A rank 4 researcher using Aura.

If it were the old me, I would consider him a depressing opponent.

*Oooh!*

Of course, the Aura protection settings hadn't been finished yet. With a rank 5 adamantium sword and Aura, he would turn this shield from moon ore into scrap metal in an instant.

"It'll be interesting to cut yourself with you."

However, Dungeon & Stone was not just a game based on HP/MP or item level. A rank 4 swordsman, a rank 3 tank, or anyone in between, in this hardcore game, one wrong mistake can lead to the death of a character.

"I don't think you'll like it.

No matter how strong you were, a critical hit equally resulted in death.

In this sense, the enemy was not invincible.

"Come on."

Although the fight had to be ended quickly due to the enemies swarming behind, something would have to be discarded again to solve this problem.

"You barbaric bastards never know your place.

I could only desperately wish that this bastard wasn't determined. There was no time to conduct a check to find out his skills and equipment. The question of life and death would be determined in an instant, as it always is.

'Behellaaa

I threw away my fear.

*Jerk*

At that moment, I heard the sound of feet pushing off the ground.

*Whoosh!*

A man taller than 1.9 meters jumped out of the fog in the passage.

*Whoosh!*

And he swung his sword.

*Jerk*

Instead of deflecting the blow with my shield, I hurriedly dodged to the side, not because I thought the shield was too expensive for him, but because it was pointless. If you give something, you have to get something in return.

*Colic!*

A large sword plunged into my left elbow.

"Mr. Yandel!"

In an instant, I became a one-armed barbarian. This was my second experience after my battle with the Lord of Chaos, Riakis. This did not particularly upset me. I threw away the self-confident thought that I could defeat this guy unharmed as soon as I saw him.

*Chhhh*

I pointed my severed limb at him and sprayed acid blood like a fountain.

"Ahh!"

Fortunately, it got into his eyes.

yes, damn it.

In exchange for the arm, I blocked this guy's vision. Of course, it won't be for long, but...

"Raven, use [Lava Eruption]!"

I gave the order and clung to the enemy, deciding that since this guy was using a large sword as a weapon, he wouldn't be able to hurt me with Aura at this distance. If I hadn't blinded him, I would have had to sacrifice something more to get so close.

"But if I do that, so will you-...!

"It's okay, just do it!"

"Okay...!"

I hurriedly held my breath and tensed my muscles. It was like I was fighting the Troll on the 4th floor.

"Oh, you son of a bitch!"

With fierce resistance, scales sprouted on his body. This was one of the effects of the [Experiment Subobject] that temporarily increased the stats of the Constitution. I was expecting this since he is an Aura user.

Coincidentally, I can compete with him in this.

"Stand still."

I used [Gigantization] again, hoping that since I hadn't used it for a few minutes, the MP had recovered enough for 30 seconds.

"Ugh...

The man let out a painful moan and arched his back from the instantly increased weight.

*Woom, woom!*

Carrying me on his back, this bastard was haphazardly brandishing his sword. Passage, wall, or whatever, the Aura cut through everything.

"Are you afraid because you can't see?"

"I'll kill you!"

"Everyone back!"

Because of his sword dance, Mike and the others couldn't get closer to land extra blows. However, it was to my advantage.

Because he fought, his enemies could not come to his aid.

"Idiot.

"Ahh!"

He tilted his upper body as if he wanted to throw me over him, but so what? Clinging to the enemy like a pervert was one of the main qualities of the tank.

*Boom!*

Our bodies collapsed and covered each other. It was far from like a scene from a romantic movie. Rather, it was like a dog fight in a thriller.

* Smack! Smack! Smack! Smack!*

Finally, this bastard let go of his sword and started punching me in the ear. Of course, this was not a problem. You couldn't use Aura with your hands, right?

* Smack! Smack! Smack! Smack!*

Physical attacks could be withstood with the help of Physical Resistance. As a person who used a large adamantium sword, his Strength was significant, so my brain shook with each blow, but compared to the severed hand, it was a minor injury.

"Kesial!!

When his ignorant sword-swinging stopped, the enemies who couldn't approach rushed at me. However, they were a step too late.

"Should I really do this...?!"

"Let's do it already!"

The spell was completed.

— [Ихерно Ватур Тунбар]!

It was a rank 4 attack magic of the fire attribute, [Lava Eruption].

*Ears!*

The dark red lava erupting from Raven's wand rushed towards us. I immediately corrected my posture: from the position when I pressed on him from above and strangled him, I was below, and he was on top.

"Let go, barbarian!"

It looks like he had regained his sight because the bastard screamed. He seemed to see the lava rushing towards us.

"Don't you like hot food?"

Then you should have increased your Fire Resistance, you bastard.

"No!"

I squeezed my eyes shut.

*Woooooo

At that moment, I felt a heat that seemed to melt everything around me.

"Ahh!"

At the same time, I felt something run down my skin. The leaking liquid quickly cooled and hardened.

[Your HP is below 50%. All resistance and tenacity stats are increased by the passive skill [Hero's Path]].

I had Fire Resistance attached to the 3rd stage of the Imprint of Immortality, Manticore Magic Resistance, and a Fire Sphere.

And still everything is so bad...

My whole body was hot and itching, as if I had drunk a potion.

Pain blossomed, piercing my Pain Resistance.

But so what?

I have long since let go of my desire to avoid pain. It was not a good world.

Maybe he should have asked for [Cold Blood] as well?

I suppressed a sudden weakness. Mana Raven was already on edge. It was necessary to save resources.

*Cough*

I pushed away my opponent, who had turned into a lump of coal, and stood up. My intestines seemed to be cooked, and turned into porridge. On the other hand, with each movement, something crunched. Am I covered with a crust?

"Mr. Yandel?" You all right?

— ... I just got a little sunburned.

"N-a little?"

That was how long it took to catch the bastard who used Aura in a short period of time.

In addition, the bleeding on the elbow stopped. It was cauterized by fire magic. Two birds with one stone.

"Ugh...

Damn, why is this bastard still alive? Does he also have Fire Resistance?

Seeing that he stood up, I hurriedly turned around and stretched out my remaining hand to the shield I had thrown earlier. And at this very moment...

[Your Soul Force is not enough. [Gigantization] completed].

[Gigantization] ended, and I lost my balance. At the same time, the hand that was approaching the shield moved even further.

*Blow!*

Despite the heat emanating from my body, I felt a chill run down my spine. If this guy had a big sword... no, even if he had pulled out a dagger and plunged it into my neck, it would have been over. The worst-case scenario flashed through my head.

*Cough!*

However, when I turned around and hurriedly checked what was behind me, I saw the bastard standing with his back to me and moving further and further away. He staggered, but walked at a brisk pace.

—…

My body tensed for a moment at this unexpected scene. I breathed a sigh of relief.

Lucky.

That bastard couldn't shake off his arrogance, so he blocked me alone, even though he had comrades with him.

"Half, half, ugh...

He hoped that he would have another opportunity, so even though he had a chance to kill me, he chose to flee for his life. This feeling was quite understandable.

"Barbaric... son of a bitch...

For him, the battle with me was not a matter of survival. There was no reason to risk his life for this fight. Now our positions have been reversed.

"Where... You will... Going?

Instead of a shield, I reached for the sword he had left behind. The strength he received from the Ogre was enough to handle the adamantium sword with one hand.

—... Oh-Stop him!

I hurried after him. The distance shrank in an instant.

His wounds seemed huge because there was no strength in his steps. Soon, the sword was within reach.

"Leave it... his neck.

Being a swordsman was also not bad.

*Colic!*

I smiled at the sensation in my hand and shouted:

'Behellaaa

I survived.

At least for now.

***

The time it took to cut off the head of a rank 4 Aura user was about two minutes. This is how battles always took place. It doesn't take much time to determine the winner and the loser. A knight who trained all his life, or an explorer who visited the labyrinth countless times, anyone in this world could lose their life in an instant.

"Ainar!"

Before I could enjoy the victory, I threw the sword I was holding in my hand.

"Huh?" And?

Why are you confused? You have to take what you have to take.

I thought of you as soon as I saw him.

Picking up the shield again with my remaining hand, I looked away from the corpse with an effort.

What a pity.

I was sure I could get more useful things here, but I didn't have time for that. I put aside my greed and looked ahead.

" The cut is over!

"Kill him!"

The enemies who had stopped due to the [Lava Eruption] came to their senses and attacked. I led my torn body forward, because that was my role. I used a shield attack. I grabbed my shield and ran, leaning it on my shoulder.

Perhaps it was because we were getting closer to the goal, but the level of the explorers was much higher than outside, including that bastard with Aura who was before. I guessed that this was their front line.

*Glass Cracking*

Even without an order, a potion flew at me. It was a mild pain, as if my flesh had been scorched with fire instead of being pierced with an awl.

"This is your favorite advanced potion!"

Oh, no wonder.

I feel a surge of energy.

It's time to cheer up and hit the road again.

There was very little time left to go. Our goal was right in front of us.

"From now on, I will help!"

Einar stood next to me.

"What about Raven?"

"I left her to Uraqburak!"

It was a sound idea. It was probably Raven who told her to do it.

'Behellaaa

I stopped checking how far we had progressed in the area. I focused only on what is here and now.

"Misha!" Stick right behind me!

A little more.

"Ervena!" Use it now!

Yes, just a little more.

"*Cough*! N-No. Not now...

"Yandel!" Raven is out of mana!

At that moment, the magical support for Raven that Mr. Bear was carrying ended. This meant that it was no longer possible to use the [Oxygen Blast] to break through random obstacles or slowdowns.

"N-no!" Lena...!

As we slowed down, another man died, a mage from Takelan's crew. She was a support mage specializing in defense, and she had our backs covered.

"A little more...!"

It will be more difficult in the future. I gritted my teeth and pushed away remorse.

"Damn it!"

I can't afford to cover my ears. But even if I could, I shouldn't have done it. It was my decision. I had to focus and choose what I had to give up and what I couldn't give up — I had to protect.

"Misha!"

"Don't worry! I can still fight...!

In this fierce battle, when another death could occur at any moment, everyone breaks through with one mind and one will. A long time passed, and at last a dark passage appeared.

"This way!" "As soon as I saw him, I immediately turned in the right direction and entered the passage. "Ervena, light!"

"D-yes!

Instead of Raven, whose mana was depleted, Erwena summoned a fire spirit to illuminate the surroundings. The passage was sparsely strewn with achromatic crystals. There were no explorers from the city to meet us, but...

"Bjorn!" They don't pursue us!

The pursuit stopped as if that was the starting point. So, there must be a distinction here.

"Don't let your guard down and keep moving.

It was too early to calm down. I continued to walk forward without slowing down. It won't be too late to take the potion and readjust after we've secured our safety.

Maybe 3 minutes have passed since then...

We came across a group that we wanted to see so much - a squad of ten knights.

"Stop!"

There were a lot of naked corpses around, probably people from Noark. It's good that we risked our lives to get here.

The fact that these guys were on our side already calmed me down.

And?

The knight whose eyes met mine drew his sword and slowly walked forward. The sword was covered in Aura.

I hurriedly shouted:

"We are not enemies! Here's my ID...

Oh, my hand... I left her there.

"I don't have it, but everyone else has it!" I hurriedly added, but the reaction was cold.

"Now you're trying all kinds of tactics?!" This road is occupied by Noark, and you're talking about ID tags?

It was hard to believe. We must have looked like spies disguised to get inside. Then what should I do? Will they believe me if I say that my nickname is Little Balkan?

After thinking for a while, I realized that there was a better way out.

"Misha, take off your ring and show them."

Coincidentally, it was in this situation that I got something that could be used.