Chapter 14: Mr. Back Attack (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 14: Mr. Back Attack (2)
A poison arrow, its destructive power too much for any creature on the 1st Floor, sliced through the air.
With a writhing poison sac attached, its tip—a venomous fang far sharper than any goblin arrowhead—was aimed straight at Mr. Back Attack.
Since Mr. Back Attack's level was much higher, his Agility should also have been higher than Yernil's. Normally, he would have been able to dodge her arrow with a high probability, but right now, he was frozen.
Thwack!
The poison arrow struck him squarely in the chest.
If this were a game, I would have seen his health bar plummet. I couldn't see it now, but I knew he was on his last sliver of health. No matter the level difference, after taking four Lightning Shocks, getting caught in a bomb blast, and now a poison arrow?
No matter how tough he was, it was time for him to die. At this point, he would probably drop dead if we so much as breathed on him. Because—
Pop!
—that was the sound of the poison gland attached to the arrow bursting on impact.
A cloud of dark green poison gas erupted near Mr. Back Attack's head like a small smoke bomb.
[Poisoned]
If this were a game, a message like that would have appeared. Proving the status effect in its place was Mr. Back Attack's reaction.
"Cough!"
His legs gave out, and the exit boss collapsed, spitting out a mouthful of blood.
"It worked."
It was over.
Now that he was exposed to the poison gas, Mr. Back Attack would take 20 poison damage per second for 20 seconds.
With his remaining health, he would be dead in a few seconds.
All we had to do was survive until then.
Please.
Please let it end like this. I'm begging you.
"Hah..."
Mr. Back Attack staggered as he lifted his head. He clenched both fists.
"You son of a bitch!"
I quickly aimed my wand and chanted.
"Ice Spike!"
Mr. Back Attack took the Ice Spike head-on and let out a powerful roar.
"Haaap!"
Suddenly, a red light flashed from his chest, and something like smoke rose from his body.
"Fucking hell..."
I think one of the worst things that can happen in this game is running into an adventurer who's been possessed by an exit boss.
There's a reason for that.
Unlike other monsters, a possessed adventurer...
'Adrenaline Rush.'
...still has the special abilities they had as an adventurer.
"Yernil!"
"Ye... Yes!"
"Plan B!"
*
Clorence, a wizard who primarily operated on the 5th Floor, was practicing coordinating skills with Birtanen and Jikal.
"Our goal is not to explore the Labyrinth, but to retrieve Avison. As you know. So, I'm not interested in hunting monsters or finding treasure. We will run toward Avison as fast as possible," Clorence said.
"I will take the lead, so I just need you to follow me."
"A wizard is going to stand on the front line?"
Jikal was dumbfounded, but that was the difference in power between him and Clorence's party.
Clorence, who used the 5th Floor as his main stage, had already unlocked up to Tier 3 magic tomes.
"Memorize!"
He summoned his memory book and checked the spells registered within.
"Yesterday, I changed a few of my spell slots to better suit the monsters on the 1st Floor. I removed the single-target burst damage skills and replaced them with sustained damage and summoning skills. For example."
Clorence aimed his wand at the ground and chanted.
"Living Plague!"
Something began to squirm beneath the earth. To Birtanen and Jikal, who were standing on the surface, it looked like veins bulging under the skin.
"That's... a little disgusting," Jikal grimaced.
"It's like hundreds of giant snakes are slithering under the ground," Birtanen remarked, impressed.
"The Living Plague follows me at my pace and attacks any hostile monsters that appear within a 15-meter radius, inflicting intense poison damage."
"Just what kind of place is the 5th Floor...?"
"I plan to keep this spell active and run all the way to where Avison is. All you two have to do is stick close. You both have more stamina than I do, so it shouldn't be a problem. I am, however, a little worried about the priest."
"Don't worry about her. Emma's thighs are no joke. She runs up and down the hill to the temple several times a day..." Jikal joked.
Clorence offered a faint smile.
"By the way, Clorence."
"Yes."
"If we do challenge the exit room, it would be better to use a different spell than this one."
"Why is that?"
"Because a boss that counters the poisoned status effect might appear."
"Are you referring to the Venomic Spider? If you've killed it recently, it won't spawn for a while."
"No."
Birtanen shook his head.
"Mr. Back Attack."
"Does Back Attack have poison resistance?"
"Less of a resistance, and more of a... cure, or a way to overcome it," Birtanen said.
"It's a famous story among the 1st Floor adventurers."
*
I had expected this.
I wasn't certain, but it was one of the dangerous possibilities I had anticipated while drawing up Plan B.
"He might not die even if we hit him with the poison arrow," I had told Yernil during the operations briefing.
"But you said the poison damage is immense, didn't you?"
"He might have a way to remove the poison."
There was a basis for this assumption.
The fact that Mr. Back Attack had defeated a Black Hornet on his own.
Black Hornets are wasp-type monsters with deadly poison stingers. While not on the level of a Venomic Spider, getting stung by one inflicts significant poison damage.
So, did Back Attack manage to win a one-on-one duel with a Black Hornet without getting so much as grazed by its stinger?
Unlikely.
The Black Hornet wasn't that much of a pushover.
It was more natural to assume he had been stung but didn't die from the poison.
So why didn't he die?
Because he had a way to cure it.
Potions, scrolls, magic, healing fountains, blessings, special abilities.
Of these, which was the exit boss Mr. Back Attack likely to have?
Fountains and blessings were out. There were no fountains in the exit room, and a blessing was unlikely to be on a monster like Back Attack.
Detoxification magic was also out. As a rogue, Back Attack wouldn't have magic.
That left potions, scrolls, and special abilities...
"We don't know exactly what Back Attack has. We'll have to go in and see for ourselves."
If we didn't spot any potions or scrolls on his belt, other than the bombs, we could be hopeful.
"It's possible he used potions or scrolls when he fought the Black Hornet and doesn't have any now. If so, this will end easily."
Still, just in case, I gave one more instruction.
"After you fire the first poison arrow, let's wait and see."
If he detoxified himself after getting hit by both poison arrows, we'd be in the worst-case scenario.
Even if there were no potions or scrolls on his belt, we had to wait a moment after the first poison arrow.
We had to confirm whether he could detoxify himself with a special ability.
If all this was just my needless worrying, and Back Attack had no means of detoxification, he would die from the poison damage.
But what if he cured it?
"Then it's Plan B."
*
The special ability Adrenaline Rush restored 50 health and reset the cooldown of one chosen Tier 1 skill.
It could also instantly remove several negative status effects like poison, slow, root, leg injury, frozen, and stun.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
Freed from the frozen and poisoned states, Mr. Back Attack began charging toward us.
He was incredibly fast.
"Ca-Caleb!"
"Don't shoot!"
If Yernil shot a poison arrow now, he would just dodge it.
"But there's an icy path in front of him!" she shouted.
"I'll shoot if he falls!"
"No! He won't fall!"
Mr. Back Attack's gait had changed as he ran. He was using the 'Careful Steps' skill. With it, he could run on the icy path without slipping.
If he had come out with this instead of Wall Walk at the very beginning, I would have countered it with the 2 AP hourglass, but...
I don't have the hourglass now!
[Turn-Based Hourglass Cooldown: 3 seconds]
Not only the temporary hourglass, but even the real one still had 3 seconds left on its cooldown.
To use Plan B, I needed to create distance from Yernil. But how?
Tak!
I dove onto the icy path myself. I slid on my knees like a soccer player celebrating a goal.
"Caleb!"
"Wait!"
I aimed my wand at Mr. Back Attack as I slid toward him.
"Lightning Shock!"
But Back Attack, having read my chant, sidestepped brilliantly and dodged the lightning.
"Gah!"
He twisted both of my wrists, forcing me to drop my Lightning Shock and Ice Spike wands.
Crack!
Then, he shoved his fist through the crack in my eggshell armor left by his thrown dagger and grabbed me by the collar.
Lying on my back, I tilted my head to gauge the distance to Yernil.
I could see the look on her face, holding the poison arrow, not knowing what to do.
No.
Not yet.
It's still too close!
Don't shoot! Instead...
"Yernil!"
"Yes!"
"Barrel!"
At my half-desperate shout, Yernil reacted like one of Pavlov's dogs.
"......!"
She reflexively lowered her bow and grabbed the oak barrel. It was already empty, but Mr. Back Attack, having suffered from it before, had an inflammatory reaction.
He gripped my collar.
'Shadow Leap.'
It worked.
*
My vision shifted in an instant.
Mr. Back Attack had pulled me out of the egg sac and teleported to the wooden platform.
There was a warm sensation in my lower abdomen.
"Huk..."
"Caleb!"
My head lolled to the side, and I saw Yernil screaming.
It felt like the air had been knocked out of me.
My mind went blank.
Mr. Back Attack's dagger was embedded in my lower abdomen.
"Gulp. Gulp."
Somehow, Mr. Back Attack had snatched a healing potion from my belt and was chugging it right in front of me.
The world seemed to turn yellow.
Plan B.
With a trembling hand, I pulled a healing potion from my own belt.
Four healing potions from the dwarf party, one that was originally in Avison's backpack, and one I'd found while farming.
A total of six healing potions had been on my belt. That bastard Back Attack had chugged one, and I was...
Click.
I barely managed to open the cap.
Swoosh!
Just as Mr. Back Attack's dagger came down again, aiming for my chest to stop me from drinking it.
[It is your turn.]
[Action Points: ■■■■]
My turn had arrived.
*
I was in the most excruciating pain of my life. It felt like my abdomen was being torn apart.
The red liquid of the healing potion I was pouring into my mouth was frozen in mid-air, almost, but not quite, touching the tip of my tongue.
Mr. Back Attack's dagger was also poised to tear into my chest, almost, but not quite.
"Khuhuhuhu."
Facing such a shitty death, I must have lost my mind, because I started to laugh.
I had calculated the success rate of Plan B to be around 50%.
A 50% chance of my death. A 50% chance of clearing.
What would the calculation be now?
Is my chance of death around 70%?
But the clear rate is 99%.
"You idiot. The barrel was already empty. And even if it had water, Yernil doesn't have the strength to douse us from that distance. She can tilt the barrel on the ground, but she can't lift and swing it."
If I were you, I would have realized she was over-encumbered from the two times she used the barrel earlier.
"And if she did pour water from there, I'd get wet too. If I used Ice Spike at close range, I'd freeze myself along with you."
You should have realized that 'Yernil! Barrel!' was a bluff from the start.
I wouldn't have fallen for it.
You're a scrub's scrub, Back Attack.
What do you have besides your level advantage?
"Yernil hasn't shot the poison arrow yet. I told her to hold her fire no matter what until I gave the signal."
Our strategy was perfect, and Yernil held back beautifully.
"And I told her that if we entered the Plan B situation, she should shoot even if I get caught in the poison gas."
I tilted my head forward slightly and bit down on the mouth of the healing potion.
"Because I'll endure the poison with potions, you son of a bitch. We won."
With my left hand, I tore a scroll from my belt.
It was a Scroll of Magic Armor.
[Action Points: ■□□□]
Seeing my Action Points instantly drain, I opened my mouth over the potion's spout and spoke to Yernil.
"Yernil. Now."
It's time to go home.
"Shoot this bastard now. Engulf both of us in the poison gas."
I will chug healing potions and endure the poison.
And you will be hit by the poison arrow and die.
You're not frozen, but you won't be able to dodge it.
Because...
[Your turn has ended.]
[The hourglass has been flipped again.]
*
...as my turn ends, I'm going to grab you!
GRAB!
I latched onto his head and held on for dear life.
Clang!
The tip of the dagger Back Attack brought down stopped not by tearing through my skin and muscle, but against the shimmering orange glow of my Magic Armor.
"......!"
Shock and bewilderment spread across the face of the crazed adventurer.
A scroll activated without any prior action. The sudden appearance of Magic Armor must have been startling.
"Keuk! Ugh!"
Back Attack thrashed his head wildly, trying to shake me off.
Back Attack.
What's your Strength score?
It's probably not zero, right?
Yernil is a character with an unusually well-distributed stat build.
If you were determined to shake me off, you probably could. But you don't have the time for that.
Right?
Clang!
Back Attack stabbed down with his dagger again, but once more, it was stopped by the Magic Armor.
It was a spell that nullified physical attacks five times, three times, or once, for damage below 30, 70, or 100, respectively.
Pretty awesome, right?
You should have saved a nuking skill like your dagger throw.
"......!"
Back Attack thrashed his body convulsively.
I held onto his head with both arms, refusing to let go.
Gulp, gulp.
With my mouth, I sucked on the potion like a baby with a bottle.
I'm going to watch you die from a front-row seat, Back Attack.
Thwack!
The fatal poison arrow embedded itself in his side.
You had no detoxification potions or scrolls on your belt.
You already used your detox special ability.
You have no healing potions either.
With nothing but basic attacks, you can't break through my Magic Armor.
Therefore, you can't take my potions from me.
I'm going to drink every last one of these potions and endure the poison.
I will not die.
We are going home.
You were strong, but we won.