Every gamer has a habit of mashing the interaction key whenever a suspicious wall or an unusual sculpture appears.
I'd been the same, too.
And that habit had helped me discover many 'hidden pieces', that is, elements hidden inside the game, while playing [Dungeon & Stone] for nine years.
Like the fountain statue here, for example.
"Bjorn?"
"Ah, coming."
I left my uneasiness behind and followed the group inside.
I decided not to mention the statue, in the end.
A barbarian knowing something that even a wizard who'd devoted her entire life to learning didn't know?
'It'd be better to avoid suspicion.'
Clearly, the excuse that I'd read it in a book wouldn't work this time, and this 'object' was an item that couldn't be taken out of the rift with distortion magic, anyway.
"This is the inner fortress."
In the medieval age, if the outer fortress served as the first line of defence, then the inner fortress was closer to being the last stronghold.
Originally, this was the place where various military facilities such as the armoury would've been built, and where the vassals, knights, and soldiers of the lord would be stationed.
Raven looked around and sighed.
"… I'd already heard about it, but I really can't find anything here."
The inner fortress, which was about one-third the size of the outer fortress, was horribly damaged.
All the buildings had collapsed, and only ruins remained.
There weren't even any monsters here.
"Let's quickly move on to the next destination."
Under Raven's direction, we cleared the rubble for about thirty minutes and finally found a way to the basement.
"Mr. Murad, will you take the lead?"
"Got it!"
"Ah, I need to conserve my magic, so please light a torch."
The dwarf took out a torch and slotted it onto his helmet.
Maybe because he was so short, he looked like the Molediver, from the manhwa[1].
Crumple!
We pushed the thick wooden planks away and slowly made our way down the stairs hidden underneath.
The third chapter of the Blood Citadel – the dungeon.
I gulped and tried to steel myself.
「You have entered the first floor of the dungeon. 」
Aah, I'm not good with the disgusting stuff…
"Miss Raven, what kind of monsters come out here?"
"I know there can be skull rats, banshees, deathfiends, chimeric wolves, ghoul lords and corpse golems."
"Except for the corpse golem, they're all monsters I've dealt with."
"That's how it should be. Corpse golems are monsters that only appear inside the Blood Citadel."
"Hahaha, time to pile up some achievements, I think!"
The dwarf was happy that he could increase his experience by fighting new monsters.
But not me.
Even the graphics had been so terrible, how disgusting would the reality be?
"Is there anything to be careful about, specifically?"
"You just have to be careful about the flesh explosion. The explosive power is not very strong, but the body fluids are mixed with toxic acid, so it can be fatal if you get hit at close range. Of course, I'll try to stop you before that."
"Ha ha! There is nothing to be afraid of, because we have a wizard with us!"
"It's all possible because there are strong warriors like Mr. Murad."
Damn.
Weren't they at each other's throats when they were arguing over loot just now?
Step.
As soon as I went down the last stair, a dungeon with a labyrinthine structure unfolded before my eyes.
Deadmen shackled with chains rotted inside cages, and on the floor, rats with only bones left made strange noises as they wandered around.
"Bjorn, are those monsters too?"
"They're the skull rats I mentioned earlier."
"I didn't ask you, wizard!"
By the way, these were unrated, same as the deadmen.
In fact, they didn't even have enough fighting power to be called monsters, so we simply walked forward, trampling on whatever we could see.
And not long after, we met a banshee.
"Kuhuhuhu, huhuhuhuhu!"
The banshee was flying around haphazardly, revealing only the outline of a bizarre-looking face.
"B-, Bjorn…"
Oh, right, she was afraid of banshees.
Seeing Ainar clinging to me, Raven grinned.
Thankfully Ainar was too busy to notice. The shouting match would've started up again otherwise.
"Be careful not to bump into the banshee. It's not too dangerous if it's just once or twice, but… "
"… But?"
"You'll have a very, very horrible experience."
"V-, very, very horrible experience? What does that even mean! Talk clearly, wizard!"
"Well. Shall I leave it to your imagination?"
Raven smiled crookedly as she looked at Ainar's pale face.
Seeing her take revenge in this way, she didn't seem to have a very good personality either.
I sighed inwardly and cut in on their conversation.
"I heard that wizards have a way to deal with banshees."
"Hmm, you said you like books, so you have broad knowledge, huh?"
Was this enough to call my knowledge broad?
Well, for a barbarian, it might be…
Still, this was probably still within the range of plausibility.
"Then I'll stop joking around and handle the banshee first. Tayrun shell."
Immediately, an arrow of light was fired out of Raven's staff and pierced the banshee.
The magic was called 'mageshot[2]' in the game.
It had no casting time because it was a basic attack spell that was no different from a wizard's normal attack.
"Kyieeeeeeeeeeee!!!"
In a while, dozens of banshees began to flock together, burning with fierce hatred.
They'd sensed the 'mark' left by their colleague when she'd died.
From the point of view of a wizard who possessed a large number of powerful wide-area attacks, it must've been a welcome occurrence.
"Iherno heindar."
Flame baptism.
Flames from her magic staff filled the straight passage.
And when the fire was extinguished –
There were no banshees left.
Whooosh!
This time too, the mana stones scattered on the floor floated in the air and went into her bag.
In fact, I was more envious of this than the attack spell.
That you didn't have to pick up the mana stones one by one.
Really, how long would it take to put a wizard on my team and carry them around?
Again, I realized how far I still had to go.
Reality was different from the 2D world beyond the monitor.
Especially the chill that now prickled on my skin.
「The character has entered the second floor of the dungeon.」
The dungeon I experienced firsthand for the first time felt like a mad scientist's laboratory.
A chimeric wolf with four heads and bulging, uneven muscles like a mutant.
A ghoul lord with a retinue of thirty elder ghouls.
These eighth-grade monsters not only possessed grotesque appearances, but the small props around them were full of a horror game vibe.
I could only hope I wouldn't get turned into another prop that completed the picture[3].
"By the way, Miss Raven is great. Aren't you scared at all?"
"Well. I do love anatomy, so this much is fine."
Fuck, then what about a barbarian's anatomy?
Come to think of it, the reason why barbarian hearts were sold at high prices was because they were magic materials…
"Ah, we've arrived."
Hunting all the monsters in the dungeon and reaching the third basement floor, we found a hidden door leading to the underground space beneath the ruins of the lord's castle.
Originally, we should've gotten the map from the guardroom, but…
"The door is hidden behind the wall, so it's good that I memorized the map in advance."
Thanks to Raven, who'd studied the area thoroughly, there was no way we could get lost.
Well, if I were alone, I would've found it as well.
As for the dungeon, the place was identical to how it'd been in the game.
'But that's only possible because I'm a player.'
Once again, I could feel why wizards were so important.
Powerful attack magic.
Highly useful support system abilities such as 'cure wounds'.
Even the knowledge accumulated by reading numerous books.
It wasn't for no reason that wizards were treated better than priests in a team.
"It'd be better to leave our backpacks here. Especially for you, Mr. Yandel."
Feeling a little embarrassed, I dropped the oversized backpack that spanned from my head to my thighs in front of the door.
… If I made enough money, I'd have to buy a magic backpack first.
This wasn't my first time feeling uncomfortable because of it.
"Ah, from now on, Mr. Yandel should also light a torch."
At Raven's instruction, I also affixed a torch on my helmet.
With this, everything was ready.
Creak, creak, creak –
As I turned the circular valve to open the iron door, a rotten stench rushed in.
"I didn't expect this kind of a place at all."
"Oi, wizard… do we really have to go in here?"
"I'm disgusted to death, too, but it can't be helped."
A space reminiscent of a sewage treatment plant.
There were large water pipes lined up on the cylindrical wall, and dark filth was dripping down everywhere.
And on top of that –
Broken and severed limbs and heads were piled up like mountains on the floor, and the air full of rot and decay stung our noses and caused headaches.
"Ugh, gghhhh!"
The first to vomit was the porter.
The guy who'd been simply holding the baggage next to Raven like an escort, with a really expressionless face, spewed out the contents of his stomach.
The second was Raven.
"Uggh, woagghhh!"
She might've been able to tolerate the sight due to her experience with dissections, but she was equally vulnerable to the smell.
Surprisingly, I managed.
Even though a scene that would've made me faint in the past was unfolding before my eyes, there was no effect on this barbarian body.
"I'm glad you're all right. Come on, let's go forward."
Feeling something indescribable, I slowly approached the centre.
Squelch.
Every step made a sound as if I was stepping on a sponge.
And as the light got closer to the centre, the huge shape that'd only been a dark outline became clearer.
"Hello."
Surprisingly, it spoke to us.
In a female voice that sounded like a scratched tape recording.
"Kkgh, kuhk! Meat! Save, kkghghk, save me! Me! Kkgh, kgkk, delicious, d-, daddy, kkh!"
Ah, um, ah…
To be honest, it was a bit shocking.
"Hooo…"
Fuck, you used to be so quiet in the game.
Why the hell are you doing this to me?
Bitter thoughts welled up out of nowhere, but nothing would change even if you lament.
When I looked to the side, even the trustworthy dwarf was frozen in place.
"Everyone, calm down!!"
I immediately roared, waking up my bewildered teammates.
But did this end up provoking it?
"Daddy! Daddy! Hurts! Hurts! Hurtsss! It hurtssssssssss!!"
The pile of corpses that had been crouching in the dark stood up and staggered forward, although I really couldn't say if it actually had any feet or not.
Boom–!
The midboss of the Blood Citadel.
It was a corpse golem.
Although [Dungeon and Stone] is the epitome of a niche cult classic, it's not without its own popular parts.
At least some of its illustrations are famous.
The lifelike illustrations that seem like old black and white photos are often used as 'memes' on the internet.
Few people know that those illustrations are actually from a game.
I'm realizing once more.
"Fuck."
No matter how realistic a picture is, it can't match up to reality.
"Hurts! Hurts! It hurtssssssss!"
Is this what a collection of thousands of human arms, legs, and heads looks like?
Each component moves independently, as if it has its own will.
The same goes for the hundreds of mouths.
Each one pours out what it wants to say, uncontrolled and unfiltered.
Most of them say it hurts, it's cold, it hates, kill me, save me, etc., and there's no overarching logic that governs the emotions that fluctuate from moment to moment.
"Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah–!"
Well, it's either that or a simple scream.
Everyone is frozen once again by the macabre harmony in the synthesis of all sorts of bizarre voices.
"Hikurod! Be careful!"
A wizard good at anatomy.
A third-year dwarf who must've encountered numerous monsters.
A human man who exudes an atmosphere that looks quite good for a porter.
They treated us two rookie barbarians as spares, but…
Surprisingly, at this moment, it's only Ainar and I who haven't lost their cool.
"What're you all doing!"
Ainar, who'd been watching the corpse golem, pulls the dwarf by the neck and lifts him up.
Craaash!
The pile of corpses that flies in like a shotput explodes on impacting the ground. The splattered blood and flesh sticks to Ainar and the dwarf.
Screeeech!
Fortunately, Ainar is unharmed because of her clothes, but not the dwarf.
"Ah! Eye! My eyes…!"
Fuck, it seems that the acid somehow went through the narrow slit in the helmet and hit him in the eyes.
In an instant, the dwarf is incapacitated.
And the wizard who believed only in herself…
"Ugggh, huurrrrrk!"
Is still vomiting.
… What do you guys think you're doing?
And here I thought things have gotten easier.
No way, of course they can't.
"Ainar! Take the dwarf and retreat to protect the wizard!"
Shouting my instructions, I raise my shield and face the corpse golem.
There's no choice.
I don't want to attract attention as much as possible, but…
Aren't the ones supposed to carry us through the mission now messing around?
"Behel-raaaaa!!"
To survive, I have no choice but to take the steering wheel myself.
Editor's Notes:
[1] 두더지 광부 (lit. mole miner). Initially we thought this might refer to the 'mole miner' enemy type in Fallout 76, but that doesn't make sense either from the imagery or from context. This is quite possibly referring to the Molediver (Teamfight Tactics). Does that even have a manhwa?
[2] 마력시 (lit. magic power) doesn't seem to be a very fitting name, so this is being translated as 'mageshot'.
[3] 화룡점정 (lit. fire dragon point), giving the finishing touch. Comes from the Chinese proverb 'paint the dragon, dot the eyes', about a painter who'd drawn a very lifelike portrait of a dragon, with just one thing missing. As soon as he painted the dragon's pupil with his last stroke, it became real and flew away.
-x-X-x-
The corpse golem's attack pattern is simple.
Fire corpse bombs at distant enemies.
Pull close and devour nearby enemies.
Using those hundreds of arms sprouting from all over its body, wriggling like tentacles.
"Bjorn!"
Ainar's worried cry rings in my ears as I maintain my distance.
If I get too close, I won't be a valid target for the corpse bomb…
Then the target would change to where the wizard is.
Craaash!
I have to stall somehow.
At least until the wizard comes to her senses.
By drawing aggro all by myself.
Craaash!
Each time a corpse bomb flies in, I roll to the side to create some distance, then crouch behind my shield to protect myself from the splattering acidic synovia.
And when I'm doing this for the third time –
"Iherno heindar."
A baptism of flames comes roaring.
Fortunately, the wizard seems to have come to her senses.
Instead of looking back, I keep my attention focused only on the corpse golem.
Accompanied by the screams of hundreds of voices, the body of the corpse golem is set ablaze, and its shell starts peeling off.
The standard strategy for beating the first pattern is to repeatedly light it aflame using torches while kiting its attacks and managing your distance, but with a single spell, all of that is now completed in one shot.
「The outer shell of the corpse golem has been neutralized. 」
But the burning smell of rotten corpses is even more disgusting.
"U… uggh, eeek!!"
Another scream resounds from behind.
Please, just come to your senses quicker this time…
Well, although, I guess I don't need a wizard anymore.
"Ainar! It's fine now, come to the other side!"
I immediately call Ainar forward.
The corpse golem is a level seven monster, but as long as its skin is peeled off, it's not a monster beyond the reach of two barbarians.
"Grrrrr–!!"
Its gigantic shape has also shrunk noticeably, and now it's only about 3m in diameter.
Now that the piles of corpses that'd been crawling all over its form have burned and melted, only the remaining bones, like bars of reinforced steel, keep creaking as they move.
I call this, 'bone golem mode'.
"Kaaaaagh!"
Because of the reduced weight, its movement has become much more agile.
I shout as I block the violent swing of its arm with my shield.
"Porter! You come help, too!"
"I must protect Lady Raven."
Motherfucker.
Alright, I get it.
Let's wait and see, what price all my hard work gets me.
Crump!
I leap high and slam my mace on the golem's torso.
There's a shattering sound, but that's all.
Its ribs are so hard that cracking a piece of bone a little is all I managed.
But this is repeatable.
"Ainar! Aim for the chest!"
"Got it!"
Ainar and I attack the corpse golem's ribs, kiting its aggro between us.
Perhaps after doing that around forty times?
The ribs, hard as walnut shells, crack apart, revealing the kernel inside.
A magical core, a common vital element for golems.
Crunch!
After I break the core with my mace, the corpse golem stops working and dissolves into light.
「You have killed a corpse golem. EXP +3」
The reward is a mana stone the size of a fist, as expected of a level seven monster.
"Ohhhh! How many loaves of bread would this buy?"
Ainar, admiring the first stone she's seen of this size, suddenly stiffens.
Because the reward doesn't end with just a mana stone.
Whoosh!
A halo of black light shines softly as it hangs in the air.
"Bjorn, maybe this is…?"
I nod my head, equally nonplussed.
Essence drop.
A rift is nothing less than a treasure trove.
Elite monsters that don't appear outside in the regular areas are like raindrops in the desert for adventurers who can't get any more experience from regular monsters, not to mention the loot the guardian spits out.
But the key is that the essence drop rate inside a rift is exponentially higher than the outside.
'Actually, if you look at the probability, it's not that strange that an essence came out now… '
"What are we going to do?"
I put my thoughts together for a moment in response to Ainar's question.
First of all, we two should own it.
We almost did all the fighting by ourselves, and this was the promise in the first place.
But…
"…"
Originally, I had two candidates.
Deathfiend for regenerative power, or chimeric wolf for muscular strength.
Both essences are from a level eight monster.
But all of a sudden, here dropped the essence of a corpse golem, a level seven elite monster that appears only inside the 'Blood Citadel'.
The difficulty of obtaining such a rare essence is incomparable to either of the candidates…
But it's too average for me to be happy about it.
The penalty is severe, and the unique abilities have their own drawbacks.
[Corpse Golem]
Pain Tolerance +70, Skeletal Density +55, Poison Resistance +12, Strength +15, Cognition -5, Appetite +9, Weight +21
First of all, the basic stats are suitable for tank builds.
The decline in cognitive ability affects the visual acuity of the body as well as the speed of judgment, and the body will become dull overall…
In return, other stat increases are very high.
'Skeletal density', which affects defence as well as physical resistance, is +55, and 'weight', which used to affect knockback and blunt damages in the game, is +21.
'Pain tolerance' is also very useful in reality compared to in the game, 'appetite' is insignificant, and 'strength' as well as 'poison resistance' are unconditionally helpful stats.
But…
Special:
(P) Acidic Bodily Fluids – Blood becomes acidic.
(A) Flesh Explosion – Create a powerful explosion from any part of the body.
The abilities have huge flaws.
'Flesh explosion' does boast tremendous damage, but it uses the character's HP as a cost.
What if you just don't use the active skill?
Sealing a skill is a huge loss in the first place, but even disregarding that…
If you eat this essence, every time you get injured, the durability of your equipment will drop drastically.
Because whenever you bleed, your blood will splatter and corrode whatever it touches, including your equipment.
"Whoo…"
Outrageous potion costs and horrendous equipment costs.
Usually, whenever this essence dropped in the game, I fed it to whichever NPC I was carrying with me at the time, pretty much throwing it away.
You can't make chicken salad out of chicken shit[1], and this essence is the same.
It's a waste to completely throw it away, but it'd be problematic to feed it to your player character.
'Anyway, the essence you eat at the start has to be thrown away someday, so taking this now wouldn't be such a bad thing… '
"Let's put it on hold for now and treat the dwarf first."
Even if there's no owner, the essence will remain for half an hour, so there's no need for haste.
I don't know if I might be able to trade something for this.
Having made such a judgment, I turn to our rear and witness a scene that can be summed up in one word – a mess.
Did the porter give them potions?
The dwarf is rolling on the ground with the pain from the potion, and the wizard somehow looks half-dead.
"Do not come close."
His name… right, Tarzine.
This sleek-looking escort bastard blocks our way as soon as he sees us coming closer.
Fuck, what did we do?
"What happened?"
When I keep my distance and ask, the porter answers.
"She's suffering from backlash because she forcefully cast magic."
Backlash…
He seems to be referring to 'circuit break', a condition that sometimes occurs when casting fails.
Upon closer inspection, the wizard is literally vomiting blood, not just spewing out the contents of her stomach.
"Ugh, huurrrk!"
Is this the bitter price of using magic in the midst of a stomach upset because of the smell?
It's a weird sight for sure, but…
In fact, in [Dungeon and Stone], that's a good thing.
Unlike other games where the chain of causality is transparently visible, in this game, small 'causes' that seem insignificant can sometimes threaten your life.
"Are you going to leave her to it? I think it'd be better to move her outside first."
"… I will ask you to carry the dwarf, then."
After escorting Raven and the dwarf to the dungeon basement, things get better in a while.
The dwarf is the first to come to his senses.
"I have no excuse… Thank you. Things would've been a nightmare if it weren't for the two of you."
"I'm glad you understand that."
I don't try to act humble.
Because there's no going back.
I'm sure I made a difference, and I'm going to use this to raise my hourly wage a little bit more.
For that, it'd be better to go high than to go low.
"If it weren't for Ainar, you'd be dead already."
"I know. It's really embarrassing, but as soon as I saw it, my body stiffened. I used to think I've seen everything there is to see…"
Once again, this place emphasizes the harshness of reality.
If it were a game, he would've been more than strong enough, but due to his fragile mentality, he was almost killed by a midboss, not even the rift guardian.
"So what's up with the lady?"
"Backlash. She's drunk a potion, so she should get better soon."
The wizard, who'd been screaming instead of vomiting, comes to her senses about ten minutes later.
"It hurts, ouch."
She speaks pretending to be careless, but there's no more of that earlier lofty atmosphere.
The corners of her mouth and the nape of her neck are caked with vomit and blood, and even her fine blonde hair hangs loose and matted.
Same with her robes, covered in dirt and grime.
"We took care of the corpse golem."
"Yes. I know. I overdid the magic, but well done."
Really, is this how adventurer bastards behave?
Rather than saying thank you, the first thing she mentions is her own achievement.
If I let it be, there'll be no hope of increasing my wages.
I need to get a confirmation somehow.
"We saved you. By more than a person's share. Do you agree, wizard?"
"… I agree."
Raven nods as if in anger.
It seems that it was quite shameful that the two barbarians whom she'd been taking for granted did such a great job.
To be honest, it's quite refreshing, but leaving her some room at this point will help the negotiations.
"Of course, your magic was amazing. With such strong flame, you must've overdid it for the sake of the team."
"Well, I guess… So, what do you want to say?"
I say bluntly.
"We will take the rift stone."
Essence, numbered item, rift stone.
These are the three possible loot drops from a rift guardian.
When I'd first asked for this, they'd glared at us saying we were being too greedy for two useless rookies.
But what about now?
"…"
There is only a strange silence.
I wait patiently without urging.
Patience is the basis of negotiation.
"I agree. If it weren't for this barbarian girl here, I'd be dead."
Is this him repaying the favour?
The dwarf is the first to express his affirmation.
But…
"I disagree."
Raven doesn't allow it.
But it's not like she's giving no concession at all.
"But if the rift stone does drop, I think we can at least give them an equal chance."
Simply put, it means that we'll be given the opportunity to bid.
It's a little disappointing, but it's true that she's helped a lot too, so it might be nice to be satisfied with this.
Because I don't have much time.
Then, on to the next item.
"Ah, and there was the essence."
"Essence? Could it be that the corpse golem dropped an essence?"
"Yes."
The dwarf and Raven both gape, perhaps not having expected to see something so rare.
"It's amazing. It looks like you haven't gotten a single essence yet, but you got this one as your first."
"I heard that the corpse golem's essence is so rare than even the Adventurers' Guild doesn't understand its properties."
Raven admires the essence that's even rarer than the essence of a guardian.
Her eyes are shining with the lust for research. It's a bonus.
I hide my happiness as much as possible and bring out the proposal I'd been holding back.
"You can exchange it for the essence of the guardian if you want."
"Yes? But we're not sure if the guardian will even drop an essence… "
Raven wiggles in place with a strange face.
She really likes the suggestion.
"I'll take the chance."
"Okay then, alright. I really don't know how adventurers think. Actually, the corpse golem is a lot more interesting to me. I didn't know this would drop…"
Negotiations, success.
"Miss Raven, I've heard that wizards can't absorb essences, so are you going to feed it to your porter?"
"No, the essence by itself is worth studying."
Raven took a test tube from the porter's bag.
This was one of the reasons wizards were such a cheat.
Even if they didn't directly absorb the essence into the body, they could still take it outside.
They did need to prepare for that though.
"Ah! Did you bring a test tube? I heard they're exorbitantly expensive!"
"… This is the only one I have."
In fact, putting an essence below the sixth grade in a test tube was almost a waste.
But Raven seemed to value the corpse golem's essence quite highly.
Whoosh!
As Raven chanted a spell, the essence was sucked into the test tube.
She carefully double-wrapped the item with cloth and stored it properly in her backpack.
"Then let's get out of this terrible place."
"I've been waiting for you to say that!"
We climbed up the grimy ladder and moved quickly through the water pipes.
The only monsters that appeared were skull rats and deadmen.
Although the place smelled foul, it was nothing compared to the stench in the corpse golem's arena.
After traveling for about thirty minutes, we reached our destination.
"I'll go up first."
There was a staircase beyond the rusty iron fence that looked like it would crumple with one kick, and when I climbed it, a spacious stone chamber appeared.
Breathing in the fresh air as much as I could, I checked my surroundings.
"It doesn't look like a gargoyle statue, what is that?"
"It doesn't feel magical, so it must be a simple sculpture."
Demonic sculptures were everywhere.
And the floor was littered with human skulls.
"Perhaps there was a house right above here. If it hadn't collapsed, I would've been able to investigate inside… "
As if she didn't feel the eerie atmosphere, Raven spoke as if it were a pity.
"As you can see, it has the typical look of a religious facility. However, hiding it underground means that this faith did not fit the social norms of the time. For example, worshipping an evil god."
"I, I see."
The dwarf was taken aback by Raven's enthusiastic explanation as she showed off her knowledge. I brought them back to reality by interjecting before they could go off on even longer tangents.
"Why don't we stop talking and get a little rest?"
In fact, this was my warning to myself as well.
Because the last chapter of the rift, the 'demonic shrine', was not a place to be taken lightly.
"Bjorn, I'm feeling something ominous in the air."
Especially for an unlucky bastard like me.
Editor's Notes:
[1] 계륵과 (lit. chicken ribs), something that has no great use or benefit, but not worth completely throwing away.
-x-X-x-
Click.
When Raven pushed a stone embedded in the walls, the candles in the stone chamber lit up at once, and the hall became brighter.
"Oh, how did you know about this again?"
"Books are a treasure trove of knowledge."
Yeah, you can read anything in a book.
"Let's see, ah! Here it is."
Raven pushed a brick, and a book fell down from the ceiling with the clicking sound of a mechanism.
'Necronomicon'.
A grimoire of black magic, and an item that was sold at a fairly high price in stores.
… Damn it.
"It's something I discovered with my own abilities, so I'll take it as agreed."
"That's fine. We wouldn't be able to take it out without distortion magic, anyway."
"Hahaha…"
Raven laughed awkwardly.
She probably knew all about it from the map she'd memorized.
The 'Necronomicon' was considered an item, and could be taken outside even without distortion magic.
"Would you mind putting this in my backpack?"
"Yes, Mistress Raven."
My stomach hurt with envy, but all I could do was watch while the wizard swallowed the loot all by herself.
Huh, I'd thought to collect it myself later…
Why the hell did she know about this, when she didn't even know what was hidden under the statue?
"Then shall we go?"
As we walked along the straight passage for about 10m, we came across a two-way fork under a huge statue of a devil.
"Miss Raven?"
"It doesn't matter which one we choose. We're going to hunt all the monsters anyway, right?"
We went around the 'ㅁ' shape of the 'demonic shrine' and methodically hunted down the monsters.
Gargoyle statue, deathfiend, chimeric wolf, and bone knight.
"Not only did the corpse golem drop an essence, but we even got the longing type, so we're pretty lucky."
Yes, this rain of good fortune wasn't like my usual experience.
Hate, sorrow, longing.
A 'bone knight', a level seven monster, can have one of these three attributes at random. And we got the easiest and the most rewarding type.
"The longing type only has the ability to 'drain life', which restores its own life when it hits. And I can simply negate it with my 'cancel regeneration' magic."
Raven bragged proudly, but in fact, with or without her, the longing type would've been the easiest.
The sadness type, which emitted a mist that caused delirium, had a very annoying ability even in the game.
Well, it wasn't in the same league as the hatred type, though.
The dwarf said thoughtfully.
"If we're talking about luck, I've heard that the hatred type is the weakest, right?"
Fuck you.
Knights of hatred use 'soul slash'.
A crazy skill that does no damage, but has an atrocious probability of dropping your level.
[Companion A suffers serious damage to his soul and his level drops.]
Once it crits, this message appears in the battle log regardless of HP, defence, or magic resistance.
And when this message appears, it's better to give up and start nurturing a new character.
That's a lot easier than recovering the lost experience by speedrunning portals.
"… It's really scary to have your soul's rank go down."
At Raven's explanation on my behalf, the dwarf shuddered and breathed a sigh of relief.
However, this wizard girl did not miss the opportunity to show off her knowledge and continued to explain.
"Ah, if you have as many essences as your soul allows, one would be lost at random. Perhaps this is something that other adventurers might not know."
As expected of a wizard, she was bang on.
However, if I could add one more piece of information as an old pro…
'Soul slash' crits more easily the lower your level.
And now I was only level two.
Even with my bad luck, I was really lucky I didn't meet the knight of hatred –
"Essence."
Fuck, is my luck finally turning?
Another essence dropped at my hands.
It belonged to none other than the seventh-grade monster, the bone knight.
What is this?
Even the corpse golem dropped an essence…
Was this the so-called 'bountiful fortune'?
"It is as if God is watching over you. Ha ha ha ha!"
"I know what you mean. Maybe the guardian would drop an essence too?"
Each of them gave meaningless congratulations and looked at us.
Me and Ainar.
It meant one of us would have to eat this.
After thinking for a while, I came up with an answer.
"Ainar, take this for yourself."
"Is, is that alright?"
It would've been a lie to say I wasn't tempted.
In fact, now only the guardian was left, and no one could be sure whether another essence would drop or not.
But…
"You said you wanted to be strong, didn't you? So take this."
From a player's point of view, it was more reasonable for Ainar to take it rather than me.
'Drain life' was a good fit for swordsmen, and I was in a position where I'd have to give up my weapon someday.
And above all, Ainar was reliable.
Judging by her honest personality, she wouldn't leave me to fend for myself and instead stay by my side.
So, rather than being impatient, it'd be more efficient to make Ainar stronger, and then use that strength to get an essence that fit me better.
"Oh, thank you! Bjorn! You're the best! I'll definitely repay this favour!"
With my permission, Ainar took the essence with excitement.
The change was dramatic and immediate.
"W-, what the! Why did you all suddenly grow so large!"
"You're the one who turned small, Ainar."
"What?! Really?!"
Ainar's height, which was around 2m, decreased sharply.
In an instant, she came down to around the late 170s.
"This is the basic effect of the essence of the bone knight. In return for a significant increase in bone density, your height decreases."
Raven, who liked to explain things, recited the information known by this world's standards.
If instead of terms like (high), (middle), (low), etc., you expressed it in terms of hard numbers:
[Bone Knight]
Cutting Power +12, Skeletal Density +55, Agility +15, Endurance +15, Flexibility -7, Height -25
(P) Antiseptic – All wound aggravating effects (poison, bleeding, decay, etc.) are halved.
(A) Drain Life – Temporary significant increase in regeneration when you strike another.
"Don't worry. You wouldn't have lost muscle strength just because you got shorter –"
"I, I'm ruined! Nobody will see me as a warrior anymore! Everyone already looked at me funny because I'm a woman!"
… Did people really make fun of her because she was a woman?
Or was it a complex all in her head?
"By the way… you look really pretty."
Raven, watching Ainar scream, murmured with interest.
"Is it because the skull structure shrunk? Maybe this could be sold to nobles as cosmetics –"
"That, that means I'm not a warrior anymore?!!"
I didn't know it was going to be this bad, so I hurriedly cut in trying to fix it somehow.
"No, no. Ainar, everyone already knows that you're a great warrior!"
To be honest, except for the tattoos on her upper body, she now almost looked like a tall human woman…
"What's wrong with getting just a little bit shorter!"
"Do you call this a little bit?!!"
"… But you're much stronger now! Isn't that good enough?"
I was the only one trying to console her.
The rest were pure sociopaths, busy chattering with each other, ignoring their colleague's misfortune.
"Ha ha ha! What a strange essence. If a dwarf like me eats it, he'll become invisible!"
"Hmm, that's a fun idea. Whether the height reduction effect is proportional or absolute, I need to look for examples after I go back."
"I'm ruined!!"
"Ha ha ha! Is it because you're a barbarian? Even if you're short, your voice is still very loud!"
"Ainar, if it's okay with you, can I examine you once we get back to the city?"
"I'm ruined!"
All of you, please stop and be quiet.
My ears are ringing, and my head hurts…
"Deathfiend!"
Thanks to the monster that ran in from afar attracted by all the noise, the commotion somehow barely subsided.
However, perhaps because they were curious about Ainar's transformation after absorbing the essence, everyone took a step back and expressed their intention to watch.
"Behel-ra…"
Ainar swung her greatsword with a shout that was completely devoid of spirit.
And…
Snikt!
No, I didn't hear it wrong.
Her greatsword made a slashing sound rather than a blunt impact, for the first time.
… Was this what cutting force +12 looked like?
"Ainar, aim at the head!"
"Uh, uh… got it!"
Surprised by her own change, Ainar leapt up high and chopped her greatsword straight down.
And then…
Snikt!
The deathfiend, which used to need dozens of hits with the two of us, died in a single blow.
That one shot cleaved through the hard skull and reached the brain inside.
"Look! You've gotten much stronger!"
"Then, am I still a warrior…?"
"Does that make sense?"
"…?"
"Ainar, second daughter of Penelin! Now you are not just a warrior! You're a stronger warrior!!"
"Behel-raaaah!!"
Thank God, she finally cheered up.
Her balance was off because she'd lost weight, but she'd become much stronger once she got used to it.
"Aren't they a really good couple?"
"I know, right?"
I ignored the useless chatter between the wizard and the dwarf, and proceeded forward.
Because I'd realized once again that the only way to shut them up was by fighting monsters.
"Come on! Bjorn! If you eat one, you can also become a stronger warrior like me!"
Regaining her motivation, Ainar really kept fighting with all her heart and soul.
Thud! Ka-thunk! Snikt!
Unfortunately, even after hunting all the monsters in the shrine, no more essences dropped.
But I didn't give up hope.
Because the best part of the rift, the guardian, was still left.
We'd been lucky enough so far, so couldn't that luck last for one last round?
Just when that thought crossed my mind –
"I've had a lot of fun with you guys, but now it's almost over."
The dwarf boldly raised a flag.
Raven followed.
"It's a bit sad. This is my first time in the labyrinth, but I think I can understand why my seniors go on adventures."
In that instant, it felt as if I'd been dumped in a frozen river.
Come to think of it, when had I ever been this lucky in my whole life?
Even if I combed over my entire lifetime, I couldn't find a single instance.
Something would always happen to spoil things at the end.
The screws in my head, which had been loosened to the limit, tightened at once, as an unknown premonition loomed over me.
"Then I'll go in."
What's the problem?
If the worst were to happen now, what would it be?
Infighting?
That didn't seem correct.
The loot distribution had already been agreed, so even if an internal conflict were to happen, it'd only happen after the guardian died.
Screech.
As the dwarf opened the door to the stone chamber, I observed our surroundings.
With an iron certainty that something was going to happen.
I paid close attention to every little detail my eyes could reach.
Simultaneously, I went over all the in-game information about the 'Blood Citadel' in my head.
So, I was able to find it.
"Door! Close the door!"
"What do you mean –"
Damn it, it's too late.
Rrrrrrruummbllllle!
At the same time as the door opened –
The floor began to shake violently.
And then, at the very centre of the spacious stone chamber, a shape than had been hiding in the dark stood up, and took off its hood to reveal a wretched face.
Only Raven, the wizard, realized the how serious was the predicament we were in.
"No, that's absurd…"
The guardian of the rift had changed.
Instead of the 'death knight' that should've been waiting for us here…
「The lord of the Blood Citadel wakes up from his deep slumber.」
A 'boss' monster without any retinue.
Nevertheless, it was a monster with a level five difficulty.
A true 'hybrid' monster, proficient in black magic as well as melee combat.
A monster we would've only had a faint chance to meet even if we were on the sixth floor.
"Vampire…"
A so-called 'high variant', not an ordinary vampire.
Simply put, he was a named monster with intelligence, a name, and a history.
I even knew his name.
"I haven't seen any of the living in a long time."
Vampire Duke Cambormere.
"Where are you guys from?"
On behalf of the frozen crowd, I opened my mouth.
"Let's run."
Fuck, why are you doing this to me?
In the game, even if I sang, come out, come out every time, you never showed up!
-x-X-x-
Monsters can be broadly classified into four categories.
1. Variants.
For example, regular goblins, goblin archers and goblin swordsmen. They're all of the same race, but have different classes.
2. Higher species.
The deathfiends I'd met in the Land of the Dead belong to this category.
Note that this is a relative term. As long as the monster is one grade higher than the average of the current floor, it's a higher species.
3. Rare species.
Monsters that can only be met in certain special places like the rifts, like corpse golems, or monsters that can appear in the general areas but are extremely difficult to find, like mimics, fall in this category.
4. High variants.
Named monsters, with unique memories for each individual, and individual names.
Their most prominent characteristic is that they can have 'the power of essence', giving them special abilities unavailable to their species.
In short, they're much tougher and much more demanding to fight.
Imagine, what if an 'ogre', known for its thick skin, also possessed the regenerative ability of a 'troll'?
A crazy monster would be born.
That's why…
I was running with all my might.
"Who the hell is that guy?! Why the hell is there a vampire here…"
"Run faster if you've got the time to whine, dwarf."
Out of the entrance to the boss room –
"Huk, huk, I can't even run anymore… "
"Excuse me, Miss Raven."
Following the same route by way of which we'd come in, past the water pipes –
"We can't leave this place without killing him anyway. Wouldn't it be better to fight?"
"We at least need to find sunlight."
"What sunlight? The sky's all red!"
"That'd still be better than here, though."
Even after entering the maze-like dungeon –
"Turn left here!"
We continued to sprint.
Because this place was no different than 'his' home ground.
We had to get outside at any cost.
That way we could still have a chance to live.
"A, a high variant guardian… This is unprecedented."
Well, that wasn't strictly true.
High variants appear even in the 'White Temple' on the third floor. And from the eighth floor and up, in the true depths of the labyrinth, it's safe to say that all rifts are like that.
But, well, it wasn't wrong to call this unprecedented for the first floor.
Even I, an old pro in his ninth year with ten thousand runs under his belt, had never met the 'vampire duke'.
I only knew about his existence from a recording a player had posted on the only community site for the game.
"Oh right! How did you know, Mr. Bjorn? You told us to close the door!"
Couldn't that damned zeal for learning take a rest even in this situation?
"I repeat, run faster."
"But I'm not running by myself, right?"
Ah, that's right.
But can't you see how hard I'm trying to run?
"… I just had an intuition."
Before things got any more annoying, I looked around and cut off our conversation.
But if I were to answer that within my own head…
It was thanks to the unusual colour of the doorknob that I'd noticed.
In the Blood Citadel gameplay recording that player had uploaded, that had been the only unusuality.
When the vampire duke didn't appear for me even after trying hundreds of times under the same conditions as that player, I'd thought there had to be some special condition, so I'd combed through the recording and found that small difference.
If I hadn't been blinded by so many lucky breaks, could I have discovered it even before opening the door?
Well, there was no point thinking about that right now.
"You're being rude, o guests."
As soon as we reached the second floor of the dungeon, 'he' appeared on our trail.
Swaaaaaa–!
Chasing us in the form of a black mist, not as a human.
This wasn't a vampiric ability. It was one of the dozens of black magic spells he possessed, 'spiritization'.
This was why I hated monsters that used magic.
They were too damned versatile.
"Raven!"
I immediately called the wizard on our side.
I wanted to ask if she knew any solar magic, the elemental weakness of all vampires.
But I was thinking too much.
"Everyone close your eyes!"
The lady wizard had already finished casting.
"Aheschenbert tu!"
'Radiant explosion'.
A support spell usually used for its AoE blinding effect.
Even with my eyes closed, I could clearly feel the sudden and intense flash of light.
Ppiiiii–.
Ignoring the tinnitus from my ears, I opened my eyes, and found that the black smoke that'd been chasing us had disappeared.
Thank God.
By cancelling 'spiritization', the next part of the combo, 'materialization', had also been prevented.
Meaning we'd earned at least three minutes of reprieve, or even more.
By now, 'he' must've again woken up in the shrine room.
But were triumphs bound to be accompanied by disasters?
"Bjorn! The wizard's down!"
"What?"
Hearing Ainar's exclamation, I glanced at Raven, who was being held by the porter as we ran, and saw that she had fainted. As if she'd suffered from some internal injury, blood was dripping from her lips.
… What? Did that bastard use some magic?
But one couldn't use magic in 'spiritized' state, though?
'Maybe the power of the essence?'
Maybe.
In the recorded gameplay, the player had gotten wiped out without much fuss, so it was impossible to confirm what kind of additional abilities the 'vampire duke' had.
Various possibilities swirled in my head, but I decided to stop thinking about it for now.
"What are you doing?! Not running?"
"The wizard who knew the way has passed out!"
"Don't worry. I know the way."
"… How?"
Looking at the dwarf's face full of doubts, I answered briefly.
"I memorized it."
"But isn't this your first time here…?"
In fact, I'd been here hundreds of times.
I'd wanted to meet the 'vampire duke', so I'd been a really frequent visitor. Of course, I'd never expected that I'd get to see that face from up close instead of from the other side of the monitor.
"Follow me."
I took the lead without allowing any further questions.
Would the wizard consider me too unusual for a barbarian when she woke up later?
But that'd be a concern for later.
Surviving now was the priority.
"Whoa, you really memorized the way…"
As we sprinted nonstop and reached the first basement floor, the dwarf exclaimed in amazement.
"You two, is it true that you finished your coming-of-age ceremony only last month?"
"Of course! Didn't I tell you! Bjorn is a great warrior!"
"A great warrior, huh… Feels like that really might come true someday."
They say praise can make even whales dance, but I'm not a whale… please, I'm begging you, if you've got the energy to talk, run faster.
Maybe two minutes had passed so far.
Pit-a-pat pit-a-pat.
Left, right, straight, straight, right, left, straight, straight.
As we kept running non-stop according to map I'd drawn in my head, the exit finally came into view.
Were we just under three minutes?
I checked our trail one last time before running up the stairs.
"Whoo, whoo…"
Everyone was breathing hard, but nobody had been left behind because they all had good basic stamina.
The problem was that I could see a trail of dark smoke following behind us.
Swaaaaaa–!
Should I have thrown away the whole backpack?
Else I could've widened the distance a little bit further.
But nothing would change even if I regretted it now.
Let's focus on what we can do right now.
Pit-a-pat pit-a-pat!
We rushed up the stairs.
But did he use 'materialization'?
Pitter-patter.
I heard the sound of something being assembled behind us.
It was time to go for broke.
I started jumping two to three steps at a time with a last-minute burst of energy.
And…
"We're out!"
We finally came out on the surface.
Without a single fatality.
"I was so worried deep inside, but it really didn't follow us up, I see…"
The dwarf muttered with a sigh.
However, as if he wasn't completely relieved, his gaze was still fixed on the stairs leading to the basement.
Anybody with basic sense would know.
In the end, we'd just bought ourselves a little more time.
None of the problems had actually been resolved.
"… How long do you think it'd take?"
In response to the dwarf's question, I shrugged, looking at the ridge across the castle walls.
Well, although I didn't know the exact time…
"Just from the looks of it, there isn't much time left."
Time was clearly not on our side.
Soon, that dark red sky would turn completely stygian.
So we needed to finish our preparations before that.
"So how's the wizard, exactly?"
"She's taken a potion, so she should come back to her senses soon."
"Are you sure?"
"… I'm sure she will."
That's just your own wish then, you bastard.
Really, did this guy have no concept of our current situation that he was behaving like this?
I said firmly.
"You have to do more this time."
"But…"
But, what?
"Or do you want to lose everything?"
Sometimes being completely direct is the most effective.
He couldn't protect the wizard by himself if all the rest of us died.
"… What can I do?"
Although if he had to ask me that, it might be true that he couldn't make much of a difference.
But I just wanted to remind him of his resolve before the battle began.
"Guard the wizard. Even if you have to risk your life."
"… Of course."
His tone changed, sounding a lot more reliable.
And now that this bastard had been dealt with –
Was there only one more thing left to prepare?
"Let's go to the outer walls. It'd be better to have some cover."
I used some unreasonable excuses to lead the party to the outer walls.
In fact, it might've been best to leave everything here and go alone right away…
But if 'he' popped up in the meantime, it'd be game over.
"Wait here for a moment. I'll take a look around and come back."
"Splitting the party's a bad idea!"
The dwarf shouted something, but I pretended to be deaf and ran towards the fountain I'd noticed the last time.
I had no choice then but to ignore it in order to not attract attention, but this time I had to get that item.
Clang! Crumble.
A fountain, dry and full of pebbles.
After breaking the statue in the middle, I combed through the fragments and pulled out a small box from the debris.
「The character has obtained the [Tear of the Goddess].」
When I checked, the contents also matched how it'd been in the game…
Other good news also followed.
"This is…"
When I came back after packing my new prize into the sole of my boots, Raven had come to her senses.
"Vampire! What about the vampire?"
"We managed to escape somehow. But he'll appear again after the sun goes down."
"I see."
Maybe because she was still in pain, so she frowned.
Now it was her turn to answer.
"What the hell happened to you?"
Raven took a cursory sip of the potion the porter handed her like it was plain bottled water, and answered in a half-dead voice.
"Ugh, I'm not sure, but… augh, based on the symptoms, sss… it was most likely 'pain sharing'."
'Pain sharing'.
We were pretty lucky if that was true.
The eighth-grade monster with this ability, 'nightflier', was one of the ones with the lowest basic stats among its peers.
If the essence had been sixth grade, no, even seventh grade, the difficulty would've been even higher.
"Ah… In fact, when I tried to use the spell one more time, the backlash… "
Raven grabbed the collar over her chest with a painful expression.
Seeing it made me feel very sad too.
Seemed like I'd have to cover for her a while longer.
"How long would the recovery take?"
"Ugh, a complete recovery is impossible. My magic circuit's gotten completely twisted."
"A rough estimate is fine, so give me some numbers."
"Twenty minutes? I should heal up enough by then for up to five rank seven attack spells."
Five magic spells in the same class as 'flame baptism'.
This was a pretty big deal.
"Are there any other solar magics you know of?"
"It's very rude to ask a wizard about their spell repertoire, you know?'
Of course, in terms of the worldview, I knew that.
But right now I was one of the barbarians, who stood at the very apex of rudeness, with a cultural tradition of daring to talk smack towards anybody except the king.
Looking at my eyes which were bluntly saying 'so what?', Raven could only sigh.
"I could cast one 'sunspot sphere'."
"Sunspot sphere…"
Its basic form was similar to a fireball, but it was a rank six attack spell that used the solar attribute instead of fire.
Now how could I spruce this up even more?
"What about using the 'attribute strengthening' spell on the sunspot sphere?"
"… If I had ten more minutes to gather the mana."
"Alright then. I'll try to hold on somehow until then. So don't go out of your way to help, and save your magic."
"Yes, got it… Wait, but why is Mr. Yandel acting as the leader?"
As expected of a wizard, huh? She sure caught on quickly.
The dwarf had just followed along when I'd 'naturally' taken the lead.
"Then is there anyone else who can do it?"
She glanced at the porter, Ainar, and the dwarf, in that order, then shook her head as if she'd been convinced.
"That, really… I see how it is."
"Ha ha ha! Sorry! I was just born like this, so what can I do?"
The dwarf scratched the back of his thick neck as if he was indifferent. And Ainar also joined in the conversation because she saw a way for a quick victory.
"Are you going to admit that a barbarian is better than a dwarf!"
"Of course not! However, as the barbarian lady here said, this friend here is really something special. I could feel it."
"Special…?"
"I've always been confident in my eye for people."
Raven was curious about what'd happened while she was unconscious, but sadly, we couldn't spend our precious time on that.
"Murad, how many essences do you have?"
"Four."
"What kinds?"
I made the questions as short and concise as possible, trying to grasp the dwarf's overall capabilities.
Among the essences he had, there were no key cards that could turn the game around…
Still, I could draw a strategy inside my head.
The one disappointment, however, was that there was no time to discuss it with the team members.
Swaaaaaa.
A cool wind blew, and the shadows that covered the earth congealed and grew thicker.
Thirty minutes left until the preparations were ready.
「Night falls. 」
Now there was no place to retreat to.
I'd just have to endure it somehow.
-x-X-x-
"Bjorn."
The moment Ainar called out my name –
The sun, that had been covered by the red clouds so far, went completely over the horizon. And at that same instant, a pale-skinned man appeared under the red moonlight.
"It's strange, it's really strange…"
He took a glance at the ruins of the castle town all around us, then focused his full attention on our party.
"Your very presence makes my killing intent boil over. I can't even stand to look at you. Do you guys know the reason?"
The reason? Well…
How should I know?
And I don't really want to know, either.
I tried to be a bit clever with my answer.
"Given some time to think, we might be able to remember?"
Even one more minute would be fine, so I decided to try and buy time.
However, the bastard's eyes shined at my answer.
"Unfortunately… my bloodlust has become too unbearable. Kahahaha."
To be honest, this wasn't much of a surprise.
There was no way this vampire bastard would agree to such a thing.
"Kaha, kahahaha! Kahahahahahahaha!!"
Even facing so many of us, the vampire, as if he'd been possessed, went from a small snicker to full-blown, gut-busting laughter…
"Kyaaaaaaagh!"
Finishing with a scream that wouldn't have been out-of-place if it'd come from some kind of movie alien.
Sniiikt–!
His nails, the main weapon of a vampire, were already protruding outwards with a sharp, slicing sound.
At some point, only madness remained in his pupils, shedding a crimson glow.
'Again, this is the same as how it'd been in the game.'
Come to think of it, the game had been the same way.
No matter how intelligent a monster was, there was never any proper conversation to be had, beyond exchanging only a few words like an introduction.
"Are you still fine with this much 'fear'[1]?"
The killing intent emitted by the level five monster was enough to make one freeze, but surprisingly, the dwarf was fine.
"Everyone, back off!"
I was indeed a little amazed.
He'd looked so pathetic when facing the the corpse golem, but he was still a third-year adventurer in the end, huh?
At the same time as the vampire's form disappeared, the dwarf stepped forward and raised his buckler.
Claaaaaaaang!
An explosion of dust blew around him with a roar.
The power was evident even from a few steps away, but…
"Ha ha ha! It's pretty heavy!"
The dwarf didn't take a single step back.
It wasn't that his stats overwhelmed the vampire's…
It was all thanks to his essence.
「Hikurod Murad has cast [counterweight].」
An ability of the seventh grade monster, 'iron troll'.
A 'knockback immunity' skill that prevents you from falling or being pushed when your feet are in contact with the ground.
Additional options include shock absorption.
"Tarzine, you stand back!"
As the battle began, I gave orders.
However, no answer came back.
When I glanced askance, I saw that the porter was already far away, with the wizard safely cradled in his arms.
He did do a good job, so why did I feel so annoyed?
What exactly was I feeling right now, I decided to ponder over later.
"Ainar!"
"I'll take the right side!"
I could just save my breath, because we could read each other's thoughts just by looking into the other's eyes.
I nodded briefly towards the left side of the vampire, then rushed at him together with Ainar.
"Kyaaaaaaaaaaaah!"
Perhaps he hadn't completely lost his mind, and his wits remained about him as far as battle was concerned? The vampire retreated.
At the same time, the dwarf's half-crumpled buckler was restored to its original state as if time had been reversed.
The buckler didn't come with an auto-repair feature…
「Hikurod Murad has cast [emergency restoration].」
This was the ability of 'living armor'.
A useful skill that not only saved on the cost of equipment, but also greatly increased the performance any magic tool one equipped.
The dwarf, who'd finished the repairs in an instant, shouted.
"I'll be in charge of the front, so you guys help from the side!"
There was no reason to disagree.
Because he was a dwarf, he'd probably even be able to hold out alone for a few seconds. To be honest, I was the one here who was the least helpful.
Ainar had at least eaten an essence this time, but I, the wise one, had nothing except for my 'undying imprint'.
Well, I supposed I could serve as a meat shield.
"Kyaaaaaaaaaah!"
At that moment, as the vampire looked at us from a distance, his body suddenly dissolved into hundreds of crows.
A murder of crows flapping their wings, and flying towards us at great speed.
"Get as far away as you can!"
The crows quickly hit the floor and exploded.
Craaaack! Bang! Booooooooom!
The explosions weren't that powerful in and of themselves.
However, we couldn't avoid the blood that splashed all over the place.
'Shit.'
Of course, this wasn't like the corpse golem with its acidic blood, but…
Considering the next part of the combo, this was even more of a headache.
"B-, Bjorn! What the hell is this!"
A red tattoo was engraved on our blood-drenched foreheads, and a bright light shone forth.
「The character has been anointed as a sacrifice.」
「Vampire Duke Cambormere's physical ability temporarily increases proportional to the number of sacrifices within a 100m radius.」
I clenched my teeth, ignoring the information from the game log that somehow rose within my mind.
The vampire's figure was slowly reforming from the blood that'd pooled on the floor after the crows had exploded.
Now that he'd been buffed, it was going to be even more difficult to deal with him.
'Are we close to about three minutes, now?'
There was still a long way to go before the preparations were ready.
Would I be able to survive until then?
I shook my head.
There was no point in thinking about the uncertainty of the future.
"Behel-raaaaaaaaaaaa!!"
I'd simply have to endure.
With the same bull-headed, intransigent resolve that the barbarians were proud of.
First, buff skill, 'sacrificial imprint'.
Second, 'eternal life', that greatly increases regenerative power, proportional to the lost stamina.
Third, 'master of blood', that absorbs part of the target's abilities when directly sucking blood from them.
Each of the three active skills possessed by vampires shine with great majesty in close-ranged melee combat.
The problem, though, is that this isn't the end of it.
These bastards, unsatisfied with their natural abilities, also use various black magic spells.
"Bjorn, another crow!"
For example, turning into a crow and exploding, turning into smoke to phase through hits, using blood scattered nearby to summon monsters, etc.
Vampire bastards are the epitome of how cheaty the specs of the high-grade monsters are.
'This is why the majority couldn't even reach the sixth floor and had to quit the game.'
Seeing with my own eyes the crazy difficulty of [Dungeon and Stone] once again, I raise my shield.
It's already been torn and dug by the vampire's nails, and it's almost like scrap metal at this point…
But it's better than nothing.
Claaaaaang–!
I use the recoil to jump back and absorb the shock of the impact as much as possible.
Strength, speed, and skill.
Against an enemy who overwhelms me in every way, all I have are the remnants of my fighting talent and my experience.
[Please hold on for another five minutes!]
Suddenly, Raven's voice echoes inside my head.
I wonder if it'd have taken less time if she'd saved the magic power instead of sending a message…
Still, after hearing this hopeful news, I do feel a little refreshed –
"Hikurod got hit!"
– Like hell.
The dwarf who's been marking the vampire from up close, showing his skill as an adventurer in his third year, falls down.
Although Ainar, being nearby, rushes in and prevents the vampire from sucking his blood…
「Hikurod Murad has fallen into a state of [incapable of combat]. 」
In an instant, the tide has turned.
Ainar and I are already at our limits.
It's almost impossible to stop the enemy with just the two of us, without the dwarf who'd been taking on at least half the pressure during this battle.
'Then I'd rather…'
I make a quick decision.
"Ainar! Take Murad and step back!"
"But…"
"I'm going to stop this guy!"
"Oh, I see!"
As Ainar hauls Murad over her shoulders, I dash forward and swing my mace.
Crump!
My first valid hit in quite a while.
"Aahk!!"
My head throbs with the recoil of my successful attack.
Because this crazy bastard is a high variant.
「Vampire Duke Cambormere has cast [share affliction].」
In the meantime, this bastard fully recovers from his injuries by just taking a step back to catch his breath.
Damn, I'm still in pain.
What kind of bullshit is this?
"Kyaaaaaaah!"
Still, just as planned, the aggro has completely focused on me.
I double-check to see if the thing I'd hidden in my boots is still safe.
The item called the 'Tear of the Goddess'.
Simply put, it's a sacred object.
Although it's a disposable item, it can be used for healing purposes, and also for attacks against monsters with unholy attribute.
'… Should I use this now?'
Of course, using it on myself isn't worth it.
Doesn't matter if it's a 'special grade', it's still an item that can only be used within the 'Blood Citadel'.
If it's used on the dwarf, we could restore our fighting power immediately, and if it's used on the vampire, it'd be able to inflict considerable damage.
But…
'No.'
I stop my pointless worries.
Why have I been defending so steadfastly until now?
Because I've only planned for one attack.
And actually, planning for more than would rather be a demerit.
Since the chance will come only once –
We have to pour our everything into it at that exact moment.
That's the only way for the five of us to hunt a level five monster.
Click.
I take a bottle of potion from my waist and open the stopper.
And the moment I pour the potion into my mouth while watching the vampire rushing towards me –
Screeeech!
The countless number of residual wounds I've accumulated during the battle start healing, and the accompanying agony rushes in like a tidal wave.
It's as if the strength is running out of my hands like water. I want nothing else but to collapse. After all, it's close to impossible to fight while drinking a potion. But…
'It doesn't matter.'
Because I'm not trying to 'fight' here. Not exactly.
Snikt!
Soon, the vampire's claws are nailed to my abdomen.
Even with my sheet metal armour in the way, the wound seems grievously deep.
"…!"
Nerves that feel a life-threatening danger fire like crazy, sending signals of pain to my brain.
My head feels blank, as if overloaded on sensations.
'Shit, if I'd known things would be like this, I would've just eaten the corpse golem essence.'
Leaving my belated regrets behind, I pour another bottle of potion into my mouth.
Screeeech!
The effects of the undying imprint stack with the potion, and the wound heals swiftly.
"Kyaaak–?"
The vampire bastard sounds startled, as if he can't make sense of the current situation.
Honestly speaking –
It hurts like I'm dying, but…
"Behel-ra, you son of a bitch…"
Mere pain cannot kill me.
I'm still alive to this day. I'm still here. That is my proof.
"What the hell is that guy doing…!"
Raven, who was hiding behind the rubble in the distance and observing the situation, was astonished.
Although she'd read of many extraordinary strategies and hunting methods of famous adventurers in her books, none of them had been like this.
Just cling to the enemy while chugging potions?
"Th-, that's never going to work. H-he'll die!"
The concept itself didn't make sense.
She, who'd taken potions several times, knew this very well.
The pain that came with drinking a potion could be unimaginable, and the intensity of the pain increased depending on the severity of the injury.
Then what about that barbarian, right now?
Screeech!
It wasn't at a stage where his wounds were bubbling and steam rising from them. His whole body was covered with pulsing smoke.
Even for her, seeing this kind of scene was the first time.
In this state, even leaving the injuries aside, death from the shock itself wouldn't be strange at all.
In fact, wasn't that already common as a case of death after drinking potions?
"Huh?"
At that moment, while she was shuffling in place with anxiety, her eyes widened.
The pain the barbarian had to have been feeling right now was beyond her imagination.
But at least one thing was certain.
In that state, he shouldn't have been able to even move.
But, what the hell was this scene before her eyes?
Claaaaaang–!
Blocked.
While half-collapsed on the floor –
Holding a shield that had become a lump of scrap metal –
The barbarian blocked the vampire's nails from cleaving him in two.
And as if to prove that this wasn't an accident –
Claaaaaang–!
This happened several times, over and over.
Of course, not all the attacks were blocked. Even now, the barbarian's whole body was being shredded with abandon by those nails that danced like a whirlwind.
However…
Claaaaaang!
Every attack that targeted a key vital point such as the head or the heart, was somehow blocked by a random-looking thrust of the shield.
'Is this even possible…?'
She had no idea whether he was accurately avoiding the most fatal attacks with superhuman concentration, or whether it was just the fighting instincts left in his body that were making this possible.
However, a document she'd read a long time ago suddenly came to her mind.
It'd said that the true value of the barbarians lay in their mental power, not their superior physical abilities.
'Somehow, I think I understand now… '
"Mistress Raven, it'd be better for us to leave here."
Tarzine, who was watching the battle together with her, spoke up with a heavy voice.
He mentioned escape, but what he meant was to abandon the rest and run away.
"I'm not sure if I'll be able to protect you at this rate, Mistress Raven. It's too dangerous here."
Seriously, did she come off as full of the spirit of self-sacrifice?
'Do you think I'm still here because I don't know that?'
She would've done that already, if she could.
Although she'd been told before that she had too soft a heart for a wizard, she still wasn't naive enough to risk her life for some low-tier adventurers.
But…
"Are you crazy? Leave? And go where?"
There was nowhere to run.
There was only one way to get out of the rift, and that was to defeat the 'guardian' and exit through the portal.
'… He already knows that… he must be really desperate.'
A thought flashed within her mind.
Even a barbarian barely out of his coming-of-age ceremony was making such a coldly rational judgment and doing his best given their situation…
And as the wizard, what the hell am I doing right now?
"When Bjorn dies, it'll all be over. He must somehow survive."
A wizard is not a being who only fires high-power spells from behind.
One of the wizard's jobs is to coldly analyze the situation using their diverse knowledge, and to suggest the most efficient way to their team.
"…"
Raven checked the current situation once again.
The third-year dwarf warrior was incapable of combat.
The barbarian was feeding him potions and helping him recover.
No problems so far…
As a wizard, she was hiding and waiting until her magical power was restored, and a human swordsman was there to escort her.
This was pretty wasteful.
"Tarzine, go help Mr. Murad."
"Eh?"
"I'll be fine here. You go over there so that at least that barbarian can join the battle."
"… Understood."
"Leave your backpack here."
Despite her slightly nervous tone, Tarzine followed her instructions without even trying to argue.
Instead of even watching him go, Raven immediately put her hand into the subspace of her backpack.
'The essence of the corpse golem.'
As soon as she clearly recalled the image, the test tube was firmly grasped in her hand.
'It's a bit of a… no, it's a lot of a waste, but this money's nothing compared to my life.'
Raven slowly gathered her magic and used the spells one by one.
Whoosh!
Support – accuracy.
Support – projectile range.
Support – orbit auto-adjustment.
With a few more additions, she wouldn't even have to wave her arms to fire…
'I have to save some magic power.'
After completing the procedure, she threw the test tube in her hand as hard as she could.
And…
Clink!
The test tube that flew far away with a smooth curve hit the target and broke, emitting light.
⋮
「The [corpse golem essence] permeates the character's soul.」
「Pain Tolerance +70」
「Strength +15」
「Skeletal Density…」
「…」
「…」
⋮
「Bjorn Yandel」
Level: 2
Body: 80 (New +34) / Mind: 46 (New +10) / Ability: 30 (New +26)
Item Level: 202
Combat Index: 203.5 (New +70)
Acquired Essences: Corpse Golem – Rank 7 (New)
Editor's Notes:
[1] 피어 (fear, lit. to bloom) a homonym of the English word 'fear'. This seems to be an ocular/pupil skill of vampires, here.
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