Chapter 44
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 44
Chapter Title: Steel Tower (6)
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#44
Rudel Asberg.
The mid-boss you absolutely had to face to rescue Valkeros.
Due to his timing of appearance and his uniquely vicious patterns, he had earned a slew of nicknames soaked in players' hatred, like "Lujot," "Dementia Geezer," and "Insa Slaughterer."
'Of course, we run into him right before entering the fourth floor.'
Bran twisted his lips.
The fact that he'd come up even after communications were cut suggested it was for personal reasons.
What rotten luck, damn it.
Rudel clucked his tongue with a sigh as he looked around.
"My, my. Such promising test subjects, wasted..."
His gaze lingered on the frozen convicts.
The corpses, frozen solid in their sleeping poses, looked just like the plaster casts from Pompeii.
Crazy old bastard. Anyone seeing this would think he'd done it, not me.
"Th-that guy's gotta be...!"
"Ugh... what a shitty power."
Kael and Ilrak seemed to have grasped the situation as well.
Both their faces were pale from the cold.
Ilrak's teeth were even chattering.
"Start it up. Kael, wrap yourself in the cloak."
"Y-yeah, good idea. I can't take this anymore...!"
Ilrak took a deep breath at Bran's words.
A red heat began to flicker from deep within her chest.
He got it completely.
They were no doubt in the same boat as him; it was just that the system messages weren't visible to them.
The chill of the Outer Sea seeps into your body.
Physical abilities are reduced while exposed to the chill.
White breath scattered with every exhale.
The air itself changed the moment Rudel appeared, all because of this damn chill.
It was a wide-area debuff that drastically reduced mobility, amplified by the presence of an otherworldly being.
'If only I had something like that myself.'
Heh. Since it was a golem research lab, as long as you prepped properly for fighting golems, you should be fine, right?
That naive thinking from newbies was exactly what this guy exploited to freeze their asses.
Especially for users who'd picked a close-range physical character like Bran.
Suddenly, Rudel turned back to Bran.
"Young man. Are you perhaps the one responsible for this?"
"...!"
It was a gentle voice, kind enough to make you want to answer politely, but Bran wasn't fooled.
It was one of Rudel's nasty patterns.
He knew a spell had been cast along with the question.
"Dodge!"
Whoosh—wind blew in the instant Bran shouted.
This time, the other two sensed it too.
"Kael, over here!"
"Gah!"
Ilrak leaped, wrapping her tail around Kael, and landed on top of the steel cage just as—
Boomboomboomboomboom!!
The chill exploded along the path of the wind.
Dozens of massive ice spikes emerged where the blast subsided.
Sharp as demon spines, they stretched from Rudel's feet all the way to where the three had been standing.
"Fuck, magic? What the hell?!"
Ilrak spat curses as the chill blew in again.
It wasn't ordinary cold.
She'd lived in lands where winter lasted year-round, but she'd never felt a chill this repulsive.
"Heh heh, you all have sharp instincts. That's how you made it this far to cause such a ruckus."
Rudel stroked his beard and chuckled.
There wasn't a trace of tension on his face despite facing three intruders.
"Since you're not answering, I won't ask anymore. Once I freeze and shatter your limbs, a nice long chat should loosen your tongues."
"Eek...!"
"Shit, he's just a spell-slinger anyway!"
That was when it happened.
Bam! Ilrak gripped her axe with both hands and kicked off the cage, leaping forward.
Heat haze shimmered around the glowing red axe blade.
"I'll split your skull in two!"
"Wait, Ilrak!"
Bran's eyes widened.
A normal mage would've been fine, but Rudel had a bad matchup against her.
Rudel's eyes went wide too.
"Well now. Haven't seen Dragonblood in ages."
"Die!"
Ilrak swung her axe down.
Rudel raised his arm at the same time.
Fwoooosh!
A silver blizzard engulfed her.
"Ngh...!"
Ilrak gritted her teeth as the blizzard swept over her.
Frost covered her bronze skin.
It had to hurt like hell, but she didn't stop.
Just as her axe blade, slicing through the chill, was about to cleave Rudel's skull—
"Ice Wheel."
A low mutter slipped from Rudel's lips.
The churning chill at his feet whipped into a vortex and exploded.
Kabooooom!
A thick ice barrier surged up, encircling Rudel.
"What."
Ilrak flinched.
It wasn't just any thick wall.
The dark blue ice shimmered with the Outer Sea's chill.
Bam!
She bounced off the barrier and slammed into the wall.
"Argh!"
"N-no!"
Kael cried out in horror.
A pained groan escaped Ilrak as she lay sprawled.
Silver frost blanketed her upper body.
She'd taken the full brunt head-on earlier.
"Impressive strength. To dig in that deep."
Rudel looked up and let out a hollow laugh.
The massive double-headed axe was lodged midway in the barrier, now cooled to ice-cold.
"Even a full-power punch from a prototype golem leaves just scratches... and that's all you managed."
It was far beyond expectations.
To damage extreme ice forged by the Outer Sea's chill to that extent.
Ilrak barely lifted her upper body and coughed.
"Cough, cough! Fuck, how embarrassing..."
"D-don't say that! I'll heal you right up!"
Kael knelt beside her.
Shiiiine...!
Warm sunlight poured from the tip of his staff.
"Wh-what's wrong with this?"
"...What's up?"
But their relief at the melting frost was short-lived.
Kael faltered mid-cast of Healing Sunlight.
"Something's off... the Morning Light's weakened."
Unlike before, the light was feeble.
It required both mana and holy power, but the holy power wasn't manifesting properly.
Come to think of it, Morning's Blessing had been noticeably weaker than usual too.
Rudel, lounging inside the ice barrier, raised an eyebrow.
"Ah. A priest, huh? That explains the stench."
"You damn geezer! What did you do to my friend!?"
"I did nothing. True divine power simply drove out the false. Like a river flowing from high to low—perfectly natural."
Kael and Ilrak's faces hardened.
Bran, standing on the opposite cage, spoke up.
"The Veil of the Outer God is blocking your light."
"V-veil?"
"Yeah. Raweina can't find you around that old bastard."
Another shitty thing about the Abyss.
Veil of the Outer God.
A persistent debuff that weakened holy power-based skills if holy power fell below a certain threshold.
Most Abyss members had it.
Bran twisted his lips.
'A bit short, huh. Thought it might work.'
Manifesting holy power meant becoming a being that emitted light.
A light invisible to people.
The gods overlooking the world from the pantheon were drawn to the shining ones like ships to a lighthouse.
And those who emitted especially strong light? Priests and holy knights, ripe for devouring.
"You're strong after all, Rudel."
In short, Kael's holy power wasn't enough to pierce the veil.
It sucked that he couldn't see Kael's stats.
If he'd known the exact holy power value, he could've planned better.
For now, the only way to normalize it was to put distance between them and escape the veil.
That was when—
"It's the Chief Administrator's magic! Central sector!"
"Confirmed. Executing orders."
"Everyone, converge on the central sector!"
Shouts suddenly erupted from beyond the outer wall.
There were a lot. At least dozens, maybe hundreds.
It wasn't hard to realize they were the remnants left in the lab.
Rudel smiled.
"Heh heh. Looks like it's over."
"N-no."
Kael gasped.
Thumping footsteps rapidly approached.
With Rudel and reinforcements? No chance of winning.
They had to take him down fast or push to the fourth floor.
But how?
They hadn't even figured out how to breach the ice barrier, let alone Rudel.
Rudel wouldn't let them escape either.
This would reach Silien once comms recovered.
Utter despair.
As Kael wheezed prayers, Bran spoke.
"Ilrak. Not fatal, right?"
"What? Of course not!"
Ilrak shouted.
She'd actually recovered quite a bit already.
Even weakened, Healing Sunlight was a top-tier skill.
"This cold... ugh, I can shake it off and stand any second!"
"Good. Then handle the incoming mob with Kael. Your current heat level can't block Rudel's chill."
"What? Then what about that geezer?!"
"What about him? I'll take him."
Bran answered flatly.
He'd anticipated Ilrak's performance dipping in the Rudel fight.
Dragon types had always had bad matchup against ice.
Being Fire Dragon hybrid helped a bit, but still not enough against Outer Sea chill.
'Better this way. Was getting worried anyway.'
They had to smash the entire third floor anyway to meet their goal.
Kael and Ilrak might even level up in the process.
Thud. Bran landed lightly and faced Rudel.
About fifty paces apart.
Rudel met his eyes and scoffed in disbelief.
"Heh heh heh. Did I hear that wrong? You, alone against this old man?"
"Your eardrums must not be wrinkled yet."
Bran drew his sword hilt.
Bam! He charged at Rudel in stance.
Rudel's perpetually mild eyes narrowed.
"That's a bit too arrogant, even for me."
There were limits to everything.
Rudel raised his arm.
Kabooooom!
Silver blizzard blasted toward Bran.
Like a horizontal avalanche. Frigid mist swallowed him.
"B-Bran!"
"Hm. Good momentum, but..."
Rudel sneered.
A boy half the Dragonblood's size couldn't survive that.
The unrelenting chill slammed into the lab gateway before exploding to a halt.
As he slowly lowered his arm—
Splaaat!
The blizzard tore apart left and right as Bran burst out, cloaked.
"What...!"
Rudel's eyes widened.
Frost-covered cloak billowed.
Numellite blade bristled with icicle teeth.
"Fucking cold."
Bran muttered.
He'd lost feeling in his face. The chill seeping under his skin was brutally cold.
Hoped there'd be no aftereffects.
Enemy Wolf Cloak partially defends against the chill!
Reduced physical abilities return to normal.
High mental strength shakes off the otherworldly presence!
Consumed elixir made from Half-Moon Flower. Magic resistance increases for the duration!
Consumed Night Herb fruit. Strength and endurance increase for the duration!
Heart of Harmeno activates. Plant-based beneficial effects are doubled!
Messages popped up one after another.
He wasn't obsessed with Jerban's hidden piece for nothing.
Its defense-focused options were perfect for Bran.
Plus, while Ilrak sacrificed herself to buy time, he hadn't been idle.
Thanks to her, he'd doped up for a short burst fight.
Their distance had closed to about ten paces.
Rudel, facing him, clutched his forehead and burst out laughing.
"Not bad! But you can't break this!"
The ice barrier still stood between them.
True enough. This doping alone couldn't shatter it.
"I know."
"What?"
But Bran's target had never been the barrier.
Crrrack.
The blade, absorbing pure mana, grew explosively heavy.
"Hup!"
Bran slashed the floor as he tore through the blizzard.
Kabooooom!!!
The frosted steel plate split in two, revealing a chasm packed with machinery.
"Y-you madman!"
A curse first escaped Rudel's lips.
He'd completely forgotten.
There were no barriers or solid ground between the central sector and the fourth floor.
No ice, however sturdy, could survive the floor collapsing beneath it.
Crrunch!
Bran yanked Ilrak's axe from the ice cylinder he rode and tossed it.
"Ilrak! Catch!"
"Holy shit, Bran!!"
The fall began.
Ilrak's voice echoed from the now-dizzying hole.
Fortunately, the axe sailed through.
"Y-you utter idiot...!"
Rudel glared, cursing.
An expression Bran had never seen as a player.
Seeing the usually laid-back guy like this felt oddly satisfying.
Crrunch!
Bran jammed his sword deep into the ice barrier and faced Rudel.
"Let's fall together, old man."