How to Use an A-Class Key (5)

I closed my eyes and took a short, sharp breath. Hoo. In that fleeting moment, a sinister dampness bubbled through the air like foam. The only thing I could feel was the frantic pounding of my heart. Paralysis poison had spread through my entire body, leaving my fingertips numb. Even the sensation in my toes felt dull, like I was suffering from frostbite. A whirlwind of fear, terror, and courage swirled in my chest. This place truly was the calm before a desert storm.

I slowly opened my eyes again. Roughly fifty 'Mummy Warriors' filled the wide chamber. There was no longer any path of retreat. Nowhere left to run. The creatures had positioned me at the center and were forming a circular encirclement. The metallic clank of shields being raised and the clash of swords against one another echoed without any rhythm. These mummies were armed far differently from the one I'd faced earlier. That was probably why they were called warriors.

Through the gaps in their loosened bandages, parts of their bodies were visible. Their skin had long since rotted away, but between the tears, I could still see vivid, living muscle. Groaning, gurgling, and the unpleasant sound of scratching throats assaulted my ears without pause. They also clacked their few remaining yellow teeth together in a threatening rhythm. Since they had no lips, the sight of their teeth grinding was completely exposed.

Srrrrng. A single streak of light rose above the black shadow. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠In this unpleasant space, the beam of light in my hand became a symbol. The dagger soon transformed into the shape of a sword.

"Alright."

I rolled my shoulders. My condition wasn't great, but I would take care of every single one of these bastards here. Even if it meant missing out on the Golden Goblin. It might have been nothing more than youthful bravado, but wasn't there a time in every teenage boy's life when he wanted to test his own limits? That was exactly how I felt right now.

At that moment, one ferocious Mummy Warrior took a step toward me. From the front, it raised its one-handed sword high!

"Uuuuuurgh!"

These things released poison gas when they died. Keeping that firmly in mind, I swung my sword as well. From as far away as possible. Using only the tip of my blade, I deflected its weapon. With a sharp clang, the battle officially began. The sword that went spinning through the air embedded itself perfectly into the skull of a nearby Mummy Warrior. Unluckily for it, the creature collapsed to the floor with a splat, leaking black brain matter.

But another Mummy Warrior immediately leaped forward, stepping on its comrade's corpse. It jumped and brought its sword crashing down. Clang! Metal struck metal, and the creature was sent flying back. The recoil forced me to duck down as well. It was heavier than I'd expected.

"Hah!"

There was no time to rest. Forty-nine perfectly healthy Mummy Warriors were still waiting for an opening. Right then, three mummies moved to attack me from behind. Their blades flashed simultaneously.

"Not a chance!"

I swept my sword low across the floor. Whiiiish. The cutting sound sliced horizontally, and the three mummies whose lower bodies had been slashed lost their balance and collapsed at the same time. They were wearing armor—Egyptian-style gear straight out of a movie. Though heavily rusted, the armor did its job remarkably well. They even had shields, armor, and helmets. All three types of defensive equipment. That was exactly why I couldn't swing my sword recklessly.

But their lower bodies—from the groin to the ankles—had virtually no defense. Just bandages wrapped around them, leaving them completely vulnerable. So it wasn't surprising that three mummies hit by my low sweep all fell at once.

"Uuuuurgh!"

"Kuuuurgh!"

"Huuuuurgh!"

Yet there were still so many more aiming for my back. If I looked left, an attack came from the right. If I stared straight ahead, a surprise strike came from behind. On top of that, these creatures seemed to have some learning ability—they started bending their knees and protecting their lower bodies with their shields. It was a slightly hunched posture, but an effective way to minimize their weakness.

I let out a mocking laugh and spun once in place. So that's how they're playing it. Either way, it was proof they weren't underestimating me. I was definitely stronger. The sight of the Mummy Warriors hunching down only fueled my fighting spirit even more.

I kicked off the ground—paat!—and leaped high into the air. Blocking below? Then I'll attack from above. Every mummy in the room lifted their chins at the same time. Their dried, shriveled faces, the sunken eye sockets, and the glowing blue pupils within them all turned toward me at once.

I pulled both arms back behind my head.

Then, with all my strength, I swung my sword at the group clustered directly in front of me. The sword path drew a destructive arc. A streak of light shot out in a long straight line. Paaaah! It struck every Mummy Warrior standing in that straight formation at once. Screams like scratching throats followed immediately after. I'd driven my sword energy precisely into the gaps of their armor and helmets. Cracks began forming diagonally across their trapezius and collarbones, and they all dropped to their knees at once, spewing black pus.

"Haa."

I let out a long breath. Until now, I'd been carefully taking them down one by one. This was the first time I'd knocked down a large group all at once like this. It felt incredibly good.

The Mummy Warriors were surprisingly capable of thought. Maybe because they were humanoid monsters. Their intelligence was quite high. Because of that, they began changing their tactics. So far, they'd used a strategy of surrounding and slowly wearing me down. A cowardly approach that only targeted the back of the opponent's head, very, very slowly.

But it seemed even they had decided this wasn't working anymore. Clank! With a heavy thud, the warriors slammed their shields into the ground in unison. Even though they were enemies, the sight was spectacular. The moment countless shields hit the floor at the same time, they all charged toward me at once.

"Uuuuuurgh!"

A bizarre yet thunderous war cry filled the entire chamber.

"Hah!"

It was truly a desperate situation with no way forward or back. In a space where I couldn't even take a single step to escape, I swung my sword wildly in circles. Whirrr! The outermost layer of mummies collapsed in a heap, spilling their innards. Then the Mummy Warriors behind them trampled over their comrades' corpses and charged again. The phrase 'they poured down and swallowed me' would have been perfectly accurate.

"Hup!"

This much of a swarm really might have been nothing but bravado. The mummies charged endlessly. Then the ones that had leaped forward covered me in an instant, and I quickly curled my body into a ball.

"Guuuuurgh!"

With a loud clatter, I was swallowed up by the sheer mass of mummies in the blink of an eye. I couldn't see anything. The tangled weight of the Mummy Warriors pressed down on my body. Their stench at such close range assaulted me—the horrible smell of preservatives making me dizzy.

Fortunately, I was still alive. Because they were tangled up ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠with each other, the mummies forming a dome around me couldn't land proper attacks. Instead, their swords ended up stabbing each other more often than not. The eerie sound of grinding teeth came from every direction.

When I cautiously lifted my head, the face of a mummy trying to bite me appeared right in front of my nose.

"Graaaaargh!"

Fuck. If I stuck a finger in that mouth, it'd get bitten off instantly. I carefully pulled my head back so our noses wouldn't touch. There wasn't a single gap to escape through, and moving my body was difficult. In times like this, I had to stay calm. My sword was still in my hand. Even though it was hard to even shrug my shoulders, I slowly brought my arm to my chest. Right in front of me, the mummy had its mouth wide open. I pulled my arm free and stabbed the blade straight into its forehead. Shunk.

With a short death rattle, the creature's head drooped. Even though its corpse didn't evaporate or disappear, I slowly began killing them one by one, methodically. Starting with the ones I could see right in front of me.

Shunk! Sticky black blood splattered all over my face.

"Ptooey."

And the moment I drove my sword into the throat of the one above me, a familiar message finally rang out.

Finally…! My unique skill had finally leveled up. I'd been thinking it was about time for it to rise, and it had come at the perfect moment. And this was exactly what I'd been aiming for.

The corpses of the Mummy Warriors stabbed by my sword gradually pressed down on me even harder. In the narrow space surrounded by mummies that couldn't move an inch, I clenched my fist tightly. Oxygen was starting to run low and my breathing was getting labored. It was time to break through again and get out of here.