Chapter 106: PK (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 106: PK (2)
Jencia Nephrin. This was a pseudonym she used while doing plunderer work.
Jencia was not particularly worried about entering Glacier Cave on her own. She was confident she could clear it, even if she had to kill everyone else in there with her. She had even purchased the information that Frozen Breath would be dropped here and had finished memorizing the optimal strategy.
"...They won't be a burden, then. I'm Abman Urikfried."
However, her plan went awry from the start.
"I'm rank six, and Michelle is rank seven. We're mainly active on the fourth floor."
"I see. I'm rank five."
A rank five archer, a rank six barbarian, and a rank seven beastwoman.
Why are all these guys on the first floor right now?
She couldn't understand this at all. Even if the rift had been opened on the first day, at most, she thought there would be one or two rank sevens or eights.
Anyway, what now?
Originally, she had planned to toy with them and enjoy her hobby, and then take out the rift Guardian herself. That was because word of this could not reach the city. Her equipment, skills, and appearance were already known to the guild. If word spread that she was alive, it would lead to trouble.
It's too risky to prey on them by myself. Maybe I should lay low this time and try for next time instead?
That was what she had initially been thinking, but her opinion had gradually changed. In life, a crisis could sometimes turn into an opportunity.
It's not that I can't wait another three months, but it'd be kind of a waste, no?
Thanks to her rich looting experience, appraisal came easily to her.
The archer bastard is worth thirty million, the barbarian is six million, that cat bitch over there... mmm, maybe three million.
A total of thirty-nine million stones... It wasn't easy to loot this much money in the labyrinth, especially for a loner like her.
Yeah, let's do it.
Soon, she was concocting a new plan. If she utilized the rift's unique conditions, she could devise a plan to get what she wanted.
The problem is this archer...
The barbarian and beastwoman had low ranks and were also warriors, which didn't particularly scare her. There was no way either of them would have any sort of detection ability, so even in a two-on-one situation, she was confident she could win. But Abman was different.
Why the hell is he so thorough?
Like a typical high-ranking adventurer, he was seasoned. He hid his abilities in front of strangers, and whenever she tried to sneak into one of his blind spots, his gaze shifted to her seemingly out of habit. It was the same when they had been sleeping in front of the campfire. The archer bastard sat with the wall behind him and kept her and Carlson within his line of sight.
Is he a fucking surveillance camera? He didn't pay any attention to the cat bitch even while she was right behind him.
Was it because they were both beastpeople? The archer did not give her or Carlson in particular any leeway. It didn't seem like he'd noticed anything off, though. It was probably just a habit. As you accumulated experience, things like that became as natural as breathing.
...This is why human characters suck.
She waited patiently.
"Oh, and I have the essence of a Goblin Archer, and was also trained as a scout from a young age, so I'm somewhat knowledgeable about traps and mechanical devices."
She put on the newbie adventurer act she had established for herself during their initial introductions and eased his concerns. And as she was doing that, the moment arrived.
"I guess I'll have to exert some energy this time."
The archer finally revealed a new ability. She had already confirmed what the four essences he had were, so it was his Soul Beast ability that she was most wary of.
"Gaaaaaa!"
A grizzly bear appeared, roaring on all fours. As soon as she saw it, the corners of her lips curled up. The archer was a summoning type. Not only did the summoned beast have no detection abilities, but it was also a tank-type meat shield at best. The universe was once again helping her out.
Bam!
The barbarian got hit in the head by a hammer and dropped like a fly. It felt like he had been defeated too easily for a rank-six adventurer, but considering the decrease in agility brought on by Hypothermia, it wasn't too far out of the realm of possibility. Or maybe he had been lying about his rank. The barbarian didn't matter in the first place.
[You have cast Armed Shift.]
When she activated a skill to change her equipment, her old sword transformed into a treasure sword coated with a deadly poison, and other items on her person transformed into specialized equipment she had collected.
[You have cast Beast Walk. Your Stealth stat has increased. Your movement speed has significantly increased for 3 seconds.]
In that state, she activated stealth mode, the thing she often used during her hobby and which she usually introduced as the essence of a Goblin Archer.
Tap.
She pushed off the ground hard, but the sound of her footsteps, adjusted by an advanced stealth skill, was subtle. The archer guy, who was distracted by the orc, had not yet noticed her movements.
[You have cast Revenge. Cutting Power is significantly increased for the first blow dealt, and the status condition Bleeding will be applied.]
Soon, her sword slashed through her target's abdomen. This was a surprise because she had originally aimed to stab him in the heart.
I never thought he would be able to react to that.
Of course, his resistance was futile. She could feel his intestines with the tip of her poison-coated sword. This changed nothing. It just made dying more painful for him.
She was taking a moment to bask in the afterglow, watching the archer as he vomited up blood, when—
Shatter!
Something hit her head and broke, pouring out a viscous liquid. "W-What the hell!?" When she checked, it was the work of none other than the cat bitch. "What did you throw—" The moment she sensed something was wrong and attempted to move back, she could see the unconscious barbarian slowly standing up. "Wha-what...?"
It just didn't make sense. The time between her activating the Beast Walk skill to successfully surprise-attacking this guy was less than two seconds. As someone with a lot of experience, she knew that when ambushed, most people usually just screamed in betrayal. That was the normal reaction. But not only did this cat bitch run forward and crack open the bottle, the barbarian stood up unscathed and seemed equally unsurprised. They didn't ask why she was doing this, as if there was no need for that.
...This is why human characters suck.
She waited patiently.
"Oh, and I have the essence of a Goblin Archer, and was also trained as a scout from a young age, so I'm somewhat knowledgeable about traps and mechanical devices."
She put on the newbie adventurer act she had established for herself during their initial introductions and eased his concerns. And as she was doing that, the moment arrived.
"I guess I'll have to exert some energy this time."
The archer finally revealed a new ability. She had already confirmed what the four essences he had were, so it was his Soul Beast ability that she was most wary of.
"Gaaaaaa!"
A grizzly bear appeared, roaring on all fours. As soon as she saw it, the corners of her lips curled up. The archer was a summoning type. Not only did the summoned beast have no detection abilities, but it was also a tank-type meat shield at best. The universe was once again helping her out.
Bam!
The barbarian got hit in the head by a hammer and dropped like a fly. It felt like he had been defeated too easily for a rank-six adventurer, but considering the decrease in agility brought on by Hypothermia, it wasn't too far out of the realm of possibility. Or maybe he had been lying about his rank. The barbarian didn't matter in the first place.
[You have cast Armed Shift.]
When she activated a skill to change her equipment, her old sword transformed into a treasure sword coated with a deadly poison, and other items on her person transformed into specialized equipment she had collected.
[You have cast Beast Walk. Your Stealth stat has increased. Your movement speed has significantly increased for 3 seconds.]
In that state, she activated stealth mode, the thing she often used during her hobby and which she usually introduced as the essence of a Goblin Archer.
Tap.
She pushed off the ground hard, but the sound of her footsteps, adjusted by an advanced stealth skill, was subtle. The archer guy, who was distracted by the orc, had not yet noticed her movements.
[You have cast Revenge. Cutting Power is significantly increased for the first blow dealt, and the status condition Bleeding will be applied.]
Soon, her sword slashed through her target's abdomen. This was a surprise because she had originally aimed to stab him in the heart.
I never thought he would be able to react to that.
Of course, his resistance was futile. She could feel his intestines with the tip of her poison-coated sword. This changed nothing. It just made dying more painful for him.
She was taking a moment to bask in the afterglow, watching the archer as he vomited up blood, when—
Shatter!
Something hit her head and broke, pouring out a viscous liquid. "W-What the hell!?" When she checked, it was the work of none other than the cat bitch. "What did you throw—" The moment she sensed something was wrong and attempted to move back, she could see the unconscious barbarian slowly standing up. "Wha-what...?"
It just didn't make sense. The time between her activating the Beast Walk skill to successfully surprise-attacking this guy was less than two seconds. As someone with a lot of experience, she knew that when ambushed, most people usually just screamed in betrayal. That was the normal reaction. But not only did this cat bitch run forward and crack open the bottle, the barbarian stood up unscathed and seemed equally unsurprised. They didn't ask why she was doing this, as if there was no need for that.
"Behelaaah!"
He just screamed and charged. From their strange behavior, she could infer one thing. No, it would be more appropriate to say that she realized something in the moment.
Did they... know this was going to happen?
Things weren't going wrong.
[You have cast Beast Walk.]
[You have been hit by a Witch's Lamp Solution. Your Stealth abilities have been nullified.]
Things were going very wrong.
***
[You have used Wild Outburst.]
With my cry to my ancestral gods, my whole body was energized, and the attention of the Ice Orc that was beating up Carlson was drawn to me.
"Chwi, chwiik?"
Of course, that was no problem. Getting hit in the head earlier made me realize that I could take their attacks. So, in that spirit, I ran forward while ignoring the orcs.
Dash!
As I moved my long and thick barbarian limbs without stopping, the distance between us quickly narrowed. Jencia still had a blank expression on her face. I was sure none of this made sense to her. How could she have predicted that someone would notice her perfect ambush in advance?
Smirk.
It would've been hard even for me to notice. If this bitch had entered a rift I had opened, I'd have thought she was just an ordinary beginner adventurer. Regardless of the dirt on her shoes, I wouldn't have thought much of it. Well, I would still have watched my back, though.
Why are there so many assholes in this world? Oh... maybe she's not from here?
After clearing away the thoughts filling my head like a fog, I kicked off the ground again, hard. At which point...
"Huh...?" Jencia's complexion turned white. It seemed she had only realized that her stealth ability wasn't active. "W-Why is this..."
Stealth was probably her secret weapon. She must have planned to kill Mr. Bear first, then use her stealth to get rid of us one by one. Assuming that there were no wizards or detection types in a group, even mid-level stealth abilities granted their users an enormous advantage in one-on-one battles. A warrior would have no choice but to just sit back and watch the ambush happen.
I had only one thing to say. "Foolish bitch."
If you're going to hide your identity, you should be more careful about what you say. I wouldn't have known about your stealth if you hadn't babbled on about having the Essence of a Goblin Archer.
Voom!
As soon as I got within striking distance, I swung my mace, but I guess she didn't just have stealth going for her. Jencia shrewdly somersaulted to the side and evaded my attack. But, uh-oh. That was where the cat was.
"You fucking bitch!"
I stayed put while Jencia jumped toward me to avoid Missha's knife. I figured that she'd figure out a way to dodge a wide mace attack, so...
Smack!
Shield Smash. Haven't used that in a while.
I bashed my shield against her face like it was a tennis ball I was receiving, and Jencia's body flew away like a piece of paper. However, it appeared she'd invested some stats into defense. Even though it was a decent hit, instead of passing out, she regained her balance in mid-air and managed to land.
"Behelaaah!"
He just screamed and charged. From their strange behavior, she could infer one thing. No, it would be more appropriate to say that she realized something in the moment.
Did they... know this was going to happen?
Things weren't going wrong.
[You have cast Beast Walk.]
[You have been hit by a Witch's Lamp Solution. Your Stealth abilities have been nullified.]
Things were going very wrong.
***
[You have used Wild Outburst.]
With my cry to my ancestral gods, my whole body was energized, and the attention of the Ice Orc that was beating up Carlson was drawn to me.
"Chwi, chwiik?"
Of course, that was no problem. Getting hit in the head earlier made me realize that I could take their attacks. So, in that spirit, I ran forward while ignoring the orcs.
Dash!
As I moved my long and thick barbarian limbs without stopping, the distance between us quickly narrowed. Jencia still had a blank expression on her face. I was sure none of this made sense to her. How could she have predicted that someone would notice her perfect ambush in advance?
Smirk.
It would've been hard even for me to notice. If this bitch had entered a rift I had opened, I'd have thought she was just an ordinary beginner adventurer. Regardless of the dirt on her shoes, I wouldn't have thought much of it. Well, I would still have watched my back, though.
Why are there so many assholes in this world? Oh... maybe she's not from here?
After clearing away the thoughts filling my head like a fog, I kicked off the ground again, hard. At which point...
"Huh...?" Jencia's complexion turned white. It seemed she had only realized that her stealth ability wasn't active. "W-Why is this..."
Stealth was probably her secret weapon. She must have planned to kill Mr. Bear first, then use her stealth to get rid of us one by one. Assuming that there were no wizards or detection types in a group, even mid-level stealth abilities granted their users an enormous advantage in one-on-one battles. A warrior would have no choice but to just sit back and watch the ambush happen.
I had only one thing to say. "Foolish bitch."
If you're going to hide your identity, you should be more careful about what you say. I wouldn't have known about your stealth if you hadn't babbled on about having the Essence of a Goblin Archer.
Voom!
As soon as I got within striking distance, I swung my mace, but I guess she didn't just have stealth going for her. Jencia shrewdly somersaulted to the side and evaded my attack. But, uh-oh. That was where the cat was.
"You fucking bitch!"
I stayed put while Jencia jumped toward me to avoid Missha's knife. I figured that she'd figure out a way to dodge a wide mace attack, so...
Smack!
Shield Smash. Haven't used that in a while.
I bashed my shield against her face like it was a tennis ball I was receiving, and Jencia's body flew away like a piece of paper. However, it appeared she'd invested some stats into defense. Even though it was a decent hit, instead of passing out, she regained her balance in mid-air and managed to land.
Drip.
She cried out in annoyance as her nose began to bleed. "You fucking NPC bastards!"
So you really are a player.
She was only the second player I'd met after Tarikan Riyen, but that changed nothing. Player or plunderer, anyone who tried to kill me was scum.
"Bjorrrn! Look out!"
Just as I was about to rush forward again to crack open that bitch's skull, I turned around at Missha's cry and saw an orc.
"Cheeek!"
The bastard, apparently unable to read the room, was swinging his axe down to split my head open. I didn't want to take that blow to my head, so I leaned sideways. The huge axe blade struck the shoulder pad of my lithinum breastplate.
Clang!
The blow rattled my bones a bit, but there wasn't any significant damage, so I once again ignored the orc and continued rushing forward. That was because once this guy died, the boss monster would appear. However, I guess the sight of me carrying on after taking that orc bastard's attack left quite the impression.
"Behelaaah!"
As I charged forward with a roar, shaking off the blow like I was bouncing off a bullet, Jencia hurriedly ran toward the entrance we came through. When I followed her, wondering why that was, she suddenly stopped.
"Uh, why is there a wall...?"
What? I followed her here thinking she might have something else up her sleeves, but was she just an idiot?
Smirk.
It was kind of funny. She called us NPCs, yet as a player, she didn't even know this? When you entered the third stage, the ceiling collapsed and blocked your exit. In other words, this bitch had tried to run away without knowing that and steered herself into a dead end. So, I slowed down, too. A cornered mouse was bound to bite the cat. I had to be more careful.
Step.
Covering my upper body with the shield, I slowly stepped forward. Although this passageway was big enough for two or three people to walk through, I was a big, imposing barbarian warrior. It was safe to say that there were no gaps she could use to slip past me.
Clang!
Even in the middle of all this, the orc managed to smack the back of my head again.
"Bjorrrn! I'll take this guy!" Missha cried, promptly resolving that particular problem.
"Don't kill it."
"Huh? Uh, okay!"
I took one more step forward. Now the distance between me and the bitch was only six feet. Although we were practically within each other's reach, Jencia didn't make any hasty moves. She had already calculated her odds in her head.
Step.
I took one more confident step. Only then did Jencia urgently shout, "Wait! L-Let's talk! This is all a misunderstanding."
What misunderstanding? You just want to buy some time.
Seeing that her sword had been glowing red earlier, it looked like she was using Revenge.
I think the cooldown time for that is... three minutes?
Under the assumption there wasn't a special setting, that should be it. In other words, there was no way she'd be able to break through my shield for the next two minutes.
Whip!
But maybe that had just been an attempt to distract me, because Jencia cut herself off and brandished her sword.
Clang, smack!
I quickly blocked the attack with the shield and broke her wrist at the same time. Her hand bent at an odd angle, and her sword fell to the floor.
Clang!
This appeared to be checkmate, unless this bitch had another skill or piece of equipment she could use to get through this situation. I couldn't be sure yet. So, it would be better to get rid of any potential variables. She may have hidden a suicide bomb on herself.
"Tell me more about the misunderstanding."
"Will you... really believe me?"
"If it's reasonable."
At my words, Jencia's eyes went blank. She must have been trying to devise a believable story. Even if she couldn't, she'd probably want to stall by using something plausible. "I... believe it or n—"
As soon as Jencia opened her mouth, I smacked her in the head with my mace.
Smack!
She was quite agile, but this time, even she couldn't react, and she collapsed to the floor.
Slump.
Soon, she convulsed and mouthed something. It seemed like she was still trying to say something.
Smirk.
Looking into her eyes, I had a guess as to what it was. She probably wanted to ask why I hadn't kept my promise. So, like a barbarian, I gave her an honest answer. "You believed that? Is there something wrong with your head?"
Of course, it had been a lie.
Drip.
She cried out in annoyance as her nose began to bleed. "You fucking NPC bastards!"
So you really are a player.
She was only the second player I'd met after Tarikan Riyen, but that changed nothing. Player or plunderer, anyone who tried to kill me was scum.
"Bjorrrn! Look out!"
Just as I was about to rush forward again to crack open that bitch's skull, I turned around at Missha's cry and saw an orc.
"Cheeek!"
The bastard, apparently unable to read the room, was swinging his axe down to split my head open. I didn't want to take that blow to my head, so I leaned sideways. The huge axe blade struck the shoulder pad of my lithinum breastplate.
Clang!
The blow rattled my bones a bit, but there wasn't any significant damage, so I once again ignored the orc and continued rushing forward. That was because once this guy died, the boss monster would appear. However, I guess the sight of me carrying on after taking that orc bastard's attack left quite the impression.
"Behelaaah!"
As I charged forward with a roar, shaking off the blow like I was bouncing off a bullet, Jencia hurriedly ran toward the entrance we came through. When I followed her, wondering why that was, she suddenly stopped.
"Uh, why is there a wall...?"
What? I followed her here thinking she might have something else up her sleeves, but was she just an idiot?
Smirk.
It was kind of funny. She called us NPCs, yet as a player, she didn't even know this? When you entered the third stage, the ceiling collapsed and blocked your exit. In other words, this bitch had tried to run away without knowing that and steered herself into a dead end. So, I slowed down, too. A cornered mouse was bound to bite the cat. I had to be more careful.
Step.
Covering my upper body with the shield, I slowly stepped forward. Although this passageway was big enough for two or three people to walk through, I was a big, imposing barbarian warrior. It was safe to say that there were no gaps she could use to slip past me.
Clang!
Even in the middle of all this, the orc managed to smack the back of my head again.
"Bjorrrn! I'll take this guy!" Missha cried, promptly resolving that particular problem.
"Don't kill it."
"Huh? Uh, okay!"
I took one more step forward. Now the distance between me and the bitch was only six feet. Although we were practically within each other's reach, Jencia didn't make any hasty moves. She had already calculated her odds in her head.
Step.
I took one more confident step. Only then did Jencia urgently shout, "Wait! L-Let's talk! This is all a misunderstanding."
What misunderstanding? You just want to buy some time.
Seeing that her sword had been glowing red earlier, it looked like she was using Revenge.
I think the cooldown time for that is... three minutes?
Under the assumption there wasn't a special setting, that should be it. In other words, there was no way she'd be able to break through my shield for the next two minutes.
Whip!
But maybe that had just been an attempt to distract me, because Jencia cut herself off and brandished her sword.
Clang, smack!
I quickly blocked the attack with the shield and broke her wrist at the same time. Her hand bent at an odd angle, and her sword fell to the floor.
Clang!
This appeared to be checkmate, unless this bitch had another skill or piece of equipment she could use to get through this situation. I couldn't be sure yet. So, it would be better to get rid of any potential variables. She may have hidden a suicide bomb on herself.
"Tell me more about the misunderstanding."
"Will you... really believe me?"
"If it's reasonable."
At my words, Jencia's eyes went blank. She must have been trying to devise a believable story. Even if she couldn't, she'd probably want to stall by using something plausible. "I... believe it or n—"
As soon as Jencia opened her mouth, I smacked her in the head with my mace.
Smack!
She was quite agile, but this time, even she couldn't react, and she collapsed to the floor.
Slump.
Soon, she convulsed and mouthed something. It seemed like she was still trying to say something.
Smirk.
Looking into her eyes, I had a guess as to what it was. She probably wanted to ask why I hadn't kept my promise. So, like a barbarian, I gave her an honest answer. "You believed that? Is there something wrong with your head?"
Of course, it had been a lie.