NOVEL NEXT Chapter 60
Chshhh. Crack. Chwaaaak.
“Ugh…”
“What… what is that…”
The entire body of Grielops, who was a typical Goblin, was swelling up like a balloon.
It was bulging and shrinking as if an explosion was happening inside.
Not just transforming into a body that seemed to exceed 5m, it was still increasing in size.
Before I could think of anything else, my body moved first.
‘I have to kill him before the transformation is complete!’
Boom!!
I surged forward with a force strong enough to make my magic surge beneath my feet.
Whoooosh─!
My two-handed great sword, gripped tightly, fell upon the creature like a bolt of lightning, imbued with a flickering energy.
Slash!!
“Grahhh!”
Grielops, choosing to evade rather than continue transforming.
My attack, which should have split his body in half, was only able to slice through his torso.
‘Damn it, I should have ended it with that. Still…’
I managed to stop him from growing any larger.
Hiiiik.
Smoke erupted from Grielops’ entire being.
The wound carved deep by the great sword was healing and slowly stitching itself together.
Was the rapid regeneration a triggered trait? Or was it passive?
Like with Kikeiro and Epusio, the traits menu was locked and inaccessible.
Thus, I could only speculate what each trait name represented.
‘Still, there’s no way it can regenerate endlessly without penalties. Surely, it has to pay some health or magical power as a cost for healing.’
“Graaah…”
The lower half of his body resembled a glossy giant spider.
His upper body was a grotesque amalgamation of a muscular adult man’s torso and a Goblin’s face.
[Grielops is casting ‘Intimidation’.]
Gulps─
A jagged face resembling a man’s appeared from his abdomen as it wobbled.
Ugh, is it reconstructing itself based on the memories of those it devoured?
“GRAAAAH!!!”
A lifeless gaze from an eerie face opened its mouth to unleash a horrid scream at me.
[Chaos Barrier nullifies the debuff.]
[Chaos Barrier nullifies fear.]
Fortunately, the mental attack seemed to have been completely blocked by the Chaos Barrier.
Oh no! Even if I’m immune to mental attacks, what about everyone else?
“Is everyone okay?!”
I hurriedly glanced back.
“Yeah! Don’t worry!”
Yeriell raised her staff and emitted light.
Hearing her reassuring response, I nodded in relief.
I shifted my attention back to Grielops, keeping an eye on his movements.
The man’s face that had sprouted from his belly was slowly disappearing again.
If there was a chance for a power-up, it was now.
‘No time to be picky. Let’s drink.’
From within, a luxurious potion bottle filled with a muddy golden aura swayed.
I twisted it with force, and with a pop, the lid opened with a cheerful sound.
[You consume the ‘Stalwart Earth’s Essence’.]
[You gain strong resistance to impeding effects for 30 minutes.]
[Your defense is slightly increased for 30 minutes.]
[Damage from all penetrating attacks is halved for 30 minutes.]
Damn, I just got a C-rank consumable and used it right away…
It’s too bitter!
But that thought vanished in an instant.
Soon, a heavy and foreign energy, different from magical power, began to fill my entire body.
‘I can feel it. This is the energy of the earth.’
Still not taking my eyes off him, I shouted to Jacob.
“Jacob! How many cocoons are exactly here right now?”
“U-um! Including the one Mendel came out of earlier, there are nine in total!”
Excluding the innate cleverness I had and the acquired memory devouring, Grielops had nine traits.
Four party members of Jacob who died upfront.
And if I assumed he consumed another nameless party somewhere, a regular party would usually consist of five members—perfectly matching.
“Even though he looks like that, he’s a creature capable of long-range attacks and magic use, so focus on defense and evasion while I take care of the attack!”
In such an urgent situation, we didn’t need to say anything; we exchanged glances and understood each other.
“May the light dwell in his blade, and the wind invest in his body!”
[Due to the effect of Divine Weapon, your strength increases by one tier for one hour.]
[Due to the effect of Haste, your agility increases by one tier for one hour.]
As Yeriell sensed an intense battle brewing, she promptly buffed the entire party without delay.
“Bursting in here without a care and distracting me while talking! Inferior beings! All of you can die and become my nourishment!”
[Grielops casts ‘Quick Step’.]
Shhhuu─
Kaooooon!
“Ugh.”
With the agility of Quick Step, probably gained from consuming the archer, and the weight from his massive body.
Even the sharp legs looked sturdier than any common metal weapon.
It shouldn’t be unbearable, but if the target was someone other than me, it would be a different story.
I had to draw his attention to me at all costs.
“Inferior? You think that just because you, a measly Goblin, obtained evil power that something has changed about you?”
I intentionally mocked him, poking at his weak spot.
“You look so pathetic that I understand why you were kicked out of your tribe. You know? In all my exploration of the Labyrinth, I’ve never encountered a creature worse than you. Should I applaud you for this achievement?”
“…Y-you!!!”
The repulsive face of the Goblin contorted angrily, turning as red as a boiled octopus.
Filled with rage, Grielops raised his legs to charge at me.
Clang! Clang! Kaaaang!
Eight legs stabbed forward in succession, like spears.
The momentum was impressive. However—
It was just as monotonous!
Slash!!
“Graaah!”
An attack devoid of any finesse, relying solely on brute force and speed.
I seized the opportunity amidst the piercing red lines surrounding me and countered.
Whoosh!
He jerked back hastily, glaring at me with eyes that vowed to kill and devour.
[Grielops casts ‘Earth Slam’.]
After bending his legs, Grielops leapt high into the air in an instant.
Crazy. He can jump that high?
Whoosh!
In the pitch-black sky, four pairs of spider legs engulfed in red energy blazed.
His body, plummeting at an alarming speed.
Simultaneously, a large red circle spread across the ground.
Boom!!!
As the name ‘Earth Slam’ implied, it shattered the ground and erupted with a tremendous roar.
Crash! Pop!
‘A technique involving such a large motion can easily be avoided just by observing!’
I managed to evade it by leaping far away before Grielops hit the ground, suffering no damage.
“Urgh!”
Was the recoil hitting him as he missed me? After landing, he was trembling, unable to rush at me instantly.
“Impudent!!”
[Grielops casts ‘Divine Ray’.]
A slender arm, appearing to belong to a woman, sprouted from Grielops’ left shoulder.
Ziiiing─
A pure white light gathered in the palm of that delicate arm.
I wasn’t sure how powerful a technique that required such a charge was.
All I needed to do was plunge my dagger into him while he remained still!
Boom!
I rushed toward the distant Grielops.
“Haah!”
I reached him and swung my sword just as he was still charging.
Damn…
Boomaaaah!!!
Before my sword could reach him, the technique completed with a hair’s breadth of time.
Ugh, based on that momentum, getting hit means instant death the moment it touches me! How disappointing, but I have to dodge for now!
Quickly, I twisted my body and leaped to the side.
Boomaaah!!!
Like a fixed turret, he grounded his spider lower half while slowly turning his upper body.
The priest’s arm, sprouting from his shoulder, adjusted to my movements.
It was like a Pool Serpent’s breath, the ray following my path as I could only keep running.
Damn, when will this end?
While waiting for Grielops’ Divine Ray to cease, I darted left and right.
“Hands of shadow that grip the night.”
[Lugen’s Grasp]
Rumia, unable to hold back, unleashed black magic, preparing for the creature to turn its attention towards her.
In an instant, it obscured Grielops’ vision while reaching to grasp his upper body.
“Grrr! Trickery!!”
Grielops twisted his body immediately; his magic vanished, but it broke the stream of Divine Ray.
Focusing my mind on him, I concentrated.
Thunder!
Clang! Crash! Boom!!!
“GRAAAAH!!!”
Seizing the opportunity, I fired a powerful lightning strike at Grielops in rapid succession.
Ziiiing─ Zzng!
Immediately, a severe headache assaulted my brain, but I slapped my cheeks and charged at him.
“Graaah!”
Slash! Slash!
“Grr… Gah!”
[Grielops casts ‘Crouch’.]
“Damn it, die already!!”
Slash! Slash! Whoosh!!
Grielops, hunching down his upper body, raised his legs to block my sword with them.
Spear and shield.
A life-and-death struggle between me, desperately penetrating his defense, and the monster that’s holding fast until the end.
The facts I could gather from fighting Grielops until now.
‘When using a trait gained from Devouring, not only does a part of the body representing that trait sprout on him, but… only one trait can be activated at a time!’
I kept slashing and slashing incessantly.
Pierce!
Blood sprayed everywhere. One of Grielops’ legs was severed halfway off.
Pierce!!
Two more legs were cut off, losing their functionality.
Whoosh!!!
Now, he had no means of defense left intact at all.
“It’s over!”
Puff.
“I, I… A descendant of artisans like myself, being defeated by such inferior beings…”
Anger twisted to despair on Grielops’ face, and I pulled the sword out of his heart.
No, I was about to pull it out.
Thud.
[Misfortune befalls the user.]
Huh?
[A faint possibility that originally could not exist awakens due to fixed misfortune.]
[Grielops personally connects with the attribute of Chaos and gains enlightenment.]
“Th-this energy… Yes! It’s not just about gnawing at corpses for their memories… What’s needed to perfect my craft is─”
Even with my sword pinned to his heart and blood gushing, Grielops wore a face of important realization.
“─Light. Yes, no matter what I consume to blend it in, it requires an infinite balance of oneness! I need the pure energy of light to meld with the darkness!!!”
Feeling a sense of foreboding, I shook off the hand that grabbed my arm, and the moment I pulled the sword from his heart—
Fwoooooosh!!!
“Grr!”
“Gyaah!”
From Grielops, whose heart was now pierced, a powerful shockwave burst forth along with dark energy.
The three in the back were thrown away far off.
Thanks to my strong resistance to impediments gained from the Earth’s Fortune, I barely endured the impact, being pushed back a little.
When I steadied my staggering body and faced front again, Grielops appeared more grotesque than when I first saw him.
His lower half, the spider, was gone, replaced by a fully human form.
An ugly face that seemed to combine only the drawbacks of Goblins and human males, so disgusting it made my stomach churn upon sight.
His eyes turned jet-black, and where my sword stabbed his heart, darkness flowed in place of blood.
[Grielops casts ‘Quick Step’.]
“Light, light! Give me the priest’s brain and heart!!”
Thud!
Grielops rushed towards the direction where Yeriell had flown, eyes wide with madness.
I hastily blocked his path.
“I’ll eat you!!”
[Grielops casts ‘Quick Step’.]
[Grielops casts ‘Earth Slam’.]
Boom!!
Grielops twisted his fist, engulfed not in the earlier red energy, but in black energy resembling darkness, and slammed it into the ground.
Fwoosh─
Simultaneously, ferocious flames surged from his entire body.
Quick Step, magical affinity, Earth Slam, and Flame Mastery.
Suddenly activating multiple traits at once?
…No, that’s not what matters right now.
I leaped high to dodge the shockwave produced by the Earth Slam that shook the ground.
Then, without minding the raging flames surging around, I plunged in.
‘At least with fire, he won’t be able to take me down.’
The strong fire resistance from the Hyknax earrings.
Moreover, the cold aura surrounding me and the weak magical resistance included in my Toughening skill.
Lastly, the lifeforce recovery option for magical attacks based on the power in the Mark of Magic Devour.
Even after being seared by the flames, only minor burns appeared, and—
Seeing that even that little burn recovered instantly, Grielops began to falter.
“Huh!”
Having survived death, speaking about light and heart meant nothing to me; he now had his eyes fixed on me.
‘Misfortune or whatnot, I’ll overcome it again like before!’
Through the crimson flames, gritting my teeth, I swung my sword.