Chapter 33 – The Warrior (Part 1)

 

 

Monsters are generally divided into 4 categories:

1. Mutants:

Like Goblin Archers and Swordsmen, the race is the same, but the class is different.

2. High-end views:

This category includes the Death Fiend, whom I met in the Land of the Dead. For reference, this is a relative classification system, and if a monster's rank is one higher than the average rank of monsters on that floor, then it is considered a high-end species.

3. Rare species:

This type includes monsters that can only be found in certain Breaches, such as Corpse Golems, or monsters that are extremely difficult to encounter in common areas, such as Mimicks.

4. High-End Mutant:

By this, we mean a named monster with an individual and unique personality and name. The most important characteristic is that they have the power of essence. In short, these monsters are much tougher and more demanding.

What if the Ogre, known for his thick skin, had the Troll's ability to regenerate?

A mad monster would have been born.

Here's why...

I ran with all my might.

"What the hell is this?!" Why is the Vampire here?

"You'd better run instead of whining, dwarf.

When we were running from the entrance to the boss's room...

*Dyspnoea*

"I can't run anymore...

"Please excuse me, Lady Raven.

Following the road from which we came, and passing by the water supply...

"We can't leave this place unless we defeat it. Wouldn't it be better to fight?

"We must at least go out where there is sunlight.

"All we have instead of sunlight is a bloody sky!"

"It's still better than here.

Even when we entered the labyrinth of the underground prison...

"Turn left here!"

We continued to run.

This place was no different from his territory. We had to get out no matter what.

Then we will have a chance to survive.

"A high-class mutant as a Guardian... This is unprecedented.

Well, in fact, this is not the case.

In the White Temple, a mutant of the highest species also appears as a Guardian on the 3rd floor. Starting from the 8th floor, which was classified as deep, it was safe to say that all the Chasms were like this. It would not be wrong to say that there was no precedent only on the 1st floor.

Even I, a 9-year veteran of the game who has accumulated 10,000 playthroughs, have never met the Duke of Vampire. I only found out about its existence when I saw a post posted by one of the players on the only community page of this game.

"Oh, that's right! Mr. Bjorn, how did you know about this earlier? You said to close the door!

Should this damn curiosity be manifested even in such a situation?

"I repeat, run instead of talking."

"But I'm not running, am I?"

Well, you don't run.

But I run.

— ... Intuition.

Before she could annoy me any further, I made an excuse and interrupted the conversation.

But if I had answered correctly...

It was thanks to the color of the doorknob that I was able to feel a deviation from the norm. In the recording that the user uploaded, this was the only difference from the normal Blood Citadel.

When the Vampire didn't show up even after I tried to summon it hundreds of times under the same conditions as the user, I wondered if I was missing some special condition, so I studied the recorded video and could barely find it.

If I hadn't been excited by a series of fortunate events, would I have discovered it before the door opened?

However, it was not worth thinking about it now.

"I see that my guests are very rude.

As soon as we went up to the 2nd floor of the underground prison, a monster appeared.

*Shhhh!*

It haunted us in the form of a black mist.

It wasn't a vampire's ability, but one of the dozens of black magic spells he possessed, the [Vengeful Spirit State].

That's why I hated monsters that used magic. The utility was insanely high.

"Raven!"

I immediately called a magician from our side. I wanted to ask if she knew how to use solar magic, one of the antipathies of the Vampires.

But this was unnecessary.

"Everyone, close your eyes!"

The mage had already finished casting one spell.

"[Agassenbert Tu]!"

[Blast of Light].

A secondary spell commonly used as a long-range blinding effect. Even with my eyes closed, I clearly felt a sudden and intense flash of light.

*Beeeeeeeep-*

When I opened my eyes, ignoring the ringing in my ears, I saw that the black smoke haunting us had disappeared.

Thank God.

This prevented the use of the main combo [Original Body State] and [Vengeful Spirit State].

It's safe to say that we earned at least 3 minutes. He must have woken up in that worship hall.

But, according to the laws of the universe, triumphs are always accompanied by bad news.

"Björn!" The magician is wounded!

"What?"

As Ainar spoke, I saw Raven lying unconscious in the porter's arms. It seemed that she had received an internal wound, and blood was dripping from her mouth.

... A what? Did this bastard use some kind of magic?

He shouldn't have used offensive magic in the [Vengeful Spirit State].

Could it be the power of essence?

It's possible. In the recorded cutscene, the player was wiped off the face of the earth before they could do anything, so it was impossible to see what monster essence the Vampire Duke additionally possessed.

Various options were spinning in my head, but I decided to think about it later.

"What are you doing!" Run!

"The mage knows the way, but she lost consciousness!"

"Don't worry. I know the way.

— ... How do you know that?

Looking at the hesitant dwarf, I replied curtly.

"I remember him.

"After being here once...?"

In fact, I've been here hundreds of times.

I wanted to meet the Vampire Duke, so I went in and out of this place more times than I could count. But I didn't expect to see that face here and not through the monitor.

"Follow me."

I did not ask unnecessary questions and went forward.

When the mage woke up later, would she think of me as an unusual barbarian? But what's wrong with that?

First of all, getting out alive was the most important thing.

"You really remember the road...

Running non-stop and reaching the 1st basement floor, the dwarf exclaimed.

"You two, is it true that your coming-of-age ceremony was last month?"

— Of course! I told you! Bjorn is a great warrior!

"A great warrior... He may indeed become one day.

They say that even whales dance from praise, but I am not a whale.

You are welcome...

I wanted him to use that time to just run faster, not to babble.

I had been running for about two minutes.

*Running*

Left, right, straight, straight, right, left, straight, straight.

After drawing a map in my head and running non-stop, the way out finally appeared.

Has it really been 3 minutes?

I checked one last time what was behind us before going up the stairs.

*Pant*...

Everyone was breathing heavily, but there were no stragglers, because everyone had good basic stamina. The problem was that I could see dark smoke coming behind us.

*Shhhh!*

Maybe we should have left all our bags? Then we could keep the distance a little more.

However, I knew that regretting it would not change anything now.

Let's focus on what we can do now.

*Running*

I accelerated even more.

But can he use the [Original Body State]?

*Rumble*

Behind me, I heard the sound of something being assembled.

From that moment on, I had nothing to lose.

I jumped 2-3 steps at a time at the last moment.

And...

"We're out!"

Finally appeared above the ground...

... and without a single death.

"To be honest, I was worried, but it really didn't haunt me," the dwarf muttered breathlessly.

However, still not completely calm, his gaze was riveted on the stairs leading to the basement.

If he had eyes, he would know...

That we have only bought a little more time, and none of our problems have yet been solved.

— ... How long do you think it will take?

In response to the dwarf's question, I shrugged my shoulders as I looked out over the ridge beyond the fortress wall.

I didn't know the exact time, but...

— Of course, not much.

It was clear that time was not on our side. Soon, the dark red sky will turn completely black.

Therefore, we needed to prepare before this happened.

"What is the condition of the mage?"

"She's taken the potion, so she'll wake up soon."

"Are you sure?"

— ... Of course, he will wake up.

It's just your wish,.

Didn't this guy know what had happened to her, too?

I said firmly:

"This time, you'll have to pull the weight of another person.

"But...

No "buts".

"Do you want us all to die here?"

Sometimes the most direct expression was the most effective. If we all die, he still won't be able to protect the Magus alone.

— ... What can I do?

In truth, nothing special. I just wanted to clarify the situation before the battle began.

"Guard the mage. Even if you have to risk your life.

— ... Of course.

His voice changed to a trusting one.

That bastard was taken care of. There is still something left to prepare.

"Let's move to the outer wall. That would be better for us to hide.

I used a flimsy excuse to lead the group to the outer wall.

In fact, it would be better to leave everything here and move quickly yourself, but...

If he pops out at this time, the game will be over.

"Wait here a minute. I'll look around and come back.

"It's not good that we're running away!" The dwarf shouted something, but I pretended not to hear him and ran to the fountain I had noticed the other day.

I had to get the object I had left behind.

***

*Bach! Shh*

A fountain full of dry pebbles. Breaking the statue in the center, I examined the fragments and took out a small box.

[Character received the item [Tear of the Goddess]].

When I checked, the content was consistent with the game.

More good news followed.

"Where am I...

When I returned, hiding the object in the groove of my boots, Raven had already regained consciousness.

"A vampire!" What happened to the Vampire?

"We've managed to escape so far. But it will reappear as soon as the sun goes down.

- I see.

The pain seemed to linger, and she frowned. This time it was my turn to ask questions.

"What happened to you?"

Raven took a sip of the potion the porter had given her like water and answered in a half-dead voice.

"I'm not sure, but... ah... judging by the symptoms, it is very likely that it is [Pain Sharing].

[Sharing Pain]? If this is true, then I was glad.

A Nightplar with this skill had the lowest base stats of any rank 8 monster. If the Vampire Essence was rank 6—no, not even rank 7—the difficulty would increase even more.

"Ugh... The recoil occurred just as I was about to cast the spell...

Raven clutched the collar on her chest with a pained expression.

Seeing this, I felt very sad for her. It seemed that some time would have to pass before she could fulfill her role again.

— How long will it take to recover?

"Ugh, it's difficult to fully recover. My scheme is completely distorted.

— A rough estimate is good, so tell me in numbers.

"20 minutes?" This will be enough to restore five rank 7 offensive spells.

A total of 5 [Baptism by Fire] spells.

It was very bad.

"Is there any other solar magic that you know of?"

"Do you know it's very impolite to ask a mage about their spells?"

Of course, I knew that this was the case in the game universe. But now I was a barbarian who came from a culture of rude remarks against everyone but the king.

Raven sighed back when I looked back, "So what?"

"I can use the [Sunspot Orb].

"[Sunspot Orb]...

Its basic form was similar to a fireball, but [Sunspot Orb] was a 6th rank offensive spell that used solar properties instead of fire.

It might work.

"Is it possible to use the [Attribute Enhancement] spell on top of the [Sunspot Orb]?"

— ... If I can collect mana for another 10 minutes.

"Good. Until then, we will somehow restrain him. So don't shirk help, and save your magic.

"All right, I'll do so..." Wait, but why is Mr. Yandel acting as a leader?

Just like a magician. It was fast.

The dwarf just followed me as I took on the role of leader.

"Then is there anyone else?"

Raven looked at the porter, Einhar, and the dwarf in order, then shook her head as if convinced.

"That's definitely... That very case.

"Haha!" Forgive me! I can't help but be born a dwarf! The dwarf scratched his head, as if embarrassed.

Ainar noticed this and, waiting for the right moment, joined the conversation.

"You admit that a barbarian is better than a dwarf!"

"No!" However, as you said, this guy is special. I felt it myself, even if only for a brief moment.

"Special...?"

"I may look like that, but I have keen eyes when it comes to people.

Raven was curious to know what happened while she was blacked out, but unfortunately, she couldn't spend valuable time on it.

"Murad, how many essences do you have?"

— 4.

"Which ones?"

I asked questions as briefly and concisely as possible to understand the dwarf's capabilities. Among the essences he had, there were no trump cards that could turn the tide of the game.

Still, I could imagine the strategy in my head. If there's one thing that can be frustrating, it's that there hasn't been enough time to share the strategy with team members.

*Woowoosh!*

A cool wind blew, and the shadows covering the ground grew thicker. The remaining time for preparation was 30 minutes.

***

[Night fell].

Now there was nowhere to retreat.

The only way out was to hold on, no matter what it took.