Chapter 148: Well, This Is a New One
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 148: Well, This Is a New One
Yernil was a genius archer, through and through.
The marking arrow, fired in a high arc like an artillery shell, flew over spectacularly and hit the exact right spot.
Right below the Glutton’s head.
On a human, you would call it the neck.
I aimed my wand at the spot now bearing the Resistance Nullification mark.
Time to review the offensive spells at my disposal.
First, ice-type magic like Frost Ray or Hailstorm.
If I hit the resistance-nullified spot, it would inflict the Frozen status.
Unfortunately, it’s not easy to freeze a monster as massive as the Glutton completely. Even with its resistance nullified, the mark is small, so only a portion of it would freeze. It would be like getting frostbite from a few drops of liquid nitrogen on the skin.
The Glutton would ignore that level of freezing and counterattack, making it a poor choice.
This strategy is rejected.
[Your Turn. Time Remaining: 48 seconds]
[Action Points: ■■■■■■]
Second, electric-type magic like Superconductor or Lightning Shock.
Unlike freezing, an electric current would spread throughout its entire body, inflicting the Shock status.
Unfortunately, the duration would be extremely short. The level gap between me and this monster is significant, so it would recover and start thrashing about almost immediately.
Of course, I could summon a thundercloud and create a continuous lightning show to keep it shocked, but that would also be unlikely to fully neutralize it.
Think back to when I caused the lightning flood on the 1.5th Floor. The Ossuary Caretaker walked right out of that flood.
So, this option is also rejected.
[Your Turn. Time Remaining: 40 seconds]
[Action Points: ■■■■■■]
The third option: the Tier 5 magic, Blizzard.
Among the cards I currently hold, this is like my ultimate skill, capable of inflicting the most massive damage.
The intense, pouring blizzard would block the Glutton’s vision, hinder its movement, inflict the Frozen status, and deal immense cold damage.
Even if it didn’t kill it in one shot, the Glutton would suffer a critical injury. But unfortunately, this too is unsuitable against the Glutton right now.
Why?
Because of the Gaze of the Void.
The monster has an eye in the center of its round, massive head, from which it activates the Gaze of the Void magic.
When we first fought the Glutton’s party, Richard was hit by that very magic, causing him to lose the opportunity to kill Verdure.
He was in the middle of using his Spine-Severing Strike when the gaze brushed past him, canceling the skill.
The Gaze of the Void has the property of nullifying any skill, magic, or summon of Tier 6 or lower within its range.
Since Blizzard is a Tier 5 magic, it would be nullified.
Therefore, this option is also rejected.
[Your Turn. Time Remaining: 26 seconds]
[Action Points: ■■■■■■]
So, what’s the plan?
There is one more option. The fourth.
‘Pulverizing Ray.’
A Tier 1 combat magic added to my wand when the Condensing Lens is attached.
Its mechanics are slightly different from my other spells. Its Action Point cost is ‘expend all.’
I can cast it with just one AP, but the damage would be pathetic—probably the weakest of all my 1-cost spells.
However, its damage increases exponentially by a power of two depending on how much extra AP is invested. Two AP doubles the damage, three AP quadruples it, and four AP makes it eight times stronger.
And if I expend all six of my Action Points?
Thirty-two times the damage.
Its burst damage would then be comparable to the Tier 5 magic, Blizzard.
[Your Turn. Time Remaining: 15 seconds]
[Action Points: ■■■■■■]
And there’s another advantage.
Pulverizing Ray inflicts the ‘Sunburn’ status effect.
That’s why I instructed Yernil to fire the marking arrow.
Sunburn not only deals continuous burn damage but also prevents tissue regeneration in the wounded area.
It would be a particularly effective spell, as the Glutton has strong regenerative abilities.
“Pulverizing Ray.”
[All Action Points have been consumed.]
[Ending Turn.]
[The hourglass has been flipped. Cooldown: 60 seconds]
*
KABOOM!
A sound like a cannon blast echoed through Bearhim’s garden.
Kudrum, who was retrieving his spare dolls some distance from the battlefield; Clorence, who was waiting for his ankle to regenerate; and even Dorothy, trapped behind the iron gate, could hear it.
“What was that…”
And then Clorence witnessed it.
A massive laser cannon, fired toward the sky from the inner garden where Bearhim’s corpse lay.
“Pulverizing… Ray…?”
As an artifact of the Berten family, the Condensing Lens had, of course, passed through Clorence’s hands before. It was the very item he had used on the 5th floor. And a few years before that, his sister, Isel, had used it on the 5th floor.
So Clorence knew the spell well.
That was undoubtedly the Pulverizing Ray, fired from the Condensing Lens.
But its scale was unfamiliar.
‘That’s Pulverizing Ray?’
When Clorence used it, the laser was, at best, as thick as a child’s wrist. But what was now erupting into the sky was like the trunk of a giant sequoia.
The beam of light shot up and vanished in the blink of an eye, followed by the monster’s horrific scream echoing through Bearhim’s garden.
—Aaaaaargh!
Clorence clamped his hands over his ears at the thunderous roar.
Even from a considerable distance, he could see the monster’s writhing tentacles. Their movements as they shot high into the sky, thrashing about, were grotesque.
*
A hole had been punched clean through the monster’s neck.
Not figuratively, but literally. A hole about fifty centimeters in diameter had appeared, and through it, I could see Bearhim’s face.
The edges of the burnt tissue were afflicted with Sunburn. It smelled like grilling octopus. Ichor dripped from the sizzling flesh.
CRASH!
The monster’s flailing tentacles slammed into the stone walls and the ground. Debris and moss flew everywhere.
“Graaaaargh!”
The ground began to shake violently as Verdure, a tentacle wrapped around his neck, thrashed about.
“Caleb!”
Aimus was weaving his way through the tentacles, running toward me.
The plan was for Aimus to rescue me at this point.
Because if I tried to crawl out on my own, I’d be instantly killed if a tentacle so much as grazed me.
BOOM!
Another tentacle slammed down right in front of me.
I wanted to move toward Aimus, but I couldn’t even take a single step.
Dammit.
I pressed myself as close as I could to Bearhim’s throne, trying not to give the descending tentacles a clear angle.
SWOOOSH!
But one of the tentacles, further away, began scraping along the moss on the ground, flying straight at me.
‘Shit.’
Did it read my position?
No.
It had taken that much damage, and the searing pain from the Sunburn must be immense. The Glutton was half out of its mind right now.
This was like a mouse about to be trampled to death by a struggling elephant.
CRASH!
A tentacle grazed past me overhead.
BOOM!
Another one came flying in.
I couldn’t dodge this by standing still.
Thud!
I threw myself aside as if I were playing a rhythm game.
But getting grazed by the tentacle was still unavoid…
CLANG!
At the perfect moment, something shot out and blocked the way in front of me.
It was rather shocking.
“What…?”
It was Bearhim’s forearm.
“What the…?”
What the hell is this situation?
Did it just protect me?
Bearhim?
I had never seen the ancient god move, not in the game, not in reality.
But it was a fact that its ethereal forearm had just flown out, stood before me like a shield, and blocked the incoming tentacle.
Though right after, the ethereal arm went limp again.
Bearhim remained perfectly still, as if what I had just seen was a hallucination.
“Caleb!”
Aimus shouted, finally reaching me. He opened his parasol and lifted me up in a flash.
“Let’s get out of here!”
And he ran, away from the thrashing of the tentacled monster in its death throes.
CRASH! KABOOM!
The steel parasol took several hits. Some came whipping at us from the front, but they couldn’t break Aimus’s body.
“What’s happening with Richard?”
“Back Attack and Yernil are engaging him!”
I could see it for myself.
Richard was swinging his greatsword wildly, trading blows with Back Attack.
Not only was there a considerable level gap, but Back Attack wasn't a frontline fighter to begin with, so a head-on fight was disadvantageous for him.
But the reason this fight was even possible was probably…
“Did the sleeping gas work?”
After being hit by the Iron Cavalry’s charge and taking a burst of damage from the Glutton, Richard must have been momentarily dazed.
Hit him with the sleeping gas in that opening.
The strategy had worked. Though Richard hadn't fallen asleep.
[Dizzy]
He was probably afflicted with a status effect like that.
And on top of that…
‘Enchanted arrowhead.’
Yernil was providing covering fire for Back Attack.
[Mysterious Trip]
The arrow hit its mark, and Richard staggered badly, as if someone had kicked his legs out from under him.
His body started to fall.
Thud!
The heavily built orc, now on the ground, quickly pushed himself up, but he had exposed his back to Back Attack.
Our party’s rogue and archer bicker, but they have good synergy.
And Back Attack’s Hood of Flanking Necrosis casts a deadly necrosis spell when he stabs from behind.
SHIIING!
Back Attack’s dagger plunged downward.
Past Richard, and into the ground.
Thwack!
As dirt flew up, the look on Yernil’s face said everything I was feeling.
It was similar to that look you see during a university group project presentation, when the presenter confesses they left the USB with the presentation files at home.
“I…”
Back Attack bit his lip, his hand pressing down hard on Richard’s shoulder.
“I can’t kill him…”
Hahaha, fuck.
I never expected my plan to go smoothly.
But this is a new kind of failure.
*
Let’s rewind time a bit.
Back to when we were running our asses off, searching for Bearhim’s corpse.
“I know this is shameless of me.”
Kudrum, who had been with us until he split off to find his spare dolls, had made a request.
“Could you spare Richard?”
I had expected this.
And since I’d experienced something similar in the game, I could sympathize.
When a party member you've painstakingly raised to the 7th floor meets the Glutton, gets subjugated, and you have to kill them with your own hands, it makes you incredibly angry.
The first time it happened to me, I almost smashed my keyboard.
And this is the real world, no less.
“He’s a precious friend to us. Is there any way…?”
“No.”
I refused flatly.
“Clorence also said not to worry about Richard,” Yernil added, which seemed to surprise Kudrum even more.
“What! Abandon Richard!? Clorence said that?”
As the party leader, Clorence had made a cold, calculated decision. We had absolutely no leeway to go easy on Richard.
‘If Caleb’s party fails, all eight of us will die.’
That’s probably what he thought.
I largely agreed.
“Even if the Glutton wasn’t here, it would be difficult for us to just subdue Richard without killing him.”
“…”
“It’s even more so when we’re fighting the Glutton.”
Since Aimus and I had to land a blow on the Glutton, Richard would naturally fall to Yernil and Back Attack.
If the two of them coordinated well, they could definitely take him down.
The only thing that worried me was the backstory Back Attack’s clone had rambled on about.
“Back Attack. Steal your heart.”
I had warned him.
“Ha. Don’t you worry. I never liked that orc bastard anyway. You saw what he said to me earlier, didn’t you?”
Back Attack shrugged, feigning nonchalance…
But his expression looked troubled.
*
“Back Attack, you crazy bastard!” Yernil shrieked.
“What are you doing!”
“Ah! Fuck! I know, but…!”
Furious, Back Attack kicked Richard hard in the side.
“Ugh…”
Richard rolled on the ground, then scrambled backward and corrected his posture.
CRACK!
A horrific sound came from the direction of the throne.
It was the sound of Verdure’s neck bone snapping.
His massive body went limp.
The Glutton, wracked with tremendous pain, began to pull itself together.
‘The situation I was worried about has happened.’
I had a feeling Back Attack might do something like this.
Why?
Because his clone had told me this:
‘Orc Lord Yagnar’s army was wiped out.’
Why did Richard, who had been there for so long, leave the west and come to Sohen?
Why did Back Attack leave the west and come to Sohen?
Because the places they belonged to had disappeared.
I guessed that Yagnar’s army was the first place Back Attack had ever felt a sense of belonging and attachment.
‘Every party or organization I’ve been a part of, the ones I could call comrades, they’ve all disappeared, hyung-nim. The only ones who’ve survived after teaming up with me are now…’
The clone of Back Attack had trailed off.
But he made one thing clear.
‘That’s why I’m planning to leave this party after this adventure.’
He was afraid.
Afraid that Richard would die.
And afraid that our party would also be wiped out.
Because no one who got involved with him had ever made it out safely.
“Back Attack!”
Of course, from my perspective, that was the biggest load of bullshit I’d ever heard.
You really think that’s your fault?
“Throw a dagger at the Glutton!”
I get it, you’ve lived a life that’s far below average, even by the standards of the west.
But if we’re talking about getting screwed over, my situation is way worse—I was dragged here while scratching my thigh in my underwear, playing a game at home.
‘Throwing Knife!’
There was no way Back Attack understood my strategy intellectually, but his body moved on reflex.
CLANG!
The throwing knife that embedded itself in the monster’s head was so small and insignificant that it dealt no damage.
“Gah!”
But Richard flinched violently.
Those under subjugation had no choice but to react that way.
“Use Shadow Leap and get away!”
Back Attack moved about thirty meters with Shadow Leap, and Richard charged furiously after him.
“Just get out of here!”
“But…”
Back Attack’s expression was troubled, caught between a rock and a hard place.
Because if he left, the three of us—me, Yernil, and Aimus—would have to take down the Glutton alone.
“Set up a clone here!”
“...!”
“Lure Richard away and hand him over to Clorence!”
Should I be honest?
The truth is, I don’t want to kill Richard either.
Since being possessed, I’ve undergone intense mental conditioning from the harshness of the Labyrinth, and the sensibilities of a modern person have faded.
But I still don’t want to kill an innocent person.
I pushed for the safer option because the opponent was such a monster, but if Back Attack was against it, I didn’t have the heart to force him.
“Hurry up and get back here—!”
In that case, it’s better to just get Richard out of the way. Return to sender, to your party leader.
“I’ll… I’ll be right back!”
Back Attack shot off.
Richard chased after him.
“Hsssss…”
The Glutton slowly rose, fumbling at the hole in its neck.
The monster was still disoriented from the unexpected critical wound.
Even as its frontline fighter deserted the battlefield.
CRUNCH! CRACK!
It just kept twisting and crushing the neck-broken Verdure.
Ironically, that completely unproductive show of strength was what made it all the more unnerving.
“Can the three of us really take that thing down?”
Sweat drenched the side of Aimus’s face.
“That thing is on its last legs, too.”
My own hand, gripping my wand, was rigid with tension.