Chapter 113
Chapter 113
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 113
Chapter Title: Nymph Cultist and Pluto's Underground Labyrinth
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The cow head tucked into the side of its massive body continued speaking in a quiet yet thick voice.
"In this deep abyss pit, the darkest and hottest seat holds a throne made from Titan bones. There's only one master of that seat. And countless beings covet it...."
"What the hell are you talking about, Shit?"
"No need to understand. I'll sever your neck and send your existence tumbling into the deep abyss. Go see for yourself."
Shing.
Clang.
The headless bull monster grabbed the halberd it had stabbed into the floor.
"Unless you have incredibly strong luck, you're dying by my hand today. Here I come—."
Thud-thud-thud—!
Its enormous body charged straight at me. Charging with what looked like a heavy frame and weapon? It was like a tank at full speed, but with two legs instead of tracks or wheels. Fuck, even I could tell it was goddamn inefficient.
Rooooar!!!
Seeing it up close was beyond imagination—I nearly pissed my pants. No wonder the fucking Gundam was so damn powerful.
"Die, demigod—!"
Whoosh—.
The massive halberd swung upward before crashing down like it would cleave everything in two. True to its giant body and weapon, the motion was huge.
"Fuck!"
Thanks to that, I plastered myself against the wall and dodged its attack.
Boom—!
The impact of the axe blade slamming into the floor made the old, crumbling bricks of the underground labyrinth scream as they shook. My legs nearly buckled for a moment too.
"Didn't expect you to dodge. Five points. Try dodging this."
The monster lifted the halberd it had smashed into the floor with one hand and swung it full force from right to left, embedding it into the wall.
Whoosh—.
The sensation of it grazing my head by a hair's breadth drained the blood from my back.
Crash—!
If I'd ducked even a fraction slower, I'd be walking around with my head tucked into my side too.
"Oops, got too eager. Big weapons don't suit narrow corridors after all."
Halberd stuck in the wall.
The bull monster trying to yank it out with one hand.
Seizing that brief pause, I swung my tightly gripped club at its thick leg with all my might.
Thwack—!
"Grooooarrr!!"
I thought its muscles and hide would make it useless, but hitting its thigh made it let out a massive scream—my hair stood on end.
"That branch. A weapon blessed by the gods! You sneaky bastard!"
"Fuck, who's calling who sneaky, you dumb fuck!"
Knowing my attack worked filled me with a spark of hope.
My Strength had risen to 7, and my club seemed more effective against monsters than I'd thought!
I wouldn't miss the chance—I gleefully pounded its torso.
"Thunderous Eight Trigrams, you little shit!"
"Gaaah! Th-that—! Y-you rat bastard!"
Screaming nonstop, it gave up on the weapon in the wall and reached out with bare hands to grab me.
"I'll choke and snap your neck!"
Its palms looked as thick and solid as pot lids, sending chills through my scalp. I rolled backward, dodging and creating distance.
Raaaaagh!!!
Furious at the miss, the giant monster roared. My heart felt like it would burst.
"Get crushed!!"
Thud-thud-thudding forward, the bull monster discarded its head like trash and slammed both hands down on my shoulders, pinning me.
Grrrrrind.
"Graaah!"
The headless monster's arms pressed me to the floor, squeezing with crushing force.
Is this what it feels like to die under an elephant's leg? Not a sensation I ever wanted to know.
"Fuuuuck—!"
But I wasn't going down like this.
Gritting my teeth, I grabbed its arms to reduce the weight while kicking up with all my strength, nailing it right in the wide crotch.
"Thwuuuump."
A horrific scream erupted from the head lying far away. The massive body twitched and collapsed.
Thud.
"...Hoo, fuck, monster. Not calling me sneaky now, huh."
I picked up the club I'd dropped, glaring down at it. Should I pulverize the torso to make sure it's dead? As I pondered.
Tap-tap-tap.
A light patter of footsteps echoed from down the corridor. Another monster? Goblin? No, that was the direction of the exit.
As I braced myself.
"Hassan! I-I came to help after all! You're still alive! Thank goodness!"
A girl with pink hair in twin tails appeared right on cue. Behind her trailed the flinching Paranoya and the ice mage Belmina.
"I said we should run, but Luna insisted."
Couldn't Luna abandon me? Thinking that soft body hid such loyal camaraderie made my nose tingle.
"Perfect, fuck yeah! Everyone, beat the shit out of it! Pound it!!"
"Y-yeah!"
Luna got the message and pulled out the thick Silence Totem from her back.
Luna and I swung our clubs with all our might, smashing the fallen bull body like we were mincing it.
"I'll take the lower half—Luna, you handle the upper!"
"Got it!"
Thud, thwack-thwack, crunch, splat.
"H-how barbaric.... People from outside the continent...."
"Belmina, what are you doing! Think we're playing? Do something, mage!"
"Y-yes!? R-right! Step back! Frozen Saber...!"
Crunch, cruuunch.
Thick ice spikes formed in the air. They shot like bullets, embedding into the giant furry mass.
"Guaaaah!!"
The distant bull head screamed massively.
Drip, sluuuuurp.
The bull flesh we'd been pounding began melting away like sludge.
Melting, literally.
Its skin and muscles crumbled rapidly into a thin, liquid-like puddle of red that soaked completely into the cold stone floor.
Not even a single bone fragment left—it vanished entirely. Only then did I relax.
"Fuck yeah, we won! Stupid bull critic fuck!!"
"L-look, Hassan! The skull's left!"
Luna dashed over with her high Agility, snatching the white object on the floor. It was a massive skull.
The horns confirmed it was from the head the bull monster had been carrying in its side.
The body melted into weird liquid and seeped away, but the skull, separated, avoided vanishing? Who knows if that's accurate.
"C-cool skull...."
The key was Luna staring at it, eyes wide like it was some holy relic.
"Could make a great face shield mask. Wonder if it'd roll dice well...."
Belmina, inspecting the vanished corpse, replied calmly to Luna.
"Looks like a rare bone. The mana inside is exceptional. We should roll for ownership, right?"
Time for the highlight of party hunts: item looting.
With multiple people, items that can't be evenly split often go to luck.
"I-I'll pass...."
Paranoya, the convert, bowed out. Left were me and the one-legged dwarf warrior.
"Hassan...!"
Luna gazed at me with teary, expectant eyes. She really wanted that bull skull?
It felt burdensome, but I imagined winning the roll coolly and handing it to her—how happy she'd be.
Shit, I can do it.
"Hoo...."
I exhaled, tossing the die from my hand.
Spin-spin.
Like Luna's, it whirled like a top before stopping. The top face showed—.
"One. Heh, looks like it's between me and the mage."
"Fuck!"
"Eek!"
Luna screamed in disbelief.
I rolled a goddamn 1. I felt ashamed, like I'd committed some grave sin against her!
Sorry, Luna! I'm just unlucky at this shit!
As Luna and I exchanged disappointed looks, Didier stroked his bloodied beard confidently and stepped up.
"Lost a leg, but my luck's good for this."
Flick.
He tossed the die into the air like yutnori.
It landed on five.
Thus, the bull skull went to the dwarf warrior Didier.
"Looks like the goddess of fate favors me."
Didier took the skull from the pouting Luna, examined it, and added.
"But I'll give it to the party leader."
What the fuck?
"You serious?"
"I was dead to that bull freak. If I'd been the one down, I'd have bolted without looking back. But you didn't. This is my thanks."
Didier rubbed his nose sheepishly under his bushy red beard. Minus the blood smearing his fingers, it was heartwarming.
"Take it. You earned it. I saw the whole thing from the floor—you facing that massive monster head-on. Fuck, thought it was a myth!"
"Not quite that epic, but thanks anyway."
As I took the bull skull.
Ding—.
『Achievement 'Labyrinth Entrance' unlocked: Acquired the narrative relic, Bull Skull.』
『Karma Value + 100』
『Settling accumulated karma—Karma stat rises.』
『Strength + 2』
The messages told an amazing story.
"Oh, fuck yeah."
Achievement boosting karma and Strength? Strength was my current focus. Fuck, I was thrilled!
Forgot all about the near-death bullshit—my whole body buzzed with power. Placebo or not.
"C-congrats, Hassan...."
Seeing me grin like an idiot, Luna mumbled a hesitant congratulations.
She'd loved this skull. Something about a mask?
"Luna. Want this?"
"Y-yeah.... Really do...."
"Nope!"
"You're so mean...!"
"Kidding!"
[Author's Note]
Kadeom!!! DHOuser!!! Vurgil!!! honor7!!!! 앜앜이!!! 포테토서버 Thank you so much for the support coupons...!!!!
Take my deepest bows for the manuscript coupons too...!!!
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