Chapter 214: Discarded Hand (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 214: Discarded Hand (3)
The old me would have thought of a rank-four adventurer who used an aura as a lethal enemy to run into.
Whooom!
He hadn't finished activating his aura yet. With a grade-five adamantium greatsword and an aura, it was clear he'd turn this moonstone shield of mine into scrap metal in an instant.
"You're gonna be fun to slice up."
However, Dungeon and Stone was not simply a game based on HP and MP and Item Level. Rank-four swordsman, rank-three tank, or whatever have you—in this sadistic game, a single slip-up could lead to your character's death.
"You wish." No matter how strong you were, a critical hit killed you just the same. In that sense, the enemy in front of me wasn't impossible to defeat. "Come."
Although we were handicapped in the sense that we had to finish this fight in a short time because of the enemies swarming us from behind, this was a problem that could be resolved by throwing something of ours away.
"You barbarian bastards never know your place."
All I could do was hope desperately that this bastard wasn't too durable. I didn't have time to feel this guy out and learn what skills and equipment he had. Who lived and died would be determined in an instant, just as it always was.
"Behelaaah!" I let go of my fear.
Dash.
Just then, I heard the sound of feet kicking off the ground.
Whip!
In the foggy passageway, the human, who had the audacity to be over six-two, charged forward.
Whooom!
The human swung a greatsword.
Dash.
Instead of blocking it with the shield, I hurriedly dodged to the side, not because I thought this shield was too expensive to let this guy slice it up, but because it'd be pointless. When you gave something up, you stood to gain something in return, like this.
Slice!
The greatsword came down above my left elbow.
"M-Mr. Yandel!"
In an instant, I became a one-armed barbarian. This was my second time experiencing this after the battle with Riakis, the Lord of Chaos. I wasn't particularly sad about it. I had thrown away the complacent thought that I could win against this guy in one piece the moment I saw him.
Chhhhhh.
I aimed my severed limb at him and sprayed acidic blood like a fountain.
"Aaaaaaa!" Luckily, it hit his eyes.
Hell yeah.
In exchange for an arm, I had managed to block this guy's vision. Of course, that wouldn't last for long, so I quickly followed my attack up with an order. "Raven, use Lava Eruption!" I clung to my opponent, figuring that since this guy used a greatsword as a weapon, he wouldn't be able to harm me with his aura at this distance. If I hadn't wrecked his sight, I would've had to give up something even bigger to get this close.
"But if I do that, you'll—!"
"It's okay, just do it!"
"Okay—!"
I hurriedly held my breath and flexed my muscles. This felt similar to the time I wrestled that Troll on the fourth floor.
"You son of a bitch!" As he fought fiercely against my grip, scales sprouted all over his body. This was one of the effects of Test Specimen, which temporarily increased Physique stats. I had expected this since he used an aura.
You've got some wild stats, huh?
Coincidentally, so did I. "Stay still." I used Giantization again, hoping that since I hadn't used it for a few minutes, my MP had recovered enough for thirty seconds of juice.
"Ugh." The man released a pained groan, his back buckling under the sudden increase in weight.
Voom, voom!
Carrying me on his back, the bastard swung his greatsword randomly. Passageway, wall, or whatever have you—his aura sliced through everything.
"Are you scared because you can't see?"
"I will kill you!"
"Everyone, get back!"
Because of his sword dance, Missha and the others couldn't get close enough to deal additional damage. However, this worked better for me. Thanks to his struggling, our other opponents couldn't come to help him either.
"Moronic bastard."
"Aaaah!" He tilted his upper body in an attempt to throw me over his shoulder, but it made no difference to me. Staying right on top of the enemy like a pervert was one of the basic hallmarks of a tank.
Booom!
We collapsed and fell on top of each other. It was a far cry from any scene in a romance movie, though. Rather, it was more like a dog fight in a thriller.
Smack! Smack! Smack!
Finally, the bastard let go of his greatsword and slammed his fist into my ear. Of course, that was no problem either. You couldn't use an aura with your bare hands, after all.
Smack! Smack! Smack!
Physical attacks could be endured with Physical Resistance. As someone who used an adamantium greatsword, his Strength stat seemed to be considerable since my brain was rattling around in my skull, but compared to my severed arm, a concussion was minor.
"Kesial!" When his erratic sword dance begrudgingly ended, the enemies who hadn't been able to approach us until now rushed at me. However, they were one second too late.
"D-Do I really shoot...?!"
"What are you waiting for!?"
The spell was complete.
"Iherno Wature Tunbar!" It was the rank-four Fire attribute spell, Lava Eruption.
Whoosh!
The dark-red lava spewing from Raven's wand descended on us. I immediately adjusted my grip so that instead of pressing him down from above, I was now strangling him from below, his body on top of mine.
"Let go, you barbarian!" the bastard shouted. It looked like his sight had returned because it seemed he'd spotted the lava crashing down on us.
"Why, you don't like hot stuff?"
Then you should have raised your Flame Resistance, fool.
"No!"
I squeezed my eyes shut. At that moment, I experienced a heat that seemed to melt everything.
Whooosh!
"Ahhhhhh!"
At the same time, I felt something flowing down my skin. The fluid quickly cooled and hardened.
[Your HP has fallen below 50 percent. All Resistance and Resilience stats have increased due to the passive skill Heroic Path.]
I had Flame Resistance thanks to the third stage of the Immortality Imprint, a Manticore's Mana Resistance, and the Orb of Fire.
You've got some wild stats, huh?
Coincidentally, so did I. "Stay still." I used Giantization again, hoping that since I hadn't used it for a few minutes, my MP had recovered enough for thirty seconds of juice.
"Ugh." The man released a pained groan, his back buckling under the sudden increase in weight.
Voom, voom!
Carrying me on his back, the bastard swung his greatsword randomly. Passageway, wall, or whatever have you—his aura sliced through everything.
"Are you scared because you can't see?"
"I will kill you!"
"Everyone, get back!"
Because of his sword dance, Missha and the others couldn't get close enough to deal additional damage. However, this worked better for me. Thanks to his struggling, our other opponents couldn't come to help him either.
"Moronic bastard."
"Aaaah!" He tilted his upper body in an attempt to throw me over his shoulder, but it made no difference to me. Staying right on top of the enemy like a pervert was one of the basic hallmarks of a tank.
Booom!
We collapsed and fell on top of each other. It was a far cry from any scene in a romance movie, though. Rather, it was more like a dog fight in a thriller.
Smack! Smack! Smack!
Finally, the bastard let go of his greatsword and slammed his fist into my ear. Of course, that was no problem either. You couldn't use an aura with your bare hands, after all.
Smack! Smack! Smack!
Physical attacks could be endured with Physical Resistance. As someone who used an adamantium greatsword, his Strength stat seemed to be considerable since my brain was rattling around in my skull, but compared to my severed arm, a concussion was minor.
"Kesial!" When his erratic sword dance begrudgingly ended, the enemies who hadn't been able to approach us until now rushed at me. However, they were one second too late.
"D-Do I really shoot...?!"
"What are you waiting for!?"
The spell was complete.
"Iherno Wature Tunbar!" It was the rank-four Fire attribute spell, Lava Eruption.
Whoosh!
The dark-red lava spewing from Raven's wand descended on us. I immediately adjusted my grip so that instead of pressing him down from above, I was now strangling him from below, his body on top of mine.
"Let go, you barbarian!" the bastard shouted. It looked like his sight had returned because it seemed he'd spotted the lava crashing down on us.
"Why, you don't like hot stuff?"
Then you should have raised your Flame Resistance, fool.
"No!"
I squeezed my eyes shut. At that moment, I experienced a heat that seemed to melt everything.
Whooosh!
"Ahhhhhh!"
At the same time, I felt something flowing down my skin. The fluid quickly cooled and hardened.
[Your HP has fallen below 50 percent. All Resistance and Resilience stats have increased due to the passive skill Heroic Path.]
I had Flame Resistance thanks to the third stage of the Immortality Imprint, a Manticore's Mana Resistance, and the Orb of Fire.
Yet it's still this bad...
My whole body was hot and itchy, almost like I had drunk a potion. The pain even cut through my resistance. But, so what? Not wanting to be in pain? I shook off the idea like a passive effect. Again, this was not a kind world.
Should I have asked her to use Cold Blood too?
I quickly dismissed the weak thought that suddenly popped into my head. Raven's mana was shaky as it was. We had to conserve our resources.
"Krrgggh."
I pushed away the enemy, who had turned into a lump of charcoal, and stood up. My intestines were so cooked I felt like a Korean blood sausage and something crunchy seemed to flake off of me each time I moved. Was this what you called soft on the inside and hard on the outside?
"M-Mr. Yandel? A-Are you okay?"
"...I'm just a little burnt."
"A-A little burnt?"
I had to endure at least this much to take down a bastard who used an aura. Besides, the bleeding at my elbow had stopped. It had been cauterized by the fire magic. In many ways, I'd gained a lot from that one spell.
"Ugh."
Fuck, why is this asshole still alive? Does he have Flame Resistance too?
As I noticed him getting up with me, I hurriedly turned around to reach my remaining hand toward the shield I had tossed aside earlier. And at that moment...
[Your Soul Power is insufficient. Giantization has ended.]
Giantization was deactivated and I lost my balance. The distance between my hand and my shield widened dramatically.
Thump!
Even as heat radiated from my entire body, a chill went down my spine. If this guy's greatsword... no, if he pulled out even a dagger and stabbed me in the neck with it, it would be game over for me. I could picture the worst-case scenario in my head.
C-Cough!
However, when I turned around and hurriedly checked behind me mid-fall, I saw the bastard's back getting farther away. He staggered but moved at a fast pace.
I momentarily stiffened at that unexpected sight, then breathed a sigh of relief.
I got lucky.
The bastard couldn't shake his arrogance, which was why he had blocked me all alone, even though he had comrades with him.
Huff, huff, wheeze...
He could not give up the hope that there would be another opportunity later, which was why even though he had the chance to kill me, he chose to escape with his life. I understood the feeling.
"You... barbarian son of a... bitch..."
To him, fighting me wasn't a matter of survival. There was no reason for him to risk his life for this fight. That was why our positions were now reversed.
"Where... are you... going?"
Instead of a shield, I lifted the greatsword he had left behind in my hand. The Strength stat I had gotten from the ogre's essence was enough for me to be able to handle the adamantium greatsword with one hand.
"...S-Stop him!"
I hurriedly pursued him, narrowing the distance between us in an instant. It seemed he'd taken a lot of damage because his steps had no strength behind them. Before long, the sword was within cutting distance.
Yet it's still this bad...
My whole body was hot and itchy, almost like I had drunk a potion. The pain even cut through my resistance. But, so what? Not wanting to be in pain? I shook off the idea like a passive effect. Again, this was not a kind world.
Should I have asked her to use Cold Blood too?
I quickly dismissed the weak thought that suddenly popped into my head. Raven's mana was shaky as it was. We had to conserve our resources.
"Krrgggh."
I pushed away the enemy, who had turned into a lump of charcoal, and stood up. My intestines were so cooked I felt like a Korean blood sausage and something crunchy seemed to flake off of me each time I moved. Was this what you called soft on the inside and hard on the outside?
"M-Mr. Yandel? A-Are you okay?"
"...I'm just a little burnt."
"A-A little burnt?"
I had to endure at least this much to take down a bastard who used an aura. Besides, the bleeding at my elbow had stopped. It had been cauterized by the fire magic. In many ways, I'd gained a lot from that one spell.
"Ugh."
Fuck, why is this asshole still alive? Does he have Flame Resistance too?
As I noticed him getting up with me, I hurriedly turned around to reach my remaining hand toward the shield I had tossed aside earlier. And at that moment...
[Your Soul Power is insufficient. Giantization has ended.]
Giantization was deactivated and I lost my balance. The distance between my hand and my shield widened dramatically.
Thump!
Even as heat radiated from my entire body, a chill went down my spine. If this guy's greatsword... no, if he pulled out even a dagger and stabbed me in the neck with it, it would be game over for me. I could picture the worst-case scenario in my head.
C-Cough!
However, when I turned around and hurriedly checked behind me mid-fall, I saw the bastard's back getting farther away. He staggered but moved at a fast pace.
I momentarily stiffened at that unexpected sight, then breathed a sigh of relief.
I got lucky.
The bastard couldn't shake his arrogance, which was why he had blocked me all alone, even though he had comrades with him.
Huff, huff, wheeze...
He could not give up the hope that there would be another opportunity later, which was why even though he had the chance to kill me, he chose to escape with his life. I understood the feeling.
"You... barbarian son of a... bitch..."
To him, fighting me wasn't a matter of survival. There was no reason for him to risk his life for this fight. That was why our positions were now reversed.
"Where... are you... going?"
Instead of a shield, I lifted the greatsword he had left behind in my hand. The Strength stat I had gotten from the ogre's essence was enough for me to be able to handle the adamantium greatsword with one hand.
"...S-Stop him!"
I hurriedly pursued him, narrowing the distance between us in an instant. It seemed he'd taken a lot of damage because his steps had no strength behind them. Before long, the sword was within cutting distance.
"Leave... your head."
Being a swordsman wasn't too bad either.
Slice!
I grinned at the sensation and shouted. "Behelaaah!"
I had survived, at least for now.
***
The time it took to cut off the head of a rank-four aura user was about two minutes. That was how battles always went. It didn't take long for the winners and losers to be decided. A knight who spent their whole life training, or an adventurer who'd been in and out of the labyrinth countless times... in this world, anyone could lose their life in an instant.
"Ainar!" Without time to savor the victory, I tossed the greatsword I was holding to Ainar.
"Huh? Huh?"
What are you confused about? You gotta take what you gotta take. I thought of you the moment I saw it. What a pity.
Picking up my shield with my now-empty hand, I dragged my eyes away from the corpse. Hah, I was sure I could loot more useful things from him, but there was no time for that. I let go of my greed and faced forward.
"Kesial got hit!"
"Kill him!"
The enemies that had stopped in their tracks thanks to Lava Eruption came to their senses and attacked. I forced my tattered body forward because that was my role. I used Shield Charge, holding the shield up with my one remaining arm and putting all my weight on my shoulder as I ran. Maybe it was because we were nearing our destination, but the level of the adventurers here was much higher than it was outside, including the aura bastard from earlier. I guessed this was their frontline.
Shatter.
I hadn't given a command, but a potion flew at me anyway. It was a rather gentle pain like my flesh was being scorched with fire rather than being stabbed repeatedly with an awl.
"That's your favorite high-grade potion!"
Oh, no wonder. I feel a bit more energized. Let's liven up and go again.
There was really not far left to go now. The finish line was right in front of us.
"From now on, I'll help!" Ainar came up next to me.
"What about Raven?"
"I left her to Urakburak!" That was a good call. Raven had probably told her to do that.
"Behelaaah!"
I stopped using the terrain to check how far we had left to go. I focused only on the present moment.
"Missha! Stay right behind me!"
Just a little farther.
"Erwen! Now! Use that thing!"
Yes, just a little farther.
"Ack! N-No. Not now..."
"Yandel! Raven's mana ran out!"
Just then, the magical support Raven was providing from behind Mr. Bear came to an end. That meant that it was no longer possible to use Oxygen Explosion to clear the path when it was blocked or when our speed was reduced.
"N-No! Lena...!"
As we slowed down, another person died—the bender on Takelan's team. She was a support-type bender who specialized in defense and had been securing the rear.
"We're so close...!"
Things would be tougher from now on. I gritted my teeth and brushed off the pang in my chest.
"God damn it!"
I didn't have the luxury to plug my ears. Even if I could, I wouldn't have done so. This was the decision I had made. Now I needed to concentrate and decide what I was willing to let go of and what could absolutely not be discarded—what I was determined to protect.
"Missha!"
"Don't worry! I can still fight...!"
In this fierce battle where another one of us could die at any moment, everyone paved the way with a single-minded passion. And after what felt like an eternity, a dark passageway finally came into view.
"This way!" As soon as I saw it, I immediately turned and entered the passageway. "Erwen, light!"
"Y-Yes!"
In place of Raven, whose mana was exhausted, Erwen summoned a fire elemental to illuminate our surroundings. The passageway was sparsely lined with monochromatic crystals. There were no adventurers from the city out here to greet us.
"Bjorn! They're not following us!"
Our pursuers had stopped like this was the beginning of a new territory. So this was the boundary that divided the armies.
"Be alert and keep moving."
It was still too early to be relieved. I kept moving forward without slowing down, figuring that it wouldn't be too late to take a potion and regroup after we reached safety. And about three minutes later...
"Halt."
We encountered a group we had longed so very much to see—a squad of ten knights.
Our surroundings were full of naked corpses, probably from Noark's side. It was a good thing we'd risked our lives to get here. The fact that these guys were on our side was already relieving enough.
Hmm?
The knight whose eyes met mine drew his sword and took a slow step forward. The sword was overflowing with aura.
"We are not the enemy!" I shouted urgently. "Here is my identification—"
Oh, my arm... I left it back there.
"Well, I don't have it, but everyone else does!" I hurriedly continued, but his reaction was cold.
"Now you're trying all kinds of tactics, huh? That pathway is occupied by Noark, yet you speak of identification tags?"
Well, it did sound hard to believe. We probably looked like spies disguised as Rafdonians to infiltrate their line. So what should I do? Would they believe me if I told them that I was called Little Balkan?
After thinking it over for a moment, I realized that there was a better way. Coincidentally, I had been given something to use in this very situation. "Missha, take off your ring and show them."
"Leave... your head."
Being a swordsman wasn't too bad either.
Slice!
I grinned at the sensation and shouted. "Behelaaah!"
I had survived, at least for now.
***
The time it took to cut off the head of a rank-four aura user was about two minutes. That was how battles always went. It didn't take long for the winners and losers to be decided. A knight who spent their whole life training, or an adventurer who'd been in and out of the labyrinth countless times... in this world, anyone could lose their life in an instant.
"Ainar!" Without time to savor the victory, I tossed the greatsword I was holding to Ainar.
"Huh? Huh?"
What are you confused about? You gotta take what you gotta take. I thought of you the moment I saw it. What a pity.
Picking up my shield with my now-empty hand, I dragged my eyes away from the corpse. Hah, I was sure I could loot more useful things from him, but there was no time for that. I let go of my greed and faced forward.
"Kesial got hit!"
"Kill him!"
The enemies that had stopped in their tracks thanks to Lava Eruption came to their senses and attacked. I forced my tattered body forward because that was my role. I used Shield Charge, holding the shield up with my one remaining arm and putting all my weight on my shoulder as I ran. Maybe it was because we were nearing our destination, but the level of the adventurers here was much higher than it was outside, including the aura bastard from earlier. I guessed this was their frontline.
Shatter.
I hadn't given a command, but a potion flew at me anyway. It was a rather gentle pain like my flesh was being scorched with fire rather than being stabbed repeatedly with an awl.
"That's your favorite high-grade potion!"
Oh, no wonder. I feel a bit more energized. Let's liven up and go again.
There was really not far left to go now. The finish line was right in front of us.
"From now on, I'll help!" Ainar came up next to me.
"What about Raven?"
"I left her to Urakburak!" That was a good call. Raven had probably told her to do that.
"Behelaaah!"
I stopped using the terrain to check how far we had left to go. I focused only on the present moment.
"Missha! Stay right behind me!"
Just a little farther.
"Erwen! Now! Use that thing!"
Yes, just a little farther.
"Ack! N-No. Not now..."
"Yandel! Raven's mana ran out!"
Just then, the magical support Raven was providing from behind Mr. Bear came to an end. That meant that it was no longer possible to use Oxygen Explosion to clear the path when it was blocked or when our speed was reduced.
"N-No! Lena...!"
As we slowed down, another person died—the bender on Takelan's team. She was a support-type bender who specialized in defense and had been securing the rear.
"We're so close...!"
Things would be tougher from now on. I gritted my teeth and brushed off the pang in my chest.
"God damn it!"
I didn't have the luxury to plug my ears. Even if I could, I wouldn't have done so. This was the decision I had made. Now I needed to concentrate and decide what I was willing to let go of and what could absolutely not be discarded—what I was determined to protect.
"Missha!"
"Don't worry! I can still fight...!"
In this fierce battle where another one of us could die at any moment, everyone paved the way with a single-minded passion. And after what felt like an eternity, a dark passageway finally came into view.
"This way!" As soon as I saw it, I immediately turned and entered the passageway. "Erwen, light!"
"Y-Yes!"
In place of Raven, whose mana was exhausted, Erwen summoned a fire elemental to illuminate our surroundings. The passageway was sparsely lined with monochromatic crystals. There were no adventurers from the city out here to greet us.
"Bjorn! They're not following us!"
Our pursuers had stopped like this was the beginning of a new territory. So this was the boundary that divided the armies.
"Be alert and keep moving."
It was still too early to be relieved. I kept moving forward without slowing down, figuring that it wouldn't be too late to take a potion and regroup after we reached safety. And about three minutes later...
"Halt."
We encountered a group we had longed so very much to see—a squad of ten knights.
Our surroundings were full of naked corpses, probably from Noark's side. It was a good thing we'd risked our lives to get here. The fact that these guys were on our side was already relieving enough.
Hmm?
The knight whose eyes met mine drew his sword and took a slow step forward. The sword was overflowing with aura.
"We are not the enemy!" I shouted urgently. "Here is my identification—"
Oh, my arm... I left it back there.
"Well, I don't have it, but everyone else does!" I hurriedly continued, but his reaction was cold.
"Now you're trying all kinds of tactics, huh? That pathway is occupied by Noark, yet you speak of identification tags?"
Well, it did sound hard to believe. We probably looked like spies disguised as Rafdonians to infiltrate their line. So what should I do? Would they believe me if I told them that I was called Little Balkan?
After thinking it over for a moment, I realized that there was a better way. Coincidentally, I had been given something to use in this very situation. "Missha, take off your ring and show them."