Chapter 213: Discarded Hand (2)

Translator: RaidenTL

Chapter 213: Discarded Hand (2)

Inside the fog-covered Crystal Cave on the first floor, where corpses littered the ground and the metallic scent of blood filled the air, a man cackled as he chatted with his comrades. The topic of conversation was nothing special: wasn't that woman we just killed pretty, wasn't it kind of a waste? Those kinds of obscene comments. As always, it ended with complaints.

"Tsk, there's nothing fun to do here."

"Haha, in other words, it's not all that dangerous."

"...You're unnecessarily positive."

"I'm not wrong, though."

"Well, that's true..."

The man pushed down his displeasure and chewed on a piece of jerky from his pocket. As a mere footman, this was the first piece of meat he'd had in a long time. After not being able to enter the labyrinth for six months, Noark, where he came from, was suffering from severe food shortages.

...We can win, right?

The man shook his head at the sudden anxiety that filled him. It was not a matter of whether they could win or not. They had to win. Only then could they eat and live like human beings—even if in an underground city that didn't see the light of day.

"Lex, focus on your mission."

The man resting against the wall sighed at his captain's words and fixed his posture.

"You look frustrated."

"We haven't sighted anyone for over two hours," the man said truthfully.

"So?"

"That means no one will come anymore. All the bastards going inside have already gone in, and all the bastards who haven't either kicked the bucket or run away." The area they were assigned to was around the central region, but quite far from the dark zone at the heart of it. That meant they wouldn't be coming across anyone from inside.

"Still, stay vigilant just in case."

"Yes, yes." The man half-heartedly accepted his captain's orders and stood at one of the intersections. He couldn't see far because of the fog, but he felt no anxiety.

Who cares what shows up? How many of us are here again? It'll just mean some more loot to take back to Noark.

At least, that was what he had been thinking when a comrade who was standing at the other intersection shouted, "Captain! A presence!"

The man grabbed his weapon and moved toward him.

Someone came?

This was a surprise, but he wasn't worried about it, either.

Do they not realize what's going on?

They probably didn't. If whoever it was knew what the situation was like here, they wouldn't have thought to pass through. They must have made their way here without knowing anything.

"Huh?"

The man tilted his head. No, wait, there was something else. Everyone listened with confusion on their faces.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

What the hell is that sound?

"Footsteps?" someone suggested, but that didn't make sense either. How could these be the footsteps of a person? It would have to be a large monster like a Troll.

Wait, but there are no monsters like that on the first floor.

At the strange, out-of-place sound, the man gripped his weapon tighter.

"Behelaaah!" The thing let out a wild cry as it appeared from beyond the fog.

"W-What the hell!? Who is this bastard!?"

"Stop him!"

It was a barbarian and a very large one at that.

***

To live was to let go. What would you give up to survive? This process operated strictly based on prioritization because humans were rational creatures.

Thump!

It was a common trope in movies. For a helicopter to fly, or to keep a ship from sinking, people threw out more and more cargo to escape enemy pursuit. The more they threw away, the better their chances of survival.

Thump!

However, reality and movies were entirely different. Reality wasn't nearly as kind. What we had to throw out to survive was not baggage, but something else.

Thump!

Perhaps Versyl knew that, which was why she had abandoned us without hesitation, leaving only the words "I hope you won't resent me" behind.

I didn't resent her. I knew it was a thoroughly logical decision on her part. She had her priorities, and for that, she had discarded anything unnecessary that she was carrying, just as I was doing now.

"Behelaaah!"

With a cry, I dug my toes into the dirt with all the strength I had. Behind the shield I was gripping tightly with both hands, I felt an opposing force unlike any I'd ever felt before. It felt like going against a tidal wave with just one shield. That might not have been an inaccurate description, even if it was a bit exaggerated.

"W-What the hell?! Who is this bastard!?"

"Stop him!"

I was paving the way at the forefront to clear the path for our twenty-minute run to the center. I was pushing through the enemy infestation like a tank on the battlefield.

"Bjorn!" Missha was following right behind me. Her role was simple: get rid of the enemies who were tossed aside by my charge.

Slice!

It didn't matter if she couldn't kill them in one shot. Reducing their numbers wasn't our main objective and we had backup right behind us.

"You bitch—!"

If Missha provided the first sweep, the second was conducted by Raven on Ainar's back, along with Mr. Bear.

Kwaaang!

Crossbow bolts and spells flew at the enemies Missha failed to kill before they could even get up. Of course, it didn't matter if they didn't manage to finish some of them off. There were a lot of sweepers remaining.

"Erwen, be careful!"

We had a long-range damage-dealing duo made up of sisters Erwen and Daria, then Takelan's team with an average rank of five following right behind us, and even Big Jaw's team located at the very back. It was similar to a medieval cavalry.

"Ahhhhhh!"

Our only goal was to charge forward. Enemies not slain in the front were dealt with by those picking up the rear. It didn't matter if some enemies survived the last sweep. That was for Mr. Last Place to figure out.

You reap what you sow.

When choosing the formation for this strategy, Big Jaw insisted on being in the very back, even giving us the long-range elf sisters. His thought process was obvious. He probably figured the frontlines were the most dangerous place to be in charge. If something unexpectedly went wrong, he could run away. He was treating the mercenaries Erwen and Daria as discardable hands.

"Behelaaah!" The thing let out a wild cry as it appeared from beyond the fog.

"W-What the hell!? Who is this bastard!?"

"Stop him!"

It was a barbarian and a very large one at that.

***

To live was to let go. What would you give up to survive? This process operated strictly based on prioritization because humans were rational creatures.

Thump!

It was a common trope in movies. For a helicopter to fly, or to keep a ship from sinking, people threw out more and more cargo to escape enemy pursuit. The more they threw away, the better their chances of survival.

Thump!

However, reality and movies were entirely different. Reality wasn't nearly as kind. What we had to throw out to survive was not baggage, but something else.

Thump!

Perhaps Versyl knew that, which was why she had abandoned us without hesitation, leaving only the words "I hope you won't resent me" behind.

I didn't resent her. I knew it was a thoroughly logical decision on her part. She had her priorities, and for that, she had discarded anything unnecessary that she was carrying, just as I was doing now.

"Behelaaah!"

With a cry, I dug my toes into the dirt with all the strength I had. Behind the shield I was gripping tightly with both hands, I felt an opposing force unlike any I'd ever felt before. It felt like going against a tidal wave with just one shield. That might not have been an inaccurate description, even if it was a bit exaggerated.

"W-What the hell?! Who is this bastard!?"

"Stop him!"

I was paving the way at the forefront to clear the path for our twenty-minute run to the center. I was pushing through the enemy infestation like a tank on the battlefield.

"Bjorn!" Missha was following right behind me. Her role was simple: get rid of the enemies who were tossed aside by my charge.

Slice!

It didn't matter if she couldn't kill them in one shot. Reducing their numbers wasn't our main objective and we had backup right behind us.

"You bitch—!"

If Missha provided the first sweep, the second was conducted by Raven on Ainar's back, along with Mr. Bear.

Kwaaang!

Crossbow bolts and spells flew at the enemies Missha failed to kill before they could even get up. Of course, it didn't matter if they didn't manage to finish some of them off. There were a lot of sweepers remaining.

"Erwen, be careful!"

We had a long-range damage-dealing duo made up of sisters Erwen and Daria, then Takelan's team with an average rank of five following right behind us, and even Big Jaw's team located at the very back. It was similar to a medieval cavalry.

"Ahhhhhh!"

Our only goal was to charge forward. Enemies not slain in the front were dealt with by those picking up the rear. It didn't matter if some enemies survived the last sweep. That was for Mr. Last Place to figure out.

You reap what you sow.

When choosing the formation for this strategy, Big Jaw insisted on being in the very back, even giving us the long-range elf sisters. His thought process was obvious. He probably figured the frontlines were the most dangerous place to be in charge. If something unexpectedly went wrong, he could run away. He was treating the mercenaries Erwen and Daria as discardable hands.

Brainless bastard.

In reality, the riskiest location in this strategy was the very back. Right now, they may have been able to freeload since we were taking care of them from the front, but this status quo wouldn't last forever. I didn't know that catastrophe would strike so quickly, though.

Boom!

A heavy blow thudded through my shield. Even when I applied force on the tips of my toes, I couldn't ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠move another inch forward. I lowered my shield slightly to check the view up front.

"Never have I ever seen such a madman."

A warrior from the Black Bear tribe like Mr. Bear was standing in my way. His body was half as large as mine in Giantization mode.

God damn it.

How high was this guy's Strength stat? Even as it struck me that adventurers from Noark were considerably strong, though, I wasn't too pressed.

"Barbarian, you think you're some hero from the stories—"

Ignoring the bear bastard's jabbering, I shouted toward the back, "Raven, now!" I was not an all-powerful hero. However, the same went for our opponents.

"Everyone, get back!" In time with Raven's warning, an explosive shockwave slammed forward from behind me.

[Arua Raven has cast the rank-six support spell Oxygen Explosion.]

It was a whopping rank-six wind attribute support spell. The reason she activated it behind me was simple. It didn't deal much damage, but it came with great knockback.

"Ugh! What the...!"

Ending our tense wrestling match, I shoved my opponent away like a sail that had just caught a strong headwind.

"N-No!"

Crunch.

The bear bastard lost balance and fell back. I stomped on his face with Leap and dashed forward. Well, he seemed like a tank too, so he wouldn't die from just that.

Stab!

Before long, I heard the squelch of flesh being pierced behind me. Geez, it was like stabbing tofu. His Strength stat may have been high, but it seemed his Physical Resistance wasn't.

"Behelaaah!"

While we had been momentarily slowed down by the bear bastard, our enemies had started closing in on us from behind. So I used Wild Outburst to dope up my physique stats and resumed the charge.

"We need to move faster!"

However, we weren't moving as quickly as before. This was a very big problem. One of the weak points of the cavalry was that they ended up getting surrounded when their opponent managed to stop their charge.

"You unhinged bastards!"

"Kill them!"

The enemies who had been knocked down rose like zombies and rushed at my comrades. While we had been penetrating enemy lines one-sidedly earlier, now we would have to hack through this melee.

Slice, stab, crunch! Kwaaang!

The overlapping, chaotic sounds of intense battle rang out behind me. Of course, I couldn't see exactly what was going on. Because of that, I kept most of my focus on the front lines.

"Bjorn, don't worry about the rear!"

I was worried. Humans dropped like flies during war. I was worried that someone would get seriously injured by an unseen knife.

Brainless bastard.

In reality, the riskiest location in this strategy was the very back. Right now, they may have been able to freeload since we were taking care of them from the front, but this status quo wouldn't last forever. I didn't know that catastrophe would strike so quickly, though.

Boom!

A heavy blow thudded through my shield. Even when I applied force on the tips of my toes, I couldn't move another inch forward. I lowered my shield slightly to check the view up front.

"Never have I ever seen such a madman."

A warrior from the Black Bear tribe like Mr. Bear was standing in my way. His body was half as large as mine in Giantization mode.

God damn it.

How high was this guy's Strength stat? Even as it struck me that adventurers from Noark were considerably strong, though, I wasn't too pressed.

"Barbarian, you think you're some hero from the stories—"

Ignoring the bear bastard's jabbering, I shouted toward the back, "Raven, now!" I was not an all-powerful hero. However, the same went for our opponents.

"Everyone, get back!" In time with Raven's warning, an explosive shockwave slammed forward from behind me.

[Arua Raven has cast the rank-six support spell Oxygen Explosion.]

It was a whopping rank-six wind attribute support spell. The reason she activated it behind me was simple. It didn't deal much damage, but it came with great knockback.

"Ugh! What the...!"

Ending our tense wrestling match, I shoved my opponent away like a sail that had just caught a strong headwind.

"N-No!"

Crunch.

The bear bastard lost balance and fell back. I stomped on his face with Leap and dashed forward. Well, he seemed like a tank too, so he wouldn't die from just that.

Stab!

Before long, I heard the squelch of flesh being pierced behind me. Geez, it was like stabbing tofu. His Strength stat may have been high, but it seemed his Physical Resistance wasn't.

"Behelaaah!"

While we had been momentarily slowed down by the bear bastard, our ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠enemies had started closing in on us from behind. So I used Wild Outburst to dope up my physique stats and resumed the charge.

"We need to move faster!"

However, we weren't moving as quickly as before. This was a very big problem. One of the weak points of the cavalry was that they ended up getting surrounded when their opponent managed to stop their charge.

"You unhinged bastards!"

"Kill them!"

The enemies who had been knocked down rose like zombies and rushed at my comrades. While we had been penetrating enemy lines one-sidedly earlier, now we would have to hack through this melee.

Slice, stab, crunch! Kwaaang!

The overlapping, chaotic sounds of intense battle rang out behind me. Of course, I couldn't see exactly what was going on. Because of that, I kept most of my focus on the front lines.

"Bjorn, don't worry about the rear!"

I was worried. Humans dropped like flies during war. I was worried that someone would get seriously injured by an unseen knife.

Slice!

Because I couldn't know whose flesh that sound had come from, dark thoughts kept popping into my mind. Could that have been Missha? Ainar? Raven or Mr. Bear? But, so what?

"Behelaaah!"

Stopping here would only make things worse. Embracing the fear I couldn't shake off, I focused everything I had on the role assigned to me.

"W-What kind of strength—?!"

Just clear the way. Leave the rear to my comrades and push forward dependably. That was what I had to do in this moment, and something only I could do.

"The good news is that we are almost there. We can reach the dark zone in twenty minutes if we run."

Time seemed to drag on. Sweat, blood, and screams all filled the cave.

Has it been three minutes?

It felt like an hour had passed, but in reality, it would only have been about that long. Now I could tell where we were on the first floor just by looking at the walls.

God damn it.

It felt like I was trapped in a cave where time itself was distorted. I checked my location in real-time to infer how much had passed.

Seven minutes.

The first fatality occurred at that exact moment.

"Kaiyen! Kaiyen is hurt! Help me. W-We need to help him...!"

"Let go, Lena."

"What? But...!"

"He's... already dead. Leave him here."

Kaiyen was an archer on Takelan's team. That was all I knew about him, but he had left a good impression during our introductions.

Eight minutes.

The road ahead was blocked by a barrier someone had summoned. I immediately took the fork next to me and adjusted our route. This bit of improvisation would've been impossible if I hadn't received scout training from Rotmiller.

It'll take at least thirteen more minutes to get there.

The bad news didn't end there, though.

Nine minutes.

Another person died. This time it was a member of Big Jaw's team, who was following us from the very back.

And one more thing.

"Bjorn, Missha is hurt!" cried Raven.

Missha was injured. "What part of her body and how badly?"

"U-Under the left side of her chest! No internal injuries—"

"Feed her a potion while you run. Ainar, carry Missha too!"

Fortunately, her life wasn't in danger, but Ainar, who had been carrying Raven in one hand and helping us out in battle with the other, now had to serve solely as transportation for two members of our team.

Ten minutes.

Without fail, more bad news came in from behind me. "Mr. Yandel! The people in the back are gone!"

Big Jaw's team had run away from their positions in the rearguard. It seemed they had deemed this an impossible undertaking after seeing the deaths on the frontlines... I had miscalculated.

To think he's this brainless.

I never thought he would still think it possible to escape from this situation alone when enemies were surrounding us.

Fuck, if you're going to kill yourself, at least die for us.

Anyway, with those bastards gone, the burden on Takelan's team grew much heavier. Was that why?

Thirteen minutes.

Two people died this time—the wizard belonging to Takelan's team and the warrior who had been running with her on his back.

"Damn it! All because of a stupid goblin—!"

The main cause of death was a spawning goblin. Amid the confusion, the goblin had flown at the warrior and blocked his line of sight, and in a split second, an ice-type bender had turned them all into an ice statue.

Fifteen minutes.

A dark wizard jumped out from a side passage and cast a wide-range explosive spell. There were no deaths, but...

"Sis!" Daria threw herself in the way to protect Erwen, who was standing in the center and was rendered incapable of combat. Fortunately, it wasn't an instant kill.

"Snap out of it and keep moving. I'll carry your sister!" Abman carried Daria, reducing our combat power even more.

Seventeen minutes.

After abusing Leap for stat boosts and sustaining Giantization throughout the entire battle, my MP finally bottomed out.

[Your Soul Power is insufficient. Giantization has ended.]

As planned, the empty spot next to me was quickly filled with Mr. Bear's tank summon, Iron Bear.

Eighteen minutes.

Iron Bear was soon unsummoned. However, Missha had recovered thanks to the potion and reentered the fray.

Nineteen minutes.

Hope was in sight. Now we just had to go a little further. Although nearly half of us were dead, none of the people I was determined to save had died yet.

Twenty minutes.

A high-ranking adventurer, likely at least rank four, suddenly blocked my path. He was a swordsman holding a greatsword made of adamantium, a grade-five metal.

"You're gonna be fun to slice up."

And he used an aura.

Slice!

Because I couldn't know whose flesh that sound had come from, dark thoughts kept popping into my mind. Could that have been Missha? Ainar? Raven or Mr. Bear? But, so what?

"Behelaaah!"

Stopping here would only make things worse. Embracing the fear I couldn't shake off, I focused everything I had on the role assigned to me.

"W-What kind of strength—?!"

Just clear the way. Leave the rear to my comrades and push forward dependably. That was what I had to do in this moment, and something only I could do.

"The good news is that we are almost there. We can reach the dark zone in twenty minutes if we run."

Time seemed to drag on. Sweat, blood, and screams all filled the cave.

Has it been three minutes?

It felt like an hour had passed, but in reality, it would only have been about that long. Now I could tell where we were on the first floor just by looking at the walls.

God damn it.

It felt like I was trapped in a cave where time itself was distorted. I checked my location in real-time to infer how much had passed.

Seven minutes.

The first fatality occurred at that exact moment.

"Kaiyen! Kaiyen is hurt! Help me. W-We need to help him...!"

"Let go, Lena."

"What? But...!"

"He's... already dead. Leave him here."

Kaiyen was an archer on Takelan's team. That was all I knew about him, but he had left a good impression during our introductions.

Eight minutes.

The road ahead was blocked by a barrier someone had summoned. I immediately took the fork next to me and adjusted our route. This bit of improvisation would've been impossible if I hadn't received scout training from Rotmiller.

It'll take at least thirteen more minutes to get there.

The bad news didn't end there, though.

Nine minutes.

Another person died. This time it was a member of Big Jaw's team, who was following us from the very back.

And one more thing.

"Bjorn, Missha is hurt!" cried Raven.

Missha was injured. "What part of her body and how badly?"

"U-Under the left side of her chest! No internal injuries—"

"Feed her a potion while you run. Ainar, carry Missha too!"

Fortunately, her life wasn't in danger, but Ainar, who had been carrying Raven in one hand and helping us out in battle with the other, now had to serve solely as transportation for two members of our team.

Ten minutes.

Without fail, more bad news came in from behind me. "Mr. Yandel! The people in the back are gone!"

Big Jaw's team had run away from their positions in the rearguard. It seemed they had deemed this an impossible undertaking after seeing the deaths on the frontlines... I had miscalculated.

To think he's this brainless.

I never thought he would still think it possible to escape from this situation alone when enemies were surrounding us.

Fuck, if you're going to kill yourself, at least die for us.

Anyway, with those ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠bastards gone, the burden on Takelan's team grew much heavier. Was that why?

Thirteen minutes.

Two people died this time—the wizard belonging to Takelan's team and the warrior who had been running with her on his back.

"Damn it! All because of a stupid goblin—!"

The main cause of death was a spawning goblin. Amid the confusion, the goblin had flown at the warrior and blocked his line of sight, and in a split second, an ice-type bender had turned them all into an ice statue.

Fifteen minutes.

A dark wizard jumped out from a side passage and cast a wide-range explosive spell. There were no deaths, but...

"Sis!" Daria threw herself in the way to protect Erwen, who was standing in the center and was rendered incapable of combat. Fortunately, it wasn't an instant kill.

"Snap out of it and keep moving. I'll carry your sister!" Abman carried Daria, reducing our combat power even more.

Seventeen minutes.

After abusing Leap for stat boosts and sustaining Giantization throughout the entire battle, my MP finally bottomed out.

[Your Soul Power is insufficient. Giantization has ended.]

As planned, the empty spot next to me was quickly filled with Mr. Bear's tank summon, Iron Bear.

Eighteen minutes.

Iron Bear was soon unsummoned. However, Missha had recovered thanks to the potion and reentered the fray.

Nineteen minutes.

Hope was in sight. Now we just had to go a little further. Although nearly half of us were dead, none of the people I was determined to save had died yet.

Twenty minutes.

A high-ranking adventurer, likely at least rank four, suddenly blocked ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠my path. He was a swordsman holding a greatsword made of adamantium, a grade-five metal.

"You're gonna be fun to slice up."

And he used an aura.