Chapter 40: Infinite Proliferation (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 40: Infinite Proliferation (2)
Ruuuumble!
Heavy mana filled the underground chamber.
"Damn it..."
Alice's face was stiffer than ever.
The absolute beings existing in this Tower.
If Alice was the pinnacle of a single species...
...her opponent was one of the pinnacles of an entire mythology.
This meant he was an enemy that could never be taken lightly.
"I'll handle him, so find a way to escape to the upper floors in the meantime."
"Huh?"
"I can survive somehow, so you should run away first!"
"What's this? Were you worried about me?"
She was barely the size of a Pomeranian.
Standing so boldly in front of him was... how should he put it?
She looked like a puppy trying to protect its owner.
"Who's worried?! I'm just trying to prevent you from dying, because if you do, you won't be able to keep our promise!"
Alice snapped back.
"Don't worry, just watch."
"What? Is this really the time to let your pride get the better of you?"
"I'm not being prideful. I'm just asking you to trust me."
I'll show you.
Exactly who the Player you contracted with is.
And who will be the one laughing in the end.
*
Thud! Thud! Thud!
With a massive roar, a three-meter-tall stone statue appeared.
Its appearance was modeled after a desert jackal.
This was Anubis, the boss monster of this underground area.
"Amusing. Did you hear about me from the True Ancestor on your shoulder?"
Anubis 'questioned'.
Hummmmm!
The air shifted abruptly.
This feeling, this sensation.
As expected, he was about to activate it.
[Anubis activates his unique ability, 'Judgment of Anubis'!]
The caster asks three questions.
If the target answers all three questions...
...the conditions are met.
...It worked.
The corners of Jinhyuk's mouth twitched upward slightly.
"Yeah, that's right. How else would I know about a place like this?"
"Just as I thought."
Anubis nodded as if satisfied.
For a high-ranking lifeform like a True Ancestor, it was entirely plausible to know about the underground.
"And your purpose for coming here is to target the 'Hive'?"
"Well, pretty much. If I take that and sell it on the Black Market, I can make a fortune."
An item that could infinitely multiply insects would literally command any price.
That was the second one.
"Then I shall ask one final question. Grave robber, though it is the natural instinct of lesser creatures to be blinded by treasure, did you truly believe you could enter my domain and leave alive?"
Quite a boring question for the last one.
But of course...
"If I can't even slip past you, I might as well bite my tongue and die."
Jinhyuk shrugged.
And with those final words...
Hummmmm!
The power of a god manifested.
[All requirements have been met.]
[Judgment of Anubis is activated!]
[All stats decrease by 50%!]
[The use of unique abilities and skills is sealed for 1 minute!]
Status windows popped up one after another.
At the same time, he felt the mana and strength throughout his body rapidly drain away.
His sharp senses dulled, and the skills and unique abilities he knew so well vanished.
But,
it wasn't over yet.
Because the true terror of this ability lay in what came next.
[Anubis selects the 'Challenger of Judgment'!]
"Allow me to introduce it. This is the challenger who will serve as my hands and feet."
A low, heavy voice echoed.
And at that exact moment.
"Kieeeek!"
A powerful surge of mana, incomparable to any of the insects they had faced so far, erupted.
Ruuuumble!
The entire underground chamber shook.
A challenger chosen by a god, obeying his commands.
Therefore, the challenger possessed the power to crush any enemy blocking its path.
An ink-black carapace and blindingly sharp front claws caught his eye.
'This guy's level was around 71, right?'
Since the Blood Clan members he met in the Corridor were in their late 50s, this was significantly higher.
However, the situation was different now.
Right now, his stats and unique abilities were sealed due to 'Judgment of Anubis'.
Jinhyuk tightly gripped his dagger, which was devoid of any sword aura.
"Stop drooling. Do you really want to rip my head off that badly?"
"Kiiii!"
Even without knowing the language of magical beasts, that clearly meant 'yes'.
Come to think of it, there was a unique ability that allowed communication with magical beasts.
What would happen if he fused the related abilities?
It was while Jinhyuk was briefly lost in thought.
Skitter!
The Giant Mantis glided rapidly across the sand.
The distance closed in an instant.
Its scythe-like claws lunged toward his neck.
However.
Clang!
Jinhyuk slightly deflected the trajectory with his dagger.
The claw sliced through empty air.
"Kek?"
Stumbling,
the Giant Mantis's body tilted heavily forward.
Its center of gravity had been completely thrown off.
'Completely full of openings.'
What was the point of having compound eyes that could see 360 degrees?
If it didn't have the time to react.
A playful gleam flickered in Jinhyuk's eyes.
At the same time, his dagger slipped into the Giant Mantis's opening.
Squish!
The sound of tearing flesh.
Green fluid sprayed out.
This was only possible because he had targeted the joint rather than the armored carapace.
"Kieeeeee!"
A wretched shriek echoed, filling the entire cave.
Making such a fuss over just one leg.
Jinhyuk pulled out his blade and lightly stepped back to create some distance.
"You let your guard down because I'm just a human, didn't you? That's why you lost a perfectly good leg."
It was always the moderately strong ones who did this.
Underestimating their opponent, slacking off, and then getting hit in return.
"Kiiii."
The Giant Mantis hesitated and retreated.
It growled lowly, staring at its severed leg dripping with fluid.
But it was only for a brief moment.
Squelch!
The severed leg regenerated.
"...Well, that leaves me speechless."
It wasn't even Piccolo, yet it grew right back every time it was cut.
Jinhyuk quickly took a stance.
It was coming.
Boom!
With the sound of the ground exploding, the Giant Mantis leaped once more.
Its claws drew an arc in the air.
'This is...'
No doubt about it.
It was hard to tell at a glance, but a white aura was forming on its claws.
If he clashed with it directly, his dagger wouldn't hold up.
In that case...
Whoosh!
Jinhyuk moved his head to dodge the attack.
The deadly weapon grazed past his hair.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
The subsequent attacks also sliced through empty air.
It was by no means slow.
As the battle dragged on, it began to utilize the unique elasticity of insects, on top of receiving the Challenger of Judgment buff.
Because of this, the Giant Mantis's claws were now so fast they were barely visible to the naked eye.
Despite that, Jinhyuk evaded every single strike by a hair's breadth.
With a unique movement, as if he were riding a rhythm.
'As expected, trot is the best music.'
From the moment the battle began, a song had been playing in Jinhyuk's head.
-My love for you is~ unconditional, absolutely unconditional! Crossing the Pacific! Crossing the Atlantic!
The rich voice and addictive melody.
Whenever he fought the insects in this underground area, he memorized the attack timings to this rhythm.
Strangely enough, if he dodged to this rhythm whenever an attack aimed at his vitals came, he could gradually wear down his opponent's stamina.
'Somehow, this is working even better than before.'
No, seriously.
In the past, he would occasionally miss a beat, but now there wasn't even a minor mistake.
With movements bordering on perfection, Jinhyuk found even his heavy breathing enjoyable.
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
As time passed, the attacks slowed down slightly.
The outline of the claws began to faintly appear.
'Good. Around here...'
Jinhyuk gripped his dagger in a reverse hold.
Dodging the final attack coming from above...
Whoosh!
...he aimed for the wide-open gap!
Putting all his strength into it, he stabbed the Giant Mantis's hind leg.
Stab! Stab! Stab! Stab!
A clean strike targeting the tendons.
Having delivered four quick stings in an instant, Jinhyuk leisurely stepped back once more.
"Keeek!"
Thud!
The Giant Mantis collapsed pathetically onto the ground.
Of course, it wasn't a fatal wound.
The wounds would heal anyway.
'But emotional scars last a lifetime.'
Jinhyuk stood in front of the Giant Mantis as it struggled to get up.
And then, he began to repeatedly squat and stand up right there.
Once, twice, thrice...
"Kieeeek!"
When the enraged Giant Mantis stood up again, he knocked it down.
And immediately repeated the same action.
Once, twice, thrice.
The key point here was to never show a tired expression.
A relaxed demeanor and a slight smirk.
And finally, a look that said, 'You won't be able to beat me even in a hundred years.'
His thighs felt like they were about to explode, but it was fine.
Because humiliating a strong opponent at this very moment was the exact reason a veteran player existed in this world.
*
"W-What on earth is going on?!"
Anubis shrieked, his voice stained with rage and shock.
It was only natural, given that the battle he was certain of winning overwhelmingly was going in the exact opposite direction.
Alice was equally hard-pressed to believe the situation.
"I knew he was strong, but to this extent..."
He had been an extraordinary human from the moment they first met.
She admitted that much.
Even Bellus, who was outstanding among the Blood Clan, had struggled and ultimately lost to him.
However, that was in the Corridor when he could use all of his abilities.
Now, with his stats nerfed and his unique abilities and skills sealed, it was an entirely different story.
'To toy with an opponent using nothing but senses and reflexes.'
Alice swallowed hard.
It was a sight hard to believe even while watching it.
Moreover, wasn't his opponent the Challenger of Judgment designated by Anubis?
Acting so leisurely against such a foe was nothing short of madness.
Even at this moment, Alice could see Jinhyuk repeatedly squatting and standing in front of the Giant Mantis.
'Perhaps... it really might be possible with him.'
The downfall of the Ataraxia Family, and her hatred for the six families that caused it.
Perhaps...
...just perhaps.
A single human might actually be able to fulfill that long-cherished wish.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
Alice's heart began to beat quietly.
Anticipation, excitement, and an exhilaration that transcended both spread throughout her body.
And right then.
The cleanly severed leg of the Giant Mantis soared high into the sky.
*
Drip, drip.
Jinhyuk shook the fluid off his dagger onto the ground.
'Good.'
With this, he had completely removed both of the claws it was so proud of.
"Ki, kiiii..."
The Giant Mantis hesitated and backed away.
It was a rare sight for insect-type magical beasts, which possessed extremely high hostility.
What? Are you giving up now?
"Didn't you like hunting?"
After running wild so confidently until now, you're quitting already?
Of course, he understood.
Hunting was always more fun for the pursuer than the pursued.
But this time, it was the hunter's turn to become the prey.
"What are you doing?! Do not retreat, fight! Fight back!"
Anubis raised his voice.
Frustrated, he beat his chest with his fist.
However, the Giant Mantis, now completely consumed by terror, could no longer hear its master's commands.
"What are you doing? You'd better start running."
Jinhyuk rested his dagger on his shoulder.
Then, pursing his lips, he began to count down from ten.
Run as far as you can.
Though it won't be easy.