𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 16
“Kares!”
“Ugh!”
‘He’s not dead yet.’
The explosion engulfed Kares, but fortunately, he wasn’t dead. That meant there was a chance to save him. After a quick calculation, I spoke to Yua.
“Yua-nim, please heal Kares.”
“Then what about these Kobolt Zombies?”
“……”
They still haven’t been killed. The spear I made will be crying.
“I’ll take care of them.”
“Yes.”
Yua nodded and ran towards Kares. Would this be enough to put my mind at ease? However, Zeld’s attack wasn’t over yet.
“It’s over. Flame Throw!”
Zeld threw the dark red flames he summoned around him towards Kares. A total of three flames flew! But with Kares’ agility, he should be able to dodge those flames easily……
“You will lose your sight. Sight Seal.”
Pat-
“D, Damn it! I can’t see!”
He can’t see? Along with the light emanating from Kares’ body, I could hear his cry that he couldn’t see. And for Kares, who couldn’t see, dodging the incoming flames was close to impossible.
Kaboom!- Kwaaang!-
[Party member ‘Kares’ has died.]
[Converting to Soul State.]
What’s Soul State again? Anyway, the important fact was that Kares had died. At first, I thought it wouldn’t be too difficult, but it was actually the opposite. And as Kares died like that, Yua, who was running towards him, turned around and ran back to me.
Is it strange that I found that sight oddly cute?
“I’m sorry.”
“No, there’s nothing to be sorry about.”
With things like this, I had to step up. I finished off the Kobolt Zombie I was dealing with and looked at Geo. He had also dealt with all the Kobolt Zombies. After confirming that there were no Kobolt Zombies left, I tried to run towards Zeld.
“Rise again, my slaves.”
[The fallen Kobolt Zombies rise again.]
“……”
The Kobolt Zombies that I had worked so hard to kill, rose again. Ah, what should I do? The best way here was for me to attack Zeld. And for the rest to block the Kobolt Zombies.
If only we could do that, catching Zeld wouldn’t be difficult. But……
“Here I go!”
‘W, What, that guy?!’
In the meantime, seeing Geo foolishly charging with his shield, I instinctively felt that we were doomed. He probably had the same thought as me. He would deal with Zeld, and the rest would deal with the Kobolt Zombies.
“W, Wait!”
Of course, I understood. I hadn’t told them about my stats. If I had told them about my stats, they would have put me forward, not themselves.
Still, there’s an easy way, so there’s no need to go the hard way!
Moreover, before we started, he clearly said he would run away if he thought he was going to die, but now he’s even risking death. Of course, if the situation was desperate, it might have looked cool, but to me, it looked like a desperate struggle.
“You will lose your sight. Sight Seal.”
Pat-
Zeld’s magic made Geo’s body shine again. This would make Geo blind, right? But even so, Geo was foolishly charging forward.
Thanks to that, I ended up fighting five Kobolt Zombies.
“Kuaa……!!”
“Skill Use. Shield Bash!”
Thwack!-
[Skill Damage! 154.]
“Skill Use. Shield Bash!”
[Skill Damage! 156.]
[Combat Experience 24 acquired!]
Somehow managed to deal with one. Yua also surprisingly stabbed and attacked the Kobolt Zombie that was rushing towards me, and Yena was……
Thump- Thump- Thump-
She was frantically shooting arrows at Zeld. But her accuracy was terrible. If she shot 10 arrows, only 2 or 3 would hit Zeld’s body. Even so, her persistence in shooting arrows was admirable.
“Yena-nim! How much damage have you dealt so far?!”
Clang!-
While dealing with them, I asked Yena a question, and she answered simply.
“Around 120.”
For a moment, I thought she had misspoken.
“120?”
“Nothing goes through except for penetration damage. It seems his defense is over 70.”
I thought again. Would Yena’s arrows run out first, or would Zeld fall first? Considering the probability, it seemed like the arrows would run out first.
‘She should have told me earlier.’
“Trap Activation.”
Kwaaang!-
As expected, the result of Geo’s reckless charge was disastrous. Zeld activated a trap towards the charging Geo, and Geo, hit by the impact of the trap, staggered. And……
“Flame Throw.”
Kwakwakwang!-
[Party member ‘Geo’ has died.]
[Converting to Soul State.]
And it didn’t end there.
“Rise again, my slaves.”
[The fallen Kobolt Zombies rise again.]
“……Damn it.”
Should I just run over and beat him up now? Then Yua would be the problem. I had accepted the request for Yua, so I didn’t want to let her die. And I didn’t trust Yena.
I wanted to break that bow right away.
‘But even if we endure like this, there’s no solution.’
After a brief moment of contemplation, I immediately shouted to Yena.
“Yena-nim! Attack the Kobolt Zombies!”
This was better. It was a gamble, but I would leave Yena and Yua to the Kobolt Zombies, and I would attack Zeld. This thought stemmed from the belief that with Yua’s skills, she wouldn’t die so easily.
“Yua-nim, run away as much as possible. Focus on survival.”
“Then what about Rudin-nim?”
“It’s my turn now.”
With a simple answer, I eliminated the approaching Kobolt Zombies and ran towards Zeld. Then, as if he had decided that I was his next target, Zeld turned his head towards me.
“Huhu, Flame Throw.”
Whoosh!-
‘Block it.’
Kares and Geo were hit by that attack. It must have dealt considerable damage, right? I thought about that, but for now, I trusted my defense.
Kaboom!- Kwakwakwang!-
[Damage received! -5.]
[Damage received! -4.]
‘Damage is getting through?’
It was the first damage I had received since obtaining the title, Shield of Protection. What would have happened if I had been hit by this attack without the Shield of Protection? I could newly understand their deaths.
But……
“Is this even damage!”
“Trap Activation.”
Kwaaang!-
[Damage received! -1.]
Thinking that it was less damage than the flames that flew at me initially, I continued to run. Now, the distance between Zeld and me was not far! If I could just get close like this……
“Approaching me is not allowed. Wind Blast!”
Wheeik!-
“……!?”
Thwack!-
[Damage received! -1.]
What’s this again?!
Suddenly, a green wind shot out from Zeld’s hand. The damage of the wind itself wasn’t much, but my body, hit by it, tumbled back about 4-5 meters. It seemed like a magic spell meant to push the target away rather than inflict damage.
‘Whew, there’s no time for this.’
I briefly looked back with that thought. Behind me, I could see Yua and Yena dealing with the Kobolt Zombies. In particular, Yua was using healing magic on herself while dealing with the Kobolt Zombies, but just by looking, it seemed like she wouldn’t be able to hold out for long.
Should I use Jayer’s Guardian Shield instead?
There would be no problem if I could use it to kill Zeld. However, the problem was that using this skill would consume all of my magic power. If I used it and failed to kill him, I would have to fight with double stamina consumption.
‘My current remaining stamina is……’
[Stamina: 72.2%]
Due to the continuous hunting so far, my stamina was quite low. If I used Jayer’s Guardian Shield, about 50% would remain……
“Flame Throw.”
‘Tsk.’
Kaboom!-
[Damage received! -4.]
[Damage received! -5.]
I simply blocked the flames that Zeld threw again after blowing me away with the Wind Blast magic. Honestly, the most ideal battle would be for me to block Zeld like this, and for Yena to deal proper damage.
Yua would take on the role of healing.
However, the skill level of those two, excluding me, was too low. The arrows didn’t deal any damage, and Yua could only heal by touching the target’s body.
‘Let’s try to approach again.’
Would Zeld fall if I just kept blocking like this? I approached Zeld again, and as expected, Zeld cast magic at me.
“Wind Blast!”
Thwack!-
[Damage received! -1.]
As expected, Zeld blew me away with Wind Blast. But if I regained my posture and ran again, there was a possibility. There was no way that magic could be used without a cooldown!
“Wind Blast!”
Thwack!-
If I regained my posture and ran again……
“Wind Blast!”
Thwack!-
If I regained my posture and……
“Wind Blast!”
“Oh, damn that crazy bastard!”
Thwack!-
[Damage received! -1.]
Just like before, I was blown back, and I could feel the irritation rising to the top of my head.
I can’t get close at all! Where did he get such a broken magic spell?!
“Flame Throw.”
“Ah, damn it! Skill Use! Jayer’s Guardian Shield!”
It wasn’t the time to think about stamina. No, in fact, I couldn’t even think about stamina. The reason I was using Jayer’s Guardian Shield like this was to approach again with increased agility even if I was blown back.
I’ll land a hit on that bastard no matter what!
Fwoosh!-
[S-Rank Skill. Jayer’s Guardian Shield activated.]
[Consumes 300 Magic Power.]
[Insufficient Magic Power.]
[Stamina consumption doubled.]
‘Huh?’
This time, there was no fancy (?) pose like before. The skill was cast immediately. What happened? Could it be……
‘Was it like a title acquisition event?’
That thought was fleeting, and beyond the fading pillar of white light, I could see Zeld. Jayer’s Guardian Shield only lasted for 30 seconds. Now was the time to focus on the guy in front of me.
“No matter how much I think about it, 30 seconds is too short!”
I shouted like that and rushed towards Zeld, and as I approached a certain distance, Zeld used magic as expected.
“Approaching me is not allowed. Wind Blast!”
‘As expected.’
I’ll let myself be blown away this once. But next time, I’ll quickly approach and……
Pwang!-
“Huh?”
The wind shot from Zeld’s hand disappeared in front of me like a popped balloon. What was this again? But it was definitely an opportunity. Due to lack of magic power, I couldn’t use other skills, but an opportunity was an opportunity.
“Die!”
[Hit Damage! 23.]
As expected, the damage was trash. Since I didn’t use a skill, this was the damage I got, right?
“Skill Use! Shield Bash!”
[Insufficient Magic Power.]
[Stamina consumption doubled.]
Thwack!-
[Skill Damage! 236.]
The constantly appearing message windows were annoying, but the damage itself was satisfactory. It was 100 more than the damage Yena had dealt so far.
“Keuhuk! You bastard! How dare you……!”
Stab!-
[Penetration Damage! 94.]
What’s with the chatter during battle?! After hitting him with Shield Bash, I pierced Zeld’s belly with my longsword, and I realized anew that even a normal attack could be quite effective if it had a penetration effect.
“My, my slaves! Help me!”
[Penetration Damage! 94.]
“Skill Use! Shield Bash!”
[Skill Damage! 229.]
After attacking Zeld with a mix of shield and sword, I looked back. Perhaps due to Zeld’s command, the Kobolt Zombies that were dealing with Yua and Yena were turning around and running towards me.
‘This is better.’
I thought it was better. No matter how much I was hit by those Kobolt Zombies, my health wouldn’t decrease, but Yua and Yena were different. They could die at any moment.
So it was better for me to deal with everyone here.
But……
‘What kind of party hunting is this!’
I deal with the boss, and I deal with the Kobolt Zombies. Could this be called party hunting? My mind was somewhat complicated, but I continued to attack Zeld in front of me.
[Hit Damage! 20.]
[Penetration Damage! 94.]
Thwack!-
[Skill Damage! 232.]
In addition, perhaps due to probability, there were times when piercing Zeld’s body didn’t result in penetration. Still, if I kept attacking like this, he would eventually die……
[S-Rank Skill. Jayer’s Guardian Shield duration has ended.]
“……Damn it.”
The duration ended while I was happily stabbing him. Should I use Jayer’s Guardian Shield again? However, looking at my remaining stamina, it seemed impossible. And in the meantime, the Kobolt Zombies that had approached me immediately swung their weapons.
But I couldn’t stop my actions.
‘Alright, let’s see who dies first!’
Ignoring the Kobolt Zombies that were swarming me, I continued to attack Zeld.
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