by Okina Baba
Then I use that newly restored MP on another barrage of magic.
One of the archs gets fed up and tries to push through the barrage despite the damage, but instead of trying to counterattack, I only move away.
I definitely can’t risk trying to prepare other spells while producing all this magic by myself.
I might be able to ward them off, but I can’t completely stop the archs from moving.
Noticing this, the other archs start to charge, too, even if they take damage in the process.
I didn’t buy as much time as I had hoped.
If I had even one Parallel Mind available, things would probably be different, but there’s no point in thinking about that now.
I’m on my own.
I’m going to have to manage this myself.
I give up on the magic barrage and switch to higher-powered magic, aiming it toward the archs as they charge toward me.
Realizing that this will cause more damage than they’re willing to sustain, the archs stop to defend themselves again.
I use that chance to put some distance between us, using slightly weaker magic to fend off the other spiders while I’m at it.
The puppet spider alone moves to the entrance of the Middle Stratum, simply standing there to prevent me from fleeing.
I can’t say that’s particularly good or bad.
Impatiently, I check my status.
I’m fending off the archs’ attacks with magic and thread for now, but I know all too well that I can’t keep that up for long.
Given the archs’ stats, it’s only a matter of time before they push through my pathetic attempts.
Especially since there’s five of them.
And that moment comes all too quickly.
One of the archs’ sharp claws catches my torso.
As soon as I hit the ground, it pins me down.
Unable to move, I see the other archs closing in.
This is a serious crisis.
But I still have a final ray of hope.
Checking on my tattered body, I look at one of my status items again.
Experience points.
I check the amount I gained from shooting down other spiders while I fended off the archs, then the amount I need to level up.
It’s close.
I’m insanely close to the number of points I need, and I’m terrifyingly close to death, too.
It’s a gamble, but the only other option is certain death.
I have to try, no matter how terrible the odds.
I quickly Appraise the archs and lock onto the one with the lowest HP.
Annihilating Evil Eye, activate!
This is a skill I gained when I evolved into my current race, Ede Saine.
An insta-kill attack that uses Rot, the attribute associated with death.
Of all my skills, it’s currently second only to Abyss Magic in terms of killing power.
However, it comes at a high price: I take a huge amount of recoil damage when I use it.
That amount will be especially severe for my currently beaten-up body.
I’d say the odds of me surviving are about fifty-fifty.
Even if I do live through the self-inflicted damage, there’s a follow-up fifty-fifty bet as to whether it’ll kill the arch.
And after that, the gamble of whether it’ll be enough EXP for me to level up.
My odds of winning all these bets are one in eight at best.
Looks like I won.
My attack killed the arch, and the resulting EXP raised my level.
I undergo molting, which fully heals my wounds.
The missing part of my torso is restored, and my lost limbs grow back.
However, my HP doesn’t recover completely.
Turns out there’s a limit on how much I can heal by leveling up.
Still, this is a turn for the better. I can even see a chance of pulling through this.
It’s a small one, but it’s there.
The arch that I hit with my Annihilating Evil Eye disintegrates into dust.
This development seems to surprise the one pinning me to the ground, enough that its leg slackens a little.
I use Cutting Thread to slash at my captor’s leg and slip from its hold.
At the same time, I clamber up that leg and latch onto the arch’s torso.
The arch tries to shake me off, but I dig in firmly with my sharp claws and sink my fangs into it.
Moments later, it’s writhing around in agony.
The arch slams its body against the ground, trying to knock me off, but I hang on through sheer determination, continuing to inject it with poison.
The other archs are powerless to intervene, since they can’t attack me without attacking the one I’m stuck to as well.
The arch thrashes around, I hang on, and the other spiders watch, unable to do anything.
The only one to get a clue is the puppet spider, which I probably should’ve expected.
It charges forward, fully prepared to slice me in half even if it means killing the arch, too.
But it’s too late.
Time is up.
Long-Distance Teleport, activate.
The puppet’s blade swings toward me, but my body disappears just before it reaches me.
My spell moves me into the Middle Stratum with the unlucky arch in tow.
Really, with the arch’s obscenely high Status Condition Resistance, my poison would never be enough to kill it.
Biting into it with a Poison Attack was just a way to stall for time.
In those stolen moments, I started preparing the Teleport spell.
My goal in that situation wasn’t to wipe out the spider army.
It was ultimately nothing more than survival.
My odds of surviving by fighting to the bitter end were next to nothing.
The four remaining archs would’ve been enough of a challenge, never mind the puppet spider, which was leagues above all of them.
To be honest, I couldn’t have beaten that thing even in a one-on-one situation.
I’ve got no desire to participate in a battle I can’t win.
That’s why I focused all my efforts on getting away.
Though I guess I also got this arch as a souvenir.
I release my fangs and grapple with the arch above the magma.
Now the tables have turned.
I have a certain degree of heat resistance, but the arch has none.
Instead, it gets to take the brunt of my anger for putting me in such a deadly position.
A few minutes later, the charred body of the arch drops into the magma, defeated by the Upper Stratum.
THE TERROR OF THE GREAT ELROE LABYRINTH
A vaguely unreal scene unfolds in my unfocused vision.
It’s as if I’m looking in from the other side of a thin film, like watching an old movie.
The faint light of a torch illuminates the people around me.
Several of them are familiar faces.
I can see Mr. Hyrince and the saint, Yaana.
Two of the other men don’t look familiar, but the third one… Isn’t that Basgath’s son, Goyef?
They keep walking somewhere, until they cross paths with something.
A spider monster: a Nightmare’s Vestige.
After a hard fight, the group defeats it. In that moment, I have a strange vision of a girl.
A girl whose features I can’t see, who can only be described as white.
I jump to my feet.
Was that a dream?
About when Julius defeated a Nightmare’s Vestige in the past?
Did I dream about it because of that conversation with Basgath?
Or was Julius trying to tell me something?
That last idea is probably just wishful thinking on my part.
Absently, I touch the white scarf wrapped around my neck, a memento of m
y brother.
“We’re about to enter the large passage. Keep yer wits about yeh.”
With that, Mr. Basgath leads us forward.
Once I cross the threshold, I stare around me in surprise.
It’s huge.
Sure, I was briefed on this already, but it’s totally different from the cramped passages we’ve been traveling in all this time.
It could easily be three hundred feet wide.
The ceiling looks equally high.
Just like Basgath said, it’s more like a vast hall than a passage.
But my shock lasts only for a moment.
I quickly return to my senses, looking around carefully.
No signs of any monsters nearby.
Relieved, I still keep my guard up as we move forward.
The passage is enormous.
But there are large boulders and such scattered about, impeding our vision.
Something could be lurking in the shadows of the rocks.
I keep an eye out for any signs as we steadily progress.
After a while, Basgath pauses.
“What’s wrong?”
“It’s strange. I haven’t seen any monsters.”
Basgath’s voice and expression can’t quite hide his consternation.
Is that really such a bad thing?
“Are there usually more around here?”
“Aye. It’s strange that we’ve not seen any after coming this far.”
Under his breath, he adds, “It’s like when we saw the Nightmare.”
Now that makes me nervous.
“Is there any way to reach a different route?”
It’s probably best to assume that something strange is going on.
In which case, we should take precautions.
“There’s a side path a short distance ahead. We’ll switch to another route there.”
Basgath seems to agree, as he doesn’t hesitate to craft an alternate plan.
We all catch on to Basgath’s agitated state, and no one objects to this.
But we made our decision a little too late.
Something is already coming this way.
A dragon.
First, we see a silhouette that resembles a slimmed-down tyrannosaurus.
However, its hands are strangely large, and each of its claws glitters like a flawlessly crafted sword.
“An earth dragon. Damn! And in the Upper Stratum—does that mean it evolved?!”
Basgath clicks his tongue.
All of us get ready for battle.
Steeling myself, I Appraise our opponent.
Status: HP: 2,808/2,808 (green)
SP: 3,655/3,655 (yellow)
Average Offensive Ability: 2,498 (details)
Average Magical Ability: 1,298 (details)
Average Speed Ability: 3,600 (details)
MP: 1,312/1,312 (blue)
: 2,032/3,645 (red)
Average Defensive Ability: 2,455 (details)
Average Resistance Ability: 2,452 (details)
Skills:
[Earth Dragon LV 1] [Imperial Scales LV 4] [Hard Armor LV 1] [Steel Body LV 1]
[HP Rapid Recovery LV 1] [MP Recovery Speed LV 1] [MP Lessened Consumption LV 1] [Magic Power Perception LV 3]
[Magic Power Operation LV 3] [Magic Power Attack LV 1] [SP Rapid Recovery LV 2] [SP Minimized Consumption LV 2]
[Terrain Attack LV 5] [Terrain Enhancement LV 5] [Destruction Enhancement LV 7] [Cutting Super-Enhancement LV 6]
[Piercing Super-Enhancement LV 6] [Impact Super-Enhancement LV 6] [Dimensional Maneuvering LV 3] [Hit LV 10]
[Evasion LV 10] [Probability Correction LV 4] [Danger Perception LV 7] [Presence Perception LV 7]
[Heat Perception LV 7] [Motion Perception LV 5] [Earth Magic LV 1] [Destruction Resistance LV 2]
[Cutting Resistance LV 5] [Piercing Resistance LV 5] [Impact Resistance LV 6] [Shock Resistance LV 2]
[Terrain Nullification] [Lightning Resistance LV 7] [Status Condition Super-Resistance LV 2] [Rot Resistance LV 1]
[Pain Nullification] [Pain Mitigation LV 4] [Night Vision LV 10] [Vision Expansion LV 5]
[Vision Enhancement LV 5] [Auditory Enhancement LV 4] [Olfactory Enhancement LV 4] [Longevity LV 7]
[Magic Hoard LV 1] [Ultimate Movement LV 1] [Fortune LV 1] [Herculean Strength LV 5]
[Sturdy LV 5] [Monk LV 1] [Talisman LV 5] [Skanda LV 1]
Skill Points: 19,500
Titles:
[Monster Slayer] [Monster Slaughterer] [Dragon] [Champion]
>
High stats.
Especially its overwhelming speed.
“This thing is fast, everyone. Be careful!” I shout.
At the same time, the earth dragon lunges forward.
Hyrince’s shield catches its claws as they swing down.
“Geh?!”
His face distorts with pain.
But thanks to his quick reaction, the dragon stops in place for a moment.
Basgath and I waste no time in slashing at its left and right feet respectively.
Katia and Ms. Oka unleash their magic on it, too.
Katia’s Flame Magic burns the dragon’s face, and Ms. Oka’s Wind Magic knocks it off its feet.
The dragon shrieks in pain and tumbles backward.
However, the actual damage is minimal.
My sword sliced about halfway through its right leg.
But Basgath’s cut barely made a scratch on its left.
He couldn’t break through its tough defenses.
The dragon rises again.
Its face is free of burns, despite taking a direct hit of Flame Magic.
“This doesn’t look good,” Basgath mutters.
His face is covered in sweat.
My hands are sweating, too, in response to the unexpectedly powerful defense of our opponent.
I had intended to cut its leg clean off with that attack.
Instead, I only ended up with a strike that was too shallow.
In fact, I nearly lost my grip on my sword because of all that resistance.
Magic barely has any effect, either.
The Imperial Scales skill dramatically reduces the impact of magic.
Katia and Ms. Oka are some of the strongest magic users of their races.
But the earth dragon is utterly unfazed by their attacks.
Still, it’s not as though it didn’t do any damage whatsoever.
This opponent isn’t unbeatable.
Then the dragon leaps from the ground.
Despite having no wings, it easily moves through the air.
It’s using Dimensional Maneuvering.
And its eyes are fixed directly on Anna, who is hovering at the back of our party.
Anna activates some magic.
But her electric attack doesn’t cause any damage.
The earth dragon has Lightning Resistance.
On top of its already high magic resistance, Lightning Magic doesn’t stand a chance.
Hyrince throws himself between the charging dragon and Anna.
His shield blocks the earth dragon’s claws.
Just like before.
This time, however, the dragon doesn’t pause, instead opting to retreat immediately.
We can’t keep up fast enough to strike back.
“Lightning won’t work—it has resistance! Same for Earth! Switch to other attributes! Katia, you stick with magic! Basgath, you also use magic to distract it!”
I quickly relay information to the others.
It has resistance to physical attacks, too, but there’s nothing we can do about that.
If Basgath’s strength wasn’t enough to cause any damage, then only myself and one other person will be able to reduce its HP with physical attacks.
“Hiyah!”
That other person is Fei, who just punched the earth dragon in the face.
Its enormous body flies back almost comically, rolling along the ground.
> I’m sure I’m not the only one who pauses dumbstruck for a moment.
Katia often accuses me of being a cheater, but isn’t Fei the real cheater here?
The earth dragon stands up, glowers at Fei, and runs toward her with a roar.
Its claws swing toward her.
Fei raises her arms to defend herself.
Her arms sparkle a metallic white, but it’s no illusion.
It’s a skill called Steel Body, which hardens the user’s body like metal.
Since she also has Hard Armor, which toughens the skin, Fei’s defense is even higher than her stats imply.
Whether she’s in human form or not, she’s still a light dragon who was originally a defense-oriented earth wyrm.
A dragon who can square off with another dragon.
Even the earth dragon seems surprised to have its attack blocked head-on, and it pauses for a moment.
Seeing this, Ms. Oka activates her magic.
A vortex of wind engulfs the earth dragon.
This spell isn’t intended to cause damage.
It’s intended to hold the dragon in place.
Binding Wind, a Gale Magic spell.
The earth dragon struggles to escape.
With its Imperial Scales, it won’t be contained for long.
Katia’s Flame Magic strikes next.
It merges with Ms. Oka’s Binding Wind, forming a tornado of flame around the earth dragon.
The earth dragon howls in pain.
Anna pummels it with more Wind Magic, and Basgath uses Dark Magic.
Hyrince seizes the chance to use Healing Magic on himself.
The earth dragon’s attack damaged him, even with his shield protecting him.
The dragon’s HP is steadily decreasing.
But then it shakes off the flame tornado.
The shine of a charging breath attack gathers in its maw.
As my friends catch their breath, I step in front of them.
My magic collides with the dragon’s breath.
The spell I use is the level-7 Holy Light Magic spell.
Its rather uncool name is Holy Light Beam.
But in spite of the cheesy title, it’s quite powerful.
The ray of light forces the dragon’s breath back into its mouth.
Its jaw snaps, and the earth dragon’s body slowly hits the ground.
The dragon’s HP has reached 0.
