Chapter 117

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Translator: penny

Chapter: 117

Chapter Title: Labyrinth 20th Floor (3)

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"That was close. Nearly died there."

I swallowed hard, watching the club whip past me with terrifying momentum, all thanks to the [Illusion Magic] I'd cast at the last possible second.

And then the thing noticed something off, letting out another massive roar.

"Graaaargh!"

Fuck. It dispels not just [Sensory Block], but illusions too? What is this, some kind of purification from a game?

"Grur?"

"What're you looking at, you bastard?"

The ogre realized it had been swinging at empty air after the illusion faded, glanced around, and locked eyes with me. I shot back with a sharp taunt.

-Slash!

"Graaagh!"

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

The blade sliced into the ogre's black skin, green blood spraying out and splattering my face.

'Crazy. Poison and curses in the blood?'

My skin sizzled slightly, smoke rising, and my resistance skills kicked in. Naturally, I freaked out.

Insane strength, senses that pierced stealth, weird magic, bizarre blood that even undid [Sensory Block], and now poison and curses? What the hell are you, the final boss?

No wonder it didn't react when I kept stabbing it with a longsword slathered in poison. It was already laced with the stuff.

-Crunch!

"Hup!"

"Groooar!"

Clicking my tongue, I channeled mana into ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the longsword in my hand and drove it into the ogre's instep, barely dodging the kick it used to shake me off.

As I backed away, I tried casting [Sensory Block] on it again, just in case...

"Graaaargh!"

"Tch! You little..."

Every time, it roared massively, forcibly dispelling the [Sensory Block]. No cooldown on that? What kind of cheat ability...

At least its body wasn't freezing up. Small mercies.

-Whoosh! Swoosh!

I barely evaded its furious, deadly club swings in its enraged state. The upside was its massive size left huge openings in its movements, letting me dodge and sneak in brief counterattacks between swings...

-Slash!

"Damn it."

"Grawk!"

This time, a crescent slash tore its skin, but my face darkened as its blood poured over me. I'd wounded it, sure, but just a surface cut. For something over 10 meters tall, it was nothing.

Compared to me...

"!@$!%"

"Guh?!"

The moment I was dodging on a razor's edge, one of its other heads began chanting, summoning black energy from thin air that hurtled toward me.

-Boom!

"Son of a..."

I got hit by its attack, my body jolting hard. My evasion stance crumbled, forcing me to raise my guard instead and take the club full-on.

-Crack!

"Gah... ugh!"

Unbearable pain shot through my arm. Reflexively, I cast [Sensory Block] on myself to numb it. My vision went white for a second, and when I came to, I was embedded in a broken tree, red-stained bone protruding through my torn flesh.

Fuck. My attacks felt like toothpicks, but one hit from it was near-fatal... My resistance skills are high-level, and it's still this much damage...

"Gurgle! Gurgle!"

Seeing my state, the ogre made a mocking noise and tried to stomp me. I gritted my teeth and activated a skill.

"Get your trotter off me, you dog."

-Bam!

Massive blood loss made the [Berserker's Gauntlets] gleam fiercer than ever. With [Limit Break] active, I smashed my fist into its foot. Its hulking body shook, then toppled backward with a thunderous boom.

-Rumble!

'...Good call casting [Sensory Block].'

Without it, the shock might've killed me outright.

With one arm already broken, forcing out that power had torn the protruding bone further and twisted the punching arm grotesquely, blackening with necrosis.

I shoved potions and food from my inventory into my mouth. No pain anyway, so I grabbed the protruding bone with my necrotic arm and jammed it back into the flesh. Normally impossible, but [Regeneration] and potions would handle it.

This should've caused shock-inducing agony... Shock? Ignoring my screaming body, I channeled mana into my sword and hurled it at the ogre. It pierced deep into its flesh, drawing agonized howls as it writhed.

The recoil wrecked me further, but whatever. Yeah, you feel pain too, huh?

'It's been nullifying my skills with those weird roars, but they do land briefly first.'

[Sensory Block] and [Illusion Magic] had affected it, even if just for a moment before dispel. Meaning skills work... so what about this?

[Sensory Transfer]

[Sensory Transfer]: A new derivative skill that transfers sensations blocked by [Sensory Block] to another target. Target: that ogre. Blocked sensation: ...

'The pain of grabbing the bone tearing out of my arm and shoving it back into the flesh.'

They say happiness doubles when shared, pain halves. Does this count as sharing? Doubt it'll halve, that's for sure.

".........Grur?"

It rose, face twisted in rage, one head chanting—then its expression went blank. The other followed suit.

A second or two of silence. Then...

"Graaaaaargh! Gruuuuh! Grur! Kroooar! Kraaaah!"

"Hurts, right? Me too... actually, nah, doesn't hurt."

After a brief hush, it dropped its club, foaming at the mouth, clutching its arms and body, eyes rolling back in a frenzy. It roared repeatedly, but that didn't erase the pain it'd already felt.

I amplified it further with [Sensory Amplification] on it. Even better.

Works better than expected. In that case... ngh. Maybe shift positions? Saw some perfect candidates earlier.

"Groooar!"

Shaking off the pain, it gripped its club hard enough to nearly shatter it, glaring at me with bloodshot eyes—veins bulging from enduring agony.

No more playful leisure like before. Pure murderous intent to rip me apart.

So what?

"See this?"

"Grrrng..."

Does it even understand? Doesn't matter if not.

While it thrashed, I casually downed a potion and repositioned. To where those heavily injured and dying from the ogre were.

Broken bones? Mild. Some like me, bones ripped through flesh. Guts ruptured. Limbs severed. Vital spots... ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠exploded. My condolences.

Anyway, everyone around me was half-dead. Nice. Not that I'm a psycho enjoying their suffering...

'Let's see... what level's [Multi-Block] again?'

Blocking multiple senses on one is nice, but key here is multi-target [Sensory Block]. Level 4 means 5 people.

Curiosity strikes: [Sensory Transfer] transfers blocked sensations. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠[Multi-Block] allows multiple [Sensory Blocks]. No limit on transfer targets mentioned.

And right now...

[Multi-Block] at its limit: [Sensory Block] on five people, all 'pain'. Targets: the worst-off half-corpses around. Living ones only—corpses have no senses. Their gear's top-tier; more survivors than expected up close.

With pain blocked, their faces looked far more relaxed than before.

"Graaaargh!"

"!@$!@%!%!!@$!$!@"

I tried explaining and warning, but the ogre didn't wait, snatching its club and charging at insane speed. Its other head started its longest, most complex chant yet.

Whatever. I'm curious too. If it flops, I'll curse it out, give up, and run.

Dragon Ball time.

Earthlings... no, continentals! Share your power... er, pain! Not a little—all of it!

"Ugh..."

My body ached terribly everywhere. Felt like a nightmare.

Miranda groaned lowly, slowly opening her eyes.

'Where...?'

"Ah, you're awake? Hold on. I gave you a potion, so you'll be fine. Wrapped your arm in bandages for now."

Following the man's voice in her ear, she sat up slowly. Dizziness hit from her arm, along with a horrific stench of blood assaulting her nose.

"Urk?!"

"Can't do anything about the smell. Tch... Wanted to move you, but I'm beat right now too..."

Suppressing nausea, she shook off the daze and looked around. A gruesome scene unfolded.

Over ten adventurers dead in horrible states, trees uprooted or snapped, surviving adventurers equally mangled. And Ian—exhausted-looking but relatively intact—sat nearby, talking to her.

"...Ah!"

Remembering the last scene before blacking out, Miranda bolted up, scanning frantically.

That monster. The two-headed mutant ogre—where was it?

"Gasp!"

Spotting a black mass on the ground soon after, she freaked, scrambling for her hammer and shield. Ian approached casually, munching food.

"Relax. It's dead."

"......What?"

Peering closely at the black shape, it had only a few scratches—no fatal wounds.

But focusing, it definitely wasn't breathing.

"H-How?"

A monster that crumpled her shield in one hit? Not a 20th-floor beast. How'd he kill it without a trace?

Demanding answers from Ian—the least scathed, calmest, and seeming cause—she got a head-scratching nonsense reply.

"Uh, mental shock?"

"??"

What can ya do? It's true.