Chapter 27: The One Who Knows When to Step Forward
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 27: The One Who Knows When to Step Forward
"Hachi!!! Hachi!! Open your eyes!!"
"Dammit!!! Horaru! You idiot! Get a grip!!"
Yata and Lewis screamed.
Yata’s hands were covered in Hachi’s blood, and Lewis was staggering from overusing his magic.
But Hachi still didn't wake up.
And Horaru, having lost his mind, continued to rampage, smashing through the earthen walls Lewis had created.
That made four people retired from the fight.
The only ones left were Yuria, Rohan, and me.
"Guaaaah!!! Just die already!"
Yuria let out a battle cry as she charged toward the dark-red Orc.
Her ability, 'Sword Fragmentation,' activated, and her blade shattered into pieces.
It was an ability that allowed her to fragment a designated knife or sword at will and use it like a whip-sword.
Essentially, she could swing her sword like a lash.
It was an incredibly powerful ability.
Yuria’s technique involved wrapping the fragmented blades around the opponent's neck or limbs and then pulling back to sever the part.
However, for some reason, the Orc warrior's arm wouldn't cut.
Normally, the wrapped area should have been shredded by the blades, but the High Orc warrior's skin was far too tough.
She couldn't land a fatal blow.
We were at a dead end.
He was a monster that couldn't be taken down even with an ability.
To be precise, there was a specific culprit keeping that Orc warrior from dying.
"Kashina, Skinteria. Ro-haire."
An old Orc was pouring out cursed words, continuously chanting incantations.
That spell must be what was strengthening the Orc warrior and toughening its skin.
That old Orc was a warlock.
Or perhaps a foul dark mage.
Either way, unless that guy was dealt with first, the dark-red High Orc warrior would never fall.
Someone had to step up and stop the Orc warlock.
They had to create an opening in the Orc warrior, and Yuria had to plunge her blade into that gap.
If not, our party would soon be wiped out. We’d be surrounded by the Orcs and beasts drawn by the commotion of battle, dying without even leaving a corpse behind.
But right now, there was no one who could stop that old Orc warlock.
Lewis was busy trying to contain the rampaging Horaru.
Yata and Hachi were both incapacitated.
Rohan still couldn't even stand up properly.
The only person capable of fighting was Yuria, but she had to deal with the Orc warrior.
In the end, the conclusion was that I was the only one left who could stop that warlock.
Right, it’s just me.
"Fuck!"
Having quickly assessed the situation, I drew my sword and ran toward the High Orc warlock.
I’ll do what needs to be done.
I’ll do what I can.
If you asked if I was good at fighting... well, I could say I’d rolled around the upper levels long enough.
No, wait.
With the skills of someone who’d only spent about six months in the upper levels...
I have to fight a variant Orc warlock from the Underground City?
This is insane.
It’s a mindless, suicidal charge.
Even if he’s a warlock, the opponent is still a High Orc.
His physical abilities are obviously much higher than a porter like me.
My charge might just be a meaningless death.
But right now, there’s no one else but me to stop that Orc warlock.
Everyone else is occupied with their roles.
It’s a situation where the porter has no choice but to step forward.
So, even if I’m scared to death, I have to run.
I have to run up, throw an oil bottle, and at least set him on fire.
If I hesitate, Yuria will be crushed to death by that massive monster Orc.
If I don't step up, Lewis and Yata will be torn apart by Horaru.
If I don't take him out...
"How foolish."
Dark Swarm.
"Aaaaaagh—!!!!!!!!"
A swarm of insects erupted from the Orc warlock's fingertips.
Before I could even dodge, the bugs swarmed me.
I was engulfed by the swarm and went rolling across the ground.
I pathetically dropped my sword.
"It hurts!!! It hurts!!!!!"
It stung.
It itched.
It felt maddeningly foul.
Unidentified insects crawled all over my body, biting me, gouging into my wounds, and laying eggs.
Bugs entered my ears and nose.
They even crawled into my mouth.
I’m dying.
Death was approaching me.
The Reaper's scythe was at my throat.
Soon, my airway was filled with insects, and I began to suffocate.
My vision grew dark.
My consciousness gradually drifted away.
I could hear Yuria’s scream.
The Orc warlock's laughter echoed in my ears.
Death.
This is death.
I opened my eyes.
I was lying on the ground.
Why am I looking down at myself?
Is this astral projection? Or is it because I really died?
I don't know.
But... dying like this without being able to do anything...
It was too pathetic.
And it was unfair.
Why? Why am I the only one who’s this miserable?
If you’re going to throw a perfectly normal person into this crazy world.
Shouldn't you at least let me live happily?
I’m dying like this without even achieving my dream of a slave harem?
If I knew I’d die so vainly...
I should have been nicer to Yuria.
Regret.
Despair.
Anger and resentment.
Yes, this resentment felt like it would twist my body apart.
To have an ending like this.
To fall here without doing a single thing.
What about all the preparations I made to survive?
What about the knowledge I acquired for survival?
Is this it?
Am I really going to die here?
Sion.
No, fuck, Yoo-chan.
You have to open your eyes.
Yuria is screaming over there.
She’s about to be torn apart by that big Orc bastard.
Yoo-chan.
Kang Yoo-chan, you idiot.
How long are you going to stay lying down?
Get up and fight.
Yuria is going to die.
You have to save her.
I opened my eyes again.
What I saw this time was a different landscape from before.
Everything around me had turned black and white.
The air was desolate.
Black figures, their shapes hard to discern, wandered about.
It was still the Labyrinth.
However, it was different from the Labyrinth where I had fallen.
Ah. This is the afterlife.
As expected, I must have died.
Then are those the souls of adventurers who died in the Labyrinth?
I guess I couldn't just come back to life through sheer willpower.
If that’s the case, it’s a shame, but I have to accept the end.
This world is too cruel; it’s not a place where resurrection is possible through desire and passion alone.
In the end, everything dies.
My turn just came a little early.
There is an order to the birth of life.
But there was no order to its death.
As soon as I realized this simple fact, everything I was seeing began to crumble and turn to dust.
Except for one thing.
—You. There.
The only soul that maintained its form called out to me.
It was the soul of a warrior whose eyes had been gouged out.
He pointed his finger at me.
As if he wouldn't let me get away.
Thump. Thump.
He walked toward me.
Slowly, but surely.
Precariously, but tenaciously.
—You... can you see me?
He asked.
If I could see him.
I wanted to answer, but no voice came out.
So I nodded toward him.
That I could see him.
That I could feel him.
—Finally. Finally, I have found someone I can communicate with.
The nameless warrior shed tears of deep emotion.
Black, muddy water flowed from his hollow eye sockets.
—Take me... take me to the surface. From this godforsaken place. Won't you get me out of here?
He made a proposal.
To get him out of this damn Labyrinth.
But how?
I’m already dead.
—No. You are not dead yet. I can feel a faint aura of life.
He stated firmly.
That I wasn't dead yet.
—But you are in a crisis. Fine. For a moment, just for a brief moment... lend me your body.
He reached out his hand.
A gaunt body.
Arms like a mummy's.
Hands withered like an old tree.
The warrior’s hand, nothing but skin and bone.
He held it out.
—If it is only for a brief moment, it will be fine. I will lend you my strength. Take me. Take me up beneath that sun. I beg of you, nameless adventurer.
Was it okay to take his hand?
Could I trust the words of the departed?
Maybe this was a trick to steal my body?
Ha... Hahaha!
A dying man sure has a lot of thoughts.
I’m going to die anyway if I don't take this hand.
Not trusting him won't make the situation any better.
This is a gamble.
The last chance to save myself, Yuria, and my party members.
Even if my body is stolen, it’s fine.
Because Yuria will be able to live.
I’ll lend it to you.
I grasped the warrior's hand.
Soon, his soul...
Into my body...
"Khhh... Ugh......"
Sion woke up.
He, who had been lying fallen, stood up and surveyed the battlefield.
Yuria had been sent flying by the Orc Slugger's fist.
Horaru was charging toward Yata and Lewis.
Hachi was still unconscious.
Rohan was staggering as if he had a concussion.
After confirming their state, Sion quickly checked his own condition.
Insects were burrowing into his skin.
His airway was blocked, and parasites had laid eggs.
Dark Swarm. I got caught by a filthy trick.
"Kah!!!"
He let out a sharp shout, shaking off the impurity clinging to his body.
The pitch-black man-eating insects that had burrowed into Sion's body were crushed by his sheer spirit, turning belly-up and dying instantly.
Immediately after, the bugs blocking his airway burst apart, and his breath was cleared.
Finally, air entered his lungs.
His fingers, arms, and legs moved properly.
His two feet firmly supported his body.
It was a body.
A physical vessel.
"It is life."
Great Warrior Shaka identified the enemy before him.
A pitch-black form.
A variant of the High Orc, a Warlock.
One who toys with adventurers using dark magic.
An enemy that must be killed.
An obstacle blocking the path.
Spirit gathered in Sion's eyes.
The ability, 'Warrior's Intimidation,' struck the Orc warlock's mind.
"Kh-ugh...!!!!!"
He was different from before.
That was the gaze of a predator.
Terrified, the Orc warlock swung his staff.
Instinctively, he fired a 4th Circle dark magic spell, 'Dark Spear.'
Sion took a deep breath as he watched the black spear flying toward him.
Because he needed to change the course of the battle.
"Woooooah—!!!!"
the 'Warrior's Roar' echoed across the battlefield.
The dark magic fired by the warlock was torn apart in mid-air.
At the same time, the light returned to Horaru's eyes, which had been lost to madness.
Strength returned to the legs of Rohan, who had been staggering from a concussion.
Furthermore, the Orc Slugger that had been pressing Yuria retreated.
And Hachi, who had lost consciousness, flinched and opened his eyes again.
The tide of battle turned.
With a single roar.
The roar unleashed by the Great Warrior was the ultimate crowd-control skill.
Fear for the enemies.
Courage for the allies.
"A weapon. Give me a weapon."
Sion opened his subspace pocket for Shaka.
Shaka reached in and pulled out a single weapon.
What he drew was the masterpiece of Burrel, the owner of the discount weapon shop.
"A double-edged axe, I see."
The double-edged axe was gripped in the Great Warrior's hand.
"This is enough."
In an instant, Sion's body completely vanished from the Orc warlock's sight.
Splurt—!!!!!
The Orc warlock's body was sliced in half.
The double-edged axe shattered.
The weapon had been destroyed, unable to withstand the overwhelming power.
"This is as far as I go. Any more... is dangerous."
Gah-haack...!!
Control of the body returned.
Sion collapsed and spat out dark, dead blood.
'It hurts... it hurts like hell...'
The Pain Resistance Ring Rika had given him allowed him to endure the agonizing pain.
If not for that, he would have fainted immediately.
—Ah... Aah...
Soon, Shaka's voice reached the ears of the collapsed Sion.
—Please... surely... take me... up there...
The soul of Great Warrior Shaka vanished into the depths of his consciousness.
Shaka had borrowed Sion's body for roughly thirty seconds.
In that short time, Shaka had consumed most of the life force Sion possessed.
Sion had paid the price for hosting a powerful spirit that his body could not handle.
"Guaaa!!! Die!!!"
Meanwhile, Rohan, having recovered from his concussion, rushed forward and plunged his sword into the Orc Slugger's leg, and Horaru, having regained his senses, slammed his massive body into the Orc Slugger.
Boom!
As the Orc Slugger's body was knocked back, Hachi immediately climbed onto the creature and began crushing its face.
"Sion!! Sion!!!"
Yuria ran toward the collapsed Sion.
Hearing Yuria's voice, Sion couldn't even lift his head and just laughed vacantly.
"Ha... Hahahaha... cough..."
I survived.
Just how stubborn is my life?
"Yuria..."
"Sion! Blood, you're bleeding...!!"
Yuria pulled the collapsed Sion into her arms.
Only then did she see the pool of Sion's blood soaking the ground.
"Si-Sion!!! What do I do? What do I do...!"
"Yuria... feed me... this..."
"What?"
"Th-this..."
Sion pulled a tonic out of his subspace pocket.
However, he didn't even have the strength to hold it and drink, so he asked Yuria to feed it to him.
"Wait, just a second..."
Yuria hurriedly opened the cap of the tonic and fed it to Sion.
"Khhh..."
Strength returned to his body.
It was like taking out a loan on tomorrow's energy.
"The corpse... we have to recover the corpse..."
Sion reached out and put the High Orc warlock's corpse into his inventory.
"The Orcs are coming...! cough!"
"Dammit... Sion! Are you okay!"
In the meantime, the rest of the group ran toward Sion.
There was no time to ask about that unbelievable roar from earlier or the strength that had split the Orc warlock in half in a single blow.
A pack of High Orcs was approaching.
"We have to hide for now!"
"Dammit...! We're almost there! Horaru! Carry Sion on your back! We're running toward where we hid the bodies!"
"Uuuu...!!!"
"W-wait... that bastard's... corpse..."
"Good grief...! You're worrying about a corpse in this situation? You crazy porter!! Lewis! Erect an earthen wall and block their sight!"
"Dammit! I'm almost out of mana! To hell with this!!"
Lewis erected an earthen wall to briefly hide the group, and in that time, Horaru carried Sion to the Orc Slugger's corpse.
"Ugh..."
Sion reached out and recovered the corpse.
Soon, the group fled from the approaching Orc pack and escaped into the building where they had hidden the bodies.
Rohan: Dizziness.
Hachi: Anemia.
Yuria: Joint injuries.
Yata and Lewis: Mana depletion.
Sion: Exhaustion.
Only Horaru was perfectly fine.
It was a dramatic survival.