Chapter 228: Reversal (4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 228: Reversal (4)
In Dungeon and Stone, there were several essences that were better suited for certain races. A typical example was the Elementalization skill Erwen had just used. When used by a human who had no elementals to summon, all it did was turn them into an attribute-less elemental. A skill buff was also added to Elemental and Natural Power, which were stats that allowed the user to manage elementals. In truth, this essence was for elf-only use.
Rustle...
Every time I moved my arm, flecks of dirt fell from me. It was as if I'd become a rock giant. Oh, but "giant" wasn't really the right word, though.
Ha, I wanna use Giantization so bad right now.
It was a pity I wouldn't get to see that magnificent sight, but it couldn't be helped.
Dash.
I let go of my disappointment and sprinted forward.
"Kweeek!" At that moment, the corpse monster that Clown was riding on spat venom from its mouth. Without lifting a shield, I took it with my body. Elemental Barbarian (Earth) Mode was immune to poison.
"Oh, I forgot about that effect." It looked like this bastard had beaten the game on cheat mode because it was only now that he realized the state I was in. However, he was still relaxed. "Okay, you used your brain a bit. Pshehe." Even though his main ability—poison damage—had been rendered useless, Clown was still laughing. Well, he would. This guy wasn't just a Poison Necromancer but an Agile Poison Necromancer.
Dash.
The bastard got off the corpse monster he was riding and retreated. I was also running at full speed, but the distance between us was still widening. This was because of the price attached to Elemental Barbarian (Earth) Mode.
[Your Agility-related stats have significantly decreased.]
It felt like my body was moving at half speed. In truth, this was the biggest downside, not the doubled Water damage or drastic reduction in Mana Resistance.
"What? Didn't take this into account?" When poison became useless, Clown gave up on close combat and started maintaining a distance, something a proud person would never do.
I didn't turn off Giantization for nothing.
Seriously, a top-tier adventurer with the nickname of Corpse Collector was running away from a rank-five barbarian?
Thought you'd do that, asshole. Leap.
I muttered the name of the skill in my head and kicked off the ground.
"Kyaaa!" As she was unable to stray more than five yards from me in elemental form, Erwen was dragged along with me. That ended up being unfortunate.
I should consider the maximum distance as thirty yards.
I calmly assessed my current state of affairs. Considering I had once been able to jump seventy yards even in Giantization mode, the distance had drastically reduced. It was hitting me how heavy this body really was. I weighed less than half as much when using Giantization. Still, the speed of the jump itself was similar.
"Behelahhh!" Activating my transportation ability, I narrowed the distance between us in an instant.
Kaboom!
The ground undulated around the landing place. The effect itself was the same as before, but there was an obvious difference. The corpse monster's massive body hadn't even budged earlier, but this time...
"Gueeek?" It couldn't take the shock and got thrown into the air.
[Your total weight is over one ton.]
Yeah, looks like I'm heavier than you now.
Clown was scrawny, so he wasn't even worth mentioning. His body floated up mid-backstep. Before he could land on the ground, I waddle-ran to close the distance and then took up the kind of stance one would use to swing a baseball bat.
At that moment, my eyes met his in mid-air. He no longer looked to be smiling. Geez, that hurt my feelings. "Crack a smile," I demanded. He didn't reply.
Well, if you really don't want to, I'll crack you instead.
Whooom!
I swung my mace with perfect timing and enough momentum to split the bastard's skull. Just then, thick bones sprouted from his skin.
[Abed Necrapeto has cast Bone Armor.]
This was the ability that had blocked Mr. Bear's ultimate finisher with no difficulty, but I wasn't too worried about it. Outlaw of the Wilderness was still activated, and paired with Elemental Barbarian (Earth)'s destructive blunt weapon buff and a Swing containing the soul of an Ogre on top of that. With all that synergy, it was impossible to stop this attack, even with a rank-four skill.
Crackkk!
The moment the mace touched it, his Bone Armor shattered like a nut getting cracked with a hammer, revealing the soft skin underneath.
"Erwen!"
Erwen, who was flying next to me in elemental form, fired a flaming arrow. The target was, as always, right between the brows.
Kwaaang!
The flaming arrow sunk into his mask and exploded, but that mask appeared to be some kind of piece of equipment too. The first hit was blocked and did not deliver much damage.
Tap.
Clown went flying back from the force of the explosion, then found his balance and landed. And at that moment...
Shatter.
Fine fissures like spider webs spread across the mask before it cracked into pieces. As I took him in, I smirked.
So, that's what you look like.
"Ugly as hell."
If that little dragon Penn had gotten to see this face, she would've freaked out. But did that trigger him?
"You stupid NPC bastards, you don't know anything!" I got high praise in response to my comment. The bastard was no longer putting on a clown act. Abandoning his exaggerated tone, he spoke like your run-of-the-mill asshole adventurer. "Don't think I'll give you a quick death."
Huh, that Dragon Slayer son of a bitch had said the same thing. He'd yammered something like, "Even death can't save you."
"I'll bestow unimaginable pain on you."
Was this kind of dialogue popular in Orcules? I wasn't sure, but our epic battle soon continued. I wouldn't have expected anything less.
[Abed Necrapeto has cast Puppet.]
A necromancer's true worth lay in battles of numbers, but the majority of the corpse army was fighting the main team and a lot of them were dead. This bastard wouldn't have much MP left, either. More importantly, I had a more advantageous combo going for me too.
[Abed Necrapeto has cast Curse of Stone.]
A curse skill that prevented someone from charging at you? While the skill's attribute was Earth, too, it was pointless.
"Gueeek?" It couldn't take the shock and got thrown into the air.
[Your total weight is over one ton.]
Yeah, looks like I'm heavier than you now.
Clown was scrawny, so he wasn't even worth mentioning. His body floated up mid-backstep. Before he could land on the ground, I waddle-ran to close the distance and then took up the kind of stance one would use to swing a baseball bat.
At that moment, my eyes met his in mid-air. He no longer looked to be smiling. Geez, that hurt my feelings. "Crack a smile," I demanded. He didn't reply.
Well, if you really don't want to, I'll crack you instead.
Whooom!
I swung my mace with perfect timing and enough momentum to split the bastard's skull. Just then, thick bones sprouted from his skin.
[Abed Necrapeto has cast Bone Armor.]
This was the ability that had blocked Mr. Bear's ultimate finisher with no difficulty, but I wasn't too worried about it. Outlaw of the Wilderness was still activated, and paired with Elemental Barbarian (Earth)'s destructive blunt weapon buff and a Swing containing the soul of an Ogre on top of that. With all that synergy, it was impossible to stop this attack, even with a rank-four skill.
Crackkk!
The moment the mace touched it, his Bone Armor shattered like a nut getting cracked with a hammer, revealing the soft skin underneath.
"Erwen!"
Erwen, who was flying next to me in elemental form, fired a flaming arrow. The target was, as always, right between the brows.
Kwaaang!
The flaming arrow sunk into his mask and exploded, but that mask appeared to be some kind of piece of equipment too. The first hit was blocked and did not deliver much damage.
Tap.
Clown went flying back from the force of the explosion, then found his balance and landed. And at that moment...
Shatter.
Fine fissures like spider webs spread across the mask before it cracked into pieces. As I took him in, I smirked.
So, that's what you look like.
"Ugly as hell."
If that little dragon Penn had gotten to see this face, she would've freaked out. But did that trigger him?
"You stupid NPC bastards, you don't know anything!" I got high praise in response to my comment. The bastard was no longer putting on a clown act. Abandoning his exaggerated tone, he spoke like your run-of-the-mill asshole adventurer. "Don't think I'll give you a quick death."
Huh, that Dragon Slayer son of a bitch had said the same thing. He'd yammered something like, "Even death can't save you."
"I'll bestow unimaginable pain on you."
Was this kind of dialogue popular in Orcules? I wasn't sure, but our epic battle soon continued. I wouldn't have expected anything less.
[Abed Necrapeto has cast Puppet.]
A necromancer's true worth lay in battles of numbers, but the majority of the corpse army was fighting the main team and a lot of them were dead. This bastard wouldn't have much MP left, either. More importantly, I had a more advantageous combo going for me too.
[Abed Necrapeto has cast Curse of Stone.]
A curse skill that prevented someone from charging at you? While the skill's attribute was Earth, too, it was pointless.
Yeah, I'm an Elemental Barbarian now.
Even despite the drastic reduction in my Mana Resistance stat, Earth Resistance easily ensured immunity against attacks like that.
[Abed Necrapeto has cast Bone Armor.]
I countered Bone Armor with Swing.
Crunch!
Each time a shell was peeled off, Erwen, who was in elemental form next to me, shot an arrow.
Thunk!
Damage steadily accumulated as the battle continued.
"Gruhhh!" Clown began taking out high-level zombies with high individual combat power from sub-space to attack Erwen. This was an excellent move. If Erwen received a certain amount of damage, Elemental Barbarian Mode would also be undone. From that point on, poison damage would come my way as well.
Okay, so no mage?
His summons strictly specialized in poison and physical damage, so they couldn't harm Erwen, who had immunity to physical damage. Well, some elite zombies with elemental weapons popped up from time to time...
Crunch!
But I crushed them before they got too close. Of course, it was difficult for me to block all of them by myself. But I wasn't here alone, you see.
"Dertu Teiran!" Raven pushed away the enemies with Gust spells, and if that didn't work, deployed a Mana Shield to protect Erwen.
In terms of usefulness, wizards can't be beaten.
The rest of the group followed from a distance and focused on protecting Raven. It was perfect teamwork where everyone was watching each other's backs.
"How long do you think you can hold out!?" Spitting out bloody saliva, the bastard continued to provide rave reviews of our work, but his words contained a threat I couldn't laugh off.
This weasel-like son of a bitch.
The battle itself seemed to be unfolding in our favor, but it was our side that was in a hurry. Even if we minimized the amount of damage Erwen took, in time, Elemental Barbarian Mode would inevitably end. Besides, I didn't know how long Kyle would be able to hold out.
Whew, I need to end this before Fallen Scholar returns.
As time passed, our urgency increased. My Physical Resistance had risen from turning into an Earth-attribute barbarian, but my Mana Resistance had decreased proportionally. Erwen or not, my actual body wouldn't be able to withstand a proper magical blow, especially if it was a Water-attribute attack that dealt double damage. Honestly, if it weren't for the Fallen Scholar's existence in the first place, we could have gotten all the way here on our own, without the need for a detached unit of over a hundred people.
"...The corpses are retreating!"
To make matters worse, the bastard began putting nearby zombies into sub-space one by one. This was a very big problem. However, it did come with the advantage of lessening the burden on my comrades following behind me.
Hack!
The Bone Armor, which I used to be able to crush in one blow, could now withstand up to two hits. This was because the increased damage I was dealing thanks to Outlaw of the Wilderness had depleted.
"So, was that it?" Damn player bastards. I had kept a tight lid on it yet he'd still noticed. Clown's eyes curled into a smile.
"Don't laugh. You look ugly."
Yeah, I'm an Elemental Barbarian now.
Even despite the drastic reduction in my Mana Resistance stat, Earth Resistance easily ensured immunity against attacks like that.
[Abed Necrapeto has cast Bone Armor.]
I countered Bone Armor with Swing.
Crunch!
Each time a shell was peeled off, Erwen, who was in elemental form next to me, shot an arrow.
Thunk!
Damage steadily accumulated as the battle continued.
"Gruhhh!" Clown began taking out high-level zombies with high individual combat power from sub-space to attack Erwen. This was an excellent move. If Erwen received a certain amount of damage, Elemental Barbarian Mode would also be undone. From that point on, poison damage would come my way as well.
Okay, so no mage?
His summons strictly specialized in poison and physical damage, so they couldn't harm Erwen, who had immunity to physical damage. Well, some elite zombies with elemental weapons popped up from time to time...
Crunch!
But I crushed them before they got too close. Of course, it was difficult for me to block all of them by myself. But I wasn't here alone, you see.
"Dertu Teiran!" Raven pushed away the enemies with Gust spells, and if that didn't work, deployed a Mana Shield to protect Erwen.
In terms of usefulness, wizards can't be beaten.
The rest of the group followed from a distance and focused on protecting Raven. It was perfect teamwork where everyone was watching each other's backs.
"How long do you think you can hold out!?" Spitting out bloody saliva, the bastard continued to provide rave reviews of our work, but his words contained a threat I couldn't laugh off.
This weasel-like son of a bitch.
The battle itself seemed to be unfolding in our favor, but it was our side that was in a hurry. Even if we minimized the amount of damage Erwen took, in time, Elemental Barbarian Mode would inevitably end. Besides, I didn't know how long Kyle would be able to hold out.
Whew, I need to end this before Fallen Scholar returns.
As time passed, our urgency increased. My Physical Resistance had risen from turning into an Earth-attribute barbarian, but my Mana Resistance had decreased proportionally. Erwen or not, my actual body wouldn't be able to withstand a proper magical blow, especially if it was a Water-attribute attack that dealt double damage. Honestly, if it weren't for the Fallen Scholar's existence in the first place, we could have gotten all the way here on our own, without the need for a detached unit of over a hundred people.
"...The corpses are retreating!"
To make matters worse, the bastard began putting nearby zombies into sub-space one by one. This was a very big problem. However, it did come with the advantage of lessening the burden on my comrades following behind me.
Hack!
The Bone Armor, which I used to be able to crush in one blow, could now withstand up to two hits. This was because the increased damage I was dealing thanks to Outlaw of the Wilderness had depleted.
"So, was that it?" Damn player bastards. I had kept a tight lid on it yet he'd still noticed. Clown's eyes curled into a smile.
"Don't laugh. You look ugly."
"...When this is all over, the first thing I'll do is pull out that tongue of yours."
Try to, if you can.
"Behelahhh!" I let out a yell and shoved against him even harder. The resistance was fierce. It seemed he had finally acknowledged me as an enemy since he activated an essence the public didn't know about.
[Abed Necrapeto has cast Ephemeral Immortality.]
This was the skill of a rank-four monster, Death Lord.
Whoosh!
The bastard's clothing was promptly swallowed up in black flames, and his skin burned off until only bones remained, leaving him with the appearance of a Lich.
No wonder he had no armor.
I'd feared this, but to think he would actually have this skill... The way Ephemeral Immortality worked was really simple. When you used it, no matter what you did, you couldn't die for one minute, and your Spirit and Special Ability stats were converted to Physique stats.
A high-level adventurer with stats focused on physique...
I spoke calmly, even as I gulped. "You look much better now."
The guy didn't even respond, just rattled his bony jaw and rushed toward me.
Bang!
It was a simple push, that was all, but my body, which had even launched that massive corpse monster into the air with Recoil, got shoved back. Whew, just how high was his Strength stat? The fortunate thing was that I didn't take any damage thanks to Physical Resistance.
God damn it.
However, my comrades were a different story. It was only logical that one regular hit with that monster-like body would easily knock them over.
"Everyone, get back!"
In an instant, my goals became the complete opposite of what they were. Instead of stopping him from running away, I now had to block him.
Dash.
Clown shoved me aside and charged forward like a bull. The distance narrowed truly in the blink of an eye. This was like a max-level Skeleton.
Dash.
I quickly caught up with Leap.
Bang!
As I landed, the bastard bounced up with Recoil, but that didn't even buy us time. Even though I'd timed the landing perfectly, he easily pushed me off within a second and continued his charge. And that instant was enough for something to go wrong.
"Miss Ainar!"
As she blocked his fist with her adamantium greatsword, Ainar toppled over and collided with Mr. Bear.
Bang!
Missha took a blow to the stomach and went down hard. Raven rushed to raise a stone wall with magic, but it shattered with a single punch. It was all too clear what this guy's objective was. He must have been planning to use his limited time to defeat the most bothersome member of our team—the wizard.
"Protect Raven!" I shouted, activating Leap. At the exact same time, the bastard ignored Missha and ran forward again.
Boom!
With one punch, our tank-summoned beast Iron Bear was reverse-summoned.
"Kyaa!" Raven, who had been riding on Iron Bear, hung in the air for a breathless moment. The fist swung again before she could even land on the ground, but Mr. Bear pulled her behind him just in time.
Kwaaang!
I landed on the ground, and the bastard was sent flying up again. In the meantime, I used Giantization and got on top of my fallen comrades. Realizing what I was trying to do, Mr. Bear and Daria rushed under me.
Bang! Bang!
At that moment, the bastard landed on my back like he was trying to stomp me into dust.
Are these guys okay?
"Ugh..."
No, I don't think so. And I honestly thought this would be enough. Plan B.
I changed my mind in less than five seconds, quickly got up, and punched him in the head with my fist. I guessed he hadn't expected the blow because it sent him toppling back despite his weighty frame. Yeah, the best defense was a good offense. I dove on top of him.
"Behelahhh!" I pressed him down with my overwhelming weight and he took it. But it seemed Elemental Barbarian's weight was a lot even for him as he had a tough time pushing me off. How much longer now?
"...Damn barbarian."
So, it's finally over. Ha, I thought we were all going to die.
At the sight of his naked body, flesh now covering the bones, I smirked. "How small." It would be a lie to say I didn't feel sympathy for him, but feelings like that didn't have a place here.
Dash.
I immediately ran forward and swung my mace at him. As expected, Bone Armor burst forth.
Crunch!
Since I was using Giantization, it was destroyed in one blow. Erwen also didn't miss the opportunity to shoot an arrow. Although she aimed for the head, the bastard rolled over and avoided it like the agile character he was. However, the arrow hit his leg dead-on.
Nice.
Now that there was a hole in his leg, that cockroach should slow down. I quickly sprinted forward again. That was the moment.
[Your Soul Power is insufficient. Giantization has ended.]
My MP ran out and my body shrank. Well, it was about time, since I'd used Leap and Swing a lot. That wasn't a problem, though. It looked like this bastard was almost out of mana too.
"Mister, all the corpses near the portal fell over!"
He'd maintained that zombie army using Puppet even while fighting us, but now he'd turned it off? That showed just how cornered he was.
Just a few more hits now.
I ran toward the bastard as he scurried away like a rat. There was no Leap this time, but it unfolded similarly to the battle thus far. When he was caught mid-run, Bone Armor. Once I whacked it several times with my mace, Erwen shot an arrow. Things went on like that for a while.
Just how big is his pool of MP?
I'd just managed to catch up to him once more and was about to start macing his Bone Armor when—
"Ah-ah, Yandel. Can you hear me?" Good news and bad news came at once. "Blue Mane has been eliminated. We'll come help you soon."
Melter Fend and his clanmates had finally succeeded in their raid against Wolf Man. The disappearance of the corpse army was probably a major contributing factor. This was great news.
"And one more thing. I think... Sir Kyle has lost." But Kyle had been defeated. "Be careful. The Fallen Scholar may come to you."
Fend's warning ended up being pointless, though, because he was already here. "Haha, Mr. Necrapeto. You're looking in a bad way."
God damn it.
"...When this is all over, the first thing I'll do is pull out that tongue of yours."
Try to, if you can.
"Behelahhh!" I let out a yell and shoved against him even harder. The resistance was fierce. It seemed he had finally acknowledged me as an enemy since he activated an essence the public didn't know about.
[Abed Necrapeto has cast Ephemeral Immortality.]
This was the skill of a rank-four monster, Death Lord.
Whoosh!
The bastard's clothing was promptly swallowed up in black flames, and his skin burned off until only bones remained, leaving him with the appearance of a Lich.
No wonder he had no armor.
I'd feared this, but to think he would actually have this skill... The way Ephemeral Immortality worked was really simple. When you used it, no matter what you did, you couldn't die for one minute, and your Spirit and Special Ability stats were converted to Physique stats.
A high-level adventurer with stats focused on physique...
I spoke calmly, even as I gulped. "You look much better now."
The guy didn't even respond, just rattled his bony jaw and rushed toward me.
Bang!
It was a simple push, that was all, but my body, which had even launched that massive corpse monster into the air with Recoil, got shoved back. Whew, just how high was his Strength stat? The fortunate thing was that I didn't take any damage thanks to Physical Resistance.
God damn it.
However, my comrades were a different story. It was only logical that one regular hit with that monster-like body would easily knock them over.
"Everyone, get back!"
In an instant, my goals became the complete opposite of what they were. Instead of stopping him from running away, I now had to block him.
Dash.
Clown shoved me aside and charged forward like a bull. The distance narrowed truly in the blink of an eye. This was like a max-level Skeleton.
Dash.
I quickly caught up with Leap.
Bang!
As I landed, the bastard bounced up with Recoil, but that didn't even buy us time. Even though I'd timed the landing perfectly, he easily pushed me off within a second and continued his charge. And that instant was enough for something to go wrong.
"Miss Ainar!"
As she blocked his fist with her adamantium greatsword, Ainar toppled over and collided with Mr. Bear.
Bang!
Missha took a blow to the stomach and went down hard. Raven rushed to raise a stone wall with magic, but it shattered with a single punch. It was all too clear what this guy's objective was. He must have been planning to use his limited time to defeat the most bothersome member of our team—the wizard.
"Protect Raven!" I shouted, activating Leap. At the exact same time, the bastard ignored Missha and ran forward again.
Boom!
With one punch, our tank-summoned beast Iron Bear was reverse-summoned.
"Kyaa!" Raven, who had been riding on Iron Bear, hung in the air for a breathless moment. The fist swung again before she could even land on the ground, but Mr. Bear pulled her behind him just in time.
Kwaaang!
I landed on the ground, and the bastard was sent flying up again. In the meantime, I used Giantization and got on top of my fallen comrades. Realizing what I was trying to do, Mr. Bear and Daria rushed under me.
Bang! Bang!
At that moment, the bastard landed on my back like he was trying to stomp me into dust.
Are these guys okay?
"Ugh..."
No, I don't think so. And I honestly thought this would be enough. Plan B.
I changed my mind in less than five seconds, quickly got up, and punched him in the head with my fist. I guessed he hadn't expected the blow because it sent him toppling back despite his weighty frame. Yeah, the best defense was a good offense. I dove on top of him.
"Behelahhh!" I pressed him down with my overwhelming weight and he took it. But it seemed Elemental Barbarian's weight was a lot even for him as he had a tough time pushing me off. How much longer now?
"...Damn barbarian."
So, it's finally over. Ha, I thought we were all going to die.
At the sight of his naked body, flesh now covering the bones, I smirked. "How small." It would be a lie to say I didn't feel sympathy for him, but feelings like that didn't have a place here.
Dash.
I immediately ran forward and swung my mace at him. As expected, Bone Armor burst forth.
Crunch!
Since I was using Giantization, it was destroyed in one blow. Erwen also didn't miss the opportunity to shoot an arrow. Although she aimed for the head, the bastard rolled over and avoided it like the agile character he was. However, the arrow hit his leg dead-on.
Nice.
Now that there was a hole in his leg, that cockroach should slow down. I quickly sprinted forward again. That was the moment.
[Your Soul Power is insufficient. Giantization has ended.]
My MP ran out and my body shrank. Well, it was about time, since I'd used Leap and Swing a lot. That wasn't a problem, though. It looked like this bastard was almost out of mana too.
"Mister, all the corpses near the portal fell over!"
He'd maintained that zombie army using Puppet even while fighting us, but now he'd turned it off? That showed just how cornered he was.
Just a few more hits now.
I ran toward the bastard as he scurried away like a rat. There was no Leap this time, but it unfolded similarly to the battle thus far. When he was caught mid-run, Bone Armor. Once I whacked it several times with my mace, Erwen shot an arrow. Things went on like that for a while.
Just how big is his pool of MP?
I'd just managed to catch up to him once more and was about to start macing his Bone Armor when—
"Ah-ah, Yandel. Can you hear me?" Good news and bad news came at once. "Blue Mane has been eliminated. We'll come help you soon."
Melter Fend and his clanmates had finally succeeded in their raid against Wolf Man. The disappearance of the corpse army was probably a major contributing factor. This was great news.
"And one more thing. I think... Sir Kyle has lost." But Kyle had been defeated. "Be careful. The Fallen Scholar may come to you."
Fend's warning ended up being pointless, though, because he was already here. "Haha, Mr. Necrapeto. You're looking in a bad way."
God damn it.