Turning the Tables (2)
Turning the Tables (2)
We avoided the worst-case scenario.
Although there were veteran players whose names were known to everyone, it wasn’t an army of thousands.
There were only three enemies we had to deal with.
And they didn’t even focus fire on us, perhaps out of overconfidence, while we were entering through the portal and forming a line.
But…
「Abet Nekrapetto has cast [Puppet].」
…that didn’t mean the situation was positive.
Although we were currently fighting without being pushed back, the longer this battle dragged on, the more disadvantageous it would be for us.That’s what Necromancers are.
[Groaaaaaaaaar!]
Casualties were appearing in real time in this large-scale battle.
The corpses were tearing our flesh and beheading our companions, and then those corpses would get up and attack us.
Kwagic!
Although I’m diligently crushing their heads…
…we’ll eventually be outnumbered if this continues.
‘Ha, what a combination.’
I can’t help but groan.
Although there were only three of them, their balance was too good.
The Corpse Collector’s overwhelming numbers.
Blue Mane’s PvP combat prowess.
And the Ruin Scholar, a top-tier mage with AoE spells and the ability to create unexpected variables.
Our chances of winning would have been much higher if they were just three strong players who were good at fighting.
‘No, they probably left only three behind because of this combination.’
I dismiss my brief regret.
Just like how there’s no one without flaws…
…it wasn’t all bad.
Actually, there was an advantage for me since our opponent was the Corpse Collector.
「Character has used [Outlaw of the Wasteland].」
I didn’t expect to use this item I obtained in the Doppelganger Forest here.
“Behel—laaaaaaaaaa!!”
I unleash my battle cry with all my might at the forefront of the battle, doing what I’ve done countless times today.
Clearing the path.
Kwagic! Kwaaang!
Corpses, clad in various equipment, are swept away like fallen leaves every time I swing my mace.
The reason is simple.
‘Outlaw of the Wasteland’ is one of the ultimate counter items against Necromancers.
「Melee physical damage temporarily increases in proportion to the number of humanoid monsters.」
Increased melee physical damage proportional to the number of enemies.
I don’t know for sure, but the increase rate must have already reached its maximum.
Hmm, so the maximum was…
「Current increase rate 1,000%.」
…10 times, right?
Kwagic!
Is this what Lu Bu from Romance of the Three Kingdoms felt like?
I don’t even need to use [Swing] since they’re exploding with every casual swing of my mace.
Well, it would be more helpful if I used it…
…but it’s a better judgment to conserve my limited MP and invest it in [Gigantification].
“Huh, for a 5th-grade explorer…”
“He’s a great warrior!!”
“Follow him!”
A breakthrough formation naturally forms as explorers follow me after I start my mindless charge.
Okay, then I don’t have to worry about getting backstabbed.
“Suicide bomber!”
We’re also starting to deal with [Corpse Explosion], which inflicted countless casualties in the beginning.
After all, they’re veteran explorers who are used to raiding.
They naturally figured out the countermeasures without me having to give instructions.
“Mage!”
“Dertu Tayran!”
The 8th-grade support spell, ‘Gale’.
Kwaaang!
As soon as a suicide bomber’s body starts to swell, they’re pushed away with a spell or skill that has a knockback effect.
Of course, even then, some of them exploded within our formation, causing damage, and I was the one who took the most hits.
Sizzle!
The suicide bombers’ poison clings to my body.
But it doesn’t sting that much.
Although I didn’t invest much in Poison Resistance…
…[Dungeon and Stone] is a team game.
「Arrua Raven has cast the 7th-grade support spell [Neutralization].」
A buff spell that halves poison damage.
「Rebecca Izel has cast [Share].」
An active skill that allows her to take 1/3 of the damage received by the target.
「Kan Argon has cast [Group Immunity].」
An aura-type skill that shares half of his resistance stats with everyone within a 15-meter radius, regardless of friend or foe.
「Polton Casel has cast [Blood Spring].」
「Healing orbs are generated when the character takes damage.」
And healing tokens even burst out of my body when I take damage, healing my companions who pick them up.
It’s literally a situation where there’s no skill we don’t have, with hundreds of 5th-grade explorers gathered—
Whoosh!
That’s when the dozens of light orbs that were filling the sky above the Goblin Forest disappear simultaneously, and the surroundings darken.
I instinctively know.
[Be careful, he’s about to move.]
The Ruin Scholar.
Right, he wouldn’t just watch forever.
Whoosh!
The sky darkens as if there’s a solar eclipse.
And a crimson sphere appears, rapidly increasing in size.
[It’s the Orb of Ruin.]
Orb of Ruin.
It’s an attack spell I’ve never seen or heard of in the game.
Well, it’s only natural.
It’s the Ruin Scholar’s signature spell, something he created from scratch, from the formula to everything.
‘He said it’s a 2nd-grade spell.’
My heart clenches.
I know how unrealistically powerful high-level attack magic is.
Of course, it doesn’t really matter.
I would have guessed even if I didn’t know.
Just how dangerous that spell is.
“This crazy old man!! Are you trying to kill me too?!”
The wolf bastard, as soon as he sees the thing in the sky, shudders and tries to escape.
The Clown, who’s far away, is no different.
He’s shouting something with a flustered expression.
Although I can’t hear him, it’s not difficult to guess what he’s saying. The corpse army he stationed on the outskirts is retreating.
‘Damn it.’
They, the Ruin Scholar’s companions, judged…
…that everything, friend or foe, would disappear without a trace when that spell landed.
But so what?
[I’ll block it, you guys keep moving!]
I overcome my anxiety and focus on clearing the path for now.
“What are you doing! Keep moving!”
“Bu, but if that falls…!”
“Where are you going to go if you run away? Fight!”
The explorers encourage each other and gather their resolve, as if they’ve been waiting for this moment, without me having to do anything.
“It’s coming…!”
I look up at someone’s mutter.
The ominous sphere, which has grown large enough to fill the entire sky, is finally falling towards the ground.
And…
「Kyle Pebrosk has cast the 3rd-grade attack spell [Piercing Steel].」
…Kyle’s spell, which he was preparing to counter the Ruin Scholar, is completed at that moment.
Swaaaaaaaaa!
An intense gray light erupts from the back, as if he had drawn a magic circle beforehand.
Flash!
A giant arrow pierces the giant meteor as the light flashes for a split second and then fades.
Kwaaang!
An earsplitting sound of impact.
Swaaaaaaaaa!
A powerful wind blows, sweeping across the ground.
And…
“Do, dodge!!”
…hundreds of large and small fragments, engulfed in crimson flames, rain down like hail.
Although the explorers scatter in panic, not many of them actually reach the ground.
It’s Kyle’s doing again.
Bang! Kwaang! Kwaaang!
Hundreds of falling fragments are blocked by a translucent barrier and explode in midair, disappearing.
Even a 3rd-grade mage wouldn’t be able to create a barrier over such a wide area…
‘…Did he control them all?’
He read the trajectories of the fragments and blocked each one with minimal mana.
That’s the rational guess.
Indeed, Raven is gaping in disbelief as she watches.
“Is, is that even possible…?”
As a mage, she can feel it more clearly.
Just how high-level that technique is.
But unfortunately, the mage on the other side wasn’t an ordinary human either.
No, the Ruin Scholar was an Archmage belonging to Orculus, considered to be even more skilled than Kyle.
[Damn that old man.]
The falling meteors, like curveballs, change their trajectories and bypass the barrier, crashing into the ground.
Thud!
The meteors didn’t discriminate between friend or foe.
They fell on the corpse army, behind and next to me, crushing my companions.
And they transformed into golems and got up.
‘5th-grade summon magic, Flame Giant.’
Raven shouted in disbelief,
“Mr. Pebrosk! How is this possible? He didn’t have any summoning formulas…!”
[He used his remaining mana to create new formulas and imbue them into the remaining fragments.]
“In that short amount of time, a 5th-grade spell… and dozens of them…?”
Raven’s astonished mutter.
But it seemed like Kyle didn’t have time to answer her kindly.
[Yandel! I have to prepare for the next attack, I’ll leave the rest to you!]
The call ended abruptly.
Phew, he said he would take care of the Ruin Scholar…
So the cleanup is my job again.
‘Well, even he wouldn’t be able to handle that monster alone.’
And Kyle was also low on mana after using Mass Teleport on the 1st floor.
I’m reminded once again that we’re still at a disadvantage.
Melter Pend is dealing with Blue Mane.
Kyle is dedicated to the Ruin Scholar.
And I’m in charge of taking down the Corpse Collector with hundreds of explorers.
It’s game over if even one of us loses.
The precarious balance will collapse, and we’ll all be swept away in an instant.
But conversely, it’s the same for the other side.
Therefore…
Swoosh.
…I charge towards the Flame Giant, which has completely risen and is looking down at me.
With my giant mace in hand.
Tadat.
I use [Leap]…
‘Swing.’
…and swing my mace down, even using MP.
One hit was enough.
To smash the core of the 5th-grade summon, Flame Giant.
Kwaaang!
The Flame Giant disappears into particles of mana.
I looked straight ahead, beyond it.
The Clown was far away.
‘He’s still laughing.’
If I can just kill him, we’ll have the advantage.
____________________
I’m moving forward one step at a time, slowly.
Smashing, trampling, and sometimes pushing corpses aside with my shield.
Kwagic!
I’m opening a path for survival.
Swaaaaaaaaa!
Rains of fire, unleashed by the Ruin Scholar, are pouring down from the sky.
Kwaaang!
Kyle is diligently casting defensive magic and fighting back, but it’s not enough to block everything.
“Aaaaaak—!”
Screams echo from everywhere.
The bodies of those who desperately reached this far, longing for life, collapse on the damp ground, charred black.
And…
「Abet Nekrapetto has cast [Puppet].」
…they get up in that state and swing their weapons at us.
Looking at them, I can’t help but think…
…that if there’s a hell on earth, this is it.
Kwaaang!
A pile of corpses flies towards us like a cannonball and disrupts our formation.
It’s a change that’s been happening for a few minutes.
The Corpse Collector started summoning more creatures from his subspace pocket.
Damn it, I thought we were almost there.
‘Just how much did he stockpile?’
Curses escape my lips.
But my feet don’t stop.
Although we’re surrounded by the corpse army, far from the main force…
…I continue to charge forward.
I don’t know how many are left.
Many must have died.
But even so…
“Behel—laaaaaaaaaa!”
…Ainar shouts as she cuts down a corpse, and a chorus follows from behind and beside me.
“Right, Behel—laaaaaaaaaa!!!”
It’s not from barbarians.
Humans, dwarves, or beastmen.
Right, it’s quite addictive.
Thud!
A pile of corpses flies towards me and gets up.
It’s a grotesque figure formed by combining five corpses.
I frown at its appearance, but then I recognize a familiar face among them.
‘Hansen Kelders.’
I met him on Day 1 while wandering through the passage.
It was before we even knew what was going on, and before we met the Clown.
He offered to join forces, but I refused.
Because I couldn’t trust him.
[The cautious ones survive longer. I hope we’ll see each other again.]
He smiled and left, even after being rejected.
And…
[Grooooooooowl…]
…we’ve reunited like this.
‘…He really was one of us.’
A gruesome sight that would have made Lee Hansu vomit just by looking at it.
I swing my mace at it and think.
If I had trusted him back then…
And if we had decided to move together…
Would he be fighting on our side, not as an enemy?
Kwagic!
Well, maybe.
But only one thing is certain.
I was wrong back then.
It wasn’t even the best choice.
I didn’t try because he was a stranger.
I could have found evidence to trust him if I had tried harder.
“I’m sorry.”
I dash forward, stepping on the pile of corpses.
And I briefly think.
What kind of person was he?
What could he have done if he were alive?
“…….”
I can’t know now.
Maybe he had great potential and could have been a big help to me.
Actually, even Dwarkey wasn’t that impressive at first.
I just thought he was a weirdo.
But what was he really like?
He was the kindest among us, and he was a greater mage than anyone I’ve ever seen.
[Yandel, are we almost there?]
I dismiss my thoughts at Kyle’s voice.
“Almost.”
We’re really almost there.
Just a little further, and we’ll reach where the Clown is.
Although close combat won’t be easy since he’s an Agility Poison Necromancer…
…a Necromancer’s weakness is obvious.
And even he must have consumed a lot of MP after summoning such a large army.
If Kyle can hold off the Ruin Scholar, and Melter Pend can keep that wolf bastard occupied, there shouldn’t be any variables—
[Hurry up.]
Huh?
[I have a bad feeling.]
A bad feeling?
Is this also a mage’s intuition?
That’s when, as I’m swinging my mace…
[Groaaaaaaaaar!]
…a group of explorers I’ve never seen before appears among the corpses.
One team, two teams, three teams…
There are too many to count.
“I came to see what the commotion was about, and what the hell is this…”
“We’ll help too!”
“It’s the Lafdonia remnants! Kill them!!”
“Waaaaaaaaaa!!”
They were explorers from Noark, who were hunting on the 2nd floor.
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