Chapter 149: The Cursed Boy
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 149: The Cursed Boy
CRASH!
The executioner's blade cleaved through the air. Back Attack narrowly dodged, watching the tip of the sword slam into the ground.
CLANG!
CLANK!
He parried the ensuing onslaught a few more times, but…
CRASH!
The difference in strength was just too great.
Sent tumbling several meters, Back Attack wiped the blood from his split lip with the back of his hand.
Richard's special training was as intense as a real battle.
"You're nimble, but you're small and weak."
That's what Richard had told him.
But what could he do about that?
"I'm still growing!" the fifteen-year-old Back Attack had retorted.
Richard had scoffed.
"You think you'll ever beat me in a contest of strength, even when you're fully grown?"
To the brat who was half the size of a muscular orc, Richard taught him just how big the world was.
Even if you become stronger than me, you'll still be weaker than Yagnar.
Even if you become stronger than Yagnar, you'll still be weaker than Krom, the orc berserker.
And even if you surpass him, the Deep Layers of the Labyrinth are teeming with monsters far larger and more powerful.
"Don't fight head-on."
Direct confrontations were for people like Richard.
"Standing on the front line is an honor reserved for trained warriors like me. A guy like you doesn't belong up front. Live up to your name for once."
Richard taught the boy a few tricks of the trade.
If you must fight, run.
Drag the fight out and make it a battle of stamina.
Throw sand in their eyes.
Use hidden weapons.
Throw bombs.
"I can't believe you'd suggest such cowardly tactics… How did you know I love them so much?"
"Did I teach you the wrong thing?"
Even the gruff warrior's lips would occasionally curl into a smile.
"You never should have taught me that stuff!"
His Charging Ankle Slash hit the wall. Somersaulting through the air, Back Attack launched a throwing knife from his hand.
"Hmph!"
The knife lodged in Richard's shoulder, but he didn't even flinch. Instead, he used that same shoulder to shove Back Attack away.
Leaping Ambush!
Back Attack vanished from the front.
WHAM!
Using his momentum and height, he grabbed the back of Richard's head and slammed it into the mossy floor.
"Kugh!"
But he was no match for Richard's explosive strength as he bucked him off.
WHOOSH! He used Shadow Leap to dodge the executioner's blade as it swung upward.
“…”
Richard's expression was one of pure irritation as he watched Back Attack dart around like a rat.
"You haven't caught me once since I grew to be as tall as you, have you?"
But honestly, Back Attack felt that this time, he might actually get caught.
Because…
"Achoo!"
The spores filling the entire map.
Caleb had the Dustproof Bracelet.
‘Go to Clorence.’
Back Attack thought he understood why Caleb had given that order.
Clorence had Dustproof Magic.
When Caleb joined up with Yernil, he must have confirmed Clorence's location and calculated the distance.
‘He thought I might not be able to kill him.’
No matter how smart Caleb was, could he have given such an order in that split second without having thought about it beforehand?
Caleb had calculated it in advance!
Based on his experience from when he retrieved the staff.
‘Whether my movement speed would be enough to reach Clorence without the Dustproof Bracelet before the spores incapacitated me.’
He must have calculated that.
That's why, when Back Attack said he couldn't kill Richard, Caleb immediately told him to take Richard to Clorence.
So he could subdue Richard with Clorence's help and then return.
"Dammit."
Back Attack was grateful for the consideration, but it also made him feel pathetic.
CRASH!
Richard kicked off the ground and leaped.
Barbarian's Long Jump.
Back Attack knew his skills well. Not only had they been together in the West, but they had also briefly partied up on the 2nd floor of the Labyrinth.
KABOOM!
Moss and dirt flew as the executioner's blade crashed down. Back Attack dodged it without difficulty. As a bonus…
FWOOSH!
He threw a handful of dirt at Richard.
Richard, Sonya, and Andersen.
Why was that 2nd-floor party he'd briefly joined wiped out?
Because Back Attack had acted on his own.
To save his former party members, Aimus and his group.
Wasn't this time similar?
Back Attack couldn't bring himself to kill his former party member, Richard, and had deviated from the plan.
Did that mean this time…
‘Caleb's party will be wiped out?’
A creeping sense of dread rose from the pit of his stomach.
It was always like this.
His father, the Tanner, the Mother Superior, the Merchant Guild Owner, his Lizard employer.
Even Yagnar's mighty army.
Everyone who had ever taken him in had died.
‘Why the hell am I like this?!’
Richard's words came back to him.
You're a cursed bastard who has no concept of strategy and just runs wild.
Honestly, you're having a hard time fitting in with this party too, aren't you?
To be honest, he was right.
‘It's my fault, no excuses, that I screwed up this operation.’
Some people have a nature that makes them repeat the same mistakes, no matter what.
You could even call it fate.
‘I have to make up for this, somehow!’
"Ughhh! Back Attack!"
Yernil was hopping mad.
"What do we do now?!"
"Don't worry. Let's trust Back Attack and give him some time."
I calmed Yernil down, who was on the verge of a meltdown.
"I expected this to happen."
"Hsssss…"
The Glutton didn't attack us rashly.
It was a smart monster.
It was being cautious after the severe beating it took from our earlier attack.
And it was waiting for the gaping hole in its neck to heal.
But that wasn't going to happen.
The Pulverizing Ray had pierced through where its resistance had been nullified. A sunburn like that doesn't heal easily.
In that case…
Void's Pressure!
Just as I expected.
The Glutton's eyes flashed. Toward the Gardener, who was collapsed in front of the throne.
"The Gardener!"
Aimus flinched.
The Gardener, already on the brink of death, fell into a state of submission from a single blast of pressure. She had lost her weapon and her limbs were so mangled she could barely move, but she could still be useful to the Glutton.
The Gardener was a support-type monster, like a priest, and could cast a few spells even without her staff.
For example.
‘Healing Sap.’
The Gardener's broken fingers pointed toward the Glutton. She was about to heal its sunburn.
Of course.
"Dust Explosion!"
I had no intention of letting that happen.
Since I had anticipated this pattern, I didn't miss the timing.
POOF!
Dust Explosion was only a Tier 2 spell, but its casting speed was incredibly fast. And right now, my wisdom was doped up on Aether Mushrooms.
“...!”
I could see the side of the Gardener's face contort in pain.
The Glutton was startled and tried to protect her, but…
"Lightning Shock!"
It couldn't be faster than a spell that flew and struck at the speed of a negative charge.
POP!
It was a somewhat anticlimactic end for a special boss of the 6th floor. This was the first time I'd ever taken down the Gardener with just two Tier 1 and 2 spells.
Her electrocuted body collapsed limply.
Since we'd been fighting as a team (?) until now, I felt a strange sense of pity.
But special bosses could never truly die in the first place.
Even if killed, they would be resurrected when the Labyrinth closed and reopened.
Next to Bearhim's corpse.
Thanks for fighting so hard until now. Rest well.
[Temporary Hourglass acquired.]
I'll fight for you.
"This way!"
I grabbed Aimus and Yernil and bolted.
The Glutton poked the dead Gardener a few times before realizing it was a lost cause and started to move.
It knew it too.
That time was on our side.
All the monsters under the Glutton's command were dead, and Richard had been taken out of the equation.
The Glutton had a gaping hole in its neck, and the sunburn spreading from the spot where its resistance was nullified wasn't going away. The monster's vitality wouldn't regenerate.
On the other hand, if we waited, Clorence, Kudrum, and Back Attack would eventually rejoin us.
“…”
The clone of Back Attack, hidden behind a hill, peeked its head out to watch the situation.
It was staying hidden and out of the fight on purpose, since it needed to swap places with the original when he returned.
Good job.
"Caleb!"
At Yernil's warning, I turned to see the Glutton right behind us.
The monster's movement speed was much faster than ours. Running any further was impossible.
"Yernil! Get to the Nymph's corpse!"
And I hid behind Aimus.
Falling Sky!
The Glutton's tentacle came crashing down like a small building collapsing.
Steel Parasol!
Aimus, plastered with all sorts of buffs and drugs, could withstand it.
KABOOM!
Of course, the parasol would be torn apart in a single hit, but the weakened tentacle couldn't break the Steel-Veined Monk.
"Hmph…!"
Aimus stood firm, his sturdy body bracing against the massive tentacle with his iron staff and forearms.
I hid behind him and aimed my wand.
“...!”
Less intelligent monsters might have found the rain refreshing, but the Glutton reacted with extreme aversion the moment it spotted the wand.
Void Devour!
A stinging sensation shot through my hand as something like a black hole swallowed the wand.
"Caleb!"
The wand with the Condensing Lens attached was stolen.
Gulp.
The Glutton swallowed the wand whole.
It had experienced being shattered by the Pulverizing Ray fired from that wand. By eliminating my weapon, it had preemptively blocked the spell.
"The wand…!"
Aimus's face filled with worry. The reason was probably that what I'd just lost wasn't just a single wand.
My dual wands were 1. Psychokinesis, and 2. Superconductivity and Lightning Shock.
Between the two, the one I used most for combat was the Superconductivity and Lightning Shock wand, so I had attached the Condensing Lens to it. Now, weren't two of my spells gone?
…That was the look on his face.
"Don't worry."
I have another wand.
The one the Glutton ate was the Message Transmission Wand.
All my combat spells are still here.
And one more thing.
The Glutton's Void Devour spell is on cooldown.
"Aimus, you brought the mushroom, right?"
"Of course."
"Eat it now!"
[Turn-Based Hourglass Cooldown: 16 seconds]
The hourglass had 16 seconds left.
The Aether Mushroom I ate had about 4 minutes remaining.
CRUNCH!
The Aether Mushroom Aimus just took will last for the next 5 minutes.
Time is on our side.
And…
BANG!
With a sharp gunshot, a magic bullet flew and pierced the Glutton's tentacle.
"L-Like this, right!?"
Yernil was holding the Nymph's blowgun.
She's a quick learner now, even without me telling her what to do.
Well, while you're at it, do one more thing.
"Yernil, go eat an Aether Mushroom too."
There's a reason we all need to be fully doped up right now.
Why?
"Tsk."
Because the Glutton probably has an Aether Mushroom of its own.
Instead of intercepting Yernil as she went to farm a mushroom, the monster pulled another one from its ink sac.
The moment it left the sac, the Aether Mushroom shone brightly.
"No way."
Aimus was shocked, and Yernil, terrified, picked up her pace.
Sentry Relocation!
She scurried back and quickly swallowed the mushroom.
"Thad thing has a mushwoom too!"
That's right, it has one too.
"Chew before you talk."
It was only natural. It must have taken Richard's after our first fight, when Clorence's ankle was severed and everyone was scattered.
Gulp.
The Glutton swallowed the mushroom.
As expected of a boss two tiers higher, I couldn't let my guard down for a second.
Beep! Beep-beep.
A signal sounded from the core.
The combat doll, Ruhabairn, lifted its horned head. Its eyes lit up, though only one of them did.
"Porororo pororo!"
"Whew. It's barely moving."
Kudrum had finished the emergency repairs on the combat doll.
He hadn't connected to it yet. Doing so might cancel the buffs he'd placed on Aimus.
"Guess I'll head over there for now."
Kudrum was worried sick.
Those four kids seemed to have almost no chance of winning against the Glutton.
Of course, Kudrum's presence wouldn't increase their chances by much.
But he still had to go.
If only to save Richard…
"Huh?"
It was Richard.
Richard was sprinting like a madman across the mossy field.
Chasing after Back Attack.