𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 52
” Kuoooo! ”
‘What is that?’
[Synthetic Monster of the Bamut Cult]
What appeared with a heavy sound was a Lizardman…… or so it seemed. The reason I couldn’t be sure was because of its different appearance from the existing Lizardmen. First of all, the most distinctive feature was that it had two heads on one body.
The creature, larger than the existing Lizardmen, unusually had two heads, and from the mouths of both heads, small flames were being spewed out.
Hwar-
” Synthetic Monster?! ”
Rayan shouts in surprise while looking at the Lizardman. I decided to ask her, hoping I could get some information about this monster.
” Do you know it? ”
” I don’t know the details, but I’ve heard that the Bamut Cult has a technique to combine dominated monsters. Perhaps that monster is the result. ”
” How strong is it? ”
” I’m not sure about that either. ”
” …… ”
Not very helpful.
” Kiee! ”
‘Tsk.’
Meanwhile, the Lizardman shot flames with a disgusting sound. Seeing the flames shot like a flamethrower, I quickly stepped forward and held out my shield.
[You have taken damage. -93.]
[You have taken damage. -89.]
[You have taken damage……]
The Lizardman’s flames accurately dealt damage three times and disappeared. Is it continuous damage? Considering my defense, the flame attack power was considerable.
” Elsyke’s Phantom Shift. ”
Pat!-
First, I leave a clone and move behind the Lizardman. And then I immediately charge with my shield!
” Giant’s Sprint! ”
Kwaaaang!!-
[Skill Damage! 718.]
With the stealth effect added, it was relatively high damage. However, as if the Lizardman’s strength was higher than mine, it couldn’t be knocked back. The Lizardman, who just flinched for a moment, immediately swung its sword at me, whose stealth had been broken.
‘Tsk.’
The sword was swung at a considerably fast speed, unlike its size, so I boldly abandoned the option of dodging. Just raising my shield.
Kwaang!-
[You have taken damage. -206.]
” Ugh. ”
Is this really with Steadfast Defense applied?
When I stood still and defended, the passive skill Steadfast Defense was applied, but the damage received was significant, and my body was pushed back by the impact. Perhaps this result occurred due to the difference in strength, not defense.
And taking advantage of the distance created, flames were shot from the Lizardman’s mouth again.
Hwarrr!!-
[You have taken damage. -71.]
[You have taken damage……]
Of course, my clone and Rayan weren’t just watching. They ran towards the Lizardman as soon as its gaze turned to me.
” Kruru…… ”
‘Huh?’
Hwar!-
Did it notice the presence? One of the Lizardman’s remaining heads turned towards Rayan and instantly shot flames. It was a monster with almost no blind spots.
‘It’s tricky to deal with.’
Most monsters would die without even knowing what hit them if my clone and I attacked from the front and back. But this two-headed Lizardman was attacking in each direction, making it very difficult to deal with.
‘It’s not impossible, though.’
Once I confirmed that I could inflict more damage than it, there was no monster I couldn’t handle. The same went for this Lizardman.
” Giant’s Sprint! ”
Kwaaaang!!-
[Skill Damage! 613.]
” Kiiik! ”
Hwik!-
After colliding with Giant’s Sprint, I lower my head to avoid the Lizardman’s attack. It was difficult to see and dodge, but if I knew the attack in advance and acted like now, I could somehow avoid it.
” Giant’s Sprint! ”
Kwaaaang!!-
[Skill Damage! 617.]
Damn, it’s so hard to kill!
Even though I dealt at least 2,000 damage, the Lizardman didn’t die. Instead, it just swung its sword at me with an enraged face. However, I wasn’t going to die from being hit by those sword swings a few times, so I ignored them and used Giant’s Sprint again.
Kwaaaang!!-
[Combat experience gained: 2,500!]
[Ding!~ You have acquired a ‘ D-rank Skillbook ‘.]
” Huu. ”
It was a strong one, requiring me to use more than half of my stamina. Wasn’t it the strongest one excluding boss monsters?
‘And it gives a D-rank skill.’
All the D-rank skills I’ve obtained so far were from boss-level monsters. Dorgen and Nertasus. But now, a D-rank skillbook came out even though it wasn’t a boss-level monster, so it felt somewhat strange.
[Flame Emission] (D-rank)
Description: A magic that continuously emits flames forward. Although it has the disadvantage of a short range, it’s a type of magic that allows movement while using it, enabling both attack and evasion simultaneously.
‘Huh? This is quite……’
Expensive, isn’t it?
A skill that allows continuous attack and movement. It’s a skill with considerable efficiency. If it’s this kind of skill, it seems like I could get a lot of money by selling it for cash.
” Lucky. ”
” Lucky? ”
” No, let’s look at the orbs again. ”
” Huh? But what if it’s another trap…… ”
” It’s okay. ”
Whether it was a trap or not, I had to find out about these orbs. There was no other way besides this place. Moreover, from the previous case, I was able to confirm that monsters would pop out, so perhaps it might end unexpectedly simply.
‘It’s not the first orb.’
I bring my hand to the orbs in order and use Intuition. Using Intuition, I could tell that a monster would also come out from the fourth orb.
‘The problem is the second and third orbs, huh?’
꾹-
I press the second orb. Then, as before, light emerged from the magic circle around the orb, and then I could see the blocked wall slowly rising upwards.
Kuku쿵-
‘The door opens like this.’
Another path visible beyond the raised wall. Now there were no worries. When a wall with orbs appeared, I just had to find the right one with Intuition. And as I found the way, I heard Rayan’s admiring tone from behind, who had been silently watching.
” Amazing. How did you find it? ”
” Intuition. ”
Even though I almost told her the truth, Rayan’s expression was worth seeing. An expression wondering whether to believe my words or take it as a joke. If she reacts like that no matter what I say, the truth seems meaningless.
Footsteps- Footsteps-
‘It’s quite a large dungeon.’
Is it a dungeon or a shrine? Anyway, it was quite large. Moreover, just blindly walking along the path made me feel like it was a trap.
‘Am I going the right way?’
” Ah, there’s another dead end. ”
” ……So it seems. ”
At the dead end, the four orbs I saw earlier were attached in the same way. Therefore, without any worries, I approached it and used Intuition.
‘This time…… it’s the third orb.’
Kuku쿵-
As soon as I pressed the orb, the wall opened as if waiting. Since I knew in advance using Intuition, I took this situation for granted, but it seemed different for Rayan, who was watching from behind.
[Rayan is impressed by your continuous luck.]
[Rayan’s favorability increases by 1.]
[Current favorability with Rayan: 11.]
‘Favorability?’
If it increases by 1, shouldn’t it be 6? Where did the remaining 5 come from?
Anyway, the message that favorability increased wasn’t bad for me. At the same time, I remembered a post on the bulletin board saying that if you reach 100 favorability with an NPC, a special event occurs.
‘But is 100 favorability possible?’
In a situation where even my favorability with Deron hasn’t reached 80, the thought of Rayan’s favorability reaching 100 was almost like a dream. Of course, if I complete the quest, it will increase by another 40, so maybe it’s possible if I put in a little more effort.
” Do you perhaps know the locations of the orbs? ”
” No way. ”
” Then how…… ”
” I guessed it by looking at the patterns of the magic circles drawn near the orbs. ”
” Ah. ”
Actually, they all looked the same to me. But Rayan, convinced by my words, nodded, and that sight made me feel how easy it is to deceive a person.
Kuku쿵-
The path continued. I opened the third and fourth walls, but there was no particular change. And at this point, even I couldn’t help but feel irritated.
‘Damn, how long do I have to keep opening them?’
Am I really going the right way? Fortunately, Rayan was following me without saying anything. Usually, other people would ask if this was the right way, but Rayan didn’t.
Should I say I’m grateful to Rayan for silently believing in me at this time when even I’m feeling anxious?
That’s probably possible because she’s an NPC.
Footsteps-
‘……Another wall.’
I let out a sigh and open it with Intuition.
Kuku쿵-
” Hmm? ”
This time, instead of another path, a different scene unfolded before my eyes, which had expected a path without fail. A huge hall. A giant magic circle located in the corner of the hall. A knight and soldiers trapped inside the magic circle. Finally, a priest in a black robe standing outside the magic circle.
It seemed like we finally arrived.
” To think you’d make it this far. You’re more capable than you look. ”
” …… ”
Huh? They’re not moving. Seeing that they’re not moving a single finger, it seems like some kind of event has been triggered.
Anyway, my mouth started talking on its own, regardless of my will.
” That’s an unusual magic circle. What are you planning to do? ”
” Heh heh, sacrifices for our cult. There’s no better sacrifice than humans for summoning monsters. ”
” Do you think it’s possible? ”
” Honestly, this situation is unexpected. Originally, the summoning ritual should have been completed while you were caught in the traps, but…… ”
‘Traps? Summoning ritual?’
What does that mean? Does it mean that if I get caught in a trap, the summoning ritual will proceed?
If my guess is correct, it seems like it was fortunate that I proceeded without getting caught in any traps so far.
” But that doesn’t mean there’s a problem. What can you two possibly do? ”
Pabbat!-
As soon as those words ended, the four priests around summoned monsters. The summoned monsters were Lizardmen. Since they were just Lizardmen, not the two-headed ones, I could feel relieved inwardly.
‘What are they trying to do with just Lizardmen?’
” Begin. ”
” Yes. ”
Begin what?
Even at this moment, my body wasn’t moving. It meant the event wasn’t over yet. In this situation, all I could do was watch the situation unfold before me.
” Monster Synthesis! ”
‘……Crazy.’
I could understand why the two-headed Lizardman didn’t appear in this final part. Because as the priests chanted Monster Synthesis, the Lizardmen turned into light and started to merge with each other.
” Kuoooo! ”
And as the merged light slowly disappeared, two two-headed Lizardmen emerged.
‘Two of them would be quite difficult.’
” Heh heh, it’s too early to be surprised. Monster Overlap Synthesis! ”
Pabbat!-
In an instant, the two two-headed Lizardmen turned into light again and started to merge with each other. Are they going to merge again from there? Since I couldn’t move due to the event, all I could do was watch silently.
” Krararara! ”
‘The two-headed one turned into a three-headed one.’
There was no time to be surprised. I was too busy thinking about how to deal with it, seeing the already huge two-headed Lizardman become even bigger.
” Now, become sacrifices to Lord Bamut! ”
[Battle with Bamut Cult Priest begins.]
With the message, my body started to move, but I didn’t rush out immediately. I couldn’t just recklessly charge at that Lizardman, which I wasn’t even sure I could defeat.
” I will handle that monster. Rudin-nim, please rescue my comrades.”
” …… ”
What is she saying? This weak knight?
I guarantee that if Rayan faces it, she’ll die in less than a minute. Conversely, it means I should face the Lizardman and Rayan should be in charge of rescuing her comrades.
” Let’s switch roles. You handle the rescue.”
” Huh? But…… ”
” It’s coming.”
There was no time to listen to Rayan’s opinion silently. I pushed Rayan and ran forward to confront the Lizardman charging towards us.
” Krararat! ”
” Tsk. ”
The swinging sword. The Lizardman’s sword was incredibly fast. Fast, but not to the point where I couldn’t see its trajectory. I struck the blade coming down to cut my neck from bottom to top.
Chaeng!-
The Lizardman’s blade narrowly missed my head. Since it didn’t hit, there was no damage.
” Giant’s Sprint! ”
Kwaaaang!!-
[Skill Damage! 364.]
‘As expected, it’s not being pushed back.’
I already anticipated this. Satisfied with the fact that I dealt damage, I tried to quickly retreat, but I got too close to the Lizardman.
Kwaang!-
[You have taken damage. -536.]
” ……!? ”
What? This damage?!
It was literally insane damage. Not only was the damage enormous, but the speed was fast too. If we continued to exchange blows like this, there was a high chance I would be defeated.
‘Should I create some distance?’
Hwarrr!-
” …… ”
Right, it had that.
I ran sideways to avoid the pouring flames. However, I was facing a Lizardman with three heads. As soon as I dodged, another head of the Lizardman shot flames, and I, whose posture was broken due to the sudden movement, had no choice but to block this attack.
‘Steadfast Defense!’
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