«Bjorn».
The moment Ainar pronounced my name, the sun, obscured by red clouds, completely disappeared into the horizon. And at the same time, a pale-skinned man appeared under the red moonlight.
«Strange, very strange...»
He glanced at the ruins of the city and then fixed his gaze on us.
«Looking at you all, I can't stand my bloodlust. Would you by any chance know the reason?»
The reason? Well...
How could I know?
And I didn't want to know either.
Contest slowly,
«If you give me a little time to think about it, I might remember.»
I wanted to win at least one more minute.
However, at the same time, the vampire's eyes lit up.
«My thirst is too unbearable for that. Hehehe».
To be honest, it was a bit ridiculous. I didn't know a vampire bastard could be such an idiot.
«¡Kekeke! ¡¡¡Yes yes yes yes!!!»
The vampire, who began to crow in front of us as if possessed by a ghost, suddenly stopped. And then...
«¡Kyaaaaaah!»
He let out a roar that looked like it was from some extraterrestrial creature.
¡Sing!
His nails, the vampire's main weapon, were already beginning to stick out with a high-pitched sound. At some point, only madness remained in his eyes, creating a reddish glow.
Again like in the game.
Come to think of it, it was the same in the game.
No matter how intelligent the monsters were, the only conversation exchanged was a few words as an introduction.
«I'm used to fearing like this».
The killing intent emitted by this rank 5 monster was enough to numb my body, but surprisingly, the dwarf was completely fine.
«All back!»
I was a little surprised. He had looked pathetic in front of the corpse golem, but I guess he was still just a third-year scout.
At the same time as the vampire's body form disappeared, the dwarf stepped forward and raised his buckler.
¡Bang, bang, bang!
A burst of dust erupted with a roar.
His power was evident even a few steps back, but...
«Ha ha ha. How strong!»
The dwarf did not flinch one bit. It's not that his stats had surpassed those of the vampire, it was all thanks to the help of the essence.
[Hikurod Murad has launched [Balance Weight].]
The ability of a rank 7 monster «Iron Troll».
It was a «Blow Immunity» ability that prevented the character from falling or being pushed back while their feet were touching the ground. Additional options included shock absorption.
«¡Tarzine, retrocede!»
As the battle began, I gave orders. However, I didn't hear a response.
When I looked out of the corner of my eye, I saw that the doorman was already far away with the magician in his arms. It was a good decision, but also somewhat infuriating.
I decided to reconsider this feeling later and screamed,
«Ainar!»
«I'll take the right side!»
From the countless battles fought side by side, she could understand what I meant just by exchanging glances. I nodded briefly to the vampire's left, and then lunged at the same time as Ainar.
«¡Kyaaaah!»
The vampire backed away. It was clear that he had intelligence left for battle. At the same time, the dwarf's half-wrinkled buckler returned to its original state, as if time had been reversed.
The buckler couldn't come with that feature...
[Hikurod Murad has launched [Emergency Restoration]].
This was the ability of the «Living Armor».
It was a useful skill that not only saved the cost of equipment, but also greatly increased its performance when equipped with a magic tool in the future.
The dwarf finished the repairs in an instant and shouted,
«I'll take the front, so you help me from the side!»
There were no objections.
The only reason we could last this long was the dwarf. To be honest, I was the least useful person here. Ainar even has an essence now. I had nothing but my face «Imprint of Immortality».
Well, I guess technically it could be a human shield.
«¡Kyaaah!»
At that moment, the vampire who had been watching us from afar divided his body into hundreds of crows. A flock of crows flapped their wings and flew towards us at high speed.
«Go as far away as you can!».
Soon, the crows flying towards us exploded, launching themselves headlong into the ground.
¡Bang, bang, bang! ¡Bam! ¡Pum!
The explosive power itself was not great. However, we also had to avoid the blood splashing everywhere.
Damn sea.
Of course, it wasn't like the acidic blood of the corpse golem, but...
Considering the following combo, this was more of a headache.
«B-Bjorn! What the hell is this?»
A red tattoo was etched on our blood-soaked foreheads, and a bright light scattered.
[The character has been designated as a sacrifice.]
[Vampire Duke Cambormere's physical ability has temporarily increased based on the number of sacrifices located within a 100-yard radius].
Ignoring the game log that came to mind, I gritted my teeth. The vampire figure slowly regenerated among the blood accumulated on the ground as the crows exploded.
Now that he had a power-up, it was going to be harder to deal with.
Had three minutes already passed?
There was still a long way to go before preparations were completed. Would we be able to survive until then?
I shook my head.
There was no point in thinking about whether that was possible or not.
«¡Behell-ahhhhhhh!»
We have to hold on longer...
with the guts of a barbarian.
***
Buff Skill: «Footprint of Offering».
«Eternal Life»: when the power of regeneration increases enormously in proportion to the lost resistance.
«Blood Master»: The ability to absorb some of the target's ability by directly sucking their blood.
Each of these three active abilities that the vampire possessed displayed enormous strength in hand-to-hand combat. The problem was, however, that that wasn't all the vampire had.
This dissatisfied son of a bitch used various types of black magic even excluding these.
«Bjorn, more crows!»
Transforming into crows that flew through the air, transforming into smoke to dodge a sword, and using spilled blood to summon monsters, and more. The vampire bastard demonstrated the deception abilities that high-ranking monsters possess.
That's why no one reaches the sixth floor and just leaves the game.
Realizing once again the crazy difficulty of Dungeon and Stone, I raised my shield. The shield had already been torn and nailed by nails, and was more or less scrap at this time, but...
Better than nothing.
¡Clang-!
I used recoil to bounce and absorb the impact as much as possible.
Strength, speed and skill.
A surplus skill that I had learned naturally after fighting an enemy that surpassed me in every way.
At that moment, Raven's voice echoed in my head.
Please wait another five minutes!
I wondered if time would have been shortened a little if she had saved the mana to send that whisper...
But, upon hearing hopeful news, I felt more energetic.
«Hikurod has been reached!»
–yeah sure.
After demonstrating the skills of a third-year scout, the dwarf who had closely marked the vampire had fallen. Luckily, Ainar, who had been nearby, pounced on him and stopped the vampire from sucking his blood
[Hikurod Murad has fallen into a state of [Unable to fight]].
In an instant, the tables had turned.
Ainar and I were already devastated. It was almost impossible to stop him and the two of us without the dwarf who had occupied more than 50% of the battle bet.
Then...
I quickly made a decision.
«Ainar! Take Murad and back off!»
«But...»
«I'll stop it!»
«Okay!»
The moment Ainar put Murad on his shoulders, I ran forward and brandished my mace.
Hit!
The first valid hit in a long time.
«Ahhhh!»
My brain throbbed at the retreat of the successful attack. It was all because this crazy bastard was a high-ranking mutant.
[Vampire Duke Cambormere has released [Share Pain]].
He even fully recovered from his injuries just by taking a step back to catch his breath.
Damn, while I'm still suffering. What kind of idiot is this?
«¡Kyaaaaah!»
Even so, the aggro was attracted to me, just as I had wanted. Out of habit, I checked again that the object hidden in my boots was still there.
The name of the object was «Tears of a Goddess».
Simply put, it was a sacred object. Although it was a single-use item, it could be used for healing purposes, and could also be used for attacks against evil monsters.
... Should I use this now?
Using this wouldn't be a waste.
No matter how special the effect of the item was, anyway, it was a special item that could only be used in the «Bloody Citadel». If used on the dwarf, its strength would be restored immediately, and if used on the vampire, it would deal considerable damage.
But...
No.
I put an end to my useless worries.
What was the reason why I had been diligently abiding by my time until now?
Because one blow was more than enough. More than that would be negative for us.
The opportunity would only present itself once.
At that point, we would have to dump everything we had.
There was only one way for the five of us to hunt a rank 5 monster.
Clic.
I grabbed a bottle of potion from my waist and opened the cap. I put the potion in my mouth as I watched the vampire charging towards me, y-.
¡Chhhhhh!
The countless wounds I had accumulated during the battle began to heal and pain invaded me like a tidal wave. I felt my hands lose strength and all I wanted was to collapse to the ground. After all, it was almost impossible to drink a potion and fight, but...
It didn't matter.
What he was trying to do was not a battle.
Stab!
Soon, the vampire's claws embedded themselves in my abdomen. The metal armor on my chest was rendered useless as his nails dug deep into my flesh.
«...!»
My nerves were sending death danger signals to my brain like crazy. My head turned into a blank sheet of paper as if it were overloaded.
Shit, if I had known this was going to be like this, I would have taken the corpse golem essence for myself.
Leaving those belated regrets behind, I poured another potion into my mouth.
¡Chhhhhh!
The wound was quickly healed by the overlapping healing effects of «Immortal Imprint» and potions.
«Kyaak-»
I looked at the surprised vampire bastard who didn't seem to understand the current situation.
To be honest, I felt like I was fainting from the pain.
«Behll-ah, hijo de puta ... »
Pain can't kill me.
The fact that I'm still alive is proof of that.
***
«What the hell is he doing...!»
Raven, watching the battle from behind the rubble in the distance, could not contain her astonishment. He had read about the extraordinary hunting strategies and methods of many explorers in his books, but this was unlike anything like that.
Was he planning to contain the vampire with potions alone?
«It is impossible for it to succeed. Will die!»
Logically, it didn't make sense. She knew this because she had already consumed potions several times.
The pain was unimaginable, and the severity of the pain increased depending on the severity of the injury.
But that barbarian?
¡Chhhhhhhh!
It wasn't just bubbles boiling and smoking in his body, but the smoke was burning him completely.
Not even she had seen anything like it before.
Suffering an injury wasn't the problem, but a shock death in this situation was nothing strange. In fact, cases of death from potion consumption were quite common.
«¿Eh?»
At that moment, Raven stopped stomping in uneasiness and opened her eyes wide. The pain that that barbarian would be feeling right now went beyond his imagination.
But at least one thing was certain: in that state, he shouldn't even be able to move.
But what was this?
¡Clang-!
He blocked it even as it collapsed to the ground, along with a shield that was now a piece of scrap metal.
The barbarian blocked the vampire's nails that were hitting him.
And, as if to prove that it was not a coincidence
¡Clang-!
He did it several times over and over again.
Of course, not all attacks were successfully blocked. Even now, his entire body was being pierced by those ruthless claws.
But...
¡Clang!
Attacks aimed at the most important vital points, such as the head or heart, were blocked by pushing the shield, as if nothing had happened.
Is this logically possible...?
He couldn't tell if he was purposely avoiding the attacks through pain with superhuman concentration, or if it was just the fighting instincts left in his body that made it possible.
However, a document he had read a long time ago suddenly came to mind. In it, he had said that the barbarian's true worth lay in his psychological strength, not his superior physical ability.
Somehow, I think I understand it now...
«Lady Raven, it would be best to get out of here while we can».
At this moment, Tarzine, who had been watching the battle with her, spoke in a firm voice. He was talking about leaving, but in reality, he was referring to abandoning these people and running away.
«I'm not sure I can protect you at this rate. This is too dangerous».
She was too dumbfounded to speak.
Do you think I don't know?
If I could, she would have left by now. Although she was often told that she was a soft-hearted mage, Raven was not naive enough to risk her life for the sake of some explorers she had just met.
But...
«You're crazy? Go away? Where to?»
There was nowhere to run. There is only one way out of the Rift, and that is to defeat the Guardian and exit through the portal.
...That man must be fighting desperately because he knows it too.
He felt like a spark was going through his brain.
Even a barbarian who had just gone through his coming-of-age ceremony was calmly making rational judgments and doing the best he could under the current circumstances...
However, as a magician, what was she doing right now?
«If Bjorn dies, it will all be over. We have to keep it alive somehow».
A mage was not someone who only cast high-powered magic spells from behind the battlefield. It was also the job of a magician to coldly analyze the situation with his knowledge of various fields and suggest the most efficient route for the team.
«...»
Raven reassessed the current situation.
The third-year dwarf warrior was unable to fight.
The barbarian was giving him potions and helping him recover.
No problem so far...
But the mage was hiding in the rear and waiting for her mana to be returned, with a human swordsman to escort her.
Now that I thought about it, this was a waste of resources.
«Tarzine, and con el Sr. Murad».
«Excuse me?»
«I'm fine. At least go there so the barbarian woman can join the battle.»
«…Understood.»
«Leave your backpack here.»
Tarzine followed the instructions without issuing a counter-question to his somewhat exalted order. Without even seeing him leave, Raven buried her hand in the subspace backpack.
The essence of the corpse golem.
As soon as the image was clearly drawn on his head, the test tube was firmly held in his hand.
The truth is that no... no, the truth is that I don't want to use this, but... it's nothing compared to a person's life.
Raven slowly accumulated her mana and began to draw the magic circle.
¡Whoom!
Accuracy support.
Support for launch range.
Automatic trajectory control.
If he added a few more things to the formula, he wouldn't even have to move his arms...
But I have to save at least a little of my magic.
After completing the circle, he threw the test tube into his hand as hard as he could.
The...
It shattered!
The test tube, which flew in a gentle arc, hit its target and shattered, emitting a light.
[The Corpse Golem Essence seeps into the character's soul.]
[Pain Resistance increases by 70.]
[Strength increases by 15.]
[Bone Force.....]
[...]
[...]
.
[Bjorn Yandle]
Level: 2
Physical: 80(New +34)
Spirit: 46(New +10)
Special ability: 30(New +26)
Item level: 202
Overall combat power: 203.5(New +70)
Acquired Essence: Corpse Golem – Rank 7 (New_)