Monsters are broadly classified into four categories.
Mutants:
Like goblin archers and swordsmen, the race is the same, but the class differs.
High-class species:
The death demon I encountered in the Land of the Dead belongs to this category. For reference, this is a relative ranking system, and if the monster's rank is higher than the average rank of monsters on that floor, it's considered a superior species.
Rare species;
Monsters that can only be found in certain Rifts, such as corpse golems, or monsters that are extremely difficult to find in general areas, such as mimics, fall into this category.
High-class mutant:
This refers to a monster with a name and a unique personality. Its most important characteristic is that it possesses the power of an essence. In short, these monsters are much tougher and more demanding.
What would happen if an ogre, known for its thick skin, possessed the regenerative abilities of a troll?
A mad monster would be born.
That's why…
***
I ran with all my might.
"What the hell is that! Why is there a vampire here?"
"You'd be better off running instead of complaining, dwarf."
As we escaped from the entrance to the boss's room…
Panting, panting, "I can't run anymore..."
"Please excuse me, Lady Raven."
Following the path we came by, and passing the water pipe…
"We can't leave this place if we don't defeat him anyway. Wouldn't it be better to fight?"
"At least we have to go where there is sunlight."
"All we have for sunlight is this damned sky!"
"Even so, it's better than here."
Even when we entered the labyrinthine underground prison…
"Turn left here!"
We kept running.
This place is no different from his homeland. We had to get out somehow.
That way, we might have a chance to live.
"A high-class mutant as guardian... It's unprecedented."
Well, actually that's not the case.
A superior mutant species appears as a guardian in the "White Temple" on the third floor as well. From the eighth floor onward, which was classified as a deep floor, it was safe to say that all the Rifts were like that. It wouldn't be wrong to say that only the first floor was unprecedented. Even I, a nine-year veteran of the game who had accumulated 10,000 matches, had never encountered the "Vampire Duke." I only learned of his existence when I saw a recording posted by a player on the game's only community page.
"Ah, yes! Mr. Bjorn, how did I know before? You told me to close the door!"
Does that damn eagerness to learn have to appear even in this situation?
"Again, run while you can talk."
"But I'm not racing, am I?"
Well, you're not.
But I'm doing it.
"...I just had that feeling."
Before I could bother anymore, I made up an excuse and cut off the conversation.
But if I had to answer correctly...
It was thanks to the color of the doorknob that I could sense the abnormality. In the recording the user uploaded, that was the only difference from the usual Bloody Citadel.
When the vampire hadn't appeared even after trying hundreds of times under the same conditions as the user, I had wondered if there were any special conditions I was missing, so I examined the recorded video and barely managed to find it.
If I hadn't been moved by successive lucky events, would I have discovered it before the door opened?
Well, I didn't think that was something to think about right now.
«I see that my guests are very rude».
As soon as we reached the second floor of the underground prison, the monster appeared.
¡Shhhhh-!
He chased us in the form of black fog.
This was not the vampire's ability, but one of the dozens of black magic spells he possessed, «Vengeful Spirit State».
This was the reason why he hated monsters that used magic. The utility was crazy good.
«¡Raven!»
I immediately called the magician on our side. I wanted to ask him if he knew how to use solar magic, one of the antipathies of vampires.
But that was unnecessary.
«Everyone, close your eyes!»
The magician lady had already finished throwing one.
«¡Ahessenbert pour!»
«Explosion of Light».
A support spell typically used as a wide-range blind effect. Even with my eyes closed, I could clearly feel the sudden and intense flash of light.
Beeeep-.
When I opened my eyes, ignoring the ringing in my ears, I saw that the black smoke that was chasing us had disappeared.
Thank God.
That had prevented the use of the central combo «Original Body State» of the «Vengeful Spirit State».
It can be said that we had won at least three minutes. He must have woken up earlier in that worship room.
But, the laws of the universe established that triumphs were always accompanied by bad news.
«Bjorn! They have hit the magician!»
"¿What?"
Hearing Ainar's words, I saw that Raven was unconscious in the goalkeeper's arms. It looked like he had suffered an internal wound, and blood was dripping from his mouth.
... What? Did that bastard use any kind of magic?
He shouldn't have been able to use attack magic on the «Vengeful Spirit State».
Maybe it's the power of essence?
Could be. In the recorded clip, the player had been annihilated before he could do anything, so it was impossible to see what kind of monster essence the Vampire Duke also had.
Several possibilities swirled in my head, but I decided to think about it later.
«What are you doing! Run!»
«The magician knows the way, but she has fainted!»
«Don't worry. I know the way».
«... How do you know?»
Looking at the doubtful dwarf, I responded briefly,
«Lo memoricé».
«After being here once.....?»
In fact, he had been here hundreds of times.
He had wanted to meet the Vampire Duke, so he had entered and left this place more times than he could count. However, I hadn't expected to see that face here, instead of through the monitor.
«Follow me».
I didn't accept any more questions and took the lead.
When the mage wakes up later, will she think I'm an unusual barbarian? But what's wrong with that?
First, getting out alive was the most important thing.
«You really memorized the way...»
Running non-stop and reaching the first floor of the basement, the dwarf exclaimed.
«You two, is it true that your coming-of-age ceremony was last month?».
«Of course! I already told you! Bjorn is a great warrior!»
«A great warrior... really could be one day.»
They say praise makes even whales dance, but I wasn't a whale. Please...
I wish he would use that time to run more instead of talking.
It had already been about two minutes.
Sprint.
Left, right, straight, straight, right, left, straight, straight.
After drawing a map in my head and running non-stop, the exit was finally in sight.
Had three minutes passed?
I looked behind us one last time before going up the stairs.
Huff, huff…
Everyone was breathing hard, but there were no stragglers because everyone had good basic stamina. The problem was that I could see dark smoke following behind them.
¡Shhhhh-!
Maybe we should have abandoned all our bags. So, we could have kept the distance a little wider.
However, he knew that regretting it now wouldn't change anything.
Let's focus on what we can do now.
Esprintar.
I accelerated even more.
But could he be using the «Original Body State»?
Rattle.
I could hear the sound of something being assembled from behind me. From now on, he had nothing to lose.
I jumped two to three steps at a time at the last moment.
The...
«We're out!»
I finally surfaced...
... And without a single fatality.
«Honestly, I was worried, but, really, I wasn't continuing...»
The dwarf murmured as he gasped.
However, not yet completely relieved, his gaze was fixed on the stairs leading to the basement.
If I had eyes, I would know...
That we had only gained a little more time and that none of our problems had been resolved yet.
«... How long do you think it will take?»
In response to the dwarf's question, I shrugged as I looked at the mountain ridge beyond the castle wall.
I didn't know the exact time, but...
«Certainly not much».
It was clear that time was not on our side. Soon, that dark red sky would turn completely black.
So we needed to prepare before that happened.
***
«What exactly is the magician's status?»
«He's had a potion, so he'll wake up soon».
«Are you sure?»
«...I'm sure it will.»
That's your wish, bastard.
Did this guy have no idea what had happened to him either?
Share con firmza,
«This time, you have to pull a person's weight too.»
«But...»
Without «buts».
«Do you want us all to die here?».
Sometimes the most direct expression was the most effective. If we all died, he couldn't protect the wizard alone anyway.
«... What can I do?»
Actually, not much. I just wanted to set the record straight before the battle started.
«Protect the magician. Even if you have to risk your life».
«.... Of course.»
His voice changed to a fairly reliable one.
We've already taken care of this bastard. There is only one more thing to prepare.
«Let's go to the outside wall. It would be better for us to have some coverage».
I used a flimsy excuse to lead the group to the outside wall.
In fact, it would be better to leave everything here and move quickly on my own, but...
If he showed up in the meantime, it's game over.
«Wait here a moment. I'll take a look and come back».
«It's not a good idea for us to disperse!»
The dwarf shouted something, but I pretended not to hear it and ran towards the fountain I had noticed the other day.
I had to take the object he had left me.
¡Bang! Shhhh.
A fountain full of dry pebbles. After breaking the statue in the center, I searched through the fragments and took out a small box.
[The character has obtained the item [Tears of a Goddess]].
When I checked, the content matched that of the game.
And more good news followed.
«Where am I...?»
When I returned after hiding the object in the slot of my boots, Raven had come to.
«Vampire! What happened to the vampire?»
«We managed to escape for now. But it will appear again when the sun sets».
«Ya veo.»
The pain seemed to linger and she frowned. This time it was my turn to ask questions.
«What happened to you?»
Raven took a sip of the potion the porter gave her like water and answered in a broken voice.
«Ugh, I'm not sure, but... ah... based on the symptoms, ugh... it's very likely » Shared pain»».
»Share the pain»? If that was true, then I was glad.
The «Nightplar» who had this ability had the lowest basic stats of all rank 8 monsters. If the essence the vampire had was rank 6 - no, even rank 7 - the difficulty would have increased even more.
«Ugh... there was a bounce just as I was going to do an enchantment...».
Raven grabbed her neck in pain.
Seeing this made me feel pretty sad for her. It seemed like it would take some time for him to be able to do his part again.
«How long will it take to recover?»
«Ugh, a full recovery is difficult. My circuit is completely twisted».
«A rough estimate is fine, so tell me in numbers».
«20 minutes? That will be enough to heal up to five rank 7» attack spells.
Only five Fire Baptism spells.
This was really bad.
«Is there any other solar magic you know?»
«Do you know that it is very rude to ask a magician about his possessed spells?
Of course, I knew that was the case in the game's universe. But right now, I was a barbarian from a culture where everyone except the king was spoken to rudely.
Raven sighed when I responded with a "So what?" look.
"I can use a 'Sunspot Sphere'."
"A 'Sunspot Sphere…'"
Its basic form was similar to a fireball, but a "Sunspot Sphere" was a rank 6 attack spell that utilized solar properties instead of fire.
This might work.
"Is it possible to use the 'Attribute Strengthening' spell on top of the 'Sunspot Sphere'?"
"...If I can gather mana for ten more minutes."
"Okay. Until then, we'll hold onto it somehow. So, don't go out of your way to help, and save your magic."
"Yes, I will... Wait, but why is Mr. Yandel acting like the boss?"
Like a magician. It was quick.
The dwarf simply followed me while I took the initiative.
"So, is there anyone else?"
Raven looked at the goalkeeper, Ainar, and the dwarf in that order, and then shook her head as if convinced.
"That's definitely it."
"Hahaha! Sorry. I can't help being born a dwarf."
The dwarf scratched the back of his thick neck as if he were embarrassed. Ainar saw him and joined the conversation after waiting for the right moment to speak.
"You admit that a barbarian is better than a dwarf!"
"That's not true! However, as you said, this guy is special. I felt it myself, even if only for a brief moment."
"Special...?"
"I may look like this, but I have a sharp eye when it comes to people."
Raven was curious to know what had happened while she was unconscious, but unfortunately she couldn't dedicate that precious time to it.
"Murad, how many essences do you have?"
Oven.
"What kind?"
I asked the questions as short and concise as possible to gauge the dwarf's abilities. Among the essences he possessed, there wasn't a single key card that could turn the game around.
Even so, I could come up with a strategy in my head. But what disappoints me most is that there wasn't enough time to share the strategy with the team members.
Shhhhhh-!
A cool breeze was blowing, and the shadows covering the ground were growing longer. There were 30 minutes left for preparations.
[Night has fallen].
Now there was nowhere to retreat.
The only option was to endure, whatever the cost.