Chapter 487: Pilgrim (5)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 487: Pilgrim (5)
"The pilgrims! Stop them—!"
Whack!
As we sped through the cave, I cracked the skull of any soldier we came across. Every time I killed five of them, I got a slight stat increase, but the boost was so small that I hardly noticed it given the situation.
At this rate, we should reach the exit in about an hour...
As I continued to plow ahead, the anxiety throbbing in the back of my mind refused to dissipate.
"Bjorn... When is Erwen coming back?"
Even Ainar was worried. Just imagine how I felt.
Did something happen? Was she hurt or... did she die? Anxiety was gnawing away at me, but it was out of my hands now. All I could do was keep running as hard as I could and have faith that Erwen would catch up to us.
[You have killed 405 soldiers. All of your stats have risen by +1.]
[You have killed 410 soldiers. All of your stats have risen by +1.]
[You have killed 415 soldiers...]
How much longer now? Maybe thirty minutes?
As our destination slowly drew closer and closer, my worries over what had happened to Erwen grew in kind.
Stomp.
Despite not taking a single break since we started running, we were suddenly forced to come to a halt.
"Didn't I tell you, pilgrims? There's only one way for you to make it out of this cave alive."
He was now standing in our way.
I didn't understand. He'd been behind us this whole time, so how was it possible that he was here in front of us now, blocking our path? Our pace had even slowly increased over time as our stats rose.
So... how did he catch up?
Something was wrong. However, before I could worry about that, we had other things to take care of. "Get ready to fight, Ainar."
After hearing my order, Ainar took our comrade, whose body she had been carrying this entire time, and laid her on the ground. "...Get some rest, wizard."
Dreadfear watched us and let out a cold laugh. "How ridiculous."
Maybe it was. However, the moment he appeared in our path, the only idea that came to mind was giving fighting a shot.
It might be possible now with our current stats.
Out of habit, I covered my upper body with my shield and lowered my stance, despite knowing that it would do me very little good. What could a cheap iron shield do against a knight who used aura?
We stared at each other in complete silence, waiting for the other to make the first move. After a moment, he spoke that same line. "My offer. It still stands."
Was there something wrong with this guy? How the hell had he not given up on his little backstabbing game already?
Still, if he wanted to talk, I wouldn't let the opportunity go to waste. "...What happened to Erwen?" I had to ask the question that had been eating away at my mind as we ran for hours straight.
"If you mean that pilgrim, then she's dead," he replied curtly.
"Bullshit."
"I guess you're in the business of denying what you already know."
Why did I even bother asking him? It was ridiculous to think I could believe the words of a boss character whose whole theme was betrayal.
"Whether you believe me or not, that doesn't change the truth. No matter how much you believe you are doing the right thing, in the end, you are nothing but a filthy piece of—"
There was no reason to listen to any more of this.
I ran forward with a shout of, "Ainar!" However, as soon as the distance between us narrowed, he drew his aura-coated blade.
Step.
Immediately, I stepped back and outside of his range. Taking advantage of the opening created when he took aim at me, Ainar closed in. "Behel—aaaaaah!" she cried, driving her sword at him in a powerful swing. He darted to the side.
Clang!
Her sword slammed into the ground where he had been standing just moments ago. It was too early to call our assault a failure, though. Fighting as a team meant breaking the enemy's stance, alternating between attacking and defending, and looking for the right moment to strike.
Thud.
As he dodged Ainar's strike, I chucked my useless shield at his ugly mug. Then, with his field of view blocked, I took a large step forward and swung my mace. Yet again, he was able to react in time, shifting his sword into my mace's path. It was clear that, at this rate, he'd easily cut my mace in two.
Swoosh.
So, I used all the strength I had to quickly change the trajectory of my swing.
Fwoosh!
My mace cut through the air, evading his sword entirely, and—
Stab!
Ainar's blade sunk into his shoulder right on time.
All right. We were able to land the first hit.
We couldn't be satisfied with just that, though. There was no reason to let up on him and retreat now. After all, a battle was essentially just a game of who could make the most moves.
Attack, block, or dodge—you had a split second to choose one of these three options, and then your next move, and then your next. Thanks to our quick thinking, we were able to limit the number of moves he could make.
Step.
The man was forced to stay on the defensive and focus on either blocking or dodging. Because of the pressure we put on him, we were able to lower the risk of him attacking us. And the other two choices open to him were limited.
Left. Yeah, I knew you would move over to the left.
Whack!
He was forced to twist his body to dodge our attacks, making him fall out of his stance. As a result, he managed to limit the damage he took, but in return, the fight became easier for us and even harder on our opponent.
We all fell into a vicious cycle of exchanging blows. No matter how much of an upper hand we had, we couldn't drop our guard. He was a knight who used aura. Just one attack from him would be enough to end us, and all battles inevitably came with unforeseen variables.
Fwoosh!
He raised his sword again, swinging at just the right trajectory to intercept my mace. This time, things played out differently. Seeing his blade approach my mace, I was forced to twist my body to dodge it, judging that losing my weapon would be the worst possible outcome here. However, that decision left me wide open.
Why did I even bother asking him? It was ridiculous to think I could believe the words of a boss character whose whole theme was betrayal.
"Whether you believe me or not, that doesn't change the truth. No matter how much you believe you are doing the right thing, in the end, you are nothing but a filthy piece of—"
There was no reason to listen to any more of this.
I ran forward with a shout of, "Ainar!" However, as soon as the distance between us narrowed, he drew his aura-coated blade.
Step.
Immediately, I stepped back and outside of his range. Taking advantage of the opening created when he took aim at me, Ainar closed in. "Behel—aaaaaah!" she cried, driving her sword at him in a powerful swing. He darted to the side.
Clang!
Her sword slammed into the ground where he had been standing just moments ago. It was too early to call our assault a failure, though. Fighting as a team meant breaking the enemy's stance, alternating between attacking and defending, and looking for the right moment to strike.
Thud.
As he dodged Ainar's strike, I chucked my useless shield at his ugly mug. Then, with his field of view blocked, I took a large step forward and swung my mace. Yet again, he was able to react in time, shifting his sword into my mace's path. It was clear that, at this rate, he'd easily cut my mace in two.
Swoosh.
So, I used all the strength I had to quickly change the trajectory of my swing.
Fwoosh!
My mace cut through the air, evading his sword entirely, and—
Stab!
Ainar's blade sunk into his shoulder right on time.
All right. We were able to land the first hit.
We couldn't be satisfied with just that, though. There was no reason to let up on him and retreat now. After all, a battle was essentially just a game of who could make the most moves.
Attack, block, or dodge—you had a split second to choose one of these three options, and then your next move, and then your next. Thanks to our quick thinking, we were able to limit the number of moves he could make.
Step.
The man was forced to stay on the defensive and focus on either blocking or dodging. Because of the pressure we put on him, we were able to lower the risk of him attacking us. And the other two choices open to him were limited.
Left. Yeah, I knew you would move over to the left.
Whack!
He was forced to twist his body to dodge our attacks, making him fall out of his stance. As a result, he managed to limit the damage he took, but in return, the fight became easier for us and even harder on our opponent.
We all fell into a vicious cycle of exchanging blows. No matter how much of an upper hand we had, we couldn't drop our guard. He was a knight who used aura. Just one attack from him would be enough to end us, and all battles inevitably came with unforeseen variables.
Fwoosh!
He raised his sword again, swinging at just the right trajectory to intercept my mace. This time, things played out differently. Seeing his blade approach my mace, I was forced to twist my body to dodge it, judging that losing my weapon would be the worst possible outcome here. However, that decision left me wide open.
Thud.
He didn't pass up his chance and kicked me square in the stomach. I didn't take any real damage, but the true threat lay in how he used that momentum to quickly turn the tide of this battle against us.
Slash!
Ainar slashed at his thigh, but it was too late.
Stab!
At the exact same moment, he buried his sword into my stomach.
Agh, that stings.
I really hadn't expected him to attack me so recklessly.
Although she saw me get stabbed, Ainar didn't bother asking if I was okay or not, instead continuing her onslaught like the veteran she was. "Aaah!"
I quickly forced myself back to my feet and jumped back into the fight. Lying on the ground in pain wasn't going to stop me from bleeding out. It didn't matter how many injuries I got in the process—I just had to kill this guy before he killed me. If killing him ended this raid, then I could get healed up once we were out.
"Behel—aaaaaah!"
Thus, a bloody battle ensued. Even facing him two-v-one with improved stats, it was a tough fight, especially since our numerical advantage didn't last for long. "For the empire!" Out of nowhere, a bunch of soldiers appeared and ran at us, making things even harder. Still, they weren't all bad.
Slice!
Thanks to them, I had a stock of backup weapons.
Thud.
As soon as my mace fell to the ground, now sliced in two, I grabbed another weapon from a fallen soldier's body. A sword, a hammer, a mace—the type of weapon didn't matter. I just needed something long enough to swing at him at full strength.
Whack!
First my arms, then my legs, then my torso, shoulders, eyes, and ears—all over my body, the injuries continued to mount. Even so, it was clear he wasn't faring much better.
Fwoosh!
His strikes, each of which contained the full power and skill of a knight, had gradually slowed and lost steam. Even his aura was smaller than before. One of his arms was heavily injured and his left leg, which Ainar had stabbed a couple of times, had gone so limp that he could barely use it.
Soon.
We would win. At this rate, he would fall before we did. With that thought in mind, I raised the hammer in my hands and put my full weight behind my next swing. But...
[The White Captain, Dreadfear, has dropped to less than 15% health.]
With a burst of energy not unlike a bomb going off, my body was flung to the side and crashed into a wall. Stars burst behind my eyelids from the impact, but I quickly forced myself to stand so I could see what had just happened through blurry eyes.
"Shit."
I couldn't not swear in a situation like this.
[The White Captain, Dreadfear, has cast Eternal Nightmare. His health has fully recovered.]
In an instant, his injuries fully healed as he took a step toward me. "My offer..." he said calmly. "It still stands."
What the fuck is he talking about?
"Tell me..." I fired back. "Were you raised by parrots?"
He didn't answer my question. Instead, without another word, he stabbed me in the stomach.
Thud.
He didn't pass up his chance and kicked me square in the stomach. I didn't take any real damage, but the true threat lay in how he used that momentum to quickly turn the tide of this battle against us.
Slash!
Ainar slashed at his thigh, but it was too late.
Stab!
At the exact same moment, he buried his sword into my stomach.
Agh, that stings.
I really hadn't expected him to attack me so recklessly.
Although she saw me get stabbed, Ainar didn't bother asking if I was okay or not, instead continuing her onslaught like the veteran she was. "Aaah!"
I quickly forced myself back to my feet and jumped back into the fight. Lying on the ground in pain wasn't going to stop me from bleeding out. It didn't matter how many injuries I got in the process—I just had to kill this guy before he killed me. If killing him ended this raid, then I could get healed up once we were out.
"Behel—aaaaaah!"
Thus, a bloody battle ensued. Even facing him two-v-one with improved stats, it was a tough fight, especially since our numerical advantage didn't last for long. "For the empire!" Out of nowhere, a bunch of soldiers appeared and ran at us, making things even harder. Still, they weren't all bad.
Slice!
Thanks to them, I had a stock of backup weapons.
Thud.
As soon as my mace fell to the ground, now sliced in two, I grabbed another weapon from a fallen soldier's body. A sword, a hammer, a mace—the type of weapon didn't matter. I just needed something long enough to swing at him at full strength.
Whack!
First my arms, then my legs, then my torso, shoulders, eyes, and ears—all over my body, the injuries continued to mount. Even so, it was clear he wasn't faring much better.
Fwoosh!
His strikes, each of which contained the full power and skill of a knight, had gradually slowed and lost steam. Even his aura was smaller than before. One of his arms was heavily injured and his left leg, which Ainar had stabbed a couple of times, had gone so limp that he could barely use it.
Soon.
We would win. At this rate, he would fall before we did. With that thought in mind, I raised the hammer in my hands and put my full weight behind my next swing. But...
[The White Captain, Dreadfear, has dropped to less than 15% health.]
With a burst of energy not unlike a bomb going off, my body was flung to the side and crashed into a wall. Stars burst behind my eyelids from the impact, but I quickly forced myself to stand so I could see what had just happened through blurry eyes.
"Shit."
I couldn't not swear in a situation like this.
[The White Captain, Dreadfear, has cast Eternal Nightmare. His health has fully recovered.]
In an instant, his injuries fully healed as he took a step toward me. "My offer..." he said calmly. "It still stands."
What the fuck is he talking about?
"Tell me..." I fired back. "Were you raised by parrots?"
He didn't answer my question. Instead, without another word, he stabbed me in the stomach.
"This... broken... ass... game..."
My vision went black.
***
[Your health has dropped to less than 5 percent. Narcolepsy is now active. Your Natural Regeneration has temporarily significantly increased. You have fallen into a state of Unconsciousness.]
***
I felt like I was drifting down a river in complete darkness, buoyed only by my thoughts as they bobbed to the surface.
How the hell did they expect us to kill a bastard like the Lord of Terror, Dreadfear?
The answer was simple.
It was impossible. I misunderstood the situation because of the sudden spike in our stats, but it was nothing more than a trap from the jump. He wasn't a character that was made to be fought in the first place.
I chose wrong.
I had interpreted this all wrong. We should have run toward the exit the moment we spotted him. We shouldn't have tried to fight him.
This was meant to be a game of hide-and-seek.
Raising our stats was just a small buff granted to us to make things fairer as we ran away from him. A head-to-head battle was never an option.
"Ugh..."
I was now paying the price for making the wrong call.
[Your health has risen above 15%. Your Unconscious state has changed to a state of Paralysis. Your increase in Natural Regeneration has slightly decreased.]
When I opened my eyes, I was on Ainar's back.
"Catch them—!" The soldiers' shouts rang out behind us, but Ainar continued to run forward at full speed.
"Huh? B-Bjorn...? You're awake? Are you... okay? Can you hear me?"
I forced my mouth open despite the fact that I could barely move. "I'm... fine... Explain... the situation..."
"Ah! O-Okay..." Ainar rushed to fill me in even as she kept fleeing. "You collapsed... and suddenly... the entire cave started to tremble. And that guy... stopped moving. I took advantage of the opportunity and grabbed you... and I quickly ran away with you on my back..."
He stopped moving? Was it because of the altar?
There was no telling. This was my first time experiencing this hidden level, so I had no clue what was happening, and I didn't have a system log to tell me either.
"...Time?"
"I-I don't know. Maybe five minutes...?"
So I was unconscious for about five minutes.
"But are you okay?" she asked frantically.
"I'm... fine. I just can't move..."
What was up with me?
After thinking it over for a moment, there was one theory that seemed likely. Narcolepsy was a passive skill that activated when your health dropped below 5 percent. At 15 percent, your status changed to Paralyzed. Then, once you were back at 30 percent, the status effects disappeared altogether.
So... I also have skills.
It wasn't just Versyl and Erwen—I had started with a skill too. But since it was a passive skill, I had only noticed now.
That means Ainar must also have one...
What was hers? No idea, but there was also no time to experiment and find out.
"Left..."
"Huh?"
"Go left..."
"Oh..."
I fired off directions to Ainar as I tried to get my thoughts in order, still slumped against her back. However, a particularly loud sound soon caught my attention.
Huff, huff...
Her breathing was much heavier now than before, to the point where it was concerning.
"Ainar... are you all right?"
"I'm... fine..."
No, she didn't look fine at all.
"It's just... I can't... use my hands... and I'm... a bit injured... but it's fine..."
A question suddenly occurred to me. Since she was carrying me on her back, she couldn't use her hands, so how was she dealing with the soldiers that got in our way? Had she been lucky enough to not encounter any soldiers in the past five minutes at all?
I didn't need to wonder for long. She soon showed me exactly how she handled them.
"...Filthy pilgrims!" A group of soldiers jumped out from one of the crossroads, putting themselves right in our path.
Ainar's way of dealing with them was straightforward. She just kept running. No, rather, she sped up and rammed straight through them.
Stab!
Their sharp weapons swung at her body, but with both arms behind her holding me up, all she could do was endure their attacks and protect her vitals as best she could. Her shoulders, arms, and legs ended up covered in injuries, some large wounds and others small nicks. In the end, though, Ainar was still able to get through.
The soldiers we passed joined the group chasing us from behind. As I watched all this unfold, I heard Ainar's breathing grow even heavier than before.
Huff... Huff...
All the while, I couldn't say a word.
Ainar immediately noticed my silence and asked, "Bjorn... were you... hurt?"
"...Stop."
This was too risky. She was obviously on the verge of collapse. And at this rate, even if we did make it out of here, her injuries might end up impossible to treat. We didn't even have a potion on us. Her best option was to put me down and wait for my Paralysis to end. That way, she wouldn't need to carry me anymore.
"I can't... do that."
For some reason, however, Ainar stubbornly refused to stop.
"Wh-why...?"
"The moment you collapsed... I saw... the future."
"...The future?"
"The wizard... When she died... I saw it then too. I thought it was just a random hallucination but... I now think that... it's some sort of skill."
Why was she acting like this, though? Just what did she see?
I asked her, but she wouldn't tell me. "I... can't stop. Just trust me on that."
I was once again rendered speechless.
"I... definitely won't... fall."
Ainar's voice was filled with determination. Knowing I had no hope of changing her mind, I held my tongue as she continued silently forging ahead.
Stomp, stomp.
No matter how many soldiers got in our way, she never stopped charging forward.
"This... broken... ass... game..."
My vision went black.
***
[Your health has dropped to less than 5 percent. Narcolepsy is now active. Your Natural Regeneration has temporarily significantly increased. You have fallen into a state of Unconsciousness.]
***
I felt like I was drifting down a river in complete darkness, buoyed only by my thoughts as they bobbed to the surface.
How the hell did they expect us to kill a bastard like the Lord of Terror, Dreadfear?
The answer was simple.
It was impossible. I misunderstood the situation because of the sudden spike in our stats, but it was nothing more than a trap from the jump. He wasn't a character that was made to be fought in the first place.
I chose wrong.
I had interpreted this all wrong. We should have run toward the exit the moment we spotted him. We shouldn't have tried to fight him.
This was meant to be a game of hide-and-seek.
Raising our stats was just a small buff granted to us to make things fairer as we ran away from him. A head-to-head battle was never an option.
"Ugh..."
I was now paying the price for making the wrong call.
[Your health has risen above 15%. Your Unconscious state has changed to a state of Paralysis. Your increase in Natural Regeneration has slightly decreased.]
When I opened my eyes, I was on Ainar's back.
"Catch them—!" The soldiers' shouts rang out behind us, but Ainar continued to run forward at full speed.
"Huh? B-Bjorn...? You're awake? Are you... okay? Can you hear me?"
I forced my mouth open despite the fact that I could barely move. "I'm... fine... Explain... the situation..."
"Ah! O-Okay..." Ainar rushed to fill me in even as she kept fleeing. "You collapsed... and suddenly... the entire cave started to tremble. And that guy... stopped moving. I took advantage of the opportunity and grabbed you... and I quickly ran away with you on my back..."
He stopped moving? Was it because of the altar?
There was no telling. This was my first time experiencing this hidden level, so I had no clue what was happening, and I didn't have a system log to tell me either.
"...Time?"
"I-I don't know. Maybe five minutes...?"
So I was unconscious for about five minutes.
"But are you okay?" she asked frantically.
"I'm... fine. I just can't move..."
What was up with me?
After thinking it over for a moment, there was one theory that seemed likely. Narcolepsy was a passive skill that activated when your health dropped below 5 percent. At 15 percent, your status changed to Paralyzed. Then, once you were back at 30 percent, the status effects disappeared altogether.
So... I also have skills.
It wasn't just Versyl and Erwen—I had started with a skill too. But since it was a passive skill, I had only noticed now.
That means Ainar must also have one...
What was hers? No idea, but there was also no time to experiment and find out.
"Left..."
"Huh?"
"Go left..."
"Oh..."
I fired off directions to Ainar as I tried to get my thoughts in order, still slumped against her back. However, a particularly loud sound soon caught my attention.
Huff, huff...
Her breathing was much heavier now than before, to the point where it was concerning.
"Ainar... are you all right?"
"I'm... fine..."
No, she didn't look fine at all.
"It's just... I can't... use my hands... and I'm... a bit injured... but it's fine..."
A question suddenly occurred to me. Since she was carrying me on her back, she couldn't use her hands, so how was she dealing with the soldiers that got in our way? Had she been lucky enough to not encounter any soldiers in the past five minutes at all?
I didn't need to wonder for long. She soon showed me exactly how she handled them.
"...Filthy pilgrims!" A group of soldiers jumped out from one of the crossroads, putting themselves right in our path.
Ainar's way of dealing with them was straightforward. She just kept running. No, rather, she sped up and rammed straight through them.
Stab!
Their sharp weapons swung at her body, but with both arms behind her holding me up, all she could do was endure their attacks and protect her vitals as best she could. Her shoulders, arms, and legs ended up covered in injuries, some large wounds and others small nicks. In the end, though, Ainar was still able to get through.
The soldiers we passed joined the group chasing us from behind. As I watched all this unfold, I heard Ainar's breathing grow even heavier than before.
Huff... Huff...
All the while, I couldn't say a word.
Ainar immediately noticed my silence and asked, "Bjorn... were you... hurt?"
"...Stop."
This was too risky. She was obviously on the verge of collapse. And at this rate, even if we did make it out of here, her injuries might end up impossible to treat. We didn't even have a potion on us. Her best option was to put me down and wait for my Paralysis to end. That way, she wouldn't need to carry me anymore.
"I can't... do that."
For some reason, however, Ainar stubbornly refused to stop.
"Wh-why...?"
"The moment you collapsed... I saw... the future."
"...The future?"
"The wizard... When she died... I saw it then too. I thought it was just a random hallucination but... I now think that... it's some sort of skill."
Why was she acting like this, though? Just what did she see?
I asked her, but she wouldn't tell me. "I... can't stop. Just trust me on that."
I was once again rendered speechless.
"I... definitely won't... fall."
Ainar's voice was filled with determination. Knowing I had no hope of changing her mind, I held my tongue as she continued silently forging ahead.
Stomp, stomp.
No matter how many soldiers got in our way, she never stopped charging forward.