Chapter 36: The Child Who Repaid the Favor
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 36: The Child Who Repaid the Favor
[Ding! All stats will increase by 30% for 10 days.]
[Buff Monster Hunt Success! Jin Seo-un.]
The moment the notification rang out, I threw a punch at the martial artist leading the charge. With enemies closing in from all sides, I had no intention of letting this turn into a drawn-out melee.
I unleashed Fist Qi through a Space Strike. The enemy—proving his mettle as a martial artist—didn't flinch, meeting my strike head-on with his own palm force.
Thump!
However, his brow furrowed as he was forced to dodge, his palm force unexpectedly overwhelmed. He looked utterly incredulous that a mere burst of Fist Qi had pushed him back.
Quickly retreating, I ripped the two flying swords from my body. The surging streams of blood subsided almost instantly, the wounds sealing shut. Thanks to the Troll Leather Armor, my form began to bleed into the shadows.
“It’s a Cloak of Stealth! Mages, light up the area!”
At the shout, spheres of light began to rise throughout the cavern.
In the brief window of cover, I shredded an Intermediate Recovery Scroll, stowed the Cloak of Stealth in my subspace, and lunged at the enemy. Since I could no longer hide, it was better to strike before they could reorganize their ranks.
Swish! Shatter!
I hurled the two flying swords that had been embedded in me, pouring my internal power into the throw. The shields of the two mages launching the light spheres shattered instantly. Four knights quickly stepped forward to shield the mages as they retreated.
Four robed mages, the witch who escaped me last time, four knights, and the martial artist.
It was a bad idea to waste time on the knights while the mages dealt free damage from the backline. I had to find a way to bypass the front line and kill those mages first.
Having finished my assessment mid-charge, I leaped into the air, soaring over the knights who were tensely waiting for my impact. I channeled my surging internal power into both fists, preparing to rain Fist Qi down on the mages, when the martial artist suddenly intercepted me, drawing and swinging a soft sword.
I scowled as the blade snaked toward my face. Its path was too erratic and swift for me to risk a Spinning Strike.
Clang!
Ultimately, I crossed my arms to protect my face. The moment his sword pierced the back of my hand, the force of the blow pushed me back.
The martial artist looked stunned—he couldn't understand why his sword hadn't punched a hole straight through my hand, nor why the counterforce was strong enough to repel him. However, he didn't have the chance to press the attack.
“Block the entrance!” a mage shouted.
The enemies moved with practiced precision, swarming back toward the entrance to bottle me in. But I hadn't entered this place looking for an exit. There were only two possible outcomes: I died here, or I finished this game in first place.
That martial artist is annoying.
—It’s a major crisis, Master!—
I was prepared for this.
As I answered Hamit, my body blurred. Instead of a frontal assault, I sprinted along the cavern wall to flank them.
The mages in the rear had finished their casting. Magic surged toward me—fire and wind spells converging, amplifying each other's power as they bore down on my position. It was a basic but effective tactic: using synergistic attributes like wind and fire or water and ice allowed a group to achieve massive power without getting in each other's way.
With the wind howling behind it, the fire spell swelled in size until it swallowed me whole. For a moment, the cavern was illuminated by the roaring inferno.
Whoosh!
The mages’ jaws dropped as I emerged from the flames, still moving at full speed.
I should have killed her back then.
My gaze locked onto the witch. She stood slightly apart from the others, hoisting a sinister wooden doll aloft as she chanted.
Upon reaching the 4th Circle, my base Magic Resistance had risen to 20. With my current gear and buffs, it sat at 234. Even when it was only 90, I could tank a spell or two. Unless it was a mage as powerful as Escrow, I could endure this much.
The enemy wasn't about to let me flank them for free. Seeing me closing in along the wall, the knights scrambled to block my path, and the martial artist charged once more to intercept.
The knights stayed glued to the mages, the mages rained down spells from a distance, and the martial artist acted as a harasser to buy time. For a makeshift team, their coordination was remarkably high.
Having realized he was outmatched in raw internal power, the martial artist focused entirely on his soft sword, using its flexibility to deflect every burst of Fist Qi I sent his way. Like a true master with superior senses, he wasn't as easy to hit as the knights.
Swish, swish, swish.
The soft sword lashed out like a venomous snake. This time, he mixed in feints, his movements becoming even more expansive. Seeing the blade aiming for my chest, neck, and groin simultaneously, my hips instinctively jerked back.
This bastard!
Was there no silent pact between men? Fury boiled over at the guy flouting the unspoken rules of combat so casually.
I charged straight into the path of the sword, thrusting my fist forward.
If he stabbed for the groin, I would lead with my thigh, twist my hip, sacrifice the leg, and kill him.
If he stabbed for the chest, I would turn my body, give up my side, and kill him.
My neck was already protected by the trajectory of my punch. One way or another, he was going to die.
As long as I got this close, I would kill him regardless of the damage I took. I thought of nothing else. It wasn't a conscious decision, but this was the pinnacle of the Boundless Fist—the embodiment of its singular, relentless philosophy.
Now, it was the martial artist who panicked. Normally, a technique like this forced an opponent to retreat. Facing an enemy who charged straight into a lethal strike just to create an opening, he gritted his teeth and thrust his sword home.
The tip of the blade grazed my advancing thigh, sending droplets of blood flying. The curved soft sword then wound around my arm as it passed my chest, lashing toward my neck. It was an all-or-nothing gamble.
At that moment, my arm rotated, and my elbow bent slightly.
Spinning Strike.
It was my victory. I had tracked his blade to the very end, identifying its final path. The martial artist’s eyes widened as his sword was forcibly pushed aside the moment my elbow made contact.
Thwack!
His reaction was impressive. Instantly abandoning his soft sword, he pulled his arm back to block my strike while thrusting his other hand in a desperate palm strike. His face contorted in pain; his blocking arm had likely shattered.
Thump!
However, he was a slow learner. There was no way a Spinning Strike that could deflect a sword would fail to parry a close-range palm strike.
Thud, thud, thud.
I deflected his palm force and followed up with three lightning-fast punches before blowing past him to charge the clustered enemies. Just as I leaped to fire Fist Qi at the knights, the martial artist collapsed behind me, blood erupting from his eyes, mouth, and ears.
“Dis-all!”
The witch, who had been chanting for an eternity, screamed as she saw me leaping over the knights. In that instant, I felt the strength drain from my limbs.
[Ding! You failed to resist the debuff skill. All stats will decrease by 40% for the next 30 minutes. Killing the caster will immediately lift the debuff.]
The buff monster had given me 30%, but this single debuff had stripped away 40%. I cursed inwardly as I swatted away incoming spells with weakened Fist Qi.
—Look on the bright side, Master. If it weren't for Black Argon, you would have taken the full 40% drop from your base. Since it’s a 40% drop from a buffed state, the loss is technically mitigated.—
I knew that, but it didn't stop me from wanting to swear.
A massive firebird swallowed me again, and I felt a searing heat as my skin began to burn.
Slam!
A giant hand made of rock erupted from the wall and swatted me like a fly, slamming me into the ground.
“Focus on spells with physical force! His magic resistance is extraordinary!”
As I was pinned to the floor, wooden spears whistled toward me. The knights had switched to throwing spears rather than engaging. The moment I hit the ground, I pushed myself up, swaying to dodge the projectiles before charging again. It wasn't the direction I wanted, but I had no choice.
I have to thin out the knights.
As long as they were there, I couldn't touch the mages. I looked desperate, moving with embers still smoldering on my shoulders and arms.
Thud! Thwack!
“Get back!”
Crack!
“Watch out!”
Clang!
Surrounded by knights, I traded blows, staying as close to them as possible so they would be caught in the mages' friendly fire. But the mages were smart; they used physical magic with narrow areas of effect to harass me.
Even as blood ran down my face from a gash on my head, I fought on. Two knights had their chest armor shattered; two others had broken arms, yet they continued to face me with their remaining limbs. Both sides were heavily injured, but the pace was too frantic for anyone to use a recovery scroll.
The problem was the mages. One small-statured mage among the four had been panting from the start, barely using any magic. Even the spells he did fire went wide, so I hadn't paid him much mind. But it galled me that the mages were so unscathed while I was falling apart.
I had wasted too much internal power trying to suppress the knights early on. In a group, knights were entirely different creatures. Their coordination—covering each other's openings and protecting the mages—was so perfect I doubted they were a makeshift team.
“We can win! Keep it up!”
Boom!
I unleashed another barrage of Fist Qi, but the enemies were prepared now, rolling across the ground the moment my shoulders twitched.
Dammit!
The difference between a duel and a group fight was a chasm. In melee combat, being outnumbered was a nightmare for someone with my lack of experience.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
Stone pillars erupted from the ground, shaking the floor. Having suffered from that physical magic before, I quickly retreated. No sooner had I backed away than a pillar shot up where I had been standing, and a knight behind me thrust his spear.
The moment I turned to deflect the spear with a Spinning Strike, the three remaining knights charged simultaneously. It was a calculated pincer move to protect their vulnerable ally. Because they kept rotating and covering for each other, I couldn't finish a single one of them. It was a miracle I had even lasted this long.
Crunch!
“Gah! Wh-what... are you... doing...?”
“You! What do you think you're doing?!”
Just as I dodged the pincer attack, the knights backed off. The gazes of everyone locked in combat flickered toward the mages' formation.
There, the small-statured mage with his robe pulled low had summoned a jagged rock spike from the ground, impaling the witch who had been maintaining the debuff on me.
The startled mages glared at him with murderous intent, but instead of answering, he tried to cast another spell.
“Not so fast!”
Crack!
A spell from another mage shattered both of the small mage's legs, and he collapsed. As he fell, his hood slipped off, revealing his face.
“You're...”
The mage looking at me with a bloodless face was someone I knew. The mage—no, the boy—tried to offer me a weak smile, his lips parting as if to speak.
Crunch.
But the boy couldn't make a sound. Another mage acted instantly, his spell crushing the boy’s head into the dirt.
[Ding! The debuff has been lifted.]
Along with the notification, power surged through my body once again. The life-sacrificing action of the boy, who had somehow survived and waited for his moment, had saved me.
I had only tossed him a leftover item. I never expected it to return as such a massive favor. An uncontrollable fury surged within me.
Was it because of the cruelty of someone who could so casually crush the head of a child? Or was it because of the heart of the kid who had risked everything to repay a small kindness? I couldn't say. This was a game where we had to kill each other anyway. Nevertheless, my rage only grew.
“Qu-Quickly...”
Crack!
Before the mage could finish his sentence, I was upon them. One of the knights had his windpipe crushed by my fist before he could even react.
“I-It’s a clone! Get ready!”
The knights, wary of my cloning attacks, scrambled to find the real me, but all three clones descending upon them were illusions.
“Over here!” a mage shouted, raising a wall against the two versions of me approaching from the side.
Boom!
I smashed through the wall in an instant. I crushed the rock fists erupting from the earth, tore through the flames, and finally reached the mages. Before the knights could even turn around, the three mages were on the floor, coughing up blood.
The three remaining knights stood frozen, staring at the carnage in shock. The moment despair flickered across their faces, I—now multiplied into six—swarmed over them.
[Ding-ding-ding-ding! Cloyd Survival has ended.]
[Ta-da! Congratulations on being the sole survivor!
You have earned the right to participate in the next game.
You receive the first and greatest reward of this game.]