A Diamond-Grade Eraser
Piiiiiiiip!!!!!
The moment I blew the whistle, a low growl echoed from the shadows.
Grrrrrr...
Cerberus emerged from the darkness.
"...So you were acting all cocky just because you had a summon!"
Though momentarily flustered, the Orc shouted at the top of his lungs and drew his axe.
Swept up in his roar, the other monsters drew their respective weapons as well.
Why does everyone keep assuming I'm relying on this guy? Judging by appearances isn't a good habit, you know!
"I'll slaughter you both!!!"
The Orc's roar echoed across the snowfield.
Kaaaaah!
Uwoooooh!
Perhaps they had activated a buff skill, as their morale suddenly surged.
"Black."
Grrrr...
"Herd these bastards from behind."
Grrrrr!
"If even one of them escapes, no snacks for you."
At those final words, Cerberus leapt forward with lightning speed.
Fwhoosh!
A massive shadow swept over the monsters.
Thump!!!
Landing heavily, Cerberus took charge of the rear guard, while I drew Jeoldanchamgeuk.
"Kahahahaha! Even your summon turned tail and ran!"
What kind of novel bullshit is this now?
"I don't know if you're crazy or just stupid, but I commend your courage!" the Orc sneered, baring his tusks.
"As a reward for making me laugh, I'll hang your head on the fortress wall!"
"Who will?"
"I will personally—"
"How?"
"Huh...?"
The Orc's eyes widened in confusion.
And then—
Pshhhk!!!!!
Dark red blood erupted violently from his neck.
"W-what..."
The Orc clutched at his throat.
"Uh, I wouldn't do that if I were you."
Thud!!!!
The Orc's head tumbled straight to the ground.
"...Oops."
I told him to listen to people until they finish talking.
The cleanly severed head rolled across the snow. His headless torso remained standing upright for a moment before hot blood erupted like a geyser.
Chwaaaaaaak!!!!!
Crimson blood soaked the white snowfield.
"What in the..."
"W-wait a minute..."
Bewilderment. And sheer terror.
It was the exact look people made when something completely beyond their imagination occurred. The faces of the remaining Orcs and all the other monsters standing before me contorted in horror.
Pshhk!!!!
Blood spurted from the crown of the Orc standing right next to the decapitated one.
Puhwak!!!!!
Simultaneously, the belly of the smallest Orc standing on the opposite side ripped open, spilling his entrails onto the snow.
Thump!!!
Flop!!!
The Orcs collapsed. In an instant, the body count rose to three.
"W-what is this?!"
"What the hell is happening?!"
"R-run!!!"
The snowfield descended into utter chaos. It was only natural for them to be confused; to their eyes, everything had seemed to happen all at once.
Strictly speaking, however, it hadn't been simultaneous at all.
Three seconds.
In truth, the first one to die wasn't even the guy whose head got chopped off.
Tick.
I had driven my blade into the crown of the Orc on the left, triggering Killing Time.
Tock.
Then I sliced the neck of the arrogant leader.
Tick.
Next, I ripped open the stomach of the last remaining Orc.
Tock.
Finally, I returned to my original position...
Tick.
...and waited for them to realize their own deaths!
Tock.
Thanks to the passive effect of Killing Time, I could perceive the flow of time perfectly. But to everyone else, it was a split second—a literal blink of an eye.
To them, it must have felt like a sudden, catastrophic act of God.
"W-waaaaaah!"
Unlike when they had confidently drawn their weapons earlier, they were now running around in utter panic.
"A monster! He's a monster!!!!"
Screaming in terror, the remnants began to flee.
"Kill the summoner first!!!" someone shouted.
It was completely futile. Besides, they were operating under a massive misunderstanding.
"Kill him and the summon will disappear!!!!"
They naturally assumed that Cerberus was the one who had slaughtered the three Orcs in an instant. Thus, a horde of monsters swarmed toward me to avoid the beast.
"Wow..."
I clicked my tongue as I watched them rush me.
"...How can their situational awareness be this terrible?"
At this point, it was almost impressive. I shook my head.
"Let's wrap this up."
My vision flashed red. Was it dizziness? No. It was because Execution Eye was highlighting far too many weaknesses all at once.
There were dozens of monsters charging at me, and each had at least five weak points glowing brightly. It was impossible for my vision not to flash red.
Puk!!!!
I thrust my sword straight into the jaw of the leading Lizardman who was charging with a handaxe.
Kkheuk!!!
The blade pierced through his mouth. I immediately followed up with rapid thrusts to his heart.
Puk! Puk!! Puk!!!
Before his blood could splatter on me, I kicked his body away.
Pueok!
A Gnoll stumbled back after being hit by the flying Lizardman corpse. I hurled my sword right between his eyebrows.
Chwaaaaak!!!!
Without making a sound, the Gnoll collapsed, blood spraying from his face.
A Hobgoblin froze in shock at the sight.
Sgagaak!
I sliced his Achilles tendon with a light flick of my wrist.
Kieeeek!!!
As he screamed, I finished him by driving my blade into his open mouth.
Just like that, three more died in the blink of an eye.
The remaining vermin hesitated, stepping back in sheer horror.
"R-run..."
"Run away!!"
Just as expected, they turned their backs and began to flee.
...I knew they'd do that.
Sighing lightly, I shifted my gaze toward Cerberus, who was holding down the rear guard in the distance.
Thanks to eating well and resting plenty lately, all three heads—Goldie, Lefty, and Righty—looked full of energy.
Grrrrrrrrr...
All three heads bared their fangs and growled menacingly.
"Black!!!" I shouted toward them. "Just whittle down their health!"
Woof! Woof-woof!
As if waiting for that exact command, Cerberus began tearing into the monsters with sharp claws. Fortunately, remembering my instructions, he didn't kill them—he merely ripped off their limbs.
Since there are quite a few of them, sweeping them all up at once will be much easier.
Killing them one by one wasn't bad, but clearing the wave quickly in one fell swoop increased the chances of earning an achievement. Fortunately, I had just the right skill for the job.
Death Slash
Seogeok!!
Sgagaak!!!
Pabababak!!!
The mobs whose health had dropped below 30% died instantly. Corpses that couldn't even utter a final scream tumbled across the ground.
Kkheheuk!!!
Kaaaaaaah!!!
Those who barely survived with over 30% health weren't faring much better. Most of them had already lost their arms and legs to Cerberus. Honestly, dying to Death Slash might have been a mercy.
Step, step...
I walked around finishing off the survivors personally, stabbing each one through the heart and crushing their heads one by one.
Pugagak!
After smashing the skull of the last Hobgoblin, I looked around. The harsh blizzard that had been raging was gradually subsiding.
"Phew."
I took off my Fire Rat Hat, stored it in my inventory, and called out, "Black!"
Cerberus came bounding over energetically.
Pant! Pant! Pant!
All three heads had their tongues lolling out, looking utterly thrilled.
Hmm, is this like taking him for a walk?
I recalled seeing something like this on There Are No Bad Dogs in the World. Dogs needed daily walks to burn off energy and stay happy, or something like that.
Cerberus wagged his massive tail enthusiastically. Every time it swung, nearby corpses were sent rolling across the snow.
"Yeah, yeah, good job."
Woof!
"Thanks to you, not a single one escaped."
It had also been hilarious watching those idiots mistake Cerberus for the real threat.
I reached up high and gave Cerberus a good scratch behind the neck.
Thump.
A soft landing sound echoed behind me. What's that? I definitely killed everything.
Turning around, I blinked. "Huh?"
It was the masked person.
Right, that person had a telekinesis skill. Just as they had lowered me down earlier, they seemed to have floated down themselves.
Clap, clap, clap!
The masked figure began applauding. Was that praise?
"Haha..." I gave an awkward laugh.
Behind me lay a mountain of bloody corpses. Certainly not the most picturesque sight.
Clap, clap, clap, clap!
Yet the masked figure didn't seem to care, continuing to applaud enthusiastically.
"T-thanks."
The masked person shook their head, gesturing as if they had done nothing to deserve thanks.
"It's all thanks to you bringing me down safely..."
Again, they shook their head. Then, pointing a finger at me, they gave a firm thumbs-up.
"...You're saying I'm the best?"
They nodded vigorously.
Haha. Man, this non-verbal praise was somehow even more embarrassing than spoken words.
"By the way, why don't you speak—"
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Fireworks suddenly exploded in the sky, signaling the victory of the wall defense team.
Ooh. That was even more spectacular than the Yeouido Fireworks Festival.
I admired the sky for a moment before turning back around. "Huh?"
For some reason, the masked person was already gone. Had they returned already?
Well, damn... I didn't even get to see them open their reward box. Why were they in such a rush?
"...Tsk."
I felt a slight sense of disappointment. Maybe I should have asked for their name. As I scratched the back of my head—
Flash!
A reward box materialized to console my disappointment.
"Ooh!"
This time, it was a Diamond Reward Box. It was only natural, considering I had literally wiped out the entire map single-handedly.
Click.
Without hesitation, I opened the box.
"...?"
Then, I froze in utter bewilderment.
"What the hell is this...?"
An eraser. And a completely ordinary-looking one at that. A small, white, rectangular eraser that fit neatly in the palm of my hand.
◈ Effect: Removes target effects, conditions, restrictions, etc.
Just looking at it didn't tell me much, but since it came out of a Diamond Box, it had to be good, right?
Should I test it out...?
Let's see. A suitable item would be...
"Hmm."
My eyes landed on Echo Walker.
Grants passive blink movement with a 7-second cooldown.
Would you like to use Eraser (Single-Use)?
[Removable Option]
• 7-Second Cooldown
Ooooooh!!!
I can erase the 7-second cooldown?! That means I could teleport infinitely without any restrictions!
Wow. Right now, Echo Walker was around A-rank. If I erased the 7-second cooldown, it would instantly become S-rank. Isn't this practically a free upgrade?
"This is insane..."
Using it on Echo Walker felt like a waste, though. Even with a 7-second cooldown, it was already a fantastic item.
"I'll save it for later."
I placed the Eraser into my inventory. Higher-grade items tended to come with more restrictions and conditions, so saving it for one of those would be much wiser. Legendary items, in particular, almost always had race-specific requirements attached to them.
Specifically, there were plenty of legendary weapons restricted to Elves. If I obtained one of those and erased the [Elf Only] condition... I could wield something like the [First Emperor's Living Soul Sword] myself!
"Kuuuuuh."
Awesome. Of course, I actually had to get a legendary weapon first to use it, but the potential was mind-blowing.
Man, for a light warm-up exercise, the harvest was way too good!
"Hehehe."
Grinning from ear to ear, I pressed the return button.