Frenzied Rampage
The bastard’s voice cut through the tension like a rusted blade. “You bastards! Getting hit by one spell and you’re still cowering? Move! The hunt begins!”
Gaspel has cast Hunting Time
Gap Calculation in Progress… Partial Resistance!
Attacks from the caster will inflict minor additional damage that ignores defense.
The Agility stage increase from pursuit does not apply.
The difference wasn’t that overwhelming once Agility was excluded, so only half the effects seemed to take hold. Gaspel squinted at me, then shrugged as if it didn’t matter.
“Huh? Why’s the brand so faint? Whatever. It landed, that’s what counts.”
He turned and started barking orders at the rest of his party like it was just another day. “Oi! Stop wasting time on the dead one. Skiron, and you two trembling extras—take care of the women over there.”
When they hesitated, his eyes bulged with fury. “Curse, blood relative, it doesn’t matter! We just kill everyone here and be done with it! So stop shivering and move! …What are you waiting for? Get going!”
“Y-yes!”
“Understood, boss!”
The three of them rushed forward, faces drained of color. I couldn’t let them reach Yeriel and Lumia.
“Uh-uh. Your opponent is me. Where do you think you’re going?”
Fast!
Clang! Kaang!
His daggers flickered with sinister red mana the same shade as his hair. Stab, slash—every motion flowed with practiced cruelty. Even when I deflected his attacks, he simply spun into the next strike without losing balance. No matter how hard I parried, his stance never broke.
“If you don’t kill me soon your little party members might die. That okay with you? Put some real effort in!”
Damn it. I need to seize the initiative, but I can’t find a single opening.
When my stats first climbed from E to D, I’d instinctively felt the difference. This was on another level. Was the gap between C- and D in Agility really this vast? Every swing of Gaspel’s daggers looked slow enough to track, yet… seeing the attacks slowly didn’t make my body any faster. I could dodge or block, but counterattacking was nearly impossible.
“Kk, not bad at all, are you?”
Clang! Kaang!
He reversed his grip mid-swing and slashed the instant his first strike was blocked, then spun like a whirlwind and charged again. “Your defense is impressive. But are you just going to keep blocking forever? Starting to think that sword of yours picked the wrong owner!”
I ignored the childish taunts meant to crack my focus and kept hunting for an opening. From behind us, the sounds of fierce combat erupted.
Yeriel — Holy Arrow
Piiing—
Skiron — Wheelwind
Lugen — Grasp of Night
Damn it, how is it going over there? Yeriel and Lumia need to hold out—
Trust your comrades. Focus on the enemy in front of you.
Whoosh!
“Worried about them? With me right here? Not the time to look away, is it?”
Huuung.
“Honestly, I’ve lost all interest in that blood relative bitch.”
Clang! Crack.
Gaspel sneered while we locked weapons. “Killing her for some pathetic group revenge sounds boring. Crossing blades with you in a real life-or-death fight? That’s much more fun!”
Bullshit.
“Found an interesting prey after so long… Is that what you wanted to say?”
“Kahaha, exactly. So whether your lovers die or our trash dies, stop caring and give me everything you’ve got!”
Clang!
Crazy son of a bitch. Fine. Dying here after losing was a hundred times worse than vomiting blood from the recoil and surviving. I discarded the last shred of hesitation.
“Hoo…”
BOOM—!
“Khuk!”
I channeled mana through the Explosive Sword Art’s path and met his strike head-on. The explosion rang out like a bomb. The force sent him staggering. It didn’t matter if the weapon broke. It would restore itself anyway. His chest was wide open—now!
Slash!
“Kuaaak!”
I felt the blade sink deep. Gaspel clutched the wound across his chest, blood seeping even through his armor.
“Fuck. I lost in strength?”
“Ha. Interesting. So you were hiding something after all? A wound like this is nothing. I’ll kill you and pour a potion on it.”
Tap. Clang. Whirl.
The playful glint vanished from his face. His daggers twisted like snakes, slicing in. Bang! He flinched, as if remembering how he’d been pushed back earlier. But the speed gap only prevented his evasion and counter from linking smoothly—his technique itself was still sharp.
Bang! Boom! Bang!
“Khhp.”
Gaspel ground his teeth. No matter how fiercely he attacked, I kept blocking harder. It must have been driving him insane.
Gaspel — Rampage
An intermediate dagger art technique? He began swinging wildly, daggers flashing in a storm of cuts. Damn it. I could see every strike, but they were too fast for my body to keep up. My eyes tracked them, but my limbs couldn’t follow.
Grind. Crack. Spurt—
His mana-infused slashes split my armor and left shallow cuts along my arm. I tasted blood rising in my throat.
“Kuu… Cough.”
So the brand’s defense-ignoring damage applied like this? Even though I’d avoided a fatal wound, the internal shock still made me vomit blood.
Gaspel — Stealth
Whoosh— The moment the attack landed, he vanished without a trace. Front? Back? Side?
The world slowed. …Behind!
I leaped forward and rolled across the ground. The instant I sprang up, I saw Gaspel off-balance, dagger stabbing empty air.
“What—”
I charged the flustered bastard, swinging Barak down with every intention of splitting his unprotected head in two.
Ka-ga-gak!
He dropped to one knee and barely blocked it. “Guh!”
“Uaaaah!”
I poured my weight into the blade, trying to crush him, but he released his strength, twisted his dagger cleverly, and rolled away.
“Huk… Hoo. What the hell are you? You don’t have eyes in the back of your head. Just how many traits do you have?”
You have no idea how hard I was rolling my eyes to dodge that last strike.
“This isn’t fun anymore. It’s like peeling an onion and I’m getting sick of it. Let’s end this. Goodbye!”
Gaspel — Fatal Blow
He charged with murderous intent. Bang! Boom! Bang! Heart-seeking thrusts like a gale. Lethal combinations aimed at my abdomen and throat. Whoosh— Boom! Spinning downward strike and diagonal slash.
“Hoo.”
I blocked every single one.
Seeing him stiffen from the skill’s recoil, I flooded mana into my right arm. This was the only moment he wouldn’t be able to react. The Explosive Sword Art wasn’t about strengthening the weapon. Remember the real sparring with Ivelin. Draw unpredictable, flashing sword paths.
Attacking wildly, then spouting crap about killing or dying. Who the hell gave you permission to end this?
The mana inside my right arm detonated. A sword strike descended like a bolt of light. He desperately tried to raise his daggers, but it was too late.
Bang!
Slash.
“Kuaaak—!”
Mid-downward cut I found an opening, detonated another burst of mana, and instantly switched to a horizontal slash. It tore straight through his side.
“Kkhh… How… the hell…”
Gaspel clutched the gaping wound, intestines threatening to spill as he vomited clots of blood. My right arm throbbed violently. I tried to raise my sword again.
“Kuuu… Kuaaa—!”
Gaspel has entered a near-death state and fallen into Berserk.
A crimson aura coiled around him and blasted me backward.
Damn. If I’d taken his head in one clean strike, would the trait have stayed dormant? No… even a severed head might have reattached itself.
I stopped the pointless self-blame. I would gather information while the aura raged around him, before the final clash.
When the user faces death, the beast lurking within is finally released. Once consumed, the original personality is as good as dead. All that remains is a single beast that craves slaughter.
—All stats except Luck rise by one stage.
—Luck fixed at F-.
—‘Madness’ stacks permanently maintained at 5.
—Regeneration greatly increased.
Roar of Killing Intent (C)
Releases a roar filled with immense killing intent. Ordinary humans would lose their lives the instant they are touched by it.
—Enables skill ‘Roar of Killing Intent’.
—High chance to inflict Fear on target.
—High chance to inflict Despair on target.
Disgusting. One trait had changed his entire status window this much.
A priestess and a dark mage had taken out three enemies including their vanguard? I’d thought I’d be grateful if they simply held on… Seems I had underestimated both of them.
‘This crazy bastard’s physical stats are all hovering around C-rank now. It’d be dangerous if you draw aggro, so stay back, give me buffs only, and wait somewhere safe, okay?’
…Wait a second.
Divine Weapon effect: Strength increased by one stage for 30 minutes.
Haste effect: Agility increased by one stage for 30 minutes.
“Perfect! I’ll finish this quickly and come back. Don’t worry—just wait with Lumia.”
While I exchanged those brief words with Yeriel, the crimson aura that had been raging and denying all approach finally subsided.
…Here it comes!
BOOM!
“Krr, glurk.”
Gaspel’s eyes had turned completely bloodshot, even the whites. Tongue lolling, he charged like a wild animal. Not a single trace of reason remained—only pure instinct.
Bang! Bang! Boom!
I kept meeting his strikes with mana-infused Explosive Sword Art. One, two, three. The attacks never stopped. Logically, with his stats boosted by Frenzy he should have been harder to handle than before, yet the complete lack of technique made him simpler to read.
He’s not thinking anymore. He’s just swinging on pure muscle memory.
In that case—
“Haaap!”
Bang!
Slash—
“Kieeee!”
“Kup.”
I deflected his blows at the last possible moment and chained cuts together. Pop! Bang! Boom! I kept changing the trajectory, driving strikes into every opening he created while attacking me. Even shallow grazes made my insides churn and filled my mouth with the taste of blood. My right arm felt like it would explode, and I wanted to vomit, but knowing he was suffering far worse kept me swinging.
Slice. Cut! Slash!
“Just die already—!”
C-rank durability plus insane regeneration from his trait. To kill him for good I needed to take his head or pierce his heart… The trait had mentioned a beast, but whether it was instinct or not, even in his madness he never left his vitals exposed.
Then it happened.
Crackle—crack!
The rare lightning affliction from Barak finally triggered!
“Keeeek—!”
Gaspel — Roar of Killing Intent
Kwaaaaa—!
“You son of a—!”
Chaos Eye nullifies Fear.
Chaos Eye nullifies Despair.
Most of the mental attack was blocked, but the physical shockwave still sent me flying.
No! If I lose this chance—!
…
…Damn it. In the end, only one option remained.
Lightning Step.
Stack: 1 → 0
Crackle.
The stack-type skill that turned me into lightning and moved to any spot within sight—once per day. I had used it once during training with Ivelin and then sealed it. Even with Barak’s lightning resistance, the moment I activated it, unbearable electric shock and burning pain flooded my legs. I would collapse the instant I arrived, making it useless in combat.
Rumble—
As expected, the moment I reappeared right behind Gaspel my legs gave out and I collapsed, clutching them.
“■■■■■■■—!”
Hot. Cold? My legs… my hands… burning. Dizzy. Am I standing? Did I fall? Feels like I’m dying. Am I dying? Kill. Sword. Heart. I have to kill to live. What?
Hold on to your mind!
…Right.
I crawled to the fallen bastard and drove Barak straight into his heart.
“Kehep… Kk, kuhuk.”
“Heh… hehe.”
When I finally rolled onto my back and stretched out, tears slipped free without warning. Fuck. Why did I have to fight for my life like this starting from the very first floor? Even when I fell naked onto the third floor it hadn’t been this bad.
I want to hold you tight and pat your back.
“Haaa…”
…Phew. Right. I need to pull myself together.
Ha, when can we ever live an easy life? Sometimes it hurts. Sometimes we fall and have to stand back up. That’s what being human is. I’m okay now, so don’t worry.
You’re admirable. When we return to the city I’ll pamper you a lot.
Pfft. If you look the same as last time, I might be the one pampering you instead.
Hmph. We’ll see about that.
Enough banter.
Yeriel, can you hear me? Everything’s taken care of. Bring the luggage and everything we looted from them over here, please.
No serious injuries, but I could use some healing. The tension’s gone and my body feels drained.
Was there anything worth looting from Gaspel? At the very least I should take the daggers he used.
“Huh?”
I forced my upper body up and looked at his corpse. Right in the center… a gray light was glowing softly.