Chapter 141: Awakening (4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 141: Awakening (4)
Hector Ludwig was an unlucky old man who had once been a respected high priest of the Reatlas Church, before being kidnapped by the Dragon Slayer in his later years and forced to become the subordinate of an evil god.
"May the blessing of the twilight star be with you..."
In the middle of making the sign of the cross out of habit, he paused because of the voice of the evil god that resonated through his head. "Hypocrite, do you still hold onto pointless hopes?"
No one needed to tell him that this was a pointless hope and nothing but hypocrisy. No matter what excuses he gave, all of this was the result of his own choices.
If, on that day...
If he hadn't succumbed to evil, if, like the great men in folk tales, he had refused to give up his beliefs and shouldered all the sacrifices, that man would never have reached this place. He wouldn't have had to disappear and wither away, and the adventurers he met today would have finished their expedition and returned to the city without trouble.
Squeeze.
Ludwig clenched his hands into wrinkled fists. It was pointless to speculate or regret what he'd done. Even if he were to go back to that day, he would inevitably make the same choice.
Whooom!
As if to prove it, he currently stood in front of a shimmering portal, following an order given to him by the Dragon Slayer. To be more precise, to protect his precious grandson, he was guarding this place just in case those people ran away.
Pray they don't come this way.
This was the only hope he allowed himself. "Small" wasn't a strong enough word to describe this crumb-like shred of optimism.
However, the evil god was not satisfied even with this. "Grow up."
Over the course of this despair, his aspirations had been broken down, and now he had lost even the determination to solve the problem. Just as a slave rejoiced in only being beaten once that day, he resigned himself to his miserable situation, assuring himself that this was the lesser evil and the best he could do, even as he ignored the fact that he had the means to end it all.
Still not satisfied, the evil god spoke again. "Hypocrite, watch. This despair and pain are because of you." The voice resonated through him like it was etched into his brain.
Before long, a scene appeared behind his screwed-shut eyelids. A barbarian and his allies were fighting against a great evil in a seemingly hopeless situation, unlike him, who had long accepted his fate.
"Behelahhh!"
***
"So you won't run away," Vagos said with a sardonic laugh.
I forcibly lifted the corners of my mouth, as I had no intention of losing ground in a war of nerves.
It's not like you're going to let us get away, anyway.
The current situation was extremely simple. In a user-friendly game, a message probably would have popped up right about now that read something like: [Use the wizard to survive until the Soul Exhaustion state ends.] Soul Exhaustion lasted about twenty minutes. I just had to endure it until then.
Oh, also, running away was impossible. There was no easier prey than one that showed its back.
"Protect Dwalkie!" I shouted with all my might.
Dash!
Vagos kicked off the ground, not planning to give us any time. His body accelerated in an instant. In his hand was the Serpent's Fang, which he had stolen from Missha. Damn, how could I get that thing away from him? I shoved aside any bitter feelings and decided to focus on the guy's movements to the end.
Clang!
As I blocked the sword with the mace, my foot slid backward. This meant that I'd been pushed back in what I was most confident in: strength.
Whip!
The sword swung again in a gentle curve. I hurriedly backed away, but I wasn't fast enough to keep up with his movements. This meant that he also had the upper hand in agility.
Slice.
Acidic blood spattered from my gaping wound. Ironskin wasn't working, either. I'd hoped otherwise, since he seemed unable to use the arc sword. Ironskin was a skill whose effectiveness increased as physical resistance increased.
Voom!
I banished my complaints and wielded the mace.
Slice.
I couldn't even touch the guy. Instead, my wounds increased. However, I swung the mace again. Buying time for my teammates by getting beaten over and over again was my role. "Dwalkie, how much longer for the spell!?"
"It's ready. But you two are too close—"
"Just fire it!"
Finally, the long-awaited Ice Lance fired. As expected, Vagos quickly backed away. He probably decided he didn't want to get beaten up alongside me, thankfully.
Dash.
I also stepped back and got out of the Ice Lance's vicinity. Without even taking a moment to catch my breath, I quickly stretched back my hand and pulled my shield from my backpack. I couldn't use Giantization anyway, so I figured having the shield would be much more helpful in battle now that the arc sword was no longer on the table. I wanted to wear the breastplate if I could, too.
He won't give me enough time for that, though.
I swept away any lingering disappointment over something I couldn't have. This wasn't a sign of resignation, but that I was focusing more on what was urgent. Throwing away what wasn't needed and taking only what needed to be taken. In that sense, I needed to check one thing right now. "What happened to Missha?"
"It seems her ribs broke and stabbed her intestines in the process. She's had a potion, though, so she'll be all right soon."
Okay, so until then we had to fight one-on-four. This was cold-hearted, but I was glad Dwalkie wasn't the one who was out. If it had been him, we wouldn't have even stood a chance.
"Be careful!"
Vagos ran toward me again. Of course, he wasn't just going to wait patiently. But that was a good thing for now.
Yeah, you're in a hurry too.
I suspected that was the case, but watching him just made me more confident. This guy wasn't suffering from some sort of short-term status effect, as could be seen by the way he was charging forward like he didn't even have a second to waste.
Clang!
He was pushing himself to end the match before Soul Exhaustion ended. Simply put, that meant we might get an opening if we held out for twenty minutes.
Hold out for twenty minutes? That's nuts.
Time was not on our side. He didn't know it, but we now only had four potions left: two advanced, one intermediate, and one high-rank. And with our current team composition, these would definitely be exhausted in just a few minutes.
"Behelahhh!"
I let out a mighty shout and pushed my shield away. Then I sprinted forward and swung my mace. I judged that taking things lying down would not buy twenty minutes. He seemed to be pleased with my shift toward recklessness. Of course, that pleasure lasted only for the first few minutes.
Clang!
As I blocked the sword with the mace, my foot slid backward. This meant that I'd been pushed back in what I was most confident in: strength.
Whip!
The sword swung again in a gentle curve. I hurriedly backed away, but I wasn't fast enough to keep up with his movements. This meant that he also had the upper hand in agility.
Slice.
Acidic blood spattered from my gaping wound. Ironskin wasn't working, either. I'd hoped otherwise, since he seemed unable to use the arc sword. Ironskin was a skill whose effectiveness increased as physical resistance increased.
Voom!
I banished my complaints and wielded the mace.
Slice.
I couldn't even touch the guy. Instead, my wounds increased. However, I swung the mace again. Buying time for my teammates by getting beaten over and over again was my role. "Dwalkie, how much longer for the spell!?"
"It's ready. But you two are too close—"
"Just fire it!"
Finally, the long-awaited Ice Lance fired. As expected, Vagos quickly backed away. He probably decided he didn't want to get beaten up alongside me, thankfully.
Dash.
I also stepped back and got out of the Ice Lance's vicinity. Without even taking a moment to catch my breath, I quickly stretched back my hand and pulled my shield from my backpack. I couldn't use Giantization anyway, so I figured having the shield would be much more helpful in battle now that the arc sword was no longer on the table. I wanted to wear the breastplate if I could, too.
He won't give me enough time for that, though.
I swept away any lingering disappointment over something I couldn't have. This wasn't a sign of resignation, but that I was focusing more on what was urgent. Throwing away what wasn't needed and taking only what needed to be taken. In that sense, I needed to check one thing right now. "What happened to Missha?"
"It seems her ribs broke and stabbed her intestines in the process. She's had a potion, though, so she'll be all right soon."
Okay, so until then we had to fight one-on-four. This was cold-hearted, but I was glad Dwalkie wasn't the one who was out. If it had been him, we wouldn't have even stood a chance.
"Be careful!"
Vagos ran toward me again. Of course, he wasn't just going to wait patiently. But that was a good thing for now.
Yeah, you're in a hurry too.
I suspected that was the case, but watching him just made me more confident. This guy wasn't suffering from some sort of short-term status effect, as could be seen by the way he was charging forward like he didn't even have a second to waste.
Clang!
He was pushing himself to end the match before Soul Exhaustion ended. Simply put, that meant we might get an opening if we held out for twenty minutes.
Hold out for twenty minutes? That's nuts.
Time was not on our side. He didn't know it, but we now only had four potions left: two advanced, one intermediate, and one high-rank. And with our current team composition, these would definitely be exhausted in just a few minutes.
"Behelahhh!"
I let out a mighty shout and pushed my shield away. Then I sprinted forward and swung my mace. I judged that taking things lying down would not buy twenty minutes. He seemed to be pleased with my shift toward recklessness. Of course, that pleasure lasted only for the first few minutes.
Dash.
If he tried to widen the distance between us, I caught up right away and focused more on offense rather than defense, whether Rotmiller's arrows flew in or not, whether Dwalkie cast a spell or not.
"...Are you planning to die here together?" Vagos asked.
Like a person whose goal was to go down swinging, I stayed right on top of him and struck him with my mace. I called this Barbarian Persistence Mode. Ironically, this tactic actually reduced my injuries and made him not even dare to approach Dwalkie. It proved once and for all that the best defense was a good offense.
"Tsk." The man stopped his sword mid-thrust and turned to avoid an Ice Lance. Unfortunately for him, he turned right into the path of a crossbow bolt.
Stab!
It was a monumental early hit. It didn't dig in too deep due to his physical resistance, but since it hit his thigh, it would restrict his mobility. Perhaps he also started realizing something was happening here, because—
That's enough of an easy mode.
At that moment, the look in his eyes changed. I quickly backed away in response. Someone willing to sacrifice things in order to gain something else was dangerous in any circumstance.
"Persistent assholes—!" I sensed a strong murderous energy from the sword he swung, as if its shackles had been released. His sword, which limited our attacks and pushed us toward defense, drew a clean arc with just one purpose. The biggest change was something else, though.
Whip!
Even though the arrow grazed his shoulder, he didn't flinch and doubled down on his assault on me. As a result, after exchanging several blows, his blade penetrated deep into my abdomen.
Stab!
Thanks to the loss of my natural healing factor, the injury would have been fatal if left unattended.
[Your body is healing due to the effect of Recovery (Medium).]
One more bottle of potion was doled out at Rotmiller's discretion. Now all that was left was one high-rank and two advanced. But, as if to add insult to injury, I failed to stop him.
Dash.
Like some kind of acrobat, he stepped on the swinging mace and jumped right over me.
Goddamn it.
I quickly turned around and reached out, but it was too late. The guy jumped off the ground once more and quickly closed the distance with the back line.
"Get back!" Hikurod stood in front of Dwalkie, but it didn't do much. How could he stop that monster head-on when he didn't have his key ability, Balance Weight?
Bang!
With one kick, the dwarf flew like a soccer ball, still clutching his shield. Rotmiller tossed his crossbow aside and swung a sword. Of course, there was no way that would work.
Stab!
Vagos cut through Rotmiller's sword all too easily, stabbing a green blade into his stomach. But the moment he tried to pull out the sword, Rotmiller gripped his hand and stopped him. "This thing's ours."
Shoooooot!
Fortunately, the Ice Lance fired in time. Vagos let go of the sword and stepped back.
Slump.
Without his support, Rotmiller collapsed to the floor like a puppet without strings. However, the sword that had been stuck in his abdomen had disappeared. In an effort to help the team even a little bit, he had put it in the Mimic's Treasure Vault, which did not consume Soul Power, so that Vagos couldn't use it.
Dash.
If he tried to widen the distance between us, I caught up right away and focused more on offense rather than defense, whether Rotmiller's arrows flew in or not, whether Dwalkie cast a spell or not.
"...Are you planning to die here together?" Vagos asked.
Like a person whose goal was to go down swinging, I stayed right on top of him and struck him with my mace. I called this Barbarian Persistence Mode. Ironically, this tactic actually reduced my injuries and made him not even dare to approach Dwalkie. It proved once and for all that the best defense was a good offense.
"Tsk." The man stopped his sword mid-thrust and turned to avoid an Ice Lance. Unfortunately for him, he turned right into the path of a crossbow bolt.
Stab!
It was a monumental early hit. It didn't dig in too deep due to his physical resistance, but since it hit his thigh, it would restrict his mobility. Perhaps he also started realizing something was happening here, because—
That's enough of an easy mode.
At that moment, the look in his eyes changed. I quickly backed away in response. Someone willing to sacrifice things in order to gain something else was dangerous in any circumstance.
"Persistent assholes—!" I sensed a strong murderous energy from the sword he swung, as if its shackles had been released. His sword, which limited our attacks and pushed us toward defense, drew a clean arc with just one purpose. The biggest change was something else, though.
Whip!
Even though the arrow grazed his shoulder, he didn't flinch and doubled down on his assault on me. As a result, after exchanging several blows, his blade penetrated deep into my abdomen.
Stab!
Thanks to the loss of my natural healing factor, the injury would have been fatal if left unattended.
[Your body is healing due to the effect of Recovery (Medium).]
One more bottle of potion was doled out at Rotmiller's discretion. Now all that was left was one high-rank and two advanced. But, as if to add insult to injury, I failed to stop him.
Dash.
Like some kind of acrobat, he stepped on the swinging mace and jumped right over me.
Goddamn it.
I quickly turned around and reached out, but it was too late. The guy jumped off the ground once more and quickly closed the distance with the back line.
"Get back!" Hikurod stood in front of Dwalkie, but it didn't do much. How could he stop that monster head-on when he didn't have his key ability, Balance Weight?
Bang!
With one kick, the dwarf flew like a soccer ball, still clutching his shield. Rotmiller tossed his crossbow aside and swung a sword. Of course, there was no way that would work.
Stab!
Vagos cut through Rotmiller's sword all too easily, stabbing a green blade into his stomach. But the moment he tried to pull out the sword, Rotmiller gripped his hand and stopped him. "This thing's ours."
Shoooooot!
Fortunately, the Ice Lance fired in time. Vagos let go of the sword and stepped back.
Slump.
Without his support, Rotmiller collapsed to the floor like a puppet without strings. However, the sword that had been stuck in his abdomen had disappeared. In an effort to help the team even a little bit, he had put it in the Mimic's Treasure Vault, which did not consume Soul Power, so that Vagos couldn't use it.
I can save him if I give him a potion in time.
Despite my comrade's injury, I kept my cool. However, not everyone could.
"What did you... to Rotmiller...!" Missha, who had been leaning against the wall and recovering, swung a sword at Vagos with a body that could not even move, knowing that she wouldn't reach him. She did so for a singular purpose. "You won't touch Dwalkie—Argh!"
Missha's body hit the wall again as he kicked her aside. The bastard did not head straight to Dwalkie, however, but toward Missha, who had passed out. It was obvious what he was going to do. He intended to deal the final blow and steal her one remaining sword, the goddamn thieving bastard.
"We already told you. These are ours." I swung my mace like I was using it to swat away flies and Vagos fell back from Missha without hesitation.
He laughed. "Barbarian, are you still thinking of trying to do this?"
What was this prick talking about? Wasn't that obvious? Instead of answering, I ran toward him.
Voom!
He easily stepped back and avoided my next swing. "You really believe in that piece of trash? Someone who's just... what, Ice Lance and Cold Eruption, minus a few curses?"
Of course. What was wrong with low-level attack spells? If they struck the brain, they could kill just the same. Even one lucky punch was enough, so Dwalkie just needed to hit him once. Until then, I'd buy time somehow.
"Dwalkie!" I shouted with all the strength I had left in me that it was time for a spell to come flying in. But what was this?
Goddamn it.
A spell did not fly.
***
It was no coincidence that royal family-certified wizard, Riol Warb Dwalkie, had dared to submit an application to join a team with two fighters. He had wanted to stand out as special, so he picked the team that looked the most basic. He thought that having two warriors would make the wizard look more impressive. However, it didn't take long for the truth to come out.
"My name is Riol Warb Dwalkie. I am a rank-eight wizard and public service worker under the Rafdonian royal—"
"Aha, so you're trash."
Trash—someone not treated as a wizard by fellow wizards.
"Hahaha! So are we a team of all half-wits, then? I think it's better this way. That means we don't have to be intimidated by each other anymore."
Still, these people were okay with that. They said they were in the same position and understood him. It felt like being saved. He even thought that maybe he had lived the past twenty-five years of his life just so he could meet them.
"You really believe in that piece of trash? Someone who's just... what, Ice Lance and Cold Eruption, minus a few curses?"
But the reality of his situation hadn't changed after all. Even though his time to shine had come for the first time, he couldn't do anything right. No matter how strong his mana had become, he was still a half-wit wizard who couldn't even live up to the expectations of his precious comrades. But, even still, he was protected by his friend.
"Get back!"
"This thing's ours."
He couldn't save his laughing colleague, who had had a sword stabbed through him.
"You won't touch Dwalkie—Argh!"
He couldn't protect the woman he loved. His mind went blank at that realization. He struggled to breathe as helplessness crashed over him. If he could, he'd run away from this harsh reality right now.
"Unfortunately, he seems to have already given up."
However, he couldn't give up. Maybe he would have if he were all alone, but his precious teammate was still fighting to protect everyone on his own.
"Barbarian, you should know that this is all over."
Despite the man's ridicule, Bjorn silently swung his mace, even as he coughed up blood onto the man's face. To the bitter end, he was giving his all and fighting back.
"Hey, there's a fire in your eyes. Do you care about your comrades that much?"
As he started chanting, Dwalkie remembered a conversation he'd had in the past. It had been with the instructor at the Magic Tower's training center, right after the Troll War.
"What? You want me to teach you a spell to fell Trolls? Mm, well... it's not impossible."
That day, Dwalkie had paid the master a large sum of money to learn a spell. To be more precise, he learned a combination of spells. The master agreed to teach him, but urged him never to use it.
Thought Acceleration dramatically improved the user's cognitive ability and made the time pass more slowly. Mana Amplification temporarily stimulated the mana found in the heart to increase its output. Heart Stimulation forcibly raised the user's heart rate and circulated mana throughout the body, and also happened to have many similarities to psychosensory magic, which was notorious for having severe side effects.
Thump-thump-thump!
Dwalkie's heart pounded like it could explode any second, churning mana through his body. On the other hand, his mind was clearer than ever, and his eyes were sharp. It felt like he could do anything.
"What's the name? There is no exact name. It's a combination everyone knows. However, if I were to give it a name... Hmm, well. Sacrifice probably gives off the wrong message."
Dwalkie reached out his hand. That was all he did.
"Yes, Awakening would be more appropriate."
Dozens of arrows of light shot out.
I can save him if I give him a potion in time.
Despite my comrade's injury, I kept my cool. However, not everyone could.
"What did you... to Rotmiller...!" Missha, who had been leaning against the wall and recovering, swung a sword at Vagos with a body that could not even move, knowing that she wouldn't reach him. She did so for a singular purpose. "You won't touch Dwalkie—Argh!"
Missha's body hit the wall again as he kicked her aside. The bastard did not head straight to Dwalkie, however, but toward Missha, who had passed out. It was obvious what he was going to do. He intended to deal the final blow and steal her one remaining sword, the goddamn thieving bastard.
"We already told you. These are ours." I swung my mace like I was using it to swat away flies and Vagos fell back from Missha without hesitation.
He laughed. "Barbarian, are you still thinking of trying to do this?"
What was this prick talking about? Wasn't that obvious? Instead of answering, I ran toward him.
Voom!
He easily stepped back and avoided my next swing. "You really believe in that piece of trash? Someone who's just... what, Ice Lance and Cold Eruption, minus a few curses?"
Of course. What was wrong with low-level attack spells? If they struck the brain, they could kill just the same. Even one lucky punch was enough, so Dwalkie just needed to hit him once. Until then, I'd buy time somehow.
"Dwalkie!" I shouted with all the strength I had left in me that it was time for a spell to come flying in. But what was this?
Goddamn it.
A spell did not fly.
***
It was no coincidence that royal family-certified wizard, Riol Warb Dwalkie, had dared to submit an application to join a team with two fighters. He had wanted to stand out as special, so he picked the team that looked the most basic. He thought that having two warriors would make the wizard look more impressive. However, it didn't take long for the truth to come out.
"My name is Riol Warb Dwalkie. I am a rank-eight wizard and public service worker under the Rafdonian royal—"
"Aha, so you're trash."
Trash—someone not treated as a wizard by fellow wizards.
"Hahaha! So are we a team of all half-wits, then? I think it's better this way. That means we don't have to be intimidated by each other anymore."
Still, these people were okay with that. They said they were in the same position and understood him. It felt like being saved. He even thought that maybe he had lived the past twenty-five years of his life just so he could meet them.
"You really believe in that piece of trash? Someone who's just... what, Ice Lance and Cold Eruption, minus a few curses?"
But the reality of his situation hadn't changed after all. Even though his time to shine had come for the first time, he couldn't do anything right. No matter how strong his mana had become, he was still a half-wit wizard who couldn't even live up to the expectations of his precious comrades. But, even still, he was protected by his friend.
"Get back!"
"This thing's ours."
He couldn't save his laughing colleague, who had had a sword stabbed through him.
"You won't touch Dwalkie—Argh!"
He couldn't protect the woman he loved. His mind went blank at that realization. He struggled to breathe as helplessness crashed over him. If he could, he'd run away from this harsh reality right now.
"Unfortunately, he seems to have already given up."
However, he couldn't give up. Maybe he would have if he were all alone, but his precious teammate was still fighting to protect everyone on his own.
"Barbarian, you should know that this is all over."
Despite the man's ridicule, Bjorn silently swung his mace, even as he coughed up blood onto the man's face. To the bitter end, he was giving his all and fighting back.
"Hey, there's a fire in your eyes. Do you care about your comrades that much?"
As he started chanting, Dwalkie remembered a conversation he'd had in the past. It had been with the instructor at the Magic Tower's training center, right after the Troll War.
"What? You want me to teach you a spell to fell Trolls? Mm, well... it's not impossible."
That day, Dwalkie had paid the master a large sum of money to learn a spell. To be more precise, he learned a combination of spells. The master agreed to teach him, but urged him never to use it.
Thought Acceleration dramatically improved the user's cognitive ability and made the time pass more slowly. Mana Amplification temporarily stimulated the mana found in the heart to increase its output. Heart Stimulation forcibly raised the user's heart rate and circulated mana throughout the body, and also happened to have many similarities to psychosensory magic, which was notorious for having severe side effects.
Thump-thump-thump!
Dwalkie's heart pounded like it could explode any second, churning mana through his body. On the other hand, his mind was clearer than ever, and his eyes were sharp. It felt like he could do anything.
"What's the name? There is no exact name. It's a combination everyone knows. However, if I were to give it a name... Hmm, well. Sacrifice probably gives off the wrong message."
Dwalkie reached out his hand. That was all he did.
"Yes, Awakening would be more appropriate."
Dozens of arrows of light shot out.