Chapter 64: To the 3rd Layer (5)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 64: To the 3rd Layer (5)
It was no exaggeration to say that the greatness of beast-kin came from their innate physical prowess.
This was supported by the fact that most physical laborers, like construction workers, and even most hunters were beast-kin.
“Ah, don’t step there.”
Noel’s skills were flawless.
Despite her grumbling, she was a reliable tank who never let a monster slip past her to me, and she even identified and pointed out traps in advance.
She was so competent it was hard to complain about how much she ate.
However.
“I’m so tiiired...”
This rabbit had terrible fuel efficiency.
One of her few weaknesses was that she'd completely burn out after just an hour or two.
I thought I’d heard that beast-kin were supposed to have great stamina.
Of course, just as people vary, I guess not all beast-kin could be the same.
Besides, while I could manage my own condition as I moved, it must have been difficult for Noel to pace herself when she had to follow my orders.
In this situation, it wouldn't be right to force a grueling march just because we were a little short on time.
It wasn't as if we were actually pressed for time. Thanks to Noel, we were taking the shortest route, dealing with monsters faster than usual, and not having to worry about traps. If anything, we had some time to spare.
A short break should be fine.
“But what are you doing now?”
“...Resting.”
Unlike when we rested while eating earlier, I was dumbfounded to see Noel brazenly lying down with her head on my lap as a pillow.
Must be nice being a summon, huh?
“I fight monsters, find traps, and even guide you... Surely this much is okay...!”
As if she wasn't sure herself, Noel's voice trailed off as she busily avoided my gaze.
“Well, I mean... it's not like you can't.”
But why was she so bold about it?
Shouldn't she be avoiding me after I forced that womb massage on her?
It was just strange how she was trying to get even closer.
“Hee, hee...”
The moment she got permission, Noel readjusted her position and lay down comfortably.
As she even started humming, Noel's mind was occupied with thoughts completely different from Kang Hyun-woo's.
Fundamentally, unlike other beast-kin, rabbit-kin had a strong libido even when not in heat.
Of course, they were similar to humans in that respect, but sometimes, they were even more intense.
A case like Noel's, where a fire had been vaguely lit, was a perfect example.
The womb massage, which was meant to discipline her, had instead ended up stoking the flames of her desire. For Noel, who had only ever gently rubbed her clit her whole life, it was enough to drive her crazy.
She had no idea how to extinguish this vaguely lit fire, and the pleasant scent coming from Kang Hyun-woo's body kept stimulating her, so it was only natural that she felt a strange itch between her legs.
‘Ah, if he touches my lower stomach like before...’
Her mind was dominated by the thought that it shouldn't happen, but her increasingly heated body felt otherwise.
The proof was in how she lay defenselessly on his lap, her stomach exposed.
Won't he touch me if I stay like this?
‘...It's not like I can resist anyway.’
A single command from him and she would have to expose her belly and lie on her back.
Resistance was unthinkable.
Besides, there was no way that pervert would stop at just touching her stomach.
He would surely unleash his shameless, filthy desires—desires too vile to even speak of—all over her.
For Noel, who had never even had contact with the opposite sex, her mind was in utter chaos.
Every dark fantasy she could conjure was gathering and swirling together.
While she resented her body for getting hotter and hotter, a part of her had begun to anticipate when he would press his large, thick palm against her lower stomach and rub it roughly.
‘Hngh, hnn...♡’
Swallowing the hot breaths she couldn't let escape, Noel stared only at Kang Hyun-woo's palm. She also didn't forget to subtly push out her lower stomach.
But her expectations were soon brutally shattered.
“Rested up now?”
“...Huh?”
“Get up.”
Instead of forcing himself on her now that she couldn't resist his commands, Kang Hyun-woo simply stood up as if he had no interest.
Noel, her head now on the cold ground, stared at Kang Hyun-woo's back with a look of utter desolation.
*
When determining a monster's rank, there were a few factors considered besides its individual strength.
These included the accessibility of the monster's habitat, its rarity, and whether it possessed any special abilities.
“Uh... Customer?”
As we crossed the dungeon, killing monsters, a familiar-looking stone gate and a single monster appeared before us.
It was without a doubt the boss of the 2nd Layer, the gatekeeper.
However, something was strange.
Circumstantially, it was clearly the 2nd Layer boss, but its presence felt pathetically weak compared to the Lizard Warrior.
Of course, if that was all we felt, we would have dealt with the monster immediately and headed for the 3rd Layer.
But we couldn't move rashly.
We didn't say it out loud, but we were clearly feeling the same thing.
That this was no ordinary monster. The moment we faced it, something unpleasant brushed past us.
“What in the world is that...?”
All magic power is unique.
Some is destructive, some is gentle.
Of course, you couldn't easily judge the superiority of magic power based on that alone, and the same was true for monsters.
‘...Is that even magic power?’
Just the lingering traces of magic power coming from that thing made me want to vomit and gave me a headache.
An overwhelming, instinctual revulsion stopped us in our tracks.
Finally, the creature lifted its head toward us.
Beyond its tattered robe, which looked like it could fall apart at any moment, there was none of the warmth of a living being.
It was moving a cold, lifeless body, one whose soul had long departed, with a disgusting magic power that induced revulsion.
The blazing light in its eyes and the emotion peeking from behind it sent a chill down my spine.
There was a creature that, despite looking no different from other skeletons, wielded powerful magic and was officially registered as an S-rank monster.
“...A Lich.”
An immortal being, a powerful mage who contracted with an evil god for eternal life, turning themselves into an undead. Not only do they retain their full power from when they were alive, but they are also monsters capable of commanding thousands of undead on their own.
With my current skills, it was a monster I couldn't even dream of running from, let alone fighting.
Ironically, however, for someone facing such a monster, my brain was working just fine. No, it felt even clearer than usual.
Thanks to that, I was able to judge the situation a bit more objectively.
Common sense dictated that a Lich couldn't possibly be here.
There's no way the World Tree wouldn't have told me if an S-rank monster could appear on the mere 2nd Layer.
As I gathered my thoughts and assessed the situation, I realized the magic power emanating from it wasn't actually that strong.
Of course, the magic power itself was disgustingly foul and evil, but the absolute total amount was actually less than mine.
It only looked like a Lich; it wasn't one.
It was probably something like an elite specimen of a Skeleton Mage.
“Noel!”
In that case, this was doable.
“You, get back.”
Noel was exhausted from tanking on the front line all this way.
Besides, I was planning to face the boss myself anyway, so it was right for me to fight this one alone.
The magic stone on Gilenium's pommel emitted a brilliant light.
[Strength Enhancement(Strength)]
[Speed Increase(Haste)]
[Balance Adjustment(Balance)]
[Fire Step(the steps of fire)]
I used every support magic I could, but my preparations didn't end there.
I took a bottle of holy water from my inventory and poured it directly onto Gilenium's blade.
I didn't have a priest to imbue the sword with divine power, but the demon-breaking energy inherent in Gilenium, combined with holy water made by a bishop-level priest, should be somewhat effective against the undead.
Of course, the creature hadn't been standing still while I prepared.
-d,c,k,rc...
A bizarre voice flowed out, like the crawling of insects.
‘An incantation?’
I'd only heard about it, but I never imagined a monster would actually chant a spell, so my reaction was a little slow.
Before I could stop it, the creature quickly finished its incantation and slammed its staff on the ground.
At the same time, a wave of that same unpleasant magic power I'd felt earlier spread out in all directions from the tip of the staff.
I immediately cast a barrier over Noel and myself, but I knew.
That the incantation and the wave of magic power weren't meant to attack us.
Only then did I understand why I had initially suspected that skeleton of being a Lich.
Right next to the creature, where the wave of magic had passed, a knight in rusty armor rose from the ground.
It was similar in size to the Lizard Warrior, but its heavily armed armor and massive greatsword stood out.
Necromancers—also known as spirit-callers or death-mages—are a subspecies of summoner.
It was one of the forbidden arts, forcibly summoning and commanding the souls of the dead, a magic typically used by high-level monsters with yin energy.
The moment I realized the monster's identity was a Necromancer, I kicked off the ground and charged forward.
Even if a Necromancer has powerful summons, their own physical combat ability is pathetic, even worse than a typical summoner's.
Because they must forcibly control the souls of the dead, they have an absolute lack of magic power for other spells.
Of course, there are irregulars like Liches, but this thing wasn't one of them.
For now, I needed to gauge the level of that knight summon.
[Fireball]
I made it a little more powerful than the one I used on the Lizardman. It was an investment I could afford, since I had no intention of conserving magic power against a boss.
As the massive fireball, more than three times the size of a normal one, flew at high speed, the rusty knight immediately stepped in front of the skeleton.
BOOM!!
I felt the intense heat from the massive explosion, but aside from being slightly scorched, the knight looked fine.
‘Its magic resistance is considerable.’
In terms of durability, it seemed similar to the Lizard Warrior, but in the end, it couldn't overcome the penalty that comes with being a summon.
A summon must protect its master.
That meant it had to block even avoidable attacks.
[Fireball x3]
I launched more Fireballs, as many as my magic power would allow.
Perhaps thinking this volley would be difficult to block, the rusty knight charged toward the Fireballs.
It gripped its greatsword with both hands and swung.
An incredible wind pressure split the Fireballs to the left and right, creating a spectacular scene before my eyes.
It was a clear declaration that it wouldn't allow any cheap shots.
“Trying to fight a mage in close combat?”
This was a sham knight, with not a shred of chivalry to be found.
The rusty knight ignored my taunt and charged at me.
Its speed was so fast it was hard to follow with my eyes, but that wasn't a major problem.
[Kinetic Vision Enhancement]
My magic-enhanced vision allowed me to keep up with the knight's speed, and my support-magic-enhanced strength allowed me to parry its sword.
Gilenium's blade glowed blue as it deflected the knight's swing. Of course, I had no intention of taking that heavy greatsword head-on.
I continued the exchange, dodging as much as possible or deflecting its blows to the side.
As sparks flew from the clash of sword against sword.
[Thought Acceleration]
All time slowed down except for me.
From deployment to construction and activation, the magic flowed as naturally as water.
Its speed was as rough and swift as a river after a storm.
[Flame Circle]
KWAAAAANG!!!
The flame that exploded right next to its head sent the rusty knight flying.
I swung my sword down in a stance I had practiced tens of thousands of times under my eccentric master.
[The demon-breaking energy (破魔) within Gilenium glimmers.]
A wave of golden light and a blue gleam converged into a single point, erupting into a pillar of light. The rusty knight couldn't even think of resisting as it turned to dust and vanished.
Watching the scene, the light in the skeleton's eyes flickered faintly.