Fate Manipulation (5)

Of course, it's not that I can't fight at all.

As a result of daily training in the practice room, my throwing skills have improved from the lowest grade to the low grade.

Moreover, I've been depleting my mana over and over to fully utilize 'Gram,' which has increased my mana capacity, albeit slightly.

Thanks to that, I've been feeling extremely fatigued recently due to repeated mana exhaustion.

These days, I feel like I've truly become Frondier.

Plus, having played the game to the point of saturation, I know the patterns of the monsters.

Although they don't move exactly like in the game since this is reality, they generally show a similarity in patterns.

However, Frondier must always be incompetent and lazy.

There's something I've thought about every time I played the Etius game as Aster.

Aster is great, but he's too famous, and with that comes a lot of expectations.

Allies naturally depend on Aster, and enemies are overly cautious, making it hard to expose them.

On the other hand, Frondier is the opposite.

No one expects anything from Frondier, and if you're an enemy, it's the perfect character to be complacent about.

There are benefits to be had from this position.

'Plus, there's Thanatos.'

Thanatos, the god who tried to kill me when I first wove the obsidian.

There's no guarantee that my bluff, by naming him, will always work.

So, to avoid being caught by Thanatos, it's better if my existence doesn't stand out in this world.

Sybil handled the Ratmen diligently, albeit with incredulity.

Meanwhile, I quietly observed her fighting.

And facing the Ratman positioned in her blind spot,

Weaving

Workshop Item No.1

Grade - Normal

Iron Dagger

I threw the woven dagger, hitting the target.

The Ratmen fell to my dagger, defenseless and twitching.

The Ratmen were distracted by Sybil, and besides, the woven dagger was invisible to them in the first place.

It seemed too easy to deal with them like that.

"…Huh?"

As I was counting the remaining numbers while taking care of the Ratmen, the air shimmered suddenly.

Sybil didn't seem to notice.

Was I seeing things?

...No.

I quickly scanned the surroundings.

Something, set against this darkness, glimmered like a mirage. That mirage swiftly moved towards Sybil.

"Sybil!"

I shouted, throwing the dagger.

It was almost simultaneous with the mirage pouncing on Sybil.

"What, ahh!"

Sybil, having heard my voice, seemed to barely dodge.

But her steps were wobbly.

I approached Sybil, taking down the remaining ones with my dagger throws.

I wasn't worried about Sybil catching on to the weaving. She didn't have the luxury to watch me fight.

Thump, the sound of the wind escaping a cloth.

Sybil collapsed.

"Ah, ugh."

Blood seeped from her hand, clutching her abdomen.

She didn't completely avoid it, did she?

Sybil tried to stand up but collapsed again.

I approached her to check her complexion. Her eyes were bloodshot, and she seemed to have difficulty breathing. Her limbs trembled, seemingly unable to move as she wanted.

"What, what's happening? Why like this?"

Sybil was bewildered by her own body's condition.

"It's paralysis poison."

"Paralysis poison?"

“Y-yeah, one of them was carrying a pain in the ass weapon.”

“Ugh, I see. Am, am I alright?”

“Don’t worry. You can sleep soundly since I will take care of the rest. There should be a sleep effect mixed in there too. You’ll be fully recovered when you wake up.”

“U-uh, I guess I can……. You can’t even fight though…….”

Despite her words, Sybil’s eyes slowly closed.

Actually, there was no sleep effect in this poison.

It was a type of hypnosis. Sybil’s dungeon exploration today was considerably long, and the traps that were activated consumed a significant amount of mental strength and stamina.

She was already in a state of accumulated fatigue.

If she was told that there was a sleep effect, she would honestly believe it and quickly fall asleep.

“……Alright then.”

I got up after confirming that Sybil had fallen asleep.

Whew, I took a deep breath.

Let’s not get impatient. My body will make a mistake if my mind wavers.

──Even though the poison she was exposed to is not very fatal.

──Even though it wasn't a Ratman who attacked her.

What I said to Sybil was full of lies.

Let’s stay calm.

If I succeed, then I can turn those lies into the truth.

When I looked around, I could only see the corpses of Ratmen, but I couldn’t find any sign of it.

I didn’t get impatient because of that. It was originally that type of guy.

I bit my lip.

An invisible foe. A whirlwind of blowing air. A weapon coated in deadly poison.

A ‘heretic’ who would even try to harm Sybil, who was blessed by the love of fate.

I know who it is. It’s a guy who should never be in a low-level dungeon like this.

Its name is Slevb.

She was born a human, but she became a monster because her soul was shackled.

The most difficult part about Slevb is that it’s over if you get even slightly grazed by her.

What’s smeared on that sword is deadly poison.

I didn't lie when I told Sybil that it was a paralyzing poison.

It's just that the level of paralysis is different.

At first, your limbs will stiffen. Like how Sybil couldn't get up earlier.

And then your internal organs will slowly stiffen, and your lungs will stop listening to you. It becomes agonizing to breathe, and by the time it reaches its peak, your heart and brain will finally stiffen.

It takes about 12 hours for that to happen.

Within that time, I have to break through this dungeon and get to a church or hospital to get the antidote.

12 hours may seem like a lot of time at first glance, but you could die from shock before that.

The feeling of slowly dying is hard for ordinary humans to endure. Even if you get the antidote, there could be severe mental aftereffects.

That's why I have to finish this guy off as quickly as possible.

"...Where is she?"

I lowered my stance and looked around my surroundings.

Slevb is invisible to the naked eye. Since she's a spirit, she doesn't even make a sound.

Only when she attacks does a slight ripple appear.

However, right before he attacked Sybil, I threw my enchanted dagger at her.

I couldn't see it properly, but if I go by the trajectory, she must have been hit by my dagger.

The more damage Slevb takes, the more her figure is revealed. As if a curtain is being peeled away little by little.

It's the same for any monster, but they're at their most dangerous when they're in perfect condition.

That's why it was a blessing in disguise that I damaged him. Thanks to that, the ripple that Slevb should only show when she attacks can be seen all the time now.

The ripple grew even larger,

And the moment the weapon flew sideways towards me,

Ka-clang, her dagger and mine clashed.