Chapter 184
Chapter 184
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 184
Chapter Title: The Second Trial (6)
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Packs, one variety of large magical beasts, weren't actually all that large if you just looked at their size.
Sure, they were wolves about the size of an average house, but considering the other large magical beasts I'd faced before—ones that could probably lay siege to a castle if two or three banded together—it felt like an overly generous classification.
Even so, they earned that rank because their combat prowess as a pack was extraordinarily high for mid-sized beasts.
Matching their wolf-like appearance, Packs were born hunters.
Claws that could rip through steel plate like paper. Mobility to chase a target to the ends of hell. A nose so keen it could sniff out prey even if they hid.
In the Neutralization Chamber, where abilities were nullified, facing them wouldn't be easy.
“Kill me gently---!!”
And in that exact situation.
I was charging straight at them, stark naked.
To a magical beast that fed on human flesh and blood, I must have looked like a perfectly butchered slab of meat walking right into its mouth on its own legs.
“...?”
Their eyes went blank for a moment at the absurd sight, but magical beasts were creatures that ultimately followed their instincts.
[System Message]
[ A crisis situation has been detected. ]
[ Judged as a direct threat to life. ]
[ Skill: Desperate Situation applied at EX rank. ]
Soon, one of them, dripping yellowish saliva with clear hostility, lunged at me.
It scattered fierce glares around as it swung its forepaw at me with enough force to crush boulders.
-!
-!!
That's right.
I let out a sigh of relief as I was struck by the first one's forepaw and sent flying through the air.
At the point where they were fully focused on me, half the plan had succeeded.
If they'd ignored me and gone for the others, that would have been the worst outcome. I'd have had to retreat, or worse, die.
It might've looked weird, but stripping down completely and charging in had paid off.
A normal person would've been bisected on impact, but with Desperate Situation active, my durability skyrocketed.
[Mastery Info]
[ Trait: Iron Man ] [ Grade: General ]
[ Current Proficiency: 0% ]
[ Warriors of the Tribal Alliance constantly push themselves into extreme situations to hone their coping skills. It's incredibly dangerous, but the effects are guaranteed. ]
[ ■ Greatly increased resistance to injuries and pain. Reduces pain levels and allows easier movement even with severe wounds. ]
[ ■ Recovery rate greatly improved over normal state. ]
[ ■ In case of fatal injuries, pain sensation is blocked to increase survival odds. ]
[ ■ Effects scale with Durability stat. ]
[System Message]
[ Fatal injury detected. ]
[ Pain sensation blocked by ‘Trait: Iron Man’. ]
On top of that, this trait.
Right now, Desperate Situation had massively boosted my durability.
Unlike the others, Desperate Situation and this trait didn't rely on any supernatural powers.
Even without spells or divine power, my raw physical abilities were a valuable asset.
“...Hup!”
My job was to hold out as long as possible.
I deflected the wolf's next forepaw swing and took its attacks as "gently" as I could.
If I held out long enough, the other beasts would join in to help their struggling comrade.
That was what I was aiming for.
Draw as many magical beasts to me as possible.
[...So, why the hell are you doing this?]
‘No time to explain. Later!’
[Do you even have a way to survive this?!]
“...”
Come to think of it, this guy had his own gaps between his outward and inner self.
He sounded scolding on the surface, but underneath, it was all worry for me.
‘Of course I do.’
I believed in this world.
More precisely, I believed it was built on the game system of Savior Rising.
Those "rules" always held up in weird situations like this.
So.
What I was about to do would definitely work.
With that conviction, I watched the Pack charging at me.
“...”
The longer I held out, the more sensation faded from my body.
[System Message]
[ HP below 1%! ]
[ On the verge of death! ]
Even as those messages popped up.
It was scary, but I endured.
Kept enduring, over and over.
Until all the nearby magical beasts gathered at my position.
And.
The moment I was certain of it.
“Now!”
I shouted the signal I'd promised the others before coming here.
At the same time, I activated the skill built into my Soul Linker.
[ Soul Linker ] [ Exclusive Equipment ]
[ Enchant: Epic ] [ Fused with ‘Hero Fragment’ ]
◎ Built-in Skills ◎
■ [ Imaginary Realm ] [ Skill Grade: A ]
[ Summons a spirit body to form a unique domain in the surrounding area. Within the domain, some of the spirit body's abilities can be used. Higher consciousness openness expands the domain's range and unlocks more abilities. ]
- Currently usable abilities
[ Trait: Comradery ]
[ To a knight, comrades are family. Can partially propagate buffs applied to self to surrounding allies. ]
It had been a long time since I'd seen this skill.
But it was perfect for this situation.
Caliban's Imaginary Realm spread out in an instant, sharing my Desperate Situation with the others.
[System Message]
[ HP 0%! ]
[ Entering coma state! ]
In that gap, accumulated injuries brought that message before my eyes.
My vision was starting to fade.
But before it did.
-!
-!!
-!!!
My entire field of view was dyed in the sword wind swung by Eliya.
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The moment I regained consciousness, the first thing I saw was Eliya pouring a potion into me, tears welling in her eyes.
“...Are you insane?!”
“...”
Don't yell. My head's ringing.
I struggled to sit up and checked my body.
Even after being smashed to pieces, a bit of recovery potion made movement possible.
Iron Man trait for the win. Recovery wasn't human-level.
Of course, separately from that, Eliya was glaring at me fiercely, her eyes narrowed like axes.
“What were you thinking, suggesting something like this? You almost died for real!”
“...Uh, well, just.”
I stammered in embarrassment.
Technically, I had died once. HP hit 0%, and I went into a coma.
“I planned it from the start.”
“...What?”
“I told you. I came in expecting to die once.”
“...”
I'd created prime time by gathering all the beasts in one spot—how could I waste it just because I got swept up?
That was the whole reason I'd stripped naked and drawn their attention.
So they'd cluster together attacking me, giving Eliya and Painol their 'chance.'
To bunch these hyper-mobile bastards together in an easy-to-catch spot.
Gamers would know it as mob pulling.
With their speed, catching them all at once required lumping them together like this.
No matter how good my specs were, tanking hits to hold them in place meant planning for my HP to bottom out from the start.
[...Wait, weren't these the ones you set up for us to avoid?]
“...”
[Fighting them head-on is suicide, so shouldn't we just dodge and hide as much as possible? I get creating this mess baffles me, but the intent seems exactly that?]
Sure, but.
As I said before, for Eliya to shine in the final trial, she had to stand out.
Just surviving the time limit felt... lacking.
It wasn't a sure thing.
Not cool enough.
[...You mad bastard...]
“...”
[You're the only one on the continent who'd risk your life like it's nothing just to make someone else shine. You got a death wish or what?]
“...”
[And it didn't even make Eliya shine. You looked like the craziest one.]
No.
Was that how it came off?
As I reeled from Caliban's words.
Ahead, Eliya, Talion, and even Painol stared at me in horror.
“...”
Why are you guys like that?
It worked out fine, didn't it?
“No, see, last time I tried it.”
I forced a smile to lighten the weirdly heavy atmosphere.
“Being clinically dead for about 10 seconds was fine.”
I'd experienced it in the game a few times, and confirmed it in reality when Yuria nearly bisected me.
Even if HP converged to 0%, as long as you kept a thread of life before full death, you could come back.
This time proved it definitively since I survived.
“...So.”
Eliya groaned.
“It's okay as long as you don't actually die looking like a corpse? What if there's even a one-in-a-thousand chance it goes wrong?”
“Why think about failure? It's about you.”
“...”
I grinned and gave a thumbs-up.
“Even if I die, we succeed.”
“...”
She clutched her head at my matter-of-fact words.
It was undoubtedly a gesture full of deep anguish over where to even start.
“...Teacher.”
“Yeah?”
“You remember that talk we had about how you used Lana like human expendable?”
“...Yeah?”
Eliya approached me, puzzled, and gripped my shoulders firmly with both hands.
“I take back everything I said then.”
“What're you talking about.”
“You're not just worn down on humanity—you're a true psychopath who could use anyone like that if you think it'll work.”
“...”
“If you can put yourself in that situation thinking it'll be fine, it's fair to assume you'd do the same to others. At least it's consistent, I guess.”
“...”
I involuntarily stepped back from Eliya's muttering outburst.
Her eyes were dead.
Seeing her rattle it off like a machine gun with no focus in her gaze sent chills down my spine.
“...H-Hey, calm down a sec.”
“I can't.”
“...”
“Teacher, sit down first.”
“...Why?”
“I'll fix that head of yours from the ground up.”
“...”
“You need to realize how precious you are to others. And fix that habit of saying stuff that sets people's hearts on fire. It feels good, but right now, it's just frustrating to hear.”
“...”
Was that a compliment?
“Listen up. I'll straighten out your manners first.”
“...”
Guess not.
This was the harshest she'd ever been with me.
No idea what triggered it.
Am I getting scolded right now? Really?
[Yep.]
“...”
[And you deserve it. Not just a scolding—you nearly milked out all their tears going to death's door.]
In moments like this, the siblings were cut from the same cloth.
By the time Eliya's storm of reprimands ended, I was on the verge of tears myself.
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