NOVEL NEXT Chapter 48
“How dare you, you little piece of trash! Die─!”
Hwoong! Hwoong! Hwoong!!
With waves of pressure radiating in all directions, the axe swung astonishingly for its weight.
But.
It’s slow. Even without the trajectory of Chaos, it’s weak enough for me to dodge with my own two eyes.
The difference in our agility stats is a whopping 4 levels due to Yeriell’s buff.
“The unseen hand gripping the night.”
[Rugen’s Grip]
“Shut down your dumb magic!”
Uaaah!!
Was it due to the magical resistance engraving in my traits?
The spell cast by Lumia to grab him vanished without a trace under his roar.
[Kariks casts ‘Chop Axe.’]
Hwaaaaang!
Unlike the previous attack, this one came crashing down with a thunderous sound, like splitting a giant tree.
If it hits, I’d at least be severely injured, but.
“I’m not foolish enough to let it hit me.”
I dodged instantaneously to the side.
As I spun around, I easily stepped back, avoiding the bloodthirsty axe blade that sliced horizontally.
The moment he hesitated, I didn’t miss the chance to switch to an offensive attack.
With a strong step forward, I slashed down hard with my magic-infused Great Sword.
Kwaaang!
“Khak!”
Confident in my strength, I decided not to evade and to push through rather than blocking, but.
With my physical strength at the same level and enhanced by sword techniques and murderous intent, Kariks couldn’t withstand receiving the blow with the hilt and sank to one knee.
Seeing this, I relaxed my grip on the Great Sword and stepped back, and at that instant, his weight abruptly shifted forward.
Paaang!
I burst my arm’s mana and artificially twisted it downwards.
Hup!
I finished him off with a low strike.
“Zenzang!”
Chwaack!
“Kuup!”
‘That was too shallow.’
He spewed mana from underfoot and rolled back heavily.
Though my attack hit his back, it didn’t seem to leave a deep wound thanks to his thick skin trait that increases durability and skin hardness.
Paaang!
Just as I was about to jump in and finish off the staggered foe.
“Uaaah, revenge for Ron!”
[Lun casts ‘Slashing Cutter.’]
Oh no, always fighting one-on-one, I got my vision narrowed again this time!
A bearded swordsman, Kariks’ ally, was shining his eyes from the side.
He had aimed for this moment and shot a powerful, sword-like force of gathered mana at me.
‘At this rate, I’m going to get hit straight on.’
In a world slowed down, I twisted my body to prepare…
I got hit. Thankfully, there were not just mages on this side, but also a priest.
“Holy Light’s Protection!”
[Divine Shield]
Guwaah! Chaeng!
‘Yeriell, nice!’
The massive chunk of mana hurtling towards me shattered against the protective barrier that Yeriell skillfully deployed, returning harmlessly.
[Kariks casts ‘Hurricane Axe.’]
Kuht.
Seizing the moment when my eyes were momentarily diverted by a sudden intruder, Kariks gritted his teeth and lunged forward.
Spinning around, he swung his axe in large arcs.
Clang! Kaang!
I began to block all the attacks rushing at me, accompanied by roaring winds.
“Damn!”
Frustrated for not capitalizing on the opportunity, he unleashed a desperate strike, charging with mana encircling his leg for a kick.
Thomp!
By anticipating the point of impact and accurately bringing my blade forth,
The result of that attack for him was merely that I took a few steps back.
I could hear Lumia’s voice from afar.
“Sharp malice piercing the heart.”
[Black Fang]
“C-Captain! No!”
[Dargus casts ‘Shield Charge.’]
As Kariks stumbled from the failed attack, Lumia took the chance to aim a magic blast at his vital point.
The last survivor, who had been waiting for an opening to join in, lifted his shield and threw himself in front to block it.
“Hey, you idiots! Don’t jump in against a worthless opponent and mess up our visibility. Just take care of the girls sneaking back there!”
The guy who had lost his composure shouted, his face turned crimson.
“What are you looking at? Just those two—an evil mage and a priest! That girl? We can find another one later, just hurry up and slice these guys down!”
“Y-Yes, Captain!”
“Damn, I said I got it!”
‘I won’t let you off the hook for that! Lightning!’
Kwaang! Kwang! Kwaang!
Ugh!
The swordsman paused in shock, and the shield-bearer toppled from the lightning strike.
Zziing─
Urgh.
I managed to stop them from approaching urgently, but in exchange, I was struck by a strong headache—the penalty from the lightning.
Kariks didn’t miss that chance; he spat blood and leaped, squeezing every bit of mana he had.
[Kariks casts ‘Jump Slam.’]
Kwaaaang!!!
────!!
“Khak!!”
Even though I quickly stepped back from Kariks’ leap attack, the shockwave hit my whole body.
Thud.
Although my mana was at E+, due to excessive misuse of a technique, I ended up spitting blood and falling over.
He tried to get up, but kept collapsing without strength, and it looked hopeless.
“D-Damn. To dodge that…?”
‘Jump attack? I had been picturing taking off somewhere without thinking. I didn’t expect him to jump in place like that.’
No, all excuses. I should’ve thought a little harder.
My body ached from the shock of being so close, but I gritted my teeth and held on.
One step, one step—I switched to my sword and moved in.
‘Wait.’
Oh no! The other two!
Just as I hurriedly turned around, what I saw was…
“Aren, don’t mind this side!”
Yeriell was setting up against a charging swordsman.
“I told you, I’ll be the one who fits by your side!”
“Did Kariks lose? Ugh, you too, die gracefully, you healing scum!!”
Kaang!
Haaah─!
Clang! Clang! Kaang! Grugh.
“What the hell, are you not just an ordinary priest but a monk?!”
“Shut up and die, you trash! Piercing Light’s Arrow!”
[Holy Arrow]
Piiing─
From the thrusting position of Yeriell’s staff, light arrows were shot forth, impaling the swordsman.
“C-Captain! No!”
[Dargus casts ‘Shield Charge.’]
The dim-witted, crew-cut shield-bearer, after recovering, rushed out but…
“The black hand gripping the night.”
[Rugen’s Grip]
Lumia wouldn’t just stand there and watch.
“P-Please don’t kill me─.”
“Sharp malice piercing the heart.”
[Black Fang]
Puuack!!
…
I felt relieved.
At the same time, I felt ashamed.
With all of us supposed to be a party, I seemed to have only thought about putting on a one-man show when combat broke out.
Even though I admired their traits and praised their hard work, I unconsciously believed I was the only special one and tried to shoulder everything alone when fighting.
‘You idiot. Even though last time, excluding Gospel, the rest were useless, those two had beaten a 2v3. Why didn’t I trust them after all that effort over the weeks?’
If I hadn’t worried and dropped the lightning, the fight would have been over already.
After giving my own cheeks a hard slap,
I approached Kariks, who was still twitching on the ground.
“Is everyone dead? Am I really dying in a place like this?”
He muttered that.
He had mentioned something about being a mercenary leader before.
Looks like they had formed a party to operate outside the city.
“Well, if you have no discernment to check if it’s alright to jump in, you’d be the one to die here.”
“What kind of monster are you…?”
“Yeah, I’m the monster. The kind that eats up trash like you and grows from the bottom up.”
Fwoooosh.
“Gahk.”
With that last cry, his breath ceased.
Huh?
There was a gray hue in the center of Kariks’ body.
‘It absorbs.’
Woooo.
[Power activates.]
[You have acquired the Magic Resistance engraving trait.]
[Error… You cannot pay the cost.]
Ah, so it’s because of the EX fixed mana of the Chaos Heart, I can’t go down a level?
Honestly, that’s a relief. If I had absorbed it and my mana level dropped from EX, that would’ve been terrifying.
[Confirmed. The trait transforms to suit the user.]
[You have acquired the Magic Devour engraving trait.]
────
[Magic Devour Engraving][P]
Due to the user’s absolute superiority in mana grade, the Magic Resistance engraving transformed into the Magic Devour engraving.
With this engraving, future mages opposing the user will find themselves in trouble.
If shown to an engraving sorcerer, it will easily earn favor.
─When hit by magical attacks, all damage inflicted on the user is mitigated, and a portion of the magic’s power will restore health.
Pain will not disappear, so be cautious if your resistance is lacking.
────
Oh, so if I get hit by magic, I recover health?
But if I take a hit and die or if the damage is too severe, it’s meaningless?
I don’t know.
Thanks to my earrings, I currently have strong resistance against fire, so it’ll be quite useful in situations involving fire magic.
One thing’s for sure, if I rely on this and jump into magic, I’ll end up dead.
…Anyway, the confirmation of the trait is finished.
‘Thinking back on the battle, the more I consider it, the more I feel like there’s a lot to reflect on.’
Rather than being lax, I need to reflect and grow more.
I should gradually get used to multi-player battles as well. Does that only come with real fights?
Anyway, I need to become strong enough to breeze through these kinds of guys when they swarm.
As I made this promise in my heart, Yeriell came running.
“Aren─!”
Plop.
“Did you see? I did great!”
Yeriell jumped and wrapped her arms around me.
“I’m better at things like this, but… No, let go now. Aren’s tired.”
“Uh-huh.”
Looking at her, I moved my lips.
“You both did well. And I’m sorry. Even considering that I’m the vanguard and the party leader, I must’ve been too overprotective and not trusted you.”
“Eh? No, no! It’s natural for the vanguard to protect the rear when it looks like they might be in danger!”
Yeriell waved her hands.
“And seeing you struggle desperately against the enemies made me happy too.”
Yeriell bit her tongue and smiled with her eyes.
“Hehe. By the way, how do I look now? Am I so cool you fell in love? Like this, just like that!”
Hwoong. Hwoong.
“Haha…”
Watching her cutely wield her staff made me chuckle awkwardly, but then Lumia spoke gloomily.
“Rather, I’m the one who’s sorry. I feel like this is happening because the party members aren’t being gathered due to me…”
“It’s okay. Either way, even if these guys had the same numbers, I think we could’ve managed to take them on.”
There’s no way a guy like Kariks would have just let these beautiful ladies pass by on the 1st floor.
I think this battle was inevitable once we stepped into the rest area.
“We’ll deal with the party member issue gradually. Now, let’s stop the self-reflection and go farming. We won’t get to rest here anymore, so we’ve got no choice but to head to the 2nd floor.”
“Yep!”
“Understood.”
Oh, by the way. I still had a problem to resolve.
“I’m farming. Just a moment.”
I went over to the woman huddled in the corner of the rest area.
I squatted down to her eye level and slowly made eye contact.
‘She looks like she’s about to die at any moment. What should I do?’
Right. This method seems good.
“Can you speak?”
Shakes head.
She shook her head. Is it that her voice isn’t coming out due to shock after all she’s been through?
Or perhaps she couldn’t speak since she had been trying to flee since earlier?
“Then respond by nodding. All five of your captors are dead now.”
Nods.
I pulled out a crimson dagger from my backpack.
“If I let you handle their corpses with this and let you return to the city to live, will you do it?”
I handed her the dagger while staring into her trembling eyes.
“With this, you can decide to end your wounded life, or you can butcher their bodies. Either choice will be respected, so please make your decision here and now.”
One minute, five minutes, ten minutes.
After bowing her head and trembling, she once nodded and stood up.
Steps.
She walked slowly and stood before the corpses.
Having already finished looting the valuable gear and possessions, the corpses were all in casual outfits.
Thud.
Blood gushed out.
Thud. Thud. Slash! Shhack!
“Uhhhhh…”
Puvak! Pujik! Chuk! Chwaack!
“Ahhhh─!”
With her face twisted in rage, she slashed, stabbed, and tore apart all five bodies until there was nothing left intact.
I silently watched that scene, and when the time passed and she offered back the blood-soaked dagger, I took it.
“Do you wish to live?”
Nods.
“…Yes.”
What? So she can talk.
“Good. Then our party will head to the portal and climb to the 2nd floor, while you will return to the city. I will only allow you to accompany us until then.”
Nods.
‘Run away.’
That one phrase is my reason for saving this unnamed woman to send her back to the city.
There’s a saying to repay kindness twofold and enmity tenfold.
I thought I should repay the kindness and good-will I’ve received.
Especially when it was given at a time when the other side was struggling and miserable.
‘It’s not that difficult for me right now. Right?’
[Chaos expresses that it’s not bad and respects my judgment.]
I need to grow stronger, including everyone involved, including Derik, and repay them somehow.
I thought this was the end of our connection, so I didn’t even bother checking my status.
“Alright, there’s no reason for us to stay here any longer, so let’s move again.”
We won the battle, reflected on our shortcomings, saved a person, and cut off the remaining threads of enmity.
Just a bit further and the portal is right in front of us.
Let’s go. To the 2nd floor.