Because this skill was just a powerful twist, unlike other skills, there was no need for intense imagery.
¡Voom!
Swing didn't even have any common special effects, like light falling on the weapon or a gust of wind blowing. This was the part I disliked the most about the game. Skills used to get fancier and have cooler names as they rose through the ranks, so why was Swing the only one like that? Today I discovered the answer.
Even the Ogre is an efficiency freak.
In reality, one effect was of no use. I was just highlighting and exposing my information to a well-informed enemy. This was quite practical.
[Regal Vagos has launched Blackout Curtain.]
As if to prove it, the bastard used defensive skill. Exactly on what basis this decision was made was unknown. Maybe he thought it was enough. He may have decided that it was more reasonable to stick a sword into a vital point while maintaining distance than to retreat.
¡Crunch!
The rank 4 Blackout Curtain skill shattered as soon as it touched my mace without lasting a second. This was natural. Although it didn't have as great a name as Earth Trembling or Incarnation Fury, Oscillation was an attack skill that belonged to the higher level even with rank 3.
Only then did he realize the situation and twist his body.
Oh, if that's the case, you should have avoided it from the beginning.
Hit!
It was aimed at the top of his head, but my mace managed to land on his shoulder. Vagos hurried to widen the distance with a small moan.
Dash.
His dislocated shoulder fell into deformation. He quickly grabbed the sword with his mouth and put his free hand in his pocket. It was probably a subspace, and what I wanted was a potion.
Do I look like a fucking idiot?
I had no intention of giving him time to recover. «Dwalkie! Use voice control!» First of all, since my opponent was human, I turned on the team's voice and pounced on him. I quickly gave orders. «Hikurod, Rotmiller! You two keep an eye on Dwalkie. Missha, stay behind me».
Of course, there was no time to talk at length right away, so we got back into basic training. So I instructed them in the details step by step. Fortunately, my companions accepted their respective missions without further comment. It started with Dwalkie.
¡Voom!
The moment the bastard evaded my mace with agility character moves, curse magic seeped into his body.
[Riol Warb Dwalkie has cast rank 9 Slowdown curse magic].
In reality, you could tell that Dwalkie played the role of a person with just this spell. If we were technicians, that bastard would specialize in agility.
«Scum...!» He made no secret of his anger and displayed all of his powers, from Advanced Acceleration to the afterimage, which was of a rank 5 essence. His Agility value increased instantly.
¡Dash!
Perhaps due to my reduced cognitive ability, my eyes hurt just from following his movements.
Even with the stat adjustment and slowdown, it's still the case.
It reminded me how monstrous it really was, but I proceeded calmly with what I had to do.
Seeing that his arm does not heal, it does not appear that he has regeneration essences or numbered objects.
I reduced the number of possible outcomes based on newly acquired information and focused on the role I had been assigned. Of course, my role was simple: stay in the middle of the passage and take a beating.
Raja! Clang, stab!
«Don't think I'll kill you kindly», he snapped at me coldly.
It was certainly impossible to dodge or avoid his attacks with my Agility while he deployed his full strength. Blocking a long-bowed saber with a shield was practically meaningless. I received it with my body.
¡Chhhhhh!
In an instant, my entire body was stabbed mercilessly and acidic blood flowed through the open skin. Because Vampire's essence had disappeared, it did not heal on its own like before. However, this was not a problem. When had he chewed the enemy with his teeth intact?
Destroy!
Rotmiller, who was holding off the enemy with a crossbow from the rear, checked my status in real time and threw a potion from his Treasure Vault at me.
[Your body is regenerating due to the Recovery effect (medium)].
This was also known as Barbarian Beginner Mode.
I haven't done this in a while.
Unlike me, who was full of strange feelings, the emotion Vagos showed in his eyes was distrust. Looking at my face, I assumed he had realized that he was not incapable of feeling pain. He murmured in disbelief: «Crazy bastard». Although he must have been in and out of the maze for a long time, he still hadn't encountered a bastard like me.
Somehow, I ended up with a very good review.
Of course, the response was a nuisance.
¡Voom!
As he nimbly dodged it, the dwarf's support continued.
[Hikurod Murad has launched Lightning Attack.]
[Hikurod Murad has launched Liberation.]
An electric orb shot out exquisitely and floated in the air. Vagos stepped on the wall and jumped again to avoid it. However, it wasn't too disappointing. Anyway, this was not Hikurod's real role.
«What do you think a bunch of scum can do?». Vagos shouted.
There were only three things he asked the dwarf: help from a distance using Lightning Release, protect Dwalkie in case of an unexpected situation, and use items in time.
[Regal Vagos has released Imprint of Fear.]
[Hikurod Murad has used Guardian Doll Guard. Strongly knocks down enemies and provides temporary immunity to all damaging effects inflicted on allies].
The Nightmare rank 4 monster's ability, Fear Imprint, temporarily instilled strong fear in the enemy and received a physical value equal to that amount. Before the skill could be used properly, a gust of wind picked up and cleared my mind. As expected, Guardian of Balance was not disabled because it was not a detrimental effect.
«Behell-ahhhhh!» Since my opponent had now retreated, I quickly ran towards him, even using Wild Burst, and struck with the mace.
¡Voom!
I didn't use Swing because it was clear I would dodge it anyway.
¡Dash!
Vagos turned his body to the side and brandished the sword at me. Then Missha, who was following me closely, pointed to his side.
Stab.
The blade of the sword stabbed superficially, but safely into the skin. He shuddered and counterattacked immediately, but Missha moved quickly behind me.
GOOD.
He moved just the way I wanted.
Vagos gritted his teeth and murmured: «Acting, I see».
Seeing that another favorable review had arrived, it seemed that there was no problem with my tactics. Therefore, the current situation remained.
[Your body is regenerating due to the Recovery effect (medium)].
I assumed the role of shield of flesh. Dwalkie, Rotmiller and Hikurod provided remote support. When he was electrocuted or avoided my attacks, whenever there was a chance, Missha would jump forward and stab his sword.
Slash, thrust!
The damage steadily increased as the battle dragged on.
«Don't think you'll come out alive!»
In the end, the bastard used essences and numbered objects unknown in the city, but that didn't change anything. It increased the frequency with which we had to use potions, but it was not enough to turn the tables. It was pure talk.
Anyway, it looks like it really was level 9.
His nine essences were all revealed except the rank 3 essence. Well, when it came to rank 3, it wasn't something that could be easily obtained even on the ninth floor, so I guess it was natural.
«Bjorrrn! That shiny leaf is coming again!»
I soon realized that the time had come to end the fight. After about 30 minutes of battle, all the cards he had were confirmed. It was also possible that he backed away a little and returned to the priest.
Now.
Now that the battle had dragged on and we had become accustomed to the current situation, I rushed forward with all my strength and extended my hand to him. He backed away a little and opened the distance. She wasn't much different from the other psycho bitch. When they thought they had adjusted, they only moved as much as necessary. Was it just a habit of the strong or something?
Thank you so much.
[You have launched gigantization.]
My body grew and my arms lengthened accordingly. Not wasting this opportunity, I clung to his neck.
There was an urgency on his face for the first time. He probably didn't know he had the gigantization, since he had been deliberately saving it all this time. I felt like all my hard work was paying off.
I una luz roja.
The jewel in his traffic light ring glowed red. I raised my mace and shouted without pause: «Behell-aaaaaaaaaaa!».
The final blow I had been patiently waiting for, this one chance, was what would be my final shot starting today. In a state of gigantization where my stats had been blown up by the wild blast, I hit the opponent's head with the mace with all my might.
Swing.
He was convinced that if he hit this blow, it would all be over.
«Naundez Will[1]«.
That's why I could see all the changes that occurred the moment his lips opened.
[The power of your soul is insufficient. Gigantization is over.]
The force left my entire body. Furthermore, my eye level dropped in an instant and my field of vision narrowed.
¡Kwang!
The mace swung normally and hit the ground.
Jadeo.
The bastard abandoned my grip at some point and vomited blood. As I watched this, I only thought about one thing.
Why, you fucking idiot. What did you just do?
The answer came quickly.
Damn sea.
This was a unique ability that all dragon races were born with, which he could never use due to the dragon curse.
[Regal Vagos has released Dragon: Silence of the Soul].
It was the Dragon Speech.
The Guardian of Balance field effect equaled the sum of the basic stats, but in the midst of that, he had to fight one against many. One of his rank 4 essences was even sealed. I devised a strategy to deal with the long bow sword, which was the most difficult, thanks to the Ogre essence. We generously used various consumable objects obtained from the hidden room, and even a special directed movement with decisive synchronization. Even if the opponent was a ninth floor scout, I thought this would be enough to defeat him.
Pathetically, despair can come to anyone, at any time. Being diagnosed with a rare disease in full development at a young age, being involved in a tragic accident on a day out and having to leave a loved one, having a big fire break out in a relative's house where I was They took me and forced me to live, or my mother, who said she would be with me tomorrow, suddenly disappears: All of these things happened in real life without warning, rain or shine. Desperation had the quality of following someone, like right now.
Spit.
The man spat bloody mucus on the ground and picked up the bow sword that had fallen to the ground.
Pzzzzz!
Sparks came out of the sword as if rejecting his touch. Vagos frowned and forcibly grabbed the sword, put it in subspace and walked slowly towards us.
I raised the mace with difficulty. The weapon, which a moment ago had seemed to me as light as a feather, was now as heavy as an iron bar.
Step.
Information about this phenomenon came to mind without having to rack my brain.
[You have fallen into a state of soul exhaustion].
Soul exhaustion was an abnormal condition that occurred when soul power dropped to 0. I could count on my hands the number of times it had happened to me in the game. Even if you use your abilities wildly, your soul power should not drop to 0.
[All statistics have temporarily decreased by 70%.]
Then I realized. The new plan A was a failure.
«Is everyone calm all of a sudden?»
The cost? Well, we'd find out now.
Hit!
He kicked me and I flew away. Although I blocked it with both arms, the impact resonated to my bones.
«Bjorn!» Missha hurriedly brandished a knife and lunged at him, but it was too short to reach him. «Aaagh!»
Like a martial arts master, he put his arm around Missha's wrist and stole her sword. «Fucking garbage». He kicked Missha in the stomach and sent her flying away.
The crossbow Rotmiller fired just in time was cut in two before it was even his turn.
«Because of this scum...» He looked at us and murmured coldly. That single phrase made chills run through my body and my heart beat wildly, as if it were broken. However, even in the middle of this, as usual, my head combined the given clues. «You won't know how long I just threw it out the window».
Vagos wasn't in good shape either. Whether I vomited blood or not, if I was at 100%, my arm should already be broken. From what he could see, he couldn't even use a sword right now. There were many positive signs. However, it was not comparable to our situation.
«Miss Karlstein! Wake up!» A tearful voice came from behind.
Vagos took another step towards me. «Barbarian, don't expect eternal rest. Not even death can save you».
This wasn't just a comment made to scare me. He knew what the only rank 3 essence he possessed was.
Step.
The situation was, in fact, desperate. What could I do? At this rate, it would be difficult to even escape. It was at that moment, when my head was filled with those thoughts.
[Riol Warb Dwalkie has cast rank 8 Ice Spear attack magic.]
An ice spear was fired with the same power as before. Two, actually, with Trajectory Adjustment completed.
¡Soooot!
Vagos hurriedly turned his body to dodge one and barely blocked the other with his sword. Normally, he would have blocked it with the Blackout Curtain or easily torn it to pieces with the sword, but he blocked it with difficulty thanks to magic.
That's when I realized something. I didn't know why it hadn't occurred to me right away, but magicians didn't use soul power. In other words, the debuff caused by soul exhaustion did not occur.
«Yes, I'll have to kill you first».
That meant that if we wanted to live, we had to protect Dwalkie.
«Everyone, wake up!»
[1] Causes enemies within a certain range to fall into a state of soul exhaustion.