right... it wasn't over yet.
The king's vassal. I had to face that damn bastard.
To clear this dungeon.